AthenaTheStorierX

A Lovely Metaphoric Work of Healing and Growth

I'm absolutely in love with this series. It has an unrefined aspect to it that I truly expected to grate on me, but fast became a source of charm. The visual metaphors of the colors and mental cries for help were so well done and captivating. And the fact that only a few of these stories had romance to them, let alone intimacy, was a welcome surprise. The entire premise of this drama, put in its most simplest of terms, is that there is a certain level of power (either good or bad) in every small/brief interaction.

We see characters grapple with their sense of self-worth, their dreams, their relationships. We see something so raw and human throughout each of these episodes, but in a muted and appropriately-short way that it relates to audiences without the draining aspect that is so well-known amongst other healing dramas.

I can see myself rewatching this drama time and time again - for the characters, for the artistry, and for the interconnected tidbits throughout.

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Mixed Feelings Galore: Fantastic rep, but...

Oh boy. This is truly a difficult drama to write a review for. There’s so much going on here. Some, brilliantly written and portrayed. Some, truly hard to come by in media and dramaland. Some, well-intentioned but poorly written. And some, just poorly considered in general.

There are spoilers, sectioned off to the bottom, because it was impossible to make my review make sense without them. But they are clearly marked and separated as such, should anyone want my general thoughts only.

Based on the premise and advertisements, I was expecting a lot of cringe. Thankfully, there wasn’t as much as anticipated. They also became fewer as the story continued on. I would still say it’s much like a mash-up of the western stories “13 Going on 30” and “Sex Education,” but I found this mash-up itself not as unagreeable as initially presumed.

I think the biggest appeal to this drama is the representation and discussions.

Throughout the drama we get to watch as these initially unhealthy relationships resolve their individual and collective problems to become more healthy - for themselves and each other. There’s a lot of growth in these characters - something that I, as a character-driven consumer, love to see.

We also have completely human and developed trans AND nonbinary representation. We have straight, gay, and lesbian romance storylines with near equal prominence. A prominent storyline about BDSM and kink, that’s partially played for laughs, but also gets serious and reflective. We also get to see a side gay character. While some viewers may interpret this character as being asexual (and it’s totally within their rights to headcanon him as such), it’s important to recognize that this bedroom preference (rather opposite to a vers you could say) is rarely seen in media or discussed. So, while I only pressed play on this drama for the possible asexuality, I do not regard him as such - nor do I mind that he’s not.

There were also great topics about outing and being out, trauma, pregnancy, identity, workplace harassment, prejudice, safe sex practices, non-monogamy, and consent. Important topics. Topics that need to be discussed. A lot of these felt rather rushed in resolution, but understandably so given the amount of different problems and plot lines were packed into this drama. But uniting all of these plotlines is the notion that a singular moment can forever change you and your relationships moving forward. And that regret and forgiveness are powerful forces that shouldn’t be underestimated or scoffed at.

Romance wise, I actually found myself torn between the obviously end-game couple and each of their rival love interests. Especially since I did not feel that the ML (Alex) is actually IN love with the FL (Jean). He admires and cares about her for sure, but in love? I’m not convinced. And I can’t help but think it’s the writing or the lack of focus on this supposed romance, as New has sold me on his romances before (in the Kiss franchise and in Put Your Head on my Shoulder).

I loved the soundtrack (shazamed quite a few of them), but the fact that seemingly the majority of them were in English has me wondering who exactly the intended audience of this drama is meant to be? *side-eyeing GMMTV*



—SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT FORWARD—



My main issue is about the central premise. The main conflict centers around consent. It even gives straight up literal lectures on the subject. But yet never seems to address that one cannot consent when drunk.

Here’s the main premise:

Alex made a vow of chastity to his mother that he would be a virgin until he’s 18 (because turning 18 totally inherently changes his maturity). On the day before his birthday, Alex goes to a party and one of his crushes (because he has two), Jean, proposes that they have sex. So excited that he forgets his vow, despite it being on his mind all the way up until this moment, goes in search of a condom. Alex’s friend then forces him to drink a bucket full of strong alcohol in order to “earn” said condom.

Now thoroughly drunk, so drunk that he doesn’t register witnessing anything, being kissed twice, or even getting punched, the only thing keeping him moving forward is the thought of having sex with Jean (who has, by the way, decided to take some shots to keep her courage up). Is this unrealistic to the reality of being drunk? Possibly. But this is how the drama presents it.

Now Alex and Jean are both inebriated and having sex. Jean sobers up and withdraws her consent upon realizing that Alex forgot to put the condom, that he went through all that trouble for, on. She tries to get him to stop. But he’s so far gone from being drunk (remember, he didn’t even register that he was punched just a minute ago) that he doesn’t notice.

So Jean comes out of this experience traumatized (rightfully and understandably so).
The Alex that resumes that timeline is praised for his actions that night, and like a teenager, gets swept away by the fame of it all.
The Alex we come to know gets plummeted into the future, seemingly punished for committing this act of now mutually non-consensual intercourse just seconds before turning 18.

So now we have two victims of this action. Yes, Jean was way worse off than Alex, but they are still both victims. The script makes relative light of both of them as both of them paint themselves as the bigger/only victim.

But while this story had the chance to actually paint Alex as the victim he should be, we see that his only sustained concern throughout the drama is being able to climax again. So he goes around dropping these bombs of wisdom and compassion and relentlessly pursuing Jean to reconcile.

For one, reconciliation should be on her terms and her terms alone.
Secondly, while Alex’s actions suggest that he does care for his friends while he’s solving their problems, this concern doesn’t seem to linger. Instead, it comes back to “fixing the curse.” Not so that he can fix all these problems. Not so that he can go back to the past (heck, he doesn’t even grieve the loss of his beloved grandfather for more than a few seconds). But so that he can climax again.

Talk about insensitive and immature. Like, we come to like this character through the actions he takes with his friends’ problems, but then these points get brought up again and remind us that this character is a teenager. It creates a strange unbelievable dichotomy that’s hard to keep up with.

And then there’s the way Jean’s story is framed. Jean has sexual trauma from the incident. And period problems (that are brought up for like 2 episodes and never again) presumably from the resultant abortion. Considering how many people are out there in similar situations, the writers really should’ve at least mentioned the notion that one doesn’t require sex to have a good relationship (it would’ve fit the story as well). It paints a story of a woman who is unfulfilled in life, who thinks herself unlovable. And it paints this sexual trauma as not only a problem that needs to be fixed for her to be fulfilled and loved, but an unfixable problem at that. An unfixable problem that gets fixed by Alex going back in time, an option not available to real-life individuals who share her affliction.

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Mental Health and Disorders in Well-Performed Nuanced Characters

I can’t really speak to the bipolar representation in this series. It seemed fairly decent and more nuanced compared to other portrayals i’ve seen. But i do wonder if we should have seen more of her depressed state of the disorder. For a little bit there, it seemed like we were gonna get it, but then it came off kind of like the character was acting being depressed/upset. Instead, off medication, we seem to only see her either manic or angry. But she does nod back to the depression in her dialogue at points. But she also asks the ML what it’s like to have depression. So i don’t know.

But the depression portrayal was great. Especially when the ML was narrating through it. My heart ached for him and i connected to him deeply. His story seems to have a tad bit of the “love heals you” tone, but since his depression is rooted in grief and guilt, it rather makes sense in this case.

The performances by the actors were quite spectacular. You couldnt tell this was a web series imo. I was that sold on what they were feeling and saying. I caught on to the nuances of their performances even before the script confirmed my conclusions. And I was reacting right alongside them at key moments - cheering them on and begging for their happiness.

A gem of a short series.

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A cute start, but so so painfully awkward at the end

I've been sitting on this review for a while. Because all-in-all, it was a good idea. And the cast did a pretty good job at demonstrating the jealousy, shyness, and longing of their characters. But this short film's progressions was quite weird. Apparently, being so friendly that they must be in a relationships means a high five and weird jumping side hug? Even if someone took a picture to make the encounter out of context, there was nothing about that interaction that would warrant the love interest's jealousy.

The continuity with the popsicles was also so glaring that I couldn't take my eyes off of it. Well, until we got into the "kiss." They should have stuck to holding hands. Or cuddling next to each other while eating the ice cream or watching a movie. I'm not even sure if their lips were actually touching, because they were very much off to the side of each other. It looked painfully awkward. And then after the credits roll one pushes the other down on the bed. I lost what little bit of immersion I had gained back after the jealousy moment that I just can't bring myself to like this.

But the inching hands together during their study session at the beginning of the film was very cute.

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Simple, Gorgeous, Real, and Inspiring

Simple and gorgeous, while simultaneously showing several issues facing same-sex couples. In it, we meet a strong-willed bibliophile who just wants to be treated fairly, and her partner who is still struggling with being closeted and internalized homophobia in the face of prejudice and micro-aggressions. My heart hurt for her when she said that she wasn't allowed to be upset because "lesbians shouldn't walk in the sun."

I love how our two female leads balance each other out, providing each other unbridled joy and courage as they move forward in life. To the point where they truly are able to shake things off, not because they're scared to be upset, but because they have each other's backs.

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An epic tale of unwavering loyalty, love, and hatred

An epic tale of unwavering loyalty, love, and hatred. I loved all the characters here. Their motives were clear and well-developed, and I felt like I knew them all:

- The second male lead that was tortured until all his heart knew was hatred.
- The female lead with undying loyalty and love that carried over from before she could even remember.
- The male lead with the weight of the kingdom (and the world) on his shoulders.
- The second female lead with a good head on her shoulders.
- The mastermind villain who just wanted to prove himself to his emperor.

It was an emotional tale with gorgeous cinematography. However, there were several holes that needed filling in order to fully understand how we got from one scene to the next. Scenes that presumably got cut out due to funding or the review board, as their absence was very clear. So a lower rating would be absolutely justified by those that prioritize plots over characters.

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Feels Like a Story Meant For Teenage Boys...

Here's the thing. The characters are fairly interesting. I loved the twins and their rocky relationship. They were the only good thing about this drama. Always bickering. One has a deep seated resentment for the other. But they still have a deep love for each other (just don't you dare mention it to them). The dynamics between all 4 cousins were fun to watch from time to time as well. I just about died when they were all slapping each other to stay awake.

But Frong (or Frank, according to the WeTV official subs) is terribly inconsistent as a character, besides a deep love for desserts. And Kade was giving off major red flags to me as a woman. His behavior towards the FL was unacceptable. And this was even before the twins drew me in. If it wasn't for how short the series was, I would have dropped it because of him alone. As it was, I kept this on 2.0x speed the entire time.

Because it wasn't just the characters. It was also the premise itself. Four (supposedly adult) men see a woman and make a plan to take turns trying to woo her. At first I was thinking the story was going to address how bad of an idea it was, and have the FL freak out when she finds out. Nope. The FL is an awful person. That's all there is to it.

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My Breed of Comedy, But a Bit Mismatched at Times

This was such an enjoyable comedy drama. It was situational comedy, rather than slapstick or stupid-funny, which is right up my alley. The schemes/plans were so fantastically executed and fun to watch, especially when the leads are getting in each others' way and trying to outsmart each other. I also liked how the plot was semi-episodic - the overarching plot and tension was serial, but each episode used a different case to showcase it. It kept it feeling fresh and less repetitive than shows with similar dynamics.

"I hide secrets. You reveal the truth."

On the romance side, we got two different types of enemies to lovers romances. We have the main couple who are career and moral enemies (which also prompts some interesting ethical questions), and we have the second couple who have just always butted heads and doubled as love rivals as well. Both couples had a lot of good chemistry, but I felt like we could have used at least a kiss more from each of them. I also liked how while both couples were composed of opposites to some extent, they were also quite alike in reactions. It made it fun and believable.

I think the thing I liked the least though were the slight tonal shifts towards the end. There was an element of episodes 10/11 that really didn't need to be brought to that extreme in order to serve as the reality check that the story needed. And episode 12 only felt connected in the sense of the characters and their dynamics with each other. It was a very different context with very minimal lead-up. Nor do I quite understand the point of it. A different case would have been better suited to the story.

We also have a third couple with Jim and his wife. At first, I couldn't understand how their relationship troubles and the toxic mother-in-law were important to the overall story. So I really didn't care to pay much attention to them. But it all did come together eventually. I warmed up to Pinky as well. Both as a member of the team and friend, and as Phat's sister. But I think these 2 elements didn't mesh well. She was too childish to be the former, and too grounded to be the latter. I think her role would have been more enjoyable if split between 2 characters.

I liked how casually some of the details were thrown in as well - even though their casualness may be TOO casual for some viewers. For instance, the multiple references to poly relationships. Or the fact that both of our leads are adopted, despite not using the terminology as such.

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Meant for young teens, but an enjoyable watch regardless

Look, before I say anything else, know that this movie is very evidently for young audiences. It's a cute, simple, star-crossed fantasy film with eye-catching magic graphics. The acting is a bit poor. The plot is predictable. Nothing particularly high-emotion happens. (Also, on a side note: the movie poster is very misleading.) That's the nature of films with this age demographic.

That said, I greatly enjoyed this movie. The music was stunning - in the way that only wuxias can be. The magic looked gorgeous. I loved the reoccurring theme of yin and yang. And the fact that the true climax isn't the big showdown, but rather the events right after the showdown was a really interesting choice that I don't see often. I know that should this film have been around when I was younger, I would've had this on repeat so much that it would've made the list of films my parents had to hide from me.

But as an adult, the rewatch appeal is quite low because of all that I mentioned in the first paragraph of this review.

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Where it lacks in plot, it makes up for in romantic chemistry

I feel like this particular micro-film had us come up with just a tad-bit too much on our own to fill in the situation/plot around these two. Even just a moment leading into the beginning or during the "climax" could have really developed the story more thoroughly. There was just a dab too many fluff seconds for the situation that the characters appear to be in.

That being said, you could feel the love that the characters had for each other in every loving, awkward, and confident gaze between them. And the visuals for the characters and setting are stunning. Paired with the lovely music (as this does double as a music video of sorts), This was a really memorable project that I do not regret watching at all.

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I'm Literally Begging For More (Please!)

This right here was the explicit ace and poly representation that we deserve! Asexuality, libido, polyamory, jealousy and more relevant topics and terms were explicitly brought up and discussed - but in an organic, conversational way that we've all actually done irl. And the fact that we didn't just have the one token asexual, but also had his close friend and her off-screen fiance both as asexuals too! It made me so happy. It was also discussed about how asexuals differ in their acceptance of sexual activities, and that the lack of attraction was not the only reason for our main character's reluctance.

The film didn't end with Minho getting "fixed." And despite initial tension and lack of understanding about asexuality, we did see why Minho is in love with both of his partners and saw them both willing to take things at Minho's pace and keep him involved in other ways. We also saw the different dynamics, contributions, and interests between all members of the throuple and how they have effective verbal and silent communication between all of them.

Also, I'm in love with Minho's smile. It's so contagious. All the actors did a great job portraying their characters. However, there was a lack of chemistry in my opinion (but that might simply be because of the short length of the film). I would love to see these topics and their relationship development hashed out in a larger project. I actually low-key need it.

I didn't really notice the music much, so I can't really speak to that.

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A new and important story, but feels like i skipped scenes

How to describe our main character Napat?
Homeschooled. Gamer. Skateboarder. Part of a loving and supportive family.
Feminine-presenting. Born male. Lonely. And finally, nonbinary.
But this reality isn't so easily accepted by others. Neither in relationships nor society as a whole. This is who Napat is, and what they have to deal with.

"When he said he loved me, I don't know if he loves who I really am, who I appear to be, or who he wants me to be. I am who I am since the first day we met."

It is an amateur short film, so acting does leave quite a bit to be desired. The story and message packed quite a punch, especially because of how few of these stories there are in media at the moment, but left some holes that I would have greatly appreciated filled in. While these holes didn't quite make it feel too much like the social issues ad it more or less is, it did leave it feeling more like snippets of a story rather than a complete one. Like I accidentally skipped scenes.

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It reminds of the western Charlie's Angels and Elektra

Am I aware that this film was more about the attractive visuals and fancy moves than actual plot/sustenance? Absolutely. Did that keep me from enjoying every minute of it? Definitely not. The lack of plot worked with the story. For the most part, the FL just follows orders and doesn't question why. Which makes sense, considering her occupation. But we do get that why through news broadcasts scattered throughout the film that she listens to afterwards. The moments when she's not following orders are where we see her character and the sismance shine through.

It reminds of the western stories Charlie's Angels and Elektra. So I do really enjoy the film, illogical outfits and extra moves aside (or perhaps partially because of it, i'm not gonna lie). And they did a great job casting everyone - they were able to not only carry "the look" but also the characteristics and emotions of the characters they were playing.

And hey, at least the director is a woman.

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Despite potential, held very little appeal in multiple regards

It's a pity that this turned out this way, because the acting was fantastic. And the basics of the story was intriguing. And I tend to ADORE reincarnation stories. Especially stories that involve reincarnation in multiple ways/areas.

But the story was inconsistent. I think chief among this set of complaints is the Female Lead. She's CENTURIES old and has a divine boost to her powers - but she was consistently weak, despite claims by the characters to the contrary. You can be kind-hearted, without being weak. I was very disappointed with this aspect of her character.

The CGI was unimpressive and the music added nothing to the aura of the story at all. So there weren't even non-story elements to praise.

And above all, take it from someone who appreciates all kinds of endings: That ending was so purely unthought-out that I'm still reeling. Like, it was a closed ending, but are we supposed to just accept that? There's just so, so much wrong with it.

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Simple but Poignant: A Tale of Unrequited Love

Krit's longtime crush on his questioning best friend has started to drive a rift between them. But in one last bid for time together, Krit invites Vin to join him on a journey in the wilderness to 9 Buddhist temples and the 7th tier of the neighboring waterfall. He had only planned for a journey filled with Vin's company, beautiful flowers to collect and press, and a wish to granted at the end of his quest. What he didn't anticipate was 2 other guests, as well as a journey that inspired feelings of nostalgia and lostness, before teaching him of peace and acceptance.

Despite a brief morbid moment and concerns over how the film would end, I found this to be a beautiful exploration of an unrequited first love. The backdrop of wilderness and Buddhist temples was well-chosen. And I'm not sure that this film would have had the same oddly comforting vibe had the music not been so well chosen (which, honestly, seems to be a trait of P'Nuchy's productions). And then there's our main character Krit: a young boy who sees beauty in everything and always wishes for happiness for everyone, and an eternal love for himself - wishes that Buddhism tells him is impossible. Wishes that society shuns. When he starts to feel lost, we can tell. There may not be explosive anger or giant tears, but we can tell.

It's simple. But it's poignant. The script, directing, and music left nothing to be desired for viewers. But the acting was a little stiff and I feel like Vin should have gotten more character development. I also think that there was a scene that was a bit too morbid, at least for my tastes anyway.

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