This review may contain spoilers
Beyond "Deserving" and "Blame"
I feel like "I Saw You In My Dream" moves past "possessive" tropes to offer a mature look at love, responsibility and persoanl dreams.
I liked the relationship between P'Yu and Ai, even P'Yus teasing. Having grown up too fast after his parents' death, Yu uses teasing as an emotional outlet. I also think that around Ai, he feels safe enough to be "childish" and it also shows a realistic realationship which often happens between "siblings" (which he feels like it is in the beginning).
I really appreciated the character dynamics in this series; the chemistry didn't just exist between the leads, but felt genuine across the entire friend group. While the pacing was a bit slower than other BLs, the connections kept me completely hooked. I was really drawn to the concept of the dream sequences and the wall of drawings in Ai’s room to visualize his dreams. Those sketches provided a fascinating look at his inner world, though I think the show could have dived even deeper into this (it got a bit lost). Overall, it was a beautifully grounded take on romantic relationships and the weight of destiny.
I personally also think Pan’s departure and reasoning was pretty realistic, it was a response to an industry that oftenimposes an "expiration date" (esp. for women) and the "shipping" culture". I persoanlly think (and I know this is maybe not the way most ppl see it) she had the courage to leave a so called "safe life and relationship, for a difficult dream". Had she stayed with Yu, no one would have been happy: Pan would have lived with the resentment of a stalled career, and Yu would have watched her light dim and maybe blamed himself and Ai would have realised his feelings for a someone who is already in a relationship. She realised that her dream was more importand to her, than the romantic relationship at the moment in her life, and I think that is completly fine.
I also like that Yu later treats her with dignity, not because of "love", but because he values human safety. While I also think he could have communicated this better to Ai initially. I think this can also be seen very well in the way Ai and his family rally around Pan (when her path became dangerous due to the actions of a third party). This challenges the "victim-blaming" narrative, showing that a person's past career choices or relationship history never justify harassment.
I liked the relationship between P'Yu and Ai, even P'Yus teasing. Having grown up too fast after his parents' death, Yu uses teasing as an emotional outlet. I also think that around Ai, he feels safe enough to be "childish" and it also shows a realistic realationship which often happens between "siblings" (which he feels like it is in the beginning).
I really appreciated the character dynamics in this series; the chemistry didn't just exist between the leads, but felt genuine across the entire friend group. While the pacing was a bit slower than other BLs, the connections kept me completely hooked. I was really drawn to the concept of the dream sequences and the wall of drawings in Ai’s room to visualize his dreams. Those sketches provided a fascinating look at his inner world, though I think the show could have dived even deeper into this (it got a bit lost). Overall, it was a beautifully grounded take on romantic relationships and the weight of destiny.
I personally also think Pan’s departure and reasoning was pretty realistic, it was a response to an industry that oftenimposes an "expiration date" (esp. for women) and the "shipping" culture". I persoanlly think (and I know this is maybe not the way most ppl see it) she had the courage to leave a so called "safe life and relationship, for a difficult dream". Had she stayed with Yu, no one would have been happy: Pan would have lived with the resentment of a stalled career, and Yu would have watched her light dim and maybe blamed himself and Ai would have realised his feelings for a someone who is already in a relationship. She realised that her dream was more importand to her, than the romantic relationship at the moment in her life, and I think that is completly fine.
I also like that Yu later treats her with dignity, not because of "love", but because he values human safety. While I also think he could have communicated this better to Ai initially. I think this can also be seen very well in the way Ai and his family rally around Pan (when her path became dangerous due to the actions of a third party). This challenges the "victim-blaming" narrative, showing that a person's past career choices or relationship history never justify harassment.
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