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An adaptation no one needed
I'm actually writing this review much later than I actually finished the series, because I was certain my angry screams weren't quite review material. And when I say angry, I was seething.This is one of the worst things I've watched, and the moral, feel good factor aside, this was literally a mess. After all that, they didn't even get the moral, feel good story right, did they?
I'm trying to be as eloquent as I possibly can, otherwise this would just be a lot of angry rambling, about how the story was beyond horrible, that having the lead spout some generic pap about forgiveness and togetherness after making her go through 12+ episodes of torture and bullying doesn't really cut it. It's so messy and difficult to watch. The storylines are either incredibly boring or downright offensive.
The characters are also the literal worst, I had such a hard time rooting for any of them. You just go from episode to episode wondering how people can be this horrible, insensitive and just plain annoying at times. Sometimes, you just want to go feral and jump through the screen to knock some sense into them, because mostly, they all suck.
The acting.. it wasn't horrible. Well, it wasn't horrible from everyone except the leads. You would think the leads would be the two characters you would most want to see, that they're the ones you would root for, but never have I ever come across two characters whom I have wanted off my screen. Kind of worked though, because Win's character Guy, he's barely in it. Great's character Saint probably had more screentime, as probably did Jane's character Faye. Which would have been fine since the two of them actually acted, but like I said, you don't really want to see any character on screen. Except for Ann. Ann is good, Ann is the best.
Now because Guy isn't featured a lot, he doesn't share a lot of scenes with Baifern's character Liu, and Saint has more scenes with her. So there were a lot of people who had a hard time believing in Guy and Liu as the main couple, and while there may be some truth to this, I don't think it was the main problem. Win and Baifern just don't have chemistry. Yup. They have absolutely no chemistry together which is surprising because I've seen a bunch of their works and they're good actors. They could have pulled off these roles with a much better nuance than they actually did so I don't know what happened. I will admit that the screentime Guy got does have something to do with them not being able to quite convince us that Guy and Liu work well together, but when it comes down to it, the leads have no chemistry. They're both always yelling at each other, or yelling that they're hurting each other or crying about hurting each other that by the time they cross all their misunderstandings and get together, you're praying for them to break up.
Which brings us to the pacing. 10+ episodes on needless bullying, manipulation, trauma, which doesn't really stop until the last ten minutes of the finale. It just shifts from one person to another until you're clutching your head, begging them to end it. And if you came for the romance, let me tell you it took literally forever for them to actually have some semblance of a good relationship and even then, you really can't care enough.
This review is already longer than I intended it to be, so I'll try to keep the rest of my thoughts to a minimum. It was difficult to watch, I appreciate that they tried to portray the reality (to some extent) on the emphasis of physical appearances that is forced onto everyone these days, but nope, it didn't work. It absolutely did not. After everything is said and done, let's be honest, this was an adaptation that never should have happened.
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REASONS TO EXCERCISE CAUTION BEFORE YOU WATCH
Oh, where do I start?
Blackmailing ✔️
Gaslighting ✔️
Harrasment ✔️
Trying to pass off mental health issues as just being violent and manipulative ✔️
Trying to make the lead saying that he wants to imprison the other lead romantic ✔️
(Honestly listing all the toxic stuff that happened in this series might take a whole other review.)
THE REASONS TO WATCH
Now for the reasons to watch.
The number one reason you need to watch this is because, it is in fact, not a continuation of Tharn Type. Yes, Fiat and Leo are in it, but it feels like the characters here are a more accurate representation of what they were meant to be in Tharn Type 2. The storylines of both characters are explained much better here, and there are actual explanations to their behaviour in the prequel.
And yes, watching the prequel would help you understand some scenes better, but Don't Say No works as a standalone series just as well.
The second point as to why you should watch Don't Say No is because of the cast. I haven't seen most of the actors in any major works before this, and for beginners, they're quite good. They seem to have captured the essence of their characters perfectly and it says a lot about the actors when they are able to invoke the exact emotions from the audience suitable to their actions. Yes, some of the crying scenes and the intimate scenes could have been better, but for first timers you could tell they did their best.
Finally, if neither of the arguments have convinced you, or you're still on the fence, my final defence : Leon ☺️.
Just watch it for Leon. That boy has got me and Phob falling for him. Honestly I was quite suprised that such a sweet and respectful character is present in the MAME universe, but he is, and honestly, I believe he's reason enough to watch the series.
So there you go : this has been reasons to watch or not to watch Don't Say No.
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This review may contain spoilers
This is the most chaotic series I’ve ever seen! What I thought was going to be a good way to pass time, turned out to be a beautiful story about friendship, love and the bond you create with the people around you.THE STORY:
The series follows the story of an apartment complex where only men are allowed to be tenants. The story also has several callbacks to Why R U the series and you will see why soon. From here on out, the story follows several couples, the most prominent being Nott and Pun, and their journey towards love.
THE ACTING:
The acting is seriously impressive! All the characters seem to be crazy and the actors channel the essence of their characters very well. A special shoutout has to be given to Poppy as Porpla, whom I just found out played Junior in Why R U the series! For actors who seem to be doing their first or second roles, they were amazing. I have to say that it’s been amazingly cast.
THE PRODUCTION:
This is the first time I’ve seen a sitcom format for a BL and I have to say I’m sold on this idea. The production team has done an excellent job with this series and I believe it’s going to get even better as it goes on. The series also breaks the fourth wall often to either give advice on love, or sometimes it’s just cause!
THE OST:
What a fun OST! The OST of this series is the same as Why R U’s OST and I love it. Most of the tracks of Why R U’s OST are reused for this series and I couldn’t love it more!
THE NEGATIVE:
Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I cannot think of one negative thing about this series.
THE ENDING:
WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT ENDING! Seriously what was that ending? They rode off on a Spaceship and THE END!! Then that one year time jump? I really hope that was a season 2 announcement.
All kidding aside though,
What I thought was a series that depended solely on it’s hilarity, delivered a surprisingly poignant and heart touching finale. That conversation between Porpla and Pun about unfulfilled first love was something else. Poppy was just ‘Chef’s Kiss’. I never would have thought that my favourite character at the end would be Porpla and the relationship I would be most invested in would be that of Pun and Porpla. That Spaceship though! I guess they got together, but that ending has got to be an announcement for season 2!
This series does not have as high as a rating as other series’ do, but trust me, it’s worth your time. If you’re having a bad day and just want to laugh , this series is perfect for you. Its a surprisingly insightful series about life, if you just look past those quirks. I hope this review helped you with your decision to watch this series. Thank You!
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Half Baked
I love food. I love OffGun. I love it when people fall in love over shared food. I love it when a lead scams his way into a ton of money because the other lead is adamant that he won't take cooking lessons from anyone.Unfortunately, I didn't love this.
Seriously though, I love dramas that are in the food/cooking genre. There's something incredibly heartwarming about two people bonding over their love for a particular dish, or learning about each other through food, just sweet core memories. And Cooking Crush had that, plus a lot of stuff I adore in dramas: comedy, a great couple, good side characters and a reasonable plot. With each episode I watched, I liked it more and more. I had no major complaints and I enjoyed the prospect of watching something that was funny, light, and relaxing.
That is until it hit the halfway mark. It's like the writers, actors, director and every single person who worked on this forgot what they did in the first six episodes. Either that, or they changed the screen writers halfway through and said take it in whatever direction you want, there doesn't have to be any continuity, whatsoever. It's baffling how quickly it all changed because before I knew it, the characters were unrecognisable, the writing was so messy and it felt like a chore trying to get through some of the episodes.
Understandable that they needed to shift the focus onto the competition, but the shift was so abrupt and random, with them choosing to spend episodes on unnecessary conflicts, plotlines that saw no progression and the relationship between the leads going up and down like a rollercoaster. And by the time they focused on the actual competition, I felt no connection or investment anymore because of the aforementioned.
Through it all, I just kept hoping it would get better. Kept hoping.. and it didn't. The story after a while made absolutely no sense because they kept introducing characters who's sole purpose was to create conflict that was resolved within seconds without proper explanation. The chemistry between OffGun was suddenly non - existent, the acting felt really off, almost like the cast and crew themselves had given up on the production.
I don't mean to lay into the series like this, but it really does baffle me. How did something with such potential come down to this? The few positives in this were the supporting characters, the relationship between Firefy and Dy, and Ten. Even then, there isn't much to brag about here. Everything about this was simply, okay.
I would recommend watching the uncut version, although not as much as I would have liked, there are explanations to certain actions, the connections between the characters are explored a bit more, it really did make for more of an enjoyable experience.
Honestly, the best thing may have been the opening credits.
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The fairytale that wasn't
If you've been seeking out a review from someone who racked their head to find one, just one positive thing about The Next Prince and pathetically failed.. Congrats! You found it.Fair warning - I'm going to tell you what this series was about but if it comes across like I'm desperately trying to convince you not to watch it, it's not me, it's them. The makers of The Next Prince have come up with a series so devoid of soul that there's isn't a single thing I can say to convince you in earnest to give this a try, and honestly, I'm not sure I'd want to.
This felt like a script idea that they fed into ChatGPT with the words
"Write a series that is based on The Princess Diaries, Harry Potter, Hunger Games and a few other movies of your choosing. Most importantly, make it as boring as you can."
The story develops from Kenneth being an outsider in an unknown environment to a story about singing protests?
Kenneth is Khanin by the way, the lead. I can't call him anything else.
Anyway, the story starts out with Kenneth being this smart, sassy and bratty fencer who is living his life in England, until Charan (played by the increasingly stone faced Zee) kidnaps him and takes him back to some fictitious kingdom that can't be situated on any world map, Emmaly. Kenneth, as it turns out, is the kingdom's long lost prince.
Emmaly has a weird monarchy, it is split into four regions ruled by princes and Kenneth's grandfather is currently the king and he rules all of Emmaly. His biological dad is one of the contenders for the throne because irrespective of time and space, once in a while, there is a competition where the grandchildren of all four regions essentially compete in a Hunger Games-esque competition so that their fathers can become the next rulers. Incredible. Basically, Kenneth has been kidnapped to compete in his father's stead.
But our boy doesn't take it sitting - he's away from home, his adoptive dad is pronounced to be dead by Charan, he's a wreck. He lashes out, he tries to topple the monarchy (not really). For all of two episodes. Because Kenneth is surprisingly resilient. He is a duck's back. He's being an absolute delight, taking classes, being his princely self all with a bit of flirtatious rebellion because of course. You would think that this is all pretence - so he can root the monarchy from the ground within and run off to find his dad, but no, he loves it. And he's in love! With Charan, the dude who almost made him vomit just from the sight of maybe two episodes ago.
He's in love, and he's willing to do the competition because.. reasons. So the rest of the story obviously has to be about the competition? Now that we've successfully become the epitome of royalty, and completely forgotten about everything else? Wrong.
This is where the story pivots into fan fiction. Specifically for Kenneth and Charan. The public ships them after they dance together during Kenneth's reintroduction to society and about three episodes are dedicated to their fake relationship to improve Kenneth's PR imagine. They visit all the kingdoms, they go clubbing, we learn about Charan's trauma and they almost kiss. All this while, Kenneth's Grandpa has been doing some evil plotting involving separating the two of them - but because plot said so, he obviously can't. But Grandpa's evil arc isn't over yet.. not by a long shot.
They romance and other unnecessary stuff like a second and third couple development happens, only to stop there because they get no more development. There are assassination attempts when the focus, shockingly, shifts back to the competition for a half a minute, but before we know it, they're romancing again. This is where stuff gets genuinely bad though.
They bring in the storyline of mining protests, which I was told was based on real life events (thanks Jojo), but if you were going to do that, why not take it more seriously? Singing protests, abrupt mood shifts, there was no real substance to that plot point, which somehow became all about Kenneth. He was supposed to be the person who grounded everyone else, yet somehow he came across as the most set apart from reality of them all. Grandpa is obviously involved in this - he's been involved in a lot of shady stuff all this while.
And because Grandpa's evil deeds know no extent, we find out that all the protests and the assassinations, literally everything had to do with - revenge on him. Which admittedly, is predictable but not bad. This may have been the only plotline that actually made sense and kind of did tie the story together and that's good. But not when it lasted all of one episode before the focus was shifted back to a useless competition.
But we got a happy ending of course! With complete ignorance of all the plot holes, missing characters and horrific storylines they pulled off, but who cares! All that matters is that we get one more awkward NC scene as cherry on top right?
It's so unbelievably sad how quickly this sank, maybe it was bad from the beginning but I was too wrapped up in what could have been to actually see that. And what could have been huh? I genuinely would not have minded a very fan fiction, silly type of series with abrupt comedy and some weird storylines. But in being so serious, the writers have turned the story into a serious mess. The mood shifts were jarring, the storylines were incredibly choppy, the logic was all over the place..
The characters writing was atrocious. I thought for a couple of episodes that we were finally moving on from the caricatures that Zee and NuNew so often play, but old habits die hard I guess, we were back to whiny and emotionless characters in a minute. And I'm sorry (not sorry) but Zee and NuNew have no chemistry. I was bored out my mind watching them on screen, I felt no real bond because their relationship was so rushed and most of it was awkward and uncomfortable to watch.
Ohm and Jimmy had potential as Ramil and Paytai, but their characters are once again, written so horrifically you can't root for them. Net and JJ looked like they would prefer to be literally anywhere but in this series, who can blame them?
I genuinely hope their individual shows can make better use of their chemistry, because admittedly, they do have some. But this series spent an absymal amount of time on either of them, so what do I know.
And all the other characters were either written badly and had some screentime, or were written badly and had no screentime. A select few like Ava and Chakri were written comparatively well, but had no screentime.
All the investment in making it look pretty. But what use is holographic video calls when your plot is less stable than the Internet connection they used for those calls? This could've easily been an eight episode series with the most incredible plot, crisp and concise, with great couples and cinematography. What we got was dressed up nonsense.
I wasted around 15 hours experiencing pure torment and wouldn't want you doing the same, so if you want to watch it.. I don't know.. do something productive while you watch? Maybe five sit ups everytime they do or say something egregious. Or journal. Do your dishes. Dealer's choice.
Because remember, at the end of the day, this is the series that hinged on Zee's abs to do all the heavy lifting.
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That milk was spoilt in episode 1
I wish I didn't remember details from episode one of this series, but more than anything, I'm glad I don't recall at least some of it. Oh goodness this was..The plot was non - existant. There was no plot, it's as simple as that.
I still can't figure why the two leads liked each other, I've watched ten episodes and I still don't know why they fell for each other. Their relationship is the basis for the entire plot and from my indication about the plot being non - existant you can put two and two together.
Individually, two of the worst characters I've ever seen on screen. They were right in naming one of the characters 'plain milk', because that's the amount of personality the two leads had. Like plain milk. I could never figure out why they were considered to be attractive partners when both of them had the emotional range and personality of a piece of cardboard.
But apparently that was enough to get the leads to fall for each and two other characters to fall for each of the leads. Boo to me I guess.
The second couple was better. Actually they were amazing. Until they weren't. For maybe seven episodes, they were the only characters who kept me going but you can't ruin your track record can you? The writing absolutely ruined their relationship as well by adding silly misunderstandings and arguments that went nowhere by the finale, and boo to me again.
The third couple were like a magician's act, they would appear in a few episodes and disappear for another few and then show up for one scene in the finale just because. Call it inconsistency or my general lack of interest after one point, but I genuinely forgot those two were a couple at one point. Boo × 3.
There were a bunch of side characters who's sole purpose was to create drama, a bunch of others who created drama but were also integral (not really) to the story and it was just a collosal mess that I started on a whim because I needed something to rant watch. Acting was.. fine I guess, but I suppose there's no necessity to act your heart out when your character is written to have only one expression or reaction.
This is a great rant watch by the way, zero plot, zero chemistry between the leads and zero patience for anyone who watches it by the end of episode 10. Have fuuuuun!!
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Chicken soup for who's soul?
The old adage of 'imperfections make something perfect' can very well be applied to this - but even discounting the imperfections, this is not perfect. And that sounds like criticism even to the person writing it, but my criticism is not as harsh as it seems.Whale Store xoxo is meant to be a show that's supposed to heal a jaded soul, if you find yourself in a situation, any one of the situations, Wan, the lead, finds herself in - the forty minutes every Wednesday should be the moments you find solace, even if it's through a screen.
Striving to be realistic, it misses a step, because here comes our whale in shining armour - Maewnam, our other lead. She is a jack of all trades, and is always there for Wan, even at the cost of Wan's own personality or growth. When the growth is completely facilitated by someone who is not the one actually supposed to be healing.. it doesn't feel quite as healing anymore..
The romance however, is the show's saving grace. What it lacked in depth, was made up for with one of the most green flag relationships I've seen on screen. It's a mature and grounded relationship - Wan and Maewnam communicate throughout, there are no long drawn out misunderstandings, they're there for each other.. well Maewnam is there for Wan..
.. and we're back to the imbalance in their relationship. Not a red flag, not even a beige flag, but that imbalance is very obvious. In every scene, every episode. Which the writers have made into the leads' personalities.. meaning episode after episode, it's basically the same storyline.
The second couple had the same kind of storyline, a cycle that is going nowhere. Episode after episode Ton and Chompoo deliberate on their relationship, where again, it's what one person says that goes. And it's even worse here because they don't have a relationship you want to root for!
With the leads, I can say that I wanted them to end up together - their issue was something they could (and did) resolve through an open conversation. But Ton and Chompoo were in a situation where Ton was getting battered every single time, even when Chompoo stood by her instead of against her. That power imbalance was evident in their chemistry, their story and screentime - which towards the end really became more about Chompoo and her mother. I wish they'd stuck with the 'exes' storyline from the pilot, I certainly would have enjoyed that more.
That's mostly my problem with this series - all the storylines stemmed from a single conflict or character trait, and none of the characters had any real depth. I still enjoyed the series - it had many moments where it was genuine and expressed emotions and stories that needed to be told. But unfortunately, these moments came only when the characters were growing on their own, and thus, they came rarely.
Even the supporting characters were one dimensional, throughout. It's all very disillusioning is all I'm saying! When a show about healing and growth has healing.. but no growth..
Acting wise - solid as always from Milk. I am getting a bit tired of Love playing the perfect human though, she does it well but I think she can pull of other roles (come on.. Girl Rules!). June and Mewnich.. it's definitely because of the characters writing but I did not enjoy their portrayal of their characters. Give them better characters please. Jingjing and Piploy did do their best as well with what they were given (not a lot).
Once again, it all boils down to the plot for me - it's exactly my type of drama, but it didn't reach it's full potential. But with healing romances, there's always room for interpretation, it's the beauty of writing such a story, and if it resonated with you more than it did me, that's wonderful! I usually say if I do or do not recommend, but here I'm going to say, give it a watch. If halfway through you're still in love, chances are you'll love all of it. If you don't.. that's cool too! Pick another drama that you think will make you feel all warm and happy - and if you love it, drop me a comment here with your recommendation!
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A leap away from reality - the fun kind!
What a beautifully conflicting series this was. I know I love it.. but do I? (I do).The series follows Day and Night, two people who were born on the same Leap Day, afflicted with a curse that kills one of their loved ones every four years, on their birthday. It just so happens, that on their 20th birthday, the two people they love the most Ozone, Day's brother and Dream, Night's girlfriend, escape the curse, because Day and Night meet. The story develops from there with these four characters trying to figure out what's causing the Leap Day curse to occur and how to stop it.
This story had more plotholes that cartoon cheese, but let's be honest, we've all wanted to try that cheese. And the imagination we had about how it would be to taste that cheese was almost as fun as eating actual cheese.. this metaphor has gotten out of hand.
Simply put, this story had so many plot holes and inconsistencies, I mean, they've gone beyond the laws of physics and whatever other theories that go into complicated science to invent all that they did for the plot.
The origins of the titular Leap Day are never really explained for one thing, that concept has just existed from the beginning of time I guess, like mosquitoes. You know they're there, you just don't know how they came into existence and why anyone would possibly think they were a good idea.
Once this was revealed in episode 8 or so, I was floored. The entire plot is "why is this happening to us and how do we stop it". You've taken the why out of the equation, then you better have a brilliant how. But that was also just so.. bleh.
They just spent so much time running around aimlessly at first trying to figure out why this was happening, and once it was revealed they would never know, they spent way too much time running around aimlessly trying to figure out how to stop it. There was some development in the form of two supporting characters, who also had/have/will have the Leap Day curse, but again, every theory they were coming up with felt like extreme nonsense or something they came up with as a last ditch attempt.
I mean.. there was so much of an emphasis on Ozone's role in the story only for it to ultimately get reduced to his drawings, which apparently held enough clues to evade this curse. Based on those drawings, they came up with a truly insane plan, because the drawings were basis enough I guess. I absolutely did not like how much of their solutions were based on random guesses and theories with no proof. Much like the writers, the characters just said "Su Su!" and went for it.
And that ending? Completely wrecked me. Totally unsatisfying and left me in tears, and I was pissed. Honestly, incensed. The set up was non - existent, the reveal was so out of left field and I was enraged at the choice they made, because by no means did that make sense to me, nor was it what I wanted. Maybe it made sense, I don't know, I was just way too emotional to see reason despite the fact that all I had done for 11 episodes was try to make sense of everything.
But honestly, it was kind of.. good? Yes the entire setting (including the very basis of Day and Night's Leap Day, like the curse math was not mathing. The story said that they have one person they love die on their every birthday, and that both their mothers died giving birth to them. Ozone and Dream were supposed to be the victims of the curse of their 20th birthdays. That means, five other deaths before their 20th birthdays, but they only showed four? Constantly! Make it make sense).
Anyways.. the entire setting was complete nonsense and I have genuinely over analyzed something I enjoyed because the truth is, I enjoyed it. The lack of consistency and the gaping plot holes did make me mad each episode, but sometimes you just have to dissociate all that when you're watching and it was fun.
The story moved at a decent pace, the acting was really good and I was emotionally invested throughout the run in Day and Ozone's bond. They're one of the best pair of siblings I've come across in dramas and their bond with each other was the sweetest thing. I would watch 12 episodes of the two of them just living their lives because it was that sweet.
Which is where they absolutely get you - not through the solid plot or the incredible CGI (neither were that good), it's through those emotions you feel for the leads. You're just so invested in their attempts to fix their situation that you get as desperate as they are for a happy ending. You root for them, you cry with them, you want them to see it through.
And that's why despite all that I found the series to be lacking in, I can say it's something worth watching. As with everything, liking it or not is entirely personal preference, but if you're looking for a fresh premise, some decent story building and incredible emotional depth in a story, definitely give Leap Day a try.
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FRIENDSHIP? WHAT’S THAT?
I wrote a review for Friendzone and this just feels necessary to do. Season 1 dealt with the relationships of 4 couples - each with their own storyline, depth, length of relationship and set of problems.Season 2 deals with the aftermath of the decisions made in the Season 1 finale, and the story continues from there on. Saying that the relationships portrayed are extremely real would be a lie on my part, because honestly I’ve never seen relationships like these. Yes, they are quite realistic on the outlook that people today have on relationships and love, but I have never seen relationships so toxic in my life, including some friendships.
Unlike the first season, where the friendships between the characters was the key reason as to why all the relationships seemed to be so flawed, the second season does not imply this. The only couple where “friendship” seems to be taken into account is the Earth - Sam - Stud and several other men saga. In fact, even simply friendships seem to take a backseat to highlight relationships. Somehow though, the final episode brings us back to what was the basis of the show.
The thing about this season is that it completely changes your beliefs and views after the first season. Earth fan? After season 2, I’m not. Hated Stud? I don’t now. Thought Boom and Tor were toxic? Season 2 showed that there are way more toxic relationships than them. Of course these are my opinions, but I must warn you, opinions are subject to risk when you watch season 2.
Another thing I noticed about the series in this season is how aware people are of their actions. Every single character in this series is entirely aware that what they are doing is just toxic and hurtful, but they do it anyway. They know the consequences and yet soldier ahead. They sleep around, cheat and lie, and behave with no remorse. Every character is extremely manipulative, even if it wasn’t evident at the beginning. They know how to turn a situation around for themselves and they do it! The thing is, if you watched season 1, you know what they went through there, and even if you hated them there, there is serious character growth here. Props to the actors here, they managed to make me hate and love their characters all at the same time.
Ultimately, what this series seems to be is a somewhat realistic and relevant take on relationships today. If you liked season 1, you should absolutely watch this, because if I’m being honest, this was leagues better than season 1. The storylines are more indulgent, the new characters are complex and flawed, the older characters are changed and better. I’ve tried to keep this review as spoiler free as possible, but here come a few. So if you want a spoiler free review, I would stop reading right here.
Seriously, stop here if you don’t want spoilers.
Now, spoilers.
Here are all the ships in the final episode, in the order they concluded
1. Boom / Tor - They’re married y’all!
2. Stud / Ta - Yes, Stud and Ta ended up together, and even as a Stud Earth shipper, I couldn’t help but jump ships. Somehow the two of them together just makes sense and honestly they look soooo cute together!
3. Cris / Amm - They ended up together! First actual GL by GMMTV has a happy ending!
4. Earth / Sam - They broke up. It was a decision coming from the first season and it finally happened in the season 2 finale. Hopefully the break up helps them actually grow.
5. Music / Locker - Oh boy this was a great one! The way she rejected him was straight up savage and honestly the guy had it coming. Good for her! (Not actual Good)
6. Good / Boyo - They decided to stay friends and that’s a solid decision. Totally respect and agree with it.
All in all, a genuinely satisfying ending!
Honestly, this is a good show. It’s like an America drama and a telenovela had a baby and that baby carries mild traits of both parents, if you get what I mean. If you love relationship drama, and some instances of romance and friendship, but mostly drama, then this is the show for you. Plus, it’s got a ton of familiar faces if you love Thai dramas. This is one of those dramas you can watch to just turn off your brain after a long day and scream at your TV if you don’t like something. And that’s a good thing.
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Empty vessels really do make the most noise
Just for my edification, I need to know who signed off on this. I would then like to snack some sense into them by travelling to a time before they agreed - and this stupid setup I've come up with is aces better than anything they did.Who? Who thought this was okay? This is a masterclass on how to create lackluster hype and somehow ruin the lowest of expectations anyone has for you. Because even the combined forces of over ten seasoned professionals could not save this sinking ship.
The non - existent plot follows Tae San, who is the incarnation of the tiger zodiac. You may be wondering why I say that when the show is called Twelve.
Let me explain.
The story is mostly about Tae San, while the other seven zodiacs are basically reduced to his rag tag bunch of followers. And there are only eight zodiacs! Because the very first scene introduces us to their backstory, but we're left wondering for over two episodes why there are only eight of them.. when the show is called Twelve. This is because their absence was explained in a truly blink and you'll miss it moment. Seriously, blink and you will miss it.
Thereon, the entire setup of the show is that the Zodiacs were basically guardians of the universe, who are now living without their powers after they saved the world the last time around, which they lost when they sealed all the evil in something called the Hellmouth. So now all they do is lend money and eat. They spent more time eating than they did saving the world.
Of course if you have heroes - you need villains. Here it's a group of evil spirits who want to awaken the spirits of two ancient evil beings. I say evil because if you look deeply enough, you could argue that they were more than just villains. But the show didn't care to be anything more than superficial and I don't care enough to be dissecting their past and personalities.
The two evil spirits they want to awaken are Ogwi and Haetae, the crow incarnation and some random name they pulled out of a hat for reasons. Basically, they free Ogwi and they need to collect some soul stones to free Haetae, so they can all be evil again. Avengers knock off but not really so I'll forgive them. And they do it! All while our heroes are powerless and of course, they take over the town! This is six episodes by the way, this is all that happens in six episodes.
Then we find out that Ogwi was some angel adjacent and involved in a random soulmates storyline with Mirr, wanted to become a zodiac adjacent, couldn't for some unknown reason and chose to become a demon instead! Someone call the Academy, man, what a brilliant plot! You have conveniently thrusted every Kdrama trope into your trash narrative only to wrap it all up in the name of.. love?
After all that, we got the actual backstory in the final episode (which true to form made no sense), a bunch of corny and senseless fights and a return to mukbangs. It was all so bad. And if they were setting up a sequel with that, just ask them to read my review, because IT'S NOT NECESSARY.
This is an incredibly basic plot - and they couldn't even execute this properly. Episode after episode is spent watching our heroes eat, while our villains stand on rooftops sporting red eyes. They pretend like there's some plot - we have a bunch of moments where Won Seung (Monkey), Mal Sook (Horse), Kang Ji (Dog) and Jwi Dol (Rat) go on random side quests as debt collectors, to show off subpar fighting skills and terrible editing, Doni (Pig) and Bang Wool (Snake) are used as comic reliefs, and Mirr (Dragon) is straight out of a melodrama, like she transmigrated from some other series. None of it makes sense together, they're all in their own worlds, painstakingly held together by Marok (Manager) and his magic staff.
Episode after episode these people stand by and watch as Tae San attempts to deal with his emotional baggage, as Mirr deals with hers and Marok runs around trying to get them all together because some pendant they have notifies them that evil is back. Kind of like when your food is out for delivery, but you can't really track your driver because the app is broken. Their app is also broken because their powers are non existent, so they spend six episodes running around aimlessly and causing more damage than they repair stuff.
This may as well be the worst thing I've ever watched. You wait.. and you wait.. and you wait for the story to pick up.. and you'll keep waiting. All the episodes are spent setting up nothing, it's the continuation to a story we don't know because apparently we all had the script beforehand and knew the entire story, introducing random plots and characters like we're supposed to know who and what they are.
And I will complain about this, because this is one of the reasons I don't trust K Dramas, why the hell do you need romance??! Like this didn't already have ten thousand other genres to cover, romance?! I don't understand this obsession with forcing romance into a plot that has no substance, for what? To create some emotional connection? To make me feel for the characters? If anything, I felt more distance after that reveal, because on what level did they think romance between Ogwi and Mirr, two characters who had twenty minutes of screentime combined would be something enjoyable? STOP. FORCING. ROMANCE.
All the characters were terrible, just FYI. I hated all of them and for having actors with such name brand recognition, not a single one of them acted well. Half of them did not move their face muscles and the other half went to extreme levels of overacting.
If they'd spent just a shred of the budget they did on the cast on good writers, editors, costume design or VFX, this could have been watchable. There's no way I say it would have been amazing because this was rock bottom, but I genuinely believe there was a levél below they would've hit if it went on longer.
Do yourself a favour and do not go anywhere near this - it is irredeemable levels of terrible and even Seo In Guk couldn't do anything for me in this. And if you're watching for Park Hyung Sik, he had 10 minutes of screentime and his character is so forgettable, just do yourself a favour and stay away.
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This has been a series I’ve been looking forward to since the initial trailer was released and let me tell you, it does not disappoint. From the very beginning the story has been consistent, heartfelt and funny. The Shipper is a perfect example of a fujoshi’s imagination, including how far it can be taken and how far from reality it actually is. Initially promoted as a BL, the story soon takes a different turn, a very good diversion.I myself am a BL lover and the reason I started this series was actually to get my replacement for 2gether the series, but this turned out to be something I very much enjoyed. I’m still very confused about as to who to ship, but that’s what makes this show itself- it’s extremely unpredictable. One minute you’re on a BL ship, the next a heterosexual ship and the next, ( I’m actually ashamed to say this ) a sort of incesty ship. But that’s what makes this series so good, the fact that it’s realistic, but at the same time doesn’t take itself too seriously.THE STORY:
This is what I imagine fujoshis to be like. It’s very realistic, you know, except for the soul swap stuff. Seriously though, this series has an extremely investive story and very real, very flawed characters. The ones we never get to actually see on our screens. The characters who make mistakes and are able to admit it. The characters who sometimes act before thinking, just as actual humans do at times. The characters who have problems and don’t have perfect lives. The characters who very much resemble ourselves and the characters who are actually worth rooting for. Although I would have loved to see Kim in Pan’s body, I can’t say I’m disappointed. They gave us the exact story that they promised, in a well written way too.
THE ACTING:
Perfection. The acting is perfect. Each character is beautifully portrayed and written. Every single member of the cast is perfect as their character and even out of them. If I mentioned every actor and how well they’ve been portraying their role, let’s just say this would be a very long review. I’ll say just this, this series hit the jackpot with the cast. The way every emotion is clear and correct for every scene is very rare and this is some of the best acting I’ve seen in a while.
THE PRODUCTION :
The production has been spectacular. The level of production has been significantly high in GMMTV shows, but this is a cut above the rest. The premise may be repetitive,what with the soul swapping, but this series has genuine life lessons and a well executed plot. It may be unrealistic at times, but I believe that was the point production was trying to make.
THE OST:
The OST honestly slaps. It’s sweet and light hearted, very much like the show. The video for the OST though! That’s the cutest s**t I’ve seen in a long time. The second track though. I have a feeling that after this finale, I might cry a bit every time I hear it and I listen to it a lot. Like, a lot!!
THE NEGATIVE:
Now I know the student- teacher relationship was needed to move the plot along, but come on! She’s 40 ( sorry 39 ) and he’s 17? I cringed so hard at those scenes. Also, violence is never okay. It doesn’t matter what the situation is. VIOLENCE IS NEVER OKAY. One thing I have to say is never, ever expose someone’s life or secrets. We may never know what it is that they’re going through, so stay considerate.
THE ENDING:
That’s the ending you’re going with huh? I was honestly hoping that WayKim would have a happy ending, but it is what it is. My heart is broken and guess that’s that. Despite that, the finale was quite good. Everyone got their happy endings and the last frame of the series makes me believe just a little bit that WayKim will have one too. I really hope there is a second season. ( God, please let there be another season! )
The great thing about this series is that so many of us started watching it for the BL, but we seem to have continued watching it for what it truly is, a beautiful and heartfelt story full of laughter and tears.
This series has quickly become a favourite of mine and for good reason. Despite having low viewing and not much exposure. I hope everyone gives this show a try. The cast and crew deserve that and more. Hope this review has been helpful to all you confused individuals out there. If you do decide to watch it and are confused about who to ship, don’t worry, I’m pretty sure the characters themselves don’t. Thank You!
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The river that ran straight and clear
Correct me if I'm wrong, but my geographical knowledge granted - most rivers run neither straight nor clear. This series promised a raging river and instead delivered a silent stream.Instinctually, it's easy to recognise that The Murky Stream is a drama that is solemn, but unfortunately, that may be the only thing that is consistent about it. Because the narrative, the plot, were all scattered around aimlessly, barely managing to come together in the final moments for a lackluster ending.
I do believe this is a story that requires some knowledge on the era it is set in - unfortunately, I walked in knowing none of it, making me unsure if some facts were true and lost on some contexts. As such, I may not have been able to understand or enjoy this piece of work in it's intended or to the full extent - and for the same purpose, I won't focus on the actual details in the series in my review.
The first three episodes of this series had dreamlike writing - the story ebbed and flowed like the titular stream, nothing was quite clear, everyone seemed highly faceted. With the introduction of every main character, I thought I had it figured out! I could tell how the story was going to go, I could plot out all the major conflicts based on the information we were given, and this was going to be an epic struggle for all our characters - for their duty, dreams or dignity.
I, however, wanted to be proved wrong, because my version of events weren't nearly as twisted or mysterious as they needed to be. I was proved wrong, but I now wish I was right.
Because you see, my predictions were coherent and the primary problem here is with the pace of the story - focusing on the plot, all the nitty - gritty details is not a bad thing, but too much focus on that and you lose track of your narrative, you lose your flow. Multiple seasons (or no), you need a setup, you need your events and you need a payoff, especially when the plot is heavily geared towards political and social themes. The story moved forward without any real direction or turbulence, things were plain and simple, yet made no sense.
No episode after the first trio had much to say, every immediate scene introduced a new character or a new conflict or a new chronicle, but none with any substance. All the details presented needed to have been revealed much earlier or in a much more interesting way. I do recognise that the narrative took on a form that was much closer to real life than reel, which eventually ended up bogging down what could have been an interesting tale.
Thankfully, the final two episodes did have an interesting narrative - but I hated them. Majorly because none of those plotlines had a valid setup. The hurried sequences seemed to be connected to actual historical importance based on the emphasis placed on them - but it was too little too late. It came out of the blue and did nothing to complement the setup in the first three episodes, rather, it felt like a brand new story all of a sudden.
It seems like the story, the dialogues, the bonds between all the characters were written down before the characters were even finalized - and when you're stubborn that the story will go one way and one way only, it doesn't matter how much you work on your characters, they will do and say what the script says, even if it means it goes against the very fiber of the core characteristics you've written for them or even if it means they barely have characteristic of significance, something that makes you remember them. This series is afflicted with the second situation.
This is only enhanced by another massive error they made writing this script, ignoring their leads. Most of them at least. You need them all for the most part, but take any one of them out of the equation and the story would still move forward. I don't see that as a good thing, especially when you're marketing the complex ties between all them to be as murky as your river, it is kind of futile to not give any of them the required screentime or character depth. All of them are one - dimensional, can be summed up in a word, or they have no real personality that allows you to ponder upon the bonds they'll create or the actions they will take.
Siyul for example - he's described as hot headed, but you can see he's kind and fair from his screentime. But that's it? How does that play into Chun's honest idealism? What about Eun's prejudice, or Mudeok's cowardice?
And Siyul is the common link here because there's barely any interaction amongst the other leads. It felt like each of them was on their own personal journey, yet occasionally crossed paths with others, in happenchance.
I suppose my main gripe here is that everything was clear as day - none of it was remotely murky. The story and the character's personalities were both set in stone, neither of budged an inch through the course of the nine episodes.
I have no complaints about the acting or the cinematography, but in this context, they pale in comparison to the writing that stuck out like a sore thumb.
Watching it completely did indurate the fact that many events that happened in the series may be reflective of real life, but once again, I am not well versed in the history of the region and era. I will do some research into this, but whether it was historically accurate or not, ultimately, this was my kind of drama, but with bad execution. On a personal note - I hated how little screentime Seoham had, because to be completely honest, I started it for him. But even discounting my personal feelings on it, objectively speaking, they had so much going for them, but instead of running with it, they sat around toying with ideas that went nowhere and settled for an ending out of left field. Let's say they concluded it as well as they could, with an ambiguous ending, but even if there is a second season, I will not be revisiting it.
6.75/10
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I was promised food..
This may be one of my lowest rated J BLs. Sucks when something promising turns out that way. Nevermind that it was riddled with clichés like the returning ex, subpar communication, break ups over silly reasons just to reconcile, no, the biggest problem I had with this was somehow none of the above.It was the leads. I still can't figure out why they liked each other, except for a small love at first sight moment. What came after was a cute beginning which then dove into the cliché landfill, only to come out with underdeveloped characters and an underwhelming relationship. It certainly didn't help that one of the male leads was so hot and cold, he was sure of what he wanted, until he wasn't.
Now all of this could have been slightly salvaged, if they had chemistry. IF. They did for a while, too bad it was just in the last couple of episodes. It's a jump from not being able to understand why they like each other to believing they do, and it just didn't work.
I'm not really angry about the lack of food, (although it would have helped the rating) because there were tiny moments I guess. It sucks though, because I can appreciate a good love at first sight story, but they didn't quite nail it here.
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Ugh
Let's call a spade a spade: this was terrible. At no point was this something that could've been considered even remotely good.. scratch that. At no point was this something that could've been considered even remotely acceptable. What even was this?It's an insane mix of genres, no one can tell what it's supposed to be because it's got romance, comedy and fantasy, in an office setting. I don't think the writers themselves knew what they were doing, how else do you explain THIS?
They spent an abhorrent amount of time focusing on jewellery making, finances, embezzlement, and patents. After all that, they couldn't even be bothered to make it interesting. All this trade talk that was used, I have no idea if any of it was right, and the jewellery making business sounds interesting enough, but leave it to them to make it as confusing and boring as it can be.
The fantasy aspect in a word.. ludicrous. You can't conveniently have it be a plot device to further some weird jewellery competition or the romance between the leads, and even if it has to be just that, you can't have it be as lame as this.
Ignoring it episode after episode, only giving glimpses of something that seems grand and complex, only to conclude it as a means for Lin to make that gaudy necklace felt like a slap to the face. And this should be hit with a copyright by the way, the way it felt like a blatant rip off of The Sign at points, someone call Saint.
Chemistry who? The smidgen that seemed to be there after Big Dragon despite the weird vibes they had to begin with went down the drain the minute someone on the writing team decided that “Khun Dad” was a sexy and cute nickname. Really? “Khun Dad”. I shudder everytime I think about it, and after that point, I was either nauseous or laughing for no reason or both. Because I didn't know what else I could do. I feel for the leads, I really do because they have proper chemistry in real life, and they got stuck with “Khun Dad”.
Such a strange relationship, Lin gets treated like an actual child, I can't figure out why they're actually into each other, but to make sure that no one doubts that they are, they're all over each other. And they weren't even good NC scenes!! The visuals I witnessed are going to be hard to forget.
You've got disapproving parents but the weird kind, over intrusive parents but the weird kind, and a parent who's son saved them but not really and it's just weird.
The two side couples were no better. Three, actually, but much like a lot of people and things in here, the third couple was merely a plot device for more Khun Dad. Of the other two, Sam and Yo had much more going for them than Pim and Prim did. I'm kind of over the ‘we've known each other from before but only one of us realises it’ trope, even without that, those two didn't really do anything for me, because they didn't even have enough screentime for me to figure out what kind of connection they had.
Sam and Yo were a little better, but so fast paced and impulsive. Not as characters, as a couple. I couldn't figure out what kind of connection they had either, but at least I believed they had one.
Which is what happens when you don't give a pairing with potential proper screentime and instead have dedicated time for office gossip, catty support characters and leads riding horses.
This was.. no good. I can't even say I'm dissapointed because all I feel is anger. I'm racking my brain, trying to think of just one positive, absolute positive, but I'm coming up blank. This was just not good.
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I'm stubborn too! - this was good
Lol, I don't even know how to write a review for this, but I'm going to try!First, before starting the series, I would recommend familiarizing yourself with the story - especially the setup. Either through the novel, or my bare bones explanation here.
Basically, Jun and Sorn, the leads, have known each other for years - Jun's best friend Win has an elder brother Tai, who's best friends with Sorn. These four and Champ, another one of Tai's best friends, have been a tight knit group for a while, Jun is like Tai and Champ's younger brother, and it's only Sorn who can't stand him because he doesn't like kids (basically adults a bit younger than him). Jun and Sorn have a risqué run in with each other at one point, after which they go their seperate ways. Fast forward a few years later, they are reunited when Jun starts interning at the company where Sorn, Tai and Champ work.
This is a very simplified version of the background between the leads, but enough to understand the rest of the story, because this part is not at all explained in the first episode. They dive right into their risqué situation in the series and the time jump is not really obvious, and there a high chance for confusion - so do keep this backstory in mind.
The rest of the plot? Incredibly straightforward.
Jun and Sorn develop a "friends with benefits" relationship (and I say that within quotes because their situation is not quite akin to the term), and surprise, surprise! They're both incredibly stubborn. About not having feelings for each other, about not being interested in each other, the entire drama is Jun and Sorn involved in a push and pull relationship with benefits.
They get jealous a bunch, they argue a bunch, objectively speaking, not a very healthy relationship but somehow it works. There's side couples, a bunch of characters who pop in and out but play no real role in the story, a lot of it feels like a rich tapestry for the NC scenes we get every episode.
But it's not. Because the NC scenes are actually integral to the plot. Their entire relationship was based off of their friends with benefits agreement, and through all the push and pull, the jealousy and misunderstandings, all the hiding of their feelings, this aspect of their relationship came out as something really important!
I went into this expecting to completely hate it, but believe it or not, twelve episodes and I absolutely love it. The plot is downright confusing at times. Jun and Sorn don't exactly have a relationship I would categorise as healthy. So many unnecessary side characters.
But it was SO. MUCH. FUN.
The chemistry was wonderful. The acting was so good, not over the top, not like they didn't try at all. The story for the most part, consistent, focused on the leads, meaning very little focus away from their story, which was great. The NC scenes didn't feel too over the top or too underwhelming. There was a balance to it all.
Now, this was not perfect. I'm not saying that everyone will enjoy it, but I very much did. I liked it so much, and I like it even more considering they changed my mind after I went in, all ready to not like it. I had a great time watching it, and if my review has somehow convinced you to give it a try, I hope you do too! :)
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