Chiaki-13

As a devoted fan of season 1, I waited for Only Friends: Dream On with the energy of pure desperation. My original plan was to wait until the entire series finished airing and binge everything at once, sparing myself from twelve weeks of emotional damage. Unfortunately, my terrible self-control betrayed me once again, and I ended up trapped in the weekly watching cycle.

Needless to say, my mental stability did not survive for very long.

This time, the excitement was even stronger because I already knew all the pairings. I knew exactly what kind of emotional trap I was willingly walking into. My addiction was only a matter of time.

My first impression was that this second season feels much more structured than the first one. Season 1 had this chaotic, messy energy where relationships collided inside a constant emotional storm. Sometimes it felt all over the place, but that chaos was also part of its identity.

Here, everything revolves around one central element: the play. The tensions, betrayals, scandals, and emotional disasters all connect back to it in some way, giving the story a much stronger sense of cohesion. It feels smoother, more controlled, and easier to follow.

Ironically, though, that also feels like the season’s biggest loss.

Even if the level of drama and toxicity remains similar, I had the feeling the writers played things much safer this time. And honestly… it shows.

Season 1 felt completely unhinged. Nobody was safe. Characters were emotionally self-destructing at every possible opportunity. Neo was collecting people like Pokémon cards, Khaotung was out there kissing anything with a pulse, and every episode felt like chaos had escaped containment.

That unpredictability was one of the pillars of Only Friends.

This season teases complete disasters only to stop before fully embracing them. My soul is still recovering from the fake-out involving Boston, Arnold, and Tua. I’m not even saying this from a shipping perspective. It simply feels like the series lost some of its madness.

Season 1 felt like absolute emotional anarchy.

Meanwhile, Dream On sometimes acts as if a hug carries more scandal potential than actual cheating, which becomes unintentionally funny when compared to the previous season.

Another issue for me was the lack of character background.

Season 1 spent much more time digging into its characters’ pasts and emotional wounds. We understood Ray’s trauma, Sand’s family struggles, Top’s issues, Boston’s flaws. Their stories existed beyond romance.

Here, we are given fascinating ideas without fully exploring them. Jack and Rome have a complicated relationship as brothers, but we barely understand why. Raffy seems to have grown up under an extremely controlling mother, but it never gets explored deeply. Jack’s alcoholism after his breakup with Dean is introduced, but only scratched at the surface.

The ideas are there. They just never reach their full emotional potential.

Still, where the show absolutely succeeds is in its relationship dynamics and character attachment.

Even when the characters are selfish, toxic, or emotionally destructive, I could always understand where they were coming from.

Dean is probably one of the most destructive characters in the series, yet he can also be incredibly protective. He loves in a deeply unhealthy, possessive, and clumsy way, but he loves sincerely. He feels like someone who spent his life surviving alone and learned to see vulnerability as weakness.

Tua, on the other hand, was probably the character I wanted to protect the most all season. He is sweet, loyal, emotionally honest, and surprisingly brave despite his fragility. I spent the entire series terrified that he would end up completely shattered.

Thankfully Arnold arrived before the emotional disaster became irreversible.

Raffy was easily the most toxic character of the season. Unlike Dean, who destroys things directly, Raffy operates in the shadows through manipulation and calculated cruelty.

Yet underneath all of that, he might actually be one of the most emotionally fragile characters in the cast.

I’m convinced that his need for control and his unhealthy attachment to Jack come from a massive lack of affection and self-worth.

And that is exactly why I loved Rome.

His love is never blind. He genuinely loves Raffy, but never enough to sacrifice his own morals or become another victim of Raffy’s behavior. He knows when to stand his ground and set boundaries.

Their relationship reminded me a lot of Ray and Sand, and I’ve always had a weakness for dynamics between broken characters and deeply grounded ones.

Jack also ended up being more complicated than he initially appeared. After being emotionally destroyed by Dean, he built an armor of coldness around himself to avoid getting hurt again. He can become cruel, sometimes unfair, but underneath that distance there is still someone who loves far too much for his own good.

Then we have Arnold.

First of all, special mention to the directors for somehow managing to destroy Joss’s natural aura with that disastrous rapper styling. I genuinely didn’t think that was possible.

But beyond that, Arnold is probably the most emotionally stable character in the cast. He is kind, protective, optimistic, and sincere.

Unfortunately, he is also painfully slow when it comes to recognizing how serious situations actually are.

And finally… Boston.

His return gave me an absolutely unreasonable amount of joy.

Even though he remains true to himself and still wants to flirt with anything capable of breathing, I loved seeing his growth. He genuinely supports Tua, respects him, and stands by him when he needs him the most.

Honestly, it only confirmed my opinion from season 1: Boston was never truly a bad person.

He was simply an emotional free electron incapable of putting anything above his own desires.

So in the end, we get an entire swarm of emotional hornets thrown together into the same space while they happily destroy each other for twelve episodes.

Overall, Only Friends: Dream On is definitely not perfect.

Some things are stronger than season 1 while other weaknesses replace what used to be some of the franchise’s greatest strengths.

But despite all of that, I had an amazing time.

The scandals, betrayals, fights, reconciliations, and emotional disasters never stop for even a second.

It is toxically fun from beginning to end.

And of course, I can’t talk about Only Friends without mentioning the chemistry.

Joss and Gawin felt slightly more restrained than I expected, probably because their relationship leaned more toward emotional intimacy this time.

Meanwhile Aou and Boom completely lost their minds.

I already knew they had incredible potential, but I genuinely did not expect their chemistry to explode like this.

I’m still recovering.

Earth and Mix remained consistently strong as always, but personally Rome and Raffy ended up leaving the biggest impression on me.

In the end, Only Friends: Dream On left me exactly where season 1 did: emotionally exhausted, slightly traumatized, and desperately wanting more.

It was chaotic, emotional, frustrating, exhausting, and ridiculously entertaining.

And after that ending and the season 3 tease?

I’m absolutely ready to jump back into the fire immediately.