CurlyFries

Shoujo Food Wars? ???

I was originally going to give this show a 7.5, but when I sat and thought on it I realized the ending pissed me off more and more. Not to mention that when I actually gave it a second thought, the story was nonexistent as well as the "romance." I think I was just blinded by the flashy visual effects that looked straight out of Food Wars mixed with the attractive cast.

I love time-travel stories, and historical slow-burns have my whole heart. As such, I was locked in like crazy when this show was airing for a while. The show set itself up in the first episode to be an exciting historical tale that would eventually lead to steamy romance between a modern woman and king with more than a few screws loose. I personally like dark romance-esc relationships and have no issues with a complex love story between a mentally unstable king with mommy issues and a mentally stable modern day lady forced to be dragged along to the palace on one of his sporadic whims. Some people might have an issue with that pairing, but I don't. In fact, I encourage that spice. But what I got instead was a show stuffed with filler, underdeveloped characters, and an undercooked romance. And just as I had my hopes rise again with the intensity of the Ming food battle and the plot taking center stage during the final three episodes, the ending gave through with the final blow to leave me unsatisfied.

I tried to console myself when I was watching the plot turn away from any serious writing by accepting that it was always meant to be a fluffy slice of life, but then they whiplashed me with a sudden importance put on a decent plot again in the last episodes. The tonal switch-up was out of place and I think they should have stuck with a single genre and called it a day so as not to raise my hopes. The story was just left feeling vacant with how they didn't even try to explain the mystery behind Mangunrok nor how the fuck Yi Heon managed to get himself into Ji-young's era. The explanation being gatekept behind "it's a secret" made me drop the score an entire point. Did they even think about explaining the supernatural aspect at all??? I'm tired of seeing authors write time-travel plots without actually considering the consequences of explaining its existence in the verse it's written in. They just decided to have Ji-young randomly be summoned back to her time under BS circumstances and cut away from showing what became of Yi Heon's life during her absence. Then they expect you to accept that Yi Heon, a man who was raised as royal man in the 1500s and lived as a king to be able to perfectly adapt to the modern era in roughly a month. Who's buying that?! Realistically, this man would have been thrown in a jail cell for threatening random people on the street with a sword whilst wearing bloody clothing. Then they want you to accept that it makes perfect sense for all of Ji-young's friends acquaintances from the Joseon era are either reincarnated or have descendants that look *exactly* like them 500 years down the bloodline. Get real.

The character writing was probably the most unfortunate aspect of this show, however. I initially liked Ji-young's character for being a tenacious and intelligent woman that was going to need to have to use her charms to survive in an era where she'd be persecuted. But of course, the roadblocks that would appear due to her gender and apparent madness are completely irrelevant. Then by the end she felt so lackluster as a romantic lead. I mean, they wanted me to believe that a modern woman like her would fall so deeply in love with a maniac like Yi Heon despite only being in Joseon for no more than a half year. I realized just how misplaced she felt in the show when she was completely useless during almost all plot-relevant conflicts later in the show. I mean, what did she *really* contribute? In the actual palace intrigue, she was just a damsel that needed to be saved by a flurry of attractive men with swords. Yi Heon himself was far more interesting that her given his plot relevance and questionable morals. But of course, they try and make him seem like the good guy by the end and everyone else is the bad guy. I liked him more when they leaned into how much of a whack job he was; this is what made me excited to see how the central pair would develop feelings for each other despite their contrasting personalities. He made me laugh a few times as well and I love funny bastards that deserve to be put into an asylum. They could have just kept with his insanity and made it more tragic, but they chose to make him magically remorseful by the end without any prior indications of hesitation for his crimes. Him being okay with giving up the throne during treason was extremely hard for me to believe given that he was a man used to having every little whim cared for and using his position heavily to his advantage whenever he felt like it. It doesn't make sense to me that a guy willing to risk the lives of his citizens for a mere unofficial food battle would care enough about their well being to sacrifice his power and prestige in the final episode. The show didn't even attempt to address the repercussions of his actions against those he harmed, either. The rest of the cast was just background dressing with good potential that went unused. The jester was a guy with a good motive, but was left with virtually zero development even in the last episode. The only character I really felt any slight effort to write from was Tang Bailong. But of course, he existed for one arc alone, so he disappeared along with any complexity in character writing. The main villains, Jesan and Mok-ju, were underwritten and fell flat as central villains. Where was the complexity in them? How did they get away with the obvious rules they kept breaking? The bonding moments with the cooks were cute, but their characters one-note as well. Gil-geum was the only semi-important one, but she was so extremely annoying with the way she'd talk and sprout open her bug eyes to the point that I couldn't wait for her to leave my screen. I thought they were even teasing a romance between her and the jester at one point but that just went nowhere per usual. That may have secretly been a good thing however, because I am getting tired of seeing side couples that just take away screen time from decent main couples. The lack of backstory for virtually everyone really did detriment their characters; even Yi Heon and his sparse flashbacks made it hard to truly understand his rage.

The romance itself was hollow. I couldn't understand just why Ji-young fell in love with Yi Heon by the end. The guy literally attempted to murder her on multiple occasions and was called a tyrant with mommy issues in history for a reason. She knew that he committed the Chaehong and purges, yet didn't seem that phased being beside him. The man was literally going to have chefs lose their limbs right in front of her, yet acts like a high schooler in a Shoujo a couple of episodes later. She barely expressed a single ounce of judgement for a man as vicious as Yi Heon; not even in her head. As for Yi Heon; he was a king notorious for being a womanizer, yet acts like a lovestruck fool for Ji-young super fast into their "romance." He didn't show a real discriminatory bone in his body towards Ji-young despite her being older, of unknown origin, and mentally "unsound." And I find it incredibly hard to believe that a guy so horny he was criticized for it in history books would be a blushing idiot in front of a woman who is only exceptional at cooking. Where were the sparks required for me to believe their supposed "love"? I felt tension from them in the first episode given how much it seemed like it would be enemies to lovers, but that sizzles out when they actually attempt to write them romantically. I don't believe that either of these two grown adults, one of which is heavily experienced, would be acting like teenagers in their first relationship whenever they get into proximity of each other. I was excited to see how they'd write a romance between a mature woman and king with a womanizer status. But it's like they forgot who they were writing and erased that aspect of Yi Heon's character in favor of generic K-Drama romance. Where was the angst of a modern lady being a side piece to a king and the looks she'd get from it? Where is the concubine feuding she'd get dragged into? Why wasn't Yi-Heon's supposed "favoritism" of Mok-ju shown? Where was Yi Heon's classism at being attracted to a commoner at? Why didn't they have that sexual tension you'd expect to see in a harem setting? Why didn't they explicitly show scenes that grew their attraction toward each other? Where is the hardening of resolve it would take for a modern woman in Ji-young's situation to develop at? Where was the complexity of Yi Heon initially liking Ji-young because she reminded him of his mother at? Where was the difference in mindsets that would bleed through into their choices in their relationships at? Where was the, albeit toxic, power play at? I swear they didn't even have any substantial bonding moments that would make their undying love believable. Yi Heon himself even admitted in episode 1 that he didn't find Ji-young attractive but would "bestow a favor" upon her anyway, yet then gets blushy at the mere touch of her later. That does NOT seem like the attitude of the same guy at all. The most "attraction" I feel is Yi Heon being drawn towards Ji-young because she reminds him of his mother, in classic maniac fashion. They barely seemed to find each other attractive by the end, but act like a married couple in the epilogue. And you can call me a degenerate if you'd like, but I still wanted more intimacy and implied sex scenes. They were supposed to be mature adults, yet the most they get are surface-level kiss scenes sparsely thrown in. Incredibly disappointing.

I thought the main actors did well in their roles however, the ages did not match up. I mean, they wanted me to believe that Ji-young looked 27, when her actress is obviously in her thirties. I'm not insulting her looks, I'm just stating it how it is. I was also very confused on how old Yi Heon was supposed to be. I was curious so I researched the actual Yeonsangun he is based off of and according to Wikipedia, that guy died at 29, so I guess he was in his late twenties as well? But then it wouldn't make sense for the MDL page to list them as having an age gap *in* the drama. I saw that there was some issue with the casting of the King and that impacted the eventual age gap, but I didn't know that when I was watching the first 8 episodes of the show. So as you can imagine, I was very confused. But the casting itself was good; I give kudos to whomever casted Yi Heon's actor because that guy's bug eyes and devious eyebrows and smile had me laughing my ass off every time he did that goofy grin. And although I criticized how it was hard to link with Yi Heon's personal rage pertaining to his backstory, I could still feel his anger and sympathize with his resentment due to the actor's passionate portrayal of raw emotion in serious scenes. Ji-young's actress was good in the role; it's not her fault she was given a poorly-written character to play. She managed to come across as a skilled chef stuck in a different time period, so she did what was all her character writing required of her.

The visual effects that would play when people bit into their food had me dead more than once. I thought I was tuning into an episode of Food Wars a few times when the sounds they'd release from their food comas, only to be awakened to reality when I realized there was no ecchi. I had to question how hard it was for the actors not to burst out laughing when recording those scenes. I think my favorite scene was when they saw the phoenix soaring in the air during the Ming food battle. I was fucking dying when they were enacting animal gestures during those scenes, as well as the Ming envoy praying to a giant Buddha out of nowhere. Those scenes were probably the best entertainment for me in the entire show.

The production itself was beautiful and the scenery looked amazing. The greenhouse was straight out of cottage-core and the food was as delectable to look at as it probably tasted. I had not qualms with the music either and felt it enhanced pretty much every scene it was in. The random Mangunrok rap thrown in mid-show followed with a dance sequence that made me feel like I was watching the Boondocks was definitely a hilarious and artistically crafted scene. The costumes were great and I adored the hair styles of the women along with the robes Yi Heon would wear; the robe he wore to Lion Dance was definitely my favorite one by far. The camera angles were nice and they accented action sequences well.

The action sequences made me feel extremely shallow when they made me froth at the mouth more than anything Ji-young made; I have never been so entranced by handsome men wielding swords and doing kickflips before in my life. I was one heart-eyes emoji away from being a complete degenerate. There really is nothing quite like seeing Yi Heon, Su-hyeok, and Gong Gil adorned in historical garb and attacking nameless assassins in order to protect the fair maiden, Ji-young. I've never wished for a show to turn into Shoujo more before in my entire life. And when Yi Heon was bloody and battered after arduous fighting in episode 12, I was enjoying the sight.

Though, despite any positives I may have, I cannot picture myself ever rewatching this show again in good faith. There just isn't anything that would make up for the negatives that would cause a sour aftertaste to resurface upon rewatch. There is underdeveloped chemistry, lack of sexual tension, hand-fisted plot, shallow villains, two-dimensional characters, and an underutilized setting. So, would I recommend this show? No. I would only recommend it to someone if they reeeeally liked cooking. As for someone that really likes political intrigue or romance, I'd steer clear altogether. It'd be a waste of time.

꜀( ˊ̠˂˃ˋ̠ )꜆

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This show deserves an award!

For being one of the worst queer shows ever written.

The only joy I found was knowing it'd be over today and that I could finally move onto the next life of queer shows and find inner peace. Yet, the ending was so terrible that I can't even achieve inner peace without turning into a vengeful spirit. Fuck this show. It will haunt me for years to come.

There are so few positives to my watching experience that I can't even make a pros and cons list because the ratio of awful to passable is so unbalanced that it'd be like beating a dead horse whose carcus has been pecked at by vultures and ran over by a fucking monster truck.

Usually I can watch a terrible show and find genuine enjoyment in how awful it is, yet this show just pissed me off exponentially because of the moronic glazers in the comment section. That's right; I made the daring and piss-brained choice to interact with the MDL fandom via the comment section after new episodes dropped. And dear god.....one of the worst mistakes a human being can make. If you even DARE voice your dislike for this show in any damn way then expect pitchforks and torches outside your house. Meaningful discussion was impossible in that comment section and I cannot bear with these people acting as if they speak for the entire fandom and acting like they know everything about ABO just because they read one ABO fic. ABO is NOT just meant for fetishes. It's really telling when people classify it as just that. Decent writers use it to express class structures and gendered systems in a meaningful and unique way; not to mention the appeal of queer relationships being normalized and women being able to be considered as top of the class structure. Stop acting like you know everything about the genre and spreading misinformation that will cause people to avoid interacting with the ABO in the future as well as future ABO adaptations.

Honestly, this show was so fucking sad to watch because I was expecting my first ABO live action series to be a funny and memorable time (no, Pitbabe does not fucking count as an ABO in my eyes. It never even properly attempted to be one so it doesn't deserve the label as one). I've read trashy BL manhwa that write better ABO plots than these writers could manage with SIXTEEN episodes.

Though, the worst part about this show, in my humble opinion, was that motherfucker Sheng Shao You; "How can I accept being used as an Omega by another Alpha?" basically tells you everything you need to know about this guy. He's rude, entitled, selfish, classist, sexist, violent, arrogant, and so very...very gullible. How this man ever managed to get where he is can only be explained through nepotism. He is everything wrong with the trashy ABO stereotypes personified into one character. This douche really does somehow check off requirements for different cliches and that might be the most impressive thing about his character:
- Rich CEO that somehow has free time and takes over the company before the age of 30.
- Attractive pale man with dark hair and eyes. Classic cliche.
- Deep, husky voice.
- Daddy issues.
- Mommy issues.
- Mistreatment of omegas.
- Entitled asshole.
- Thinks he's such a Casanova.
He was so annoying and I was lowkey hoping he would keel over at the end because he was such a douchebag. And before anyone says "Erm, actually, he's supposed to be a stereotypical alpha-" that does NOT make him likable. He wasn't even entertainingly bitchy like Shen Wenlang; he was just gross. You know he's bad when the guy with the highest societal rank; Hua Yong, is more progressive than him and has to call him out on his shit. Ugh. Can we leave this trope in the past, please? I seriously got the ick when this guy was hating on his own SIBLINGS for being illegitimate children. Ah, yes, it is completely logical to hate on people born out of wedlock because they had the ability to spawn themselves into existence in the womb of their choice. And they TOTALLY choose to "homewreck" your parents' legal marriage......WHAT?!!?!?!? Not to mention that he's heavily implied to be a pervert that likes watching omegas cry and in misery for some reason. Like, yuck. This guy seriously thinks he's so hot that he should be able to just swap out omegas at ease once he gets bored of them. Yet, the only redeeming thing about him was his hair and money.

Hua Yong was the classic obsessive stalker seme whose whole life revolved around his love interest. The only added twist was that he was absurdly pretty. I was fucking dying when he tried to justify Sheng Shao You being a kind and genuine person just because he was being nice to a stray cat. LMAO. They really thought a "save the cat" moment would really redeem this man in my eyes. Hua Yong is obviously an unreliable narrator in those scenes, but the show's objective was clear; and it was clearly absurd. Tons of terrible people are friendly to pets, but that doesn't mean they are good people. The show was just terrible at justifying Hua Yong's love for Sheng Shao You and that is detrimental to him since his entire character is obsessing over the guy. I would've loved to see more of what his life was like without revolving around Sheng Shao You, such as when he interacted with his omega cousin; the only member of his family he seemed to get along with. The best (and only redeeming) part of their relationship was how the "dom" was more feminine and progressive. The only scene I really liked of him in the latter half of the show was when he was visibly disappointed and lightly called Sheng Shao You out on his prejudiced gender views, serving as the only time he really seems to not bend to the will of the guy regardless of how absurd he's being. The streets won't like me for saying this but Hua Yong just felt like a watered down version of Hua Cheng from Heaven Official's Blessing. What they both have in common is their two-dimensionality and personalities existing solely to cater to their love interest, yet having endless potential for depth outside of that.

Shen Wen Lang and Gao Tu got washed so bad by the writers' room that it made me feel extremely disappointed. They were way more interesting than the main couple SOMEHOW since at least the two of them had personalities outside of just being sexist and simping. It was definitely the more classic ABO pairing, yet I found it more exciting than whatever the main couple had going on. How the actual fuck do they have less scenes than shows with MULTIPLE SIDE COUPLES??? My Engineer had given more depth to every single couple and it was SHORTER THAN THIS SHOW!!! Chief, don't make a side couple pairing if you don't have the energy to see it through. The ending was insulting to them as they don't even get into a relationship. Like??? Who thought this was a good idea??? They were so disrespected that they didn't even get screen time in a few episodes and it made me wanna cry. You know I was grasping at straws to find any enjoyment in this show when the cliche ABO couple (for both the good and bad reasons) is what was giving me hope that the story could be slightly passable. I liked both of the characters in this pairing leagues more than the main two and it wasn't even a competition by the end. Shen Wen Lang is a sexist and tsundere, yes, but at least the guy is kind of funny? And slightly relatable? Sheng Shao You had nothing for me to like; but Shen Wen Lang's attitude appealed to me because he was transmitting my exact thoughts half of the fucking time with his reactions to the nonsensical bullshit that the main two were doing. Salty as fuck that he didn't get to humble Sheng Shao You because of Hua Yong's cockblocking. Gao Tu was pathetic but in an endearing way; probably because of how well his actor delivered his emotions. I could feel his longing and related to his yearning for affection and stability. I found his long-term love to be way more believable than Hua Yong's since Gao Tu's self-deprecating nature and attachment to his only friend would definitely explain his unobtainable love for Shen Wen Lang.

The rest of the show was just pure nonsense. Dishonorable mentions are the exposition dump in episode 1 that literally went in one ear and out another when I made the premature decision to watch it under the influence of sleeping meds. There was also the random voice-over for Hua Yong's backstory near the end that caught me so off-guard since I swear it didn't exist before then. I also can't for the life of me recall Hua Yong giving his glorious king's watch back but my memory might just be failing me. Intro was too loud and boring; music followed suit. Fight scenes were cringe and I was holding back my laughter at how they really wanted you to take it seriously and find it cool. Outfits got progressively worse and Hua Yong's teddy bear white shirt at the end will haunt my eyes forever. The ages made it hard to believe; like they seriously want me to believe that Hua Yong is the big bad CEO at the ripe young age of 23. Get out of here with that; at least make him Shao You's age. All of the sets were overused and boring except for Gao Tu's run-down house. All of the actors were fluctuating from passable to cringe except for Gao Tu's and maybe Hua Yong's. The absolute lack of logic in making a male alpha able to give birth that ABO authors just can't seem to write a decent explanation for. Episode 9 could only be enjoyed by Redo of Healer enthusiasts and blind people would be insulted by how characters can't discern voices of their supposed loved ones and literally ANY attributes of the person in front of them DESPITE the lights being on. Huh??? Like what was the point of adding in the noncon with the main couple WHATSOEVER, and why didn't they make the side couple's scene at LEAST dubcon??? Did these writers not research ABO and just blatantly ignore the loopholes they could abuse with the common rules of the verse??? Oh, and the ending was an affront to the entire audience when they just jump from Sheng Shao You's death fakeout and the side couple not even getting to have a meaningful conversation for five seconds before blue-balling the audience.

The only redeemable aspects of this show were Gao Tu's actor, Hua Yong's looks since day one, Hua Yong and Shen Wen Lang's frenemies to lovers sexual tension (yes, I shipped it), and Shen Wen Lang's inexplicable glow-up near the end. Oh and I think that Hua Yong is a really pretty name that is surprisingly easy to pronounce. No idea what it means other than something involving flowers. Gao Tu's husky voice mixed with soft boy pining was also exquisite on my ears.

I can't believe I'm about to say this, but ABO: Desire is an insult to the omegaverse tag. How can cringy Ao3 teenagers write better fanfics with this setting than a team of adults??? Still better than Low Tide in Twilight and Love is an Illusion; not to mention the atrocity of Kiss Me Liar....but that bar is quite literally in the seventh ring of hell. I am LIVID that I didn't get my expectation to laugh my ass off in guilty pleasure met (thought, some did). This show isn't even worth rewatching unless I feel like inflicting self-torture. Never let this writer cook ABO again. There are SO MANY better Chinese BL novels that deserve adaptations, yet we get this monstrosity.....the queers deserve their favorite GOOD stories to be adapted. China, I beg, please let Thousand Autumns and Little Mushroom get adaptations before more slop like this gets to see the light of day. (T⌓T) (.づ◡﹏◡)づ. ┐(ಥ ͜ʖಥ)┌





Notes/Edits: Minor grammar fixes + Much needed clarity for the future influx of comments that will come after my review was linked in the comments section:

- Was my review harsh: Yes.
- Was my rhetoric exaggerative and dramatic for the sake of entertainment and fun: Also yes. I would've thought that using phrases like "vengeful spirit," "horse carcus pecked at by vultures," and "ran over by a fucking monster truck" would have indicated that my review wasn't trying to be ultra serious.
- Do I still stand by all my dislikes and disdain for the writing of this show: 100% and I would never lie on my scoring nor reviews just to cater to certain people. All of my reviews are fueled by my raw feelings and sometimes that strikes a chord with people under certain shows that don't have many reviews willing to be honest about the lapses in writing in series' that are flooded with 10's across the board.
- Did my review target any actors/staff: Not even once. I can't tell where people got the idea that I was trying to dissuade any actors from being in BL again, nor do I understand where they got the idea that I was trying to send hate to them. You can separate art from the artist, people.
- Am I a Shen Wen Lang apologist: Nope; nor did my review ever say I loved him. I simply stated that I liked him and Gao Tu more than the main two since they could have scenes that weren't solely reliant on their romance with each other. Also, me saying that Wen Lang was *slightly* "relatable" was because of the reactions he'd have to the hijinks the main two got up to since I often had similar reactions and inquiries. Also, he was funnier which made him more entertaining to see on screen. It didn't feel like he was taken as seriously as Shao You and that made it easier to ignore his few scenes of douchery compared to Shao You's abundance of screen time with his bad personality. Also, since when is it justified for a guy to despise ALL illegitimate children (even those he is not related to) just because ONE of his half-siblings despises him? To be honest, the only character I genuinely liked as person by the end was Gao Tu, and he was also the closest to using the ABO concept creatively.
- Am I a "crazed 2nd couple shipper": No??? Where did people even get this idea from??? I only said I liked them more but I still admitted they were cliche and I never put them on a pedestal. Those that preferred them are allowed to be sad at the lack of closure they received at the end too.
- My paragraph talking about the crazed fanatics is only getting proven true by the people that target me alongside others that voice our dislikes of the show even after it's finally just finished; which would be the prime time to voice any criticisms alongside the vocal praises. Yet, the vast majority of 10's get left alone whilst the few scores that go lower than 7's get attacked and shamed with insults, I received some such as "toxic ex gf," "delusional," "throwing a tantrum," and "needing a therapist" (as if needing therapy is even something that should be used to insult someone if you think they are having a "cry for help"). Do you guys not see the irony in this? I personally didn't even comment under anyone's praises even if I disagreed because I understood that there was not point starting any cheap wars over a simple difference of opinions; something half of you guys need to learn.
- Also, I understand this was Chinese and that producing a BL with actual queerness is difficult, which is why I never insulted the (consensual) intimacy. Though, I never give special treatment to a story simply because of what country it came out of, so I don't care if it was a Thai or Chinese BL; it was still terribly written.

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Almost want to reset my brain to rewatch it from scratch <3

FINALLY, I have found a drama that didn't leave me feeling unsatisfied or hopeless by the end. I admit that in the past I tried this show twice and gave up twice....and I was waaaay too premature with that because this show just got better and better with each episode. Time to do a pros and cons list since it's my go-to:

Pros:
- The concept. I am a sucker for time twisters, and this one knew how to use it well.
- I think the actors did well, especially the bomber duo. That lady's smile and derangement actually unsettled me. Creepy.
- Realistic female and male leads FINALLY. These actually felt like they could be people in real life that were just transported into this bizarre scenario that fight between their survival instinct and strong sense of morality.
- Modern day time regression that is actually decent.
- Made use of a very few settings well.
- Actually questioning one's morals in the face of true fear.
- Put effort into making side characters sympathetic and feel like actual beings thrown into peril.
- The middle-aged woman being the bomb holder; I had predicted it from day one and felt satisfied knowing I was finally right about a whodunnit.
- The twist of the bus driver being in on it. I did not expect it at all until that very scene where he started acting suspicious.
- So I don't know if this was on purpose, but some of the tense scenes in the bus made me start laughing from the confusion and facial expressions.
- Phone guy was pretty funny. His actor played his nosiness well.
- An actual kiss scene in a Chinese drama.
-A GOOD ENDING IN A CHINESE DRAMA FINALLY!!!!!! I swear I have only been given open endings and sadness in dramas in multiple countries, actually. This ending filled me with warmth.

Cons (there won't be a lot):
- There was an English song that played a lot and it kind of distracted me because I was wondering why there was a song in English playing recurringly in a Chinese drama. It was also pretty loud on my ears.
- The time loop's origin was never really explained as well as Heyun's worsening illness. This actually could be a positive to some people because there are a lot of times where writers attempt to explain away a phenomenon and only end up making it convoluted. The mystery of it might be for the best.
- Some of the cuts were a bit startling, but not too bad.


In conclusion: I really liked this show; a lot more than I thought I would. I appreciate the clear effort put into making a story with actual themes attached to it rather than a mind-numbing entertainment with no substance. I have seen waaaay too many of those type of dramas unfortunately. I actually felt emotions when watching and most shows can't bring that out of me, so I think it's worth watching.

Would recommended 100%. :)

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Anime except make it live action and Korean

I just finished this show and I honestly was conflicted on how to score it at first. I cannot deny that I was laughing my ass off and my jaw dropped a few times whilst watching it, but I have to take the quality of writing into consideration when writing a review.

What I liked:
- Soundtrack was pretty good. I mean, rap is not my preferred taste in music, but it was still good at hyping me up and making scenes feel more energetic than what they really were; so it accomplished its goal very well.
- Production was fantastic. I really loved the settings and how they switched them up so often. I especially loved the graffitied school contrasting with the clean looks of stores and other settings. It really emphasized how alien the school feels from the rest of the world as we see it. The cinematography was good too; cameraman deserves a raise for engaging me 100% during those whacky fight scenes.
- Fight choreography was insanely hilarious to watch at times, and then badass at other times too. I really enjoyed how creative they could get with making tons of fight scenes feel unique from each other.
- Some of the casting like Ms. Lee, Han Ul, Han Ul's zesty friend with a gun, Sun Cheol, Ji Wu, Hyeon Wu, Se Hyeon, and Ga Min's mom were great.
- Ji Wu and Hyeon Wu look eerily similar like I actually believed they were twins. I swear they have to secretly be related.
- Pi Han Ul was eye candy. I love me a pretty faced villain. His voice was also free ASMR. So + 1 point for that.
- Geon Yeop was eye candy.
- Hee Won's parents were eye candy.
- Ga Min's mom not being the generic KDrama mother.
- Somewhat competent police force.
- A lot of the comedic scenes made me genuinely laugh.
- Side character and one-off character casting was pretty good. Shoutout to the Ice Age Baby combined with Sid looking guy from like ep 4/5.
- Female characters can be just as strong as male characters.
- Hee Won and Se Hyeon hinted romance.
- Ji Wu and Lee Jun friendship.
- Emphasis on not giving up on people that come from lesser income areas and people that are tended to be forgotten by the system.
- Somehow managed to give personality to each character through what they wear, even differentiating them through how they style their uniforms.
- Used juvenile laws as a plot point.
- Characters can be useful without be blunt fighters.
- Criminals actually get punished by the law.
- Sassy lines.

What I disliked:
- I like Ga Min's actor in general, but he looks way too old to be playing a 16 year old. His wide smile was also hella weird, but I'm inclined to believe that was on purpose to match his social awkwardness so I'll let that slide.
- Way too absurd power scaling. It caused some fights to be awkwardly solved by Ga Min in a way that felt underwhelming at times. Obviously certain fights were great because he just solos them, but when they seemingly do pose a threat he just tanks a few hits like it's nothing and sends them flying low diff.
- Ultimate villain was a high schooler, which isn't an issue in itself, but rather the issue lies with how they want me to believe he got away with all that crime at his age. It was jarring seeing middle aged men working under him to the point that I almost couldn't believe what I was seeing. At least Weak Hero Class only made teens lead other teens or work directly under a senior.
- Some teens look like they're in their 30s. Featuring Kim Gyu Jin on that one. I almost spat out what I was drinking when I realized he was just a student like the rest of the cast.
- Physics went flying out the window along with every side villain.
- Never got info about Ga Min's dad. Since we are confirmed to get a season 2, I won't have an issue with this one if they properly explain it there.
- Needed to expand more on Han Ul's backstory. He worked fine as he was, but I wanted to know more about him with his dad and the teacher he got killed.
- "Intimidating" gang is ran by teenagers. Where did they even get all that money from???
- The tone was way too kiddy at times for my liking. Everything feels too black and white morally and it really bothered me at times.
- Han Ul and Ga Min deserved a better final fight. Despise how Ga Min pulled out a final move out of nowhere and knocked him out so quick after getting up. Made the villain feel way too weak for my liking.
- Plot felt too power of friendship and teamwork the more it went along. I hate this trope with a fiery passion after Fairy Tail.
- I wasn't completely convinced of the friend group's comradery. I think some of them lacked chemistry or something.


This show is strongest when using its absurdness for comedy and entertainment value, but falls short on its serious moments as a drawback. I couldn't feel quite invested in the mom getting hospitalized or the grandpa passing away abruptly. I kind of felt something when the teacher died but that's only because of how tragic it seemed when the story shows how depraved the school is. It was also mentioned since early on too. I personally liked when the tone of the story was more set on intense and rocky like in the first two episodes rather than the fluffier and campy later bits. It kind of returns to that feeling near the end when Ms. Lee is about to get jumped at school, but falls short on it because of how quick the threat for her disappears. Twice.

I also couldn't take the villain group seriously at all either. If anything, I liked how pretty Han Ul's voice and face was over how intimidating or eerie he was supposed to be. I don't blame this on the actor, I blame it on the absurd writing they give him in attempts to make him seem threatening. I'm certain his actor could portray him eerily if only he wasn't placed in such a weird position plot wise. His gang is so stupid and they expect me to feel on edge by a bunch of ragtag teens and his (alleged) bestie that acts zesty enough to flirt with Ga Min first meeting and swing around some off brand BB gun? No way. Don't get me wrong now, I thought these idiots were funny as fuck at times and had some hilarious lines, but I couldn't tell them seriously as villains whatsoever. I think it would have worked out better if instead of Han Ul being the leader of some (supposed) high profile group, he works under his father's group instead and is in the midst of growing his own assigned branch under him whilst having ambitions to take over said group once he gains enough influence later in life. It would make a lot more sense if his dad acknowledged his son through his plans of utilizing the juvenile laws to their advantage and incorporating loyal members as early on as high school to join their gang. I would find it more realistic and find Han Ul's personality more believable if he was raised in that setting already exposed to the underworld extremely early on and desire to inherit his father's "empire" out of admiration. But no.....we get a teen that somehow gets loads of cash, convinces others to commit murders for him, convinces others to go to jail for him, and basically runs an entire school whilst barely ever making any appearances in it.

Something I think they could have done better was show Han Ul's "Top 4" or whatever they were called from the last episode more in the school. I like seeing villains that get actively involved in the plot and I was so confused whether these guys even went to Yusung Tech or not because I had never seen them around at all. Zesty hat guy I assumed went to another school but apparently he didn't. I also hated how Han Ul is literally only ever seen just sitting on a school rooftop. I mean, the scene looked cool because it was directed nicely, but it quickly becomes perplexing when you think about how this guy was just sitting up there of all places and not even reading or checking his phone, just staring out into the sun. Like, why? Where was gun guy and why was Han Ul just wasting time instead of building his empire some more? I also wanted to know why gun guy was so close to him compared to everyone else because agreeing to help your friend in murdering teachers and framing teens must take an obscene amount of loyalty, but we never see why he is his right hand man. Especially since he is so hotheaded enough to waste all his bullets against a goon like Se Hyeon. I understand he was arrogant because Se Hyeon looked weak as fuck, but I thought at least the right hand man would be somewhat intelligent. Oh and just as a P.S., I found him saying "If I lose to a loser like this it'll be hella embarrassing" or whatever, to be so fucking funny because I too would be super embarrassed to lose when I brought a BB gun against an unarmed nerd.

I want another season despite how flawed the writing was in this one. I look forward to seeing what villains they'll write this time after how they made Han Ul exit the show. I liked that he got defeated in a "proper" way rather than the anime way of sending him to the hospital or an early grave. Side note: he really should've been hospitalized after Ga Min 12-piece comboed him in their fight. That was some insane plot armor. Even Ga Min was in crutches at least.

I'm excited for more whacky hijinks and hilarious comedy that indicates to me that my humor regressed ten years. Even if this show felt like Weak Hero Class for toddlers, I can't hate it. I'll be back here for season 2!!!


ʕノ•ᴥ•ʔノ ︵ ┻━┻ (ง ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)=/̵͇̿̿/’̿’̿̿̿ ̿ ̿̿ ┻┳|･ω･)/

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The Weakest of Heroes (Affectionate ) <3

I actually tried this show months back but gave up after 5 episodes. Boy was I being impatient. This show was beyond my expectations after I dropped it. I'll get straight into my Pros list (yes, just pros as I think there is barely enough cons to even warrant a list for it).

Pros:
- This show was entertaining as fuck. Seriously, I like was barely ever even feeling a semblance of boredom throughout it. This is why some kdramas truly don't need to overcompensate for something but double its episode length instead of working with what you have. I'll take quality over quantity ANY day.
- The acting was fantastic; especially from Park Ji-hoon. That man is going places with how he can express so many emotions through a seemingly emotionless character. The other two's actor also played them very well. To be honest, majority of the acting was amazing.
- The show wasn't ugly to look at; the color filters truly fitted their scenes and I loved to see how they were linked with emotions. Si-eun's fantasies being a warm yellow sunset only to then turn into a bleak gray once he awakes to reality is truly heartbreaking to watch (is this why his name translates to "Gray"?)
- The fighting was insanely over the top and out of reality yet it didn't upset like it usually would because of how well choreographed it was and how genuinely painful they made the hits look and sound. I was wincing when Si-eun bonked people over the head and stabbed Yeong-bin in the shoulder with a pencil. That kid is a menace in sheep's clothing.
- I really liked how much depth they gave Beom-seok as an antagonist. He is insanely insecure, clingy, possessive, spiteful, and impulsive. He truly did put Su-ho on a pedestal of what his dream friend would be like, but the moment he couldn't live up to that he snapped and viewed him the same way as all the other controlling people in his life. Yet, I honestly pitied him more than hated him by the end because of how destructive he was toward his own future and the people around him. He loved putting the blame on other people too.
- Liked how they showed how different styles of parenting can be damaging to children. Beom-seok's father was blatantly abusive and controlling and this made Beom-seok aggressive and spiteful as a person. Su-ho's grandmother (though we don't see a lot of her) can be seen as kind and nurturing, which in turn made Su-ho a protective and confident person. Si-eun's parents were distant and put a veil over how they really felt which in turn made Si-eun distance himself from others and hide his emotions until they boiled over in destructive ways as he was never taught how to cope with them healthily. Yeong-bin's mother was one of those "my son can never be the one in the wrong and he is a perfect little sunshine" kind of parent, which made Yeong-bin selfish and feel a false sense of egotism and security. This is easily one of my favorite parts of the show.
- Dissed on the police system a bit when it came to those gangsters but made sure that they weren't painted as being 100% incompetent by at least arresting some people associated with the crime. Not everything is always black and white.
- Had some truly heart-touching moments; especially when Park Ji-hoon portrayed Si-eun's first wide smile when Su-ho was in the hospital for the first time. That touched my soul. I could sense his relief and happiness that he had bottled up and he looked genuinely glad to be alive for once (this was probably the happiest he ever was in the entire show).
- The music wasn't half bad. It contributed to emotional scenes well and didn't make me feel the wrong emotion. I was only slightly caught off guard by english lyrics when it's a Korean show. But this is one Netflix so I'm not really *that* surprised. The song itself wasn't bad either so it didn't really impact how I rated the soundtracks.

All in all: I liked this show quite a bit. Is it perfect? No. Will it be to just about everyone's liking? Probably not. Was it still entertaining as fuck despite any of its flaws? Hell yeah! To be honest, I'd take an entertaining show with a decent plot over one with style and little substance any day (don't @ me Flower of Evil enthusiasts).

Should you watch it? If you like action, friendship, betrayal, portrayal of youth struggles and a decent production; then yes! Why not? It's only half the episode length of the average kdrama, and packed with 200% more to appreciate!

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A Wednesday Club full of insufferable brats

Ok, so I'll be honest and admit that I mostly skimmed this show for Phuwin's parts. However, I could barely even get through the parts that I did watch, so that tells me enough about how much I would want to slam my face against my desk if I forced myself to watch the entire thing in one sitting.

I like doing Pro and Con lists....but I genuinely don't think there was annoying that was a pro in this show compared to a con. I have never thought I could find a show that would make me immediately rate a 1/10 of rewatch value, not even Tharntype could evoke that in me, but this one somehow did almost instantaneously.

Characters: I don't think I have ever seen a show where I strongly disliked the central cast as much as this one. I honestly was SO annoyed by everyone and had a hard time sympathizing with ANYONE. Well, like I said earlier, I watched this show for Phuwin's character Kun, but even he started to lose me by the end because I was spacing out any time anyone was on screen. I'll run through my thoughts on them real quick (yes it will be quick af because I could name about two traits that they each had because they never got any more development as this dumpster fire continued burning).
Kong: from what I saw, he was alright I guess. Seemed kinda generic, but he was played by Ohm so I was probably biased into liking him from the get-go.
Phali: I genuinely cannot recall a thing about him. So forgettable and I watched this YESTERDAY.
Pheem: bro was just so gullible and jumped to conclusions too fast; dumb.
Mac: Oh brother did I find him SO ANNOYING! I think he was supposed to be the most sympathetic, yet I found him to be one of the worst viewing experiences of this show. So whiny and the way he acted towards Kun in the last episode made my blood almost boil over. THIS GUY HAS BEEN BLACKMAILED, THREATENED, AND HAD HIS LITTLE BROTHER PUT AT GUN POINT, BUT YOU STILL HAVE THE AUDACITY TO VICTIM BLAME HIM???? And I am honestly not even a fan of Kun, but this Mac guy made me feel such sorrow for Kun in that scene. So infuriating.
Tam: can't remember too much about her, but she is in the same boat as Kong for me. Less annoying than most of the others. Oh, but the whole thing with wanting to meet her birth mother and finding out the chick doesn't even acknowledge she had another daughter at any point was honestly kind of heartbreaking. I lost my pity for her however when she decided to not tell the lady anyways. Maybe it's just me, but I would tell the fuck out of that in order to get my closure before letting that lady live her life to the fullest whilst I live feeling completely unloved and forgotten. Maybe that says more about me though.
May: resident bitch here. She annoyed me so much and her snarky look pissed me off to no avail (sorry for the hate towards the actress).
Kun: ok, so now we are at the part that I tuned in for (because I saw an edit of him to Teen Idle on Youtube lmao). This guy was put through the ringer the most I believe. He was trying so hard to fit in and look lavish, yet it all went crumbling down on him at the end. Like I said under the Mac section, Kun was blackmailed and threatened until the last episode. I felt the most bad for him, yet I despise this show so I lost any feeling of sorrow real quick by the end.

The acting: no one really stood out to me except maybe Ohm a tad bit. I came here for Phuwin, yet it felt like his performance was lacking in this one. I have seen him do far better than this, so I was disappointed. It felt like he truly didn't want to be there and I can't even blame him tbh. Bad writing.

The Music: I genuinely cannot for the life of me recall like any music from this, so I gave it a medium score.

The production: Ok so I have seen quite a few GMMTV shows and this one stands out to me as being especially bland and ugly. Like, it was noticeable early on for me (before I became a dry hater of it). The lighting, camerawork, set designs, etc...... They have done far better with probably less funded shows.

The last episode: Dear....gawd......if there was a counter for the amount of times my facial expression twisted from disgust into disbelief and into disgust again then it would easily be past 20 times. I'll do a list here because it'll be less messy that way (warning: tons of swearing and heavy bias incoming).
1. The way Top was handled. Oh. My. God. I cannot fathom why this was allowed on the screen. How come the like only confirmed queer that had any relevancy to the plot was a FUCKING MOLESTOR AND ANTAGONIST THAT BLACKMAILED A GUY INTO SLEEPING WITH HIM AND SOLD HIS NUDES ONLINE WITHOUT HIS CONSENT. WHAT THE FUCK!?!??! I tend to overlook things like this in most shows because as a queer person myself I can appreciate a good gay villain. This trainwreck however, somehow offended me worse than like any other questionable queer portrayals I can recall seeing on a screen. Oh and of course the only queer has to fucking die in the end. Great writing/10 guys.
2. Kong had the motherfucking audacity to say "I can't believe he fell for you" about Kun towards Top, except, no the fuck he didn't?!?!? Since when did Kun feel anything for Top other than fear, anger, or disgust?!!? Man fuck right off with that man.
3. Top's dad was so one note villain that he didn't even break with that domineering shit even when his son was lying dead in his arms. Bro really said "I command you to get up" like okay, sure dad, just remove THE BULLET FROM MY FUCKING BRAIN AND RESTORE ME TO LIFE DIPSHIT. Even Until We Meet Again knew how to do this sort of scene, man.....
4. Wtf was Kun's sexuality? I genuinely didn't have any idea except for that idiot Kong's bullshit statement he pulled out of his ass.
5. May gets shot (yay!), but lives (boo....) and still gets to be with the guy she probably doesn't deserve.
6. That idiot pairing of Mink and Karn took up way too much time in the show and were so pointless when the great "twist" was revealed. Thank god at least a few other comments I saw mentioned this.
7. The whole hospital scene where the worst friend group on planet Earth started beefing and it all around lead to victim blaming of Kun was so fucking infuriating. I cannot for the life of me like this piss brain Mac. That scene gave me such a headache and I could not wait for it to be over. Also, why didn't Kong tell the clearly distressed Kun that he was about to go save his little brother when Kun begged him??? Like, he clearly intended to, yet left this guy on the floor thinking he didn't give two shits about the guy.
8. The principal lady shows the molestation video directly after an honoring ceremony??? Like, you couldn't wait for a day or a week??? Like. what Top did was very wrong, but you just basically pissed on his sorrowful slideshow.
9. The fact that they showed a whole friendship meetup at the clubhouse (or somewhere I honestly do not know or care at this point), but these people were literally victim blaming each other not even 10 minutes ago????? Fuck right off with that nonsense.....
10. Okay so why are there so many piss scenes in this? Like what weird kink does this writer have with using piss as a form of salty revenge.......another reason why I do not like Mac was because he pissed on an already damaged and insanely expensive watch........which in turn ruined Kun's life and made him a borderline sex slave for a very sadistic guy that also later tries to molest Mac......but Mac still victim blames Kun anyway even though Kun faced arguably worse circumstances than him because of Top (yes I will not stop mentioning the victim blaming because it pissed me off to no avail).

In conclusion: I hate this show. X O X O.

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My Stand-In? More like My Stand-6-Feet-Away-From-Me-Please....

Okay, so I actually kind of enjoyed it, but I also found myself feeling immensely unsatisfied at the end. I like doing pros and cons lists, so I'll start with that.

Pros:
1. The acting. I especially though Ming's actor really gave this snarky and condescending, yet desperate attitude to Ming.
2. There were no overbearing advertisement placements that are unfortunately abundant in Thai BL series.
3. It wasn't a show that had overbearing comedy or goofy sound effects.
4. The show looked pretty nice. I mean, some of the fashion choices were not it, but the lighting and directing looked enchanting at times.
5. Did not take place in a generic high school or college.
6. Some of the characters worked for me (I'll go into more depth about this later).
7. Some of the fluff scenes were actually extremely cute, but I had to turn my memory of the previous episodes off in order to enjoy them fully.
8. The nsfw scenes were pretty good ngl.
9. That catfight between Ming and Sol was pretty funny and just made so much sense character-wise lmao.

Cons:
1. Joe.
2. The fact that they end up together. It has been a MINUTE since I found a main couple nearly equally intolerable (the last time was probably Clary and Jace from Shadow Hunters.
3. Sol's existence.
4. The semi-rushed last like two episodes.
5. The random old blind guy that can astral project or something for some reason???
6. Joe's death was entirely unintentional. Call me basic but I actually wanted there to have been some bigger conspiracy or something idek.
7. His family suddenly became accepting???
8. The side pairing of Mike and Jim was barely explored in the slightest. Truly unfortunate because I hadn't seen Inntouch in a role since My Engineer and I was looking forward to more scenes from him.
9. It felt like acting and stunt doubling became lost in the plot already by the halfway point.

Sound:
Pretty forgettable, but not the worst I've ever heard in a drama. Sometimes I liked it, sometimes I actually wondered what a song had to do with the scene it was playing in (maybe because I can't understand Thai I couldn't tell why it was playing during certain scenes).

Characters: Oh boy, where do I even start?
Joe: I cannot stand how he was written. I do not understand how he could continuously be the biggest loser to the point that I didn't even feel bad for him anymore after the 100th time of me yelling "BREAK UP WITH HIM!!!" at the screen whenever he forgave Ming for being the absolute worst lover. Also, I know calling yourself "paramour" makes you feel a little better about the situation, but let's be honest here; you're a hoe-for-hire. And don't get me wrong, I love a good hoe character, but Joe was not a fun or relatable hoe character he was just a pathetic one. I actually sympathized with him at first but then I lost all sympathy by the end when he forgave Ming completely after LITERALLY DYING TWICE BECAUSE OF MING AND TONG'S ANTICS and had the audacity to say "you should forgive yourself as well" like okay man, just admit you are a complete pushover that has a hero complex enough to sacrifice yourself for this guy Tong that literally ruined your life. Also, why did he choose to lose his virginity to the incredibly intoxicated Ming? Like, that was dubious consent (and stupid) right????

Ming: He was a walking red flag. Bro was clearly selfish and narcissistic and it makes me sick that he got to be with the guy he treated terribly in the end. Also, why did he have such a fetish on male backs? You're telling me that he fell head over heels for someone solely based on their back in dim lighting that he saw on a mall screen? Yeah, okay. I also have no idea why he kept putting so much faith into some random blind old guy that set up like Mickey Mouse tea tables and chairs in the MIDDLE OF A FOREST. But, whatever.

Tong: Okay so I might lose some people here, but I actually liked Tong. I mean that I liked how he was as an antagonist, not his personality because FUCK THAT GUY. It was honestly refreshing to see an antagonist that seemed realistic rather than cartoon-villainy in a Thai series. He felt like someone you might actually meet in real life and that made me more invested in his character. The way he was mostly chill, yet still felt the need to put his name on things to secure his position made sense and the way he got cocky and took a gamble that backfired so he secretly abused his in-laws' trust to attempt to cover it up messily also felt kind of believable. Then the way he was using his own future baby as leverage as a last-ditch effort just sealed the deal for me. Though I do agree with other reviews mentioning how he didn't deserve a semi-redemption arc and happy ending, I think it made sense for his character. He never struck me as fully morally black, so while that redemption arc felt rushed, it also didn't feel impossible to me. His happy ending made sense because a lot of the time people like him get away with the things they've done because of status, reputation, family ties, wealth. etc. So while I find him detestable, I get why he got his happy ending in the end.

The rest of Ming's family:
1. Mike was cool. He's played by Inntouch so I automatically felt a little (a lottle actually) endeared to him as a character. I liked how you could tell he did care for his brother, yet wasn't just going to give him everything off the bat without verifying things for himself first. One of the few characters I sensed true maturity from. Too bad him and Secretary Jim were so neglected because I was kind of getting interested in them by the end.
2. May: poor girl was as forgettable as Secretary Jim. She had such a lack of relevance that I genuinely started to wonder if they forgot to include her in the family drama or what. Literally just served to be Tong's walking leverage.
3. The mom: I did like her by the end. When she called Joe a gold-digger I kind of laughed.....but then I thought that was probably was too because her and the husband look like they are at least 20 years apart and they already have three adult kids so I have no idea what that was about. The way she was avoided being seen by Ming made her seem a lot scarier than she actually was, which I felt was a bit anti-climactic. I could tell from her reactions that breaking Ming and Joe up actually hurt her deep down, but she thought was doing the best thing for Ming and her family by keeping someone like Joe out. Also, that final scene where she had dinner with them was adorable. Loved that.
4. The dad: This man just screamed domestic abuser to me. The way everyone in the family was scared of him (except for that ballsy loser Tong it seemed) and even his wife had no power to sway his mind honestly irked me. Though, there are actual families out there like this, so I didn't think it impossible. But, like, then they tried to push him just wanting the best for Ming and not being homophobic at all and I was just like "Huh?" They really tried to give him a Fighter's dad from Why R U? treatment I swear. I MEAN HE LITERALLY PULLED OUT A GUN TO THREATEN JOE AND THEY SAY HE IS ACTUALLY A PRETTY UPSTANDING GUY? YEAH MAYBE PULL THAT ISH IN A UNIVERSE LIKE LOVE SYNDROME, BUT NOT HERE MATE.

Other Joe's mom:
She annoyed me. I have no idea why Joe was SO attached to her. I understand feeling the need to repay her for her efforts, but this man called her "mom" like it was natural like one month into being her impersonator son. OH R.I.P. original Joe btw. He was so irrelevant and his weirdo ex too like anything linked to him lost relevancy by episode 5 or 6. Also this mother made me so mad when got mad at Joe for being a "paramour" and lying about taking out a big loan, but bitch didn't you also take out loans and sacrifice your livelihood to help your son live well? Stop acting like he sold his soul to the devil or something. You know I bet she wouldn't have acted NEARLY as hypocritically like that if he agreed to the hoe to a rich WOMAN instead. Just admit you are still mega homophobic and be on with it sis.

Sol:
Dear god he made no sense to me whatsoever. You could take him out of the story and virtually nothing would change. Why was he even here? His reason for leaving Joe was already dumb and rooted in homophobia to begin with, but then he suddenly, what, became gay and missed Joe so he no longer felt like Joe had bad intentions? Wtf. Okay, guy. Also, this man could NOT TAKE A HINT! Joe was so CLEARLY NOT INTO HIM.....yet he still kept pushing that fact that he liked him onto Joe...like, I'm pretty sure Joe knows you like him after the fifth time you told him so you don't have to reiterate it again mate......him leaving for South Korea was so refreshing because if he decided to stick around and be an eternal third wheel I think I might start feeling sympathy for Joe again. Oh wait, how come Sol could keep coming to Thailand for extended periods of time? Isn't the Kpop industry quite demanding on its actors? I figured he was a solo actor, but even that didn't make up for the times I questioned how he could spend so much unfiltered time in Thailand. Also, he filmed a BL music video....but isn't South Korea pretty homophobic? I wonder how that went over for him when he returned......


In conclusion; this series gave me a semi-headache. By the halfway mark I was already counting down the episodes until the finish mark because the characters (JOEEE) were tiring me out so much. Joe will now go down in my TierListMaker BL Protagonists list as near-bottom tier. Let's make a more tolerable main couple next time please. <3

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Came for Chi Cheng, stayed for Cheng Yu

I rarely commit to shows as they air since I don't like waiting weeks for them to finish, but this sped it up near the end so it wasn't unbearable. It had a lot going for it: uncensored Chinese BL, mature themes, scrumptious looking cast, 24 episode BL, and decent production to boot. What wasn't there to absolutely entice me? It even had the trope where the relationship begins one-sidedly as the other is hiding their true intentions. I love dark romance and that was a perfect enticer. Despite this, what went wrong for me to score it this low? I think that comes down to a few glaring issues I had with this series, but I'll start with the good first.

I really enjoyed how the story started; simple, yet effective. It introduces the key characters and gives you an idea of what their personalities are like as well as setting up the plot.

One way this story stood out to me was how the characters appeared. SW was not over the top to the point that I found him annoying or unsympathetic. On the contrary I really did sympathize with him and see him as a refreshing take on the BL protagonist archetypes. He wasn't a damsel nor was he someone that was invincible throughout the entire story. He existed and didn't allow everyone to step all over him, yet still managed to keep his wits about him. He knew how to use his abilities to his advantage and was willing to step out of his comfort zone if it meant he could progress in his goals. He could act immature at times but I didn't feel like I was watching a minor. And boy his smile could light up the whole room.

CC was shown in the very first episode to be someone who was morally questionable and seemed to engage in elicit activities. So, I wasn't exactly expecting a green flag, and I was okay with that. I love dark romance and CC's evolution toward how he treated SW made sense to me. He treated him aggressively at first because he was viewing him much in the same way he viewed his previous hookups; someone he just wants to rough up and move on with. It's cruel, but it made sense for his character. He then started to warm up to him as he saw how cute and endearing SW was, and it really shows on his face how enamored he became. The actor really portrayed his looks of longing well and the scene where it was first made clear his love for SW by him just smiling whilst only looking at him, completely zoning out from whatever SW is talking to him about, is swoon worthy. Though I have to admit that he personally isn't my type. And that's fine. I liked him at first through edits I saw, but that slowly changed throughout the story as the audience got to know him better. One of the things I really did like about this show was how despite me not finding the main two to be my "type" I can still appreciate their screen time. Also, "Wei Wei" is such a cute fucking nickname and I love it.

XS was a character that felt a bit misplaced in this story and that's probably because unlike the other three, his morals were almost mostly white. I liked him immediately from his introduction and his wholesomeness. I appreciated how his acceptance of his sexuality contrasted with SW's denial. He was committed to his goal of helping people and he wasn't a complete pushover. I found him to be the most relatable character in the show with how he wants to deny CY's advances and stay true to himself, but finds himself craving the attention he shows him. It really does speak to people with abandonment and trust issues. His inexperience in relationships also didn't upset me with how it is usually portrayed in romances either; he wasn't a pro, but he still had realistic reactions and expectations.

And now we have reached what ended up being my favorite part of the drama: CY. I fell in love with his character by the end of the story and it came completely unexpectedly to me. I started off not liking him as I thought he'd just be CC's even douchier friend that sexually harasses people and plays with others' feelings but I was wrong. From what we see OF him he is a complete romantic. He carried himself in a relaxed manner that put me at ease whenever he was on screen. Oh yeah, he had IMMACULATE vibes. He was easily the most mature out of the entire cast and he was confident but not in an obtrusive way. I really love how he devoted himself to XS and didn't want to force him into sleeping with him. That might seem like the bare minimum, but in BL Land it is not. He was the ultimate friend to the main three and was always there to lend a helping hand with anything serious happened. He EASILY had my favorites lines in the entire show. A few snippets are "They didn't; their next boyfriend did" like damn. He just took a shot at himself + this immaculate line in the final episode that he says "You are responsible for loving the world, and I'm responsible for loving you" in response to XS feeling like he hasn't contributed enough to CY. WHAT A SWEETHEART!! That is in my top 5 romantic lines of all time and idgaf what anyone says as context of the relationship is what gives that line weight. Xiao Shuai loving the world is what Cheng Yu appreciates, not undivided attention. The best he could ask for in their relationship is that Xiao Shuai doesn't compromise himself just to appease Cheng Yu. That would go against his meaning of love. Amazing. 10/10.

The bromance is pretty compelling. SW and XS were BFFs. Their over the top planning boards, boy problems, and their double dates. As for CC and CY, I can't deny that I shipped it. I'M SORRY. I was so engrossed in their complex relationship because of how despite their frenemyship it was clear that they cared. Them pseudo-sharing guys was weird though.

Now that gets me into my messiest positive of this show: the shipability of every main dude. CC and CY's kiss scene made me feel things and their close relationship was exuding underlying sexual tension. I think they would have actually slept together at some point if they never got into committed relationships. As for how that scenario would go.....that shall be left up to each viewer's imagination. We were still robbed of a kiss scene between SW and XS though. I lowkey thought XS x CC and SW x CY had potential. CC was definitely attracted to XS, and in the novel SW and CY could've *almost* slept together in some weird circumstance.

CC's family was an interesting take on the rich in-laws trope. His dad actually being a big tsundere was hilarious and his wife that was stricter was entertaining when she scolded him. How their responses to CC and SW being together was handled actually decent. It made sense and didn't overtly piss me off. I actually found them surprisingly progressive with their thinking, all things considered. I was expecting worse from them considering their social status, age, and culture.

Bad:

YY was one-dimensional and her exit felt underwhelming.

The guy that YY was cheating with ended up showing up again after his car wreck and he came out of nowhere and was off-screened. There was no foreshadowing of his plans nor any depth to his character. It felt like an insult to the audience's patience by making him the final antagonist.

CC's dad was more of a fake villain so he wasn't so bad. That being said, he became annoying right at the end when he was acting fierce toward SW out of nowhere despite seeming like he wanted the best for him.

WS and WZ were pretty interesting at first and I liked WS even before he appeared. It was obvious he was going to come back because of how foreshadowed he was and I love the "slutty ex" antagonists when they aren't one dimensional. I love a good drama queen and although most people don't like it, I actually like cheating or borderline cheating plots. I have no idea why either, I just do. I liked how although he was shown to misplace his anger and jealousy, he was still sympathetic and what he did was because of his insecurity that CC never loved him. Even I thought CC and CY acted questionably close so I understood his misunderstanding. What CC said in those clips recorded by WS really didn't help his case either. WZ was an interesting character that I wanted to know more about. His two-faced nature juxtaposed with how sweetly he looked at SW was fascinating and I was waiting for it to be elaborated on. But it wasn't. In fact, both him and WS just dip near the end and don't come back until CC is in jail in order for WS to make fun of the main two...then gets roasted by SW and leaves...then they come back in the finale for a WATER GUN FIGHT?! Their visuals were nice, the fashion could be questionable; my main issue was that WZ's dudebro tank top and jeans were so jarring compared to what every other character wore that it made me giggle. Something that I wasn't fond of was how they had sexual tension despite being step brothers. I dislike ships of any sibling kind so I was glad that it was never indicated that they got together because I heard it's implied in the novel.

Something that I am iffy on is the way darker themes are handled. Ex: CC is heavily implied to force himself on a lot of CY's partners out of spite and in the first episode he throws a guy to be sexually abused by a group of people + he gets a couple into a car accident just so he can get a fake gf. He threatens to assault XS and that was handled as a joke instead of a genuine threat. It was made obvious that XS was scared, but it was instead used as an excuse to get SW to sleep with CC. In general, it didn't sit right with me how overinvolved these guys were with getting others to sleep with their partners for the first time. If CC really didn't want to force SW then he wouldn't have wanted to coerce him into it through threatening his BFF. When it came to XS, SW and CC were deplorable to have faked domestic abuse to guilt XS into sleeping with CY. Their nosiness was insane. Love CY for not having it. Also, having SW future father-in-law literally KIDNAP AND TIE HIM UP is WTF.

The second half. WHY DID THE CAR ACCIDENT GUY COME BACK WITH NO FORESHADOWING, THE SECRETARY TURN ANTAGONIST, A WHOLE JAIL ARC, AND THEN A WATER GUN PUBLIC FIGHT END THIS SHOW?!

Overall, I liked the earlier episodes and where the plot was going, but the plot fizzled out as it went and the way the ending water gun fight felt damn near same as the season 7 lightsaber fight of the Flash. Iykyk. Will I read the source material? HELL no. I sampled a few chapters and I could SMELL the toxicity between the lines. I've learned my lesson after Kinnporsche.

I need a Guo Cheng Yu in my life. ʕ◉ᴥ◉ʔ

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He let the world burn for him.

Whooo boy this was a rollercoaster of a series to watch. I went into it with knowledge of the ending and a few other events, but even with that I ended up with my jaw on the floor at least on three separate occasions.

Despite my score only being a 7.0/10, I did enjoy this series. I thought it had ideas that were great and would suit my taste perfectly, except what bogged it down was definitely the pacing. If I had to guess, it was probably because they adapted a lengthy novel into a series that couldn't go beyond twelve episodes. It's a common issue even Chinese dramas with over thirty episodes face. If it had been given at least double the length, I think it would have been revolutionary in the BL drama sphere. That being said, I still think it shows a good sign for future Chinese BL dramas to be adapted without censorship. I sincerely hope that other novels like Mo Dao Zu Shi and Thousand Autumns can have faithful adaptations to follow suit in future years. I think this spells something positive for LGBTQ+ novels getting adapted, and I'm really happy about that.

Now going into the story itself, there was a lot to unpack. Let me start off by saying that I thought the show looked great for clearly being a lower budget BL series. The costumes were amazing and I liked a lot of the hairstyles as well. The swordplay was nice and fight scenes, though sparse, were hype. Not to mention how they used their environments to the best of their ability and the music was mostly pleasant. I say mostly because there were times when the music would be so loud in scenes that my eardrums would be blasted like I was at a rave. But the songs themselves were pretty nice; not that it's surprising considering most Chinese dramas tend to have decent music. I was just happy seeing a BL be given that same treatment.

The acting was decent, but I never felt that it was extraordinary. That is not an insult to the actors as I think they did well for what they were given, just that none of them seemed to "envelope" their characters in a way that would be hard to replicate for any other actor. The actor that I think did the best was probably Shu He's by a small margin. But that might just be my bias talking as he was undeniably my favorite character in the series. The central couple performed the intimacy scenes well and it didn't feel forced.

The plot was really intense and it felt like there was always something important brewing. I think the short amount of episodes made it hard to feel like there was "period of peace" in-between all of the drama. As I said earlier, my jaw was on the floor multiple times because of how caught off guard I was by certain scenes. I'm not gonna lie, when the crown princes were both cut through I was flabbergasted since I didn't think they'd actually kill them off so early on. I was still parading in the streets when Shu Qian got alley-ooped off the fifth story bridge. I also was feeling whiplashed when both of the old guy emperors were killed off by their sons when they only had like three scenes TOPS. Shu Qian and Zi Ang both had that dog in them, so when they were squaring off on the bridge I was so hype because Shu Qian had finally met his match of crazy. Zi Ang didn't disappoint either since he sent that mofo flying.

Though, an issue I think this series had (or maybe the translation), was that it felt like a lot of plot points were too vague or confusing to the point that when secrets were revealed, I was left confused on just what was happening. I was actually paying attention for 90% of the drama too, so I was even MORE confused on what was happening. When it was revealed on the bridge that Zi Ang was a "spy" for the North and Shu He was shell-shocked, I was just like "Wait, didn't you already figure this out?" because Shu He had been suspecting him since episode one. Then I backtracked and did the mental math and realized "Oh yeah, he only knows he wants to murder his older brother, not that he is on the North's side." There was also a lot of plot points that were briskly mentioned/shown in the latter half regarding the time skip that were hard to immerse myself in because it all had to happen super quick in a short amount of time despite the fact that it needed episodes of build-up before execution. I also had no idea on who was guilty in the past or not and the Prime Minister Gu was just never mentioned nor shown again after Shu Qian died. I also had no idea what the drama surrounding the sudden marriage alliance was nor how it actually ended, but maybe I just wasn't paying attention enough in that episode.

The central core of this series was definitely its characters and I think that was its saving grace. I loved Shu He and the writers truly succeeded at making me sympathize with his character. He was someone that was forced into a terrible situation by the people around him and felt like he had no control over his life, When he said "I am nothing, and I own nothing" I really felt sorry for him because he suffered greatly. A man that only ever wanted to live a peaceful life devoid of bloodshed ended up having to watch his kingdom be razed to the ground and his family massacred. I could relate to how he felt toward his brother since I've also been in a situation where I longed for a family member to acknowledge my existence and not see it in a bad light, yet end up never having that person's time of day nor love. Of course, his situation with Shu Qian was far more extreme than that, but at its core it was a feeling of longing for love from someone that couldn't care less about you. Most of the time in stories I tend to find characters that cling on to people that treat them terribly to be insufferable, but I think they wrote Shu He's situation quite gracefully. His expectations were never too high, yet even he knew the bare minimum of what he expected from those around him would never be met. Then he gets trapped in a borderline abusive relationship with his lover near the end after having to accept that he was a major let down to his people; despite never wanting to be the emperor whatsoever. His exit from the story made perfect sense for how he had been written up until that point and so I accepted it far better than a lot of other viewers probably did.

Zi Ang was definitely a special case for me. I tend not to like characters where their major personality points all are centered around their love interest, but I ended up liking him despite that. I think something that made it tolerable was that his initial meeting with Shu He was never intended to form a romantic relationship, which made their subsequent development of feelings all the more believable. His options post-darkening were also portrayed (in my eyes) in a more negative light, and I could accept them much easier as a result; I'm largely more forgiving of these kinds of characters if the author is self-aware and doesn't sugarcoat everything that they do (which I believed was portrayed through Shu He's suffering and Zi Ang's subtle guilt). I could believe that someone deprived of affection like Zi Ang would latch onto someone like Shu He, a person that was full of love to give. I enjoyed how he wasn't afraid to take the moral low ground in their relationship and when he acted berserk later on my eyes were glued to the screen. That being said, the pacing made it hard to understand why he went berserk to the extreme that he did. Though, he was shown to always have that dog in him, so I didn't find it *that* far-fetched that he turn all yandere; "If I want you dead, you will die. If I want you alive, you will live. Not even the king of the underworld could take you from me," which ended up being proven true since Shu He never escaped him even in death. Something that I didn't like about him was the poison plot they assigned to him; I'll be honest, I'm dead tired of authors using the whole "poison from years ago resurfaces and now I have two months left to live" trope. It's so overused and I have yet to see it executed in a satisfying way. When they brought that plot point up with him I swear I felt my eyes roll so far into the back of my skull that I could see my nerves or whatever else is back there.

The other characters were underdeveloped because of the short run time. Though, they did well as stand-alone characters in the story. Shu Qian was a character that they did a good job of making me despise until even after his death; I did not accept that he was forgiving in the afterlife though-I rejected that on behalf of Shu He. Him going crazy and ending up deranged due to the corruption of power was unsightly, yet believable as history has shown it happen time and time again. I just wish we could have seen more scenes of them getting along as well as the scenes that could show little seeds of doubt being planted in Shu Qian from an early age that conflicted with his love for his brother. I wasn't a fan that most of their backstory was gatekept behind exposition to the point that I couldn't tell when Shu He was being honest or just fibbing for an act. I couldn't believe he'd have an off-screen redemption arc in the afterlife after he tried to murder his little brother right before he died despite his brother trying to defend him. Also, not him calling out his brother for "sharing a bed" with a guy who was playing him like a fiddle; have some decency and don't roast your lil bro like that LMAO. That scene had me dead.

Huo Ying and Shen Song were in a similar boat as I liked them individually, but they were never really fleshed out. I also couldn't care less about any of the romances surrounding Huo Ying. I couldn't even tell he liked Shu Qian until other people pointed it out since I never interpreted their interactions as even 0.1% romantic. Also, working under someone for 17 years when you are barely in your mid twenties is CRAZY work. Seriously, what were even the ages of all of the characters when they were committing all of these crimes??? When it was revealed that Shu Qian was 24 I was dead since it made no sense that people thought he plotted a high treason crime of the Duans if he was really that young back then. But anyway, Shen Song deserved better than to pine for a guy that had no interest in him romantically. I did end up enjoying their platonic relationship though as a result of the unrequited feelings. I liked how Shen Song was a good friend of Shu He, yet I swear 20% of what he said to him had a sexual undertone when referring to Zi Ang like when he whispered that he could "be with him" after treating his wounds in like episode ten. Despite that, I liked his integrity as a doctor and his sassiness was always welcome.

The character that really annoyed me was Huai Ying: Zi Ang's annoying little adopted brother. Seriously, what was his problem? For being a guy that was raised as a monk, he was sure good at switching up as a greasy glazer of his psychotic estranged brother. His switch up was wild and I was mad confused on why he was acting so hostile to Shu He and Shen Song when they both helped him. I was actually waiting for him to stop glazing yet he never did. Then they had the audacity to sit him at the little round table in the final episode and chill with the lot of the characters that were still alive and expect me not to burst out laughing as if they were all homies despite half of them not liking each other. Like, this isn't a Disney Channel special, y'all. Let's be serious.

There were also a lot of high-ranking guys like the Prime Minister, the General, the two Emperors, the Crown Prince of the North along with his sister, that were just thrown to the curb writing-wise. Like, they got sidelined and off-screened mostly and that was disappointing.

In conclusion, I really did like the premise of this story, just not necessarily its execution. I love a good dark romance, and lovers to enemies? Sign me the fuck up! If the novel ever gets an official English translation, I can picture myself buying it as well. I would like to see how the pacing in the source material compares to the series' adaptation. All in all, would I recommend this? Yes, but someone needs a fair warning of the material it portrays as it can get pretty dark. Now, I will go watch edits of this show with "Let the world burn" by Chris Grey playing the background. ╰(✿´⌣`✿)╯♡

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Stockholm Syndrome III times over

Oh brother this review was a long time coming. I've put it off for too long and my brain won't let it down that I've never written a review about this series. This review will be a bit more personal than the others because I've actually read the first book and parts of the second and third books. I seriously cannot believe how awful of a writer this author is. ᇂ_ᇂ

Why on God's green earth did the author decide to make every. single. relationship so awful and toxic in their books? Day and Itt are one of the worst couples in both fiction and real life and yet, they aren't even the most abusive relationship that author has written according to other comments I saw. Somehow Kan and Beam take the cake on that one so now I can rest assured knowing I will never touch that book with a ten foot pole.

For any lucky soul that hasn't touched the books, just know that if you think the show is bad, that the books are many times worse. I swear this author incorporated as many problematic scenes as possible and anything else that isn't inherently problematic is awful in its own perverse way. Every single type of abuse you can think of is involved: sexual (A LOT THE MOST ABUNDANT I SWEAR), physical, psychological, emotional, and financial. No relationship is safe (except for maybe Fuu and his partner but I'm not sure because I was too afraid to read their story in Gear x Night's book because of the fear of my fantasy of them being healthy shattering).

The show portrays the toxicity but it never really shows what happened before Day and Itt got together. This is attributed to the fact that this show only adapts the third book and not the first two. It was most likely because the first two were too graphic and nothing but pure torture porn thinly disguised as plot points. One of the worst things I have ever read in my life. The show is vague but they do in fact meet after Day beats and sexually assaults Itt as his form of revenge for Itt and his friends being cruel to Day's little brother, Night. He never really punishes Itt's friends though (something the comments pointed out where I read it, thank god), and even allows one of them to date Night in the end. Oh and did I mention that he keeps Itt locked up in his room and repeatedly abuses him in multiple ways? Yeah, that happens. Couple goals!!!!!! (kill me)

The show must feel so confusing to anyone that never read the first two books because characters just seem to exist, villains come out of nowhere, and backstories make no sense. This is made infinitely times worse by the fact that the flashbacks in this show are horrendous and the sound design is atrocious. The music is so bad and I couldn't deal with the strange editing and scene jumps that they loved to use. Not to mention how the acting was stilted and Frank's wig was BAD!!!!

I liked Frank in 'Cause You're My Boy, but he is really bad here. Like, astoundingly bad. Of course, there wasn't much to work with character-wise, but I think he only made a lame character even worse. He doesn't even fit how I would picture Itt either. Itt is very handsome, arrogant, skinny, pale, and dependent. Here, he is overly exaggerated and doesn't feel like the rich son that is spoiled like how the books made him feel. Frank is cute, but he doesn't have this sort of fierceness to him that I think is what made Itt so attractive to other characters in the books. I think the Itt from Love Syndrome: The Beginning movie is far better of a fit than this one or dear lord the one in Unforgotten Night.

Day's actor was noticeably better, but still not groundbreaking most likely because of the terrible script. He seems to fit how I'd picture Day a lot more than the movie did and I'm not sure how he compares to the Day from Unforgotten Night because the way Day is described is hard to picture. Personality-wise, this show did better though. Unforgotten Night seems to paint Itt and Day as being a lot sweeter and healthier than they actually are. That might be in part due to how Kim views them as an outside that once loved Day, but it still doesn't change the fact that the casting in that mirrored that portrayal. The actor for Day in the movie was awful because they reused an actor from this! And guess what, that actor didn't portray Day! He portrayed some random one-off character that liked Itt from a bar or something.

Gear and Night looked really cute in this and you'd almost believe they were sweet on each other if you didn't read their novel. They are astoundingly attractive here however, and I think Gear's actor in this is far more suited for it than his in the movie's was. The movie version's actor was so out of place and didn't fit Gear at all. Gear is a handsome playboy that wins over the boyish Night. Night in the movie was actually decent though. He was cute and pretty, whilst the actor in this show was much more elegant and kind-looking. So, I think either could work.

Nick and Neil's actors are actually probably the best casting choices. I think they their descriptions in the novel well, and Nick is who I'd say had the best actor in the entire show and movie combined too. I think Neil's actor is the same in the movie too and that was good except for the fact that he gets like 2 scenes in that entire movie so it made virtually no difference whatsoever. They seemed genuinely cute in this but sadly the curse of the source material affects their relationship too so the reviews saying they were a healthy relationship are in the dark.

Nan and Mac actually have two books dedicated to them and they are quite toxic too. Nan definitely was Day's protege except the only difference in this one is the added cruelty that Nan doesn't even have any personal grievance with Mac. He only tortures him because Day wants him to and then he continues to do it because he enjoys watching Mac squirm. The show made no sense by giving them their "happy ending" at the end because it makes no sense whatsoever without the details of their novels. I think Mac's casting was good as he has a unique attractiveness, "dog" face (affectionate), and is very pale too. His actor also portrayed his dismay well I think. Nan's casting was a bit different because I'm pretty sure Nan is supposed to be very well built and have tattoos. They probably couldn't find someone like that though. Not surprising considering what happened with Kamol's casting in Unforgotten Night (yes I know these two shows were not produced by the same people but I don't care because the similarities in poor quality speak volumes of their source material).

The villain being Pee must be so fucking confusing to watchers-only because only readers would understand his significance. He was the first main villain of book 1 that tried to get Itt to leave Day for him. I actually kind of liked him in the book because it was quite obvious that he only wanted Itt by the end because he wanted to one-up Day. It was a pissing (no pun intended) contest between them to have ownership over Itt and was about pride over anything else. Pee was Itt's father's friend's son (dear lord this was tough to type) that was around Itt's age. He was kind of crazy even in book 1 and was always testing Day's patience. He was kind of fucking hilarious with how he would completely ignore Day just to talk to Itt excitedly. I never read far enough into book 3 to know what he's like when he returns, but I think the show portrays him poorly as an antagonist. He was far more entertaining in the first book yet he is so one-note in this and has the cliche manic villain laugh. I also have no idea why Pee's father allows him to keep causing problems. What a poor excuse of a father for letting his son attack his friend's son and partner TWICE!!! He literally kidnapped Itt in book 1 and shot both Day and Itt. Now in this we see Day's friends (besides Fuu for some reason I guess) repeating history to show up to save Day this time from Pee's antics. Because this author just loves reusing plot points. Itt was also fucking useless in that fight.

One thing I really hated was how the author clearly wanted all relationships to have an established "Uke-Seme" dynamic. Every single couple has this. There is no exception to this rule. Day and Itt are probably the worst offenders of it too. Itt is such a constant damsel that needs saving in the novels and Night follows this pattern too. It makes me sick how this author is such a clear fetishizer of mlm and how demonized female characters are in their works. The way women are described and treated feels very misogynistic and Day is (from what I've read) the worst offender of it. Not surprising considering his toxic masculinity but it was still hurtful to read as a female viewer. Hated the toxic masculinity that was portrayed constantly as well as the romanticization of abusive behaviors CONSTANTLY.

Also, why the fuck does Itt have such a harem??? He had so many men + women going after him in all three of the books listed. There were loads of unnamed women, Meen, Mac, Day, Pee, Ball, Korn, and probably some other people I'm forgetting that either got or wanted a slice of that Itt pie. I have no idea why either because he wasn't very likable to begin with and was obligatorily spoiled and ungrateful. Day even jokes (maybe only half) about basically putting a chastity belt or "pheromone blocker" on him. Side note: thank god this isn't set in the omegaverse. Genuinely surprised the author didn't add that in too.

I also really hate Itt's parents in the novel. Moreso his father actually because he is so selfish and was so against Day and Itt (only because it was gay not because of any knowledge of what happened between them) but then decided to allow only if Day could rake in the profits from the side business Itt's father was opening by setting unreasonable standards and not even telling Itt anything about it. Itt thought Day had abandoned him out of nowhere and was left thinking like that for like SIX MONTHS!!!!!! I also really hate how the author wrote (multiple times!) that Day and Itt's father are alarming similar in personality. Especially when it came to pursuing their partners. What the fuck. That just makes their relationship infinitely times creepier and creates an even worse power imbalance to picture especially when I recall a comment describing how Day groomed Itt to be like his little brother (except that he could fuck) because his brother was now grown up and didn't need him as much and Itt looks up to Day like his father and depends on him like one. It was so ew.

This show was just awful and the only thing I kind of liked were parts of the fight scenes. My brother was in the room when that bar fight happened and Day put Itt on the pool table. That was a blast to watch together. Try explaining this poorly produced show to someone without causing them a headache (or yourself) I dare you.

This review is too fucking long and I knew that it would be too. I had a lot to express regarding this story and none of it was good. Would I recommend this show? Fuck no!!! The production is bad, acting is either alarmingly bad (Itt) or stiff, characters are dogwater, plot is a dumpster fire, and the sound design is the worst I have ever seen in something. Not to mention that weird ass fight of Day against the 8 ft fighter at the end because what even was that???? I was so flabbergasted trying to comprehend what was even going on, man.........but would I recommend the source material????? Even more NO!!!!!!! I SAW A REVIEW SAYING THEY WERE GONNA READ IT AND I HOPE THEY OPTED OUT AND DECIDED NOT TO BECAUSE NO HUMAN BEING DESERVES TO GO THROUGH THAT MONSTROSITY!!!!!!!! I believe I can now watch any romance regardless of toxicity because of what Love Syndrome (both the book and show) put me through. I have never felt stronger.

Final statement: ╰༼=ಠਊಠ=༽╯┌( ಠ_ಠ)┘༼;´༎ຶ ۝ ༎ຶ༽(￣x￣;)⋋| ◉ ͟ʖ ◉ |⋌

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Trauma Friend

I'm honestly surprised that I finished this series so quickly because I've tried watching shorter series with more interesting plots and put them on-hold indefinitely. But don't let this fool you into thinking this a gem or anything because it is undoubtedly something I wish I could get my time back from watching. I just don't understand how there are such high reviews on the uncut version on MDL because the story itself is so boring yet questionable at times. I'd also like to point out that I watched it on Youtube, so I'm assuming that was the cut version so I'm not 100% sure of what the uncut version contributes to the story, but I do know that I'd probably (dis)like it the same amount as I do with the cut version.

So I generally start these with a Likes and Dislikes list but I'll definitely tear into in the Dislikes section

Likes:
- Uea is confirmed gay
- Demonizing homophobia
- James and Net are scarily attractive
- Uea's sass was at times charming
- King looks good with his buttons down on his shirt
- Gunn was cute
- The big boss actually caring about his employees
- Talking about safe sex and get tested for STDs
- Setting rules for the friends with benefits relationship
- King's parents actually considering their son's happiness above and prejudices they may have
- That scene where Uea started unbuttoning his shirt to get King to close his was pretty fun
- Uea's aunt was sweet; nice to see a least one positive aspect in Uea's life beyond just King.
- The antagonists' actors played their scummy characters well. I believed every second of the scum quartet (pedo step-dad, bitch mom, psycho ex, and boss mc-grabby)

Dislikes: (oh boy here we go!)
- Uea's actor cannot play the emotional scenes at all. This is awful because this character is CONSTANTLY suffering and I swear I just felt awkward watching him try to portray a traumatized young man. They seriously needed someone that could shoulder the weight of playing a character going through endless suffering and James was just not it. They needed War Wanarat here to play such a distraught character.
- Why TF is Uea constantly suffering throughout the story? This man got molested by his gross ass step-dad throughout his childhood, got beaten and shamed by his whore mother, got cheated on and nearly raped by his psycho ex, got dubconned by King in like episode 1, and then of course he nearly got raped by his scummy boss. What. The. FUCK. I'm not even saying that I'm adverse to him going through multiple trials and tribulations in this story but dear god why is his suffering somehow worse than that lame ass main character from that Jinx manhwa????? You can make a main character be sympathetic and portray how trauma impacts a relationship without throwing every possible unfortunate thing at them and then call it "character building." They quite literally checked the noncon trauma box to every aspect of Uea's life: molester step-dad in his family life, rapey ex in his personal life, and pervy boss in his work life. Seriously makes me wonder how many yaoi manhwa the original writer referenced when trying to make the saddest main character known to man.
- This series (and the positive reviews) boast of how consensual the main relationship is, yet gloss over the fact that Uea and King's first night together was dubcon at best, and noncon at worst. Say it with me kids: someone. being. drunk. is. not. able. to. consent. Uea was heavily intoxicated to the point that King had to take him home and King was most definitely sober in comparison to him given how lucid he was and could think the situation through. He's even aware that Uea being drunk can't equal clear consent yet does him anyway! Why was this necessary? They could've tried to find the loophole of them both being equally drunk like most other shows do, yet they decided that making it a clear case of taking advantage of a drunk person was the best choice writing-wise. Great relationship-building guys! (I'd also like to point out that adding themes of lack of consent in a story doesn't automatically make it bad or disqualify a relationship between two characters from the jump, yet what bothers me the most here is how the story completely glosses over it and then acts like they are the most consensual couple ever.)
- Jade was annoying as fuck. So was the middle-aged lady and the trans(?) woman. Tired of the constant portrayals of transwomen and femboys in BL being these over-the-top, ultra girliepop people that can't seem to speak at a normal vocal level.
- Dear fuck this is the part that pissed me off the most. So in episode 4, Uea was just nearly raped by his psycho ex in his own car and narrowly escaped because of King's aid in scaring him off (instead of, oh I don't know, CALLING THE COPS OR SECURITY?????). Uea is (justifiably) shaken up and having flashbacks to his childhood trauma, and then it cuts to them chilling near some railing or something and King remarks how if he weren't there in time, Uea's psycho ex would have definitely raped him then and there. He then says something along the lines of "what will I get as a reward? (indicating sex)" and to this I have a question to pose as well, except to the writers: What the fuck is wrong with you?????? Who in their right mind thinks "Oh you know what a character with childhood molestation trauma that nearly just got raped by their psycho ex wants right after? To get fucked." WHAT?! They unintentionally made King seem like the scummiest character on planet Earth with this one line alone because why would he assume that a guy that was bawling his eyes out after nearly getting raped by his ex would want to reward him with sex that same day. This irked me so bad man. I nearly wanted to drop the score even lower just for this scene alone.
- The mother never really suffered the consequences of her actions. Was her crying over her diddy husband supposed to be her comeuppance? Well it certainly didn't satisfy my rage. This woman deserves to suffer for eternity for the awful shit she put her own son through. She was the ultimate villain, yet barely suffered at all. Honestly, Uea abandoning her only really works in her favor considering how much she stated she hated him and would've lived a far happier life without him around to pollute it.
- Psycho-ex is quite literally a sex offender yet doesn't suffer ANY CONSEQUENCES. Other than a punch. Wooooooow such a grave repercussion. He even still has a boyfriend from what is shown. What the hell?
- The step-dad is arrested but let's be honest, will he really suffer much in the long-term? There is barely any evidence and how much of a serious offense is sexual harassment (not even molestation and attempted rape as the charges) in the Thai justice system anyway? Would've been nice if they could've confirmed what his status in passing or something. But nope. We are completely left in the dark as to whether he even got convicted or not.
- The sexual-harasser boss didn't even get charged for what he did even though it was caught in 4K Ultra Definition. He just gets a slap on the wrist and probably moved to another department and still invited to the big boss' Thanksgiving dinners.
- Uea hating King so much at the beginning didn't even make sense because King didn't even get to ask him out at that bar and just because that twink boy called him over doesn't mean they're exclusive. Hell, he could've just met that guy that night. What was Uea so pressed with him for?
- King liked Uea so much but I never understood why. He wholeheartedly wanted his attention and affection yet Uea made it abundantly clear he didn't even like to be in the same office space as him. Take a hint buddy or else you'll be added to the ongoing list of Uea's harassers that seems to grow with just about every episode.
- The sex scenes were cringe affffff. I felt uncomfortable watching them. Opposite of what you want to feel when watching consensual sex scenes between two objectively attractive people of genders you are attracted to.
- Was Uea's trauma healed by King's dick game or something? It kind of felt like that. But at least they mentioned him seeing a psychiatrist by the end. That's something I guess.
- Time skip galore in the last two eps.
- King apparently has a hot older brother, yet we only see him once. I was so shell-shocked when he appeared because I was kept wondering that entire scene "who the fuck is this guy?"
- It made zero sense that Uea would agree to be friends with benefits with King out of nowhere especially because he seemed to dislike that fact that they had a one night stand at all. Was it really just because King gave pocket money to Uea's mom? Because if he agreed to it out of gratitude then that doesn't sit right with me at all. He should do it if he reeeeally wants to; not because he feels like he owes him (throwback to ep 4 when King asks for sex after saving Uea from a literal rapist).
- Opening pissed me off the more it played and would sometimes interrupt the flow of the scene before it to the point that I would get whiplash.
- King really felt like his only true personality trait was "I want Uea to give me attention." Felt really juxtaposed when next to Uea's "I have trauma. Like, literally every single episode. Brace yourself audience. It's going to get emotional. Though, you probably won't feel it because my actor can't mimic a crying person to save his life."

To be honest the music (other than the annoying intro) was alright but not noteworthy. Same with the production. They looked good on the boat though I'll say that. And that like one scene when there were at Uea's hometown and on the mountain and inn. I really hate when there is a filter or extreme makeup to powder on the actors' faces because it just takes away from their natural beauty in my opinion and makes them look like porcelain dolls.

Rewatch value? I would give this a 0 if I could but this site only goes as low as 1 so I'll stick with that (though in spirit it is a 0). I wouldn't even rewatch this for drunken fun or to make fun of it because it is frankly too boring to do that. At least nonsense like Love Syndrome III and The Heart Killers are rewatchable because of how entertainingly awful they are, but Trauma Friend is just plain stale. I'd also avoid putting myself through Uea's never ending suffering and James' inability to create a genuine look of suffering on his face. I can't enjoy a traumatized character if they don't even look traumatized (directed at whoever had reign over the casting choices).

To conclude, I really want my time back from watching this. I feel so burnout from watching a 10 episode series and I find that astounding because it somehow almost makes me feel as dead inside as The Legend of Zhen Huan did. And that show was 76 episodes.

Would I recommend this? Fuck no. The acting isn't worth it, the music isn't worth it, the set design isn't worth it, the plot most definitely isn't worth it, the characters aren't worth it, and the smut (which face it, that is what drew majority of people in) is cringe and soooooo not worth it.

Goodbye to Trauma Friend and hope I never see you again ~

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JunPo Heart That Skips Ever Getting a Beat

I am usually not a fan of reviews that are made when barely half of a show has come out or when 3/4 is only out, because at that point you ought to just wait it out before making a review. My The Heart Killers review was an exception to this rule because that series has been dropped and is beyond repair. However, this time I feel compelled to make a premature review because I think I can say with certainty that this is not a show for me.

I'll start with my classic pros and cons list, then go into more detail afterward.

Pros:
- Production was pretty. I am a sucker for vibrant colors and this one used quite a few. And of course, a show with idols will make them look bedazzled and pleasing to the eyes. So, + Points for that.
- Not set in a high school or university as the setting. It is set in an actual workplace.
- Nontoxic couple that actually tries to have communication and my issue with miscommunication pet peeve was not being stepped on.
- Male comradery with the MARS group. While they could feel stiff at times, I still did laugh at some of their little group interactions quite a bit.
- Reinforces the idea that although Thame is from a popular group and is well loved in his company for his success he is still a coworker just like Po and there shouldn't be a power imbalance.
- Mini twist of Jun actually caring about Thame even though it was at first painted as him being an antagonist.
- A main character that can ACTUALLY help further the plot.
- It presents the idea of the pain the one that leaves could feel rather than just making the one(s) left behind an eternal victim.
- Pepper. I just liked him the most out of the entire cast of characters.
- No unnecessarily misogynistic portrayals of women nor are they treated as bitchy exes that can't take "no" as an answer.
- I get to see Sammy and Drake a moderate amount as side characters. I missed them.

Cons:
- The main two are kind of too simple relationship and character wise as the story goes on. I like my romances to be a bit chaotic or questionable, so this one was just not formulated for me evidently.
- This might be just a me thing, but I actually wanted the idea of sexuality to be brought up rather than just a one-off line of "he likes tiny girls" (in which that should probably be reworded because it sounds diddy coded). I am obviously not a fan of homophobia but I wanted his close friends to question if he had always liked guys, and especially wanted him to seem at least a little conflicted with himself about it.
- The bandmates join back a little too fast. I was hoping for more conflict between them about that. Somehow Pepper was the most believable about it than the others and he technically showed up with the least amount of effort required to drag his ass back to the squad house.
- The main romance is just too boring and takes up a big part of the show; especially after the gang is reunited again.
- The idol part of the story started to lose my interest the more it went on. I cared less and less for their future because only about half of the group has any real relevancy.
- Thame seems to lose any of his internal conflict that made me like him so much in ep 1 a little too fast.
- Thame's jealousy annoyed me.
- They teased JunPo, only to completely disregard it just as fast and it made me question if Jun even actually confirmed liked Po or not.
- Baifern seems to almost not exist past like the first two episodes and I feel like she shouldn't just exist to be the initial quest giver.
- Cringe rapping in ep like 4. I understand that Thame was meant to be wrecked verbally for the sake of the plot, but I just don't like rap all that much so I was only really enjoying the setting rather than the music. The mint haired person also pissed me off because the logic that idols can't be real musicians or even rappers is so fucking dumb that I cannot believe people actually think this in real life. Do they actually? I really have no idea personally at all.
- I agree with some others that some of the acting isn't that good. I see others saying that William is fantastic for a rookie, but I just don't quite see it. I think he did alright, just not beyond alright. Beautiful voice, though.


The characters:
Po: I mean I just think he is kind of lacking personality wise. He had a few moments that shined with cheekiness like when he laughed at Jun, but then he goes back to feeling like a self-insert in a Wattpad that coincidentally has two idols going after him (as someone in the comments on Youtube pointed out).
Thame: I liked him at first because you could tell he was a troubled soul and it indicated a more complex personality that contrasted with the expected idol persona everyone sees. But then he seems to actually just be this fantasy guy that is almost perfect and always thinking of the protagonist. His jealousy also felt misplaced because of how his writing past the first two episodes was. I usually don't like intense jealousy plots to begin with, so maybe I'm biased, but I really didn't like this one for the simple reason that it felt misplaced and reeeally unnecessary because it was obvious to the audience and literally every other character that Po would not choose literally anyone over Thame.
Baifern: I miss her. Bring her baaaack other than a damn phone call every once in 5 episodes. Seeing Ciize makes me nostalgic because I swear I see her in every other thai show that I watch.
Jun: I actually like him the second most because he adds the much needed drama to keep me somehow watching for 8 episodes, but now that it seems his motives are found out and he has conceded going after Po to Thame he will probably be sidelined unfortunately. And I like mischievous characters too. He was such a homewrecker.
Pepper: I liked him the most. He is gorgeous, kind, understanding, unproblematic, and the best of all: mature. I liked that he was the problem solver compared to Jun's problem amplifier. I also like that he is in a confirmed and steady relationship with a woman because you rarely get to see those that much in these kind of shows unless the woman or him are problem starters.
Dylan: started out kind of interesting with his love-hate relationship towards Thame, but then loses that the moment he switches up and joins his band suuuper fast. It would have made more sense if he marinated on the thought that maybe he abandoned Thame first by jumping to conclusions and not hearing him out before leaving. But no, he gives up on his goal of joining the rapper underground super fast. That diss track of his towards mint hair was satisfying af though because he annoyed me SO much.
Nano: I literally don't have anything to say about him other than he gives the vibes of those cliche BL bottom tropes that people love to write in manga and manhwa. His voice also felt far too cutesy for me. I think maybe his actor was trying too hard or something. I was messing around guessing Nano would be my bias in the first ep when Baifern asked Po and oh boy was I wrong because he is NO ONE's favorite because he is such a filler character for their band collection arc.

ThamePo romance: I seriously found them so bland. I understand that they are objectively a good pairing and that I should probably sense the chemistry that all those other commentors did, except I just didn't really vibe with them past like ep 2. I liked how human and multi-faceted Thame seemed in eps 1-2, especially his reactions to some of the weird things Po said/did. It felt surprisingly realistic of how someone would actually react in that situation if it took place in real life rather than romance land. I liked how their awkwardness suited each other in those two episodes. Then, it just seems they started like each other a ton more within the next few episodes and I could not see why. It definitely doesn't help that the pacing confused me because I swear this is all taking place in like two weeks or something. Now they feel like a Wattpad writer's attempt at "fluffy boyfriends UwU".

JunPo (lost potential) romance: I somehow have second lead syndrome on this one. There is no reason for me to like them more than ThamePo other than the facts that ThamePo is boring (to me), this is a bickering couple trope, semi-enemies to lovers, Po seems to show more expression in his scenes with Jun, and the fact that I'm messy af. This was probably the only time I ever wished for a love triangle to happen in order to spice a continually bland story up. They didn't have any physical chemistry at all either, but I just enjoyed their interactions more than any other character interactions. They definitely will work better as frenemies than lovers anyway.

The pacing: I am so confused of the time frame of this show. It all has to happen within 3 months because of the final concert, right? Yet, it feels like the first 8 episodes have only passed about two weeks tops. It would make the fact that two guys fell for Po within that time feel waaaay too forced in that case. Too Wattpad-esc.

Rewatch/Finish: I think I'll probably just skim the next 5 episodes. I've lost virtually all interest in the plot now that I have a gut feeling that Jun will become the next member to the "we got sidelined after like one semi-important plot point we starred in!" band this show is forming. If this show manages to magically change my perception of it by the end I'll make another review of it.



Conclusion: I understand how other people could appreciate this; I just wasn't one of them, unfortunately. Unlike some other reviews of mine, I actually believe that this one is not inherently bad nor should it be treated as bad (unless the remaining episodes have an identity crisis and proceed to crash out like *certain shows* do). I also never really had high expectations to like this one either because I had a gut feeling it wouldn't be what I wanted in the end, so my expectations weren't that crashed or anything like that.

Would I recommend? Only if you like idol plots and simple, healthier romance with no real drama or spice.

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feels like when smutty wattpad meets tv adaptation

Have you ever read the description of a series and thought, "Hmmm this doesn't sound too bad" despite the low scores? Only to then proceed anyway and realize, "Oh. Those scores exist for a reason...."?

Yeah that basically summed up how I immediately felt after the finale of My Stubborn. This series left me feeling surprisingly conflicted but only because I knew I'd have a hard time gaging how I should score it in my review. That's because if you score it as a spicy, smutty series, then it gets a passing score. But if you score it with the idea of storytelling in mind, it gets something probably far lower than what I put.

Mind you, my score took into consideration the undeniable fact that this was based off a smut which meant my score had to be more lenient. Because if I'm being honest, I enjoyed the steamy scenes between Sorn x June, and Penny x Jun was fine as well. Yes, I deliberately left Thai x Champ out of the equation.

The story itself is virtually nonexistent and what does exist really feels off. I felt like so much was omitted such as flashbacks to help establish interpersonal connections between characters and quality relationship building. There are 12 episodes of this show yet I feel like I know so little of why Thai is overprotective of June or why Sorn and Thai are bffs.

The couples themselves suffer the worst from the gap in writing like when I had no idea when or why Sorn liked June as much as he did other than them having a few brief sexual encounters. There's also the added creep factor of him calling June "kid" all the time, which only served to make their relationship seem more unbalanced than it already was. Not to mention that June is Thai's self-proclaimed "little brother" that he is overprotective of, yet Sorn decides to target him anyway, despite being Thai's bff. You cannot convince me that Sorn was unaware of how vulnerable June was and yet he kept pressuring him into sexual encounters anyway. Though, I wouldn't have minded it nearly as much if they didn't accentuate June's youth and naivety when it comes to sex.

As for Thai and Champ (I think that was his name), they were as flavorful as a stale piece of bread. They had no chemistry in sexual scenes and their romance was boring to boot. With the way they acted I'd assumed they had been together longer than a married couple; only to then find out near the end that they weren't even dating! Yet they jump from situationship into borderline engagement? Seems kinda rushed to me.....

Penny and Jun really were irrelevant. I seriously wondered why they were even there when they had negative scenes. Their relationship also felt weird since it was a strict superior that boasts of workplace discipline yet bends the subordinate over a desk to touch them in the office. It felt very hypocritical and I was shocked when Penny got turned into a sub when Jun entered the picture. The flirty experienced "dom" gets turned into a blushing sub by someone who doesn't put up with their shit trope. They really subverted our expectations with that one, huh?

The whole thing of Sorn not liking "kids" was weird because June wasn't exactly underage. And that flashback of him with the girl needed more elaboration other than "she framed me." It was especially weird that she was still just in his life after that too. He almost went to jail I think. That also raises the concern of their ages at the time too...

Thanu was pretty funny and probably the only part of the show I liked. He served to kind of help the main two bridge between each other's feelings. It was a liiiittle weird how excited he got seeing his brother getting it on though. I think the normal reaction would be to shield your eyes or freak out. When I first saw him I really was amazed at how alike him and Sorn look if you squint your eyes. That was some decent casting other than me confused on who was older.

Delivery guy Jom was completely useless in verse and I had no idea why they hinted at him being a love interest if it never went anywhere anyway. This was a reoccurring theme with this show: introduce a character and/or conflict, then never really resolve it. Some highlights are that fighting straight couple that kept appearing, Piang, the weird club owner guy, two random kids running a coffee shop on their own, etc.

The most satisfying part of the entire series was June telling Sorn off in ep 9 (?). Then him ghosting him was deserved. That sketched on pencil beard on the other hand, was not. Why was the audience punished with that? Especially since June just takes him back after Sorn pushes him a little and then they screw on the fire escape of their own workplace.....where Thai and Champ supposedly hear. I personally don't like sex scenes in really uncomfortable places like public spaces or ones with surveillance footage. It cringes me out because it's pretty gross. I also have no idea why Thai didn't murder Sorn after that. I feel like anyone would be pissed that their barely legal little sibling is getting screwed at their workplace by your bff that lead them on for months behind your back. Sorn should've been running but he just cracked a few jokes with Thai instead.

Win did quite literally nothing in this story. He only served looks and inconvenient timing. His friendship with June was cute except for when it made me feel uncomfortable at how young mentally they seem in comparison to Sorn and Thai. I could've sworn when that dude who wanted to hit on Champ at the end (because why not just throw in a love rival at the last second for pointless drama?) looked up the boss' kids that he was going to assume Win was the other with Champ as an excuse to keep the stupid drama going. It also could've been used for a comedic scene. But no.......he knew it was Thai and it just ended there. What a waste of time.

The production was pretty good all things considered. I think there were times when a filter was too strongly applied, but the show was not ugly to look at. It wasn't really exceptional though except when June visited Sorn's mom's place. That place was quite photogenic. No wonder he wanted a photoshoot there.

Music was absolutely forgettable except during sex scenes where it would usually try to be sensual and exciting except for in ep 5 when Thai and Win decided to be nuisances. It suddenly become spunky music instead. I won't lie; I thought that scene was hilarious the first time I watched it.

The realism of the sex scenes is a different issue, but since it was just meant to be fast smut, I'll let it slide. In smutville we don't worry about condoms, STDs, and aftercare.

I also was tired of seeing the same outfit style all the time; and this show was a sad excuse of an office romance too when all it shows is superiors harassing subordinates and interns at the workplace. The setting really contributed very little to the story. It also forced Sorn to keep his hair up which SUCKED because he became 85% more attractive when he took it down and let it flow✨️.

Casting was fine for this quality of show. I wasn't expecting Scarlet Johanson or anything. June and Sorn had good chemistry and did alright with their characters. The lesbians somewhat had chemistry and did alright too, though Penny carried it. I was frothing at the mouth when she came on screen and she was probably one of the better actors in this. Thai and Champ chemistry wise......pack it up. Acting wise? They did alright with what they were given. They could feel stiff at times, but it didn't really bother me because they weren't portraying demanding characters or emotional scenes (most of the time).

Rewatch value? I'd only rewatch the funny scenes and the.......🤫 scenes. Ifykyk.

Would I recommend? Only for the smutty angle, because storytelling is NOT it. But have fun anyway~✨️💖✨️

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Good Protagonist Vs. Lackluster Antagonist

Pyramid Game is a drama that I think embodies the idea that simple storytelling can work well. This drama wasn't groundbreaking nor did I really expect it to be, but I still think it held its own fairly well. There's always an innate appeal of an underdog story and combine that with the promise of a thriller that is female led? It was impossible for me not to check it out.

It's rare to find a decent story that is written about women for women and for it to actually portray female characters in a decent way. That might sound absurd, but from my experience it is quite rare to find one that isn't romance led. The premise was quite good: a teenage girl that moves around a lot is forced into a prestigious class that plays a sick hierarchy game that is lead by a sociopath. I really liked seeing how Suji maneuvered her way through an unfair system that she had no choice but to participate in. In fact, I'd argue it's hard not to like Suji as a protagonist; she's smart, perceptive, strong-willed, confident, and stands up for herself. It's not everyday that I find a female protagonist as compelling as she is, but Pyramid Game managed to sell me the simple story through her perspective. Though of course, you can't win 'em all; while I believe Suji was a good protagonist and an entertaining character, I can't deny that the rest of the cast doesn't really hold a candle to her.

Her friends aren't all that interesting except for maybe Ye Rim and Ja Eun to a degree. The others were just background dressing needed to advance the plot to bring down the Pyramid Game through sheer numbers. Jae Hyung's whole character is being bubbly and horny, Ji Ae is the loser that is a perpetual leech, and Eun Jung was Ye Rim's knight in shining armor. There really wasn't that much going for them outside of that. Ja Eun was Suji's opposite in the sense that she was the kindness opposed to Suji's firmness. But if I'm honest, I feel like all that she did was perpetually blame herself and try to save almost everyone even if they didn't deserve it. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with a lead that's motivations are linked to their guilt, but the issue is that guilt wasn't really deserved. Then that gets us to my main issue with the characters: Baek Ha Rin. I think she is a very weak villain for a story with a protagonist like Suji. First off, her actress isn't very distinguishable in the role; she isn't a bad actress, but she doesn't sell the character as this chilling mastermind that the writers want you to think she is. In reality, she just looks and sounds like an average girl that would be better suited as a minor antagonist rather than a main one. Da Yeon and Seo Ah were more interesting and encapsulated their antagonistical characters in comparison to Ha Rin's. She didn't have the smile of a sociopath, not the aesthetic of one, and most certainly not the charisma/aura of one. To make matters worse, her motivation was quite weak as well: she started a downright criminal hierarchical game that tears people down and leaves them as husks of themselves simply because she wanted to get back a previous friend from 2nd grade that accidentally initiated her getting bullied. Her bullying wasn't even severe from what was shown through flashbacks, so why was she so brutal in everything that she did? I didn't buy it. I know that she was called out for being pathetic by Suji because of her motivations, but that still doesn't change the fact that I believe the central antagonist in a story shouldn't have such shallow motives to commit atrocious sins that torment the cast throughout the entirety of the plot. I just found her extremely pathetic and actually pitied how her adoption was dissolved so late in life. I think what they really should have done was shown how she got from Point A to Point B; show how she went from a victim of name calling into a girl that manipulates people and thrives on extreme violence, such as burning a little orphan girl's palm. Ja Eun shouldn't have felt that extreme guilt anymore after everything Ha Rin put her and her classmates through. She even pushed Woo Ri into attempted suicide, yet Ja Eun's extreme guilt didn't budge. The punishments just do not fit the crime in her case.

Though, this series did do well in trying punish abusers decently well. Though it's unrealistic, it's still nice to see bullies be exposed for their crimes and the bystanders be called out for indirectly enabling said behavior. You don't see a story be so clear with punishing everyone quite as much as this one! Even Suji's father is forced to realize the pain of a parent that was oblivious to their child's suffering, and how closeminded he was in his beliefs. I think it's great that this show wasn't afraid to showcase how negligence from adults is what leads to a lot of children becoming bad people themselves. Especially considering the fact that the story takes place in a country that prioritizes age in regard to showing respect.

Something else that I appreciated was that the story was only 10 episodes long. I'm honestly tired of seeing Kdramas that think they need to reach 16 episodes in order to tell a full story. You don't need that many episodes!!! Pyramid Game used 10 50 minute episodes to tell a decent story and that was great on its part. Did the story drag at times? Yes. But was it still entertaining for the most part? Also yes. It didn't feel like the writers were just throwing in random plot points for the fuck of it. Everything had something to do with the overarching plot, so it never felt meaningless. It used its strengths of having a unique protagonist and a good premise and ran with it. I appreciated that it never tried to be some greater-than-thou story that I've seen one too many times; it started with a girl wanting to break down a corrupted hierarchy in her classroom, and it ended with her doing just that. She didn't go and fix world hunger or anything, she simply solved her own issue and didn't let herself become a doormat like everyone else did. I seriously don't know why writers think it's impossible to make a protagonist that can have their own self-interests as motivations. They don't all have to be white knights. Her bond with the convenience store guy was also quite cute. Something that I wish we were shown instead of told was how Ye Rim helped Woo Ri. We're told that Ye Rim originally tried to go against the Pyramid Game, but we're never shown that. It also made it harder to accept her coughing up her idol dreams when she seemed the least deserving of such an outcome. I also would've liked to see her and Eun Jung's relationship confirmed, rather than ambiguous. I loved that they included the LGBTQ without showing an agenda in the audience's faces, but I think it would've been even more impactful had it been confirmed rather than left open ended. I choose to believe they ended up together.

The production was decent, but not extraordinary. Though, I never expected it to be, so I wasn't heartbroken over it or anything. The music was fine but was too reliant on the opening song for any semi-climactic scene in every single episode. I think they must've only had one song at their disposal. Settings were never really exemplary except for maybe the first shots of the prestigious class building and absurdly high budgeted bathroom.

Overall, I liked this show more than I disliked it. It wasn't extraordinary, but it was a good timewaster. It gives me hope for future Webtoon adaptations. The ending featuring the Miryo twins and indicating Suji's second round of outmanipulating mean girls made me actually wish there was a season 2. I would've loved to see the same type of story except with more compelling antagonists next time. It's just a shame that it's heavily unlikely to ever get a second season since the Webtoon of it is marked as completed.

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The Penthouse both literally and figuratively collapsed this season...

I first watched the Penthouse years ago and it was one of my first K-Dramas. I binged all of the seasons in under a week because of how much I loved it. I didn't make reviews for the first two seasons but know that I thought they were SIGNIFICANTLY better than this one. I actually enjoyed them and they were FAR more coherently written. But season 3? Disrespectful to the legacy of the prequels.

The budget was still high and the show at least LOOKED fantastic. The music was great and one thing that disappointed me was that there weren't as many opera songs as I was hoping for. I really liked the singing in the previous seasons, but it was sparce in this one. The sound design is pretty good except for that one stock boom that happens during a "shocking" moment that sounds straight out of vine. The acting is still above average, but it felt weaker from Cheon Seo Jin and Joo Dan Tae; probably because their character writing suffered. A lot of actors had a glow up; especially the Cheong-a graduates. Bae Ro Na looked especially beautiful this season.

I think the premise of the first episode already set up the season in a way that was doomed to fail: all of the villains got out of jail within a YEAR and somehow all of them regained their wealth and status as early as episode ONE. It really bothers me when a new season decides to haphazardly retcon something from a previous season just because the writers want to completely change what happened instead of building off of it. Season 2 was at least respectful of the season before it, but season 3 was not. I heavily question if the writers changed this season.


However, the worst part of this season was DEFINITELY the writing of the characters. So many important characters suffered because of the atrocious writing:

Su Ryeon: She suffered awfully with how they killed her off in SUCH a BS way. Su Ryeon was doing FANTASTIC up until they decided to kill her off in an inorganic way. She was a woman that built a family for herself throughout all of the seasons, yet gives up on it in this one for little reason. Why would she EVER kill herself when she has Hye In, Seok Hun, Seok Kyung, Ro Na, and Logan actively waiting for her? She was torn to pieces in season 1 when she realized she wasn't there for her daughter that was given away, so why would she now abandon her children when they needed her the most? Those kids went through hell and yet they wrote her to be a bad mother by abandoning them in the end when she had a SAFETY NET.

Logan: He was "killed off" yet somehow survived an explosion and was shipped off into the penthouse without anyone noticing? Are you seriously telling me that Su Ryeon wouldn't follow him into the ambulance? Then whatever was happening with that 10 billion dollar check that was just laying around annoyed me since I can't remember it ever going anywhere important. Are you being for real when you tell me Su Ryeon hadn't opened that gift book before BAEK JUN GI???? Nah. But as for Logan, he was keeping things from his family for some reason and even when he was finally going to be happy by marrying Su Ryeon, the writers kill her off and then give him relapse cancer! What?! Why would he allow himself to die even if Su Ryeon had died first? Your entire family that adores you is still waiting for you and would do legit ANYTHING to save you, and Ro Na was needing him in her life more than ever since her both of her parents had died that season. He was also the new Chairman of the Simwoon group, so what happened to his responsibility over that? Who inherited it after him? Also, with the way the writers wrote his randomly thrown in twin, Alex, I have to wonder what they really think Americans are like......why are most bodyguards black and the thugs that beat up Yun Cheol in the previous season were as well. I'm not calling them racist, but I do wonder why that is...

Yun Hui: She wasn't as compelling as season 2, but that was fine since she took more of a backseat this season. I liked her friendship with Logan but of course we didn't get to see it much. I thought it was soo stupid how they went about the cliff car chase sequence. First off, she doesn't call the police immediately. Second off, she ends the call with Su Ryeon prematurely instead of taking at MOST 15 seconds to explain that Seok Kyung is her biological daughter. Third off, when she finds Eun Byeol in the car and instead of DRAGGING HER OUT, she decides to awaken her super strength and push the car from falling off of the cliff. FOURTHLY, when Seo Jin *does* grab Eun Byeol out of the car, she doesn't take the risk of jumping to the side in order to save her life when Seo Jin is CLEARLY out for blood. Yun Hui can be pretty naive, yes, but she is NOT stupid. So why did they write her that way??? I don't see an issue with her dying this season since it would have been weird in *this* show if the murderer of the girl that haunts the narrative gets to be all jolly by the end, but she should've gone out in a more sensical way.

Seo Jin: She stole the show in the first seasons, yet seemed too extreme in this one. It feels like any personal growth she had in the prequels was thrown away in order for her to be more vicious and deserving of retribution. I don't believe she would be so stupid team up Dan Tae again nor act so indifferent regarding Jin Bun Hong literally abusing her daughter. She literally paid 500 billion won with little hesitance to the ACTUAL scumbag Baek Jun Ki, and doesn't consider maybe just JUMPING HIM AND STEALING IT??? This lady literally killed people and nearly killed others, yet is afraid to have a nobody that will not be missed assassinated? I don't believe it. The way she killed Yun Hui also seemed premature since she was actually begging Yun Hui in her head to save her daughter, which she did, but then lets her die a brutal death spontaneously when she was just shouting that she'd save her in a moment. While I do believe she would have definitely killed her in season 1, probably in season 2, but season 3? I have doubts. I think a GOOD writing choice would have been to make her kill Yun Hui in a more heated moment, maybe half accidentally, then make her THINK she's happy about it and that her life will magically get better; only for her to later realize that she doesn't feel happier or more "whole" afterward and that her life actually feels LESS meaningful now that her one true rival was no longer challenging her. I think that would have been a great approach to her character, but they decided to simply make her evil and shameless even when killing her impaired ex-husband that she "realized" her true life for last season. Also, why didn't she get her vocal nodules dealt with last season? Why wait for so long? Did I miss something?

Dan Tae: A man of pure evil with a kill count that beats any others' in this show. He deserved to suffer immensely, yet I think he didn't get his just desserts this season. He dies, yes, but it was basically an instant kill and he dies still somehow viewing himself as the martyr. Is it actually possible for him to press the switch even with a bullet straight this his brain? I question it. I did enjoy learning his backstory, but I think it made me hate him even more because he went through a similar situation as the abused in this show, yet showed no remorse over it. I know that Jun Ki explained that Dan Tae copied his father's lifestyle after killing him, but it was harder for me to believe. They made him dumber this season too by letting Jin Bun Hong hold crucial evidence in her hand and demand 500 billion won from him after insulting him to his face. Why wouldn't he just get his botched Secretary to kill her and steal it? Speaking of his secretary, Cho was just awful as a righthand man. I've thought it since season 1, but I bet Dan Tae regrets losing his first secretary in the first 5 episodes since Cho is always fumbling every assignment and gets beaten so much, yet maintains his "loyalty" even when Dan Tae has nothing anymore. He someone weasles himself out of every cell he gets caught in, but it reaches a point of absurdity when he manages to always avoid police and get out prison with his criminal record. He somehow stole a rich man's identity after being a wanted criminal in Japan, and no one ever catches on??? Also, how did he manage to throw the real son into an insane asylum whilst being a wanted man??? It just doesn't add up. I also wanted more of his backstory with Na Ae Gyo in it. One scene of her at the tattoo parlor isn't enough for me to understand how a cold blooded man like Joo Dan Tae ended up adoring her and wanting to have children with her. They seemed so sweet back then, so why did they turn so cold in the future? They should've explained it better.

Yun Cheol: He felt pretty bland this season. I didn't like the way he died. I don't have an issue with him dying, but the way they went about it felt weird. I wasn't a big fan of how neglectful towards Eun Byeol he was despite supposedly "loving" her, either.

Ro Na and Seok Hun: Ro Na only really seemed relevant for a few things this season like tormenting Eun Byeol a bit and giving Seok Hun reasons to fight his dad. I liked seeing her succeed, though. Seok Hun was at his best this season and I enjoyed him fighting on his mom's side and not enabling his sister's bad behavior for once. I find him developing more believable than a lot of characters since he was showing signs early on into the story, but they still should have focused on it more in season 1. It's also a hard sell for me to support their relationship in season 2 when you realize he most definitely knew about her being bullied relentlessly for something that wasn't her fault, yet did nothing about it. He only showed up when it was revealed that his mom's killer was someone else. That makes him look reeeeally bad as a significant other. Red flag behavior; especially after his supposed growth up until that point. However, if I look past that, they were a pretty cute couple in seasons 2 and 3; a lot cuter than I remembered them being from my first watch years ago.

Seok Kyung: She was a raging bitch in 2 and a half seasons, yet they throw in a sudden redemption arc in the middle of this one since they must have realized they wrote themselves into a corner with her character. She was extremely selfish, entitled, and apathetic for YEARS, yet gets almost entirely humane after one orphan camp weekend trip and finding out about bullying her biological family? I don't believe it. The whole plot of her being Su Ryeon's biological daughter was nonsensical since you could TELL there was not intent for it in the previous seasons AT ALL. Nothing indicated that she wasn't Na Ae Gyo's daughter, but that added it in just to justify Seok Kyung suddenly becoming a remorseful person and "atoning" for her sins. Her working odd jobs and dressing plain at the end whilst refusing help from her brother doesn't really make that much sense for her character either. I also didn't like how this season seemed to have some weird dichotomy on whether being blood related to someone was more important in a family or not. It didn't rub me the right way.

Eun Byeol: I think she benefitted the most from this season writing wise. She suffers waaay too much though and it felt like the writers had it out for her. The plot with amnesia pills was extremely aggravating to watch, too. But I did like how her story ended. She was finally free from her mom and her expectations and could live a life for herself for once. She stopped looking away from her mom's crimes she committed in her name and decided to finally face them. She decided to accept the punishment on her mom's behalf by sacrificing her ability to ever sing again. It was sad to watch, but that would probably be the best for her in the long run. Soprano singing is what contributed to a lot of her mental anguish, after all. I'm just sad that her and Ro Na never got to reconcile as sisters. However, forgiving someone after they nearly murder you isn't exactly easy, so I get it.

Ma Ri, her husband, and Je Ni: They were pretty cool this season; especially Ma Ri. I loved how she was a strong woman and that she grew so much as a person. My only issue is that they made her so one note in season 1 that if I were to directly rewatch her harassment of Yun Hui and Ro Na after finishing season 3, I don't think I could tell they were the same person. If they wrote her with subtle depth from the beginning, especially with the backstory of her husband in mind, she would have had a more believable character arc. But all things considered, I did adore her joining the squad and how Je Ni is far less of a bitch this season and has a realistic friendship with Ro Na. Her husband that I forgot the name of was pretty much a background character and didn't really do much of anything that any other character couldn't have done themselves. I liked his start, but he fell flat; especially when he went to jail again off-screen.

Gyu Jin, Sang A, and Min Hyeok: Gyu Jin was somehow more annoying this season than the first two combined, but Sang A actually had a little bit of development. She tries to have more agency, but she reverts back to being one dimensional anyway. I only really liked how pretty she looked with long, wavy hair. Min Hyeok was most relevant in this season out of all of them, but he still wasn't that important. I'm biased into liking him because I like his actor, Lee Tae Vin, but his character development this season seemed out of nowhere considering how he was in the previous seasons. It seemed out of place for him to suddenly feel remorse and not thrive on watching others being bullied and harassed. His grandma was really annoying, too. I just thought I should add that there because where else am I gonna add it?


Other thing I wanted to say is that I really liked how they didn't chicken out with making Yun Hui the murderer in season 1. However, they seemed to have chickened out a bit in season 2 by making Dan Tae the killer instead of Eun Byeol. I understand they were just recreating the scene of the awards from their mothers' time at Cheong-a, in which Seo Jin didn't actually kill Yun Hui, but it would have been more shocking and respectable if they followed through with it being a teenager. People can be murderers and borderline evil even when they are as young as teens, after all.

There was also a lot of nonsense like how Su Ryeon just kept her phone alarm on and on her person even when she was walking down the aisle. Who does that? Then there was how Baek Jun Ki just escaped without returning, Joo Dan Tae somehow escaping a guarded mental facility in Japan, the fakeout of Logan's death at the end, and the confusing nonsense pertaining to the amnesia pills that I still can't wrap my head around. Why would Su Ryeon hang up the phone on Yun Cheol when he is impaired and SEES the crazy Seo Jin behind him?!?!? That is craaazy work on her part. I also hate the overused trope of "phone call or someone knocking prevents important conversation" that this show LOVES to abuse. I was so annoyed when Yun Hui was "blocked" from telling Su Ryeon about her long lost daughter just because someone knocked on the door at the prime time. Like, just tell her first before she is preocuppied??? The only kudos I give on something they overuse is recording threats people make. I usually get aggravated when stories don't utilize that cheat more, but this show made prime use of it. An issue this show has is never explaining how bodies are stolen or removed in order for characters to "revive." How is no one saying anything when there isn't a corpse around for a funeral? I don't get it.

Honestly, I'm disappointed with the writing team. ಠ෴ಠ

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