That damn Tonkla definitely stole the show- not that it was that difficult "great" acting of lead couple and Win notwithstanding. Sammon specialty: take interesting idea, then add uninteresting ideas from other genres- stir once, turn stove on and forget until quite burnt. (Footnote- see Triage)
I’m starting to think that someone needs to have a serious sit down with New Siwaj. Not sure if it’s because…
He churned out four series in 2024- including a 16 ep and 24 ep series- as long as his shows get views and sponsors and he delivers on time- he's not going anywhere. He's a long long way from his peak of Until We Meet Again- it had a few trouble spots- but was so far above what he's doing now.
I loved the title of your review- agree with the difficulty of playing a man-child well- the actor imho did a great job. I didn't love the series as much as you did- but I enjoyed it- and the cinematography and lead actor were a big part of that. Unfortunately, many commentors are off-put by him being tan (he's a farmer, duh) and not K Idol tall thin and pale. Hope he gets more roles- his ability to naturally chuckle and laugh I think even got a "real" response from his co lead a time or two. Was the Village Chief speaking Portugese? They handled it pretty seamlessly - and the actor was good- so it doesn't matter much.
My top 9 from the current 18 survivors1) Duan Xingxing2) Shao Zi heng3) Han Gyul4) Lee Jun hyuk5) Pentor6) Yang…
As long as people, companies and whomever buys votes- they don't care too much what happens to group after....that's what I'm getting. I mean "Bad Stickers"!!! The Squid Game dance endurance in ep 2, nasty and unhelpful "Guides"---- but there is a ton of talent amongst the top 30
and your list is really good- unfortunately don't think Cong B and Ling Qi will make it:(
thanks for the review- you had some of the same issues I did with writing, pacing, use of flashback and acting. I gave a higher score overall because of the production , eeriness and that the concept was interesting and had a lot of potential. ____________ (Below has some plot elements- stop reading and watch series first!) ________________________
Sammon has written a bunch of stuff (here with 3 co-writers) and I've had the same problem with Triage and 4 Minutes- cool ideas and logic/plot/development that falls apart as the series continues. The acting here was at a teen slash movie thriller level- but if it is going to be this amateurish- you gotta start having people killed off fast. I mean it took Por 70 hours to die - come on! The acting highlights for me were Gameplay , Ta and the actor who played Non's brother. Seeing how good the actor who played White was in 4 minutes- I feeling the acting coach, director and team are responsible for the poor performances in this. My worst of list is also Jet as Top, but I also have JJay right up there- a pivotal role and he was usually wooden- which he also was in an important role in 4 minutes. He looks good though- that seems to be all that matters. The guy who played a small but pivotal role as cram school teacher was previously a personal trainer - great body- no noticable skill at acting. And he's 30 so.......
Still enjoyed overall- I would much rather watch something ambitious that falls apart like this (Not Me, Shadow, 4 Minutes are others) than simple fluff like Cutie Pie and Sing My Crush.
I'm sad (but not shocked) that there were viewers blaming Non---- I mean- talk about a character who is bullied, manipulated, betrayed, abandoned- how can anyone expect healthy behavior from a trauma victim like that?
@SassyandSnarky can you explain how we do that? i loved this series and want to see comments, not SPAM. TIA.
on comment you want to report- look at 3 vertical dots to right of comment- one of options is to report spam- you can describe how the spam is occurring as well
very kind review- this director (or her team) has some strengths- good casting, ability to bring out strong sexual tension and initial burst of character, some beautiful shots/framing (in this series it was the mostly early shots of when snow came into play)
Weaknesses: lack of sense of humor, lack of character development, tendency to try and cover for her weak storyboarding/trope infested screenplays
She stated she would no longer do BLs after her disappointing To My Star2- fine and good. But as you noted- the first two episodes of this looked great despite her reliance on Kdrama Abusive Parent. She should never be allowed to write another series and acutally functions better when she is limited to 15 minutes per episode or less - this distracts from her major weaknessnes and reliance on the worst of Kdrama tropes. Thus BlueMing and Where Your Eyes Linger make strong impressions. To My Star 2 and this are based on nonsense- in this case- someone is lavishly spending and snooty but is a elementary school tutor (USD 36k) with presumably huge student loans or something after 12 years of doing ...... something? I especially felt bad for the actor as 3rd wheel being "in love" with the taciturn son of the abusive taekwando teach- you know- trauma explains it all. He had no story or logical explanation other than "I liked you so I beat you up and now have been your simp for 12 years".
I fully agree with your first two points. One of the things that sank this show was that neither of the main couple…
even more impressive- a bunch of them couldn't play or barely play when cast and took lessons and practiced to get at least decent by filming. More difficult is that Sea is supposed to be a prodigy--- so you really need to cast someone who can already play.
Well said, thank you. I loathed To My Star 2, and got a lot of flak for a scathing review I wrote about it. I…
I recall both Maggi and jpny having pretty tough reviews on To My Star 2....which I agreed with. Tons of people just love it though.
This director has some great abilities of getting good performances and allowing time/angle shots to build sensual tension. Some of the shots of snow here are really nice and the way the characters use and react to it as well. Just like BlueMing- I expect we'll be able to look forward to some more gorgeous shots. I also love the opening music this. Her weak points are: limited plot, character devleopment and overreliance on tropes - she favors the abusive parents and time skips. I wish she would find a good writer and trust them to work with her on a show- it could really be amazing.
That song 🗿. So, in conclusion everyone gets the 4 minutes in their last moments, and if you end up not dying…
Love the review and the long response. This show gets points for trying complexity- fell apart after ep 4, just like Sammon penned Triage- but better acting and more potential. I wish they had chosen different color filters for each person's 4 minute dreamscape. I wonder if end was supposed to be more of Great/Thyme mutual dreamland and at 11:04 the show ends but that was too dark for sponsors.... ( I would have liked that better.)
News 
Sammon specialty: take interesting idea, then add uninteresting ideas from other genres- stir once, turn stove on and forget until quite burnt. (Footnote- see Triage)
Unfortunately, many commentors are off-put by him being tan (he's a farmer, duh) and not K Idol tall thin and pale. Hope he gets more roles- his ability to naturally chuckle and laugh I think even got a "real" response from his co lead a time or two.
Was the Village Chief speaking Portugese? They handled it pretty seamlessly - and the actor was good- so it doesn't matter much.
and your list is really good- unfortunately don't think Cong B and Ling Qi will make it:(
I gave a higher score overall because of the production , eeriness and that the concept was interesting and had a lot of potential.
____________
(Below has some plot elements- stop reading and watch series first!)
________________________
Sammon has written a bunch of stuff (here with 3 co-writers) and I've had the same problem with Triage and 4 Minutes- cool ideas and logic/plot/development that falls apart as the series continues.
The acting here was at a teen slash movie thriller level- but if it is going to be this amateurish- you gotta start having people killed off fast. I mean it took Por 70 hours to die - come on!
The acting highlights for me were Gameplay , Ta and the actor who played Non's brother. Seeing how good the actor who played White was in 4 minutes- I feeling the acting coach, director and team are responsible for the poor performances in this. My worst of list is also Jet as Top, but I also have JJay right up there- a pivotal role and he was usually wooden- which he also was in an important role in 4 minutes. He looks good though- that seems to be all that matters. The guy who played a small but pivotal role as cram school teacher was previously a personal trainer - great body- no noticable skill at acting. And he's 30 so.......
Still enjoyed overall- I would much rather watch something ambitious that falls apart like this (Not Me, Shadow, 4 Minutes are others) than simple fluff like Cutie Pie and Sing My Crush.
Weaknesses: lack of sense of humor, lack of character development, tendency to try and cover for her weak storyboarding/trope infested screenplays
She stated she would no longer do BLs after her disappointing To My Star2- fine and good. But as you noted- the first two episodes of this looked great despite her reliance on Kdrama Abusive Parent. She should never be allowed to write another series and acutally functions better when she is limited to 15 minutes per episode or less - this distracts from her major weaknessnes and reliance on the worst of Kdrama tropes. Thus BlueMing and Where Your Eyes Linger make strong impressions.
To My Star 2 and this are based on nonsense- in this case- someone is lavishly spending and snooty but is a elementary school tutor (USD 36k) with presumably huge student loans or something after 12 years of doing ...... something?
I especially felt bad for the actor as 3rd wheel being "in love" with the taciturn son of the abusive taekwando teach- you know- trauma explains it all. He had no story or logical explanation other than "I liked you so I beat you up and now have been your simp for 12 years".
Ugh.
More difficult is that Sea is supposed to be a prodigy--- so you really need to cast someone who can already play.
Sponge them before they die!
This director has some great abilities of getting good performances and allowing time/angle shots to build sensual tension. Some of the shots of snow here are really nice and the way the characters use and react to it as well. Just like BlueMing- I expect we'll be able to look forward to some more gorgeous shots.
I also love the opening music this.
Her weak points are: limited plot, character devleopment and overreliance on tropes - she favors the abusive parents and time skips. I wish she would find a good writer and trust them to work with her on a show- it could really be amazing.
I wish they had chosen different color filters for each person's 4 minute dreamscape.
I wonder if end was supposed to be more of Great/Thyme mutual dreamland and at 11:04 the show ends but that was too dark for sponsors.... ( I would have liked that better.)