Feardorcha

Agreed. Worth a watch, I think, but that's about it.

The only reason I'm still watching this show is so I can keep up with the references in the comments. Honestly, this comment section needs its own rating. 10/10, would read again!

I rated it a 5 (barely watch once, never think about it again). I think those who really liked it might find affinity with this series because both deliver very simplistic messages with quiet earnest via pretty boys, some of whom kiss.

I rated this series slightly higher than "The Eighth Sense" because the concept vehicle was more engaging and I liked the performances better but I find both shows mostly meh.

You're not doing anything wrong. I, too, found this a middling watch. Glad I watched it but I wouldn't watch it again, and probably won't remember much of it in a few months.

I said this series might be a good fit for those who enjoyed "The Eighth Sense". I never said I myself enjoyed "The Eighth Sense".

I'm guessing that part of the summary must be connected to the manhwa; it certainly isn't applicable to the series. Sangwon is an afterthought most of the show, and Kyunghoon is barely a character (his sister has more direct influence on the story than he does and you will forget she exists until she's actually onscreen).

There is no love triangle. Sangwon likes Myungha and is vocal about it but Myungha is equally as vocal in telling him he has less than zero chance and that all Myungha's affection is for Yeonwoo. Yeonwoo and Sangwon have a cutely immature rivalry about it but everyone knows that Myungha and Yeonwoo are in love and together.

The series was fine, worth at least one watch. If you were a big fan of "The Eighth Sense", this is probably a good fit for you. For those concerned: yes, it does have a happy ending, you won't be disappointed in that regard.

That person is off their fucking rocker, full stop. Just wow.

It is damn bizarre to me that they referenced "East Palace, West Palace" and "Spring Fever" as proof that the Chinese Government has not enshrined anti-LGBTQ legislation at the highest levels. The first had to be smuggled out of China to France for editing and festival submission, the director had his passport confiscated and was put on house arrest, and another Chinese director who had nothing to do with any of it was punished by having his film—China's official submission to Cannes that year—pulled from the competition by the Chinese Government in order to set an example to the entire Chinese film industry.

The latter film was submitted as a Hong Kong-France co-production. Both films were filmed, screened, and submitted without China's approval, and people were duly sanctioned and punished by the Chinese government.

"Seek McCartney" is so sanitized it can barely be called a gay film. China's official approval of that one was only because the theme is virtually invisible, it was predominately a French production and fit under the "arthouse" label, and China was trying to do damage control on the world stage for their increasingly public anti-LGBTQ policies and behaviours. The men in the story never kissed or hugged, held hands briefly maybe twice, and patted each other's backs slightly out of frame. Hell, the same year China allowed it public screenings was the same year they yanked "Addicted" off the air midbroadcast despite that series being China's most watched programme airing at the time.

And if I recall correctly, the only explicitly gay character in "The Dead End" was depicted as a Taiwanese national, not Chinese, which is how it got around China's ban.

I just cannot take seriously anyone who disregards the sociopolitical context of Chinese film and media production to insist that the mere existence of gay films created by Chinese citizens is proof that Chinese censorship doesn't exist. It's so wildly, grossly, insultingly disingenuous.

I don't know if it's the editing, the translations, or the story itself but these last few episodes have been clunky and disjointed.

The rather heavy-handed ominous atmosphere looped through episodes 5 and 6 is more jarring than intriguing, and it was already difficult to care much anyway because this is all a simulation and outside of Myung Ha none of these people actually exist. Since it's unclear if Myung Ha is subject to actual mortal danger via the game, there are no concrete stakes attached to the choices he makes, so it's tough to be invested in the dilemmas presented. Unless the consequences of his in-game choices have impact on Myung Ha in the real world, or the in-game characters somehow gain sentience, none of this matters.

I suppose the server errors could permanently trap Myung Ha's consciousness in the virtual world, thereby making it his new "real" world, in which case he'd be living life with the outcomes of his previous in-game choices. A compelling premise but if that doesn't happen until after he's been forced into irreversible decisions by the game, that seems a rather dark turn for this particular story to take.

Definitely one of the show's current weaknesses for me is that Non is more plot device than character. He's like a football on the pitch: he needs to be kicked around in order for the game to happen but his relevance is only in relation to the players and spectators. He just isn't as real of a person as everyone else, not even to the extent where I understand why he's nicknamed "Greasy". Yes, yes, it's a shorthand method for telling the audience that the whole school looks down on him, but the boy has perfectly fine hair, practically flawless skin, and is well-groomed and seems as properly hygienic as all the other boys in his class. Meanwhile, Top's hair has spent six episodes looking like a delicately oiled wok and no one has said a word.

I think I see what the production is attempting to do by slow-dripping Non's story, revealing facets of Non in direct parallel to the layers of the others in a superposition of bad deeds that ripple out toward horror, but so far, his facets simply aren't as compelling or interesting as everyone else's layers. I expect (hope) that will change in the next couple of episodes, where it seems we'll see more of Non exercising agency within his life rather than being pushed around by external forces, but right now I'm indifferent to what actually happens to Non; I'm just eager to get back to those bastards paying the bloody price for it.

I'm rooting for Tee's death because that's the retribution in-universe. If the punishment was everyone goes to prison, or everyone loses all their money, or some other form of payback, I'd be rooting for that as well.

Non is the type of victim I struggle to pity. If he fought back a even a little and simply failed, I'd find it easier to empathize; sometimes, you just lose the battle but at least you tried. My honest thought at the end of the episode was, if you're just going to roll over and take it, you might as well just die. An uncharitable thought, I know, but Perfect Victim archetypes raise my hackles. There is a middle ground in this victimhood dynamic between becoming outright scum (Tee) and being downright spineless (Non).

Yes, Tee is absolutely a victim. He is also a villain willing to inflict harm on anyone and everyone, including the people he calls his friends. His motives are understandable but his methods are still deserving of consequences, and in this show's universe, the consequence is a violent death. So, yes, I have a great deal of sympathy for the kid stuck between a rock and a hard place; I have nothing but antipathy for the monster that kid has become, and I look forward to that monster's grisly death.

As for Non—honestly, my sympathy for him has run out. Weak, pathetic victims aggravate me no end. I don't like Tee or his indiscriminate actions but I can at least respect the steel backbone required to be that maliciously manipulative and so very good at it. He's a prick but he's a competent one, my favourite type of bad guy. Non is just...well, if he's not dead, I hope he grew a spine and is exacting vengeance.

I want them all dead. I want Tee special extra crispy dead. I want to watch him trying to scream for help while drowning in his own blood. I want his entrails falling out of his body cavity. I want him dying alone and scared and helpless. I don't even care who kills him or even why at this point, I just want to see him suffer a slow, lingering, painful death as he crawls to his grave.

JJay is doing a phenomenal job making me hate seeing his beautiful face.

They flubbed the landing a bit but the journey was fun.

Whose Grandmother's whole house did Sakae skin to make that outfit? It was really...something.

Honestly, I would prefer Sahara and Nekoto get together. Their story is a lot more interesting, their feelings more believable, and their chemistry is better.

Wish we got more Shinji and Takuya. What was that homecoming like? How is he adjusting? Is their relationship officially progressing into the romantic? I want to know all the things.

It's all sexy to me.

I have twelve tattoos taking up a good deal of body real estate but zero piercings, not even my ears. It still catches me off-guard when heavily inked BL boys have no visible piercings.

That friend group is a bunch of sociopathic little shitbags. And Jin gets no grace for being the least shitty of the lot. He is well-aware his friends are bullies, downright trash, but he remains friends with them. Either his principles are weak or he's also got psychological issues and we just haven't seen them yet.

Poor Non. I just want him to run far away from these people.