Hanatoko

Even ignoring the kill-your-gays and "you're the only man I love" tropes, it was lazy writing. If they wanted to work up to that ending to create a moral that fits the drama's name, they should've actually written towards it. It just felt disjointed, and I felt nothing from the death because it was stupidly tossed in. A "sad" ending isn't unique or special. It's not hard to abruptly kill a character off screen.

The problem is really that it just didn't fit. A narrative should flow neatly. A death should have purpose, and that purpose should be clear from the events that come before it. That didn't happen here. It's like the first 9 episodes and the 10th episode came from different dramas, both of which would've been valid if not tied together.

Clearly the writer wasn't sure about whatever message or plot significance they wanted that death to have because they released a novel with a completely different ending and are now potentially releasing a sequel that invalidates or ignores it.

It's not a particularly useful hidden camera if it's entirely blocked by a stack of towels and inside a closet. I don't think there's any malicious intent behind it.

This isn't all that bad if you skip everything except Tin/Can and Tul/Hin. Everything else is rubbish and not worth your time.

The rating was 8.5 until something inexplicably dropped it to 7.3 in like 2 hours. Let's not pretend it's indicative of anything right now when it's so obviously skewed and we're only 2 episodes in. Being critical of an entire show and rating it based on how you think it will develop before it even has the chance to tell its story is basically judging your imagination.

Plus given generic, tropey, and problematic BLs like TharnType are above 8, it's not like people rate based on how "original" a BL is to begin with. (Nor do they need to)

I found the second episode had less overuse of sound effects, though frankly the first episode didn't bother me much to begin with.

It's absurd. Either the site messed up or something shady happened like a review bombing. A drama does not naturally drop 1.2 points in just a few hours; especially given there was no new episode to prompt it.

And unlike a few months back when dramas site-wide were dropping while MDL played with their review system, the only drama I've seen drop is this one.

I don't get it either. This is delivering in every aspect for me so far. The story pacing is even impressing me a bit given its time constraints.

People aren't "going soft" on Korean BLs. They're delivering a very different BL experience than Thai or TW BL dramas, and thus get rated differently.

That final scene and narration made my heart flutter. Such a great directorial choice.

I actually thoroughly enjoyed this from start to finish, and that's a large feat for a Thai BL! I've completed several at this point, but I always get turned off by something (typically the sexual assault/rapey tropes that are so frequent) and end up unimpressed or hate-watching. Gene calling out his own writing in the first scene as sexual assault had me cracking up.

I really love the overall vibe and set-up we've got here. The self-referential and obvious BL parody elements give this drama a distinct and progressive touch, but it still keeps the BL tropes people love and want to see. I'm eager to see how they use that dynamic.

The acting is working for me, the music is fun, and I appreciate the commentary it's bringing forth about fan culture. The sound effects are maybe a bit overdone, but I've gotten used to that from other Thai BLs so they really don't bother me.

I hope this continues to impress!

Frankly I don't think there was enough story here for 16 or 17 episodes. I did start enjoying this drama more after we got Eun Oh's backstory, but it took far too long to get there. It was like we were watching an endless loop of Jae Won being pathetic and Eun Oh being bizarre and "crazy" for more than half the season. We also kept flashing back to the exact same sequences from their time together a year prior which quickly got dull and repetitive.

Neither of the secondary couples got as much attention as they should have on top of that, which just makes this even more frustrating.

This story, these characters, and the themes that were presented are all good on paper. The execution just didn't work out.

I really wanted to love this because in all aspects it has everything it needs to succeed. The cinematography was beautiful, the music was great, the actors did a fine job with their roles, and the plot itself has a great concept and foundation. Unfortunately the plot didn't take into account the time it had, and everything felt squashed and rushed which left it no time at all for development. I should care about these characters and this relationship, but I don't because they spoke for all of 5 minutes and didn't even really interact with each other until Episode 5 of 8. We saw a skeleton of major events without any of the connecting threads that make them natural or believable.

This same story in a longer format would've been excellent, but that's not what happened so this disappointed and came out to be a bit of a mess. It's a little frustrating thinking about the potential it had, honestly. The other two notable Korean BLs that came out this year were much better at fitting their relationship and plot into the short movie format, and thus felt like properly executed complete stories.

"Get off your high horses and quit pretending as if your better than anyone else here in this comment section"

You say as you do exactly that. You're correct in that people holding negative opinions are completely valid, but immediately insulting people with positive opinions just goes back on what you're trying to say.

This is so petty and childish.

MDL is changing the way the rating is calculated or something, because literally every drama has dropped quite a bit. They really shouldn't have changed the algorithm.

The writer has shown countless times at this point that they love to subvert tropes and fool the audience into thinking something much worse is happening. They play with our expectations as drama viewers, and they've done that even in their past dramas.

Chill out a bit everyone. Have some faith. Everything will be fine and happy in the end.

I think rather than doing it because he doesn't want HJP involved, he's doing it because he doesn't want a Plan B. Both Do San and Dal Mi are characters that are deeply troubled by their own insecurities. Both of them feel inadequate. Both of them feel like they don't deserve what they've achieved thus far. In order for them to gain the confidence necessary, they need to succeed on their own merits.

Ji Pyeong handing them success on a silver platter by being their "Plan B" and investing regardless of whether they deserve it or fail is not what they need.

And I think that's one thing that is in Do San's favor. Both himself and Dal Mi come from similar circumstances. They're both trying to make it. They both have the same issues and fears. They're both underdogs trying to prove themselves. They're working TOGETHER to achieve something. Ji Pyeong wants to be a fairy godmother.

It's not always the perfect guy that gets the girl. Sometimes it's the one you can relate to the most and feel the most comfort in because you're equals. Dal Mi is not Ji Pyeong's equal, and his wanting to give everything to her is a detriment.

I feel like you're putting too much importance on being "first lead". Just appreciate a character as a character. He's going through conflicts, but I'm sure he'll come out at the end just fine and will have been a complex and interesting character all the while.

I love the very delicate, sincere, and patient way this relationship is starting.

I agree for the most part. In this case at least, Jun has lived as an adult on his own for a while now. He's very mature, independent, responsible, and capable of making his own educated decisions. He's also of legal age, and his Korean age probably isn't even more than 4 or 5 years apart from Ra Ra's. There's very little if any power imbalance here (as a result of the age gap) because Jun is the one that has lent money and been taking care of Ra Ra. He has been the reliable adult.

So long as he's a mature and consenting adult of legal age, the gap should not be a point of contention.