This review may contain spoilers
Heesu is a brilliant art piece contrasting the differences in queer vs het experiences
Heesu in Class 2 is not a “light romance,” and does not tell the story of a queer boy in a BL bubble- where he is safely surrounded by queer peers and other queer couples.Instead, this is a story of two queer boys navigating the pain of holding secrets, the complex layers of fear that keeps them silent, navigating coming out, and the reality of being queer in a world that operates in heteronormative default and in a culture still very much divided on LGBTQ acceptance.
This series is both beautiful, and painful. This series deviates from the source material, with mixed reception. I think rather than any sort of het-washing, the expansion of the het side couple and background couples, the het content was an important tool in demonstrating the contrast between the ease of het relationships, and by comparison illustrating just how much more difficult it is for Heesu and Seung Won being queer and having a crush.
There is so much that can be said about this series. All of the side characters offer an important piece to the bigger picture of the overall story. The side characters and their stories and relationship experience is like a thread in the tapestry of Heesu and Seung Won’s experiences and their stories. I cried for Heesu and Seung Won. I ached for them. I wanted to comfort them as a parent, but also as a queer adult.
Bringing a very real feeling queer story into a more typical Kdrama production (rather than a very short BL) also gave me a lot of feels for queer representation. For me this felt like another very notable step forward and offering insight into what the pain that being queer in a heteronormative world means for many people.
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