Okay so.. For me, it was important to connect this story to ULS and I think they did it adequately. Because the thing is, trying to create a beginning of a story after the release of the ending is kind of hard, especially in BL works. Because on the one hand, you have to create an intriguing work and show the chemistry of the characters but on the other hand, you can't go overboard and contradict the knowledge that the audience knows beforehand.
But they balanced it pretty well I think, they weren't excessive with their relationship and made them endgame or didn't confirm their feelings for each other (Hotae’s side at least, he didn’t completely understand Donghee’s and his own feelings) And in ULS we see Hotae realized what he felt back in high school and tries to confirm it by trying to date Donghee for a month. He doesn't know how Donghee feels for him even at this point and he realizes Dongee's feelings after he asks the reason why he got angry is not asking him out but it's actually him asking to go out only for a month. If there was some kind of confirmation scene in TTOL where they talk it out it would clash with this scene in ULS and make it difficult to watch for me at least.
Also after watching TTOL, I realized they went through A LOT before ULS, and like.. how are they gonna connect this much shit to ULS? They weren't even planning to make a spinoff when ULS was shooting so.. It’s a really tricky situation altogether and I don't like finding plotholes (big ones at least) when I watch stuff. But the scene in ULS where they were fighting in the back alley and Donghee says “I don't know why you're suddenly interested in this area but..” Hotae answers with “Suddenly?” And it felt to me like this was a confirmation of the things that happened in TTOL before and Hotae’s feelings actually didn't happen so “suddenly”.
And I think the ending wasn't open, it links to ULS and was supposed to be vague. Otherwise, it would clash with ULS hodong’s relationship.
So yeah, there might be some other stuff that doesn’t completely match which I missed but I think overall they managed to make a great spinoff/prequel. (I definitely can NOT be objective about this since I’ve been waiting for ttol for a long time but I kinda wanted to explain how I read certain scenes from both series to show how to link them together for a better watching experience.)
I already finished this, but there are some questions from me, i hope someone can explain it-did hotae’s mom…
I think Hotae's mom kinda knew it? But I felt like the reason he decided to leave for Seoul was more than that, he wasn't completely comfortable with himself. I read it as a trauma response, running away when you feel like you can't handle it or feeling like you don't deserve happiness. And yeah his dad was beating him up because he was gay. I mean it is often the case with homophobic parents, you can't completely hate them or cut them off. You remember the good things they do for you and the happy times you spent together. (also he was still defending his father literally RIGHT after he got beaten by him) Family violence leaves the biggest scar. That's my interpretation at least.
I really liked Go Ahead, but one of the things that never sat right with me was Ling Xiao and Li Jian Jian's relationship.…
Me too! I LOVED the relationship between the trio at first but with LX and LJJ it evolved into something romantic and I really couldn't keep watching. And I was so excited to find such a heartwarming drama to watch :(
But they balanced it pretty well I think, they weren't excessive with their relationship and made them endgame or didn't confirm their feelings for each other (Hotae’s side at least, he didn’t completely understand Donghee’s and his own feelings) And in ULS we see Hotae realized what he felt back in high school and tries to confirm it by trying to date Donghee for a month. He doesn't know how Donghee feels for him even at this point and he realizes Dongee's feelings after he asks the reason why he got angry is not asking him out but it's actually him asking to go out only for a month. If there was some kind of confirmation scene in TTOL where they talk it out it would clash with this scene in ULS and make it difficult to watch for me at least.
Also after watching TTOL, I realized they went through A LOT before ULS, and like.. how are they gonna connect this much shit to ULS? They weren't even planning to make a spinoff when ULS was shooting so.. It’s a really tricky situation altogether and I don't like finding plotholes (big ones at least) when I watch stuff. But the scene in ULS where they were fighting in the back alley and Donghee says “I don't know why you're suddenly interested in this area but..” Hotae answers with “Suddenly?” And it felt to me like this was a confirmation of the things that happened in TTOL before and Hotae’s feelings actually didn't happen so “suddenly”.
And I think the ending wasn't open, it links to ULS and was supposed to be vague. Otherwise, it would clash with ULS hodong’s relationship.
So yeah, there might be some other stuff that doesn’t completely match which I missed but I think overall they managed to make a great spinoff/prequel. (I definitely can NOT be objective about this since I’ve been waiting for ttol for a long time but I kinda wanted to explain how I read certain scenes from both series to show how to link them together for a better watching experience.)
And yeah his dad was beating him up because he was gay. I mean it is often the case with homophobic parents, you can't completely hate them or cut them off. You remember the good things they do for you and the happy times you spent together. (also he was still defending his father literally RIGHT after he got beaten by him) Family violence leaves the biggest scar. That's my interpretation at least.