KBEReady001

I had taken bit of a break from this series until as of yesterday when I finally finished the finale episode and I have to say bravo for the most part; This is not your typical BL series as it has such a more coming of age story spliced with such a slow burn romance that I have admit sometimes was a lil too slow to really break through but still had so much charm and that actors did a phenomenal job

Things I liked
1. The way that Shen Wang’s and Jiang Tian’s relationship progresses from complete strangers in the same class to accepting each other as family/brothers, to being each others home they can rely on. Shen Wang shows Jiang Tian that he can open up to others more and be vulnerable while Jiang Tian shows Shen Wang that he can be strong and confide within him

2. Generally the side characters are so well touched on I love they’re friend group so much

3. The cinematography is amazing and very scenic giving the impression of what a high pressure environment is like and how the students seeming can decompress for a bit before returning to what feels like academic hell

4. The acting is suburb and the appearances chosen for the portrayal of each actor is amazing

Things that could use some improvement
1. That ending ain’t it I mean it felt so set up for a second season where we don’t even have an definitive confirmation that there’s gonna be a second season (on top of that it’s rare for any BL series to get a second season) the final episodes buildup also felt odd I understand that Jiang Tian might’ve felt upset/betrayed that Shen Wang purposely screwed up on the mock exam so his anger/disappointment is warranted however, to make a scene outta a punching a wall in the school when he’s just moving to the class upstairs (also they share the same dorm room and bed a lot of the time) just seems so melodramatic and over exaggerated.

2. The teacher side couple I get they’re supposed to be sorta a parallel to the main leads but the whole thing of one of them thinking that the other has a thing for the Jenny but really likes him instead feels contrived and the whole kidnapping scene felt unnecessary. Also we got some of they’re background story but not enough to really set them up as a side parallel to the main couples booming relationship

3. Episode 11 features a scene where we should’ve had some proximation for why Jiang Tian is initially so closed off also for why he has psychical burn marks/scars on that side of his body; I haven’t read the original book but apparently in the book this is the scene that is responsible for part of Jiang Tian’s closed off behavior which stems from him becoming homophobic. The show never actually depicts any behavior of homophobia on Tian’s part nor outwardly examines it so how we’re we initially supposed to interpret it as that?

4. While the OST slaps so hard the quality and levels of the music is so over the place; the background music either spans on for far too long or far too loud that sometimes the dialogue becomes almost muffled (which seems to be a trend in Taiwanese BL’s from what I seen)

Overall an amazing series so far but we definitely need another season to tie up all the loose ends and expand on the characters feelings and backstories more that the current open ended conclusion of the first season gives us