Kiwichix0r

Spoiler-heavy safety review from PTSD perspective

I’m reviewing this as a survivor, as a queer, and as someone who loves fluffy escapism. My first point is for survivors of violence: this drama contains triggers for bullying, domestic violence (paternal), and homophobia. It’s not suitable as a source of safe, fluffy escapism.

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The romantic leads are prone to the “bad communication”, “carrying the weight of the world”, and “noble idiot” tropes. Otherwise both are green flag characters. They, outside of the tropes mentioned, treat one another well, being affectionate, forgiving, and respectful. The chemistry is nice, and both actors are skilled. It’s beside the point, but both are absolutely gorgeous too. They get a happy ending.

The two other principal characters are the villains. They are the source of the triggers. One is the coach’s son, who is homophobic and a bully. He bullies one lead, and blackmails the other. His conduct probably stems of the violent abuse, corruption, and bullying of his father. The son partially redeems himself by confessing his own part, but the father just gets exposed before the press, so any justice for him is implied, rather than explicit. I found it satisfying that it was his son who outed his vileness though. This leads me to hope that the son alienates his father.

As someone in treatment for lifelong PTSD it took me a long time to work my way through this series, and I do not recommend it for those with unresolved or relevant trauma.

Otherwise, this is the highest quality vertical short series I’ve seen. For those without trauma sensitivity I recommend it.

Offences depicted:

Assault with a weapon.
Blackmail.
Intimidation.
Hate speech.
Shoving.
Deceit.

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Standout Newcomers

Cast: Punn and Boat, neither of whom I’ve seen before, stood out and are both gorgeous. The BoatOat chemistry was pretty spectacular. I’m not a fan of Yoon, but he was good in this.

Direction: I wasn’t impressed by a few directorial choices. The sex scenes between the main couple in particular were more like a director rendering their fantasies, than likely love-making or plot-driving tools to convey anything meaningful. The more in love the leads got, the rougher and more bestial the love scenes got. They went from tender and loving, to pure lust, which seemed like a reverse gradient in a love story. The consent dynamics were not great. The classic sunset/sunrise mechanic was used to great effect repeatedly, but as a result jumps in time longer than 12 hours were jarring and unexpected.

Writing: The story was fine, but depended too much on lousy communication tropes for my liking. The characters themselves were consistent to themselves, and had arcs, though nothing deep or even remotely sophisticated. The humour was grounded, and gave me a few laughs. I got attached to and invested in the two main leads, who were both flawed but lovable, but the rest of the characters were very uneven, as was their utility in the story.

Production design: Not fabulous, but I think that was more limited by budget than design chops. I suspect a lot was made from very little. Exterior locations rocked.

I enjoyed the drama and the main characters, but it felt cheap, and I think the direction was bad. If nothing else, it’s a string of stimulating sex scenes, but if you can engage with the main characters you’ll get more out of it. I’m looking forward to more of “Champ”, and of the BoatOat CP in future shows.

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Spoilers so TLDR: Cute, Inane, & Low Stakes

Despite some rather melodramatic supernatural crises this was an incredibly flaccid supernatural romance. Character stories never went anywhere; so much of what was begun ended up just hanging in the air, never to be resolved. The actors were cute, but unconvincing, the third wheel was unlikeable, and one of the supporting characters was more compelling than the leads, and he kind of got a resolution of sorts. I honestly did come back to this each week, despite its deeply mediocre production and writing, but only because the cast was so decorative.

I will never be even slightly tempted to re-watch this, but I hope to see the actor who played Tong (Yuuki) put to better use in other dramas. He was the best of a very middling group of cuties, and his character had an actual arc, which nobody else did, not even the leads. It would have been so easy to pull an arc out of phloeng’s disbelief, or Win’s fears, but no. Neither was apparently at all changed, either by events, or the relationship.

Speaking of which, there was never any apparent deepening of the relationship. Win just suddenly welcomed Phloeng’s intimacy, so they were intimate. The relationship felt like it went on off-screen, while we were dealing with other plot elements. seriously, I had no idea what Win was thinking or feeling at any point.

Namo was into Wayu, but it never went anywhere. The rabbit ended up paired off, despite being a total loose thread, so I guess that was a resolution. I’m at a loss, really. I don’t know what the minds behind this were thinking.

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I Didn’t Experience Any Confusion

I’ll open by dealing with the confusion mentioned by others in their reviews. I didn’t feel any. The flashbacks were not entirely conventional, but I was clear about when each scene of the first few episodes were set, and I experienced no issues understanding motivations, reasons, timing, or context. Maybe the writer, director, and editor have the same kind of funky brain I do, but these reviews surprised me. Perhaps the cues are not tuned to everyone, so watch with that in mind. I’m happy to throw out a spoiler marked comment thread clarifying these scenes if anyone wants.

I agree with one of these other reviews about the kisses. Total duds. I also agree with that one about the going behind the lead’s back trope being in really poor taste, given how the second romantic interest had conducted himself. I got a good handle on the whys and wherefores of every step taken apart from that. It really annoyed me, and was the only misstep by the lead’s main romantic interest. Other than that piece of utter f***wittage he was a walking green flag.

I tend to watch these fluffy romances with my critical faculty running at a low idle, and though it’s not at the pinnacle of any of the related crafts, I loved the set dressing and lighting in this series. The decor of the tiny publishing firm ticks all my Scandinavian sensibility boxes, with the warm, beautifully designed wooden furniture, and the clear case of book hoarding that was in progress. His flat, however, felt pretty lacking. Anybody who would kit out their office with such warmth should also have a warm, cosy home. The rest of the locations were as well dressed as the wee publisher, though.

As mentioned, the kissy moments were badly directed/performed, so I assume the gorgeous leads are both straight, and/or the director is a prude. Other reviewers have used the “dead fish kiss” phrase, and it was never more appropriate than in this instance. It’s a shame, because the lead pair are both gorgeous.

This is a romance where all three of the romantic triangle of leads end up better off than they were at the start, which makes for a deeply satisfying piece of mind-candy. And this series is mind-candy. It’s not profound, logically robust, or powerful. It’s a sweet romance based around three people with similar dreams, but very different ways of seeking them, and everyone developed for the better, even if the internal logic of the writing showed some gaping holes 🕳️

Enjoy. I did.

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