QueenBaruCormorant

Thank you too, because that’s totally fine, I don’t mind people disagreeing with me, that’s what opinions are for. Thank you that you listened to why I think this way, a lot of people just immediately go into attack mode when someone thinks differently about the same topic.

There is a massive difference in the portrayal of toxic behavior here than in shows like TharnType and KinnPorsche, which are both without a question toxic (I would even consider TharnType more toxic than KinnPorsche only because KinnPorsche was always supposed to represent mafia and toxic behavior and TharnType was not, ThanType didn’t have the violence though). And Characters can behave badly or toxic and still be great characters, that is not what my review is about. I would have loved if the show addressed the same issues, but a little differently. A person in a show can stay in an abusive or toxic relationship and it can still be considered a good show, example Handmaid‘s Tale, June always had Gillead stuck in her mind and went back, eventhough she was massively abused there, because most people, especially people in abusive households often can’t escape, more so because of their own denial or dependence than because of actual logistical issues. Shows like that often portray the ‚problem‘ through the vibe, the music, the lighting or the build up of certain characters, and shows do that very differently, KinnPorsche portrayed PeteVegas very romantic during their scenes together, but always gave us scenes where we were taken back to how toxic it actually is (example Pete running away, or Peter crying in the bathtub). That’s different to how they (maybe accidentally) romanticised it in Khemjira, there were no scenes or background music to portray a wrongness of the situation, the show even tried to show that there is hope for the future and that’s the wrong part. Alcohol is never an excuse for violence, people who don’t have violent tendencies don’t get violent when drinking, so there shouldn’t be this idea established, that he will stop drinking and everything will be fine. My problem in this case weren’t the topics or even what was happening visually on the screen, but what the show tried to take away from it, in this case the take away for the main characters was supposed to be ‚two people need to work hard to form a loving relationship‘ and an abusive couple is just the wrong place to make that point. I love a show it’s morally grey or even black characters, but it has to be done right. I‘ve watched and analysed a lot of shows, because it’s just my field of interest, some bad, some good and this show definitely isn’t on the bad list, it just addressed a very sensitive topic very badly and I personally felt uncomfortable enough to write a review which I have only done 3 other times in about 5 years.

Noted, I changed the comment to sound less harsh overall. A lot about how I feel about how this show handled the topic comes from my own experiences with victim blaming and when you start watching a show you can not know what topics will be covered. I will however stand with my opinion on that the show handled the topic badly, that’s not biased, that’s something several other people addressed in the review of the second episode and it happened. One can acknowledge a show addressing something badly, because sadly in the end it was ‚accidentally‘ endorsing it.

I am in no way telling people not to watch this show, I am just warning people who are sensitive to the topic, because it needs to be addressed, that’s what a trigger warning is for. A trigger warning is not a „Don’t watch it sign“, a trigger warning is for people who have TRIGGERS!! Anyone can still watch this show, but these kind of topics can break people. Imagine watching this show if you have trauma with victim blaming and domestic violence and being told by the show that it is your fault and you need to apologise and ‚work‘ on a stable relationship. And the difference between this show and other shows that address the topic of abuse is, that those shows make absolutely clear, that it is a no go. You can have a show with a toxic main couple as long as the show itself is aware how toxic it is (example KinnPorsche, My Beautiful Man, ABO Desire etc.), the problem here is that the show, by accident or not, did not acknowledge that what was happening on screen was bad. No one is telling anyone not to watch this show, hell the storyline is interesting and great, people just need to be aware of possible triggers to avoid it if necessary, not everyone can be carefree about the type of content they consume and this show did not make a trigger warning by itself, so this was mine.

I will keep reposting this, because people need to be aware before getting into this show: I have to make a TRIGGER WARNING for domestic abuse for this show (episode 2) because the way it handled the topic was bad. I can’t think of many worse ways to handle the topic of abuse in a marriage. I want to keep this spoiler free so no details, but if you have trauma with domestic abuse and/or victim blaming approach this show with a bit of care, please.

I have to make a TRIGGER WARNING for domestic abuse for this show (episode 2) because it handled the topic absolutely horrendous. I can’t think of many worse ways to handle the topic of abuse in a marriage. I want to keep this spoiler free so no details, but if you have trauma with domestic abuse and/or victim blaming stay as far away from this show as possible, please.