LightHouse74

Somewhat Disappointing

I placed spoilers at the end of this review.

It’s been a while since I was disappointed with a Taiwan BL Series. Overall, it is not a bad series. It just could have been much better. I appreciate the majority of the characters were working adults. It has some interesting story concepts, but suffers from poor execution. The script started off good but began to slowly unravel by episode 6. It completely came undone by episode 11. See spoiler alert at the end of this review for more information. The actors were great with what they were given. It’s not their fault that the script was greatly lacking in many areas. The cinematography was great, but had an excessively long picture montage at the end of each episode for some reason.

Random Note: Don’t stop watching after the excessively long picture montage at the end of each episode because there is an additional scene after it.




******Spoiler Alert******

Although it had a happy ended, episode 12 was bizarre. It tried to minimize a series situation from episode 11 to make it seem like it was no big deal. It also throws in a random wedding for a side couple that is introduced in this episode.

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Don’t let the first episode scare you off.

This had a very cute, weird but cute, story concept. I started watching this with the mindset of a sitcom. I know it’s a comedy, but watching it as a sitcom made it more enjoyable for me. Although it had a few weak points, the script was very different and uplifting. The first episode is a little bizarre due to the heavy stalker element of Toh. However, this element is toned down in following episodes. I usually don’t like series with a big cast, but they did a good job with keeping you interested. I actually remember who they were and started to care about them. The group dynamics of both groups was great and they were very supportive of each other. Their teasing can get a little out of hand at times, but they were always there when someone needed it. The actors were incredible and did a great job making you care about their characters.

Random Note (Added on 3/4/2023): I strongly recommend watching this on Idol Factory’s YouTube channel, if you can, instead of Viki because the English subtitles on their channel is definitely a lot better than the ones on Viki.

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The best one out of the 4

I placed spoilers at the end of this review.

I stand corrected, this is the best one out of the compilation series. However, I may be bias because I love sci-fi storylines.

The positive: Although it had some elements that did not make sense, the script was good. The pacing was great and did a decent job introducing the characters’ backstories with one exception. I like the underline analogy about relationships in general. The two lines from episode 6 that sticks out to me is “You are an independent entity.” and “None of us own anyone.” The actors did a great job with their characters and portrayed them very well. Had very good cinematography, graphics, and music.

The negative: The script had some underdeveloped section which were only minor problems. It did take some liberties with the AI concept which some may not like. They also didn’t do a good job explaining the backstory with Chu Yi Ping’s dog. The script has one of my most hated story elements, but it actually made sense for a change. Again, this was only a minor problem for me.

******Spoiler Alert******


My main criticism is the length of the time jump. I’m not against it in this story because it did serve some purpose, but 7-years seemed too long.

Their first few kisses were predictable, but still cute.

I sort of understand the dog and Ever 9 comparison they were trying to make but it was weird and seems like a stretch to me.

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Did a better job than the original.

This remake did what the original didn’t for me. It kept me intrigued enough to continue with the series.

Yes, I acknowledge this review will have some very unpopular opinions.

I placed spoilers at the end of this review.

Overall, this was a pretty good series. Is the script perfect? No, but it managed to keep me invested in the story and characters. I liked this version because it had the perfect type of horror, suspense, and psychological thriller vibe. It really did a great job grabbing my attention and keeping me interested throughout. One minor complaint is it had some missed placed humor and romance elements that really didn’t fit in with the rest of the series. Fortunately, there were not many of them. In many ways, this is like an old school horror movie because many of the characters made some stupid decisions. For me, that just added to my enjoyment. I don’t normally note this, but the opening credits were mesmerizing. I thought the cast did an outstand job with their characters. It was also cool to see Saint Suppapong and Orn Patchanan work together again, both were in “Let’s Fight Ghost”. The cinematography, special effects, and FX make-up were awesome. Most of the music was fine, but there were a few times it had some odd background music choices that did not fit the mood of the scene.

Random Notes:

Warning! This has some gory scenes, but not that bad. However, I have a high tolerance level with gore because I grew-up watching horror films of the 80’s and 90’s.

There is a bonus scene after the ending photo montage in episode 12 which is very ambiguous.

I don’t know how much this mirrors the Korean original series because I dropped that one after the 2nd episode. That series had a bizarre mix of comedy, romance, and suspense that didn’t work for me. It simply didn’t have the type of horror and suspense vibe I was hoping for.

Sophida and Yoshi’s apartment was also used in the “Peaceful Property” series, “Wandee Goodday” series, “Only Boo” series, “My School President” series, and “Good Old Days” series.

I’m 90% certain that Dr. Beam’s childhood home was also used in the movie “My Boo”, “Leap Day” series, “Bake Me Please” series, “Shadow” series, “Sing Again” series, “Mama Gogo” series, and “21 Days Theory” series.




******Potential Spoiler Alert******

Personally, I like that the romance storyline was not a main focus of the series and did not overpower the main storyline. The one time they kissed was, um, well something.

I was able to overlook the stupid decisions with the exception of one. I’m not an infection control expert, but it made no sense to quarantine the individuals that were infected with the ones that were suspected to be infected. You’re telling me that a building that big did not have another area that could be used as a second quarantine area.

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Those Foolish Humans

This was an incredible series. It did a good job grabbing the view’s attention in the beginning, but started off a little rocky. However, this is one series that gets better after each episode. The script is interesting from the start, but it felt like something was missing. This changes by the 5th episode and everything starts to make sense. Some of the characters were unlikable at first, but the script did a great job explaining the reasoning behind their actions. There are also a lot of twists and turns that keep you guessing what is going to happen next. Although there is a slight romance element with some of the characters, it did not overpower the main storyline. The cast was excellent and did a great job with their characters. This also did a great job with the cinematography, special effects, and make-up.

Random Note:

There is a possible hint of a second season because the last two scenes can be interpreted as a cliffhanger. If this is the case, I can’t wait to watch it.

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Outstanding

This was a very intriguing series that had me hooked by the first episode. I was confused at first because there was a lot going on, but it was a good type of confusion that made me interested in what was going on. If you get confused like me, just rewatch the first 15 minutes of episode 1 and you should fully understand what is going on. The script has well-crafted with many twists and turns to keep you guessing. Just when I thought I knew what to expect, it surprised me. It was also very successful with connecting multiple elements and characters together at the end. The cast did an amazing job with portraying their characters. It also helped that all of the characters were well written. It had stunning cinematography. It was a brilliant idea to use the different screen formats to establish the changing time lines to reduce possible confusion.

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It Falls Flat on Many Levels

I placed a spoiler alert at the end of this review.

Thankfully this just had 10-episodes. That being said, this easily could have been a 6-episode series instead.

Overall, the series was cute but was really not that interesting. The ending was very lackluster and anticlimactic. The main story concepts are ok, but the script is greatly underdeveloped and falls short on execution. There were many times it seemed they just had the actors improvise their lines. For the most part, the acting was ok. There are a few actors that excelled from the others. The rest of the actors are not bad or good, they just need to work more on their skills. After a while, I found Plengrak and Duean Yi’s storyline exhausting. Especially the second to last conflict they threw in. See potential spoiler alert at the end of this review if you want more info. It also has too many supporting cast members. There are some audio/sound problems throughout the series. The cinematography is good, but there is a lot of misuse of screen time. The few songs in this were good.

Random Note:
I did not have high expectations before watching this series, but was hoping to be proven wrong. Unfortunately, I was not. The quality of MFlow’s previous productions are not the greatest. They always fall short when it comes to the script and production.

I could be wrong, but I’m sure the “movie” in episode 3 was Second Chance (an earlier production from MFlow Entertainment).

The English subtitles on Viki are ok, but they kept spelling some of the characters names wrong midway through the series. I was getting confuse at first as to who they were talking about.

******Potential Spoiler Alert******

Plengrak and Duean Yi’s relationship conflict in episode 7 was the most annoying. Instead of letting Plengrak explain what was going on, Duean Yi was very immature. This also had a half-baked resolution that does not make sense.

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You don’t have to see the first season (I didn’t) to watch this one because there is a recap of what happened with the two couples from the previous season. The first episode is a little confusing because they tried to address the sci-fi aspect with one of the couples from the first season. However, the rest of the episodes are easy to follow as the series goes on. They also did a good job creating a connection between the two couples from the first season. The story concepts are not new, but the script handled the content very well. I like the cast, but the acting is ok. As for production, the series suffered from very odd/bad background music choices. The music often did not match the mood of the scenes. There is a suggestion of a third season at the end of the last episode by introducing two new characters (couple?).

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A full course meal that’s worth it in the end.

I placed spoilers at the end of this review.

This was a very interesting series. The first few episodes may scare some individuals off, but it’s worth sticking around. The way they introduced all of the stories was very compelling, for me at least. The overall theme is that learning, self-discovery, and individual evolution is an on-going, never-ending process. However, there were so many other little lessons incorporated into this series. In essence, the only constancy in life is change. Although there were some week elements, the script was still excellent. It spent the right amount of time introducing the backstories of most of the side characters. It also had the right amount of drama and quirkiness that I’ve become to love with series from Japan. All of the actors were outstanding and did a wondaful job portrayed their characters. They also did a great editing job with the flashback scenes.



******Potential Spoiler Alert******

I don’t necessarily agree with Kai’s methods, but everything he did was for the benefit of others.

It was very smart with switching between Gaku’s personality of 2023 and 2024 in the beginning of the series which is the reason that compelled me to keep watching.

The friendship development between all of the characters was great. I also love the undertone bromance in the series.

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Had So Much Potential

I placed spoilers at the end of this review.

For the positive side, the series had some cute moments and can be enjoyable at times. I also like the supportive dynamic of Cher’s friend group. Now for the negative side. The story concept was nothing new which is not a bad thing if it was well executed. Unfortunately, this is not the case. The whole script came across as a ruff first draft that someone forgot to proofread. It also had some very poor/weird director choices. The pacing with the main leads’ relationship was too quick. Everything felt rushed from the very beginning of episode 1. All the storylines were haphazardly introduced and incomplete. Most of them received half-baked resolutions or were completely forgotten. This also had a weird mixture of comedy and drama. The comedy sections fell flat and the drama sections turned very dark at times. See the spoiler alert at the end of this review if you want more information. The actors were good considering what they had to work with. I admit this was hard to gage because of the poorly developed script and bad director choices.

Random Note:

There is a big disconnect between the marketing and the content of this series. The official trailer, description, and opening credits suggests this is a light and fluffy romcom. It’s not uncommon for a comedy to have a little drama, but not the type they introduced. I also think the series poster makes no sense.

It had cute opening credits.

I see a lot of acting potential with Force and Book. They just need better managers to fight for them. Unfortunately, this is the second BL series they were in that had a poorly developed script.

******Potential Spoiler Alert******

There was no lead up to how the main leads formed their relationship which happened in a matter of minutes in episode one.

I appreciated they tried to introduce some important subject matters, but it did not do it tactfully. The subject matters were mostly treated as a story gimmick or after thought.

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It’s Ok, but the series was better

The movie/series: Although the storyline is basic, the script was well executed. It was not overly dramatic and gave a more realistic viewpoint about the LGBTQ+ community. The actors did a wonderful job portraying their characters. The cinematography and graphics were great. The series wisely used all of its screen time. The opening and closing credits for the series was very cute and fun to watch.

The movie: On the positive side, they did add a few new scenes. Overall, the move version was not as good as the series. This is why editing is very important. They did a decent job editing it into a cohesive movie. However, they made poor editing choices. The main problem for me was key scenes were cut from the series. I’m assuming this was done for timing purposes, but I felt most of the cut scenes helped with the relationship and story progression. There was also many scene placements that was changed throughout the movie which didn’t help.

Random Notes:
The series was another BL office romance from 2023 that a really enjoyed watching. I just wish the movie version retained the same magic the series had.

I strongly recommend watching the series version. The added scenes were cute, but does not compensate for all of the cut scenes. As for my rewatch value, the 1 is for the movie version. The series is definitely a 10 value.

The movie didn’t clearly mark the college flashback scene which was 4 years ago.

The colors are not as vibrant in the movie version. The picture appears dull.

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Strong beginning; Weak ending

What the description on Netflix and MDL, even the move itself, fail to note is this is loosely based on events during a 2003 SARS outbreak in Taiwan. Unfortunately, this is one of those movies that grabs your attention within the first few minutes and then just leaves you with a very abrupt ending. It just leaves you with too many loose ends and no overall resolution to events. This is sad considering the actors were wonderful portraying their characters. Even with the sudden ending, it had great cinematography and pacing. However, the editing can make viewers uncomfortable which I think was the purpose.

Random Note:
It felt like the writers did not want to fully commit to a sad ending or that they lost steam at the end and gave up.

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An Execution Casualty

I placed major spoiler alert at the end of this review.

First off, I was happy but skeptical when this was announced. Happy because I thought this franchise was done, as its future was unclear. Skeptical because I didn’t know who the screenwriter was. I was also hesitant about watching this because I’m not a fan of time travel love stories because they rarely end well. I would have skipped this series due to this concept, but I gave it a try because it is part of the HIStory Franchise.

This part is about the series as if it was not part of the HIStory Franchise. This had some interesting story concepts that got lost with poor execution. The main problem is the script. Although it had its cute moments, it had too many things going on. See the major spoiler alert at the end of this review if you want more information. I wish they had cut down on all of the various story elements and stuck with the two main story concepts that were listed in the synopsis. It has a great cast that did the best job with what they were given. Some of the acting seemed over the top, but I don’t think it was the actors’ fault. This was probably due to poor choices made by the director.

When comparing this to the other series in this franchise, it doesn’t quite measure up. This script reminds me of season one because it had a lot of the same quirkiness and weird story elements (soul swapping and time travel). Again, the main problem is the script. It appeared the screenwriter did not have any original ideas and pulled multiple story elements from the other seasons in hope it would make this series fit in.

Random Note:

Overall, It’s not the worse series in the franchise. It just could have been better. Despite my long rant in the major spoiler alert section, I would rewatch this at some point. Especially now that I know which sections I can skip.

I like the mention of HIStory 3: Trapped because it’s my favorite series from this franchise.

For those that are new to my reviews, I love seeing familiar locations used from other series. The bar used in many of the scenes was the same one used for My Tooth Your Love series.

******Major Spoiler Alerts******

The main problem with this series is the script had too many story elements. For the first main couple, it started with some sort of time travel mixed in with a body/soul swapping element with He Bo Wei. This also introduces a mystery mystical character which pops in every once in a while. They mixed this with the traumatized past but you saved me combo with Hai Yi. On top of that, we get the classic “I’m gay for you” story element between Hai Yi and He Bo Wei. This includes the very classic evil ex-girlfriend (fiancé?) that actually causes trouble for both of the main couples. As for other main leads (Lin Huai En and Liang Wen Hsen), there was a hidden love element mixed into an office romance involving the classic new employee and boss scenario. They also include an age gap between them for good measures. This also includes the jealous manager Tony trying to sabotage the office romance by using other employees as his minions. Then they add an attempted murder of Lin Huai En by the manager Tony and his minions. We then have the sudden death of Hai Yi’s father which leads to the common misunderstanding/lack of communication story elements between both main couples. Then they add the old fashion disappearing act from Liang Wen Hsen. This is also tied into the other old fashion element of I’m pushing you away for your own good involving both main couples. Because they have to remind us this is part of the HIStory universe, they introduced random characters from a previous season towards the end of the series. If it was not for MDL, this would have gone over my head (I didn’t watch HIStory 4). However, this helped the script check off the step-brother turned lovers story element too because they had to waste a lot of screen time to give us their backstory. They also wanted to emphasis this with Ye Xing Si very bizarre introduction of Fu Yong Jie. Then we get the usual last episode plot twist that was not really much of a surprise and clears up all of the misunderstandings in a manner of minutes.

The relationship progression between Liang Wen Hsen and Lin Huai En happened way too quickly. They go from co-workers to a couple in what seems a manner of weeks without them actually dating in-between.

As for the attempted murder, Liang Wen Hsen does not take Lin Huai En to the hospital or have a doctor check him after almost freezing to death. Manager Tony or his minions don’t receive any real consequences for their actions.

Although the last episode had a happy ending for both couples, it was very bizarre. Why did they feel the need to incorporate the step-brother couple from the previous season towards the end.

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Watch with Low Expectations

I give them kudos for trying something different. This series was ok, but it could have been a lot better. I think the BL sitcom concept is interesting. Unfortunately, this series did not execute it very well. I kept watching it because I like the characters and hoped the writing would get better.

The positive: The cast is great and their acting was awesome. They did a great job considering what they had to work with. The one good aspect of the script is it makes you care about most of the characters. The scenes involving Pleng’s imagination was great and found myself waiting each week for them. The theme song is very catchy. I wish the MV had subtitles. The series also had great sets.

The negative: The script is not the greatest. It took me awhile to figure out why many of the episodes seemed off to me. The reason is many of the scenarios that they place Rak and Diao in are the usual ones you would see in a regular dramatical series which does not work in a sitcom format. The scenarios also take away the BL enjoyable factor for me. The workplace jokes are over the top and are often very offensive. The jokes remind me of bad 70’s/80’s American sitcoms. There are also some running themes that became very annoying after a while. The very ending of the last episode was cute, but anticlimactic. It was done in the hopes of a possible 2nd season. As for production, the laugh track is annoying. They placed it in random spots that don’t fit in. There is also an overuse of sound effects. Using both in a series does not make it a sitcom. The content of the script also has to match the sitcom concept which this series fails to do.

Random Note:
The subtitle timing can be off-track. It’s either too slow or too fast at times. Some of them also include the timing notes for the subtitles.
If there is going to be a 2nd season, I’m not sure I will watch it. My wish list is that they keep the cast and set, but use a different screenwriter.

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How was your summer?

Warning: Do not watch this if you are offended by the suggested use of drugs. Opps, I mean the use of “herbs”.

I placed spoilers at the end of this review.

Overall, this was an entertaining series. It had a great story concept, but had a few missed steps with the execution. The script did a great job at grabbing my attention. It also did a nice job setting up the storyline and characters which made me want to know more. I especially loved the storyline involving Pheng and Wut. Unfortunately, the script was lacking in some areas and had a few plot holes. Although I liked the unexpected story components, there was a missed opportunity with one of them. The script also went a little off track at the end. For me, episode 9 was mostly wasted screen time because of a cliché plot twist that was not fully resolved. However, it did head back into the right direction with the last episode with one exception. The entire cast did an incredible job with their characters. This had a nice sound track, but had some odd background music choices.

Random Note:

I wish we received a tad more scenes and information about Wava/Davin’s world. We get a few random scenes that gave us very little information. I also felt like this aspect of the storyline was forgotten at times.


******Potential Spoiler Alert******

I was expecting the usual prince with amnesia storyline, but then we get the overthrowing the royal family storyline. I was pleasantly surprised at first, but became frustrated because it was not utilized very well. This could have added more interest to the series.

I really loved the storylines involving Pheng and Wut, especially because they were an established couple. I liked how it not only addressed the issue of dating someone that’s not out yet, but issues that many LGBTQ+ individuals face when they are out.

Am I the only one that wondered why Lava and Wave did not question the resort staff that Wave stayed at?

The cliché reverse amnesia in episode 9 was such a waste of screentime. This was a perfect time to incorporate more about the royal family. This was also not much of a plot twist.

Of course we had to get a time jump, at least it was only a year and we get a happy ending.

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