Pincolino

So this is supposed to be a romance series at the end of the day? That explains why people like it. I'm not here for the romance, though.

Now I went to YouTube and typed "Happiness Korean Drama". What I got are fanmade vids of the main couple. Mystery solved!

I'm not into action dramas. I like more thought-provoking series, slice of life, mystery/thriller, but occasionally I also enjoy a zombie series. If this is about the poeple, about life, then they should have provided some more likable characters. But I guess it's just me that can't stand the leads.

Oh Jesus ... there always must be that ONE person to ruin it all ... again the gay phobia argument. Those guys did great. They have great chemistry. The kiss was good.

No, but it's about cheating and mostly Mark gets hurt constantly. In this version we see that Vee is suferring too, but yeah ... suffering, suffering, suffering

Well, there are many things out there that people can't see, lol. I for example can't see how this is good writing. Happy now?

thumbs up

"I just said you need to do it dispassionately, or as objectively as possible."
I agree on this completely, to be honest. I also always try to be objective when criticizing a work of fiction. I rated To My Star with a 7 which is low for me despite watching it with passion and being glued to the screen the whole time. But I made the experience that most people out there are like "I love it = it's good" or "I hate it = it's bad". What to do? The emotional aspect has to be taken into consideration.

What makes me a bit mad: With some minor changes they could have done a much better job: Tone down the angst, give us Ji Woo's POV earlier and more of it, make the reconcilation scene more impactful and convincing so we see some character growth. Done!

Let's not fight here! Everyone is intitled to their opinion. I love the drama. It made me think and feel like no other BL drama before. I love the guys 💕 But it is indeed poorly written, but if peole can't see that - it's fine! Some analyze the writing more, some less. Some have different ideas of "good writing". If the reviews are so good (I'm happy for the guys) then most people apparantly like this kind of storytelling. We may even get s3! I will watch it for sure!

It is indeed poorly written unless you think this is a case of artistic freedom. I personally don't take this so serious. I enjoyed the series a lot, I love the guys to the moon and back - but they made some poor writing choices. Still it's one of the most thought provoking series I have ever watched (BL or not). So that's an accomplishment by itself and should get credit.

I'm a novel writer, and my last book was received poorly. Was depressed two days becasue of that, haha! It's one of my favorite works. You just don't always get it right. I think I have written around 30 books in my life, so this is no big deal. I will move on. But how the comment writer expressed himself, like art is something you can measure and analyse completely in just one way ... I don't think so. If it would be so easy everyone would write a bestelling book. There are some other aspects you have to look at. This series had a lot to offer and it's by no means "bad art".

First of all, yes, it's poorly written. Most of the people here know it. Most of the things you wrote about where already pointed out. Not everyone is as good at writing like you, though. I'm not. English is not my native language.
But you're missing here an important point too: You say it's not art, or it's bad art. And still you wrote 1864 words about it. Yes, I counted them.
At the end of the day a work of fiction has to provoke emotions and thoughts in the viewer. That's my take on it at least. And since I'm here on MDL where I joined in 2016 I have never seen so many well written comments and analysis about any series. There has never been a series where people had such deep discussions. You can disagree about this, but I must give credit to the writers for creating a work that moves anyobody in one way or another.

Haha!

Son Woohyun is great. But Kim Kangmin has it into him too. There are some scenes in s1 and s2 ... the way he sometimes comes closer to Son Woonhyun in such a sassy way ... he can pull off a more cheeky and dominant character for sure. It's just that he has to act as Ji Woo, a helpless insecure puppy. And let's not forget he is almost ten years younger.

lol, he really did!

In Ep 5 there was the after credit scene where they were lying in bed and Ji Woo was snuggling up to Seo Joon. At this point it was clear Ji Woo still loves him, misses him, loves to be with him. "How can I ingore you now?" he said to him before kissing him. He should have left the bed and looked at the phone and read the messages. But nope.

That next-day scene in the kitchen when Ji Woo told Seo Joon basically that the night they spent together didn't mean anything to him was incredible unnecessary. That was the point where he crossed the line, and I feel the author only went there for the cheap angst. It didn't anything for the story. Seo Joon only gave up when he overheard the talk with the ex-girlfriend.

I had the biggest issue with ep 5 and 6. After the kiss in ep 4 I expected the mood would change. Something would happen! But it was just more pain for Seo Joon. They overdid it here. They should have introduced Ji Woo's POV at this point, so the viewer could sympathize with him more. I have seen people saying they dropped the series around ep 5.

Hahaha! It was crazy in the last two episodes. And well, also in the first two with all the flashbacks.

Not talking about the plot in general, but how some scenes were written: that crying scene was weak. He mumbled something with a baby voice about his issues - and we are all good? Nah, I don't buy it.

They really should have introduced Ji Woo's POV earlier. I think it was in ep 7 at the end that we finally learned what's going on in his head. He only got two episodes to redeem himself. Too late, too little. Missed opportunities.

I still hope for a s3, though. Haha! Love the guys 💕

I mentioned OhmNanon because Nanon did some improvised kisses, and it was obvious, because Ohm always looked angry. He wasn't angry, he was suprised. But that surprised/angry face ruined the moment.

I feel like some scenes in To My Star were improvised too like when Seo Joon kissed Ji Woo's cheecks like crazy and he made that strange sound doing the last kiss. Ji Woo smiled so full-heartedly.

And I compared it to Semantic Error, because, if I'm not wrong, it's the most successful Korean BL to date. And the big reason is their chemistry.

I said it hundred million times: the core ideas of this drama weren't bad at all. The insecurities, feeling trapped in a relationship, thinking you're not good enough, you're not loved enough, those negative thoughts can take over, you're spiraling down into deep depression ... it's relatable.
But the resolution? Crying like a baby and demanding even more from Seo Joon? If one of the issues was that he felt Seo Joon didn't love him enough, then I think he finally proved how much he cares for Ji Woo by going after him despite Ji Woo hurting him constantly and pushing him away? So shouldn't Ji Woo get over some of insecurities at least? Now they only meet two days a week or what? Will this work out? Who knows. He should have apologized properly, being on his knees, and not demand a hug from Seo Joon.

But I guess the author wanted to tell us, that people can't change, and they won't. That's at the end of the day, the only thing that's "realistic" about this series. I see it in real life day after day that most people indeed are incapable of changing. So this is about accepting a person the way he is? I guess so.