Always such fun to find one of your reviews in the wild. I've either not discovered it or this site doesn't have an option to show friend reviews. That being said, I sat through to the end - mostly because it took like..30 minutes total with the Olympics worthy exercise I gave my index finger skipping - and I must say that it simply got worse.
Nary a sympathetic character in sight, a good plot point or a decently acted scene. But all the tropes. Faintings so often they needed to invest in smelling salts, an accident here, a misunderstanding there, a healthy helping of lack of communication , an evil woman trying to come between them star crossed lovers and cheating. Ask me? A recipe for success!
I'm on the same page as you. It didn't make any sense for the family to be this much against his dreams, especially…
Thank you, exactly. It's clear his parents care more about money than him or his dreams. I have no idea what the grandma's angle is. And the overacting I just didn't find very funny. It also felt very odd that he apologized to his parents. Unclear what for, but aiight, we'll roll with it.
I get growing up and learning to be responsible in 1000 stars, but ..are we now having a plot where the MC needs to grow up and learn to be responsible because..he wanted to get into a good uni? Because he's not into nature? Or maybe because he paints his nails, has cool ass masks and listens to rock. Scandalous, lol. And I suppose we'll get some character growth where he learns, what exactly? He was already hard working, dedicated and responsible for his future as evidenced by like..the first 5 minutes. Dunno, not impressed by the premise so far. Dislike the parents, dislike the grandma, dislike the preview where the ML yells at him that he doesn't belong there. Well, no shit, he didn't want to be there, but grandma basically threatened his family with homelessness. Luckily, the filming locations are gorgeous and I want to see more of them, but we'll see if the plot can keep me interested.
Ok, ok. I'll probably end up writing a review, but for now, since I just finished the episode, I'll jot down some of my thoughts:
- so happy they (mostly) stuck to the comic in the sense that they kept Jae Min as the Big Final Villain - Kim Ho Young did one hell of a job portraying Jae Min's descent into madness and I think I have a new favorite scene of the last episode, his confrontation with Su Hyeon at the police station - FINALLY! They gave Da On some more meaty scenes instead of moping around and looking distressed. I actually think he did quite well with them, too. - The ambulance and the presentation scenes were mega lols. I know, suspension of disbelief, but gotta love it how my boy Da On held an entire presentation that sent him oversees while covered in his would be bf's blood. Badass, isn't it - I'm sort of sad that they skipped the final scene between Da On and Su Hyeon, as depicted in the manhwa. I mean, he's a dumbass and an aggressor, but that scene was sort of the catalyst for him trying to become a better person. Mostly because he finally understands what exactly happened in uni between them. It's also a moment of closure for Da On. O well. - Loved to see the last scene since it implies that, going by Jae Min's fucked up logic, it was neither Jae Min nor Su Hyeon who met Da On first, it was Seong Hyeon.
So far, what a performance by Kim Ho Young. Favorite moment so far: when he opens the door to the cabin for the lady and he nervously looks around then seamlessly transitions into a calm, friendly demeanor. That was fantastic. Meme worthy moment: the ambulance ride lol. Do we help the stab victim? Na, fam he in the hands of God now, haha.
Maan, they really went all out on Su Hyeon's vilification, hm. And since this is already such a departure from the original, I wonder if the Xmas wish postcard is foreshadowing something?
I think people tend to view him more positively due to the "injustice" of it all, too. Like..I'm pretty sure by…
Ha, I had managed to forget that movie was ever made, damn. Speaking of it, it was pretty popular so what does that say about the common viewer lol? Since 365 days was like 50 shades on all the uppers combined.
You're right that Cha Jung Woo is playing the hell out of that character. He's doing a fine job of portraying a raging lunatic and I'm here for it, I was surprised he hasn't been in more stuff.
I think people tend to view him more positively due to the "injustice" of it all, too. Like..I'm pretty sure by…
"toxic oppa with anger issues and awful family" had me wheezing. Yeah, I hear you, I'm not a fan of their pairing either. I meant more in the sense that the show would have you believe that had I not been for Jae Min doing psycho shit, him and Da On would have at least ended up dating.
Poor choice of words, charismatic, now that I read your comment, you're right. Just remembered the non-con kissing scene, bet ya a buck there's the appeal people find with him lol.
As for the bad boy persona, hmm. Last character that I'd maybe categorize as a bad boy and that I enjoyed was erm ML in Itaewon Class. And the ML in The smile has left your eyes, but that miight just be because it's Seo In Guk, I mean.. :D
Super interesting that you mentioned this, because it does come across like that, doesn't it? What exactly does…
It's not a very big spoiler so I'll go ahead and say it, but...
SPOILER
even in the manhwa, during times where he's almost had all he can take with the entanglements of Da On and is close to calling it quits, he berates himself for putting Da On on the spot, for being "no better than the other two assholes". And he understands that that approach is in no way going to get him closer to Da On.
Honest question to people who want Da On and Su Hyeon together: What exactly can Su Hyeon offer Da On as a partner?…
I think people tend to view him more positively due to the "injustice" of it all, too. Like..I'm pretty sure by now people realize that Da On had feelings for him during uni, but due to Jae Min's manipulation and meddling, what could've been never got to happen.
He's also the lesser of two evils, if you will, because when compared to Jae Min, he comes across as genuinely caring for Da On, for one, and not being a psycho evil mastermind, lol. But when compared to Seong Hyeong, he's much more ..erm interesting, I guess? Charismatic? The bad boy persona, I suppose.
I think his abusive nature wasn't fully pronounced when they both met at uni 7 years ago. they were basically…
He was exxtra dumb, :D. Not only was he convinced Da On was in love with Jae Min and not him, but he fully understood - true or not back then - that Jae Min had insane control over Da On, to the point that Da On would ignore him or drop him entirely with a mere suggestion from Jae Min.
To be fair, both in the series and in the manhwa, Da On's behavior is vague. Until things are properly explained, you're not exactly sure who he likes..and he does act like Jae Min's virtue defender any chance he gets. Plus, Su Hyeon is a hothead and doesn't see past his jealousy and rage. This is why people probably hate Jae Min for supposedly making him abusive. Not because he literally turned him abusive, but because he recognized those traits in him and wasted not ONE opportunity to sick him on Da On by orchestrating shit situations, by needling him, by intentionally making him jealous, etc.
These 2 psychos could've gotten their mans if they just confessed and not act like psychos 7 years ago lmao Daon…
Super interesting that you mentioned this, because it does come across like that, doesn't it? What exactly does Daon have that's so magical that's got both these dudes frothing at the mouth? My take on this is..: - Psycho#1 is clearly into him because he loves how Daon is dependent on him. Initially it could've been physical aspect, but it has definitely evolved into Daon being forever grateful and dependant on Jae Min and dude clearly gets off on being the knight in shining armor. As evident by all the shit situations he schemes to create where he comes to the rescue afterwards. I also think that what was initially just a crush, turned much more sinister when he realized...Daon liked someone else, god forbid. So for Jae Min, I seriously doubt Daon needs to have any special qualities whatsoever, as long as he's pitiful and forever indebted, that's probably enough.
- Psycho #2 probably genuinely liked him to begin with. I mean, Daon's nice, he seemed to be rather relaxed and laid back with Su Hyeon and for the most part they had a pretty good friendship during uni. In my opinion, his character also falls into the "taking care of hurt baby birds" a little bit there. Su Hyeon is rich and it's clear that he enjoys taking care of Daon, whether that's through feeding him, buying him presents, etc.
The coolest thing to me, and I'm pretty sure the author of the manhwa intended this, is the reason why Seong Hyeon likes him. Or rather, reasons. Just like in the show, the story starts with him disliking Daon. Until he starts getting to know him- I think the scene in episode 1 with the team outing at the bar captures the beginning of this pretty well. Turns out, Daon is pretty darn good at his job and valued by his colleague, he's got a nice personality, he's smiley (at least in the webtoon) and friendly with people, willing to help, and pretty to boot. I admit the series didn't show all of this, Daon is much more morose here as opposed to the manhwa, but still.
I find this brilliant because for Psycho 1 and Psycho 2, as much as they like Daon, he always seems to be "less than". One is richer, the other used to be a better student, more successful, more grounded, etc. Whereas for Seong Hyeon..Daon is really friggin cool.
Ok, let's get this out of the way. Both kisses so far have been hot! Seong and Daon --ooh, la-la! Su and Daon…
Progress indeed. To be fair, anything else would have been a complete disservice to the source material - the manhwa. Every single relationship in that is super intense, be they positive or negative feelings that the characters are having so.
For the ending, I genuinely hope they go for the one in the manhwa for reasons I can state in a spoiler tag if you want me to. As for Su Hyeon..man. On the one hand, once you get the full picture of the past those 3 share, you'll feel for him. However, that doesn't excuse the fact that he is a grown man and still can't express himself other than through violence, intimidation, or coercion. So ..no excuses, really.
There I was, reading the spoilers prior to seeing the show. Was highly amused, but stopped to actually..watch…
Yeh, this was all kinds of bad, minus the acting which I enjoyed. Plus I was coming off of Lovely Writer so I was more than inclined to give shady stuff a pass just because I thoroughly enjoyed Up's role in that one. But hell to the naw.
As creepy as his sound in writing, it's the teacher and his student. But don't let that scare you off. The teacher…
Coulda woulda shoulda..sadly, it's not. Subjective, of course, but the way they completely infantilized the HS character is such a turn off, he comes across as an actual child throwing temper tantrums. Like..preschooler's first run in with emotions type of thing. Eh.
If you wanna watch this show DON'T FUCKING BOTHER. This shit had me seething with anger the whole motherfucking…
There I was, reading the spoilers prior to seeing the show. Was highly amused, but stopped to actually..watch the show in the meantime. I watch it, I come back, don't realize there's two pages for the show (uncut/normal) and proceed to scroll for what feels like eons in search of your other comment because I needed the laughs. Anyhoo, all to say..I completely agree and thoroughly enjoyed your step by step ha.
I don't get it..but to each their own. I found the acting atrocious. The FL actress has exactly two expressions: utter confusion and toothpaste advert smile, that's it. Also, the little childlike giggle behind the hand that she does made me feel like I was watching a toddler react to something funny.
The ML is a master manipulator - he had to have something going for him since he's kung fu-less for ..all of the episodes that I've seen. SML is almost as simple-minded as FL, but he's aiight.
For all the folks who don't get why SML is in the picture for so long, I feel like the answer is evident, no? He's powerless and he is genuinely, actively using the FL for his own agenda, lying and manipulating her generous, yet feeble-minded character. So how could they set up the romance with him from the start? He'd definitely be seen as a piece of s*it for it. That's my 2 cents anyways, based on the 10 or so episodes I forced myself to watch. It's a drop for me.
That being said, I sat through to the end - mostly because it took like..30 minutes total with the Olympics worthy exercise I gave my index finger skipping - and I must say that it simply got worse.
Nary a sympathetic character in sight, a good plot point or a decently acted scene. But all the tropes. Faintings so often they needed to invest in smelling salts, an accident here, a misunderstanding there, a healthy helping of lack of communication , an evil woman trying to come between them star crossed lovers and cheating. Ask me? A recipe for success!
It also felt very odd that he apologized to his parents. Unclear what for, but aiight, we'll roll with it.
"☆ This healing and nature-based BL is inspired by 'Brokeback Mountain' and 'Call Me By Your Name'."
And I suppose we'll get some character growth where he learns, what exactly? He was already hard working, dedicated and responsible for his future as evidenced by like..the first 5 minutes.
Dunno, not impressed by the premise so far. Dislike the parents, dislike the grandma, dislike the preview where the ML yells at him that he doesn't belong there. Well, no shit, he didn't want to be there, but grandma basically threatened his family with homelessness.
Luckily, the filming locations are gorgeous and I want to see more of them, but we'll see if the plot can keep me interested.
- so happy they (mostly) stuck to the comic in the sense that they kept Jae Min as the Big Final Villain
- Kim Ho Young did one hell of a job portraying Jae Min's descent into madness and I think I have a new favorite scene of the last episode, his confrontation with Su Hyeon at the police station
- FINALLY! They gave Da On some more meaty scenes instead of moping around and looking distressed. I actually think he did quite well with them, too.
- The ambulance and the presentation scenes were mega lols. I know, suspension of disbelief, but gotta love it how my boy Da On held an entire presentation that sent him oversees while covered in his would be bf's blood. Badass, isn't it
- I'm sort of sad that they skipped the final scene between Da On and Su Hyeon, as depicted in the manhwa. I mean, he's a dumbass and an aggressor, but that scene was sort of the catalyst for him trying to become a better person. Mostly because he finally understands what exactly happened in uni between them. It's also a moment of closure for Da On. O well.
- Loved to see the last scene since it implies that, going by Jae Min's fucked up logic, it was neither Jae Min nor Su Hyeon who met Da On first, it was Seong Hyeon.
Favorite moment so far: when he opens the door to the cabin for the lady and he nervously looks around then seamlessly transitions into a calm, friendly demeanor. That was fantastic.
Meme worthy moment: the ambulance ride lol. Do we help the stab victim? Na, fam he in the hands of God now, haha.
You're right that Cha Jung Woo is playing the hell out of that character. He's doing a fine job of portraying a raging lunatic and I'm here for it, I was surprised he hasn't been in more stuff.
Poor choice of words, charismatic, now that I read your comment, you're right. Just remembered the non-con kissing scene, bet ya a buck there's the appeal people find with him lol.
As for the bad boy persona, hmm. Last character that I'd maybe categorize as a bad boy and that I enjoyed was erm ML in Itaewon Class. And the ML in The smile has left your eyes, but that miight just be because it's Seo In Guk, I mean.. :D
SPOILER
even in the manhwa, during times where he's almost had all he can take with the entanglements of Da On and is close to calling it quits, he berates himself for putting Da On on the spot, for being "no better than the other two assholes". And he understands that that approach is in no way going to get him closer to Da On.
He's also the lesser of two evils, if you will, because when compared to Jae Min, he comes across as genuinely caring for Da On, for one, and not being a psycho evil mastermind, lol. But when compared to Seong Hyeong, he's much more ..erm interesting, I guess? Charismatic? The bad boy persona, I suppose.
To be fair, both in the series and in the manhwa, Da On's behavior is vague. Until things are properly explained, you're not exactly sure who he likes..and he does act like Jae Min's virtue defender any chance he gets. Plus, Su Hyeon is a hothead and doesn't see past his jealousy and rage. This is why people probably hate Jae Min for supposedly making him abusive. Not because he literally turned him abusive, but because he recognized those traits in him and wasted not ONE opportunity to sick him on Da On by orchestrating shit situations, by needling him, by intentionally making him jealous, etc.
My take on this is..:
- Psycho#1 is clearly into him because he loves how Daon is dependent on him. Initially it could've been physical aspect, but it has definitely evolved into Daon being forever grateful and dependant on Jae Min and dude clearly gets off on being the knight in shining armor. As evident by all the shit situations he schemes to create where he comes to the rescue afterwards. I also think that what was initially just a crush, turned much more sinister when he realized...Daon liked someone else, god forbid. So for Jae Min, I seriously doubt Daon needs to have any special qualities whatsoever, as long as he's pitiful and forever indebted, that's probably enough.
- Psycho #2 probably genuinely liked him to begin with. I mean, Daon's nice, he seemed to be rather relaxed and laid back with Su Hyeon and for the most part they had a pretty good friendship during uni. In my opinion, his character also falls into the "taking care of hurt baby birds" a little bit there. Su Hyeon is rich and it's clear that he enjoys taking care of Daon, whether that's through feeding him, buying him presents, etc.
The coolest thing to me, and I'm pretty sure the author of the manhwa intended this, is the reason why Seong Hyeon likes him. Or rather, reasons. Just like in the show, the story starts with him disliking Daon. Until he starts getting to know him- I think the scene in episode 1 with the team outing at the bar captures the beginning of this pretty well. Turns out, Daon is pretty darn good at his job and valued by his colleague, he's got a nice personality, he's smiley (at least in the webtoon) and friendly with people, willing to help, and pretty to boot. I admit the series didn't show all of this, Daon is much more morose here as opposed to the manhwa, but still.
I find this brilliant because for Psycho 1 and Psycho 2, as much as they like Daon, he always seems to be "less than". One is richer, the other used to be a better student, more successful, more grounded, etc. Whereas for Seong Hyeon..Daon is really friggin cool.
For the ending, I genuinely hope they go for the one in the manhwa for reasons I can state in a spoiler tag if you want me to. As for Su Hyeon..man. On the one hand, once you get the full picture of the past those 3 share, you'll feel for him. However, that doesn't excuse the fact that he is a grown man and still can't express himself other than through violence, intimidation, or coercion. So ..no excuses, really.
I found the acting atrocious. The FL actress has exactly two expressions: utter confusion and toothpaste advert smile, that's it. Also, the little childlike giggle behind the hand that she does made me feel like I was watching a toddler react to something funny.
The ML is a master manipulator - he had to have something going for him since he's kung fu-less for ..all of the episodes that I've seen. SML is almost as simple-minded as FL, but he's aiight.
For all the folks who don't get why SML is in the picture for so long, I feel like the answer is evident, no? He's powerless and he is genuinely, actively using the FL for his own agenda, lying and manipulating her generous, yet feeble-minded character. So how could they set up the romance with him from the start? He'd definitely be seen as a piece of s*it for it.
That's my 2 cents anyways, based on the 10 or so episodes I forced myself to watch.
It's a drop for me.