This review may contain spoilers
Almost
Almost great, just didn't stick the landing.
"Last Twilight" is a heartfelt story about Day, an ex badminton player who's going blind, and Mhok, a down on his luck ex-convict with a penchant for fights.
To me, this is a very character driven story where the plot is basically the relationship between these two characters. The story tracks their progress, starting from a place of mutual dislike, continuing to being friends, to having feelings for one another and, eventually, falling in love with each other. It touches on subjects such as what it means having a disability and being pitied for it versus empowered to stand on your own & be independent, what it means to be a boyfriend or a caretaker, how the two overlap in this relationship and where they diverge, and more.
For the most part (more on that later), I really enjoyed the characterization of both Day and Mhok. Day starts out depressed, distraught - understandably so - and very, very angry at his reality. He had dreams, he was in university, he was an athlete and all of a sudden..he feels like none of that is possible anymore. Taken away by his disability. So he becomes withdrawn, lashing out at others and using sarcasm and sharpness to cover up the hurt. This is when he meets Mhok, a guy who carries immense guilt about his sister's passing, who's struggling to make enough money to keep the last vestige of hers with him, her car. Which is why he accepts being Day's caretaker.
What starts as just a really well paying job soon becomes more, especially when Mhok realizes that he doesn't really understand Day's reality, but makes an active effort to do so; for his part, Day brings down some of his walls, begins trusting Mhok and lets him in.
Now, let's discuss specifics.
ACTING
I think both Jimmy and Sea did a really good job portraying their respective characters. Sea especially was believable as a visually impaired person, I don't think I caught a single moment where it felt off.
I felt a lot for both in moments of sadness and despair. I also felt that the transition from being friendly to having romantic feelings was pretty darn smooth, at least on Mhok's part.
The side characters, namely Mhok's ex-girlfriend and Day's brother, were also great. Mark especially did such a fantastic job portraying a tormented and guilty man.
CHEMISTRY
Listen, I fully believed at all times that Mhok was gradually falling in love with Day. Maybe because his role required him to be in a position where he was more attentive, more caring, more affectionate toward Day, but you could plainly see his feelings. Mhok chooses to stay with Day, even when he doesn't have to. He chooses to make steps towards understanding Day's disability, even when it's not necessarily part of responsibilities. He never wavers in his affections, he steps back when Day's feelings are geared towards a third party, he asks for nothing in return and makes the most sacrifices in their relationship. He also never sees Day as abnormal.
Now, about Day...eh. This is where 1 star off the review went to. I never felt like Day loved Mhok because of who he was, rather because of what Mhok gave him. Attention, no pity, unwavering loyalty, companionship. His affections come with hesitation, whereas Mhok's don't. He's always reactive, almost never initiates anything and seems to act more from a place of acceptance, then want, if that makes sense. A lot of this, I think, is excused by Day's situation. A lot is excused by Mhok falling in love first, while Day's still hung up on someone else. A lot..is not. At least, to me.
So in other words, to me it felt like Day accepted Mhok's love, rather than actively choose to love him back in the same intense way. He received, he rarely reciprocated.
CINEMATOGRAPHY
The series is beautifully shot! There's some smart light, shadow and blur play at hand, meant to indicate what Day's vision looks like. There's quite a lot of scenes where we see through Day's perspective directly, framing shots of Mhok's face mostly, where everything is blurry and fading. The director also played around with colors changing throughout the series, lightning going from crisp in the earlier episodes to more diffused and warm later on, as Day's eyesight worsens and their relationship deepens.
THE GODAWFUL ENDING
Which I got beef with. Here's the second star I took off of the review and you can't convince me that the ending wasn't goddamn terrible. You have this character, Mhok, who you've consistently shown to be selfless in his relationship, patient to a fault, loving, who has spent literally the entire series choosing Day over and over again, despite everything, and you shit all over that and make him ..leave. I don't have a problem with Mhok lying to Day, I'm pretty sure everyone saw that coming, it felt true to him. He feels guilty about his sister, he sees what's happening as history repeating itself and ..he loves Day. Why would he want to repeat his mistakes and be apart from the man he loves? He wouldn't. Was he wrong in lying and making the decision on his own? Of course he was, he should have communicated with Day, told him his reasoning.
But did him lying warrant a break up? Uhm, no. Again, it warranted a discussion, an open conversation. Did it warrant being called out for "pitying" Day? Again, no. There's no evidence that he's ever done things to and for Day from that lens so why all of a sudden now? And, between us, feeling sorrow for a loved one going through hell is ...not a crime, it's human.
If the story needed them to separate for tension, it could've been handled better. They could have had that discussion, Day could have convinced him to leave, and so on. Mature handling it was not. Instead, Day completely overreacts and breaks up with Mhok on the spot, leaving him absolutely heartbroken and almost alone, while Day has an entire support system in his family & long lost friends. Melodramatic for melodrama's sake.
Then the last episode comes around and again..what happened to these characters? Mhok's treating a reconciliation with so much jest and lightness. It felt disingenuous, it wasn't credible and it lessened their bond in my eyes. And once again, he gets to be the one to apologize and Day gets to be the passive one saying he wants a second chance for himself. Himself, not them together. Once again, it felt like they were trying to make Day a saint, a faultless man, and Mhok be the scapegoat. Even after the events in the previous episode, the show could have acknowledged that the fault laid with both of them.
* I was super pissed with Mhok thanking Day for the breakup, fyi.
As an aside, I never saw Mhok doing things or helping Day as a sign of pity, moreso a reflection of his love. We do love to do things for the ones we care for, don't we?
MISC
There were plotlines or ideas which I was expecting the show to dive in, that got completely abandoned and never explored. Mhok's violent past, his fighting..I was expecting it to come more into play at one point or another. The sister storyline and how it affected Mhok seemed like a missed opportunity.
All in all, you might have a different interpretation of the ending than I, in which case I'd find it hard to believe you wouldn't rate this show higher than I did, because overall it was beautiful. Definitely recommend it.
"Last Twilight" is a heartfelt story about Day, an ex badminton player who's going blind, and Mhok, a down on his luck ex-convict with a penchant for fights.
To me, this is a very character driven story where the plot is basically the relationship between these two characters. The story tracks their progress, starting from a place of mutual dislike, continuing to being friends, to having feelings for one another and, eventually, falling in love with each other. It touches on subjects such as what it means having a disability and being pitied for it versus empowered to stand on your own & be independent, what it means to be a boyfriend or a caretaker, how the two overlap in this relationship and where they diverge, and more.
For the most part (more on that later), I really enjoyed the characterization of both Day and Mhok. Day starts out depressed, distraught - understandably so - and very, very angry at his reality. He had dreams, he was in university, he was an athlete and all of a sudden..he feels like none of that is possible anymore. Taken away by his disability. So he becomes withdrawn, lashing out at others and using sarcasm and sharpness to cover up the hurt. This is when he meets Mhok, a guy who carries immense guilt about his sister's passing, who's struggling to make enough money to keep the last vestige of hers with him, her car. Which is why he accepts being Day's caretaker.
What starts as just a really well paying job soon becomes more, especially when Mhok realizes that he doesn't really understand Day's reality, but makes an active effort to do so; for his part, Day brings down some of his walls, begins trusting Mhok and lets him in.
Now, let's discuss specifics.
ACTING
I think both Jimmy and Sea did a really good job portraying their respective characters. Sea especially was believable as a visually impaired person, I don't think I caught a single moment where it felt off.
I felt a lot for both in moments of sadness and despair. I also felt that the transition from being friendly to having romantic feelings was pretty darn smooth, at least on Mhok's part.
The side characters, namely Mhok's ex-girlfriend and Day's brother, were also great. Mark especially did such a fantastic job portraying a tormented and guilty man.
CHEMISTRY
Listen, I fully believed at all times that Mhok was gradually falling in love with Day. Maybe because his role required him to be in a position where he was more attentive, more caring, more affectionate toward Day, but you could plainly see his feelings. Mhok chooses to stay with Day, even when he doesn't have to. He chooses to make steps towards understanding Day's disability, even when it's not necessarily part of responsibilities. He never wavers in his affections, he steps back when Day's feelings are geared towards a third party, he asks for nothing in return and makes the most sacrifices in their relationship. He also never sees Day as abnormal.
Now, about Day...eh. This is where 1 star off the review went to. I never felt like Day loved Mhok because of who he was, rather because of what Mhok gave him. Attention, no pity, unwavering loyalty, companionship. His affections come with hesitation, whereas Mhok's don't. He's always reactive, almost never initiates anything and seems to act more from a place of acceptance, then want, if that makes sense. A lot of this, I think, is excused by Day's situation. A lot is excused by Mhok falling in love first, while Day's still hung up on someone else. A lot..is not. At least, to me.
So in other words, to me it felt like Day accepted Mhok's love, rather than actively choose to love him back in the same intense way. He received, he rarely reciprocated.
CINEMATOGRAPHY
The series is beautifully shot! There's some smart light, shadow and blur play at hand, meant to indicate what Day's vision looks like. There's quite a lot of scenes where we see through Day's perspective directly, framing shots of Mhok's face mostly, where everything is blurry and fading. The director also played around with colors changing throughout the series, lightning going from crisp in the earlier episodes to more diffused and warm later on, as Day's eyesight worsens and their relationship deepens.
THE GODAWFUL ENDING
Which I got beef with. Here's the second star I took off of the review and you can't convince me that the ending wasn't goddamn terrible. You have this character, Mhok, who you've consistently shown to be selfless in his relationship, patient to a fault, loving, who has spent literally the entire series choosing Day over and over again, despite everything, and you shit all over that and make him ..leave. I don't have a problem with Mhok lying to Day, I'm pretty sure everyone saw that coming, it felt true to him. He feels guilty about his sister, he sees what's happening as history repeating itself and ..he loves Day. Why would he want to repeat his mistakes and be apart from the man he loves? He wouldn't. Was he wrong in lying and making the decision on his own? Of course he was, he should have communicated with Day, told him his reasoning.
But did him lying warrant a break up? Uhm, no. Again, it warranted a discussion, an open conversation. Did it warrant being called out for "pitying" Day? Again, no. There's no evidence that he's ever done things to and for Day from that lens so why all of a sudden now? And, between us, feeling sorrow for a loved one going through hell is ...not a crime, it's human.
If the story needed them to separate for tension, it could've been handled better. They could have had that discussion, Day could have convinced him to leave, and so on. Mature handling it was not. Instead, Day completely overreacts and breaks up with Mhok on the spot, leaving him absolutely heartbroken and almost alone, while Day has an entire support system in his family & long lost friends. Melodramatic for melodrama's sake.
Then the last episode comes around and again..what happened to these characters? Mhok's treating a reconciliation with so much jest and lightness. It felt disingenuous, it wasn't credible and it lessened their bond in my eyes. And once again, he gets to be the one to apologize and Day gets to be the passive one saying he wants a second chance for himself. Himself, not them together. Once again, it felt like they were trying to make Day a saint, a faultless man, and Mhok be the scapegoat. Even after the events in the previous episode, the show could have acknowledged that the fault laid with both of them.
* I was super pissed with Mhok thanking Day for the breakup, fyi.
As an aside, I never saw Mhok doing things or helping Day as a sign of pity, moreso a reflection of his love. We do love to do things for the ones we care for, don't we?
MISC
There were plotlines or ideas which I was expecting the show to dive in, that got completely abandoned and never explored. Mhok's violent past, his fighting..I was expecting it to come more into play at one point or another. The sister storyline and how it affected Mhok seemed like a missed opportunity.
All in all, you might have a different interpretation of the ending than I, in which case I'd find it hard to believe you wouldn't rate this show higher than I did, because overall it was beautiful. Definitely recommend it.
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