Silmarien

A Japanese masterclass in not communicating

Correct me if I’m way off base here, but Japanese culture leans heavily on indirect communication and emotional restraint, right? So you’d think that would make people masters at reading between the lines—picking up on body language, tone shifts, microexpressions, the whole unspoken symphony of human interaction.

Not in this show.

These two refuse to communicate in any meaningful way, instead committing to the art of the internal monologue like it’s a competitive sport. 95% of the runtime is just them thinking at each other, and by episode three, it starts feeling like emotional telepathy gone wrong. Sure, without this, you wouldn’t have 10 episodes of something, but I see that as a writing problem.

The pacing is sluggish, the characters are infuriatingly oblivious (one more than the other), and the chemistry? Let’s just say it’s on an extended vacation.

The main characters, for example. I could maybe understand why Asami was drawn to Yuki back in their university days, but in the present? I got nothing. Yuki has all the personality of a paper napkin, except even a napkin can be useful. “Social anxiety” is not a personality trait, but that’s about all he’s got going for him. He’s a bundle of nerves with self-esteem so low it probably needs professional intervention. Asami must be into extreme mental gymnastics because Yuki is a gold medalist in twisting reality to convince himself Asami doesn’t like him. It’s honestly impressive.

I dunno, man. The other day, I had some guys over installing parquet flooring. Conversation eventually died down, so I just sat there watching them work in silence. That was more engaging than 10 episodes of this, so do with that information what you will.

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This sums up my experience with Fourever You: I don’t think I’ve ever skipped and fast-forwarded through a series as much as I have with this one.

I was really excited for it too—mainly because it had Pond in a lead role, and I’ve been a fan since 180 Degrees. Imagine my disappointment when this turned out to be as interesting as watching paint dry. Worse, actually, if I factor in the fact that certain plotlines—dare I even call them that—actively put me off.

The series follows the progression of three relationships. Was there supposed to be a fourth—hence the title? Was there actually one, and I just skipped too much? No idea. But that’s neither here nor there.

It’s as cookie-cutter as it gets, following the Thai BL formula to a T:
✔ High school flashbacks and shared pasts.
✔ University setting (and of course, it’s Engineering/Med School).
✔ Misunderstandings dialed up to the max.
✔ Domineering, controlling, and/or toxic behavior.
✔ The homophobic relative for good measure.

Nothing was missed or left on the cutting room floor.

But in all honesty, this show doesn’t actually have a plot. There’s no narrative structure, no climax—things get “resolved” each episode, only for the characters to act like they didn’t, and so begins the rinse and repeat. No character growth. Nothing much happens. Ever.

So let's get into the characters, shall we?

Easter (or Ter), played by Earth—listen, I’ve seen My Only 12%, I know the guy can act. At the very least, I know he can act better. I hesitate to say he’s being typecast, since I haven’t seen all his work, but between My Only 12% and this, it definitely feels that way. Childish, immature, whiny, and overly emotional characters seem to be his niche—and Easter is all of that, cranked up to the max. Because I know Earth can do better, I’m inclined to blame the writing and directing for this performance. But still, it was just unpleasant to watch. From the constant mental breakdowns at the beginning of the show to the unhinged smiles and exaggerated facial expressions, there wasn’t a single thing I found likable about the character—except for his friendship with North. And even that came with a huge caveat.

Hill, played by the lovely Pond, is essentially a cardboard cutout of a "green flag boyfriend"—minus the actual personality. His only defining trait is loving Ter. Pond seems like a soft-spoken, nice person in real life too, which would be hard not to translate to the screen, but in the show, it felt like his only direction was: act as close as possible to the personification of a sweet whisper. With barely any material to work with, he spent the entire show gently gazing at Ter, following Ter, gently gazing at his phone, and… not much else. And yet, even with the softness he naturally gives off, I know he can do passion. I know he can do intensity. I know for a fact he can do emotion. But this performance? It was more phoned-in than Adam Sandler’s latest excuse to hang out with his friends (see: his movie).

Easter & Hill’s relationship? A whole lot of back-and-forth over the same goddamn subject. A lot ado about nothing. Plenty of talking, yet barely any real communication. It felt like Ter asked a question in episode two or three, Hill answered it around episode eight, then another question was posed in episode ten and resolved by episode fifteen. Slow. Boring. Utterly nonsensical. It’s a show—it can set its own rules—but these are supposed to be people, right? Human beings? You’re asking me to believe these two are making out in every other episode, declaring their love, talking about past crushes, yet one of them is still unclear on the nature of their relationship? Unsure of their partner’s feelings? Acting like a married couple but not dating? Wut? It just made Ter’s character come across as really stupid. The unnecessary secrecy, the refusal to go straight to the source for answers, instead asking literally everyone else on campus—it was just frustrating. So… relationship #1? Total bust. Side note: I think Pond could have chemistry with a rock, but I didn’t see any here, to be honest.

North—Easter’s friend and roommate, played by Bas. All I can say is: I haven’t seen this actor in anything else, but he carried this show so hard his back probably still hurts a year later. He’s positively adorable, acts like an actual human being, has a chill, fun personality, is a great friend, and is the reason I’d recommend watching this show. I especially loved that he called out Johan’s messed-up behavior early on. Sadly, in true BL fashion, he talked a good talk, but the show did absolutely nothing with it. Shrug. It is what it is.

Johan, played by Maxky—Hill’s university friend and North’s stalker/creditor/client.
Funnily enough, I liked the actor, enjoyed the acting, but I hated the character. He’s basically the Christian Grey of Thailand. You know the type—rich, has armed goons at his beck and call, straight-up buys out his boyfriend’s workplaces just to fire him or be his boss, is controlling, manipulative, and even dabbles in a little victim-blaming for good measure.
Nothing new, nothing you haven’t seen before, and nothing that actually gets addressed, aside from a few moments of well-placed indignation from North that ultimately mean nothing because—lurve.

North & Johan’s relationship? If the show was boring before this, I just became annoyed when this one started.
This loving ship kicks off with some casual stalking in the past, carries on in the present with manipulation, financial pressure, controlling behavior, and a nice dose of toxicity, and right before (or maybe as) it becomes official, it turns into a Pretty Woman situation—where North is essentially being paid (or having his debt deducted) based on sexual favors and acts he does with and for Johan. Sh*t, romance, right? So hot.

NB: One might say I'm a prude or can't tell reality from fiction. I ain't and I can. I enjoy a healthy dose of toxicity in my media, I just don't enjoy it never being addressed, but instead romanticized. But this is subjective, of course.

With that one, relationship #2 is also a bust. I suppose there's the third couple, but they have so little screen time, there's truly nothing to talk about there aand...that about sums up the show. Ah, forgot to mention:

Ter & North - their friendship is great, for the most part. However, when North starts having the financial issues with Johan and Ter's immediate reaction is to tease and ship him with his creditor, it just felt so out of place. My boy North is freaking out about rent and Ter's going on and on about puppies and love and whatever other bullshit he's got in his head. Awkward.

If you think you'd enjoy watching what I just described, go wild. Otherwise, you'll be missing exactly nothing if you skip this one.

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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.

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Guilty Pleasure

I’m a hypocrite, and there’s no way around it. If this were any other show or any other actors, I’d probably make it a point to comment on the age gap between the leads and how, just because Myung Ha is in the body of a 19-year-old, that doesn’t actually make him 19. Mentally, he’s still a 29-year-old adult, and you can definitely tell.

But…I liked the setup too much to make a big deal out of it. I liked the actors too much. I liked the chemistry way too much. Hence, I’m a hypocrite.

That said, before diving in, here are a few potential triggers to keep in mind:
✔ Age gap (18-year-old & a 29-year-old in a 19-year-old’s body)
✔ Suicide
✔ Depression & mental health struggles
✔ Themes of self-worth & self-love

The series tackles these themes in varying degrees, with varying success—but we’ll get to that.

I call Love for Love’s Sake a guilty pleasure because despite all its flaws (and there are more than a few), I realized about four or five episodes in that I was just smiling the entire time. That’s the biggest thing I can say about this show: It’s fun. It’s enjoyable. I had a good time. It doesn’t always make sense, and it definitely could have handled certain aspects better, but I was giggling and smiling almost throughout. And sometimes, that’s enough.

Lee Tae Vin absolutely nailed it. He was by far the best part of the show, delivering a performance that was equal parts charming, confident, and emotional. What made him stand out so much was the contrast—imagine all the confidence, assertiveness, and life experience of an adult, but dropped into a world filled with teenagers and young adults. He’s direct, self-assured, jaded, and occasionally arrogant in a way that makes perfect sense for his backstory. At the same time, he’s funny, caring, and genuinely invested in Yeon Woo’s well-being. His humor, one-liners, and warmth made it impossible not to root for him.

Cha Joo Wan also did a great job as Yeon Woo, but his character arc was a bit rushed. Yeon Woo starts off friendless, deeply depressed, and completely aimless, longing to escape his life. Myung Ha’s presence changes him, helping him open up, gain confidence, and ultimately find happiness. It’s a great arc in theory, but in execution, it felt too sudden. One day, he’s drowning in sadness and self-doubt. The next, he’s a golden retriever in love. The shift could have been handled with more nuance—a slower progression instead of what felt like a flip being switched overnight. That said, puppy Yeon Woo was adorable. And while his role wasn’t as heavy or complex as Myung Ha’s, he had several standout acting moments, particularly during his fight with his father and his confession scene.

If you’ve watched enough KBL dramas, you know how it usually goes: stiff line delivery, awkward chemistry, and actors who sometimes look like they’d rather be anywhere else but on set. But Love for Love’s Sake wasn’t like that.

✔ The acting felt natural.
✔ The chemistry felt organic.
✔ The dialogue didn’t sound like a script being recited from memory.

I fully believed Myung Ha was older and more mature. I fully believed Yeon Woo was inexperienced, going through everything for the first time—his first love, first confession, first kiss. Maybe it was the actors. Maybe it was the writing. But it worked.

Here’s where Love for Love’s Sake falters. The concept itself? Fantastic. The execution? Not so much.
The themes of second chances, self-love, and healing through love were well done. I loved the mirror image aspect—how Yeon Woo essentially is a reflection of Myung Ha’s past, and how Myung Ha teaches him to love himself by showing him how much he is worth which, in turn, is supposed to show himself that he's worth it, is supposed to make him love himself more. But the show stumbled hard towards the climax. Episodes 7 & 8 were sort of a disjointed, clunky mess.

It’s not that the answers weren’t there—it’s that they were presented in a confusing, choppy way that left a lot of people scratching their heads. The emotional payoff was still there, but it could have been so much better structured. There were also a couple of plot points that were just..never explained or followed through with. Or I simply didn't understand them.

✔ Why did only one person remember Myung Ha? Why that person?
✔ Why was the stalker necessary?
✔ What IS this world? In the context of dude bro 선배님 being Fate/Angel of Death/some sort of god, why is this other world a game? Is it a game? Is it a novel? Does Yeon Woo exist or is he truly a mirrored image of Myung Ha in which case self love is ..very literal, innit?
Do these questions need an answer? Depends on the person watching. You may want to draw your own conclusions, others might hate that and feel like the plot's incomplete.

Now, let's address the elephant(s) in the room.

The age gap
The show mostly glosses over this issue. It never really questions or discusses the ethical implications of this, but it doesn't fully lean into the romantic aspect either. At least, not right from the start. However, I've never felt like whatever reservations Myung Ha had about a potential romantic relationship between him and Yeon Woo stemmed from the age gap. Instead he was more concerned with the fact that he didn't belong to Yeon Woo's world and, eventually, would have to leave it.
That said, I didn’t mind it as much as I normally would. Probably because:
✔ The chemistry was strong imo.
✔ Myung Ha, despite his age, never comes across as predatory.
✔ In my country, 18 is a legal adult already.
I would have loved for the show to address it somehow and it's one of the reasons I deducted some stars from the rating.

The suicide
Having it as the 11th hour twist was interesting, but it also meant the the writers had only a 30 something minute episode to try and cram Myung Ha's emotional arc , the reunion with Yeon Woo and the happy ending all in there. Which didn't leave a lot of time to explore Myung Ha's realization of the truth, him coming to terms with it, explanations about the rest of the inhabitants of this "game world". Because of this, the emotional arc of Myung Ha isn't as coherent as you'd want, because there's literally no time to have him properly process everything apart from a 2-3 minute scene.

In conclusion, if you can overlook the age gap, accept some narrative stumbles, messy execution and some rushed character development, you’ll probably find yourself smiling just as much as I did.

Would I rewatch it? Honestly? Yeah.

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Q carries this

The time for my first review has come because..what did I just watch? Let's deconstruct this, one category at a time.

STORY
Where? What story? I suppose you can argue it's a university slice-of-life type of show, that follows this wacky friend group and their shenanigans, but overall the story is flimsy and barely there. There's a lot of pairings too, which might mean you'll end up skipping a lot if you're not invested into a particular couple, as this is an ensemble cast and they all get equal screen time, more or less. Anyways, the catalyst for our main pairing spending time together, the moment of falling in love if you will, is a swift kick to the balls. Beautiful, be still my heart. Hilarious.

ACTING
I meaaaaan...I stand by the title. For me, Q's character carried this. The way they wrote his character was pretty fresh and unusual for the genre and the actor who played him did a great job. My guy is the chillest, most laid back dude, with humour and straight face delivery in spades. The rest of the cast was...fine? Passable? Nothing to write home about, basically.

CHARACTERS
Listen, listen..I get it, I do. If you're like me, you probably found it ridiculous that Peem fell for Phum during the slave contract thing because..who does that, right? Then again, Phum was nothing but nice to him lol. My guy got fed, walked around the mall, driven home and taken care of after a night of drunken debauchery. Yeh, he had to do a thing here and there, but I feel like they clearly wrote all of their earlier scenes from a very indulgent perspective, where the things Phum does to him are very mild and forgivable and come from a place of "I like you, but I'm 5 so I'll pull your pigtails on the playground". Anyways, my problems lie with Peem, really, because...tease much? I'm sorry, in real life, I'd hate Peem with a passion.
Whether the character was written to be allergic to affection or that's how Phuwin decided to play him, it was frustrating to watch. It was like every single thing Phum did to show him he cared, Peem was like.."brother, ew". But supposedly, he liked him back. Their dynamic was weird to me - Peem would forget Phum existed the second they weren't sharing a scene.
I liked Tan and Khaofang's relationship better. Is Tan over the top, clingy and would be uber annoying in real life? Yes, but they were cute together, it worked for me.

SKINSHIP
I'm firmly of the belief that if you can't do it right and make it believable, you might as well skip it. The kissing was giving *nothing*. For the love of god, what is up with the cheek kissing too? If I had to see one more lips firmly pressed together cheek kiss, I'd have started writing my thesis on why puckering is important.
LE: I am an ignoramus and just found out about sniff kissing and its significance. Won't delete this as others may have the same reaction as I did so ..passing the knowledge forward. It's a cultural thing and a sign of affection.
I've seen other shows that depict relationships and use zero skinship, but make the affection and intimacy look so incredibly believable that you feel like you're intruding when they're in the same room in a scene - here's looking at you, 180 degrees. My point being, if you don't want to do it, just don't. Find different ways of showing the same thing, swapping spit ain't the only action in this world that hints to attraction.

Overall, this was..not the hyped up series I expected, very mid. But if you must watch it, do it for the pretty believable depiction of a tight group of friends in college.

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What in tarnation?

What am I watching? Still on episode 7, but I may just throw in the towel soon.

Listen, this is entirely subjective, of course, but relationships like the two depicted in the show just don't sit right with me. One side is younger, immature, and extremely emotionally imbalanced. The other side is older, controlling, possessive and manipulative. The relationships are depicted through this lens of the older part of the couple being very caring, loving and attentive to the needs of the other..hence why every single wacked action they do is excusable. Problem is..it doesn't come across as anything remotely loving.

To start, the vibes I'm getting are that of a parent-child relationship. Maybe because both younger guys are so infantilized in their characterization, specifically in the couples they are in. Add to that the older dudes being all "you naughty child, you need discipline" and it immediately yucks my yum, yknow?

To continue, fear. Both younger guys fear their partner. We're talking genuine, shake in your boots fear. There's this scene where one couple is arguing and the guy keeps aggresively smacking a cabinet with his open palm while demanding explanations and the other one is just shivering like a leaf in the wind. Romance, it ain't dead folks.

I'll trudge on, see if anything changes. At least the main couple has chemistry.

Side note, this is neither here nor there..but imagine being in a relationship with someone as jumpy, whiny, or emotional as Kuea. Even looking at it and it's tiring.

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