SongTaegguk

Boring? No. Predictable? Absolutely

As the title says, I knew how the whole show was gonna go just from the 1st ep. The show was predictable in every way, but it was still never boring somehow.

This was somehow addicting, i feel like some it is cuz you want to figure out if the next episode is really going to go exactly how you think it's going to (spoiler alert, it will). If you want a campy vampire BL to relax to after a long day, this fits the criteria. But if you want something with a darker theme, this is going to disappoint you.

I expected a better story from P'Aof, his works have never been a bigger miss than this. Ngl, came here for Gawin, stayed here for Gawin, if it were any other actor I would've dropped after ep 3-4. I wish they gave Gawin a better project, like that man can ACT, but he's always sidelined. But, even after the scathing review, I will recommend it. Cuz it's good, just not as good as it could've been imo.

Explanation (With major spoilers) given below :-

First of all, WHAT WAS THAT CGI like I've seen better fan made edits done on free capcut than that 😭 And what the hell were those vampire noises... Bruh there was a life and death fight and I was almost pissing my pants from laughing at the vampire noises.

The only saving grace were the actors, they truly did amazing with what they were given. I believe the story had potential that was held back by budget and time. Idk if they actually wanted to make this a campy vampire BL or they wanted to portray darker vampire themes that ended up falling short. Because there were truly some good emotional scenes, such as the one in ep 6, in the hotel, and ep 8, when Mark tries to get away from and but Tong holds him back.

The side characters were very underdeveloped as well. Tonkla could've been more than just a shield for Tong, they didn't develop their friendship nearly enough, or show enough of Tonkla's side of the story for his death to be compelling/meaningful for the story. It felt like they needed a character to die to make it a "dark vampire series" so just randomly chose him.

The story wouldn't have been as predictable if they actually established Nakan as a viable villain alternative to Thara. You cannot tell me that people didn't instantly clock Thara as the real villain as soon as she appeared. Nakan felt like just a canon fodder. He could've been much better established as a villain, and then give a much more surprising reveal about Thara. His redemption arc also makes little sense.

Let's not even talk about how much better the show could've been with NakanTonkla as a side couple 😔 (RIP Nakan & Tonkla, have your romance in heaven... Or hell... Or wherever vampires go after death)

Overall, it was a very predictable and underdeveloped story for me, and I blame it all on gmmtv's excessive need to follow the 12 ep format with the 11th ep curse. If they deviated even a bit, the story could've been made much more interesting, now it's just another cookie cutter story with zero variation.

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Love the drama, wish the prologue was fleshed out more though

I loved the premise, and it was overall enjoyable. It had the ingredients of something great, and delivered on that, but I feel like this drama really could've benefited from 1 or 2 more episodes that fleshed out the plot more. I would've loved to see more developments on the mystical parts, like the story of the Stone and the goddess. The story the first savant told about the stone was very basic, and I would've liked more development around the mystic-ness of the stone or the goddess.

The whole show starts with the savant helping San with the stone because of Vadfah's request, but it's never explained why the savant so willingly helped them, showing a random noble woman something so powerful, going as far as to crush a thousand-year-old stone for them, that he's supposed to protect. Also, San would not be dying from a bullet in his arm!!! Like, at least put it in his stomach or something, build up the tension yk. A deeper look at San's internalised homophobia, or at least coming to terms with the fact he loves Vee would've been great as well.

My only complaint is that the prologue in ep1 was not developed as much as I would've liked. Other than that, the actual story was developed and paced wonderfully.

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One of the best BLs, Great production value and never left me bored

I wish I had watched it sooner 😭 The story and production value are on KinnPorsche level! Some parts may even be better

Loved how they handled all the characters, none of the characters' development felt rushed or unfinished. Especially with characters Aran and Hope, their redemptions felt meaningful. It didn't just feel like "power of friendship" cliché; they actually proved themselves and showed how they were victims of the situation.

The show never felt boring or predictable, the balance of action, romance and comedy is done very well. They have their first kiss very late into the series, but the tension and chemistry never made me feel bored. Idk if this can be considered slow burn but all that wait actually led up to the best climax, DID NOT LET ME DOWN. The nc scene didn't feel rushed, nor did it feel unsatisfying.

One of the reasons I said this has one of the greatest production values is because of how many characters it has, and how well they are handled. But the main reason is that they didn't play by a formula, sad to say but after gmmtv started with their 12 ep formula with 11th curse, a lot of other companies followed in their footsteps, which made a lot of other really good dramas feel incredibly predictable. The story felt well paced and every episode left me wanting more without feeling overwhelmed. Each episode was great even stand alone.

Some people had qualms about the dog scene but tbh I don't have a problem with it 😂

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