Star_Surfer

A mature step

This was definitely a more mature and bold step for GMMTV. Some of which were done more successfully than others.

The positives: Khaotung and Joong!!! They were the best part of the show! They had good command of their scenes. They had great chemistry. You really felt like they were brothers. I knew this about Khaotung but Joong was a surprise. They both are cut from the same cloth in terms of nailing emotions and nonverbals. Those two were at the center of my favorite scenes in the show! I hope they get to act together again. Also this did have a more mature feel. There were conversations about more significant topics that I appreciated, such as personal preferences, trust and interpersonal relationships. My favorite story line in the whole show was seeing Fadel realize he is worthy of love and seeing how a partner stays with him and fights for their relationships. That was truly special. I applaud Joong and Dunk for their great scenes to bring that story line to life. I will also say that I was happy with the character development we got from the leads, especially from Fadel and Style. It is always rewarding to be with characters for five plus years and to actually see them grow up. Another special highlight was the police captain making a reference to Prison Break. I was thinking that before hand and it surprised me so much to see a very specific reference to my favorite show and to main character. Gold star to the writers for that one.

Areas to work on: This was not Firsts' best work, which was a little disappointing. A lot of his delivery was said not felt. Some of the supporting actors were very green. Also the writing was a little frustrating. Even though it did make me laugh often. I felt like the writers did not have the strongest ideas of what to do. I wished the actors could been given more to work with. It also bothered me that these hit men had no trade craft. I'm amazed they survived as long as they did.

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A commentary on the human condition

What a journey! I expected this to be a pure monster show. But it turned into a commentary on the human condition. What does it mean to be human is a fascinating topic. There was so much substance in the story. A lot of the acting was stunning!! There was character development for days!! The chemistry of the cast was great. Even though this was an action drama, they gave such a good sense of who the characters were. They really humanized the apocalypse genre. The cinematography was great. The sets were amazing. Such a clever way of telling a story through a location. This illustrated the best and worst of humanity so well. The jump scares got me, especially in the beginning. I was also impressed with how well the female characters were written. The tension was kept all season. I really did start to care for a number of the characters! I'm invested. I need to see more.

I will say the CGI of the monsters did leave something to be desired. The timeline was a little confusing. The level of gore was a little bit more than I would prefer.

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A work of art

After finishing this I sat in silence for a long time processing. That was as incredible as everyone said! The actor for Tae Shik, Won Bin, had an absolutely jaw dropping performance. The subtleties he was able to bring to the role was incredible. My heart hurt for him, from his back story to the pain he went through to find the girl. The stunt choreography was some of the best I have seen. The fight scenes were extremely well designed. That child actress did such a great job. Her emotions were on point. While the plot was a bit convoluted at times with all the different groups of villains. It was impactful and at its core it was simple. It was heartbreaking. This was a visually stunning piece of art. The cinematography, the lighting and the play with shadows. This was simply a top notch work of art.

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A solid 12 episodes

Overall this was really solid. Most of the stunts and special effects were done well. I'm impressed that the actors did a lot of them. I thought the three leads did a good job, as well as the actor of the villain. The three leads had good chemistry. Decently strong female character for a Korean drama, which has been an issue for me in the past. The actor for Van impressed me with his nonverbals. The character was also so impactful even without much dialogue. The cinematography was stunning. The combo of locations and post production was great. The production value on this was higher than other's I've seen. I adored that this was rooted in real history and local legends of Jeju! I learned so much! The episode about Johan and his brother gets it's own star. Major props to Cha Eun Woo. They mostly succeeded in connecting everything. They also had a good amount of character development for each of the leads! I also really appreciated how much humor was in this. It paired so well with the dark themes.

There were some times where the stunts and cgi were flawed. Johan, as a character, was undervalued and under used. There were some plot lines that were not explained well or fleshed out. I desperately wanted to know more about Johan and his "powers" and the people in white robes just were not explained. Even the granny character could have been explored more. I honestly think this could have been longer. I also would have loved the female lead to be even stronger. There were times where she just seemed like a demon punching bag. But I am glad that she was the one who saved the world in the end.

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A diamond in the rough

This is truly one of my favorite shows! It is such a complex murder mystery with just a touch of romance. The story was fantastic, so well written and complex. It kept me guessing to the very end with so many twists. This show made me a fan of the writer Sammon. The relationship was handled so well. It just happened naturally and was tastefully done. Which is rare to find in a BL show. This is how relationships should be written. Also there was decent stunt choreography in this. It had a much higher level than the majority of dramas I have seen. The cinematography was outstanding! Northern Thailand has been added to my bucket list because of this show.
The two leads have wonderful chemistry and their characters are so well rounded. Max especially, impressed me. His evil looks are simply spectacular! I loved how the story developed and how the backstory for the main characters impacts the current events in the show. One of the best parts was the character development in the majority of the characters in the show, which is rare to find. The character development for Tan and Bun was particularly good.

There were many supporting characters that I liked and would have loved more time with or backstory. I always forget when starting to re-watch this show the dark the story gets and the second to last episode will always be hard for me to watch. Any story that gets an emotional reaction out of me is telling. But this story covers important topics and is so well done that is a stand out in the genre.

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Impressive performances from War and YIn

I truly loved this!! This was one of my favorite shows from 2024. It was a refreshing and unique story in the genre. War and Yin both utterly impressed me with their acting. I am desperate to see more from them. The stunt fighting especially from Yin was outstanding. It was such an outlier in the industry. War showed his versatility in all the sides of the character he got to play. The non verbal communication from both of them elevated their performances. Their on screen chemistry was outstanding. This was some of the best acting I have seen in a long time. War and Yin did such an incredible job in the emotional scenes. It made you really connect and feel what the characters were feeling.
The production quality from this show was very high. At times the lighting choices were impeccable. The romance story line was done so well. It was done tastefully and with maturity. It felt so real. The support actresses for the neighbor girl and the grandma did such a great job. The plot, for the most part, developed nicely. You got to understand the main characters motivations, beliefs and backgrounds. I felt like the characters of Jack and Joke were written well. There was also character development for them in spades. I loved that this was a story about social class and power dynamics. I think these are fascinating topics to cover in media.

I only had a few notes with the show. Things went a little pear shaped when they had to deal with the plot and climax of the conflict. The Boss story line was the weakest in the show, even though it was crucial to the plot. A lot was left for me to read between the lines. It seemed pretty fabricated. Also, the supporting characters fell a little flat to me. It was a missed opportunity to add even more depth to the story.

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Near Perfect

Its hard to describe how I feel about this show. It is easily one of my favorite shows ever! This is such a high quality show. It stands out above the rest. This is one of the strongest and most compelling stories I've seen. This story has such substance. This is the definition of a social commentary and is very thought provoking. It is much more than just a love story. Its meaningful. They discuss things like social class, which is so refreshing in a BL. There was a wide range of representation present in the characters and conversations.

The acting from Off and Gun is fantastic. Gun in both of his roles really impressed me. My brain can not compute him. His nonverbal communication is off the charts. These characters are more complex than you seen in most shows. I think this is one of the better twin representations I have seen. Its not depicted as a superpower but rather, love even when the brothers don't know each other. This soundtrack is also so well done and overall is my favorite. The female characters are actually written well and have standards. I love the discussions of class, morality and justice. These topics are not discussed enough in media. The level of dialogue in this show is fantastic! I wish I could watch it again for the first time. This is the kind of media that I want to support in the world. Just stunning!!

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