This review may contain spoilers
Two Bros Sittin' In A Bench 5 Feet Apart 'Cause They're Gay (?)
I went into Heesu in Class 2 without knowing the webtoon, no expectations, and only a handful of other Korean series to compare it with. None of those were exactly the same genre, but they shared that familiar mix: a lad figuring out his sexuality, messy confessions, dumb misunderstandings, and a soft landing at the end. The show definitely delivers that kind of comfortable, frustrating, fluffy emotional ride.
What surprised me most was how much attention the secondary couples and plots received. That’s not inherently a bad choice, since plenty of shows juggle multiple relationships well, but here it felt like it came at the expense of the main story. The series is named after Lee Heesu, yet more often than not, it felt like Ju Chan-yeong and Choi Ji-yu were the real central couple. Heesu’s journey sometimes slipped into the background, which is a bit ironic considering how much of his story is about being unseen.
Acting-wise, though, everyone was great. The cast sold every feeling, and the actor playing Heesu in particular really carried the emotional weight he was given. You can also feel the higher production value compared to many similar Korean LGBTQ+ shows, which still often have to do a lot with limited resources when queer stories are involved.
I picked this series up mainly for two reasons: the gay romance tag and the longer format. Ten episodes with decent runtime isn’t that common. And I did enjoy it overall, just… not really for those reasons.
As a coming-of-age high school drama, it works really well. As a gay romance, it feels like it pulls its punches. I wasn’t looking for explicit scenes or anything over the top, especially with high school characters, but the ending still felt rushed and emotionally thin. After nine and a half episodes of longing and miscommunication, we basically land on a quiet bench scene and call it a happy ending. Honestly, the happiest, most convincingly developed couple might have been Shin Ho-sik and his girlfriend, whose name I don’t even remember.
So yeah: for me it’s a 7.5/10. Sweet, soft, and sometimes very touching, but also underwhelming in the areas where it seemed like it was supposed to shine. Some viewers might love the gentleness and ensemble focus, others will feel like Heesu deserved more of the spotlight, and I’m somewhere in the middle, slightly wistful about what it could’ve been.
What surprised me most was how much attention the secondary couples and plots received. That’s not inherently a bad choice, since plenty of shows juggle multiple relationships well, but here it felt like it came at the expense of the main story. The series is named after Lee Heesu, yet more often than not, it felt like Ju Chan-yeong and Choi Ji-yu were the real central couple. Heesu’s journey sometimes slipped into the background, which is a bit ironic considering how much of his story is about being unseen.
Acting-wise, though, everyone was great. The cast sold every feeling, and the actor playing Heesu in particular really carried the emotional weight he was given. You can also feel the higher production value compared to many similar Korean LGBTQ+ shows, which still often have to do a lot with limited resources when queer stories are involved.
I picked this series up mainly for two reasons: the gay romance tag and the longer format. Ten episodes with decent runtime isn’t that common. And I did enjoy it overall, just… not really for those reasons.
As a coming-of-age high school drama, it works really well. As a gay romance, it feels like it pulls its punches. I wasn’t looking for explicit scenes or anything over the top, especially with high school characters, but the ending still felt rushed and emotionally thin. After nine and a half episodes of longing and miscommunication, we basically land on a quiet bench scene and call it a happy ending. Honestly, the happiest, most convincingly developed couple might have been Shin Ho-sik and his girlfriend, whose name I don’t even remember.
So yeah: for me it’s a 7.5/10. Sweet, soft, and sometimes very touching, but also underwhelming in the areas where it seemed like it was supposed to shine. Some viewers might love the gentleness and ensemble focus, others will feel like Heesu deserved more of the spotlight, and I’m somewhere in the middle, slightly wistful about what it could’ve been.
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