MaintainingMama

I'm not sure what that plot was. I'll admit, that after that insane opening where the kid is kidnapped, put in a body bag and thrown in a van like it was no big deal and all in the name of said kid being made to take over the family funeral home business, I could not continue with the main couple. In what world does needing to take over the funeral business need laps around the part and a whole mega team of henchman!? The side couple held my interest and I just skipped unless it was them.
Usually Taiwan will keep me interested but they have been hit or miss for a while now and most of them have been misses...

I'm looking forward to when they show how long Sorn has liked Jun cause it's obvious that it was a long time ago. I also would like them to break down the relationships between Thai and Champ, pre-kiss, and Thai and Champs relationship with Sorn as well as their relationship with Jun. I get that Thai is his brother (it's still kind of unclear if Thai is truly Jun's brother or cousin or P' in the family friend sense) but why is he so over protective of him as well has Champ. But mostly I need to know what Thai and Champ's deal is. They are very careful and proper around each other, so not besties. But then it seems like they are always together and maybe even live together....Enquiring minds really want to know.
I would like them to have Sorn stop grabbing Jun and kissing him without permission. Since they have a "deal", asking is perfectly normal in their situation.
Side note, I, at first, got the Boss comparisons but also was like besides the hair, it kind of ends there....boy was I wrong. Who ever put him in those pants and are filming him from behind on a regular basis is the same person who did the same to Boss in The Boy Next World. Those pants are showing all he has to offer in the bakery and we are thankful. He is also crazy handsome like Boss, although I feel like Boss' natural charisma is still undefeated.
So far I like this series and will be back next week!

This show reminds me of My Stand In, in that I was not expecting it to deliver on the emotions side. When Akin started sobbing after Jun asked him if that was all he wanted by calling him over...man, I don't doubt that he was really crying but the fact that he allowed himself and the series to show him truly display true grief in that moment was amazing. They could have been like this is too much, just a simple crying scene, but they let him go full throttle on bringing all the feels. In that moment, you could see the wide range of emotions Akin went through, longing for Jun, shame for what he thought he did, regret for hurting Jun, remorse for breaking the promise of what those necklaces were meant to symbolize, grief for the relationship he thought he lost. When he collapse but then Jun refused to let him fall down, he held him up and held him tight, the ultimate sign of "I got you"...well I almost shed a tear. I was in awe of the acting in this episode. Like when they were on the stage and Akin was saying those lines to "Jun". Sheesh, Boom has come to show that he is a serious actor. I love how Smart is able to play Jun just like in the anime. Most of the time he is a big puppy dog with heart eyes for Akin, but once you mess with his man, he becomes scary. That bar scene was scary, like any minute Jun was going to mess Johnny up, but he was withholding him self...but barely.
Honestly, I wish these episodes were longer, they are so good, they feel like they end so quickly, even with the perfectly normal air time.
I am definitely looking forward to next week.

This was cute for what it was supposed to be. Just a special that wasn't really necessary but still fun to watch. Just a revisit to the characters and more time with them. I wish we would have gotten waayyy more Lee and Glaijai, and for that matter Real and Hia, but it was nice none the less. It is obvious some of these actors need more time on screen and in workshops but you can also see the potential with proper direction and guidance. I look forward to other series with them and to watching them grow. Side note, who is the guy who hit on Glai, he was hot! Yeesh!

1) If the rest of the show is anything like this first one, watch it when alone.
2) I think based on the two trailers we got (one in which a penis was actually shown, I don't care what anyone says, I know what I saw), this show is exactly as it has always presented itself to be. All the folks in the comments shocked and running away from the series, did ya'll watch the trailers? While no one expected that scene to be in the opening shot of the series, they showed us it existed. I knew going into this, based on the unknown actors (besides Yoon), the over the top sexy teaser and trailer, this wasn't going to be a work of art, but it was going to be worth watching.
3) Here is what I like about it so far. We have your soft, shy unrequited couple with Thai and Champ. They will probably be our slow burn, but worth the wait. (Hopefully) Then you have the GL love interests who we don't know anything about, but both are gorgeous and the outro shows them having lots of sexual tension (although some clips looked like borderline harassment, so I hope that is kept in check. Lastly we have the MLs who are different from our usual protagonists. One is kind of a cocky (zero pun intended) and smug so you want to hate him, but it is sooo obvious that he has liked Jun from the beginning (maybe even before the garden scene). He is definitely currently in the classic "I'll make him mad so he'll pay attention to me" phase. Where he differs slightly from other characters (although, hair not withstanding, he reminds me a bit of P'Phayu from LITA), is that he presents as a sexual being. So often in these series they present men as sexless creatures who only are interested in dating, maybe kissing, but not really sex. Yes we currently get NC/love scenes in most dramas these days, but it's all done like they only ever do it once or twice in a blue moon. True couples, especially in the beginning, once you have crossed that line, you are doing it all the time. And most people, especially men, have lots of sex outside of relationships, just because. Literally no reason other than to get off. So I appreciate that Sorn is like yes I like sex and I'm not going to act like it's weird to like it. His sexual confidence is evident. As for Jun, I also like that he didn't let those experiences with Sorn make him delulu. No pining away for Sorn after he disappeared, he moved on with his life, and he lived it. No "not being able to date anyone because my heart got broken by that guy I sort did sexy stuff one or two times). He obviously was affected by Sorn disappearing, but he didn't let that stop his life from being lived. I also like that he doesn't just buckle under Sorn's teasing. He's not shy or scared by Sorn's actions, He gives just as good as he gets. That being said, I disliked him grabbing the bar guys with out consent and kissing him again with out consent. I know they probably wanted us to focus on the fact that he approached Jun even though he was not single, but Jun grabbing him out of the blue and then assaulting him, was uncool, to say the least. I hope we won't be getting more of stuff like that. Also, while I liked that Sorn helped Jun in the car, I just wish he had asked permission before the started. Eventually he did, but that was after he had already striped down Jun. Jun being drugged, I definitely needed to see more of Sorn respecting his boundaries and body.
That aside, I like the first episode. Like I said, I don't expect this to be Not Me or even My Stand In (where it was a complete shock it was going to be that good, despite the absolutely toxic characters), I expect this to have stiff acting and plot holes and not the best music. But as long as it doesn't go the way of Fahlanruk, I plan to watch it for what it is and enjoy it.

This was such a commentary on familial love and obligation. Grandma loved all her children, despite their flaws. It seems like she was mad at her daughter for giving up her schooling to help in the congee store, but that came from a place of being heartbroken that her daughter gave up her future to help her out. There was also that bit of misogyny that says daughters are the caregivers for their parents and since she also suffered that way, she probably unintentionally put that on her daughter and didn't realize til it was too late that she had done to her daughter what had been done to her. The oldest, as usual, got the most poured into him, so he was able to be a success. Being the oldest and a son, he was spoiled and kind of oblivious to the sacrifices his mother had made for him. I think he did intend to take care of her, but also, he was kind of raised to be selfish, to think of only his self, because his mother probably just wanted the best for him. Especially if he was sick alot as a child. Finally the youngest, he was probably babied, as the youngest usually are. And realizing that later in life that that made him kind of useless as a person, she regretted it, so she gave him the house, to compensate for not making sure he would be alright once she was gone.
Being a parent is soo incredibly hard. You don't really know what you are doing and by the time you have figured it out, it's usually too late. You may have even created some trauma there. You may be avoiding the same trauma you had but end up doing something just as damaging but different than what you went through. Most parents (not all, cause Lord know some people are just shitty and should have never been parents) try their best, even if their best is crap. You could tell she tried her best with all of them, but in the end, they are people and people are often so selfish minded.
I love that even until the end, Mo was still thinking about himself, until he realized he missed her, he valued her and that he cared for her. That, no matter what, she deserved to be cared for by family, at the very least. Then when he found out her final gift to him, even though he had already said it was a waste of time to do it, he gave her her wish. That final line about her being his number one ruined me. Billkin won me over in ITSAY, so I had no question that this would be amazing. This deserved all the praise and money it made. Beautiful movie, simply amazing.

This had potential. However they wrote this like it was full length drama instead of a short. Too much story, not enough time. They should have picked one conflict, and frankly the idol thing was what made better sense. No dad to focus on and we have time to explore what all happened in the past with Suho and Kang Min. Because it was very clear what happened in the past, although that might have just been the translation, which was seemed off a few times. They also could have left out girl pop. I'm over the girl falling in love with the guy she knows is gay and then demanding he stop being gay. Like that is a level of delulu I pray no girl ever claims for herself. Again, this short of a story, we only need one conflict. This could have been good, even with the change of Kang Min's, but they tried to do too much.

The acting in that car scene alone should get them both awards. Especially Smart. Him curling into himself trying to hold himself together but also breaking apart slowly was top tier acting. I like how they are playing this more seriously than the anime. It's a bit darker, edgier. Definitely sadder. I do wish more attention is paid to the fact that Akin was SA'd. Although it seems to be pretty typical in BLs to show actual SA and then it being brushed off as "just an awful thing that happened" and then nothing is done about it. No police involvement, no dismemberment for the perpetrator. Just character living with the trauma or in too many cases, acting like a trauma did not occur. It would have been better, in my opinion, to at least show Akin acknowledge he felt violated in some way. But maybe that will happen next week.
That aside, this was an amazing episode, too good in fact cause it went by so fast and I really wish I saved this to binge cause waiting is painful! 😂

It wasn't good, but it wasn't bad. A great way to kill an afternoon, especially if you don't want to think and you like abs.

New's series are usually hit or miss with me. It's crazy to me that the same guy that directed UWMA also did Make It Right and War of Y. I did not realize until just now that he did We Are as well. And I just said that this series was what We Are tried to be. I think he is someone who tries something, has a great idea and either lands it or flops it. But he always comes back seeming to have learned from his mistakes. Especially when he has great actors to work with. Case in point, your mentioning of PerthSanta. They are both excellent actors separately, so with them added to this series, New really couldn't mess up their story line. I agree with you, PerthSanta were my favorite as well in this series, although I loved them all. I'm going to miss this show.

Honestly, this show got right what We Are got wrong. It was funny, had a million couples, but everyone mostly got equal time, and I didn't feel short changed even with the smaller side stories. I will say in this last episode, it felt like Arc wasn't as clingy to Arm, but overall, it was a cute ending and I'm going to miss this show. This will definitely go on my rewatch list.

I need more. I think this was their best series yet. Imagine what they could do with a bigger budget...

I'm going to miss this series when it ends. Unlike alot of folks, it seems, I really liked ArcArm's storyline just as much as YothaGun and FaifaWine. Each story line reflected the different character's personalities as well as gave us some good character growth. I loved each individual friendship group as well as the random side couples stories.

Side Note: As usual, AouBoom stole the story and while I'm over the moon they are going to be in Only Friends 2, they will still be sharing the spot light with established couples. Still screaming they could more than carry their own series as the main ship. But that is a rant for another day.

I liked that in this episode they didn't linger on the mother issues too long. And I'm glad that the dad admitted they were the worst parents, cause good golly they were. All that focus on how they messed up both Yotha and Gun and poor Newton wasn't even considered. Honestly, as the oldest, he got the brunt of their disfunction. But it was good their section was minute.

While I love Arm's friend group the best, why they introduced Po being heartbroken as a mini storyline is beyond me. I still enjoyed their shenanigans along with the boyfriends looking on in exhaustion from their antics. 😂😂😂

Looking forward to the wrap up, but I'm sad to see it go. Gonna miss this show. They did a great job of keeping me entertained for a long time.

That was honestly the best written special episode MAME has written in a while. While I usually like the specials as a quick little revisit to the cast with tiny follow up story, this one was way more in depth, story wise. Usually the specials story isn't that well thought out, they are usually just silly little additions that if you don't watch it, you aren't really missing anything. At most a question you might have had maybe answered. Or in the case of Don't Say No, a set up for a sequel that was badly needed and promised was teased only to leave us all with out resolution! (Why no Just Say Yes?!) But in this case, we do get some further story with an alternate Cirrus and Phu, one we were introduced to in the main series. And while we don't get a resolution with them, it's at least obvious that their "story" together has started and so the cycle of the alter worlds continues. I LOVE that this time it was Phu who got the flashback, which just lends itself better to the whole concept of them being destined to be together in every time line.

We also got a snippet of dating Wim and Jin and a kiss scene, which was hot. It was nice to see them be an established couple with out all the defensive Wim.

Overall, I liked it. Plus, another NC with BossNoeul, who never fail to deliver in an NC scene. Honestly they are one of the best.

Side note: whoever decided that not only would we get Boss back in the college tight black pants but we would also get skinny jean Boss, I pray that you always get your favorite donut when you treat your self and that it never makes gain a single pound.

I'm probably even older than you, I'm a Xennial, and while I don't run necessarily from the shows that embodies memes and ect. I definitely cringe so hard when it is included to the extreme, such as in this series. That being said, I knew I would love it because the director and creator of this show did ITSAY and that is still, IMO, the best BL to date. It still hasn't been beaten. Everything you listed about Gel Boys rang true for me. While watching, I knew I was witnessing a younger generation relate to each other and figure out how to grow up. It was so well done, and deserves this deserves the high righting. Glad to see I'm not the only older one who may have struggled to connect but also appreciates how far we have come in society to be able to see something this diverse and inclusive in a series. Great review.

Yep, sooo much second hand embarrassment.

I had to scroll down way to far to see this kind of comment. I kept scrolling looking for an review that didn't look like it was paid for. I LOVE EarthMix, but this wasn't it for me. But mostly, I need GMMTV to see that they need to stop remaking Japanese series. The only one for me that was done well was Cherry Magic and that series wasn't comedic as much, so it was easier to adapt.

With only 3 episodes left, this show has surprised me in that to be so long, they have kept it interesting, funny and the romance for each couple has been unique, each couple relating to each other in their own way but you can still feel the love between them.
Side note: Did anyone see Perth pat Santa's ass while he was standing being a drunkard? I say Perth cause that was totally not related to that scene at all.
Another side note: I think drunk Arm and Gun are one of my favorite things about this series. The other being Arm's friend group and their hilarious interactions. Out of the 3 friend groups, theirs is the best in my opinion.
I'm really loving this story of Faifa and Wine. Wine being all starry eyed about Faifa and Faifa being so open and honest with this feelings. I love how direct he is with Wine, especially when it's just the two of them and he is asking Wine how he feels. No coded speech, no shy replies, just " I like you and have for a long time" I'm looking forward to seeing them become a couple next week.

While the acting and the story were good, I wasn't a fan of the romance or the ending. For the romance, there was little to none. It wasn't even a bromance, as usually they really like each other but in a platonic way. Most bromances, they are so affectionate you cannot help but to ship it. But here, it begins with a random confession, a few dinners, they move in together with one of them avoiding physical touch and not being able to say they like the other one and then a mediocre love scene where one of them has a literal hole in them and just recovered from it. While their kissing wasn't the worst, it wasn't the best. Honestly, I think if they had left the bl plot completely out of it, I wouldn't have minded the ending as much. But because they were supposed to be together, it irritated me that we had to reveal the doctor's side hustle to anyone, let alone the law abiding cop boyfriend. I just feel that if my mother was dying and months to be in pain, I would be grateful to the person who was able to help her die peacefully and quickly. I'm not putting that person who is honestly doing the true humanitarian work, imo, in jail just cause the law says it's wrong. Like the man says, you are allowed to put animals out of their misery when they are suffering as it is considered the humane thing to do, why not people.
Anyway, it WAS extremely well written and acted and the OST was great as well. I just think the romance part took away from the series and wasn't needed at all. But that is just my opinion.

One thing about MAME and BossNoeul (since MAME said she just gives them basics of what needs to be there and they do their own thing), they know how to make a top tier NC scene. Somehow she is able to make it smexy but not smut (for example, Sangmin Dinneaw, that show was gross with it's NC scenes) Buuuuuuuttttt, that does not help this show enough. The second couple, their whole story line was wasted. It might as well not have been there. And the story line was new and interesting but they don't get together until the very last scene really and they shared a pathetic kiss. What a waste!
I refuse to believe that the whole story line of the absolute batshit crazy mother concludes with them just putting the brother in his place and that is that. Like WTF!? She was an entire lunatic who caused the death of a person with her behavior and all we get as an conclusion to her storyline is that the other son takes Cir's place to suffer for who knows how long?! I know that we usually get a special episode, but let's be honest usually it's either a chance for MAME to show off one more NC scene or just a cute little story to revisit the characters for a little bit. No real plot/story, just vibes. And ever since she dropped the ball on the magic that would have been LeonPhob's story, I don't believe any hints in the special episode that may be there.
As for P'Cir and Phu, I think it would have tied the whole parallel world concept together if while they were broken up, some how, Phu got to be transported to the white room and see all the different Phu versions to see that that P' Cir wasn't really lying and maybe to see all the things that all the Cir's do for all the Phu's no matter what time line. THEN we can have him racing around and going to the house. Other than that, it was an okay show, save mostly by Boss in tight pants always being made to show his profile in every shot. That became a main character for me and if for no other reason, this show is worth the viewership. 😂😂😂