Dreams Change, Love Doesn't
When Life Gives You Tangerines is a masterpiece. They took incredible actors and mixed them with the most heart-wrenching story and beautiful cinematography to create one of the best dramas I have ever seen. Fair warning - I don't think you could watch this show without shedding tears. However, it is every bit worth the pain.Oh Ae-Sun (IU) is a young girl growing up on Jeju island in the mid 20th century, who is constantly follow around by Yang Gwan-Sik (Park Bogum). With big dreams of moving to Seoul, marrying a wealthy man, going to college, and becoming a poet, Ae-Sun has a hard road in front of her. Growing up with a single mom working long hours diving and a good-for-nothing step father makes those dreams seem even more out of reach. Gwan-Sik, hopelessly in love with Ae-Sun, will do everything he can to support her dreams - and when he finally figures out his feelings are reciprocated, he feels on top of the world. Ae-Sun and Gwan-Sik have a tough life ahead of them though, as everything and everyone seems to be standing in the way of their happiness.
This show is absolutely gorgeous. The way the story manages to tell the lives of these characters from the 1960s to the early 2000s and do so in a way that is never confusing is incredible. As you move through the show, you get glimpses of the past and the future, and you start to put together the picture of the couples life. The more you learn about them, their hardships, and their love, the more you fall in love with them. This show is truly about building these characters, and showing how their experiences early in the show influence their decisions later - a girl who could never follow her dreams growing up is determined to let her daughter try everything she wants; a father who went through the hardship of providing for his family at a young age wants his son to not bear the same burden. However, these are not perfect humans, and their choices as parents are not always the best. These ups and downs are what make the characters feel so real, and it truly draws you in to the story like no other drama. The turns the story takes are so realistic, and I loved the shifts in focus throughout the story to look more closely at their children as the story progressed. Overall a gorgeous drama that is ABSOLUTELY worth the watch (just have the tissues ready).
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Simple, but cute
My Love Mix Up was super cute, light, and fun. Gemini and Fourth did a great job in these roles, and the side couple helped to round it out very well. No conflict was drawn out too long either. My only complaint is that it didn't feel like anything new, especially for Gemini and Fourth.It's said that if you write your crush's name on an eraser, the more you use it, the closer you'll get to them. Atom (Fourth) has a crush on Mudmee (Pahn), a girl in his class, but when he asks to borrow her eraser, he sees Kongthap's (Gemini) name written on it. As he's using the eraser, he ends up dropping it and Kongthap picks it up - leading him to believe that Atom has a crush on him. To prevent his friend's feelings from being exposed, Atom has to come up with another way to tell Kongthap that he doesn't like him, but the more time he spends with him the more he realizes he might like him after all.
This show was a very cute and simple high school romance. If you're a fan of Gemini and Fourth, you'd definitely like it. Mudmee and Half (Chokun) were also super cute and fun to watch! I do wish that Gemini and Fourth would branch out and play different types of roles though, as this show felt very similar to My School President (though less singing), especially in terms of the main characters. Overall though it was very cute and fun to watch.
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Go Young's Tragic Autobiography
The best way to describe this show is snapshots of our main character Go Young's (Nam Yoonsu) life. We first meet him in college, where his queerness makes him a loner. This doesn't stop his pursuit of love, but not all romantic encounters are created equal. Go Young finds again and again that love requires not just the right person, but also the right circumstances. In his quest to figure out what love looks like and how to make relationships work, we see him continue to get his heart broken, both by his own faults and his partners'.I think what really sold me on this show was the way it was done. It felt like it was being told as if Go Young had written his own autobiography, where he emphasized what he found important and left out the details that seemed too mundane. We get glimpses into his life and his relationships, without ever getting to see his day-to-day life. What happens in an episode may be a few weeks or a year, depending on how important the events felt to Go Young himself. Each relationship he enters presents new challenges, and unable to navigate them, Go Young continues to feel tired and alone. I did not expect such depth of issues on queerness coming from a Kdrama, and it was done beautifully. The issues were never taken lightly or laughed at, and the relationships were portrayed in such a realistic way that it truly felt like this could be someone's autobiography. It was unfortunately sadder than I had anticipated, and the realism just emphasized the tragedy, but it was beautiful nonetheless.
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A Must-Watch!
I was super excited to see Bible work with Jes in this show, and BOY did they deliver!! This show was absolutely incredible and had me at the edge of my seat every episode. A thrilling, action-packed plotline was perfectly partnered with a slowly forming romance between the main leads, and side characters that could stand alone in their own series round it out beautifully. The only potential issue with this one was that the 18+ rating needs to be taken real seriously....both with the violence and explicit sex scenes.When Great (Bible) hits and kills a woman while driving, he suddenly finds himself with a strange ability: he is occasionally (and not of his own will) sent back in time 4 minutes to fix mistakes. After preventing the death of this woman, she still ends up in the hospital. Great, feeling bad about this, goes to visit her and meets Dr. Tyme (Jes). The two slowly get to know each other, but it seems their lives are more intertwined than they thought. Great's family's shady business seems to be willing to go to any lengths to continue their work, and Tyme seems to be somehow connected to all this. Meanwhile, Great's brother Korn (Bas) and his boyfriend Tonkla (Fuaiz) seem to be more involved in the inner workings of this shady family business, which is straining their relationship.
I can't begin to describe how incredible this show was. The plot twists were INCREDIBLE and had me sitting in shock at the end of the episodes. I can't possibly describe all the interesting plot points that happen without horrible spoilers, but it is truly an experience to watch it. I love when a plot doesn't only revolve around the romance, and this one definitely isn't focused on it, but uses the romance to enhance the plot. Again, the explicit scenes in this show were a bit much for me, but overall it was fantastic and I would highly recommend it.
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Needed a bit more courtroom and a little less romance
Idol I is a show that focuses on drawing the line between love and obsession, truth and conviction. I think the story surrounding those two themes is the most interesting part of the show: do fans love these idols, or are they obsessed with them; is heartbreak caused by lost love or a lost purpose; is convincing someone the same as the truth; and is there such thing as an objective truth? While I think this show took a little too much time on some of the romance and not enough time on the legal issues, I still really enjoyed this show.Maeng Sena is a defense attorney known for taking on high-profile, nearly unwinnable cases and winning; whether that's because she wants the fame and money or because she's invested in the truth is unclear. All that matters to her is having enough time and money to spend on Gold Boys, her favorite idol group. However, when superstar Do Raik of Gold Boys is charged with murdering one of his bandmates in a case with no other suspects, Sena is given the case. Maintaining her professionalism, Sena is determined to prove Raik's innocence - but she is quickly confronted with the reality of the idol that she has been watching on TV for so long. Still, Sena is determined to do her job properly, and not let personal feelings get in the way of catching the culprit.
For a drama that seems to be trying to tell the message of "fans should not treat idols like objects to obsess over," the fan x idol romance seemed to tell a different story. And yes, sure, her story is different because of how they met, but it did still feel somewhat contradictory until the end. Plus, frankly, I was WAY more interested in the murder case than the romance. I wish they had spent a little more time in the courtroom or being questioned by the prosecution. Plus, some of the details felt way too simple for Sena to figure out so late. Still, I enjoyed all the twists in the story and had a great time watching - just know that there is quite a lot of romance for a murder drama.
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Rivals to lovers with a twist!
Head 2 head was a show that really surprised me. After watching Sea and Keen in Only Boo, I wasn't quite sure how much to expect from them - it seemed like GMM was condemning another couple to a life of school uniforms and solidly mid romances. However, h2h was a lot more than that!J (Sea) and Jinn (Keen) have been rivals from the start, despite their parents being best friends. The two have competed since childhood, and show no signs of stopping now that they're both fashion design majors at the same college. However, when J gets hurt in an accident while racing Jinn, their parents force them to live together so Jinn can care for J and the two can learn to get along. Their relationship begins to change as J starts seeing visions of horrible things happening to Jinn and starts trying to prevent them - but not every tragedy can be prevented, no matter how hard J tries.
I've seen a lot of people relate this show to Bad Buddy, and truly I see the resemblance, though I loved the addition of visions of the future, the internal struggle of "do I love him because I love him now, or because I know in the future I will love him," and the need to change what the visions show. I thought it added a really nice layer of complexity to the show! The only downside of this show was the repetition in the beginning, where it feels like these boys are in the hospital more than they're at school. I felt like they could have instead developed some of the plot points of the future visions a bit more, but I still REALLY enjoyed this show. Not only did Sea and Keen do an INCREDIBLE job portraying these characters, but the other characters in the show were equally fun to watch. The second couple, played by Surf and Java, stole the show in some of the episodes. The relationship built on Java's character's idea of "I can't lose him, but I don't quite love him," was SO interesting. Frankly, I'd watch a whole series about their characters too. I didn't think any conflict was overly drawn out, which I appreciated, and I could see this becoming a comfort show for sure. The sweet relationship that slowly develops between rivals paired with the ups and downs of the side couple's relationship made for a perfectly balanced show. Definitely give this one a shot!
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Needed WAY more merman plot!
When I saw how well done the special effects were for this show, I was actually really excited to start watching it. I feel like there have been more and more supernatural/fantasy shows coming out recently, and I'm a big fan of it in general. Unfortunately, this one really missed the mark for me! It seemed like the whole merman plot wasn't even relevant for most of the show, with a (frankly, uninteresting) romance being way more important. The show wasn't bad - there was the right amount of romantic conflict for the length of the show, and there were some interesting plot points that came up at the very end. However, if you're expecting a merman-filled drama, somehow this one isn't it.When Phurit moves to an island to co-own a bar, he hears legends about the mermen that once lived there, and assumes these are fairytales. Little does he know, the cute bartender Nawa that he's been flirting with is secretly a merman. Nawa has been warned time and time again that humans and merman can't fall in love, but that doesn't seem to be stopping him.
This is basically a Romeo and Juliet style forbidden romance - and genuinely, you could have replaced "merman" with just about any other reason to forbid a relationship and the plot would have gone the same way. Random merman lore was thrown in on occasion, but somehow never seemed all that relevant. Also, mermen hunters were brought up and were barely even an issue! They TOTALLY could have made this show about a merman and a hunter, or at least have one of the major conflict be between Nawa and a hunter. Instead, every plot point revolves solely around the relationship: the hunters just mean Nawa needs to "be more careful" and not see Phurit....okay I guess? This was so close to being a really interesting show, but unfortunately missed the mark by making it way too romance focused for a show that should include way more magical elements.
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To love the one you hate, and hate the one you love
Kill to Love was AMAZING. I am so impressed with the writers ability to tell such a complex, engaging story in the time that they had with this show. The major conflict of loyalty vs love vs revenge, and the twisting of hate and love....all of it was incredible. The ONLY reason I gave this a 9.5/10 was I couldn't help but wonder how much better it could've been if they just had a few more episodes - a few sections in the last 1/3 of the show felt a bit too rushed, but I am still so amazed at everything this show managed to do.When an assassin infiltrates the palace in an attempt to kill the crown prince, the crown price's brother, sixth prince Xiao Shu He, is forced to help the assassin escape. In doing so, Shu He feels that this assassin is someone he might know. Suspiciously soon after, Shu He narrowly avoids an "assassination attempt" himself, thanks to a chance encounter with his long-lost childhood friend, Duan Zi Ang. Fully aware that Zi Ang attempted to kill his brother, and that he was behind this fake assassination attempt, Shu He brings his friend back to the palace to help him recover - and to keep an eye on him. As Zi Ang attempts to gain information to help in his assassination of the crown prince, Shu He attempts to gain information on Zi Ang - but as the two continue to spend time together, they can't help but develop feelings. Are these feelings real, or is it a tactic to get closer to the one they're trying to kill? With their home nations on the brink of war, how far are they willing to go to deceive one another?
All I can say is WATCH THIS! It's not heavy on cultivation like I thought it might be, but the politics of the two countries is INCREDIBLE. A sixth prince who wants nothing to do with politics; an assassin who is forced to follow orders; a crown prince becoming power hungry; an emperor hidden away in his palace; and a country on the brink of an all-out war....you can imagine that both the external pressures of war and the internal power struggles only enhance the relationship tension between Zi Ang and Shu He. And of course, I have to mention how much I enjoyed that this relationship wasn't censored! It was truly wonderful to watch, and kept me guessing about who was telling the truth, and who had other motives. ABSOLUTELY worth watching!!!
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Predictable, but the romance made it worth it
Every time a new JimmySea show starts airing, I remember how enjoyable it is to watch them work together. Their chemistry just feels so natural, and their ability to portray the characters in My Magic Prophecy was incredible. Was this the most innovative, creative show? No. BUT the relationship was great and I thoroughly enjoyed the twists in the story, even though they were fairly predictable.In (Sea) is a tarot reader, but he's more than just another fortune teller - he is truly clairvoyant, and often gets visions of bad things happening to people close to him. However, the stronger the vision, the larger the toll it takes on him, and he often ends up hurt because of it. When he sees his friend's older brother Dr. Thap (Jimmy) getting killed, he ends up stopping it from happening, but it seems this wasn't a one-off encounter. Thap's life is quickly put in danger after he treats a critical patient, and it's unclear who wants this patient dead so badly as to kill the doctor. To protect himself and his family, Thap stays with In in In's late parents house in a small village, and while the two do not see eye to eye at first, a relationship slowly forms between them.
I thought this show was super well done. Jimmy and Sea have amazing chemistry as Thap and In, and I loved the way the relationship progressed. I also really enjoyed the parallel investigation storyline, with the doctors and cops trying to figure out how a patient ended up in the hospital, the foul play involved, and the threats to Thap's life. While most of the twists in the case were predictable, it was still super fun to watch it play out. I do think the highlight of the show is the relationship though. It is truly such a sweet and caring relationship between these characters, and the way they help each other through the struggles is fantastic. Definitely worth watching for that!!
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A Little Too Silly
Honestly, I only watched this show for EarthMix. I'm not typically the biggest fan of this style of comedy, and I've found that Thai adaptations of Japanese BLs typically don't quite land for me. So it didn't surprise me when I found myself not super invested in this show. I LOVE Earth and Mix in their more serious and dramatic roles (Moonlight Chicken, ToTS), and I think their comedic characters in this one just didn't quite do it for me.Heng (Earth) is the worst real estate consultant at his office. When Mo (Mix) transfers to his branch, the two move in together. However, when Heng learns that both Mo and his boss have feelings for him, he's stuck trying to figure out his own feelings (and why they would like someone like him).
This show was pure comedy. It was silly and goofy and pretty fun. However, it just felt like so much back and forth. I kept waiting for the show to have a little more depth, and instead they threw in a random amnesia plotline. If you're a big fan of EarthMix and want something lighter from them, give this a shot - but if you're like me and prefer their more serious characters, you could probably skip this one.
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Suspenseful and Thrilling
I was really excited to watch Spare Me Your Mercy when it started airing because I'm a sucker for crime dramas. The premise of this one was especially unique - catching a killer that might not even be the bad guy? The cast was absolutely incredible, and the show had me on the edge of my seat every episode. I do wish this was a 10-12 ep series instead, just because there were a few things I wish they could have explored deeper, but it is absolutely worth the watch.Tew (JJ) is a detective who decided to transfer to a rural town to be near his mom, who is dying of ovarian cancer with only a few months to live. However, right as he goes to see her after transferring, he learns she has passed away months before the doctor said she would. Hurt and confused, Tew does to talk to Dr. Kan (Tor), the palliative care expert in the town. Kan explains that this isn't uncommon with terminally ill patients and Tew doesn't think too much more about it - until terminally ill patients start dying prematurely all over this rural town. With few suspects and a growing suspicion of Kan, Tew tries to keep him close; Kan seems to be trying to keep Tew close as well, and though he says it's because he's developing a crush on him, Tew remains unconvinced. Unclear motives from both parties create tension in this slowburn relationship, and as more and more deaths occur prematurely, the need to find out the truth may outweigh any feelings the two have for each other.
This show was truly incredible. I would recommend watching for the thriller/suspense/mystery elements more than the relationship, because truly the story is about the deaths and not the romance. However, JJ and Tor do an amazing job portraying these characters. A cold and tough detective determined to find out the truth paired with the bright and kind doctor was a great match. The acting, effects, and writing were all fantastic. Plot twists weren't necessarily predictable, but they were built into the story well enough to not feel like I was being blindsided by nonsensical twists in the story. The framing of certain scenes to intentionally throw the viewer off was super fun too. Even though I thought they could have played up the tension in the relationship and that a few more episodes would have helped flesh some things out more, I thought the story was fantastic and loved the way it wrapped up. One of my favorites of 2024 for sure.
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Delivered complex characters and a lovely romance
Typically I don't expect too much out of Korean BLs. Since they're so short, they often can't go into enough depth. However, Jazz for Two managed to balance their short time and the right amount of character depth perfectly, leaving you with complex characters without overwhelming you with backstory.Yoon Seheon just transferred to a performing arts high school after being homeschooled for years. His classically trained pianist father has only ever allowed him to focus on classical music on the piano, and Seheon is constantly compared to his perfect older brother. However, Seheon really just wants to play jazz, and is hoping this new school will let him break free of his father. However, when practicing in an abandoned piano room at the school, Han Taeyi hears the song and is angered by it - not because it's bad, but because it reminds him too much of his late older brother's playing. Han Taeyi struggles to deal with the grief of losing his older brother, and takes it out on Seheon, only for Seheon to keep pushing Taeyi to become closer with him.
This show delivered on both the slowburn romance front and the entertaining characters. While the side characters didn't get much screentime, the two main characters each had distinct backstories and personalities, which complemented each other well. They start as polar opposites and appear to be enemies, but naturally over the course of the show we get to watch Taeyi deal with his grief and Seheon open up to Taeyi.
My biggest complaints about this show would all be resolved if the show was longer. First, the show tried to touch on homophobia, including internalized homophobia, but simply didn't see it through. It was brought up as a problem but then just disappeared? I also think that we missed out on seeing the early stages of Seheon and Taeyi together, because it seemed like they were fighting and then all of a sudden they were together? We never got to see the conversations or dates between them, and I think it would have helped to flesh out their relationship more. Frankly, we didn't get much time with them in a relationship because it takes so long for them to get together. I love a slowburn too, but I would have liked more happy moments with them as a couple. Also, some of the issues in their backstories (Seheon's dad, Taeyi's brother, etc.) could have used more screen time to really explore more. For the time it had, this show was wonderful. I'd say it's one of the more engaging and deep Korean BLs I've seen. However, the time constraints always seem to be my worst enemy for Korean BLs.
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The plot was bad, but the chemistry was good
The only redeeming quality of this show was the fact that Zee and Nunew have great chemistry. Besides that, there's nothing special about this show and I was pretty bored for most of it.The entire time you're waiting for single conflict to be resolved: the fact that Lian doesn't like Kuea's fake personality, and the fact that Kuea refuses to be his true self. Literally if they were just honest with each other, this show could be two episodes long. Instead, the conflict is drawn out way too long. The whole arranged marriage plot felt pretty odd, but I could get behind it if it made sense or helped the show move along. Instead, it's just this odd point that creates unnecessary drama between the leads.
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ThomasKong!
I ended up waiting to watch this one until it had finished airing, and I'm glad I did because watching it all at once was so fun. It's a bit of a stereotypical fake dating plotline, but it was so sweet and fun. Thomas and Kong killed it in these roles!Teerak (Kong) has a problem saying no to people, so when Oh, who has clearly been hitting on Teerak, invites him to his birthday party, Teerak says yes even though he doesn't like him. While there, Teerak ends up getting a little too drunk thanks to Oh's "non-alcoholic" shots. When Oh announces in front of everyone his feelings for Teerak, Teerak is paralyzed and unable to say no - which only becomes worse as Oh moves to kiss him. Luckily, Muenfah (Thomas) steps in, loudly proclaiming Teerak to be his boyfriend, even though they've only interacted once (and not on great terms). When the news spreads throughout the school, Teerak and Muenfah decide to keep up the act of dating so Oh doesn't bother Teerak anymore. Naturally, as the two work out how to keep this fake relationship looking real, they end up developing feelings for each other.
While the plot was predictable, the chemistry made this show great. The characters weren't overly complex, but had just the right amount of depth to be believable and draw the viewer in. I do wish we got a little more of scary/cold Muenfah, but watching him soften so quickly for Teerak was honestly adorable. I think if I had watched this while it was airing I could've gotten a little bored with how predictable it was, but watching it all at once was super enjoyable, and I'll be on the lookout for more series with them!
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Everything came together perfectly
Perfect 10 Liners was such a fun and enjoyable show. I honestly didn't expect to become so attached but after 6 months (!) of watching this show every week, I ended up being so sad that it was ending.This show tells the story of three couples over the course of three years. First up we have Arm (Book), who joins Perfect 10 Liners his freshman year and meets Arm (Force), who seems to not like him. Their enemies-to-lovers storyline was a great way to start the show, though it was probably my least favorite of the three. The next year, Yotha (Perth) joins the group, and his cold heart slowly gets melted by Gun (Santa), who is truly the most sunshiney character to exist (though he isn't without his traumas too). The two learn to love and heal each other. Finally, Wine (Mark) joins the next year, and meets Faifa (Junior), a people-pleaser that finally finds someone he wants to treat special but doesn't know how.
Watching the three couples' storylines was so much fun, the comedic timing was incredible, and each story felt different. I was afraid that the show would start to be repetitive, but I found myself looking forward to it more and more each week. If you need a new comfort show, this is a great option. The conflicts still provided some angst, but always returned to a happy vibe at the end.
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