byyourname99

Wish you guys all the BL Feels & Joy!!!!

me too, got worried Shin-Tae relationship will be killed in s2 -

They left a clue - the teacher met some mysterious character in the end right?? They prolly want to cover it in Season 2. I think the makers want it too.

I was pro Shin but have to say - i liked Daon's resolution in the end - him not trying to please everyone as he walked down the corridor with every student demanding something of him - i was genuinely happy for the character.

The writer's gave him good closure and made a point to say this was a time for him to self reflect and figure who he really is - he has such journey ahead and tribe of friends with him- i don't see this as a sad ending for him. I wish this show showed some of his journey in the last 2 eps, instead of making it all about the triangle up to the very last second.

Seriously, this shouldn't have been all about the love triangle. In the last minutes with Shin-Tae walking up to school bravely and with students starting to gossip, one or two epsiodes focussing on that would have been worth it, in addition to the new & improved Daon - they had a lot of stories to tell - like a little more of Namgoong- making it so triangle based was a mistake, it made an unbalanced show in a way right- it was too much about one thing.

By first 8-10 mins of ep 15 the triangle should have been squashed. Instead they tortured n teased us in ep 15.

FLASHBACKS - i was SO confident this ep would have some flashbacks - the same kind of flashes of the past we got for Shin's heartwarming secret text messages - THEY SHOULD have done the same to SHOW us and tracking Tae's journey of realizing his first true love.

We get all the little updates on where Tae stands w his crush, like a clear time -line with how his crush grew for daon can be charted out but NOTHING is tracked about his first love?? Sure, we Shin-Tae fans can hunt well for hints but we too want some explicit exposition please!

A surprise flashback montage would have seriously satisfied us all explaining all the gaps in story that was being held back from the audience for 15 episodes

But im on the same page - i was satisfied with the ending. they managed to efficiently show some ADORB and realistic couple moments too ... the dynamic was GREAT - like the cute banter as they walked up to school. Tae telling him to stop smiling or stop making a straight face and then the hair ruffling,

also, the adorable council moment:

Shin Woo - "I want you to give me more attention"
Namgoong - puke sound effect

like they managed to effectively throw in a good amount of couple moments at a very good pace. the kiss was another one or even their walking back home scene in the start - great couple vibes with Shin telling him to please pretend not to see his red ears as he promised he would

Yes, we were robbed of a satisfying lovestory - the show was so clear about his crush & heartbreak w Daon & there was absolutely NOTHING clear about Tae's love & realizations towards Shin Woo. Unbalanced & incomplete.

was rooting for Shin Woo as it made most sense. However, I'm dissapointed how they didn't SHOW why Tae ended up with Shin - we know why, the chemistry was strong from the start, the boy needed Shin Woo to like him & Tae looked the happiest and most playful only around Shin, moreover Tae was keyed into Shin's emotions, he could read him like a book - But they never verbally explain this.

Why did Tae hold Shin's hand and walk out ... when did he start loving him and when did he realize this? Why didn't they demonstrate he had a Crush on Doan v/s he Loved Shin Woo - they didn't explain the difference of affection Tae had for both and how the connect w Shin Woo was deeper, was real love.

However they dropped hints. Tae says "You always say no but I am always right", he said this to shin while they took a walk and then Tae reminds Shin of an incident when Tae was a snail bride, Shin caught him working and Tae had asked him about his red ears and Shin replied telling him he really hated him - I wondered why tae brought this up or why was this important - so I watched that scene in question again.

when Tae was working as the snail bride, he asks Shin why his ears always turned red, Shin replies "i really hate you" and he leaves - Tae then says "Gosh that jerk, I'm getting mad because that jerk keeps saying he hates me". The fact he brought it up & remembers this moment & because it's a moment where you see Tae is noting he's mad at Shin for hating him, I took that to mean that it all sort of began here - that scene showed Tae cared a lot about what Shin Woo thought of him - i mean, why is he mad, why does he feel so strongly when Shin says he doesn't like him.

So in the start whenever Tae pursued Shin's friendship - he pursued him aggressively - that was actually him subconsciously going after someone he was attracted to - he needed him to like him back, real bad. All that collar pulling and warning Shin that he better try to like him back, those all had unconsciously been his attraction being channeled into rage. I mean why else did he try so hard - was it coz Daon/teacher told him to befriend Shin in order to win him over n be in the council or was it sthg else??? and where is all this heated anger in Tae coming from - those were strong feelings - so maybe the entire pursuit for SHin in the early chapters was more about love - thats where his love began.

Another Hint they dropped which was a bit more satisfying was how Tae kept calling this his "First love" - if Shin Woo is his first love - then it means Daon was a innocent frivolous crush. Still, the writers did not deliver on a satisfyinh closure - they didn't show how, why and when Tae started falling for Shin. They didn't give us the most important thing - evidence to believe that Tae loves Shin Woo as deeply and as lovingly as Shin Woo has been pinning and loved Tae - we never get that. So - it's sort of like Shin was just a choice for him???? Not satisfying to think that at all. Still, he did call him his First love, that makes a big difference.

Also, Tae in ep 14 Tae did say how his heart fluttered when Shin would say loving affectionate things to him and we saw the boy gush, blush & labor over text messages - there's a clear indication of lots of love there- he cares way too much of what Shin Woo thinks of him (again this connects with the early chapters where Tae cares way too much that Shin didn't like him). He likes the boy but doesn't want Shin to see he's obsessing over his texts.

Also in ep 10 or 11 Taes convo with namjoong is revealing - he said he is okay with Daon not liking him back, he liked him anyways but he didn't like that he isn't looking at him the same way again. The loss of friendship & different treatment mattered more to him - it's like he moved on rather easily right..so there's some proof that he didn't love Daon that much.

But the show should be more explicit about HOW Tae fell in love with him & since when - the show did such a clear job of tracking Daon-Tae's relationship, why not track Tae's growing love for Shin the same way...make it crystal clear. Can't believe they closed the show WITHOUT showing us a flashback of Tae's perspective showing us since when he began to feel deeply and more for Shin.

Bravo - you've clarified it with valid points. Although isn't it surprising there is such a need to to spell out the obvious so laboriously.

At the school trip when ShinWoo had that rooftop conversation with Daon it really struck me as strange, I asked "Why is Shin Woo doing this?" Shin Woo wasn't acting in his interest at all. I just wasn't expecting him to suddenly attempt to midwife Daon through his UNSEEN confusion - I was like "stop it!" at the screen in that moment.

I say "Unseen" because even I wasn't even sure if Daon has same sex attractions - But Shin Woo see's something , he could see struggle that no one else could (other than namgoong) and that's becuase he's Daon's friend.

Shin Woo knows Daon for a while, as evidenced by his defence of Daon when consoling Tae at his his home. Shin Woo understood the boy and went out of his way to help him out of a confusion no one else could even see. Putting aside this triangle for a moment - lets forget about the triangle & see this moment for what it is - isn't this moment on the roof top a good moment of genuine friendship -- he not only can understand him without Daon saying anything, he went out of his way to help him so delicately - without embarrassing him - notice how indirectly yet directly he broached such a delicate subject, so as not to unsettle him, keeping it comfortably vague out of respect.

Now let's layer this moment with the fact that Shin is aiding a man to come closer to the boy who is pretty much the "love of his life" - every word he speaks, the more he convinces his friend Daon to ACT the more his own heart breaks. Let me just say he did not need to do this at all. this was SELF-LESS. Don't tell me this isn't SELF LESS. No one's asking you to build a shrine and pray to Lord Shin Woo the Korean Boy who Once Loved - but take note of the obvious - the strength of character & moral fibre - even if his love story couldn't happen, he wanted their love story to work, he saw their relationship not moving and he was trying to ignite it- he put Daon first and he put Tae first.

IF i personally couldn't get the love of my life and i'm like broken by rejection - I'm telling you I'm not going to help me bestie get him instead - LOL NO WAY ..i'd lock myself up in a room and hibernate. Shin Woo is strong- If some calls Shin Woo behavior an "ulterior motive" then this was the most bittersweet, beautiful & heartbreaking back stabber in television history.

Now back to the story, they're back from the school trip, the school teacher telling Shin Woo he doesn't look well & has lost a lot of weight, he looks sad & cheerless - he notes how love sick he is and we have a scene of Tae entering the council room and Shin Woo quietly gets up and leaves the room leaving Daon & Tae to have some alone time - either that or Shin Woo is hurting. Whatever it may, when things don't go Shin Woo's way, he doesn't intervene, he takes himself out of the picture to wallow in his own emotions, and he lets others be, he lets others be. So we see taking his Teachers advice unrequited love - to have courage & stand by Tae's side whatever it may be, so this way he has no regrets.

Tae & Daon then have what it their first tiff, Daon's pulling Tae's hand off him bothered Tae. He walks out. Tae then explains to Namgoong-

[[ "Even though he didn't have special feelings for me, i would have been okay with it, I would have still liked him .. but now he doesn't look at me the same way anymore and it hurts". ]]

This implies the boy was never asking/demanding for a love confession & never expected him to snuggle with him with PDA - he was okay with the unrequitedness of his love, he liked being around, liked him still, it was enough in and of itself just being his buddy. In other words even mere simple ungarnished friendship would have contented Tae.

Namgoong gives some splendid direct advice - wait for Daon if you think he can change & give up on & don't bother waiting if you don't think he will never change. Namgoon says very clearly People don't change easily, so trust your own assessment of what sorta person he is. So this was moment where Giving UP completely was considered, a reasonable thing to consider as People Don't Change Easily and Daon - well he's hardwired for approval to an extremely high degree - his personality is designed for it and it's designed to avoid disapporval - hence his perfectionism.

The picture scandal that set forth tested Daon's entire personhood, and as Daon stepped further and further away, the more hopeless the situation looked for reconciliation. The advice of Namgoong became more and more significant to me here. it was hardly reasonable to expect Daon to wake up and transform overnight, So when Tae walks away disheartened by Daon's verbally distant behavior and when Daon's feet remain solid to the ground, the pretense of this being a relationship with high chances of blossoming had to end -as Namgoong said people don't change easily, they just don't, give up if you don't think they can change.

At this juncture the relationship was dead because no one could forsee Daon transforming & rewiring his entire circuitry overnight, not even Daon. Under these circumstance Shin could have chased after Tae without seeking anyone's permission and it would have been fine - yet, the boy implored Daon on, "Go After him" "Go after him" and encouraged him and when Daon didn't move to run after him, Shin Woo said he himself would go after him & then wouldn't back out later - some call this is threat but saying such a thing would help Daon put things in perspective for Daon, it would give perspective that he might lose someone if he remained put - but Daon in the calmest and most measured way agreed to Shin Woo.

Did Shin Woo even need Daon's agreement? NO.
Did Shin Woo need to implore him & encourage him? NO.
Did Shin Woo need to try and revive a hopeless relationship ? NO.
But he did, Shin Woo was decent enough to try to give one last chance & ignite an already dead hopeless relationship becuase he was a friend.

But when Tae tell's Daon he wants to return Shin's affections -Did Dao deal with it as a friend or was he selfish???? Daon said "Can I like you ,Tae". He said F**k Shin Woo, F**k what you just told me, I'm ready now...F**k whoever else is involved.


[[ Lets compare Shin WOo with SO hee because I see So Hee as his foil: ]]

IMO So Hee was created so we could parallely compare two people with unrequited love -
-one is self-LESS and other is self-FISH.
-One is loving & one is cunning.
-So Hee tries to destroy Daon-Tae, Shin Woo tries to patch up Daon Tae.
-So Hee hates her love rival, Shin Woo stands up, pushes Daon towards Tae, tries to revive a hopeless relationship & gives a fair chance to his love rival.
-So hee is punished story-wise when they show her losing Daon's friendship,
-Shin Woo is rewarded storywise by winning Tae's friendship.
-Shin Woo was patient and WAITED and stood by
-SO hee didn't want to wait, she chose to puppeteer Daon-Tae.
-So Hee attacked the Dao-Tae relationship when they were at their peak blooming stage
-Shin went after Tae after when there was no foreseeable hope in this relationship, where giving up on the relationship was one of the considerations as suggested by Namgoong as people don't change easily.


I'm about to watch the Last Ep Now. Fingers crossed. Hope the writers do a miracle and deliver on the impossible - a genuinely satisfying SHin-Tae ending where Tae loves Shin as deeply as Shin like him, more than he's ever like Daon - hope they emphasize that. fingers crossed!!!

It's a sad day with the "Light on Me" (2021) finale airing in 2-3 hrs , I think there's one ep left of "Given" (2021) & the series Don't Say No (2021) to watch & I just decided to join the herd to watch "Untamed" (2019) right after - I think I can pass these 10 days without going crazy until it's time for Episode ELEVEN of LOVE IS SCIENCE. I don;t know if one ep is enough to satisfy me -what i need is to seriously binge on 10 new eps of this show.

But are there any new shows coming up that are just as watch-worthy? Or some rare gems that most of us miss?

Anyone recommends a fav best of LIST that they refer to? I think I've seen them all but I'm sure I've missed something. Love a good list.

I think the story is trying to show us the difference between your fluffy obsessive first crush and the deep affection and crackling chemistry of love and maybe sometimes you're only subconsciously aware that you are in love even if you're busy teasing and being playful with that person.

I love your perspective. You made a point no ones ever made. Daon is not the only one outed in that picture - two people were outed for their sexuality in that picture & Tae is going through his own hell. Tae is highschool kid, younger than Daon & granted he seems to deal with social disapproval rather well - it will still put a person in distress. The boy stopped eating all together and was visibly disturbed.

The scandal necessitated immediate action - one afternoon, one day or two days -it does not matter how long it was - Tae was left to his own devices and only Shin Woo had the wherewithal to fully see & feel for the turmoil Tae was in. Daon was wrapped up in dealing with this crisis on his own, not even a small part of his mind, not even a tiny percent of his heart and mind was equipped to deal with someone else at this point.

Shin Woo more than once pushes Daon to Tae, he does this at the school trip too when he has a talk with Daon - he encourages him to accept himself, relates his own experiences and even to go to him before the scandal ever began and even after the scandal - so to all critics let's not say Shin Woo is pressuring the boy for wrong reasons. But nothing comes of it- nothing happens, the only person to comfort Tae was avoiding him and was even verbally distant with him and a day passes, and all Daon can offer is his tutoring notes - not a friendly conversation about what happened, no acknowledgement of any emotion, not even compassion for the suffering tae is going through - just denial, complete denial - Daon was denying something even happened and Daon needs to deny it because he himself cannot deal with it - Daon just couldn't stand by Tae in any capacity- this was sure to tip Tae off and make him severely disappointed, which it did.

You made a great point, Shin Woo isn't pressuring him to confess but to stand by Tae - even Tae doesn't want a love confession here - Daon just couldn't stand by Tae because he couldn't stand by himself. Shin Woo at that minute was balancing as a friend and as an unrequited lover, and he was balancing it perfectly - there's a reason we fell in love with Shin Whoo and that's his strength of character here -and he said to Daon if you will not stand by Tae now, I will go then - I will invest my emotions in that Tae and be there for Tae but I will not be able to prioritize your (Daon's) emotions later - Daon didn't look frazzled when Shin said this, he certainly wasn't being pressured, he didn't look indecisive - Daon knew his feet just wouldn't run towards that boy now becuase Daon knew he couldn't be the person Tae needed him to be right now, Daon's fully and completely knew his baggage was just too much and that's why he gave his blessings to Shin Woo.

But now as Tae is moving closer to Shin Woo, Tae explicitly tells Daon he wants to return his affections to SHin Woo, but Daon upon hearing this makes no such attempt to balance his friendship with his heart or even consider the fact he gave his blessings to Shin Woo, whose feelings he is keenly aware of - Daon only thinks of himself at the moment, that was a test of character he instantly failed the moment he smiled and asked him "Can I like you".

[ "It's not that Shinwoo didn't confess like Daon, it is that he couldn't confess like Daon" ]

Hogwash. Doesn't add up. If his restraint was only a result of his inability & fears then why would he bother seeking permission and giving an "ultimatum" before committing to Tae.

the could hv had at least one full sesh council meeting n showed them doing sthg other than cafeteria or library work.. these boys just used that room to study, eat snacks & work out their love lives.

same page. it pissed me off.

i read it as anxiety, him unable to handle the sexual tension as Shin woo comes close. With Daon its like family, he's desensitized to Daon's touch...no feels. if this isn't a case then i've been watching Shin agonize over a boy for nothing.

PLEASE watch it. it engaging, playful, immersive & plotted really well - keeps you on your toes & warms you up too. i really like the characters here

yeah, the writers need to really convince us that Taes affection for Shin is so deep that it surpasses any naive puppy crush he had for Daon.

Giving an ultimatum to your friend whose back is already up against the wall isn't being selfless.

it wasn't really an ultimatum, he was telling honestly that once he invests his emotions towards Tae he will no longer be able to prioritize Daon's emotions.

Really loves? Don't agree. Watch the show again - The lonely blunt boy brightens up, banters & teases & is playful with only one boy and that boy isn't his Mama Daon. He's completely himself & most at ease with Shin Woo.

Someone said it here or I have already responded to this elsewhere but at the school trip when Shin saw he couldn't get Tae attention & saw him being drawn, he gives up and backs out - he didn't go full confessional & ask him "Can i like you tae" like Daon did when Tae made it clearly known he wanted to return Shin's affections.