This review may contain spoilers
Really, really good. The story, pacing, and acting were all on point. The relationship was very green flag and sweet on both sides.
I really enjoyed the fact that both partners were complete equals. Both of them take care of each other, both of them pay for things, and neither of them are domineering or controlling. Although Thap took the lead early on since In was inexperienced and had never been in a relationship, by the end, In was also initiating caring gestures and both emotional and physical affection. In the second NC scene, Thap tells In that he took care of In last time, and tells In to take care of him this time. And at the end, In comforts Thap emotionally after Kan’s betrayal.
The only thing I would say I wished there was more of was In doing small gestures to care for Thap. Thap was always doing small things, like bringing an umbrella to keep In out of the sun, putting his hand on the car frame to prevent In from hitting his head, helping with his hand injury when he noticed it was acting up, etc. I wanted to see more of that minor, day-to-day type care reciprocated from In.
There was a brief period at the beginning of their romantic relationship where In was shying away from from Thap’s affection (which I didn’t like since it can read like dub con), but he gets over it relatively quickly, and Thap always backed off when In told him to. There’s one scene where Thap is taking off In’s shirt to give him a sponge bath and In grabs his shirt sleeve, so Thap immediately backs off and turns away so In can take his own shirt off. That kind of fine-tuned non-verbal consent is top-tier.
There were a few scenes that involved crossing boundaries, but it was overall a very green flag romance compared to most BLs. There are two scenes where In is hysterical / upset and keeps telling Thap not to touch him, but Thap keeps grabbing at him anyways. And there was one scene where Thap blocks In up against the wall and puts his face really close, supposedly to check if his hair was wet (a typical BL flirting move, basically), but In seemed uncomfortable. And also there’s the brief period where In was shying away from and seemed uncomfortable with Thap’s affection right when they’re first getting together.
There were scenes on both sides where one character wanted the other to do or not do something because they wanted the best for the other person. A lot of the time in BLs, this comes off as controlling behavior. Like forcing someone to do something that you perceive to be in their best interest, regardless of their own thoughts or feelings on the matter. That’s not the case here, and that was incredibly refreshing. Help, support, and care were offered, but not forced.
When Thap tells In to get unsweetened soy milk to avoid sugar or to blow dry his hair so he doesn’t get a cold, he does not coerce, manipulate, guilt, physically maneuver, or otherwise force In into listening to him. In is fully capable of and does say no if he doesn’t want to listen. They also have an actual conversation about boundaries (!!), during which In tells Thap to stop nagging and Thap agrees. In also wants Thap to run away and to not make his presence known to the public because he’s concerned about Thap’s safety. Again, he gets upset and emotional given the severity of the situation, but he does not force Thap to do what he says. And they have actual conversations - Thap agrees to run away and be more considerate about his safety, but doesn’t want to stay hidden away from the locals and In doesn’t force him to despite not liking it. There’s a mutual understanding that despite the concern for each other’s wellbeing, In is still going to help the people in his visions even if it puts his health at risk, and Thap is still going to help people that are hurt even if it may publicize his location and put his life in danger. There’s no pressuring or guilting or demanding each other stop something important to them in the name of “caring”.
I really valued the communication. They discuss and agree on boundaries, and there are apologies and adjustments when those are broken (like Thap fixing In parents’ furniture unknowingly after agreeing not to touch his stuff). They have an actual conversation about the feasibility of a long term relationship given their differing beliefs.
The ending was also great. There was pretty much a full episode left to give them a proper HEA and wrap up all loose ends. So many BLs only have a few minutes at the end where the couple is finally together and all the conflicts are resolved, and it often feels rushed and unsatisfying. That’s not the case here. I really enjoyed the 2 ring proposal. I didn’t get why they had Thap forgive Kan though, and I also didn’t understand In’s career because he graduated college but is a fortune teller that no longer does readings…so how exactly is he making money?
The one thing I didn’t like was the ex drama in episodes 7 and 8. Thap and Wan dated back in college, and Thap hasn’t dated anyone since, although he seems completely over him both mentally and emotionally. When Wan comes back, Thap is not shy about saying he’s dating In and shutting him down. But they’re realistic exes, so they’re kind and friendly to one another, and they have the longest ever closure conversation about the downfall of their relationship, the mistakes they made, and well wishes for each other’s futures. I just didn’t want to see all that, given that In was simultaneously having a breakdown due to his own inferiority complex.
Speaking of, I understand In’s discomfort with the ex being the one to help Thap when In couldn’t save him (by donating a rare blood type), with Thap’s mom saying Thap and the ex should get back together, and also with the ex posting a very couple-y type photo on Instagram. But Thap had just gotten shot and In didn’t come see him at all, even if he did go to the hospital and stay outside the room. He essentially abandoned Thap emotionally immediately after he just got shot to prioritize his own feelings, and that wasn’t fair.
The only thing that fell a bit flat for me was the kissing. There are a couple NC scenes, mainly just shirtless kissing and a cutaway with implied sex. They’re not very steamy, but they are sweet. And there’s a lot of overall physical affection, including casual kissing, which I felt solidified the couple. The problem was the actual quality of the kissing. Either the actors weren’t opening their mouths wide enough, or they weren’t matching each other’s mouth movements well, because the kissing looked really bad on camera. Simultaneously chaste, like they were trying to open their mouths as little as possible, and like they were trying to eat each other’s mouths (and not in a good way). The second couple had much less screen time and not much kissing, but they knew how to kiss for the camera.
I really enjoyed the fact that both partners were complete equals. Both of them take care of each other, both of them pay for things, and neither of them are domineering or controlling. Although Thap took the lead early on since In was inexperienced and had never been in a relationship, by the end, In was also initiating caring gestures and both emotional and physical affection. In the second NC scene, Thap tells In that he took care of In last time, and tells In to take care of him this time. And at the end, In comforts Thap emotionally after Kan’s betrayal.
The only thing I would say I wished there was more of was In doing small gestures to care for Thap. Thap was always doing small things, like bringing an umbrella to keep In out of the sun, putting his hand on the car frame to prevent In from hitting his head, helping with his hand injury when he noticed it was acting up, etc. I wanted to see more of that minor, day-to-day type care reciprocated from In.
There was a brief period at the beginning of their romantic relationship where In was shying away from from Thap’s affection (which I didn’t like since it can read like dub con), but he gets over it relatively quickly, and Thap always backed off when In told him to. There’s one scene where Thap is taking off In’s shirt to give him a sponge bath and In grabs his shirt sleeve, so Thap immediately backs off and turns away so In can take his own shirt off. That kind of fine-tuned non-verbal consent is top-tier.
There were a few scenes that involved crossing boundaries, but it was overall a very green flag romance compared to most BLs. There are two scenes where In is hysterical / upset and keeps telling Thap not to touch him, but Thap keeps grabbing at him anyways. And there was one scene where Thap blocks In up against the wall and puts his face really close, supposedly to check if his hair was wet (a typical BL flirting move, basically), but In seemed uncomfortable. And also there’s the brief period where In was shying away from and seemed uncomfortable with Thap’s affection right when they’re first getting together.
There were scenes on both sides where one character wanted the other to do or not do something because they wanted the best for the other person. A lot of the time in BLs, this comes off as controlling behavior. Like forcing someone to do something that you perceive to be in their best interest, regardless of their own thoughts or feelings on the matter. That’s not the case here, and that was incredibly refreshing. Help, support, and care were offered, but not forced.
When Thap tells In to get unsweetened soy milk to avoid sugar or to blow dry his hair so he doesn’t get a cold, he does not coerce, manipulate, guilt, physically maneuver, or otherwise force In into listening to him. In is fully capable of and does say no if he doesn’t want to listen. They also have an actual conversation about boundaries (!!), during which In tells Thap to stop nagging and Thap agrees. In also wants Thap to run away and to not make his presence known to the public because he’s concerned about Thap’s safety. Again, he gets upset and emotional given the severity of the situation, but he does not force Thap to do what he says. And they have actual conversations - Thap agrees to run away and be more considerate about his safety, but doesn’t want to stay hidden away from the locals and In doesn’t force him to despite not liking it. There’s a mutual understanding that despite the concern for each other’s wellbeing, In is still going to help the people in his visions even if it puts his health at risk, and Thap is still going to help people that are hurt even if it may publicize his location and put his life in danger. There’s no pressuring or guilting or demanding each other stop something important to them in the name of “caring”.
I really valued the communication. They discuss and agree on boundaries, and there are apologies and adjustments when those are broken (like Thap fixing In parents’ furniture unknowingly after agreeing not to touch his stuff). They have an actual conversation about the feasibility of a long term relationship given their differing beliefs.
The ending was also great. There was pretty much a full episode left to give them a proper HEA and wrap up all loose ends. So many BLs only have a few minutes at the end where the couple is finally together and all the conflicts are resolved, and it often feels rushed and unsatisfying. That’s not the case here. I really enjoyed the 2 ring proposal. I didn’t get why they had Thap forgive Kan though, and I also didn’t understand In’s career because he graduated college but is a fortune teller that no longer does readings…so how exactly is he making money?
The one thing I didn’t like was the ex drama in episodes 7 and 8. Thap and Wan dated back in college, and Thap hasn’t dated anyone since, although he seems completely over him both mentally and emotionally. When Wan comes back, Thap is not shy about saying he’s dating In and shutting him down. But they’re realistic exes, so they’re kind and friendly to one another, and they have the longest ever closure conversation about the downfall of their relationship, the mistakes they made, and well wishes for each other’s futures. I just didn’t want to see all that, given that In was simultaneously having a breakdown due to his own inferiority complex.
Speaking of, I understand In’s discomfort with the ex being the one to help Thap when In couldn’t save him (by donating a rare blood type), with Thap’s mom saying Thap and the ex should get back together, and also with the ex posting a very couple-y type photo on Instagram. But Thap had just gotten shot and In didn’t come see him at all, even if he did go to the hospital and stay outside the room. He essentially abandoned Thap emotionally immediately after he just got shot to prioritize his own feelings, and that wasn’t fair.
The only thing that fell a bit flat for me was the kissing. There are a couple NC scenes, mainly just shirtless kissing and a cutaway with implied sex. They’re not very steamy, but they are sweet. And there’s a lot of overall physical affection, including casual kissing, which I felt solidified the couple. The problem was the actual quality of the kissing. Either the actors weren’t opening their mouths wide enough, or they weren’t matching each other’s mouth movements well, because the kissing looked really bad on camera. Simultaneously chaste, like they were trying to open their mouths as little as possible, and like they were trying to eat each other’s mouths (and not in a good way). The second couple had much less screen time and not much kissing, but they knew how to kiss for the camera.
Was this review helpful to you?
