This review may contain spoilers
This was really great. My only complaint is that it was so short, and that I wanted a bit more closure at the end.
The pacing across the overall series was perfect. I think the progression of the two characters falling for each other was great. In typical KBL fashion though, the actual content feels like it’s playing in slow motion. It’s perfect at 1.25x speed. The acting, from both leads, but particularly Shi On, was pretty good as well. It’s short, and the love story is simple without tons of conflicts, but it was well executed. The dancing was good enough to be passable for the story they wanted to tell. They were clever with the camera angles and cuts, and what was shown wasn’t mind-blowingly impressive contemporary dance, but it wasn’t so bad that it detracted from the story or anything. And props to this show for no dead fish lip presses! Nothing super steamy, but multiple real, proper kisses all the same.
My primary complaint is that I didn’t feel all the loose ends were tied up in the end. Hong Seok was being forced to go to Vietnam. Did his boss just completely let go of that after hearing Shi On’s confession? She was cold and uncaring the whole series so I don’t know why she changed her mind. Is she going to let him quit like he originally wanted to, and if so, what’s he going to do now? And what was her deal anyways? She was inappropriately caressing Hong Seok’s face sometimes, and that was never explained. What happened to Shi On’s mom? Is the end of that story line just that she abandoned him and we’ll never know anything more? And what about Jung Hoon? Is he not going to have any reaction to losing the audition to Shi On? And the show ends right when Hong Seok comes back to Shi On. They hug and kiss and live happily ever after I guess. I needed like 5 or 10 more minutes to see them actually happy together and see some semblance of what their happily ever after would actually look like.
No consent issues, but some minor boundary issues. Their first meeting, Hong Seok ties up and carries Shi On away over his shoulder — he’s a debt collector and Shi On was running. Following that, Hong Seok signs as the guarantor for Shi On’s debt, which Shi On plans to pay off by getting the lead role in his audition. Hong Seok starts entering Shi On’s house uninvited, essentially moving in, trailing him around, and micromanaging him, including force-feeding him and preventing him from working instead of practicing. Shi On says he’s uncomfortable with this, but it’s not really acknowledged. Hong Seok also demands that Shi On answer the phone whenever he calls. Hong Seok is very grabby — there are multiple scenes where he grabs Shi On by the arm to prevent him from leaving.
But overall, both consent and respect of boundaries were relatively good compared to other BLs. When Hong Seok starts staying over, he never presumes or insists that he sleep in the same bed as Shi On, and instead sleeps in a sleeping bag on the floor, even though the heat isn’t working. When Shi On tries to hold Hong Seok, and also when he tries to lean on his shoulder, Hong Seok immediately rejects him and Shi On immediately backs off. When Shi On first kisses Hong Seok, he gives him ample time to stop the kiss before making contact. When Hong Seok stops them and says it can’t happen again, Shi On listens. When Shi On says he wants to be alone that night, Hong Seok listens. I also appreciated that despite the creditor / debtor dynamic, there were no power dynamics between Shi On and Hong Seok. Shi On was confident and assertive, not afraid to voice his opinions, stand up for himself, or say no, and he was often the one making the first move.
The pacing across the overall series was perfect. I think the progression of the two characters falling for each other was great. In typical KBL fashion though, the actual content feels like it’s playing in slow motion. It’s perfect at 1.25x speed. The acting, from both leads, but particularly Shi On, was pretty good as well. It’s short, and the love story is simple without tons of conflicts, but it was well executed. The dancing was good enough to be passable for the story they wanted to tell. They were clever with the camera angles and cuts, and what was shown wasn’t mind-blowingly impressive contemporary dance, but it wasn’t so bad that it detracted from the story or anything. And props to this show for no dead fish lip presses! Nothing super steamy, but multiple real, proper kisses all the same.
My primary complaint is that I didn’t feel all the loose ends were tied up in the end. Hong Seok was being forced to go to Vietnam. Did his boss just completely let go of that after hearing Shi On’s confession? She was cold and uncaring the whole series so I don’t know why she changed her mind. Is she going to let him quit like he originally wanted to, and if so, what’s he going to do now? And what was her deal anyways? She was inappropriately caressing Hong Seok’s face sometimes, and that was never explained. What happened to Shi On’s mom? Is the end of that story line just that she abandoned him and we’ll never know anything more? And what about Jung Hoon? Is he not going to have any reaction to losing the audition to Shi On? And the show ends right when Hong Seok comes back to Shi On. They hug and kiss and live happily ever after I guess. I needed like 5 or 10 more minutes to see them actually happy together and see some semblance of what their happily ever after would actually look like.
No consent issues, but some minor boundary issues. Their first meeting, Hong Seok ties up and carries Shi On away over his shoulder — he’s a debt collector and Shi On was running. Following that, Hong Seok signs as the guarantor for Shi On’s debt, which Shi On plans to pay off by getting the lead role in his audition. Hong Seok starts entering Shi On’s house uninvited, essentially moving in, trailing him around, and micromanaging him, including force-feeding him and preventing him from working instead of practicing. Shi On says he’s uncomfortable with this, but it’s not really acknowledged. Hong Seok also demands that Shi On answer the phone whenever he calls. Hong Seok is very grabby — there are multiple scenes where he grabs Shi On by the arm to prevent him from leaving.
But overall, both consent and respect of boundaries were relatively good compared to other BLs. When Hong Seok starts staying over, he never presumes or insists that he sleep in the same bed as Shi On, and instead sleeps in a sleeping bag on the floor, even though the heat isn’t working. When Shi On tries to hold Hong Seok, and also when he tries to lean on his shoulder, Hong Seok immediately rejects him and Shi On immediately backs off. When Shi On first kisses Hong Seok, he gives him ample time to stop the kiss before making contact. When Hong Seok stops them and says it can’t happen again, Shi On listens. When Shi On says he wants to be alone that night, Hong Seok listens. I also appreciated that despite the creditor / debtor dynamic, there were no power dynamics between Shi On and Hong Seok. Shi On was confident and assertive, not afraid to voice his opinions, stand up for himself, or say no, and he was often the one making the first move.
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