I wept from the end of 5 right on through half of 6.
However, as much as I loved this to that point, and as much I had already accepted that it was amazing despite being a major trope-fest, one after the other, I'm struggling with the whole (SPOILERS!) "I'm disappearing to Seoul to break both our hearts, so both of us can be miserable forever, and even though my mom gave me the green light to go full-on gay with the man I love, and even though I have presented no rationale for what I'm doing, and I will complete school without seeing the man I love for years, then come back, now wealthy to shop beach-front properties and moon over the man I dumped with no reason years ago, and now we just happen to run into each other on the beach" thing.
As enthralled as I was until that near-ending, and ending, that absurd turn kind of spoiled everything for me. Yes, there is an open ending, but the Brain has been so cold in plotting to leave without telling Athlete, then staying away for years with no contact, that I don't think I buy him magically turning sentimental and wanting to get together as a couple after all that. And even if he did, Athlete should punch him in the face and walk away.
I honestly don't know how I will end up regarding this show. The trope above really pisses me off from a writing perspective. It's so lazy, and at least for me, I didn't get a clear understanding of Brainiac's reasoning in doing what he did beyond "well, it's a BL thing so this is the way it goes."
There were so many beautiful moments, in style and directing/camera work choices, but the second half of the last episode may have wrecked it all for me.
The Athlete actor was impressive in the role. I was deeply moved by him and for him. The other guy was good in his role, I guess he had to play it from the script, but it makes no coherent sense outside of BL Cliche World.
Still not ready to rate, but it sure as hell won't be the 9.5/10 or 10/10 I might have given it until about halfway through episode 5. More like a 6.5 or 7.
What a waste. I had already added this to my Best 30 BLs list, just didn't know exactly at what position it would end up. Now it's coming off that list completely. I'm sad.
"...always better to be on the "sentiments" level than emotions ..."Could you elaborate on what you mean by this…
Thank you for both of these replies. It may be a cultural thing. I am American, and my understanding of "emotions" is much closer to how you describe your perception of "sentiments." Here, sentiment often implies a somewhat negative connotation, as in being OVERLY emotional or FALSELY emotional, but not always. This gives me an excuse to seek out the English dictionary definitions of these words and see if maybe I'm off-base here. :)
Is it yeonjun in your pfp? Sometimes looks like jungkook too
lol, your mom. :)
Where do you live? I say all of this, but at the same time, the majority of my favorite film actors and movies are Korean! I adore Yoo and then to watch this be done to him was so upsetting. I hope he is OK.
When it comes to BLs, surprisingly, 11 out of 30 on my Best BLs list are Japanese, although the highest-rated ones on that list are Korean, along with ITSAY and IPYTM out of Thailand. How those two impressive shows came out of Thailand I have no idea.
Is it yeonjun in your pfp? Sometimes looks like jungkook too
OF COURSE he will be canceled. In Korea, it's not enough that you serve your punishment time, pay your fines, and whatever else after you've been through something like this, you are expected to live at least a few years low on the radar out of shame (which is what Korean, public morality is based on), and remorse. Never mind that you've paid your debt to society, Koreans want maximum humiliation and suffering rained down on their celebrities.
If you dare to resume a normal, open life upon leaving jail or whatever, the question will be "have you no shame? Who are you to enjoy life again so soon after committing such heinous acts?" And because the public, the press, and the psycho, sadistic "netizens" soak the zeitgeist with this nonsense, production companies are loathe to hire post-scandal celebs even after they've been punished and released. It's horrible.
They will definitely cancel Yoo for at least five years after he is released, and then he'll have to slowly inch his way back into the industry or whoever hires him will be dragged for letting him be a normal person again "too soon."
All of which is why my hope is he gets the hell out of Korea asap after prison and relocates to the U.S., where Hollywood and New York will be more than happy to put him to work in whatever medium he wishes to appear. Yoo is well-known in America through his shows produced by Netflix and other films of his that Netflix carried.
I was stunned that Netflix, an American company, chopped up its own show, "Goodbye Earth," to appease the Korean psycho fans? I watched it to see how much of Yoo they allowed in, which was very little. Netflix destroyed its own series and for what...? Why should Netflix America care that tiny SK is throwing a shit fit over Yoo's presence in the show? Just drop it on K-Netflix and let the rest of the world see all of it. Netflix is not known for stupid decisions, but that was a huge one. The butchered result was a POS.
Yeah, I'm passionate about Yoo and all the great Korean actors/singers/celebs who have been driven to suicide over the years by that poisonous, vindictive culture.
Is it yeonjun in your pfp? Sometimes looks like jungkook too
He is extraordinarily talented. I'm heartbroken over his prison term and the way he's been put through the ringer for 18 months leading up to that. I've been holding my breath, fearful he might check out as did Lee Sun Kyun just nine months ago. Yoo is currently #4 on my 30 Best Actors list.
I have not seen Chicago Typewriter, mainly because I don't watch many dramas other than BL. They tend to be so drawn out and full of filler. But if you rec CT, I'll give it a shot.
He is so good in so many films that I'm hard-pressed to name a "best" among them. I have a sentimental fondness for "Punch," though. It not only has Yoo but a cast of great supporting actors and quirky characters. Hilarious and moving.
Veteran, Burning, Default, Antique Bakery, Boys of Tomorrow, The Throne, all are excellent. His range is remarkable.
I'm not going to go through and respond to each awkward, bumbling point you think you just made here...buddy. I'll leave you to swim the warm waters of your own nonsense.
Your writing gives me a chance to use one of my favorite, opposite-word descriptions: You are deeply shallow. You might not think something shallow could at the same time be deep, but you've proven that thought to be incorrect.
Is homophobia part of Korean mainstream culture? I noticed that they rarely have gay characters in reg dramas…
Mainstream Korean culture/society is still homophobic as hell. Meanwhile, hundreds of beautiful gay boys in kpop groups are entertaining the shit out of the country and bringing in multi-millions of foreign $$$.
In truth, there are quite a few Korean films going back years that feature lead or near-lead gay characters. Let me know if you want some suggestions.
Basically, Korea went from an entirely rural, backward society to an urban-centered, economically wealthy society open to the West in just ONE generation after the Korean war in the 1950s, and the whiplash effect is still predominant. The country has one foot in its extremely conservative past and another foot in the extremely liberal/sexually open present, and people continue to lose their minds over what is and is not acceptable.
Korea has the highest rate of suicide and alcoholism in the entire world, for reasons directly tied to what I described above. It is entirely acceptable to puke out your guts every night after post-work drinking parties, but if you smoke a joint of mary jane you go to prison. Gangnam is full of sex workers, pimps, and customers every single night, but get caught being any of those things and people go insane. Of course, the Internet has amplified all this stupidity by a thousand.
The above is why the number of Korean celebs and entertainers who kill themselves is downright jaw-dropping. They make one false move, and their career is over. The magnifying glass on them is beyond belief.
please don't be intimidated by the nasty Little Girls who try to control comment sections.
If you scroll through comments, you'll see there are a LOT of us who recognize this series as being nowhere near the rarified space reserved for "masterpieces." The use of that word to describe this series is absurd on its face.
It's just that young, inexperienced MDLers throw that term around here like confetti. They think they're making a profound statement when, in fact, the way it is used here renders it a meaningless cliche.
From the Merriam--Webster Dictionary: MASTERPIECE - "a supreme intellectual or artistic achievement"
I completely agree with everything you said. The first half of this series was perfect, but then it went downhill…
"2gether" is #11 on my all-time Worst 30 BLs list. That second season was downright bizarre, with lovers high-fiving like best buds and generally avoiding each other. Very pretty leads, but the terrible acting/story/writing led me to drop that second nightmare season quickly.
"So many people below had the same opinion as me that I must conclude that this show would not have an 8.5 rating…
MDL LGs notoriously swarm to up-rate shows they love. And they mostly love shows in which the man-on-man love/sex relationship is downplayed in favor of rainbows and cotton candy. For them, this disappointing series with a sister-hug as its ending is great stuff.
I haven't done it yet, but I've considered deliberately down-rating shows like this that have absurdly high ratings. If doing the opposite is common, why not?
1 
1 
However, as much as I loved this to that point, and as much I had already accepted that it was amazing despite being a major trope-fest, one after the other, I'm struggling with the whole (SPOILERS!) "I'm disappearing to Seoul to break both our hearts, so both of us can be miserable forever, and even though my mom gave me the green light to go full-on gay with the man I love, and even though I have presented no rationale for what I'm doing, and I will complete school without seeing the man I love for years, then come back, now wealthy to shop beach-front properties and moon over the man I dumped with no reason years ago, and now we just happen to run into each other on the beach" thing.
As enthralled as I was until that near-ending, and ending, that absurd turn kind of spoiled everything for me. Yes, there is an open ending, but the Brain has been so cold in plotting to leave without telling Athlete, then staying away for years with no contact, that I don't think I buy him magically turning sentimental and wanting to get together as a couple after all that. And even if he did, Athlete should punch him in the face and walk away.
I honestly don't know how I will end up regarding this show. The trope above really pisses me off from a writing perspective. It's so lazy, and at least for me, I didn't get a clear understanding of Brainiac's reasoning in doing what he did beyond "well, it's a BL thing so this is the way it goes."
There were so many beautiful moments, in style and directing/camera work choices, but the second half of the last episode may have wrecked it all for me.
The Athlete actor was impressive in the role. I was deeply moved by him and for him. The other guy was good in his role, I guess he had to play it from the script, but it makes no coherent sense outside of BL Cliche World.
Still not ready to rate, but it sure as hell won't be the 9.5/10 or 10/10 I might have given it until about halfway through episode 5. More like a 6.5 or 7.
What a waste. I had already added this to my Best 30 BLs list, just didn't know exactly at what position it would end up. Now it's coming off that list completely. I'm sad.
I'm one hundred percent German by blood and heritage.
Sorry about WW2. :P
Where do you live?
I say all of this, but at the same time, the majority of my favorite film actors and movies are Korean! I adore Yoo and then to watch this be done to him was so upsetting. I hope he is OK.
When it comes to BLs, surprisingly, 11 out of 30 on my Best BLs list are Japanese, although the highest-rated ones on that list are Korean, along with ITSAY and IPYTM out of Thailand. How those two impressive shows came out of Thailand I have no idea.
If you dare to resume a normal, open life upon leaving jail or whatever, the question will be "have you no shame? Who are you to enjoy life again so soon after committing such heinous acts?" And because the public, the press, and the psycho, sadistic "netizens" soak the zeitgeist with this nonsense, production companies are loathe to hire post-scandal celebs even after they've been punished and released. It's horrible.
They will definitely cancel Yoo for at least five years after he is released, and then he'll have to slowly inch his way back into the industry or whoever hires him will be dragged for letting him be a normal person again "too soon."
All of which is why my hope is he gets the hell out of Korea asap after prison and relocates to the U.S., where Hollywood and New York will be more than happy to put him to work in whatever medium he wishes to appear. Yoo is well-known in America through his shows produced by Netflix and other films of his that Netflix carried.
I was stunned that Netflix, an American company, chopped up its own show, "Goodbye Earth," to appease the Korean psycho fans? I watched it to see how much of Yoo they allowed in, which was very little. Netflix destroyed its own series and for what...? Why should Netflix America care that tiny SK is throwing a shit fit over Yoo's presence in the show? Just drop it on K-Netflix and let the rest of the world see all of it. Netflix is not known for stupid decisions, but that was a huge one. The butchered result was a POS.
Yeah, I'm passionate about Yoo and all the great Korean actors/singers/celebs who have been driven to suicide over the years by that poisonous, vindictive culture.
I have not seen Chicago Typewriter, mainly because I don't watch many dramas other than BL. They tend to be so drawn out and full of filler. But if you rec CT, I'll give it a shot.
He is so good in so many films that I'm hard-pressed to name a "best" among them. I have a sentimental fondness for "Punch," though. It not only has Yoo but a cast of great supporting actors and quirky characters. Hilarious and moving.
Veteran, Burning, Default, Antique Bakery, Boys of Tomorrow, The Throne, all are excellent. His range is remarkable.
Your writing gives me a chance to use one of my favorite, opposite-word descriptions: You are deeply shallow. You might not think something shallow could at the same time be deep, but you've proven that thought to be incorrect.
In truth, there are quite a few Korean films going back years that feature lead or near-lead gay characters. Let me know if you want some suggestions.
Basically, Korea went from an entirely rural, backward society to an urban-centered, economically wealthy society open to the West in just ONE generation after the Korean war in the 1950s, and the whiplash effect is still predominant. The country has one foot in its extremely conservative past and another foot in the extremely liberal/sexually open present, and people continue to lose their minds over what is and is not acceptable.
Korea has the highest rate of suicide and alcoholism in the entire world, for reasons directly tied to what I described above. It is entirely acceptable to puke out your guts every night after post-work drinking parties, but if you smoke a joint of mary jane you go to prison. Gangnam is full of sex workers, pimps, and customers every single night, but get caught being any of those things and people go insane. Of course, the Internet has amplified all this stupidity by a thousand.
The above is why the number of Korean celebs and entertainers who kill themselves is downright jaw-dropping. They make one false move, and their career is over. The magnifying glass on them is beyond belief.
It's just that young, inexperienced MDLers throw that term around here like confetti. They think they're making a profound statement when, in fact, the way it is used here renders it a meaningless cliche.
From the Merriam--Webster Dictionary:
MASTERPIECE - "a supreme intellectual or artistic achievement"
This series a masterpiece? Ummm...no.
I haven't done it yet, but I've considered deliberately down-rating shows like this that have absurdly high ratings. If doing the opposite is common, why not?
Could you elaborate on what you mean by this statement, please?
I'm glad you enjoy her work, though.