Like many others, I held off for a long time after putting this on my plan-to-watch list before viewing it. Reading comments and the synopsis here were the reasons for that. However, I came away with a different feeling than many: While the horrific nature of the crime and its immediate and permanent aftermath cannot be overstated, the positive, joyful, beautiful human responses of Hope's parents, therapist, schoolmates, teachers, parents' friends, police, community, etc. outweighed the negative trauma.
The wall of greetings left for Hope on the glass storefront by her classmates. (I gasped, even though I knew it was coming.) The devotion of Hope's big-faced, future boyfriend. Hope's dad relieving that boy's sense of guilt. Her sweet little trio of post-incident bodyguards who walked her to and from school. The loving support of Hope's mom's BF. The loving support of Hope's dad's boss and friend. The therapist (one of my fave Korean actresses) and her care of Hope. The opportunity for the therapist to continue her life-long act of love, through treating Hope, as balm for her own open wounds. Best of all, Dad in the costume, a lovely example of unconditional love that asks for nothing in return. I've left out a hundred other positive aspects of this film.
I mean this only in the sense of being a viewer of the film's story, NOT that somehow what happened to the real Hope was outweighed by the response. I don't think that's possible. She was failed only by the idiot judge, as far as I can remember.
Mild spoilers: Which brings me to why my rating isn't going to be as high as most people's. The cheesy melodrama of the final trial scene, especially AFTER Hope's testimony, trashed a good deal of the credibility the film had built for itself to that point. The cliche outbursts by the court audience would never be tolerated, nor the defendant's outburst to the judge, nor Hope's mother bursting into the courtroom to deliver her dressing down of the judge, and especially not court security's failure to stop Hope's dad from leaping over the railing to grab a makeshift weapon and come at the defendant...all leading to the courtroom's final, cheesy melodramatic moment. I mean, come on, we ALL knew that when Hope did what she did, dad's hand would stop mid-air, right? Nah...that's not what happens IRL once you've started the action of striking a blow like that.
All of that bad writing cheapened and lessened the impact of what went before. I don't get where it came from either; up to that point I would have given this at least a 9/10.
So, 90% of the film gets a 9.5/10, 10% gets a 4/10, so I'll call it an overall 8/10.
As much entertainment as there is to be found in reading immature MDLers shrieking "PEDOPHILE!" when they don't understand the word and there are no pedophiles in sight, I dropped this show for reasons having nothing to do with any faux outrage in response to the age-gap relationship at its core.
It's simply that my plan-to-watch list is heavily loaded, and I don't have time to waste watching anything unworthy of my time. Already in episode 1 the show began to take on that cheap look of a straight-to-video, low budget TV drama, which it is, but then came the moment when the teacher encountered the hot 15-year-old student in the hall. She spoke to him kindly as he looked at her sullenly. She said, "you can come talk to me any time you need to." He reached out and SLAPPED HER, then grabbed her by the shoulders. I repeat: he slapped his teacher across the face.
Next, came the really stupid part. He walked away, and SHE DID NOTHING ABOUT IT. The teacher did not report him to the office for discipline, she did not march after him to make it clear what he just did was unacceptable by any stretch of the imagination and that he'd be hearing from the principal, she didn't tell him to go to the principal's office immediately, no...this stupid young woman leaned against the wall, looking dreamy and wondering "....WHY did he hit me?"
She's not in love with him yet, he's just some large, athletic young man who just HIT HIS FUCKING TEACHER. He walks away, flustered, and she does nothing. I'm not outraged that this occurred in the plot, I'm outraged at how stupid the writing is. I can't take this young woman seriously from this point on. She's clearly neurotic. Maybe she LIKED the slap, who knows? What I do know is I don't care to waste my time on badly-written melodrama that makes no sense, so I'm out.
I’m not sure if I could enjoy this drama. I just finished ep 1. He’s 15. 15!! How could she fall for a child?…
Typical MDL brain-free, mini-rant. Fifteen is NOT a child. A "child," by definition, is a human being who has NOT gone through puberty. The young MAN in this story is very clearly, in all his masculine glory, well beyond puberty and childhood. He is a MINOR, not a CHILD, but like so many other ignorant MDLers, ever-eager to scream "PEDOPHILE," you find the definition of that word inconvenient, so you go ahead and use it anyway.
Did you know that love is what we call a "feeling?" Did you know that, by definition, our feelings are spontaneous and uncontrollable; they occur of their own accord. We can't control our feelings, but we can control how we ACT in response to them, and that is where things get interesting and complicated, and what this show is all about.
You are obviously not mature enough for a story like this. I hope you moved on and watched something more in keeping with your developmental level on the Disney Channel.
this person is a hater, they are always slandering JBLs with every reason they can think of like a loser having…
Dearest Olivia, EIGHT of the BLS on my favorite 30 list are Japanese. Guess I only "slander" (lol) the shitty ones, eh?
oooh, "hater," "loser," such original and deeply thought-out insults. Did you make those up on your own? It took me about three minutes to write the above comment but yeah, I have nothing else to do. lol And here you are, with nothing else to do but reply to comments left by people with nothing else to do.
you wrote it twice, we get it, you don't like this type of dramas. why so angry? nobody's forcing you to watch…
Not the least bit "angry." There is nothing in my comment that SOUNDs angry. That's just your lame attempt to degrade my dislike of this stupid show as overly emotional and thus irrational, a common MDLer tactic that fails every time. Cuts no ice with me. Your fluffy show sucks, and that's a fact.
As for double-posting, I guess you're also addled enough not to know that the quirks of MDL's setup frequently causes double-posting. I see only one copy of my comment though, so perhaps the second one is a figment of your mental illness.
A man in a GL or a woman in a BL is like a fly in a soup; it doesn’t belong there and it ruins the whole thing.…
Your verbose BS is hardly positive, but yeah, let's disengage. I'll assume I won't run into any more of your straight-phobic babblings anyway, as I'm sure you've dropped the show, in fear of encountering more non-homo story lines or characters, right?
A man in a GL or a woman in a BL is like a fly in a soup; it doesn’t belong there and it ruins the whole thing.…
Your verbose BS is hardly positive, but yeah, let's disengage. I'll assume I won't run into any more of your straight-phobic babblings anyway, as I'm sure you've dropped the show, in fear of encountering more non-homo story lines or characters, right?
included that kind of scene ?oh i get itnetflix, impossible to exclude that kind of scene
"Some ppl...?" I asked YOU. What is YOUR problem with sex and the human body? I didn't ask for someone, in this case, you, to speak on behalf of others whose thoughts you imagine in your head.
NONE of the reasons in your reply are mentioned in the conversation above. So again: What is YOUR hangup with nudity and sex and the human body? If you're "uncomfortable" with seeing naked ppl, it's not unreasonable to ask why that is.
included that kind of scene ?oh i get itnetflix, impossible to exclude that kind of scene
"Some ppl...?" I asked YOU. What is YOUR problem with sex and the human body? I didn't ask for someone, in this case, you, to speak on behalf of others whose thoughts you imagine in your head.
NONE of the reasons in your reply are mentioned in the conversation above? So again: What is YOUR hangup with nudity and sex and the human body? If you're "uncomfortable" with seeing naked ppl, it's not unreasonable to ask why that is.
The 4,328 uses of "cute," "wholesome," "fluffy," "sweet," and "light" in comments below are red flags enough, but when I got to the dreaded "...nothing much happens..." used as if that is a positive attribute, I knew this was not a cup of saccharine-sweet urine I'd be drinking. Sorry to see Japan turning out this kind of dreck.
But all you 10-year-old, BL Little Girls out there, enjoy yourselves!
On edit: I watched enough of the first episode to confirm my above suspicions, and so that I could drop it and give it a down-rating of 1/10.
The 4,328 uses of "cute," "wholesome," "fluffy," "sweet," and "light" in comments below are red flags enough, but when I got to the dreaded "...nothing much happens..." used as a positive descriptor, I knew this was not a cup of saccharine-sweet urine I'd be drinking.
But all you 10-year-old, BL Little Girls out there, enjoy yourselves!
Holy god, this is the dumbest show ever made. I watched three episodes of season 1 before I had to stop torturing myself with lameness. Just watched "Pregnant," from S2. Holy shit, this is even more stupid than the earlier eps I watched. Nothing about the setup or plot is the least bit plausible, so how is the viewer to buy into any of it? There are so many plot holes and stupidities in "pregnant," it would take me the rest of my day to list them.
Anyway...this is trash. Can't believe NF financed a second season. I guess lots of middle schoolers are watching and think it's edgy. lol
So much bad live action product out of Thailand in all forms in the last two or three years...the sound of the language has begun to act like razor blades on my eardrums.
included that kind of scene ?oh i get itnetflix, impossible to exclude that kind of scene
Seriously, what is up with you people? What about sex and the human body do you find so threatening and repugnant? Why do these things upset you to such a degree? I'm honestly fascinated by this bizarre fear you carry.
Episode1: Jung Ki Sub may be one of the most original, interesting, and unique characters in BL history. A guileless, endearing player, who doesn't even realize he's a player; and really, it's not as though it's his fault. People fall at his feet right and left. What's most charming is that though he's aware of this fact, he doesn't seem to be the least bit arrogant because of it. I like him.
The ML is adorable and playing his part very well too. This could be a fun watch.
Episode 2: Fluff with a bit of an edge...I think I like it! Quirky fluff from MC and maybe some darkness from couple #2? Basically, I'm in love with all four characters, even though the fourth one just showed up under the street light. I like his nose. I could do with a lot fewer pastel costume choices, but whatever. Each actor is better looking than the last, until you get back around to the first, who is better looking than himself, and start all over again.
Episode 3: Wow, this is quite good. Acting's excellent across the board; subtle/tender/goofy/funny/angry/goose bumps, all as needed. Loving the sharp contrast between the two couples' stories: Bright/Funny/Tender vs. Dark/Angsty/Tender. Very well done. Also enjoying the eye candy. Each one is handsome, but in an entirely different way. I don't think there's a K-Pop Idol nose job among the four of them. Now I know why I've lived to be much older than I ever imagined: So I could see that kiss on the floor. Swoon-city. This is SO not Thailand!
Episode 4: HAHAHA...This show is great! There is one important thing that girl is missing from list: A PENIS. Exceptional writing, especially for a BL. I've had feels in all directions; all four seem to have pluses and minuses just like, you know, REAL PEOPLE. I did NOT expect that tiny little girl to have been a bat out of hell from Ki Sub's past. lol
All four actors are excelling. I'm especially impressed with Nam Shi An, that he has created this layered, yet clueless, and very original character in his first professional gig. Bravo! This is a treat.
I'm allergic to the men in GL and women in BLYou hate me for my preferences. I hate your hating, so we're even!
Why does it please you to imagine that I "hate" you? Oh, I know, because you fantasize your opinions to be of such deeply thought-through and worthy consideration that in my frustration at being unable to overcome them, I resort to hysterical emotions in the form of "hate." HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...
Believe me, you are unworthy of such strong feelings. Your and your dumb comments are like the tiny little zit on my ass I popped a few days ago: it squirted stinky stuff, then dried up and went away. You're in the drying up stage.
1 
1 
The wall of greetings left for Hope on the glass storefront by her classmates. (I gasped, even though I knew it was coming.)
The devotion of Hope's big-faced, future boyfriend.
Hope's dad relieving that boy's sense of guilt.
Her sweet little trio of post-incident bodyguards who walked her to and from school.
The loving support of Hope's mom's BF.
The loving support of Hope's dad's boss and friend.
The therapist (one of my fave Korean actresses) and her care of Hope.
The opportunity for the therapist to continue her life-long act of love, through treating Hope, as balm for her own open wounds.
Best of all, Dad in the costume, a lovely example of unconditional love that asks for nothing in return.
I've left out a hundred other positive aspects of this film.
I mean this only in the sense of being a viewer of the film's story, NOT that somehow what happened to the real Hope was outweighed by the response. I don't think that's possible. She was failed only by the idiot judge, as far as I can remember.
Mild spoilers:
Which brings me to why my rating isn't going to be as high as most people's. The cheesy melodrama of the final trial scene, especially AFTER Hope's testimony, trashed a good deal of the credibility the film had built for itself to that point. The cliche outbursts by the court audience would never be tolerated, nor the defendant's outburst to the judge, nor Hope's mother bursting into the courtroom to deliver her dressing down of the judge, and especially not court security's failure to stop Hope's dad from leaping over the railing to grab a makeshift weapon and come at the defendant...all leading to the courtroom's final, cheesy melodramatic moment. I mean, come on, we ALL knew that when Hope did what she did, dad's hand would stop mid-air, right? Nah...that's not what happens IRL once you've started the action of striking a blow like that.
All of that bad writing cheapened and lessened the impact of what went before. I don't get where it came from either; up to that point I would have given this at least a 9/10.
So, 90% of the film gets a 9.5/10, 10% gets a 4/10, so I'll call it an overall 8/10.
Recommended.
It's simply that my plan-to-watch list is heavily loaded, and I don't have time to waste watching anything unworthy of my time. Already in episode 1 the show began to take on that cheap look of a straight-to-video, low budget TV drama, which it is, but then came the moment when the teacher encountered the hot 15-year-old student in the hall. She spoke to him kindly as he looked at her sullenly. She said, "you can come talk to me any time you need to." He reached out and SLAPPED HER, then grabbed her by the shoulders. I repeat: he slapped his teacher across the face.
Next, came the really stupid part. He walked away, and SHE DID NOTHING ABOUT IT. The teacher did not report him to the office for discipline, she did not march after him to make it clear what he just did was unacceptable by any stretch of the imagination and that he'd be hearing from the principal, she didn't tell him to go to the principal's office immediately, no...this stupid young woman leaned against the wall, looking dreamy and wondering "....WHY did he hit me?"
She's not in love with him yet, he's just some large, athletic young man who just HIT HIS FUCKING TEACHER. He walks away, flustered, and she does nothing. I'm not outraged that this occurred in the plot, I'm outraged at how stupid the writing is. I can't take this young woman seriously from this point on. She's clearly neurotic. Maybe she LIKED the slap, who knows? What I do know is I don't care to waste my time on badly-written melodrama that makes no sense, so I'm out.
Dropped. 1/10
Fifteen is NOT a child. A "child," by definition, is a human being who has NOT gone through puberty. The young MAN in this story is very clearly, in all his masculine glory, well beyond puberty and childhood. He is a MINOR, not a CHILD, but like so many other ignorant MDLers, ever-eager to scream "PEDOPHILE," you find the definition of that word inconvenient, so you go ahead and use it anyway.
Did you know that love is what we call a "feeling?" Did you know that, by definition, our feelings are spontaneous and uncontrollable; they occur of their own accord. We can't control our feelings, but we can control how we ACT in response to them, and that is where things get interesting and complicated, and what this show is all about.
You are obviously not mature enough for a story like this. I hope you moved on and watched something more in keeping with your developmental level on the Disney Channel.
oooh, "hater," "loser," such original and deeply thought-out insults. Did you make those up on your own? It took me about three minutes to write the above comment but yeah, I have nothing else to do. lol And here you are, with nothing else to do but reply to comments left by people with nothing else to do.
As for double-posting, I guess you're also addled enough not to know that the quirks of MDL's setup frequently causes double-posting. I see only one copy of my comment though, so perhaps the second one is a figment of your mental illness.
I'll assume I won't run into any more of your straight-phobic babblings anyway, as I'm sure you've dropped the show, in fear of encountering more non-homo story lines or characters, right?
Wait...you haven't?
I'll assume I won't run into any more of your straight-phobic babblings anyway, as I'm sure you've dropped the show, in fear of encountering more non-homo story lines or characters, right?
Wait...you haven't?
NONE of the reasons in your reply are mentioned in the conversation above. So again: What is YOUR hangup with nudity and sex and the human body? If you're "uncomfortable" with seeing naked ppl, it's not unreasonable to ask why that is.
NONE of the reasons in your reply are mentioned in the conversation above? So again: What is YOUR hangup with nudity and sex and the human body? If you're "uncomfortable" with seeing naked ppl, it's not unreasonable to ask why that is.
The 4,328 uses of "cute," "wholesome," "fluffy," "sweet," and "light" in comments below are red flags enough, but when I got to the dreaded "...nothing much happens..." used as if that is a positive attribute, I knew this was not a cup of saccharine-sweet urine I'd be drinking. Sorry to see Japan turning out this kind of dreck.
But all you 10-year-old, BL Little Girls out there, enjoy yourselves!
On edit: I watched enough of the first episode to confirm my above suspicions, and so that I could drop it and give it a down-rating of 1/10.
The 4,328 uses of "cute," "wholesome," "fluffy," "sweet," and "light" in comments below are red flags enough, but when I got to the dreaded "...nothing much happens..." used as a positive descriptor, I knew this was not a cup of saccharine-sweet urine I'd be drinking.
But all you 10-year-old, BL Little Girls out there, enjoy yourselves!
I watched three episodes of season 1 before I had to stop torturing myself with lameness.
Just watched "Pregnant," from S2. Holy shit, this is even more stupid than the earlier eps I watched. Nothing about the setup or plot is the least bit plausible, so how is the viewer to buy into any of it?
There are so many plot holes and stupidities in "pregnant," it would take me the rest of my day to list them.
Anyway...this is trash. Can't believe NF financed a second season. I guess lots of middle schoolers are watching and think it's edgy. lol
So much bad live action product out of Thailand in all forms in the last two or three years...the sound of the language has begun to act like razor blades on my eardrums.
Don't watch this garbage.
1/10
Jung Ki Sub may be one of the most original, interesting, and unique characters in BL history. A guileless, endearing player, who doesn't even realize he's a player; and really, it's not as though it's his fault. People fall at his feet right and left. What's most charming is that though he's aware of this fact, he doesn't seem to be the least bit arrogant because of it. I like him.
The ML is adorable and playing his part very well too. This could be a fun watch.
Episode 2:
Fluff with a bit of an edge...I think I like it!
Quirky fluff from MC and maybe some darkness from couple #2?
Basically, I'm in love with all four characters, even though the fourth one just showed up under the street light. I like his nose.
I could do with a lot fewer pastel costume choices, but whatever.
Each actor is better looking than the last, until you get back around to the first, who is better looking than himself, and start all over again.
Episode 3:
Wow, this is quite good.
Acting's excellent across the board; subtle/tender/goofy/funny/angry/goose bumps, all as needed.
Loving the sharp contrast between the two couples' stories: Bright/Funny/Tender vs. Dark/Angsty/Tender. Very well done.
Also enjoying the eye candy. Each one is handsome, but in an entirely different way. I don't think there's a K-Pop Idol nose job among the four of them.
Now I know why I've lived to be much older than I ever imagined: So I could see that kiss on the floor. Swoon-city.
This is SO not Thailand!
Episode 4:
HAHAHA...This show is great!
There is one important thing that girl is missing from list: A PENIS.
Exceptional writing, especially for a BL. I've had feels in all directions; all four seem to have pluses and minuses just like, you know, REAL PEOPLE.
I did NOT expect that tiny little girl to have been a bat out of hell from Ki Sub's past. lol
All four actors are excelling. I'm especially impressed with Nam Shi An, that he has created this layered, yet clueless, and very original character in his first professional gig. Bravo! This is a treat.
Oh, I know, because you fantasize your opinions to be of such deeply thought-through and worthy consideration that in my frustration at being unable to overcome them, I resort to hysterical emotions in the form of "hate."
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...
Believe me, you are unworthy of such strong feelings. Your and your dumb comments are like the tiny little zit on my ass I popped a few days ago: it squirted stinky stuff, then dried up and went away. You're in the drying up stage.