heera

This has to be one of the most shoddy and abysmal GL series I have ever watched. I officially wanted to drop it right after the first episode when it aired, and I wasn't even interested from the pilot. However, in the hope that there might be some improvement, I forced myself to finish it just to see where it was going. But the script is just meh, and the writing is awful. The entire plot boils down to a generic 'two girls fighting over one girl' trope involving a sugar baby—not to forget the 'no kissing on the lips' concept. A plot like this could have been executed so much better without feeling 'just that' or incredibly corny.

The actors weren't able to nail their characters either. It felt as though these roles weren't meant for this cast; the characters felt distant and poorly suited to the actors. Consequently, the acting wasn't very good. There was no room for Chan's character to shine, and I never felt like she was truly highlighted in the series; most of the time, she was just sort of there. Meanwhile, Bonnie gave me the ick with her constant hair flips. Even though her character had a traumatic backstory, the series just looked more shabby. To be frank, there was absolutely no chemistry among the characters or the actors themselves—not even between Chan and Key, or Chan and Jay. Giving Bonnie's character a guitar, a pet, and the ability to sing feels unnatural and overly routine at this point. Now, it's not that I dislike it, and I acknowledge that here her character, Key, is a young singer herself, so of course she sings. However, I think it would be much more unique and interesting to see her play characters with no similarities in her future works.

The same issue applies to Film. Her character, Jay, is supposed to be meddling and annoying, and she certainly was. But maybe I am thoroughly done with seeing Film cry all the time in most of her projects, or maybe I am just tired and annoyed by the excessive crying of main leads used to force us to empathise with them; it is too vexing atp. (Though, with the utmost respect, the actors are remarkably excellent at executing those crying scenes.)

Coming back to the series, it was horrible and completely unacceptable to let it pass that Jay entered Chan’s room multiple times and Chan didn't even change the keycard? I understand that Chan isn't fully over Jay or is still figuring things out, but seeing Jay just trespass and act all bossy felt uncanny. It wasn't until a few episodes later that Chan finally announced that what Jay was doing was "illegal". It just highlights how unrealistic and impractical most of the scenes and these characters were. All the episodes felt repetitive and overly dramatic. Honestly, Chan and Key's relationship didn't feel like it had blossomed with depth or true love due to their superficial flirting and a rushed script, even when Key had supposedly been in love with Chan for years. The only thing that made this monotonous and tedious series lively was, of course, Namtan. She made at least every scene she was in quite quirky.

Furthermore, I don't understand the GL genre's obsession with toxic, overbearing parents. It was unnecessary to already have the never-ending drama of Chan and Jay's status, only to also throw in a dictatorial mother. At this point, Um is ruling mother roles that feature narcissistic control, emotional manipulation, and class-based elitism as their core personality traits. I am just so done with it.

The sweetest and genuinely better element in this series is that Jay and Key are not overly toxic to one another, despite loving the same person. Their dynamic was bearable because of how they portrayed their complexity through a respectful yet high-tension rivalry. However, the ending was low-key bland. Why did they feel the need to show a wedding with such a high-paced transition? Not every GL has to end in a wedding, especially not a rushed one like this.

Anyway, I had no fun watching this series. I just hope that Emi and Bonnie's next project together is actually good.