idontwanttothanks

Perth: Deep down, Chopper is very kind.

Me: So that means he *didn't* out Ben and Nueng, right???

I didn't like it, thought it was inevitable, but more and more I'm thinking that my kneejerk "of course Chopper is the villain of the piece" is wrong, and I couldn't be more pleased about it. (why yes Chopper is my favorite how did you know?)

Does Japan do workshopping for this kind of thing? If not, they should.

My problem is that I don't just find the chemistry uneven - I'm used to that with JBLs, as with most of them I usually feel that the chemistry is uneven - it's that I'm getting equal amounts of negative chemistry. But then I worry I'm not being fair, because this came on the heels of my favorite drama of the year. I just don't know.

YES GOOD. That was my biggest hope.

No, you are not. it's one of my must watches.

I think it's probably Chopper and I really hate it - he was so lovely in episode 4, encouraging Ben even though it was visibly breaking his heart, and he's low key my favorite and while I am not against the idea of him going bad, I am against him doing it this quickly. I hope I'm wrong - I don't actually think that his reaction when Ben said he'd find who it was and make them pay (lol, Ben, I actually kind of like you now but we all know that isn't gonna happen) was all that suspicious. Also the music didn't change, and that's usually the biggest clue, especially since this drama hasn't been subtle so far.

I am clinging onto my denial until the bitter end, is what I'm saying.

Oh trust me, I noticed. I also noticed how floored he looked after - I wish we'd have gotten the aftermath of the Ben kiss for comparison. :D

I'm not saying that the writing of this show is particularly tight or that the plot makes any real sense.

I'm just saying I love it. I do think that the chemistry between Palm and Nueng is very, very good, and I kind of want Ben to start looking at Chopper so I can determine what I think about theirs. I already know Perth can pine like a champ, guys, I want to see what he and Chimon can do together.

As for the kisses, I do think that Nueng is still stiff, but now I believe more than ever that the awkwardness of the kiss with Ben *was* mostly supposed to be down to Nueng not really wanting him so much as he wants to be wanted. Stiff or not, he was definitely pushing into the kiss with Palm where with Ben he looked about half a second away from bolting the entire time. And Palm, my boy, just went straight in and I love that. But now I want a lot of conflicted feelings - Palm because he thinks he is just a getting over Ben replacement and Nueng because he thinks that Palm is just doing his job. What's the point of giving me a bodyguard story if I can't get a little "he doesn't really want me he's just taking the protection thing way too seriously" angst along with it?

ETA I still really hate that it's probably going to be Chopper that did the thing, but I will still love him because Perth. But ugh.

He tried keeping silent and his dad kept going (also there was something about the way he clapped his hand on Ben's shoulder that makes me feel like there was an implied threat there. Could just be me reaching but it did not give me good vibes) - it's pretty clear to me that he feels backed into a wall and he doesn't actually *want* to throw Nueng under the bus - it's cowardly, sure, but I think it's also understandable.

For me this and last episode humanized Ben in a way where I now kind of like him. Still don't like him for *Nueng*, mind, but I like him.

Yep, and he's got a huge, obvious, unrequited crush on Ben.

I did suspect that it was going to be jealousy over Ben that turned him against Nueng, but this is just...well, it's cheap, like I already said. But it's the easiest thing to do so I suspect it's what we're getting.

Chopper is totally gonna be the one who outed Ben and Nueng. Calling it now.

(I think it's cheap but inevitable, would love to be proven wrong)

Ah, I hope so! Thanks for the info, the fact that it's with the same production company as Kabe Koji gives me hope.

Out of curiosity, do we have any information if it's going to follow the second novel, or will it be its own thing?

I think this too. And I think that I will think that Palm accepts the apology too easily, but then I usually do in stuff like this.

No worries! Glad I could be of some help. I really do think it's worth it if you can stand it, but it is extremely well acted and shot, and the chemistry with the two leads makes it hit all the harder. Truly the biggest tragedy is that we got this much chemistry from a tragic ending BL. Why, Japan? Why?

My dramatics aside, when I watched with a friend it did help - I did wind up feeling it very deeply and I haven't been able to watch the whole thing all the way through on my own since the first time, although I've watched the third episode on its own so much that I'm actually grateful Viki doesn't have a counter, lol. Truly a glorious episode.

I will say that it isn't all pain. The ending is very painful, and there is a sort of melancholy that permeates a lot of the drama, but it also has some of the most heartwarming, sweetest scenes.

Anyway, clearly I loved it and could talk about it forever, ha. If you do wind up watching it I hope you come back and report, even if it doesn't wind up being a favorite.

Well, the story is very insular so if you're expecting other people to grieve with Mitsuru, then I have to warn you that's not going to happen. The root of the sadness is Mitsuru's (and Koichi's) loss, after all. But no, at no point does anyone forget him entirely. They do forget the three or four days that he spent as a living corpse, though. The "forgetting" in the summary is more like I said, people stop seeing him and they do forget that he's walking around without a heartbeat. But they still remember he existed. It's not like he's wiped from their memories completely.

I'll be honest with you, every time I see it "pushed", as you say, it's in answer to whether someone should watch it and usually adds in a caveat about pain. I can't be everywhere on the internet of course, but on the same token I don't really think saying people should watch it is being pushy, really. I don't think that most people who say this would be bothered if it's not everyone's cup of tea. I know I'm not!

Personally, no. I do not think that this show is for everyone. I generally avoid stuff like this myself, so no shade if it's something you can't handle, or heck, just don't want to.. The part that got to me was the swipe at people who did like it, because as I said I don't think it's a fair one, so I appreciate the apology. :)

I wouldn't say that they forget him, exactly - they stop seeing him, is more the thing. No one forgets him entirely like he never existed. I don't really want to say more without spoilers but I can if you like.

I do not consider it sadness tourism either, fwiw. I actually think that it was a very sensitive meditation on grief. I think that assuming that we're happy tourists to sadness is a little insensitive in and of itself, tbh. You have no way of knowing that. I also don't think that it qualifies as misery porn. Sweetness is not often found in misery porn, and there's a lot of sweetness in this show, in spite of the tragedy.

I'm liking it quite a bit more than I expected to originally, but I admit that I pay a little more attention when Perth is on the screen. Biased, me? Never! ;)

Well, less that than I think he wants to want Ben more than he actually wants Ben. But I guess we'll see. It's also very possible that it was just a bad kiss.

To be fair, though, Light On Me was abnormal for KBL. My guess is it got more funding for whatever reason, and I had hoped it might start a trend but it looks like not.

Sorry, I meant released somewhere with English subs, like Viki or GagaOOlala.