jpny01

An idea can be nice and the execution can still be underwhelming. You have someone functionally blind who is able to run a substantial race without us seeing any real struggle for him to overcome - he has a couple of very minor trips, none of which result in any injury or even falling down. So what did it add? What if he got discouraged at his inability and had to be pulled through by Mhok? What if he injured himself and his mother had a strong negative reaction? Maybe that would be Night's opportunity to do some good, or Mhok or Day would have an opportunty to say that he's not an invalid and will never develop unless he takes risks.

It just didn't do anything for the story, and it should have - there were so many opportunities passed up, which there might have been time for if so much hasn't been expended on the August storyline, which I really don't see the point of. We have Day jumping from interest to interest with no processing or there being any substantial impact on him. He's been in love with August for years, and it took him about 20 minutes to get totally over it, and I doubt we'll ever hear mention of him again.

Day is an athlete who isn't what he was, and yet there was no substantial frustration or hardship involved with learning to run again. There's no journey, just a series of set pieces that support cute moments.

The end result is a pleasant but shallow series that I have a hard time remembering is on, whereas I eagerly waited for the first few eps.

However, none of this really matters because I haven't seen Ep 8 & Ep 9, which you are all saying develops into something special, and I believe you.

I didn't think Ep 7 was bad, I just feel the story is bogging down and watching it felt more like a duty than a pleasure. I really didn't see the point of the August storyline - if anything it weakened the main story by having Day jump too quickly from August to Mhok, and his processing of the heartbreak was so short and insubstantial that it made him seem insincere. It should have just been left out.

Yes, there was more chemistry earlier on in the series, but I'm not feeling it anymore - maybe it's because the story has been static for the last couple of episodes and focused on things outside their relationship. We get Mhok's supressed jealousy, which is a clear indicator of romantic interest, but that isn't the same as seeing shared moments.

I get some emotional connection, but I don't see that as much more than close friendship - in short I'm not feeling the heat. There's enough bromance in BL. It's a lot more than they had in Vice Versa, at least.

I've really liked this series so far - it's just starting to bog down, with so much time being taken up the last couple of episodes with the pointless and implausible August storyline and all the jogging. I would have deletedall that if I were an editor. I don't plan to drop it, but I'm just hoping it goes somewhere and without manufactured drama, although the reaction here seems to be positive about whatever drama is in Ep 9.

I've fallen a bit behind and just got through Ep 7. Does it pick up? Because that was really dull. The acting is good, and I like that they interact as guys, but maybe it's too much like that - as a result they have great "friend" chemistry but not a lot of romanitc chemistry, whereas Night's chemistry with Mhok's sister was immediate, although that's not really fair because it was Mark Pakin.

Anyway, maybe it was just the episode - 45 minutes of people jogging isn't exactly riveting.

On a side note, all the women here who would love it if a man proposed to you when you were drenched in sweat after running a marathon, raise your hands! Anyone? Anyone at all? That's even worse than the giant sports stadium sceen proposals.

They're terrible, but I've gotten used to them and just mentally correct then to what makes sense. It takes more energy and concentration than it should, but what can you do?

Each mistake leads to a different lesson and they're mistakes for different reasons, but I understand where you're coming from.

I prefer not knowing where this is heading to the predictable formula of almost all BLs.

There are two central themes - that we should take full advantage of the lives we have and the futility of regret or second-guessing our decisions, and that we can't live in isolation or in a world that revolves around ourselves.

That's kind of what I meant - it's not a romance or even a normal drama - it's more of a parable, and a parable depends on a character facing a moral dilemma, making a bad decision and face unintended consequences with the subtext being that we should understand what we should do or believe based on his mistakes.

It's certainly a LOOONNGGG parable, so I can't fault anyone for getting a bit frustrated, but it hasn't worn me out yet, which is likely partly due to their habit of leaving Atom in skimpy boxers for half the episode which is difficult to grow tired of.

He needed to make the first reckless mistake, then he needed to make a more calculated one and face unintended consequences, but that would probably have been enough. I felt like the politician thing was a bit heavy-handed and self-indulgent, and we'll see what happens with the singer friend, but he's starting to stray into being evil instead of just headstrong, and there's a point where the character can overwhelm the parable's message.

I would agree it's a bit pretentious - but it's at least earnest and I prefer pretention to formulaic writing. Where it went a bit OTT for me was the political debate, which was a bit sledgehammery. I liked 180 Degree better, but it wasn't totally lack in pretention either. I get a little annoyed with his use of archetypes, which is not very subtle. I know a lot of people couldn't bear the mother and dropped the series because of that.

But I don't think there's much room for criticizing the acting in either series.

I agree with your assessment of OffGun, although they started out closer in ability than Fluke & Ohm, but that's like saying an ugly puppy is better than a dead snail. Off is easily keeping pace with Gun in the cooking show - one thing Off always had was good comic timing. Whereas Ohm has unquestionably mastered long pauses and blank stares.

I did google Kevin your dog died - it's very funny, and as I was watching it I realized I watched that show when it aired long ago.

Gu Jing is controlling and infantilizing. When we say he "helped Liu Li when he was sick", what really happened was that he broke into the apartment of someone he just met to tend to him without his consent. Liu Li is a grown man - if he needs help he'll ask for it, and as an adult he can handle a minor cold on his own. I had COVID and I didn't need any help.

Liu Da Ren is a shortcut - we need to respect Gu Jing for what he does, not what other people say about him. A character like Liu Da Ren can be used to reinforce our feelings about Gu Jing, but it can't be the driver.

This show is so pointless and boring that it's only what Gu Jing looks like (and the actor's ability) which keeps me watching, and even then I mostly watch it on 2x, hoping he'll take a shower or something.

Someone below criticized the acting and I was blown away - we all see things differently, but Atom is objectively good. He also has pitch-perfect comic timing, which we don't get to see too much of in this, but it's there when it needs to be. Also, HE HOT.

I've wondered if it's just bad direction Ohm is getting, but I think we are getting human emotion from everyone else. On the other hand, I frequently criticize the limiting nature of the "schtick" of a series. For example, Oxygen is about "a boy who lost his smile", so they told Nut Supanut not to have any facial expressions, so he gave off serial killer vibes and I just didn't care about him or his pairing. But Nut has been fantastic in everything else he's been in, like Something In My Room. Ohm, on the other hand... can we say that about him?

I largely agree with your review, but I don't understand your last point - what do you mean by "everyone is stuck in some cultural role/expectation"? I don't think there's much sense of LGBTQ, but there never is in BL - it's basically just straight guys falling in love to please a female audience. Or a straight guy and a 12-year old Victorian-era virgin with a boy dropped in her role.

Do you mean in the universe where Rain was marrying a woman? That was a fake marriage he had to do to fit into the conformist world, which is now gone because it's reset whenever Sunshine erases someone else.

But I agree the flower shop owner knows more than he's letting on. I'm fairly sure he's the boss - be that God or the Devil I'm not sure, although this seems to be based on Faust so probably the latter.

I you're viewing it as a BL, I'd stop watching it because you aren't going to enjoy it.

I might be wrong, but it seems to me that a lot of people here are just watching this as a straight BL, when it's not. We're essentially watching Faust (I love how whevever Sunshine turns on the TV it's to watch the opera) - a man who makes a deal with the devil.

The theme of the story is that we have one life and have to live it to its fullest, and that it's futile to regret our choices or second-guess them. It may seem repetitive, but there's a different lesson in each erasure. "If only the new BF didn't exist, I'd still have him" - but that didn't remove the issues pulling them apart. "If he weren't pining for his ex" - "if he weren't so into politics".

You'll notice that Q tries to get Sunshine to think about the world outside himself before each choice - he doesn't pay attention to politics, even though politics has a profound effect on our lives; he has no friends, so he doesn't understand that kind of love - I think we can guess what lack of Meen has done to Rain, just like we could guess what Sunshine's removal of one half of the political discourse would be. I almost wish he'd subsequently chosen to erase the conservative so we could see how bad the world turned out without that countervailing influence - far left is no better than far right.

Anyway, I don't think this can be enjoyable if you're looking at it as a straight BL - if you do, there's really nothing in it to satisfy you, although I could probably be satsified to stare at Atom when he gets up in the morning 24/7 for the rest of my life.

I don't think anyone is saying that Liu Li looks like a child, it's that he seems to have the emotional maturity of one, which is not helped by Gu Jing's infantilizing behavior towards him, as if he's 5 and can't take basic care of himself. Would you break into someone's apartment because he has a cold and you feel compelled to take care of him? I wouldn't. And I wouldn't like it if some guy I just met a week ago did that either.

It's not the basic plot that's the issue - I agree with a lot of what you wrote above and I think we've all experienced something along those lines. It's his specific reactions to things which don't speak of someone who has any romantic experience - or even any life experience. He's not 15, he's at least in his mid-20s, and most likely his late 20s.

I agree about Saengtai. Also, everyone was crowing over what a "green flag" Phat was. The Phat who tried to beat a teenager to death for being confused about his feelings...

You put it very kindly. Ther idea that a smokeshow like Gu Jing would fall instantly in love with the human equivalent of cold unsweetened oatmeal is a bit of a stretch.

I think the ex would take one look at the Chef and completely forget Liu Li existed. Having Hsiao Hung show up only underscored how infantilized Liu Li is.

My Only 12% was watchable because of Santa, but I agree - I can't stand weak ukes.

We hear inner monologues that tell us some of the characters at least are interested in love with their sex partners, and it is a BL, so it seems likely there will be a happy romantic ending.