I don't know if I should even be surprised at the harsh ratings of this show, given how so many people rate based on how "BL" the show is rather than the actual quality lol...
As someone studying to be in drama producing- this was great. There were some faults, yes, but the writing was astounding! Character dynamics and characters themselves were well-portrayed and the finale episode is one of the best finales I've seen in a long time.
People were probably anticipating to have more romance vibes here, but I actually appreciated that this wasn't an ordinary relationship and they actually had problems and actually solved them and actually needed time apart etc... 8.5 rating from me.
If you liked the cinematography, I really recommend Yang Kyung Hee's works overall. She never disappoints with her directing!
I however disagree with your negative point that the story was messy and full of toxicity. The part I admired in this drama is that it's so much more than just "BL", it has its own story and characters which are full of life. The plot wasn't messy per se, it was just in the format of a psychological mystery drama, which this was- romance was the subplot.
"Toxicity" isn't what I would use for this. This drama was bittersweet, telling a story about trust, lies, secrecy, and obsession. No one in this drama is meant to be seen as either a green flag or a red flag, but rather they all have their own flaws. This isn't black and white, it's true to reality- and I really admired that, having similar shared experiences with the main character myself.
Also, I don't mean to offend but I glanced at your watchlist and I'm just a bit confused as to how you're frustrated…
As I mentioned in my first reply there are many things you may have missed that were still shown in the series. Nearly all of your questions have answers if you look for them in it. I've rewatched the show quite many times and each time I've discovered more details, so it's definitely not lacking... It might not be your cup of tea and I get it, but it really isn't a problem with the drama itself. Not every question needs to be solved by the drama, rather the drama can give you the needed dots to connect by yourself- this was one of those instances, and I felt it was a great choice for the series given its short run-time.
The ending might feel incomplete, but if you look at it from a different perspective you can imagine how the story goes from there by yourself, that's what an open ending is. I'd love for this to get a season 2, but the current ending also makes me feel content as it is.
I'm saying this because I believe you want to enjoy this drama more (given how you rewatched it), but if you want me to genuinely explain or guide you through some aspects of it I'd love to do so. I'm very impressed with this drama and since I've watched it multiple times I may have noticed more things. Of course it's not my business whether or not you like this drama, I just felt the urge to reply to your review since it has some untrue statements that may scare potential watchers away. If you want to understand more things about this drama I can try responding to your questions.
I get your frustration, I have a hatred for plot holes and I'm annoyed by having too many questions but no answers, but that's also why I'm slightly shocked how this drama didn't relieve your frustration with how nicely the story went. Maybe it's because I write similarly detailed stories that are more show don't tell that I'm more used to these formats, so I understood some aspects faster- I don't mean to diss you at all, this is actually eye-opening for me and I appreciate being able to hear your point of view on this.
Also, I don't mean to offend but I glanced at your watchlist and I'm just a bit confused as to how you're frustrated…
It's okay to be confused and curious, it means the drama did something well by intriguing you - However, it's best if you worded those thoughts out better in the format of a question instead of treating them as weaknesses of the plot and discussing around them through your own foggy vision of it.
Also, I don't mean to offend but I glanced at your watchlist and I'm just a bit confused as to how you're frustrated…
I understand opinions and how they're subjective, but in your review you mistakenly pointed out things that were untrue and/or complained about unresolved issues in the plot that simply did not exist. There's a difference between something being subjectively good and objectively good. The format of this drama was objectively good, so it's only up to your preference how you like it, but there's no need to criticize a plot just because you didn't understand it. A story doesn't need to spoon feed information to the viewer in order to be interpreted, as I said, a lot of the things you said this drama lacked were a part of it, just not too obviously. It's okay not to enjoy shows like that, but I'm just disagreeing with your choice to make a review about it and acting like this drama is something it's not.
please vote for kim sihun! he deserves his happy ending as an idol after all the hard work he has put in. go check out his solo music and performances from his prior group bdc!
it was honestly predictable that cravity would gather the most votes since their fandom is bigger and more active out of all the groups on the show, and while i have nothing against cravity, i feel like if there was an actual jury instead of just fan votes then the results would be very different
out of all the competing groups, cravity's discography is my second favorite, but for the 3 ace team's pre-voting i didn't vote for them, and that's because other groups were more fitting for the title to be called aces. cravity is a talented group, but i'd call oneus and tnx for example way more deserving of an all-rounder title
the concept of an ace is useless since it's fan-voting. determined cravity fans will still vote for them regardless of the category
On the MNET PLUS app you can earn "boosters" by logging in daily and watching ads which you can then "donate" to a group of your choice. By doing this, the group with the most boosters earned will be given a Special Stage on MCD (M Countdown)
To Moons, let's support ONEUS a lot this time as well! They've worked hard and improved a lot from last time. We'll shower them with the love and compliments they deserve!
A lot of your points can be disproven if you focus on watching the drama properly. The description of this drama…
Also, I don't mean to offend but I glanced at your watchlist and I'm just a bit confused as to how you're frustrated with the execution of this drama while you've rated 1000 Years Old a whopping 9/10? That drama was filled with plot holes and didn't have any path whatsoever. I don't know if it's some special connection you have with it, but referring to your "critical thinking" with The Director Who Buys Me Dinner it's just a little ironic
A lot of your points can be disproven if you focus on watching the drama properly.
The description of this drama should be edited, since the current one follows the one from the original manhwa, but the screenwriter of this drama made a lot of changes to the script, thus causing misunderstandings with the caption.
I agree with your point regarding Korean short series, since before stumbling upon this drama I had disliked every single one I had watched. That's why I was hesitant on picking this up, but I'm glad that I did.
The fantasy side wasn't meant to be properly explained, since what we are shown on screen is exactly as how Yudam remembers it. In the scene where Dongbaek is possessed, we're told that his memory isn't fully complete, thus missing a lot of details of what's exactly going on.
Denis and the one who shot Dongbaek in their past life were both played by the same actor, thus proving that Denis was a reincarnation of that person, you could think that he was basically fated to cause Dongbaek's death if not by "natural" causes. (the times Dongbaek was in danger were all linked to Denis, although mostly indirectly)
I don't agree that the open ending was lazy at all. It was the best ending I've seen for a drama, because it both gives closure as the ending, but also an opportunity to make a second season for the series, since there were also other themes that could be explored in it (like the questions you had)
Sometimes a drama leaving you with questions can automatically frustrate you, but those questions don't mean that the series was bad or included any plot holes. Even if everything isn't directly or indirectly explained, it doesn't always have to be. It's okay to leave some things unexplored, especially in a short series. Just because you don't understand it, doesn't mean it's a bad show. What impressed me about this drama was that it still felt complete and full despite the short run-time. As a matter of fact, it's the only drama I've rated a 10/10 so far.
The title is so epic. Taemin being the mc for a show called 'Ace of Ace' feels so right.
Glad to see Oneus competing again, they definitely have my votes as a To Moon since debut! Truly hidden talents with the qualities to be named a group full of Aces.
My first overall drama was The Girl Who Sees Smells! Then again my first Thai drama was The Gifted- both truly iconic ones I make sure to revisit every now and then.
I hope James find success in whatever he does next but I'm honestly not mad he decided to leave the show. His…
I'm actually intrigued as to how high your standards are for you to say that the role of James in Bed Friend was "underwhelming". As someone who has gone through similar things he has, it's not unrealistic at all that misfortunes follow him. He's easy to take advantage of since he's already pretty vulnerable from his childhood issues and he needs someone to distract him from it. He's also more expressive than guys generally are and dresses in a more feminine and sleek way which attracts a lot of (especially older) men. He also plays hard-to-get which a lot of people take as a "challenge". If you're already broken, it's more likely it will happen again if you don't fix your issues.
From my own personal experience and also being a writer myself, the way he portrayed those issues he had was so realistic that it even made me feel anxious about my own past, yet give me reassurance that everything will be okay. His feelings of his life being "messy" and that he just wants to leave it all behind and forget it are very true to life and which I don't see represented in a lot of media. His panic attack scenes were also realistic.
I'd disagree that his past was "trauma dumping", he was very quiet about it and the only thing he vented out was that his step-father sexually assaulted him and that his mom didn't believe him/turned a blind eye to it, he didn't even bring up the bigger picture and his entire situation. He also takes medication for his mental health, which is another aspect I like that they represented properly.
I've mostly been talking about his character since it's understandable that a detailed story like that can be difficult to understand since we're so used to more simple characters in the boy's love genre, but I don't really know how to convince anyone that his acting is beyond great, it's hard to explain if you haven't gone through the same thing and relate to it. It doesn't really affect me what you think of James, but discrediting his astounding acting made me upset since his representation of the character's situation made me feel heard, and he definitely didn't half-ass his role.
That being said, you can definitely be happy for Net and JJ, but there's no need to bring down James. Nobody can force you to like him but this was just my view on his acting career and character in Bed Friend. :)
As someone studying to be in drama producing- this was great. There were some faults, yes, but the writing was astounding! Character dynamics and characters themselves were well-portrayed and the finale episode is one of the best finales I've seen in a long time.
People were probably anticipating to have more romance vibes here, but I actually appreciated that this wasn't an ordinary relationship and they actually had problems and actually solved them and actually needed time apart etc... 8.5 rating from me.
I however disagree with your negative point that the story was messy and full of toxicity. The part I admired in this drama is that it's so much more than just "BL", it has its own story and characters which are full of life. The plot wasn't messy per se, it was just in the format of a psychological mystery drama, which this was- romance was the subplot.
"Toxicity" isn't what I would use for this. This drama was bittersweet, telling a story about trust, lies, secrecy, and obsession. No one in this drama is meant to be seen as either a green flag or a red flag, but rather they all have their own flaws. This isn't black and white, it's true to reality- and I really admired that, having similar shared experiences with the main character myself.
The ending might feel incomplete, but if you look at it from a different perspective you can imagine how the story goes from there by yourself, that's what an open ending is. I'd love for this to get a season 2, but the current ending also makes me feel content as it is.
I'm saying this because I believe you want to enjoy this drama more (given how you rewatched it), but if you want me to genuinely explain or guide you through some aspects of it I'd love to do so. I'm very impressed with this drama and since I've watched it multiple times I may have noticed more things. Of course it's not my business whether or not you like this drama, I just felt the urge to reply to your review since it has some untrue statements that may scare potential watchers away. If you want to understand more things about this drama I can try responding to your questions.
I get your frustration, I have a hatred for plot holes and I'm annoyed by having too many questions but no answers, but that's also why I'm slightly shocked how this drama didn't relieve your frustration with how nicely the story went. Maybe it's because I write similarly detailed stories that are more show don't tell that I'm more used to these formats, so I understood some aspects faster- I don't mean to diss you at all, this is actually eye-opening for me and I appreciate being able to hear your point of view on this.
(i think it's the upturned lips and fox-like gaze)
out of all the competing groups, cravity's discography is my second favorite, but for the 3 ace team's pre-voting i didn't vote for them, and that's because other groups were more fitting for the title to be called aces. cravity is a talented group, but i'd call oneus and tnx for example way more deserving of an all-rounder title
the concept of an ace is useless since it's fan-voting. determined cravity fans will still vote for them regardless of the category
The description of this drama should be edited, since the current one follows the one from the original manhwa, but the screenwriter of this drama made a lot of changes to the script, thus causing misunderstandings with the caption.
I agree with your point regarding Korean short series, since before stumbling upon this drama I had disliked every single one I had watched. That's why I was hesitant on picking this up, but I'm glad that I did.
The fantasy side wasn't meant to be properly explained, since what we are shown on screen is exactly as how Yudam remembers it. In the scene where Dongbaek is possessed, we're told that his memory isn't fully complete, thus missing a lot of details of what's exactly going on.
Denis and the one who shot Dongbaek in their past life were both played by the same actor, thus proving that Denis was a reincarnation of that person, you could think that he was basically fated to cause Dongbaek's death if not by "natural" causes. (the times Dongbaek was in danger were all linked to Denis, although mostly indirectly)
I don't agree that the open ending was lazy at all. It was the best ending I've seen for a drama, because it both gives closure as the ending, but also an opportunity to make a second season for the series, since there were also other themes that could be explored in it (like the questions you had)
Sometimes a drama leaving you with questions can automatically frustrate you, but those questions don't mean that the series was bad or included any plot holes. Even if everything isn't directly or indirectly explained, it doesn't always have to be. It's okay to leave some things unexplored, especially in a short series. Just because you don't understand it, doesn't mean it's a bad show. What impressed me about this drama was that it still felt complete and full despite the short run-time. As a matter of fact, it's the only drama I've rated a 10/10 so far.
Glad to see Oneus competing again, they definitely have my votes as a To Moon since debut! Truly hidden talents with the qualities to be named a group full of Aces.
From my own personal experience and also being a writer myself, the way he portrayed those issues he had was so realistic that it even made me feel anxious about my own past, yet give me reassurance that everything will be okay. His feelings of his life being "messy" and that he just wants to leave it all behind and forget it are very true to life and which I don't see represented in a lot of media. His panic attack scenes were also realistic.
I'd disagree that his past was "trauma dumping", he was very quiet about it and the only thing he vented out was that his step-father sexually assaulted him and that his mom didn't believe him/turned a blind eye to it, he didn't even bring up the bigger picture and his entire situation. He also takes medication for his mental health, which is another aspect I like that they represented properly.
I've mostly been talking about his character since it's understandable that a detailed story like that can be difficult to understand since we're so used to more simple characters in the boy's love genre, but I don't really know how to convince anyone that his acting is beyond great, it's hard to explain if you haven't gone through the same thing and relate to it. It doesn't really affect me what you think of James, but discrediting his astounding acting made me upset since his representation of the character's situation made me feel heard, and he definitely didn't half-ass his role.
That being said, you can definitely be happy for Net and JJ, but there's no need to bring down James. Nobody can force you to like him but this was just my view on his acting career and character in Bed Friend. :)