kimberly12

Fixed pairings and shipping culture take away all elements of surprise. I start the show and instantly know who’s gonna end up together, so why should I bother caring about the “other option”? And I don’t even know if it’s the script or just the fact that I already know Jira’s final pick, but he’s clearly leaning toward Koh who honestly has been kind of a jerk so far.

Anyway, if anyone knows a BL deity who can bless this series with at least a throuple ending, please hook me up. I’m ready to sacrifice my firstborn. I cannot handle another round of c*ckblocking in the upcoming episodes.

Pin has a few options here:
A. Be a saint and give her blessings to the guys.
B. Turn absolutely evil, out them to the world and be a total bitch.

Either one beats whatever this is. Like, why does she want to marry a guy who leaves her in the car to run to another guy? Girl, you're addicted to suffering or something? Or do you just want a fellow crier?

Ten episodes was the right call for this series, just enough for a story like this.

With the usual 12, they’d have had to drag the plot. What else could they do with Thap and In’s romance when Thap is so direct about his feelings and In readily accepts them? Extra episodes would invite unnecessary drama that undercuts what the show already did well with this couple.

The villain arc couldn’t be stretched either, it was weak to begin with, and more screen time would only make it worse.

Anyways, I actually like this 10-episode format GMMTV is doing right now. It keeps the plot tight and focused, giving each storyline just enough space without dragging anything out.

5/10
I picked up Revenged Love just because BL watchers wouldn’t stop raving about it. But honestly, I don’t see anything special. Plot: Average, a classic danmei from 10 years ago. Acting: Also average, with only Tian Xu Ning standing out a little. The setting: Pretty bad, but okay, I get it, low budget and all. Maybe my taste just sucks, who knows. But that’s not even why I rated it so low.

The plot had plenty of things I didn’t agree with, but whatever, I’ve enjoyed trashy shows before just because they had good eye candy. And to be fair, Revenged Love still has a better plot than some real garbage out there. So again, not the reason for my low score.

What I truly hate? The fandom. I don’t mind people hyping their fave, but these fans go around trashing BLs from other countries, saying stuff like: If Chinese BL wasn’t censored, other countries would only kneel. Like… are they serious? That arrogance just killed whatever enjoyment I might have had for the series.

In the end, I expected a Michelin-star meal from all the glowing reviews that treat this series like the savior to the BL genre. But what I actually got was a hamburger, not terrible, not great, just meh.

I haven't been this entertained in ages. Huge thanks to The Next Prince for blessing me with one of the most entertaining fanwars I've witnessed in all my years of watching BL.

We’ve got:
“This show is pure garbage” vs. “Sorry your taste buds can’t handle gourmet after years of microwave nuggets.”

Then there’s:
“RamilPaytai are hotter and have more chemistry than the leads!” vs. “Toxic and horny does not equal deep love—Charan & Khanin are basically Romeo and Juliet if they had Instagram.”

And of course:
“Side couples need more screentime!” vs. “This show is about Charan & Khanin. Everyone else is background noise who should be grateful to share oxygen with ZeeNunew.”

Meanwhile, the plot was more lost than my will to do laundry on a Sunday. Finding coherence was harder than finding Waldo in a candy-striped convention.
But the fanwar? Absolutely majestic. I showed up every week like it was a UFC title match—popcorn in hand, WiFi strong, ready for chaos.

I’m convinced the entire budget for this series went straight into shiny palaces, fancy outfits, and those weird CGI birds—because clearly, they forgot to pay the writers. The plot? A hot mess. Nothing makes sense.

The first two episodes had me hooked so hard, I actually subscribed to iQiyi. But everything went downhill from there. Should’ve spent that money on bubble tea instead. At least the tea would’ve been sweet—unlike this show, which tastes like regret and poor decisions.

So it's allowed to say people are evil because of something unchangeable like genes, but not that they can choose to be bad? That’d be a wild defense in court. Chinese censorship is kinda weird.

I’ve been reading the novel while waiting for new episodes to drop. So far, the show’s stuck pretty close to the book, just without the obvious romance between the two male leads.

They added this whole “people without sympathy” thing though, and I honestly don’t get why. It feels kind of random and doesn’t really fit the vibe of the show.

Anyone have thoughts on what that’s supposed to mean?

Jae Min said he deserved to be with Da On because he had met him first. But it turns out that the one that first had interaction with Da On is Seong Hyeon.

Jae Min is also the only one who doesn't have a kiss scene with Da On. After all the plotting and being batsh*t insane, this b*tch has nothing.

This series is the very rare case where the time skip without contact between the male leads actually makes sense. In other series, the time skip is created just for drama, without any logic whatsoever.

Minase is the one left behind, so it's understandable that he didn't try to contact Hirukawa. Meanwhile, Hirukawa actually needed time to figure his situation out. And after a while, he did try to contact Minase, but the other guy went study abroad and lost his phone. Hirukawa just assumed Minase didn't want anything to do with him.

Their actions are reasonable in their situation. I understand why they did what they did.

The dynamic between Du Cheng and Shen Yi has completely changed in this season. Shen Yi wants to explore the world around him because of his genius mind, while Du Cheng just wants Shen Yi to be safe. These two desires clash because Shen Yi and Du Cheng refuse to communicate. Regarding how close they are this season, this miscommunication is just nonsensical.

I already had enough suspension of disbelief watching season 1 when Shen Yi could draw everything under the sun even if they appeared as a dot in a 144p video. Season 2 is straight-up fairytale. In almost every case, I just wait for Shen Yi to go confront the murderers alone, unarmed, almost killed, then for Du Cheng to appear and save his damsel in distress. Oh, and the fancy paintings that Shen Yi gives the suspects. How can I forget those?

The cases in season 1 weren't anything special but at least they have a heart. In season 2, the only case that stirs something in me is the second one with the kid and the teenagers. Everything else feels like a fleeting memory.

Anyway, if season 3 is really coming, I hope the crew from season 1 returns. But if they keep making Shen Yi a god by reducing everyone around him to dumb bystanders, then Du Cheng can bleed out in that dark alley for all I care.

Yeah, the moment Shen Yi talked about the injury to Dr. He, I knew this season would be “The super male lead and his followers”.

My issue with this season is that they reduce the character of Du Cheng to the "dumb sidekick" whose only function is to highlight the brilliance of the male lead Shen Yi.

Du Cheng is very smart in his own right. Like in the very first episode of season 1, he could identify the suspect just because the dude could answer clearly while talking on the phone. Or in the second case, he correctly deduced the girl had been harassed by a teacher based on what she wrote in her diary.

I mean, in season 1, Shen Yi can look into people's hearts, while Du Cheng is the more level-headed one who can see physical details. This dynamic is completely gone in this season.

I feel like they keep Du Cheng in this season because they need the name "Under the skin" and the attention that goes with it.

Anyway, the actors are still very pleasing to the eyes. At least I have that to finish this season.

Is it just me or Shen Yi has become the center of all the cases? What I love about season 1 is the partnership between Shen Yi and Du Cheng. Even though Shen Yi is brilliant, Du Cheng has his own instinct as a police officer.
I've finish ep 6 of season 2 and I feel like Shen Yi has become some kind of Sherlock Holmes. Every clue in the cases comes from him, and everyone is just looking at him dumbfounded.
I hope the series won't make Shen Yi the center of everything, outshining everyone, even Du Cheng.

5 years without contact? If I were Ryan, when Jane showed up after 5 years, he would be introduced to my husband and kids.
Just when I thought the series couldn't let me down any further, the script actually dug a hole to kick me in.

Let's hope that the kiss won't look like the one in “Puppy Honey”. I'd rather they just high fived then.

At first, I was confused when “The Trainee” was announced even before “Cooking Crush” started airing. OffGun's shows are always aired a couple years apart. But it's only a few months between “Cooking Crush” and “The Trainee”.

Now I know why. This is not an OffGun show at all. Even the photocopier and the company's logo have more screen time than Jane.

GMMTV has done this for a while, I mean inserting a potential GL couple into a BL. "Bad Buddy" with Milk-Love and "Dangerous romance" with View-June, if I'm not mistaken. But with the two above mentioned examples, the GL storylines are just in the background, with very little screentime. This is not the case with "The Trainee". After 9 episodes, I think someone should just change "Jane" to supporting role.

If the series had been promoted as assemble cast from the beginning instead of putting OffGun's characters on the focus, there might not have been this much frustration and confusion. I mean, look at the poster, Jane and Ryan are obviously the focus, while the others are literally on the background. Mhee and Judy are on the same line as Baimon, a supporting character who just makes some remarks and funny expressions here and there.

Again, if they had promoted the series as exactly what it is with many storylines and the BL couple are just one of them, then "The Trainee" wouldn't have had as much attention and trending as it does now. Let's face it, they are riding on OffGun's fame and their fanbase's loyalty.

This series and its romantic storylines can shove it. They decided to throw cheating into the mess that is Tae, Mhee, and Judy. Whatever the reason, cheating is always wrong. I can't bring myself to watch Judy and Mhee's scenes. 

And I almost drifted off when Jane told Ryan to ask him whatever he wanted to know. Like, didn't we go over this already? For like 4 episodes now, the conflict between Jane and Ryan has been: one wants to know something but doesn't talk it out with the other and assumes things on their own. 

With their power dynamics, it's easy to create more compelling conflicts between Jane and Ryan, but the script decided to stick with the whole misunderstanding and jealousy thing. Jane & Ryan barely have screen time, but I still find this slow burn super slow. I wouldn't mind if Jane & Ryan only started dating at the very last minute of the series, but please give them something else to angst over. 

The only bright spot is the friendship among the interns. I adore the conversation between Pah and Mhee. Pie is the one everyone goes to for advice.

In short, the romantic storylines could choke for all I care. Just give me chaotic shenanigans of the interns, like the hard drive thing.

I'm enjoying this series a lot. Like I can see myself in Ryan. A few years back, it was how I did job interviews. WTH is “objective”? It was also how I did my internship, like a deer caught in the headlights.
This series isn't just cute, it's realistic (at least to me). I feel seen! Hope it'll continue to be this good till the end.