kittyflumpin

It's taken me a month to finish the first 3 episodes because honestly when I put it on, I'm out like a light before the halfway point (I generally don't have that problem). There are just so many scenes of stilted conversations while the actors awkwardly stand there looking at each other with empty smiles for juuust a few seconds longer than feels normal. It's like they've never seen people converse in real life. I'm thinking it's time to cut & run on this one (except perhaps as an emergency sleep aid).

This isn't directed at anyone in particular, just a general response when fans ask "If you don't like it, why don't you drop it then?" I mean, it's a legit question and for me, sometimes it's interesting to keep watching a show that's not working for me because I try to analyze exactly *why* it's not working. What makes it different from other shows with similar situations/plots/characters etc. that maybe I *did* like? What did the other show(s) do differently, or have I changed as a viewer (or both)? That's one reason to stick around, as long as watching it doesn't actively repulse me or upset me to the point it affects me negatively (and media doesn't usually affect me that strongly). That's why I keep watching-- it makes me think about what works and what doesn't in regards to successful storytelling.

I am just gonna avoid the KP comment section entirely and enjoy the show (or not, but probably will) without others' input. Somehow I feel like pointing out "toxic" elements in KP can only elicit a "well duh, yeah, what did you expect, they're murderers and criminals, you knew that going in" response from me (unlike this show where we're intended to think this behavior is romantic and they're all Good Guys deep down).

As someone who is into NuerSyn, I have to admit that yeah, their story is kinda random and really unconnected to the main story (iirc others have said they're not even a thing in the book?) and it's not being fleshed out because they only get a few minutes of screentime per episode. But for me, because I had such a struggle connecting with the main 2 couples (and I'm still not there after ep8 so it's not looking good), Nuer & Syn are like a breath of fresh air in every episode. They're also the only pair that isn't "overbearing, emotionally-reserved (to put it kindly) rich man exerts dominance over younger also-rich man". NuerSyn feels more like a relationship between equals, which I will always find easier to connect with emotionally.
TLDR: I suspect if the other 2 couples had been more compelling, Nuer & Syn wouldn't have gotten the attention they're getting.

I swear, Jay's ''omg this again'' eye roll during his conversation with Kuea later that afternoon was my exact same reaction.

I honestly thought it was going to be a gag-- like he was carrying a bucket of red paint.

Ep.7 was a nice surprise (to me anyway) because Lian is allowed to seem human-- at the expense of his dignity, sure, but he had it coming. I just wish they'd allowed him to show some vulnerability and/or personality earlier on in the show because I would've enjoyed the first half (!) of the show a whole lot more if he didn't seem so cold and intimidating-- intentional or not.

While I'm glad Lian's at least trying to draw Kuea out via talking (...sometimes, but at least it's a start!), I also wish that he'd stop baiting Kuea in an attempt to either "catch" him in the act (...of being himself) or get him to "confess". I get it, it's to set-up silly situations and the inevitable spicy scenes, but I just wish they'd advanced past the cat-and-mouse games much earlier in the series so that the fanservice felt more earned/emotional and less fanservice for fanservice's sake (which is how it felt for me at least, ymmv as with anything)

I didn't get it either initially, but someone commented below that the part with the parents returning/meeting Siwon outside/the bus ride/walk and kiss in the dark was a dream (I felt they didn't do enough to signify that, but it's a minor quibble).

Okay, I was a bit confused too. I even doublechecked to make sure I watched the last few eps in the right order. I guess it wasn't made clear enough (for me at least) that he was dreaming. I just assumed his parents were like that (prone to randomly showing up, what with their erratic schedules). I didn't get how Siwon just happened to be outside but I shrugged it off, figuring it was because they were running out of time to wrap up the story. I wished they'd made it clearer that that part was a dream, because it would have spared me a little confusion when it segued into the next scene and they were acting like that never happened (and I was thinking that bus ride/walk in the park/kiss was not enough to resolve things). On that note though, I am glad that they *did* actually talk about it (even though that too was a bit rushed out of time constraints, but what can you do). All this aside, I really liked it overall and I'd love to see what they could do with a full-length series' time (or even the truncated 8 half-hour episode series we've been getting from Korean BL lately) and accompanying budget.

Same. I was loving it 'til it seems as if the writers were like, "oh sh*t forgot to write in some last-minute conflict" and then went overboard with it.

I started this expecting a hot mess to laugh about when I told my friends about the ridiculous premise later but... to my surprise, I actually liked the first ep. It's not perfect, but I still find myself looking forward to ep.2 (though it remains to be seen if it'll hold my interest over so many long episodes).

I thought the discussion Kuea and Lian had at the end of ep6 was a step in the right direction. I seriously wished it had happened a few eps earlier, maybe like ep3 (after a few eps of misunderstanding, so the story has somewhere to advance from).

I like Nuea & Sin/Syn (or rather the *prospect* of them, since Nuea is still hitting on Kuea at this point) because even though Nuea is pretty pushy, Sin is willing to stand up to him. To be honest, I can't believe I'm wishing a drama would focus *more* on the college engineering majors.

omg Foei is Porpla?! Never made that connection 'til just now

What to say about this show... Well, I absolutely love Jeff Satur's theme song, "Warm Heart." That's a positive!

SAME

I agree! Initially I couldn't understand why Kuea was so eager to be with this guy if he thinks he's going to have to suppress his entire personality the rest of his life (even though yes, I understand that Hia Lian doesn't actually want that). He should at least be inwardly resentful, even if he's still willing to go through with it out of a sense of family duty or whatever. So when Kuea decides to call off the engagement I thought, "Aha! *Now* he'll start to be himself in front of Lian, thinking it'll drive him away, but gradually he'll come to realize Lian never wanted this, both of them will start to show their true personalities, and the romance will start!" But Kuea is still sneaking around/being watched (!) and... mainly seems to exist just to be scandalized by Lian's advances (real and imagined). Basically a lot of fanservice-y scenes-- but if I'm not invested in the relationship, it feels empty.

Me too. My hopes for this drama are now pinned on the *tertiary* couple, who will probably barely get enough screentime to justify it but... Oh well!

Thanks for explaining a bit. I'm still not into this secondary couple's dynamics, but at least this helps explain *why* they're like this (and the dog scene-- I was like, Is this a tongue-in-cheek reference to that scene in The Untamed where Lan Wangji protects Wei Wuxian from the dog? lol apparently not).

I too thought it said 8 eps before... but if it really is 12, I'll definitely take those extra 4 eps 'cause I'm enjoying it so far!