Sakura_Falling

Eternally Mine

My Beautiful Man: Eternal serves as a solid continuation and conclusion to the story of Hira and Kiyoi. It gave a more introspective view into Kiyoi as a character and also allowed Hira to bloom and grow. By the end, though there is still that master/servant undertone to their relationship, it feels like they understand each other better and are on more even footing. The cinematography mixes grounding tones with more ethereal ones that suit the characters and story. It's nothing groundbreaking, but I found it thoroughly enjoyable and sweet.

The movie is a pretty direct continuation of Season 2. Very little if any time has passed between the two. Kiyoi is still working on his drama and Hira is working as an assistant to Noguchi. There's a decent amount of focus on the two of them, on where their relationship is going and how it's changed over time and also how, despite those changes, some things never change. We're also allowed a glimpse into Kiyoi's thoughts, giving a better understanding of him as a person and his feelings for Hira. Hira continues to battle with his self-confidence and giving voice to what he wants, to be the only one who photographs Kiyoi. There's also the sweet friendship between Kiyoi and Anna which, while not explored too deeply, was still an aspect that I appreciated. Kiyoi being kidnapped by Shitara was something that I think most were anticipating, if not quite to that degree, then certainly expecting something to happen. It, combined with Anna's scandal, allowed the movie to explore a little more the dangers of social media and the frenzy and damage it can cause as well as the dangers of idolizing those in the entertainment industry to an unhealthy degree. Hira explains it very succinctly when he states, "Once you start imposing your will on her, you are no longer her fan."

I appreciated the growing equality between Kiyoi and Hira. As I stated previously, there is still very much that master/servant bond between them, but it grows to feel less of an obstacle to their love and more just a part of who they are and they accept that. Hira's subservience does lead to a few more understandings with Kiyoi, but it seems that overall Kiyoi has become accustomed to it and finds it less objectionable. Through Noguchi he comes to understand Hira a bit better as well as misunderstanding him again, but that scene does show that he wants to know and understand Hira. Kiyoi's kidnapping allowed Hira to show that he was still the Hira who had defended Kiyoi in high school. He was willing to kill or be killed protecting him. But what that scene also highlighted was that Hira's need is not one sided, Kiyoi needs him just as much, even if he doesn't express it as much. I liked that Anna was brought back. I appreciated her strength of character and the friendship that she had developed with Kiyoi. The way they could talk to each other easily was very sweet and wholesome. I also appreciated that she knew what she wanted. She wanted both to be with Kiriya and be an actress. The fact that she didn't shrink away from stating such and that she wasn't willing to give up either was refreshing.

Hagiwara has been fantastic as Hira from Season 1. His eyes are deeply expressive and he brought so much to the character of Hira. The scene where Anna calls him to tell him about Kiyoi is a testament to his acting skills. The change wrought in him is simultaneously subtle and dramatic, because no one messes with his Kiyoi. Yagi has steadily improved over both seasons and again in the movie. His acting style feels more nuanced and natural and he was more expressive with both his face and eyes. That growth really helped to give more depth to the character of Kiyoi.

The cinematography was gorgeous. There are some truly stunning scenes. Again, that scene where Hira gets the call, I loved the lighting change. It gave a whole other dimension to the scene. I also generally liked the music choices. Particularly the song used when Shitara and Hira were fighting, it was unconventional, but also worked very well. The ending with them at the school was really lovely. The way they incorporated the flash backs with the present was well done and simultaneously sweet and entertaining.

My Beautiful Man: Eternal is not perfect. It sometimes feels a bit cluttered with plot lines and there are a few holes, but ultimately I found that none of that really affected my enjoyment of it. It wrapped up Hira and Kioyi's story fairly neatly with the promise that, despite the uncertainty of the future, they will remain together. If you've watched Season 1 and 2 of My Beautiful Man, I think you'll enjoy this conclusion. And if you haven't, there's enough background given that you don't strictly need to have seen the first two seasons. You'll just have missed out on the a lot of the character growth and more details on how the two came together. This will certainly be a movie that I'll come back to in the future.

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My School President No More

There is one reason and one reason only these two episodes are getting as high a rating as they are and that is solely because of the cast. I had serious concerns after seeing the trailer for MSP and those concerns were absolutely valid. MSP was one of the dramas that had a lot of places it could be taken, so to have them choose to do an alternate universe with essentially the same story, just some roles switched, felt indescribably lazy, not to mention boring. This special could have been so much more than it was and I'm truly sad at the lost opportunity.

I cannot even begin to explain how lazy the premise of this felt. I know I've already said it once, but seriously. They could have jumped to them in college or after college though age wise that would have been a stretch or, heck, the summer after they graduate. Just about anything else they could have come up with would have been more interesting and creative than what we got. It's not a word for word or scene for scene copy, but it's close enough that I struggled to stay invested because it's already been done.

Everything felt rushed, probably because they were trying to fit a 12 episode drama into two episodes. It also felt choppy for that same reason. The lack of continuity made it feel like we were jumping from one scene to the next. There needed to be a bit more filler to join everything together. I also felt like the quality was just lower. The music was great as always, but there were multiple times where the instrumental parts overwhelmed the vocals to the point they were very hard to hear. And while in MSP it at least looked like they were actually performing live, I didn't get that same impression here. It really just seemed like they were lip syncing and quite obviously too. There was also the ballroom dance exam scene which dragged on far too long and it was painfully clear they hadn't had nearly enough time to practice because their movements were so stiff and clunky. There just wasn't any smoothness or grace in the moves and transitions.

I haven't felt the product placement thus far was super obvious or annoying in Our Skyy 2, but I felt it in these episodes and it was annoying. The commercials are more than enough, blatant camera shots of products are not necessary and they just detract from the quality.

Now when I say the cast was the one saving grace, I am not even kidding. They were literally the only reason I persisted through both episodes. They are all so charismatic and engaging , but even they seemed to be lacking the energy that was present in the drama. Everything felt a bit subdued. Don't get me wrong, they still did a good job with their various roles, it just wasn't as strong as MSP where they pretty much all rocked their characters.

I think I really noticed the off energy with Sound and Win. They were such firecracker characters in MSP and here it seemed like the fire had gone out of them and they were shadows of their alter universe egos. Same with Tinn and Gun to an extent. They just didn't have that same spark. Part of it with them, I think, is that Fourth and Gemini didn't seem at home in their alternate characters. That could just be my perception, though. Fourth just has that mischievous, chaotic energy that really lent itself to the character of Gun in MSP. And while Gemini certainly has his own mischievous moments, he lacks the same chaotic energy and appearance wise, he comes across as more mature. I'm sure they had a lot of fun swapping roles, but I didn't find it fully believable. I did like that Tiwson and Por got to be realized as a fully fledged couple. Their interactions were adorable and I'm happy they got more screen time. I do think trying to throw in Khajorn and Phat as another couple, albeit more of just a suggested one, was unnecessary. Honestly, and absolutely no offense to Aun as an actor, but they could have just removed Khajorn completely and nothing would have been missed. He just didn't add that much other than showing how his alternate universe character is a complete 180 from his MSP character.

The one other aspect that I actually quite enjoyed was the inclusion of other BLs in their MV there at the end. I thought that was cute and clever. He's Coming To Me is on my list of dramas to watch so I didn't catch that reference, but Bad Buddy and Tale of Thousand Stars were obvious and fun to see.

These episodes have some cute and funny/cheesy moments. They do change some things up so it's not a carbon copy of MSP, but if they wanted to go with an alternate universe story, there were so many more creative ways they could have gone about it. And that really is the biggest thing for me. It lacked the originality, the fun, the creativity, the very vibrancy of MSP and instead what we got was a shallow facsimile of the original. I didn't hate it, but neither did I love it and I think I'll always be left thinking of what could have been.

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Between Us, It's Not Worth The Wait

Creating spin offs focused on the side couples that captured the audience's hearts has been a thing for a while. Sometimes it's done really well, but in a lot of cases as showcased here with Between Us, it just ends very poorly. The thing with side couples is that they're just that, side couples. They can bounce in and out as needed to provide whatever is needed, some levity to keep the show from being too heavy, a nudge to keep the plot rolling, a touch of ingenuity to get the lead couple together or back on track, etc. They're not central to the story, but they do play an important role. The problem comes though, when you try to take them and make them the leads. Unless both stories are planned out at the same time, it's bound to get messy which was the case with Between Us.

I watched Between Us and then promptly went and skimmed through UWMA which means that the differences between the two were positively glaring. Since these two dramas were obviously not planned out at the same time, there were inevitably going to be differences, that was unavoidable. However, with that being said, I think they could have done a much better job of making those differences less obvious.
-The most obvious were characters that were prominent in UWMA that were just completely omitted in Between Us, namely Dean's sister, Del. She became a good friend of Manow and Pharm and was frequently seen with them at the swim meets and such and with Manow in the drama club. I don't know if the actress was unavailable, uninterested, or if they deliberately omitted her but it was weird to have her absent. Same with Alex who was also part of the drama club and again was almost completely omitted aside from one comment about him that Manow made in Episode 1. If they didn't want those characters in there, then so be it, but find a way to explain why they don't show up. Pretending they don't exist is not the way to go. Your audience isn't stupid.
-Similarly, part of Manow's journey was her discouragement of not getting any acting parts and just working backstage. This was another fairly major change since she acted in a short film that won a prize in UWMA and acted in something for the club's open house as well. Don't get me wrong, I actually liked the change, but it just felt like they didn't care about consistency and staying true to the original story.
-Sticking with Manow for a second, her and Pruek's relationship was also completely different. This is another change that I liked, I actually adored their relationship, more than Win and Team, if I'm honest, they were so wholesome, but again, nothing like what transpired in UWMA.
There's definitely more but I'll stick with those so I don't keep rambling.

The biggest problem though with Between Us, is that there simply wasn't enough story to stretch for 12 episodes. There just wasn't. Again as side characters, as a side couple, Team and Win were fantastic, they were the comedic relief together, separately they were confidants for Pharm and Dean respectively. It worked. But with them as the leads, their characters also changed. Team was almost infantilized. He was whiny and childish. His constant complaint of "Hia" became increasingly grating as the drama dragged on. And Win, who was teasing and mischievous in UWMA, was suddenly possessive and overprotective. The teasing came out as well, but to a lesser extent and as the drama went on; their relationship took on an almost parental note which was weird and felt unnatural. Their relationship in UWMA, for as little as we saw of it, felt natural. That's part of why it was so charming. What we needed was something that told us why they worked. Not a one night stand, not family drama, or a traumatic back story, just them, what was it about their personalities, who they were, that just clicked and unfortunately we got everything but that.

But while I feel like starting their relationship with a one night stand wouldn't fit with the narrative initiated by UWMA, it could have worked. If they had showcased what started out as just sex slowly developing into something more. But instead, they kept their relationship painfully awkward, particularly on Team's part, hesitant to touch or be touched, and the kisses were just not great. There should have been a steady improvement, but there wasn't. I'm going to guess neither the writer or director have ever been in relationships and have no idea how they work because seriously, there should be growth and development, not just physically, but emotionally. But again, we have the weird parent/child dynamic between the two that never goes away. We have Win's apparent fear of commitment that's never really addressed. There's also Team's completely unfounded fear that he's not truly special to Win that's also not addressed. Those are two aspects that would have been interesting to explore and could have given insight to the characters, providing growth for them as individuals and as a couple. We also have scenes like the one where Team apparently sits in the rain for two hours waiting for Win to rush to his side. Really? You're visiting your parents, they're probably 10 minutes away, but you're going to call your boyfriend who's two hours away. And then Win, who has a car, decides to ride his bike. The levels of stupidity in that one scene were just off the charts. And then the episode where they finally admit they love each other but spend half of it chasing each other around. Basically, by the end of the drama, I wanted to bash their heads together, not that I think it would have actually done any good.

The other thing bogging down this drama was, as usual, the myriad of side couples. Now the two I didn't mind were Manow and Pruek, as I already mentioned, and, for the most part, Tul and Waan.
-Manow and Pruek had a good, steady development in their relationship and I loved his endless support of her. Seriously, Pruek is boyfriend goals. If he has an older brother exactly like him, I want him as my boyfriend thank you very much. I also loved how he just accepted her as she was with all her quirks and oddities. He took everything in stride no matter how weird and it created some truly adorable scenes. I just cannot describe how much I adore them. I liked the depth given to Manow. I loved her in UWMA, but there was more to her here. She wasn't just the funny friend, she was a whole character. And she had so much personality! BL's and dramas, in general, take note. A woman does not have to be a skinny, pretty little thing with no personality to be appreciated. Not that Sammy isn't pretty, she is stunning, but I love that she doesn't fit that typical mold. I wouldn't have minded more of a focus on her struggles and efforts to be an actress despite not fitting society's idea of how an actress should look, but I'll take what I can get.
-Tul and Waan, for all that they didn't have a whole lot of screen time, were an interesting couple if nothing else. They added an element of intrigue with the whole will Tul get the cajones to tell him who he really is or not. They reasonably developed characters with a mostly believable story. I liked their interactions both through their game and in person. Their ending was a bit rushed for my taste, definitely a 0 to 60, and the chemistry seemed to be a bit lacking there, but I didn't hate it.
-Bee and Prince were my least favorite side couple. They had some cute moments, but I didn't feel their relationship was well developed. When I first wrote this review, I really didn't get Prince's struggle and it seemed over the top. Now, having seen more how celebrities in Thailand and Asia are treated, I have a much greater appreciation for his dilemma and the trials he and Bee were bound to face. So that aspect I felt was well done. But as a whole, their relationship felt choppy. They hadn't interacted enough before they were in love for me to believe it was something lasting or to even fully see how they got there. Still, I did find myself rooting for them and for their future together.
-Pharm and Dean are of course in there, but they're not added into the story very well as a couple. Honestly, they're just kind of there. Dean, as president of the swim club and Win's friend pops up more than Pharm, but past the first couple of episodes, he's mostly there as a sounding board for Win. Since his and Pharm's story has already been told, I don't really have anything to say about them, other than, I did like Pharm more here. I don't know if it was because I can tolerate him better in smaller doses, he seemed more mature, which he did, or there were a lot fewer scenes of him being all shy with Dean after they'd been together for a while. Whatever the reason, it worked.
-They weren't a side couple but I was not fond of A and Sea. Frankly, they were jerks toward Bee and if I was him, I would have dropped them as friends. There is good natured ribbing and there is bullying/mocking. In my opinion, they went past good natured straight to bullying/mocking. He was obviously serious about Prince and rather than offering their support, they just mocked him. Who needs or wants friends like that?

And this was yet another drama that clearly thought its viewers had short term memories and so must show flashbacks at least once every ten minutes. I'm exaggerating, but the number of flashbacks really was unnecessary and excessive. Other than the music reused from UWMA which was just as lovely as I remembered, I wasn't overly impressed with the OST. It was mostly pretty forgettable and there were definitely moments where the music was too loud and it made hearing the actors' voices hard. The cinematography varied. Some of it was really great and beautiful, but then there were moments of shaky camera work, some awkward shots or lighting that really detracted from the quality.

The acting is honestly pretty mediocre. I didn't find myself impressed with any of the leads, no one really jumped out to me which was kind of disappointing. But then again, that's pretty much how this whole drama sums up. Boun and Prem for all that I did like them in UWMA lack chemistry. They have a couple of scenes that should have been hot, but frankly I didn't feel anything. Other scenes, where they were messing with each other or even when they were having a few heartfelt conversations, there was chemistry. They just severely lacked it physically. And should say that not everyone was mediocre. Sammy was once again a delight as my girl, Manow and Bosston kept giving me warm, fuzzy feelings every time he was on screen, so I will give credit to those two for keeping me invested.

I came into this drama really wanting to like it. I was excited for Win and Team's story, to see it unfold and develop. Unfortunately, I ended up disappointed in so many ways from the change in both their characters to the lack of development in their relationship to just how bland the story was overall. If you enjoyed UWMA, I really can't recommend watching this. Actually, I just can't recommend watching this period.

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One Palm Distance

If any director was going to direct a Thai BL that would lead me to give it a perfect 10, it would be P'Aof. And Last Twilight is *chef's kiss* perfection. There is nothing about this drama that I did not love. The story, the characters, the cast, the music, every part of it came together into this beautiful, timeless whole that left me laughing, crying, sighing, and in the end, feeling utterly content.

Last Twilight starts out big, introducing the characters' pasts and what led them to their present selves and the struggles they're facing. For Day, it's the gradual loss of his eyesight and coming to grips that his life has been irrevocably altered and the fear of how others will perceive him. For Mhok, he is still dealing with his sister's suicide as well as the implications of having spent time in jail which makes it difficult for him to find a job move on with his life. When Day and Mhok meet and Mhok becomes the jaded and closed-off Day's caretaker, they slowly begin to heal each other as they find acceptance and eventually love in each other. Mhok is the one person with the ability to pull Day from the darkness he's been hiding in and back into the sunlight and back into life. With the help of others, he shows Day that his life can still be fulfilling, even if he can't see. One thing that binds the story together is the book Last Twilight which one of Day's friends had recommended for him to read. Mhok reads it to Day throughout the series and Day identifies with the main character and her struggle. They have multiple conversations about the book and it serves as an important turning point for them when they seek out the view pictured on the back of the book. It's at this lookout that Day completely loses his eyesight and when they return home, have to deal with Day's mother's wrath at Mhok having not only crossed the line with her son in entering into a relationship with him, but also, in her mind, putting her son at risk. When the surgery to fix Day's eyes fails and he's forced to reconcile himself to the fact that he may never see again, there's another shift in Day and Mhok's relationship as Day seeks to become more independent and on a trip with just the two of them, Mhok finds himself fretting about Day's safety and the pity that he has never before felt creeps in. When he receives a job offer to work as a chef in Hawaii, he turns it down, not wanting to leave Day. The fact that pity for Day played any part in his decision, even if only incrementally, leads Day to break up with him. One of the very few aspects I didn't love about this drama, and it's a minor one, was the number of time jumps at the end. If memory serves there are technically three, two that jump three years in the future each and then one that inexplicably decides to jump back three years. That first jump reunites Day and Mhok for Night and Porjai's wedding with both having been quite successful during their time apart, but the feelings are clearly still there. However, when asked for a second chance, Day turns Mhok down, afraid of a repeat of past events until a chat with his mom makes him realize that he does want that chance and after some running around, the pair are reunited, this time for good. There's a back and forth after this of Day three years after having another surgery which was successful and gave him his sight back and then bouncing back to immediately after the surgery when he first opened his eyes. The conclusion is, fittingly, back at the view where Day lost his eyesight as the pair once again talk about the book and Day is able to actually see and appreciate the scenery. It's a satisfying and beautiful conclusion to a wholesome and beautiful story.

I've seen some complaints about the pacing, but personally, I though it was pretty perfect. It was steady with hardly a fumble and never once did I find myself bored or wanting it to speed up or slow down. While I am not blind nor is anyone I know, I felt like they handled the topic of blindness quite well. Day's feelings were shown as valid and understandable as was the learning curve both for himself and those around him as he reentered the world and learned to live in it. I think it really pinpointed that oftentimes what stands in our way is ourselves. If we're willing to put ourselves out there and take a chance, then abled or disabled, the sky is really the limit. I similarly appreciated that despite getting pregnant outside of wedlock, Porjai was not treated as a pariah and was not judged, at least not that we saw. As women are often ostracized in that situation, it was refreshing as was Night and Day's mother obvious acceptance of her and her daughter.

Last Twilight really was, for me, practically perfect. There were a few things that I might have liked more information on or to delve into more, but I feel like I'm being more nitpicky than anything as most things couldn't be expounded on due to time constraints I'm sure. August was a there and gone character in a lot ways; he came back into the picture, was there for a brief period and then disappeared. But the effect he had on Day during that short period made me wish we had a little more insight into him and his thought process, particularly when it came to how he was, in essence, pursuing Day which ultimately culminated in their kiss. How exactly was he expecting that all to end? Did he really think it would make Day happy to be falsely pursued by him and then have him up and leave? There was just a lack of common sense it seemed behind most of his actions. I would have liked to delve more into Mhok's past and his emotions and thought process. A big one was when he and Day broke up. Day's reaction to Mhok pitying him could be construed as over the top and if this was another drama, I might have rolled my eyes and thought he was overreacting. But given the material and the characters, I actually thought it worked quite well, because it was made clear that one of the things Day hated the most, was how people pitied him. The fact that Mhok didn't pity him was part of what attracted him and what he found so satisfying in their relationship and what made him feel secure. I think knowing that Mhok pitied him destroyed the illusion he had and he was afraid that feeling would continue and affect their relationship. There was probably an element too that he didn't want Mhok sacrificing his future to be with him. I found Mhok's fear of losing Day and the sentiment that he didn't want to lose out on time to be a valid one and I really wish that we'd been given more insight into that fear. Again, given Mhok's past, with what had happened to his sister, I could understand where that fear came from and it shouldn't have been dismissed quite so easily. I would have liked to see him and Day have a more serious conversation about the whole thing at some point, but that would have taken up far more time than was permitted. The medical side of me wanted more information about Day's eyes and what exactly had happened. My best guess would be that the accident caused non-infectious keratitis which then developed into infectious keratitis, but generally that's treatable so I would have liked some details. There were also a few other issues that popped up that could have been resolved with less drama then there was, but, again, I'm nitpicking.

The characters were solid and I really came to love each and every one of them. Even with the side characters, there was a satisfying amount of character development and it really did add another layer of depth to them and the story.
-Day was definitely handed the short end of the stick. I cannot even imagine what it would be like to go from a national athlete to being disabled. His anger and bitterness at the world was understandable and was shown well, as was his fear of the judgment he might face, but not be able to see. It was incredibly satisfying to see him gradually blossom with Mhok's help and venture back into the world and discover that while there were people who might pity or judge him, there were also those who would not and there was still so much for him to experience. His reconciliation with his brother was well done and not rushed at all. When it got to that point, I felt it was believable that he had grown to the point where he could truly forgive his brother. I loved seeing him there at the end with his own bookshop and being independent and thriving.
-Mhok was similarly unlucky, hanging out with the wrong crowd which led to his imprisonment after a fight combined with his sister committing suicide and the fear it instilled in him. I appreciated the spotlight they shown on how people who have been imprisoned for one reason or another are ostracized and the difficulties they face, particularly in finding employment. There are few employers out there willing to give second chances unfortunately so it was especially gratifying to see him grow and succeed once he was given the chance. And while Day was used to people pitying him, Mhok was accustomed to being judged once his past was discovered. He and Day found their home in each other in part because neither reacted the way others did. Mhok did not pity Day and Day did not judge Mhok. I think Mhok's growing fear that something might happen to Day if he wasn't right there all the time was a valid one based on his own experience and, again, I wish we'd had the opportunity to delve into that and it had been addressed more. I did appreciate that Mhok did not blame Day for breaking up with him, but instead decided to take it as an opportunity to learn and grow.
-Night carried the guilt of having been the cause of his brother's blindness and in many ways it defined him for a large part of the series. He was constantly seeking to atone for what he had done, doing his best to take care of his little brother in as much as he would let him which wasn't much at all. Still, he never gave up and he was supportive of Mhok and Day's relationship and helped however he could. He made lifestyle changes like no longer drinking and truly sought to better himself. And while Day's attitude and behaviour frustrated Night, it was clear that no matter what, he loved his little brother. I loved that they were able to reconcile their relationship and the Christmas dinner scene when he feels like he's finally accepted back into the family is so sweet and wholesome. I do wish we'd gotten to see a little more of his relationship with Porjai, but even without that, I really enjoyed their relationship and how accepting he was of her and how he loved her daughter like his own.
-Porjai was the kind of female character I wish more BLs had. She wasn't a villain, she wasn't a roadblock for the main characters' romance, she was Mhok's ex, but they had the kind of relationship that I'm sure some wish they could have with their ex. They were close friends, protective and supportive of each other. Mhok provided her with a home and she was a sounding board for him, giving him advice at times or just taste testing his food and she helped him get a job at her workplace. When Day decided that he wanted to give Mhok a second chance, she jumped into the car in her wedding dress and was all ready to hunt Mhok down, grabbing the mic from that poor airport employee to yell for him over the intercom. She was a beautiful, strong woman and I just loved her character.

The acting was so good on all fronts. Jimmy has come a long way from the first time I saw him in Bad Buddy. I was not impressed with him then, but he has just continued to improve himself and I felt he really nailed the character of Mhok. I thought he handled all the emotions he had to portray really well and gave a nuanced performance. Sea blew me away. He had a challenging role, but he had me truly believing that his character was blind and I could really feel the character's emotional turmoil. So well done. And Jimmy and Sea's chemistry has improved as well since Vice Versa. I really enjoyed the build up of the relationship and they just portrayed it so beautifully. Mark is a winner no matter what role he plays and this time was no different. As both the repentant big brother and loving boyfriend/husband, he was perfect. Namtan is also great no matter what role she plays and she hit the perfect balance here between sassy and caring and I really enjoyed her performance.

The production was overall very well done. In particular, the scenes in Songklah on the mountain were so well done and beautifully shot. I thought the opening was creative with the way it was blurred and then became clearer. Again the incorporation of the book Last Twilight as well as The Little Prince was a fun addition with the way the stories were interwoven with the plot. The music was perfect, though I particularly love William Jakrapatr's song for the series. I may have been listening to it on repeat since it was released on Spotify.

Last Twilight, for me, is the pinnacle of BL dramas, it's what other dramas should aspire to be in their own way. There are others that have come very close, but for me it was the most consistent in terms of pacing, story line and character development. I fell in love with it from the first episode and that didn't change as it progressed. I cannot recommend this drama enough. It hits on some hard topics but does so in a respectful and sensitive way and ultimately is just so heartwarming.

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One Step At A Time

Step By Step is one of those dramas that I feel you either love it or hate it. I found it to be different from most standard BLs with it's office setting and focusing on the office dynamics and work relationships as well as the romantic ones. It was initially pleasant that the leads' relationship wasn't rushed and had time to develop, but I do feel that it lost it's way towards the end. It's not a perfect drama by any means, it didn't always seem to know what to do with it's side characters, there were plot lines that popped up out of nowhere and others that were simply ghosted, there weren't always good explanations for why characters reacted the way that they did, etc. Still, I personally enjoyed it and thought it was a pleasant diversion.

The plot is nothing fancy, essentially an office romance between a boss and his subordinate, which of course is going to cause drama. What I liked about it though was the attention to detail in regards to that office setting. We actually get to see the characters working, going to meetings, presenting, and so on. Maybe because I'm at the ripe age of 32, I didn't find it boring, but I can understand those who did. Personally it felt like a slice of life drama with an office focus, but more realistic than others I've seen. Yes, there's the ridiculous and over the top moments and things that would never happen in actual office, but I enjoyed that quality of peeking into a world I'm not at all familiar with fictional though it may be. It did feel like the story started to lose steam a little over halfway through and didn't seem to know where to go from there. And then there at the end there was a lot of drama thrown in which, besides being unnecessary, felt rushed. And I have to say that the ending, while cute, was rather anti-climatic. Despite it's length, it still felt like there were unanswered questions.

The pacing was a mess. Most of the drama and actual issues with our leads' relationship were relegated to the last three episodes and that's because they didn't actually get together until Episode 10. I have no issues with a slow burn which this definitely was, but I think the story could have been better spread out, allowing them to get together sooner and actually have some time as a couple before the drama started and then showing them handling those issues as a couple or delving into their characters more to show why things ended between them the way that they did prior to the time jump. Time in general was a struggle with this drama as it was hard to tell how much time had passed. It didn't feel like much time had passed, but then things like Ae's pregnancy would make me realize that a lot more time had gone by than I thought. Especially in an office setting, it felt like they should have been able to more clearly show that time progression. There was also the issue with the side couples/story lines not getting the attention they deserved which, again, could have been rectified if the pacing and story planning had been better. As it was, we were left with a very unsatisfying ending for Jaab and Jen who essentially just disappeared as the story progressed, Ae, Khanun and Beam were also shuffled off to the side and only showed up on occasion after a while, Chot and his boyfriend were thrown in at random times, and there were other parts that just needed better planning.

One of the biggest things I felt was lacking was insight into the characters' thoughts and the reasoning behind their reactions. Two examples would be Jaab's sudden rejection of Jane and Pat's reaction to finding out Jeng was gay. Jane was a fairly minor character throughout the series, so I can understand to an extent not going in depth with his emotions and mental state, but given that we are given the impression that he is in a happy, committed relationship, I do think there needed to be more insight into why he was so swayed by Jaab. With Jaab, he's liked Jane for a while, so why when Jane reveals that he and his boyfriend broke up, does he say they should just be friends? They shared a kiss, it was obvious Jaab still had feelings for Jane so what was with that? There was no explanation, no reasoning, nothing as to why he didn't want to give a relationship with Jane a shot. Similarly, Pat's reaction to finding out Jeng was gay seemed over the top and unnecessary. Why was he so shocked and put off by that revelation? Pat's reactions to things involving Jeng didn't always make sense, but this one and his decision to ghost Jeng for two years felt like taking things to the extreme. There needed to be more explanation as to why Pat reacted the way that he did for me to understand and sympathize with him.

The characters ranged from good to mediocre. There were a couple of gems in there, but most of them didn't leave much, if any, of an impression. Overall, I found the way characters were treated to be a bit disappointing just because it was so all over the place. Some characters had great character development and others were left stagnant.
-Pat was definitely more on the mediocre side for me. His childishness, tantrums and changeability made him a hard character for me to really get on board with. More insight into his character, why he was the way that he was, would have been helpful. As it stands, he really did just come across as immature and there were times that I really struggled to understand what Jeng saw him in aside from that he is a cute kid. Jeng talked about how smart he was and that's something that should have been shown and utilized more because while he did seem intelligent, it didn't seem like he was extraordinarily so. There also needed to be more insight into his feelings for Jeng. While initially he was obviously attracted to Jeng before realizing that he was his boss, once that revelation came about, his interest seemed to cool. Afterwards, there were a few hints that maybe he was developing feelings for Jeng, but when he went back to Put, it put those feelings in question. Regarding Put, that conflict felt like it resolved far too quickly. We went from Pat not wanting to see him, speak to him, anything, to, what felt like in a very short time span, being willing to start a relationship with him again. And then Pat goes from crying over their breakup to confessing he has feelings for Jeng. I almost felt like I had whiplash with the way Pat's feelings seemed to keep jumping around. I also wanted to explore more as to why Pat didn't believe that Jeng's feelings for him were real and why he didn't feel like he deserved Jeng initially. I was frankly a bit disappointed in Pat's character growth. He talks at one point about he's grown so much and is no longer as emotional, but I didn't really see that a whole lot. He still seemed overemotional and overreactive to the end.
-Jeng was definitely one of the best characters. He was very interesting to watch, especially as his feelings for Pat developed which I felt was well done. His feelings were clearly built up, starting from polite interest which then grew into romantic feelings. There was never any doubt regarding his feelings for Pat. I wish they had done as well with Pat and his feelings. I also appreciated his character growth from no nonsense, perfectionist boss to someone who was able to let loose a bit. Part of what also appealing about him was that he wanted to change for the better and he made an effort to do so. There's the element that Pat did inspire those changes, but he made the conscious decision to change on his own. His maturity especially in contrast to Pat was refreshing especially when it came to things like Pat blaming him for essentially not being a mind reader. Pat seemed to think that he should be able to change with a snap of his fingers, not realizing that change does take time, and I was very impressed with Jeng's patience. I would have liked a little more time spent on his background and his relationship with his parents, especially his father. A lot of that was just skimmed over and there at the end, it didn't really feel like things had been resolved between him and his father. Still, I felt that he was overall a decently well-rounded character and I really liked him.
-I didn't have particularly strong feelings about most of the remaining characters save for a few. I found Jaab to be a weird combination of interesting and boring. He had moments where I was invested in him, but there were a lot of other moments where I almost wanted to skip his scenes because he wasn't doing anything for me. Once his relationship with Jane petered out, I really lost interest in him. I did like some of his interactions with Jeng though and the support he was willing to provide eventually. Jane could have been a much better character if he was fleshed out more. As it was, there just wasn't much too him and that made it difficult to relate to him or really feel anything strongly about his character. I was disappointed with that because I did like his relationship with Jaab and I wanted to see more of it's development. I really liked Ae and I wish there had been a bit more of her. Her confidence was awesome as was her obvious love for her friends. She was always ready to go to bat for them and she was just in general an awesome character. I like strong female characters and I feel like they tend to be lacking in a lot of BLs so she was a pleasant surprise. I did find the revelation that Beam had been in love with her to be a bit out of the blue since I hadn't gotten that impression earlier on and it just felt unnecessary. Chot was another gem, I loved that he had a well balanced personality. He had just the right amount of over the top without it being grating. Plus he was just a sweetheart in general, always there to listen and be supportive, an understanding friend and lover, and just an all around lovely person. I could use someone like him in my life. The last character I want to mention is Jeng's father. He was too much of an enigma for me to really appreciate his character and he definitely needed a bit more fleshing out. His actions and thought process were left very ambiguous which works sometimes, but not here. I wanted to understand his treatment of Jeng and Pat as it felt more than a disapproval of his son being gay and getting involved with one of his subordinates.

As for the acting, can I just start off by saying how refreshing it was to see them cast an age appropriate actor for Jeng's role. I couldn't help but thinking about like Moonlight Chicken and how they tried to convince us that Earth could pass for an almost 40 year old. Hair, makeup and clothes can only go so far and trying to make actors look and act older than they are really does not work. Man was perfect because he both looked and acted the part. He gave a certain maturity to the role that someone much younger simply can't. I enjoyed the nuance of his performance and thought he played the part perfectly. This was Ben's first acting role and it showed. He wasn't bad per se, just compared to Man, he felt green. His expressions didn't vary a whole lot and some of the emotional scenes felt forced. I do think if he'd had more experience, he could have better conveyed some of the emotions and thought processes of his character. I was pleased that they cast two actors who are clearly comfortable speaking English since the fluency matched both of their backstories. I've seen far too many dramas where they give their characters backstories of having grown up in the US or spent a lot of time there and are supposed to be fluent, but the actor is clearly not comfortable with the language. I completely understand that learning another language is a challenge, so no disrespect to those actors, it just personally pulls me out of the story when it's clear that they're not as comfortable with the language as the story is trying to make them seen. Both Man and Ben were articulate and clearly understandable and delivered their lines effortlessly.

Despite it's flaws, I overall enjoyed Step By Step. It's not perfect by any means and could have been better with some tweaks, but for what it is, I found it entertaining for the most part. The build up of the characters' relationship, the setting, and the characters themselves had a different feel from other BLs I've watched recently and I liked that. It felt distinctive in it's own way. As I said before, I think this drama is rather polarizing in that you will either love it or hate it without a whole lot in between. If you go in without any major expectations and understand that it is flawed, I think that can stave off the disappointment that some might feel. For my part, I wouldn't discourage anyone from watching it, just be aware that it's not for everyone.

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Broken Promise

Prior to watching this drama, I watched the two episode prequel which I very much enjoyed and felt was a setup for an excellent story. Instead what came to pass was a cheap story that very much deviated from the one begun in those two episodes and left me feeling disappointed and thinking of what could have been. I don't know who approved those changes, but I blame them for ruining what could have been something great.

If you too are planning to start this drama after watching the prequel, I urge you to stop right now. There are so many differences in terms of tone, story, and characterization that it serves little to no purpose to watch it beforehand. Watching it set me up for failure to like this drama from the get go because of those changes. Rather, I would recommend watching them apart and viewing them as two separate entities, albeit with the same characters and general story. Just my two cents.

Aside from the deviations from the prequel which I'll get to in a bit, this drama is just full of problems. The story makes no sense. Phu's decision to disappear for 10 years seems very over the top here. I understand being afraid of rejection, but to ghost your best friend for 10 years because you don't think he'll return your feelings? That's a tad dramatic. The decision to have half the male cast swooning over Nan was also unnecessary and didn't feel realistic. The drama it added didn't do anything to move the story forward really or at least not in a way that couldn't have been done in another fashion. Killing off Phu's grandmother was predictable and, again, unnecessary. Honestly, there was so much that was unnecessary in this drama. But having her die right after he and Nan finally confess their feelings was not okay. Also the whole thing with his grandmother thinking it was better to hide her condition. Like, really? That never ends well. The final episode was a trainwreck and full of more unnecessary crap. Khunkhao did not need to end up being Phu's half brother. I guess it gave them a way to end their feud, but it was lazy. Similarly, the plane disappearing with about fifteen minutes left was just stupid. What was even the point of that? There wasn't one. The pacing was atrocious, mostly I think because we have eight or so episodes of when are these two finally going to get together. It's dragged out far too long and we're left with almost no time of them together as an actual couple.

One of the biggest issues with this drama was the complete lack of communication between the main characters. Phu's failure to communicate with Nan led to their 10 year separation. And both of their failure to communicate afterward led to them almost missing each other again. The level of self-sabotage on both their parts is just astronomical. We also never see them have an actual conversation about what happened 10 years ago. Even when they finally confess their feelings for each other, we don't get to see them have an honest conversation about what went on between them, why Phu felt the need to leave, why Nan was hesitant to express his feelings as well, etc. Nan's anger at Phu is never really addressed either. It's there for a moment and then it's pretty much just swept under the rug and not mentioned again. In general, I don't think we got to focus enough on the myriad of emotions that both men had to be feeling, but especially Nan. I think his initial reaction of happiness made sense. After 10 years, he was just happy to know that his best friend was alive and back in his life. But eventually, those other emotions, not just anger, but sadness and confusion, would have come to the fore and while we saw glimpses of them, we never really saw them dealt with or even acknowledged to any degree. And then there at the end, Phu's lack of communication leads to a fight between them. Thankfully they finally have a moment where they do communicate and Phu tells Nan how he really feels about him going to China, but it's also a bit of a situation of too little too late since Nan had committed to going by that point. This is one of those dramas where I want to bang my head against the wall, because if they would only communicate, most of these problems would have never come up. And while lack of communication is incredibly popular in BLs for moving the story forward and creating drama, I find it extremely lazy. If you want drama, there are other more creative ways to go about it.

While Phu's reaction to run away was overdramatic, I found Nan to be more realistic in his reactions. Things like avoiding the fact that both Party and Khunkhao were attracted to him. He wasn't interested in either of them beyond friendship, but it seemed obvious that he could tell they were attracted to him and just didn't want to go there. He's not encouraging to either one, he doesn't lead them on, at least not in my opinion, but whenever they try to express their feelings, at least until they outright do so, he puts them off, creates some distance between them. I think a lot of people do that and not just in that situation. We think that if we avoid the situation, it'll go away. Clearly that didn't happen and he was forced to confront both men. Similarly with his comments that he wouldn't want to start a romantic relationship with a friend. How often do we say things that we don't necessarily mean as a way to protect ourselves? It was so obvious that he loved Phu but was too afraid to face that. Besides their lack of communication, fear was a primary barrier that prevented Phu and Nan from getting together sooner.

The characters were okay, but not amazing. I preferred the Phu from the prequel. He came across as more confident, less self-conscious than he was in the drama and less afraid. Don't get me wrong, the fear was still there, but he didn't let it control him as much. Here he just felt kind of weak and almost cowardly. I never felt he really took responsibility for his actions and the damage they caused. Nan's character was more consistent which I appreciated, but I felt he lacked the depth he had in the prequel. He became more one-dimensional which was disappointing to see. The other characters were tolerable, but nothing great. Frankly, aside from Party who was the only down to earth one, the rest were just annoying. Gigi with her tarot cards and mumbo jumbo was annoying most of the time. Also, who wears clothing like that at a professional job? Don't get me wrong, she's a beautiful woman who can rock probably anything she puts on, but it was just jarring to see the guys wearing suits, the other women professionally dressed and then she's there in a crop top and mini skirt with a suit jacket. Man was unbelievably annoying. I really wanted to see Ken give him a proper dressing down, but of course that never happened. I don't know why Ken kept him around when he was so completely useless. Khunkhao just came across as a jerk. I liked him better in the prequel as well. His character seemed more subtle and interesting there. Here he was just possessive and overbearing. I liked Party both for his personality and character. He was smart and dependable, but not flashy about it. I liked his courage in confessing to Nan and his maturity when he was rejected. I also loved how he treated Phu. He was never rude to him even though they both loved the same man, he gave him fair warning when he decided to confess to Nan, and after he was rejected, he not only gave Phu advice, but also helped the pair get together by blocking Khunkhao. Aside from him, Dena and Grandma get honorable mentions. I really liked Dena in both the prequel and here. Despite being a minor character, she had a great presence and like her brother, I appreciated that she didn't fly off the handle when rejected and turn into an ass. One thing I will say for this drama, I liked that they didn't use a woman to come between the leads. Yes, there's one minor scene where Nan misinterprets events, but I don't really count that. But Dena wasn't a harpy and once she realized she had no chance, she gracefully bowed out. Grandma was fun with her sassy attitude. I enjoyed her and her friends and the way she razzed on Phu. Their relationship was very sweet.

The acting wasn't terrible, but again, not amazing. For that, I am laying full blame though on the script and director, mostly the script though. There's only so much you can do with garbage. I actually like Kun and Kiak together. I thought their chemistry was promising and they interacted well with each other. I preferred Kiak's acting over Kun's. His performance was more nuanced and he was more emotive, especially with his facial expressions. He also managed to convey a good amount of emotion just with his eyes. Kun wasn't bad, he just tended to stick to one expression more. It's like he would get stuck in a rut for a bit then realize he needed to use other expressions. He doesn't have the same amount of experience as Kiak though and again the script was awful, so I'm not writing him off yet. I liked Boss as Party. His expressions were great and I just really enjoyed what he did with the character.

All of the negatives with this were just compounded by one primary problem, the glaring differences between the prequel episodes and the drama. I really enjoyed those episodes. They weren't perfect, but I liked the tone of them, the emotions, the depth, the symbolism, and the maturity. I felt it worked quite well. The drama though just went in a whole other direction. Gone was the more mature and serious tone of the prequel. Instead, we get a weak rom-com that got maybe two laughs out of me. It wasn't funny or clever. Most of what they seemed to think would get people to laugh were in fact just annoying. I'm thinking of Man specifically who seemed to be included to bring laughs but was about as unfunny as they come. The very story was altered. In the drama, Phu and Nan share a kiss and Phu panics and disappears. In the prequel, Phu is planning to confess his feelings for Nan in what I'm sure would have been a much more romantic scene than what we got, but instead sees Nan apparently accepting the feelings of a girl they know. He leaves thinking that he missed his chance. While still an over the top reaction, it made more sense and I could get onboard with it better than the kissing excuse. We also get left with the understanding that Nan is aware of Phu's feelings as his landlady essentially told him, revealing how Phu had carefully picked out the flowers in the bouquet he planned to give to the one he was going to confess to, the exact same style of bouquet as he received on his graduation day. We also have the symbolism of the pocket watch Phu gave Nan which I loved. The way it stopped working and then right before they meet again, it starts again. I was so sad they completely left that out. The one area I will give credit to is that Nan's episode gives background to his relationship with Khunkhao and how they meet and develop a relationship. There are more minor discrepancies, like the comment in the prequel that they're from the same faculty but different majors whereas in the drama they're both marketing majors which, as a side note, made no sense since Phu makes a comment about not knowing how to market his grandmother's coffee farm. Also the girl Phu sees confessing to Nan is named Gigi, but it's unclear if she's supposed to be the same Gigi from the drama. Presumably not since they're played by two different actresses and neither she nor Phu acknowledge ever having met before in the drama. But truly the biggest differences were just the tone, the story and the way the characters acted. I couldn't stop comparing the two and the fact that they were night and day just left a bad taste in my mouth and really colored my perception of the drama.

This is yet another drama in a string of dramas or specials I've watched recently that had so much potential and then just fell flat. I can only imagine how amazing this drama could have been if it had explored its character's emotions and motives, spent less time on the drama and focused more on our leads rebuilding their relationship and taking it to the next level. A lot of dramas leave the love confession until the end, but I think this one had the unique opportunity with the prequel episodes to get that out of the way early on and follow up maybe with Nan struggling to come to terms with a confession after 10 years and Phu having to rebuild that trust like I mentioned before. It would have given us the opportunity to see them together as a couple and all the challenges that would bring. It's just so disappointing that this is what we got. In all honesty, I wouldn't recommend this drama. Go watch the prequel and stop there unless you want to be like me, haunted by what could have been.

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This Boss Has Been Dismissed

This is one of those dramas that is so dominated by attractive characters and sweet moments that you can almost be okay with all that it lacks. Almost, but not quite. This drama is lacking in a lot of areas, but that being said, I enjoyed parts of it. If you don't look too far below the surface, it's an okay drama. Not amazing, but certainly not the worst one out there. But when you begin to look deeper, you start to realize that the cute fluff was probably just a ploy to cover up the gaping holes. Based on the ratings, I was hoping for more from this drama despite the ridiculous title and I think it could have gone there, but it just didn't. It's like the writers lost their way part way through and decided the best way to finish it was with the typical dose of unnecessary drama. Still, if you don't think too hard, it's entertaining enough.

I have to admit that I'm getting really tired of BLs that almost completely lack a plot. I truly do not understand how it is so hard to write one. This one started out okay with the team developing their game and the drama of their idea being stolen and utilized by a former employee working for another company. But then it just floundered. That plot ended up not really going anywhere and just fizzled out and we were left with nonsensical drama between our two leads to take us to the finish line. Gun and Time's past relationship was never really developed or well explained. And Gun never explains that it wasn't actually him who gave up Time which, I sort of understood, but also didn't. Then there's Thup's story serving as kind of a second plot line and it also fizzled out. It didn't help that there was so little background on him. We know he's Thian's little brother and Cher's honorary brother, but that's about it. He's constantly asking Cher for money, supposedly for school, but it's not clear if that's actually the case. It's hinted that he's actually using it to place bets. And he has so much anger inside, and that's not really expanded on. It's obviously linked to his sister's death and what happened to her, but it's something that could have been explored a lot more to make him a more interesting and relevant character. His subsequent arrest on drug charges is made into a big deal and then we never hear about it again. He's seen once in the final episode and it's assumed he was cleared of charges, but how that all came about is left in the wind. We additionally have the very dark story with Thian which is absolutely heartbreaking, but was not treated with the respect or attention it deserved. If you are going to involve a story of a young woman being raped and impregnated by her stepfather and then committing suicide, you need to commit to that story. It is not something you throw in for added drama and then ghost which is exactly what happened here. Thup throws out that revelation, Cher briefly questions if the step-father can be arrested and then it's never mentioned again aside from at the end when Thup and his mother appear together and it's implied the step-father is no longer in the picture. I was not okay with that at all.

The constant push and pull there at the end between Cher and Gun got old very quickly. A lot of BLs resort to this and it's so overdone and tired. And I'm not blaming Gun here. He was consistent with his love for Cher and damned the consequences. And I can also to an extent understand Cher's wavering at least initially with one of his best friends saying that a CEO and an intern getting together wasn't appropriate. But I also think he blew it way out of proportion. The primary issue was their PDA at work, which I personally found valid. You're there to work, not flirt with your boss and slack off. So why he didn't click to that and just tell Gun that they needed to cool it at work and instead overreacted is beyond me. And not once, but several times. Listen to your man, sir, he's telling you he loves you and you can get through this. Communicate! The whole trope too of I'm going to go off and do my own thing and just leave you but then I'll come back has also been used a lot recently and is equally old. What would be a great twist is if the other person actually didn't wait for them and moved on with their life. Not that I expect that will ever happen, but it would be more interesting than, yes, I've waited for you for five years or whatever. If you've waited that long, please go get therapy, that's not healthy.

Speaking on that note, one of the things I was impressed with was the inclusion of Jack's mental health, specifically his depressive disorder. A lot of dramas skirt mental health issues, so I appreciated that it was actually discussed. What I was NOT impressed with was Cher flippantly discussing it with other members of the team without Jack's permission. That is a huge no no. You do not speak about somebody else's mental health issues with other people. It is a huge breach of privacy and trust. Another issue I took was the celebration that Jack could go off his meds. I have depression, I will be on medication for the rest of my life probably, so to have it portrayed like a depressive order is something that can be cured didn't sit real well with me. The one thing I will say though, is that it seemed like his depressive order was caused by a specific event, namely something that happened between him and a former lover, so that could translate to a different kind of treatment. I'm not a medical professional though so I don't know. Generally speaking, however, like I said, depression isn't something that's cured. Your dose of meds may be adjusted, but your doctor doesn't typically take you off of them.

In terms of characters, I was disappointed by the lack of character development and background. This was not one of those dramas that had a huge cast where it was impossible to have any detail because they were juggling so many characters. This just seemed like more of a case of laziness or disinterest more than anything else. Gun, I think, had the most character development but I didn't feel it was consistent. He came across as cold and aloof at the beginning but that attitude pretty quickly changed after he met Cher. Too quickly, in my opinion. I wanted to see a gradual softening of his attitude towards Cher and then that also translating to those around him. But while his attitude towards Cher obviously changed, there wasn't as much of a change in how he treated others. The exception would be those close to Cher. With them, he was pretty open and friendly, but anyone else outside that circle pretty much seemed to still get the cold shoulder. Cher was pretty stagnant frankly. He had some minor changes, he became slightly more serious, but overall, his character remained relatively unchanged which was disappointing. It was clear that his character started wearing off on Gun, but not vice versa. As for their relationship, the pacing was terrible. It was like they rushed into it to begin with, I mean there first kiss is in Episode 2, I think, before remaining static for a while, then there would be some progression followed by another static period and so on and so forth. It didn't have a good, consistent flow and I think it would have been better if they had developed it more at the beginning before just jumping in.

And while I loved the friendship between Cher, Jack, Zo, Three, and Tubtab, they were also very neglected in terms of character development and background. In fact, I don't think any background was given on them regarding how any of them met and formed their gaming team, how long Zo and Three had been together, nothing but the barest of hints regarding Jack's background and former love interest, nothing about Tubtab's café, etc. Having that kind of information enriches the characters, makes them seem more real and less one dimensional. Zo and Three in particular were treated as a unit rather than given identities as individuals. Basically every scene revolved around them as a pair which isn't fair to the characters. Time was another character that had a huge disservice done to him. There was so much there that could have been delved into with his past friendship with Gun, his transfer to another company, and the leaking that he had been accessing his former employers emails to gain knowledge of their game. Instead, he's given almost no screen time, he makes an idle threat that at first I thought was going to add some juice to the drama but led nowhere, and ends up getting fired and having one last fight with Gun in which Gun does nothing. I still don't understand why he didn't tell him that he wasn't the one to send the evidence. And last but not least, we have Porsche who is Gun's ex, but again, no other information is really given about him. He's basically there as a sounding board for Gun/interpreter of Cher's actions to some degree and nothing more which again was disappointing because I think he couldn't have been a really interesting character. Gun's mother was another pretty weak character. I don't think it helped that everything with her was thrown in at the end, but she came across as very no nonsense women and pretty determined that Cher was not suitable for her son. But he graduates and wins a gaming competition and suddenly she's okay with them? I'm guessing there just wasn't enough time left to really develop her character, but it felt sloppy.

This was another drama where the acting was hit or miss. Force and Book have been friends for a really long time, some sixteen years if memory serves, and unfortunately, that's what comes through. Their romantic chemistry is nil, in fact as soon as a scene turned romantic, moving from just hugs to kissing, it was a like switch flipped and all the heat left the room. I felt absolutely nothing. Their buddy chemistry on the other hand was great. I know a number of the popular BL couples these days are made up of actors who have been friends for years and some of them work really well together and can bring that romantic chemistry to the table, I'm looking at First and Khaotung. Force and Book are just two who can't. I think they'd be great together in a drama where they're just friends and one or both of them have different love interests. They're acting is nothing spectacular. I wasn't overly impressed with them in Enchante and that just continued here. Book is just kind of boring to watch. They both lack depth, but it's especially noticeable with Book. He's adorable, don't get me wrong, and plucky, but that's about it. It starts to get repetitive after a while. He can make sad faces all day, but I just don't generally feel it. He had a few instances where he did connect, so I think he has potential. Force is slightly better. His emotions at least reached his eyes sometimes and there were moments where I could feel his pain. But he's not consistent and that's a problem. And while I understand the character he played was cold, he often came off as robotic. The other actors did serviceable jobs. I don't think any of them were spectacular, but I blame most of that on the fact that their characters were so incredibly shallow.

I know this is nitpicking, but the synopsis talks about Cher's gaming and ASMR channel. Gun is interested in him from the get go because of his voice from his ASMR channel which I didn't get because while Book's voice is fine, it's not like there's anything unique about it. I mean absolutely offense, but I didn't discern any kind of special quality to it that could make me understand where Gun was coming from. Cher's ASMR channel is never featured except in one maybe fifteen second clip and is barely mentioned after Gun's initial recognition of him as the owner of that channel and his gaming also doesn't play into the story much either except as a source of conflict with his friends and as a way to show off Gun.

There were a few things that I did like. The whole husband/wife trope was nowhere to be seen here. They refer to each other as boyfriends once they reach that point and nothing else. The fact that Gun was gay and a CEO was never an issue. Aside from comments that his mother had tried to "fix" him, no one batted an eye about the two of them being together other aside from feeling it was inappropriate for the CEO of the company to be together with an intern. And while it wasn't explicitly mentioned, it is implied that Cher is bisexual. I appreciated that the fact he had liked a girl previously and was now with a guy was never questioned or even commented on.

Production was okay. There were a couple of scenes that had some really choppy editing done which was distracting. The music wasn't anything spectacular, but I always take it as a bonus if it's not overly loud and distracting.

If you can turn your brain off and just enjoy the cute moments and fluff, you'll probably enjoy this drama. If you're someone though who wants a fully developed plot and characters, I would steer clear as you won't find that here. It's one of those dramas that had the potential to be something if it had an actual plot and better writing, but lacking both, it's mediocre at best.

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Bad Beginning, Starry Ending

Going into this final stretch of Our Skyy 2, I found myself with conflicting feelings. I was not expecting to see Bad Buddy and A Tale of Thousand Stars combined. None of the other stories were connected and I'm wondering why they decided to do so here. It's not bad, but I feel like the focus is more with the Thousand Stars story and Bad Buddy is the side piece. Like many other viewers, the Bad Buddy and Tale of a Thousand Stars episodes were the ones I was looking forward to most. They're the two oldest and so the nostalgia is stronger with them since it's been a couple years since we've seen these characters. As much as I anticipated these episodes, I found the first two just fell flat while the last two and particularly the final episode served as a suitable ending .

When it comes to Bad Buddy, I'm not sure how much of a fan I am in going back in time to just after Pat and Pran pretend to break up. I feel like a lot of the plot in that first episode is a rinse and repeat of what we've already seen. I would have preferred if it was a continuation from the end of the series after they graduated. We'd seen the rift between their parents starting to heal and things had reached a point where they weren't going to need to hide their relationship. Going on from there, continuing to show that healing, the novelty that they could be together openly, all would have made for a great conclusion to their story and would have focused solely on them. Its placement also limited the amount of character development that could be done since it did need to coincide with the ending of Bad Buddy.

Their relationship, while very similar to how it was in the series, does have its differences here. There was a good balance in Bad Buddy of mischievous/playful and sweet moments between them. I liked that it was a series where both leads were strong minded young men. It gave a whole different dynamic that worked very well. In the first two episodes though the sweet moments were few and far between while the mischievous/playful moments take precedence. And those few sweet moments are by and large initiated by Prat at which point Pran pushes him away or something interrupts them. It's been a while since I watched it, but I felt like they were on more of an even keel in the series of who initiated physical intimacy of any kind. That's not to say there aren't some sweet moments between them, there are, it just overall didn't feel quite in harmony with the series. And I was expecting a lot more of those sweet moments once they were away from their friends and parents since they wouldn't have to pretend anymore, but they took a back seat even then. Additionally, Pran's reaction to Pat's comment felt over the top. They're pretending to still be enemies, it would make sense that Prat would be bad mouthing him or making it seem like he was superior. Considering that Pran typically came across as relatively level-headed previously, his taking that comment to heart and deciding to abandon Pat didn't seem to quite fit with his character.

And while I wasn't a fan of those first two episodes, it was like a flip was switched for the final two. Suddenly we're getting more sweet moments between them, little ones as well as some genuinely heartfelt moments like when Pat finally admits that he can't live without Pran. It's a really beautiful little scene the likes of which were completely lacking in those first episodes. There are also little throwbacks to Bad Buddy like Pat asking Pran to rate his "performance". Things just seemed much more harmonious and back to normal between them in those final episode. I loved the play. I don't know why exactly, but I actually teared up a bit watching it. It was just well done and it was fitting that the two of them played the parts of Tian and Phupha. Their ending was both sweet with their kiss as well as funny with Pat's sister interrupting them again. It just suited them.

There were a couple of things, however, that just didn't quite work. Pat and Pran are supposed to be broken up and back to being enemies at this point. However, they don't act like it at all. They're constantly together in public without showing a bit of animosity and we're supposed to believe that their friends are in the dark. Yes, they're questioning it to some degree, but seriously, those two are so obvious a blind man could see they're still together. Besides that, it also appears that they're living together. Living across the hall from each other and sneaking into each other's rooms is one thing, but how on earth does them living together work? Do they just not have any friends who aren't in on their secret over? What about their parents? The other part that didn't work for me was how little time they spend together. With the first episode they spend a good portion of it together, but once the second and third episodes hit and they're in the village, they're pretty effectively separated for much of it. I would have preferred to see more of them working together rather than their divide and conquer strategy. There's also the matter of the play. If memory serves, Pat's father gives him grief for acting in Pran's play in Bad Buddy. But here, it's made out to be no big deal. Even with their kiss, Pran comments that his mother is proud of him and knows it's just acting. Um, did his mother have a lobotomy or something? She would have flown off the handle over something like that in Bad Buddy, but suddenly she's chill with that, no questions asked? That explanation really didn't work for me.

Ohm and Nanon are both very talented actors and two of my favorites. Their chemistry together in Bad Buddy was phenomenal and their interactions were just very natural. I've heard rumors of some kind of conflict between them, it's not something that I've really looked into, but after watching the first two episodes, I did have to wonder if there was something going on between them. The spark they had previously just wasn't quite there. I can't put my finger on it, but something felt a bit off. And then again, those last two episodes, flip was switched and it felt like they were back to normal. They seemed more comfortable with each other and everything between them went back to feeling natural. I have no idea what changed, but I'm so glad it did because it made a huge difference.

A Tale of Thousand Stars was a series that I really enjoyed. I liked the story which I felt was overall well done as well as the characters and acting. I was very excited to see Tian, Phupha and the rest of the characters from their story again and I have to admit I'm a bit disappointed at how few of the characters were brought back. For their story, I was hoping for a continuation from the end of the series focusing on Tian getting reacquainted with the village and villagers and settling back in with them and into his relationship with Phupha. I was not hoping for angsty, teenage drama between two grown men.

The inconsistencies between the series and Our Skyy 2 are grating. Phupha seems to have undergone a personality transplant because initially he's just coming across as an unreasonable jerk. He was a serious character in Thousand Stars, but he wasn't totally unbending and there was a tenderness about him whenever he was with Tian that was very endearing. That was just gone. Their conflict felt very contrived. In the series they generally came across as two reasonable adults, here though they feel more like sulky teenagers. I was hoping to get a better explanation for why Phupha didn't want to accompany Tian than he doesn't like crowds. That reasoning just seemed like BS since we saw him at at least two gatherings in the series. I was glad that was cleared up, but it still felt a bit BSish. I don't understand the popularity of keeping a secret from your SO that's causingn damage to your relationship just so you can surprise them later. It just doesn't work. Sticking with Phupha for a moment, his fainting just as he meets Pran also felt off. This is a man who very rarely showed any kind of weakness, so to see him keel over because he hadn't had breakfast felt out of character. There was also Tian acting like he didn't know how to get to Pha Pun Dao initially when he went there alone, in the dark previously. And besides that time, he'd gone at least two other times, if not more so his uncertainty of how to get there didn't make sense. When Phupha meets Tian's parents, it almost seemed like he didn't know Tian's dad, which, if memory serves, he had been Phupha's superior officer at one point or something along those lines so I didn't understand the disconnect there. There are a few other minor details that don't quite jive with the series which was more just annoying than causing any actual issues.

The final two episodes mostly made up for the crap from the second one. I liked that Tian and Phupha started to at least try to communicate to some degree. Not well necessarily, but the scare of Tian being lost seemed to knock some sense into the both of them and make them realize how much they actually cared for each other. Phupha surprising Tian in Bangkok was kind of fun. Again, I don't approve of those kind of surprises, but Tian was obviously thrilled so there is that. They felt more in tune with each other during these scenes, and I'll attribute part of that to Phupha finally reading Tian's diary and gaining a better understanding of him. Again, not a fan of the whole birthday surprise, though it was kind of adorable to see how happy Tian was when he saw Phupha standing in front of him. That scene though when Phupha essentially proposes to Tian and gives him their thousandth star was beautifully done and had me in tears. That scene alone made up for everything else honestly. I also found it hilarious how the final scene was basically a mash up of the ending of Bad Buddy and Thousand Stars. Perfection.

Similar to Ohm and Nanon, Earth and Mix didn't have quite the same spark between them in those first two episodes as they did in the series. Even when they were in conflict, you could feel that magnetic pull between them. Maybe because their bickering here just felt petty more than anything, that pull didn't seem to be there as much. But, again, flip switch with those final two episodes and it felt like they were back to themselves which made me very happy. The angsty teenage drama and attitudes were gone and they were back to being reasonable adults. It also reminded me just how good these two are together. They communicate so much emotion just through their eyes and it's amazing to watch. Truly phenomenal actors.

Having these two series combined did create some interesting and entertaining moments. Pat and Phupha waking up and panicking about what they may have done together was a particularly funny scene. Also the fact that Phupha offering Pat his shirt was a direct call back to a scene from Thousand Stars. Phupha asking Tian to rate him after their night together as well as the ending between them both called back scenes from Bad Buddy. The friendships that developed between Pran and Tian and Phupha and Pat were really neat to see. Tian and Pran had the more heartfelt moments and you could feel a real connection between them whereas Phupha and Pat were pure chaotic entertainment.

While I love both Bad Buddy and A Tale of Thousand Stars, I didn't think I would love them combined. To an extent, I still feel like we were robbed of Pat and Pran's story in favor of one centered on Phupha and Tian. I don't think combining them was necessary and I think there needed to have been a really good reason to do so which I just don't see. If it could be redone, I would ultimately prefer them to be separated and each have their own two episodes. However, since that is not what we got, I will say that the final two made up for the severely lacking everything of the first two. There were some really beautiful and heartfelt moments and it felt like things got back on track. All in all, I would say that they served as a fitting conclusion both to A Tale of Thousand Stars and Our Skyy 2.

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Nothing Special

Why I thought this special episode would be any better than the series is anybody's guess, but I can assure you it's not. It's not worse exactly, just pointless unless you're looking for some NSFW action. It adds nothing to the story and is yet another addition to the list of dramas that don't seem to understand that time passing should equal change.

The special picks up three years after the end of the series. Not that it feels like three years because almost nothing has changed, at least nothing that we're allowed to see. There's essentially no update on the character's lives. Sky appears to still be an intern, although I thought it was mentioned at some point that he had only a year left. Either way, he's apparently still at the hospital and has not yet opened his own clinic. What's Venus been up to? Who knows. How's Janus and Bom's convenience store? Who knows. What about Tong and Kla, are they still going strong after Tong's year abroad? They're not even mentioned, much less seen. How's Day doing? No idea. He's mentioned once and never again. So what does happen in this "special" episode? Well, nothing particularly exciting.

Sky gets sick and while putting his paperwork away while he's sleeping, Venus comes across a bottle of vitamins in his bag with a love note attached. So naturally, he waits for Sky to wake up and they have a conversation like the adults they are, right? Of course not. Venus leaves his sick lover to fend for himself and returns to his brother's home. And like in Episode 1 of the series, the following morning he comes upon Janus and Bom doing the deed over the dining room table with Janus in cat ears and a collar, meowing. I get some people have kinks like that and more power to them, but frankly that scene was just weird and uncomfortable to watch for me. Both Bom and Janus notice something is off and take turns asking Venus what's going on, Janus predictably obtuse and saying the wrong thing and Bom giving a speech about how after being together for a while things change. Sky, still sick, shows up, and despite Venus telling them to say he's not home, Janus spills the beans. Sky and Venus finally sit down and talk though Venus is annoyingly vague and just accuses Sky of cheating on him. Sky has to wheedle the truth out of him that this is all about the note and vitamins found in his bag and, as it predictably turns out, they were not for him, but were in fact from Day's lover to Day and the nurse accidentally put them in the wrong bag. Sky is weirdly excited that Venus was jealous and Venus is still kind of pouty, but relieved. And because Sky gave Venus a sponge bath when he was sick in the series, naturally Venus must give Sky a sponge bath after which Sky is feeling much better, well enough to seduce his all too willing lover and that's where things end, with the two of them f*****g each other's brains out. Romantic. Honestly, I kept waiting for Janus and Bom to either walk in on them or be watching through the window. I'm not sure if I'm thankful or disappointed that neither happened. It would have been a much more entertaining conclusion though.

And that's it. There's no character development, no real continuation, the focus really is on the fact that these guys are all apparently very horny. It's a disappointing special episode for an equally disappointing series. Don't waste your time.

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Ju(no)

I had relatively high expectations for Jun & Jun because I'd heard a fair amount of chatter regarding it and most people seemed to really like it. While I can't say that I disliked it, it also didn't come even remotely close to meeting my expectations. It had potential, but the lack of plot and the bloated cast brought it down. The leads did have great chemistry though and there were some cute/romantic moments that were enjoyable. I don't regret watching, I just wish there was more to it.

The plot was so thin as to be almost nonexistent. A former idol starts his first office job and coincidentally reunites with his childhood best friend who just so happens to be the director of the company he's working at and naturally they fall in love. Aside from that we have the interns doing a lot of gossiping, Lee Jun dealing with the affections of three men (why is this such a thing), and a lot of office meetings. What's disappointing is that if a lot of that had been limited or cut entirely, the story could have been vastly improved. We know that Lee Jun and Choi Jun were childhood friends, but at some point were separated when Choi Jun was sent to the US. At what age this happened, why they didn't or weren't able to stay in contact, none of that is addressed or answered so the viewer is left guessing. The build up of their relationship is inconsistent. They're hot then cold and then suddenly make some huge leaps, physically at least. It felt disjointed and rushed, like several steps were missed, whereas previously things were progressing steadily if a bit slowly. Lack of communication serves as the main conflict between the leads which isn't anything new, but Choi Jun's reactions, the fact that he didn't seem to understand why Lee Jun reacted the way he did when he found out he was engaged, didn't make sense. He's supposed to be incredibly smart, but, my lord, was he dense in this situation. Most decent people are not looking to enter relationships with those who are engaged, certainly not without a very good reason or explanation which we eventually got, but, again, it shouldn't have taken as long as it did to come out.

The cast was way too big for the very limited amount of time there was. Too much time was focused on the other interns and office workers who really didn't contribute much in the way of moving the story along. Most of them could have and should have been cut to allow more time for the lead's relationship to develop. Furthermore we have the absurdity of three guys pursuing Lee Jun. Is he cute, yes, but aside from that, I didn't necessarily get why each of the guys wanted him, particularly Simeon. Choi Jun and Hyun Jae at least had history with him that was shown more and built up slightly, but we didn't see much of his relationship with Simeon in the past. Their liking of him just felt quite shallow. Despite the lack of communication and his lapse of judgment in explaining things to Lee Jun, I liked Choi Jun. I appreciated his straightforwardness when it came to Lee Jun, the ways that he helped and supported him, and his flirting was bar none. The innuendo laced conversations he had with Lee Jun were generally pretty entertaining and were more explicit than I was used to in a KBL. Lee Jun was generally pretty likeable, although I did question at times why he didn't just ask for help when he didn't understand things. He also wasn't the most effective communicator and would listen to what others said and believe them rather than communicating with Choi Jun and getting the information from him directly. The other characters didn't leave much of an impression on me. The hints that Hyun Jae and Simeon might become a couple were cute, but also felt rushed and unnecessary.

The acting was decent. Hyun Woo and Jun Mo had great chemistry, particularly during their romantic scenes. Some of their other scenes though fell flat or felt awkward. Maybe those were some earlier scenes that were shot, their interactions just didn't feel as natural. The cameo of the two Mr. Heart actors and Tutor and Yim was fun and a nice little treat.

I know I've probably made it sound like I hated this drama, but I really didn't. It just could have been so much better and stronger and that's where the disappointment lies. The first couple and last couple of episodes are the best, the middle episodes could honestly almost be skipped. It's mostly enjoyable and an easy binge, just don't have too high of expectations for it.

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I'll Follow You Till The End

I didn't really have any expectations going into The End of the World With You. I never read the manga so I was going in blind. The premise made me think it could either be really interesting or just full of straight up NSFW scenes. The beginning left me thinking it was going to be the latter which I was not particularly impressed with. But I continued watching and discovered an absolute gem of a drama. It takes a rare drama for me to rate it a 10. I originally rated this a 9.5. But when I couldn't get it out of my head, when I found myself coming back to certain lines and scenes I realized that it deserved that honor. The story is heartfelt and while the romance is there, it doesn't dominate instead often focusing on the family unit the characters create and their dynamics. The characters are flawed but they are layered and relatable. There are reasons for their flaws and you come to understand them. It's a beautifully woven tale and it really does leave you wondering a bit, if the world was ending, how would you spend your final days?

The plot isn't particularly original, it's your run of the mill disaster story of a giant meteor's going to crash into earth and nothing can stop it. The kicker comes when Masumi, who up until this point hasn't really been living his life, goes to the library to spend his final days there reading and runs into his former lover Ritsu. Their relationship ended poorly when Ritsu cheated on Masumi leaving him traumatized and heartbroken. Now some ten years later, they're thrown together again. But even at the end of the world, life has some twists and it comes in the form of a teenage boy named Yuma. Their mission becomes getting Yuma back home. Along the way they add another person to their group, Meguru, also trying to get home. Together they create their own little family and through their various adventures and mishaps, Ritsu and Masumi slowly begin to reconcile.

The first two or episodes are deceptive in that they don't reveal the depth of this drama. These episodes are mostly flashbacks that reveal Masumi and Ritsu's history. It's important information that's necessary to understand their characters and especially to see how they've grown and changed since. But, it's also where a number of those NSFW scenes come in and it can make you question what you're watching. But once you get past those first couple episodes, you start getting drawn in because this drama isn't afraid to delve into some hard topics. Suicide is one that comes up repeatedly. Ritsu initially gets Masumi to come with him with the lure of a euthanasia pill if he'll help him dispose of a body. The body turns out to be that of a high school student who Ritsu assisted in committing suicide, except, surprise, he's not dead. This leads to a discussion on why the kid, Yuma, wanted to commit suicide in the first place which then leads to a conversation on perspectives and thinking things through. The guy bullying him will graduate soon, he basically has his whole life to look forward to, new people to meet, new experiences, etc. and suddenly Yuma realizes he doesn't want to die, he wants to live. Of course, there's a meteor headed towards earth so that's a bit of a problem. Then there's Ritsu who also planned to take one with Yuma but didn't, presumably because he wanted to see Masumi one last time and then does actually try to take one later on. It's also revealed in a flashback that he's been borderline suicidal at least once before and likely more than that.

There's one scene though that really resonated with me. In a flashback, Madoka, a friend of Ritsu's and Yuma's idol, depressed and suicidal after her lover gets a boyfriend and her reputation goes up in flames, has gone to see Ritsu. She asks him if he's ever considered suicide to which he says no and she says she hasn't either, she was just asking. She's too scared to go through with it anyway. But as she walks away, she turns back and points to her neck and tells him that if there was button there that if pressed would end everything, she would press it. It's one of those lines that I think anyone who has ever had depression or has been suicidal could absolutely relate to. It's heartbreaking but true. Life is challenging, that's part of what makes it worth living, but when it gets overwhelming, when our brains betray us, a way out can seem tempting and both Madoka and Ritsu presented as characters to sympathize and empathize with as feeling trapped with death as the most ideal solution.

Another hard topic stems from the scene where Masumi receives a call from his abusive mother asking him for help. He cut ties with her years ago, the number she's calling from is a blocked one, but there at the end of the world, she calls him for help because she recently hurt her back and can't move and is running out of food. Whether anything she says is genuine, her apologies or her regret, is left up to the viewer. Masumi doesn't want to go, but out of filial piety, he prepares to do so, until Ritsu puts his foot down and says that if he won't come with them, then he won't take Yuma home. It's Ritu's comment that they're both doing what they want with the little time they have left that leads Masumi to decide to continue on with them instead. It's the kind of moral dilemma where you often see the opposite choice made. And it's not like the choice is easy for Masumi, he even says that he thinks he's wrong. But it also begs the question, at the end of the world, which takes precedence? Want or obligation?

The characters are absolutely the highlight of this drama. They are beautiful and damaged and relatable and perfect. I came to love each and every one of them for their flaws and quirks and for the way they grew and overcame their flaws. I honestly don't think I would really change anything about them.

I absolutely loved the way Masumi's character was portrayed because I could see a lot of myself in him. I feel like to an extent he's a rarity. Sex is one of those things that seems to be thrown around a lot today. People hook up and break up like it's no big deal. His comment that for him sex was a form of trust resonated for me. It also highlighted just how differently he and Ritsu viewed sex. Ritsu viewed it as a commodity, something to be shared around with anyone, while Masumi saw it as a gift meant only for that special someone. And that's where things broke down for them. Masumi thought they were building something permanent and that betrayal broke him. There's also the aspect of love, I think. He thought he'd finally found someone who truly loved him. God knows he didn't get that from his mother with her physically and verbally abusing him. So Ritsu's betrayal was on multiple levels which I think was why Masumi was left so completely devastated. What was interesting to see was the life that started to come back into Masumi's eyes almost immediately after meeting Ritsu again. He started engaging more with life and with people. And as much as he claimed to hate Ritsu, he also couldn't help but want to know about him and his life. His slowly softening towards Ritsu was sweet to see, particularly that scene after his accident, it was just very well done and a great moment between them. I also really felt his monologue when they're at the river. Beautifully worded and spoken, I really loved that scene. The idea that there's a world worth seeing and living in out there not too far away if we just step outside of our homes and outside ourselves. I also loved the evolution of his thoughts from the-world's-ending-I-could-just-have-sex-with-him to I've-fallen-back-in-love-with-him-and-I-want-to-build-a-future-together.

I've seen some comments describing Ritsu as a toxic person just as a blanket statement. And I would disagree with that. I think he absolutely started out as a very toxic, but also very damaged person. And while, yes, I would have liked to have seen more of a change in him over the years, I also got the impression that he never cheated on anyone again after what happened with Masumi and was essentially a serial monogamist. He learned his lesson after that. And I think one thing to point out, and it's not an excuse, but he was twenty when he and Masumi got together. He was young and he was stupid and he made choices like I'm sure many of us did when we were that age that he came to regret. Masumi was the one that got away and he bore an incredible amount of guilt after discovering just how devastated Masumi was after the end of their relationship. But by the time he had his second chance, he was clearly a different person. He was not the same toxic kid he had been, again he had learned his lesson and he was ready to move forward with Masumi in a real relationship if Masumi was willing. Ritsu in general was just a very interesting, multi-layered character. The amount of guilt and self-loathing he carried was honestly heartbreaking. He blamed himself for Madoka's death for not answering her calls. He loathed himself for his own sexual desires and constantly seeking out new partners. I really wanted to delve into all of that a little more as to what drove him to seeking that as his outlet. I loved his scenes with Madoka. He's one of those people that seemed to always have a mask in place to fit the situation and with her, that was off, he was just himself. Their relationship seemed very special, brief as those scenes were.

Yuma was a fascinating character. He was very anima/manga like in some regards which was interesting/weird at times, but I didn't dislike it. He was also absolutely adorable. I honestly loved him. He had a great dynamic with the rest of the characters. His chivalrous attitude was simultaneously funny and sweet. He was definitely over the top, but not in an annoying way. I did get the impression that he actually is supposed to be some kind of magical being but what exactly, I have no idea.

Meguru surpassed all my expectations. First, loved having a non-binary character that was not treated as a cliché. Also really enjoyed how they were incorporated. I wasn't sure how that was going to work when they were thrown in at first and then the bathroom scene happened and it was like, oh, this is going to be interesting. I thought it was awesome that Masumi and Ritsu really didn't bat an eye after getting over their shock and were just cool with it. Loved their relationship with Yuma. Honestly those two were so adorable. And I just liked their character in general, they were not whiny or constantly complaining, they fit in with everyone and pulled their weight.

The cast was all incredibly talented. Seto was fantastic as the moody Masumi and Nakata matched him perfectly as the charismatic Ritsu. Facial expressions, body language, all of it was just so good. Their chemistry together was also phenomenal. And I'm not just talking about the NSFW scenes. They're so expressive together and genuinely seem to have a connection. Fantastic to watch. Tomimoto nailed it as Yuma. Kudos to him for nailing some of those odd scenes that required him to act like an anime/manga character without taking it overboard. Idegami was wonderful as both Madoka and Meguru. Props to the casting director for casting an actual non-binary actor as a non-binary character. And equal props to Idegami for being able to create two easily distinguishable characters.

The ending left me conflicted. I don't generally like open endings, but I actually don't mind this one in the least. My issue comes with the very cringy special effects there at the very end. If I had my way, it would end after Masumi and Ritsu go to sleep. I'm sure the ending of the drama follows the manga, it's just the terrible special effects and the alarm kind of ruined the moment.

For a drama that I wasn't expecting anything of, it completely exceeded any expectations I could have possibly had of it. I honestly struggled writing this review because there was so much I simply couldn't put into words. This drama resonated with me in a way very few other dramas have. It is one that I would absolutely recommend and one I will certainly be rewatching. I have a feeling it gets better with repeated viewings. As Masumi says, I guess miracles do exist.

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Never 2gether

I was very surprised by all the negative reviews here as I have always heard 2gether praised as a wonderful BL drama and, of course, Bright/Win is a major ship. Having finally watched it, I can confidently say...I don't get it. Any of it. The story after the first couple of episodes is god awful. The level of miscommunication and lack of character devolvement is just astounding. As for Bright and Win, like the vast majority of BL actors, they're attractive, but unlike a number of other BL actors I could name, they're not overly talented so I don't understand the hype. So as far as I'm concerned, 2gether is severely overrated.

The story starts out promising and relatively cute. It was fun, I liked the characters and progression, and then suddenly, Tine and Sarawat make the move to an actual relationship and everything just folds. The chemistry they had during their fake relationship is gone, the character development is gone, the entertainment is mostly gone and suddenly we're dealing with a lot of angst and paranoia and just general BS. But what it lacks, and it lacks it in spades, is communication. There is constant miscommunication between the two because they simply will not open their mouths to talk. Rather than sitting down to have an actual conversation, Tine resorts to stupid methods like flipping a coin to ask Sarawat questions or going through Sarawat's phone. And Sarawat knows what's up, but rather than getting a handle on things before they get out of hand, he just ignores it. Tine's also constantly suspicious of Sarawat's actions which Sarawat doesn't help by doing an excellent impression of a clam. They just sabotage themselves and each other at every turn and it's utterly ridiculous to watch.

Their characters also just devolve. Tine starts out as this sassy, confident young man and by the end he's practically a shadow of his former self. He's constantly paranoid and uncertain of where he stands with Sarawat, he lacks confidence, and in that end scene, he's almost simpering. Like, please bring back the bad ass who went head to head with Sarawat at the beginning. And Sarawat just became progressively more and more wishy-washy. When they were fake dating, he was ready to go head to head with people, but when they're actually dating, he lets the likes of Pam get between them. Which don't even get me started on that whole trope of bringing back the ex-girlfriend to stir up drama. It was just so disappointing to see.

The side relationships were thrown in far too late and/or given far too little attention to add anything meaningful. Man and Type's relationship was severely rushed especially there towards the end and both theirs and Phukong and Mil's felt very shallow. I never got a good impression of why Man and Phukong were so obsessively attracted to Type and Mil respectively aside from they were attractive and had a generic moment of kindness. I really couldn't care much about whether they got together or not because they just weren't believable to me as couples.

I know I've seen a lot of complaints about the lack of physical intimacy between Tine and Sarawat. Personally, that didn't bother me. We have so many dramas these days with heavy make out scenes or downright NSFW scenes, that it was kind of refreshing to have a distinct lack of that. Not every relationship is going to be defined by one or both people wanting to jump the other's bones. Intimacy can be shown in a variety of different ways. The problem here is that Tine and Sarawat are supposed to be boyfriends and there is almost no intimacy of any kind. Again, I'm not talking about physical intimacy like kissing or hugging or even hand holding. I'm talking about things like little touches, eye contact, doing things for one another, spending time with each other one on one, etc. Those kinds of things can convey a level of intimacy as well. Instead, they just seemed uncomfortable whenever they had to be in too close of proximity to each other after that transition to boyfriends and I really don't understand it.

The acting of the leads wasn't anything impressive. However, since this was Win's first main acting role, he did a serviceable job. He definitely has room to grow though. Considering the number of roles he's had since, I'm hoping he's improved. I would have expected a lot more from Bright with his experience but he was just very wooden throughout. Maybe that was deliberate, but even if you're playing a wooden character, there needs to be some flexibility and expression and he just really lacked that. Mike, Drake, and Khaotung were the standouts. Mike is always good at bringing in the laughs and this time was no different. His character was a little more forced this go around, but I still thought he did a good job though I preferred him when he wasn't pursuing Type. Drake is such a versatile actor, he deserves more main roles. He always brings his A game though and this time was no different. And I love Khaotung. He plays the sympathetic characters so well and I really loved how he portrayed Fong here. He balanced the teasing and softness really well.

The music was superb. I had never heard of Scrubb before, but I am now a fan as I'm sure many who've watched this drama are. If nothing else, this drama wasn't a total waste of time since I found some new music.

I am going to be very frank and say that 2gether was still pretty much a waste of time. I can generally find something redeemable about most dramas I watch, but this is a tough one. I think the fact that it was so hyped makes it harder for me to reconcile how truly disappointing it was. If you're looking for a good story, skip it. If you're looking for NSFW scenes, this is definitely not for you. If you're simply looking for attractive actors and good music, then you might enjoy this. Basically anything else, it's really not worth your time.

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Light and Sweet

Starting out watching this drama, I thought it was going to be a your typical lighthearted romcom with the usual palace intrigue, brothers sabotaging brothers, etc. What I was not expecting in the slightest was the level of character development that occurred in nearly every character, touching on mental health particularly postpartum depression, and a focus on women's rights. While unexpected, they added an element of interest that helped to keep me invested in the story.

Despite touching on some more serious topics, the story is overall fairly lighthearted. It is a romcom after all. There are certainly some darker moments, our main characters have their share of problems, some more serious than others, but the issue with romcoms is, you already know the outcome, so those problems seem fairly superficial when you know happily ever after is waiting at the end. That being said, it was still very enjoyable to watch, it just didn't feel like anything was truly at stake. In terms of pacing, while it did have a few episodes where it started to drag a bit, overall it maintained its momentum quite well. The general lack of sabotage and infighting between women in this drama was both surprising and welcoming. Instead, you had women cultivating friendships and banding together to start businesses and better themselves and other women. Similarly, while you often have brothers at each others throats in dramas like this, there was less of that here. All in all, it was quite refreshing.

The acting was superb all around, but Tian Xi Wei absolutely carried the drama. She was simply perfect as Li Wei. Bai Jing Ting was also phenomenal as Yin Zheng. They had such great chemistry together.

What I loved most about this drama was the characters and the fact that nearly every character, whether protagonist or antagonist, had some level of character development. I also appreciated that in the end, there really wasn't a villain per se. Yin Song and Yin Jun both filled that role temporarily, but in the end, neither was really evil. Yin Song was such an interesting, complex character, the "caged bird". He was a complete jerk, and he deserved everything he got, but at the same time, I also pitied him. I appreciated the change in him as he was exiled and respected his decision to live his own way. Yin Jun was greedy, but again, ultimately not evil. While I didn't like him or his wife, there was a part of me that thought their relationship was sweet, even if they were crappy people. I was glad that they also decided to turn over a new leaf though. Other characters I particularly enjoyed were Fangru, particularly seeing her relationship with Hao Jia develop from enemies to allies to friends, Hao Jia herself, seeing her come into her own and learn she didn't need a man, and Li Wei, of course, as she transformed from a country girl into a lady but never lost her sparkle. There really wasn't a character that I disliked in this drama, aside from the 10th prince who was incredibly annoying, and I truly enjoyed watching them all grow and change.

In terms of couples, Li Wei and Yin Zheng reign supreme, obviously. While their romance is definitely a slow burn, it is also very organic. And once they do figure out their feelings for each other, their love is just so sweet. SiSi and Yin Yan are my second favorite couple. Although they have significantly less screen time than most of the other couples and characters, they're just so cute together. I honestly would have liked to have seen more of them. Shanggu and Yin Qi are my least favorite. While on the one hand I do like them together, on the other hand, I don't necessarily love the abusive nature of their relationship. I also got a bit tired of their back and forth of will they, won't they get together.

While the focus on women's rights and mental health was both interesting and welcoming, it was also a bit jarring. Given the historical setting, fictional though it may be, the message itself is very much a contemporary one and there were times when it very much stood out as such. The intent was good, the execution needed some work. I also think the concept was rushed towards the end. Xin state went from not allowing women to do business to suddenly they're going to allow women to be officials? That was done far too abruptly and without enough context to make it believable. Again, the execution needed work.

The OST was overall quite good. The songs typically fit well the mood and scene. Costuming was gorgeous. I liked how each character had their own distinct style. The cinematography was also very well done.

Ultimately I found this drama to be quite enjoyable. It was sweet and it was lighthearted with just a sprinkling of seriousness to add some more interest. It's one that I would definitely recommend watching at least once and one that I will likely come back to in the future.

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Mechanic Needed

Going into Love Mechanics, I was expecting something pretty special. I'd heard some pretty high praise for it, not to mention the high rating, and based on the hype, I figured this was going to be one of my new favorite dramas. But after watching it, I really don't understand that hype. It was decidedly mediocre, certainly nothing to write home about. The plot, what little there was of one, was repetitive. Miscommunication ran rampant, more so than in a lot of other BLs. It got to a point where it was just tedious. What other absurd reason are the writers going to come up with to keep our leads separate? And what makes it even more disappointing is the fact that Yin and War have fantastic chemistry, but we get so very little time of them actually together and happy, not fighting or sulking or some other terrible emotional state. This drama gets added to the list of ones that had potential but just went nowhere.

Love Mechanics gets added to the ever growing list of dramas without a plot. I know I've said this before, but why is it so hard to write a story that actually has a point? What happens essentially is that Mark and Vee get together, or almost get together, something or someone comes between them, they fight, one or both gets blackout drunk, rinse and repeat. I'm not kidding, that is exactly what happens and not just once, but three or four times. It's ridiculous and sad. Especially the drinking. Almost every character here needed to go to AA. I don't think I've ever seen a drama where drinking was so prevalent. Scenes of characters going out and getting drunk were featured at least once an episode, sometimes more. And besides the drinking being repetitive, the conversations that went with it were equally repetitive. It was a constant conversation of who liked who, trying to force confessions, or woe is me I'll never find love. It got old very quickly, especially with people, Yihwa especially, trying to find ways to force others, namely Mark, into revealing their feelings. Who needs or wants friends like that? It was all very toxic.

Ploy, Vee's ex-girlfriend, was a repeat offender when it came to separating our leads. That being said though, I didn't hate her. She was not portrayed as the villainous woman who deliberately came between them. Her cheating on Vee was, of course, unacceptable and she acknowledged that and that she had made a mistake, but when she found out that Vee had moved one, she didn't maliciously try to sink her claws into him to stay. That final kiss between them was a mistake on both their parts, Vee for putting himself in a situation where it could happen and Ploy for letting her emotions get the best of her, though considering what she'd been through, it's understandable that she'd be a bit emotionally fragile and unstable. But she still tried to make things right, explaining what had happened to Vee's friends and trying to explain to Mark as well. Having her become a source of contention between Vee and Mark three times though was just overkill because then you had Mark misinterpreting their relationship during the photo shoot. What I found most disappointing in regards to Ploy and Vee's relationship is that there is an element of Ploy being depicted as the bad guy for cheating on Vee, however, at the same time, you have Vee cheating on Ploy with Mark and not only does he never tell Ploy of his philandering, the fact that he was cheating as well is never really brought up. That aspect felt very sexist.

Miscommunication is always a popular method of causing drama and moving the story forward, but Love Mechanics took it to the next level. It was just miscommunication after miscommunication between Mark and Vee and it got to a point where it felt very lazy. I began to wonder if they were ever going to get together and there were more than a few moments where I just hung my head because, yup, here we go again with one of them saying or doing something stupid and causing the other to misunderstand them. I really wanted to see these two sit down and have a long heart to heart conversation which, naturally, never happened.

Everyone falling in love with Mark was just weird. Yes, he's cute, but to have multiple men positively pining over him seemed highly unrealistic. Krat especially came out of literally nowhere and started pursuing Mark hard. That whole plot line was just super weird and out of left field. It really didn't fit in well and since by that time I was beyond sick of all the roadblocks that kept popping up for our couple, I was never going to be a fan. Nuea's relentless pursuit of Mark wore thin pretty quickly as well. Consent was not a strong point in this drama as Mark told both men that he wasn't interested and that didn't faze them in the slightest and they just kept coming on to him.

The characters were a mix of good and bad. Mark, Vee, Bar, Kan, Yoo, Mark's mother and Vee's and Yoo's parents were the sum total of characters that I overall liked. Despite the drama between them, I did mostly like Mark and Vee. Mark's moments of immaturity towards Vee when he was trying to push him away and the way he essentially taunted Vee with whether or not he would forgive him were his less endearing traits, but overall I don't think he was a bad guy. Loving Vee was certainly not easy and there is an element that some of what he did was done in an effort to protect himself from further harm. He was shown though to be a good and loyal friend. And even though it hurt, I appreciated his maturity in letting Bar go once he knew he was taken. His sassiness was entertaining and I liked his strength of character. Vee was basically a teddy bear. He never seemed to learn from his mistakes and his heart ruled his head most of the time, but he was overall such a sweetheart. He kind of liked to play the bad boy, but he obviously wasn't and he had a nobility to him that I found endearing. I liked how Bar and Kan to a lesser extent were the only two of Vee's friend group who were actually supportive of he and Mark together. Bar as Vee's best friend was featured more prominently and it was refreshing to have someone who actually seemed to have Vee's best interests at heart and was a kind and sympathetic friend. Unlike Vee's other friends who constantly razzed him and got in his business, Bar was the quiet voice of reason and someone Vee could actually trust. I really enjoyed their friendship. Yoo had some great moments as Vee's brother. He had some very entertaining one liners, but he was also a voice of reason for Vee, trying to shake him out of his stupors after yet another misunderstanding with Mark. He acted very much like I imagine a big brother would in the situations he found himself. I liked that Mark found a second home and a second set of parents at Vee's home. Vee's mother especially was wonderful, just warm and sweet and understanding. She immediately took Mark in without question, loving him and taking care of him like he was her own. Vee's father was not demonstrative in his affections, but I really liked him. His tidbits of wisdom, like the one he bestowed on Vee regarding his motorbike, were a subtle display of affection and a way to prepare his son for the world. His defense of Mark and his family from Mark's own father was a great scene as was the one shortly thereafter when he has a one on one conversation with Mark's father. Mark's mother was also very sweet in her own way and I liked her quietly momma bear ways. She was certainly more moderate than Mark's father and it was clear that she loved her son and only wanted what was best for him.

The majority of Vee's and Mark's friends were overwhelmingly annoying. Everything with them felt like a cliché from their entire friend group being gay except for Yihwa who filled the gap of the female straight friend to their over the top antics. Mark's father came across as a very unpleasant person initially, I truly wondered how he and his wife ever got together, but after speaking with Vee's father and revealing a bit more of his concerns, he became much more understandable character. I still would have liked to have a bit more information on him and what exactly made him tick, not to mention an actual conversation between him and his son where they came to some kind of understanding, but I liked that he was given some depth and wasn't a raging asshole for no reason.

Yin and War are the standouts in terms of acting. They both expressed their characters so well and seemed to have a real understanding of them. Their chemistry was one of the few high points of the series. They were just phenomenal together and had a real connection that translated very well to the screen. It's a pity that everything else didn't reach their level.

The production was overall pretty decent. I really liked some of the cinematography, there were some great shots and angles in there. The music was another highlight. Aside from one or two tracks that I wasn't hugely fond of, the rest of it worked very well.

This is one drama where I wish I'd read some of the reviews beforehand to have a better idea of what to expect. I don't think I would have been quite as disappointed in it if I had. I'm not going to say that it's a drama to avoid. It has it's redeeming features, though not many. I think in the end, I would say it's worth watching once. It's not one that's worth watching more than once though. Then again I'm not a fan of that level of angst and miscommunication and drama, so I'll leave repeated viewings to your discretion.

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La Pee-ew

La Pluie started off promising enough with an interesting concept and characters that worked within that concept, however, it quickly snowballed with ridiculous, unnecessary drama that contributed nothing to the story and eventually concluded by ghosting one of its leads for almost the entire episode. It could have been much better than it was if the creators had a more solid grasp on what kind of story they were wanting to tell. As it is, it strays into the absurd and eventually loses any kind of credibility. This is one drama that almost isn't worth the watch because the script is so bad.

The concept of rain related deafness was interesting where the person is unable to hear anyone except their "soulmate". It's not well explained or really developed, but at least initially that was fine. You have Saengtai and Phat who have experienced hearing loss for at least two years at the time the story starts and are soulmates. However, due to his parents divorcing, Tai doesn't believe in soulmates any longer and actively ignores Phat whenever he tries to communicate with him. I liked Phat and Tai initially. The fact that both of them were determined to defy their destinies and then ended up falling for each other in the end was cute. There was a decent build up and I liked their interactions. What ended up killing it for me was throwing Lomfon into the mix. The drama that created was unnecessary, particularly suddenly having Lomfon develop hearing loss and hearing both Phat and Tai. From there it was just a constant back and forth of misunderstandings that got tiring to watch. The final episode sent Tai on the hunt to find Phat and we spend almost the entirety of the episode Phat-less which was certainly a decision. He finally shows up with about 5 minutes remaining, they make up and everything is great. Throughout the series there's the side couple of Saengtien, Saengtai's younger brother, and Lomfon who start to develop feelings for each other, but it's complicated by Lomfon's feelings for Tai as well. Basically everything gets neatly and conveniently wrapped up and leaves you wondering why it took so long to get to that point as well as feeling like nothing was really gained.

I do feel a lot of issues would have been cleared up if the parameters of the rain deafness were defined. This is supposed to be a medical condition and yet there is absolutely no rhyme or reason to how it works and I lost interest in the idea of it as it was manipulated to forward the story. Lomfon, who has feelings for Tai, doesn't seem to have a chance because he's not Tai's soulmate until he very conveniently develops the hearing loss and can hear both Tai and Phat which, it is never addressed or explained that he seemingly can hear both of them, he just focuses on the fact that he can hear Tai. They also talk about how it's not possible that they can hear more than one person which makes it seem like this is a complete anomaly and again, isn't that just convenient. And then when Lomfon and Phat start fighting over Tai, all Tai has to do is yell that he doesn't want this destiny and suddenly they're all cured? It just completely strayed out of the realm of plausible within the confines of the story to the absurd and took away any and all credence it had to begin with. And I do get that a lot of it was probably deliberate. Half the point of the drama is this debate of whether soulmates are real or not. But there needs to be some level of grounding as well and there was not.

I started out overall liking most of the characters, particularly Phat. They each had their own distinctive personalities and I was hopeful that there was going to be some real character growth, but I was frankly disappointed the farther along we got.
-Saengtai was one of my least favorite characters, but I also found him interesting in his decision to defy his destiny. I didn't approve of his treatment of his mother and his childish behaviour regarding his parents' divorce. The fact that he laid the full blame on his mother and evidently made absolutely no effort to understand why his parents had reached the point of concluding things were not going to work out was frustrating the more that got dragged out. That his parents had to sit him down and explain things in detail that didn't feel like they should need an explanation was ridiculous. He was old enough that he should have been able to figure a lot of that out himself. Aside from that, I also found his passiveness to be frustrating as the story progressed. Things that seemed like they should have caused a reaction didn't and especially after he and Phat broke up, he was just far too calm about everything. And then there were other times he made unilateral conclusions without waiting for any kind of explanation. All in all, he came across as quite selfish and self-absorbed at times.
-Phat started out pretty perfect. He was friendly, kind, compassionate, and an all around good guy. He was incredibly patient and considerate with Tai, he communicated and communicated well both with Tai and with his ex, Nara. Even with Lomfon he was initially polite. He was an absolute breath of fresh air but in hindsight a little too perfect. He lacked some personality. But then Episode 10 hit and his character went up in flames. His reaction to finding out Tai had lied to him and finding Lomfon kissing him was to beat the crap out of Lomfon. The sudden aggressiveness that permeated his every action that episode was completely out of the blue and out of character. And he never shows any real remorse for those actions. He never apologizes to Lomfon for attacking him nor does he apologize to Tai for going off the rails. It's all very neatly swept under the rug. He later goes to try to make up with Tai, sees him talking to Lomfon and immediately interprets that as them being together and decides the best course of action is to disappear. We see him in Episode 12 for a grand total of about 5 minutes during which he mostly stares blankly at Tai while he monologues. It's a disappointing ending for the character.
-Saengtien is a loveable, mischievous brat and I absolutely loved his relationship with Tai and him as a character. I don't recall a good explanation being given for why he and Lomfon are at such odds initially, other than they are very different people. Lomfon is obviously more introverted and Tien is much more extroverted. I liked the way that Tien's attraction to Lomfon was developed as it felt natural. I truly felt bad for him when he saw Lomfon and Tai kissing and his reaction and his behaviour afterward felt justified. The love confession scene with Lomfon is such a good scene, just his hesitancy to believe, rightfully so, and then the hope. It's beautifully done and the range of emotions always gets me. The ending though where he suddenly develops hearing loss feels a tad ridiculous. Again, I know it's driving home the point of the show, but still.
-Lomfon left me feeling conflicted regarding his character. On the one hand, I liked his interactions with Tien and I liked the build up of their relationship. And initially there was nothing wrong with him liking Tai because at that point, Tai was single. His continued pursuit though of Tai even after he had entered into a public relationship with Phat was over the line. At that point, it didn't matter if his feelings were conflicted as to whether he liked Tai or Tien. Even with developing the rain deafness suddenly and being able to hear Tai, the fact that Tai was already in a loving relationship should have told him that he was now off limits. His continual pushing of the matter made me lose a lot of respect for his character. And while I was glad he did apologize to Tai, he also owed an apology to Phat which he never does. I do still love his confession to Tien though and I think they're adorable together.

The acting was overall decent. I liked the chemistry between Suar and Copter. I felt it was lacking more between Title and Pee, but I think that's in part because there were times where it felt like Title forgot to emote and his expressions were just dead. They did have their moments though, just not enough to be consistent. Aside from the last episode where he just seemed devoid of any real emotion which felt out of place, I liked Pee's performance. Suar was great and I was impressed with his chemistry with everyone he interacted with. Copter was a bit wooden at times which worked to an extent with his character, but I did feel he could have given more.

There were several elements that were thrown in without much explanation that really didn't contribute much to the story. One of the main ones being that both Phat and Lomfon had history with Tai without any of them realizing it. Phat's grandmother had lived next door to Tai and he and Phat had communicated via notes over the years, however, had never actually met. And then Lomfon had his own connection to Tai as Tai had saved him from being hit by a car, that one encounter resulting in Lomfon falling in love with the stranger who saved him and making Tai Lomfon's first love. Nara and Dream's developing relationship came out of left field. While cute, I don't think there was time to give it the attention it deserved so it wasn't well executed and felt rushed. And finally, in the last episode, we have a random couple show up to help Tai when he runs out of gas and for some reason get their life story. They get more screen time than Phat.

This was essentially a drama with an interesting concept and a decent cast that was let down by the writing. It started out well but went downhill during the last couple of episodes and the ending was disappointingly anticlimactic. Frankly, this is one drama that you're not going to be missing out on if you skip it.

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