Sakura_Falling

In the Jungle, The Mighty Jungle

Ah, The Jungle, what a ride it was and a very entertaining one at that. It's an imperfect drama, but if you don't scrutinize it too deeply, it's interesting and fun. It was easy to binge watch over two days and had me alternating yelling at my laptop and cackling at the characters' antics. It was thoroughly enjoyable.

The Jungle has a pretty basic premise of a group of playboys who one by one find their one true love and enter into monogamous relationships. Intertwined with those stories are two longer mystery/crime plotlines. The couple stories were by and large cute if rushed and a bit repetitive. In general, each couple was given two episodes to develop their relationship. The repetitiveness came from the way they got together as it became pretty formulaic after a while: flashbacks to understand the characters, at least one fight for a lot of them, a love scene, etc. Also repetitive was having the mother as the root of the issue, several of the girls getting assaulted and not one, but two wedding crashing scenes. Some relationships were given more screen time than others and went beyond those two episodes, but in general the relationships progressed at an improbably quick pace. One couple in particular got significantly more screentime which was understandable, but made the other couples' stories appear even more rushed and disjointed. The story progression could have been better planned. It felt like things were moving pretty steadily and then suddenly we jumped to the past and stayed there for several episodes which affected the pacing negatively. It would have been better to start the whole drama with those episodes or interspersed them throughout. They weren't bad episodes by any means and provided necessary information, but it was a major and abrupt tonal shift that was just jarring. The longer running mystery/crime plot lines were interesting, but they each focused more on specific couples so they got more screen time than others. I would have liked to see those stories cut down a bit to give more time to the other couples. There are moments that are hilariously over the top and just absurd, but somehow still kind of worked. There are also some story lines that are left feeling unfinished or have holes that aren't explained, but nothing that I found to be unbearable.

The characters were by and large a positive aspect of the drama. The animal correlation to the characters was an interesting concept but not necessarily well done. The only character who I really felt fit with her animal was August as a lioness. She embodied that quite well. Gale as a rabbit was a close second. The others were hit or miss. Irin was the biggest miss as, despite all her butterfly paraphernalia, I simply didn't see the resemblance between the two. Given all the narration on the animals, I would have liked to see that concept played with more in terms of the characters' behaviour and personalities. It just seemed like a missed opportunity. I also found myself disappointed with how the ladies were treated. Once their relationship story had concluded, they were dropped. The guys kept showing up at the bar, but the ladies were conspicuously absent. They popped up maybe once or twice more, but that was it. I know the focus was on The Jungle guys, but I felt their girlfriends could have factored in more. There was also a lot of focus on the men as hunters aspect, which I also didn't find was utilized well. There were multiple times where it felt like the women were the hunters and the men their prey. Also, despite the men being called playboys, we didn't see that come into play a ton. Again, just more missed opportunities to play with that animal kingdom theme they had going.
-Petai and Gale were our first couple. They knew each other as children and were reunited as adults. Their story is cute if rushed. It didn't feel like they really had enough time to reconnect before falling for each other. The conflict in their story centered around an overzealous reporter and Petai's overbearing mother. Both issues are resolved fairly quickly and almost simultaneously. Their story felt a bit incomplete as Gale won the internship or whatever to Paris and Petai was going to be a pilot, but nothing regarding either decision is ever mentioned again. Although the impression is given that Gale is having success in her career.
This was my first time seeing Lee in a lead role, I'd seen him in supporting roles previously and overall liked him. I thought he was good, but not as strong as some of the others. Mook is an actress I've heard a lot about, but never seen. Aside from being absolutely gorgeous, her MDL picture does not do her justice, I liked her acting. She seems to have more subtle style which I appreciated. She and Lee had good chemistry and they acted well together.
-Nanfah and Pladao were one of the more conflicting couples for me. Nanfah comes out the gate seeming like a bad guy and he doesn't do a whole lot to dispel that notion for a good while. I don't feel like a good explanation was ever given for why he felt the need to lie and manipulate Pladao initially and it ended up just being brushed under the rug. Pladao's attraction to him when she thought he had killed her cousin was confusing given his attitude and behaviour towards her up until that point. Yes, he's attractive, but she seemed smarter than that. Their relationship ended on a weird note and I really just couldn't support them being together.; it felt like there was a toxicity to their relationship that was never addressed. Part of it could have also been that there was a lot to unravel with Nanfah's character and there just wasn't enough time to do so.
I had never seen Punpun act before, but I liked her portrayal of Pladao. She was very expressive without being too over the top and it fit with her character. Nanon remains as one of my favorite actors. It still boggles my mind how young he is and yet so incredibly talented. He did a phenomenal job playing both Nanfah and Nannam. Though there were more subtle physical differences such as hair style and fashion choices that helped differentiate them, it was Nanon's acting that really set them apart. You could just look at them and know from body language and facial expressions who was who. Superb job. I was also impressed that he was able to have great chemistry with both Punpun and Mild.
-Nannam and Nithan were another cute couple. It was adorable watching Nannam gradually falling for her. The juxtaposition of her inability to lie and his skills at lying made for some great scenes. While Nanfah was out and out manic, Nannam liked to operate more in the shadows, teasing and meddling. Nithan, on the other hand, was straightforward and her open. While I felt like their story was a bit rushed like the others, I did like that some time was devoted to showing how Nithan broke down Nannam's walls and gained his trust. Their engagement scene where she almost instantly realized that Nanfah was not Nannam was a great one and put to rest Nannam's doubts.
Mild did a great job in the role. I really liked her expressiveness. She was sweet, but also tough in her own way and Mild balanced out those traits well. She and Nanon played off of each other really well.
-Hack and Irin were one of my least favorite couples. A lot of their story felt repetitive, just rehashing the same issues over and over again. Hack having sex with Irin when she was drunk and obviously unaware who she was sleeping with did not sit well with me. All the talk of him being the worst of them also didn't add up to what we saw. Aside from the above incident, he came across to me as a sweet guy trying to be tough. I generally found Irin to be annoying, in large part because she did keep attacking Hack and thinking the worst of him, which, since we didn't see a lot of that, felt over the top and unreasonable. I also didn't like how she was playing both Pine and Hack. She had her good moments too, they were just few and far between.
I like Lookjun, I don't think she's the most diversely talented actress, but she does well with certain characters. This was not one of her stronger performances. There was a sameness to a lot of her acting, especially when her character was upset. It wasn't awful by any means, I just would have liked to see a bit more variation. Krist is an excellent actor and I really liked him as Hack. He does a great job whether he's being serious or funny and everything in between. However, I didn't think the chemistry between Lookjun and Krist was particularly strong.
-Nathee and Florence were probably one of my favorite couples and that's mostly due to Florence. I love badass female characters and she was in pretty much every way. I liked that she knew what she wanted, in this case, Nathee and she just went for it, unapologetically. I also appreciated that she knew how to take care of herself with her judo skills. She wasn't a damsel in distress like the other women tended to be. Honestly, I just adored her. Nathee's primary interest was his transformation from his work appearance to his Rendezvous appearance. They were strikingly different and not just his appearance, but his attitude too. I felt like there was more to Florence than there was to him as an individual, I think her character was just given more depth, but I really enjoyed their interactions. I also liked that they were high school sweethearts of a sort since that allowed their story to jump a few steps than if they had just met.
I've seen several dramas Aye has been in and she never disappoints. She's a versatile actress and I thought she killed it as Florence. This was my first time seeing Luke act and while I thought his character was lacking to some degree, I don't think that was his fault and he did a good job with what he had. He and Aye had great chemistry and were a lot of fun to watch together.
-Pine and August were another conflicting couple. On the one hand, I really liked August. She was a no nonsense kind of woman who knew what she wanted and she went for it. She didn't mince words, she just got things done. I loved that she remained true to herself. Pine was an ass. What happened with August didn't give him any right to treat Irin, or any other woman for that matter, the way that he did and continuously string her along. He seemed to have something of a hero complex but only when it suited him. He never really redeemed himself in my eyes and frankly I think August could do way better. I also thought it was a bit much having both the men that August trusted turning out be villains.
I liked Pat's acting, she absolutely came across as a bad ass, but she also had some really beautifully vulnerable moments. I liked the way she varied the character. Job well done. I like Off, he comes across as goofy, yet sweet, but his acting isn't as strong as it could be. A lot of the time it feels like he's playing a variation of himself or characters he's played in the past. That was the case here with Pine, especially during the flashback episodes it seemed like he was more himself, whereas the rest of the time, he was giving me Sean from Not Me vibes. That being said, I didn't hate his performance, I just think it could have been a bit more nuanced. I did think he and Pat had good chemistry though. They did a great job portraying the tension of their relationship.
-Hunter was such an enigma and I loved him. His role was so varied from making drinks to "taking out the trash" to giving life advice. His knowledge of everyone and everything fit with him being a bartender, but also added an element of mystery to him because so little information about him was given. I'm still conflicted on whether I like that he was given a backstory or not. On the one hand, it gave insight into why he was attentive to The Jungle and cared about them. However, it also removed that veil of mystery that had surrounded him from the get go and made him more human. Maybe part of it is that his backstory seemed a bit cliche too. Either way, I still very much enjoyed his character.
Mix is such a good actor and I liked seeing him get to stretch his wings and play a different kind of character. He absolutely nailed the role and he had great chemistry with everyone he interacted with.

The production value was good. I liked the sets, particularly the bar and the rooftop. The cinematography was also good, there were some great shots, especially in the bar and again on the rooftop. Those two places had the most scenes and their design was well thought out. The lighting helped add to the mystery of the bar, and gave it a darker, grittier feel. I really enjoyed the music, both the theme song and the individual songs. The theme song was killer, but I also liked the solos that each guy sang that was interspersed with their story.

The Jungle is not a great drama. It has it's flaws and failures, but it was also incredibly entertaining and I enjoyed every minute of it. Like I said before, if you don't overanalyze it and just go with the flow, it's very enjoyable and one I would definitely recommend.

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There Is No Solution

My oh my what a mess this drama was. The synopsis left me intrigued, but the short length left me apprehensive which it turns out I was right to be. While the general concept of it is interesting and could have been used to create a decent drama, what was actually done is pretty underwhelming. A mediocre story, cast, and characters coupled with plot holes, poor editing choices, and a major plot twist that actually doesn't work all combine to create a confusing web that never gets fully untangled or explained leaving us with more questions than answers in the end.

The general idea behind the story really does have promise, it just either needed to be better honed for the shorter number of episodes or there needed to be more episodes for it be fully realized. As it stands, it didn't work for me. The world building was seriously lacking with how the coffee shop worked. For one, there needed to be more explanation for where the cards came from. If it was something where people just picked them up, then fine, but Thana just seemed to have his and Ryou had his drop in front of him. There was no consistency. The scene jumps of characters being in one place and then suddenly in front of of the shop were jarring. The wishing aspect also needed more explanation. It felt like there should be some rules a la Genie from Aladdin, though I think it is mentioned here that reviving the dead is not an option. But the wishes the characters all made felt very cliché. There was nothing original about them. The flashbacks that happened throughout were initially confusing because they weren't obvious as flashbacks, so it took a second to realize what was going on. I didn't find them particularly interesting mostly because I didn't find the coffee shop owner, Kaew, very interesting. I really didn't care about her backstory and I think leaving her character as a mystery and focusing more on how the wishes and coffee shop worked would have been more beneficial.

The pacing was all over the place. Mai and Ryou's relationship was very rushed. I understand they couldn't take their time developing the relationship because of the short number of episodes, but I've seen other dramas do a good job in a limited time so I think they could have done better. And Thana and Phathit's story was a rollercoaster ups and downs. I frankly didn't find their relationship to be that interesting and I was more invested in Mai and Ryou's story.

Like I said, I found the wishes each of the characters made to be overall cliché, but also mildly interesting in a what were you thinking kind of way. Thana wishes for a new job. I honestly wondered at that, because he was so concerned about not matching up to Phathit, why didn't he wish to be his equal or something along those lines? And then the big plot twist is that it's revealed that Dena, for whatever reason, wished that no one would ever remember her, Ryou, Mai, or Nack, but would instead only know Darin, Phathit, Thana, and Naphat. It seems that this made them forget their childhood together or something like that. The logistics of this wish is, of course, not explained so we're left to guess. Now this wish is important to mention first, because Nack wished that he could kiss Ryou, a wish that doesn't come about until he as an adult Naphat kisses an adult Pathit. I will give credit to Nack for the fact that he didn't wish for Ryou to love him which is exactly what Ryou did, wishing that Mai would love him with his whole heart which then begs the question, did Mai/Thana actually love Ryou/Phathit or was it the wish making him do so?

Going back to that plot twist, there is rather massive problem with it. In Episode 3, at least, and I want to say something similar happens in another earlier episode, there is an instance where Ryou and Nack are grocery shopping together and Phathit is seen at the same store. This is when Mai gets locked in the locker room and Ryou runs off to go rescue him. There is a shot after this that has both Phathit and Nack in the same frame. Now if Nack is supposed to be a young Naphat, this is obviously impossible. I frankly found the plot twist to be very disappointing for a couple reasons. One being that, before it's reveal, I had liked these couple of brief glimpses of how their lives were connected, even tangentially. They never actually interacted, but they existed in the same sphere. And then there was the plot twist which just ruined that and also went to show just how incredibly poorly it was planned out. Besides that, there just never felt like there was a connection between the characters. They could have done something really cool with little hints and similarities that once it was revealed made you want to smack yourself on the forehead because, yes, Ryou made an offhand comment related to medicine or Thana said something about not wanting to be alone. There were so many little ways they could have connected them and I didn't notice any which is why that twist felt out of the blue and more like they were going for shock value than it was a well thought out, developed choice.

The characters really nothing special. There was one character that I genuinely liked, but I'll get to him in a bit.
-Thana and Phathit: I initially thought they were going to be interesting characters because of their dynamic as an established couple that had been together for over ten years. Instead, I didn't really find them to be any different from the less established couples I've seen in countless other BLs. I was expecting their communication to be much better than it was. After ten years together, I would have expected Thana to be less reticent to talk to Phathit about what was going on both in his personal and work life. And a little bit the same with the inferiority complex he had, it felt too fresh when Phathit had obviously been a doctor for a while. So those aspects didn't work for me. They didn't feel particularly realistic for their situation. Thana's struggles with work and feeling neglected by Phathit were more relatable though. Finding a job that actually feels like a calling is hard and when you don't have someone you can talk to about it, that makes it even harder. And while I understood that he felt neglected by Phathit, I had trouble really sympathizing with him because he never communicated how he was feeling until he lashed out. Phathit was relatable in his focus on work to build them future but at the same time neglecting Thana and their relationship. Finding that work/life balance can be a struggle, especially when you work in the medical field. And while Phathit was a good guy, he was not a mind reader and couldn't be expected to know what Thana was thinking when he didn't speak up. Thana's insecurity was a huge issue in their relationship and a large reason for the friction that developed between them. I was frankly glad that Phathit wasn't willing to just let him off the hook after he cheated. While Thana was obviously remorseful for what he had done, it also seemed clear that he had no intention of telling Phathit what had happened if he hadn't been caught which makes me wonder if he would have continued otherwise. Frankly I was hoping they would stay separated, but maybe the new beginning will work out for them.
-Mai and Ryou: The relationship for these two pretty much jumped out of the gate at a sprint. There's a bit of an enemies to lovers hint to the beginning of their relationship, but it's not well developed due to how fast their relationship progresses. While I understand time was limited to build their background and grow their relationship, I think more time was needed for it to really help understand their characters and to make their relationship more cohesive. Particularly with Mai, we understand that he gets lonely, but he was living alone just fine at the beginning, so when his parents decided to move, why didn't he opt to move into a dorm? Was it just because he wasn't ready to admit his feelings for Ryou? We also see his struggle as he realizes that he's starting to fall for Ryou when he tells Ryou that he can't fall for him and that he's straight. But we never fully understand why he's fighting so hard, his parents are never shown disapproving of the LGBTQ community. There's also Ryou's reluctance to admit his own feelings. It felt disjointed because we have him unwilling to at least verbally speak his feelings to then going to the coffee shop and wishing that Mai would love him with his whole heart. It feels like there's a lot of missing information with them that would help things make sense. I could go with the assumption that it's deliberate to feed into Dena's wish and how it worked, but I think that's giving it far too much credit. Their relationship is also lacking in open communication and then there's the instance where Mai very nearly rapes Ryou. Neither is a particularly great foundation to build a relationship on.
-Thana and Time: When Time initially showed up, I was certain that Thana was going to cheat on Phathit with him, but as more time went on and nothing happened, I grew hopeful that they were just going to continue on as friends and I really loved that for both of them because it was clear they had found something in each other. Of course, then they went and had multiple drinks, smoked and got together. I was very disappointed. Time was the one character that I actually genuinely liked in this drama. And by that I don't mean that he was a good person because he knew that Thana was taken and he still let things go to the next level. But as a character, I loved him. He was flawed, but I also found him genuine and straightforward. He didn't mince words and he called things like he saw them. Beneath the bravado, he was a good kid, willing to help a new friend and cheer him on. And I really liked him and Thana together. They had fantastic chemistry together, both as friends and in that brief NSFW scene. They fit together well and seemed on more equal footing than Thana and Phathit and it was nice to see Thana have someone he could talk to. Like I said, I was really hoping they would continue on as friends, I figured it was a vain hope, and sure enough, it was. My heart did break a little for Time during their last conversation, just because he'd finally found someone he clicked with and then there he was being abandoned again.

Acting was a mixed bag. This is now the third drama I have seen Gun in as a lead and, I'm sorry, but the man is just not that great of an actor. He has brief moments where he does well, very brief, but emotional scenes feel overacted, he makes the same face repeatedly, and any scenes that require physical intimacy are almost physically painful to watch. If you are that uncomfortable kissing men, honey, please stop doing BLs! He had zero chemistry with Mig of any kind and I am laying that solely on him, because Mig absolutely had chemistry with Bank. Mig did a pretty good job for his first role. It was obvious at times that he's pretty green, the more emotional scenes weren't as strong, there were some times where it felt like he was just delivering lines, but there were a lot of other moments where he absolutely nailed it. I think he has great potential. Bell is also brand new but, wow, does he know how to use his eyes. He has an expressive face in general, but his eyes especially just give his performance that extra je ne sais quoi. Bhu has had a bit more experience, but I can't give him the same praise. His performance didn't have the same brilliance as Bell's. He just didn't give Mai a whole lot of personality and often came across as a bit lifeless. He did have his good moments though where he was engaging, but he wore his character like armor almost and it didn't allow for him to shine.

There really is nothing luminous about The Luminous Solution. It's unfortunately quite dull and disappointing, sad considering it's potential. Despite it's short length, this isn't one that I would recommend watching. It's such a confusing mess, it's not worth the time trying to figure it out for such little payout.

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Frostwork

Jack o' Frost is a very pretty drama that simply lacks any real substance. It has an artistic quality to it that is certainly pleasing to the eye but beyond that I just didn't find much to really recommend it. Due to it's short length, it's characters inevitably lack depth and the story itself isn't what it could have been. Even so, it's decent enough for what it is.

On paper the story sounds intriguing. Two lovers live together, but after a fight one night, one of them runs out and ends up getting hurt, the end result being he's an amnesiac, but specifically, he can't remember his lover or anything related to him. It's a promising concept and there's a variety of ways the story could go; I can't say that I love what they did with it. Fumiya decides to take it as a second chance. At least, that's what he says. His actions though, don't match up. Up until Ritsu figures out that they had been together before his accident, Fumiya toes the line between roommate and lover, clearly wanting to step over it, recalling in flashbacks his relationship with Ritsu, but also very consciously NOT stepping over it even as Ritsu begins to reveal his growing attraction for Fumiya. It's a conundrum that's never really fully explained other than a brief mention that leads me to think that fear was the overwhelming reason, fear that Ritsu would regain his memories and the game would be up.

Fumiya doesn't present as the most sympathetic of characters, but I found him interesting in that aspects of him were realistic, particularly his tendency to bottle his emotions and then explode. While I don't think that part of him was well explored, I do think the idea of it at least was relatable. I also can't say that his decision to remain silent about his relationship with Ritsu was the way to go, I think it was quite selfish. But on the flip side, how many of us wouldn't jump at the opportunity for a second chance at certain relationships, events, moments, etc.? Again, this was another aspect that I found made him realistic.

Ritsu was a far more ambiguous character due to his amnesia. Without a past to define his present, he was instead defined by his lack of memory and his uncertainty. And since the story is primarily told from Fumiya's point of view, that added another layer of disconnect. It all added up to make it harder to relate to him. In general, I found him to be rather boring. Perhaps it was deliberate, but I did find the contrast of him having a rather dull character compared to his more vibrant/interesting artwork was the one thing that gave him some degree of dimension.

There is an underlying theme that even if you are given a second chance, it means nothing if you don't fix the problems that were there to begin with. However, that theme doesn't seem to be put into practice as the leads undergo very little character development and seem destined to end up right back where they started.

The acting was hit or miss. Of the two, I think I preferred Suzuki Kosuke's performance. I did like their chemistry overall. It was nothing earthshattering, but a more subtle kind, and I thought it suited the drama.

I liked the progression of the drawing in the end credits. It was a neat way to incorporate Ritsu's talent with drawing.

I really enjoyed the music. The background music was beautiful and was well used. I also liked the opening and closing songs though I don't feel they really fit with the tone of the drama.

Jack o' Frost is not one of my favorite Japanese BLs that I've seen but I still found it to be charming in its own way. If nothing else, it's artistic quality and tone makes it worthwhile and the story isn't bad, I just think it could have been better developed. Given it's short length, it's an easy watch for a lazy afternoon.

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Paradox of Emotions

Ameiro Paradox is one of those few dramas that I have to give two ratings, the core one and the emotional one. The core one is the 7.0. That's the rating that gets into the story, the character development, acting, etc. The emotional rating gets an 8.5. That is purely based on the impression it left me with, the emotions, how it made me feel, etc. I wouldn't say this is a good drama. It lacks a lot of backstory and information that would be helpful in developing it and its characters. However, it is a very enjoyable one and I was not disappointed in the slightest.

One of the things I have come to expect, not like, but expect, is a lack of depth with most Japanese and Korean BLs. Their run time tends to be much shorter than Thai BL's, typically between 20 and 30 minutes and somewhere between 6 and 10 episodes. That is not a whole lot of time to fit in a fully developed story. So with that in mind, they do a pretty decent job here with Ameiro Paradox. It's inevitable that things feel rushed, the pacing of the romance is a bit all over the place, but I don't hate it. This is one though that I wish was a bit longer because more information would have been helpful particularly regarding the backgrounds of both Onoe and Kaburagi. More information as to why Kaburagi is just so jaded when he is initially paired with Onoe and likewise why Onoe is that odd combination of naïve and smart. Onoe especially though. He's been a journalist for a while but he really is just so naïve with some things, I wanted to delve into his character a bit more with that. Since they were journalists, I would have liked to see it serve as a little more of a focal point. We had a lot of them sitting around waiting to take pictures and I would have liked to see other aspects featured as well, researching topics, doing more interviews like the one with the porn actress who came forward, that kind of thing. However, one thing that I did appreciate was the portrayal that there are consequences and it's not an easy job, on both sides. Particularly that first case with the commercial actress, knowing that she had done what she did to care for her mother and knowing that exposing her was going to affect that. It was one of those little things that was very thought provoking. And it was the same with each of the other cases.

They did well with keeping the cast to the bare minimum and making the cast they did have meaningful. Obviously we had our two leads. Onoe and Kaburagi start off appearing to be a study in opposites. Onoe is innocent, in more ways than one, he doesn't lie, he's open and friendly. And then there's Kaburagi, flirtatious, devious, seemingly willing to do anything to get a story whether paying for it with money or his own body. He claims to be numb to the job, but as Onoe spends more time with him, he comes to realize that's not the case at all, that it's all a façade and Kaburagi is, in fact, a gentle and kind soul. The biggest issue with these two, like in most BLs, is their lack of communication. Onoe is better about trying to communicate although his fear sometimes gets in the way, which is certainly valid, but it's hard to say what exactly is keeping Kaburagi silent. This is not a BL where the characters' sexuality is discussed. Is he struggling with coming to terms that he might actually just like one person and that one person is a man and he's not ready to put that into words? We don't know and that's something else that would have been nice to explore. Their misunderstanding at the end is again due to a miscommunication, mostly on Kaburagi's part since Onoe does try to talk to him and Kaburagi just gives him the cold shoulder. I know the Editor-in-Chief comments that Kaburagi has trust issues, but I would really love to have learned more about that because there has to be more to it. They do finally talk things out and hopefully end up with a little bit of a better understanding of each other going forward. Masayan, Onoe's friend, was a good combination of some of the friends typically seen in BLs: the comic and the advisor. He served his purpose as a bit of comic relief while also acting as a sounding board for Onoe when he was trying to piece together his thoughts and feelings. The nice thing here though was that he actually gave solid well thought out advice and what he didn't know, he firmly stated that he didn't know. There are so many dramas where you have friends who give terrible advice, not maliciously, they just have no idea what they're talking about. I also liked the Editor in Chief and the way he quietly observed his people and stepped in when it became necessary, but not in an obtrusive way. He saw that Kaburagi needed a perspective adjustment and he took the initiative to help him see that. He also saw that Onoe and Kaburagi would be a good pair together and be beneficial to each other.

The acting was okay. Both Kimura and Yamanaka are fairly young and I don't think either have a ton of acting experience. I think they have a lot of promise and with more experience will get better. Yamanaka struggled with his facial expressions. He alternated between appearing wooden and tense. He looked like he needed to just relax, think less and sink into the character more. Kimura did better but needs to work on a bit more variation with his expressions. Their chemistry was understated, but I do still think it was there. It just wasn't as flamboyant as other actors'.

I did have a few things that stood out to me as bigger issues. The biggest being Kaburagi's actions after Onoe was assaulted by the tax guy. That was not the time or place to come onto him and it was just uncomfortable to watch. I don't know how he could have possibly thought that was in any way appropriate. Onoe was the absolute worst tailer. It was almost physically painful watching him. Did Kaburagi not show him how to do that? I don't know but it was really bad. And I'm sure it was there for comedic purposes, but it just didn't work for me. Along those same lines, Onoe filming the guy for the phone scam was so painfully obvious. There was nothing discreet about it and how the other guy didn't notice his phone there is beyond me.

I found this drama to be simple and sweet. It's not deep or particularly thought provoking, although it does have its moments, but its heartwarming and I found myself really enjoying. It's short enough that it's an easy binge watch and it is one that I absolutely recommend.

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The Boss is Back

Starting this drama, I had a moment of dread thinking they were going with a body swap story or even another alternate universe a la MSP. However, I was pleasantly surprised when that was not the case. This is more along the lines of what I was hoping for with My Skyy 2. Not ridiculous story lines, not deciding to throw in magic and alternate universes and other gimmicks, but getting to see a continuation of our leads lives and their stories without a whole lot of drama. These episodes served that for me. It wasn't over the top, there wasn't a ton of drama, it was just fun and light hearted comedy. Considering that I wasn't a huge fan of the drama, I wasn't sure what to expect from this, but it was worth watching.

One of the biggest problems I had with the drama was the almost complete lack of sensical plot. It went all over the place, achieving nothing. Here though, there was a clearly defined plot and it worked pretty well. The focus on getting Gun to understand that he didn't have to be so overbearing and harsh towards his employees and that work is for work hours allowed us to get to know the characters better, Gun especially. It also allowed for some genuinely comedic moments with Cher acting as the boss and Gun as the intern. And while it doesn't really reference anything that happened from the drama, I found that to be a positive considering so much of it was nonsense.

Character wise, I liked getting to know Gun better, his way of thinking and perceiving people and actions. I would have liked to delve a little more into what exactly drove him to be such a workaholic, but the short time frame didn't allow for that. I also appreciated getting to know Cher more. He's more perceptive than you would think and sometimes his antics can make one forget that he's actually pretty smart. While that's not shown extensively here, he does have his moments to show that intelligence. And the length he went to both to help Gun destress and show him that he needed to be more attuned to his employees feelings and needs showed how much he cared. It was very wholesome to see. And of course he got to have fun bossing his boyfriend around and getting to be the boss for a day, but it's pretty clear Gun doesn't really mind. I also enjoyed the return of Cher's friends, especially Three and Zo. That scene with them pretending to fight was pretty entertaining. The group's friendship was one of the positives from the drama and it remained so here. The fact that they were so supportive of Cher, even agreeing to his ridiculous plan, just showcased that they're the kind of friends everyone should have.

The acting was solid. Again the romantic chemistry between Force and Book is nil, but except for the end, I didn't miss it. Their buddy chemistry worked for a couple that had been together for some time and the few sweet moments between them were actually almost genuinely sweet, probably because they were so innocent. They both turned pretty wooden though there at the end with that final kissing scene. Everyone else did a good job and it was fun to see so many returning from the drama.

I think this addition to My Skyy 2 is my favorite thus far. It was pretty much what I was hoping for from the entirety of the series and I have my fingers crossed that they won't annihilate Bad Buddy or Thousand Stars and will stick to this formula. I enjoyed the fact that these episodes were more than just pure fluff, they actually had some depth to them. It was a good way to conclude their story and it seems fitting that they're sent off with a dash of humor.

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An Emotionally Beautiful Beginning

I watched these two episodes prior to starting The Promise which I just finished. I loved these two episodes. They're relatively short, but they give a glimpse of each of these young men's thoughts, emotions, and feelings, giving more history on their relationship prior to the drama. They're beautifully done. The actors do a wonderful job with their characters and the stories are, for the most part, well told and streamlined, Phupha's more so than Nanfah's.

I felt like it really drove home the fact that a lack of communication can have serious consequences. Their failure to communicate caused them to lose so much time. Incidentally, I loved the old fashioned pocket watches. I thought the symbolism was beautiful and well thought out. I was very impressed by the amount of emotional impact they were able land in such a short period of time. The story is so heart wrenching and I think it does teach good lessons in the importance of communication, both in expressing yourself and not bottling your emotions and taking the time to listen and understand without making assumptions.

Here's the drawback though. These two episodes have a very different feel from the drama. They're mature, emotional, moving and I expected the drama to have that same tone. I was very wrong, unfortunately. It's clear that these two episodes and the drama were not filmed concurrently as sets are completely different from one to the other. For example, the dorm rooms are totally different as are the rooms at their condo. The characters don't feel the same either, mostly I think because the drama is almost trying to be a bit of a rom-com and the comedic aspect of their characters feels jarring since that wasn't a part of these episodes. Additionally, much of the backstory established in these two episodes is different from that in the drama which I've found disappointing as some of those changes I felt have limited the emotional impact that was established. There are minor changes, like in these two episodes, it's mentioned that Phu and Nan are in the same faculty, but different majors whereas in the drama, they're both advertising majors. And bigger changes as well like the whole reason Phu disappeared in the first place. I find it disappointing because there's absolutely no reason the stories should vary at all. Maybe it's because there were two different directors and screenwriters, maybe because things just weren't double checked, or maybe they just didn't care enough. Who knows, but I much preferred the tone of these two episodes as opposed to the drama thus far.

I don't regret watching these episodes in the slightest, I just wish they meshed with the drama better in terms of tone, story, and character representation. Having completed the drama, I can safely say that these episodes far surpass the drama in basically every way. I absolutely recommend watching these two episodes, I do not recommend the drama. Rather, I would regard these two episodes as their own separate entity and consider the ending as being left open. It's better than the drivel the drama turned out to be. If you do want to watch both, don't watch them one after the other. The differences between the two mean that they don't really add much in the long run and it's better not to consider them as a unit. It's a pity the drama didn't live up to these episodes because they are beautifully done.

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Pink's Not Fading Yet

Of the stories told thus far in Our Skyy 2, this was the most wholesome and the most well done. It had twists and turns that were fairly well done and entertaining, good character development, good music and generally just told a very endearing story. I wasn't sure what I would think of this one based off the trailer but it completely surpassed my expectations.

I loved that the story didn't go where I thought it would. I honestly thought it was going to revolve around Tess or Pakorn's love child and Talay and Puen left having to raise the kid. And that's certainly the initial impression. But then there's the twist that he is actually Tup's nephew and he and Tou had the brilliant idea of having the kid pretend to be Talay and Puen's son to help them reconnect since work has been pulling them apart. And then there's an added twist when it comes out that Puen is on in it and a further twist when Talay overhears Puen, Tup, and Tou's conversation and puts the pieces together. He and Jigsaw plotting together was the cutest thing ever. Though I would have loved to know how Tup convinced his sister to let him kidnap her kid for who knows how long.

Again, everything about this special was so wholesome. I appreciated that Talay and Puen recognized that there was a problem and actively sought to fix it. Focusing too much on work and neglecting a partner is a fairly common issue, I feel, and I liked that it was addressed. It was realistic. Especially after being together for 5 years, I think you can start to take each other for granted and lose focus of the relationship. I loved the creativity of the calendar and giving each day of the month a theme of sorts. It's simple but it made them think of each other and spend time with each other. And it's something that anyone could implement. If I ever find myself in a relationship, it is definitely something I would love to do. And then when Jigsaw landed in their laps, they pretty much took it in stride. They worked together to take care of him and even when he went missing at the zoo, they really didn't blame each other. Things weren't blown out of proportion, they each took responsibility for the fact that they got distracted and apologized to Jigsaw for neglecting him. Seriously, their relationship was such a breath of fresh air.

I was impressed with the character growth of Talay and Puen. It's nothing astronomic, but it's there and with such a limited time frame, it was well done. I appreciated that they communicated with each other and had an actually healthy relationship. It felt like they were both on the same footing and they just really complemented each other. One of my complaints with the drama was regarding the time jump and not feeling like there was any development between them. Five years have passed since their journey to the other universe here and it actually felt more like time had passed. So kudos there. I loved getting to see more of Tup and Tou in this universe. They added a good dose of entertainment. I also liked the fact that they were friends equally with Talay and Puen. We see them interacting a bit more with Puen, but it's obviously a strong friendship all around and brings back memories of their friendship in the other universe.

The acting was pretty solid. I thought both Jimmy and Sea did a good job. There weren't any real emotional scenes here which is where I felt they both struggled in the drama. Their chemistry leans a bit more towards buddy than romantic, but I also found that to be realistic. Again, the characters have been together for five years, so a more relaxed chemistry made sense and I thought they did it well. I love Neo. He was so adorably nerdy looking from his looks to his very behaviour. He's one of those actors that seems able to take on just about any role and it's funny to see him in this role after just seeing him in The Eclipse last week as a totally different character. Aou is also a good actor. I've seen him in multiple roles and he's definitely not one of those one note actors. He brings something different to each character. And Chun was the cutest kid. Seriously, so adorable and he did a great job in his role as Jigsaw. His chemistry with Jimmy and Sea was fantastic. I loved their little family, short lived as it was.

Production was also pretty solid. I liked that they continued the theme from the drama of naming each episode after a color that coincided with what was going on in that episode. The cinematography was good, especially there at the end, some of those shots were just stunning. The music was good. I didn't quite like Jimmy and Sea's new song as well as their songs in the drama which I love, but I still very much enjoyed it.

This was an excellent follow-up to the drama. I really did enjoy every moment of it and any complaints I might have are miniscule. I loved the relationships both romantic and platonic, the family dynamic between Talay, Puen, and Jigsaw, the realistic challenges faced, and the way that the characters interacted. This is one that I may come back to in the future.

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Intriguing Start, Sloppy Ending

The overall story for this drama was interesting and detailed, but proved at points to be overly complex. Things got mixed up, characters knew things they shouldn't, some things were linked together by the most tenuous of threads, some things were just never explained and by the end, things started getting downright ridiculous. That being said though, I did overall enjoy this drama.

The idea of the parallel universes with time running opposite to each other was a really interesting concept and I liked it. The split between Mum's World and Dew's World was a cool way to see different versions of the various characters and I really liked how they used color to further separate the worlds. That concept though was also a bit of their downfall as that was where there were the most mix ups like I mentioned before of characters knowing things they shouldn't. However, when they decided to take it a step further with a multiverse and introduce another Mum, that's where it started losing me. On the one hand, I can kind of understand why they may have done it, but overall I feel it was unnecessary. Another downfall with this drama was just how long it took for Dew and Mum to meet in Mum's world. I kept waiting for them to meet...and waiting and waiting and waiting. I wanted to see more interaction between them, of them getting to know each other in their same world. I got the impression the mystery of who killed Dew was supposed to be a big twist and shocker, just from the way they set it up. It didn't seem that complicated to me, I guessed it the first episode, but maybe that's just me. I like figuring out puzzles and I tend to be pretty good at figuring out things like that in movies/shows. The two endings was another unique way to go. I can't say that I liked either one of them. One was depressing, the other overwhelmingly happy, not to mention sloppy. With a drama like this, I think I would have preferred something in between, maybe open ended, or the two at the tentative beginnings of a new relationship. That, however, is just me.

I found the characters to be a little more polarizing in this drama than some of the others I watched recently. Besides the fact that the characters really lacked any kind of depth which was disappointing to begin with, there also a lack of any real character growth, I felt.
-Mint had me going back and forth on whether I liked her or not. I decided that I liked her as a sister and a friend, in those roles she was a badass and I think she would be awesome to have around. But as a woman, I found her incredibly frustrating. Her treatment of Dew basically bordered on harassment with constantly asking him out. I also thought it was absurd that other's got annoyed at Dew for rejecting her and upsetting her when she was literally the one who kept putting herself in that situation.
-Dew was another one that I had some serious thoughts on. While I did overall like him, I did start getting tired of his cowardly nature when it came to Mint. I'm not sure why breaking up with her was so much scarier than being caught cheating, but apparently that's what he thought. It was just kind of weird to me that he wasn't afraid to face down his uncle, but telling a woman he doesn't actually love her and wants to go back to being friends is impossible to do.
-Mum, there at the beginning, I was not a fan of his womanizing ways and I was gladly that was a relatively short lived part of the drama. However, it was disappointing to see that whole "only gay for you" trope still being used at this point. Come on, guys, you can do better.
I didn't have much of an opinion on the remaining side characters. They were entertaining for the most part, but nothing spectacular. The secondary couple was kind of cute, but also didn't add a whole lot. On the plus side, they also didn't take away huge amounts of screen time either.

The acting wasn't bad, nothing spectacular. Ohm and Fluke don't have the kind of chemistry that will start a fire, theirs is more subtle, but I do feel its there and they do work well together. Also, can I just take a second to comment on Fluke's smile? I swear that boy could charm wood.

The OST was okay, again, nothing spectacular. However, I did love the opening credits. I thought they were a visual masterpiece, just gorgeous visuals, I loved it.

I'm rating this drama higher than it really deserves. It was simply too ambitious and it has a lot of flaws, but despite those flaws, it still managed to capture my interest and overall maintain that interest through to the end. I also absolutely have to give credit for an interesting idea, even if it wasn't executed to its fullest or best potential. I don't think this is a drama worth watching more than once really. Once you've seen it, the mystery is gone and I feel like the errors will just really stick out more than anything else, but its a fun one to watch just the once.

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Secretly Crushing On This One

You know the saying, "Don't judge a book by it's cover"? That definitely applies to this drama. I don't think I've ever watched a drama that gave me such conflicting emotions. It is by far the cringiest the drama I have ever watched, the drama that made me talk to my screen the most, and made me suffer the most second hand embarrassment ever. I think I legitimately spent a good half of this drama just hiding my face because I couldn't watch that level of embarrassment unfold in front of me. That being said, this drama also had me in stitches, literally laughing out loud, it made me cry, and underneath all the cringe and embarrassment, is a really beautiful story. In the end, despite my initial uncertainty, I found this drama and its characters have a lot of heart.

The first few episodes were the hardest to get through and where I teetered on whether to keep watching or just drop it. At that point, you haven't really gotten to know the characters yet, so while most of them seem pretty innocuous, Toh comes across as a lot. I understand having a secret crush, I can even kind of understand keeping things associated with your crush though not nearly to the extent he does and definitely not the food items, that was just gross, but his crush went a bit beyond the bounds of comfort me into obsession. I wouldn't call him a stalker as technically the definition of a stalker is someone who harasses another person with unwanted or obsessive attention. In Toh's case, yes, I would say his behavior was obsessive, but he never harassed Nuea or in any way harmed him and Nuea never indicated that the attention was unwanted. Anyway, once I got past those couple of episodes and relationships started developing between Toh and Nuea and Jao and Sky, I became invested.

My absolute favorite thing about this drama though was the way that it broke down society's expectations. Neither Toh or Jao fit society's standards for attractiveness while both Nuea and Sky do. With that in mind, society would not expect them to get together, in fact, as is seen multiple times, society balks at them being together, saying its wrong. Society looks at the surface; beauty and beauty should go together. Nuea and Sky, however, looked under the surface. They saw Toh and Jao for who they were as individuals, not for their looks, and that's what they fell in love with. As someone who doesn't fit society's standards of beauty, I found that powerful. It gives me hope that I can find someone like that someday who will love me exactly as I am. I also loved how neither of them got tired of reminding Toh and Jao that they loved them just as they were. They didn't need to change themselves, they were perfect as is. I also felt like both relationships were good examples of healthy relationships. Nuea and Toh especially had overall good communication. They talked things out like adults for the most part and worked to get past any issues they had. With Sky and Jao, as much as Sky really liked Jao, I appreciated his patience and going at a pace that Jao was comfortable with. To me it showed that he respected his boundaries, especially that scene where they do finally kiss. Sky wanted to kiss him, but he could tell Jao was hesitant and he tells him he can wait. It's not until Jao consents that he kisses him. There's a mutual respect in both relationships that's pretty clear and I just really liked seeing how well it was portrayed.

And that also translated over to characters like Daisy who tried to change himself to be more masculine because he thought that's what Intouch wanted when in fact, Intouch just wanted him to be his badass, feminine self. It also highlighted that changing yourself into someone you're not isn't going to make you happy. Be yourself, there's nothing more beautiful than being confident in your own skin.

The friendship between Toh, Jao, Daisy and Som was a central part of this drama and I loved it. I honestly wish I had friends like that. Their bond is amazing and their unwavering love and support for each other is definitely one of the highlights of this drama. No matter what happens, they are there for each other. I also really liked Nuea and Sky's group of friends. They didn't have quite the same charisma, but they were obviously good people and it was always entertaining when both groups got together.

I absolutely recommend giving this drama a shot. Don't let the cringe and second hand embarrassment factors turn you off. Look past that and focus on the friendships, on the actual story, the characters, it's absolutely worth sticking it out.

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Short and Sweet

The good and bad thing about Korean BLs is that they are almost universally short and sweet, easily consumed in a few hours. And while typically a very pleasant diversion, they are often lacking when it comes to fleshing out the story, having fully developed characters, and wrapping up the story neatly. This drama suffered from all three issues, but I still very much enjoyed it.

Pros:
- The acting was overall quite solid I felt. Yoo Jun was definitely a stand out and the most consistent. He perfectly showcased his character's inner turmoil and I really appreciated how much emotion he managed to convey just with his eyes. His chemistry with Hyun Jun was also quite good and they played off of each other well except when it came to kissing. That was painful to watch. Hyun Jun was pretty good, though he seemed to struggle with some of the more serious scenes where he came off almost robotic at times. He did much better portraying Yoo Han's mischievous, cheeky side. Seo Hoo and Hyo Gi had smaller roles but were also quite fun and I enjoyed their addition.
- In terms of the story, there are both pros and cons to this aspect but for the pros, I found the world created absolutely fascinating with this concept of monos and their probes and I honestly would have loved it if it had been explored more in depth. This drama had some great scenes, but one of my favorites was when Yoo Han asked Yeon Woo to teach him the colors he saw. It was such a sad, but poignant scene and I thought it was done beautifully. I also appreciated the reveal of Yoo Han's condition at the end, that both boys were struggling with their obsession for the other, it wasn't just Yeon Woo, and how neither could bear to let the other go. Very interesting and overall well done on that front. The mix of dark and light, particularly towards the end was interesting and added some spice to things. There were some twists that I was not expecting but were handled quite well. The romance developed organically more or less and the dangling question of whether it was truly love or obsession made it more interesting.
- The OST was fantastic. The opening in song in particular really caught my attention and has already been added to my Spotify playlist.
- I really loved the media arts scene. It was a stand out for me just in terms of seeing the characters' development as well as just being a visual treat. Loved it. I also found the way they showed the color rush to be appealing. It's not what I was expecting but I found it to be quite beautiful and well done. I also appreciated the way they switched between how the rest of the world saw things with color and how Yeon Woo saw the world.

Cons:
- With the story, as I said before, there were both pros and cons. One of the cons is the world, which I loved, but I did feel needed a bit more exploration. I really wanted more info on the monos and probes to better be able to understand them. Another was the characterization. Considering the shortness of the drama, they did a good job of introducing the characters and giving enough background to keep them interesting, but, again, I wanted more, especially when it came to Yoo Han. I felt like, despite him being the second lead, we found out next to nothing about him and his life except at the very end and even that was pretty minimal. However, my biggest con in this regard is how the mystery of Yeon Woo's mother's disappearance just ended up on the wayside. There were a few other little side plots and such that were also neglected, but I felt that was the biggest one. I honestly got invested in her disappearance and thought the drama was going to be more of a mystery/crime type deal with the boys teaming up to find out what happened to her, but that didn't happen. In fact, we're left exactly where we started and I found that to be more than a tad disappointing. I know there's a Color Rush 2 that I've heard answers the question of what happened to her, so I may check that out, though the apparent of absence of Hyun Jun makes me a little leery of it.

And honestly that is my one con: the storytelling and the plot holes. I truly wish they had made this into a longer, more fleshed out drama because it had so much potential. It's good as a romance but I feel like it could have been much more than that. I wouldn't have objected in the slightest if the mystery of his mother's disappearance and learning more about the monos had been more of a focal point than the romance. That being said, it's a solid romantic story in terms of their developing relationship and I very much enjoyed it. Overall, it is absolutely worth the couple hours it will take you to watch and, due to its shortness, I would not object to watching it again at some point.

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Not a Masterpiece, but Worth A Watch

Chinese dramas are always very hit or miss for me. I will oftentimes start out liking a drama but then the plot severely lags in the middle and I lose interest and drop it. Not the case with The Untamed. While the beginning was a bit weak, once the story jumped to the past and became more linear, I found myself hooked.

And there is my first issue with this drama. I have never been a fan of dramas that start in the present and then jump to the past. It's messy and confusing. You don't know who anyone is or why you should care about them and the events that transpired previously. Inevitably you get to the end of the show and have to go back and watch those episodes to see what you missed. In the case of The Untamed, there's a lot missed simply because you don't know the backstory. I think the drama would have been stronger if they just started out sixteen years ago and then jumped to the present.

In terms of acting, it was very hit or miss. I don't think any of the actors gave a truly amazing performance, but there were some that were stronger than others. Xiao Zhan as Wei Wuxian and Wang Yi Bo Lan Wangji both deliver relatively strong performances. In Wang Yi Bo's case, I felt that he took a little longer to settle into his character but once he did, he was overall good. His use of micro expressions to give depth and emotion to his stone faced character was pleasant to see. Xiao Zhan was a little bit one note at times but overall I felt he gave a nuanced performance. Their chemistry together was on point and depending on personal preference, you really could take their relationship as just friendship or something more. Yu Bin was also quite good as Wen Ning and did a good job of vacillating between Wen Ning as a sweet, innocent man and as someone possessed/controlled. Also a shout out to Chen Zhuo Xuan as A-Qing. She had a small role but I really enjoyed her performance and thought she nailed it.
Of less note were Wang Zhuo Cheng as Jiang Cheng, Xuan Lu as Yan Li, and Meng Zi Yi as Wen Qing. Wang Zhuo Cheng had some good moments but overall his performance just wasn't particularly interesting and his expressions lacked the variation that I think the role required not to mention times where his expression just seemed completely wrong for what was going on. And don't get me started on how terribly fake his crying looked. Xuan Lu and Meng Zi Yi suffered from similar problems. Neither one had much variation in their expressions and while it worked better for Meng Zi Yi's character, it just made Xuan Lu's character seem boring. There just wasn't much depth to her so I can't say that I really felt anything despite all that happens to her. Meng Zi Yi had some strong moments, but she was almost too stoic and it didn't allow the audience to really get to know her or her character as well as if she'd been a bit more emotive. That being said, I did find her character to be more interesting than Yan Li's.

The OST was also a bit hit or miss. At times, I absolutely loved it, although it could be repetitive. But the combination of the string and woodwind instruments was quite beautiful and I did enjoy the cues with those in them. Other times, particularly during the battle at Nightless City, it just seemed so completely off. I truly don't know who decided that music fit the scene but it was awful and really pulled me out of the moment. There were a few other instances where the music just didn't work but that one was the worst.

In terms of the directing and visuals, I found them to be very repetitive. I don't know how many times we got shots of men gripping their swords or monsters throwing their heads back and roaring, for example, but it was a lot. For me, they were distracting and eventually just got annoying, especially when you got several of them almost back to back in one scene. Like, we get it, he's mad, moving on now. The special effects were also lacking, but that's not terribly unusual for these dramas. In particular though, there's a scene with a wolf that is just painful because its so incredibly fake. And, as with a fair number of other dramas I've watched, the plot twist wasn't so much of a plot twist because there were so many hints given beforehand. When the guy is smirking evilly behind everyone's back, its a pretty good guess that he's a bad guy and up to no good. It would have made the story so much stronger if they hadn't shown that, because it probably would have been an actual shock that he was the villain. But oh well. As with most fantasy/historical dramas, I did like the costuming, particularly Wei Wuxian and Lan Wanji's. The general color of their costumes remained the same throughout, but the use of different fabrics and embroidery and slight variations in color made them more interesting. The wigs, as with most dramas, were pretty fake looking, some were better than others, but I wouldn't call them great. Many of the props were also quite fake looking, the swords in particular caught my attention. Real swords do not bend and wobble like the ones in the drama do.

Overall, despite its flaws, this was an entertaining and engaging drama. This is not a drama that you should closely analyze. If you want to really enjoy it, just go with it, don't overanalyze any part of it or it does start to fall apart a bit and you notice various holes and inconsistencies and unanswered questions. Just enjoy it as is and its a great romp. I think the lack of a central romance did it a huge favor. Instead focusing on Wuxian and Wangji's growing respect for each other and friendship allowed the story to keep moving and remain more fluid than many other dramas I've watched. Again, as a side note, if you want to view it as a gay love story, you certainly can though there is nothing explicit, not even a hug, but there are lingering glances and facial expressions that you can absolutely read as expressing unspoken romantic feelings. However, all of that is more background and, again, not the central focus. The mystery of whodunnit was fun and interesting and overall well done. Again, definitely some flaws, but just go with it. While you can figure out most of it before the big reveal, there were a few aspects that were truly surprising. Is it a masterpiece? In my opinion, no. But it is one of the strongest Chinese dramas I've ever seen in a while and its one that I will absolutely watch again in the future.

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Cute but Doesn't Add Much

Like others, coming into this I was hoping for a resolution to Leon and Pob's story. I really enjoyed watching their relationship develop in Don't Say No and was disappointed that they didn't end up together though I appreciated the reasoning of it and was glad it wasn't something stupid that separated them. However, I ended up disappointed in this aspect. Though they are both in the special, they don't interact with each other at all, just multiple instances of barely missing each other, and their screen time is very limited. Here the reasoning for their continued separation is more than a little pathetic. Pob emailed Leon multiple times over those three years but Leon never replied and then talks about having lost the password for the email account a year ago. It didn't make much sense especially when password recovery is far from rocket science. There's a part of me that's hoping there will be another series dedicated to their relationship and this was a bit of a teaser for that. I hate seeing their story left unfinished.
In regards to the plot, well, there really isn't one. Despite the three year jump, there's no story progression. Leo and Fiat return to Thailand after studying abroad and basically just spend time with their friends before Leo starts his new job. There are some very sweet moments as well as one rather smoldering scene, but again, not a whole lot happening. I did appreciate the subtle changes in their characters though. They're still the same people but there is a greater maturity to both of them, especially Fiat. Their open communication and the little things they say show that both they and their relationship have continued to develop in healthy ways. I've watched several dramas where couples talk about their need to communicate and make positive changes that never happen so actually seeing that change was very refreshing. Their friends, on the other hand, are pretty much hilariously unchanged.
In conclusion, I wouldn't call watching it a waste of time, its short and sweet, a lighthearted escape back into well-loved character's lives, but if you're looking for any major changes in those lives or a larger continuation of their story, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed.

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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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No Future Here

This was the third installment of the HIStory series that I've watched (I've also watched Trapped and Close to You) and I have to say that this one did not do it for me. I would sincerely love to know how the script ever passed muster with everything that was left unanswered. It truly boggles my mind. It was filled with plot holes, uninspiring characters, general absurdity, a confusing plot, overused cliches and in the end, it failed to draw me in or really make me care about any of the main characters. This isn't one that I can even say had a promising premise that just went awry. So much about it was lackluster and devoid of inspiration and originality which is a pity.

The plot is unnecessarily complicated to say the least. Ho Bo Wei lives in the year 2000, but somehow on New Years Eve, he rides his bike a different route and suddenly ends up in the year 2023 as Tai Che Ni. It's a weird and confusing premise that is never fully explained. I have to admit that I tapped out for a good bit after that first episode before forcing myself to continue so I may be forgetting things, but I don't recall an explanation ever being given for why he was brought into the future, nor is the soul swap ever in any way explained. So exactly what happened to Ho Bo Wei's body and the original Tai Che Ni is left completely up in the air. He ends up meeting Hai Yi and they eventually fall in love. On the side, you have Lin Huai En who starts a new job at the company that sponsored the orphanage where he was raised and runs into Liang Wen Hsen, the Managing Director. Sparks fly between the two and they fall in love as well at lightspeed. That is the bare bones of the story. It is far more complicated than that, but frankly I don't even know where to start because it's absolutely ridiculous how convoluted they decided to make everything.

Everything has to have a reason and connection. No, Hai Yi is not the lazy bones son of the department store owner, it was all part of a master plan to unveil the misdeeds of his father's former second in command. He and Wen Hsen were never actually at odds, they were always working together, in fact, Wen Hsen in the mysterious Sam that Hai Yi kept contacting throughout the series. And Wen Hsen didn't just happen to fall in love with Huai En, he's been keeping an eye on him since he was at the orphanage which definitely added a creepy undertone to their story once that was revealed. Ho Bo Wei rescued Hai Yi when he got separated from his father as a child and gave him his lucky bracelet. Of course, since then, Hai Yi repeatedly wished on the bracelet to be reunited with the big brother who helped him out and then voila, it happens. So much of it just doesn't flow or make sense, especially the whole master plan with Wen Hsen pretending to be corrupt and vying for the chairman position. That was a giant misfire.

And then there were the cliches and general ridiculousness. Of course we have to have the villainous ex-girlfriend cliché. She actually gets multiple uses as she tries to sink her claws into Wen Hsen as well and fails. That was kind of a great scene when he calls Huai En to join them and basically show that he's already taken. Sorry, sweetie. You also have the Hai Yi's father's second in command who practically screams villain. He just needed a villain laugh to complete the image. Adding to the cliches is Wen Hsen's whole sacrificial thing with pretending to be close to Tony because it would be easier if Huai En hated him. Insert eye roll. Tony and the other office workers lock Huai En in cold storage, essentially attempting murder, and absolutely nothing happens to any of them. Wen Hsen yells at Tony a bit, warns him not to bully anyone again and that's that. You can try to kill someone and there will be no consequences in this company apparently. Also the fact that Huae En is left in there for so long that he falls unconscious, but Wen Hsen evidently doesn't take him to the hospital. He's so concerned, but not enough to make sure he received medical attention. Apparently his love is enough to save him.

The characters, oh my goodness, well, they're not boring, I guess. I'm not sure if that's a good thing though?
-Tai Che Ni was such a study in opposites. On the one hand, he could be responsible and mature. On the other hand, he could be so over the top/obnoxious there were times I wanted to suffocate him with a pillow. He's kind of cute but that only gives you so much leeway and as the series progressed, he became less endearing and more annoying. I also struggled with him because of his naivety and the level of self-sabotage with him was so high. He had moments where his instincts were good, but he listened to that twit Se Mo instead and it just made things worse. And then Huai En who actually had a level head on his shoulders would give him advice and he would question him. As for the self-sabotage, I get so sick of characters in BLs just not communicating and this was no exception. Instead of talking to Hai Yi about what was going on, he decided his best options were to create distance between them and then just leave with no warning. I am fairly certain that Hai Yi would get that he was concerned about his grandmother, but his methods were stupid and just caused unnecessary conflict. And I have trouble forgiving him for the fact that not once did he offer any kind of comfort to Hai Yi regarding his father's death. He was so self-absorbed with his antics that he completely failed to be there for him when he needed him most.
-Hai Yi was significantly less obnoxious than Che Ni, but he was also a bit boring. Nice to look at, but not much there. He's basically a big kid in some ways. His father was never there for him, always focused on the company he was building, so he suffers from abandonment issues, something that comes up in his relationship with Che Ni as he's terrified of him leaving and being alone again. I did feel for him though because I felt like he was truly trying in his relationship with Che Ni and I could understand his frustration with Che Ni trying to put distance between them. Hai Yi actually tried to communicate and figure out what was wrong. I liked that he wasn't playing games like waiting till the 20th ring or some other stupid crap. He may not have been the most interesting character, but he was relatively straightforward and I appreciated that.
-Wen Hsen took a bit of a hit for me once they revealed exactly how long he'd been aware of Huai En. The fact that he'd been watching him and sponsoring him for so long, that he'd kind of paved the path for him to be hired and everything, it started to read as a bit creepy to me. I don't think he had any bad intentions, he doesn't use the fact that he has helped Huai En out in any way to curry favor with him, but there's almost an element of grooming there. I think I'm reaching, but their relationship just made me slightly uncomfortable which was disappointing because I found it kind of sweet initially. Some drama was added to him when he was thrown into the race for chairman. Though how anyone could seriously believe he was actually evil, I don't know. His character did become a bit more interesting when it was revealed that he was the Sam that Hai Yi had been communicating with and asking to look into people.
-Huai En is a bit of a bland character. He's sweet, he's one of the smarter characters, if only Che Ni would have listened to him sometimes, but he's just not that interesting. We do get to see some character growth with him, in the office at least. He learns to stand up for himself and not let his coworkers walk all over him. I do like his friendship with Che Ni, their characters actually seem to work together well. His relationship with Wen Hsen develops far too fast to seem remotely natural and I've already mentioned my reservations regarding it, but there is also a certain sweetness to it.
-Se Mo was just annoying. I didn't like her character and I didn't feel that she added anything beneficial. She tried to come across as some kind of love guru but she caused far more problems than she solved. She had a few moments where she was genuinely sweet and helpful but for the most part, I just found her frustrating.
-Fu De was interesting in his many roles. I still don't fully understand what the point of him was, but I did like his character for the most part. If nothing else, he did provide some comic relief.

The acting was a bit stale. Sean Chang plays as a straight guy trying really hard to be gay and it just does not work. There is no chemistry between him and Linus Wang and I lay most of the blame on him. I just could not take him seriously. For this being Linus Wang's first role, I thought he did a serviceable job. He seemed like he was really trying and while he definitely needs some polishing, I think he has potential and I hope to see him again in the future. Anson Chen and Jason Tauh are both good looking men, but I was not feeling the chemistry between them either. They had a few scenes where it felt like maybe there were some sparks, but it just never really took off. They also didn't really seem to connect with their characters. Jason was almost boring as Huai En at times and Anson was very one note with the same expression used repeatedly.

I was not thrilled that the stepbrothers from HIStory 4 were brought back. I generally liked HIStory 4 aside from them but I hated their storyline. The rape and the fact that they were stepbrothers really didn't work for me, and to have them be the ones they brought back instead of Li Cheng and Mu Ren did not sit well with me. It was just very disappointing and kind of killed the ending for me, personally.

This latest release in the HIStory series is the weakest of the ones I've seen. It lacks in so many ways and has so few redeeming qualities that I really don't think it's worth the time or effort to watch it. You're not going to miss anything skipping this one.

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Don't Chain Yourself To This One

My, oh my was that a trainwreck of epic proportions. I have to wonder with some of the BLs that have been coming out lately if they're written by adolescents because the number of questions that remain unanswered, the plot holes, basically everything about the story is just a complete mess. I mean, does anyone read through the script before they start filming or do they just take it and run with it, no questions asked? Anyway, this drama came off as yet another KinnPorsche knock off. But unlike KinnPorsche which had its charms and was gritty and dark, Chains of Heart was just a confusing mess that didn't seem to know what it wanted be. That's not to say it wasn't entertaining at times, but as a whole, it really didn't work.

The story had potential, it could have been interesting and great. If it had imitated KinnPorsche more and leaned into the dark and gritty, I think it could have worked. But unlike KinnPorsche which overall did a good job of blending that dark and gritty with romance and comedy, Chains of Heart never really found its footing. The comedy fell flat, the romance also fell flat because nearly every part of it was in flashbacks and the mystery of who Lue was kept going far too long preventing the pair from being reunited until almost the very end, and, again, it just failed to really commit to being dark and gritty. It kept adding in new information without answering the questions that had already been asked. And the fact that so much was left unexplained left me feeling frustrated and wanting answers. I mean, first and foremost, how the heck did Ken and Din even survive falling from that cliff? Looking at it, I don't see how they could have possibly survived, especially relatively unscathed. Besides that main question, there were a multitude of others like: What was with Lue's wardrobe? Considering the climate, it made zero sense. Why didn't Din ever attempt to contact Ken until 2 years after the accident? What changed that suddenly he was back? We knew Chief Inpha was involved in drug trafficking and selling wood illegally, but then in the last episode we have organ trafficking and prostitution thrown in as well. What was really the point of that and why was it never addressed before? We already knew he was a bad guy, they didn't need to tack on to that for shock value. And then there are the characters. Din's boss is revealed to be dirty and then he's never seen or mentioned again? How did Inspector Don get involved with Din? He seemed to be loyal to Chief Inpha and then suddenly, nope, he's actually a good guy (?) and is on Din's side? Who exactly was the shady doctor and how did he know Din/get involved in his exploits? There are many more questions and holes, but honestly, this review would be the length of a short novel if I listed them all.

This drama did what a lot of dramas do and revealed events from the past in flashbacks. I am rarely a fan of this technique because it is generally very poorly done and leaves more questions than answers. This was no exception. It was unclear at times how the events shown fell linearly, where they were, and how long ago it actually was. I honestly would have preferred if they had shown the story linearly, starting from when Din and Ken met which wasn't explained well, jumping to the more relevant and important parts of their relationship up until they fall from the cliff and then jumping forward two years. I think it would have been much smoother, would have allowed for more questions to be answered, and generally just made more sense. Even in the present though, it was not clear where events were taking place. For example, there at the beginning, it took me a bit to realize that Ken was not in Thailand but rather in China or maybe Taiwan. I don't think it's ever explicitly stated where he was. And then when he does go back to Thailand, it's never clear where events are taking place other than Bangkok because it's the only city featured.

I have to comment on that final episode because it was the cherry on top of an already messy drama. We had Din who somehow became invulnerable. He's getting shot at from all sides and is basically a sitting target for a few of the baddies, yet not a single one of them can hit him. Then we have him playing hide and seek with them in the forest, doing the whole passing right by them without them noticing. And he takes on five of the bad guys and comes out pretty much unscathed without a drop of blood on him despite slitting several throats. This happens again shortly thereafter when he shoots a guy in the head at point blank range and doesn't get any blood on him. Following this, he and Chief Inpha decide to spontaneously have an old fashioned duel and shoot at each other at the same time. All this while Sia is sitting on Inpha's lap and somehow comes out apparently unhurt. I was a little bit surprised at how Din killed Chief Inpha. He'd tried to kill the man before, but there was something about the way he shot him execution style in the head that felt out of character. The man was incapacitated, his cronies all killed, all Din had to do was wait for the authorities to arrive to arrest him. Instead he murdered him. Perhaps the point was to showcase that Din had changed and become Lue. In a way, Din was dead and in his place was Lue who was more ruthless than Din had been. But I may be giving them too much credit for that. And then that ending. I literally sat up and went WTF?! That's it? That's the ending? An arrest warrant was issued for Din's arrest and then he just disappeared? I don't mind open endings when they're done well, but this was not done well. We spent most of the drama with Ken and Din apart until it is finally confirmed in Episode 9 what I think we all knew by that point, that Lue was actually Din. They get one night together and then are separated again. That's not a satisfying ending, it's lazy and it's baiting the viewers. I've since seen that there's supposed to be a special episode, so maybe that will rectify this colossal error to some small degree.

And then there was the lack of continuity within the drama. The actor's heights was a big one. Boom and Kut play the same character, but there is a noticeable height difference between the two. That difference is one of the main reasons I questioned whether Lue was actually Din because plastic surgery can change a face, but it doesn't alter your height. And the sad thing is, there are simple ways to address that discrepancy and make them appear to be the same height, but apparently that wasn't worth the effort. Lue was also missing the bullet wound from when he was shot by Chief Inpha on the cliff. That missing detail was another major reason I questioned whether he was Din. There were other instances where characters were injured in one scene and the in the next the injury is gone or is significantly reduced. A lot of it was just really basic stuff that would have been easy to fix. The fact that it wasn't just makes the team seem lazy.

The characters were a mixed bag. Frankly, most of them were completely forgettable. Ken spent the majority of his screen time either crying or being choked. The constant crying got old after a while. Din as Lue spent most of his time making moon eyes at Ken and getting teary eyed that Ken was rejecting him (because he doesn't know who you are, idiot!). Personally, I preferred Din. He seemed to be more level-headed and more of a man of action. Something about his personality and character was just more appealing and interesting to me than Lue. Payu and Hin were supposed to be the second couple and also the comedic relief, but they really didn't work for me. I was initially unsure whether the two of them were actually a couple because they didn't really act like one consistently. They had a few lackluster steamy scenes which answered that question, but I found them to be overall pointless characters and singularly unfunny. There was the psychic who popped up randomly and absolutely no questions were answered about him. Like was he truly able to see visions? The rest of Ken and Din's friend group were not memorable and every time they popped up, I couldn't remember who was who. Inpha was about as subtle as a red flag. You could tell he was the villain from the get go which was disappointing and boring. When a show brands itself as a mystery, I want there to be mystery and there really wasn't any in this show. Making Inpha a more nuanced character where his motives and character could be called into question as to whether he was good or evil would have been far more interesting. Itt was kind of interesting at first, but his insane antics and laugh got old fast. And then again, you had characters like Inspector Don who gave no indication of their motivation and why they were doing what they were doing. With essentially every character, there was not enough background information to really understand them. What were their motivations, their feelings, their reasoning? In most cases, none of that was answered and it made the characters feel shallow. I really didn't have strong feelings for any of them because so much was lacking.

As for the acting, I will give kudos to Haii for two things. First, that he, for the most part, was believable with all his crying. I've seen far too many dramas where the actors are fake crying and it's painful to watch. Second, that he was able to build a rapport with both Kut and Boom as they portrayed Din/Lue. He had good chemistry with both of them and they interacted well. I'm sure that was a challenge so kudos to him. Both Boom and Kut did a good job with portraying the same but also not the same character. They were essentially playing two different characters, but there were small similarities between the two that made it believable that they were also playing the same character, if that makes sense. The others were again pretty forgettable. I was disappointed that Kob was relegated to being nothing more than Ken's father. He's a good actor and I wanted him to have more screen time and a more interesting role. He still performed excellently with what he was given, I just wish there'd been more.

The production was really strong in some areas and very weak in others. The cinematography was really beautiful in parts. But the editing at times was choppy. Some of the camera work was shaky. There were also some weird angles that were just awkward and distracting. For the most part, I liked the music. There were a few cues that were really fantastic and really fit with the mood of the scene. The subtitles were a big issue. There were a number of times where what was being said was not subtitled and that really didn't help matters because information was lost.

Despite the fact that this drama was such a total mess, I did enjoy parts of it. The messiness is part of what was entertaining and I found that once I disengaged my brain and stopped trying to make sense of things and instead just went with the flow, it was much more enjoyable. Honestly, I think that's the only way to really watch this drama. A lot of the comedy came from the absurdity of what was going on, like being shot at from all sides and not taking a single hit. The parts that were meant to be comedic weren't all that funny. The ending is disappointing. Do not go into this expecting a happy ending or a good open ending; it's neither of those. This is not a drama I'll watch again. I think watching it again would just raise more questions and cause more frustration. I prefer dramas with a bit more too them and that actually make sense, but if you're one of those people who can disengage their brain and are looking for something moderately entertaining, I would say give it a shot.

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