nitxy

It is very vampire diaries katherine/elina coded except ella is nice on face, JJ isnt as weak and spineless as elina.

synopsis -
1. kiefer does worst things, then yuri does bad things, jay-jay is confused.
2. yuri does worst things, kiefer does bad things, jay-jay is confused,
3. no one does anything, jay-jay is still confuse and cant grasp her feelings/memories/emotions,
4. everyone is lying to her, so she is frustrated and confused.
rinse! repeat! in that order

Yes I totally agree, in fun scenes even in fights he is great it is just the tortured angry part that I thought was missing but seeing ep 11 and him screaming for not picking the phone he has tremendously improved from ep 1. its getting better.and his face card never declines. He has got the james dean smile that goes on for days.

Yeah the sparks between Ashtine and Rabin are really prominent in the show; while andres and ashtine thrives offline/in fan meets. guess it really comes down to rabin's acting which hits right in romantic/emotional in scenes (not in fights though lol).

Half of the jayuri shippers are into them because clearly the chemistry is chemistry-ing if I hadnt read the books I would be into it too. *It is the way he looks at her - so genuine and honest*, hoping for them to do another show together.
this is Andres(Kiefer) debut but he gives off nice vibes more like a sassy ML instead of tortured-angry ML, so maybe he will learn and polish with time and more projects. By no means his acting be considered totally bad but it is just quite underwhelming given the whole cast is literally GOAT-ed.

wont lie I was shocked by Denzel's performance when he accepted the truth about getting involved with grace. So good.

Yes you are right; so far the show is doing excellent job to replace any de-characterisation of females or any gender in general, they have also put excellent effort in portraying and expressing feelings through words better, as main source is written long time ago words/slangs/sentences are a little dated (or could be just me because I read eng. translations)

I am very eager to see how they handle the love triangle in book2 and make it valid/reasonable from all three perspectives (jay-jay, yuri, keifer).

P.S. - this is just all from book2; book3 will blow your mind about every dynamic between characters, literally EVERY character. No wonder these books are popular because GIRL THE DRAAMAA.

this kiss b/w jj and yuri happened before she got to know the truth about the plan, kiefer kisses JJ in front of yuri and most of section e (because she says a curse word and there is like a *I will kiss you if you speak profanity* trope bw JJ and kief - will happen in season 1 so wait for this.)

JJ being engaged to Yuri feels guilty about it and she is guilty because of others things that happened between her and kiefer + she is in love with kief while having a fiance; Yuri and JJ are hiding their engagement with section e so when kief openly kissed JJ it bothered no one except yuri and he looks very visibly upset; noticing this JJ goes upto him to talk and ends up kissing him ( in private ) because guilt is eating her alive; (more spoiler - kiefer sees this)

for people saying she is giving mixed signals? her heart is pretty clear throught about kief; it is that in small moments she slips up and her mind wanders not just for Yuri but sometimes for kiko and even david.(as we have seen in the show too), she does have a crush on Yuri though.
But in a third person pov sometimes it does feel like she could just say STOP to yuri and set him free from this, but she doesnt.

as for the dynamics between JJ and Yuri as the progresses their relationship feels more like a couple who is married for 30 years and are no longer attracted to each other; even the minor sparks you see in s1, i didnt feel that in book2 at all, Yuri goes and do mysterious things but even if he didnt do shady stuff it never felt that he could ever possibly end up with JJ. although he is never the one to back down , stands strong that she is engaged to him and rare times it also does feel that he cares for JJ and will never leave her side.

there was only 10-12 chapters on wattpad in tagalog; translated it to end and read that. I wouldnt say there was anything more darker/violent than book 2.
Avid reader this side, couldnt give up the chance when I knew books existed lol.
honestly speaking I love the show; this might be the rare case of show actually being just as good as the books (even better imo as of now)

Just want to jump in the discussion and add my personal fav subtle moment of the show it was when Kiefer asked JJ, callix, mica, cin, david and yuri to sit right outside the class for lunch and declared no one will snatch food, Ideally his side of the deal was done when JJ brought him food, But then he got all jealous and made a drastic decision on the spot, Got happy when JJ n friends sat at the table, half smiled and realised Yuri was sitting next to her; then keeping all his superiority, pride aside made an effort 3rd time in a row to get her attention by sitting between JJ and yuri.

For me that was key moment in his character change; literal king complex guy breaking down his ego. must have been quite challenging for his character *dying inside but please see me too* moment. desperate measures lol

this comment is for YURI and yuri only;
foremost i want to mention Rabin is fabulous and kudos to him for accepting a character that book readers already hated. My guy has done so good so far but last ep (10) his acting was a little cringe and out for my personal taste, David almost kissing scene acting jealous and hyper was just perfect, last ep got over the top.
and as for shipping him with JJ, scene is Kiefer reflects JJ better, they both have similar traumas to deal with and even similar violence/anger issues, it is more about right person at the right time and how sometimes you just need someone who understands and accept your experiences (Kiefer) instead of someone who could potentially help you out of those situations and create a happy bubble around you (Yuri) *This is coming from someone who has read the books*
Yuri is messed up in his own ways and has done some manipulative things but I personally thinks he feels neglected in all situations be it friendships, ella or JJ or *F(another character but I wont give spoiler iyknyk) or even his family. not being a first priority even sucks.

He just needs to separate himself from this and I need him to end up with someone WHO CHOOSES HIM OVER EVERYONE AND FALLS FIRST FOR HIM.
sad to say and disappoint Jayuri shippers but JJ and him are not for each other.
Even more sad to see hurt in Rabin's eyes after the fight scene.

-thanks

and now before people start coming at me for not picking a side in the love triangle,

I just want to remind you that all these characters have dark habits including JJ, they are stuck. of course that doesnt justify the nose bleed scene and the bullying, *I am superior* behaviour by Kiefer, neither does it justify JJ almost killing and refusing to seek help, nor will it ever justify Yuri scheming and plotting behind the scenes and using other people's weak situations in his favour without retaliating on face.

but it does make all of them human with extreme emotions (because of trauma/ignorance)

PS I have read the books and my only comment is (this show looks like happy go lucky but the books are so NOT)

so keeping aside all the hate trains Jayfer-jayuri stans are having.
I just wanted to come here to appreciate the author for writing a book with so many characters/arcs/stories in a cohesive way so none of them get lost in the background, like I know most of their names by now. The basic idea is quite good; high schoolers navigating teenage emotions+high-level emotional burdens because of their parents/families and figuring out life is excellent.
The way this show is so unserious quirky and fun one moment and then the next moment it captures dark truths and harsh realities, the stark difference is commendable

I love every flawed character, their journeys, coping ways and behaviour ( yes including keifer)

But girl I want a deep dive on JJ's mother because wtf is she doing? hidden brother? hidden step brother? then hidden fathers? not to mention her abandoning every single relationship in her life?