Most gay p*rn actors are straight or bi, so at the beginning I was thinking oh in the real life setting, this…
Usually, I'd agree with you, but in this drama, it's so subtle. The dude's been flirting with a guy the whole time, he was attracted to his personality and later realized his sex didn't matter. They were emotionally cheating before the sex but because of the heteronormative culture he's in, he didn't think about it that way until his body won over his mind. It's not explicitly stated in words his journey of realizing his sexuality but it's there in his actions and the subtext. Also, the actor made it so grounded and his emotional journey so real. It's not the traditional bi/pan journey. This drama appeals to more fringe/marginal groups like demi-sexuals, asexuals, pansexuals, and bisexuals because I think it captures our "grey area" experiences more (like Junonirvanablue explains), so I understand it's not for everyone.
When he had that realization I was like 😭👏🏻 That actor deserves an oscar for that performance, truly. If it was someone else that scene might've felt rushed, because it happens relatively soon, but not here. It all hinged on him. Amazing.
Damn, this show won me over the last three episodes but episode 5...wow. It's so interesting that these two are such ordinary guys in an extraordinary circumstance/world, one foreign to me, being from an oversexed culture. This issue would otherwise be so minuscule or non-existent but it feels so real here. I didn't expect the "straight" guy to catch emotions first or for their affair to be exposed so quickly. I wanted to be with these characters more while they were together. Only two episodes left...now I'm even more sad after such a sad episode 😭
Not a lot is happening, and it's the anonymous penpal trope that can do that but this is piquing my interest because the relationships that have with their respective partners are intriguing. I wanna know what their deal is. There is cheating but like…you totally understand their characters' motivations which also adds a nice complexity.
6.5/10. I could barely stay awake the last two episodes. The production and acting are great, but the story built to nowhere with too many plot holes and logical inconsistencies.
On episode 5: So the reason why DH left was because he (selfishly) didn't want to feel guilty anymore and the…
After watching episode 6, the story started to feel somewhat more cohesive but again at the end, another moment where a character does an action just to get from point A to point B with no logical sense. I'm referring to JY suddenly apologizing after an intense fight in DH's apartment, which I thought was going to be expanded upon but nope. They address the time jump, its not forgotten, that is good. DH's "let the past stay in the past" platitudes feels forced (emotionally untrue). Its like the author is trying to brush all our questions about the time jump under the rug, no? "Just don't think to hard about it". You could say DH being emotionally untrue that is the point but his laundry list of rules ("I don't live in the past" "I don't turn to violence") that seem to be broken by him at the flip of a dime is hard to keep track of emotionally. I like DH's flawed character but the story absolutely sidelines him... There was also a brief moment of calling out JY's shame (the necklace part?) that was completely breezed past to fully understand why DH has trust issues with JY in particular too. Not to mention, JY never gets to learn why DH lied about his art piece? This is a simple storyline that should've resolved in the same scene, I don't know why the writer is particularly dragging this out and going so fast with the all more important necklace/shame bit. The writer clearly has her favorite tropes (stealing art, like in Blueming, or a time jump, like in To My Star 2) that is shoehorned into this story for whatever reason. I like that DH doesn't allow JY to explain, its his coping mechanism and trust issues in full display, but still shits gotta be addressed sometime, right? We don't have much longer... Now, the thing I liked is how both men handled their student's dilemma on their own that shows their characters in organically yet interesting ways. I wish there was one more scene to give that b storyline a proper ending, which I assume it is hopeless due to that mother's behavior but it still needed a proper moment of closure for both men (also the kid said he was su*c*dal, you can't drop that bombshell and leave it there). Anyways, episode 6 was way better than episode 3-5.
Dohoe called the police on his dad when he saw him hitting JuYeong. He had an entrance exam that day and worried…
But DH missed his exams, right? Why did he blow off his exams if he is the one that called the police to purposely not jeopardize his chances? Also JY came back to the gym immediately to look for DH after the fight with his dad but where was DH? Where was DH in between the time he blew off his first exams and had to wait to retake them? How did they miss each other?
ep 6 felt like a turning point to me Do Heo has started to open up to Ju Yeong but they still lack communication…
They need time to clarify their actions and misunderstandings in episode 7 & 8. If they just skip that for "cuteness" and instant forgiveness then its hopeless (btw I doubt this will happen but there is a slight chance). Episode 6 was a little bit better cause there was a least a lengthy scene of dialogue to explain DH's thought process but questions are still left unanswered. I don't know if its bad subtitles but some moments that explained their psyche felt abrupt or shortchanged. Why did DH kiss JY all of a sudden when it snowed in episode 5? Why did JY suddenly apologize to DH at the end of episode 6? Did they have a mental lapse which made them suddenly forget they were fighting? Lol. Maybe things are being lost in translation.
I enjoyed the cinematography immensely, but I saw what it meant differently. In the flashback scene there was…
I saw this from two perspectives, the first exactly like you mention showing JY's perspective... then the second I wonder if it is just me: DH's expression is blissful when whenever they cut back to him from the flashback, like he is in a dream reliving their first time, so I don't know if it was purely transactional from his point of view if I'm viewing it critically. Also DH has plants in his room, a memory he still holds onto from JY (who had plants in his room when they shared a house). To me the darkness/shadows, quick blurry cuts, and cool light mirrors their murky estranged situation but there is still the idea of what they could be/were with the juxtaposition in the editing that suggests both want to be together. I think we can't discount DH's feelings or his human side due to bad choices, there is nuance here in this particular scene. So there is a coldness but also a sense of longing.
I actually rolled my eyes when the snow fell and they kissed in episode five because it just didn't feel earned…
I 100% agree. I wish the writer could've somehow reordered the fight in DH's apartment when JY catches DH in a lie (in episode 6) before the snow scene where they kiss and make up just because the plot keeps going all over the place then repeating itself. For example, I felt the same way when JY arrives to pick up DH and apologizes at the end of episode 6... these specific moments do not feel earned and feel totally out of order. There needs to be a build up and discussion/action done before the characters earn the right to make up, otherwise it feels sloppy.
so you're telling me that DH and HH have just been friends for ten years and somehow their relationship never…
To me their dialogue in the beginning of episode 5 implied they had a physical relationship (sex) but not a romantic one, "sleep overs" and HH said something to degree of wanting to take their "relationship" a step further and officially "date", implying it was sexual before but now he wants to be romantically involved and be boyfriends. BUT, DH then said at the end of episode 5 when he kissed JY that he never did anything "like that" with HH. Context clues would suggest DH is lying because he lied about drawing that blueprint and kissing could've been off limits in their sexual relationship. Then again, whenever I try to read into something that is questionable its flat out wrong or ignored by the show. Maybe DH meant what he meant. We will see...
On episode 5: So the reason why DH left was because he (selfishly) didn't want to feel guilty anymore and the reason why he didn't want to show his face to JY for all those years is because he felt ashamed for abandoning him? This is an interesting nuanced issue but handled with the deftness and grace of a stampede of elephants all summed up in the matter of one scene, when it snows. I wish to have seen more of DH's perspective on this instead of making this into some half-baked reveal. Also the time jump does not feel narratively necessary if we are just going to emotionally move on so quickly. It's impact lasted only approximately one and a half episodes before all is magically forgiven or forgotten in the same snowy scene. Then we move onto a less interesting, cliche threesome. The pacing is too intense, either the writer/director had gotten the directive to cut out a lot of important material (such as this theme of guilt/shame, HHH's bully to lover pipeline, JY's sexuality and relationship to his parents, etc) or nothing was ever truly thought out in the first place. I haven't watched episode 6 yet, I am going to watch it now but wanted to voice this opinion first. Again, I like the promise of this show as well as its themes where there are glimmers of interesting nuance through episodes 3-5, but the elephantine let down due to its execution in terms of pacing, structure, and plot is incredible after such a strong start.
Reading your comments I think that men watching BLs really have a different understandings of it than women in…
You circle a lot in your comments, canceling out your own opinions. It's hard to distinguish what points your arguing for or against bro, even in this reply. Nevertheless, as long as we agree, not to use episode 4's shitty writing to base arguments on sex/gender, then we're cool.
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They address the time jump, its not forgotten, that is good. DH's "let the past stay in the past" platitudes feels forced (emotionally untrue). Its like the author is trying to brush all our questions about the time jump under the rug, no? "Just don't think to hard about it".
You could say DH being emotionally untrue that is the point but his laundry list of rules ("I don't live in the past" "I don't turn to violence") that seem to be broken by him at the flip of a dime is hard to keep track of emotionally. I like DH's flawed character but the story absolutely sidelines him...
There was also a brief moment of calling out JY's shame (the necklace part?) that was completely breezed past to fully understand why DH has trust issues with JY in particular too. Not to mention, JY never gets to learn why DH lied about his art piece? This is a simple storyline that should've resolved in the same scene, I don't know why the writer is particularly dragging this out and going so fast with the all more important necklace/shame bit. The writer clearly has her favorite tropes (stealing art, like in Blueming, or a time jump, like in To My Star 2) that is shoehorned into this story for whatever reason. I like that DH doesn't allow JY to explain, its his coping mechanism and trust issues in full display, but still shits gotta be addressed sometime, right? We don't have much longer...
Now, the thing I liked is how both men handled their student's dilemma on their own that shows their characters in organically yet interesting ways. I wish there was one more scene to give that b storyline a proper ending, which I assume it is hopeless due to that mother's behavior but it still needed a proper moment of closure for both men (also the kid said he was su*c*dal, you can't drop that bombshell and leave it there).
Anyways, episode 6 was way better than episode 3-5.
So the reason why DH left was because he (selfishly) didn't want to feel guilty anymore and the reason why he didn't want to show his face to JY for all those years is because he felt ashamed for abandoning him? This is an interesting nuanced issue but handled with the deftness and grace of a stampede of elephants all summed up in the matter of one scene, when it snows. I wish to have seen more of DH's perspective on this instead of making this into some half-baked reveal. Also the time jump does not feel narratively necessary if we are just going to emotionally move on so quickly. It's impact lasted only approximately one and a half episodes before all is magically forgiven or forgotten in the same snowy scene. Then we move onto a less interesting, cliche threesome. The pacing is too intense, either the writer/director had gotten the directive to cut out a lot of important material (such as this theme of guilt/shame, HHH's bully to lover pipeline, JY's sexuality and relationship to his parents, etc) or nothing was ever truly thought out in the first place.
I haven't watched episode 6 yet, I am going to watch it now but wanted to voice this opinion first. Again, I like the promise of this show as well as its themes where there are glimmers of interesting nuance through episodes 3-5, but the elephantine let down due to its execution in terms of pacing, structure, and plot is incredible after such a strong start.