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Good but I dropped it
Hear me out. I dropped this in the last episode. I actually enjoyed watching this a lot. For once, not a typical university BL, and the amount of intimacy scenes were definitely not bad, either. Not really a fan of FirstKhaotung in this, but oh well. Also really not a fan of ForceBook in general. I think I'm never actually gonna like that ship, idk, something is just off for me. I personally loved Neo in this. My boy deserves a main role. I dropped in the last episode because the drama and the actions of the characters were getting tedious, but it was a fun ride until then.Was this review helpful to you?
A beautiful, painful, realistic story of growth
This show absolutely touched me to my core. I literally had goosebumps running down my spine every episode because it was so realistic.The story, of love and pain and growth, and of the different partners of Yeong was so beautiful and written with so much intricacy.
The cinematography was breathtaking, telling a story of its own. The long, quiet shots were enough to make you lose your mind.
The acting was phenomenal. I could feel every character to my core, and every one felt like you'd just taken a real person from life, instead of an actor playing a character.
Most importantly, this did not feel like a Korean BL. This was an Oscar-worthy story of raw emotion, life, and relationships. There was zero chastity or holding back or romanticisation. This was not a drama, this was a story. And it was so worth telling, and so beautiful. Everyone deserves to watch this.
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A beautiful and painfully realistic story
I am very glad I watched this show. The story, the acting, and the way it displays intimacy, yearning, and friendship are truly fascinating.Production/Visuals:
I loved the production and visuals of this show. The use of camera angles and color grading totally elevated the feel of the show and its emotions. There were a few very long one-shot sequences that were truly baffling and felt amazing because you could truly see they were filmed in one go.
Story:
Though the story at first didn't really intrigue me, it captured me within the first hour of the first episode. The rivalry plot, which truly felt realistic, and the following friendship and development were truly interesting to watch and had a lot of emotional depth. Especially the emotional back-and-forth felt incredibly realistic, and all emotions portrayed felt so raw. I truly commend the writers for doing such an exemplary job.
Acting:
Every actor in this show did so well, and totally contributed to the high-quality feel of it, but I truly have to tip my hat to Bilkin, the actor of Teh. His portrayal was so SO realistic, I cannot stress it enough. He managed to portray emotional conflict, yearning, desire, joy, every emotion in such a way that I forgot he was acting. He is also an ugly crier, and it fit the character and his pain so well. If I had to pick one of the best actors I‘ve seen so far, his name would be among them. His chemistry with Oh-Aew's actor was also so amazing. Every one of their scenes was so good and raw that it took my breath away. I could feel the desire through the screen.
OST:
I usually don‘t really write about this, but I feel like I have to compliment here. The soundtrack of this show is truly beautiful and fit so well. In ep3, at the resort, there is a particular expressionistic-style piece that made my soul leave my body. Truly one of the most beautiful things I‘ve heard so far. I actually contacted the composer to find out more about it, but apparently it's not included in the OST and there is no way to get a recording of it. I am truly devastated.
All in all, this is so worth it. I do have to say that towards the end, especially ep5, it did decline in quality a tiny bit, where I felt the resolution was a bit anticlimactic relative to the buildup. But truly, you will probably not be disappointed by this show.
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not bad, just a bit boring and slow towards the end
I didn't drop this because it was bad, I just was a bit bored in the end and then forgot to finish and now it's too long ago... I might give it another try at some other point, because it was honestly fun. I liked the male lead. There was a long and slow drama at the end. The relationship developed fast, but in a nice way. Honestly a fun drama if you have the attention span for it.Was this review helpful to you?
This is NOT how you deal with suicide
This review is a warning that the writers of this story might have meant well, but they missed the point by a landslide.You cannot talk to suicidal people the way the pink girl does: without respect, yelling at them, encouraging them to commit, mocking them, daring them.
And the worst thing is: they frame this as positive. Her actions can and should not be condoned. You should deal with suicidal people, ESPECIALLY when your job is to prevent them from it, in a respectful, empathetic manner.
As said in other reviews, this is such a sensitive topic, and this show just doesn't deal with it correctly.
They deal with it in each episode overly simplified, as if you can just "resolve" it, as if you can fix years of trauma with just yelling at a person to be reasonable.
The only person that was remotely doing the right thing was Jun-Woong, but even his actions were incredibly surface level and half-assed.
The entire message of this drama is just incredibly harmful, and what it tries to convey to the viewer is just awful. It's not clear what the show is trying to explain, what it's trying to imply is the right way to deal with a person that's about to commit suicide.
But one thing is sure: this is not it. This is not how you deal with suicidal people, and this way of talking to them shouldn't be condoned in any way.
Yes, we only watched two episodes of this, but just given those two, and some other reviews, this show just fails entirely in every way. Except the casting. That really slays, but you can't fix a shit storyline and harmful messaging with amazing actors.
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