This review may contain spoilers
Meh. Don't Particulary Reccomend - CW/TW
This is my first time ever writing a review for any series I have watched.And this has a big content warning / trigger warning before I delve into what I plan to say.
OVERALL: I enjoyed their acting, they are all very good actors. The plot line could have definitely handled grief, and some of these situations way better. And could have been written better. The characters I personally enjoyed were Li Cheng and Mei Fang. (Although a lot of of the characters did seem a bit problematic at times or just their actions made me not like them.)
So we have 3 main characters who are friends/roommates. (Li Cheng, Mu Ren, Xing Si)
I personally enjoyed their dynamic has friends, and how the series started out. And their interactions with each other. And I did like Li Cheng's character.
SO in the beginning before we find out who this character is, Xing Si is being stalked. Which adds a bit of intrigue. THEN you find out it is literally his step brother (Yong Jie) ! And Xing Si sort of brushes this off. Cause Yong Jie is just very possessive and jealous.
I also apologize if my review is not very cohesive/doesn't flow well. I'm trying my best to explain.
So Yong Jie is turning 20 (I wanna say Xing Si is like a decade older?) and wants his step brother to go to the beach with him, hang out, bond w.e BUTTTTTTTTTTT Yong Jie get's him drunk and rapes him. And says like "I'll kiss you when you're sober" or something along those lines. - He wakes up next day in the hotel room, realizes what happens, feels disgusted and goes home and tells his roommates what happens. But Yong Jie follows him home, kisses him in front of the roommates and so Xing Si slaps him across the face. And Yong Jie iterally says "whether you were willing or not, having you was my gift to myself for my twentieth birthday" (It's giving early 2000s manga where sexual assault turns into love and thats a major ick) consent is key baby.
Meanwhile the other story line is Li Cheng trying to flirt/date his childhood friend/new coworker Mei Fang. Which I personally enjoyed her character I thought she was funny, and honestly a good friend. So anyways Li Cheng pretends to be gay and interested in BL dramas so they can bond. But jokes on him he ends up falling for Mu Ren for real. (And ofc they get together but towards the end of the series there was some weird like random plot about stealing money from the company, and their creepy ex manager who had previously drugged and tried to rape Mu Ren is now back at the company. SO Mu Ren tries to get back at him for what he's doing and that felt kind of weird and out of character.)
ANYWAYS
back to Xing Si and Yong Jie. The mom knew about Yong Jie's plan this whole time. Which is fucked up. And like sure Yong Jie may be very honest and forthcoming but the mom should have said something to him.
So anyways, it is later revealed that Yong Jie RECORDED ALL THAT. (I was like fezco from euphoria voice: "you recorded that shit") I was like 🥴🥴🥴 And the mom was like kind fake shocked. The dad was disgusted because who wouldnt be if youre step son shows you a video of him raping some one.
But Xing Si does not stay mad for long, and ends up dating Yong Jie for real. And I wish the writers had delved into his feelings a bit more. Because this could have been like stockholm syndrome in a way, or just Xing Si feeling guilty for numerous things. Because a person's feelings on rape and being in that situation are very complicated.
And I do not think personally the mom, the dad, Xing Si or his friends should have been okay with it. (Though Li Cheng was calling him "little devil" for most of the series until the very very end (unless this was just a translation error in where I watched it.)
Anyways if you made it this far I rant to know one on tumblr lol and was just complaining about the show so if you want more spoilers with screencaps and quotes feel free https://mythtakxn.tumblr.com/post/800692181952282624/his-friends-are-both-like-wtf-and-like-the-step
I also found this blog post which explains a good summary: https://criesinfangirl.com/2023/06/30/rant-review-history-4-close-to-you/
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