Kate

Top level of entertainment. Can’t say the same about the quality of writing.

I want to start by saying - I did enjoy the show a lot, almost till the end. I watched the episodes as soon as they dropped. That said, I’m not gonna pretend like it’s some writing masterpiece - it’s not. It often hits the “teen’s first fanfic” level. Did I mind? Not really. I went into it for the Dear Daddy Devil and Bai Lu’s acting, and these two aspects were easily 10/10.

What did the drama do great? Tantai Jin’s arc. The questions of predestined path, freedom and choice, the importance of having the supportive community and people that trust and love. How much of where we end is on us, and how much can be explained by how others treat us? At which point we should take responsibility? Is revenge and justice the same? What’s more important - trust or perceived truth? Surprisingly a lot of depth in his story. Sadly, the writers had some issues with keeping Tantai Jin's wits and cunning nature and also progressing the plot - which led to quite a few moments when his brain must have been turned off to make such dumb choices.

Luo Yun Xi in the role? Pure perfection. The emo angst fits him so well, I was in awe. Whatever you ask from him - he will deliver it and more, in the most beautiful and heartbreaking way. I never knew an actor who presents suffering in such a stunning way.

Then we have Li Su Su played by Bai Lu. What a performance. She did great as a more idealistic and naive Su Su, desperate and driven Xi Wu, and the duality of Sang Jiu. Each character/persona was easily distinguishable with the portrayal. The angst and pain Bai Lu can deliver - be it extreme or subtle - was just phenomenal and truly breaking one’s heart. I don’t think the character herself has much to offer though. Any weaker performance than the perfection Bai Lu presented, would make Li Su Su either boring or insufferable. I just feel bad for the girl, because the writers obviously did not give a fuck about this character… She was this great thanks to the actress and the chemistry she had with Luo Yun Xi.

And that chemistry should be illegal. How can such a questionable and build on a toxic fundamentals relationship still seem so amazing, beautiful and perfect? Love, hate, hope, trust, doubt, protection, resentment, fear - what a mix of conflicting emotions and motivations. And that complexity was what made this duo so entertaining and such a blast to watch.

Beside the main characters, I want to give big props to Chen Du Ling who played Ye Bing Chang. How much I hated this character, how much I loved the performance. It’s also impossible not to appreciate Pian Ran - stunning arc as a side plot, amazing conclusion fitting the plot, great performance by Sun Zhen Ni.

Talking about the characters, it’s time to talk about the biggest sin this show and the writer committed - they made everyone so dumb, I did not even care who will win and who will lose, because I did not see a bright future no matter which side gets the victory.

So many things did not make any sense, but you cannot really call them plot holes, because they kind of had an explanation - lack of working brain cells. At first I found it amusing, but at some point it just frustrated me on a whole new level. You don’t know how to write a proper conflict and the origin of it, so you just make your character dumb for a few scenes to set it up.

That also led to repetitive scenes and arcs - just rewriting the same moments we have seen a few episodes ago, with small changes here and there. Refusing to give your characters’ proper character development can only lead to them making the same mistakes over and over and over again. This is one man show, and all the other characters are just a background for his story.

I have to say though, I’m quite impressed with the directing and editing taking into consideration how much of the plot and scenes had to be cut down to fit the 40 episodes format. Yes, there were many moments that the pacing seemed like a car chase, but the overall story was still relatively easy to follow and understand. On the other hand, the make-up artists need to change their careers, because the thing these actors had on their faces should be illegal to present to the public. Loved the costumes, liked the set and magical objects designs. Loved how they Sailor Moon changed their clothes when they reached new powers.

The soundtrack had some good moments, but there were also “oops” bits like them playing a pop royalty free facebook ads like music in the background in the last episode.

Overall, I had a lot of fun, later I had less fun, by the end I had a lot of fun ranting. One could say it’s a full on personal journey I had with this drama, and they would not be wrong.

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The black hole of brain cells the Alphas had - the true entertainment.

Where to even start? The manipulations, red flags, black flags, assaults, temporary and plot convenient “face blindness”, amazing brainpower versus negative brainpower - the mix of everything one can imagine. And my brain struggles with comprehending all of that. But maybe that was the point?

The best and the worst aspect for me? Shen Wen Lang. I loved him and I hated him so much. How can one character be this dumb? It’s magical. And so entertaining. Frustrating too, but in an entertaining manner. I think the key to enjoying the show is to… not feel bad for any character and keep reminding yourself it’s just a makjang werewolf coded Omegaverse trash tv. It’s a bit like a horror movie - you are not supposed to feel bad for the victims… That’s sounds bad, but it is what it is ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

So first we have the biggest victim - Sheng Shao You. That’s your smart-dumb male lead who knows enough to be impressive to others, but also lacks any street smarts and insight to see through Hua Yong’s schemes. To be manipulated this bad for this long is a skill itself. Still, one thing I did appreciate a lot was how his pairing with Hua Yong went against typical conventions. The “top” was the scheming feminine force, and the bottom was the manly man. It was surprisingly well written and delivered.

Then we have the blackest of black flags - Hua Yong. What a casting to be honest. Huang Xing was able to deliver the feminine vulnerability and the badass bitch energy seemingly without any problems and both cases were perfectly believable and made sense for the character he was playing. The fake smiles, smirks delivery when no one was watching, fake tears, anger issues, complete obsession and devotion. All so wrong, all so entertaining.

Gao Tu was the most heartbreaking character of them all. Of his own making, that’s also true, but no matter how you look at it he was a victim of his social and economical situation. Truth to be told, his character was the only one that made me feel uncomfortable while watching There was one scene, a close up moment to his face that lasted maybe 3 seconds, but it was so raw and felt so wrong, even thought I was laughing like a maniac few seconds earlier because of the ridiculous plot, this one moment slapped me in the face with how wrong what I was watching actually was. And dear lord, that was such a bad choice from the production team. The way to enjoy these shows is to NEVER make them hyperrealistic, they are not supposed to be taken seriously.

As for the plot itself - what a mess. The only well written and delivered things were Hua Yong’s schemes. All the rest? Oh so bad. Starting from anything related to business - why? 80% of business related scenes were useless and had no impact on the overall story.

Then we have a joke that Gao Tu and Wen Lang story was . I do not care that they had even less presence and development in the novel. The good adaptation knows how to fix the shortcomings of the source material - you either remove bits you know you cannot elaborate more on, or you expand on the bits that were underdeveloped to create a more cohesive story with a strong and fitting conclusion. Here we have just wasted the potential that their dynamic was. And I don’t even want to talk about the clownery the conclusion they received - I cried, screamed and laughed, because I could not believe that was it.

Acting was hit and miss. Huang Xing and Li Pei En easily delivered a solid and convincing performance. Qiu Ding Jie was a hit or miss depending on the scene - overall passable. Jiang Heng gave me nothing. That’s the “I got dragged here by a friend and got involved, but I don’t really know what I am doing” vibe. Kind of hope acting is not his dream job (oops).

The production… Where to start? I did like how they managed to film and deliver the intimate scenes. There are obviously limits to how much they can show since it’s a Chinese BL, but without showing much, they were still able to deliver the sensual and at times a bit spicy image. Maybe I’m just tired of the soft porn we are getting from Thailand? Anyway, this was a pleasant surprise. They did go a bit too artsy with some filters, but since they used them to "censor" certain things - I will give them a pass. They clearly tried to do their best with the limits they had.

But then there are the ridiculous issues with editing - especially sound design and dubbing. There was one scene that lasted a good 10+ seconds where the characters were obviously talking, but there was no dialogue sound, just the background music. Stuff like that, things related to post production and smart planning more than the budget are hard to excuse.

Overall, what a bullshit drama it was, but how entertained they made it amazes me. There were a lot of things that should have been fixed, but I’d be lying if I said I did not have fun watching. But it’s for sure not the “it’s so good I love it”, but rather “it’s so bad, I love it” type of a deal. I ranted after every episode, my blood kept boiling, but I could not drop it, and I watched all episodes as soon as they dropped.

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"I will go outside to see the world. I will fail and I will suffer!...

...I want to see what I can achieve in the end!"

There is so much to love about this drama. There is also surprisingly a lot I did not, and it only hit me when I got closer to the end.

It’s safe to say this is a perfect drama for all found family trope fans. Watching Li Jian Jian, Ling Xiao and He Zi Qiu support each other under the caring watch of Li Hai Chao was beautifully heartwarming. What amazed me the most was the fact these relationships were not idealized. All characters struggled with many internal and external issues that were well developed and presented. Themes like being scared of being abandoned, or being forced to abandon people you love. The constant feeling you need to act perfect, be perfect, never complain to be worth the support you are getting. That uncomfortable feeling when people who were close to you in the past feel distant in the present. All of these affected their interactions with each other and made the bond that much more meaningful and strong.

Li Jian Jian was such a force of positivity. I know some people disliked her as a teenager, but personally I loved her in all 3 stages of her life. She was adorable as a kid, fun and expressive as a teenager and mature, but still exciting to watch as an adult. She was the person that could be called “home” by many characters and the bond that kept them together.

Ling Xiao was the one who kept his scars hidden the most and it was painful to watch. At times it truly felt as if he gave up on himself - whatever happens, as long as people he cares about are safe. The most passive in response to trauma, the one that kept it all inside. Finding his salvation in Li Jian Jian.

He Zi Qiu who smiled, even if he was crying inside. Fighting his battles alone, not wanting anyone to help, not wanting anyone to pity him. Trying his best not to be a burden, wanting to protect people around him. So caring, so good, so well-natured with such a bright and radiant personality. He became an older brother to all the characters.

And you know what’s the best? The main characters were not the only ones with depth. All the supporting characters had well-defined personalities and individual struggles that were separate from their connections to the main cast. Ming Yue who was limited by her low self-esteem and overbearing mother, Tang Can who felt like she was stuck in place when everyone around her lived their best and successful lives. I loved how Zhuang Bei did not disappear after the high school timeline, how he truly became part of the friend group. Or how Qin Mei Ying was not just a plot device and accessory to Chen Ting.

And then we have the best father in all drama history: Li Hai Chao. He could be used as a gold standard on how to well-integrate adopted children into an already existing family. He made sure everyone felt welcomed without neglecting his own daughter. Being patient was his biggest strength that made all the kids trust him. Putting happiness and well-being over, often meaningless achievements. Purest form of support we all dream about.

Sadly, that’s the end of the short list of the good parents this drama presented, and one of the main issues I had with the show.

Yes, I did like Ling He Ping, but it’s also true that he was a rather neglectful father. Working a lot, not being at home knowing how bad the situation is. Later putting his son in the care of a neighbor.

Not going into details, at some point I found the level and the number of dysfunctional families in this show exhausting and unrealistic. All families have their problems, that’s true. The thing is, Go Ahead does not present your typical issues, it’s all on the level of: you need therapy, these are not disagreement, this is an abuse.

Then we have the issue of vilification of mothers. This one abandoned her child, another did the same. This one is overcontrolling to the point of abuse, this one uses her child to get money. There was literally only one mother without any major issues, who did not mentally torture her child, and she was a mom of the side character. It’s not like the dads were perfect, but their faults were never highlighted as much.

At the same time, the drama gives a rather painful and unhealthy message - no matter what, you cannot give up on your mother, you have to try and make the relationship work, no matter the abuse and how much you are suffering, because it is your mother. Abandoning your child is “a mistake”, but not helping your mother when she struggles is the biggest sin one can commit. Some scenes just made me feel uncomfortable. I know there are some cultural differences and China puts a lot of importance on family bonds and family relations, but there is a big difference between doing your best to fix a relationship with your parents and just accepting abuse for years.

I also feel like the drama unintentionally stigmatizes mental health issues. In some aspects they did a good job, showing how serious are the consequences of emotional abuse, trauma, neglect, stress, pressure etc. The fact it’s not just - I feel sad. How it can affect your daily life, how it will only get worse if you won’t seek help and try to change the situation you are in. On the other hand though, they did blame a lot of toxic and awful behavior on psychological issues. The sad truth is - some people are simply dicks, and they will act like one whenever they struggle with something or not. Some people are just egocentric and selfish and them getting help won’t change that.

My “favorite” part about mental health presentation? Two characters talking about how you cannot get better in just a few months when you struggle with serious psychological issues, while also showing how serious issues were solved in a short period of time without getting into any details on how. All I could do was laugh.

Going back to the good - PERFORMANCES! Personally I believe Zhang Xin Chen and Tu Song Yan stole the show. The strong and beautiful father-son bond these two were able to present was one of the best aspects of the drama. They also had the best overall chemistry with all their co-stars. Whatever these two characters were going through always hit harder and made me feel more compared to when I watched the other characters.

While I enjoyed Tan Song Yun and Song Wei Long for their individual roles, somehow I did not click with their scenes together as their characters became adults. I feel like they had more chemistry playing teenagers. When the three siblings were together, when they had their separate scenes with Zhang Xin Chen, the on-screen chemistry was great, but when it was just the two of them… something was missing.

I don’t really have that much to say about the production value. It was great, but great is kind of a standard now in the industry.

On the other hand, there is a lot to compliment about the soundtrack! There is not one bad song, not one mismatched track - every tune is in perfect harmony with their corresponding scenes. Every song enhances the moments I witnessed, amplifying the emotions.

Overall, I binge watched the whole drama in 6 days, I think that is a greatest proof Go Ahead is an amazing show. It makes you like and care for the characters from episode one, and with each minute you get more and more attached to them and their journey.

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No logic, no cohesiveness, no brain… and I have no self respect for watching this.

When watching this movie, every new revelation made me ask one simple question “why?” - everything about the characters, their relationship and plot progression was so unnatural all I could do was laugh about the piling up cliches.

Alpha male with a soft heart and an innocent kid with a warm nature will give you a second hand embarrassment with every little ridiculous interaction and painful dialogues. Who needs decent writing when you can just throw poorly executed cliches at your audience?

And the ending? I don’t think I would manage to write something similar even on crack. What happened? How high were the characters? How high was the writer? It took me 30 minutes to finish the last 10 minutes. I kept pausing because my brain could not take this level of prolonged idiocy.

Acting wise… I think it’s time for me to leave the delulu land and admit Zee is not really a good actor, he is just good at delivering heart eyes. It truly pains me to say, since I basically wrote an essay about how amazing of an actor with great potential he has 4 years ago. On the other hand NuNew did quite well trying to deliver good performance even though the script made it an impossible task.

Overall, I regret watching it alone. I think this is a perfect title to group watch and joke about all the stuff that makes no sense. The movie truly invites you to rant your heart out.

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Non linear storytelling at its best (with few "flops").

Undoubtedly thrilling and unique story that does not give you a minute of a break - fast paced, well packed with both the plot and the action. Cleverly showing you just bits and pieces of a larger context, uncovering the whole story with each and every episode. While A Shop for Killers had a few issues, it’s still a title worth checking out - perfect for weekend binge watch.

One could say it opens like a fish out of the water type of scenario. Not quite. From the start we can see that Jung Ji Ahn is far from being a defenseless young woman, even if she herself is not quite aware of it. Personally, I found the story of her growing up under the careful watch of Jeong Jin Man the best out of the whole show. The bizarre, but obviously strong bond they had, the silent understanding. It was amazing to watch her connect the weird training from the past with her current situation, and use said lessons to survive.

At the same time, Jeong Jin Man’s past seemed a bit messy and did not get the conclusion that fitted the initial tense atmosphere surrounding it. By the end of episode 8, I had to rewatch certain scenes just to make sure I did not miss anything. Where are the answers? Nowhere, just more piling up questions.

Another aspect that was a bit frustrating was how they at times utilized the non linear storytelling by repetitive usage of scenes. The show was short. There were some scenes that truly expanded on what was previously shown - giving us the whole context and full story. At the same time, there were some moments where the “already shown” part was simply too long. I’ve already watched these scenes one episode ago, you do not need to show it to me from start again. I could not stop myself from skipping minutes of the drama, just to get to the point where the story moves forward.

Performance wise? Amazing. Some actors were a bit typecast, which made it easier to guess the their intentions and possible actions, nonetheless - everyone delivered. Personally, I am a fan of Lee Dong Wook in dark roles, so this one hits the spot perfectly. Jung Jin Man is obviously not a good person, not a good character, but there is good in him and that’s what differentiates him from some of his, let’s say “co-workers”. Seeing these detailed differences was an interesting experience. They are both bad, but are they equally bad? How much of someone's actions is understandable, can be explained and excused, where is the line that should not be crossed?

Kim Hye Joon was amazing as Ji Ahn. Well executed character development. Loved the strong and raw emotions she was able to present when Ji Ahn was cornered and truly exhausted with the dangerous situation she got dragged into. Loved the more soft scenes of her as a carefree child and teenager. Loved how Kim Hye Joon was able to present the duality of the character in such a great manner.

Shout-out to the cute guy who helped Ji Ahn when she was a child, if you watched, you know.

Production was great - the soundtrack was full of bops, the fighting scenes had amazing choreographies, the practical effects of blood and other painful “things” were on point.

Overall, left a lot to explore, by the end felt like a borderline bait for possible second season with quite a few aspects not being fully explored. And yet, I’m not mad. It was highly entertaining, had many interesting characters on both the good and the bad side (and let me tell you, the bad side is BAD). Keeps you interested and engaged from episode one till the last scene of episode eight.

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I am not going to lie, I felt extremely frustrated while watching this drama. It had amazing potential, but close to nothing worked out. The beauty - amazing cinematography and styling of our main character, and the beast - the writing.

There honestly is not much to say about the characters, since the only one that had true depth was Man Wol. She was the centre of the drama and IU did an amazing job representing her development and gradual change. Chang Sung could have worked way better if it wasn't for Chung Myung. All the rest of the characters we simply did not spend enough time with, to truly care about. I must say, Sanchez was my favorite and he was the breath of fresh air.

Kim Seon Bi/Choi Seo Hee/Ji Hyun Joong aka when writers do not care.
Out of all their stories, only Seo Hee's had some depth to it. Kim Seon Bin's story was extremely random, there were close to no hints about his previous life so I did not even care to speculate what happened to him. Hyun Joong's past life story had the least sense. How did his sister not recognize that the guy taking care of her was not her brother. How did his family not ask any questions, why did they recognize her and not him? You could say it was a war so they did not see him for a long time, but the same would apply to the sister. Hong sisters did not care enough about those characters to spend time to truly explain and develop their stories. They had the material for a good 8 episodes of Man Wol's side and had to fill the rest with random storylines. I could not feel emotional about them all leaving at the end, because all I could think about was: None of it makes any sense.

I also believe it would be better to start sending away the characters around episode 10-12, and not just have them all gone in the last 2 episodes. We could slowly see how Man Wol is realizing all the people she loves and cares about are gone and moving on to the afterlife. How the ones that stay behind struggle with the loss. We would see her being more concerned about how will Chan Sung deal in the future when she is gone. Them gradually leaving would have more impact on both the characters and the storyline.

Chan Sung/Chung Myung aka the failed romance
While I enjoyed Chan Sung at the beginning, the moment we got more scenes with Chung Myung and the past story developed into something interesting, I could not focus on the present. Chan Sung was simply a boring character that was there only for Man Wol's story to develop and he had nothing going on for himself. When we met another male character that had a past romantic relationship with Man Wol, but also was its own character, it was easy to forget our male lead. At the end of the day I wished for more flashbacks and less present plot. And I would rather have them as friends than as romantic partners.

Kim Yoo Na aka no one truly cares about anything
While I enjoyed Yoo Na, I do believe they should have made her a more tragic character. Yet again, there was no depth to the story. Show me how much she struggles to fit in that new house, how she misses her old friends and family and how she is tired of pretending to be someone else.

All the hotel cases aka when you try too hard to please the viewers
I did not truly like any of the random hotel cases, but I hated some more than others. The most random one with the humans having sex in the hotel room to have some superior child in the future. I was truly confused why this plotline was in the drama.
There were too many cases, so at the end, none of them was developed or complex. They tried to fit any genre (horror, crime, romance, melo, etc.) into the drama, just to make sure all viewers can find something they may like.

Disney ending aka when you are afraid to commit to the tragedy
None of the characters involved in the drama had a truly tragic ending. Which was extremely unrealistic. It could be easily fixed. Make Yoona too late to say goodbye to Hyun Joong. After Seo Hee goes to the bridge, cut to the mother registering the baby with the father's surname because of the grandparents. Make the book about Seon Bi flop. I would even like for Chung Myung to vanish because he used all his energy looking after Man Wol. The Song sisters wanted to show us how sad, tragic, and emotional the feeling of loss is, but they did not want to show the truly ugly side of it. Because of that, the ending felt bland.

Overall, during the whole watch, there was literally (and I truly mean it) only one time when I thought "wow, this is a good writing, I finally feel the playoff" and it was with how they used the Coffee Writer Dude. They spent just enough time for us to be curious about him and wonder what will happen to him, when he will go to the afterlife.

At the end, Hong Sisters had an amazing idea, about an amazing character, and no idea what to do with the rest. Trying to fit too many stories of too many characters made this drama a... mess.

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I love Sang Ha, I do, but this was painfully mediocre.

My biggest problem was how Sang Ha's story and the romance were disconnected. They felt like two different shows. We had fun comedy and fluff between main leads, and punches and threats with debt collectors. Both put next to each other just didn't click well, since they almost always were presented separately.

The characters were also quite a mess. Sang Ha and Jin Woo had both half a brain cell that they must have shared. The bad guys told you they will ruin Jin Won's chance to win by throwing water at him? You tell Jin Won about it. It's that simple. It's not like his debt was a secret. They could have easily prevented it from happening, without Sang Ha going after first place (good for him tho). Why did he even cut contact with Jin Won after the marathon? His whole logic for winning and paying the debt was to protect Jin Won and be able to keep running with him (as he "passionately" screamed at his face in the last episode)... but then he just left? LoGiC.

Jin Won with the whole "go buy yourself proper new running shoes" when Sang Ha already told him he is running early mornings to deliver milk, because he ain't got money, but he needs to pay the debt. Something didn't click right in Jin Won's brain I guess. Not to mention that punch in the last episode. WHERE THE HECK IT CAME FROM? Not once they hinted that Jin Won might be a one to react aggressively with physical force. And here he is punching a kid in the face. This is called bad writing, ladies and gentlemen.

The debt storyline was truly the worst part that ruined the whole show for me. Why they couldn't keep it simple with a sweet romance is beyond me. The debt collectors went from punching the kid in the face, to crying when he finally paid it off, giving some bullshit, out of place, emotional reaction. Not to mention, apparently in Korea, when your parents die when you are in middle school, you don't go to an orphanage or foster family. You are left alone to deal with it... Go figure

It had some cute moments, I'm not gonna lie, but instead of watching the whole show, you could watch the highlights on youtube. Even the last scene had to be ruined by making them run in semi formal clothes ON A DATE. We get it, they are runners. Damn the writers... Why?

Get rid of the debt angst story, use the few minutes you gained to develop the relationship a bit more, and it would be easily 9/10 for me.

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Baiting a neck bite should be illegal…

Truth to be told, the whole story was only baiting a vampire plot line - it barely existed in any meaningful way. You could change the set up to rich and poor lead, mafia, soldier and civilian, undercover agents and almost nothing would change. Almost all scenes with the “we can’t be together/we can’t get closer” were not vampire specific and that’s a bummer.

I think I would enjoy the drama far more if it was not set up initially as this “forbidden romance”. Rather than staying away because it’s wrong to be together, it’s dangerous, it was just “it’s too much unnecessary drama, so I’m giving you a cold shoulder”. But it felt like the mix of two so it was neither this lighthearted supernatural romance, nor this angsty thrilling love story.

All that said, I did have fun watching. I found all the characters extremely charming with unique personalities that did not feel like AI generated prompts based on stock material. Dong Ha was adorable, but he was not a pushover. Ju Won was stoic, but not emotionless. Seon Jae was cheeky, but not cheap. Gyu Min and Eun Ho, while being this comedic duo, also brought some nice more serious moments between them. All the characters also had great chemistry - be it romance, friendship or rivalry driven.

The production value clearly keeps increasing in the Korean BL industry. I liked the set designs, I thought the styling of all the characters matched their personalities and behaviors. There were a number of pretty shots worth screenshotting too.

Overall, it was fun, but it could have been so much more…

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Loved the individuals, did not like the couples.

Am I the only one who was far more happy and entertained when I was watching the group moments and interaction between participants that were completely not romantically involved? Too many times I wanted to skip the dates and just watch them hang out in the house. I like them all as individuals, I like them all in the group setting, but I could not vibe with any of the couples at the end.

And I feel like this is why the show failed me - I had no pair to truly root for. I felt like none of the exes would work out, since they just danced around each other, but never truly try to solved their previous issues. The new couples were easily shaken by the past relationships, which made me think they would not last anyway, so what's the point?

I actually loved first few episodes, but the more romantically involved everyone became, the less I cared. That said, I still like the whole cast a lot, especially the best girl Da Hye. Wish her all the healing and happiness she needs.

Overall, I have barely any thoughts. I think I just truly don't care.

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Suspension of disbelief needed, and not because of the fantasy elements.

I’m usually one to say that we cannot excuse lackluster execution simply based on the short length of a show. Here though, I feel like that was truly the biggest issue, and no matter how they would try to approach the story, it would not improve much without additional minutes of runtime.

The story itself, the premise and idea behind it - great. It was truly a refreshing concept for a BL. Dealing with past trauma was the major theme in the show, but I feel like we get to that idea only by the end of the show. That’s when it hit me and the ending made a perfect scene in the context of the whole drama.

How about romance? It was decent. Lee Hyun Jun and Moon Ji Yong had a rather good and natural chemistry, but the way Shin Jae Woo was written made it hard for me to truly appreciate their scenes together. His antics and rather child-like demeanor makes more sense by the end of the show, but it still makes it hard for me to see them as more than just friends.

The thing about Shin Jae Woo’s character - he acted like his younger self. At times, I felt like his behavior as a child in the past, and now the grown up did not differ that much. Did it make his interaction with Ji Hoon cute and entertaining? Yes. Did it interfere with the romance for me? Also yes.

Then there was also the problem of realistic progression of the feelings. I kept asking myself “when, why and how did Ji Hoon fall for Jae Woo?”. They barely meet, Jae Woo was acting borderline creepy and weird around Ji Hoon. Does the guy just have a peculiar taste in men? Not to mention the strength of the feelings. My man, you barely met this guy. This is not a Shakespearean story to have people deeply in love on the first meeting.

That was one of the issues we usually have to deal with when watching short BLs. I kind of started to accept that, but it’s still worth pointing out with hopes of improvements in the future.

I have some thoughts about the ending, you can find them in a comment under spoiler below. Overall… I’m just not completely sure I understand the mechanics of it… It was also the part that made me question how far I am supposed to ignore logic and reality.

Acting wise, better than many K-BLs. Were these groundbreaking performances? No. They were believable though, and that’s all I need. Moon Ji Yong for sure did the best, especially in the last episode - one scene truly impressed me.

The OST - perfection. All songs worthy of being added to a playlist to listen outside of the show. “Time” was my favorite. The melody and the vocals were just amazing.

Overall, it was fun. I liked the characters and their interactions. I wish the show was longer so the pacing would feel more natural, and the relationship progression would not feel so abrupt.

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Preachy with questionable lessons and toddler love story.

Can’t believe I watched a whole show with a cloud of flies as the villain. Why did he do what he did? Because he is evil. Why was the war happening? No one knows, it just was. Why was the leader of fairies wanting to keep the war going? Why not I guess, they just hate each other.

Here’s the thing, if you take 10 random viewers of the show and ask them to describe in detail what was the plot of the show and motivations for all the characters, you would get a description of 10 completely different shows. Why? Because all this drama had was a framework of the plot, but no substance inside it. There was little to no world or character building, no proper set up, no proper conclusion, no details of the magic system and rules how it operates. The drama just lacked… writing.

I could potentially still enjoy it for the romance, if the romance was good. It was not. I just cannot get behind the weird toddler with grown up man romance. Here me out - I have exactly zero issues with childish female leads, there are quite a few dramas with them that I enjoyed, but I am completely against child-like female leads. There is a huge difference between a character behaving in an immature fashion, and a character behaving like a child, and sadly the Fairy was just an annoying toddler.

Possessive and toxic love story? Sign me up, but not when it feels like a romance between a father and his minor kid. I do not care if she matured in the last 6 episodes - too little too late. This whole pairing freaked me out for a good 30 episodes.

Orchid just ain’t it. Girl was dumb, loud, irresponsible, pretentiously good (sorry, but a guy colluding with evil for 30k years and getting so many people dead because of his delusional love was not just a small mistake). While Dongfang Qing Cang was truly hot during many scenes, I still could not enjoy the character to his full potential because of the context of his romance with the little flower. Out of all the characters, the two I truly enjoyed were Die Yi and Dear Daddy Devil’s little brother.

Yes, the performances were strong. Esther Yu was perfect for the role of the most annoying child female lead and delivered all the proper expressions and lines needed. The emotional scenes were great and I actually really liked her in the last 3 episodes. Dylan Wang ate the role. All the pain and suffering, all the confusion about the new emotions he was feeling, all the internal and external dilemmas he was facing. Not to mention both Esther and Dylan did a phenomenal job with the soul switching scenes (even if I did not enjoy them, I am not going to deny the acting skills needed to deliver them).

Production value was great, at least in terms of special effects and most of the set and costume designs. There were few extremely cheap looking additions to few dresses and war armors, but overall - for sure more beauty than trash. Truth to be told, it kind of felt as if they used 80% of the budget on the aesthetics.

As for the soundtrack, can we talk about that one song that sounds like an anime intro that felt painfully misplaced in the story? Too many tracks were completely mismatched, and while they sounded like nice tunes, they did not fit the scenes at all.

Overall, I am just happy I survived this watch. I hated the preachy narration at the end about how love can cure us all, when literally the whole villain story and all the wars happened because of one dude’s delusional love. The writers need to reread their material before they write dumb conclusions, really.

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This show is the wake up call that begs us to be more skeptical.

This whole documentary just made me angry. The idea that some people can get so easily manipulated simply by the virtue of a person claiming they have holy guidance makes my blood boil. Rape, torture, murder, abuse, suicide - all because some random person claimed they are Jesus reincarnated. At the same time, it shows how clever these cult leaders were, how well planned their schemes were and how they selected the victims - they did not target everyone. That's why it's so important for us ask questions and rely on more than trust and belief.

I’m not going to lie, the level of religious freedom in Korea was always fascinating for me. On the first glance the idea of all the religions being able to rather peacefully coexist in one country, where no one is truly judged by their religious beliefs sounds like a utopia. With this level of acceptance and “no questions asked” comes a big danger though: the country becomes a breeding ground for cults. How many reincarnated Jesuses can there be in the small country of South Korea at the same time?

The documentary presents a rather uncomfortable question: what to do with victims who become perpetrators? How much can be forgiven based on the brainwashing they went through, and how much responsibility should they take for their actions? The leaders were evil, we can all agree. We wanted them to be punished and suffer as much as their victims did. What with the members? Logically speaking you know they are the victims, but it’s impossible not to feel any resentment towards them.

Some people may say it was unnecessarily detailed, unnecessarily graphic, unnecessarily descriptive, but I strongly disagree. Did this documentary make you feel uncomfortable? Angry? Sad? Scared? Good, then it did its job to present the reality of the victims. Saying it was unnecessarily detailed is like saying it was unnecessary realistic - they used real footage of the events, they used real photos, videos and recordings, they used real testimonies - it was not shown for a shock value, it was shown because it was the reality of what happened. The reality was just that shocking, awful and evil.

If I were to complain about one thing production wise - some footages were shown a few too many times, especially of JMS in the first 3 episodes. They kept showing the same videos of him preaching, and that I felt was a bit too much and truly unnecessary. Showing it once would be enough.

TW: I don’t know… feels like anything you can think of: rape, dead bodies, suicide, self harm, abuse, child neglect, child abuse… They show real photos and videos from crime scenes and recordings from victims, even the reenacted interviews are detailed and based on the real statements from real victims. It’s a lot.

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Staying delulu is the solulu

That was an unforgettable journey for sure. Be it for interesting plot, great scenarios, entertaining main and endearing supporting characters, villains that are actually vile and will make your blood boil, beautiful set designs, fitting soundtrack… and the questionable ending - that one you will for sure never forget.

The Spirealm is simply addicting. Bromance was romancing hard and let’s be real, many people started this show because of the censored BL aspect. The same way once the characters enter the first door they cannot escape, there was no turning back for me after the first episode - I was completely in love with the drama.

Ruan Lan Zhu has an extremely enticing charm about him - carefree and confident nature with glimpses of worry towards Ling Jiu Shi that grew stronger as the show progressed. You know there will be angst brewing from day one and you cannot wait for it. I loved how fake he was in the games, shamelessly switching his personality whenever needed. I loved how he slowly became friends with people around him, how he started to care about them and was willing to change his ways to help them. Well presented, not over the top character development. Xia Zhi Guang’s performance just made what was already a well written character shine even more. His expressive eyes stole my soul and turned my brain off. Him being the perfect man makes sense when you think about the fact he was… well, not real. I guess Jiu Shi’s perfect man is also my perfect man, we share the type in the delulu land.

While I liked Ling Jiu Shi a lot, I did find him far less interesting as an individual. I enjoyed his interaction with other characters a lot and he was obviously the force that changed everyone around him with his empathic and emotional side, but for some reason I felt like they accidentally made him too perfect - smart, brave, caring, with a new different perspective that is usually right, driven. The dude had no flaws. Even things that were supposed to technically be negative - at times too emotional and impulsive, were never truly bad. Sadly, Huang Jun Jie did not save the few lacking aspects with his acting. Some performances can elevate the character, here they chopped some of its charm. The emotional scenes were just not it - quite awkward.

Then we have a whole bunch of supporting characters I adored: Li Dong Yuan wholesome “playboy” with a golden heart, Tan Zao Zao bravest of them all, Xiao Ke surprised badass, Zhuang Ru Jiao loyal sunshine. Even though these characters show up just for a few episodes here and there, they did such a good job with presenting their unique personalities it was impossible for me not to get attached. I am surprised how much their deaths hit me.

What’s more to appreciate? The villains. The worst crime a drama can commit is making their villains bland - you gotta either hate to love them, or love to hate them. And I for sure loved to bitch about them while watching. The way I sometimes had to pause the episodes, because they annoyed me so much. The way I could not wait for their demise. And for all that I am grateful. They made the drama more dynamic and the stakes real. They weren’t useless and inferior to the main characters - the similar skill level actually made the watch that more entertaining.

Cannot believe Yan Ba Lang’s Clark Kenting with a beard/lack of beard actually worked and I did not recognize him - I will admit though, I completely lost my brain while watching. No idea what kind of weird subliminal interfering signals this drama was sending, but I was blind to everything and could predict nothing. I was clowning hard with how confused I was about the most basic and obvious things.

All these characters could shine thanks to the game settings and let me tell you, the stories presented in them were actually interesting! When I don’t mind bromance separating and having episodes of them not interacting at all - that’s when you know they were selling a good plot. My favorite door was probably the second door - The Apartment. It was just so weird and creepy - the image just made me feel uncomfortable and unnerved, but in the best way possible.

Honestly speaking though - all the doors were great. The unique stories presented with enough detail and world building you got immersed whenever you liked it or not. The presentation leaned towards dark fantasy rather than horror, but I don’t really mind. I feel like extremely explicit gore would actually be distracting.

And then we have to bromance ( that b is silent). I’m just going to ignore the fact Jiu Shi fell in love with an AI modeled to literally be his perfect man and this is a top level of delulu behavior I have ever seen. I still love these two. Truth to be told, Ruan Lan Zhu carried the romance for most of the show with his loving gaze and overprotective nature. For obvious reasons he could, should, and even had to focus on Ling Jiu Shi. While he might have been written to support Jiu Shi, it’s not the reason why he started, but the reason why he stayed that matters. And let me tell you - he stayed because he loved the boy. \

We also had one of the best love confessions in any (b)romance drama” "Don't worry. I'll protect you. I'll protect you forever. Until your life comes to an end, or my life comes to an end". So what he was saying was "for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part" -low key wedding vows. Yes, the censorship made the production team be more “creative” with some scenes for example: ain’t no cheek stroking. Lan Zhu was just removing a car hair from Jiu Shi ‘s face - in the most tender and loving way ever, with eyes screaming worry and devotion.

The performances were mostly strong. Even the more questionable and wacky ones seemed to fit the given characters and scenarios (I am looking at you Zhang Ji Nan). Putting aside Xia Zhi Guang who obviously aced the role, my favorites were Liu Xiao Bei and Lu Meng Lin. I think they perfectly delivered the vulnerability of accepting their own death and it was heartbreaking to watch. As I already said, Huang Jun Jie did well for most of the show, but failed when it mattered. When the angst hit its tipping point and I kept being distracted by his delivery…

Now, let’s talk about the twist and the ending, because I don’t even know how I feel about it. I dislike it, but I cannot be mad about it.

Let’s start with the NPC twist. I almost had to take a break from the show when they revealed it. I did not predict it so I had smack in the face with that revelation hard. To my defense, I think I gave the drama too much credit to be a “decent” sci-fi, when it’s borderline fantasy, so the idea that an AI algorithm can interact with the real world, bleed etc. just never crossed my mind. Him not being real crossed my mind, but on a larger scale - nothing is real, which, depending on the interpretation, could be the case.

Anyway, him being this perfect makes sense when you get to that point of the story. I honestly think my negative reaction to that twist came from me focusing too much on the use of the NPC abbreviation. He is not your typical NPC, he is more of a conscious AI that in all aspects, cannot really be differentiated from humans. They basically made Lan Zhu Pinocchio. So while I hated it at first, the more I thought about it, the less bothered I became.

On the other hand, the longer I thought about the ending, the more annoyed I was. Personally I can see two different interpretations of the ending - either everything that happened in the game did not happen, and it was in fact the result of Jiu Shi’s coma or it all happened and the game can basically overwrite time and space, change the past, present and the future of the Earth and I don’t know what makes me more mad…

If we go with the first one, it’s a full on delulu clownery. What you are saying is - Jiu Shi got so immersed in the imaginary world his brain created, he dedicated his whole real life to create his fantasy world with his fake boyfriend where he can spend his second life. I’ve never seen a more romanticized version of pro virtual reality over real life in my whole life. Why does this interpretation make sense? When Jiu Shi woke up from the car accident, he saw all the players his brain created as people around him. It’s fair to assume he might have crossed paths with all of them one way or another in his daily life, without even consciously noticing them. It does not explain how he knew about the man living in Obsidian’s headquarters though. So while this theory seems fair at first, it fails at the end.

So we are left with “the game is just all powerful”. This makes perfect sense when we take into consideration the original novel is in fantasy and not sci-fi genre. There are no real rules nor limits for fantasy, but there are rules and directions for sci-fi - that’s why it’s so hard to change a fantasy story into a logical sci-fi. Here they obviously failed. It just makes zero sense, and what’s worse - it was so fucking unnecessary. They could have had exactly the same ending of Jiu Shi dedicating his whole life to create The Spirealm and rebuild all his friends who became NPCs and Lan Zhu, after he passed the 11th door without going back into past, before he got into first door, making it car accident and all the players having different lives in this alternative reality. I kind of felt cheated and all the moving and heartbreaking deaths started to feel cheap. Clearly, I did not vibe with the ending…

I think I would rather like the drama ending on the 11th door farewell scene. Make it sad, bittersweet and impactful instead of over the top and illogical.

All that said, I still loved the show. It’s not a perfect drama, but it is perfect entertainment for me. I was thinking about Spirealm daily, wanting to watch the next episode. I skipped some precious hours of sleep for “just one more episode” and spammed friends with reactions and opinions. I’m planning to binge rewatch it soon, maybe even start right away. Once I was in and watched that one episode, there was no going back.

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Morality and legality do not always go hand in hand.

Surprisingly coherent storytelling that does not go into preachy territories - truly presenting different perspectives on a complex subject of euthanasia. What's even more amazing is the satisfying ending that makes perfect sense. No, it's not a sarcasm. Ending that I find to be the perfect for both the characters themselves and the themes the show presents. Euthanasia is not a simple topic to discuss since it involves so many conflicting moral and legal aspects.

Is euthanasia the same as murder? If not, what makes it different? When it's a valid option, and can it even be a valid option for any patient? Should politicians have the right to decide when and how we die? Whose suffering should take priority - patients' or their families? If the family is not ready to part with their loved one, should they have any say in deciding if euthanasia should be performed? How to determine if the patient is capable to make that decision themselves? So many questions, no concrete answers. And that's the beauty of this drama.

While the dialogue heavy moments shined the most, the crime aspect could have been improved. Did it bother me how bad the investigation was? At times, yes. But at the end of the day, it was not a crime detective drama, it was a psychological thriller heavy on drama. Realistically speaking, many things did not make sense, but also realistically speaking, I did not care.

Similarly, the romance came out of nowhere and many times I laughed about the validity of leads feelings. And yet, it still hits hard when it needs to. Maybe if the drama was longer, so they had more time to present the relationship in a more evenly paced way... I guess they did what they could with the time they had.

For the performance, Tor in the last episode? On fire with his acting skills. I had to rewatch a certain scene 3 times because I loved his delivery so much. I do not think there was a weak link in the cast - everyone executed their characters in a perfect manner. Yes, I talk to JJ through screen a few times to "put his eyebrow down", but at some point I just started to see it as his charming point. Maybe I was brainwashed? Still, a heavy subject like euthanasia requires skills to present it in a respectful way, and I do think Spare Me Your Mercy achieved just that.

Overall, a great watch. Both entertaining and inviting some reflection to form our own stance on the subject. It knew when to bring back lighter tone and some cute romance, and when to get serious when the scenes needed.

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Chemistry that truly carries the whole show.

Honestly speaking, this is not a special drama in terms of the plot - the light enemies to frenemies to friends to lovers has been done many times, but it’s undeniable the execution here was amazing. Gemini and Fourth are truly the best new BL actors out there.

I have to say, both Tinn and Gun are perfectly written. Tinn has this amazingly goofy side of him that you cannot ignore, you just adore it. Gun is just a walking charm. It’s not all sweet though, and both the characters struggle with some internal issues, but are able to support each other in the best ways possible.

The relationship is simply wholesome. I loved how Tinn was focusing on Gun’s happiness and not just about his goal of dating him. I loved that they actually had a lot of nice conversations and tried to understand each other. I loved the mutual support. With the oversaturation in the BL industry with questionable and toxic stories, this level of understanding and mutual respect was simply refreshing to watch.

That’s for the main couple, what about the side ones? Sadly a bit of a failure. Either the chemistry was just not quite there, or the setup and progression was barely existing. Did I care about any of the side characters? Honestly - no.

Can we also just shortly talk about the mothers in this show? I could not be more happy with what we’ve got. Both Tinn’s and Gun’s mom are amazing in their own way. The drama perfectly showcases how good communication with your child is what builds trust and makes them want to confide in you for support, share their happiness and be honest about their struggles. Sometimes it’s important to take the initiative, but sometimes you have to give your child space and time and let them speak when they are ready, and not when you want to hear the answers.

Tinn's dad too, great person, I wish we got to see more of him.

The plot was great, but I also got a bit bored at some point. I still enjoyed all the adorable moments as I was watching, but I also had to motivate myself to start the episodes in the first place. This show was 90% fluff and 10% content (yes, this is an exaggeration, don’t sue me for it). And with that ratio it should be maybe 8 and not 12 episodes.

That said, there was one thing I will never complain about, no matter how many times it will happen even just as a filler fluff - good hugs. Hugs are underappreciated. Hugs are amazing. Proper hug on screen is at times better than kissing scenes. Melt into these arms and give us all butterflies! My School President definitely delivered in that area.

Fourth’s acting, his cheeky smile and warm gaze… Can we even ask for more? Yes we can, and we got it all - from the light and funny scenes, to more emotional and raw expressions, this boy delivered it all. Gemini also does great with acting. Surprised how well he does subtle comedy. For the rest of the cast - some did better, some did worse. We got the glorious “no tears just squeezing eyes hard” scene.

Production side of it was great. I am so happy to see the improvement in that aspect in the BL industry and the effort in making the show deliver a good storytelling both in writing and in the visual aspects.

Overall, the purest of the fluff. On screen chemistry that will make you jealous of not experiencing it yourself. Great main characters with fun personalities and relatable stories. But sadly also forgettable side characters and subplots there just to feel the screen time and overall repetitiveness of the story.

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