Kate

Uncanny in all the best ways. Painful in the most beautiful ways.

Not gonna lie - the whole show made me feel extremely uncomfortable more than once. Escapism in the purest and scariest form. Heaven never sounded more like hell. The truth is, happiness only exists in contrast to sadness. You can only cherish what will eventually cease to exist.

Sci-fi is a genre that’s extremely hard to ace. You either don’t get enough information to understand it and get immersed in the created world, or the creators overexplain everything, and it seems like a wikipedia page. Yonder managed to keep the balance from start till the end. They gave enough exposition through dialogues to make sense of the sci-fi elements, but they also used a lot of visuals and simple storytelling to explain and expand the rest.

The core of the show though is its philosophical theme centering around happiness, grief and meaning of existence. My brain hurts after watching it. It invites you to dwell on so many complex issues that are hard to grasp just by watching - it made me want to think about them more, even after the episodes ended. What is happiness? How can we achieve it? What gives life meaning? How to deal with grief? Can one get prepared for death? Not to mention the whole ethical side of exploiting people’s pain dressed up as compassion and the selfish and egocentric side of humans.

On the storytelling side - they did an amazing job with pacing. Each scene was meaningful, nothing was dragged, almost nothing felt rushed (on that “almost” under spoiler comment below). The show just flows so well. I would say, it seems better as a binge watch, treating it like a long movie. The breaks between episodes might slightly take one out of the immersion. I honestly regret starting it right when it aired, instead of watching it all when it finished.

Performances - from phenomenal to not memorable. That said, some characters were not exactly written with much depth, and only served a purpose of pushing the plot forward (mostly Hacker Park and the doctor working with them).

Shin Ha Kyun… This man. How is this even possible for him to keep surprising me with his skill? Where’s the limit to his talent? No words to describe his delivery of the character.

The choice of the songs perfectly elevated all the scenes. Did I cry? Yes, many times.

Production value was top notch. Yonder is like a beautiful art piece. Loved everything - the angles, the lighting and use of colors, the proper use of close up and slow motion, the camera rotation that were never overused. The subtle and well designed special effects.

There was one element of the conclusion/reveal by the end that I did not exactly like. It was well written and integrated to the story - it was just my personal preference for the show not to include it. I like when the shows that create an existential crisis in me keep things more open and vague - left to my own personal interpretation. But what I’ve got was a more solid answer to one question, that somehow felt like a contradiction.

Overall, I truly loved it. It’s for sure a show that needs to be analyzed and watched with brain on. Not because it’s so complex plot wise, or hard to understand. Rather, because it tackles many serious issues and questions that are worth asking yourself, and finding out what is your answer.

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“The crime would not have occurred if there was no demand for it.”

It’s not an easy watch. Even the reenactment of how the perpetrators usually trap their victims that was shown as the opening sequence just sets you on an anger trip. It’s impossible not the feel both the pain, frustration, fear and anger of these young girls who ended up in these situations.

Honestly speaking, I wanted to cry even before the intro with credits started. One of the most terrifying things about it was the number of perpetrators involved in it. We all know bad people exist, but we rarely truly understand how prevalent some actions are in society.

It also had a glimpse of hope? It was good to know there were people, even just university students, who risked a lot to expose and investigate these issues - otherwise it would be still buried and no one would know. It is reassuring to know that where there are bad people, there are also good ones. It was a rather detailed narration about the investigation process done by both the police and the journalists. The biggest heroes of the stories were the victims who stepped forward and helped the investigation to happen in the first place.

The commentary done while the credit rolled at the end was a perfect conclusion to the documentary. It’s not the victims’ fault. Anyone can become a victim. The way the society judges and blamed the victims makes it more probable for them to then do what perpetrators tell them to do, as they don’t feel like society will support them if they come forward and report the crime.

That said, one thing that bothered me was how they tried really hard to make it movie-like visually pleasing. At times it did not feel like I’m watching a documentary, but a drama. Just the style of filming the reenactment did not sit right with me. It was beautiful, but I honestly don’t think I should be getting distracted by the visual storytelling and pretty frames in a documentary about topics like that.

Another thing is the fact the documentary switches its focus from victims to the investigation process. I wish we got to see a bit more about the effects this horror hard on people involved and how strong and brave were the people who got through it and helped with the investigation.

On a personal note, exposing myself right now, but the topic is serious enough I think it’s worth it.

How big of a problem sexual exploitation and scams are in Korea? Me being a polish girl, got an email in Korean stating they have a video of me masturbating and if I won’t pay them, they will distribute it on the internet. Luckily, I knew a video like that cannot exist so I just ignored the email, but I know there would be many people who would fall for that scam.

Another personal story: one day before I started high school I was also threatened on the phone by a group of guys that they know where I live and they will have fun with me - it’s easy to understand what they meant. They told me which school I will start the next day. I assumed they were somehow related to a group of students that bullied me in middle school, but getting that phone call almost 2 years after the bullying happened was truly a terrifying experience. It ended on that one phone call and nothing happened - I was lucky. But being a victim of an incident like that myself, even though it was far less severe than anything described in the documentary, made it that much harder to watch it.

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Disclaimer: I did not like this drama. It will be a harsh rant review so if you don't think you can handle it, don't read it. If you do read it, don't write to me that I'm hurting people's feelings with it.
What’s more: I do NOT care about the novel. I do not care how well everything was explained and shown in the novel. I’m reviewing the drama. If the show cannot be consumed without my prior knowledge about the plot of the novel, it speaks volumes about the quality of the drama itself.

At first I refused to rate this drama. I had truly no idea what rating would do it justice. For how they handled certain topics it should get -100, but the acting was decent, at times even good, the set design, audio editing, lighting and other technical aspects were good too, and these definitely do not deserve such a low rating. That said, since MDL forces me to state my stars, I will go with my feelings, be as subjective as possible and give it “well deserved” 2.5 stars.

DIRECTING/WRITING
Sadly, the lack of experience in directing is quite obvious. While there was a lot of thought put into „steamy” scenes and how to show them in the most attractive, sensual way, not the same amount of work had been put into directing and showing the overall plot. The biggest problem I had was the confusing time progression and weird time jumps without proper explanation.

Another aspect of directing that caught me off guard was a random and rushed beginning. Why we did not see how the friendship of Type and Tharn was established? All we've got was one line of Type saying Tharn is good looking, nice and most likely will help him get a girl and exactly 1 minute and 17 seconds of them meeting for the first time three weeks ago.

The fact we did not see these two establishing the relationship and spending time together as friends was one of the reasons Tharn's big love seemed so out of place. After seeing the whole drama, it's safe to assume he fell for Type before Type found out he is gay. But we did not see that, so with how badly Type was treating him, it was given I would question Tharn's sanity and reasons behind his feelings. When did he fall for Type? That's the question the drama does not really answer.

Unanswered questions, scenes that seem to have no reason for existing, loose ends - all of them happened at some point. I kept seeing people asking questions about certain plot points and plotlines and the only way to understand the reasoning behind them was to hear from someone who read the novel which was usually followed by continuous excuses of time restriction.

If you know you cannot possibly fit all the plotlines in the time framework set for your drama, you should rewrite it. As much as I liked the “Korean” guy and his roommate, they should not be part of the plot. Not only were their characters not developed, they brought close to nothing to the show, but instead have taken away the precious time that could be used to develop the main plot and explain all the unanswered questions. You need to be smart with how you write and be realistic about it. If you know you only have 12 episodes and a lot of work to be done on the main characters and their relationship, don't waste your time on side characters and plotlines.

THARN'S CHARACTER
I know he has a lot of supporters and many people were extremely protective over him and hated Type quite a lot with how he treated Tharn. That said, while Tharn was quite a nice and sweet guy in the second half of the drama, the first few episodes showed him as a creep who disregards any type of personal space and is willing to sexually harass someone just to get back for the name calling.

Many people may claim that giving someone hickeys without a consent or rather being fully aware the person would not agree to it, is not a big deal, but it is. They were not friends back then, not a couple. Type was asleep after getting drunk. Imagine that you woke up one day and it turned out that some guy you knew, but did not have a good relationship with, gave you hickeys all over your neck and upper torso. Do you find it cute? Romantic? Innocent? I would either call the police or inform my professors about it.

Also, what kind of sane person instead of punching a homophobic asshole says they will screw him? What's in the brain of that man? I would not want to touch a guy like Type with a stick. Kissing him as revenge, giving him hickeys. It's so amazingly illogical I cannot even try to grasp what was going on. All the touching of Type's face and giving him forehead kisses when he was asleep (before they were a couple, back at the beginning when Type hated Tharn) were not romantic. It was gross and weird and inappropriate.

What also amazes me about Tharn, is how not observant and ignorant he is about the feelings of people around him. How he failed to see Lhong was sabotaging all of his relationships? How could he not see the frantic behaviour of Tar when he came to see him, which obviously would lead to the conclusion something is not right? How he ignored Type’s mental struggles and instead of educating himself about the symptoms of his mental health issues, he ignored them.

TYPE'S CHARACTER
Since I'm planning to write in more detail later on about all the mental health issues, I'll just focus on how his character was written. From the beginning there was not much thought put into developing the characters and showing their gradual change and how it happened - as a result, Type’s character is extremely inconsistent. They bring up his trauma and homophobia when it fits the storyline, forget about it when they want to progress the sexy scenes and at the end of the day, nothing makes sense. Even not taking into consideration his hatred for gays, he was not a nice, lovely and a good guy that I would root for. He was an asshole, way too impulsive and had close to zero redeeming qualities. I failed to see why I should cheer for him and his happiness when I simply did not like him as a human being.

MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES
Total disregard of any mental health topics in this drama frustrates me so bad it's exhausting to watch. Let's start with Type being sexually assaulted as a child by a pedophile, in the present times, having phobia and generalized hatred towards gays and PTSD that was miraculously cured by the power of love and blowjobs. No mention of him going to a psychologist or psychiatrist. No previous treatments as a child.

This leads to Tharn's inappropriate behaviour towards Type when he had panic attacks. If you are the clear reason for someone's panic attack and they tell you to let them go in a hysterical manner, you don't hug them closer to you, you let them go and bring help. There is a reason why rape victims are treated by medical staff of the opposite gender than the person who attacked them, why the police officer are not of the same sex as the attacker. The scenes with Tharn being the cause for the panic attack AND the one that calms Type’s down (sometimes with quite sensual touches) just shows how not willing to do any type of research on the topic the writer was.

Episode two, the scene where Tharn almost sits on top of Type, being angry about Type insulting his father - first Tharn is trying to annoy and make Type angry, when Type starts to have panic attack and begs him to let him go, Tharn says “I just want to help you relax. Calm down” as he caresses his face and tight in a clearly sensual manner, Type gets even more anxious still begging for Tharn to let him go and not hurt him. At some point, finally Type is able to move and he kicks Tharn away from himself to which Tharn says “What the hell is wrong with you, Type?” and I want to ask: What the hell is wrong with the person who wrote this scene? If you fail to see how disturbing and wrong and weirdly written this scene is, I have nothing to tell you.

That said, not all of Tharn’s reactions to Type’s attacks were wrong. When Type woke up in the middle of the night and he himself grabbed Tharn and hugged him, it was a good decision to hug him back and with a calm voice make him feel more at ease. This was one of the instances when I was nodding my head thinking - the boy is slowly learning what is appropriate and what is not. The joy was usually short lived though.

The whole PTSD, panic attacks and all the mental health related issues Type had are gone by the time he and Tharn are together. Why? Because they have no purpose to the main romantic plot anymore. They were just tools to make the romance more angsty, be a good excuse for Type’s hatred towards gays and make “steamy scenes” more “steamy”. After all that, without any professional help, by some random miracle, Type was cured. Why exactly do we need mental health professionals when you can just cure your problems with one good blowjob?

The writers also make Tharn look like an extremely self centered person who is not willing to learn and research about the serious topic concerning the person he claims to love. While his lack of proper reaction could be partially an excuse before he knew about Type’s past, after he found out, the fact there was not even one proper serious talk about it amazes me. Not even once Tharn asked if Type often has the panic attacks, how he should act when it happens, if he tried to get professional help. Nothing. The topic is gone and not mentioned again.

Tar’s depression, suicide thoughts and how the heck no one noticed it for so long? I refuse to believe that his brother did not even once come to his room before that one accidental time in the middle of the drama. It’s close to impossible for him not to know how bad his brother’s mental health is, seeing how he wasn’t truly trying to hide it well. Tar was also the only character that was mentioned to receive mental health help from a psychiatrist, how good the help was is a totally different issue. His character is still better “treated” by the writers than Type. They at least tried to show different symptoms of depression and all the more realistic implications it might have.

Lhong’s story is another way of explaining bad behavior by giving a character a tragic past. While I kind of appreciate the additional episode and the background info on Lhong, I’d say it was an amazing waste of time. Good 70% of the time in the episode was just flashbacks to what happened in the previous episode and just a few new scenes showing Lhong’s past. Why not use that time to truly develop and dive deep into this character’s motivation? He obviously had huge mental health issues, yet again, they are not being addressed by anyone.

Both Lhong and Tar should be in observation in the hospital for some time, since they are either a danger to themselves or to others. I guess, mental health help is a concept that does not exist in the universe created by the writer.

San’s love for Tharn when they were younger was quite disturbing too. The idea that he wanted to take Tharn’s virginity because he was young, cute and innocent just sounds wrong for me. Those are the adjectives you use to describe a child. I have no idea how old Sad was when their relationship happened, but it did sound alarming to me.

WHAT I LIKED
I must say, I kind of enjoyed some fluffy scenes of Tharn and Type. I had to force myself to ignore and try not to remember all the stuff that happened in the first half of the show, but when I was able to do that, the scenes were quite cute. I liked the domestic scenes when Type was playing with Tharn hair. I guess I enjoyed their interactions the most in episode 10. Truth to be told, I would not mind this drama that much, or even like it, if the writer did not introduce the topic of sexual assault on the minor and mental health issues that follow. It was just so poorly written, I cannot ignore it.

My favorite character was for sure Techno. He was one of the best written and most realistic ones. Also, probably the only one without huge trauma and mental health issues. I enjoyed most of his scenes and Mild acting was quite good.

One scene that stood out for me was when Type was confronted by his friend after that friend confessed he is gay. It was a well written and well filmed scene. I just wished there was a follow up, since it was an amazing opportunity for Type’s character growth.

It’s important to add: the last episode was a MESS. Like… “how is Lhong not in prison” was the only thing on my mind when I was watching it. I could not focus on anything else.

Overall, the quality of the production was not bad, the acting was good, the chemistry between characters was nice, the music was fine, the technical aspects were well thought through… The writing… was tragic. Did I over-analyze it? Probably. Some might say I should not try to dig deep into this drama since it’s just a romance BL and they are not supposed to be taken this seriously. I would like to say though, the author themselves introduced those deep, tragic and thought provoking themes in it, so I cannot be blamed for taking it too seriously. I cannot ignore such a bad representation. It would make me feel guilty.

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Should have been a special episode only…

Or they should have focused more on Haiba Jin’s point of view. It just did not have much substance for it to be this long.

While I still enjoyed all the episodes, the excitement and anticipation from season one was not there. The whole season felt like a filler. There was not much change in the characters, their dynamics, little to no plot/relationships progression. It was just cute and funny scenes with overall maybe 20 minutes of important things happening that had some impact on the plot. Hence it would be better as a longer special episode.

I wish we had a whole season of what we saw in the last episode - finally getting to know Haiba Jin’s side of the story, his struggles. A little bit more of his serious side. Sadly, the majority of the screen time was still us watching Ochiai Mikoto through Haiba Jin’s eyes. More touches, more romantic scenes and more mutual feelings, but somehow I wished for more character’s progression…

I’d be lying if I said I did not enjoy it though. Hashimoto Ryo as Haiba Jin is unreasonably attractive so no matter what he did, I was glued to the screen. Takaishi Akari as Ochiai Mikoto was just as charming (if not even more) as in season one and her witty remarks and breaking the 4th wall comments brought smiles and laughter to my face. I did like how her gloomy nature did not magically vanish between the seasons - the girl is still depressed, but she is getting so much better now, one smile at the time.

I love the visuals and how at times not in touch with reality the show was. I’m sure I’m not the only one who got addicted to the quirky tone Tsuiraku JK to Haijin Kyoshi presents.

Overall, it was not bad, but it has nothing on season 1. Felt like a transition phase, which might be the case if they decide to do season 3.

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Proves how both real and fake these shows are.

You know how sometimes you finish a drama and you wish to see more of certain characters? Or the supporting couple? Or the future of the ghost ship you just adored? This Reunion delivers just that, but for a dating show.

The production team clearly knew what was popular and what could sell. Seeing the difference of the length between 3 first episodes consisting of the watch party, we know who the main characters were. Mary Sue is still on her path of self improvement and the special episodes clearly show that the “redemption” arc from the last two episodes of Single’s Inferno was not scripted. It was both funny to watch her reactions, but also slightly sad and uncomfortable. Yes, it was an embarrassment of her own doing, but you still feel bad for the girl.

At the same time these few new episodes show how both fake and real these dating programs are. The couple that was most loved seems not to vibe that much, the couple everyone rooted for and got disappointed with the final result reunites, the couple that seemed more one sided is actually the strongest of them all. All that said, I am truly grateful for how honest the cast was. There was no vague: maybe we are dating, maybe we are not. If things did not work out they talked about it and explained shortly why.

Then we have a “special date” in episode 4 that was full of chemistry and future potential.

I wish the last two episodes were actually longer and that the whole cast would be part of the trip. I understand that there might have been a conflict of scheduling and all that, but for what, one day they could not gather everyone? Really? They played it as if only people who had things left to discuss and figure out were part of it, but let’s get real, there were some with zero real connection and conflict in, and some with complicated feelings out.

Overall, still one of the best after shows of the best season of Single’s Inferno.

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So dumb, yet so entertaining.

Deep has a negative brain cell energy and I live for it. It's a pure brainless entertainment: the writer has no brain, the characters have no brain, and by the end of the movie, you will also have no brain.

All the build up tension and clock ticking to the tune of death are hilarious when you know there is a ridiculously easy solution to the dilemma the characters are facing. I was watching the movie laughing, face palming and asking “why y'all making it so difficult when it’s not?”.

I mean, I knew they were all dumb when female lead asked about money and not side effects at the beginning of the movie, even though she is a medical student ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

That said, the characters being so stupid, which leads to the plot being so stupid, was exactly what I liked about it. It’s supposed to be a thriller, but damn, I thought it was some dark comedy on crack.

Production wise it’s cool. Love the soundtrack, and I found it truly fitting. The effect used when showcasing the messed up perception after sleepless nights of the main cast were well done. I had some issues with the directing in terms of pacing… felt a bit jarring.

The plot twist was there… and I was like OH! But then I went into Oh? Wait… what? And then I had to remind myself that no one is using their brain in the movie, so for them the actions might make sense.

Overall, not smart, not groundbreaking, but truly fun to watch. The cast had amazing chemistry and sold the story through their acting. I love the bond, I love the friendship, even if they all shared one brain cell. Stupidity entertaining till the end. It’s the first time I truly adored such a bunch of idiots, and just for that this movie deserves a medal.

That said, Deep left me with one question: How easy is it to study medicine in Thailand if these 4 idiots not only got in, but also passed at least a few semesters?

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The drama had an amazing idea for a great character, but somehow it has slowly been losing the charm the closer to the end we've got.

CHARACTERS
While the writer had a clear idea for both male lead characters, Dong Sik and In Woo, and both of their stories were quite well developed and concluded, Shim Bo Kyung was left to do what usually side characters do - react the right way to progress the plot.

Dong Sik, the definition of a loser, because of a quite humorous and coincidental string of accidents takes the persona of a serial killer. Having an amnesia and being faced with the reality of either being a pushover or a serial killer, he thinks of the former being more painful and scary and he accepts the possibility of being a psychopath, rationalizing all of his humane and empathetic behaviors for them to fit his new identity.

Seo In Woo, a serial killer who thinks he found his soulmate and killing partner in Dong Sik. His growing obsession over Dong Sik leads him to also credit the main lead with more wits, smarts and planning skills than he is capable of. Never being cared for by people in his environment, he hopes for a place of understanding in Dong Sik.

Shim Bo Kyung, who wished to be a detective until her father's accident. Since that time she kept having hallucinations of her father at the prime time of his career. The hallucinations were nothing more than her repressed hopes and wishes to follow his footsteps in the crime department. Sadly, her character in most cases was just used to forward the plot, the idea of hallucinations was not addressed enough. Not to mention her character was extremely inconsistent in terms of her skills. At times she had amazing intuition and deductive skills, but at the same time she failed to notice and connect many, quite obvious clues.
The combination of these three characters made quite an interesting and entertaining story and the ever changing interactions between them made me question who at the moment has the upper hand.

ENDING (no spoilers)
The fact that the ending was quite predictable from the get go was not a problem, since this drama focuses more on the journey not the destination.

PROS
Good acting of all the main and supporting actors, a variety of different characters that make it easier to find someone we can relate to, extremely good chemistry between Dong Sik and In Woo and the shifts in the dynamics between them.

CONS
Too much comedy took away from the serious aspect of the drama and made the villain less scary and impactful (he is a serial killer after all), unrealistic portrayal of police work to the point of it being ridiculous at times, less entertaining second half of the drama, not a strong first episode.

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All it had to offer was chemistry and acting.

What exactly happened? I was in love after the first episode, and then every new one just bought new disappointment. They fast forwarded through the plot and conflicts. You have 11 episodes, stop being greedy trying to fit 5 seasons of content into it.

I’ll start with the good, even great. Amazing? Perfect? Touching? All fitting when talking about the acting and the chemistry between Smart and Boom. As much as the plot was a mess, these two delivered such strong performances at times I was even able to forget how nothing makes much sense. Boom’s portrayal of Akin was phenomenal - the angsty scenes ripped my heart into pieces, the way this man shows pain through his acting is just on the next level.

Smart as Jin? Somehow so convincing and attractive, the borderline (not really) stalker behavior did not even bother me. He did an amazing job balancing the psycho obsessive tendencies with the tender and caring approach. Even though on paper these seem rather contradicting, with how Smart depicted Jin, they created a cohesive and interesting character.

Which leads me to the RIDICULOUSLY GOOD chemistry these two had on screen. I mean… they stole the branding of honey from Winnie the Pooh. Jokes aside, while their scenes were hot, they were not just hot. Whatever intimate scene they presented, under all that make out sessions and more, there were deeper and more meaningful emotions that were clearly presented - be it hesitation, longing, pain, regret, fear, and obviously love.

Sadly, the plot was a completely ridiculous mess and it quite honestly made me angry a few times. From how they didn't really handled at all the topic of obsessive fans, or how there was no actually discussion about sexual assault and the constant blaming the victim - lack of care when writing rather awful dialogues surrounding the subjects. The borderline trauma porn that was Akin’s life - dude could not catch a break at all, they were just dumping issues on him without real resolution for any of them. Sometimes they were focusing the whole episodes on characters that were barely introduced and no one cared about, other times they hinted at some side plots that then never happened. I am being 100% honest when I say it felt like they tried to put 5 seasons into one. And it just did not work.

The styling, directing and editing was quite a unique mix of Thai and Japanese BLs. Not sure how much it worked though. Some scenes I loved, some I was questioning harder than my life choices. As for the music, felt like they just picked a random playlist and put it on shuffle.

I understand why people loved it, but for me it just felt too rough around the edges which led to many moments feeling shallow, some even infuriating. The pace was ridiculously uneven and rushed, the reactions to small issues were exaggerated, while the serious topics were brushed off as if nothing happened. At some point I started to feel exhausted after finishing the episodes.

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It's pure fanservice, but somehow it works. The comedy is silly, the characters are silly and their interactions are silly, and it’s great to watch. It has some touching moments hidden behind the comedy, and watching the characters get close to each other and form a friendship was just enjoyable. So that was a nice light gift for all the fans of the cast members. It wasn't top-notch writing, and it was not supposed to be.

Did I enjoy it? Yes. Some episodes more than others. Some characters were better written with more believable and relatable storyline, some were exaggerated and presented in a comedic way. With such a cast with a variety of truly different characters, I believe everyone will find someone whom they like and relate to.

Episodes focus on different problems all Tee's face and how they help each other overcome them. Not all tries end with success, but that's life. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, but you always have to keep striving for improvement.

I might have enjoyed it more if it was not for episode 7 and the last storyline explored. It made me slightly dislike some of the characters ("slightly dislike" might not be the correct statement, I was truly annoyed when I watched it). The ending was emotionally heavy, but since the set up for it was quite weak, it didn't hit me as hard as it should, taking into consideration the discussed subject.

The acting was good. As always, Gun takes the trophy for the best crying scene. I could see clear improvement from all the cast members (though Krist surprised me the most).

Overall, I would say die hard fans would love it, fans would enjoy it, others it's 50/50 chance of liking or being meh about it. I enjoyed it, but with every episode, my excitement kind of slowly died.

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Like a pack of dry cookies that are strangely addicting, even though they taste like nothing.

I know it’s a drama loved by many, but I’m sadly not in that camp. I still enjoyed it quite a lot, it just never truly moved me that much, and I think that was supposed to be the biggest selling point - how touching it is.

I think the biggest reason I did not fall in love with the drama itself is the fact I never fell in love with two main characters - Choi Woong and Gook Yeon Soo. I was indifferent about them as individuals and completely not interested in them as a pair. Something about how they were written did not click with me.

On the other hand, I adored so many supporting characters with Kim Ji Woong being easily my favorite. Both episodes focused on his point of view were in my perspective the most interesting and engaging. I know for a fact I liked him so much because I related to him in many areas, but that’s the strength of the drama - they present many unique, but realistic characters, I’m sure everyone would find one to relate to.

I’m quite sad how little they showed of NJ. There was not one scene of hers that was boring, some were quite meaningful. I appreciate how they never made her a typical toxic second female lead - her perspective on the whole situation was refreshing.

While I understand the drama portrays a lot of important life lessons that young people face - from teens to late twenties, I weirdly never connected to this presentation. Sure, there were some scenes that were memorable, but overall I don’t think I’m going to remember much after a few months.

Performances? Phenomenal from the whole cast. Exactly zero complaints. The emotional scenes were done well, the comedic bits were truly funny, not one character was miscast.

Overall, while my brain understands why many people loved this show, my heart does not follow.

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When the episodic format was both the best and the worst part of the show.

This is a drama made for all the fans of friendship, bromance, male and female friendships, discussions on the topic of loss and how to deal with it, presented in an easy to digest manner. For all that love great acting and good on screen chemistry. Viewers who like to accompany the characters on their journey to figure out who they are, what they like, what they are good at and who and what they care about. Do you fit in the group? It’s more than likely you will enjoy it.

The best aspect of the drama was easily Tseng Jing Hua’s performance and Pu Yi Yong’s character. There is so much depth in that performance. The best part? The gaze. Depending on the situation Jing Hua was able to completely change the way he looked at people and things, and clearly show the viewers all the emotions the character was feeling. With all the hardships he had to go through after the coma and newly discovered "skills" - we were presented with a strong, but also vulnerable lead.

Yi Yong, Guang Yan and Chu Ying became one of the most entertaining trio I have watched this year. Distinctive personalities which at first seem not to mash up well, created a mix one cannot resist and ends up loving. Yi Yong being the most empathic, Guang Yan - smart and genuine, and Chu Ying driven and motivated, three characters perfectly fitting into a well known trope of “heart, brain and muscle”, but at the same time being more than the two-dimensional trope.

While the separate cases of the spirits and their stories were great and had surprisingly a lot of depth and detailed background, I cannot say the same about the overall arc and plot. And that was my biggest issue - I enjoyed the show when I was watching, but I did not feel the urgent need to check the new episodes as they aired.

Most of the longer plotlines were not elaborated and explored enough and the set up to the conclusion was weak. They dropped some information here and there, but they did not diversify the hints enough. You need to literally cut out and paint your own puzzle pieces to truly create a full picture in your head. There are a lot of great revelations in the last episode, but they would be far more impactful if they were spread in time a bit. Instead of dropping all that’s important in the last episode, how about showing bits and pieces in the earlier episodes? Sounds like a more engaging storytelling method.

Basically - they opened with a really elaborate set up for the characters and their backgrounds, then we get close to nothing for most of the show, just to be hit with a tsunami of information by the end…

As I said earlier, Tseng Jing Hua’s performance was one of the best aspects of the drama, but truth to be told, the whole cast did a phenomenal job. Big props to Jack Yao, who played my favorite spirit.

The production was amazing. Brilliant styling and design for all the spirits - all unique in their own way. Everything just created a cohesive and believable picture, which is honestly not that easy to do, when your show has so many fantasy elements.

All the calligraphy scenes? Pure perfection! From the acting of Tseng Jing Hua (again, how the character’s gaze changed each time he picked up the brush just gave me goosebumps), to the design of the whole process, up to the CGI and camera work!

Overall, great drama that slightly missed the target to be an unforgettable beautiful journey.

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It gave me “30 minutes google search” vibes.

Maybe my expectations were too high since everyone and their mother hyped this drama - how amazing the romance was, the serious topics about idol lives, the acting and production. But why do I feel like it was all so basic?

Was the romance extremely cute? Yes. The chemistry between William and Est was undeniable. It followed quite a few cliches, but executed in such a good way, I didn't even mind. And yet, there was something missing, and that something was the well developed conflict. I rather have them being this fluff from beginning till the end pairing, than see them go through ridiculous, underdeveloped conflict in the second half.

Then we have all the “idol” issues. While they opened up discussion about many problems and restrictions they might face, they were so not serious about being cohesive in the presentation, the whole writing started to fall apart. They talk about how idols are basically stalked and cannot even date in public, but in the same episode the leads are walking around in public hugging and holding hands like there is no tomorrow. Or how CEOs just see idols as products, but also have them out of the blue grow a heart by the end for no good reason. There were many contradictory moments that just annoyed me.

The plot was unrealistic, the resolutions of conflicts and issues were beyond magical and Disney. Everything was introduced, nothing was developed. I don't even want to talk about Earn, because why did this character even exist and why was he not gone for good?

What I did like a lot though was Jun - easily the best character from the whole show. I was actually getting more excited about his scenes than the main couple. He was quite unpredictable, fun, refreshing, cheeky and just slightly annoying.

The acting was surprisingly good for rookies. Here’s the thing though, and that’s something I see in majority of Thai BLs, the romantic scenes are usually better acted than any other scenes in the show. I feel like during their workshop they focus just slightly too much on them, and giving some of that time to practice other scenes would actually improve the overall quality of the drama.

Production was fine. Everything about the idol aspect was mediocre, but even Koreans who are leading in the idol department, also suck with idol dramas in terms of the songs, music videos, choreographies - they just do to match the real quality of the production we see in the industry.

That said, the drama was prettier than most other Thai BLs. There were quite a few scenes I had to take screenshots of, which does not happen that often for me with this genre for this country.

Overall, I had fun, but only a few days passed since I finished it and yet I already do not remember the majority of what I have seen.

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So why was Jae Pil here? - An entertaining failure...

The drama that initially presents itself as a story of female friendship, that's how it sets up the plot, that's who they introduce as main characters, that's how the synopsis is written… and yet the way they went about it and told the story got people hating either female leads and fighting who is worse of a friend. There is no real message, there is no clear vision. There are just things happening and a lot of frustration. It was fun, but at the end felt cheap. Like eating fast food - you might enjoy the taste as you eat, but later you suffer from indigestion.

Personally I think there are 3 major flaws in the show that truly could ruin a viewing experience and almost ruined it for me.

First of all - the hard cut that happened with the time jump. By all means you will basically watch 2 completely different shows. All the character development happens behind the scenes and we never witness it, hence who you saw in the first half is not who you follow in the second half. The transition was poorly planned and delivered. They needed to reintroduce all the characters since they are in a completely different point of their lives which, with how many plotlines the drama had anyway, feels like a waste of time. Even though I prefer linear storytelling, I do believe in this case mixing the two timelines throughout the show would be a better way to present the story and make it feel more balanced.

The time jump leads me to the second issue - Yeong Rae and Jae Pil’s relationship. First of all, no it’s not like I disliked them because I wanted him with Jong Hui (I was full on Jong Hui and Yeong Sik shipper). I disliked them, because the way their story was directed and presented was just trash planning that took away all the things that should make me feel something. Sadly they literally skipped all the butterflies inducing moments, all the build up, falling in love, the moments that made them appreciate each other more. We got none of that - just a short one minute flashback. This is NOT how you write romance. Romance is all about feelings. You cannot just tell me he fell in love with her, because she supported him. You need to show me that journey, I need to experience it with the characters. Otherwise I won’t give a shit. And so I did not give a shit about them. Were they cute when they started to date? Sure. Did I care? No really. I guess I didn’t even dislike them, I just did not care at all.

There was literally zero set up for their romance, at least on Jae Pil’s side. He was completely not interested in her in the first half. There were zero romantic feelings. No attraction. So for that love line the whole first half was useless. Young Rae’s story of falling in love was “love from first sight” that could be done in just one episode. And then after the time jump we are told by all the characters around Jae Pil that there is more between them. Everyone is convinced they will date. Everyone tells him to look into his feelings. And I’m sitting in front of the laptop and think: how the fuck did this happen? When? What exactly made him fall for her? Was it gradual? Was it a specific moment that made him see her in a different light? Why aren’t they showing us THAT? And the way they just wanted to cover it all up with a short flashback montage was a pathetic circus of writing.

Going back to the topic of lack of balance - what was the writer thinking when they decided to put all the pain and misfortune on Jong Hui while surrounding Young Rae with all the love and happiness? What kind of sick trauma porn was it? When yet another bad thing happened to Jong Hui, at some point I just started to laugh, because it was purely ridiculous. While for Young Rae the bad things that happened led to better outcomes long term, even if Jong Hui received something good, it then led to more pain. For example - Yeong Rae got fired from work in an unjust way? Right away she got a new better job with far more opportunities. Jong Hui saved someone from attempted suicide and thought she found a new family and home? The mother turns out to be abusive and manipulative. It was just exhausting to see her get slapped in the face by life over and over again, when by all means she did nothing wrong.

I’m just struggling to grasp and understand what this drama is about. What is the message? Because the last minute happy ending cannot erase all that happened for the remaining 11… Personally life lessons I’ve got from it were:

Life is not fair, deal with it no one cares.
Don’t help people, you get screwed in the process - whenever intentionally or not.
Be selfish - at the end of the day your needs should matter the most.
You cannot escape abuse, life be like: out of the frying pan into the fire.
Also abusers are not really bad people, they are good REALLY DEEP INSIDE and you just have to apologize to them.
Even if you find someone that cares for you, they most likely care for someone else more.
There is no real female friendship if a guy is involved as a third party - only more trauma can bring you back together, communication is overrated.
Being ignorant about other people’s suffering will make your life easier.

And here’s a thing that made me the most annoyed, frustrated and uncomfortable - I started to dislike Yeong Rae as we got closer to the end of the show. She was in fact a great character - smart, dedicated, brave, driven, caring, adorable, bubbly. She did shine bright. But with how sad and tragic Jong Hui’s life was, I sadly could not enjoy her character. When I knew she was able to lead that life, because Jong Hui protected her in the past. When I knew how bad the aftermath of it was for Jong Hui. How she ended up with no support system, thinking of dying, struggling to survive every day, just to end up in a fake doll house with an abusive adoptive mother… It was hard to be happy for Yeong Rae, when her happiness was unintentionally built on someone else’s suffering. And no, it was not Yeong Rae’s fault at all. It’s not like Jong Hui took the blame for something Yeong Rae did. It’s not like Yeong Rae asked Jong Hui to stab the manager. It was Jong Hui’s choice, but with where it led… There were moments where I wished she did not protect Yeong Rae. And for that feeling I blame the writer. Instead of making me root for both female leads, the writer made me resent one, when she did nothing wrong.

No matter what happened, the story always had to go back and focus on Yeong Rae - she was the forefront of the drama, every main plotline led to her and concluded on her. She was the main character and all the rest were just support. And this is not what I wanted to watch. I wanted to see her and Jong Hui together, as partners, and equals, as individuals with their own stories, that are connected by a close bond.

For the minor issues: unreasonable double standard in terms of abuse. Jong Hui’s mother was justifiably pained in bad light for hitting Jong Hui “and loving her when it fits her, and hitting her when things don’t go her way”, but Jae Pil’s dad was “misunderstood soul that actually cares deeply for Jae Pil and deserves apology from Jae Pil for misunderstanding him for years” - excuse me, but what the fuck? No. He was just abusive and trash. He did not deserve the ridiculous redemption and the scene of Jae Pil crying and apologizing made me feel sick.

On the redemption arc - Jong Hui’s brother gets one too. Why? He literally beat her so bad she almost died and was living in fear for years. And now he is not that bad, because he wants to save her? Nope.

What was the point of wasting screentime on Kim Jeong Sik [Bus driver] in the second half? He served his purpose as a dick and created the set-up for romance between Sang Cheol and Jeong Bu with the adorable little family they created. There was literally no real reason for him to show up in the second half - ZERO.

Go Young Sik not having more presence. We truly needed his brain and maturity more amongst that brainless land of lack of communication and stupid decision making.

I do not understand why Noh Sang Sik decided to only get revenge on Jong Hui. Yeong Rae was the one to screw him over first, Jong Hui got involved to help Yeong Rae, Yeong Rae then was the one to blackmail him with what she knew, so he could not step forward and his life got screwed. Don’t get me wrong, if we go by facts his life got screwed because of his own choices only, but from his messed up head perspective, I just do not understand how he did not blame Yeong Rae at all for any of it.

Ko Yeong Rye in the Miss Korea competition made no sense. There was nothing wrong with Ko Yeong Rye, but the girl is not a Miss Korea type. She does not have to be. Her being part of it made no sense in terms of realism.

Moving on to things I actually enjoyed. First of all, the show was somehow both predictable and unpredictable. I feel like the overall big picture was rather obvious. From episode 2 I knew what the end game was, but what the drama delivered was enough ambiguous content that made it possible to dive deep into delulu land with just enough hope for different ships to happen. They were baiting different relationships so skillfully, creating such a good chemistry between different pairings, I believe there is a fun ship for everyone, even if most of them are Titanics.

The friendship between the female leads in the first half was literally the best part of the whole show. Honestly - they were the best ship at first. The level of care and support they had for each other. The fact they both were willing to give up the guy for the other (adorable, but also dumb. Why not have a proper conversation instead of "sacrificing your feelings” when no one asked for that?). There were nice messages about standing up for yourself and your friend, amazing vibes of found family trope.

The acting was great. Kim Da Mi did a phenomenal job presenting first the truly innocent and shy young version of her character, and then more mature and confident, but just as bubbly as an adult. Shin Ye Eun aced presenting how hurt Jong Hui was, while hiding her feelings and pretending to be strong. I feel bad for Heo Nam Jun, because Jae Pil was rather a mess. The least cohesive and constant character. That said, Nam Jun did what he could with what he was given. His scene where he confronted his father in front of the mother’s grave? Amazing. All the other actors and actresses did as much of a great job as the main three. Acting wise there was honestly no real weak link.

Then we have the styling - perfection. While I loved the wardrobe of Jong Hui in the second half, I want to focus on how all the characters had their own style that fitted their personalities and their lifestyle.

Any and all drinking scenes of Jae Pil, Jeong Hyeon and Yeong Sik. You know what I need? I need them to go back in time and reshoot the show so they can add the aftercredit scenes that last for like 5 minutes of these three chilling and drinking after every episode. Or better, give me a spin off focused on their growing friendship.

Just Ko Yeong Sik. God bless him.

Overall… What a ride. Props for evoking so many feelings in me and making me care so much. Too bad they were mostly negative feelings and they made me care about the wrong things that just made the show more frustrating.

PS. Justice for Jeong Hyeon.

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In hell we’ll meet, tortured by the past.

I have such conflicting feelings about this drama. I loved and hated exactly the same aspects of the writing.

This is not a fun romance with excitement and angst delivered by the war context. This is not “Descendants of the Sun” with no real stakes. People die here, painful and tragic deaths. There are real consequences the characters need to face, the traumas are not magically healed. It’s heavy, it's painful. It’s real.

As much as it is a love story, I think the central part of it is the trauma. From a psychological point of view, they did a lot of this right, starting from the diagnosis and ending on the conclusion. Traumatic experiences do not always only lead to PTSD. Sometimes you might end up with anxiety, depression, OCD. So not labeling every character with PTSD was great. Different people will react to situations differently.

Song Ran became depressed, Li Zan who was by all means no cut for the job in the military, ended up with severe PTSD. Benjamin who from a young age led a rather hard life was able to require a lot of emotional resilience and handled the emotional pain in the most healthy way. Sa Xin who lost his mother spiraled into anger and need for justice and revenge.

What's more, I do appreciate how with Li Zan case, they show psychological issues can heavily impact your recovery from physical injuries too. How scary the process of recovery is. How, while taking the first step is the key, it's not the end of it all. Even after seeing the psychiatrist he was still hesitant. He did not follow up. He claims to be better. He kept lying to himself and to others. So sometimes it's easier to convince yourself you are getting better and you can push through it by yourself. Fooling yourself you are stronger than you truly are.

Then we had Song Ran - what a great portrayal of depression and anxiety. How from the outside she might have seemed fine, but we as viewers saw how she was not, how she was honestly barely holding up at times. I love how they didn’t show depression as this 1:0 idea - you are either completely dysfunctional, or fine. With depression you can also have good days, you can be happy, smile.

What’s so tragic for me is - this is a love story that should have not happened for Song Ran’s sake. She could have healed from her depression, she could have gotten better, if it was not for Li Zan constantly re-traumatizing her with his actions. Li Zan was such a great and complex character.

I could write a whole essay just about him. A man that had skill that could save many people, but also no psychological advantages and strengths required to do the job. I love how this drama shows good intentions do not mean good results. How traits we see as good: empathy, selflessness, compassion, in extreme situations can be a person's biggest flaws. Li Zan has a savior complex and there was no good way out of the situation he was in. Not going to Easter Country would eat him alive from the grief and guilt of not helping when he can. Going back to Easter Country means getting more traumas on top of the ones he did not heal from. He hurt himself, he hurt people he loved, but he also saved so many lives. But no matter the choice, he would be feeling guilty and that feeling would slowly kill him. It’s a tragic story that could not have a happy ending.

I know there are different opinions about the ending, but for me it’s rather clear him and Song committed suicide. He understood she would never leave him alone. She understood he will never get better. They decided to be together till the end. And they decided when the end will happen. From the scene of them talking about reincarnation, to the narrated goodbye letter to the parents, not once showing them interact with anyone after it was written. Even the oversaturated editing that made them glow in the last scene - that’s the tragic ending I think the majority of us knew will happen, even if we wanted to live in denial till the end.

At the same time at some point I was getting tired with how "realistic" the drama was. Yes, the recovery from any psychological issue is a whole journey, but this is a show... it has to be presented in a way that reflects reality WHILE keeping the viewers engaged and not exhausted. We are running in circles with little to no development. The message was clear, but they still hammered it over and over again.

The repetitiveness at some point crossed the line from - that's how life works, to - well now I don;’t feel as emotionally impacted by what I’m seeing, because I saw more or less the exact same scene in this show five times already.

It kind of starts to feel like a trauma porn... no balance of anything. There are no ups and downs. It's just down, down.... and a bit more down until we are in a fucking hell of traumas and mental disorders and bad news and no happiness and no rays of hope. Especially on Zan’s part. Song at least vented her sadness to him, and he just took it all in, when he couldn’t even handle his own feelings, not to mention help others dealing with theirs. He was emotionally overworked and it's exhausting to watch.

I am aware that the drama truly showed just glimpses of how bad a real war is. This is nothing compared to reality. But this is not reality. This is not a documentary. I do think that it’s a valid criticism of how far they tried to make the audience feel sad and bad. A Perfect example was Ben’s death which was extremely unnecessary. What was the point of killing Ben? What did it bring to the story? To the message? Other than dumping more trauma onto the viewers? Especially with how they set it up with Ben’s talks about how he found a new family in his friends, how he felt more grounded and alive than ever before. Scenes of his plans to start over and get a degree in journalism. They did everything they could to make Ben’s death feel as tragic and painful as it could get, and I do not understand why. It’s just dumping trauma for the sake of trauma alone.

Moving on from the sadness into more happy/good aspects: I cannot ignore the bromance between Ben and Sa Xin. I honestly went crazy for these two. By all means they followed so many dynamics of a typical straight secondary couple. They shared such a profound connection and care for each other, it was hard not to want something more from them. The writing team did all they could to include as much of them as possible, by passing the censorship by giving Ben a “romantic interest” that got barely any screen time or depth. I will die on this hill - Dr. Pei existed just to pass the censorship.

Now, I need to talk about the performances. I want to be clear - the whole main cast did a stellar job with their portrayal, but Chen Zhe Yuan delivered probaby the best performance of his life and everyone else just faded into background. I am speechless. I knew he was good, I did not know he was this good. I don’t even know how to express how impressed I am by each and every scene he delivered. How much Li Zan changed as the character, how well Zhe Yuan was able to transition from this confident man to a shell of his past self. How you could feel the silent pain when he was trying to hold it all in, and the raging despair when he was breaking down thinking Song was hurt and dead. Be it subtle representation of extreme emotions, or completely uncontrolled misery - he did not waste one second of his screen time.

On the other hand… the way the poor dubbing and acting of the majority of foreigners often completely took me out of the scene I was watching was simply disappointing. such a high quality of drama and production, with such a low quality of casting for guest and bits parts.

Then we have the soundtrack. I am not a person that pays that much attention to the music in dramas and music unless it’s extremely good, or extremely bad. Here the extremely good fits perfectly. Some of my favorite songs were: Ignite Me On Fire, Into the Pieces, Find My Way Back to Life, Home. As a whole the OST is an easy 10/10 (except for that do re mi fa sol la song, I cannot with that chorus, it should not exist).

For the production - impressive. The fighting scenes were well choreographed and it made sense there were not that many of them - no one has hand to hand combat during wars, they use guns. The explosions were surprisingly well produced too. We know how off Chinese dramas can get with their CGI and special effects, so I’m glad they put quite a lot of effort to make it good here. What’s more? Really well done prosthetic make up for Zan’s fingers. I was curious if they would just cleverly use angles or make him hide in hand all the time, and I was surprised they actually made the effort to show us how it looks, and also make it look realistic.

Overall, this was for sure a journey. Emotional and tragic one. Maybe a bit too tragic on the delivery. At some point I felt like the tragic scenes were not even said, because they did not make much sense plot wise. Maybe if the show was a little bit shorter - 30 episodes would probably be enough to present the same story with the same impact, but less repetitiveness. As human beings we get desensitized after being exposed to the same thing over and over again, and the writers did not take that into consideration when planning how to present the plot.

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The gem among the online content.

I don’t think it’s possible to find a more real, fun and natural show than this. Never seen actors, idols or other celebrities act more like themselves than here - no censoring of behavior, no fake politeness. Jessi knew how to bring the best out of people and make it amazingly entertaining, while staying true to herself.

She made every segment of the show so fun to watch. Her bold and open attitude left no room for boredom. Yes, she is loud and might seem intimidating at first, but the girl has a pure and loving heart. Even if I was not exactly a fan of the person whom she interviewed, the episodes were still extremely funny to watch - she has that talent.

Script? Don’t know her and neither does Jessi. You can see how she flips through the pages and at the end says whatever she seems fitting for the occasion. The lack of formality and more “chatting with a friend” and less “being interviewed by MC” vibe created a good space for celebrities to be more themselves without feeling judged.

I truly have nothing bad to say. I rewatched so many episodes it’s scary. Some of my favorite episode include ones with (in chronological order):
Haha (07), Eric Nam (10), Lee Sang Yeob (25), Sung Hoon (36), Highlight (49), TXT (63), Ateez (68), ITZY (69), Haha (79), A Pink (85).
As you can see, for many of them idols were the guests. We know how careful of their image they are, so it was refreshing to see them just have fun, joke around and be influenced by Jessi’s “I don’t care” attitude.

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