Kate

Simplistic symbolism and how being a teenager is actually hard.

A rare case when my brain sees all the flaws, but my heart says: I don’t care. The whole show has a great juvenile charm to it, and the sloppy storytelling and in your face symbolism just adds to it. Sure, I strongly believe that with a few different directing choices this could easily become one of the best BL shows up to date, but even as it is right now, it’s truly enjoyable.

Yes, the setup on the surface is painfully stupid. We are sold the story of this abusive authoritarian school and students fighting for their rights, but what is presented is 3 students not wanting to wear uniforms. Is it that simple? No. It was never about uniforms, it was about self expression and more accurately sexuality.

The uniforms and the rules were supposed to represent the norm in terms of sexuality. Following the rules in school meant following social norms. Suppressing your sexuality to fit with what was established and deemed as "normal". The whole show is a commentary on the conservative and outdated ideas and how they harm the youth. It’s a great subject with a idea on how to present it, but not as good of an execution.

The storytelling was not detailed enough. We are presented with a wall of rules that were established, yet we actually know about only two. What are the others? No idea. What consequences are the students facing if they break the rules? No idea. There is the curse, but that’s it. Where are the parents? The whole adult side of the show is ridiculously unbelievable.

On the other hand, it made perfect sense why the teens were being “overdramatic” - they are teens. Suppression of individuality at the time when it's most crucial to figure yourself out is not really a small thing. The Eclipse did a great job to make me sympathize with the issues these kids were facing and how big of an impact it has on them. From the point of view of an adult, my initial reaction was: why are they so dramatic? Just be patient for the next few months, graduate and move on. But that type of thinking is the issue - if they are told to follow the rules and not question anything now, how will they learn to fight for their rights later? Their actions as teens will shape their behavior, motivations, personalities later on. Nothing really changes as you grow up. First you are told to do what your teachers say, later you are told to listen to your professors. Then you need to follow your bosses instructions. That’s why it’s so important for the youth to ask questions, debate, reflect on the problems and issues and not just do what adults tell them.

For the characters, the leads were phenomenal - both in the writing and portrayal. Seeking validation and purpose. Sticking to the role one obsesses over, because it feels like it's the only thing that defines who we are. The fear of being seen as disappointment. The drama also touches on the subjects of depression and suicide. How we should not judge one’s struggles based on our own standards. How we should be patient with others, because we cannot know and truly understand what they are going through.

What I appreciated the most was the takes on coming out and accepting your sexuality. It’s not the “I don’t like guys, I only like you”. It’s not “everyone is either gay or loves gay”. None of the unrealistic scenarios here. It often takes time to figure yourself out, it takes time to accept what you find, it takes time to then admit it to others. In that aspect I could not like the relationship between Akk and Ayan more. Not to mention one of the best on screen chemistry I have seen in ages.

For the acting, I've been a fan of Khaotung for some time. Realistically speaking, he is one of the best that Thai BLs can offer. I rewatched some scenes simply because of his performance. Thank god First was cast as his co-star, also delivering a solid portrayal.

Production wise I don’t really have complaints. I think some of the setup and directing ideas were too big for the production team, which led to a few questionable and ridiculous takes, but damn the show was pretty.

Overall, I liked it a lot. Yes, the setup and the way they decided to present some serious issues was questionable, but I still believe it was better than the majority of BLs out there. The biggest problem was the transition from rules at school being the issues, to how they relate to the overall social norms and homophobia - it was too jarring. You get the idea behind it all, but you still feel like it’s a bit too disconnected from each other.

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62 days in - no signs of true romantic affection.

If you saw the show, you know what I mean. If you did not see, you can vaguely get what I mean. Can’t believe I’m saying it, but it would be so much better if it was not a BL.

Let’s start with some positives. I truly loved how everything here was rather selfish, even when they tried to do things for the other person. Good intentions are not always enough, and expecting gratitude just for the effort, when the result is not preferable is again - egocentric. And I loved it.

While the story might have been lackluster, the characters were actually well written and really consistent. No weird change of behaviors because the scene needed it, no quick character development that removed all the flaws and made the leads saints. Both the leads were frustrating (one more than the other), but they also made sense in their behavior - I might have been mad, but I understood where their behavior came from.

Sadly, the plot did not present the same level of cohesiveness. The first two episodes were great in terms of pacing - proper set up and characters’ introduction. Nothing felt rushed, and that’s what killed the show. Taking the sweet time in the first half forced the director to cram all the important plotlines in the last two episodes - just the highlights of a story, nothing gets truly resolved nor developed.

I don’t want to talk about chemistry. It was great when they were friends, but it stayed “friendly” till the end of the show. 2gether hi5 had more romance behind it, than whatever they tried to do there. I loved the low-key angst and the confusion that came from not realized jealousy, but all that buildup led to nothing.

The acting was decent, but got worse the closer to each other the characters got. The editing was fine, but got worse the closer to the end we’ve got. The directing was nice, but got worse each episode. You get what I mean - all went downhill real fast.

Overall, as much as I enjoyed the first 4 episodes, I truly disliked the next 4. Last two? I was just laughing. Conflicts came out of nowhere, none of the characters actually talked about the events and issues, as if they did not exist. We skipped through so much, it was all meaningless by the end.

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Finding joy and staying patient while living the mundane life,

as we all learn to find beauty in the tiny moments - a smile from a child, sun coming through the branches of the trees, other people’s happiness.

Perfect Days is weirdly relatable in its simplicity. Smiling because of the shadows dancing on the wall is something that happens to me often - little moments that when appreciated, can make your day better. The movie allows you to stop for a minute and take in all the everyday wonders we often miss.

Watching Hirayama enjoy his daily routines and finding things to appreciate when the known pattern is broken made me think that every situation comes with a set of things to welcome with gratitude and things to be patient about. No bad moment lasts forever, no happy moments can exist, if we don’t notice them.

Yakusho Koji’s performance alone could be seen as the 8th wonder of the world. Even with little to no dialogue, he was able to express all the depth and internal complexity. Hirayama truly is a character we could learn from - patient, kind, helpful, giving, perceptive, diligent. Someone who cherishes each and every moment finding time to note the beauty of his surroundings.

Visually speaking I was in awe when watching it in the cinema. The use of light and shadows, well crafted set designs, interesting shots and angles - while I am glad I was able to see it all on the big screen, I also wish I could take screenshot of each and every scene and be able to come back to the pictures representing the beauty of the daily life.

Inspired by the movie, let me name a few things that brought a smile on my face in recent times:

How shadows that added to the beauty of the art I was viewing, creating a unique experience for that specific moment.
A cute drawing kids made with a chalk on the pavement.
The sun making the water flicker as if the waves were carrying little diamonds.
How a dirty window on the bus stop actually made the sunset I saw look even more magical.
How I drew a smile on a mandarin and it smiled at me the whole lecture.

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Slice of life with touch of investigation and grim undertones.

Technically The Silence of the Monster had all the typical slice of life elements - a group of characters creating a bond with each other, learning many useful and meaningful life lessons and learning how to overcome their struggles and traumas. It was cute and fun to watch. And yet, the drama managed to add the darker twist to it all, making it seem like the happiness was diluted, and the bubble could burst any time.

It was all possible thanks to the characters and how they were portrayed - especially for Luo Bin and He Chu Feng. The events of their past were still haunting them in the present, and even though they tried to move on, sometimes you need to face the tragedy, before you can build your happiness.

Luo Bin and Chu Feng had a great dynamic going on - one more reserved, the other not being able to stay still and quiet for more than a few minutes. What the show did well was giving small tweaks to who we thought the characters were. Chu Feng was not really this cold and quiet type, and Lou Bin was not as happy and carefree as it seemed.

On the other hand, while I enjoyed Sui Yi a lot, her character had nowhere near as much depth and complexity as the two male leads. For me, she represented the normality in the show - pretty, smart, hardworking, good natured. She brought the sunlight and warmth to Monster Vintage.

But then, we have Xiao An, whom I would not even consider one of the main characters. She showed up really late, she had little to no personality and presence on the screen. The development of her relationship with other characters was poorly paced and she never truly seemed like a part of the team for me.

The plot of The Silence of the Monster might seem like an investigation focused story, but for me, playing Sherlock Holme was more of a means to deliver the messages. It never felt like the focus was on the cases themselves, but rather on the people involved, especially the victims. Through the investigation, the drama presented many important social and personal messages. It tackles subjects like stalking and cyber crime, prejudice, animal cruelty, divorce/remarriage and the impact it might have on the child, mental health issues, trauma, the consequences of the white lies, and many more.

Sadly, plot wise, around episode 20 it all slowed down and I started to lose interest. The cases were nowhere near as interesting as the ones at the beginnings, the transition from the case by case scenario, to linking them to create a bigger picture was questionable. And the big bad guys were simply laughable.

The performances in most cases were great. I especially liked the raw emotions Annie Sun showed in the last few episodes. Both Bi Wen Jun and Zhu Zheng Ting had a strong delivery throughout the whole show. Ye Peng was capable of portraying Gu Nam in a way I had moments when I did empathize with him, even though I completely disagreed with his actions. The only performance that did not convince me at all was Baby Zhang, but it’s hard for me to judge how much was it the actress's fault, and how much I should blame the writing of the character.

The thing that stood out the most in a positive way were the costumes, styling, set designs, sceneries and the soundtrack. The whole show seemed like a piece of art, proven by 468 screenshots I took. I loved the vintage vibes they used, that felt stylish and not outdated. I liked a lot of the wide shots with the focus point not being in the center, but rather on one of the sides.

Soundtrack wise, I think Clare Duan - Tao Hao was my favorite song, but honestly speaking, literally every song was perfect and a gem worth adding to the playlist. Well fitting the drama, the scenes and the atmosphere created by the visual means.

Overall, it was a great watch, but the few complaints I had, had quite an impact on the overall quality of the show. It’s still worth watching and diving into the mysterious, but somehow welcoming and warm world of Monster Vintage.

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What a nice surprise. I started the drama with zero knowledge and expectations. I knew the acting would be top notch with a cast like that, but truth to be told, the story did not sound like something I might enjoy. Well... I was wrong.

I fell for each and every character presented. This is how everyone should write interesting, fresh, original and flawed ones. I hated so many of the choices they made and actions they took, but I could understand why they did them. All the bad behaviors were never excused, but always explained. And I found it extremely refreshing.

The story slowly presents to you that whatever happens is almost never just one person's fault. At the end of the day, it is your choice to stay in a bad situation and turn a blind eye to what happens in your surroundings.

The drama has a lot of really meaningful and deep messages, including: consent in a relationship, understanding your worth, impact the past struggles have on your current self, fear of happiness and losing it. You learn as you watch it. More than once I read a line a character has said and just simply nodded my head in agreement.

Any flaws? The ending was too good. I was quite honestly hoping for some twist by the end. I was sad with how Maru and Soo Kyung's story was dealt with. There clearly were hints left, but they never followed with any conclusion. It's worth mentioning the painfully unnecessary Dong Goo's story line. From the beginning till the end, I was not even slightly interested in his character and the romantic subplot he's got.

Overall, I believe it's an extremely underrated drama and I wish more people would give it a shot. The first two episodes might leave you speechless and it's hard to understand the characters and their motivation, but as we get to know them better, they start to feel like old friends. The familiar feeling just calls you in.

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It’s a bit like an extremely pretty art, but then you find out it was made by AI and it starts to feel a bit empty. On paper it’s a perfect soft angst full of longing and pinning, but the closer you look, the more imperfections you find.

While I did find the overall idea behind the story compelling, I’m not so sure about the execution, especially on Ikegami Fumiya's side. He did not tell the truth with hopes it will save the relationship, as they can start over, but then he kept making sure to not cross the line between roommates and potential romantic partners. This behavior was something I did not quite understand. My guy was in a risky business - deciding to hide the past in hopes for a better future, without actually being sure Ritsu will never remember their relationship, and without actually trying to be with Ritsu in the present.

That said, I actually find Ritsu harder to figure out and judge. We know little about him before the accident, and his present self was driven by what he forgot - trying to remember and being confused about his place and life. Because of that, he felt less defined than Fumiya and harder to connect to.

Since this is a relationship and character driven show, I put some effort into trying to understand the characters, and that was the mistake. If you try to dig deeper into what is happening on screen, you start to see a lot of small things that make little sense and at some point it becomes a pile too hard to ignore. I think the best way to watch it is just accept whatever they throw at you without asking too many questions.

Acting wise, it had its ups and downs. For the most part I had no complaints. The slightly dull delivery was clearly the directing choice to fit the overall atmosphere of the drama. That one time Honda Kyoya literally squeezed that one tear out of his eye made me chuckle.

That said, I still think it’s a solid melancholic watch. Some of the editing and the transitions between the scenes might be a bit confusing, but for some strange reason it adds to the charm. In a subtle way it shows how all relationships need work, and without addressing the core issues, you cannot start over and be happy, even if you get to hit the reset button.

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In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to choose your line.

So much was happening, but also nothing was happening, and how is that even possible?

If we talk about the actual events, this is a 40 minutes movie at best. Exorcism, chat, death, chat, exorcism, chat, exorcism - more or less the plot. But if we take into consideration the topics introduced in said chats - that's a one semester lecture for you. Lack of faith in the men of faith. The misogyny in church and the lack of equality between men and women. Nuns doing tarot readings? Sure. Also power team of nuns and schaman doing exorcisms. I guess. Then we have illness, I guess shame, but that was no explained at all. One could say this was a women empowerment movie, but was it really? And then the whole final sequences, as beautiful as it was, it was also painfully dumb.

Even Song Hye Kyo was a hit or miss depending on the scene. Her nonchalant and confident scenes were great, but every time she tried to be more angry domineering and scream it just felt painfully flat. I feel like at least for some lines, if they switched her raised voice to really chilling whisper with the music going quiet, it would have far more impact.

Moon Woo Jin did amazing job holding back laughter, because that performance was just ridiculous. In a good way. It was exactly what the director and writer wanted, that's clear.

Lee Jin Wook was there, acted like an asshole. Was gone. He is not the main role, that I can tell you, and Jeon Yeo Been while definitely more prominent, had to somehow deliver character that brought nothing on the screen.

What's good? The movie was beautiful. Quite a few breathtaking scenes and good use of special effects.

Overall, pass - in both senses of the world. I'm not mad I watched it, it passed. But also, don't waste your time, pass.

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I am tired of dramas giving me plot points, rather than plotlines.

I honestly do not understand why writers, directors, producers - anyone and everyone who has any say in the final product, are so stubborn into adding so many unnecessary plot lines and characters, when the majority of the short shows would work so much better with minimal effort, serving just the good vibes.

What I enjoyed about the show: the dynamics between the leads. The tiny twist to “enemies to lovers” trope was done in a refreshing way - adding both the tension and comedy depending on the situation. I liked how consistent the characters were. Best example - the difference in their dreams, and how it then corresponds to reality. Tiny details that just made sense. I liked how they both had clear internal issues they had to work through, and how they unintentionally helped each other deal with them.

I also liked the initial disagreements in the team based on their completely different goals and motivations. Them slowly starting to work together when they understood they can both benefit from cooperation was for sure one of the highlights.

And that would be enough for an 8 episode drama to be good. Focus and develop just these two aspects of the plot. But no, you need to make it more complex than it needs to be, add more unnecessary external drama. Create a huge issue just to solve it in 5 minutes. Why? I am tired of dramas giving me plot points, rather than plotlines. Nothing is developed or truly explained, because there is not time to do that.

I love how the poster makes it seem like it will focus on football, and have a rather big cast of important characters, when in reality the football did not matter at all and half of the people we see in the poster are there to fill the space so the locker room will not look too empty. They used their phones to film content more often than they kicked ball. Where was the balance?

The performances were rather good. Nothing too amazing, but I partially blame it on choppy editing and not so smooth storytelling. For a tiny budget it apparently had, the production was good. For sure did not stand out in a negative way compared to the majority of the other k-bl from the past few years.

Overall, it was not bad, but it was not good? The type of a show you won’t regret watching, but it’s not exactly something you would recommend others to watch either.

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Mediocre male characters that still somehow made the fans fight.

For a drama that on the surface, on paper seems to present many interesting issues, fun plotlines, entertaining characters - this was a massive fail. With all that was technically going on in the drama, the fact that “which male character should the female lead end up with” was the hottest topic among the viewers shows how unengaging everything was.

Here’s the thing, I actually enjoyed it at first. Do Hae Yi was refreshingly bubbly and shameless about her love for money. Her enthusiasm and energy seemed realistic and fun. Loved her interactions with all the characters and was curious about a potential character development and possible change of priorities in her life (or at least some adjustments). For the most part her character was painfully stagnant, just to start hiding things and being less straightforward in the later episodes. They tried to fix that in last few episodes, but it was too little too late.

Characters wise, it felt like a huge waste of initial set up. More or less none of the characters got any development. They started and finished on the same note. We got some small changes of personalities in some side characters, but the mains were completely forgotten. The writers suddenly remembered they should do something about the main cast in the last two episodes, so everything felt rushed.

I knew we would get a typical love triangle, but with the addition of the mystery, I thought this would actually be an interesting watch. How wrong I was. The love triangle was painful to watch, since none of the male leads was that good or interesting. One, while interesting as a character and having quite a well built story around him, had an unhealthy obsession over Hae Yi. The other had the personality of a white wall and no depth, which made him simply uninteresting. Can believe we all had arguments about these basic boys in the comment section. It did have a great set of supporting characters though.

I honestly don’t want to even talk about the mystery aspect. It went from tense unknown, to barely existing, to murder thriller levels of ridiculousness. The culprit was a clown and their reveal made most of the audience question the writers’ choices. I never felt less interested in the “bad guy” reveal and the fact we had to wait so long to get any answers about the motive added to the issue.

An aspect I actually truly loved about the show were female friendships and support. There were no unnecessary catfights, no random jealousy - far more support, understanding and encouraging each other. Especially from Hae Yi and Sun Ja, and Choon Yang and Jin Hee. Honestly, I would not mind if they put more focus and gave more screen time for the mothers.

On a completely subjective note, one of my side ships failed and it made me sad. The potential behind that couple was amazing, and it was dropped for the more obvious and less complex one.

I did enjoy Han Ji Hyun’s performance. She was the only memorable part of the show. Making such an exciting, hype and enthusiastic character still feel realistic and not cartoonish couldn’t be an easy job, but she was able to achieve a believable result. Yes, the character was annoying in the second half, but that’s on the writing not the acting.

Another performance that caught my attention was Baek Ji Won as Hwang Jin Hee - Sun Ho’s mom. Her comedic addition had an underlying sadness and desperation to it, and I loved that this complexity was shown even in the limited screen time.

As for Bae In Hyuk - oh boy. I feel bad for him. He is not a bad actor, but anyone who watched Cheer Up would probably assume he is. I honestly believe the issue was the writing of Jungwoo and not the acting itself. Portraying a character that is so poorly written is just extremely hard.

Production value was high, but what’s the point when the story was not?

Overall, the show did not really deliver the cheers, nor the romance, nor the mystery. The friendship between Do Hae Yi and Joo Sun Ja was amazing and one of the limited saving graces of the show.

The show just left me frustrated. It had great potential to be a fun, light teen drama about coming of age, building friendship, learning how to give and receive help. How to believe in yourself, but also believe in people around you. And yet they wasted a good 80% of the time on useless, boring love triangles and mess of a bullshit mystery.

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“It hurts because you seem so comfortable leaning back into sadness.”

Butterfly instead of white rabbit, magician instead of Mad Hatter, magical world and a lot of unresolved emotional trauma - get ready for it all. The Sound of Magic delivers both the enticing fantasy and the harsh reality.

A lot of the things I liked about it, the details in the created world, were the result of the hard work of the webtoon writer Ha Il Kwon. The best examples are the names of the main characters - 아이 (child), 일등 (first; if we add his surname to the mix, it would literally mean I am first) that represent the internal conflicts the characters were facing. Seems on the nose? Maybe, but it fits the story and the approach they took with presenting it.

Ai was forced to grow up fast because of her family situation. Her dreams, hopes, wishes were all focusing on gaining money, as she believed being poor was the reason for her misery. She viewed every situation in her life from the perspective of her financial situation. She did not want to believe in magic, since for her, magic symbolizes hope for better life. All the good things end, like waking up from a beautiful dream, so why even start when you are deemed to be disappointed at the end, when you are back to unfair reality?

Ildeung follows the path his parents picked, doing his best to stay at the top. This takes a toll on his mind and his body. He realizes how trapped he was, yet he wasn’t sure if he is brave enough to stop chasing after the future his parents chose, and try to find his own path. His whole arc was built on small things that might seem like non existing issues, but in reality can take away your sense of individuality and self-worth: things like his dad not calling him by his name, but “Na Jin Man’s boy” - first he is his parents’ son, then he is himself.

Both main characters do not know how to be happy, feel free, make personal choices, act like children their age. And this is the story of them slowly freeing themselves from the cages they were locked in.

It’s hard to talk about Ji Chang Wook’s character without diving into spoilers, since we are mostly kept in the dark about who he is and his past till the end. That adds to the thrills though, creating that mystical and magical aura around him, making the viewers question if the magic is real till the last moment. I was invested in the simple question: who is this magician?

What I also liked about the show is how it spoke about the faults in adults while also not truly making the adults into villains (mostly). Some of them were annoying, sometimes acted unfair or selfish, but most of them were not evil, they were just humans.

The performance from the cast was great. Yes, some movements and facial expressions during the musical numbers were rather cringe and awkward, but it happened only a few times. I was quite surprised by all the emotional scenes, since they all hit me hard (yes, I cried), especially any scene with Ji Chang Wook in the second half - been a while since I enjoyed his performance so much.

Visually they did more than I ever expected. A few times the special effects, especially in terms of the motion, were slightly off, but nothing that would take away from the stunning pictures created.

A lot of the songs had stage-like performances that just sucked me in and I could not take my eyes off it. The A Curse of Asphalt scene was especially breathtaking, even though compared to some other songs, it had a more simple approach. Yet, with how instrumental, lyrics, vocals, visuals, set design, arrangement, all fitted perfectly like puzzle pieces, this song became my favorite performance.

Were the musical aspects all that perfect? No. Some songs just felt awkward with how they were placed in the story, at times feeling unnecessary. I understand why it became a musical-like drama, some lyrics had a really strong message and the performance features added to it - which would not be possible to achieve with simple dialogue. That said, at times I would skip a song or two as they felt redundant at that specific moment.

Speaking of music - all the instrumentals are to die for. Some melodies reminded me of Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland movie (2010) - which fitted the theme perfectly. Even the sound design at times surprised me - taking into consideration the place the songs were sung in and mixing the vocals according to it.

Overall, I truly enjoyed it a lot. Had some questionable choices, acting and directing wise, but I still believe it’s a solid drama. While at first I was not sure about making it into a semi-musical, after seeing all the episodes, I understand the value that was added with some numbers and I appreciate the rather bold move they took with it (let’s get real, musicals are not exactly a mainstream genre loved by all). Ending review with a quote that I loved:

“Flowers don’t bloom on smooth asphalt, but on bumpy dirt”.

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Horny zombies? Did we really need this movie to exist?

When I started the movie, I was ready to keep my finger on the skip button. I read so many people talking about how explicit it is. Even though I am not easily fazed, better safe than sorry. I also got my drink ready… And oh boy I needed that drink double strong to survive this.

This is basically a torture porn here to only deliver shock value content. I don’t know what the movie is supposed to be? It’s not the case of people just losing control over the primal urges, because violence is not one of them. We are literally wired as social creatures by nature. So while the zombies were not brainless, they were still zombies with little to no agency since the virus turned them into violence seeking assholes. So it’s not like an amazingly fresh take on zombies…

The only thing the movie has to offer is gore and, for some twisted people, content fitting their rape fantasis. Some of the gore was gross, some was so ridiculous I actually laughed out loud. One dude lost the amount of blood that no human can possess in their body. There is literally nothing worse than a movie that is both gross AND dumb. I gave up everything when the female lead just sat down in the staircase chilling and also took her shoes off. SHE TOOK HER SHOES OFF DURING ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE.

I give half a point for the acting and half the point for some gore. That’s it. There is no plot, some violence scenes are painfully dumb, all rape scenes are gross. This movie literally serves nothing worth watching.

I want to be clear though, I have no issue with excessive violence in movies, but it has to serve a purpose. Violence for violence is just boring. When the credits rolled I am sure I just looked like a disappointed parent, when your child acts so stupid you have hardly anything to say and just leave the room.

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I appreciate the attempt, I question the presentation.

I’m not sure how I feel about this drama. Being romance driven, I cared about romance the least. While I loved the gradual healing on Uea’s side, I do believe the level of trauma this child had to face in such a short period of time (screen time wise) made it a bit ridiculous for me. By the 3rd toxic person in his life I just started to laugh… And it’s not like this scenario is completely unrealistic - many people who were victims become victims more than once. That said, the way they presented it with lack of good spacing in time and pace, I just could not take it seriously. The presentation was just lacking too much.

I also could not get on board with how Uea treated King a few times closer to the end. Everything that happened at first is understandable - miscommunication happens, especially if you don’t trust the person yet. At some point though, it felt more like Uea testing King for no other reason than enjoying watching King plead. Even that would not bother me if they established it’s something King is into, but they did not. So it seemed like a mind game when King had to constantly prove how much he loves and respects Uea to the point of asking before he can touch him (and I don’t mean in a sexual way, I mean literally any way) and being denied by Uea with a smirk on his face. That’s when I started to think - maybe Uea is truly completely not ready to be in a healthy relationship and needs to book a visit to a therapist first. It’s not like it happened a lot, but enough for me to feel a bit uncomfortable.

While I loved King, I also find him painfully underdeveloped and one dimensional. Net did a great job with acting, but the writing of the character itself was empty.

As for the nsfw scenes - let’s say I’m glad I watched the cut version, because even that was a level of cringe I could barely handle. Most of the bed scenes made me laugh, some skipped completely.

Acting was decent - big props to all the villains, perfect presentation that made me hate them with a passion. Net did great with some vulnerable scenes, but James sadly does not have enough skills yet to truly deliver the pain and suffering Uea as a character was internally going through.

Production was okay. Lately a lot of BLs are truly overdoing it with the blur filter on actors faces making them look like Barbie dolls - ain’t fan of that. Last episode was more like a bonus than the continuation of the plot - everything was concluded and there was nothing left to add. Personally, I was kind of bored watching it.

Overall… I don’t know. I kind of enjoyed it? It led to a few interesting conversations I had with folks on mdl, but I find it sad that most complex ideas came from the community and not the show itself. A lot of things were truly basic and simplistic, and by now I think we can expect a bit more nuance from the genre.

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A little bit too ambitious…

Here’s the thing, I refuse to give brownie points for a good idea that was not quite well executed. Time travel romance is hard, because if you want to do it well, it won’t be easily digestible. Why? Because old times were awful. And that’s where I Fell You Linger In The Air fails - the realism of the setting.

Did I enjoy Jom and Yai’s love story? Yes. But did I feel emotionally affected by it? No. Because I felt like all the issues were presented in an extremely simplistic manner I just did not feel the pain and the angst at all. At the end of the day the time period became a plot device to deliver some mild angst, rather than a proper setting. Even the truly awful and traumatic moments were presented with not enough care to make a real impact.

The plot tackled some important issues like inequality of genders, abuse, exploitation, and the generation gap, but the solutions and conclusions were laughable with little depth and meaning behind them.

It’s hard for me to take this epic time defying love story seriously, when everything else about this show was juvenile in terms of writing. I honestly feel like I would appreciate the connection between Jom and Yai more if I only saw their clips on youtube, because everything that surrounded it made it seem less valuable and worth the watch.

That said, I did enjoy quite a few characters. The main duo obviously being part of the approved group. Except for the, I also loved James who was the true MVP of the whole show and Fongkaew who was the one to take matters into her own hands. Great characters and great performances.

At the end of the day, I feel like it was simply too careful and too focused on being more approachable.

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"But there must be a reason behind it all"

"Do you want me to teach you how to be good at work? Don't ask yourself: Why?''. I think this whole show was a commentary on how we stay in the well known patterns, even if they are not productive, simply because things have always been this way or they bring us monetary gratification. But why do we even care so much about money? Because this is what society tells us is important. A vicious circle of bullshit.

Trying to suggest change is scary, and since everyone accepts the current state, it means it's working so why would anyone even try to challenge it? Everyone cannot be wrong, it's more likely I don't understand why it's like that. Stuff like the Milgram experiment or Asch Conformity Experiment explain it well. Both good examples how awful people are at going against:
1. Authority
2. Groups of people.

And if you add actual reward (money) for the conformity, people will do a great type of mental gymnastics to justify the current state.

Like drawing the circles, then erasing them and doing the same with x, just because the boss said you have to do it. I'm sure many of us did things we knew were pointless, but they were orders we just had to do. You can think you are not part of the problem, but you most likely are. Not to the same extent as the characters in the show, since everything was over exaggerated, but as long as we participate in the society, we do stupid things for the sake of some kind of benefit - money, popularity, recognition from strangers. But why do we care?

Each episode presents us with different takes on what one can sacrifice for money: pride, self-esteem, time, family, morality. It also shows what we truly want - connection, love, freedom, a feeling of belonging, self-worth.

The show opens with the best episode, so keep that in mind. On one hand it sets up the story well, but it also makes the remaining episode have less impact. Each short story is connected to each other, even though they changed the main character. Personally, my favorite episodes were “Dancing on the sand” and “Family Vacation”. Both had strong messages that resonated with me and my experience.

The production and the acting were phenomenal. Truly would not change a detail. The short duration of the episodes (most were a bit over 20 minutes) made the show more digestible and left some room for interpretation and reflection for the viewers. I feel like depending on your own life experience, perspective and expectations, you will see something else in each and every story.

Overall, great watch, but not for everyone. It’s weird and symbolic. While on the surface the overall message is easy to understand, there is far more than “what people will do for money” if you start digging deeper. It’s also an impactful watch if you are willing to reflect on how the messages fit into how you are handling your life.

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Fast Food entertainment with a secret ingredient - crack.

This show took me to the times when I was a young teen reading Harlequin Romance and being obsessed over the domineering, rude, but deep DEEP down inside actually good and caring male leads. The best type of trash entertainment anyone can offer.

This is just that, but on screen format. Fang Tian Yi is hot and that’s the main trait this man possesses. That and good kissing skills. Saying Dong Ting Yao is brainless would be an understatement. Girl got so easily manipulated and used - customers at McDonalds have more respect for the workers than the majority of the characters had towards hers. The rest of the characters were just place holding NPCs.

The plot? Nothing made sense - her falling in love, him being surprised she does not trust him, the conspiracy and the barely existing investigation. The level of abuse she faced and always being completely fine the next day.

So how come I binge watch it all in one sitting? Because it’s a good type of trash tv. One that does not pretend to be more. One that is here for your entertainment and your eyes, giving your brain a moment of relaxation since you shouldn’t use it watching it. It’s a makjang, but with more shirtless scenes and abs and less kimchi slaps (but overall slaps it delivers). It’s so dramatic you end up having fun even during the intentionally sad scenes. You are here for chemistry and abs only!

Why does it also work? Because it actually has good acting and production. As cheap and ridiculous the plot is, it’s actually packed in a nice to look at box with pretty costumes, pretty faces, pretty make up, pretty set and pretty abs.

Overall, I think it should have been shorter, but it’s still highly enjoyable. I guess even with my brain off, at some point I just could not take how stupid female lead is. Enough is enough.

Now I regret my choices as I drink my coffee trying to wake up. I’m too old to stay till 3am to watch dramas.

Side note - that one guitar string they kept using, am I the only one who got Chuck Norris vibes from it?

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