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This review may contain spoilers
Are We Serious?
Without a doubt, Secret Relationships is probably the best production that we've seen come out of Korea this year, in addition to 8 episodes with a decent runtime. But I cannot deny that this didn't resonate with me in the slightest bit (okay, maybe a bit, but not entirely). Secret Relationship? More like Brutal (Murderous) Love.
Let's Dive In.
This story attracts you immediately with its beautiful cinematography and four incredibly good-looking men to appease the eyes. At first glance, this seems like it'll be an adorable love square; who can win over Daon's heart? Will it be his longtime crush, Jaemin? The darling coworker from work? The aggressive "ex" of Jaemin from the past? It's makes you wonder, it keeps you on your toes, and them BAM! someone is trying to kill him.
The whiplash I got from this series, holy fuck. Everyone just needs therapy and anger management. Other's need just the death penalty, my goodness. At no point was Daon like, "Yeah, I think I should talk to someone about my maniac friend/crush who destroyed the lives of the people around me for his own benefits, and the fact that he tried to kill me." Like.... are we serious?
I know not all series are going to be bubbly and cutesy and have these characters waving green flags, but this was just not my cup of tea. Lots of people love toxic and I hate it. Maybe cause I'm too much of a realistic person. Daon and Seonghyeon won't last unless they go to couple's therapy. I'm being so deadass.
Everyone frustrated me, but no one ticked every nerve in my body like Daon did. I was hoping by the end, he would've grown a backbone and stood up for himself, but instead, he was the constant damsel in distress and never thought to just scream his head off when Suhyeon was being aggressive and gross, or when Jaemin was trying to molest/kill him. Then, instead of cursing him out like he should've, he just... apologizes? Jaemin reading his note in the hospital had me seeing red. What kind of message is that? Why not instead say, "Hey, once you get out of the hospital, you fucking lunatic, the police will be waiting for you. I hope you burn in hell." Like, how come that was never said?!
There's just so many other non-sensical tropes/devices that happen. Daon waited how long to tell Jaemin he liked him? And then coincidentally, Suhyeon shows up? What? And then you learn that Jaemin is a nutcase, and you think about it, and you're like, "You really committed to a no-dating contract that hard that in the time of Suhyeon leaving to go abroad and now, you never thought to finally make your move?" Like...what? Then you have Seonghyeon who is determined not to leave Daon's side even when Daon is telling him it'll never work out, but suddenly he sees a hickey, and he's done? The same Seonghyeon that has been willing to listen and observe this entire time doesn't wanna hear Daon's side anymore? Are we serious?
The only thing I can applaud about this series is the plot twist of Jaemin being absolutely crazy. I genuinely had no idea that was where the plot was headed. Suhyeon might've been fucked over by Jaemin, but he was no saint either. If anything, I still believe that he was the pure villain of this series, with an abominable redemption arc. "Oh Suhyeon, it's okay that you tried ruining my life and were propelling me into walls. At least you weren't trying to kill me!" Again, are we serious?
Soft, cutesy BL is my bread and butter, I cannot lie. If you loved this series, then I love that for you, but this was just a no-no. Then at the end they try and fix everything by throwing in a time-jump and the worst ending kiss I've ever seen, ever.
Ratings:
Story: 8/10 - Won't deny that I was curious during each episode to see what the fuck was going on. Seonghyeon, my rainbow in the sky. Please run, I promise you Daon's not out of the clear, those men are crazy.
Acting: 9/10 - Stellar!
Music: 5/10 - Distracted me once, but otherwise, fine.
Recommendation Value: 6/10 - this is... brutal. I wouldn't recommend this to someone if they weren't ready for its contents. But, these actors are good, and it's a great Korean BL production, so... maybe?
Let's Dive In.
This story attracts you immediately with its beautiful cinematography and four incredibly good-looking men to appease the eyes. At first glance, this seems like it'll be an adorable love square; who can win over Daon's heart? Will it be his longtime crush, Jaemin? The darling coworker from work? The aggressive "ex" of Jaemin from the past? It's makes you wonder, it keeps you on your toes, and them BAM! someone is trying to kill him.
The whiplash I got from this series, holy fuck. Everyone just needs therapy and anger management. Other's need just the death penalty, my goodness. At no point was Daon like, "Yeah, I think I should talk to someone about my maniac friend/crush who destroyed the lives of the people around me for his own benefits, and the fact that he tried to kill me." Like.... are we serious?
I know not all series are going to be bubbly and cutesy and have these characters waving green flags, but this was just not my cup of tea. Lots of people love toxic and I hate it. Maybe cause I'm too much of a realistic person. Daon and Seonghyeon won't last unless they go to couple's therapy. I'm being so deadass.
Everyone frustrated me, but no one ticked every nerve in my body like Daon did. I was hoping by the end, he would've grown a backbone and stood up for himself, but instead, he was the constant damsel in distress and never thought to just scream his head off when Suhyeon was being aggressive and gross, or when Jaemin was trying to molest/kill him. Then, instead of cursing him out like he should've, he just... apologizes? Jaemin reading his note in the hospital had me seeing red. What kind of message is that? Why not instead say, "Hey, once you get out of the hospital, you fucking lunatic, the police will be waiting for you. I hope you burn in hell." Like, how come that was never said?!
There's just so many other non-sensical tropes/devices that happen. Daon waited how long to tell Jaemin he liked him? And then coincidentally, Suhyeon shows up? What? And then you learn that Jaemin is a nutcase, and you think about it, and you're like, "You really committed to a no-dating contract that hard that in the time of Suhyeon leaving to go abroad and now, you never thought to finally make your move?" Like...what? Then you have Seonghyeon who is determined not to leave Daon's side even when Daon is telling him it'll never work out, but suddenly he sees a hickey, and he's done? The same Seonghyeon that has been willing to listen and observe this entire time doesn't wanna hear Daon's side anymore? Are we serious?
The only thing I can applaud about this series is the plot twist of Jaemin being absolutely crazy. I genuinely had no idea that was where the plot was headed. Suhyeon might've been fucked over by Jaemin, but he was no saint either. If anything, I still believe that he was the pure villain of this series, with an abominable redemption arc. "Oh Suhyeon, it's okay that you tried ruining my life and were propelling me into walls. At least you weren't trying to kill me!" Again, are we serious?
Soft, cutesy BL is my bread and butter, I cannot lie. If you loved this series, then I love that for you, but this was just a no-no. Then at the end they try and fix everything by throwing in a time-jump and the worst ending kiss I've ever seen, ever.
Ratings:
Story: 8/10 - Won't deny that I was curious during each episode to see what the fuck was going on. Seonghyeon, my rainbow in the sky. Please run, I promise you Daon's not out of the clear, those men are crazy.
Acting: 9/10 - Stellar!
Music: 5/10 - Distracted me once, but otherwise, fine.
Recommendation Value: 6/10 - this is... brutal. I wouldn't recommend this to someone if they weren't ready for its contents. But, these actors are good, and it's a great Korean BL production, so... maybe?
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