The actors are absolutely fantastic as well as the original and quite absurd story.
I was surprised at the humour and jokes, being a little more mature than usual movies, but it was not excessive or out of place.
It is rare for me to give out 10, but be it because of the amazing performance, the cute moments, the amazing kisses and even such an absurd coincidental love, this movie had me clicking "replay" from the first time I watched it!
I recommend it to all those that enjoy love stories with a hint of mature jokes and some sexy concepts: trust me, you won't be disappointed!
Was this review helpful to you?
My first impression that this drama left on me was good.
The storyline is amazing. The writers did a great job. They really knew how to mess with a viewers mind. With this drama you will laugh and cry in the same time, and you won't be bored at all.
Well, for the acting it was good. I can surely say that, Ji Sung mastered this role, he played a high school girl, I mean even if I am a girl I couldn't do that like he did. Amazing!!!!
Hwang Jung Eum was good, I really like her, but the only thing that I didn't like is her yelling and screaming, it was a bit annoying.
I really like their chemistry in this drama. It was cute and romantic.
Oh, and the OST was amazing. Especially, Auditory Hallucination. That OST has a great power to cause outburst of emotion in the viewer.
I really miss all of the characters. They really growth on my heart.
I recommend this to everyone. Even if you are having some doubts, start it, maybe you will end up liking it. :D
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
Shameless exploitation of BL audience to promote a music career.
It's a good thing Pete can sing, because if he had to fall back on his acting skills he'd starve to death. He doesn't really act at all. He does appear to have memorized his lines, though, so there's that. Tonliew is adorable as Yoshi, and that's largely why I stayed with this.The plot is stock - a standoffish star ends up as the temporary charge of our main character, who has to navigate his star through a maze of ill-wishers including the usual malicious ladyboy, which is becoming such an offensive stereotype that I'm going to start boycotting series with characters like this, and also a cartoonishly evil rival actor - you may not be able to spot him. (Hint: he's the one wearing all black at a Thai beach resort).
I can't recommend this, but it's so short that it won't hurt you to watch it.
Was this review helpful to you?
The low budget, simple settings and slightly eccentric pacing give this show the feeling of real life. The characterizations are top-notch. Much of the tension comes from just how stubborn both of the main characters are. That they're able to rely on each other anyway is sweet, and makes them an interesting and memorable BL pairing. But the writer also portrayed a great father-son relationship and gave a humorous insight into the differences between China's poor and nouveau riche. The music is also good, and I often don't notice music. (The "It's Okay That's Love" shout-out in one of the musical selections made me very happy.)
The greatest flaw in this series is also the thing that makes it most interesting: the censorship of many scenes and the fact that China banned gay content before the series could be finished. The romance never feels fully developed because censors eliminated not only sex but kissing. The end result is a show where the guys talk about sex frankly (okay, Guo Bai talks about it, gotta love that cheeky bugger), but we never even see an affectionate kiss between them. And the story ends abruptly with a cliffhanger and a ton of emotional issues unresolved between the guys.
Was this review helpful to you?
What caused it?
Many cursed Lim Soo-Hyang's appearance as Han Gye-Jeol, one of them with the sentence: A 30 year old woman who acts like a 12 year old, dresses like an old woman, is very clumsy and a bit stupid - very annoying
I'm so sorry, Lim Soo-Hyang?
Lim Soo-Hyang is not a newcomer. The actor Kang Mi Rae in the Korean drama ID: Gangnam Beauty and Mo Seok-Hee in the Korean drama "Graceful Family" won the Best Actress award at the 2020 MBC Drama Awards and Excellent Actress (daily drama) at the 2017 KBS Drama Awards. Lim Soo-Hyang's proof has had enough of the bitter and sour sweetness of acting.
So both Lim Soo-Hyang's fussing and sulking acting and his old fashioned clothes must have been according to the director's wishes.
I agree more if the bad rating is aimed at the entire production. The storyline is going around and around, the number of shows that should be enough for 10 episodes only stretches to 16 episodes. No wonder many stop watching in the middle of the road.
It seems that the screenwriter wanted to make a drama similar to the Korean drama Goblin/Guardian: The Lonely and Great God, but with additional slapstick scenes, such as the scene where Ok Shin and Gak Shin's lips meet. Not kisseu, because only lips that "accidentally" meet, and that's really annoying!
The plot is bad, the scenes are cliche, and there are many holes in the story, compounded by shooting that isn't really good. Like when Han Gye-Jeol found a magic mirror and was in Cinderella style, the shooting angle reminded me of the 90s.
It's not wrong for a screenwriter to be inspired by another Korean drama, but the results have to be better than their predecessors. If not, no matter how good the main character's acting, the audience's ratings and votes will be punishing.
What about Kim Jung-Hyun's acting?
The acting of King Cheoljong in the Korean drama "Mr Queen" always satisfies his fans. You could even say, Kim Jung-Hyun became the savior of the Korean drama "Kokdu: Season of Deity".
You can imagine how disappointed Kim Jung-Hyun was with the ratings for the Korean drama "Kokdu: Season of Deity". After successfully rocking South Korea with a rating of 18.554% (Mr Queen), now his drama only gets a rating of 1.3%.
The next review can be read here: https://www.maria-g-soemitro.com/2023/03/kokdu-season-of-deity-review-drama-korea.html
Was this review helpful to you?
A high stake family ethics drama
I saw glory rating dropped from 8.5 to 8.3; I don't know why everybody is making a fuss about the last 6 episodes; yeah the ML's side of story of the duke household was old formula but annoying scenes moved at a fast pace and it was interesting enough and better than many other dragged out male lead background of other dramas.I don't know what others were expecting from this drama, the title says it all, its about a family's glory, a high level family ethics drama that goes through many twists and turns of family bonds and family prosperity and unity; even ML's duke family plot hinted at the family glory and prosperity and power thing. I didn't find it inconsistent, the drama team delivered what they were supposed to, its a high stake family drama centered around solving family issues and that's it. Why everyone is making a grand idea like there should be something more like court politics, emperor, ML's career etc but these are not what this drama has hinted at all.
Anyways, people can just watch it with the mindset of a high stake family drama, there are many western shows and novels set around family inheritance suspense thriller; so for me Glory was just fine, maybe an extra 10 min ending with the main leads' wedding and a chit-chat tea party with all the sisters and their partners would be nicer but enjoyable nonetheless.
Was this review helpful to you?
When Passion meets Peace filled with warmth
Imagine spilling an ice cream we just bought. How heart breaking would it be? And what if a person who put her everthing into her career for years, made sacrifices and finally made it big but due to some unfortunate incident lost everything ? How will that person cope up? will she be able to get back on her feet?The first two episodes were mostly character introductions and their backstories. The sisters trio would be interesting to watch as each one of them have their own story and reputation in their village. YongPil's, though skilled in his profession why does'nt he want to leave his village ? This would be interesting to watch. The next two episodes showes us more of the leads bonding in the past and that they had a misunderstandinf whatever it was, lookinf forward to it
This is a rom-com. Yes, it indeed is!! the first four episode made me laugh my heart out. looking forward to the romance part.
The actors definitely wont let us down. Almost all the cast members are known faces in the industry .JCW and SHS combination is fresh and interesting. I havent seen such loud and choatic leads like them before. I am so glad to watch JCW in a light heart romcom again. Loved the OST- Short hair by our DK- His voice is so sweet and refreshing, perfectly fits the Jeju vibe.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
An edgy black comedy that ended up with pink frills
The initial setup of this show is hardly original. Nasty, cold hearted boss making all his employees’ life miserable. His worst victim is his parade of secretaries whom never lasted more than 3 months before they are driven to despair. That is until the FL arrived at the scene and managed to stick it out for 1 whole year. In that sense, it was almost like a Shakespearean play of revenge where a conga line of people all wanted to harm the ML either for real or at least play out some fantasy to get redress for past wrongs.What happened next is dark, zany and over the top, but it worked because it was done with a lot of manic energy and running at break-neck speed. You just don’t have time to ask questions. It was a wild ride to say the least. However, that ride did not last. Around the halfway mark, the pacing and tone of the show began to shift. It coasted for a bit as it shifts gear and recalibrates. By the end of the show, it is a completely different beast. This may be a good thing for some viewers, but it can be problematic as well. If you start watching this show because of the leads, then there is no issue at all. They have great chemistry plus a nice amount of passionate skinship. However, if you stumbled onto this show and was hooked by the crazy, fast paced story then how it morphed into a fluffy romance might leave you scratching your head. On the other hand, if you were put off by the dark whimsical plot and dropped the show then you would have missed the swoon worthy love line that blossomed later on. It is a weird juxtaposition of genres but you have to give the writer-nim credit for trying something different.
Now, back to the main revenge theme that is the backbone of this show. It is ever present and drove a lot of the plots forward. However, it is a double-edged sword. It worked in the subplots and there were many of them. From silly voodoo doll action to inflicting serious bodily harm, just about anything goes. Nevertheless, I thought the overarching central plot is weak and out of proportion when the full reveal happened towards the end of the show. The Show would have us believe that the main antagonist was a mastermind that plotted his revenge for years and has many resources at his disposal that he can manipulate public opinion and pay for others to do his dirty deeds. Yet he blames the ML for ruining his life?! In all honesty, I don’t buy that. The antagonist is living well, and he certainly doesn't seemed to be hung up about his reputation so why play such a long game and devote so much energy to it. It is not as if it is a family feud or the cliche “you killed my father!” storyline. It did make the grand reveal somewhat lame. The ML certainly didn't understand the motivation and neither did I.
Acting is great from the leads. They demonstrated a wide range of skills especially the ML, he raced through several different personalities during the show so kudos to him. The FL was also very good and she is tough but deep down is a sweet and caring soul. The support casts were solid but the writer-nim gave them exaggerated roles so overacting is the norm. They all earned their keeps. SFL was no wall flower even though she is beautiful and I confess to having a bit of second lead syndrome.
To complete the transformation of the show, the final episode is total fan service. It was the most leisurely strode down Closure Lane I have seen for a long time. The writer-nim lovingly closed all the threads and ticked them off her list. Not that I'm complaining because it was so nice and sweet. She paid attention to minor subplots that would have been forgotten by most shows. It was sugar overload but if you ship the OTP then it would just be the icing on the cake. Speaking of OTP, the 2OTP is cute and sweet too and provided some early distraction from the endless revenge action.
To be honest, if it started as a rom-com with just the boss/secretary plot, it probably would have faded badly because the love line is fairly standard. It is the crazy momentum of the first half that carried it over the line.
OST is nice and easy on the ears. Rewatch is there depending on whether you like sugar or spice. ;)
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
This drama is just a masterpiece. I am not the kind of person that watches this kind of dramas, but I also think that if they're well done they are masterpiece.
14 days was that kind of drama that it is just not your cup of tea but you see it because it is just addictive.
Also, see it while airing had its contro (since there are a LOT of things that happen, sometimes I couldn't remember things that happened last week) and also its pro (I am able to say it was worth watching, I had all the time to find my opinion about it).
Let's go in points.
1) Story
The plot is just perfect. Not that perfect wich means "happiness" but that perfect that makes you watch the drama.
Every character is different, everyone (from Saetbyul to the policeman) has his own way to think and act.
The team up between Dong Chan and Soo Hyun makes you see how they are able to work togheter.
14 days is FULL of plot twists, it is not predictable at all, at the end of every episode you make considerations, but in the next the situation is completely different and new.
I loved how they were able to make me think a lot about the mistery and the reason of what was happening, and then they bring up something out of nowhere but not unrealistic. Everything was believable.
The episodes go on in a rush, but not a bad rush, it is only that characters don't lose time while searching to find the truth.
Really, the story never gets you annoyed. It never makes you want to turn off the tv.
2) Actors/ Acting
I have to say I used to like Lee Bo Young when she made IHYV. I thought she was a good actress.
Maybe because I only saw her in IHYV and Becoming a Milionaire I saw her like a just 'normal' actress. But I was wrong.
She is a VERY GOOD actress. When you see her in this drama, you know she can do every personality. She was able to bring me to tears with her acting.
The pain that you can see in her eyes when her character is facing the lost of her child seems so real.
Cho Seung Woo made a perfect job too. His personality was very clear, you were able to trust in him unlike other characters.
The kid was good. Maybe sometimes a little bit to 'un'clever, but well, she's just 9 yo.
Everyone acted well, I have nothing to complain.
Well, I have to say even Baro move me to tears. His character was so pitiful.
3)Music
The music suits perfectly the drama. There were few songs and a lot of instrumentals.
Since you're listening the dialogues and watching the scenes you don't listen to the music, but it leaves something anyway.
4)The ending.
I am not making spoilers but I am only saying if I liked it or not.
I'm am doing this only because there are people that watch dramas only if the ending is in a certain way :)
So, if you don't want to know ANYTHING about the end (I am just saying how it seemed to me), DON'T read.
The ending was something 'shocking' for a LOT of people.
Was BAD for a lot of people. Was GOOD for others
It is a kind of end that makes you understand something and makes you wonder a lot.
It isn't nor good nor bad.
I liked it. It was in the drama style.
Some people might say they rushed everything: NO, the didn't. It was only the way EVERY episode went from the first minute in the first ep.
Every episode is the same, speaking of rushing times.
Someone might say it is a bad ending only because they wanted to see some characters again. But that characters weren't able to do anything for the kid and DC's brother anymore.
In this drama, when someone leaves the scenes is because his part is over.
Some people might be sure that something bad happened.
I don't think something bad happened, otherwise they would make us see the thing happening.
The ending is a little bit misterious, the last lines are the key for understanding the end.
There's something missing, but they WANTED to insert that words. They WANTED something to be missing.
It's not that they didn't have time, or they were in a rush or anything.
That end is good if you pay attention.
5) Overall: A masterpiece.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
A BL/LGBTQ+ Game-Changer for Thai Dramas
This review is a personal opinion intended to offer readers a perspective about what I thought was amazing about this piece of work. It is not intended to sway anyone in any way. Please watch what you like regardless of what some people may say about a drama, so that you may formulate your own opinion.I wish I could rate this above 10 (though I rated it 9.5 because of Teh's crying and snot face LOL I just couldn't handle that). This was truly an experience that we rarely find in Thai BLs (or a lot of BLs). This to me personally was more than BL, this was a proper LGBTQ+ drama that tackled many issues that young people deal with.
I told sunset about you is a masterpiece that saved 2020 for Thai BLs (LGBTQ+) dramas. Most of us who have spent countless months watching dramas during our quarantine/lock-down, and have eitehr cried, laughed or even been disappointed in many ways. I personally have found that the challenges of COVID-19 forced many creative and talented writers to step up their game and provided us the viewers with amazing stories. Such story is ITSAY.
This coming of age drama offered many great things.
1) Cinematography
2) Character Development
3) Use of Tension and Colors as actual tools that made the story feel relatable
4) Idioms, symbolisim and allegories that propel the characters into difficult adult like situations
5) Sexual Identity crisis, sexual awakening, gender indentity, filial responsibilities
6) Amazing OST (I love love BILLKIN and PP's voices)
Though ITSAY is a relative "short" drama (only 5 episodes) the hour long format did not hinder the progression of the story; rather it made it flourish in a way that other dramas have failed to do so. Simply put, there was more development and real story telling in 5 episodes than most dramas have with 12-13 episodes format [no shade, just facts]
This drama is full of symbolism, allegories (moral condrums) and idioms that perfectly described each character.
Oh-aew was a character decribed as "aimless" who always gave up and had very little interest in things. This characteristic pushed him to give up on school and even on Teh after Teh who was confused about his feelings for Oh-Aew began to withdrawl from him. However, Oh tried to prove Teh wrong and while they were separated during their school years he continued to pursue a life as an actor. Something that made him and Teh "rivals"
Teh was the opposite of Oh-Aew...He was diligent, driven and direct. He was alos obessive, impulsive and surprisingly a very sensitive boy. I'll admit that he annoyed me quite a bit.
There is so much I can go on and on about, but I beleive that this drama is better experienced by YOU watching it and not by YOU reading anyone's review of it.
After watching the subs for Ep 5, I I highly recommend this drama.
Was this review helpful to you?
Here are the reasons:
1. Story- the storyline here is superb. I think they really put an effort into making it. I feel that there is no filler here(maybe a little bit of flashback here and there). The story doesn't just make one character shine but all of them.. Every episodes are amazing. So if you think of skipping some episodes please don't you will regret it..
2. Acting cast- The actors here portray their role very well. Even the side characters, supporting characters, antagonist up to the main cast. One of the reason i watch it is because of the handsome actors and pretty actresses. Also, love the couples here.. not just for the main couple but also the supporting couples..
3. music- i feel that they only use 1 music here(the opening song) through the whole 46 episodes. even in scenes for action and sad scenes.. but i don't know why the opening song still fits on the scene.. maybe because i am just hook into watching it hehehe..
4.The Ending- i think most people will see it as a happy ending.. But some will see it as a sad ending if you are into romance because the male lead doesn't end up with anyone here.. You know the typical chinese drama.. If you are not into death don't watch it because this drama has a lot of it. I am not a fan of death too but i think those deaths are required to make it more exciting..
Overall... it is a must see drama that worth spending your time in the 46 episodes.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Blueming Rebooted
Interoception is the sensory system that helps us assess internal feelings. And increasingly, it's being recognized as the 8th sense along with sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, balance and movement in space (vestibular sense) and body position and sensations in the muscles and joints (proprioceptive sense) .Word to the wise: do not watch the super hyped show just after they'd finished airing! All those rave reviews will have you expect an extraordinary watch and you risk to be disappointed because while looking for the brilliance, all you'll notice will be the flaws!
And this drama has a loadfull of flaws. Unfortunately!
I started watching it yesterday but before that, I checked the reviews without reading them : I only looked at the rates and it was scary! Out of 71 reviews that had been published until yesterday, only two had rates below 9.5 (8 & 8.5 to be exact!). So of course I expected to have my mind blown away. Well did but not the way I expected !
The plot is standard trope filled university bl romance: two guys meet, click, get together, split up because of a misunderstanding, there is the obligatory mean ex, suffer for an episode then get together and we have an episode full of fluff! THE END I have to give it to them though, they went a bit deeper with mental health issues and the consequences thereof but still...
While I was watching the first few episodes, there was a nagging feeling in the back of my head of déjà vu but I only realized why towards the ending: everything about the aesthetics here screams of Bleuming: same dulled colours (everything is in shades of blue and grey), silhouettes, shadows and a lot of night shots! The only colour you see is in the opening credits which I found rather original (though again, the first design image which is supposed to be a wave looks more like a snake!EDIT It is actually a sign for infinity...). Coupled with some iffy editing, and I had to check if I was not watching the wrong drama! It was pretty but depressing....
The music did not help the mood: it was totally discordant (wrong notes played apparently) and uncomfortable. They were probably going for such impression on viewers so that was a success. The music got better and smoother as the drama progresses, ending the episode 9 with a great song by Conan Grey "The Story". The ending of that episode was perfect so imagine my surprise and confusion when I discovered there was another episode, which turned to be completely useless and totally unrealistic fluff! They pulled the same stunt in Bed Friend ruining a perfectly good angst filled story.
Another thing that was wrong with this drama is that it reminded of of a lot of korean webcomics. I do not think it was based on one though, but all the characters come straight out of a shounen ai manhwa! Starting with the main couple (both actors are excellent) but their pairing and chemistry did not convince me: one is rich manly "top" and the other one is poor slightly build "bottom" eventually putting his head on the other one's shoulder and practically purring and all I could see are so many comics with such a scene. I actually did not like them dumbing down Ji Hyun after they finally started dating but, on the other hand, doesn't that usually happens to FL as soon as they fall in love they become incompetent to string two words together? Both actors were relatively at ease with each other but they sorely lacked chemistry. There were some interesting dreamy sequences of the main couple just walking side by side....Beautiful! The whole escapade to the seaside, playing in the sea was breathtaking as well. On the other hand both characters were good guy to a fault, never a wrong or mean word to anyone: always kind and polite. At one point Jae Won's "best friend" eaten by jealousy and envy, does everything in his power to ruin his life over a stupid incident! Guess what: he is forgiven, no hard feelings! Those two are just too good to be true! I guess I am just an incurable cynic, I do not believe in the fundamental goodness in everyone! I know I am not so...
What puts this BL a cut above the other korean ones, is the natural skinship between the leads. Just like in Blueming! But very seldom seen in KBLs...
The one serious issue they tried depicting are the long term effects of PTSD Jae Won suffers from. It was interesting to see his sessions with his psychiatrist, though the first time we see her in ep1: I found her rather weird. But then, a few episodes later she was talking about not knowing whether to go to her suicidal patients funerals or not. That's when my alarm bells rang! Is that really important? How about asking yourself why you did not manage to stop your patients from committing suicide? The general advice is: if you are feeling down(sad, depressed, suicidal!), talk to a professional. And I know even a professional cannot save everyone, it is sad but true. But shouldn't that incite them to question their methods and try to learn from that case in order to know better the next time they come upon a similar case? The way Jae Won deals with his feeling and his trauma is THE eighth sense!
The cast of secondary characters were a mixed lot, mostly awful people starting with the two MC's best friends who have no filter or boundaries and NEVER accept no for an answer. And of course there was the usual bitchy and mean ex who, of course again, tried her damnedest to ruin her ex's new relationship. Fortunately, Ji Hyun would not take any of her nonsense seriously which is never the case in dramas so it was refreshing to see it here! These three useless and awful characters got too much screen time (well they needed to fill up 10x40min episodes!!!). The whole drama and this group of students looked very much as if it came out of one of Playlist Global's web drama: the acting was on the same unconvincing level!
And of course the ending is pure cringeworthy fluff where everyone is forgiven and they all ride into the sunset and live happily ever after! Bah hambug!😉 written by Mr Scrooge
Was this review helpful to you?
At times, the storyline was solid to fair, but eventually, the story got caught up in its own premise (conquering 10 women) that it left very little room for any personal growth on the part of its female lead and severely understated the role of the other lead male. In fact, the story focused much more on the growth of one of the supporting roles than any emotional investment in other characters.
Furthermore, the story focused so much on the typical birth secret tropes that it lost a lot of its early humor. The story was at its best when Bo Tong and David did funny things, not when 95% of the episode dealt with the MG Group's machinations.
That being said, I feel the story limited its actors in a way. As this was Jang Geun Suk's comeback role, the character of Dokgo Ma Te seemed awfully similar to his previous roles, in particular that of Hwang Tae Kyung. This drama did nothing with JGS' acting that I hadn't already seen from him. IU, on the other hand, had a very vivacious character early on, but the story kept her rather one-note toward the end. The only decent performance was Lee Jang Woo's David Choi, which at least had me feeling for him and who was as beautiful inside as he was outside.
The only song from the drama which I remember off-hand was David's song. The rest of the OST didn't really resonate with me and seemed much more like surface music rather than fused with the storyline.
I will rewatch this only for David; really, I'm not even sure if I can rewatch it. In that regard, Bel Ami was just a surface drama; it's not memorable or great. It's really just botong.
Was this review helpful to you?
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.
Was this review helpful to you?
Recent Discussions
-
BL Drama Lovers Club18 minutes ago -
Fang Mujing's Diary (Weibo)58 minutes ago -
Role Reversal (RR) Drama Lovers Club1 hour ago -
Need help finding this unpopular drama1 hour ago -
Vertical Short Drama2 hours ago
