Reviews

Fluffy but shallow, has a lot of cute moments

This series got off to a strong start, with an age difference plot where a 17-year old (almost 18) aggressively pursues a man 10 years older. At first it's charming and fun, as Akira, the 27-ish owner of a local laundramat, is a bit scandalized that a high school kid is after him. The dialog and interplay between Akira's discomfort with the situation and Shin's cocky confidence that he was going to get his man was entertaining and cute.

But instead of dwelling more on what I would think would be the central conflict (the age difference), the plot devolves into an endless loop of both characters drawing back from each other - Akira because he's afraid that if Shin spends so much time with him his schoolwork will suffer and he won't get into a good school, and Shin because he doesn't want Akira to blame himself if Shin can't get into a good school.

The thing is, it's not zero-sum. Being with someone you love is energizing and their support can help you get through difficulty, so it just feels like the story is just forcing the characters into a holding pattern until Shin is 18 and graduated.

In addition, Akira has been harboring an old crush on his high school teacher, Sakuma, who is an interesting character - a bit hapless but mature and a real gentleman, an ably acted. The storyline was too long and dragged-out, however, like much of this series.

The other problem for me is that Akira is so immature and devoid of any impulse toward self-examination that there is no character progression - just a passive 2D character that things happen to.

The series really has nothing to say and follows a fairly conventional course, which is a shame given it's "forbidden relationship" elements. It's a fluff piece, with a lot of cute moments, but by the end the characters have been running in circles so long that I stopped caring what happened to them.

The ending is quite lovely and doesn't follow the usual fomula, which made it a delight because I wasn't correctly anticipating every line of dialog like I usually can in series like this.

If you like cute and fluffy, you may enjoy this. I don't mind recommending it - but you may want to give in to the urge to fast-forward though tiresome parts - you won't miss anything and it may make the show more enjoyable for you.

This would have benefitted from being about a third shorter - then the thin plot would have marched foward without repeating the same pattersn over and over, and the ending would be more anticipated.

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100% RECOMMENDED HP CASTS, DIRECTOR, WRITER, AND STAFFS U DA BOMB

Everything in this drama is just so perfect. It gives you the warm feeling while watching it. It made me smile, laugh, cry, and get hungry the whole season. As a med student myself, this drama is very realistic and it really tackles about what people go through within the walls of a hospital. I'M SURE ALL OF YOU WILL LOVE IT!

Story - 10/10
You would think that the story might be boring at first since they really need to introduce a big cast, but if you continue, you'll realize how good the plot and progression of the story goes. This slice of life drama really lets people realize how important friendship is. They have their own lives and their problems but they were always there for each other. The cases of the patient were also realistic and we can see here that the story was not exaggerated. Just like the other works of Shin PD, we really can't predict anything.

THEY ALSO HAVE THE BEST SEASON FINALE! I wasn't disappointed with how the story went. The finale was really worth the wait, I wanna cry I'm so happy. Shin PD and Writer Lee, good job!!

Acting/Cast - 10/10
The cast is perfect. I love all of them. They acted so sincerely and we can really see how much effort they put into their roles. They trained very hard for this. Every emotion shown here will really make the viewers feel like they're in the same shoes. Whether you are in the field of medicine or not, you'll feel their struggles. We all experience these things one way or another. Even the kids in these drama acted so well. Shout out to U-ju, gyeopta!

Music - 10/10
The title says it all! I love their band and their songs so much. It really feels good to listen to their songs especially the covers they make. I saw how much effort they put into practicing the songs which makes it feel more special.

Rewatch Value - 10/10
Most people say that the rewatch value is low BUT IT'S ALSO A 10/10 FOR ME! Just the fact that there are meanings in the small details in the drama makes me want to rewatch everything. The cliffhangers and the clues given also make my mind go crazy. I also love rewatching their band practices. Season 2 will air on 2021 so we have a year to rewatch the episodes, the interviews and the relay cams. I'll rewatch their scenes whenever I'll miss them. Ugh I can't wait for the next season!!

Watch this!! 100% recommended <3

Shout out to Yoo Yeon Seok!!! I love you oppa! I hope more people will come to appreciate you.

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It was very challenging to rate and review Brewing Love. The tone and plot of the show varied wildly from one episode to another. There were episodes that I adored and gave five stars and others I could barely finish. What really worked in this drama was the main romance. Min-ju was a dream man. He was so gentle and caring but also very determined and flirtatious once he decided to pursue Yong-ju. He had several lines that made me burst into tears at how beautiful and compassionate they were. The episodes that revolved around the two of them really worked for me.

What didn’t work was the majority of the rest of the plot, as well as the pacing. The beer storyline would have been okay if it had been minor but it took up so much time and was not interesting to watch. A lot of the character development and backstory felt like it was missing, even for the leads. Some of the side plots had potential and then felt like they either fell flat or were completely brushed past, like with Min-ju’s traumatic past and mental health, or the relationship with his dad. The second couple started off okay, although it was hard for me to get on board because the actor just looks so young, but their storyline felt very disappointing at the end. The way they addressed his backstory felt very clumsy, and their relationship felt very rushed and inauthentic. I really like Yong-ju’s grandma and wished the show had gone more into their relationship.

Brewing Love was very odd because the first few episodes were incredibly boring but then there were some great episodes in the middle. It felt like the show had maybe had a rough start and then hit its stride, but then I also felt that it got very boring again at the end. The show felt all over the place. It was disappointing because there were some episodes that were fantastic. The male lead was such a green flag and it was interesting how they flipped a lot of gender stereotypes with their relationship. There was a lot to like in the show, it was just very inconsistent.

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Too many plots, too many questions, yet too many answers

A good mystery has questions and uncertainty, but gives answers as well, right or wrong. It lets viewers, even casual ones, come to their own concrete guesses, and when things are solved or revealed, it adds to the fun.

The problem with Mouse then, is that it has way too many questions, grossly overuses cliffhangers and fake outs, makes the viewer question the show's writers and not themselves, and has far too many subplots and characters to keep track of. In other words, the questions you as are "wait, what just happened again?" instead of "how does this evidence play into the story?"

First the good: all the actors play their role super well. The music, though mostly atmospheric, is fitting. The handful of characters you pay attention to get good development. And despite what I said above, the show holds your attention.

It's disappointing because the first half of the show, particularly the first episodes, was gripping. The plot was well paced, the writers let the viewers get answers and figure things out. Then things went down the toilet rapidly after the middle of the show. It got to the point that I, at least, wasn't really interested in any big reveals, cliffhangers, or those "character stares at something off screen in horror" moments because I knew in the very next episode it was going to be a fake out / misleading camera angle. That, to me, is bad writing to overuse plot progression devices and not give answers. Doesn't help that they tried to stuff a "conspiracy" plot in as well, as it hitting every genre possible.

Then there's the problem with way too many characters. It wouldn't be so bad if they let us match faces to names, but most of them, particularly the victims, get little to no screentime to get to know them before they're relegated to plot devices as victims or exposition dumps. This makes most of the characters have no depth and they all become the same thing: murder victims. Deep into the show, when they rapid fire off names and their relations without showing faces I just nod along and not care because they're just victims without history - they only matter that way, and not as their own character. Heck people had to make graphs and documents to keep track of who's who. That's really not fun to consult when watching.

Other minor things: the abusive use of jump cuts / supercuts, particularly in the mid-to-end of the show, is extremely jarring. Sometimes the scene would last like five seconds before it cuts into the character now in the next day with no proper transition. Some characters start off strong then turn into a wet emotional noodle (you know what I'm talking about). Some of the plot at the end will really make your eyes roll even if it does give closure to some scenes at the beginning.

In the end, It's a show carried by its wonderful actors.

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Messed-up plot. Try to to be clever but fail. Too many loopholes all over the place.

(Review In Progress
-- done watching, in-progress reviewing, and after that still needs some edit.
-- sorry, it takes me some time as this such a headache.)

[+] This series is like an experimental work. After finishing, I highly admire the team that they really put a great effort in creating this drama. It's a complex story. The messageS they want to convey are difficult, thus meaningful. And the way to convey it isn't simply about plot writing. This series especially need the collaboration between the plot creating and filming/editing processes. So it's not only the story that is complex, the process for the aimed result is also a hard work here. I feel thankful they made this done. With this work of theirs, they challenge the new level of quality series in all aspects from creating to conveying processes.

[-] Anyway, they try too hard to be clever. In the end, there're still too many loopholes both in the main plot and sub-plots. To find a positive excuse for this, I'd blame the time constraint. The time limitation especially affects the writer. I feel that the writer only has solid ideas on the main things she wants to make happen, but she lacks the ideas to logically connect two or more dots, resulting in a messy resolvement that relies on cheating the audience.

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Two main cheating ways of this series that are unaccepatable for me are:-

1) They indulgedly create many conditions in the story on their own without caring the universal laws. These conditions are not the kind of reasonable conditions that would serve them right if they had a unique universe of their own story. These conditions are just to serve their own conveninece in resolving the conflicts the easy way because they can't think of how to resolve it properly without cheating. Let me give an example,

- The conflict is A wants to kill B who is a criminal treated at a hospital, but B is protected by two polices standing guard at the patient door at all time.

- Resolution of this series to let A kill B is to let C who is another police says via the walkie talkie that there's some incident happening near the hospital area and he needs some support at the moment. On hearing that, the two polices both left their position immediately. They shouldn't leave their post in the first place, but when they do, they do it so naturally like it's the way the world normally is as they don't even need to disccuss or hesistate a bit before setting off running away.

The above is just one example. There're A LOT along the way. The plot needs media to be stupid, needs people to be stupid, needs doctors to be able to do things that normally they are not able to. All of these for the sake of connecting the solid point A to point B. Remember what I mentioned above? They only have the solid ideas on main points while have no idea of how to connect them.

Their self-indulgement frustrates me a lot. They look down on the audience like me.

~~~~~

2) Because they can't find the proper way to solve their conflicts, they trick the audience by manipulating the scenes. The plot is mean to deceive the audience at first, so that they can make a surprise twist later. The proper way to do it is to give the same set of information to the audience as to the investigative storyline (= the storyline of solving the conflicts). An improper way to do it is to hide some parts of the information that the storyline knows from the audience. This series make a worse thing by manipulating the information. In some crucial scenes that would become the surprised twists later, they film it in 2 different ways - one is the way that actually happens, the other is the way they want the audience to believe happening. Then, they firstly show the audience the wrong occurrence to mislead the viewers. And later, when they reveal the twist, they show the other occurrence. This is cheating. You don't have skills to make things right. You want to be wise, but if you cheat it doesn't shows that you're wise anymore. It shows that you're just pretentious.

As unskilled as you are, you still need to learn a lot more to not anger the audience this way. Find a place to learn? Go read more works of Dan Brown and Agatha Christie!

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More rants:

(1) Story [-]

- Too many loopholes

- Like ep.1-2 pretty much

- Ep.3 starts to have loopholes in the details.

- Ep.4-5 have too many unrealistic parts esp. about media, human behaviors in society, and decision-making relating to social impact. These surreal parts are essential for story development. If there's none of these, the story wouldn't go on the way it is written, which means the production team is not smart enough to make a proper investigative story without constructing some special conditions that would help them make the story progress easier. What a convenient way to solve a question that outwits them, right? They do it by making a condition that says whatever they say is true. Anyway, in the end, this just portrays that everything in the story is pretentious.

- Ep.8, 10 - more so-called loopholes - the self-conditioned parts that help the story to progress along the way they want.
[[ spoiled note: 8-the surveillance officers / 10-the physical call instead of phone call; the criminal didn't have father at first but now has?? huh; the criminal's mother supposed to give birth after Yohan's mother in the early ep but now she did it before for 6-7 yrs?? ]]

- Ep.14
1) Why the TV producer takes that guy in her car?? -_-
2) How that kid gets to that man's house?? << It's like everyone is a character in an RPG game doing things without motive, no situation progresses in a logical process. It's like these characters and situations happening around them are programmed in a game.

Ep.15
1) Conveniently skip the memory about chasing on the road scene?
2) Suddenly the older police who usually fails to observe the details about everything notices the very subtle details of a victim. How convenient, the writer makes everyone change in a wink, makes any situation to occurs or changes from before like magic.
3) I also don't forget the alibi of everyone in the 1st case and waiting for you to properly explain, writer!

Ep.17 - The new paint on the wall can be removed by tissue paper??!!

- This story shows that polices are generally stupid. The supervisors would choose their subordinates to make an important decision instead of them while the subs are not clever enough.

- The media in this story breaks the law and their ethics all the time. It's the circle that there're only people who think about their own benefits. They dare to publicly take advantage of the situations even when there are other people's lives at stake. And no one at all blames the media. Nor does the media get sued. Very weird society.

- The story shows the people of Korea are stupid, always ready to be pulled to the left then dragged to the right without the ability to think on their own. They believe whatever words from TV. The people/audience in this story is much stupider than those characters in the novel 1984.

- Let me yell at this series a bit:- The real media don't work like that. The real polices don't work like that, either. And the people of Korea or most of the places in the world are not like that. The production team of this drama is just an imposter pretending to know what social psychology is, pretending to know how journalists and polices work while they actually Know NOTHING. What they do is just spreading the wrong perceptions about everything.

p.s. Damn to this drama, where the hell in the world that a TV channel would intentionally live broadcast a crime as a criminal wants? Furthermore, two TV channels even argue/criticize/condemn each other on TV-live-broadcasting to make the situation benefit the criminal. The media here are very much stupid and very much immature. Nonsense. In reality, this kind of TV station would surely be heavily investigated by law and backfired by social pressure.

P.S.2 And the ER doctors don't work in patients' rooms! You don't know how doctors work, either. You -writer, director, producer of this series- truly Know Nothing.

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(2) Acting [~]

- The older police always overacts. The paradox is they mention about overacting represents the lack of understanding in the thing the overactor tries to depict (ep.7).

- The acting of the TV program's female producer is substandard. She doesn't know the way to show her character's expressions through her face. I don't feel that she feels what she acts. She just makes a subtly disturbed face, and continues to make it the whole time. There's only one kind of facial expression from her, which is the kind of expression that I don't feel that she feels it.

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(3) Script [-]

- Bad script. It's like the characters in the series are the RPG-game players. They walk around talking to witnesses, interviewing people in the RPG-game style that we have to stop and talk on the way to certain people to get more information to complete each mission. The conversations in that kind of interviewing/asking strangers in the series are blocked and unnatural - if we get to the right person, the convo would flow as well as directly get to the point, no small talk, no introduction. No matter how weird or rude the questions of the characters are to the strangers, those strangers answer along the way that the characters want to know without opposing. No matter how private the information they get asked, they don't feel it and are willingly answer them.

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I'll put this out there - this drama had SO much potential.

I started off on this one a little skeptical, because fantasy elements in Korean dramas always tend to be a little corny. I held that skepticism until about midway into the first episode, when the plot started to reveal itself, and things actually started to get really interesting.

While the genre of VR gaming has already been vastly explored, this was probably the first high production AR drama to hit the scene. Augmented Reality (AR), for those who are unfamiliar, is a technology which shows computer generated images projected into the real world. Think Pokemon GO. As you can imagine, this sets up some rather amusing scenarios where a person swings around randomly and everyone else gives you weird looks as they can't see what you're seeing. This drama starts off as just that - a rather light hearted take on VR, which not only tries to be funny, but looks silly in the process. As a result, I could not take the first episode seriously and almost dropped it as soon as I began, but things take a turn for the serious rather quickly.

And this is where the problems started arising. The drama, while it made some very interesting plot twists and smart little ideas, seemed like it had no direction. The plot twists, and smart ideas almost felt like the end goal of the writer, only put in there to entertain for the shock factor, just for the sake of it. There was no balance of light-heartedness and seriousness. This then gave rise to a bevy of problems including some major plot holes, pacing issues, and lack of character development - not to mention some ridiculous technologically impossible feats.

All in all, the plot started out a little silly, got really interesting, and ended up really silly because they couldn't fix their mess.

Don't want to talk too much about the other topics really - the actors are top grade, and the musical variety, while small, did the job. The production quality/value was superb - the fact that this was partly shot in Granada speaks volumes.

It's just a shame the plot completely lost itself. If it weren't for the rest of the factors, this would definitely have gotten a much lower score in my books.

I would say that if you like the genre to definitely give it a try as it still invokes interesting thoughts, but all in all it was a little disappointing.

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My Mister C drama remake

It's not that I don't love the C cast, but anyone who watched My Mister the K drama with Lee Sun Kyun & IU will always compare & it's unavoidable. While watching this made me miss Lee Sun Kyun (RIP) more. His voice was so iconic and I watched enough of his dramas where I was deeply saddened by his passing.

They made plenty minor adaptions for the C drama version but overall story is the same. It's worth watching as a standalone but if you watched the K version then the C version will feel different.

-Lee Sun Kyun felt more depressed than Mark Chao
-IU felt darker than Zhang Zi Feng
-Jang Ki Young the debt collector was way more convincing than Zhang Xin Cheng
-The bad guy GU Chen's character didn't give off the one dimensional sleazy vibe so I actually like this character better than than the K drama version.

I am a fan of the C cast but My Mister holds a special place in my drama list

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Nobody is flawless

People these days can't handle flawed characters, and that's why they hated this drama. From the moment it aired, people kept bashing it, so of course I was discouraged from watching it.

What a mistake would that be if I didn't give it a chance because I enjoyed it and absolutely loved it!

Both Qian xi, and Ying Tao are flawed characters. Qian Xi is selfish. Ying Tao is unhealthily obsessive.

The highschool years showed us how immature and childish they still were. They lived in this bubble, where they thought everything would went well after they grow up. But the college years showed us their development. Ying Tao found out that love isn't easy like in fairytales. Her roommate was a great example of that.

Qian Xi went from the highest top, to the lowest one. He was selfish for telling Ying Tao "Don't forget me." when he knew, he wouldn't see her again. But I believe he wanted at least one person to think of him in his hardest time. I understand that he had a pride, that he didn't want her to see him like this. His mother always wanted him to be perfect, and when you spend years in this illusion, you cannot simply get out of it.

You'll always think, you have to be perfect in order for people to like you, to love you. Otherwise, you're not worthy of them.

Their relationship is toxic, but beautiful. This drama is the proof of it.

Their love surpassed everything bad, and left only the good in their relationship.

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Underwhelming

EDITED: [REVIEW] A Disappointing Yet Memorable Ride: My Thoughts After Rewatching

I finally got to rewatch the series, and honestly, my opinion hasn’t changed. It still feels underwhelming and didn’t quite live up to the excitement it promised.

The Strong Start That Didn't Last

The first three episodes were gripping — great pacing, strong buildup, and enough tension to keep you wanting more. But after that, things started to unravel. The plot lost momentum and fell into predictable revenge-drama clichés.


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1. The “Too Easy” Path for the Protagonist

Everything suddenly became too convenient for DH. People appeared left and right to help her — no real struggle, no real fallback plan. That made me wonder: What was her original strategy?
She spent over a decade planning revenge, yet the execution relied too heavily on unexpected allies. What if they hadn’t shown up?

I’m still waiting for a revenge drama where the lead has a solid, well-thought-out plan that doesn't rely on sudden plot devices or savior side characters.


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2. Screaming and Hysteria Everywhere

At one point, almost every character was screaming and acting hysterical. One or two characters? Fine. But when it becomes a trend, it loses impact and becomes exhausting to watch.

What really baffled me was how powerful, composed villains suddenly turned into clueless wrecks. Instead of fighting back or outwitting the protagonist, they panicked. Their only move? Humiliate DH by using her mother. That’s it. That’s their big counterattack?


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3. Emotional Breakdown... But Why?

Near the end, these villains — who lived shamelessly for years — suddenly broke down. Lee Sa Ra’s descent into drug addiction felt abrupt. PYJ’s unraveling also came out of nowhere.

I would’ve preferred to see them punished with their minds intact — fully aware of the consequences. That would have made the revenge more satisfying.


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A Scene That Didn’t Sit Right

One scene I strongly disliked was Lee Sa Ra’s scandal. She was drugged, and yet the way they exposed her was framed as if she deserved public shame. That crossed a line. She was a victim in that moment — and the show shouldn’t have treated it like justice.


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The Unnecessary Shaman (Yes, That Happened)

Don’t even get me started on the shaman subplot. Completely unnecessary.


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No Sparks in the Romance

The romance angle? Flat. There was no chemistry between the leads. It felt forced and disconnected from the main narrative.


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It Could Have Ended Sooner

Honestly, the series could have wrapped up in five episodes. The second half dragged. Flashbacks were used to stretch time, not to add value.

That scene of DE leaving the school, finally smiling — that should’ve been the ending. Everything that followed just felt like filler.

Also, what’s with the “everyone secretly knows each other” twist? It made the story feel small and too coincidental.


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The “Avenger Team” Ending

I had high hopes for the assistant’s character arc. I thought she’d seek a new life for herself or her daughter. But instead, she joined the revenge squad?

As for JYJ, I expected him to walk away from his father’s killer — a man too far gone to feel guilt. Sometimes, the best revenge is healing. Being happy is a kind of revenge, too. And yet, the show went with a cliché “Let’s build an avenger team!” ending.


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The Most Powerful Scene

If there’s one moment that stayed with me, it’s DE’s scenes with her mother.
She didn’t cry in front of her bullies. She didn’t cry over the past. But when her own mother tried to destroy her — that’s when she broke.
That betrayal hurt more than anything.
I understood her when she said she was glad her mother never changed. If her mother had shown even a bit of warmth, DE would’ve had to process and possibly forgive. But knowing she never cared made it easier to let go.
She was done — and in that moment, you could feel it.


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Final Thoughts

While the story had its flaws, the cast delivered incredible performances — especially the actors who portrayed the villains. They carried the show with their intensity and depth.

🟨 Rating: 4/10
Disappointing in execution, but memorable for its early tension and complex characters.

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Don't like the ending at all!!!

This drama was great at the beginning but in my opinion she was really mean to him, and in the end he always came back to her i think she was really narcissistic and thinks only on her and not on hyuk feelings for my it wasn't fair or gain at all , and she only said that she loves him in the last episode when all he did for her from the beginning was love .
They deserve better ending, the secondary leads had better ending than theirs this was a complete disappointment for me because it was a great drama.
For me was more gain than love , for the secondary actors than them .

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How to Wreck a Popular Franchise—Trigger Warning Edition

Trashing Consent in Sexual Relations and a Respected Franchise—all in one toxic package!

VERDICT

HIStory 4: Close to You has no redeeming qualities. I’d like to believe its lazy storyline, fetishization of gay relationships, and disregard for the virtue of seeking consent before pursuing sex will remain unsurpassed as a nadir for the genre. Given the warmth a substantial section of BL fandom has bestowed upon this toxic swill, however, I fear that filmmakers in the future may continue to believe that audiences will overlook the absence of consent as long as they cast handsome men in lead roles and contrive plot lines that lead those men to bat eyelashes at one another, smile warmly, and then kiss. It’s true, I think, that BL audiences like those things. Like them a lot. But it’s absolutely possible to create those moments without resorting to sexual assaults as technique for courtship. A writer need only put some effort into depicting wooing and warmth. Way more satisfying to observe than the rape of an unconscious victim. Any potential viewer who wishes to avoid the promotion of rape culture, ought to pass this series by without bothering to sample it.

And that criticism doesn’t even approach the other potentially toxic issue here, an incestuous affair between stepbrothers. Close to You is not the first BL series with a rape storyline. It’s not the first BL series with a sexual harassment storyline. It’s not the first BL series with a stepbrother incest storyline. But no other example comes to mind where a series is so unapologetic about all of those things. It’s as if the makers said, “Let’s bundle every trope, every plot device that has provoked backlash in the past and stuff them into this story as the main plot. Then, let’s see how far we can push those boundaries before people protest.” Sadly, many people think the fact the raped character accepts his stepbrother’s affections proves that such things are possible. Um, no. It proves that the writers can write any outcome they like, no matter how implausible, and people will think it’s charming. You know, as long as handsome men kiss.

Previous iterations of the HIStory franchise earned a great deal of goodwill in BL fandom. And not just the straight female segment of BL fandom. The earlier incarnations also appealed to gay male audiences who could see aspects of their lives in those stories. As a genre, BL sometimes gets accused of fetishizing gay lives for the entertainment of straight women. For me, the HIStory series largely avoided those pitfalls, as it told thoughtful and provocative stories. The thoughtfulness of those stories is certainly a reason I stuck around for this series long after it raised my hackles. I had faith the makers would somehow redeem themselves. In this instance, that faith went unrewarded. Close to You has sullied the venerable franchise so severely I’m not sure it can recover.

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NOT dark BUT spicy

I went into this expecting a dark drama and while there are mature themes sprinkled in, the vibe leans more toward comedy but I wasn’t mad about it, just a little surprised. Like, one minute I was watching someone get shot and the next, I was hit with the most unserious dialogues that had me questioning why I was even watching (but also unable to stop)

FirstKhao ↓

First Kanaphan and Khaotung Thanawat, what the fuck can I even say? Seeing them together again felt like a homecoming. The moment they appeared on my screen I couldn’t help but scream. They have this unparalleled chemistry that no one else in the industry quite achieves. I missed them so much and they absolutely delivered. Watching them reunite reminded me of why they have become icons in the BL world. My kings are back hehe. First really balances his edgy exterior with just the right amount of vulnerability and Khao as Bison is HOLY HELL, he nails it. His portrayal is soft but with a charm that makes you understand why Kant couldn’t resist him the first moment he laid eyes on him lmao. Khaotung knows how to work the smallest expressions and the subtlest body language, to make him (and us) obsessed with him.

JoongDunk ↓

Now, I gotta be real...I wasn’t expecting to be blown away by JoongDunk. Their past performances never fully sold me so I went in with very low expectations. But Joong?? This man stepped up his game. His emotional scenes in this drama were so well done, he carried those moments in a way that actually hit me. I genuinely felt for his character which was a surprise because in previous projects, I didn’t connect with his acting. But here, he delivered. Dunk, on the other hand… Listen. He had his moments. His portrayal of Style’s chaotic energy was honestly entertaining as hell. There’s something about the way he plays unhinged, reckless characters that just works...he was fun to watch and I have to give him credit for that. But when it came to emotional moments? Hmm… still needs some work imo. That being said, the kissing scenes between them were INSANELY GOOD. They did not hold back and for that, I am grateful.

The Highlight ↓

One thing that really stood out to me was how well they balanced the screen time between both main couples. In a lot of dramas, one pair usually ends up taking center stage while the other gets pushed into the background as filler. But not here. Both couples got their own moments to shine and they served in ways that felt equal and intentional. It was refreshing to watch a drama that actually treated both love stories with the same level of care.

The Downside ↓

I can't say I loved every second of it. Because, babes…some scenes? STRAIGHT-UP CRINGE. Like, I physically recoiled at certain dialogues. The secondhand embarrassment was REAL. I get that some of it was meant to be funny but whew, some moments had me covering my face. Also, the sound issues were really putting me off...the audio quality was straight-up tragic in some parts.

↓↓↓

So this was a mixed bag for me. Some episodes had me fully invested, eyes glued to the screen, living for every second. Others had me side-eyeing my laptop.

Give it a try and see how YOU feel about it.

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