This review may contain spoilers
It will touch your heart and soul
Whenever I watch a movie or series, somehow it's important to me that the characters looks good (I know I might sound shallow but who doesn't like good looking characters?!) and the places they shoot should be attractive as well to keep me watching. This exceeds my expectations!Cliche in every story cannot be completely ignore. So this is a classic love triangle and the struggles that comes being born rich and powerful. I love the cinematography! They do justice in shooting their scenes in Cuba. It makes me want to visit the place. I also love the beach and the tall wooden tower they have visited.
So far, I don't find it boring. Their lines are well delivered and some poetic. I love the phase on how the series is moving. The acting for me is just fine. Meaning, they are not exaggerated at all. Some of the scenes are very emotional and heart breaking. It does made you wonder from time to time if rich people do really have this kind of problem lol!
Supporting characters are not bad either. Park Bogum's friend Kim Jooheon and Song Hyeko's secretary Kwak Sunyoung are someone you need to watch out too! They are cute. The friendship between Hyeko and Sunyoung is something to be admired too. I also find the driver, Ko Changeseok funny!
Hopefully this series will not keep me interested till the end.
UPDATE:
I finished the series long back but forgot to update. It was great! There are several funny scenes as well. What I really admire in this series is the fact that Park Bogum never gave-up. Though it has hinted, he opted not too. In other drama, that will be case and the partner will chase back. In this case, he showed he will stay until Song Hyeko realise his worth. I love how he used the shoes as a symbol. I love it so much that I repeated some of the memorable scenes. There are several lines from Park Bogum that find very poetic.
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Story- The first episode had potential so I was excited to watch the rest of the episodes but they turned out to be just average writing. It’s your typical predictable romcom but they kind of let me down with the entertainment theme cause they could’ve did more with it. The romance was a letdown also with an ending that had no resolution and basically brings our heroine back to square one.
Acting/Cast- So Yi Hyun basically carried the show. Her character was awesome and just so magnetic. As for the male leads their acting was passable but they just weren’t able to get me to care about their characters. The supporting cast was good enough but their characters were forgettable.
Music- I actually ended up liking the OST and will download when I get the chance.
Rewatch- Since the story wasn’t boring it’s rewatchable but I have no intentions of watching it a second time.
Overall while Glowing She wasn’t boring or anything it’s one of those dramas that had potential but fell flat. You won’t remember it down the line.
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Aiba Masaki indeed do a great job as Masamune-kun. He fully showed the anxiousness and uncertainty that Masamune-kun was feeling about the changes in his life. Masamune-kun did his very best in his own way to show his daughter her value to him, realizing along the way how the little girl changed his life for the better. He loved Yuuko-san, tho the way she left was kind of a cliche, I still think that it's a nice way of using those predictable conflicts.
Ishii Momoka-chan was just so good in this :') Every time she cries, I would feel tears in my eyes. She portrayed her role magnificently, showing the viewers how mature and independent Koharu-chan is at such a young age, even after the loss of her mother and a faithful meeting with the father she only knew from stories. She would do her best to help Masamune-kun take care of her.
Other characters really helped build up this great drama and helped the two connect, like father and daughter. The music was great, as well.
It's definitely worth to re-watch this drama. It's warm feeling and sweetness will bring you guys smiles :)
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Like in many dramas of this writer (and ahem, director) there are so many details which are kind of ridiculous, at some point the show becomes a bit boring but there is this magical feeling which makes you to come back to finish.
This is a typical drama about gambling, revenge and first love which never dies. There is a lot of plotting and action but the romance is left on the backseat, I wish there was less of it because the romance part is also the most boring. But anyway, if you are sick of all the romantic stuff and want to entertain yourself with action give this show a chance.
The beginning is slow, the whole drama is kind of slow but it doesn't matter much. I really like the feeling, the atmosphere of this drama, it is very addicting. Even if I don't understand why some Koreans were hired as hitmen and sent to Africa to save a prince of some tribe. What? Yeah... The ridiculousness is part of the charm.
Acting is okay, I mean Ji Sung is in this show, what else do you need more? Well, except Sung Yu Ri, I totally hate her because whatever character she plays becomes really annoying and she can't really act. Then So Yi Hyun, Lee Wan, Jun Kwang Ryul and Ma Dong Suk. I freaking love Ma Dong Suk! The cast is just wow and they do a great job!
The plot is entertaining and complicated even though some things become pretty obvious as episodes pass and then you just wish for them to be revealed sooner.
Give this show a try, it's not like all the other dramas out there. But if you must choose, All In is better.
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I also love the OST. The music sang by Nakashima Mika were very inspiring and emotional I really enjoyed her performance.
I would recommend this movie to anyone, especially NANA fans.
Happy Watching :)
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Brilliant
First of all, Shin Hye Sun deserves the highest actor/actress award. She was magnificent in it. Great story that keeps you interested from the beginning to the very end. Many hilarious and laugh-out-loud moments. Good soundtrack, great acting and casting. Cha Chung Hwa who played Court Lady Choi was my favorite character. I looked forward to every scene she was in.I am surprised at some of the lower ratings. I think it's one of the best KDrama I have ever seen. It's certainly one of my all-time favorites now. Highly recommended.
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genre this is really worthy to kill your time off and to pass it is your loss.It has everything what a thriller or mystery movie should be and doesn't lack anything IMO.
Thriller element:This was executed nearly perfect! As the story progresses you will get more thrilled and more suspense. You have no choice but to stimulate your sympathetic nerve activity and at every turns to keep guessing what had happened. XD The feeling is like when you're watching someone's running from the one who have an intention to kidnap her.They got pretty close and dangg! The victim fell down over the medium size tree branch and you as a viewer will crazily hastily wish for the victim to stand up faster and to continue running but.....( Use your creative imagination to illustrate what will happens next :P ) Yeah, you will get that kinda feel. Maybe this situation is not good enough to explain how good this movie was. Blame it on me.I really want to explain this practically but my english is'nt that good either so to avoid unnecessarily talking just watch & judge it by yourself.
Moreover all the plots and the acting is done very well (I especially love Uhm Jung Hwa's acting :D ) also I don't find any flaw with the story. Overall I really enjoyed watching this movie & I'd highly recommend this to fellow MDL user :)
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A MASTERPIECE
If u could erase ur memory and watch a drama again this woukd ve it perfection in every order combines whit humour and passion into one drama words cannot describe how incredible this drama is only put a 9 because i didn't like the ending besides that it was very good a tearful yet humorous drama it was amazingWas this review helpful to you?
When I first heard of this drama I did a little bit of digging, and found out that it is based off a BL Chinese web novel. I then learned a little bit about Chinese censorship laws and found out that they do not allow gay romances on screen. This knowledge made me hesitant to watch the show, but I gave it a go and HOLY SHIT this show tugs at my heartstrings in ways that shouldn't be possible!
The heart of the show, and the reason you should watch it is the the relationship between our two main leading men, Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei. In this case I have to give serious props to the actors because they did an amazing job portraying the love and intimacy between these two characters. In the end it didn't even matter that the Chinese censorship laws didn't allow for outright romances. The two main leads communicated the love between these two guys by the way they held hands. That is some serious fucking talent. Needless to say, I will be watching everything they are in for the rest of my life.
So...the two leads are fantastic, but so is basically everyone else in the show really, character wise there wasn't a weak link anywhere. The relationship between Little Gao and Old Chu will leave you squealing in glee, the assorted hilarious side characters are entertaining, and doesn't leave you wanting to skip ahead to the main characters.
The OST was amazing, you can tell that the show invested the money into producing an amazing soundtrack, one that I have listened to, over and over and over again.
The plot has some weak points, but it doesn't really matter because what makes the show amazing are the characters, and the characters are on point.
Parting thoughts, this is definitely a show that you should watch, the time is worth it. Actually, I'm going to go and rewatch it right now.
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Best Thai BL in a long time....WATCH!
The endless cycle of being pawns in the power game of dating....to put everyone on hold forever and manipulate them like hell, just in case that one person says a half-yes and gives me the rush .....I guess a lot of us can relate to that, no?BL-needle score: 8 - Reasonably high BL-ness. But this is less of a BL, and more of a story about Boys who fall, fail, and rise in Love
This is the most un-BL, un-Thai, Thai BL I have watched in a loooooong time. I guess I can't stop gushing about this show now. The messy screenplay will make you relive all the painful/ blissful (depending on which end you were caught in, or possibly both?) memories of your intense love failures and wins....the unimaginable highs of that one nod from them, and the bottomless pit of pain of seeing them happy with someone else......be warned that it can be triggering if you haven't made peace with some of those memories...and even if you have, you might just feel flooded with them memories nonetheless.....it'll make you cry, laugh, and reel from all of it...Yes, it is THAT good
But in the end, this was so GOOD MESSY!!! The last episode was long, at times terrifying, and then finally completely melted me......oh! the angst, the almost-heartbreaks, the tension....almost killed me....ha ha! I loved loved loved this show...frankly, even if this had to have a heartbreaking finale, I would still love it ....maybe even a tiny-winy bit more than a happy ending (that masochist in me...lol) ..but mighty glad that it's a happy one....I can breathe again...
The show features some really stunning acting by all the four leads - New, PJ, Leon and Pide...but the real magic of this show was its art of storytelling, because at the end it was a very common coming of age story of four teenagers, who go through lust, love, friendship, angst, jealousy and pain as they inch towards being grown ups.....the screenplay, direction, editing and cinematography does a stellar job, alongside their acting to make this a compelling tale!
An extremely well-made and well-acted series, with a very satisfying end....I wish this team makes more in the days ahead....
WATCH, without any doubts whatsoever!
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Growing Pains
I absolutely adored the first season of I Told Sunset About You. Actually, it Is in my top 5 of all dramas I have ever watched. This show just touched me in a way I still can’t quite explain. I watched those five episodes, no exaggeration, about ten times. My mind was consumed by it. I told everyone around me to watch it (with minimal success), I wrote quotes of it in my diary, I made it my wallpaper, I listened to the OST on my way to work. Point being, I was obsessed, and still am, kinda. ITSAY has a grip on me like not many other stories have, maybe because I felt so very represented by both its protagonists. Still, when I heard that they would make a second season, I wasn’t excited at all. In fact, I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to watch it.Why is that?
I've never been interested in what comes after the happy ending. Because what follows, is just another day, on which things might suck again. I never cared for the drama that happens, AFTER two people enter a relationship. This has gone so far, that I will oftentimes just stop watching a show or reading a book, after the couple gets together, because the idea of conflict is terrifying to me. I like things to feel settled and comfortable. And the end of ITSAYs first season conveyed exactly that. It was short and sweet. And I wanted nothing more from it.
However, I still felt some kind of moral obligation to at least check it out. I heard that they had changed the director, which worried me deeply. The trailer dropped and I dreaded the show’s release date even more. It looked exactly like I what feared it would be: melodrama that would drag a short and sweet story down. Still, I decided to give the second season a chance. Even if I personally, didn’t like relationship drama, that wouldn’t have to mean that the show was going to be objectively bad, right?
So, as a huge fan of season one that went into this with loads of doubts, what do I have to say about I Promised You The Moon?
Weirdly enough, even though I wasn’t excited for this at all, I don’t think I am as upset with IPYTM as everyone else seems to be. I think some people are mad at this show for having its leads screw up, which I find a bit absurd. Just because you disagree with a character’s actions doesn’t have to mean the story is fundamentally bad. As long as you lay the groundwork for said decisions, characters are obviously allowed to make mistakes.
I don’t think I Promised You The Moon is a love story, which is probably the thing that caught most people off guard. But I don’t purely consider I Told Sunset About you a love story either, I would rather classify it as Coming of Age. To me at least, ITSAY was primarily about finding yourself, and considering that, the second season felt very much in spirit of its pre-successor.
I have my qualms with this sequel, but a lot of the “criticism” of this series I have seen, just comes from people that wanted some romance scenes between the two lead actors and were disappointed that there would be angst between them.
Admittedly, some of the things I enjoyed most about ITSAYs first season, mainly the innocence of your first love, were missing here. In fact, if you’re looking for something as overall wholesome as the last season, or if you just want to see the two leads be cute together, don’t watch this (or stop after the first episode) because this is very much not that.
But okay, let me start with the things I really liked about this follow-up:
The cinematography was one of the best things about ITSAYs first season, hence why I was so concerned about the change in director. But as it turns out, I had absolutely nothing to worry about in that regard. I Promised You The Moon looks stunning. Every single shot felt well crafted and meaningful. Dare I say, this season looks just as good as the first one, sometimes even a tad better. The camerawork felt just as poetic as this season’s name and was rich with symbolism. I have to especially mention how effortlessly the director made the imagery of season one his own. There were many visual callbacks to the first season but instead of simply being references, the director made sure to always add his own twist. Like how the couple's first kiss in season one was underwater, where they hid away from the world, and their first kiss in season two happens in an aquarium after Teh officially comes out to his mom. The scene is referential to the underwater-kiss but instead of hiding, the couple is now in a public space, open and comfortable with themselves. And that is just one of the many ways I Promised You The Moon kept the spirit of its pre-successor alive while still being its own thing.
I really enjoyed all the new characters (with one exception, you can probably guess who, I will get into that later). Especially Oh-aews new friend circle. It’s nice that they actually have personalities this time and we get a much clearer picture of their dynamic with Oh-aew than with the side characters in season one. When I first watched the second season’s trailer, I feared that the supporting cast would solely serve as a bad influence to drive the leads apart but I actually thought that most of them added something to the story and also added depth to the personalities of our leads so that was a pleasant surprise.
I loved Oh-aews arc here, trying to find his place in Bangkok and also rediscovering his self-worth as his relationship goes all kinds of wrong. Him changing his university degree, is the thing that resonated most with me this season. Realizing that what you might not be cut out for what you dreamed of, is a really difficult, heartbreaking process, but the show does not punish him for changing his plans or “giving up”. Instead, he thrives when he allows himself to do what feels right to him. And that was honestly just really nice to see and the kind of story this burnt-out university student needed.
This is also such a minor thing, as it’s one of the first things that happens in this season, but Teh “coming out” to his mom, or rather finding out that his mom knew about him and Oh-aew all this time, was such a good scene. It brought tears to my eyes. While I really loved how the first season dealt with “queer trauma” such as internalized homophobia, I really wasn’t up to see another five episodes of this couple suffering simply because they’re gay. So it was refreshing to see that bigotry, wasn’t a hindrance in their relationship at all. In fact, they became noticeably more comfortable with being out in front of people. I mentioned the aquarium-kiss, but there were also minor things, like Teh smiling when he first meets another gay couple for the first time.
The acting is probably the second season’s strongest selling-point. I was impressed by the leads’ chemistry in ITSAY but dare I say, the two actors have improved a lot since the first season’s release. Maybe they have simply matured, maybe the director did a better job directing them, but I was in awe by how strong the acting here was. PP Krit as Oh-aew especially took the cake here, he was absolutely incredible. I found myself really looking forward to the documentary episodes of this season and seeing how invested both actors were in their characters was really fascinating. You can’t help but notice that Billkin and PP Krit have a really strong idea on how these characters work and should behave and the strong bond the two actors have is the reason the main Teh and Oh-aew’s chemistry is so believable. They’re obviously very comfortable with each other and trust each other a lot and you really can tell as you watch this show, no matter how much their characters hurt each other.
For the most part, IPYTM managed to keep the realism, that came with season one, alive, which I greatly appreciate. I mentioned how I worried about the second season being full of needless drama to up the stakes and while this definitely is pretty melodramatic, it’s still on the believable side. It is true that I could not relate to the second season like I did to the first one, which, as an angsty gay kid, touched the deepest darkest corner of my heart, but I was still left with a plot that somewhat resonated with me. Noone likes to think about the idea of drifting apart, but it happens. Quite frankly, I do not know a lot of stories that dare to tackle that topic, as it is such a downer, so I found this almost sort of refreshing, even though I dreaded the concept when I watched the trailer. I thought the process of them growing apart was done well, it felt like the natural conclusion given the circumstances the characters were in. The show didn’t go over the top to gives these two a reason to break up, they simply didn’t work anymore. Though there is an emotional climax in episode four, things were going wrong, way before the couple’s big fight. It’s hard to maintain a relationship when you’re both drastically changing and I thought this subject matter was explored in a mature and convincing way.
But I mentioned having my qualms with this sequel, so without further ado, let us get into them.
Teh is a villain.
As I read some opinion about this season, I came to realize that a lot of people never liked Teh, not even in season one, which honestly kinda shocked me. Because personally, I could relate a lot to him. Yes, he hurt Oh-aew on multiple occasions but I always understood where he came from. I understand that internalized homophobia can mess with you. So I have always been a Teh-apologist, because I saw a lot of myself in him, especially in his flaws. I could relate to his angst, to his pride that so often got the best of him, to his inability to communicate his feelings clearly, down to him making passive aggressive Instagram stories directed at his crush because he is a coward . But man, do I have a tough job defending him in season 2. I have mentioned how your characters are allowed to make mistakes. How them screwing up, doesn’t make a story bad but is the thing that provides conflict. But someone tell me: Why does it always have to be Teh screwing up? All the time. I mean, Oh-aew is a literal saint here, while Teh practically does nothing else but make questionable decisions.
You saw the spoiler warning, let’s talk about the infidelity. As someone, who found immense comfort in this relationship, watching the infamous theater practice kiss scene, definitely made me feel uncomfortable. Made me feel weirdly betrayed even. But I actually don’t absolutely hate the concept of it happening. Not meaning that I think cheating is super cool or even excusable, but I don’t mind it as a plot-point. I mean, it does happen. I think it was set up properly, it didn’t come out of left field or anything like that. But here is the problem: for this show to work, the audience still needs to like Teh. He is allowed to screw up, obviously. But he needs to stay redeemable.
“But user @sapphicdesaster”, you might say “Surely cheating is one of the worst things you can do to another person, how could the show have possibly redeemed Teh after he made such a grave mistake?”
Well rest be assured, I agree, infidelity is gross, and I think Oh-aew breaking up was the punishment Teh deserved. But I still think the narrative could have done something to make this feel less like a gut-punch. First of all: Let Oh-aew hurt Teh once. Like properly. Let him be the immature one for once. Make Teh’s worries about Oh-aew leaving him feel more warranted. Then make his feelings for Jai feel more grounded. Basically, let Oh-aew make a mistake that makes Teh flee into Jai’s arms for comfort. That of course wouldn’t excuse the infidelity but at least soften the blow, if that makes sense.
I mentioned not liking one new character. Shocker, it’s Jai. But the problem for me, isn’t him being a bad guy, I found his reasons to seduce Teh just kind of childish and like a cheap way to explain Teh’s actions away. To me, it took away Teh’s agency in the whole thing. Like “Oh he couldn’t help it, he was manipulated by an evil guy”. Like he had fallen under a spell. I would much have preferred it, if Teh’s feelings for Jai had been completely sincere, if he had simply fallen for his mentor for the person he is. I still would include the scene of him getting turned down, mostly because after watching him break Oh-aews heart, seeing him get played was very satisfying, but I would still change Jai’s motive. Instead of him having this master plan all along, maybe he was genuinely into Teh, but was in a secret relationship the entire time. That would give Teh a taste of his own medicine, without trying to rationalize his behavior away.
Conclusion:
As someone who watched the documentary, I feel like it’s at least safe to say, that no one walked into this half-heartedly. This wasn’t some cash-grab to profit off a beloved first season. I feel like this is a story the director genuinely wanted to tell. It might have not resonated with everyone but that is a risk you just have to take as a filmmaker.
I saw the term “toxic relationship” get thrown around a lot. And I agree, these two did lead a toxic relationship at some point. But like, a story simply being about a toxic relationship, doesn’t make it bad. The question is, does the story endorse a toxic relationship? And I don't think I could accuse IPYTM of said crime. There is no merit to Oh-aews suffering. He isn't put in a position where he has to change his boyfriend. Both characters change drastically but they change apart and seperate from each other. Teh, while the show tries to make the viewer sympathize with him, gets punished by the narrative for his mistakes. Because he is unable to make up his mind, he loses both guys he is interested in. And he can only get his love back, after growing as a person.
I didn’t feel let down by IPYTM, but maybe that’s because I went into this with a pretty pessimistic outlook on what it would be. I understand why this is a somewhat controversial season. It was not the story people were signing up for. Fans were invested in this couple, they wanted to see them happy. And I get that, so did I. In fact, if they made a third season called “Teh and Oh-aew: But this time they’re just in love and nothing bad ever happens” I would probably watch it. But I don’t think that would have been a story worth telling.
Obviously, I expected Teh and Oh-aew to have their problems in this season but I was quite surprised by how heavy they were. And while it was heartbreaking to watch them in this state, it is something I have to praise the show for. This was pretty daring. It’s not often a story tells us that sometimes love, doesn’t conquer all. Sometimes life gets in-between. Sometimes loving someone isn’t enough. Those are scary ideas, but they’re worth exploring.
Still, I am glad that in the end Teh and Oh-aew got their happy ending. Many people said that they didn’t want to see the couple together after the events of episode three, but I still kind of did, provided they both had the time to grow. Does Oh-aew deserve better? Maybe, I don’t know. But love isn’t really about what you deserve. It’s not a rational thing where you can calculate a break-even. It’s doing bat sh*t crazy things, like getting the name of your boyfriend of few months tattooed. It’s also realizing when you need to take a step back, which Teh did. As they met again, I was reminded of the lyrics from their theme song of season one: “If we are set apart by time, I'll be pleased to wait- But if we are set apart by destiny, I have to give up, don't I?” I never doubted that the two leads loved each other, even in their worst state, but as I mentioned, sometimes that isn’t enough. It’s simply the foundation. When Teh told Oh-aew that, even after he fell for Jai, he never once thought of breaking up with him, I believed him. But it was still important that the two of them got the chance to spend some time apart. In the last episode, I saw a couple I had faith in. They were less co-dependent and more well-rounded people. And I think that’s the real story of IPYTM. How time changes everything.
Obviously, this will never do for me, what ITSAY did for me. It couldn’t touch my heart in that way and I also think, objectively speaking, that it simply isn’t as strong as its pre-successor. But I didn’t expect anything else. It had a lot to live up to. I still think this is worth watching. Or maybe you just have to know what you’re getting into. If it’s really important to you to just see the two leads happy, maybe skip this. If you’re looking for a new take on a contemporary relationship as the two leads figure out who they are, this is definitely worth a try.
It seems like I run into this show whenever I need it the most. I watched I Told Sunset About You when I was coming to terms with the label "lesbian ". And now this aired, the year I am supposed move out of my childhood home. This drama kind of forced me, to get over my fear of “the day after the happy ending”. Because while I like the idea of comfortable neat clean conclusions and closure, what happens after the happy ending is simply life. And I can’t escape it forever. Yes, tomorrow might be painful. But it could be beautiful as well.
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Cute at first...but falls off
I had pretty much completely bought into this drama in the first two episodes — the main female lead was timid but not a pushover, bright but not stupid, and the main male lead was stoic but not rude, smart but not condescending. It was really quite a cliche dynamic but it was still enjoyable to watch especially because there were moments where they were equally hilarious and chaotic despite seemingly having such opposite personalities.As the drama went on it it did start to drag a little with the very typical "does he like me or not" and the "I'm going to step aside for my 'friend'" — but that wasn't my main gripe with it. In fact, I like a good slow burn and I never thought these misunderstandings got too extreme and frustrating.
One thing that did get increasingly annoying, however, was how the main male lead's "social awkwardness" manifested when he got jealous; the number of times he consciously CHOSE to sabotage the female lead's work...it got very frustrating and was neither cute nor amusing especially when it was played off as an inability to express himself.
I also found both of the side ships either boring or over-the-top annoying; one of them didn't have any stupid miscommunications but the side characters also didn't have any sort of backstory or personality. The other one had a female character who was very clingy, a male character who was essentially the same as the male lead, and just no sensible development between the two of them.
Overall it was kind of a light-hearted watch and there were elements of a healthy relationship and great communication, but it was also a drama that just felt very trope-y and average.
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This review may contain spoilers
its bollocks, save yourself and do not watch it
i only started this because i was a fan of mew's music before i watched it, i already liked one of the songs from the soundtrack i i gave the show a shot. i wish i hadn't. i wish i hadn't have wasted all my time on this, i wish i could go back to a time where i hadn't subjected myself to it.first tharn's character, he awful representation for gay people. he is disgusting, horrible and creepy. he starts out the series as a predator, forcing himself into type's personal space multiple time and assaulting him more than once. the hickies he give's type are treated as a "haha funny revenge on the homophobe" moment, not what it actually was, assaulting someone while they were asleep. the blowjob in the shower again, type showed no form of consent and yet again was not treated like the blatant SA it was. not to mention the multiple times he kisses type while he's asleep. tharn's multiple assaults on type are never treated as such and are never even mentioned again. tharn triggers type and while type is having a panic attack and rejecting any form of touch or contact, tharn just pulls him closer into him ???? yeah cause that's exactly what you do when you trigger a flashback to someones trauma. this isn't necessarily a him problem but san his ex is equally a disgusting person. during the later episodes in thier "sweeter" moments it was just so hard to ignore how a SA was the catalyst for this relationship to start and took most of the "sweetness" out of it. even after they get together tharn is still awful, when they fight rather than acting like the adult he's meant to be he sulks, cries and fucks off until he makes type come crawling back.
type is anything but an angel himself, as a gay person i would not touch a guy like type with a 10 foot barge pole. at least he sort of had his reasons for being so vile but type in the middle of the show is honestly so insufferable, when they are in that "are we dating , are we not? we just fuck sometimes" stage he is so possessive and weird despite not even being in a relationship tharn. i cannot see how being in relationship with someone like type would ever be in any way fulfilling and enjoyable enough to stay in it for a week, never mind get married to him. even taking his violent homophobia out of it (which is one of his only, if not THE only defining trait he had for so much of the early series) type just seems like a dick and an awful person. he is extremely hard to root for and absolutely does not deserve his two closest friends, No and Champ. every time type had any sort of character growth and i got hopeful, by the end of the episode im left disappointed. i got annoyed by his character so fast, it was just so unnecessary how he acted most of the time to people.
their relationship is baseline abusive and has been since it started. type hits, kicks and punches tharn multiple times and tharn forces himself onto type making him uncomfortable and makes absolutely no attempt to rectify his behaviour when he finds out about type's past. neither of them apologise for these things and their relationship seems to be a chore and a pain to be in. their relationship is so inconsistent, theyre hot or cold, together or at eachother's throats punching and kicking eachother. it's not an enjoyable relationship to watch play out.
the writing is just so bad omg. type's trauma is only ever brought up to be convenient for plot. when he and tharn end up together it just seems go away at the click of a finger ???? CSA isn't something that goes away just like that, it's serious and usually effects people way way into their adult life and subsequently their relationships in the future. if the writers would've just cared about making the plot seem any sort of realistic and coherent instead of just trying to throw in sex scenes whenever they could, type could've been a good character with a good character arc but no. that's just too much effort. it's left in the dust when it can't be used to further how much tharn and type have sex. one of the only parts where i could see hints of something good was when type was contemplating how to help tar, other than that it was such an awful way to add a storyline that serious in the show. lots of the dialogue felt juvenile and cringy. they have never heard of smooth transitions between plots. it seems like those movies adapted from wattpad fanfiction. their relationship felt so forced, even though i watched it happen. it didn't feel realistic like thats how two people like them would actually act, a high strung open gay and a violent homophobe.
not only is constant shitty handling of SA a problem but they decide to go the extra mile and add incest !!!! oh joy !!!!! i would like to hope i don't need to elaborate on the whole tum and tar front other than it being oh so disgusting.
lhong is a god awful antagonist, his whole story just unnecessary ???? it's pretty obvious to see he likes tharn from the start but that doesn't justify him hiring people to rape a highschooler and try to kill someone and then they were like "oh he has trauma as well so it's okay" this show just paints an awful picture of trauma victims and addresses it in such an awful way that i have to laugh bc if i don't i'll cry.
it is so obviously marketed to your stereotypical bl fan, a cis straight women. it's full of sex and all the glaring issues are just glossed over or ignored by fans. it could be better if they'd have not watered all these serious topics down into piss. in what world does a CSA survivor get over it in a few days because he had sex with his creepy roommate a few times, these aren't things that just disappear with the power of love, these are things that take people years and years to heal from with professional help, not some random ass gay musician.
this show incorporates absolutely everything bad in bl and just takes it to another level. at no point do i find myself wishing i was in a relationship like tharn and type, i find myself thankful im not. i left so many episodes feeling icky and just wrong, like "what the fuck am i watching". so much of it is just disgusting and highlights everything bad in bl. it has absolutely no rewatch value i wish i could just leave that blank
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Choi Ji Woo is great as Cha Geum Joo, and I admit I have never seen her in a drama before. She was likable early on, and I liked that she was a savvy lead, not a doormat. Her acting isn't perfect however, and there are more dramatic moments where she seems to try to play cute to the camera, which didn't really work for me. Luckily for her she was cast with two attractive and talented leads. Joo Jin Mo
as Ham Bok Geo "Hamburger" is grown and sexy, and a great match for her. I loved their flirty moments, and chemistry, especially in the beginning, although I kept wishing they would take things up a notch. He is an absolute charmer, and he charmed me in this role, though he's another actor I've never seen before.
Then there is Lee Joon as Ma Suk Woo, who was cute perfection. He was honestly my favorite character of them all, and I think the best actor. He managed to seem innocent, yet not naive. I loved watching his chemistry with Geum Joo when they worked together, though I admit she seemed waaaaaaaaaaaay too old for him. The love triangle between these three is pretty hilarious, even if it's a little unrealistic, they pull it off well. This was the highlight of the show for me.
The rest of the show is a messy melodrama revolving around a scandal I had a hard time following, and a mystery that didn't really grab my interest, but there is a villain that is really creepy, who I wish had a better storyline and more screen time. I still managed to enjoy the court scenes, which featured a great supporting cast, even if it was pretty obvious how things would go.
Then there's Jeon Hye Bin as Park Hye Joo (who I will forever think of as Oh Hae Young) who plays the main character's complicated sister. She is really good at playing a low key b!tch, but she honestly didn't have the acting chops to pull off such a complicated role. Her acting was so bad at times she seemed to be making fun of the role. There was just not enough depth, and I think that's this show's biggest problem. The character also had a few transformations that made no sense, especially at the end, but that could have maybe been fixed with better acting too, i think.
The show is pretty light hearted even though it deals with some very heavy themes, which I think worked against it. People treated things like going to jail, sex trafficking, being a fugitive, and even murder so lightly that I could barely take it seriously. The later episodes also focus so much on the melodrama that the show lost much of it's appeal. Still I liked watching the story unfold for some reason, and never thought about dropping it. The ending could have also been a lot better, but since the story wasn't a strong point, I'm not sure if it would have made much difference to my overall thoughts on the drama.
Overall, a pretty good cast made this show decent, and enjoyable. Like most shows it loses much of it's charm in the final episodes, but the cast made me want to stick with it. I doubt I'd watch it again, but I will miss some of the characters. I doubt this show will be high on anyone's favorite list, but I'm glad i checked it out. The fact that there are no other reviews seems so weird since I've seen much worse dramas with tons of reviews! I'd say it's the perfect "In the meantime" drama for those with nothing on their queue, and wiling to give it a chance.
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