Reviews

First of all, what the hell is wrong with this movie?

The actors were great. I could tell they were still starting their careers, and they really gave everything to this movie. The setting was also beautiful, and I liked the overall atmosphere. Honestly, most of the technical and performance aspects worked for me.

The problem is the plot. I genuinely didn't know a movie could have a situation where almost every character manages to make the worst possible decision.

Yong-jun couldn't properly choose between Jae-sung and Tae-kyu. I understand why he did sex work for money—sex work is work—but the problem is that he hid everything from Tae-kyu. He kept facing their problems alone instead of trusting his partner enough to tell him the truth. And because Tae-kyu was kept in the dark, he became increasingly dependent and ended up acting like a child instead of an equal partner.

Then there's Jae-sung. I don't understand him at all. He forced his way back into Yong-jun's life and tried to take him back as if their relationship hadn't ended badly. He's no longer part of Yong-jun and Tae-kyu's relationship, so he doesn't really get to decide how they deal with their complicated situation.

You can't just walk back into someone's life and act like nothing happened. That's probably why Jae-sung was so disappointed when Yong-jun treated him like another customer—because he wanted something from Yong-jun that Yong-jun wasn't willing or able to give him.

And then there's the ending.

WHY IS JAE-SUNG THE ONLY ONE WHO DIDN'T DIE???

Seriously, after everything that happened, that's the character who survives? I spent the entire ending wondering what the movie was trying to tell me.

I really wanted to like this movie because the acting, atmosphere, and setting were all good. But the plot drove me insane. Everyone kept making terrible decisions, refusing to communicate, and hurting each other, and I'm still not sure whether I was supposed to find that tragic, meaningful, or just frustrating.

For me, the performances carried the movie. The characters, unfortunately, made me want to scream.

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Don’t miss out

What I like best is that the female lead Xu Chi is empowered, resilient, and a brainer. Determined, dedicated, and willing, she learns well to confidently stay afloat in her new job and her adopted hometown.

It’s how women should be written more because overall, it’s what they do in life. Instead of women falling all over, needing to be scooped up, defended, more women in life are independent, hard working, goal oriented, etc. It’s how I see female lead here and her character development is tee on. Actresses Jiaomai is awesome.

The romance part of it is surprising to both. He’s been like her mentor, friend even so both are not sure, willing/unwilling to recognize it. It’s cute to see this development of where it’s going.

Overall, this drama is so good. Easily drowns out early spring that is done and gone, moving on…what a great replacement. Everything from story, to pacing, to acting has been well produced to keep satisfying viewers patient for each episode. Definitely don’t miss out on this.
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Done: final words.
Irreplaceable is right. Although this theme is from the standpoint of a business professional consultant plot line, working hard to achieve your goal so that you can be irreplaceable by competitors, I like how it also applies to us as human beings. The main characters in play each carry their own coping mechanisms to difficult pasts which they each overcome, making them irreplaceable to those who cares most for them. The three main couples were able to work through their relationships and I love the result.

Main couples relationship was healthy and special. Regardless of the age gap, they worked out well mutually agreeing to love and supporting each other. Very enjoyable, fast paced drama with a good ending.

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they were insane for this

If I'm completely honest, I started watching this drama because I wanted to watch something while I ate and I kind of didn't actually read the synopsis lol I kept watching it because hello??? Incest??? I wasn't zure if the subs on Netflix were real so I tried to wrap up my head about it.

I got quite lost with the plot at the beginning, because, I don't think Yun and Won had an actual reason to do all of this. Yun could've just simply fled with Won instead of marrying the minister but maybe that's just me.

I don't know much about acting, but I don't think Nana did bad, maybe because of her character she needed to be passive. She had lost her husband and was mourning during 20 years but also was a woman in the ~1500s (?) she started grew fond of Won but knew people will talk if they were together carelessly, I think it was only fair for her to be like that. (I have never watched anything from Nana' filmography, but even with the lip filler she's still gorgeous, maybe she didn't need it but she doesn't look bad either imo)

The sex scenes also weren't unnecessary. I mean, Yun literally told Won he needed to get Heeyeon pregnant because she wanted to see a child that resembled to him and at the end of the day, Won was a player......

I wasn't expecting Yun and Won not ending up together but it was only fair the end they gave Won. He was tired of going after women. Heeyeon wanted to flee with him but he wanted Yun and she wouldn't ever be with him like that. (I thought they would explain if he was actually dead, or if they had found the body tho)

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Fun Without Being Heavy

Flex x Cop was such a fun and enjoyable watch. Ahn Bo-hyun plays his character perfectly, and the cases were interesting enough to keep me engaged.

I never trusted his brother from the beginning, and turns out I was right.

Honestly, I was even more interested in the second leads... the forensic doctor and the detective. I’m really looking forward to seeing more of them in Season 2 and hope they get more screen time.

What I liked most is that the show doesn't take itself too seriously. It has suspense, comedy, some emotional moments and a little romance between 2nd leads without becoming romance-heavy. The way they solve the cases is also entertaining and keeps things moving.

It's not a dark crime drama, but it still has enough substance to keep you interested. It's exactly the kind of show you can watch when you want something engaging and fun without something emotionally heavy.

Overall, just a really enjoyable watch.

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A serious story thread that made the mistake of leaning into comedy

The FL , who is a prosecutor, loses her memory after being beaten within an inch of her life upon discovering a dangerous secret between the leader of a crime syndicate and a powerful politician.

With a start like this the story potential is endless. Unfortunately the writers threw the amnesiac FL in a home with the ML whose pretending to be the boyfriend she can’t remember, but in reality was the gangster who was ordered to kill her. In theory this sounds intriguing except it’s not when the story surrounding them is essentially a comedy. It also begs the question of what is the ML’s end game here. He says he’s hiding her to protect her but his protection is not thought through much less how long he can keep her in hiding?

Additionally while the show explored a series of comedic moments between the leads and the supporting characters that surround them, it frequently revisited the crime boss who ordered her murder. His story thread is anything but comedic. The writers juxtaposing these vastly different story threads within the same show was jarring. Resulting in what seemed like conflicting genres. Moreover, the actors had no chemistry and the story threads despite their potential failed to be interesting beyond the initial setup in the first episode. Is this worth watching, not in my opinion. I ended up turning it off after about 3 episodes.

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Pure, soothing, the kind of love story that makes you want to start anew and cleanse your life

This drama was very well produced despite like 4 cast members, and a very low budget. Nothing felt cringe, everyone was exactly where they're supposed to be. Genuinely felt like a group of friends we all wish to have, also the portrayal of falling for someone close is so, so wonderful and it leaves you butterflies. Do-wan isn't toxic, just possessive in a cute and not harmful way. In the end he conveys his feelings for Jaeyul by thinking about what makes him happy. Simple, slow-burn and meaningful. Even the smallest details, such as Jjudo not trying to force or tug on Jaeyul during the kiss scene, shows how experienced yet unseen the cast actually is. Feels like a nostalgic kdrama with high budget, but is in truth an intricate school project kind of series. I'd recommend to watch the combined episodes on YT as a film for the best experience.

The reason why not a 10: we could use an after story after much of the confession. I'd have liked to see them return to Han river as they promised in school. There's also too much worry about being seen holding hands despite it being the last, like 2 minutes. May have made more sense to let them be while cancelling out background characters, that shirt trick looked extra conspicuous lmao.

GND 스튜디오, 감사합니다!

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Storyline too boring

One of those dramas where I found myself appreciating the **ML and FL more than the actual storyline**.

Both lead actors played their roles very well. They were believable in their emotional scenes, and I felt they did their best to bring depth to their characters. Their expressions, interactions, and chemistry helped carry the drama, especially during moments that were supposed to make us feel the pain, love, and emotional struggle between them.

Unfortunately, the storyline itself just wasn't for me.

There were moments that should have had a much stronger emotional impact, but I didn't always feel connected to what was happening. At times, it seemed like the story was trying too hard to create emotional conflict instead of allowing the relationship and characters to develop naturally. I kept watching more because I wanted to see where the ML and FL would end up than because I was invested in the overall plot.

That is why I don't want to judge this drama too harshly. **My problem wasn't with the actors.** In fact, I think the ML and FL were probably the strongest part of the drama. Give these two a stronger script and storyline, and I would happily watch them together again.

Sometimes good actors can make you continue watching a story you aren't completely enjoying—and that was *Affectionate Acacia* for me.

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Superb start, but gradually loses its spark due to poor storytelling

This show could’ve been so good; If it had thrown out most of the supporting characters and the ridiculous storylines that came with them, and instead played up the intense chemistry between the leads while building a strong corporate rivalry/espionage/ takeover storyline within the ML’s family business or his venture capitalist pursuits.

But unfortunately the show completely squandered the potential they had with the leads amazing chemistry and the foundational corporate intrigue for half-assed storytelling, plots that were contrived or uninteresting and a lie/misunderstanding that went on for way too long.

That aside, the way the leads met with the FL “blowing the [ML’s] mind” was wonderful. Their two days together was perfect as was the abrupt ending of their bliss resulting in a dramatic separation. The story that followed was fun, funny but also filled with angst and longing. Absolutely loved how the ML was completely swayed by the FL but remained restrained due to the circumstances he believed to be true.

The angst was so well done from him. But as the show progressed the lie separating the leads became tedious as did the plots surrounding them . The story got so tiresome about halfway through I started FF through episodes. And just when I thought the story was finally going to revisit the fun and sexy that was the lead’s interactions in the first couple of episodes we end up with one being injured and developing amnesia as a result. SMH.

It is unbelievable how a series could start with so much potential only to end up in a state so far below what was expected . It is truly a shame. Overall I’d say this series, disappointingly, is not worth watching, save for the first 2-3 episodes when its potential is at its peak.

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Ignore the bad reviews - this is a good show

This was a very good show, and the barrage of bad reviews confuse me. If you look at the show rating, it is a very high 8.8, so do yourself a favor and ignore the that reviews. I assume there are a lot of good ones further down and I'm not sure why the way the list is sorted, all of the bad ones are up top. Anyways ...

This show had a little bit of everything. A sweet slow burn romance, some decent action, and a bit of a mystery regarding the virus. I think some of the reviews are overly focused on the details of the zombie part, but that's not really what the show is about. I'm not really that concerned about how possible the virus story is. I think they missed the point that the story is about how people would behave in a situation like this. Yes, if I would criticize anything, I would say that some of the bad characters are a little too unbelievably bad, but that's minor.

Back to the romance, I would prefer as like the faster development on it, but the chemistry was very good, and it's still had a satisfying ending.

This remind me a bit of Flower of Evil when it comes to the combination of suspense and romance. Not as good as that, but then again, flower of evil is possibly my favorite k-drama of all time.

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We are having a woke off

Oh, Knot, it is time, my old friend; it’s time to be laid to rest. I already know this review is going to be very long because I have a lot of thoughts, good and bad, so just get ready. If you don’t want to read it all, I would say watch it, but be mindful of he filler bullshit plot between episodes 7-10; it’s kind of annoying. If you want to read, get fucking ready. I would give it an 8.5 (8.4) out of 10, then I am going to rant and rave about what I liked, what I didn’t, and then do a very long episode overview because this show had me spouting a lot of bullshit.

Oh my god, I actually don’t even know where to start lmao. Boat and Oat are back at it again, and we also got two more new couples, so that’s very exciting. I lowkey think they all did a good job. I was cringing; I was in the moment; I was everything, and no matter how questionable the plot got, I will give it to them. They did their big one with this. Just great chemistry overall and acting that brought this show to life, despite everything.

Despite a lot of people not thinking so, I truly think that the start of this show was fantastic. I think it really held up to the expectations set by the trailer in the first episode, and the quality and everything were incredibly high, so good job, Mflow.

Following this, they brought the Omegaverse to life very well. The first thing that comes to mind is the pheromones, or my friend and I call the heat wave (pov arbian nights starts playing in the back, because every time it showed up, I started singing it to my friend). Everyone had their own pheromones, specifically with colors and scents. I feel like they could have just done one color for everyone, but they didn't, and I thought that was a good edit and once again helped to bring this to life in the way that I hoped. I also like how they explained most of the scents, so we as the audience could imagine it as well. Next up for things that brought the omegaverse to life was the rut and heat showcased. I know a lot of those parts were quite cringe, and I would admit that, but that's the whole point of the omegaverse. It's supposed to be cringe; it's supposed to be different, and they really did that well. They showcase the nesting that comes with it, and I overall thought that was really good.

Next up under this category is the showcasing of slick. YES YES YES YES. WHOEVER DECIDED, HEY, WE NEED THAT; YOU DESERVE TO GET YOUR ASS ATE. I understand if people thought that was weird, but that is a really big part of the omegaverse: the slick, so go them. I do think they could have mentioned it a couple more times, but I also understand why they didn't. They were really just trying to get people to keep watching the show at the start, so they were throwing a lot of stuff in. So I can't hate the player; I gotta hate the game, come on now. Related to slick is the knotting, NOW THAT ATE. It is more towards the end, and it happens twice, and Kat and I were GOB SMACKED, MY LORD. Like we think they were going to leave it up for interpretation, but they didn't, and I love them. Really good representation; I liked that a lot.

Finally, for things under this category was marking, the whole thing that started this plot. The bite marks were such a fun addition, and the fact that they faded with time was great, and when they flashed colors, like for our third couple, I loved that. And I will go into this in my next point, but the message with force marking and with that rape. I think they did a really good job having this on a center stage kind of vibe. Overall, just a few of the many good things that helped bring this story to life.

Next thing that I liked. THIS ENTIRE THING WAS A SOCIAL COMMENTARY (hence my headline), and I like how they added that. I mean, that's the whole point of the omegaverse: it's a commentary on the patriarchy and misogyny, and how we only care about issues related to women when they are directed at men. Think about them. I love how they didn't make Phat a fucking breeder. Didn't get him pregnant right away; gave him actual character work instead of just being an omega, just being used as a breeder, as a tool to make this family an enigma, and I loved that. Related to that, Nakhin is the wokest brother, my lord. He fully wants to fall in love with someone because he loves them, not because of their title, but because of actual love. Like, go them- did we overkill that shit? Of course, but who gives a fuck.

Another thing I like is the relationship between Nakhun, Nakhin, and Nabastard. At the start it was very rocky, but as the show continued on, it got better and better, and our favorite bastard realizes that his brothers and their mother always saw him as their own, and I thought that was really sweet, like so sweet. Also, the entire family likes cute guys with brown hair because I'm so gaged. Why are we all dating cute guys who happened to be friends (or were friends...)?

Okay, so I hate the whole plot with Sangnuea, but him being a villain, great edition, love to see it, you know I do. Him coming on to Nakhin to try and get his enigma babies and ending up being marked by Nabastard, CHILLS. THEY LOWKEY DIDN'T NEED TO DO THAT, BUT KAT AND I ATE THAT SHIT UP. COME ON NOW. Sacrifices must be made for the greater good; I thought that was done really well. I will rewatch that shit just for that; like, I am not a woker, love that. Actions have consequences; think about that.

For things that I didn’t like, I am really going to try my best not to hate on this show, because thats all people have been doing, but i am also a massive hater so get ready. We know how to drag our fucking feet I swear to god. I am going back to look at my review, but it started in episode 3, and we were dragging our feet and already doing circles, and that's truly one of the worst parts about this show. I wish we wrote out the plot better, so it was less slow burn and less rushed, like we can just spread it out better and not have that problem, but God forbid.

Amira, Amintra, Irrelvantira? GET HER OFF MY SCREEN. Come on now, I thought she was going to be a great villain, but no, she was instead the best friend of Nakhin, and that's fine, but all of her screen time had no purpose at all. Like, truly such a big waste of time for someone that I literally put on the front cover. I'm done.

A lot of characters got faded. And my thing is, why introduce them if they are going to get faded? The guy who owned the cafe with Ongsa, FADED. The random family members of our trio, FADED. Amintra, FADED. Everyone, FADED. That was just poor plot writing that was a waste of time, come on.

And I finally think it's time to address the elephant in the room and probably the worst part of this entire show: the human trafficking plot. Okay, before I start on this crazy rant, I want to say that this whole plotline could have been saved if they brought it up at the start, but because they decided to bring it up at episode 7, more than HALFWAY THROUGH THE SHOW, it failed and brought about the majority of this show's hate. That being said, it was awful. It felt so fucking random, and the fact that Nabastard got faded pretty much the whole show up until this point, I had truly no reason to give not one fuck, not two fuck, not red fuck, not blue fuck, ZERO. And well it did give way to Saegnea and his whole plot line they should have brought it up earlier because it felt random, weird and like a whole bunch of bullshit filler. And this bullshit lasted for almost the rest of the show until, like, episode 10, going into 11. Like my god, we could have written that out better or not written it at all (My notes on it: Good ep until this random ass human trafficking; like, we are pissing me off, and we are all little bitches).

Another thing kind of related to this that I didn't like is we would do absolutely nothing the entire episode and then in the last 5 minutes we would pretend like we are actually going to do something else, but no, NO. WE ARE GOING TO WASTE YOUR DAMN TIME BECAUSE WE HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO. That was very irritating, and we could have actually done without that.

Whoever decided that we need to have faded edges, I hope you die a slow and painful death; that was actually making me nauseous, my lord. I loved every other special effect besides that one; that was just awful.

Finally, I wish we ended it differently, but I also don't really have any better ideas about what we could have done, but whatever. That pissed me off, silly. I can't even lie. We spent TWELVE FUCKING WEEKS GEARING UP TO THIS SHIT, AND ALL WE WANNA DO IS PLAY IN MY DAMN FACE. I'M SO IRRITATED. We are gonna get a special episode, so I am looking forward to it. I can't wait.

Episode overview, and I will try to make this short. Episode 1: “Family affair. I had no idea all of our couples were in the same family. I'm gagged." Episode 2: “Okay, so for the final five minutes, Bo is going to beat his meat in the bathroom. Why? Why did we do that? No idea, but I am like, oh, they are going to cut it. Oh, they are going to cut it. And they did not cut it, and they kept showing that. He is moaning his name and all that. I am like, what the hell? I am in the airport right now, and I am literally so gagged. Oh my God. Oh my fucking God. Good fucking night.” Episode 5: “Family have a typee. Cute guys with the same shade of brown hair.” “If in the next episode he does not eat him out, I am going to be so mad, bro. I am going to be literally so livid.” Episode 6: “THE DAD’S 39 HELPPPP. Y’all r siblings lmao with oats old ass.” Episode 7: “Nakin, unemployed bitch, go help the ficking company and leave Ongsa alone. Love them mentioning how he’s being seen as a breeding tool. Bring me the bastard brother. HE'S ACTUALLY A BASTARD, MY FRIEND, AND I’VE BEEN JOKING ABOUT THAT. WE HAD NO IDEA. HE WAS ACTUALLY A BASTARD. ALSO LORE ACCURATE THAILAND TRAFFIC LMAO BC HE HAS TIME TO SIT THERE AND CRY, PUT THAT SHIT IN PARK TOO.” Episode 8: “HOW DO WE SPELL BULLSHIT? OH WAIT I KNOW, IT'S KNOT BITCH THAT'S HOW WE SPELL IT BITCH. I AM LITERALLY PISSED RIGHT NOW. Hey, so we aren't going to do anything for 51 minutes and then pretend like we are gonna do stuff next episode, but in actuality WE AREN'T. Come on y'all, lock in; I want omegaverse, not human trafficking and land BS.” “ALSO IF SANGNUEA, WHATEVER THE BITCH, ISN'T EVIL, I'M BLOWING MFLOW, PLS PERFECT OPPORTUNITY. ME AND KAT ARE WAITING FOR NAPITCH TO GET DRUGGED, #NEVERFORGET.” Episode 9: “Saying beta with a hard r.” Episode 19. “HOW DO WE HAVE A TIE? But no phone charger? We dumb. We are going to have the camera angle in a weird angle so we can't tell our main villain is like 5’4. Everything he says sounds so seductive, so I can’t take anything seriously. OH FUCK. Me and Kat aren't woke; we are eating the mark shit up. Napitch didn’t fully realize what he did because he was scared, but I HATE THAT SHIT UP. The whole family yearnssss. I'm gagged. Let's make some babies, please and thank you. Welp, there we go. He loves Nakun so much and Nakun the same.” Episode 11: "We got a mega happy ending incoming and we probably gonna have like 16 kids between the three of us and to that I saw hell yeah." Episode 12: "Nakin doesn't see color lmao." "ALSO NAKIN BLAMING IT ON THE BOOGIE WITH THESE PANTS?" "THE WHOLE FAMILY HAS THE BLAME IT ON THE BOOGIE PANTS. DOWN BLAME IT ON THE WHAT?"

And that is the end of this beautiful show. I really wish it lived up to these expectations, but whatever. Would I recommend? Yes and no: yes because it's omegaverse, and no because it's questionable and has majority filler. Okay bye!

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Before I even get into the actual review of the series, I need to take a quick moment to just scream about the two lead actors! I swear, this is the very first time I’ve watched a Japanese BL where both main leads are this ridiculously, undeniably attractive. A massive round of applause is seriously owed to the makeup and styling team. The way they completely transformed Shu is wild, I literally had to do a double-take because he was so unrecognizable! And then you have Ryu, just radiating absolute charm. I have to admit, he is officially the second Japanese actor this year who has left me completely and utterly mesmerized.

As for the series itself, the central conflict is pretty predictable right from the jump. You can easily read between the lines and see exactly where the story is heading. Unfortunately, it suffers from that classic JBL curse, the 20-to-25-minute episode runtime. Because the episodes are so painfully short, the supporting cast gets practically zero development or screen time. The world outside the main couple feels a bit empty, which is always a bummer.

But honestly? The connection between Takoi and Shiono completely makes up for any of those narrative flaws. Their chemistry is absolutely off the charts. I found myself grinning from ear to ear and giggling at my screen every single time they shared a scene. They just have this magical, effortless spark that pulls you right in.

They are so good together that this show completely hijacked my viewing schedule and aggressively pushed every other BL on my watchlist to the side. And speaking of breaking my own rules, I know I just said I broke my "binge-only" habit for Connecting to You, but I did it again here! This is the first time I've started a JBL without waiting for it to finish, and let me tell you, the weekly wait is absolutely exhausting.

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