Reviews

They cut a lot of episodes which lowered my experience, but otherwise a good story.

From beginning to end, I couldn't understand all the hype surrounding this drama. Yes, I liked it and enjoyed the story, but the number of episodes they cut impacted my experience a lot.

At one point, the side characters' stories were practically removed from the screen, and we only learned about what was happening with them when they mentioned it to one of the leads. That was a huge downside for me, because I liked some of them more than I liked any of the leads, and I was really invested in their lives.

Another downside was how hard it was to follow how much time had passed. Sometimes it was days, sometimes months, and sometimes even longer... and they never explained it properly, leaving me guessing most of the time. That made the story a little disorienting.

But other than that, it's a great story about two flawed people trying to build a relationship where their flaws are their biggest obstacles. There were a lot of miscommunications, toxicity, insecurities and a lack of trust. The road was bumpy, but it only made them grow and eventually become better versions of themselves.

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Nice male lead, bestie and niece ,annoying everything else

I started this craving cliches, an icicle male lead and some mindless nothing. What I got was an adorable male lead, some decent friendships, several lovable characters and a slightly different take on the oops I got pregnant from a one night stand with the CEO. I also got a lot of over the top characters, a business side plot that gave nothing, absolutely nothing to the plot and an Disney villan of the worst kind making me lower the score over and over again. I also got never ending monologs, preachy moments and people talking as their past selves making me roll my eyes, again and again and again.

Add to this that there is a complete disproportion of forgiveness, some are so, so easily forgiven even after years of evil deads and torture others just ok you figured out that what you did was bad, all is forgiven welcome to the family... Wait what?


The male lead lovely as he was just could not up the score enough for me to be able to fully recommend it but if you are in the mood for Ooops I got pregnant by the amazing CEO it kind of does the job, just mind all the other stuff.

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A long, slow journey of love, survival, and destiny

This drama is a story about two people whose lives are changed by circumstances beyond their control long before they truly have the chance to know each other.

Lanxiang and Jinqi are connected by a promise made between their families, but fate takes them in completely different directions. What begins as a story about an arranged marriage gradually becomes something much deeper, a story about survival, identity, resilience, and the unexpected bonds people form along the way.

Lanxiang is one of the strongest parts of the drama. From a young age, she is shown as someone kind-hearted and compassionate, but what makes her compelling is not just her sweetness. She is someone who adapts to difficult circumstances without losing her sense of self. Watching her navigate a world where her identity and status are no longer what they once were is one of the most interesting aspects of the story.

Jinqi, meanwhile, follows a very different path. He carries the weight of family expectations, duty, and choices made when he was still young. His character is not simply defined by his position or power, but by the consequences of the decisions made throughout his life.

The romance between the two leads is an extremely slow burn. This is a 47-episode historical drama that takes its time, and it may feel slow for viewers who prefer faster-paced storytelling. However, the gradual development is also one of the drama’s biggest strengths. Their relationship does not appear suddenly or rely on exaggerated romantic moments. Instead, it grows through shared experiences, trust, understanding, and slowly learning who the other person truly is.

What I appreciated most is the nostalgic feeling the drama gives. It feels like a return to older historical dramas that were willing to spend time building characters, relationships, and atmosphere rather than rushing from one major event to another. The story allows emotions and connections to develop naturally.

Tan Songyun’s portrayal of Lanxiang is especially convincing. She brings a quiet strength to the character and makes her transformation feel believable. Lanxiang’s intelligence and adaptability never feel forced, they come naturally from her experiences and the world she has had to survive in. Some of the other performances are more uneven, and I found certain portrayals less consistent, but the emotional center remains strong.

Overall, this is a drama for people who enjoy patient storytelling, historical settings, and character-driven romances. It requires commitment, especially with its length and slower pacing, but there is something comforting about watching a story unfold gradually. It is less about dramatic romance at first sight and more about two people slowly finding their way back to each other after life has taken a lot from them.

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Gripping from the get go! Pace is good and routing for FL!!

6 episodes in and the plot thicken! Each episode moves fast and there’s no dull moments. First time watching Xu Kai and he doesn’t disappoint. He plays Yan Rui, an official who fights corruption but has a past with the FL. He is tough with everyone except for the FL and love when he saved her from the wretched Nanny! It was so fulfilling watching her get whipped 😆

Zhou Ye’s female lead is sly and brave, someone who’s determined to clear her mother’s name. She looks really pretty as I’ve only seen her with light make up in LOTFG. Her acting is on point and she is no damsel in distress. She plays a daughter born into a noble family but left the family with her mother when her mother was falsely accused.

Chemistry is building and seems very natural.

There is a huge cast, so far the Xie family alone is enough to make my head spin. The production value is high as scene from costumes and backdrop.

Also refreshing that the ML and FL did their own dubbing so we hear their voices.

Will update this review as I watch more episodes.

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A strong 0/10!

This show sucked.

After seeing My Stubborn with these two I was pretty turned off to watch another show with them in it, but since it was the omegaverse I decided to watch it. That being said, I don't think I'll watch another show with these two. I think their chemistry is good, but I don't think they're good actors and they have been in two awful shows so far, so I think I've had enough. Nakhun was very unlikeable from the beginning. I mean he literally bit a stranger in the street. He did get more caring and loving throughout the show, which was nice, but I just didn't like his character at all. I liked that Phatsa stood up for himself and others and wasn't afraid to even against all the alphas. I did like that about him. I also felt bad that his life was basically stolen away from him when he was bitten since he was then faded to belong to Nakhun after that. Other than that, I was pretty annoyed by most of the time and didn't like him either. It also just felt so unbelievable to me that he's gone his whole life without know about any of the abo stuff while living in it. That makes no sense at all. It would be one thing if it was that he just thought he was a beta the whole time, but not knowing about any of it all is crazy. As for them as a couple, they were fine, I guess. They had quite the rough start, but they loved each other a lot by the end.

I liked Ongsa and Nakhin right away. They were the most likeable characters in the series by a lot. I liked them as a couple too, but I wish we got more of them. I feel like we saw more of the lead up to them than after once they were a couple. We just didn't get enough time of the two of them at all. They seemed to be the only two levelheaded people in the whole show, other than maybe the mom.

As for Sangnuea and Naphitch, we hardly saw them together at all so I don't really think they can be called a couple. Naphitch really only caused trouble the whole series. He had a bad attitude, caused problems, bit the family enemy and that's about it. Sangnuea just seemed weird or off to me from the start, so I wasn't surprised he was the bag guy at all. The reveal of it though was so boring I skipped through half of the episode. Nothing about him excited me at all.

The show was just awful. The first couple episodes had potential for the show to be a proper ABO show but then it took a huge cliff dive. It became less about the omegaverse and more about plotlines we didn't care about at all. If it continued focusing on the omegaverse and less about everything else, I think it could've been a decent show.

The show was just a whole bunch of nothing. There was nothing interesting going on after the first couple episodes. There was so much talking and not nearly enough showing. What I mean is that the entire show was characters were talking about things that happened or how something worked, instead of showing it to us. the characters were constantly talking about something and then going to other characters and telling them the same thing and it was just that over and over again. It was like we were constantly being told a recap of everything we already knew.

A list of a very few things that were wrong with this show:
-It was called Knot and we didn't even hear about that until the end of the show
-Phatsa didn't get pregnant until the last few minutes of the show
-They didn't get married and instead gave us a crappy half-baked birthday party
-As for the finale, we didn't see the other main characters for more than two minutes in the entire 75 minutes
-The subtitles were awful (luckily, they got a bit better as it went on)
-The writing was awful
-Almost all the characters were unlikeable
-The music wasn't great
-The editing was bad
-The acting was terrible. I'm sorry but it was
-The spicey scenes were so drawn out and long and not in a good way. For this being a show about ABO, there wasn't enough spice scenes either.

These are just a few things that were bad about the show. I can't say enough bad things about this show to be honest and if I could rate it lower, I would.

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Great, Focused Story, Top Tier Actors, Great Production

What's not to like in a focused, "get to the castle by daylight", "28 days" type of show. The script and story line were lean and logical and not overly complex. (There were just a few logical inconsistencies such as the queen's sister shooting arrows from horseback rather than riding in the carriage with her and the queen being told, essentially, women should just sit quietly at home, while she is in full military armor ready to lead the battle and she and her sister have been trained as warriors. Makes ZERO sense.) Yes, it was a bit gory. Yes, it was a bit sexy. Yes, it was gritty and violent, but not excessively. Production values were impressive. A stand out for me as far as acting was ever-sexy Lee Soo Hyuk. And he managed to look beautiful even when he was deranged.

The ending was a cliff hanger, so I think that either they knew that the show might be a hard sell in Korea, or they found that out mid-way and cut off the episodes, trying for more funding later. The story could definitely continue as there were many story lines that weren't fully exhausted. But, it could also end here, as we imagine the heros winning. There were plenty of Ji Chang Wook flashbacks and I bet there are plenty already filmed in anticipation of more episodes. His story definitely wasn't fully fleshed out.

Anyway, the only thing that could have been an impactful improvement for me was to have a more expressive FL. She had the steely-eyed look down pat, but more nuance would have been good. She was portrayed as a firebrand as a little girl and now as a queen she is a rather flat, unbelievably controlled queen. I don't see the connection. I have seen other steel queens that still have a bit more spark flowing in their faces. In the last few episodes she cranked it up a bit, but it was too little, too late for me. If the show had continued, we likely would have seen more range in her character.

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A beautifully complicated bond

It is one of those series where, it is difficult not to notice the emotional intensity between its two main characters. While the adaptation introduces a female lead and does not openly frame itself as a BL, the heart of the story remains centered on the deep connection between Pi-O and Jeong Yo.

The series follows two young pianists who are almost complete opposites. Pi-O is technically brilliant, disciplined, and capable of achieving perfection, but somewhere along the way he loses the emotional connection that makes music truly meaningful. Jeong Yo, meanwhile, has the passion and sensitivity of a true artist, but struggles with confidence and the technical skills needed to fully express himself.

What makes their relationship so compelling is that they become the missing piece in each other’s lives. They do not simply help each other improve as musicians, they bring out qualities that the other person has lost or never had. Pi-O gives Jeong Yo structure and confidence, while Jeong Yo reminds Pi-O that music is also about emotion. Together, they represent the balance needed to create something beautiful, much like a sonata performed by four hands.

The strongest part of the series is the bond between the two leads. Their relationship develops through shared struggles, admiration, competition, and moments where they constantly challenge and support each other. There is a constant push and pull between them, and the chemistry between the actors makes their connection feel especially powerful. Whether interpreted as friendship, artistic partnership, or something deeper, their attachment to one another is clearly the emotional center of the story.

The series also does an interesting job exploring the idea that some people become essential parts of our lives. Pi-O and Jeong Yo are stronger together than they are apart, and the story repeatedly shows how deeply they affect each other’s identities, dreams, and healing.

Although this adaptation seems hesitant to fully embrace its BL origins and adds elements that make it harder to define, the emotional intimacy between the two protagonists remains impossible to ignore. Their bond carries a sense of longing and somewhat devotion that goes beyond a typical friendship dynamic, while still leaving room for viewers to interpret it in their own way.

With strong performances, beautiful themes, and a story that balances warmth with heartbreak, this is an emotional watch. It can be enjoyed as a story about music and friendship, but also as a story about two people who, in many ways, complete each other.

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Something to choose if you want an easy, funny and messy watch

Yet another Ding Yuxi drama finished, and I couldn't be happier with my decision to watch this and, despite the story being a mess at times, to stay until the end. Because, oh, what a perfect ending that was!

I really liked how they touched on a few interesting topics, like gender equality, roles, and one's value in society when one gender is superior, and at some point, it even made me think about more philosophical topics, such as the creation of the world and mankind.

However, I must warn you that this is far from a serious story — there is a lot of comedy, which is sometimes way too silly or annoying, but the romance elements, especially the ML's love and affection for the FL, are cute, adorable and sweet. Yet, there wasn't enough of it, as I craved more than I got.

Overall, it's an easy watch if you want something you don't have to think too much about. The plot is quite easy to follow, even if it's messy.

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Will the plot and pacing please step up?

Where oh where to start.....

I was so excited for this series when it was announced and during the lead-up to it. One thing I really hate and have noticed with almost all BL shows is that the trailer and the actual show are two completely different things, and it frustrates me to no end.

Let's talk plot;

The plot had a lot of potential, but the execution was awful. With Knot, you are introduced to new things that the other Omegaverse series hadn't touched on, but instead of expanding on those things, the show decided to waste valuable screen time and episodes on characters that had no point in the show (Amintra, Kingyok, both the dads) and on scenes with random kids who we have no clue who they are or how they even fit into the story, other than for Phatsa to be told he is handsome and tough like an Alpha.

Phatsa, don't even get me started. You supposedly grew up in a world where people are either Alphas, Betas, or Omegas, and you're telling me he had no clue whatsoever?! HOW DOES THAT MAKE ANY SENSE!!!!!!! Then, they throw in things like Pure Alphas and Pure Omegas and how they can have a Enigma child. IT WAS NEVER EXPLAINED WHAT WAS SO GREAT ABOUT AN ENIGMA CHILD!!!!! Phatsa's dad keeping the ABO world secret from his son was so stupid; if you had that happen to your wife, why in the hell would you not 1. Test your child to see if they're an omega to protect them? And 2. Tell your kid about the ABO world to protect them and protect others!

The whole revenge plot of the show was very stupid, in my opinion, and would have been so much better without it. Sangnuea's reason for even doing his whole revenge thing was pointless and made no sense. To have him be bitten by Naphitch and have them be bonded together, but have no scene of them together, was the dumbest decision ever. The only scenes we had of Naphitch and Sangnuea were when Sangnuea and Naphitch dry-humped in the public club (so stupid, I swear this show loves some dry humping for some reason) and then the show ends with them basically hating each other. Nothing between them is resolved or looks like it could be on the way to being resolved.

The only couple who felt somewhat real and actually fleshed out were Ongsa and Nakhin.

I had a lot of issues with this show hyping up Phatsa becoming pregnant. I actually wanted to see how they would do the pregnancy, but no, we only learn he is pregnant at the very end of the finale, and that's it.

I have a very strong hunch that there will be either a season 2 or a special episode. It needs that much just to answer all the crap they left behind and to maybe show some growth between Sangnuea and Naphitch.

Overall, this was a massive letdown for me.

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Refreshing queer story telling One of the best bls of 2026

I am loving you manaic such a character driven story full of chemistry, amazing music and beautiful direction!! So excited to see the story of dean and moth two red flags who will be crazy for each other. I love how red flags are portrayed here because this is real life red flags usually it’s about not caring about consent etc no but to me that’s criminal here it’s not communicating one is emotionally unavailable one is too available yet so lonelier. It’s such a queer story WilliamEst have done an amazing job. The way the story leaves us wanting more is a testament to the acting and all cast and crew. The story is set up so well and i feel like we r being put through a lot of emotions

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? WHEN THE TWISTED MELON FINALLY BECAME SWEET

OVERALL IMPRESSION🌟
This was an entertaining reversal of the familiar rebirth storyline. Rather than returning to win the ML’s love, the FL recognised the terrible harm she had caused in her previous life and wanted to atone, protect both families and eventually divorce him. Naturally, the moment she stopped chasing him and reclaimed her dignity was when the formerly resentful husband became completely fascinated by her.

WHAT I LIKED💖
• I actually liked the ML and understood his initial resentment. In their previous life, the FL framed him, damaged his reputation and behaved cruelly towards his family, so his distrust after her sudden transformation was understandable.
• Even while resenting her, the ML appeared to have unresolved feelings for the FL. His emotional conflict made it clear that his supposed hatred had never been complete indifference.
• The reborn FL did not expect everyone to forget her past behaviour immediately. She understood why the family distrusted her and tried to repay the harm she had caused through sincere actions rather than empty apologies.
• I loved everyone’s shocked expressions when they expected jealousy and cruelty, only for the FL to behave carelessly and generously—even placing the SFL in a room beside the ML for “easy access”!
• Her in-laws gradually noticed that she had become kinder, more supportive and considerate. Their cautious desire to accept her made the family’s changing relationship feel believable.
• The ML secretly spying on the FL was hilarious. He expected to expose another scheme, but instead repeatedly discovered her helping others and behaving sincerely.
• I enjoyed watching his feelings develop from resentment to curiosity, admiration and love. The moment she stopped revolving around him, he became unable to stop watching her.
• The FL giving the gullible green tea advice on attracting the ML’s attention was priceless. The comedy prevented the second-chance premise from becoming overwhelmingly heavy.

WHAT I DISLIKED⚠️
• The SFL was a poisonous manipulator who repeatedly tried to turn the ML and his relatives against the FL. Her schemes depended on exploiting the family’s understandable distrust after the first life.
• Although the ML’s resentment was justified, his ambiguous behaviour and self-centred attitude sometimes kept the FL emotionally insecure even after she had genuinely changed.
• The FL had suffered greatly in her previous life, and the damage to her reputation also affected her parents. Her determination to endure the remaining year of marriage sometimes felt like continued self-punishment rather than genuine healing.
• The ending leaves some uncertainty about whether choosing the ML again truly represents the FL’s freedom or whether a life away from everyone connected to her trauma might have allowed her greater peace.
• I wanted stronger reassurance that the ML loved the person she had become—not merely the thrill of pursuing a wife who no longer wanted him.

PRODUCTION AND PERFORMANCES🎭
• Zhang Li Ren handled the ML’s mixture of resentment, suspicion, growing fascination and panic convincingly. His reactions whenever the FL behaved completely differently were especially entertaining.
• Li Jing Ye successfully distinguished the reborn FL from her previous self. Her calmer manner, generosity and emotional distance made the character’s transformation immediately noticeable.
• The acting, direction and production helped balance painful memories of the first life with comedy, romance and the gradual rebuilding of trust.
• The strongest part of the drama was watching the FL’s internal transformation influence every relationship around her. By treating herself and others differently, she changed the direction of her entire life.

FINAL THOUGHTS💭
The FL’s second chance was not simply about winning love—it was about accepting responsibility, protecting her parents, making amends and finally forgiving herself. Her decision to stop forcing the relationship allowed the ML to recognise the feelings he had buried beneath resentment. Although I still question whether returning to him offered her the freedom she deserved, I enjoyed watching hatred become curiosity, admiration and love. Zhang Li Ren and Li Jing Ye gave this familiar rebirth premise enough emotional tension, comedy and sweetness to make it thoroughly entertaining.

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Not the best, but still good

It's been like 4 years since I've actually finished a Thai BL, and somehow Duang With You was the one that pulled me back in. I'm such a sucker for the golden retriever x grumpy/black cat trope that I already knew this was so for me

Storyline and Writing

The story itself is pretty simple... golden retriever Duang falls for the much more reserved Qin and decides he's going to break through all those walls Qin has built around himself. That's basically the backbone of the whole series and I don't think the show is trying to be anything more complicated than that

And honestly... I'm okay with simplicity when the characters are interesting enough to carry it

What I liked most was that the romance isnt really about Duang fixing Qin. It's more about Duang consistently showing Qin what affection can actually look like. Qin is someone who has become so used to withholding himself that even receiving something as simple as affection or reassurance can feel unfamiliar to him. So I liked the way Duang slowly and slowly gets through to him instead of Qin suddenly changing overnight

The show also deserves credit for not turning Qin's background into endless trauma porn. There is obviously heavier material there but the series doesn't make that suffering the entire identity of the character or use it as an excuse to manufacture drama every five minutes

Aside from not relying too heavily on trauma. I really liked that the show didn't pad itself out with unnecessary conflicts. There aren't endless petty misunderstandings, forced jealousy, or the usual "why don't you just talk to each other?” situations just to keep the couple apart. It lets the characters actually communicate and move forward, which made the relationship feel much less frustrating to watch

I also liked the red string theory reference, even though the twist has already been used in quite a few shows. What I liked is that it wasn't treated like some forced "fated lovers" twist. Qin even points out that if they had met earlier, they might've ended up breaking up anyway. Sometimes it's not just about finding the right person, but meeting him at the right time.

Though. I appreciate that the show doesn't make queer happiness feel like something that has to be earned through suffering. It doesn't completely rely on homophobia, family rejection, or endless angst to create conflict

But at the same time, I can't completely ignore how idealized the world of the series can feel. Everyone is so accepting like all the family, friends, community, basically everyone around the couple. It creates a very comforting world but sometimes it also makes the story feel a little too sheltered from reality. And because the show deals with queer relationships, that contrast becomes more noticeable. I don't necessarily think a BL needs to traumatize its characters to feel realistic, tho. I actually appreciate that this one tries to imagine a world where queer people can simply be loved and supported. Maybe, I just wish there were a little more texture around that world

Characterization & Acting / Trope Execution

The chemistry was chemistrying and a lot of their interactions felt really natural to me. Proof that a simple story can be elevated by good chemistry

I also really liked that Duang isn't written as the typical masochistic, super-masculinized BL lead. He's obviously very soft and expressive, but he's still his own person. He's scatterbrained, chaotic and sometimes completely ridiculous, but he's also surprisingly emotionally perceptive. That's what kept him from becoming just a walking golden retriever joke

And actor's performance is honestly impressive because you have no idea how difficult this character to play naturally

That kind of exaggerated, puppy-like, animated energy can become annoying very quickly if the actor is just mugging for the camera. But TeeTee somehow manages to make Duang feel like an actual person underneath all the comedy

Duang also does something important whenever the tone gets serious: he knows when to stop being chaotic. You can actually feel him becoming more emotionally present when Qin needs him which makes his kindness feel like a character trait rather than just a trope

Qin worked for me too. I liked that his characterization wasn't just "cold guy who secretly likes the sunshine boy". There is an actual reason he's so guarded and I liked watching those walls come down gradually.

As someone who built my walls high while grew up in an Asian household. I could really feel him. People tend to underestimate how much childhood and family dynamics can shape you and sometimes when you finally speak up, you're just seen as rude or ungrateful child. We don't need a lecture or a guilt trip, Duang is right, all we need is just that one hug and one sincere apology

I also get why Duang meant so much to him. Everyone seems to want to rush you into relationships, like you should just open up immediately because "the person likes you”. But someone like Duang, who's actually willing to wait and let you open up at your own pace, is pretty rare. And I think that's what made their relationship work for me.

Like.... isn't it beautiful when someone takes the time to learn the little things about you? Not just what you're like on the surface, but what shaped you, how you were raised, what you've been through, your traumas and all the parts of yourself you don't easily show??

That said, I think the actor playing Qin still needs some work in the heavier emotional scenes. His more restrained acting was much stronger for me than the big crying scenes. There were moments where I could see what the scene "wanted" me to feel, but his crying didn't completely sell it

Also, thankfully, the relationship never felt "too" heteronormative to me. There are still familiar BL conventions, obviously, but I didn't constantly feel like one character was being written as "the girl" in the relationship just because he's softer. Don't get me wrong, masc/fem pairing itself isn't what inherently makes a show heteronormative. It's more about how the seme treats the uke like a girl and how the audience forces those straight gender roles onto them. And the same thing applies to the wide part of the audience that strictly demands masc/masc pairings. A lot of that comes from homophobia and internalized misogyny because they just can't stand seeing a guy who's visibly fem or flamboyant

The other thing I pretty don't like was the second couple. Tho, I really appreciate the femboy bottom, I was already getting tired of the whole f*ck*ng buddy-friendship dynamic. There was potential but I don't think the writing gave them enough room to actually develop

Watching Experience

This was probably the biggest factor in my enjoyment because I was watching it after being away from Thai BL for around four years

There was something genuinely refreshing about seeing a Thai university BL centered around "art and music students". Back when I was watching Thai BL more regularly, it felt like every other series was engineering, medicine, or some variation of that. So even though "university BL" itself isn't exactly new, changing the environment and creative interests of the characters made this feel a little fresher to me

I also appreciated that the show was generally more interested in being sweet than creating unnecessary suffering. It has some heavy material, but it doesn't constantly try to make the audience miserable

My problem was that the sweetness eventually started becoming too sweet for me

This is where I think I experienced a little bit of the Moonlighting curse (once the leads entered into a relationship and the sparks disappears). I'm not saying the series literally has that problem in the same way but it kind of felt repetitive. The show sometimes just keeps giving me sweetness without enough variation. Cute scene, cute scene, cute scene... eventually I was like "okay I am fed now"

So this is probably just my Japanese-BL-conditioned brain talking, but I honestly think I would've enjoyed this more with a slightly tighter runtime. I've been watching a lot more Japanese BL over the past few years, and I think I've just gotten more used to stories that are willing to be shorter and less repetitive. There were definitely scenes here where I felt like they could've been trimmed without losing anything important

And then there are the puppy sound effects

They were funny at first

Then they started happening so often that I began anticipating them before they even happened

It went from "okay that's cute" to "PLEASE STOP"

Production Value & Cinematography

I also really liked how the show portrays college life. I'm not even sure how accurate it is to actual freshman life in Thailand but I kinda envy how lively and eventful their college setting feels. Everything looks so high-budget, bright, youthful, and carefree that makes me feel the stressful parts of university don't feel stressful. Maybe part of it is also seeing queer characters being able to exist so openly in that environment, which makes the whole setting feel even more freeing

And Thailand really knows how to do those performance scenes. I don't even know the proper term for it but whenever the characters get onstage, put on a showcase, or just sing their hearts out, they really know how to make those moments feel special. It's cheesy, yes, but tbh, I eat that shit up

But I also think some scenes didn't quite live up to the production's apparent budget

The Japan scenes especially made me think, "you had Japan and cherry blossoms and THIS is the shot you're giving me???"

That kiss under the cherry blossoms should've been the cinematic moment. I wanted better framing, better use of the location, something that made the whole thing feel more memorable. Instead, some of those shots looked surprisingly ordinary considering what they had available

It wasn't so badly shot. I just kept thinking it could've looked so much better

Overall

I wasn't even planning to write a review because, honestly, the Thai BL community was one of the reasons I slowly stopped being as invested in Thai BL in the first place. After four years away, I wasn't expecting this to be the series that pulled me back in

But here we are

It's definitely not perfect, and I think I would've enjoyed it even more with a shorter runtime and a little less sweetness toward the end. The second couple needed more development, some of the heavier acting didn't completely land for me and the world can feel a little too perfect sometimes

But the characterization and chemistry carried it for me

Maybe I'm just incredibly predictable, but sunshine golden retriever energy x grumpy black cat will always get me

Tho, I asked for a golden retriever and they gave me a literal puppy, lol

8.5/10 stars

The 8.7 MDL score is fair tho and isn't completely unreasonable either, but at the same time, there are so many BLs sitting below that score that I personally think deserve more recognition. Still, does it deserve the hype? Absolutely, yes. I've literally enjoyed it so much and the fact that I’m rewatching it right now says it all

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on the road to binge all of jung haein’s works: 3/-

i came to watch jung haein and stayed for literally everything this drama had to offer.
i’m a fan of soldier/war shows and movies, but i have to be really in the mood for them, bc most of the time they’re a hit or miss.
from the moment this show started, i was hooked. even the credits were something refreshing and if i skipped them it was only bc i wanted the episode to start faster.
the acting was amazing, the music was sublime, and the plot was interesting. however, having some outsider knowledge about the mandatory conscription and conditions in korea made it so depressing at times bc i couldn’t help but imagine the real life people who actually went through these things. it was heartbreaking. i’ll never experience this but i know some people have and i am so sorry.
as i was typing a draft of my review the post credits scene came on and i was flabbergasted. halfway through my binge watching i thought to myself i wouldn’t watch season two bc i wanted to watch more from haein. after watching the credits and post credits scene i will definitely be #seated for season 2!

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