Reviews

Slow as a molasses factory run by sloths

It was a struggle to get to the end of this tepid series. The first few episodes showcased the slooooooww build up of the lethargic romance between the two leads. He looks at her. She glances at him. He looks at her again. He blinks. They’re alone in the office. He falls asleep and she touches his nose. She’s had too much to drink and she leans in, but will they kiss? No. Big nothing burger. The director thinks it’s an amazing scene, so they show it twice. Then the two leads experience the least exciting date I’ve ever seen in a Korean drama–a piano recital!

Lots of shots of the deserted office at night with one or the other leads or both of them working diligently. They enjoy lots of meals/snacks together, and product placement proliferates. A certain Korean candy bar takes center stage three times. It’s name is forever burned into my psyche.

At Episode Seven, the writers wake up and realize that there’s not much emotional tension in this series, so they throw in a contrived complication. She weeps. He holds her. Will this non-tragedy drive our two lovers apart?

Nope. Back to business as usual. Meanwhile, the insipid dialogue deserves an award for pointlessness: “What’s your favorite weather?” “Did you ever day-drink before?” Another couple exclaim over the fact that they’re both wearing the same style of shoes.

Finally, toward the end, the evil villain makes a move. Now there’s actually a conflict of sorts. But it’s too late. The audience (well, some of us anyway) has been bored into oblivion.

Read More

This one's a gem

I wasn’t expecting such a smart–and genuinely funny--drama from China in 2025. But FIRST FROST is not for everyone. If you want an action-packed thriller, look elsewhere. It’s a slow-moving character study of two imperfect, vulnerable human beings who are trying to find a way to connect, in spite of a lot of misunderstandings and obstacles.

The writing, editing, and acting in this drama are first rate. But most of the credit goes to Bai Jing Ting, who brilliantly embodies the romantically obsessed, insecure, brutally honest ML, a devilishly handsome bad boy, a little too smug for my taste (he criticizes her kissing!), although he’s basically a good guy. The target of his affection is the disengaged, oblivious FL who, episode after episode, doesn’t seem to notice the efforts he’s making. She’s convincing too. But later in the drama, I stopped having sympathy for her when she abandoned her cat. Not OK.

The two secondary characters were fun and enjoyable to watch. Totally different in personality and style from the main duo, they were both likable. Yes, these two had their hang ups. But they weren’t so self-involved, and they even had time for friends and family.

I’m glad somebody did. The main couple only had eyes for each other.

Unfortunately in the last five or six episodes (rife with product placements) this drama began to drag. If not for that, The FIRST FROST would have gotten one of my rarely bestowed ratings of ten-stars. The many unnecessary flashbacks went over and over and OVER the same events in the past and made me want to scream. And then there was way too much schmaltzy sentimentalizing at the end. Still, by and large, a real winner.

Read More

Well-constructed drama

I'm a big fan of Liu Yuning and I also like Song Zu Er. As the two leads, they both did an excellent job conveying complicated emotions with slight facial expressions and gestures. Liu Yuning is a master at portraying an emotionally repressed man trying to find his humanity in a society riddled with stultifying rules and terrifying expectations. At least he has wealth, power, and a cadre of underlings to satisfy his every whim. The FL (Xiao Qiao) played by Song Zu Er has a riskier path and has to watch her step at every turn. In fact, she was almost murdered by her suspicious husband-to-be before they'd even met. The series follows the slowly-evolving trust between these two as each navigates the treacherous waters surrounding them..

Xiao Qiao is beautiful enough to enchant her husband, but he's not a soft touch. He's suffered trauma and loss at the hands of the male members of her clan, and so he's especially wary of his new Qiao wife. But she's smart enough to weather the storm and allay most of his fears. The English title doesn’t seem accurate. The ML certainly isn't a "prisoner" of beauty--quite the contrary.

This is a slow-moving character study and a lot of drama time is given over to each minor issue as it arises. He reads her out-going letters; she soothes his silly and ignorant mother. He's annoyed that she doesn't wear the hairpin he chose for her. She worries he's interested in another woman.

Actually, all this was a little too much for me. It's true that there are more serious struggles from time to time. But the focus of this drama seems to be on all these trivial slights and misunderstandings. Did I mention that these two--though married--hadn't even kissed by Episode 22?

In THE TALE OF PEARL GIRL, Liu Yuning plays a similar character, a merchant preoccupied by revenge who becomes a more compassionate human being due to his love for a woman. But that drama, although flawed, has a more robust plot than this one, with Liu Yuning displaying different aspects of his personality in a variety of settings.

Also, why is the only fat guy in the series-he's the comic relief, naturally--matched up with the only overweight girl in the series?

Why does Son Zuer keep her mouth open so much of the time? It's quite distracting. Other than that, her character, Xiao Qiao, seems to be admirable in every way. She's a helpmate who continually spares her husband's ego, rarely makes a misstep, and almost never demands anything for herself. She's as soft and doughy as Wonder Bread. Even her calligraphy is perfect. It's true she shows some spunk in the end, but I can't help but get the impression that this woman is being presented as a model of what every young woman in China should aspire to–passively obedient. Lord help us all!

Read More

Lots of fun

I’ve seen some crazy premises in K-dramas before, but this one wins the waffle iron. Are we to believe that Someone-Up-Above has given a young, deceased girl (the ghost) permission to stick around on earth inhabiting various female bodies in order to lose her virginity? Because she couldn’t manage to do it while she was alive? And–oh, by the way–if she can’t get it done within a period of three years, she’s going to pay a HUGE penalty–she’ll be turned into an evil spirit? Have I got that right? Who makes these rules anyway?

There’s a cross on the door of the ML’s apartment. But it’s hard for me to imagine that the Virgin Mary would approve of these shenanigans.

After a bumpy beginning, the two FLs–the original owner of a certain body, who’s a sensitive, timid kitchen assistant secretly in love with the chef, along with the boisterous, somewhat obnoxious ghost looking to get laid–agree on a plan. They’ll share the body and work together to seduce Mr. Wonderful, the aforementioned chef.

The idea is that one girl gets the guy. And the other gets an all-expense paid ticket to the great beyond. Winner, winner, chicken dinner.

At least that’s the original plan. Of course things soon go awry, when...(Sorry! You’ll have to watch the drama to find out what happens).

Does this drama have depth and nuance? Is it great theater? Nah. While the premise is bonkers, the implementation is pretty entertaining. I laughed and kept watching, which is more than I can say for some other series that tried to be funny–and weren’t. I especially liked the arrogant chef, and his interactions with his crew. He was hilarious. And most of the main characters were quirky and beguiling. Both FLs were likeable and fun–even Bong Seon, the inhibited introvert, who’s (at first) afraid of her own shadow.

Lots of familiar faces in this drama. I was so happy to see the cute and sprightly Lee Jeong eun playing the part of a spirited Bodhisattva/Shaman. She’s such fine actress and she did a superb job here.

Read More

One of the best dramas I've watched, but a drama I wouldn't recommend to anyone

You have probably seen and/or read everything there is about this drama, I am here to tell you to forget it all.

It took me a while to start watching "Twenty-five, twenty-one", but once started, I could not stop. Every possible emotion the characters portray is felt so strongly through the screen. You laugh out loud with them, cheer for them, cry with them and then cry some more. It's impossible to explain, but it is like you're living each moment with them in real life.
That may be why so many reviews are so "extreme".

The story is well though-out and told in a beautiful way. If you haven't listened to Jaurim before, this is your sign to give them a try. The OST fits great with the scenes, like it's another member of the main cast.
And the cast - I may be biased with Kim Tae-Ri, but all the actors showed a good performance.

There is no main story + side stories. You don't want to miss a single scene here.

And although I don't regret watching it, not even a second of it, I was so emotionally exhausted afterwards that it took a while for me to move on from the show. The reason may also be that I've finished it in a very short time, so my heart went through a lot in just a couple of days, but I'm looking forward to a time when I'll feel rested enough to watch it again.

A gem, an absolute gem of a show. 10/10

Read More

Don't miss this one

Skillful acting makes this series a success. This drama is worth watching if only for the sake of the impressive range of Kim Nam Gil who plays Heo Im, a Joseon doctor who transforms from youthful arrogance to clownish clutziness to heartwarming tenderness to heroic competence without missing a beat.

The secondary characters are mostly effective, and there are even a couple of lovable animals--in particular, a certain baby pig that steals every scene he's in.

The pacing is good, the plot moves along and (mostly) doesn't drag-although there's a little too much hand-wringing and wailing in the last two episodes. But just when you think you know where things are going, the writers pull a switcharoo and send things reeling in an unforeseen direction. I like that in a drama.

Is it worth a watch? Absolutely.

Now--for the not-so-good. No series is perfect and this one's no exception.

1. The product placement is a little too in-your-face for me. Would a man who had lived most of his life in the Joseon period really be amazed and delighted by the excellence of packaged noodles? Maybe not so much.

2. Throwaway characters. The stellar acting of the main couple make it easy to overlook the minor characters who are treated unfairly. Everyone should be a three--dimensional human being, even if the viewers only get hints of who they are or what their ultimate fate is.

For example, there's an orphaned brother and sister that the main couple meet in Joseon and travel with for a short period. The kids are passed off to some random guy who seems to know them. We never find out what happened to them. There's also Mak-Gae, Heo Im's loyal 15-year-old assistant. In her case, it's out of sight, out of mind. After a certain accident, instead of showing concern, the main dude goes chasing after his lady love...leaving Mak-Gae to fend for herself.

3. Metaphysical inconsistencies. The "rules" of time travel are confusing. Conveniently, it turns out that physical wounds are healed when someone leaps through the chronosphere. Got a sword thrust through your belly? Not to worry. You can die in the past and emerge unscathed in the 21st century. Except it doesn't always work that way. Someone gets slashed in the back and, whoops!, it turns out, time travel doesn't heal all wounds after all.

4. Other contradictions. It's not clear why some of the older characters, who seem to have been back and forth from Joseon previously, can make authoritative pronouncements about the "rules" of time travel-most of which turn out to be malarky. The ending is another head scratcher. First Heo Im goes away, and then he comes back. Choi Yeon-kyeong accuses him of being unreliable, although the viewers just saw that the return was a complete accident. Instead of straightening her out on this point, Heo Im acts like he made some kind of deliberate choice. OK, maybe they're just joking around, but whaaa? This also would be a good time to mention that he accidentally brought someone else along with him. But no...

Still, I give this series a solid eight stars.

Read More

Uneven but worth a watch

As an English speaker, trying to follow the plot through subtitles–I was confused. Why? The series features a set of identical twins with similar names who decide to temporarily switch places and take over each other’s lives. One actress plays both girls as adults. A different actress plays both girls as teens. In addition, there are the male leads who are interested in the two girls.

That wouldn’t be so much of a problem if it weren’t for the fact that a lot of back story has to be filled in for ALL of these characters. And the focus jumps back and forth in time and place without clear indication when a switch happens.

It helps that one of the twins has long hair and the other has short hair. The first twin (long hair) has a corporate job in Seoul, while the other one (short hair) works on a strawberry farm. This would work if they both stayed put. But, no, Ms. Office Worker comes home now and then and Ms. Strawberry Farm finds time to visit Seoul. Mi-ji, the twin with the bubbly personality, is likable but immature–she pouts, shrieks, sulks, and throws temper tantrums. It gets tiresome after awhile.

Each girl–when I say girl we’re mostly talking about these two as 30-year-old women–has to fake it when the people around them mention incidents that occurred before the identity switch took place. Viewers have to keep the timeline remember the date of the switch–and also whether or not the short-haired girl is wearing extensions in order to pass for her sister.

Let me add that everyone in this series has psychological issues, including the parents, the grandmother, and another older woman who, it turns out, has also switched identities with someone else. Aaargh!

While the actors do a skillful job with the script they’ve been given, the plot was just too convoluted for me. I could follow it, but it made my brain tired. And in some places, things just weren’t believable. For example, each of the male leads has to convince the viewers that he’s only interested in ONE of the two girls–and that he can not only tell them apart (although their mother can’t)–but loves his chosen girl’s unique characteristics.

Maybe it could be true in the case of the dude who loves the girl who has some verve and personality, but the other twin is despondent, poker-faced, and impassive–and she seldom responds or reacts to her admirer in any way whatsoever. Also, there’s a sexual abuse situation that’s so minimal that if you blink, you’ll miss it. But all the characters talk about it endlessly. I loved the older characters, especially the mothers, played by two amazing veteran actors.

Read More

This short and sweet 4-parter provides closure to Cutie Pie

This series needs to be watched after Cutie Pie (and make sure you watch the uncut version) in order to gain full closure to that series.

Kuea and Lian are now in an established and healthy relationship and are planning their wedding. However once their big day arrives things go down hill rapidly for a number of reasons but once they realise that the only important part of the day is the celebration of their feelings and that everything else is just window dressing, the day brightens up both figuratively and literally.

The penultimate scene is a beautiful, raw, powerful and tender homage to the main couple’s love and you need to watch this series just for this scene alone.

Would I watch this again? Absolutely

Read More

a drawn-out missed chance.

one that dives into the psychological undercurrents of a human being and how a person can transform, or perhaps simply reveal a side that was always there. It carries strong Dostoyevsky-esque echoes, especially in its attempt to explore human complexity and moral ambiguity.

Yet despite the brilliance of the idea, the execution falls short. The pacing is painfully slow, and the story never fully deepens where it matters most. Seo Do-young’s backstory offers no real insight into why he is the way he is; it reduces him to something close to “pure evil,” stripped of psychological weight. If that was an intentional choice, it still comes across as shallow, almost superstitious, rather than profound.

Also the conversations between the characters feel light, almost fragile, as though the writers hesitated to let words carry consequence. With sharper, more deliberate dialogue, the psychological tension could have been far more compelling. Instead, the show settles for atmosphere over substance, turning what could have been a disturbing character study into a slow, missed opportunity.

Read More

honestly at first i was having doubts about this show due to the general trope and how offroad's character was behaving. he was behaving a little bit fetishist of chinese people and culture due to his interest in tammy. as a multicultural person myself i have experienced this personally so it always makes me well uncomfortable. this however stopped around episode 2 to 3, once offroad's character got to know everyone and everything personally he treated it all normal as should be!

despite the show's trope being pretty overused and often being poorly executed, mostly focusing on intimacy scenes as fan service, this shows writing was very well done. it focused on the emotions of the characters and portrayed them nicely.

the acting was great from all! daou and offroad however stole the show with their insane chemistry. the fact that the intimacy scenes were mostly improvised made the show feel so raw and natural!

this show is all over very refreshing and just feel-good despite the short hurt/comfort moment in the middle.
if youre ever feeling down this is a fantastic watch as a pick me up (as long you watch it in one go)

Read More

There is beauty in choosing to love, again and again, even when it leaves scars

Love in the Big City is not just a series; it is a state of mind. One of those rare encounters between a work and its audience in which fiction stops being a shelter and becomes a mirror. Released in 2024, the KBL, even though this label is not enough to fully contain it, presents itself as a queer coming-of-age drama that understands, from its very first minute, that loving in a big city is not romantic by nature. It is exhausting, contradictory, sometimes cruel. And yet, deeply human.

Set in Seoul, the series follows the journey of Ko Yeong, a young gay man who moves through life as if walking on exposed wires: driven by desire, fear, impulsiveness, and a loneliness that never fully goes away. He drifts through bars, clubs, other people’s beds, and conversations that make no promises about tomorrow. At first glance, he may seem like just another bohemian protagonist. But Love in the Big City quickly reveals that this constant movement is, in fact, a desperate attempt to avoid standing still with himself for too long.

The series’ greatest strength lies in its radical honesty. Here, love does not appear as salvation, nor as a final destination. It appears as experience, sometimes bright, sometimes devastating. Each relationship Ko Yeong lives through works as a distinct chapter in his emotional growth: the love that comes too early, the one that hurts in silence, the one that promises healing but also carries weight, the one that could have been, and the one that simply cannot last. There are no easy villains, nor absolute heroes. There are people, with very clear limits.

Nam Yoon-su delivers one of the most impressive performances in recent Korean audiovisual works. His Ko Yeong is contradictory without being inconsistent, selfish without ever losing his humanity. He loves poorly because he has not learned how to love himself, and the series never tries to soften this fact. On the contrary, it observes, with care and seriousness, how family trauma, social rejection, repeated losses, and living with HIV shape his view of affection, belonging, and the future. Nothing is treated as shock for its own sake; everything is absorbed as a natural part of life.

The direction, divided into blocks that follow different phases and relationships, reinforces this feeling of existential chapters. Each arc has its own rhythm and emotional tone, as if the series respects the idea that no one loves in the same way throughout life. The concise format of only eight episodes is used with precise intelligence: there is no rush, but there is also no waste. Every silence matters. Every scene stays long enough to hurt.

Visually, Love in the Big City carries a melancholic beauty. The cinematography turns Seoul into more than just a setting: the city pulses, watches, oppresses, and embraces at the same time. Neon-lit clubs contrast with silent rooms, empty streets speak to suffocating interiors. There is something almost lyrical in the way the camera follows Ko Yeong, as if it were always one step behind, respecting his intimacy while never leaving him.

Another fundamental pillar of the series is friendship. Mi Ae, his best friend and roommate, represents something many queer narratives try to show but rarely achieve: the strength of chosen family without caricature. Their relationship is built on everyday affection, small loyalties, mistakes, and constancy. When Ko Yeong’s romantic world falls apart again and again, it is within this friendship that the series finds its emotional ground.

This sense of belonging expands through his wider group of friends, who form a loose but vital network of support. They are not idealized or endlessly patient, and conflicts, misunderstandings, and emotional distance are part of their dynamic. Still, these relationships offer Ko Yeong moments of relief, laughter, and recognition, reminding him that intimacy does not exist only in romantic form. Together, they create a space where love is expressed through presence rather than permanence, and where being seen, even imperfectly, becomes a way to survive the city.

Love in the Big City also stands out for its precise social commentary. Without didactic speeches, it addresses structural homophobia, religion, feminism, abortion, prejudice against people living with HIV, and mental health as inseparable parts of the queer experience in a conservative context. Nothing is resolved easily. Some wounds remain open. And this is a gesture of respect: the series understands that not every pain needs to be explained, much less healed within the limits of a narrative.

Perhaps that is why its impact lasts for so long. It is not a work made for comfort, nor for light consumption. It is the kind that leaves the viewer slightly unsettled at the end, like someone who has just left an important conversation and still does not know what to do with everything they felt. The open ending is not a lack of answers, but coherence: life goes on, even when we wish it would pause to give us meaning.

Throughout its runtime, Love in the Big City reaffirms something simple and devastating: growing up means learning that love does not always save, but it always transforms. That loneliness is not the absence of people, but often the absence of acceptance. And that, amid loss, mistakes, and imperfect new beginnings, there is still beauty in moving forward, even without guarantees.

In the end, the series does not promise happiness. It promises truth. And perhaps that is exactly why it stands so strongly as one of the great works of contemporary queer audiovisual storytelling. Because loving, in the big city or anywhere else, is rarely easy. But as long as stories are told with this level of care, courage, and sensitivity, there will still be love, even if it hurts.

Read More

Great little BL rom com with sizzling chemistry

This series needs to be immediately followed up by Cutie Pie II (uncut) in order to gain full closure and I will comment on this second series as part of this review.

The plot centres around Kuea and Lian who first meet when Lian is 7 and Kuea is a brand new baby. Lian immediately falls in love and they develop a strong bond which Kuea’s grandfather recognises and asks that the two boys enter into an arranged marriage. The drama is about their similarities and differences and whether they can weather the storm created by the fact that they try to be what they think the other needs rather than are true to themselves. Underlying this main plot is a sub plot highlighting the fact that love is love regardless of gender and the unfairness that gay couples face by not being able to celebrate their love through marriage.
Once the drama moved past the initially odd relationship between Kuea and Lian and I begin to understand what they were and weren’t saying to each other I became very invested in both the developing plot and their real feelings for each other. The acting is fabulous not just between the 2 males leads whose chemistry was electric but the rest of the main supporting cast who are equally talented and believable and there are some stand out performances including Foei, Lian’s right hand man who is crazy eccentric. Two other couples emerge as the story progresses and again there are wonderfully powerful scenes from them too.

The music scenes were really enjoyable because each time Kuea performed as Kilin he sang complete songs (that lasted for more than four lines and a quick chorus) with lyrics that were relevant to the situation Kuea and Lian found themselves in at that moment. Also the actor who played Kuea has a fantastic voice and excellent stage presence (yes, I know he’s a singer in real life)

The penultimate scene (in part 2) is a beautiful, raw, powerful and tender homage to true love and is something I will cherish forever. You need to watch both dramas just for this scene alone.

What’s not to like? Until the blanks are filled in through flashbacks I wasn’t really sure where the story was going to take me. Kuea is a sort of weird performing puppy dog on their date nights (always on a Friday) and Lian tries to control everything about him both on these evenings and during every other interaction they have. I initially thought ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ and I couldn’t get my head round the idea that all the parents seemed to think that a same sex arranged marriage was a safe and healthy place for Kuea. It probably took until about chapter 8 or 9 before I thought they should be together. I am not homophobic (IMO people should be allowed to love who they love and not be penalised for it in any way) but docked marks against the ‘Story’ category for how weird I found it that the parents assumed the boys would be happy to be in arranged marriage based on the assumptions made by the grandfather. What if the boys had not been gay?! Arranged marriages can be challenging enough at the best of times but in a country that did not recognise same sex marriage at the time this was filmed it’s doubly difficult to imagine that the parents would be comfortable for them to be together. IMHO the plot would have been so much more plausible if the grandfather had interviewed the boys (and the conversations interwoven into the story line) to give him grounds for recommending that they get married.

Would I watch this again? Despite the negatives mentioned, yes, yes I would

Read More

boxing slice of life

Overall: it was a bit strange how in the last 8 minutes they went zero to 100 but...eh. About 70 minutes total runtime. Aired on Viu and 9NAA YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmOxMtX7dDs

Content Warnings: beaten up, blood, past homophobia

What I Liked
- goofball/cool guy dynamic
- easy to understand premise
- visuals

Room For Improvement
- comedy sound effects/silly music didn't make things funny
- not sure why a character waited to intervene
- explained a story but didn't fully explain how that affected the present
- went from zero to 100, should have developed it more
- cliffhanger ending

Read More

When being each other's enemy is code word for being each other's world.

These two have fucking done it again. I knew SeaKeen were going to deliver no matter the script, and deliver they fucking did. No crumbs were left behind. The obstetricians are fucking gagged out how well this was delivered. I don’t even know if it’s a flex to say I was there since the start, but I’m turning it into one, cuz the moment I watched Only Boo, I knew these two were gonna be one of my top three favourite pairings. And I was fucking right. There has not been a single miss from these two. Every single one of their series has been a 9.5/10 or higher, and it can only go up from here.

The plot was the classic enemies-to-lovers trope (or annoyances-to-lovers, shall we say) that everyone knows and loves. However, where this excels, where other series let me down, is how J and Jinn still maintained their personalities even after they got together. I swear, some series it’s like they have a 180-degree character change and completely forget that they were trying to kill each other an episode ago, but here, Jin and Jerome are still each other’s biggest annoyances while also being each other’s entire worlds. And this, this was exactly what made me fall in love with them so much.

You could tell how they loved each other, even before they got together; it was just the way, no matter what happened, they were always together. Their interests, friends, everything. Jerome could deny it all he wanted at the start, but he was literally obsessed with Jinn, just as much as Jinn was obsessed with him. Because really, you’re telling me Jerome was out here flirting with anyone Jinn was interested in, and Jinn was still head over heels for this man since he was fucking 7?! Losers! Both of them! The downbadism is terrible with both of them!

And can we just talk about their love for a second because I WANT WHAT THEY HAVE!!! The way Jinn had his reservations about Jerome actually liking him cuz of what happened in the past, legit shouting at the boy and ignoring him, but the moment Jerome goes missing, he’s the first one there!! And the fact that the moment Jerome realised he loved Jinn, boy dived in head first and didn’t fucking look back. Before, behind all their bickering, you could hear the annoyance, frustration and hate for each other. But slowly, behind every one of Jinn’s snide comments, you could tell he was nothing but a tsundere who loved all the attention, that, no matter what he says, he does in fact love J so much cuz he'll always remind him that he's been in love with him since he was 7 years old, that he's so fucking scared that J is going to get hurt or disappear and always holds onto him to tightly and treats him so gently. And behind all of Jerome’s teasing, which was done in spite before, now you hear and see all the love he holds for Jinn, how much he adores this boy and isn't afraid to let him know, will endure so much pain just because he wants Jinn to be alive. Their personalities never changed; it’s the meaning behind all the teasing, bickering, and fighting that changed into love. And it made so much sense that Jerome was the clingy one in the relationship, because that was basically what he was like even before, so the transition just felt natural.

And don’t even get me fucking started on the break-up scene!!! THESE TWO. I SWEAR TO GOD THESE TWO. I HATE THEM SO MUCH I CAN’T!!

“I’m done thinking it through.”

“I was done the moment you walked out my door.”

FUCK OFF. ACTUALLY FUCK OFF. THEY LOVE EACH OTHER SO MUCH THAT THEIR BREAK-UP DIDN’T EVEN LAST TWO SECONDS. That break-up was so short that the writers didn’t even bother showing us what happened between daytime and nighttime. And that is where I give the characters my biggest flowers. They get all the flowers. Jinn’s fear was totally valid. He was scared that he was being loved out of pity. Scared that Jerome only loved him cuz of the visions, and that one day he would leave him, just like his dad had on the family. But where other characters in Jinn’s position would take like two episodes to mull over this, he thought about his feelings. Thought about Jerome’s feelings. And realised, yeah, this boy does fucking love me. He has shown me he loves me. We love to see emotionally mature characters that think for more than two seconds. Fuck yes!

The bickering, the love, the tenderness, the adoration, the tension and sweetness. The COMMUNICATION!!! Ughhhh, I hate them so much!!!

Now, lets talk about the actual shtick of the show. But first of all, let me give Sea my love and applause. Can we just appreciate how much his acting is improving with every series? I didn’t even think his acting was that bad in Only Boo, but the difference! I’m so proud of him!! He did such an excellent job portraying a character like Jerome, and honestly speaking, Sea fits this archetype so fucking well. That shit-eating grin of his is hot. If Jinn didn’t want him, fucking hell, I would’ve taken him for myself. Like, everytime Jinn gazes at Jerome, that is the face of a man that has been yearning for YEARS. And yeah, I totally get Jinn. Cuz I too would want to hold onto Jerome. Have yall seen that man?? A piece of art, I tell you.

And he did so well in the emotional and hard-hitting scenes as well. You could tell he was in so much pain because of all these nightmares, could tell that he was in so much anguish because he just wanted Jinn to be okay and alive and be happy. Episode 5, the scene where Jinn stops him, and he breaks down. Absolute perfection. I replayed that scene so many times I think I broke my back button. You could tell that these dreams/visions were doing a number on him, with each time he says, “I don’t want to be like this anymore,” he gets more upset, and his voice breaks, and he starts crying because all of this was just too much, and he just didn’t know what to do. It was so beautiful that I started crying. And the way that, despite all of this pain eating up at him, to the point where he’ll force himself to sleep and get nosebleeds just to get these dreams, he still smiles and teases Jinn because that’s just who he is. He puts that shit-eating grin on because he doesn’t want anyone to worry, because all he cares about is Jinn and to make sure Jinn is okay and alive. Can you tell I fucking love Jerome? He’s my favourite character in all of this if it wasn’t clear already.

Now, the dreams. I saw so many people complaining that the dreams were so repetitive and that Jerome was doing nothing about it and that the eps were so slow blah blah blah. Like people, are we even watching the same show? I get that this is a P’New show, and it’s basically written in the stars to hate on him, but can we give this man credit when credit is due? Yes, I, too, have my reservations about him and don’t like all his directing in all his series, but he has his shows. Cough cough Until We Meet Again? Only 12%? Yeah, he hasn’t had his hits lately, but I know this man can do angst if you give him the right material. And this series? Yeah, this was it.

Those dreams were done perfectly. Shown as many times it was needed. Because if people actually paid attention instead of complaining, they would notice how, even though the dreams were repetitive, there were small differences in them because Jerome was slowly changing the future. Jinn finding out about his dad – the dream that was used the most. The first time J had it, the dream was set two years in the future. But slowly, you see the dream shift two years forward to the present time. Then, you notice how it doesn’t take place in the night anymore, but daytime. It’s small details like this that made this show so fucking interesting, and I don’t understand how people missed it so badly.

And don’t even get me started on how the dreams were done, because fucking hell, P’New this fucking genius. Don’t get used to it, my guy, but you can get a cookie for this cuz you fucking deserve it. When J had his first dream, we, the audience, and he himself could tell it was a dream. But little by little, as the eps go by, Jerome stops being able to tell what is real and what is a dream. At this point, we, the audience, can still tell. But then, ep 9 happens. The audience gets to experience what Jerome has been feeling this whole time – the feeling of not being able to tell reality from dreams. And did it work? Fuck yes. We all thought that Jinn crashed that fucking car, and bloody hell did it give us a heart attack. Well, at least my heart was racing. It was so subtly done that I don’t think many people realised it, but my god, was this small detail so brilliant. And again, Sea’s acting really sold this.

Now, onto my toxic boys. If JeromeJinn were the enemies to lovers, FarmVan were the lovers to enemies. And listen, do I love Van’s character? 100%. But do I like him? Fuck no. I don’t care how much of a pretty crier he is (Java, you absolute beauty, you don’t deserve any hate), he can fuck a cactus. I love the complexity of his character. I love that love doesn’t change this man overnight. I love that we didn’t solve his issues in two episodes and actually got to explore them. But if I ever see him on the streets, I will fight him. The way he made my blood boil is honestly amazing. My blood pressure was so high I had to take deep breaths cuz he was pissing me off. It’s one thing to be an asshole and not know it. It’s another thing to know you’re an asshole and still try and explain your fucking reasoning. Thank fucking god friends like Mai exist. Cuz that boy clocked his shit, ate him up, and kicked him to the curb. He set Van straight, and I fucking stood up and clapped.

And Farm, my beautiful, you don’t deserve this shit. But this boy has too much of a spot for Van to actually care. But when he blew the cigarette smoke onto Van’s face? Yeah, I know that’s right. I screamed and replayed because FUCK YES!! DO IT AGAIN!! At least he gave Van the cold shoulder, which I appreciate a lot. I thoroughly enjoyed watching Van suffer. Farm is better than me because I would have done more.

And on that note, can we talk about how real this friendship group is? One thing I love about shows like this is the friendship grounds. And sometimes, when they only have like five to four people in the group, the friendship part isn’t fully shown. But here, it was so adorable. The fact that they gave Van shit for his actions, but all cared for him cuz yeah, he’s a shithead, but he’s their shithead. The fact that even though Farm wasn’t comfortable with Van, but J was like, fuck that, you're my best friend and you're gonna be there no matter what. Just little things that make this show even more endearing to me.

And Mai. I can’t just not talk about Mai. Someone please give JJ a lover. I beg. This man is single in every universe, and it's so funny but so sad at the same time lmao. I just love how he never attends his classes and is just hanging out with the other four in their building. Friendship goals.

Other stuff:

- Um… what happened to the car racing? It was such an integral part of the plot, but then it just… vanished? I know Jerome was banned from racing by his mum, but I thought we’d at least get one more scene of them racing.

- Beam. Where did this boy disappear to after J dumped his ass? He seriously didn’t deserve to be caught between their rivalry. I felt so bad for him.

- The resolution with the dad. Honestly, I think Jinn forgave too easily. But at the same time, I really understand him, cuz being with Jerome really changed him as a person. Like his mum said. I’m just a petty bitch, cuz that man should be grovelling to get back in my life if I were Jinn.

- I appreciate that, despite Jerome being childish and silly, he still had moments where he was being mature. And you could tell when he was. It really added to the fact that he was being influenced by his future self.

- How the hell did Jinn's mum just believe Jerome that quickly?? Miss ma'am didn't even question it and was like, okay, so what should I do lmao. Love the efficiency, but there was just no way she didn't think this boy she loves like a son is absolute bonkers. And she told Jinn’s dad??? And he just what, accepted it as well?? I just know this man must have been like tf did everyone drink while I was gone.

- Keen’s acting! As much as I feel bad for him for not winning Project Alpha, I’m so happy that he decided to give acting a shot. He’s just so good at it. The scene when he finally confronted his dad and shouted his lungs out? Fucking hell. I was scared.

- The amount of hospital scenes. Fucking hell, they should be glad they're rich, cuz those medical bills are gonna be horrendous. I just know the doctor and all the staff are tired of their asses.

- Again. GIVE JJ A LOVER!!!

This series tricks you into thinking it’s a nice little enemies-to-lovers slice of life, campus romance, then hits you with a fucking truck and brings you through the torment train with Jerome. It did an excellent job at balancing the two perfectly, and I’m coming back to watch it ten times over again. I’m gonna miss having eps on Sundays. JeromeJinn, FarmVan, Mai, you have made my weekends, and have defo made it to my 2026 BL list!

And “Turns Out, It’s You” has to be the most addictive song ever. I have been looping that shit like it's drugs. Ugh, I love this show so much it physically hurts. I’m gonna miss them so much!!

Read More