A Shoulder to Cry On (2023)

Rough path with some sweetness and the ending that lost focus…

A Shoulder to Cry On delivered quite a few good messages that would resonate with teens and young adults, and even a few lessons that can change the perspective of the adults, as long as they are willing to think about these topics after the episodes end. A nice step into a different direction in a well known high school set up.

That said, is this truly the deep and complex psychological story as some people claim it to be? Depends on what you compare it to. It’s not as sweet and silly as many high school and university BLs, and there is an attempt to add layers to the characters, especially on Tae Hyun’s side. So compared to other K-BLs, one could see it as something more. If you look at it in a broader manner, sadly it’s just another enemy to lovers trope with trauma as a cherry on top.

Yes, it does tackle some serious and important topics like childhood trauma, lack of emotional support, repressed feelings, guilt, resentment, forgiveness. Yet, all on surface level. It’s like a weather talk - just a starter for the conversation.

I think the biggest disappointment for me comes from how black and white they tried to present really complex situations and how fast they moved away from them without truly putting time and effort to give a proper resolution, which was especially obvious in the last two episodes. How to put it… it lacked nuance. It made me feel like the production team does not trust the audience to handle difficult topics so they made them as approachable and simple as possible. God forbid someone finishes an episode with conflicted feelings about the characters.

Personally, my favorite part of the plot was Da Yeol’s doubts about his path. It’s an issue most young people resonate with and many adults still struggle with. It was best written, paced and concluded part of the story and I wish the drama focused on it a little bit more.

Then we have the acting, which was fine during the teen daily life scenes, and questionable at best during the emotional scenes. There were a few moments I could see Shin Ye Chan tried to convey strong emotions, but it just did not translate on screen. Similar issues happened with more “heart wrenching” scenes from Kim Jae Han. Realistically speaking, for debut roles, these were quite challenging, so I’m; not exactly surprised by the end product.

Undoubtedly the production was a massive improvement compared to other short k-bls. Longer episodes allowed the story to have a more even pacing without too many things being painfully rushed (putting aside the final conclusions). While it still lacks in comparison to mainstream dramas, it’s on par with other web dramas, which is far better than what we’ve got until this point from Korean BLs.

Improvement from makeup artists needed though.

Overall, it’s great to see a longer format and I’m glad it was given to a story with an actual plot that at least attempted something more than “sweet teen romance”.

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Impressions

At the beginning I was not impressed with this drama, I'll be honest. I am not a fan of romanticizing bulling. But my brain apparently didn’t process the "psychological" tag among all the others and when I finally understood I looked at it with a different mindset. It got me hooked, yeah. I guess being in the same idol group helps a lot, because their chemistry was great and their dynamic felt natural. The last 2 eps felt a lil bit rushed, I can't put my finger on the why I felt that, but I can pass that because overall it was great.
Now, people and their obsession with kisses!!! Is that really the defining point to score a drama? for real?! my goodness. let me get this straight... So TBLs with mediocre plots and cringe acting are deserving 10 because they do have make out sessions, right?! But an exquisite KBL drama is no good if there's no kissing? I am pissed! A really great drama gets low score because of horny brats who didn't get what they wanted! Look... I get it, it's a romance drama among other tags, but you HAVE the romance. The touches, the glances, the subtle smiles and the straight up lovey dovey staring screams romance! The story was so beautifully portrayed, they had such a great chemistry, loved how natural their dynamic was(yes, I'm repeating myself), the character development was so nice and in the end they were so good at expressing what they feel that they dipped those red flags from the beginning in bright shiny green. From my pov, I am more annoyed when they do kiss but they resemble 2 dead fishes lip locked. I would rather prefer no kiss as long as it's a good drama. If they kiss and it's nice, halleluiah (enters Our dating Sim). KBL takes the industry like a storm and i'm here for it all in no matter if there's kisses or not. They build great background stories, the plot is well constructed and the actors chemistry is always on point... with a few small exceptions. So yeah, Let's go Korea!!!
In conclusion, IT IS WORTH IT!

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could have been amazing...

Overall: I would have given it an 8 if they had ended this at ep 6, but I deducted a half point for ep 7. It could have been poignant with exploring more serious topics, but there were several missteps. Aired on Viki and GagaOOLala (depending on your country).

Content Warnings: self harm, harassment/bullying, slaps, held against will, trauma/grief, vomiting, another major content warning that happens off screen in the past

What I Liked
- intro with the music and the animation/style of it
- archery integration and Da Yeol's plotline related to it was well done
- happy Tae Hyun told off his aunt but wanted to see more resolution
- Da Yeol's actions in episode 6/standing up for himself
- production value (but the too light make up and red eyeliner was not for me)

Room For Improvement
- struggled with their initial dynamic, it did get better though
- they tried to cover too much plot and as a result there was not enough resolution (aunt? dad? did Tae Hyun try to work on himself/go to therapy???)
- toilet humor and the comedy sound effects did not mesh well with the serious parts
- time jumps scream lazy writing to me, it should have been shorter and then not have episode 7 or saved that for a second season, speaking of....
- episode 7 was a huge letdown, these are 2 guys in their 20s, I think the production chickened out and catered to the minority of these idol actors' fans which was detrimental to the story/their characters, it felt so unrealistic that it took me out of the story
- the production also modified (unfortunately) that beginning scene in the nurses office from the source material (it was exactly what Da Yeol thought it was), it also made the "friend's" actions in the series kind of head scratching
- not clear how much time passed in the beginning episodes

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Another korean queerbait

Fans of the manhwa will be disappointed. Honestly, i watched this pretending i never saw the manhwa because i knew how i would feel. Don't get me wrong, this drama is good in a lot of things. It has a nice vibe, it have a nice pace (in the beginning, at least) and the actors have a good chemistry. BUT after watching it for complete, you realize it was a 7 episode long queerbait. The show writers had NO intention in making a romance, there's NO ROMANCE. They saw the word "gay" and said "we don't do this in here". It made me frustrated and SHOULDN'T BE NORMALIZED. You won't find a straight korean romantic drama or a romcom without the romance. So why the gays can't have it too? They keep using us for views and popularity and they don't even give us what we want to watch. Can't we have a nice romance too?

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had potential but was really rushed

This BL series had so much potential tbh. I have not seen the webtoon yet so this is like my first time watching this and didn't know what to expect. It started off strong but felt flat as it progress. The plot was really rushed. Like I didn't even know when did Lee Da Yeol felt that archery was exhausting to him and he wanted to quit it. It felt out of the blue when he said he wanted to quit it or when Jo Tae Hyun felt disgusted of Lee Da Yeol in one scene and in the next scene he is running to him making up the most bizzare excuse which I have ever heard. Like it was so ridiculous that I wanted to punch him for sprouting that nonsense. Also I didn't like how Lee Da Yeol forgave him so easily. Like the time said it was two years but it felt like 2 months. Like making the girl who was so irrelevant the bridge in their love again out of the blue and with the excuse of being drunk that Lee Da Yeol was crying for Jo Tae Hyun like that was so stupid. like it was two years. If it was two month I would understand and again he forgave him so easily, like after what he did begging,crying and pleading would have been the minimum what he could have done and finally toward the end, it was just lackluster. I don't even know what the point of that was. Idk if they have just started dating which I don't think they are but they were acting like 5 year old who were out in a first date. Too much being shy and being a tsundere and teasing. Finally the thing I fucking hate about every BL series is the teasing of a kiss. I am fine with not getting a kiss at all but teasing it is what really push my buttons and they gave us finally with an ear kiss lmao which I didn't even think the lips were even touching the ear lmao. Don't do this. If you are not going to give us a kiss then don't half-ass it. A tight hug while sleeping would have been 10 times better than this. Like I said the plot was really rushed. It didn't give time at all for us to be in dept with the characters. I feel like it could have been better with 10 episodes with 40 min each. The actors did well ig. There was chemistry and they did the characters justice and the ost was nice. Overall it was kinda disappointing but it was cute I guess.

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A must-watch if you're a real BL fan

I don't care what people are saying after watching the last episode...This is definitely one of the best BLs you'll ever come across and I am telling you to mark my words!!!

Though a bit of an advice, if you read the manhwa before watching the series, everything would become clearer and you'll understand their perspectives better and most importantly, you'll understand Cho Taehyun's personality/actions better!!

I keep seeing comments like "they didn't kiss because they were bandmates and it would make things awkward" but you need to understand they don't NEED to kiss for this to be considered a great BL. Why?
Because their chemistry was heart-fluttering enough, the plot and the subtle intimacy between them is well enough for me to go and rewatch the episodes (nth times) and still have butterflies in my stomach and still be needing to pause and catch my breath. This should definitely mean something as I've watched my fair share of BLs and I eventually lose interest/ get tired but this is the first BL which reminded me of the time when Bad Buddy was airing and how deeply obsessed I was during that period.
In hindsight, all I am saying is that this is infinite, infinite times better than BLs with crappy/toxic storylines, bad chemistry and a lot of skinship. And frankly, if you watch BLs just for the sake of these scenes, then I am sorry you'll never be satisfied with the manhwa or the adaptation.
And sure, I would have been over the moon if there was a kiss scene but even if there isn't, my affection/fondness doesn't falter!

I also saw people getting mad over them just having pajama parties even after they're adults and in a relationship but you need to understand their perspectives better before commenting something like that:
You need to understand how hard it is for Taehyun to even believe that Dayeol likes him and that he's terribly afraid of losing the only person in the world who understands him for who he actually is, the only person who refuses to leave his side even after knowing all of his story, the only person who did not blame him for his "mother's" death. And since Taehyun was emotionally abused for so long that he feels he is incapable of liking Dayeol back, he feels he's going to hurt him sooner or later and even after being in a relationship with him he feels, more often than not, that he doesn't deserve someone as angelic as Dayeol.
And even if his heart beats faster for Dayeol than any one else he has come across and Dayeol makes him feel things he thought he was incapable of feeling, he needs time; time to gain confidence in himself and his feelings for Dayeol. And Dayeol gives him that time and even if you see Dayeol jokingly avoiding Taehyun's advances during episode 7, it is most probably because he doesn't want Taehyun to feel uncomfortable, he doesn't want to rush things and make Taehyun feel obliged to do stuff just because they're in a relationship. He wants Taehyun to feel good and he will take things slowly until [manhwa spoiler] Taehyun stops crying after Dayeol tells him he likes him and Taehyun feels confident to say " I like you" back.

Finally, please don't hate on the actors, they did a wonderful job portraying Cho Taehyun and Lee Dayeol and their acting & chemistry was top-tier especially because they were first-timers.
It was definitely praise worthy of them to step out of their comfort zones and act in a BL after the horrible things they had to endure. And I am really happy they took that step (even if it was just to promote their band), they delivered their best and I will continue to support them in the future. I wouldn't have any other people portraying Cho Taehyun and Lee Dayeol and the only thing I would change about the show, if I could, would be to make it a tad bit longer and clarify things a bit as the final time-skip seemed a bit too short and rushed!

But other than that, it was perfect and I would continue to argue with anyone else who spreads negativity/hate about the show, the plot or the actors for any reasons whatsoever.

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In 2023, is it still a taboo to have the main male leads kiss on the lips in Korean BL’s ?

I did not know any members of Omega X so, I had no big expectations for this series but was eager to see this show because of the plot. At first, it had good storyline dealing with an introvert and extrovert and subsequent episodes dealing with issues of performance pressures, childhood trauma, abuse, coming of age and burgeoning awakening of one’s sexuality. The actors had good chemistry helped from them knowing each other from their singing group. So this is all from episode 1 to about the two-thirds of episode 6 then the story went over a cliff.

After investing in watching this supposedly BL series, it was good until the 1st time jumped at the end of episode 6, then the last episode (# 7 - which according to most people is the finale even though there is still 2 more episodes according to MyDramaList) aired, there was another time lapse and also another one at the end. Why would the writers or producers decide to squish a whole 3 years in the final episode. They could have made a season 2! Also, after 6 years of Da Yeol and Tae Hyun knowing each together, they only end with a kiss on the earlobe. 😠 They still had issues of intimacy right until the end. This series should be reclassified as a Bromance and not a BL.

Also, they should never cast any still active K-Pop Idols from the same singing group, as main leads of a BL series, because if they are not allowed to go even for a brief peck or kiss, it is an insult to BL fans everywhere.

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A Shoulder to Sleep On

This drama feels a bit like watching to a dream, it could of course be due to my personal cold, but I am pretty sure. they also used a fluffy dreamy filter while filming this,

The story has some good old fashion cliches a love at first sight/hate to love type of deal but also a bunch of new tuned down slice of life takes on trauma, self harm, athleticism and internalised homophobia done pretty ok. The acting could be better, but the boys are charming, funny and have pretty decent chemistry + a lot, and I mean a lot of lip gloss. I am however missing an episode towards the end, not only because they left me wanting more but also because most of the pacing was decent the ending + time skips was rushed.

There are some parts that lack logic and I am pretty sure one of the guys is related to Marry Poppins or at leas stole the blue prints for her bag.

If you are looking for steamy kisses or stuff like that this is a teen romance and definitely not the right place to look for it as the only steam you will find is on the filter and most of the flirting is more of the funny and sweet kind.

All in all an easy drama to binge, not only because it is short but also because it is sweet.

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Needed to be longer

I haven't read the original source material but I can feel that it's so rich and really needed more than seven 30-minute episodes. So many things happen that we needed a lot more scenes where the main characters could just simmer and go about their daily life, rather than jumping from one plot event to the next without really showing the development of emotions in between. The non-romantic angst is one of the most intriguing parts of the story and I feel like it didn't nearly get enough screentime. Towards the end, there were a few time jumps that felt very sudden and overall it made the pacing uneven. The final few episodes solely focus on the romance but I feel like it was also scattered and there were a lot of loose ends I wish were revisited.

The acting of the main leads was just okay — it was very obvious that they were rookie actors, and so the more light-hearted and fun scenes were great but I don't think they were able to carry scenes with more emotional weight, especially because the scenes felt disjointed already.

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Enjoyable.

This was a nice watch for me. Here are my pros and cons:

PROS

STORY. I found it interesting and sometimes compelling, especially all the drama of Tae Hyun's back story. Da Yeol struck me as cold at first, but I appreciated his character development as the series progressed.

BREVITY. Especially now, with so many BLs being produced (including a lot of weak ones), I do appreciate a series that can get the story told without resorting to 12+ looooong episodes. Kudos to the producers.

CONS

DEVELOPMENT. There were some "huh?" moments for me: the "villain" (the guy with long hair who was bullying Da Yeol) confused me. I would have liked more from him, as I was never quite sure why he was as much of a jerk as he was. Maybe he was just a homophobe. Or maybe he himself liked one of them. Who knows? And the character of Tae Hyun's aunt (who blamed him for his sister's death!) could have been explored in deeper detail.

ENDING. The last episode was disappointing for me, but not because of a lack of a kiss (ear peck aside). What was up with "two years later," and what happened during those two years? Then we get a reconnection as a day-long date which was cute, but never developed in any meaningful way. The ending baffled me: was this another two years later? We suddenly -- with no explanation -- see Da Yeol in a military uniform, with Tae Hyun extending flowers to him from a distance. Huh?

At certain points during this series I thought I might be giving a rare 10 as a rating, because I really liked a lot of it and enjoyed the chemistry between the leads. At the end of the day, I'm giving it an 8.5.

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There's better options to watch

The characters turned more distant than when they were friends which made even less sense with the second time jump having been together for two years. Not kissing, not even once is unsatisfactory regardless of queer or straight pairing of two grown consenting adult characters in a romance story. The actors should not have been cast if they weren't comfortable with playing a queer romance and the show shouldn't have been made if the production itself wasn't commited to fully portraying a gay love. Very disappointing since they seemed to be heading in a strong direction only to derail themselves completely at the end. I would not recommend, especially when there are plenty of other productions that do better.

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Another Series to Take Advantage of BL Fandom

Following the success of Semantic Error, more BL series step up. Why? They want easy fame. However, they expect the fans to be ok with the series as long as they provide good-looking guys, with the assumption that decent acting, storyline and directing work are already accepted.

To those who are defending the series, please ask the studio and the actors to go for non-BL series. See if they could generate hypes as BIG as when they announced BL series. They won't. And they dare to cheat fans of the kisses.

Do what I do. Vote them down. Don't let other fame-seekers cheat us.

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