21
22
2
Zii3
This review may contain spoilers
Interesting Enemies To Lovers With Some Character Complexity.
Seven 30min episodes. My rating ignores Ep 7! Fantastic Ep 1-6; engaging and evoked a wide range of emotions. Ep 7 was an epilogue of awkward fluff that had a different feel from the rest, wasn't satisfying, and wasn't needed. I recommend treating Ep 6 as the end and avoiding the let down of Ep 7 (it detracts instead of adds to the story).
For Ep 1-6: Story 9 (was tightly woven & at a good pace, interesting, and had me mentally & emotionally invested in the characters quickly), Acting 9, Chemistry/Magnetism between leads 8. Moderate amount of skinship but no sexual intimacy beyond a couple of almost-kisses. High angst (mostly resolved or at least making positive progress).
The characters are more complex than many BLs of this length, as are the issues raised. I liked that both lead characters had things to work through individually as well as together. There isn't time to explore everything in-depth, or fully address past traumas, but the story is thoughtful and I didn't feel like anything was left hanging (except in Ep 7). The characters feel like actual high-schoolers and there were no weak links in acting. The effects of trauma were realistically portrayed.
GENERAL SPOILERS below.
Ep 7:
The words at the end of Ep 6 set up my hope and expectation to see that scenario play out in Ep 7. But it didn't really happen, and there was a weird push & pull dynamic around physical intimacy, which also didn't happen. I don’t always need sexual intimacy in a romance (queer or otherwise), but the script made such an awkward dance around it that it turned things UN-romantic; they regressed to bromance instead of continuing the romantic progression set up in the previous episodes. The epilogue has some aimless cute fluff and shows that they ultimately remain together over time, but it felt lackluster and wasn't a fulfilling resolution.
SPECIFIC SPOILERS for Trigger Warnings:
Most prevalent: depression, PTSD, and a mentally abusive family member.
Less prominent (are briefly shown only once or twice): self-harm, miscarriage, and suicide.
For Ep 1-6: Story 9 (was tightly woven & at a good pace, interesting, and had me mentally & emotionally invested in the characters quickly), Acting 9, Chemistry/Magnetism between leads 8. Moderate amount of skinship but no sexual intimacy beyond a couple of almost-kisses. High angst (mostly resolved or at least making positive progress).
The characters are more complex than many BLs of this length, as are the issues raised. I liked that both lead characters had things to work through individually as well as together. There isn't time to explore everything in-depth, or fully address past traumas, but the story is thoughtful and I didn't feel like anything was left hanging (except in Ep 7). The characters feel like actual high-schoolers and there were no weak links in acting. The effects of trauma were realistically portrayed.
GENERAL SPOILERS below.
Ep 7:
The words at the end of Ep 6 set up my hope and expectation to see that scenario play out in Ep 7. But it didn't really happen, and there was a weird push & pull dynamic around physical intimacy, which also didn't happen. I don’t always need sexual intimacy in a romance (queer or otherwise), but the script made such an awkward dance around it that it turned things UN-romantic; they regressed to bromance instead of continuing the romantic progression set up in the previous episodes. The epilogue has some aimless cute fluff and shows that they ultimately remain together over time, but it felt lackluster and wasn't a fulfilling resolution.
SPECIFIC SPOILERS for Trigger Warnings:
Most prevalent: depression, PTSD, and a mentally abusive family member.
Less prominent (are briefly shown only once or twice): self-harm, miscarriage, and suicide.
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