Lawful Manners of Deadly Attraction

This title was supposed to be a (poor) homage to Manner of Death aka one of my favorite crime Bls to this day.

Laws of Attraction was all over my dashboard and timeline for MONTHS, so I did have quite some expectations. I was hoping that this could be the Manner of Death of 2023. The premise was very interesting and I did enjoy the first episode. Though, the show didn't manage to keep up my interest throughout the other seven episodes. I'm not entirely sure if I want this show to be longer to flesh out some characters and arcs or if I need this show to fix the pacing and speed things up and use the gained time more efficiently. I'm not super nitpicky about the fight scenes, the VFX/CGI and other stuff, but the budget was noticeable. This show reminded me a lot of Manner of Death, the amount of times they get beat up or chased and almost killed is nearly identical. The acting was also a little over the top or stiff. The main couple was nice in theory but Tinn seemed a bit too good for Charn. Like there was no "okay they are both unhinged, I can see it work". On one hand you have squeaky clean goody-two-shoes big bro and on the other hand you have a corrupt lawyer who has no issue faking evidence and putting innocent people behind bars and burning down houses to get what he wants. I feel like Charn had great potential but was screwed over by the writing and pacing of the show. The side couple managed to steal my heart. What can I say, I am a sucker for the bodyguard trope. Though I gotta admit, that I did struggle with Thaenthai quite a lot in the first few episodes. Specifically his apathy and disregard for other people and their death. But his character arc and storyline was interesting. The execution was fine, nothing groundbreaking or new, but fine. The sapphic couple was a nice addiction though very minor. The scene about marriage equality was brief and a little too on-the-nose, but I liked it nonetheless.

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starts with a bang, ends with a whimper

The first few episodes of this show are wonderful. I do consider them my "comfort episodes". The chemistry was believeable and the acting was fine (nothing truly outstanding or oscar-worthy especially during the more emotional and tough scenes). It's another enemies to lovers BL set in high school, though the dynamic between the two lead characters was super interesting.

It's like the first few episodes are a balloon slowly filling with air and you expect it to burst any moment, but instead someone pokes a tiny hole in it and the balloon is deflating very very slowly. I can't really say what I expected either, just that this show felt a little lost at the end. I don't remember watching episode 7, what does that say about my memory and this show? Probably that both is pretty weak. I only remember that for the past few days I thought to myself "I can't wait for the last episode to come out, hopefully it will be better than the last one", and then I opened up Viki today and I saw that I had already watched it. Whoops.

I gotta say though, that there are many cute scenes to make up for it. So that's why I gave it such a high rating. I do love me some fluff. I haven't seen the manhwa yet, so I can't really say if it did it justice (judging by the other reviews I'd assume the answer is no).

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very interesting concept but the execution was lacking

This show had a very interesting premise but, in my eyes, didn’t allow itself to go down an either darker or more lighthearted road and therefore couldn’t utilize iit. This show dealt with death and abuse but kept it all very PG-13. You definitely can still make a dark show with that rating, but this show specifically failed. This show wasn’t able to juggle and perfectly balance out romantic, dramatic, and sad moments. Therefore, it would’ve been easier if they just leaned more in a darker or lighter direction.

To give an example. At one point, Nueng’s mother and Palm’s father both get shot by assassins. And their knee-jerk reaction is to flee to a beach and hide there for idk how long and just chill there and have fun. They try to make it seem like Nueng has the best time of his life to lay the groundwork for the finale, but it doesn’t work. One moment Nueng is there, having the time of his life (even saying that he’s never been happier) and then we are reminded “oh right, the mom could be dead by now” but this show doesn’t want us to dwell on that too long, because oh look! another cute moment between our leads!

So, either this show goes into a darker direction and let’s Nueng and Palm show more humanity and worry about their parents or they go down a more lighthearted road and tell us “yeah they are fine, now look at them swimming in the ocean!” both doesn’t work. Or rather, this show didn’t make it work.

While Nueng and Palm had a stronger beginning, their ending felt weak. I absolutely love the bodyguard trope. There is just so much external and internal conflict right at your feet but the writers stepped over it. There was some interesting back and forth and testing boundaries and how far they could go. Especially since Palm’s dad seemed really really concerned his son might overstep a line and get them fired or something. And after Nueng’s outburst at the dance, yelling at Palm to “know your place” and calling him a mere bodyguard, etc. In the end it was a bigger deal to me than Palm it seemed. It should’ve laid the groundwork for future insecurities and struggles. You tell me that everyone around Palm kept telling him that there was a clear boundary that Palm shouldn’t dare to cross and that he was worth less than Nueng and he was only there to protect the rich and wealthy and he was like “yeah, anyway”? A shame. Palm just seemed to get over it too quickly, after his own father was telling him the same. It’s like everyone around Palm kept telling him the same thing and Palm just ignored it as best as he could.

The writers were also such cowards and didn’t like to address the obvious classism. They constantly brought it up but as soon as it could’ve actually made things interesting, they dropped it. Same goes for the “bad rich and good rich people” mentality. In BL there are only two types of rich people. The Good Rich People and the Bad Rich People. Nueng rarely gets called out on his privilege because he wants to help the less fortunate by playing piano for a dance club for seniors. His family is apparently stupidly rich but they are good rich people, so it’s fine. You can say about Not Me what you want, but at least they were very clear about one thing (and I am grossly simplifying here) “there is no such thing as good rich people because as long as they are hoarding their money and don’t help others with it, they are bad rich people”.

The bullying at school was definitely a choice. And to have the class president constantly come in after a “prank” and yell “guys come on, stop it” and his “I am the class president I can take care of it” obviously you can’t, Ben.

Also, you shouldn’t give away your villain if you aren’t doing anything with it. I was a bit let down after they revealed who killed Nueng’s father immediately. There was no mystery aspect to it, instead we got many mustache-twirling evil-laughter scenes with him. I always cringe when a grown-ass man is after a teenager. The only good thing about it was that it introduced an opportunity to us for a very interesting character that this show didn’t allow to become something great. Chopper.

I would’ve loved it if they allowed Chopper to be more of a flawed character. He remained pretty solid throughout the show, always trying to do the right thing and stopping his father for the most part. And I wish they would’ve given him a bit more room to explore him trying to help his father by spying on Nueng, or idk.

Chopper was by far the most interesting character for me. He was the most morally gray out of the teenage cast and definitely had a lot of internal struggles that were brushed over. His dynamic with Nueng was great. The “doesn’t matter if our parents hate each other, it has nothing to do with us” was a feast they didn’t eat. They never allowed Chopper to get close to Nueng, so his betrayal of never telling him what his father did, didn’t hit as hard. Especially when Nueng returned from the beach and tossed him aside. So much angst and drama that they chose to ignore.

With that we come to my next point. Chopper and Ben’s relationship was a mere fraction of what it could’ve been. Basically, Chopper confessed his feelings for Ben and Ben rejecting, causing them to grow apart. And right after we find that out, Ben and Chopper both insinuate that they have feelings for each other and make it more or less known to the other. And after that there isn’t much development until they…suddenly decide to move in together. We don’t even get a dead fish kiss, imagine that. Not even a high five.

On top of that, this show wanted to frame Ben as Chopper’s moral compass. Ben telling Chopper to betray his father and stop him from committing more crimes and get more people killed felt ultimately flat because Chopper was never trying to do anything but that. He tried to reason with his father, but you can’t expect a teenager to stand up to his father who literally cuts people’s hands off IN FRONT OF HIM for a living.

The whole “you should stop your father” felt really insensitive coming from Ben, after he couldn’t stand up to his own father and be honest about the kiss. It was really hypocritical. And after everything, Chopper get’s shipped off to England to follow Ben to university (and we never get a scene where Chopper and Ben talk about moving to Europe together since it… seems like a pretty big move). We don’t even get a heartbreaking goodbye between Chopper and his father. He seemed devastated after he got shot and the next scene is him being sad about his father being in jail and that’s it. He rides off into the sunset with Ben never to be seen or heard from again. And there goes the most interesting character, wasted.

Same goes for Palm and his mother. At first it seemed like Palm had a lot of resentment toward her for leaving him and his dad behind. But after she explained that she wanted to flirt and party and live her life and just wasn’t ready for a child, all seemed forgiven. And then she’s killed and Palm shed a tear or two and that’s it. Nueng got almost the entire show whining and crying over his dead father and injured mother, but Palm didn’t even get an episode or two for his injured father and dead mother? Seems fair.

I wish they would’ve divided the focus on Palm and Nueng more equally, instead of blatantly favoring Nueng and his family over Palm’s (in a way it’s poetic how the rich family get’s more screen time and is favored over the poor family).

Or, and here I come with a drastic change, make this show about Chopper and Nueng. Two cousins who really love and care about each other are thrust into a family feud that neither of them want to deal with because “no matter if our parents hate each other, it has nothing to do with us”. More or less, the bad buddy road if you will but without the romance and more family bonding. I know that this show is about Palm and Nueng and I really love the bodyguard trope, I do. But I feel like there was so much unexplored potential with Nueng and Chopper.

The ending was okay, even though I’m really over the “separating the couple for ages in their time but for five minutes on screen” trope. Even though I did understand it from their perspective at the very least. I know that many wanted a sad ending but I personally am not really a big fan of those, so for all it’s worth, the ending was fine.

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the only bitter and gritty thing about this show is how I feel about it

Uff, this really hurts to write, but I need to write it anyway. When I first heard about this show and its premise, I’m gonna be honest, I wasn’t too happy. But I was reassured that it would not be your typical cheating storyline and it would be handled more realistically and less like your typical BL cheating plot. It was also said that this show would be very realistic, gritty, and bitter. And I prepared myself for that. Once the actual trailer dropped though, it didn’t look nearly as bitter and gritty as they promised. And surprise, surprise it wasn’t. And what was left was...a mere shadow of what it could've been.

This show was so dead-set on being realistic and the first thing they do is cast a 28 year old to play a middle aged man. Like…come one. The joke writes itself. I’m not saying that Earth wasn’t fit for this role because of his skills, because he is a good actor. This is entirely about his age and how the role makes him out to be way older than he actually is. It just turned into this joke that whenever Uncle Jim sighed or complained about the youth and how old he is, I had to laugh.

There is a very clear ship>casting mentality in the BL industry. If it wasn’t for the specific ship(s), I am almost certain that the cast wouldn’t look as they do now. Not that I would want to recast most of them, but it's obvious.

Someone said to me that P’Aof is really great in making lighthearted, fluffy BLs and maybe he should stick to what he’s best at, because bitter and realistic isn’t hitting nearly as much as his previous works. It does look amazing though, you gotta give him that.

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you better put your rose-colored glasses on for this one guys

Let's set the scene.

Imagine you are a teenager, just discovering BL and watching a show called Until We Meet Again and you fall in love with a little side couple called WinTeam. And there are rumours that they will get their own show!? The years go by and you still harbour the hope that maybe, just maybe they will get another chance at telling their story again. And then, it happens. News breaks out. Between Us is happening! It is actually happening. You mark your calender and count the days, actively following the countdown on the company's instagram. You stumble over the cast and are little shocked to find five (!) couples listed in there, but you tell yourself it's gonna be fine. You waited three years for this, they know what they are doing. And finally on Nov 6th, the first episode airs. You are thrilled. And you think this show actually managed to live up to the insane hype it gathered over the past few years. Can it be? A show that actually can live up to someone's expectations? And then you keep watching and a few weeks later, you suddenly catch yourself fast forwarding through an episode of your beloved show and you stop and ask yourself: What happened?

If you think to yourself: Wow, this reviewer didn't have to ramble so much in such great detail to tell us this story, it got boring pretty fast. Well, then I guess this show and I have something in common.

Sometimes the best stories are the one's untold. What makes Goncharov so good is that it doesn't exist. And maybe what made WinTeam so popular is the fact that they got just enough screen time to get viewers interested but never enough to give us something. But I'm rambling again.

This show is said to start with Win and Team entering a FWB situation. But the writers, directors, or whoever is to blame for this, didn't seem to know what the key factor of a friends with benefits story is, it's the friends part. They are friends first. Friends before anything else. But Win and Team were barely aquaintances before they hooked up. That's why I think FWB set different expectations that were impossible to fulfill. If you'd ask me I would describe their relationship as a one-night-stand that slowly turned into casual hook-ups with no emotions, then they got to know each other and became friends and developed feelings for each other afterwards. If they had labeled it as such, I'm sure more people would've set their expectations accordingly. There was never a line that got a little too blury for them between being friends and being in a relationship, because they were never friends to begin with.

This show also had a massive time problem. I already mentioned the five couples, one of which only get's blick-and-you'll-miss-it screen time, which is fair because they got their own show already. For the other four well... To summarize it: Wayy too much time was wasted and there was too much back and forth that led to the ending feeling rushed.

Win and Team: Okay, let me be straightforward for once, they could not carry 12 episodes. The beginning was strong, but towards the middle they became more boring. If took these guys 11 out of 12 episodes to finally confess their love for each other. That only gave us one episode with them being happily and sort-of openly in a relationship. And I wish BLs would stop pretending that after you enter a relationship everything is perfect and your get a HEA. I want to see them get together AND how they work in a relationship.

Team's "does he like me or does he treat everyone like that?" didn't make any sense. In UWMA yes, maybe. But not in Between Us where my man was out here leaving his room unlocked for his teammember to come in the middle of the night and sleep in his bed. He was making him breakfast, paying for his lunch, taking care of him when he got sick, driving to his dead cousin's grave to pick him up in the middle of the night while it's pouring, and a bunch of other stuff (not to mention that he literally said something about his FEELIGNS FOR HIM). And Team looked us straight in the eyes and said "yeah but maybe he does it for everyone"??????? ARE THESE OTHER PEOPLE HE'S DOING IT FOR IN THIS ROOM WITH US RIGHT NOW??? And Win too like "nothing every belonged to me, I always had to share" my guy this is not a Barbie doll or your favorite jumper, this is another human being. I'm sorry that you as well suffer from being the Middle ChildTM but pLEASE.

Speaking of which, I would've loved to see not only Team's trauma, but also Win's struggle with trying to please both his parents and supporting his siblings.

Prince and Bee: Their scene felt so out of place, like they gave off such different vibes that I was always so violently taken out of the story every time they appeared on the screen. They were cute, yes, but the acting was lacking. With a little more experience they will make a great couple. I also partly blame the material they had to work with. They couldn't get me invested. Sadly, because the concept was interesting. Also, if my friends would constantly make fun of me, I would not consider them my friends. I'm so over the friend group just being complete assholes to the guy and it never being called out. Saying that a guy is out of his league is one thing but to constantly rub it in his face and make fun of him for trying to make an effort to get with the guy and calling him dumb and whatnot, A and Sea were truly a waste of my time.

Waan and Tul: Probably the side couple I was most intruiged by. They got like five minutes of screen time every other episode and it was not utilised at all. They spent too much time on them talking to their phones. You tell me that Waan who told Tul multiple times "I don't want to meet you in rl" had the audacity to blame him for not telling him immediately that he was T-Rex??? And for some reason Waan hates liars so much that he is not even ready to hear Tul out but we never find out why??? Their story was so intruiging and I liked their chemistry. And the NC scene in ep 12 UFF what happened my dudes? I don't know if it's Yacht or O being uncomfortable kissing men or if it's the directing or idk. But it was really awkward and happened way too fast. We just had the big fight between them and they are already making up in the next episode. Give me at least a few minutes of angst and pining, jesus.

Manaow and Phruek: Oh what trist and grey show we would've gotten without them. While I wasn't sold on them in UWMA, I was definitely on board with them in Between Us. Sammy has a great on-screen presence and I love her energy. Even though I gotta say that I wish they would allow Manaow to be a little more serious sometimes, because Sammy can do serious scenes, but the constant over-acting was getting on my nerves a bit. Especially when it was used for cheap comic relief.

Wiew is a ray of sunshine and I'm glad he was added to the cast. But it seemed like he was a middle schooler rather than a high schooler, because he was acting like a child, not a teenager. His naivity was bordering on stupidity a few times, but Santa has a certain charm that makes you overlook it.

I wish this show would've cut down on WinTeam's drama a bit and maybe a couple or two and use this time instead to show us more of the friend group. I missed Team, Pharm, and Manaow so much and the little crumbs we got of them was everything to me.

Between Us feels very 2019 to me, even though this show tried to make some changes and adjust. And I was on board with some of the changes (most noteably the sheer amount of CONSENT LIKE YESS!) but not so much with others. Like New tried to recreate UWMA. Instead of P'Deeeaaan we got Hiiaaaa, ever other second. And now Team is suddenly scared of intimancy and doesn't like kissing his boyfriend for...reasons and he seemed to whine a lot more. And Win is suddenly no longer the flirty, grinning, always down for a joke type of guy but very serious and overprotective of Team. This show tried so hard to be UWMA, but it's not and therefore it didn't hit as much as it could've. Because the passion was there, you could feel the love of the cast members who put their heart into this show. That makes it even more sad that Pharm and Manaow and their friendship with Team felt more like an afterthought, since they got pretty much sidelined with their boyfriends. I did appreciate it though that Win got some bro-love from his two besties.

After seeing a lot of BLs directed by New, I think it's save to say that I just don't vibe with him. I don't know what he's doing but it's not it for me. On top of that I just disagree with his stance on NC scenes. The shade he has thrown at them just doesn't sit right with me. He acts as if Nc scene are inherently something dirty to be ashamed of. And if that's what he thinks, than the problem is him. And I wish he would just get over himself and leave high heat projects alone and get himself some BL scripts that are "pure" and have almost no heat in it. So everyone can be happy. Alas, he seems to get so many stories with interesting concepts (and with a high heat source material).

While we still haven't fully moved past the stereotypical portrayal of a gay relationships, we now get more shows that portray the two parties as equally in love and not one having to constantly chase the other. And excuse me, I have to get this off my chest: IF I HAVE TO WATCH ONE MORE SHOW WHERE ONE PARTY (USUALLY THE YOUNGER/SMALLER ONE) OF AN ALREADY ESTABLISHED RELATIONSHIP SEEMS TO DISLIKE KISSING THEIR BOYFRIEND IN THE COMFORT OF THEIR OWN HOME WITH NO ONE WATCHING I WILL LOSE IT!!!

PS: To like the five people who have not watched Until We Meet Again before watching Between Us, I'm sorry. Seeing Pharm and Dean having a cameo every other episode with little to no context of what the heck is going on must have been confusing as hell. You are truly stronger than I am.

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impactful but cute story about loss, love, and friendship

OK, I know what you think. "How can you watch a show with a guy who literally falls in love with his pet dog reincarnated into a human body??" And yeah I know how that sounds, but hear me out, I was also at times a little taken aback by that premise, but once you get over it this story is great, I promise!

This story is about Jung Woo who has lost his parents and his pet dog and cat. But one day suddenly, his pets returm home in human bodies! But they can't stay forever... This show is so full of love and fluff that every time it becomes serious and about the many forms of loss and grief, you are actually shook and it hits so much harder. This show knows what it is and what it isn't, therefore it's not trying to be too dramatic, while still giving their emotional moments enough depth and room to be taken seriously, while still lightening up the mood with the funny bits. This story was really lovely and warmed my heart. Jung Woo, Choco, and Milk have my whole heart. As long as they are happy, I'm happy. And yes, sometimes it IS cringy because these actors are so good at playing pets in human bodies and therefore you are reminded that you are actually watching two pets who are suddenly thrown into adult bodies and have to do adult stuff, BUT once you get used to/over it, you can lay back and enjoy the show with all it's fun and sad moments.

You have to know that this show is low-budget so some stuff is more implied and told to you rather than shown in flashbacks. Sometimes they use drawings and little animations with is charming and a nice alternative.

The actors were all great. Specifically the actors of Milk and Choco who really encapsulated the cat and dog mannerisms. And the actor of Jung Woo who was able to portray his grief and his internal struggle.

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a perfect example of you can't have a cake and eat it too

The premise sounded very interesting and I'm always open for more BLs that try to shed some light onto the shadiness of this industry. But it falls into the same trap as many before. This show tries to call out and appeal to the same audience.

This show has twenty episodes (which is honestly a lot for BL standards) and they are divided into four stories (Story 1- Neu Ship, Story 2 - War of Managers, Story 3 - Y-Idol, and Story 4 - Wife). This show tries to create a soft transition from one story to the other by introducing the main characters of the following story in the current story and only semi-succeeds, but we'll get to that.

Each of these 5-episode stories tackle a specific issue and try to deal with it while also focusing on a couple (which is always the main two characters). It is always told from one of the main guys' perspective. If I had to rank these stories from best to worst it would look like this: Y-Idol, Wife, New Ship, and War of Managers. Y-Idol and Wife are pretty much interchangably since they were both done well one has a weaker beginning while the other has a weak ending and it's just whatever you prefer more, I guess. And I know that many people rated New Ship way higher than that but the truth is that it's been months ever since i've watched this story and I only remember bits and pieces and these bits and pieces didn't make me rate this show any higher than that. But let's go into each one of them, shall we?

*Story 1 - New Ship with Pan and Nott*
We jump right in with the very first episode tackling a very heavy topic. Pan is dealing with all the fame he got with the hit series and now they are shooting season 2 but oh no, there is a new ship coming into town and they threaten to take some spotlight from them. Also, he is casually hooking up with his on-screen partner and is on his best way to develop real feelings for him. And if that wasn't already a bad enough combo, his manager offers him to whoever gives her enough money, letting them do whatever with him basically in exchange for sponsorship.

I wish we would've focused more and Pan and his negative experiences with the industry. We know that his manager was selling him out to sponsors and we often get scenes of him aggressively cleaning himself and whatever parts people have touched of him and things he owns. So it felt like there was a big story there that they only touched on very lightly. We didn't see much of Nott outside of him being his on-screen partner and his love interest. Which seems to be a pattern in this show. It was just a big mess. And I'm glad that Pan decided to take some time off to heal and get some rest. I think that the story itself is worth being told but it was all so messy and at times confusing that it didn't do it justice. The acting however was great. Billy and Seng (Billy specifically) were acting their asses off. They brought these characters to live and especially with all these difficult scenes Billy got, he did a phantastic job.

*Story 2 - War of Managers with Gus and Bew*
In this story we focus on the relationships the actors have with their managers a little more than in the first one. The managers are friends and once they turn on each other and become enemies Gus and Bew and their careers suffer because of it.

Gus and Bew are introduced to us in the first story already but as background characters only getting a few scenes. They are the second couple in a second season BL that the two guys from Story 1 are leading in. Then, when more and more spotlight is shifted away from Pan and Nott and more and more spotlight falls onto Gus and Bew, they also get more and more NC scenes and attention from fans. They are both under quite some pressure to perform and to deliver, to make their fans happy and to stay relevant. The managers are not holding back to turn on their friend to get an opportunity for their actor to shine. This puts a strain on Gus's and Bew's work-and rl-relationship since they are constantly pitted against each other. Bew and Gus hook up quite at the beginning of their story and lead a secret relationship, but as it turns out it was all orchestrated by the managers who wanted them to... be together to have better chemistry? And there also is a mysterious girl blogging about them like gossip girl and is ready to reveal all their secrets.

All in all, this story was messy, a different kind of mess than Story 1, uniquely messy if you will. I would've loved an entire story about the fact that Bew and Gus were the first BL couple to publicy confirm their relationsip because I feel like this would be a huge thing and an interesting story to tell. Their acting was fine, nothing outstanding or particularly worth pointing out, but it was fine.

*Story 3 - Y-Idol with Peak and Kla*
It really surprised me that this show made it this high on my ranking, because I felt like this would be my least favorite by just reading the premise. But while it did feel a little stretched out, it was filled with opportunities that were either used or thrown away.

In the third story we focus on a korean-idol-surviver-show-esque premise. With three chosen BL couples competing against each other and whoever wins gets a role in an upcoming BL series, which means big fame and big money. Peak is struggling big time putting up a fake happy smile and creating ship content with his ship-partner Kla. Throuought the story we see Peak slowly using more and more tricks to stay relevant and gain attention, even faking an injury and then actually hurting himself so he isn't exposed. He is also in a constant fight with Achi, the guy who seems to be his biggest rival. Who seems to be able to look through all his tricks and can be quite mean at times.

Peak and Kla hook up one day which complicates their relationship and their performance as neither of them is ready to admit their feelings towards each other. In the end, Peak breaks under the pressure and all his lies and confesses. The votes are manipulated and Achi and his ship win the show.

*Story 4 - Wife with Achi and Most*
In the fourth and final story we focus on the winners of the Y-Idol tv show from Story 3. Achi and Most are now staring as the main couple in their own BL and it seems to go great. Achi and Most are very close and manage to motivate and encourage each other. Then, a new girl comes into the mix and the duo turns quickly into a trio. The new girl is Fern and she quickly befriends Achi and Most and we find out that she was sent there to keep an eye on them to not fall in love by the producer (P who we already know from Y-Idol) but also to create some fan content and boost their popularity. At first everything goes well, until Achi and Fern hook up and start a secret relationship. And because Achi just can't keep it in his pants, once Most realises his feelings for Achi and tells him about it, they hook up as well. Only that their relationship status isn't official and they have a sort of fwb situation going on. The cast and crew are whispering about their chemistry and that their might be more to their relationship than work.

Fern is getting more and more suspicous of the type of relationship Most and Achi have and them flirting with each other behind the camera doesn't really help either. Once she catches Most and Achi having sex (in a shower on set... it's... these people are too horny and think only with their private parts *sigh*) the truth is finally revealed. They both break up with him and from that moment on things fall apart. P finds out about Achi hooking up with Fern and fires her, news break out and now the whole internet knows about the affair between Achi and Fern, at the press conference Achi outs Fern as trans and reassures that their relationship ended.

We then get a little scene with Achi and Fern meeting up and they have the most confusing talk and I don't konw what's going on anymore. Basically they are hiting at them planning most of these things. They shake hands in a "we good now" way and that's the last thing we see about them and the last time we hear about Fern. Whatever happens to her or her career remains a mystery.

We get one last scene between Achi and Most where they are offered a second season deal since the first one did surprisingly well. We cut to three months later and both Achi and Most have yet to decide if they will do the second season or not. Most is like "my answer was clear from the very start. I'm in." while Achi seems hesitant. Most and Achi sort of make up, Achi finally owning up to the shit he pulled and Most forgiving him. After that there is no season 2 happening and we have to sort of fill in the gaps ourselves.

*The Reunion*
The last few minutes are a big reunion with all cast members at the 13. Greatest Y-Awards. A few people are not at the award show though. One of them is Most, through a video message we find out that Most is no longer persuing a career as an actor and instead focuses on becoming a musician (yeah I don't know how that happened either).

P wins the prize for most popular Y-actor and it's insinuated that he manipulated the results. He uses the spotlight to also introduce his new BL show with his ship partner. Which seems to be a huge surprise since many thought he would not act in another BL again. Also there seems to be some unresolved tension between P and his ship partner but it's never mentioned again. Then, big plot twist, turns out the Twitter gossip girl was HIM ALL ALONG! End credits roll.

*The Good and The Bad*
-Something this show does very well is make you feel sympathy for the characters, especially the mains that do the most shit. Which is really important given that everyone in this show is not 100% good and fucks up in one way or another.

-This show loves to tease you with the characters making out and then someone screams "cut!" and you are like "Ah, okay so this was for their show" which happens way too often and it takes a while until you get used to it, but since this was the first story it was new to me and I had to get the hang of it first.

-A pattern that you might have noticed by now is that no couple get's a fairytale happy ending. Which fits the dark, realistic tone it is set in. And I guess it's for everyone else to decide whether they like that or not. I am a sucker for happy endings but I didn't mind as much, given that this show tried to be dark and more realistic.

-The comments and the overall portrayal of fans was pretty spot-on. Sure, there were a few unrealistic instances but for the most part, it seemed realistic. I also appreciated that they translated them so we could understand the ones that weren't in English. Even though I have to say that I would've appreciated if they had placed the translations a little differently like in a smaller font in the upper part of the screen, because I had to watch so many scenes where actors were doing lives or a press conference and half of my screen was covered in text.

-While I did like that this BL tackled more issues and divided the show in 4 stories, they felt all very disconnected. Each story is a standalone which is fine, but makes them feel isolated. You don't see or hear anything from Pan and Nott for like fifteen episodes until they show up in the very last few minutes of the final. And you tend to forget. I can't remember the first story as well as the last one, because I haven't heard or seen anything about it in months. I saw many people say that this show had too much going on and maybe it would've done better with fewer episodes and maybe letting a few stories happen parallel, to connect them a little better.

-While it does mention that NC and fan service is getting more and more and is a problem for the actors for mulitple reasons, this show features many NC scenes. Sometimes it's used to highlight an issue (like directors and people behind the camera mocking NC scenes will still working them in because they know sex sells). It's clear that this show had to be careful with calling out some certain parts of the industry as they were playing right into it. They lampshade a few important issues but since this show is still a BL after all, can't expose them for what they are. They talk about how tiring fan service is and how the producers often rely on NC scenes and include more of them to make their shows a hit, but they themselves include quite a few NC scenes in every story (most noteably in the last story imo). And that's the big problem with most of these call-out-BLs. They can never fully commit, because they fear to lose the audience. And that's why often the messages and morals of the stories were undermined and fell flat, because they couldn't fully commit. I'm not saying that it's impossible to create a BL that calls out BLs and the BL industry, but it's certainly not easy and this particular show was suffering because of it.

-The thing is that this show is after all a drama and not a documentary of any sorts and therefore the lines between "these are stories that actually happened" and "this is fiction and we dramatize and sensationalize a few parts of it for TV". And therefore we quickly jump to the conclusion that every bit of the stories that we brush off as unbelieveable are automatifally fake, even though they probably are very real to some extent.

-To end this review on a good note: Aside from the Twitter posts and forums and whatnot, the show uses a specific tool to question us (the audience). It shows us polls from a gossip girl-like user without ever telling us the results. Questions like "Do you think that NC scenes and fanservice can lead to actors falling in love?" And there is no right answer and this show is also not here to give it to you. They are used to make you think for yourself, maybe question what you belief. It's a clever tool that I wish was used a little more during the show. The last thing we see right before the credits roll is actually a twitter poll. Right after We find out that P is the mastermind behind it all, we get one last twitter poll. "Do you think the stories are based on real life or made up?" So, after all, it's up to the viewer to decide what to believe. And end credits roll. I think it's a fantastic way to end this show. A fantastic tool over all.

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amazing thriller with a terrible ending

This show was a ride. Not only was it my first kdrama Thriller, it was also having an overall great premise. This show pulled me in from the very first second and I really loved every episode. Up until like the last three that were slowly ruining it all for me.

Story: I really love the "someone killed my sibling so I will go undercover to find the person who did this" trope and this show managed to give us a protagonist who was not letting herself be pushed around. She was smart and didn't put up with anything, but still had a kind heart. Chanmi was a real delight and a welcomed fresh breath of air after so many push-over main characters I endoured the last few weeks. She managed to be both a badass and a softie and I love her. Seonjoon was a very interesting character as well and watching him walk down the narrow path between seeking revenge for other people and just cruely beating people up to the brink of their death was chilling. This boy had to shoulder so much and my heart was breaking for him and his mother a dozen times in these twelve episodes. Jaebum was someone I didn't trust from the start. His amnesia seemed so oddly convenient and I've seen the plot twist "he's faking his amnesia" too many times, so I was always suspicious. But like halfway through the show I slowly warmed up to his charm and good nature. A mistake as it turns out, but more on this later. The supporting characters were great as well, making you feel for them and hate them, whatever the show needed you to feel. About the detectives... Well, let's just say that I have mixed feelings about them. I'm glad that they started to trust Chami more and more and were trying to work with her after realising that she was onto something. But at times it also felt very frustrating since Chanmi and we (the audience) were always one step ahead, so whenever they discovered something it was never a "oh!"-moment but rather a "finally!".

Acting/Cast: Almost all the actors and actresses were doing a phenomenal job, especially the main cast was really giving their all in their performances and it shows.

Music: Great. Just great. But kdramas rarely have bad or boring soundtrack, so no surprise here.

Rewatch Value: Up until now my review probably seems overwhelmingly positive, so you might think that my rewatch value is quite high, but not only am I not one to rewatch stuff easily, I also have very strong feelings about the ending and if it isn't satisfactory enough for me, it will immediately lower my rewatch value drastically. And as you can see from my rating, I will not rewatch this show any time soon.

The Bad:
- predictable plot twists. Okay, so this one doesn't have to be too bad, because if nobody can predict your plot twist than you have done a bad job at forshadowing it. But this show had so many plot twists that I have seen coming from a mile away and not in a "oh! I see! So this could happen!" kind of way but in a "lol maybe they pull x-twist, i hope not tho" and they did. Like my first thought was "why would Jihyun and Osung care so much about others knowing they are siblings? if they aren't dating, nobody cares" and well... guess what happened...

- characters suddenly turn dumb. This one was probably the most frustrating one. I had to watch Seonjoon and Chanmi accuse everyonea round them of murder for like ten episodes straight, they were pointing fingers at LEFT AND RIGHT, but when the culprit is RIGHT THERE they close their eyes. They literally have a conversation like: "Hey, the police says that the murderer probably used his left hand." - "Huh, that's good to know. Btw, Jaebum was acting really strange and he wrote his name with his left hand." - "Oh, you should ask him if he is ambidextrous." - "Yeah... anyway, back to the killer. So Osung-" LIKE???? They laid such a heavy focus on the left-hand-thing just for them to IGNORE IT?? What was the point of the shots of Seonjoon staring at Jaebum doing all these weird things just for him to NOT mention it to Chanmi or to not grow at least a little suspicious??

- all is forgiven. HOW?? Chanmi was ready to pull a gun on Seonjoon as soon as she suspected him of murdering his brother but all of a sudden she has a change of heart and forgives Jaebum. I know that some more time has pass and she learned to trust people and learned to love these people, yadda yadda. But she was ready to kill him and suddenly she forgave him completely. That seemed very unlike her and, after all we've been through, a little disappointing. And I'm sorry but I just can't believe that if someone would try to kill me and I wouldn't know who and someone was like "yeah it was this guy" I would WITHOUT QUESTIONING HIM FIRST OR ANYTHING just straight up go there to murder him??? Like how was that his FIRST THOUGHT?? And the way he kicked him wasn't him trying to be like "I will push you out of the window so you can have the same experience as me" but he full intended to kill him. Just good old coldblooded murder and we are just supposed to shrug it away. I know he was manipulated but just the fact that he was so ready to kill someone...idk idk

- is this an open ending or no ending? So, the thing with open endings is that they are pretty hit or miss. You can still get a sense of closure and satisfaction even if the ending is open or ambigious. But this ending felt like someone forgot to write an ending and came to set and made something up. I'm glad that they didn't kill-off Seonjoon in the very last few minutes because that would just leave a sour taste in my mouth. The characters all graduating and Chanmi just saying in a voice-over "btw he died, but live goes on" and then end credits... like no please don't. But since the very first episode we are told that he will die and he doesn't. He leaves school, get's together with Chanmi and that's it; "he's lucky for now". They are happy for now, both alive for now. But you know what, I can live with that, I can understand leaving it at that with them, since fans can now decide for themselves if they have many happy years in front of them or if Seonjoon died soon after. But with everyone else... no. What happened to Jihyun and her family after finding out the truth about her brother and seeing him literally die right in front of her eyes? What happens to Jaebum? Is he now "freed" or is he still mentally ill (we'll get to that in a second)? What about his family? What about the detectives? Are they just gonna accept that everyone pretends like this guy died of natural causes?

- everyone accepts that Osung died of natural causes. So you tell me that this school had like two dead students in a year and nobody is like "hmm, that's a little sus, we should keep an eye on them"?? The detectives arrive see that this guy apparently jumped from the roof and they just accept it with a "if enough people push the lie it eventually becomes the truth" like first of all...no that's not how that works and second of all that insinuates that she KNOWS that something's up but she CHOOSES to ignore it??? Good to know this woman has learned nothing from twelve episodes.

- Jaebum is possesed by a demon(??). Throughought this show we get many hints that there is something wrong with Jaebum. Him stating that he "doesn't remember stuff he did" and "remembers stuff he didn't do" was like an alarm bell going of. And I know that the "this super nice and sweet guy was actually the killer all along and is actually cold, evil, and bloodthirsty" is a beloved trope. God knows I do like it as well. But the way it was handled in this show... uff. First of all, I am really tired of the way people keep misrepresenting DID and make it into a Jekyll and Hyde situation. Just make him evil and say that he loves playing nice guy or something. Also Chanmi's speech of evil guy Jaejoon was truly something. Her saying "you are a demon" and "please let him free" was just...I was speechless. My girl, my man has a mental illness, he is not possessed by a demon. That's not how it work--well apparently that's exactly how it works in this show.

- the nice Jaebum being not so nice. Okay, so the thing is that everyone keeps telling you that Jaebum is a good person. Even when he literally killed someone, they say it's not his fault since he was manipulated and everyone forgives him. And I guess, yes, he does take responsibility once he's caught. We don't know what happenes after if his family just buys him out or if he talks about his illness or if he takes the blame for it all, we will never know. But what we do know is that Jaebum got his memory back of the incident quite early... like this man had some time to think. Time to feel guilty. You tell me this guy knew he killed a classmate and he just...went on with his life?? He knew he was the killer then looked Chanmi in the eyes and didn't immediately start crying?? The Jaebum who was so ready to jump to her defense all the time? The guy who was ready to cover up a murder for his friend(s)??? Also how did the fight between him and Osung end? They were ready to kill each other and suddenly they are both fine and went different ways?

- the full-circle-dilemma. I know that the whole school protecting Seonjoon was more a symbolic thing, to show that they really value him as "the hero" and that was sweet yes, if you don't really think about how unrealistic it is that not one single soul snitched. But even if you pretend that it's totally realistic for two hundred people to stick to one story and protecting a guy some hated and some loved, it still felt weird. It was supposed to be this full-circle kinda thing, a parallel to Wonseok's death and how everyone believed/accepted it to be suicide and nobody spoke up about it. But it didn't give me anything. And I know that Osung was a bad person and that some might think that he deserved it, but for me it just felt like history repeating itself and nobody learning anything.

- so who should've been the killer? So after this whole rent you might as yourself, well how would you have liked this show to end then? And I don't have a clear answer to that, since there were so many (better) possibilities. So many characters that could've made (a better) perpetrator. My personal favorite was Soyeon and Seonjoon as a team. At one point I even suspected a last plot twist that it wasn't actually Jaebum but Soyeon and Seonjoon who constructed the whole thing. It was mentioned so many times that Wonseok was someone many people wanted to see dead and maybe Soyeon and Seonjoon made that happen. And maybe Seonjoon didn't mean to kill Wonseok but just fight him and he accidentally fell out of the window or his anger spiked up because of his cancer and that's why he forgot it or idk. I haven't planned an entire alternative ending in my head, these are just a few thoughts that popped into my head in like episode 11 when I thought that maybe this show would pull a better twist.

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cute little story that felt a a bit shallow and rushed

About Youth was a relatively short story (8 episodes with each about 22 minutes long) with a lot of cute factor. Specifically the main couple Ye Guang and Xu Qi Zhang were great. This show was really shining in the first few episodes but like most shorter BLs it had too many plot points that felt either rushed or were dropped once the series progressed (e.g. Qi Zhang's uncle, Ye Guang's rival? bully? whatever-his-role-was?). The acting was okay, nothing outstanding, but not bad at all. 3 out of 4 of the main cast are still teenagers after all. I really loved Qi Zhang's mother and how she was so supportive of her son's passion. She also brought such a good vibe into every scene she was in. There is not much intimate scenes between Qi Zhang and Ye Guang but that's fine by me, since it is realistic for both characters to be inexperienced and move at a slower pace (also given the young age of the actors on top of that) their kiss was quite sweet and so was their whole journey; really loved them.

My main problem was with the second couple. I wish the script allowed them a little more screen time to develop them a little more or at least give some context and maybe explain their actions a bit better. There was this whole plot point where Ray kissed Jian and the latter said he needed time and Ray stormed off. We never know why, if he was just a little overwhelmed by the sudden kiss, if he was questioning his sexuality, if he was not sure if he felt the same way for Ray, etcetera. Jian just decides that he now is ready to be with him out of the blue and starts following Ray around and keeps sending him messages, Ray is not willing to hear him out and it seems like he is not interested to be with him anymore, which makes their dynamic a little...icky (also given the age gap in real life and I assume in this show as well?) So, in the end they never talk about it again and just get together. Which felt very abrupt and not like a well deserved pay-off.

The music was great. We got two bangers and whenever I could hear the piano version playing in the background of a sad or happy scene it felt really natural and beautiful.

The ending was fine on page but let me feeling like there was something missing. Like I said, the second couple doesn't get any big moment after their get-together, so they are just hanging out and chilling without talking about anything. And Ye Guang's parents just magically realise that they should treat their son better after he sent them a little video. We never find out how that will look like or if they will actually change. The show ends with Ye Guang and Qi Zhang getting together and having their first kiss, this also means that we never see them do much as an official couple. We don't know what will happen once they finish high school, since one has plans to go to a fancy school and the other one just started finding himself. We also don't know if the parents would be accepting of their children if they ever found out about their relationship. So many unanswered questions. But I guess this show was never really about these things to begin with. Just a cute little show about four friends finding themselves and their boyfriends. Which is fine, just not what I expected and therefore it felt a little lackluster to me.

But there are many cute moments to make up for most of it. So, if you are looking for a cute little show without having to thinking too much and great music this is it for you.

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cute show that could've been more

Takara-kun and Amagi-kun was a cute show that felt very cosy and lighthearted at first but felt a little lost at the end.

Pros:
- Amagi and Takara shined when they hung out and just enjoyed each others company. Amagi was expressing his feelings for Takara constantly and that was so lovely to hear. And whenever Takara showed any physical reaction to Amagi's words or actions it was great, even if it was just him covering his mouth so nobody could see him smile. And Takara going from never expressing his feelings to voicing his thoughts and feelings more and more so Amagi wouldn't misunderstand him all the time.

- I loved the dynamic between Amagi and Katori, their friendship was amazing and to say that Katori is Amagi's platonic soulmate added 10 years to my life.

- The music is great. It didn't stick out too much to distract from the story, but it was not an awkward or repetitive background noise.

Cons:
- Tanaka was very charismatic but his personality was just trash. He constantly asked Amagi inappropriate questions that made him uncomfortable. Even asking Amagi if he had sex with Takara and if he should try as well (I still don't fully grasp what the writers tried to do there). And even going as far as to harass Amagi for days. It was really uncomfortable to watch and the fact that he was never properly called out or "punished" for it just left a sour taste in my mouth. And his constant rapey-vibes he gave off were just the last straw for me. Whenever Takara would say that he'd wait until Amagi was ready to be more intimate he grimased as if that would be something totally unheard of. Just a really weird guy.

- Even though Takara constantly said that he would not force Amagi to do anything and would wait until he was ready as well, I think I can remember like three times Takara kissed Amagi and the latter was not feeling it. Amagi was very clear that he was very inexperienced and didn't know much about the physical stuff and Takara reassured him (and us) that they'd take it as slow as Amagi needed. Only that that was not true. Even in the last freaking episode Takara goes in for a kiss (in public which is another thing Amagi is not too keen about) and Amagi panics and headbutts him. Amagi apologises right away and Takara uses that opportunity to go in for another kiss which is framed as this beautiful thing even though it's just disappointing.

- I'm not really a fan of the small childish boy who always shrieks and panics whenever his boyfriend wants to get a little intimate and the tall emotionless guy who is always the one to initiate physical contact and does so even if his bf is not comfortable with it.

- I expected the last episode to deal with a different kind of problem. It's like we wasted so much time with other problems that we didn't focus on the more important ones. Like, Takara constantly suppressing his feelings and trying to never show any emotion. Or how they will go on to the next stage in life (university and work) and make their relationship work. They never had a first real fight yet and they are already promising to stay together forever. We also don't really know what happened between Amagi and his mother, we only get a few hints here and there but not a real explanation. I did like the conflict of Amagi worrying that Takara would lose all his friends if he kept ditching them for him, but it wasn't like Takara cared about his friends or losing them, so why should we care?

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one of the best shows of 2022 (and one character that almost ruined it all for me)

This show was definitely one of my top BLs of 2022 and even though I was a little sceptic at first, First and Khaotung totally sold this show to me in the very first episode (mind you I don't watch trailers). So, I was hooked.

Story: I am a little torn about this one. I really loved the show, I loved the characters, and I loved the message behind the story. But, of course, it wasn't perfect. There were a few minor and major plot holes and a few inconsistencies, which I happily overlooked. But there was one thing that I just couldn't brush off. It bugged me so much that I even had to drop my rating from 10 to 9.0. My frustration lies with the character Thua and how they completely ruined him for me. But I will rant about this later. Over all, I really enjoyed this story. To see the characters grow and learn from each other and accept themselves for who they are and fight for what they believe in was really inspiring and nice to watch (but also heartbreaking at some points).

Casting/Actors: I am so in love with First's and Khaotung's acting, they did an amazing job portraying Akk and Ayan and their chemistry was through the roof. I've seen them in other projects before and I have to say that they did a great job already, but improved quite a lot nonetheless. Same goes for the rest of the cast. They did an amazing job and made the story what it is. I would even go as far and say that I would have not enjoyed this show as much if it wasn't for them.

Music: I absolutely adore the intro song. I listen to it every day. Khaotung has an amazing singing voice. And the version with First and Khaotung singing it together is just *chef's kiss*.

Rewatch Value: My initial reaction was to rate it 5/10 since I'm not one to rewatch things lightly, but I think that this show definitely has a great rewatch value, since you see a lot of things with different eyes after the finale. But the ending left a sour taste in my mouth, so I couldn't give it more stars.

My Rant About Thua: From the start I was a Thua-fan. I was totally on his side and was rooting for him, when he decided to finally speak up and tell the school about the one who was behind the curse, I was cheering... until the moment he decided to go off topic and out his friends in front of the entire school (mind you these people bullied Thua for being gay for years). Which is a plot twist a lot of BLs like to pull to get some tension and drama. I'm not only extremely tired of this trope, it is also almost always handled very poorly (looking at you Bad Buddy). And it was no different here. I would have loved to see Thua realizing that he went too far and regretting his impulsive decision and learning from his mistake. Instead, the story took the easy way out and just.. brushed it off and all the characters (especially the main couple who went through something traumatic) just collectively decided to forget about it. They didn't even think it was necessary for him to apologize for it (you know, the bare effing minimum). And if that wasn't already bad enough, shortly after Thua outed his friends (only approximately 10 minutes later) we had to watch Thua and his boyfriend have a coming out to their peers. I'm really glad that he had the comfort of coming out on his own terms and at his own time. If only your friends were given the same choice... :))
And to add fire to the fuel, Thua gave a speech in the final saying: "Coming out doesn't require just our courage. We need an understanding and supporting community and family as well. We are lucky you guys understand us."
Truly the biggest middle finger I have ever seen.

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if you liked Manner of Death you will love this show

As soon as I heard that Dr. Sammon was behind Triage I was more than eager to watch it. I was super excited that we finally get a BL that isn't another engineer/medical student university drama, but a medical/fantasy drama. I know that we got quite a few shows and movies about time loops, but it's the very first time for a BL. Let me break down my review in two parts: The Good and The Bad.

The Good:
- The Acting. Tae and Tee both are able to carry not only their ship but also the show. From subtle to grant emotions. They did a good job portraying the characters. Also the supporting cast did well. Great casting.

- The built-up and the relationshp between Tin and Tol. We follow Tin most of the time and his POV, he only know about Tol what he knows. And I loved how we not only saw Tol opening up over time, we saw Tin opening up as well. At first, Tol was nothing but a drunk university student to him who he must safe for some reason, but over time he learns that Tol isn't what he initially thought he was. To see how them growing from distant aquaintances to close friends to lovers was amazing and well done. Also something I appreciated was that instead of judging and scowling Tol for his fuck-ups, he tried to give him advice and talk to him about it and that led to his big development in character. He didn't help Rit because Tin forced him, but he genuinely changed and understood that he had to make up for his mistakes. And Tin who grew more and more open and kind because of Tol (highlighted more in the last episodes). And to see them both struggle so much to save their loved one and the people they care about, especially Tin who had to go through the pain of losing Tol multiple times, was so heartwrenching but so worth it.

- Apparently not everyone is a fan of the POV switch, but I thought it was great. Within three episode we slowly shift from Tin's to Tol's POV. We start in episode 8 while we are still following Tin, we begin to see more of Tol's inner struggles. In episode 9 we are mostly with Tol, since Tin got stabbed and is unconscious for like half the episode. After everything Tin did, after everything he's been through the last nine episodes, it was only fair for Tol now to do the work. He had to fight for Tin now, also it drew some nice parallels to Tin's earlier attempts and it sort of redeemed Tin's creepy stalker-ish behavior in the early episodes.

- In episode 4 we got that scene with Tin almost half-asleep trying to stay awake having an encounter with Tol. We never got an explanation to how or why that happened. Only in episode 11 we see how things went down and because of this, this scene skyrocketed upwards on my top 10 triage moments list. To watch Tol realise what Tin had went through just to save him and for him to go to him and hug him and giving him some more hope was really satisfying to watch. And it also explained why Tol was so physical with him (the hug and the hand to heart), which was so vastly different from how distant he was back in the first episodes.

- Another thing that speaks for Tol was how he handled things once he found out the true reason Mai has been daiting him. It was exactly how I wished he would react. He wasn't upset or angry or threw a tantrum. He was understanding and offered help and even told her that they could be friends. Really highlighted the growth he had over the last couple of episodes. Episode 1 Tol would never.

- The side characters were great. Toi, Fang, Gap, and Sing were all really a great add not only to lighten the mood but also to talk some sense into Tin once in a while. Also the few scenes we got from Gap and Sing here and there were fun to watch.
- Rit was a great character and my heart broke for him so many times. The little crumps we got from him and Sing were so sweet and heartwarming.

- Each character served a purpose. May it be a minor or major one, but they all were there for a reason and I know that this sounds weird to point out and give credit for, but after watching too many BLs where there is this comically large cast with too many characters that are all there for no other reason than to add more faces to the show, I can not not point it out.

The Bad:
- While I really liked the POV shift from Tin to Tol and the changes that in storyline and character was interesting, I wasn't a fan of the sudden GapSing relationship. I am aware that as a side couple you just don't have much screen time, but we spent nine episodes watching them going from "he hates me" to "they begin to appreciate each other" to suddenly see them cuddling and in an established relationship. Many people on Tumblr shared their theories and why they haven't been dating before and what changed (Tin) but I would've liked an in-world/canon explanation. Or at least a better pay-off. I didn't watch these two bickering and fighting for episode after episode just to see them cuddle in the last two.

- Tol's friends were a real pain in the ass. Same as Gap and Sing there was no no pay-off. They were shown to be reckless, manipulative, and mean and they would do whatever suited them best. And instead of cutting ties with them or idk telling them to quit being such assholes... nothing happened. Rit is now back in their group and working on the project again. That was everything we got. Quite a let down. I hoped that Art would get a grip and stop hanging out with them and only hanging out with Rit and Tol instead.

- Stories that involve any fuckery with the time are careful to handle, since it's so easy to mess up. And while the show didn't mess up in that sense, there were a few established worlbuilding "rules" that did confuse me. In one of the later episodes it's established that kisses can make you remember the past loops. We don't know why. Is it true love? Or does it only work when the person who knows about the loops is kissing someone? Does it still work when Tin kisses other people? Like Sing or Dear? It's never explained, we just have to accept it. Same goes for the notebook. Once a loop ends, everything is set back to how things were at the time Tin wakes up, but for some reason whatever he writes in that notebook stays. I mean, okay, sure. An explanation from Jinta would've been nice ("Here, I'll give you this notebook to help you keep track of things, it isn't effected by the time loops so don't worry about your do-to list disappearing." or idk).

- I know that I said every character served a purpose and I won't backtrack on that, because Dr. Doi did serve a purpose. Just his role in the finale was... a lot. He held Sing and Gap hostage, shot Sing, ran to Dr. Sak and the others to keep Tol and Tin hostage, then tried to kill Tin and ends up in a mental facility because we went crazy. That's a lot.

- The "I'm gone but I'll be back"-ending that I am slowly getting fed up with. I can't tell you how much I am annoyed with that trope. After Doi injects some poison into Tin to kill him, he's in a coma for weeks, we get a montage of Tol visiting him in the hospital, writing diary entries in Tin's notebook for him. Then Tol eventually continues living his life until he meets Tin in the clock tower again. At first Tin pretends that he doesn't remember him, but then drops the "I heard kissing someone can bring back memories" line, which obviously means that he can remember. They kiss. Happy end. The quick "we are seperated for weeks/months/years in a montage but we meet again after weeks/months/years and are now happy together". It's perfect if you don't want any emotional impact. Breaking up/seperating the couple for like ten minutes of screen time (no matter how long it is in their world) has rarely made me cry. At least put him in a coma for half the episode/an entire episode to actually make me notice that he's not part of Tol's life and missing out on things, etc.

- Jinta was such a crucial part of the plot, without him there would be no plot. But while the others had their montages and happy endings, Jinta was never to be seen again. No last goodbye or him watching them from afar and smiling to himself for his plan to work out or idk. I wish we would've gotten one last scene. Also, I still don't quite understand why he did what he did. Like, why would he chose to intervene with fate and make Tin safe Tol? I read a few theories of people saying that he actually wanted to safe Rit because he would make some great invention in the future or something. But, and feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but we never find out why it's so important for Jinta that Tol survives.

- This will probably be an unpopular opinion but I wish that Tin wasn't able to remember what happened. I can see why people find that happy ending perfect, because it is perfect. But I guess I needed a little more... emotional damage? Like they really got that happy ever after ending with everything and all. Dr. Sak was caught, Mai got her mom into a new hospital with new meds, Sing and Gap are together, Rit is back with his former friends and working on the project, Tin is able to remember everything same as Tol and they are happy and together... The whole difficulty of The Last Loop was that Tin was not able to remember anything. It was a sacrifise that Tol chose to make for his and Tin's happy ending. I'm not saying that he shouldn't remember anything at all, you can still hin at him slowly win back his memory by giving him the magic notebook and let him be like "I think I might remember a few bits and pieces but not much". I just think that it would've been more impactful.

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proceed with caution

First things first, I think that many people don't know what they are getting themselves into. This show is a BL, yes, but it's way darker and more graphic in many different areas (language, NSFW scenes, fight scenes, etc.). I will add some content warnings at the bottom for those who might need them.

Everyone keeps talking about how flawless and perfect this show is with only minor "mistakes" and honestly... I have to disagree. While yes, the production value is significantly higher than in your usual BLs, the writing was nowhere near perfect. Just to highlight one issue: We meet Kim, youngest of the Theerapanyakul brothers and immediately know that he's up to something. He's secretive and constantly sneaks around and tries to gather some important info. It makes up the majority of his storyline. It's either him playing Kimlock Holmes or him having some boyfriend time with Chay. Solving this mystery it very tricky, so he has to be smart and careful about it. And this show really wants to let us know that he is both. But then, this plot just get's sidelined and eventually forgotten about. Suddenly it's not that important anymore and once Porsche now actually wants to know this secret information that Kim spent hours and weeks discovering, another character just swoops in and says "yeah sorry that it took me an hour and a half to get you this very secretive and important information, I was sleepy and needed a nap, but here you go". LIKE??? They did him so dirty and for what...

And no matter how many times people try to gaslight me, a mature story with criminals as protagonists doesn't automatically require them being abusers. They can be bad guys and still respect boundaries and give a damn about consent. I'm sorry, but a guy automatically loses all his attractiveness to me once they cross this line. Therefore, not many attractive men in this show for me.

This show loves to twist the plot. You think that you finally settled in and know how things work and BAMM new secret unlocked, another twist in this plot and it slowly turns into a pretzel. This happens quite a lot especially in the last third of the show. And it's intruiging at first, but I got a little tired of it by the end.

The time with our main couple and main characters Kinn and Porsche was a rollercoaster ride. I got a little fed up with them by the end. It was interesting watching them navigate their feelings towards each other, especially in that work enviroment (and the power imbalance as well). I got bored of these two repeating the same behavior over and over again. They had their cute moments but at one point I was so done with them that I couldn't even take it seriously anymore. But that meant that I had a great time the last two episodes since I just accepted whatever the writers threw at me and stopped questioning things or getting all riled up over these fictional characters. So, that's that.

The one Theerapanyakul brother that got it the worst is Tankhun. He was one of the comic relief characters that could've been really great. Even though he's way smarter than people give him credit for, he was never allowed to fully step outside of the box this show put him in. He got a moment here and there where he was allowed to be the only one seeing through everyone's bs, but in the end, it didn't matter much.

I was very concerned about the VegasPete storyline, as I only heard a few bits and pieces about it and I wasn't sure if the writers would be able to handle such a difficult topic well. And turns out my concerns were absolutely valid. While the slow built-up was okay, the ending felt rushed. I would've loved to follow Pete a little more and his inner turmoil. How he manages to accept his feelings for Vegas after everything he did to him. I found their scenes to be fascinating, but they would've benefited from more time. Their relationship starts out in a deeply fucked up way and this can easily be ruined if it's not handled with enough time and care.

But credit, where credit is due: Great production. I've read probably around a hundred posts of people making in-depth character analysis, discussing color symbolism, pointing out hints and little easter eggs, pointing out parallels, and so much more. It really shows how much effort went into making this show. The sound is good, the fighting scenes are captivating, the NSFW scenes don't feel stiff or awkward but natural and intimate. I think that it's a really great product. The actors have all great chemistry with each other and seemed pretty comfortable with each other. The music was also fantastic, they had a real banger on their hands and knew it. Also the different version of it and how they used them, chef's kiss.
The only thing that I critique though is the writing.

Content Warnings: rape, attempted rape, drugging, torture, abusive parents, so much blood and death. If you are not comfortable with these things I advice you to skip this show or find someone who can tell you which scenes to avoid.

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perfect sequel to To My Star (and probably the best sequel to ever exist)

When I first heard about the synopsis I was already making up my mind and lowering my expectations that this season would be just as awful as all the other sequels. There would be some stupid cheating plot and miscommunication, and it would be frustrating to watch and could've been resolved easily if the characters would just talk for two minutes. I was worried that this sequel (like so many other sequels before) would butcher the characters for easy drama and make me hate them. But what I actually got was... so much more profound and better than I expected.

Story: At first it may sound out of nowhere and odd that Jiwoo just up and left to go to some tiny village to open up a restaurant. But it makes sense when you think about it. In season one you can already see that Jiwoo is more the type to suffer in silence and run away and isolate himself once things get too much for him, which is exactly what happened here. This season stays beautifully in character and doesn't once feel overly dramatic or forced. Jiwoo sure did cause me a lot of frustration because of how he treated Seojoon. And I know that many expected a big declaration of love and Jiwoo on his knees begging for forgiveness, but that wouldn't be in character, since Jiwoo has trouble expressing his feelings and that's why I find that scene perfect. The show took its time without it seeming too lengthy. While the make-up scene is handled rather quickly, it doesn't feel rushed at all.
At first it seems very unreasonable for Jiwoo to just cut Seojoon off and throw away everything they've built for each other, but the more time passes the more you find out what led Jiwoo to do such a thing. And you slowly learn to understand his character more and more. And the way they resolve their issues was beautiful. The show didn't end with them making up and everything being fine. Jiwoo voices his concerns about their future almost immediately and they talk it out. They make compromises and communicate and that's how they make it work. Neither of them has to give up their life or their profession and that's actually a perfect ending. They can both still pursue their jobs and keep their homes. And the show manages to convince you within just a few minutes that they will make it work. I'm also glad that we get to see the story of the side characters (some of which we already know from season 1). They go on their own little journey and find their way in this world, making new plans for the future and finding love and friendship.
This ending leaves you both happy and sad. Happy, because it ends perfectly, and sad because that means we have to say goodbye to our beloved characters.

Acting/Cast: As always, the acting was superb. The cast is perfect, and I wouldn't change a thing. There are a few new faces this season and they make you like them almost instantly. They manage to make you interested in their stories. It's amazing.

Music: I think that music and soundtracks are actually one of KBLs strengths. I have yet to watch a BL where the soundtrack wasn't at least decent. And the music in To My Star season 1 was great and season 2 surely didn't disappoint.

Rewatch Value: I know that since this season isn't Jiwoo and Seojoon being happy 24/7 isn't going to make people rewatch it a lot, but I think that you should at least watch this season twice. This season has a lot of rewatch potential since it completes the story of the characters and now you know how things will play out you will see a lot of the scenes in a new light and you will be able to understand the motivations behind the character's actions more. Also, when you rewatch season one now you can already see the little foreshadowing and the little hints that lead to everything that happens in season two, which I think is always a great thing.

Overall: I think Hwang Da Seul and the rest of the cast and crew did an amazing job once again. And I am so grateful for this season and how things played out. This sequel is proof that there can be a sequel that deals with issues that are realistic, not out of nowhere, and don't involve cheating. And for that alone, I am glad.
I definitely recommend it to anyone who has watched season one.

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if you think you know what this BL is about - no you don't

Okay, first things first: This BL wasn't at all what I thought it would be. I don't really know what I was expecting, but it surely wasn't this. I expected a lighthearted and heartwarming BL about love, but what I got was... well... what was it? Do you know that gif of that guy holding a skateboard and he starts running and you expect him to use the skateboard, but he never does and he just keeps running... Yeah, that's how I feel about this show..

The story was both too long and not long enough. While the show felt like it was going on for too long, it also felt like there was too much happening and it needs more time. There were some elements that could've made something unique and good out of this, but they didn't use them at all and therefore, the show fell flat.

Yoona is getting stalked by someone and is scared of men (except Jiwoon 'cause he's cute or idk) and Hyewon is in love with her professor and that's why they don't wanna be paired up with boys and ask the professor to be paired up with girls instead. Because of that (and because there are just too many men in general) our two main characters Jiwoon and Roa have to be paired together. And the rest is history.

A perfect set-up to address some issues like the very heteronormative and amatonormativity view that a family is only considered a family when it consists of a man, a woman, and a child/children, same-sex marriage, etc. But this BL did nothing. They just said "well I guess you can pair up in same-sex groups but this class isn't for you students to fall in love anyway so it's fine"... like... thanks?? Also, what was the purpose of this class, then? All the students did was go on dates, spent some time together and money, and... that was it. There was literally no point in this class. I actually thought the concept was interesting but they did nothing with it.

Look at the cover. If you think that this show is about a group of four men taking part in this class and trying to navigate their way through it and find friendship and love, you are wrong. It is about four people, but these two boys that aren't the main characters don't really play any big part in it. They are just there, think of the Thai BL best friend group that isn't really contributing anything to the plot. Instead, it focuses mainly on Jiwoon, Roa, and Yoona (and Hyewon is there as well) who are more or less in a love triangle/corner. The guy with the short hair is only there to be the jealous best friend who has a crush on Roa. And the other guy... idk actually.

Halfway through the show, the stalker took a picture of Jiwoon feeding Roa and took it out of context, saying that "homosexuality was found in the love class" or some other bs and while it caused some trouble in paradise (and led up to a cute scene between the protagonists) other than that it wasn't brought up again. Who took this photo? Why are they homophobic? What was their goal with this picture? Is Jiwoon suffering from internalized homophobia/biphobia? How does that affect their relationship? Why can nobody in this love class just mind their own damn business? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Okay, I think it's time to address the elephant in the room. The stalker. In this BL, Yoona being stalked is used as a plot device so she could spend time with Jiwoon. Who is the stalker? Why is he doing this? How does he know her? How does he access all this information? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I was so convinced that it was the professor, I was 98.99% sure. It all pointed at him.
These are the things this show told us about the stalker:
- He knows where Yoona lives.
- He knows that Jiwoon is walking Yoona home.
- He knows that Jiwoon and Roa are doing this "dating thing" for class.
- He has a bit mark on his wrist from when he attacked Jiwoon and he bit him.

And the professor checked all the boxes.
- He knows Yoona in private (through her uncle or something), so of course it would be no surprise for him to know where she lives.
- He said to Jiwoon that he "heard" that he was 'taking care' of Yoona.
- He is literally the professor of this class, so he knows everything about Jiwoon's and Roa's "dating thing".
- He's the only one in class who didn't show his wrists and covered them all the time.

And oh boy, was I disappointed when it wasn't him. So, you probably ask yourself, who was it then? How did they find out who it was? Did they come up with a great plan? How did they get all the info about her? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

It turns out that the stalker was just *some guy* that we don't even know the name of. We get one (1) scene where Yoona says casually: "I'm glad that they found the culprit." And that's it. We never hear from it ever again.

And if you think that at least we get some cute, romantic scene out of it. Not really, I mean sure, there are quite some cute moments, but there aren't nearly enough to outweigh the sheer frustration I was feeling after the whole stalker plot that went nowhere. Jiwoon mostly hangs out with Yoona and has a crush on her until he suddenly doesn't (???) and he is now in love with Roa... And they kiss in the very last scene after we get a classic "he rejected me and left and now I have to go find him" twist thrown in at the very end. In my frustration and attempt to make this at least a little more interesting, I told myself that maybe the prof was blackmailing him or something but no. And to put the cherry on top, the professor is now going out with a student (Yoona's friend Hyewon). :))

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