Reviews

A very realistic description of the gay scene... unfortunately!

Having experienced the gay scene from the inside, I can tell you that it's unfortunately just like in the show: everyone sleeps with everyone else, fidelity is a dirty word, friendship is a concept, alcohol flows freely and drugs are all too easy to come by.
The series can't be faulted for its desire for hyperrealism, and in that sense it succeeds. But we're not here to watch a documentary, and Only Friends doesn't have the stature of an Oscar-winning film, so a little levity would have been welcome. The characters are in 100% toxic mode at all times, and we'd have appreciated it if this had been softened by a bit of a bitchy moment. I was expecting to watch this series all smiles with a glass of wine in hand and found myself sighing and thinking "someone get them a psychologist!".

Apart from Sand and, to a lesser extent, Nick, the characters are not really likeable: Mew is falsely candid and rather bland, Top is infuriatingly "I want to control everything", Rey is ultra-toxic, Boston is the epitome of the well-built bitch who doesn't give a damn about anything, Nick is touching but goes too far in his actions. Then there's poor Sand, in whom I kind of saw myself.

As for the acting, Neo and Mark are excellent. As for the others, it depends on the moment.

In conclusion, I'd say it's a good series, but if you have to compare it to Friendzone, which is in the same style, Only Friends is worse.

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A series ruined by toxic fans, nonsensical theories and the directors themselves

A SWEET BEGINNING: Everyone was looking forward to Only Friends. It was something new. GMMTV usually aren't brave in doing sex scenes, we usually don't even get those scenes, rather they left the spicy stuff to smaller studios like Be On Cloud (KinnPorsche) or DomundiTV (Cutie Pie, Bed Friend). But this time they allowed a new writer and talented directors to add something different. This „difference“ was evident in the first minute of the trailer. We were in complete shock! A sex scene in which everything was seen and heard? With actors who hadn't been shipped before? This new thing paid off; in just a few days, the trailer received a million views. We had everything we always wanted. Messy relationships, intrigue, cheating. The filmmakers told us we could theorize. So we did and it was fun.

It started in August. We were all excited. With each new episode came new theories and discussions. I was involved in them, and I loved talking to other fans on social media. The second episode came out, then the third one. The theories already seemed more insane. Every character was suddenly turning into an evil mastermind who "controlled" a group of normal college students. Probably the fans were watching too many horror and thriller movies. However, I still found it interesting.

TOXIC FANS AND CONTROVERSIES: Then came the turning point. The characters were made into manipulators. Fandoms fought each other on Twitter. "Your ship can't act!" - "No, your ship can't act!" It was a living hell. The directors watched it and cut some scenes, for example, because of the nonsensical hate on Top. I've never seen such unprofessional behavior. The show is supposed to have a SCRIPT, it‘s not suppose be guided by fans! They basically ruined the entire show because of these toxic opinions. I know Only Friends was supposed to be messy, but this much?

There were pointless arguments, the actress who portrayed Cheum had to apologize for making fun of a character, Force and Book were getting hate because of the characters they portrayed, everyone made Top out to be a manipulator and sociopath even though he had changed and really loved Mew...

It was a shitshow. It really could have been a perfect show, with great actors, but it became a toxic mix full of weird theories, arguments and hatred. And the directors didn't help either; they just added fuel to the fire.

CHARACTERS: Ahh, I loved the toxic characters that everyone hated. Boston? Love him. Boeing? Meow. Top? YES PLEASE. Every time someone was arguing about these characters, I was just sitting comfortably. Well.. Unless someone said something wrong about Top or Mew. They were my babies. Top had the best character development. And people hated him for that. They called him a manipulator. Lol. How embarrasing. In the end, he was greener than most of the characters. Sorry to break it to you. He deserved to be happy after all the episodes where he was looking like a sad puppy. I just can't argue with people who thinks he's the bad guy.. Because they are so fricking wrong about him. Every. Time. God dammit, because of this hate, they literally cut his scenes out!!!! WTF!!! Nah. I'll stop. TopMew defender till the end, my friends.

Other couples were okay. SandRay were good for each other. BostonNick were really hot together. That's all I can say to them. Toxic fans literally ruined my enjoyment for them.

OVERALL: A great series, with a lot of potential.. It's a shame what has become from this...

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The best hot mess - worth a try!

Spoilers in the form of general mood and topic spoilers: I try keep them general and vague! Check the spoiler tags - they can help you see what might be triggering!

No matter what you think of Only Friends, it has no doubt cemented its place in history - chaotic adults who also happen to be gay in what's certainly one of the better and more polished GMM productions that I've seen! It's messy and a fun take on the university dramas I've seen all too often from Thailand: here, them being final year uni students feels almost secondary to the story minus the fact their final project is what this revolves around. What I'm trying to say is that their primary personalities aren't uni students - they're adults who get up to a lot of stuff outside uni. Also, THERE'S A SAPPHIC SIDE COUPLE (with little screentime since it's not GL, but they're still there!!!)

STORY:
This is what makes or breaks a series honestly - no matter how good the actors are or the cinematography is, the story has to be there. I think it was there, although it felt vaguely rushed at the end due to the introduction of conflict in the penultimate and final episodes. However, I feel like that's the charm of Only Friends - the chaotic nature. Indeed, coming to the comments, people wanted everyone to kiss, and A LOT of people kissed outside of the rigid couples I expected.
This is a very messy series and if you're here for established couples, understand that the story has angst and chaos and your favourite couples will kiss other characters. I love that the series explores addictions (implied to be genetic), suicide and promotes rehab. It shows the consequences of characters' actions, and even if most of the couples are endgame, I love that not all the couples get together.

ACTING/CAST:
A star-studded cast, with many faces I was familiar with:
Neo and Mark particularly shined here because I'd only seen them as the comic supporting characters - they did incredibly well here with more serious roles!
First and Khaotung put me through so many emotions that I understand why people love them - some of my favourite and most memorable emotional scenes were theirs.
Unfortunately, Force and Book didn't get me as invested as I should have in Top and Mew's story. I think it might be that the other actors were so surprisingly good that they didn't shine as much. I didn't feel much about or for them, except I thought I'd like Mew more early on, but loved his later self. I only cared about them when something was wrong or there was conflict, but I was invested in the others even when there was no conflict.
Lookjun and Nonnie were nice but had little screentime, so if you want to watch for the sapphic couple, I'd recommend you get used to them being very secondary to the plot, more Nonnie because she's not part of the main friendship group.
Jennie is iconic as usual, and Tee was impressive - their story had me irrationally invested for such minor roles.

MUSIC:
The music was amazing: they took a range of genres and used them as background music or as references in the series! I put the OST "Let's Try" sung by Khaotung (Ray's actor) on repeat before watching this every time, and I have it on loop now while writing this! Rock, hip hop and pop(?) all made appearances in the series too!

REWATCH:
I loved it, but I tend to rewatch things for comfort and only my favourites then. However, this might be one to rewatch if you like to rewatch chaotic and angsty things - if I'm ever in the mood to see everyone kiss everyone I'll watch this!

FINAL THOUGHTS:
It felt vaguely starved of CheumApril content plot wise but there's still a while to go before we have more sapphic side couples who are notable in the story. The fact that they're listed as support roles despite Lookjun being part of the main friendship group explains it though. I also couldn't be completely satisfied with the speedy redemptions for the sake of a happy ending for some couples. However, I understand that there are people who are all too willing to take back their partners who've done wrong, and I want to believe that the characters in question are truly improving since that's what I feel I saw. In that, this was realistic.

If you're on the fence about watching this - I was too for a bit, until I saw the chaos and angst promised. The OST is called "Let's Try" so why not take up Khao's invitation? I feel like this is worth a try!

(sincerest apologies for any mess or confusion - I tried to structure my first review as much as possible!)

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“Hope is a difficult thing to kill, just a spark of it can start a fire.”

“Hope is a difficult thing to kill, just a spark of it can start a fire.”

The story brings a depth of anguish to the characters and engages our compassion no matter how unflattering and biased the gaze through which we see them. We feel deeply for them because they’re not simply good or evil, they’re flawed people who hurt and were hurt.

Despite their deep abiding wrongness sometimes, we are drawn to their honesty and rawness. This is not a story of niceties after all, it is a tale of people who are not socially (or morally) acceptable. Under this light it is effortless to love, understand, hate and pity them.

The real-life situations push at us, challenging us, all the while knowing that we have to keep watching because redemption awaits. Given this dynamic, it seems almost inevitable that these characters would not just make only themselves, but everyone around them miserable for life.
Human nature personifies itself, subtly saturating every scene with the threat of doom.

The point is, while the drama may not be the wistful romance one expected to be, it is a particularly satisfying one for all its dark and layered complexities.

The entire cast simply excels at their craft, the writer remains true and realistic, and the music blends wonderfully every time.

I recommend this one!

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This drama really need more recognition. The story, acting, music everything is on point. Don't miss it...

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it was an okay watch

This drama knocked me out in less than 1 minute starting from the ost and i enjoyed the first life that they went through where FL, Xiang Yun / Cang Ha (Yang Chao Yue), was a white tiger cub and the ML was a wild bore it was hilarious honestly. 2nd life was a bit frustrating with the 3rd wheel ,Xiu Ming(Xing Mi). I liked the side couple Lu Fang and Cui Bi ship it was cute. I cried when both ML and FL parents died. To be honest i didn't like the love triangle or square or whatever the hill it was. 3rd life got me frustrated because FL believed anything without knowing the full truth it was when she was ML student like bruh ML told her there was no cure for his heart disease and she found out there was a cure but later thought that ML is trying to use her to get her heart when clearly there was no reason for that heck she went along with the misunderstanding that ML killed her parents when it wasn't even him and once again the 3rd wheel Xiu Ming(Xing Mi) didn't even try to clear up the misunderstanding and just let her misunderstand. The 3rd life i cannot consider that a tragedy cause it was a stupid misunderstanding that she made up and followed the 3rd wheel this made me remember Romeo and Juliet which i hated i made no sense and it shouldn't be considered a romance or tragedy it was plain stupid. Anyway, I like all the side characters but not the 3rdwheel Xiu Ming(Xing Mi). The 4th life when ML and FL swapped bodies it was hilarious and they didn't show that many side characters in this life so it just went by smoothly and i enjoyed this death no tears were needed for this 4th life because it was like a sweet death/reunion its weird but it's a bittersweet moment. The 4th life went by fast i didn't mind that. The 5th Life we got a peek of what really went down 30,000 years ago( will not give u a spoiler for that). I didn't cry when ML and FL died but once again it didn't leave an impression on me it was sad but it didn't leave an impression on me that just all. 6th life ML was a demonic cat( i think) Anyway it was hilarious when his cat ears popped out and when he was trying to act like he forgot FL. The ending didn't get me to tear up my eyes were just wet/watery but no tears dropped anyway FL went to Mortal World and found ML and that's where it ended.

I liked all their lives but when we got the 3rd wheel Xiu Ming(Xing Mi) I couldn't enjoy it cause he was there. I liked all the characters except Xiu Ming(Xing Mi). Don't get me wrong i like the actor but not the character that he played. Even if it was 30,000 years the FL still didn't love him like he needed to know when to back away but he didn't heck he was even an obsessive prince in one of their lifetime. The thing i don't get is why didn't Xiu Ming(Xing Mi) tell ML,Chu Kong / Lu Chang(Ding Yu Xi), about what had happened 30,000 years ago. Honestly, i was a bit frustrated with Xiu Ming(Xing Mi). Well, those are the only bad points that i have for this drama. I also liked the side couples too they were funny but i cried like a brat when one of the partners died leaving behind the other. i think the side couples are the one that left a deep impression on me. I was hoping to cry a lot but it didn't affect me this was an average drama for me.

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Good :)

What a ride!
I must admit I had high expectations for this, and at the end I was a bit disappointed.
The story flows well and the acting is good, but I guess there are some parts that are a bit lacking.
I enjoyed most of the show, but didn't really get attached to TopMew's couple, even though I liked how they ended the story.

Story is obviously filled with toxic characters, but there is a lot of development.
In this sense, I think Khaotung (Ray) has done a tremendous job. If I have to make a note, I think that they skipped a little the mother's complex, in favor of Ray's choice to make everything better for Sand.
I want to be totally honest: I watched the series for Khaotung and First, and for Mark, and I couldn't stop because I wanted to see more of them.
That said, I think that some parts are just not necessary (the whole Boeing's plan and its liaisons with Sand and Top - I just got annoyed although I wanted to watch more of Mond's) and the overall story got a bit slowed down from episode 9 onwards.

I liked a lot the fact that they didn't force BostonNick, and that Nick finally chose to be by himself. It was great to see a happy ending. Nick was my favourite character overall, because he was always so pure and honest, yet caring. He was not trying to change Boston, but realized he was just faking the whole boyfriend thing and "I've changed, now I only see you" thing.
That was my favourite part.

I screamed when I saw Mix at the end, but it was unnecessary to the story xD
At first I thought they would've proposed a new version of Boston, but I'm glad they didn't.

Overall, it's an enjoyable story, "spicier" than usual for GMMTV and I guess a little bit more realistic than the average GMM series.
It's not a masterpiece, but you can watch it without thinking "oh gawd, I wasted a lot of time".

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I absolutely love this drama!

I started watching this drama when it first aired because of FirstKhao. I have gotten into so many new actors because of this drama.!

If you are a fan of drama, this one is for you. There is so much drama and love in this. I honestly did not expect to love this drama as much as I did.

Story: the storyline is very interesting with friends creating a hostel together. I feel like there could have been more time spent working on the hostel, but there is so much already going on that it is understandable why there wasn’t. This drama contains a ton of forms of love and not just in sexuality. It shows different personalities and different relationships regarding locality and love for one another. I love a drama with friendships involved, obviously this is one of them.

Acting/Cast: as mentioned, I started this drama because of my love for First and Khan. This was the first time I’ve seen Neo play a character like this, beware of his character lol. This is my first drama with Force and Book in it, I’ve loved them from the beginning of this drama. Every actor is so insanely talented. I have to just say how well Khao did in his emotional scenes, his acting is top tier. I love this cast so much.

Music: ok ok, the intro song is so good. I always jammed to it every time a new episode was on. Even the other osts were just so good (especially the ost in episode 14 with FirstKhao). Also, speaking on music, I am obsessed with Sand introducing Ray to new bands and concerts. It’s so cute.

Rewatch Value: the way I am tempted to start rewatching it rn. I will 100% rewatch it sometime soon. This drama has 100% rewatch value.

Overall: I can definitely say that this drama is one of my favorite dramas and I have watched almost 90 dramas. I really hope for a season two. I feel that we can get a lot more storyline from this drama. Please make it happen! I can’t wait to watch other works from all these actors!

Please give this drama a shot! You will not be disappointed! It’s on YouTube GMMTV :)

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FUCKING WATCH IT!!

It was such a rollercoaster of emotions that after every ep you felt something! Either happiness, sadness, anger but you never felt bored or empty. I'm so happy the show continues! SandRay, the best couple, got happy ending which was my main wish and we also got Mix at the end which was my second wish. Everything ended just as I wished but second season makes me nervous from experience like SOTUS S or Young Royals... and many more ofc but for SandRay I'd handle everything. I'm seriously curious about Mix's character and hope his characters' name won't begin with B which means no good in this story and also no happy ending. If Earth joins him throughout the show, I couldn't wish for more. My somsoms heart would be in seventh heaven. This show inspired me so much and helped me go through every week. I thought I'd feel empty when it ends because I didn't expect it'd seriously continue but popular and amazing shows deserve to be longer. 10 out of 10. Seriously amazing!

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A bl with huge potential fell flat due to poor execution

Well I am going to come straight to the point and jot down the positive points first
1. This was a bl with immense potential cuz it had actors with extremely good visuals. Plus the actor who played Mr Jeng was on point with his mannerisms and expressions. I loved the character.
2. There were scenes that honestly made me laugh. No sarcasm I really did laugh and giggle.
3. I loved few side characters like Chot and I really wish they make a sequel of him and Krit his partner falling in love 8 years back.
4. The bl was realistic in many ways how toxic office culture is.
But that's it I guess.
Now comes the reason why this fell flat
1. There was no binding agent in the various sub plots. Some items didn't even mean sense as to why they were added.
2. Mr Jeng is the only round character who had a change in his personality and although it's being said that Pat has become more mature, his constant whinning infront of his colleagues was heavily unrealistic and honestly irritating, which ultimately makes him a flat character that never changes throughout.
3. The actor playing Pat has to go through a lot of acting classes to be able to perfect the role of Pat cuz even if you're a fresher, at one point you don't break down and cry in front of colleagues even if you're being fired. You express your disappointment through subtle expressions and words, not by letting your snot drool over your face.
4. I didn't realise this was a mature bl until the very end episodes. In the first episodes, it seemed there was chemistry but it severely lacked in the middle and even in the end in the bed scenes. Man aka Mr Jeng did his best to bring the chemistry but unfortunately only one actor cannot drag the entire show.
5. The intimacy was too sudden. Why Pat couldn't believe Me Jeng liked him and why he suddenly started liking him was beyond me. Gay men have a radar where was that. We never had our bosses running us favors even as women and even if they do we get the hint.
Basically, the direction was at loss. Screenwriters were being misled to make sure there were enough scenes for promoting the drinks and what not. As a director, one must know how to make art and make profits alongside. I feel bas for the plot really had high potential to be a super hot drama.

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Loved it from the beginning

I usually don't write reviews but this time I had to.

I love this series. The last 2 episodes felt rushed a little but besides that? I absolutely fell for it.

Sand and Ray relationship was portrayed perfect. Mew's feelings for Top and Boston showed that people may feel differently about the same situation towards different people. Boeing and Atom felt out of place, theirs plots wasn't nessesary and only messed up for nothing majorly important. I'm twisted about Boston and Nick break up. I felt sorry for Boston and happy for Nick at the same time - Neo and Mark portrayed them ideally. I almost forgot about Dan's existence at the end, the same case as Atom and Boeing.

The ending - great, but I miss Nick. He should have some closure, maybe they should show us how his work was going? And Boston - I hoped we would see him as a photographer in New York for only a few seconds. I'm waiting for an announcement about new series in this universe! I'm 100% sure that Mix appeared for a reason.

Music was absolutely great, period. From Let's try to Night Love - I loved it. And Sand's recommendations - I added many songs to my playlist after that.

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Unexpectedly mind-blowingly good!

I have never written a review on MDL and I don't really watch reality shows, but I just had to write this.

EVERYONE NEEDS TO SEE THIS SHOW!

Massive spoilers ahead but this is honestly all you need to know. This is absolutely the most entertaining and most brilliant show I've watched in a long time and you shouldn't miss it!

I honestly didn't know what the show is even about. It was just trending on Netflix so I clicked. But boy was that the best decision ever. It honestly felt like a full blown directed show with all the twists and surprises. Like plenty of jaw drop moments especially the second half, and mostly the amazingness of this show comes from the brilliance of its participants. Mainly Ha Seokjin!

-This is where spoilers start-

The only familiar face when I first started the show was him so I was low key rooting for him from the start just because he was the most familiar (didn't really know him that well as an actor). The moment he teamed up with Siwon and Dongjae though, I was pretty much on their side all the way because they were outnumbered (3 vs 11 lol) and they were honestly the underdogs because alliance was a big thing in the game and I wanted them to win. But even when Dongjae was eliminated, Seokjin and Siwon's party of two worked perfectly together.

Honestly, I have now become Seokjin's fan! I really liked how when people panicked and started conniving and backstabbing and begging, Seokjin remained calm and just stuck to his own thing. And he is legit a genius! I loved watching him piece together the Pieces to a cube, decoding its secret message and cracking the code of the safe. I loved how he freaking solved the prison ring puzzle pretty much the moment he touched it LMAO.

The finals really lived up to its name. It was the match of the century as one of the other participants said. I've never really liked Orbit and their group (except for Dong Joo mostly because of how she singlehandedly answered all the 10 questions to the memory game - the third highlight of the show by the way) but you have to give credit where its due. The guy is legit a comeback champion. He was practically dead in the poker game and using his last chip, he managed to unbury himself and even finished as a finalist. And during the Nine Morris game, I got nervous right away when he one upped Seokjin when Seokjin was supposed to have the advantage. And even on the hexagon game (I don't even know how they managed to keep memorizing numbers after numbers with all that stress and pressure), he managed to make a comeback from a deficit of five and tied with Seokjin just in time for the final round. Like how was that possible. Even though I've never rooted for him, he was a worthy opponent for Seokjin and a deserving finalist.

Fortunately, Ha Seokjin was the better "fighter". Their finals showdown was everything. Before he turned the table on the Nine Morris game, everyone was thinking of the same moves (including me) and I even questioned what he was doing. But this brilliant man had a much better plan. It was pretty much over for Orbit when Seokjin managed to work out the real strategy for the game. Honestly, Seokjin had so many surprises. The unexpected play during the semifinals was mind-blowing. To think he had managed to get him and Siwon end up on prison on the freaking last day just to crack the safe and play the secret game. It was the second highlight of the show. Only the people with lowest number of pieces get to go to prison and to think Seokjin (who was mostly at the top of the leaderboard for majority of the time) had managed to maneuver everything and get not only himself but also his only true ally in prison. I can't stop thinking about that moment.

But THE highlight of all highlights is when Seokjin solved the secret game itself. It was such a freaking difficult game and when I thought he already lost, he actually won. The fact that he did all that on 3-4 hours of sleep even. I think just based on that alone, Seokjin was already the winner of the whole game, because he was the only person to have experienced and played every aspect of the games in the Devil's Plan.

It is truly a blessing for the viewers to have someone as capable as Ha Seokjin to follow and root for in this amazingly awesome show! Anyway, if you've reached this part, please watch it still because the feeling is different when you see it in action even when you've already been spoiled lol

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Interessting, unique story with beautiful romance

(Review contains spoilers about the ending)

This is such an underrated gem! If you are bored of watching the same plot lines over and over OR if you want to watch an interesting, unique storyline, focusing on romance, you should definitely give this one a try!!

Included
- skillful and beautifully handsome actors (great main leads and support actors)
- well written and wholesome storyline (even though it's a mini drama, there are no weird cuts or plot holes at all, it's rather like watching a 2 hours movie)
- A beautiful romance with a devoted pair
- light heartache & jealousy
(but don't worry, everything will be all right)
- Kissing scenes (without FL playing a dead fish)

Criticism
- Mostly unique storyline up to ep 19, from then on you'll get the amnesia plot (unnecessary, they should have left it out)
- It's sad, that FL didn't get her original face back, cause I rather liked the original shadow guard
- Ending could've had a few more romantic scenes

Ending:
For me it's definitely a happy end!
Some say it's open, but generally, it ends with how they first met (she even got the veil) and FL clearly came back on her own. Therefore I believe she must've remember at least some parts.

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Amazing show !

Before starting this show I’d been in a BL funk and hadn’t seen a single show that interested me but as soon as Only Friends came out that show RIPPED ME OUT OF MY GRAVE. The characters are so beautifully and psychologically written it’s such a powerful show. It’s dramatic, sluttish, attention attracting and I just wanted to yell and cry at all of the characters I LOVED IT! I would desperately wait weekly for the next episode. However I wish we got to know how they became friends. There were some issues that felt incomplete but the whole show was amazing apart from that.

The actors were ALL putting their best in and every little details, every little improv fit so well with their characters. I know they’ve said before that these roles were intense and strained them but they all pulled it off and really showed their amazing acting range. Well done.

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Season 2 lost the spark created by season 1.........

KDramas have a knack for delivering enchanting one-season tales, bringing together emotions, character moments, and a definite end. In contrast to many American shows that go into multiple seasons, KDramas often stumble when attempting a second act. The Uncanny Counters Season 2 falls victim to this trend, struggling to breathe new life into a narrative that had gracefully concluded. The letdown is noticeable, especially after the initial excitement fueled by promising teasers and promised cast. Season 2 stumbles in several aspects:

The plot looped, tracing repetitive circles in a dragging pace, resulting in boredom. Poor writing is seen in this season. The plot follows older Counters confronting a new threat from evil spirits, but the shift in writing introduces an unsettling imbalance in themes. Attempts at humor feel forced, character developments suffer, villains lack depth, and pacing issues impede engagement. The dynamics between characters lost the gravity that lent Season 1 its impact. The Ma Ju Seok storyline, initially evoking sympathy, spirals into excessive prolongation, reaching a point of indifference. The once strong dynamic of the Counters' relationships, a highlight of Season 1, crumbles, with scenes feeling forced and cringeworthy.

In essence, Season 2 stands as a testament to disappointment. It struggles to recapture the magic of its predecessor, leaving viewers yearning for the concise brilliance of a single-season narrative.

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