Step by Step (2023)

It was good but not great

At first, the show had so much potential because of the age difference and the boss-employee relationship, which could have attracted the public since there aren't that many dramas with such theme. But then the plot didn't really advance and it took about a whole 8 episodes for him to confess and be rejected. And then the reason for rejection wasn't clear, and suddenly he liked him and everything was good. It could have ended there, but no, they created another problem which made absolutely no sense and magically got solved after 2 years of no communication, when they met again. On the other hand there was the secondary couple, that recieved no screen time, was inconclusive and left out.
I think the show still deserved a 7 overall rating because it was kinda entertaining, kisses were good and would be good to watch if you are bored, but again it was really frustrating, and the main couple did not have much chemistry.

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I had to make up my own mind ...

There were such wildly mixed reviews of this show among BL friends in my community that I had to watch it myself to decide. And overall ... I liked it and admired what it tackled and how.
SUPERVISOR/SUBORDINATE DYNAMIC - First of all, I usually hate this plot, which sucks for me since it seems that so many Asian dramas love this premise. This, along with the high school kid and older person always gives me the ick because of the obvious power imbalances. Usually, I have to let this go while watching and just pretend it's a fantasy or that both are colleagues, not manager/employee, but it can be challenging. What I liked about this series is that even though it seemed to romanticize this at first, it did not lose the plot. Eventually, the real issues inherent in this dynamic came to a head and had to be addressed ... in multiple ways. It made the ick feel so much better. And in the end, the power dynamic was nullified to be a non-issue, so I felt better about shipping them.
INTERIORITY - I really loved how much we got of both characters and their private lives. Not some half-a**ed trauma flashback and extreme phobia. They both had issues that were ingrained and present from the start, persisted throughout the series, and was cause the 11th-hour breakup. It's perhaps one of my favorite BL breakups because I felt it made complete sense. I identified with the injuried party so much. Praise to Man and Ben for having to tackle so many emotionally nuanced scenes. While some may think Ben had to cry too much as Pat, I related to how he felt too much sometimes and had problems regulating his emotions because he cares so deeply about doing good work. I've been there!
SUPPORTING CAST - I loved seeing so many Lovely Writer favorites return, and in different ways. Up as the ex Put wasn't just a 2D cardboard cutout mean ex but someone who had his own faults and was slightly sad because of them. I almost didn't recognize Kenji as Toh ... and I felt he was underutilized. Zorzo was so fun as Ae, especially when she was paired with Bruce as Chot -- yay he got to play such a fun character this time around! They even gave redemption to one previously annoying character Ying. What a loveable bunch. ... But this brings us to a failure...
2ND COUPLE -- As many have said, Jaab & Jen's storyline had so much potential, but wasn't given any sort of resolution. Even if there's an idea of continuing their story later in a short or something, I felt we were still left hanging. One extra scene could've left viewers from feeling so unmoored. That said, they had a very hot kiss, and I think that's one reason we were left hanging on this.
UNDERSTATED HUMOR - While Chot and Ae gave me the best moments, there were a couple really unexpected, fun things that happened that made me actually laugh out loud with how real it was. One involved MLM, and if you've ever been on the receiving end of that pitch, you may also admire Pat's swift evasion strategy.
TIMELINE - There are maybe 2 major timejumps that happen. One is less obvious but once you notice one character's body changes then you can follow. This is more of a timelapse than a timejump, but because of this it may not be that obvious. I wasn't too confused but some sort of time markers would've been better. The second time jump I felt was absolutely earned and necessary. That said, because of that, I needed more from the 2nd Couple.
WORKPLACE DETAILS - I love workplace dramas where they actually work and we can see the ins and outs, the challenges, the strategries. Start-Up and Forecasting Love and Weather are both k-dramas that do that well. Lovely Writer was more about the industry than the work, but that still was fun. This one lets you in on the many levels of digital marketing, from concept, audience and budget to slideshow, pitch and execution. There's an element of entertainment in here also because they use influencers, and of course a bit of meta commentary about BL (although not as strong as in Lovely Writer). I love this ish! Only downside -- there was a bit TOO much office gossip & meanness at the beginning to the point it felt cartoonish. The thing is, I've dealt with narcissistic bosses, being used for being reliable, being underestimated, passed over or worse -- had accusations lobbed at me. So yes, there's definitely a truth to it.
PARENTS - As with in Lovely Writer, I think this series does intergenerational relationships well. Pat's parents were fully realized people .. while Jeng's was, well, a villain. That felt true to how Jeng's issues though. Some interesting scenes with Pat's parents, and their divorce is never judged.

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I enjoyed Step by Step, but I can see why some people might not have. The pacing was a bit slow for me, and I would have liked to see more development in the main couple's relationship. However, I thought the chemistry between the two leads was great, and I really enjoyed the heartwarming story. The supporting characters were also funny and added a lot to the show.

Overall, I would give Step by Step a 6 out of 10. It's not the best BL drama I've ever seen, but it has some good points that make it worth watching. If you're a fan of the genre, I recommend trying it.

Here are some specific things I liked about the show:

* The chemistry between the two leads was undeniable. They had great onscreen presence and their interactions were always fun to watch.
* The story was heartwarming and sweet. It was a nice change of pace from some of the more dramatic BL dramas that I've seen.
* The supporting characters were funny and added a lot to the show. I especially liked Chot, who was a great friend to Pat.

Here are some things I didn't like as much about the show:

* The pacing was a bit slow for me. I felt like the show could have been more concise without losing any of the important plot points.

* The timeline was a bit confusing. There were a few time skips that I didn't quite understand, and I felt like the show would have been better if it had been more linear.

Overall, I enjoyed Step by Step and I would recommend it to fans of the BL genre. However, I would be prepared for a slow-paced show with some minor flaws.

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Brand new walk!

Everyone is probably so bored with Step by Step. I honestly am, not by the series but by the endless theories of this and that.
I loved Step by Step from the first moment, WHY... because it had that real-life element. People will do stupid shit, people won’t be logical, people will run if they are scared of being hurt, people will manipulate and people will be manipulated, people will lose the people they are head over heels in love over stupid things, people will lie...people will DO AND SAY STUPID S*IT and that is the one and only truth...

THE BIGGEST FLAW:

The 2nd couple is robbed of a great story, but I believe they might be having new project. But still robbed. Not many things can top the hotel forbidden kiss. That story could be awesome!

OVERALL:

I love this series, it was long enough to develop the characters in all their aspects. I did not find all the side characters equally interesting to be honest and I am not supposed to.

I loved the controlled chemistry so it looked more real life than fairy-tale BL love stories (I love fairy tales as well:P). Just like Love Mechanics, this series had the same back-and-forth dynamics, and it just felt real to me.

Also the best memes came as a product of this drama.

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One Step At A Time

Step By Step is one of those dramas that I feel you either love it or hate it. I found it to be different from most standard BLs with it's office setting and focusing on the office dynamics and work relationships as well as the romantic ones. It was initially pleasant that the leads' relationship wasn't rushed and had time to develop, but I do feel that it lost it's way towards the end. It's not a perfect drama by any means, it didn't always seem to know what to do with it's side characters, there were plot lines that popped up out of nowhere and others that were simply ghosted, there weren't always good explanations for why characters reacted the way that they did, etc. Still, I personally enjoyed it and thought it was a pleasant diversion.

The plot is nothing fancy, essentially an office romance between a boss and his subordinate, which of course is going to cause drama. What I liked about it though was the attention to detail in regards to that office setting. We actually get to see the characters working, going to meetings, presenting, and so on. Maybe because I'm at the ripe age of 32, I didn't find it boring, but I can understand those who did. Personally it felt like a slice of life drama with an office focus, but more realistic than others I've seen. Yes, there's the ridiculous and over the top moments and things that would never happen in actual office, but I enjoyed that quality of peeking into a world I'm not at all familiar with fictional though it may be. It did feel like the story started to lose steam a little over halfway through and didn't seem to know where to go from there. And then there at the end there was a lot of drama thrown in which, besides being unnecessary, felt rushed. And I have to say that the ending, while cute, was rather anti-climatic. Despite it's length, it still felt like there were unanswered questions.

The pacing was a mess. Most of the drama and actual issues with our leads' relationship were relegated to the last three episodes and that's because they didn't actually get together until Episode 10. I have no issues with a slow burn which this definitely was, but I think the story could have been better spread out, allowing them to get together sooner and actually have some time as a couple before the drama started and then showing them handling those issues as a couple or delving into their characters more to show why things ended between them the way that they did prior to the time jump. Time in general was a struggle with this drama as it was hard to tell how much time had passed. It didn't feel like much time had passed, but then things like Ae's pregnancy would make me realize that a lot more time had gone by than I thought. Especially in an office setting, it felt like they should have been able to more clearly show that time progression. There was also the issue with the side couples/story lines not getting the attention they deserved which, again, could have been rectified if the pacing and story planning had been better. As it was, we were left with a very unsatisfying ending for Jaab and Jen who essentially just disappeared as the story progressed, Ae, Khanun and Beam were also shuffled off to the side and only showed up on occasion after a while, Chot and his boyfriend were thrown in at random times, and there were other parts that just needed better planning.

One of the biggest things I felt was lacking was insight into the characters' thoughts and the reasoning behind their reactions. Two examples would be Jaab's sudden rejection of Jane and Pat's reaction to finding out Jeng was gay. Jane was a fairly minor character throughout the series, so I can understand to an extent not going in depth with his emotions and mental state, but given that we are given the impression that he is in a happy, committed relationship, I do think there needed to be more insight into why he was so swayed by Jaab. With Jaab, he's liked Jane for a while, so why when Jane reveals that he and his boyfriend broke up, does he say they should just be friends? They shared a kiss, it was obvious Jaab still had feelings for Jane so what was with that? There was no explanation, no reasoning, nothing as to why he didn't want to give a relationship with Jane a shot. Similarly, Pat's reaction to finding out Jeng was gay seemed over the top and unnecessary. Why was he so shocked and put off by that revelation? Pat's reactions to things involving Jeng didn't always make sense, but this one and his decision to ghost Jeng for two years felt like taking things to the extreme. There needed to be more explanation as to why Pat reacted the way that he did for me to understand and sympathize with him.

The characters ranged from good to mediocre. There were a couple of gems in there, but most of them didn't leave much, if any, of an impression. Overall, I found the way characters were treated to be a bit disappointing just because it was so all over the place. Some characters had great character development and others were left stagnant.
-Pat was definitely more on the mediocre side for me. His childishness, tantrums and changeability made him a hard character for me to really get on board with. More insight into his character, why he was the way that he was, would have been helpful. As it stands, he really did just come across as immature and there were times that I really struggled to understand what Jeng saw him in aside from that he is a cute kid. Jeng talked about how smart he was and that's something that should have been shown and utilized more because while he did seem intelligent, it didn't seem like he was extraordinarily so. There also needed to be more insight into his feelings for Jeng. While initially he was obviously attracted to Jeng before realizing that he was his boss, once that revelation came about, his interest seemed to cool. Afterwards, there were a few hints that maybe he was developing feelings for Jeng, but when he went back to Put, it put those feelings in question. Regarding Put, that conflict felt like it resolved far too quickly. We went from Pat not wanting to see him, speak to him, anything, to, what felt like in a very short time span, being willing to start a relationship with him again. And then Pat goes from crying over their breakup to confessing he has feelings for Jeng. I almost felt like I had whiplash with the way Pat's feelings seemed to keep jumping around. I also wanted to explore more as to why Pat didn't believe that Jeng's feelings for him were real and why he didn't feel like he deserved Jeng initially. I was frankly a bit disappointed in Pat's character growth. He talks at one point about he's grown so much and is no longer as emotional, but I didn't really see that a whole lot. He still seemed overemotional and overreactive to the end.
-Jeng was definitely one of the best characters. He was very interesting to watch, especially as his feelings for Pat developed which I felt was well done. His feelings were clearly built up, starting from polite interest which then grew into romantic feelings. There was never any doubt regarding his feelings for Pat. I wish they had done as well with Pat and his feelings. I also appreciated his character growth from no nonsense, perfectionist boss to someone who was able to let loose a bit. Part of what also appealing about him was that he wanted to change for the better and he made an effort to do so. There's the element that Pat did inspire those changes, but he made the conscious decision to change on his own. His maturity especially in contrast to Pat was refreshing especially when it came to things like Pat blaming him for essentially not being a mind reader. Pat seemed to think that he should be able to change with a snap of his fingers, not realizing that change does take time, and I was very impressed with Jeng's patience. I would have liked a little more time spent on his background and his relationship with his parents, especially his father. A lot of that was just skimmed over and there at the end, it didn't really feel like things had been resolved between him and his father. Still, I felt that he was overall a decently well-rounded character and I really liked him.
-I didn't have particularly strong feelings about most of the remaining characters save for a few. I found Jaab to be a weird combination of interesting and boring. He had moments where I was invested in him, but there were a lot of other moments where I almost wanted to skip his scenes because he wasn't doing anything for me. Once his relationship with Jane petered out, I really lost interest in him. I did like some of his interactions with Jeng though and the support he was willing to provide eventually. Jane could have been a much better character if he was fleshed out more. As it was, there just wasn't much too him and that made it difficult to relate to him or really feel anything strongly about his character. I was disappointed with that because I did like his relationship with Jaab and I wanted to see more of it's development. I really liked Ae and I wish there had been a bit more of her. Her confidence was awesome as was her obvious love for her friends. She was always ready to go to bat for them and she was just in general an awesome character. I like strong female characters and I feel like they tend to be lacking in a lot of BLs so she was a pleasant surprise. I did find the revelation that Beam had been in love with her to be a bit out of the blue since I hadn't gotten that impression earlier on and it just felt unnecessary. Chot was another gem, I loved that he had a well balanced personality. He had just the right amount of over the top without it being grating. Plus he was just a sweetheart in general, always there to listen and be supportive, an understanding friend and lover, and just an all around lovely person. I could use someone like him in my life. The last character I want to mention is Jeng's father. He was too much of an enigma for me to really appreciate his character and he definitely needed a bit more fleshing out. His actions and thought process were left very ambiguous which works sometimes, but not here. I wanted to understand his treatment of Jeng and Pat as it felt more than a disapproval of his son being gay and getting involved with one of his subordinates.

As for the acting, can I just start off by saying how refreshing it was to see them cast an age appropriate actor for Jeng's role. I couldn't help but thinking about like Moonlight Chicken and how they tried to convince us that Earth could pass for an almost 40 year old. Hair, makeup and clothes can only go so far and trying to make actors look and act older than they are really does not work. Man was perfect because he both looked and acted the part. He gave a certain maturity to the role that someone much younger simply can't. I enjoyed the nuance of his performance and thought he played the part perfectly. This was Ben's first acting role and it showed. He wasn't bad per se, just compared to Man, he felt green. His expressions didn't vary a whole lot and some of the emotional scenes felt forced. I do think if he'd had more experience, he could have better conveyed some of the emotions and thought processes of his character. I was pleased that they cast two actors who are clearly comfortable speaking English since the fluency matched both of their backstories. I've seen far too many dramas where they give their characters backstories of having grown up in the US or spent a lot of time there and are supposed to be fluent, but the actor is clearly not comfortable with the language. I completely understand that learning another language is a challenge, so no disrespect to those actors, it just personally pulls me out of the story when it's clear that they're not as comfortable with the language as the story is trying to make them seen. Both Man and Ben were articulate and clearly understandable and delivered their lines effortlessly.

Despite it's flaws, I overall enjoyed Step By Step. It's not perfect by any means and could have been better with some tweaks, but for what it is, I found it entertaining for the most part. The build up of the characters' relationship, the setting, and the characters themselves had a different feel from other BLs I've watched recently and I liked that. It felt distinctive in it's own way. As I said before, I think this drama is rather polarizing in that you will either love it or hate it without a whole lot in between. If you go in without any major expectations and understand that it is flawed, I think that can stave off the disappointment that some might feel. For my part, I wouldn't discourage anyone from watching it, just be aware that it's not for everyone.

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Lovely

If you like the atmosphere of Ugly Betty/She was Pretty and a little bit of Cherry Magic vibe you have to see it.
Man Trisanu Soranun's show alone is worth it.
I have seen some negative comments about Pat, the protagonist, I don't particularly like him, but you have to understand that he is a kid with no experience in life, which is what is interesting about the protagonists, who evolve throughout the series .
I liked seeing some characters from Lovely Writer, the secondary characters are good.
I personally like the creative work environment, that they are adults with adult problems and in the "real world".

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Is that the ending?

I first was really into the story. The tension was really high and I was wishing that they will be as much drama as regular drama. But no... They missed the mark by quickly ending the series. I wanted more father-son fight head to head to prove himself. I was hopping that Pat's evolution as a strong man (he's always crying) will be also shown. Gays are not the kind who are crying everywhere, because we never wanna show our weaknesses. I also wished for more between Pat and his ex, and also Jeng and his ex. It was way to flat and could have used more.

I think that Tee was too ambitious in this project and took a very complicated drama and cut it short for GMMTV. It's sad because I really had hope that it would be a good one. Everything changed when Pat quit his job. From then, it turned very fast. So fast it makes you feeling upset because you want to know more. When everything was slow at the beginning, it went so fast with so many things at once you loose the plot and interest and just wanna know the ending.

And lets not forget the frustrating story of Jaab and Jane. Not only it was one side story I loved, I also wanted much more from it. But as soon as they kissed, they became nearly invisible. Of course, it took time, but when Jane told Jaab he broke up with his boyfriend, thing could have become a reverse flirt with Jane trying to get Jaab, even if he wouldn't succeed and leave to Japan, it would have been better than just make them dessaper from each other's life. Jaab is so cute, he could have finish by being with Pat's ex, Put. They do work in the same environment and could have been better together at the end, after Jane left to Japan.

And who wasn't exited to see AA again. I wish he was going to be one of the main couples when I saw him, but he's only Jeng's friend and business partner. He could have been Moon's new boyfriend after Jane left him after kissing Jaab.

They missed so many things that it was hard to watch until the end. I do love the cast, and it is not about the acting (they were all fantastic), it is only about the storyline.

Plus, having a very high profile actor like Pete Thongchua to play Jeng's father and Orn Ornanong Panyawong to play Pat's mother mean that is was not a problem of money for this to be amazing.

So yes, I am disappointed. If only GMMTV would give more attention to the story instead of pushing for only short series, it would be good. I do love dramas because it is shorter than US series that goes for years. But when you have a good story, it could also be a bad thing !

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It started out so well!

We had everything we needed to make it work. A desire to show professional life for what it really is. A romance that takes its time to understand how the heroes fall in love.

The problem, which took me a long time to understand, is that Pat's character is extremely toxic. At first, we feel sorry for him and his "I overthink 24/7 and have zero self-confidence" side. But as the episodes progress, we realize that he makes no effort to adapt to others. He's always running away from the slightest problem (and with him, EVERYTHING is a problem) and he can never make a decision on his own. His ex even has to give him advice about his relationship with his other ex - the last straw! Watching the last episode, you end up getting very annoyed.

Jeng isn't perfect either. His need to control everything is problematic, but we're not on the same level as Pat. All in all, Jeng is reminiscent of that friend who spends his time getting back together with his toxic ex, despite his friends' recommendations.

As for the secondary characters, most of them serve no purpose. Jaab's story is both incomprehensible and unfinished.

In short, it's hard to enjoy this series to the end because of its unlovable main character. The very successful first episodes aren't enough.

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What an absolute and utter mess

This whole story is all over the place. I don’t think I can describe how unhinged this storyline is without spoilering so just believe me when I say it is.

Never seen anything this random before.

The reason I’m giving 4 stars is because I did feel for most of the characters most of the time even when they did not make any sense at all. So acting was quite good and chemistry wasn’t too bad for the most part either.

But none of that really redeems the fact that it just got more and more random the further along it got and in the end I just really wanted it to end.

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A drama that had better potential

This drama at first glance seems like your everyday, cheesy drama.....but this drama was definitely more than that. it has an absolutely amazing plot that leaves you confused with everything going on in the drama, beautiful characters that have no personality or depth in any way and an absolutely teary-eyed ending that leaves you regretting your whole decision to even stay up till 3 am trying to find the "happy ending".

But all sarcasm aside this drama was definitely not worth the watch. The only reason i decided to finish this drama was because it was produced by Dee Hup House. In the beginning the drama was actually going quite good. It was smooth and very typical the protagonist going on as an intern and the problems he faces in his workplace. But once both of the male protagonists meet all i could see was a lot of unwanted tension and hatred. The first male lead Jeng's character was actually portrayed quite well. A strong, and affluent businessman who was next in line to inherit his father's company. Man Trisanu had portrayed that character to a good level even though his character had a lot of incomplete personality traits. But on the other hand Pat played by Ben Bunyapol was a total mess. There was absolutely nothing to his character, no personality traits or even mechanisms. His character was very insecure and very manipulated .Very incomplete. Even after Jeng proposes and they start dating it was very awkward. The scenes seem kinda forced. That overwhelming rush of emotions were never to be found. And the entire romance was lacking of very basic elements like getting to know each other, trying to understand each other or anything. One blue moon day Jeng proposes Pat says no and then sometime later boom they are suddenly dating.

Even if you were to turn a blind eye to all this incomplete mess, there would be no way you would happen to miss how this drama left us hanging with the second couple Jaab and Jen. They just vanished out of thi air. Suddenly there is a Paint dude from god knows where who turns out to be Jaab's boyfriend. This drama also had a lot of unwanted time skips. Overall this drama was definitely not up the genre of office rom-coms. So this drama was an overall disappointment.

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