Jazz for Two (2024)

some things said or done can never be undone...

Overall: I'm pretty torn on how to rate this series. I thought it had a strong start but the writing/pacing ruined the series for me. This was adapted from a webtoon which I didn't read (it's on Lezhin Comics) and I reviewed the series on its own merits. 8 episodes about 30 minutes each. Airing on GagaOOLala & iQIYI country dependent. Ep 1 GagaOOLala link (vpn to Taiwan works) https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/4176/jazz-for-two-2024-e01 Episode 1 iQIYI link https://www.iq.com/play/jazz-for-two-episode-1-xiat5zva94?lang=en_us

Content Warnings: past death (see comment for another one), manhandling/injury, mental health struggles, bullying, non con touching, sexual assault, non con kiss, grief, beaten up/violence, parental abuse, homophobia, manipulation

What I Liked
- explored more serious topics such as internalized homophobia
- some mystery of what happened in the past
- A Shoulder To Cry On cameo for 2 characters
- the blue haired guy's friendship with the two leads
- that Se Heon wasn't a total pushover
- the jazz music
- the bike riding in episode 6 was funny
- sweet moments mostly in episode 6
- showing taking medication and going to therapy for mental health struggles
- the revelation at the end of episode 7 was interesting but not enough time to fully explore it
- the final kiss in episode 8 was well done
- production value

Room For Improvement
- failed redemption arcs for multiple characters, they needed to tone stuff down if they wanted me to root for their romantic relationships, one "I'm sorry" was not even close to what was needed for what those characters did, they also needed to shorten the length of bullying because a character was a jerk for five episodes and then again for part of episode 7 (and the writers leaving out a character repeatedly kicking/beating up another character many times in episode 7 flashback did not escape my notice though it seems like they wanted viewers to forget that part)
- pacing, there was way too much time searching for an apartment but then the ending episodes were extremely rushed complete with a 3 year time jump and no sign of a few characters, they had too many relationships and it meant not enough time on any of them
- cliche poor communication/noble idiot trope (thankfully it didn't last long)
- multiple dead fish lip presses/blocked kisses
- started with a confusing flash back/forward (later realized it was a flash forward)
- exposition dump/voice over in episode 1
- cliche female character pursued a disinterested guy (she did eventually stop/apologize indirectly)
- nonsense stuff including a bar only having milk or water as non alcoholic options, they'd have juices/sodas to mix with the alcohol to make drinks, (let me know if it's common to have only beer/wine at a bar in South Korea and I'll remove this)

Thoughts on Bully Characters/Their Romantic Relationships
Sometimes these characters and their dynamic work for me and other times they don't. Here are the factors that I'm thinking about. The first response is the lead couple and the second are the second couple.
1. does the reason why the character bullies the other character make me empathize with them, note that there is never a good reason to bully another person but whether or not I can empathize with them is important (kind of and no)
2. how severe was the bullying (verbal/mild physical/sexual and severe physical)
3. how long did the bullying last (we don't really know times but first 5 episodes and then some more for 1 and seems to have been an ongoing long term thing for the other)
4. is there some kind of apology/amend making (just 1 verbal apology and just 1 verbal apology)
5. is there character growth (maybe a bit for both but not really shown)
6. do I believe that the characters will stay together in a happy romantic relationship (maybe and no)

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It went from excellent to bad to worse in no time.

Let me start off by saying I really dig Korean BLs because they usually have simple plots, which is pretty much the standard most of the time (don't take this as a negative; I'm complimenting). That's exactly why I was so excited to watch this series. For the first five episodes? Solid 9.0 or 9.5, no doubt. But man, did things take a turn for the worse in the last 2-3 episodes. By the time episode 7 rolled around, I was just trying to finish it off, not because I was excited, but more because I'd already invested so much time into it.

Let's talk about Se Heon and Do Yoon for a sec. These guys seem to have a talent for picking the biggest red flags around (Yes, Tae Yi is a major red flag; argue with the wall). Do Yoon's whole "I'll still love you even if you bully me" with Joo Ha? What stupidity! Then there's Se Heon, who forgives Tae Yi way too quickly after he S/A him. I mean, even if you want to argue that it wasn't the case, Tae Yi's response was not how a normal, rational person would react.

I gave it an overall rating of 6.5 because I don't rate any series below 5, and for the most part, it was enjoyable. It started off strong but dropped the ball towards the end. Let's just say it left me scratching my head. Honestly, I was hoping for A LOT better.

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A Decent BL!

I'm bad at writing my thoughts, and my English is not good, but here I go!
I loved Ji Ho Geun! He is so handsome, and he reminded me of Ji Sub ( The Eight Sense), the acting style, and THE gaze!! OMG, I would faint is someone look at me like that someday. Help!
I always like these kinds of characters who struggles with traumas, and depression. I feel so much empathy with them. Unfortunately I find myself in a situation where I can relate to them in some things. :/
Se heon is cute, I like his babygirl side! The main couple is what I expected, tension at the beginning, but then the sweetness between them is so nice to see. Beautiful chemistry, and their kisses scenes were fine, especially THAT KISS! Uff so nicee
The second couple had so much chemistry too! Joo Ha was an intriguing character, the actor Kim Jung Ha did a great job, and Do Yoon is an adorable character, sad he fell in love with a bully. In real life enemies to lovers relationships are not fun, but this is fiction, so I enjoyed all the conflicts between them.
However, the director( or whoever decision was to make such a weird scene) did the actors dirty. The fake kiss of Do Yoon and Joo Ha was cringy! :(
I dont really mind if a series contains kisses/spicy scenes or not, not everything is about kisses, but most of the times these kind of scenes are meaningful and important for the story and the relationship development. I mean, it's normal to kiss your partner, and being affectionate towards the person you love, there is nothing wrong with wanting to see these things in a series.
In this case, the problem for me wasnt if they kissed or not, the problem was all that blurry and terrible camera angle, the production team should have used a different technique to make the scene to look real. It was hard to connect with them because of this scene. The hug between Do Yoon and Joo Ha was beautiful tho, it felt with so much sentiment, it made me forget a little about the "kiss". I would have liked to see a bit more about them and their relationship.
Anyways, in general, the series was okay, I didnt get bored.
Jazz For Two could have been better, I enjoyed the webtoon way more, but overall I liked it. I will rewatch this BL, maybe...

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wasted potential...

cw/ spoiler warning: sa, abuse, harrassment, plot in general

First of all I want to say this series had major pacing issues, the first 6 episodes could've been 3 episodes and the last 2 should've been 4-5 episodes. I know the most of the plot happens in the first episodes but still.

I really liked the cast, they did their best with what they were given.

Now, the wasted potential comes from Tae-Yi and Juha, both of them were way too problematic to be redeemed with one shitty apology. Juha had like 3 scenes where he harrassed/ borderline assaulted Se-Heon (given his internalized homophobia his actions are more nuanced and his hug scene with Doyoon is a great start to redemption), but Tae-Yi??????? He assaults Se-Heon physically and verbally and then s*xually?????? For no good reason????? Foul. I can't believe Se-Heon forgave him so easily because first his reaction to that kiss and then his action outside the bar were absolutely horrible and his apology was just "sorry that I hurt you" like be fr.

If we only saw Tae-Yi verbally warning Se-Heon and then warming up around ep 4 it would've been excusable because his mental state was still bad because of his brother.

Briefly touching on Juha and Do-Yoon's "kiss": obviously kisses aren't the most important part of a bl, and actors shouldn't do it if they don't want to, but this excecution was just really lazy, in my opinion it would've worked exactly the same if not better if it was a kiss on the cheek. I'm also a bit dissappointed we never got a conclusion to their story, even if they just remained friends they could've shown up at the end.

That was all I have to say I think, in conclusion it had a lot of potential but they lost it near the end.

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It wasn't bad but that doesn't mean it was good

Let me start this off with the two actual good things about this show: the casting and the cinematography . The cast was great and they did so well with they had to work. The cinematography was sooo nice, the scenes were shot really well, which usually is a big pet peeve of mine. These two factors made the show seem waaaay better than it actually was and on the surface it really seems like a good show. However, looking behind the pretty surface shows lack of care in character and plot development.

I went into watching this with little to no expectations, so at first glance it seemed like a good drama. I watched it in a day (4 episodes in the morning and 4 at night) and it was a smooth watch, something easy and kind of simple. Which is exactly where the problem lies in my opinion. I loooove a good easy show, something not too taxing to watch and that gives me a chance to enjoy a silly little watch. And Jazz for two could've done just that but they didn't and that was unsettling. I am no fan of big conflicts in shows but I do appreciate that when it happens there's room to solve the conflict and work it out. In the case of this show nothing like that ever happens. Be it the absolute toxicity of the side-couple's relationship or the SA that just gets sweeped under the rug. I get that with the running time being this short there's not enough room for big conflicts to get solved extensively, however, as a director there should be a certain awareness around what you can and can't do with your resources. If there's not enough time to properly discuss heavy themes then for the love of god do not introduce them?

Taeyis reaction to the kiss was absolutely vile and not justified no matter how internalized his homophobia is. For someone that had such a violent reaction to a kiss from another guy he got over it pretty fast, which is just poor character planning on the showrunners side. The inconsistency in the character development is baffling to me. Let's not get into how Seheon didn't even get a real apology, he just suddenly got kissed and a little "sorry" and all was well.

Doyoon and Jooha are problematic on a similar level but even having less screentime than the maincouple they somehow managed to make that relationship seem more controlled and plausible. The intense homophobia coming from every single couple, even the brothers (what even was that, introduced solely to serve as a poor reason for the maincouple to break up for like? 2 minutes?), is just too much to solve with that kind of running time when you're already trying to get two strangers to establish some sort of bond, then to fall in love and then to overcome a heavy topic like suicide within their relationship. All the while they're dealing with school work, a controlling dad that just suddenly disappears (seriously where did he go?) after he served as a plot drive to get the main couple to become closer and writing a song/winning at a festival. There's so much going on that you don't even have time to process everything that's going wrong cause they keep piling up new plot points for the watcher to digest.

So, as the title suggests, overall it wasn't that bad, it's just that it wasn't good either.

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Nothing like the webtoon

Loved the webtoon. I already showed my concerned about doing 8 episodes for this and gosh... I was right.
First, the webtoon is quiet explicit but here, kisses are forced. Only the last kiss on episode 8 felt real, the others were either bad or faked by hiding behind lighting or objects, it feels like neither the actors or the director was into BL to begin with.

The actors, well...
First Ji Ho Geun, a new actor who is the only one who look and act like the character in the webtoon. But his partner Kim Jin Kwon (Newkids) was only here to attract fans. First he doesn't even feel like a jazz player as he really look like an idole. But he also look nothing like the character, who is strong, opinionated, and can face Han Tae Yi easily. But Jin Kwon look like he may cry.
Second, the other main couple. Kim Jung Ha playing Song Joo Ha is a strong bad boy with a big heart. In the drama, they made him a bully. All the back story is changed and make the relationship completely unbelievable. Seo Do Yoon "kissing" him out of nowhere seems that the director had to come up with something to introduce them as a couple. It would have been better that he didn't. The focus could have been made on only the main couple id needed. Song Han Gyeom (Omega X) is cute in it, but he certainly doesn't look like a student.

The story is the other thing that completely changed. Yoon Se Heons father, very nice person in the webtoon, is more pushy in the drama and completely desapeared after. With only 8 episodes, it is only making things worse for the characters development. And the brother was not even in the webtoon, they created a back story for the reason of Tae Yi's brother suicide, but why make every single characters BL, even in a BL story, some characters could have been straight too. Song Joo Hee and Song Joo Ha's story is so nice but taken off the drama.

Let's not forget that Han Tae Yi is supposed to know a lot about jazz, like Yoon Se Heon because of his lost brother, yet he doesn't play, but sing. But Ji Ho Geun is not an idole, they made him a trompettiste and they create a jazz group (Jazz for two became the name of a song written by the brothers of the main couple). He faked sing the last song on episode 8, and was poorly hidden. And lets not forget the whole relationship between the main couple, who become close because of the unpredictable suicide of Han Tae Yi's brother. The story here is unpolished, rushed and incomplete. We barely fly over the whole thing.

If you never read the webtoon, you may like it. But it felt forced because they cut too much important things to fit into 8 episodes. It could have been done differently, cut things that were not needed and focus only on the main couple would have made the 8 episodes cleaner. Of course, it's not a complete disaster, and its still watchable, but I wouldn't run to watch it again!!!

It's very rare that I am that hard with a drama, but it's now 2024. We expect that Korea starts being more open to LGBTQI+ in their drama. Not only they can make full length drama with at least 12 episodes of 45 minutes. Especially if they take it from a well loved and popular webtoon. It starts to show that they neither respect the audience, nor the author and only try to make money out of popularity from either the webtoon or the actors playing in it.

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highly overrated

First, I don't like that every couple in a BL has to be BL couple... How stupid is that?
Second, the last two episodes are extremly rushed. While 8-parters are nice to binch-watch, they do nothing if the story does not fit.
I did not read the webtoon, so I can only review what I saw.
And the story is a mess and unbelievable. Only Ji Ho Geun and Kim Jung Ha made me believe in their characters. From bully to lover was unblievable as well in just one episode and to cast an idol for a main role was just a financial decision.
The last two episodes where rushed as f, for a better understanding at least four episodes have been needed,.

While the premise of the show started strong, the story falls of a cliff. The kisses shown were mostly just touching lips which is lame. "Song Joo Ha" could have kissed on the cheek to convey his feelings. A kiss on the lips would have not been needed, but maybe the director/writers thought the do need fan-service.. Also Han Tae Yi forcing himself was a stupid thing to do, especially when he does have feelings for Seo Do Yoon. While the first six episodes are ok, the last two are a total mess. Song Han Gyeom looks "gay" -(but which idol doesn't?), he does not fit his role at all. Sometimes you can feel he tries but his own personality is in stark contrast to his role and he does not manage to do it. With all the 10 ratings of several people I think they are fans of eyecandy but not thinking about the story which is maybe because our world gets more and more superficial. And to make all couples gay in a BL, is not what a good story needs. If they had only focused on only one couple the eight episodes might have fit. For me this series is disappointing especially because the first two episodes are the best and the last two are the worst.

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The best as the support.

I honestly fail to understand how the weakest of the actors and the most basic of the plot were picked to lead the show, instead of showcasing a great, but uncomfortable to witness story of the supporting couple… make it make sense.

Don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy Tae Yi and Se Heon, but I also could not stop myself from feeling like it’s basically The Eighth Sense 2.0 with no improvement that would validate its existence in my eyes. Their story was unnecessarily complicated and too simplistically presented.

On the other hand, even though with criminally little screen time, I totally bought everything going on between Do Yoon and Joo Ha and if given more chance and focus, this could have been quite a refreshing concept to see in BL.

I’d love a story of how the one that protected becomes a bully and how it creates conflicted feelings in the leads. How it would be hard for Do Yoon to forget the warmth he felt when he first met Joo Ha - the hope that what he first saw is still in him. The internal conflict - for how long and how much he should put up with to keep that hope alive? When to give up?

How one magic kiss does not cure your internalized homophobia. I loved the locker scene. I loved how Seo Do Yoon said: I won't confess nor kiss you, let's just stay like that in a hug for a little bit. And that was as much as Joo Ha was conformable with at the moment, and it was fine. Relationships are almost never 50/50 all the time. There are times when one gives 80 and the other 20, and then other times when one gives 30 and the other 70. And I think they could have had something real good with this side couple. Would it be uncomfortable to watch? For sure, but some of the best stories are the ones that make you face some unpleasant feelings.

What’s more? Realistically speaking, Tae Yi was far more violent towards Se Heon, but somehow people don’;t really have as much issue with him. Poor boy was slammed across various surfaces quite a number of times.

Acting wise… it had its ups and downs. Ji Ho Geun and Kim Jin Kwon did great with lighter scenes, but the more emotional ones did not really reach me. Song Han Gyeom aced everything. It’s a fact. Kim Jung Ha surprised me with the more vulnerable scenes, especially since most of what the character presented was being a douche.

Visually speaking it was good. Each year we can clearly see improvement in the quality of production, filing and editing in Korean bls.

Overall, perfect for a binge watch, but made me crave a full story of the side couple and I will be forever salty if I won’t get it.

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Was really good at first but quickly went downhill

I'm not very good at writing reviews and I have a lot to say so bear with me lol.

CW/ sexual harassment, bullying, SA, Spoilers, physical violence

Okay so I actually really liked this drama when it first started airing. If the rest of the drama was like the first few episodes, I would've given it an 8.5 or 9.0 easily. Entire cast was super cute and the acting was good!

HOWEVER! it wasn't long until I started seeing red flags and just terrible pacing and plot holes. Like did he own his dad so hard, he had to go into hiding?? lmao I wish we could have seen some character development and the reconciliation between them. Also, Taeyi grieving for 99% of the show and then suddenly letting go of his brother and trauma in the span of a minute? and the sudden reveal of both of their older brothers having feelings for each other felt so rushed and forced, it was unnecessary (was most likely just random plot thrown in to have them break up for .5 seconds lmao).

The biggest thing that turned me off of this drama was how toxic both of the relationships were.

Taeyi and Jooha treated Seheon and Doyoon terribly but a simple sorry (or a hug in Jooha's case?? lmao) was all they needed to forgive and forget? They deserved sooo much better. Jooha literally bullied and violently assaulted Doyoon MULTIPLE times (not to mention him sexually harassing Seheon and then it just never came up again/Seheon says "I'm fine now" and invites him to perform with them? like what?)

Both Taeyi and Jooha had really bad internalized homophobia which is a sad reality but they never resolved that or showed any character development and it kind of just felt like they were painting gay relationships to be something dirty and shameful.

And don't even get me started on Taeyi SA'ing Seheon outside the bar!! (what a strange and disgusting reaction to Seheon simply being there? no normal person would react that way, he needs to be locked up lol) Then he shows up like the next day, plays piano with him, touches his hand all affectionate lol, gives him a little "sorry I hurt you" and then it's all smiles and kisses?? Be so fr... and the way their relationship does an immediate 180 afterwards.. Taeyi didn't even seem like the same person! (ngl the winking at each other behind their hands was pretty cute tho lol). I had already checked out by the 6th episode and was powering through because I was already too far in, so by the time they got together, I couldn't even enjoy the cutesy moments/kisses/affection which is usually my favorite part ):<

They went from being hostile to acting like nothing ever happened. I wish they would've had the angst earlier on (or preferably not at all lol) and then showed character development for the last few episodes.

Also, the fake/blurred kisses were a little weird. I'd much prefer they didn't even have Jooha and Doyoon kiss (and I'd much MUCH prefer that they didn't have a relationship at all LMAO)

My rating is much lower than the other reviews I'm seeing but I really cannot stand dramas normalizing abusive and toxic relationships. If it was just the weird pacing and plot holes then I would've rated it higher.

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Aggressive

Homophobic and gay

felt stockholm syndrome-y

it felt like a lot of backstory/details were cut out and nobody wanted to elaborate on ANYTHING (unless the webtoon is written the same lmao)
the way the characters attitudes/personalities switched up SO FAST made it feel as tho there wasn’t enough time to write character development so the writer just said fuck it and went with cringe and threw shit at the wall
whatever was going on in the beginning had to be for shock value or something cause ??? .... + the fact that everyone just forgot about the sister towards the end ??? made it seem like jooha was just being a lil silly 😜

the whole story with jooha and doyoon is .. interesting !.. and doesn’t really make sense with the personalities we were given

this was a weird watch.. but it wasn’t the worst thing ever
thank you hangyeom 🙂

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disappointment.

- I was having a lot of hope for this series because the webtoon is my no1 favorite, but the more I watched, the more disappointing it was.
- I disliked how they changed, not only Seheon's personality, but Taeyi's also! Seheon was never afraid to speak his mind to Taeyi, he was strong opinioned and he stood his ground too, but the series made him weak and just so.. not Seheon?! And Taeyi not being half included in the whole jazz part is so frustrating. Their miscommunication and lack of time they spent together is so frustrating?
- However, what bothers me the most is excluding the most important part and the most important piece of 'Jazz For Two', which would be 'Autumn Leaves'. ("I want to forever be your Autumn Leaves. Please play me.")
And the way they made the father harsh towards Seheon, when he never was, how he forbade Seheon to play jazz, while in the webtoon he felt how Seheon played with more emotion just because he was in love. His father loved him, but here it's not even understandable why he acts the way he does towards Seheon.
Everyone's personalities were.. gone? They had new ones in the series, which is annoying to see.
- The series is watchable, especially if you didn't read the webtoon, but I just would never rewatch it ever again..

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Jazz and internalized homophobia holding hands

'Jazz for Two' is subtle in mixing several themes to bring us a romance between two boys, with the world of jazz as a context, marked by internalized homophobia in one of the members of the couple.
A lover of this rhythm, Song Soo Lim, known for directing 'A Shoulder To Cry On', adapts the popular Clazju webtoon in live action, published in Lezhin Comics in 2017, offering us a romantic and musical drama with a complaint against a problem which can lead members of the LGTBIQ+ community to feel ashamed of their identity and question their own validity as people, as well as making them feel isolated and alone, which can lead to mental health problems such as anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress.
With its unique combination of music, romance and drama, the series, produced by MODT, confirms the growing appeal of BL dramas and webtoon adaptations, both by fans and the industry.
With the inclusion of jazz music themes, the series is not just a story of high school students, but a testament to the power of storytelling to explore universal themes such as love, identity, friendship, grief, musical studies, personal improvement, the discovery of sexual orientation, the process of overcoming complexes and traumas, acceptance, intolerance, homophobia, internalized homophobia and internal family struggles, in its narrative arc about a journey of discovery for the four protagonists .
In an intimate tone, the series is structured around Han Tae Yi (Jee Ho Geun), a cold, scheming and expressionless musical prodigy who has brilliant trumpet skills and a captivating voice, and Yoon Se-Hun (Jin Kwon), a jazz otaku who wants to be recognized for his music and has just transferred to Wooyeon Arts High School.
When the gaze of Yoon Se-Hun, playing the piano with a slight smile on his lips, and that of Han Tae-Yi, surprised, from the door of the old music room, meet, a dazzling visual combination occurs. This eye contact will be enough to change their lives. We are facing a spontaneous piano recital that is actually the overture to romance and seduction.
Have you ever met someone who makes you feel restless and calm at the same time? Have you fallen in love with a person who, although beautiful, seems complex and mysterious to you? Have you crossed your life with someone who keeps your heart rate at 112.5774 beats per minute?
If this happens when you listen to jazz, it also happens when you meet the love of your life. Se-Hun's arrival at Tae Yi's school represents an alteration in the latter's routine, where the hours in which he does not study or make music are spent immersed in his thoughts, among which an apparent hatred towards him stands out. musical genre caused by the suicide of his brother, who was a genius jazz pianist, which is why he lost the will to live. On the one hand, Se-Hun's brilliant appearance contrasts with his own, while on the other, he has been shocked by his piano performance.
The attraction between them does not take long to materialize and little by little we witness how the surly and cold Tae-Yi opens up to the feelings that invade him, slowly but unstoppably revolutionizing his life emotionally. However, he rejects Se-Hun's feelings and distances himself from him.
If the reason why Tae Yi's brother commits suicide has always been a mystery, I am even more intrigued by the young man's question to his uncle: "Was my brother weak (in character)"? This made me think early on that both had had sexist and even homophobic teachings from their father. Would Han Tae Joon's (Byun Sung Tae) death have been related to this cause? Why does Tae Yi reject all approaches from Song Joo Hee (Kim Min Ah), Song Joo Ha's (Kim Hung Ha) sister? There was no doubt in my mind that Tae Yi was gay before Seo-Hu came into his life.
In this way, a very sensitive topic that is rarely addressed in BL is introduced in such an open and stark way: internalized homophobia. Marked by trauma, having to comply with what is demanded of him by a conservative country with strong patriarchal and heteronormative traditions, with an internalized homophobia that prevents him from admitting his own homosexuality, in a fascination that reflects his struggle of feelings: hatred and desire, Tae Yi rejects the boy he loves over and over again.
Tae Yi has all the cards against him: traumatic and painful experiences, such as bullying, physical or emotional abuse, the loss of friends and family. Tae Yi is a victim of the discrimination, rejection or shame that some LGTBIQ+ people feel towards their own sexual orientation or gender identity. It is a common problem among people who have grown up in societies that stigmatize or repress sexual diversity.
The series, for my taste, is a very subtle and interesting criticism of the discourse that seeks to suffocate minorities by stating that being homosexual is something abnormal and depraved. But instead of taking you down the path of vindication in search of conquering our rights, Song Soo Lim directly shows us the consequences that something that seems so general has on a normal person.
In theory, something that would not have to affect Tae Yi, who spends his days at school, his house or his uncle's bar, oblivious to everything and everyone, except forgetting his deceased brother. But it does affect him, because after meeting Seo-Hun his whole world collapses, feeling a fascination for him that borders on obsession. Tae Yi transforms into another person, but he doesn't know how to react to him. He doesn't know what the consequences will be of his actions of admitting to himself that he loves another man.
How to repress and hide a part of yourself that is suffocating you little by little and eating you away from the inside. But also, this inhibition not only affects you, but all the people around you who are also swept away by that gale.
'Jazz of Two' is a series that proposes us to reflect on internalized homophobia, on the many generations that have been affected by that intrinsic message that society constantly sends you and that tells you that you are not normal, that there is something wrong with you and that you have to hide, make yourself invisible. How you learn to put certain feelings or opinions in a box and wear a mask to feel safe, at the cost of never being your true self.
And I really liked that the drama portrays this process realistically, not in a perfect entity, but in a fallible young man, who is struggling with his reality, who makes mistakes, who takes steps back and is afraid. Tae Yi lives two separate worlds. That of the talented high school student, that of a genius with a trumpet on his lips, on the one hand, and that of a gay boy in love with the jazz-loving student, on the other.
It might seem for these reasons that we are talking about a dark and depressing series. But it's not like that. Its director also shows us what it means to build community and how your queer family, especially the other three young protagonists, and their uncle, can be there for you in difficult times.
'Jazz of Two' is sometimes a mirror that many have found difficult to observe. It will remind us of so many moments in which people who carry a great deal of internalized homophobia within themselves feel just as uncomfortable as Tae Yi, with the same feeling of hopelessness and helplessness.
For this reason alone it is worth giving great recognition to the series, to the members of the technical and artistic team. How can we not consider the series timely, revolutionary, provocative and innovative in a country like South Korea, where relationships between people of the same sex are not yet recognized and equal marriage is not legal, when in the United States, a nation supposedly less conservative, every day states pass laws that seek to bring LGBT+ people back into the closet, or in Spain a children's movie is censored because it shows a lesbian kiss.
But it's not just the main couple who is damaged by internalized homophobia. The second, made up of Song Joo Ha and Seo Do-yoon (Song Han-gyeom), two other students at the school and the latter's friend of Tae Yi, will also suffer for this reason. And even a third, made up of Yoon Se Jin (Ko Jae Hyun), Se Hun's brother) and Han Tae Joon, Tae Yi's brother, composer of the jazz piece that gives the series its title.
Just like that of the main couple, the chemistry between Seo Do-yoon and Song Joo-Ha is also unique. Both characters show their passionate emotions, capturing the viewer's attention. It also adds curiosity about what type of relationship there would be between them through the question posed by the first: "What happens if I cross the line?", incorporating new tensions and questions to the story of four sensitive and pure teenagers who go through friendship. and love.
The viewer can appreciate that it is not a simple plot, as it may seem at first glance, by showing us the social reality of South Korea, to which is added a homosexual love relationship marked by internalized homophobia, with jazz music as background.

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