Friendly Competition (2025)

Expected more...

I'll start from the beginning - the main reason why I started to watch this kdrama is because based on trailer, it was supposed to be mix of genres - school, detective, thriller, maybe GL. I know that GL series and movies in SK..well, very rare. And even if the series based on GL webtoon, then probably all GL stuff will be cut out from the series/movie. The only good, popular GL drama which I can remember is Handmaiden. I didn't expect from Friendly Rivalry something similar, but trailer looked promising. BTW, I'm not a big fan of LGBT series, but if they have a good story, I'll watch them...and probably because I'm a guy, I prefer GL movies and series. And as far as I know, GL in SK is much less popular than BL. So... I was hooked.

First 8-9 episodes were good. Not great, but good, interesting, with small detective parts, and mind games between Jey and Seulgi. You basically didn't know what to expect from Jey, what's on her mind, and this fact made the whole story even more interesting. So, the first half of the series, I would rate with 8. Pretty good story for its genre.

But after episode 9....I don't know how to describe it properly, maybe because of my bad english, but in simple words - story became overcomplicated, characters change their behavior almost every episode, transition between scenes became less fluent, more random. everything felt rushed, and the story's main theme changed completely. All gl stuff like in episode 4( I know it was a dream but still) and how ML look at each other in episode 8( don't tell that this how best friends look at each other, because it's not) was almost removed. Episodes 13-15..and especially 16 have too many strange, stupid, absolutely unrealistic scenes. I would rate the second half - 4 out of 10...but because ending wasn't as bad as I thought, I will rate the whole story with 5. It doesn't mean that I like the ending - it just not the worst, considering where story went. Below few thoughts about particular scenes, especially ending.

SPOILERS( BTW, I'm new here, so if anyone knows how to hide spoilers in review, please tell me)

I'm not a big fan of open endings, especially like in this series.
1). Box from Jey. Who brought the box??
2). Jey's dad. Basically, this man has nothing to lose now, and he's stalkering Seulgi like some maniac, waiting for her to reveal Jey's whereabouts. Even if Seulgi would like to go to Jey, if we consider that gift means "run away to me" how would she do that, if even her step-mom said that they can't move to another place, because Jey's dad is watching them?
3). What happened to Jey's sister after the events of the final episode? Everyone knows that she's alive now, but what's next? Where is she now?


Also, Ye Ri interactions with Byeong Jin. In first half there were plenty scenes, where she looked at him in a special way, but then they had only few interactions between each other. What was the point of those scenes in the first half?

It looks like as if in the middle of the series, screenwriters decided to change the script completely. And those changes weren't good.

I don't think that this series needs second season( even though there are a lot of events from the original webtoon which wasn't in series, but considering how the series script differs from the webtoon's story, and considering the ending...it's gonna be hard to make a proper story ), but maybe special episode or at least Q/A with the main cast about some scenes.

SPOILERS END

So, after all this why did I rated this series with 7? Because of acting and chemistry between cast. All four girls nailed their roles, especially Hyeri. I never watched anything with her, but I heard that here she played completely different character, not like her previous roles. And she nailed it. And her chemistry with Chung Su Bin is something not from this world) To be honest, I watched every new episode almost immediately after it aired, not because of the story, but because of their interactions. Also, Oh Woo Ri...amazing job. Interesting character, great acting, awesome chemistry with Kang Hye Won and Chung Su Bin.

I assume that, if there was another cast, and actresses wouldn't be as good as thoses four ( although Kang Hye Won was the weakest in terms of acting among them, in my opinion), this kdrama would receive much worse reviews and reception. But because of the acting. dedication of Hyeri and the whole cast, good cinematography, and considering that this series had very low budget, I can't rate it less then 7. Unfortunately, because of the second half of the series, even though there were great scenes, I can't rate it higher.

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