Gray Shelter (2024)

DEPRESSING but GOOD........HEART-WRENCHING but WARM........CONFUSING but ADDICTIVE

First of all, can we stop and notice how handsome Jang Woo Young is!!?? I mean come on!! This is the first time I seen this actor and boy oh boy his eyes made mine locked on him and I didn't even care about Choco (Lee Jae Bin) LOL.... The entire series I was awwwwwww to Woo Young's eyes and HELLO!!!!???? The scene where he is topless!!!! Good lord I need some helping....hahahhaa

I must admit that this series is a bit complicated and confusing, well, if you don't pay attention in the whole run then you're gonna end up know which is which and what is what...... They are both complicated, they restrict their selves so much and put each other in pain which is so depressing to watch.... This is one of the problem in Korean BLs, at least this is what I think, they restrict their story so much that left people wanting for more and sometimes disappointed at the end. Yoon Dae's situation isn't that bad compared to Soo Hyuk. I mean it's depressing enough to watch this two hurt by their situations and be hurt by each other, but Soo Hyuk is more depressing situation made me more angry....I mean with his mother and that shitty father??!! Come on!!

I would say the ending sucks though.... It sucks but creative. 5 episode isn't enough.
This drama lives up to its title.... GREY SHELTER... It really is GREY.... depressing, frustrating and sometimes cold.

Shout out to the INTRO art... its a well thought art and the music....its really GREY in a sense..
I still recommend this drama though, I don't know if there's a rewatch value to it, unless you only want to see JANG WOO YOUNG....like i did ...hahahahah

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Sensitive and anxious

The series were short, but even though vague script, it was written so you would not miss any emotion. It was intense with some sweet moments to fill in the obscure feeling. Strong slice of life punches right in the stomach after each episode. Some characters irks can be overlooked in recognition of tough and harsh nature of life.
Story is one of those where you don't want the life to be that way, but at the same time you appreciate it even more.
To me the acting was top notch and the cast did really good job in making the characters chemistry with each over feel very natural that sometimes the mind just wandered back that this was just a series not something else.
This one have punched me in the nucleus of the feelings and gave me a minute of silence to overthink how life flows.

{LOVED IT!!!}

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Hope in misery?

If you are looking for a nice and fluffy bl, you are at the wrong place! I understand why it has such low rating, I do not agree with it but I understand! Because it is grey: misery, unhappiness, hopelessness...mention it, it's there! But it is not all black since there is a sliver of light that appears.

It is a story of two men trying to survive, just survive the onslaught of their respective families. They have known each other a few years previously when their parents married but that marriage did not last long. Something happened between the two young men at the time, as well, that created a huge rift. We never really clearly find what it was: an unwanted, unexplained kiss? The main problem are their parents: one father is an abuser, the other a criminal but still very attractive to his ex wife using their son to finance them.

The drama is too short. It touches upon a lot of issues but it does not really have the time to delve deeper into them: mainly parents abusing of their children who are desperately wanting to free themselves from their hold. So much so that the young men are exhausted, desperate and lacking energy to do anything. We are left without explanation as to how and why that kiss (?) happened between them which ruined a friendly relationship they had when they were younger! The older one feels responsible and guilty towards the younger one. Why?

The romance comes out suddenly and is heart flutteringly beautiful, chemistry soaring sky-high but unfortunately nothing is solved by the realization. The life is too difficult to bear to do anything more than just survive. The promise of happiness is too scary to believe: when you've been beaten down by life, you lose all hope. We are left with an open ending, showing us a glimmer of hope that one of them allows himself to dare to feel.

This drama is beautifully filmed, written and acted. The cinematography alongside the animated opening credits are all in shades of grey, perfectly translating the desperation and the misery the main characters feel. The music is just as good. It has been a long time since a korean BL made me feel so many emotions: rage, pity, sadness, hope, love...

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Pure angst

Gray shelter comes out with a very angsty tone, showing the struggle of two men who are longing for someone that feels like your home. The story itself can feel a little messy and at times confusing, but the overall message in my opinion is still successfully displayed. The acting is incredible here from both leads and the supporting cast, the emotions and thoughts behind the characters actions to me felt clear. The cinema style is also very fitting to the mood and story which helps to elevate it. The OST "Sleepless" by ode has personally been on repeat for me since the show aired, as well as other songs from "Ode". I'd highly recommend the full version of the song as it has this fitting mood of loneliness in it's tone and feels emotionally packed until the very end, which matches Gray Shelter's atmosphere perfectly. Overall I'd recommend this show to those who like angst and those who don't should stay far away.

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“Gray Shelter” is one of the few darker Korean BL out there. It’s short and dark, and you really need to take the time to understand and feel what’s going on. The premise isn’t difficult. Two step brothers bonded through surviving difficult family lives. Yoon Dae tried to cut off his relationship with his father, and moved away from home. But that doesn’t seem to bring him much happiness or hope. Soo Hyuk, though not living with his parents, is still burdened by duties that he doesn’t seem to be able to shake off.

The two reunited by chance and rekindled a complicated brotherhood bond. It’s a push-and-pull, give-and-take relationship. It’s a never-ending cycle that was finally broken. The ending can be open to interpretation. I want to believe that they both need to work on themselves, before breaking off whatever is preventing them to lead a much happier life together.

I was quite impressed with Lee Jae Bin’s acting as Yoon Dae after seeing him in “Choco Milk Shake”. He’s still new to the industry and already has the opportunity to act in two vastly different roles. This is Jang Woo Young’s first drama, and he did fine. His character, Soo Hyuk, is so solemn that he can’t really deviate too much away and show us if he has any acting range.

This is a small budget production, and it shows. The sets are simple, the transition and editing appear jerky at times. The storytelling and the execution of the plot could be better.

“Gray Shelter” is a quick watch if you are in the mood for something darker and more mature. It’ a breath of fresh air from all the rom-coms out there.


Completed: 4/28/2024 - Review #435

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Understanding in the same shoes

I had to write like that because from what I saw with sleepy eyes, if we look deeper, this drama with a duration of 20 minutes with 5 episodes looks interesting. I like the composition of the story. Because as I said through the title, understand in the same shoes.

They are both in a shade of grey. Gray means doubt especially in Soohyuk. I know for sure that at first he also hesitated to protect Yoondae, the man who became his brother .But their relationship is not just love with a desire to have more of each other, it seems like they want to care for each other and understand each other because of the heavy burdens on their shoulders. Only Soohyuk never dared to step outside further because he had to endure all his family problems since childhood. Meanwhile, Yoondae, with his haphazard life, can get rid of the burden in his heart faster, the problem is that he just waiting for Soohyuk. Therefore, from the start Soohyuk repeatedly pushed Yoondae away even though in his heart he wanted to pull Yoondae away.

If you're wondering about the ending, they stay together....getting better with the burden on their shoulders fading. I really like the story, it seems heavy because the meaning is quite deep. I'm just sharing from my experience when watching this.

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Wasted Potential

The story started off slow. There is so much family drama with family dynamics in this series. The step-brother turned love interest was hard to distinguish until episode 4. If you didn’t know going in that this was a BL, it would be hard to tell. Even knowing this was a BL, I still had trouble figuring out the chemistry and romance between these two. It was more of co-dependent stepbrothers with dysfunctional baggage from broken homes than they had romantic feelings for each other. Even when YoonDae kissed SooHyuk it felt like co depency than anything else.

Was SooHyuk mad at him being a failure because he is gay? Was the mistake that he found out his son liked YoonDae? Then does this mean YoonDae’s dad hope to be a the gay out of him? YoonDae isn’t interested in being in a relationship with women which is why he’s a dick to his girlfriend, right?

The ending was so unsatisfying. I really wish YoonDae had taken up SooHyuk offer to sleep together. I think they would have both discovered that they can be together for the long haul. Or maybe they did when YoonDae told SooHyuk to pretend he is still sleeping. Maybe that’s the rabbit hole they went down. They are living separately but now can pursue a relationship together without the co-dependency.

I want to like this series more but with so much left unsaid and feeling so unsatisfied. I hate the editing and direction of an otherwise good series

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detail means everything

Firstly, the cast has to be decent-looking, you don't have to be a model but a least average. I can't lie the main cast slightly put me off because of their looks (I understand that don't they don't control that) only the friend was up to my standards

The story I felt was incomplete as the big theme from what I interpreted was that each of them has a difficult life they are trying to navigate the journey and gravitate towards each other as they have an understanding of each other. The was as fully developed as I wanted as there were constant times that nothing was happening.

But I learnt a lesson about the meaning of comfort from individuals and what it means for different types of people and how it can affect relationships with others

It would've been clearer if it had a marker it was a flashback as it confused me at times figuring out the timeline

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Una persona no puede ser tu refugio, pero puedes compartir uno con ella

Gray Shelter es una de esas mágicas historias que se producen cada cierto tiempo y que, probablemente, no vaya a conseguir atraer la atención del público que se merece.

Como a muchas otras personas, mi motivación principal para verla fue que Lee Jaebin, a quien ya conocía por el papel de Choco en Choco Milk Shake, fuese uno de los actores protagonistas. Y, wow, qué importante ha sido verle en un registro completamente distinto para comprender lo gran actor que es y lo mucho que se merece que le den oportunidades para demostrar ese talento. Por su parte, Jang Wooyoung ha estado más que a la altura de lo que la serie necesitaba, ofreciéndonos una trama desgarradora de manera conjunta en un contexto que debería haber tenido una extensión mayor, pero que tiene una inmensidad de lecturas en algo más de 100 minutos.

Quizá uno de los elementos más difíciles de comprender desde una perspectiva no asiática sea cómo el concepto de familia tiene un peso tan grande que hace pivotar todo lo que sucede en el drama, como si de un tercer personaje invisible se tratase. Yoondae destruido por un padre abusivo cuyo vínculo no termina nunca de eliminar. Soohyuk superado por unos padres inmaduros que no dejan de pedirle más, como si de sanguijuelas se tratase. En esta situación, era imposible que ambos pudieran hacerse bien, aun cuando todo el desarrollo nos demuestra que lo que sienten el uno por el otro es tan grande que apenas pueden gestionarlo. Por eso Soohyuk necesita que Yoondae no dependa de él. Que sea autosuficiente y pueda aportarle algo más que la vorágine a la que ambos están acostumbrados. Porque las personas que cuidan también necesitan un espacio para poder ser vulnerables y rehacer lo que el mundo real rompe cada día.

Es especialmente significativo el simbolismo de los dos personajes contando con su propia bufanda en los momentos finales del capítulo. Porque entregarle tu bufanda a otra persona siempre implica que tú acabas pasando frío. Y, el amor, aunque tiene actos de devoción como ese, no puede ser un constante acto de entrega hacia el otro.

Y, como todo en una vida que no termina, el mañana, el nuevo amanecer, siempre viene cargado de posibilidades.

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Tutto mi fa pensare che questa non vuole essere la solita commediola BL, ma qualcosa di diverso, con spunti e riflessioni più profonde, significati che vanno un po' cercati ma che puntano a lasciare un qualcosa di più di una piacevole visione. E allora, con la manciata di tempo a disposizione - meno di due ore in totale - non si percorre un'intera storia ma la si tratteggia puntando a scene fondamentali e lasciando allo spettatore il compito di ricostruire tutto il resto.
Premesso che il più delle volte ricerco delle serie spensierate - non intese come sole commedie, ma come drama chiari dove non devo arrovellarmi la testa per comprenderne il significato - devo dire che in certi casi non ho disdegnato anche film/serie più impegnative. Gray Shelter però non è riuscita a farmi seguire un filo logico, troppi i passaggi poco chiari, troppe le perplessità anche dopo aver letto altrove possibili interpretazioni. La recitazione davvero notevole, così come la musica. Non la trovo davvero una serie scadente, anzi. Credo ci sia stato davvero un gran lavoro dietro, anche nella sceneggiatura stessa. Ma davvero non fa per me. Non solo perchè probabilmente non era ciò che stavo cercando, ma perchè pur con un "taglio" diverso non è comunque riuscita trasmettermi nulla. Un buon prodotto, immagino, ma su una frequenza diversa dalla mia.

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