It had a lot of potential, it wasn't what I expected!! When I saw the pilot trailer, I honestly loved it. It was what made me have such high expectations for this series. The dark atmosphere, the mystery surrounding Jane Patrick, and the way he was portrayed as almost demonic, dangerous, and difficult to figure out really caught my attention. It looked like it was going to be a different kind of BL, with a darker, more mysterious, and psychological story. It was exactly the kind of story I had always wanted to see. Then the official trailer came out and, honestly, I was disappointed. I felt like there was a pretty big change from what the pilot had made me expect. Patrick no longer gave me that same feeling of mystery and danger, and the overall tone of the story seemed much lighter. That was when I started having doubts about the adaptation. On top of that, I was also reading the novel throughout this time, so I inevitably developed a much clearer idea of the story and its characters. And as I watched the series, the comparison became more and more obvious. I never expected the adaptation to be exactly the same as the book. I know a series needs to make changes and adapt certain things for the screen. The problem, for me, was that they didn't just change events; they also changed part of the essence of the characters. Patrick, for example, feels much darker, more calculating, possessive, unpredictable, and morally ambiguous in the novel. The relationship also has a much more intense and, at times, considerably more toxic dynamic. That side of P'Jane is one of the things that makes the story interesting, because he isn't simply the typical protective character — he has a much more extreme and difficult-to-justify side. In the series, I felt that all of this was softened quite a lot, and Patrick ended up being portrayed as much more emotionally accessible. I also noticed changes in Jennalee and, especially, in the dynamic between the two of them. In the novel, the whole concept of wishes, the price that comes with them, the negotiation, the power dynamic, and the rule about not getting emotionally involved create a tension that I found really interesting. The series keeps the basic premise, but I feel like it develops it in a much softer way, and some of that tension — and that darker, more toxic side of their relationship — gets lost. So, for me, the problem wasn't simply that “the series wasn't faithful to the book.” An adaptation can change many things and still work. What happened here is that the changes ended up affecting exactly what I liked about the novel and what initially caught my attention in the pilot. Even so, I wanted to give it a chance and not judge it only because of the trailers or my expectations as a reader. And I can admit that there are things I genuinely enjoyed. The chemistry between the leads is undeniable, and the soundtrack is beautiful. There are also moments where you can really see how much potential the story had. However, the story as a whole didn't convince me. I felt that there were many plot holes, unnecessary scenes, and quite a lot of filler, and that some of the adaptation choices didn't really contribute much to the development of the characters or the plot. At times, I felt like they were taking elements from the novel without managing to convey why those elements worked in the first place. I think that was my biggest disappointment: the potential it had. The pilot made me expect a darker and more mysterious story, while the novel made me expect much more intense, complex, and toxic characters and dynamics. But the adaptation ultimately took them in a direction that personally didn't work for me. The last episode was okay, but it didn't really change my overall impression. Overall, Don’t Be Too Emotional has great chemistry, a beautiful soundtrack, and a premise with so much potential. But for me, the adaptation lost part of the novel's essence, softened Patrick's personality too much, and failed to maintain what had initially made me fall in love with the pilot trailer.
When I saw the pilot trailer, I honestly loved it. It was what made me have such high expectations for this series. The dark atmosphere, the mystery surrounding Jane Patrick, and the way he was portrayed as almost demonic, dangerous, and difficult to figure out really caught my attention. It looked like it was going to be a different kind of BL, with a darker, more mysterious, and psychological story. It was exactly the kind of story I had always wanted to see.
Then the official trailer came out and, honestly, I was disappointed. I felt like there was a pretty big change from what the pilot had made me expect. Patrick no longer gave me that same feeling of mystery and danger, and the overall tone of the story seemed much lighter. That was when I started having doubts about the adaptation.
On top of that, I was also reading the novel throughout this time, so I inevitably developed a much clearer idea of the story and its characters. And as I watched the series, the comparison became more and more obvious.
I never expected the adaptation to be exactly the same as the book. I know a series needs to make changes and adapt certain things for the screen. The problem, for me, was that they didn't just change events; they also changed part of the essence of the characters.
Patrick, for example, feels much darker, more calculating, possessive, unpredictable, and morally ambiguous in the novel. The relationship also has a much more intense and, at times, considerably more toxic dynamic. That side of P'Jane is one of the things that makes the story interesting, because he isn't simply the typical protective character — he has a much more extreme and difficult-to-justify side. In the series, I felt that all of this was softened quite a lot, and Patrick ended up being portrayed as much more emotionally accessible.
I also noticed changes in Jennalee and, especially, in the dynamic between the two of them. In the novel, the whole concept of wishes, the price that comes with them, the negotiation, the power dynamic, and the rule about not getting emotionally involved create a tension that I found really interesting. The series keeps the basic premise, but I feel like it develops it in a much softer way, and some of that tension — and that darker, more toxic side of their relationship — gets lost.
So, for me, the problem wasn't simply that “the series wasn't faithful to the book.” An adaptation can change many things and still work. What happened here is that the changes ended up affecting exactly what I liked about the novel and what initially caught my attention in the pilot.
Even so, I wanted to give it a chance and not judge it only because of the trailers or my expectations as a reader. And I can admit that there are things I genuinely enjoyed. The chemistry between the leads is undeniable, and the soundtrack is beautiful. There are also moments where you can really see how much potential the story had.
However, the story as a whole didn't convince me. I felt that there were many plot holes, unnecessary scenes, and quite a lot of filler, and that some of the adaptation choices didn't really contribute much to the development of the characters or the plot. At times, I felt like they were taking elements from the novel without managing to convey why those elements worked in the first place.
I think that was my biggest disappointment: the potential it had. The pilot made me expect a darker and more mysterious story, while the novel made me expect much more intense, complex, and toxic characters and dynamics. But the adaptation ultimately took them in a direction that personally didn't work for me.
The last episode was okay, but it didn't really change my overall impression.
Overall, Don’t Be Too Emotional has great chemistry, a beautiful soundtrack, and a premise with so much potential. But for me, the adaptation lost part of the novel's essence, softened Patrick's personality too much, and failed to maintain what had initially made me fall in love with the pilot trailer.