Cuteness and wholesome overload

I am deeply in love with this drama. It's so simple, yet aesthetic. So classy, yet cute. The perfect fluff execution.

First off, the lead cast is amazing. Both are super attractive. The female lead has this adorable eye smile that I can't get over and the male lead's facial expressions have this natural yet killer charm to it. These two alone satisfied the visuals for the whole series for me, but they didn't stop there. The show is centered around these two - and while I can see why some consider the pacing slow, it never felt slow and it's not a bother to watch versus in other shows. The "slow" build-up is sorta the point. Every scene adds a new layer of chemistry between our leads and it's this type of natural and genuine chemistry that the show tries to sell. When they finally do get together, the chemistry really does feel real and sweet. And it's this fluffy feeling I get the show absolutely nails.

The supporting cast is also super likable, they all have their own quirks yet when they clash, there is chemistry between them as friends. I especially like the ML's best friend who is always there for everyone and is very wholesome to watch. The second lead also had a very mature performance. It's pretty obvious early on that he had no chance but his role was still very important to provoke the ML and added some depth to unrequited love as a long-term friend with the FL.

A criticism I saw from another reviewer mentioned that there are no side plots, and to that, I will say "You are not paying attention". If you are native Chinese, you would know that the title of the drama also happens to be the title of the show that FL eventually directs. This is significant because even though the show arc only recovered a quarter of the series, the founding idea of it is the exact motif for the show. The selling point is that a friendship that has chemistry is also very attractive and I personally think this is reflected exactly in the show. In Chinese, we call this 默契.

Lastly, the music selection is perfect for this drama. Everything from the documentary style cut in the opening to the various songs the drama plays, the feeling is so appropriately matched! As a bonus, the opening later on reflects back to a scene where the cast in the show the FL directs asked the cast to film their own special memory in a vlog - this is just so beautifully connected.

So in summary, while the story is nothing ground-breaking here, the execution was perfect in my eyes and it truly brought me so much joy, hopes and happiness watching it.

Overall, if you prefer quality over quantity in a drama, this is you. If you like romantic genres with lots of wholesome, cuteness, and fluff, this is for you. if you like positive and uplifting messages and motifs in a drama, this is for you.

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Just watch it. It's good

This was my first time watching a BL and I thought it was THE PERFECT romantic drama.

The story was fantastic, simple and straight to the point. There wasn't much focus aside from the two leads and it's honestly a breath of fresh air and made it hard not to binge the whole 8 episodes.

The characters, SangWoo and JaeYoung, are both written brilliantly. They have surprisingly contrasting personalities and lifestyles, yet their chemistry was engaging, underlying and totally effective. The whole time, you just wanted to root for them and watching their relationship slowly develop organically was never once for a second boring for me.

The production was also clever and witty. If you are a student or working in tech, there are some dumb programming jokes because of SangWoo's character. It doesn't take itself too seriously but you still get a good sense of authenticity between the two leads.

Just magical. I loved the chemistry between these two.

Side note: both of the leads are also idols from DKZ and KNK. If you haven't heard of them, it just goes to show how much talent is unseen just because groups don't come from reputable labels. I encourage you to give people a try if you're into KPOP hehe :)

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Entertaining show about teamwork

I came into the show originally for TO1 and was disappointed when I found out that another group (EPEX) was involved. However, after the first episode, I was quickly convinced by the show's good intentions. Combining two rookie groups is actually a really good idea - it was really entertaining to watch how they mesh together and have all of their belongings, the food they cooked and videos they filmed "synchronized". Because there were 18 members combined, it was hard to learn a lot from each member, but this show is still entertaining regardless! I hope that through the memory created from the show, the two groups will make a lasting relationship with each other in the industry.

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Summary of the Show:
This show is divided into 3 days

- Day 1 (Ep. 1-3) focuses on introduction. Each group shares a house by themselves and the activities between them are indirect (swapping luggage, lunch, dinner, etc.)
- On day 2 (Ep. 4-5), they split everyone into 3 separate teams, mixing up both TO1 and EPEX members together. They were also given separate houses and will proceed to compete in a series of challenges and races. Day 2 challenges will take place within the housing location
- Day 3 (Ep. 6) is filmed somewhere outdoors in a field. The day offers a variety of physical challenges and a performance from each team. Lastly, the series ends off with a dinner meeting, featuring the winning team having a fancy 5-course meal

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Rewatch Episode Summary:
Ep. 1) Luggage synchronization, member profiles pt.1
Ep. 2) Member profiles pt. 2, team leaders, one-ingredient telepathy, lunch synchronization
Ep. 3) 100-second meeting, word dive mission & dinner synchronization, baby photos, lullaby
Ep. 4) Silent breakfast mission, team split, house floor challenges
Ep. 5) Kpop riddle battle, final day performance preparation
Ep. 6) Final day performances, sports battles (3-way tug-of-war, balloon volleyball, linked feet race, giant baton delay), final dinner

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Get to know TOO/TO1 with a zombie theme

Really fun to watch and does its job of introducing all the members of TOO (now TO1). The zombie theme was a genius addition and implemented very creatively - whoever designed these games should be given a raise!

Rewatch Episode Summary:
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Ep. 1) Seeking the first clue inside the dorm - J.You and Donggeon taken away
Ep. 2) Escape Zombie Game - blow and pop a balloon while avoiding zombies
Ep. 3) Bungee Jumping - 3 members must jump to retrieve the cure
Ep. 4) Dinner Ingredient Game - by teams of two, each member picks 1 ingredient
Ep. 5) Horror Scenario Riddle - results determine who sleeps outside
Ep. 6) Human vs. Zombie pt. 1 - song guessing & hidden flag game
Ep. 7) Human vs. Zombie pt. 2 - paintball match & precision games
Ep. 8) Haunted House Mission pt. 1 - completing individual/group challenges to retrieve the cure
Ep. 9) Haunted House Mission pt. 2 - sharing individual messages

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Choi Yoon Jin's captivating performance

THINGS I LIKE
(+) Great action scenes
(+) Amazing acting performance by Song Yoon Ah
(+) Tense political action
(+) Deceptive storytelling
(+) Choi Yoon Jin

THING I DIDN'T LIKE
(-) Romance between leads felt unnecessary
(-) Final arc got a bit ridiculous
(-) Anna is underdeveloped

REVIEW
I was surprised to see many have highlighted disappointment towards the show. This is an action series starring Ji Chang Wook so if you enjoy fight scenes and political battles, the K2 is going to be enjoyable nonetheless. There are tons of intense moments and the fight scenes all take place in different settings. I also thoroughly enjoyed the deceptive elements of the political tension that surrounds the plot. However, the biggest treasure box from this series was CHOI YOON JIN, with her Oscar-award winning performance. Seriously, she is the best villain/anti-hero I have ever seen. Her character is just so power-hungry and spiteful, yet at the same time, charismatic and vulnerable. I started this show for Ji Chang Wook and Im Yoon Ah, but was won over by Song Yoon Ah's amazing character towards the end. I literally became a fan overnight and will definitely be checking more of her in the future. Her character is also the most important character in the show as well. Onto the negatives, yes, the final arc does get a bit ridiculous but I personally can overlook that because the plot was still enjoyable. The only thing that I didn't care much for was Anna. Unsure if it was the acting or writing, but her character just felt flat throughout the entire series. She was supposed to be an important character but she's the only one that never got any development. She's constantly running around or being naive and manipulated by others and was a huge nuisance to all the other characters. Her romance with the lead also didn't feel needed to be in the show and just felt forced.

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An Ice Rink Worth Sliding

Overall, this drama is surprisingly good. The synopsis is kind of on the basic side but the story telling and the morals told from this really outweighed my initial judgement. Acting was for the most part very natural with the exception of a few scenes that felt odd but for a good intention of adding comic relief. Speaking of comedy, this drama has one of the most diverse cast of funny yet likable side characters I have seen from a drama for a long time. To top off 'icing' on the cake, the songs in this one were also worth a mention although they aren't on the highest tier.

Specifically, the music and background sound design was a bit plain but provide a very real atmosphere and tone to the scenes, which this drama tries to do. Throughout the story, it tries in many directions to motivate and captivate the audience with relating the common day-to-day struggles we endure. Our careers, our passions in life, the depression some of us face, our loved ones, our friendships, the importance of family, are just some of the motifs this drama offers to bring to life. Throughout the time of every person's life, they will face highs and lows and this drama depicts that picture perfectly. At one point, I actually was on the borderline of crying and that is rare among dramas in this age.

In summary, I would describe this drama as a drop of fresh dew from the 'icy' early morning - it's full of positive life messages as well as subtly emotional scenes very relatable to many problems we face in the current age. The ice theme also fits excellently whilst adding an unique touch.

-Spoiler Alert-
This is my personal list of rewatch value for anyone interested:
1) EP 17 – Shaohua Festival. Features Huanhuan crying happy tears after acknowledging Liao’s romantic gestures, the nerdy roommate online chat containing some interesting and inspiring bits and Yui Wei’s cute interaction with the Shi Jia in peppa pig mascot
2) EP 23 – Li Yubing’s parent misunderstanding of his sexuality and first kiss scene. Additionally, some may find the ice skating team field trip bit to be enjoyable
3) EP 24 – Weiwei saving Li Yubing and Tang xue’s secret meetup and Tang xue’s roomate ‘punishment’ for hiding the relationship from them
4) EP 27 – Tang Xue father’s confrontation (quite sad and relatable), and Bian cheng’s defeat and exposure was quite satisfying
5) EP 30 – One of my favourite episodes. Weiwei and Zhou Ran’s character development and Li Yubing's attemp to help out his friends by consulting manager Ma
6) EP 35 – YuYan’s full recovery and his reveal to YuBing to help him get together with Tang Xue
7) EP 40 – Bian chang’s character development and all side character couple scenes. Overall story resolution

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I was surprised to find a lot of the top reviews highlighting so much negatives. Yes, this drama has comedy, action, romance, and crime - a lot to different dynamics to it, but I personally find that these actually elevated the drama considering its main premise and made it much more entertaining to watch.

20 min into the first episode, it's already very clear that the show doesn't take itself very seriously. There are scenes later on that explores a more serious tone but I won't call it "dark" which a lot of the other reviewers complained. In fact, I find that it adds more depth and complexity to Bong Song's character and abilities. The male lead also did very well in this drama - his character really draws you in and paired very well in contrast to the female lead. Music is done really well and it lets the audience know when the story wants to show a funny or a serious moment.

The only complaint I have is that it does slow down a bit in certain parts and the crime component in the end feels a bit forced, but nothing ground-breaking here that would make me stop the series. I suppose for some people, the main premise could be a bit too ridiculous for them to handle, but honestly, just watch this with an open mind and you'll be quick to get sucked into it! I think it's that good! VERY ENTERTAINING!

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Let's start with the good -- the cast. Everyone in this drama is just drop-dead gorgeous, even the bad guys or side characters are well above the average attractiveness, which makes it very pleasing to the eye to watch.

Secondly, the soundtracks are pretty on-point. The opening especially, has a very iconic sound - it fits well with the drama's concept and I actually ended up adding it to my playlist.

Lastly, the concept - romance and video games isn't exactly the classic pairing but this drama made it work - and it was actually very refreshing and adapts very well with the modern era. This drama is very sweet and endearing - very good at showing the innocent sides of a perfect romance story. Unfortunately, that's also where the problem lies -- it's TOO PERFECT.

For pretty much the entirety of the plot, there is almost no real conflict. Boy and girl falls in love and then you get 20+ episodes of nothing but romance. There are some characters who tries to get in the way but it felt like they were merely pebbles in a large plot of land. The character that Yang Yang (male lead) plays is unrealistically too perfect. But despise this major flaw, it somehow was entertaining enough for me to finish it.

If you enjoy light, white vanilla romance, this drama is for you. Plus, pretty sure 90% of you came with Yang Yang anyways.

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This series has a good concept going for it but the plot and story telling is very weak. Each episode is independent to itself which means we don't actually have a main character or protagonist to follow. The premise is also not explained really well, seems like the idea was created for the sole purpose to luring people to watch this but everything around the story is pretty half-assed.

Not only that, every episode is similar to each other. It almost felt like the show was trying to hypnotize my brain. I only finished this because I really wanted it to be good.

Don't recommend. If you must watch it, stop after the first episode.

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