CurlyFries

I just rewatched this sequel, and was reminded that it just doesn't fit as hard as season 1. Listen, I loved a lot of the ideas that this season's plot was built on; they're all absolutely bonkers, and I love it. The main issue, however, is that super sonic pacing that this story is being told at. Why are we going so fast through the major plot points???? I've never read the webtoon this is based off of, but I imagine the show skips a lot and speeds through all the rest it decided to include. But, I digress. There is still a lot of other aspects of this show that impacted my score.

I was really hyped to see this season based on the premise that Si-eun is transferred to a punk school after reeling with the derailment of his life in season 1. But, I didn't really like how Si-eun was written in this season; he almost feels like a supporting cast despite being the protagonist. His studies don't really play any part in the story unlike season 1, and he feels more like he's the vehicle for the audience to meet the "real" protagonist: Baku. I still love Si-eun though, and a big part of that is still the fact the Park Ji-hoon is fantastic at playing him, and drop-dead gorgeous. I just wish he was given more impactful scenes like in season 1. The best scenes from him felt like whenever he would be focusing/remembering Beom-seok or Su-ho. Those scenes really made him feel like he was reeling from the effects of season 1 and made it actually feel like it's understandable why he had a hard time socializing even more so in this season.

The story really just felt like a story of kids beating a junior league gang for like no apparent reason other than "villain bad because Baku said so." I think if there was more of an emphasis on attaching meaning to what was happening, I'd have been totally on board with the writing. But, it lost me at times. One time in particular is how at the end it seems to be letting that mf Choi Hyo-man get a "redemption" by running for student president, but like, literally no one should vote him at all. He bullied literally everyone and nearly sold their school to a violent gang. Of, speaking of that gang, the real gang they were working with were so underdeveloped and made them seem like not at all impactful whatsoever. They honestly should have given this season like 4 more episodes or cut it into two seasons instead.

The mega-fast pacing also made the characterization of everyone feel underdeveloped. Baku was honestly felt like a caricature of a Shounen protagonist and not in the good way. I have nothing against his actor, but because of how underdeveloped his character was, his acting felt like he was doing too much for me to believe it at times. That being said, I found his more emotional scenes believable. Gotak was alright, but really did not feel like a main character. I mean, we literally got ONE scene of his backstory and NOTHING else. His actor did alright too, I just don't know too much about what his character was supposed to be about. Jun-tae......I'm not gonna lie, he was lowkey annoying. His stupid nerd otaku characterization, and scrawny damsel vibes annoyed me so bad. I also couldn't take him too seriously because all I saw when I looked at him was Dae from XO Kitty. He got done dirty in both shows. As for the friend group itself? It was lacking in chemistry at times. I only believed them as a friend group about 50% of the time. I'm sorry, I just couldn't understand why Si-eun became so attached to these guys as if they were the next Su-ho. Si-eun silencing Baku's dad was peak, though.

The antagonists were very underdeveloped just like everyone else. They all were just punchy and fueled by money or ego. There was no depth to like ANY of them. If I'm honest, I was just enjoying the eye candy of some of them since their writing was lackluster. Baek-jin, the one buff guy that was always paired with the bug-eyed dude, and Seung-jae were so hot. Baek-jin just felt like some guy that was salty about unreturned feelings from Baku or something. His actor was good, but I literally knew next to nothing about the character's motivations or backstory despite him being the main antagonist. Then the writers have the audacity to show an after-credits scene of the main squad crying over his mysterious death as if ANYone there should be crying other than Baku; why the fuck was Si-eun on the verge of tears?! That is so out-of-character for him. On the other hand, a supporting villain far more interesting was Geum Seung-jae. Listen, I know that he has like no real depth given to him either, but at least he had a defined personality; a crazy bastard that was lowkey flirting with Si-eun (they kind of matched each other's crazy). His actor played him so well that although I've never seen him anything before Weak Hero, I'm now interested in his other projects. This man was serving scrumptious looks and personality like it was his only mission (it probably was). I love crazy and flirty villains. I loved his rough hair and I love a rough villain with glasses; I was dying when he took off his glasses and gave them to his lackey so he could beat Si-eun's ass only for Si-eun to uno reverse it and use it as a weapon. I'm ashamed to admit it, but I've watched Seung-jae x Si-eun edits and they are highkey so good because who doesn't enjoy the occasional crack ship?

The fight scenes had less aura this season that the last one. So few actually felt like they were necessary and it felt like they were trying to meet a quota. The only one I was really in love with was the rooftop duel between Si-eun and Seung-jae since I they were both my favorite characters this season and it felt like the writers actually incorporated their personalities into their fighting style. I liked that it ended in a tie, too. The final fight scene? Inferior. It felt a little over the top and if I'm honest, the characters I liked the most were barely involved in it so I cared less as a result. I liked seeing Si-eun keep getting back up to fight like the most resilient animal ever, but I feel like Baek-jin could have beaten him way earlier if he just stopped messing around and actually took Si-eun seriously, but I guess a part of the charm of Si-eun is that everyone underestimates the pretty nerd. The defeat of Baek-jin also felt kind of cheap since it really wasn't that fair since it was more of a collaboration between Baku and Si-eun.

The production was still solid, but I didn't like the color grading as much as season 1. Some of the lighting was a little too on the nose with melancholic blues and joyous yellows. Camera work was still good. Although this is a nitpick, I didn't really like most of the settings this season all that much; season 1's settings felt almost charming and complimented the story, but this season's just feel overdone. The music was about average to the point that I can't remember it that well.

In conclusion, I still want a season 3. I need to see more of my glorious king Yeon Si-eun, and the sexy Geum Seung-jae as the (potential) primary antagonist. I get if there won't be a next season since it *kind* of ended closed, but it didn't at the same time, so I still have hope. After seeing how rushed this season's plot was, I'm interested in reading the webtoon to see what the series-only watchers missed out on. I just know it'll be a crazy ride; like, Seung-jae in the webtoon has PURPLE hair. That's crazy. I want to read it. ／(=✪㉨✪=)＼ ᕕ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° )ᕗ