Eleison

Noh Tae Man was a tricky character because he changed so much from the first few episodes to the last. I had mixed feelings about him becoming a "good guy" considering some of the things he did in the past (while we discover he didn't participate in raping Se Na, he did participate in filming it, which is still very vicious, heartless and cruel). I also didn't really know WHY he changed. I thought that was the weakest plot point. While Doh Bae Man's arc and why he changed was clear and well done, I didn't really understand what made Noh Tae Nam suddenly become compassionate, thoughtful, morally conscious and selfless. Yes, his fellow soldier who was bullied horribly but sweet to Tae Nam seemed to have a powerful effect on making him more human, but even with that, I thought the switch was just too drastic for so few reasons/rationale provided.

This was much better than I thought it would be. It had great character arcs and development, a strong FL, and good pacing. I haven't seen this ML as the lead before this (though he did great in Itaewon Class), and I loved seeing him in a different role which suited him very well. He was convincing as someone in the military. I really enjoyed it and would highly recommend it if you like thriller/action dramas as well as law dramas.

Doh Bae Man was a first class jerk for much longer than I would have liked, but I pressed forward, and Episode 10 was the pivotal development in his arc I needed to make this an official favorite.

My only gripe (below):

Sometimes super confident, new fashion looks strange amongst the average person fashion. I think the idea they're trying to convey is that she's quirky and willing to be a trendsetter. Someone who's a true fashionista won't look like everyone else. If they did, that means they're just following trends, not making them. Just a thought! I see what you mean, though, her fashion style is not my favorite.

I didn't notice that. But maybe! 🤷‍♀️

How far did you get? Episode 1 almost scared me off but I kept watching just to see. The ML takes quite a while to improve, but after a few episodes I already liked the FL.

1. Kim Ri An
2. Kang Ha, I'd say, but he's not a person I 100% rooted for, especially as it went on and he did very little
3. The content is rich teen drama and scandal (who's dating who, pregnancy, etc.), school corruption and bullying.

Well, I was mostly guessing about Korean schools, but I was speaking more about schools in general. Bullying someone does not equal beating them to a pulp in a classroom without adult intervention. Obviously both are bad, but not on the same level. Again, I haven't seen these Korean documentaries you're talking about, but I work at a school. This stuff is not normal or realistic at good/decent schools.

I really like the ML in Splash Splash Love (he was adorable and acted really well)! I tried to find other dramas with him, but nothing else he's been in is rated well. Is this truly deserving of a 7.5? I rarely try dramas with this low of a rating (I did Doctor Stranger, Heirs, and BOFs, and I totally get why they're rated low 😅). Thoughts?

I can do overall "bad" dramas that have parts interspersed amongst the bad that I really like (BOFs is like that for me). Is this that kind of drama?

This screenwriter seems to excel at taking average webtoons and transforming them into Kdrama hits (she did both True Beauty and Lovely Runner!).

Oh, there are good characters in Penthouse? I thought it was a makjang with everyone being messed up. Maybe I'm confusing it with Sky Castle.

It's kind of an underdeveloped, cutesy, cheesy rom-com. It's not top shelf, but it is sweet. Because I don't expect much there are some things that surprised me in a good way. :) But as you've noticed, a lot of suspension of disbelief is necessary for watching.

Yeez most Kdramas only work because no one communicates, it just seems like a kiss, no TWO, warrants some debriefing or, as they said at my college, a good DTR (define the relationship). 😅

And yes, I'm curious what will happen with the 2ML who is clearly a villain. Poor guy, he was a villain in Rebel: Thief Who Stole the People, too. 😭

BOFs is somehow cozy and endearing while being problematic (I know these things shouldn't fit together but they do). I've seen the Kdrama and like 3/4s of the Jdrama and the Thai drama. The Kdrama was my introduction and I have a special place in my heart for it despite its flaws (the OST is still one of my favorites, and honestly it's still my favorite Lee Min Ho drama), and the Jdrama has a really nice end to the first part (there's two parts, each about 10 episodes), but I think the Thai version, while low budget despite how recent and "updated" it feels, is the best version I've seen so far. It keeps all the things I loved about the Kdrama (and even improved on some of them; the ending, for one, is very good in the Thai version) and then improves on all the negatives while moving at a faster pace and keeping the story moving without all the filler (16 episodes, as opposed to the Kdrama (25 episodes), the Jdrama (20 episodes, I think), and the Cdrama (which I think is something like 40 episodes?)). It also does a better job showing the redemption arc of the ML, and showing F4 as an actual group of friends. It's still dark (more language), dramatic, over-the-top and a bit disturbing, but quite good. Much better written with good pacing than the other BOFs dramas in my opinion.

True Beauty, too. Came out even more recently than CLOY.

And we learned a fun spoiler about the old guy in Episode 10! It will help add content for later episodes, I think.

They literally showed him making a fake item to replace a real one with in Episode 10. So yes, it's him.

Same! She didn't seem nearly as giddy as I was expecting (and no, she didn't say she liked him). When they kissed for the second time without talking about it (before or after!), I said to my screen, "Communicate! This seems like a good time to communicate!" 😂

Is she gonna get mad at him for ditching her at the party rather than taking her to the hospital? 🤔

Right? I thought that was so random!

I thought the opposite. I agree it's well-acted, and I loved the guys that played the main trio, but this sort of violent bullying with people getting beaten to a pulp at school with no adults anywhere and then it all just getting covered up? Not sure how that's realistic. A typical school is not like this. And if a school IS like this, it's a very, VERY bad school.

I kept waiting for the bullies to get back at Kang Ha for "stepping out of line" (you know, BOFs, style), but they never really did (Ri An just walked around looking angry and moping). Even the bullying wasn't convincing (which is the whole premise!). Why did they get so intense with In Han but not Ha? 🤔

The FL is a great actress in other things, so I don't know what happened here. She didn't look well to me.