Feardorcha

I know it's essential to the story. I attempted to endure but I simply cannot.

I am not new to K-dramas. I have FFW through several dozen trite, banal, uninteresting, or otherwise unnecessary romance subplots in otherwise good series. I have awarded extra stars to stellar series that forego the nonsense completely.

Unfortunately, due to the vital nature of the romance element in this particular series, the only solution was to drop the series. And I have lost nothing for doing so, as the presence of that element outright ruined my enjoyment of the series.

Call it whatever you please, I did not care for it and it ruined for me an otherwise engaging viewing experience.

No, thank you.

Well, that was brisk. Rather a Cliff Notes or film essay summarizing every story ever told about the cruel banality of addiction, from dealers to users to the helpless ones who love them. It's sad but abstractly so, like moody photos of raindrops on glass. But then that's one of the great tragedies of being, knowing, or loving anyone in that world: the relentless monotony of it all. Every story is uniquely personal but entirely unremarkable. Dealers continue to deal or don't, addicts die or don't, friends return or don't, love saves or it doesn't. The numbness becomes the point.

Anyway, I think it's worth at least one watch. There is the occasional inspired bit of cinematography, the lighting designer had a good time, and the soundtrack does a more than serviceable job. And speaking of serviceable—

There are about ten seconds of unsimulated group sex with full-on broad shots of greased erections and anal penetration. It actually feels out of place not because it is explicit but because it's so jarringly out of step with the overall tone of the film. It is meant to be p*rnographic. The lighting is noticeably brighter, the lens harsher, the grunting and moaning staccato, and, oh yes, it begins with a giant BBHIFUN title card. It's clear what's being communicated and it's the only scene where sex is treated with such utilitarian voyeurism but the raw starkness of the scene feels less narrative support and more narrative interruption. It is an intentionally "ugly" scene but not ugly enough for a film that has obviously taken such pains with its depictions of the ecstasy laced through hideousness and grime. It just throws the whole thing off-balance, especially with the orgiastic poem that bookends this downward spiral. The scene is too blatant to be metaphor and too commercial to be cinematic, so it just...exists. Like an unskippable ad.

Ultimately had to drop this one. While there were many parts about the series that I enjoyed, the romance elements were just bloody tedious and I couldn't stand the idea of enduring six more episodes of it. I know having romance in K-dramas is a must for many but I find it just really drags down otherwise good series, especially when it can't be skipped due to plot relevance. It is extra annoying in action-crime dramas like this one.

Literally the romance is the ONLY reason I'm dropping this series. Otherwise, I absolutely recommend giving it a watch, if for no other reason than to watch WHJ at work. I have loved every single performance he's ever given and this is no exception; the man is talented.

Sigh. What a tiresome conclusion. Well, hopefully Phee was right; I cannot stomach the thought of a world where Jin gets to survive and be happy. By the end, I despised him most of all.

I was annoyed with Phee by the end too but only because he kept spouting nonsense about what Non would or wouldn't want. Non was not Non by the end; the Non that Phee loved was already dead. Hell, the last time that group of assholes saw Non he'd just knifed one of them and was gearing up to murder the lot. If he hadn't passed out before Jin could confess, I sincerely believe the tenuous hold Non had at that moment would've broken and people would have died. So shut up, Phee; you were nowhere to be found when Non finally fell over that ledge, don't presume to speak on his heart.

And was the insinuation that White slept with Por or someone(s) at some point and caught an STI? What was that vision all about? I rewatched it three times and it just feels like a sloppy tack-on so he doesn't seem too innocent but, sullied or not, the poor kid was still collateral damage. He didn't know anything about any of it and didn't even want to be there in the first place. But I suppose when you're looking to trap people in their own personal hell, the ethics behind the mechanisms aren't bothering you.

Also, Barcode must've been having the time of his life filming that last episode's scenes.

This was a fun watch.

Oh finally, we glimpse a conflict. Apparently it's only a minor setback but anything to break up the fluffy, lovey-dovey monotony of these last few episodes, and most of this episode. Thank goodness for the FFW button.

The shine has most definitely gone off this one. The plot simply cannot bear the weight of its concept. I wasn't expecting anything dazzling in that department, not from a BL, but at this point I suspect the whole artificial intelligence thing was more of a sales gimmick than an actual, earnest story element. It doesn't actually matter in any significant way that he's not Human; yes, he can briefly malfunction or permanently shut down, but so can Humans, and that might be an intentional parallel except this series is neither smart enough nor invested enough to elevate the metaphor.

I had begun considering the underlying question was, at what point is a machine so advanced it is indistinguishable from its maker, both in form and function, but the series keeps skirting any serious evaluation of Ever9's existence. The nature of the soul, the bifurcation of assignment and agency, the truth and value of love when materiality is programmable and measureable—all of these are ripe for exploration and conflict but the best this series seems able to do is a limp-wristed "You can fuck the robot but maybe don't get too attached". It's a shame.

I'll hang around to see how things ultimately shake out with the Uncle (I remain confused by his level of actual authority, and what he can and cannot do at a company he either does or doesn't own/command) but I sense my final rating on this will be low.

I appreciate the aspiration but the effort simply hasn't risen to it.

I also prefer the JBL version.

I also liked the series well enough and think it was worth a watch but, unlike the JBL, I won't be watching it again. I had high expectations for this Thai version of the story but it didn't really deliver.

Ham-fistedly predictable, excessively sentimental, and exhaustingly patriotic, "The Moon" is precisely the type of banal movie that Hollywood churned out every other production during its space-related disasters era of the late-90s/early-aughts. "The Moon" is well-acted (excepting every single non-Korean in the cast and especially the lot with speaking roles), fast and fun, and a decent way to pass a couple hours. It's not particularly good but neither is it unspeakably awful; it has its moments and it's entertaining enough. It's basically Korean "Armageddon" (1998), but slightly better, and just as with that movie, I might rewatch this one on a day I have nothing better to do.

I tried, truly I did. I gave this series every possible benefit of the doubt and all of my indulgence. Episode eight was hands-down the most annoying, frustrating, idiotic, laughable thing I've sat through since...well, I was going to say the second season of "Minato Shouji Coin Laundry" but no, that series is still the worst. But this one is definitely giving it a run for its money.

Dropped.

Sort of cute but generally flat and ultimately forgettable. Just overall meh.

I had absolutely no expectations that JiAhn behave like a seasoned mercenary; in fact, I would never have bought such nonsense if the story tried to sell it. What I did expect, however, is that JiAhn as a young adult would be at least as clever and brave as teen JiAhn, making up for what she lacked in combat prowess with tactical intelligence. I also expected that her Uncle, whom we are constantly told is a legend of strategic brilliance, would be practical enough to prepare her for this showdown, at least to the point where abject ignorance was not her Achilles' heel.

There is no reason whatsoever that JiAhn should be dealing with a new reality while avoiding eating a bullet; the only reason JiAhn doesn't understand anything about what's happening to her or know any of the players involved is because the script says so, not because it makes sense to the story or relates to character traits, trajectories, or motivations. It also doesn't help that the series fails at its basic premise: her Uncle doesn't actually "train" her for anything. After years of living under his care, she can't even throw a proper punch before she begins fight lessons out of spite.

Do I expect JiAhn to effortlessly kill grizzled assassins two to three times her size and with a couple more decades of experience? No (though kudos to MinHye, who did precisely that). Do I expect her to have wits enough to open that computer file? Yes! Every time JiAhn fails to make a smart choice because her Uncle failed to explain things is one more piece of evidence that the screenwriter was so enamoured with a specific plot progression that they forgot to tell a logical story.

Perhaps you should take your advice and pay closer attention. If you did, you might glean just how fundamentally idiotic the show is, and how it squanders its two main characters. JiAhn and JinMan are individually fascinating and the relationship between them is compelling; unfortunately, the plot undermines the story.

I don't hate the FL; I hate what the idiotic script reduced her to in service of a concept rather than a story.

The very concept of a sentient android is enough to keep me watching every week. I like the gestures the series makes toward the question of whether robotic cognition is equivalent in practice or value to Human self-awareness, or what we might call the 'soul', but I hope those allusions become somewhat more explicit in this second half.

It's a BL, so I'm not expecting a serious or deftly layered sociocultural or legal exploration (though wouldn't it be fun to see a Taiwanese drama mull over whether a machine is a man and, if so, man enough to be afforded rights such as marriage) but I'd be happy to see that dog symbolism either evolved or jettisoned completely. I understand the emotional parallels the story is drawing but the more we see of and understand Ever 9's functionality, the more ludicrous and laughable the juxtaposition. It can be downright uncomfortable when it follows the mains having a moment that suggests intense physical or outright sexual intimacy. I am 99% certain Yi Ping did not try or want to fuck his dog, and it's clear Yi Ping does not view Ever 9 as a pet, a possession, or a product. It'd be nice to see the dog imagery pegged more closely to his emotional and mental trajectory.

I am here to watch a BL. Not an office drama, not a navel-gazing rumination on work-life balance, not the tale of a man's (re)awakening. Good BLs can offer all that without losing focus on the romance; great BLs can blend story and romance seamlessly. This series, however, apparently cannot juggle more than one plot point at a time.

As a short character study, "Perfect Propose" has some merit. It simply fails as a BL.

This series is just making me yearn even more for a second season of "Old Fashion Cupcake". That story managed to balance the office, aging, low self-esteem, uncertainty, and romance quite well.

"Perfect Propose" is a decent slice-of-life about reclaiming your agency and refusing to drop dead at your desk but it's really lacking in the BL department. Shame, as the start was so promising. I don't dislike the series, it's just not what I signed-on for when I started watching a show purportedly about two men falling in love.

I mean, after that emotional wringer, you pretty much have to kill the man. What shenanigans are you trying to pull now, show?

Me too. The romance elements are just such a drag, I keep walking away from the series. If the show was just about the relationship between the MLs, I would've watched it in one sitting. If it weren't for Wi HaJoon, I might've dropped it already.

I was originally excited for this Thai version because I expected it to be less anemic in the passion department. The one thing Thai BLs do fairly consistently is acknowledge libidos exist and allow men to demonstrate physicality as a matter of course, rather than a one-off moment. Admittedly, it's a difficult line to walk in a story like "Cherry Magic", where the act of touching is the point, but somehow the Thai version feels even more devoid of passion than the Japanese version. And it weirdly became even less engaging once the leads got together and Karan learned about the mindreading. At one point I actually heard myself saying, "Please stop touching him".

There are elements I like about the Thai version, including seeing more of how Karan expressed his devotion while his feelings were still secret, but overall, it just falls flat for me. I haven't quite put my finger on why I find this series so dull.

I am also annoyed no end by the Pai/Rock subplot. One thing I truly appreciated about the Japaness version was the conventionally attractive female character wasn't paired with anyone, was intentionally and unapologetically single, and it wasn't treated like a personal or moral failing that needed to be "fixed". Ah well, it's still good to see Jan; I just adore her so.

Ok, show, sure, if you say so.