4
16
Heracin
Strongly disliked one of the storylines, stayed for the indie vibe and artistry
This short BL drama (5 episodes of about 14 minutes as well as a prequel of similar length labelled separately as "episode 0") is centred around the relationships of two couples and narrated through the eyes of a third one. My appreciation of the series is quite unbalanced as I appreciated only one of the two storylines.
In terms of story, I was indeed quite disappointed by some elements. Given the shortness of the episodes, it is a given that the plot need to move quite fast, especially because the show is about two couples (who almost never interact with each other), but still the pacing felt a bit draggy at times.
Moreover, if I quite appreciated the story of Hayden x Damian, I must admit that I strongly disliked the other storyline around Kelvin x Arche. It involved a crazy / evil woman antagonist, which is kind of a classical trope that I unfortunately particularly did not find entertaining here. It tempered a lot my enjoyment of the show, it could have been interesting but felt messy and difficult to root for them given the context. I honestly wish the drama would have focalised only on one couple (for me Hayden and Damian) in order to better characterize the protagonists and to go deeper in terms of scenario.
Acting-wise, the actors did an honourable job. There was no obvious weak link and the chemistry was good while not memorable.
I really enjoyed the indie vibe and the artistry of the series. It is clearly a slow and atmospheric drama with a more subdue vibe. And there are truly beautifully filmed scenes that are striking. It felt like the filmmakers were able to do a lot in terms of scenography and lighting, with little budget. I also liked the music overall.
I would not necessarily recommend this to people as I only enjoyed one of the two storylines. It is really short so you might want still to give it a go, at least for the artistic vision. It seems that the production team has decided to work on redoing this story in another format (with more & longer episodes)...Not sure if I will watch it unless they drastically improve the content of the storylines in the upgraded version.
In terms of story, I was indeed quite disappointed by some elements. Given the shortness of the episodes, it is a given that the plot need to move quite fast, especially because the show is about two couples (who almost never interact with each other), but still the pacing felt a bit draggy at times.
Moreover, if I quite appreciated the story of Hayden x Damian, I must admit that I strongly disliked the other storyline around Kelvin x Arche. It involved a crazy / evil woman antagonist, which is kind of a classical trope that I unfortunately particularly did not find entertaining here. It tempered a lot my enjoyment of the show, it could have been interesting but felt messy and difficult to root for them given the context. I honestly wish the drama would have focalised only on one couple (for me Hayden and Damian) in order to better characterize the protagonists and to go deeper in terms of scenario.
Acting-wise, the actors did an honourable job. There was no obvious weak link and the chemistry was good while not memorable.
I really enjoyed the indie vibe and the artistry of the series. It is clearly a slow and atmospheric drama with a more subdue vibe. And there are truly beautifully filmed scenes that are striking. It felt like the filmmakers were able to do a lot in terms of scenography and lighting, with little budget. I also liked the music overall.
I would not necessarily recommend this to people as I only enjoyed one of the two storylines. It is really short so you might want still to give it a go, at least for the artistic vision. It seems that the production team has decided to work on redoing this story in another format (with more & longer episodes)...Not sure if I will watch it unless they drastically improve the content of the storylines in the upgraded version.
Was this review helpful to you?
