UGH, does anyone else think the background music is TOO LOUD in some scenes? Especially the cello music (and I love cello, so that's saying a lot). GOD it's freaking annoying.
But ok.....so.....episode 3.....
1) Sun is BEAUTIFUL, especially with the shorter haircut. He absolutely looks like a model, and that scene where Pakin was making him recall sad memories so he would have a certain facial expression for the photo shoot was just stunning. At least, to me. He was really beautiful.
2) Even if it's not a major part in Payback, it's SO GOOD to see Boss in a non-comedic role again. I feel like the last couple of series he's done have been flat and uninteresting, and not funny in the least. Just....bleh. NO MORE "comedies" for a while, please. (And I also have to say that, as much chemistry he had with Noeul in Love in the Air - and they had a LOT of chemistry in that series - IMO they have not really clicked lately. So I'm glad Boss is not paired with Noeul, here.)
3) Is Toptap an established actor? He only has Payback listed on his MDL acting page and nothing else. But he's interesting.
4) I hope Fuaiz's character is fleshed out a bit more. So far he just seems like a very shallow bitchy BITCH. In past series he's shown some great acting chops. But so far in Payback he's not layered and interesting the way he was in 4Minutes.
Definitely needed the official mental illness diagnosis, as all of the signs were there. Glad they included that explanation and plot point.
One thing - I'm hoping it's just a translation error, but I don't like the fact that in Ep 12, they used the word "cured" when it comes to Lu Feng's bipolar disorder. It's not "curable," but it is certainly treatable.
I'm glad, in the end, that Yichen finally chose Lu Feng and helped him get help.....then stuck around afterwards, too. Aside from the mental illness and bad choices on both their parts, they were, after all, a couple in love and determined to make things work. And you could see that Lu Feng truly regretted so many things he did to Yichen over the years. I think they'll be OK.
I like the way the final episode wrapped things up. It wasn't perfect, of course, but it was good.
Who was the person he was whispering about? Where can you see the preview clip at for 12?
He was sleep-talking and said his brother's name.
Lu Feng still worries that Yichen will leave him, and a lot of his fear is associated with Yichen's brother, who always tries to coax Yichen into leaving Lu Feng.
I'm halfway through Ep 21, and I have to say again what great casting they did for the twins, Nao and Dan. The resemblance is strong enough to really believe they are fraternal twins.
Even though Tiger has gotten closer to his brother, it's sad that he's slowly being pulled into the seedy underbelly of the mafia. He's not bothered by the violence and killing anymore.
And I may be wrong, but it feels like something pretty dark is building.
I'm glad Tiger got to experience the loving warmth of Nao's family, and how they just accepted him with open arms. If I'm right about something dark coming soon, Tiger will need to draw on the memory of that warmth to get through.
So, having just watched Ep 4......I'm wondering why Tae Jeong - the supposed "cop" - is so freaking wimpy. Holy CRAP he's a wimp. And he has NO characteristics of a law enforcement officer.
He's acting like he has ZERO situational awareness, ZERO sense of self-preservation, ZERO "spidey sense" that tickles his neck and tells him something isn't right.
He's just acting like a cute little bottom who flinches and cowers a lot, and who has to be taken care of by a top when he has flashbacks about his Dad.
For his fans, a five years' old video:https://youtu.be/KLuuJvm6y30?si=PlaZMRAP_JJMVCCc
Oh THAT was a cute interview. ❤️Thank you for sharing the link.
I loved him as the guy possessed by an evil demon in Uncanny Counter (but WTF? Was that REALLY five years ago?? Sheesh!!). He was deliciously dark in that role.
And I'm loving him in Kitchen Soldier. He's hilarious.
I enjoyed this series. JBLs are a completely different animal from Thai or even Korean ones. And definitely different from CBLs.
The Japanese ones (for the most part) seem to be based more on maturity, without a lot of drama. Some might find them boring, I'm sure.
But having MANY gay couples in my circle of dear friends, I find the more mature ones rather refreshing from time to time, and closer to my own observations of my friends' real life relationships.
This is giving me Memoir of Rati vibes. That is great acting/chemistry, good direction/production, but somehow…
Ticket to Heaven is incredibly well-acted and directed.
Fourth's acting alone is really deep and thought-provoking. Gemini is great, too, but Fourth is in another category.
IMO, this series is much better than Memoir of Rati.
While MoR was airing, it was apparent that Great and Inn were already growing distant as a BL couple. IMO, they just did not have their former chemistry, and that dragged the series down.
After MoR concluded, their pairing breakup announcement was no real surprise.
At the beginning of the Ep, the screen says it's 2025.
Then there's a flashback.
It's 1996, and both Tanrak and Barth are in the second semester of 12th grade. So they're about 17-18 years old.
Two problems:
1) In 2025 before the flashback, Father Arnon says "Hard to believe it's been almost 20 years." But by the math ...... 2025-1996 = 29 year difference in time
2) If we add 29 years to Tanrak and Barth's ages in 1996, they would be around 46-47 years old in 2025.
But in the opening scenes of Ep 1 (in 2025), Barth has no lines on his face, no gray hairs......nothing. He barely looks 28-30 years old, much less close to 50.
(Putting aside all of the rapes, sexual assaults (forced kissing, etc), physical abuse (choking, etc, psychological abuse (being kidnapped and held captive, watching Lu Feng bring home multiple men, Lu Feng telling him he's not worth anything and telling others who visit the house that Yichen's presence is not worth acknowledging.....)
1) Wasn't Lan Zhou breaking the law by having a gun?
How did they cover up the fact that she almost killed Yichen? (I know her intended target was Lu Feng.)
Even if the police were not notified right away, how did the hospital not report it after Yichen's surgery? It seems like she was not charged with a crime.
2) All those months that Yichen was unconscious in the hospital and Lu Feng was talking to him, never once did Lu Feng apologize for anything he'd done. He didn't show empathy and understanding for the decisions Yichen made. And he didn't really express any understanding for the consequences of his OWN decisions and actions. His one-sided conversations and crying jags were full of "Why me?" and "I want...." and "I need...." and "You can't leave me....." etc.
And his unspoken reaction when Yichen finally woke up was......"You're awake!! Now we're going to get back together, right? You won't leave me, right?" He didn't say those things out loud, but that was the vibe I got from him in that scene.
3) It bothers me that Yichen is NOT willing to leave and go somewhere else to start his life over, until his annoying brother asks him to. He's basically just trading one obsessive (and dangerous) man who controls him, for his younger brother who is ALSO obsessive and controlling. He allows himself to be manipulated by both.
4) Why did Yichen tell his brother he never saw Lu Feng again after he moved back to Xincheng? There's no way he would logically be able to conceal the truth, knowing how Lu Feng was still finding ways to see him, be close to him, try to convince him to get back together, etc. The younger brother was destined to see Lu Feng at some point and realize Yichen had lied to him.
5) How in the world does Lu Feng run a successful business when he spends HOURS each and every single day obsessing over and physically being in the same house / hospital room with Yichen? I read a medical report recently that talks about severe, chronic sleep deprivation and how it can cause psychosis in some people. I think besides Lu Feng's already obsessive personality, the lack of sleep just completely pushes him over the edge any time he thinks Yichen might leave him again.
6) It's so difficult to watch a series where the characters obviously love each other but NEVER try to clear up misunderstandings. Constantly concealing problems, lying, never explaining anything, never standing up for themselves, etc. It's exhausting.
7) Depending how the last episodes go, I might swear off heavy, toxic dramas for a while. Years ago I was in an abusive relationship. Most dramas I watch that show those kinds of relationships still allow me to suspend belief and see them as "fictional." But some are almost too much for me to watch. They actually trigger some of my PTSD. Double Helix is one of them. I am too invested to quit watching, but it's really making me angry and sad. I love the real-life actors, but in the series it hurts to see their characters hurt.
1
1
1
In the episodes you haven't seen yet, there's a lot of love, there's a lot of abuse and manipulation, and it gets DARK DARK DARK for a while.
But ok.....so.....episode 3.....
1) Sun is BEAUTIFUL, especially with the shorter haircut. He absolutely looks like a model, and that scene where Pakin was making him recall sad memories so he would have a certain facial expression for the photo shoot was just stunning. At least, to me. He was really beautiful.
2) Even if it's not a major part in Payback, it's SO GOOD to see Boss in a non-comedic role again. I feel like the last couple of series he's done have been flat and uninteresting, and not funny in the least. Just....bleh. NO MORE "comedies" for a while, please. (And I also have to say that, as much chemistry he had with Noeul in Love in the Air - and they had a LOT of chemistry in that series - IMO they have not really clicked lately. So I'm glad Boss is not paired with Noeul, here.)
3) Is Toptap an established actor? He only has Payback listed on his MDL acting page and nothing else. But he's interesting.
4) I hope Fuaiz's character is fleshed out a bit more. So far he just seems like a very shallow bitchy BITCH. In past series he's shown some great acting chops. But so far in Payback he's not layered and interesting the way he was in 4Minutes.
One thing - I'm hoping it's just a translation error, but I don't like the fact that in Ep 12, they used the word "cured" when it comes to Lu Feng's bipolar disorder. It's not "curable," but it is certainly treatable.
I'm glad, in the end, that Yichen finally chose Lu Feng and helped him get help.....then stuck around afterwards, too. Aside from the mental illness and bad choices on both their parts, they were, after all, a couple in love and determined to make things work. And you could see that Lu Feng truly regretted so many things he did to Yichen over the years. I think they'll be OK.
I like the way the final episode wrapped things up. It wasn't perfect, of course, but it was good.
Lu Feng still worries that Yichen will leave him, and a lot of his fear is associated with Yichen's brother, who always tries to coax Yichen into leaving Lu Feng.
Even though Tiger has gotten closer to his brother, it's sad that he's slowly being pulled into the seedy underbelly of the mafia. He's not bothered by the violence and killing anymore.
And I may be wrong, but it feels like something pretty dark is building.
I'm glad Tiger got to experience the loving warmth of Nao's family, and how they just accepted him with open arms. If I'm right about something dark coming soon, Tiger will need to draw on the memory of that warmth to get through.
He's acting like he has ZERO situational awareness, ZERO sense of self-preservation, ZERO "spidey sense" that tickles his neck and tells him something isn't right.
He's just acting like a cute little bottom who flinches and cowers a lot, and who has to be taken care of by a top when he has flashbacks about his Dad.
So bizarre.
Does anyone know who was cast in that role?
I loved him as the guy possessed by an evil demon in Uncanny Counter (but WTF? Was that REALLY five years ago?? Sheesh!!). He was deliciously dark in that role.
And I'm loving him in Kitchen Soldier. He's hilarious.
That one made me HOOT with laughter, LOLOL.
The Japanese ones (for the most part) seem to be based more on maturity, without a lot of drama. Some might find them boring, I'm sure.
But having MANY gay couples in my circle of dear friends, I find the more mature ones rather refreshing from time to time, and closer to my own observations of my friends' real life relationships.
Fourth's acting alone is really deep and thought-provoking. Gemini is great, too, but Fourth is in another category.
IMO, this series is much better than Memoir of Rati.
While MoR was airing, it was apparent that Great and Inn were already growing distant as a BL couple. IMO, they just did not have their former chemistry, and that dragged the series down.
After MoR concluded, their pairing breakup announcement was no real surprise.
At the beginning of the Ep, the screen says it's 2025.
Then there's a flashback.
It's 1996, and both Tanrak and Barth are in the second semester of 12th grade. So they're about 17-18 years old.
Two problems:
1) In 2025 before the flashback, Father Arnon says "Hard to believe it's been almost 20 years."
But by the math ...... 2025-1996 = 29 year difference in time
2) If we add 29 years to Tanrak and Barth's ages in 1996, they would be around 46-47 years old in 2025.
But in the opening scenes of Ep 1 (in 2025), Barth has no lines on his face, no gray hairs......nothing. He barely looks 28-30 years old, much less close to 50.
The bullying in Ep 1 involves a lot of violence and results in one suicide. So just be forewarned about that.
I have not watched the other episodes, yet.
(Putting aside all of the rapes, sexual assaults (forced kissing, etc), physical abuse (choking, etc, psychological abuse (being kidnapped and held captive, watching Lu Feng bring home multiple men, Lu Feng telling him he's not worth anything and telling others who visit the house that Yichen's presence is not worth acknowledging.....)
1) Wasn't Lan Zhou breaking the law by having a gun?
How did they cover up the fact that she almost killed Yichen? (I know her intended target was Lu Feng.)
Even if the police were not notified right away, how did the hospital not report it after Yichen's surgery? It seems like she was not charged with a crime.
2) All those months that Yichen was unconscious in the hospital and Lu Feng was talking to him, never once did Lu Feng apologize for anything he'd done. He didn't show empathy and understanding for the decisions Yichen made. And he didn't really express any understanding for the consequences of his OWN decisions and actions. His one-sided conversations and crying jags were full of "Why me?" and "I want...." and "I need...." and "You can't leave me....." etc.
And his unspoken reaction when Yichen finally woke up was......"You're awake!! Now we're going to get back together, right? You won't leave me, right?" He didn't say those things out loud, but that was the vibe I got from him in that scene.
3) It bothers me that Yichen is NOT willing to leave and go somewhere else to start his life over, until his annoying brother asks him to. He's basically just trading one obsessive (and dangerous) man who controls him, for his younger brother who is ALSO obsessive and controlling. He allows himself to be manipulated by both.
4) Why did Yichen tell his brother he never saw Lu Feng again after he moved back to Xincheng? There's no way he would logically be able to conceal the truth, knowing how Lu Feng was still finding ways to see him, be close to him, try to convince him to get back together, etc. The younger brother was destined to see Lu Feng at some point and realize Yichen had lied to him.
5) How in the world does Lu Feng run a successful business when he spends HOURS each and every single day obsessing over and physically being in the same house / hospital room with Yichen? I read a medical report recently that talks about severe, chronic sleep deprivation and how it can cause psychosis in some people. I think besides Lu Feng's already obsessive personality, the lack of sleep just completely pushes him over the edge any time he thinks Yichen might leave him again.
6) It's so difficult to watch a series where the characters obviously love each other but NEVER try to clear up misunderstandings. Constantly concealing problems, lying, never explaining anything, never standing up for themselves, etc. It's exhausting.
7) Depending how the last episodes go, I might swear off heavy, toxic dramas for a while. Years ago I was in an abusive relationship. Most dramas I watch that show those kinds of relationships still allow me to suspend belief and see them as "fictional." But some are almost too much for me to watch. They actually trigger some of my PTSD. Double Helix is one of them. I am too invested to quit watching, but it's really making me angry and sad. I love the real-life actors, but in the series it hurts to see their characters hurt.