Thanks for sharing your views. I agree to an extent, but even though the drama mostly steered clear of delving…
yeah you're absolutely right. I had tunnel vision on that big existential question. Thanks for elaborating your views on this. You should add this in on your review :)
I thought the further I got into this series Type would mature and stop mistreating Tharn but now I am watching episode 9 and I had to stop to see if anyone else decided he is a piece of shit toxic fuck. Does this at least change in season 2???? Not sure I can keep watching.
This drama didn't really deal with homophobia. It dealt with something bigger. Barth wasn't sent to the school for conversion therapy. That was never put forth in the script. He got kicked out of his last school for fighting. He ended up at the catholic school because his family was catholic.
The biggest question this drama dealt with is - will God still love me if I am gay and can I still go to heaven? That's a huge question in christian /catholic society for those in same sex relationships. And this show did an amazing job showing Tanrak struggle with his fears of this and acceptance of where his heart is on it. And the show did a great job showing the friends, family and priests being very compassionate and understanding of Tanrak and Barth - I never saw any homophobia. There was contention with the dishonesty and hiding that Tanrak was doing but it wasn't about him being in love with a man. This show was truly masterfully and lovingly done.
hahaha was this meant to be so hilarious? Good writing. Pretty entertaining and heart warming to watch the two 30 yr old virgins freaking out like kids falling in love.
Yeah, I've watched the donghua multiple times. lol who are you talking about? You must not know who Zhou Yiran is. Oh well we just disagree. Zhou Yiran is suitable in every way to play this character. Who knows who will actually get cast if/when the drama begins production.
the toxic part wasn’t from Hira…it was from the other ML n how the other students treated him. that was indeed…
I totally agree with you. It is terrible how the other kids treat him. It's terrible how autistic kids can be treated. And I do concede that Kiyoi lashes out and being a kid and highly emotionally sensitive isn't an excuse. I definitely think the tsundere character type walks the line of toxicity.
Yes, there is a season 2! Omg, I cried in the first episode when Kiyoi says to Hira 'don't live in your own world. We live in this one'. I'm autistic and understand personally how difficult navigating relationships are and being understood is. Watching Hira get lost down all these what if worlds in his mind is just so relatable to me. I often have a hard time knowing which world is real because I create so many. And Kiyoi just cut through it as easy as butter and called him back to living in their shared reality.. I think I wrote these post from this place of seeing Kiyoi do something I wish my partners could have done and having a lot of forgiveness for his faults.
Hira is autistic. This might help you understand his character and behavior better. I see a lot of the reviews call this relationship toxic and I know they are completely missing the complexity of being in a relationship with someone autistic. Dramas with autistic characters are rare. This one did a beautiful job showing us the realities being autistic and the difficulty of being in relationship with someone autistic.
the toxic part wasn’t from Hira…it was from the other ML n how the other students treated him. that was indeed…
I wasn't trying to say Hira was toxic, though the drama wants us to understand they are both problematic. I was trying to bring awareness to the fact that Kiyoi has no idea how to be in a relationship with someone autistic and how hard it can be. Especially if you don't understand that your partner is autistic - which Kiyoi doesn't. On top of that, Kiyoi is extremely emotionally sensitive and doesn't know how to navigate and express his own feelings well. Their combo is a bomb waiting to go off. Season 2 is where we see them maturing a bit and figuring each other out a little more and learning how to navigate the relationship in a healthier way. lol though it's still slow progress.
But my main point is, that before we just call the relationship toxic, or Kiyoi toxic, to understand how difficult being in a relationship with someone autistic is. I say this to encourage a type of patience with Kiyoi. and also offer information that can allow the audience to tap into the real depth of this story and the characters that is available.
Oh you said everything I was thinking. I was mostly distracted by how distressed for them I was the entire time. I'm proud of them for being so professional about it and doing their best. I'm not pleased with the production team at all for mishandling things.
If you don't understand, Hira is autistic. This might help you understand his character and behavior better. I was just hit so hard by this in this first episode, even more so than in the first season. The interaction in the first episode when Hira is caught in a spiral of thinking about all the possibilities and Kiyoi responds with 'don't live in your own world. We are together in this one". That really touched me. If you know, you know. Then with episode four, again I am just so moved seeing Kiyoi understanding that more is required of him.
I see a lot of the reviews call this relationship toxic and I know they are completely missing the complexity of being in a relationship with someone autistic. Dramas with autistic characters are rare. This one did a beautiful job showing us the realities being autistic and being in relationship with someone autistic.
If you don't understand, Hira is autistic. This might help you understand his character and behavior better. I see a lot of the reviews call this relationship toxic and I know they are completely missing the complexity of being in a relationship with someone autistic. Dramas with autistic characters are rare. This one did a beautiful job showing us the realities being autistic and being in relationship with someone autistic.
This is adapted from a Manhua. It is actually storyboard blocking exactly like the manhua. So, that's the timeline jumping editing decisions. For me, I always like it when the drama is storyboarded the same way the manga is. I think they are doing a good job with it. But I did think, for viewers who haven't read the manhua, it would seem a little confusing or have a jerking feeling.
Wow, what a great review. You really laid everything out. I thought I wouldn't like this series because of how season 1 made me feel as well but it was so much better. Mix and Earth blew me away with their acting in this series.
1 
The biggest question this drama dealt with is - will God still love me if I am gay and can I still go to heaven? That's a huge question in christian /catholic society for those in same sex relationships. And this show did an amazing job showing Tanrak struggle with his fears of this and acceptance of where his heart is on it. And the show did a great job showing the friends, family and priests being very compassionate and understanding of Tanrak and Barth - I never saw any homophobia. There was contention with the dishonesty and hiding that Tanrak was doing but it wasn't about him being in love with a man. This show was truly masterfully and lovingly done.
Yes, there is a season 2! Omg, I cried in the first episode when Kiyoi says to Hira 'don't live in your own world. We live in this one'. I'm autistic and understand personally how difficult navigating relationships are and being understood is. Watching Hira get lost down all these what if worlds in his mind is just so relatable to me. I often have a hard time knowing which world is real because I create so many. And Kiyoi just cut through it as easy as butter and called him back to living in their shared reality.. I think I wrote these post from this place of seeing Kiyoi do something I wish my partners could have done and having a lot of forgiveness for his faults.
But my main point is, that before we just call the relationship toxic, or Kiyoi toxic, to understand how difficult being in a relationship with someone autistic is. I say this to encourage a type of patience with Kiyoi. and also offer information that can allow the audience to tap into the real depth of this story and the characters that is available.
I see a lot of the reviews call this relationship toxic and I know they are completely missing the complexity of being in a relationship with someone autistic. Dramas with autistic characters are rare. This one did a beautiful job showing us the realities being autistic and being in relationship with someone autistic.