This review may contain spoilers
It could be a red flag but baby I'm colorblind
Let’s start with the good parts, because there is a lot to love here. First and foremost, Boss's yearning is unmatched; a man never looks better than when you can see exactly how much power his partner has over him (Also, the rain was a paid actor for how many times his shirt got wet and transparent). Alongside him, Noeul is somehow utterly flawless each and every time he appears on screen. Their chemistry is out of this world; the looks, the touches, the passion, and some of my favorite on-screen kisses (I bit my pillow so many times it should be illegal).For the main characters I want to pay attention to the contrast between Cir's sweetness when engaging with Phu and him giving nothing when talking to anyone else. His interactions with Win were highly amusing and I really enjoyed their friendship. Meanwhile, Phu is the softest pretty boy out there, but the second he found out about Cir's past, he was ready to throw hands, and I lived for it. Going into this, I wanted to say that Noeul kept his undefeated record for the "pure of heart, dumb of ass, home-of-sexual" character archetype that he mastered with Rain (LITA). Surprisingly, though, Phu actually possesses a survival instinct.
The supporting cast held their own beautifully, too. Jin is metaphorically my brother; practically he's so chill and emotionally mature I could cry. On the other hand, Win perfectly embodies the exact exasperation you feel when you've been besties with someone for years and are fed up with their dumbassery. Together, JinWin are a top-tier second couple; they had very little screentime, but they are big in my heart.
Then there's "Dark!Cir," my beloved. He managed to act both concerned and mocking while looking devastatingly otherworldly. He is a total ragebaiter and I stan it.
Even the wider friend group had great moments. While some secondary characters were a bit plain, their banter was excellent. Rome was a funny little side character with his fish obsession (I'm partial to them), and the mixing of the two groups yielded great dynamics (especially Jin paired with Cir, and Win with Phu).
I also genuinely enjoyed the familial subplots. I loved Phu’s family and appreciated how the show made both Phu and his mother's perspectives understandable. As for Cir’s family... well, his brother Zone was ready to jump into the action, and I’m glad they didn't cheapen the brothers' past. Their mother is completely nuts and should be held for a psych evaluation. Which should have happened instead of leaving Zone to deal with her while Cir and Phu run towards the sunset with a wedding soundtrack.
As for cinematography, the production choices immediately sucked me in. The lighting and scene subdivisions beautifully created the illusion of two worlds connecting, which underlined the main theme and expertly masked the stalking elements in the first few episodes.
To be honest, the plotline of Cir keeping up the "multiverse lie" was mysterious and compelling at the beginning. Although the multiverse elements were eventually confirmed, we all know that Boss’s ability to look devastatingly handsome (coupled with Cir’s tragic past) was the major thing saving him from being served with a restraining order.
(When the show first hinted that my baby Cir might be a stalker, I was standing there like *surprised pikachu*)
Personally, the stalking twist intellectually cheapened the lore established early on, even if it did successfully give Phu space to stand up for himself and highlighted the psychological consequences of Cir's abusive upbringing.
If we go with the idea that Cir and Phu are red-string soulmates, which is heavily implied by the parallel universes and the paper telephone plotline (that is quite literally a string tying them together, argue with the wall), the writers could have handled it much better. They could have let Cir know secret details about Phu simply as a byproduct of his dreams from the alternate universe. The narrative wouldn't have taken a hit if their past encounters were driven purely by fate and destiny instead of Cir crafting them behind the scenes. While still allowing Cir to be secretly in love with Phu for years, it would have created a much healthier foundation for their relationship.
(I'm aware it's based on a MAME's novel, and from what I heard they tend to incorporate and romanticize this Red Flag behaviour, so I'm not giving any grief to the directors and such)
I particularly enjoyed the push and pull of "Is this real life? Is this just fantasy?", especially since Cir genuinely seemed to believe he was from a parallel universe at first, only realizing the reality of his dreams later. By that point, he was already in deep and naturally terrified of losing his soulmate by telling the truth.
(Though, honestly, seeing his mother, I too would prefer faking a multiversal soul displacement if it meant a roundabout way of getting to kiss a gorgeous creature like Noeul instead of having to deal with her)
Ultimately, the big climax of finding out your boyfriend has been illegally following you for years wound up being highly entertaining, mostly because both things wound up being true: he did stalk Phu, but he also really saw the alternate universes.
My only real grievance is the non-existent logic behind why Jin can literally read minds. Like, what the hell was that?! Explanation? None. Just random bulls**t, go! I have to concede it was funny, but actual fantasy world-building would have made it feel like a cohesive element rather than a Deus ex Machina. It felt designed purely to reassure the audience that Cir wasn't a depraved creep and to inject some comic relief. That said, Jin reading everyone's mind only to find Phu's brain completely empty of thoughts except for food is such a canon event that I can't even be mad.
Furthermore, the archetype of an alternate-universe Cir actively helping other versions of Cir get together with their respective Phus gave me massive ORV vibes (yk, the cosmic setup of a version of yourself pulling the strings), which will always be goated in my book.
To wrap this up, I’m not even going to logic-check Phu getting sick after 30 seconds in the rain, or Cir’s psycho mother trying to pay Phu to stop seeing her son.
We know the tropes, we accept the tropes, we die in our hearts at the tropes, long live the tropes.
The opening OST theme was giving everything it needed to give and it's going on my playlist for the foreseeable future.
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