MissX0010
This review may contain spoilers
The Fatal Flaw: a weak characterization of the female lead
With eagerness and anticipation, I approached this drama, drawn in by the allure of an antagonistic lead character. The male lead's acting prowess and striking features were truly remarkable. However, my excitement was soon dampened by the female lead's portrayal, which proved disappointing despite her beauty and acceptable performance.
Throughout the drama, the female lead consistently exhibited weakness and made ill-advised decisions, undermining the believability of the storyline. One such decision that still gnaws at me to this day was when she recklessly discarded the bracelet that was shielding her from harm, even though her own people were out to kill her. Another was her choice to consider marrying the second male lead, an action that ultimately did not come to fruition. While I comprehend her thought process, I cannot help but feel that she would have made a wiser decision had she taken the time to devise a plan. This frustration was compounded by her tendency to act impulsively without first thinking things through.
Additionally, the male lead could have benefited from taking more time to consider alternative solutions instead of playing the role of a white knight. A particularly irksome scene occurs when he fails to explain to the female lead why they cannot be together before her first death, leaving her confused and heartbroken.
While not all characters need to be strong and capable, pairing a meek and timid female lead with a powerful antagonist risks presenting a stereotypical representation. Though similar portrayals have been tolerable in other dramas such as "Ashes of Love," this particular one pushed the limits for me. While the female lead undergoes some character growth in later episodes, her decision-making still lacks logical reasoning. The pair could have also worked on their communication skills to prevent a significant portion of the problems they faced.
Another element that dampened my enjoyment of the drama was the male lead's loss of charm as the series progressed. While still a compelling antagonist, he loses some of the qualities that made him an intriguing character. In contrast, characters such as Yan Wushi in "Thousand Autumns" remain true to their "evilness" until the end, making them a favorite of mine.
Finally, the repeated deaths of the main characters was a source of frustration. As in the series "Supernatural," there comes a point when one simply wishes for them to remain deceased.
Despite these shortcomings, the drama does have some redeeming qualities. The male lead's commanding presence and impressive acting abilities compensated for some of the drama's deficiencies. The series also features several memorable scenes, such as the male lead's displays of power and his unwavering devotion to the female lead. The rescue scene in episode 11 stands out, with its impeccable cinematography, tension, and visuals.
Another unforgettable moment was when the male lead, shattered by one of the female lead's death, withdrew into a dream-like state, conveying his love, desperation, and longing in a tragically beautiful way. If the drama had concluded at that point, it would have become one of my all-time favorites, despite my aversion to tragic endings. In that moment, I did not miss the female lead at all, making it a tragically beautiful happy ending for me.
Although I did not love the pairing in the drama, I found their interactions in behind-the-scenes videos to be charming and endearing, deepening my appreciation for their friendship.
In summary, while the drama is not without flaws, it is still worth watching for those who can overlook the frustrating portrayal of the female lead. The male lead's commendable performance and the drama's memorable scenes make it a compelling watch. However, the female lead's weak character and questionable decision-making may detract from overall enjoyment.
"Great acting can make a poorly written character somewhat tolerable, but no amount of great acting can make a poorly written character great." - Dan Harmon
This quote is sadly true in this case.
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This review may contain spoilers
Disclaimer: This is my opinion about the series. Also, I tried not to include spoilers however, I do mention what happens at the end of the series.I loved 2gether the series at the beginning. I really thought that this will be one of my fav BL series ever. However, towards the climax the actors and storyline turned to a living disaster.
There are several reasons as to why this series fell short however, I will only mention 3 major reasons:
1. Tine falling in love with Sarawat.
While it did start sweet they did rush Tine coming to terms about falling for another man while being straight. And also, Tine never initiates intimacy nor romantic stuff couples usually do and Sarawat was the only one who did. The reason as to why this was disappointing was because I thought they were both alpha males in the relationship. I thought the stereotypical roles you usually see in the BL series wouldn't apply here such as in Addicted. Honestly, I wanted more from the producer and director. I wanted them to show why Tine was slow in the romantic aspect with Sarawat, I wanted to know more about Tine's emotions and struggle with finding out that you fell in love with the same sex.
2. Chemistry.
The chemistry was good in the first few episodes. The series at that time was oozing with sweetness. Whenever I saw the series I felt like I was eating cotton candy. However, after episode 9 the chemistry started to go downhill. I know everyone has a personal life and that may be the reason why the chemistry started going downhill, however, when you have a job at least look like you enjoy it. Now episode 9 was not the end for me. I thought that even though episode 10 was absolute crap, I thought episode 11 would turn the series around. However, when Sarawat was pouring his heart out to Tine and Tine did nothing?!? I thought that this is not worth it anymore. 11 hours wasted. However, I still decided to watch the last 2 episode and I regretted it dearly. And another thing, Tine had a problem with voicing out his emotions and sadly that was not captured well in this series.
3 The storyline
The storyline was honestly good in the beginning. However, I don't know who told the producer and directer that changing the storyline from the novel to that soap-drama we saw, was a good idea. They did not need to include Sarawat's ex in that way they did to have drama or a good show. Just watch Sotus the series if you want to know what I mean. It was really hard to watch the last two episodes and do you know what my reward was? Sarawat and Tine giving each other a high five at the end of ep 13!!!! I- What a disappointment.
However, one thing that did not disappoint was the music and the side actors. They were enjoyable to watch from the start to the end.
To conclude, the series was a damp squib. I will not rewatch it nor will I watch season 2 (if it comes out). I don't think anything can save this series unless the actors can build up their chemistry, and the production can stop making poor choices or stick to the novel to be safe. As other reviewers have already mentioned, this was indeed not a BL series more like an awkward story between strangers.
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Everything about this series was lacking, and that's sad bc it could have turned out to become a decent BL series. Therefore, I do understand why this series is "underrated" however, I think perhaps it should remain so. At least people won't have high expectations before watching this series just for it to be crushed. I did not have any high expectations for this series which is why I overlooked many things that made this series cringy and awful. Despite having low expectations I was still disappointed and dropped it.
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