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High School Return is not a bl 😔 it is a strong bromance in the drama adaptation, with subtle hints.

I think I'm having a withdrawal and need a fix asap. Please netflix....give us something more.... we've been starving....

Bro those ARE the original characters. The first season is the prequel to the main story, that starts in the second season.

You know, after you said it, it really seems like wiping them out of episodes after their "relationship arc" is finished really is the best option considering that I'm positive there's gonna be zero pleasant surprises from their side.

Gonna ignore their looming presence on posters and in the intro for now.

Well, i mean, if they're here, might as well? I don't propose giving them even more screen time, just. Keep it as it is for now, the amount that they already have, just squeeze some actual honest to god character development instead of this cringy trope we have now.

Cause either it's, like you said, them being a couple and disappearing into the void which is...okay....but why were they here in the first place... OR their romance stretching out throughout the whole series without any actual development. And both of those pills kinda suck.

Honestly, i would prefer them to be their own characters with character development without romance, but it seems like it's not in the realms of possibility.

First of all, ty, really appreciate the compliment! 😗

I really hope that they're gonna develop Ji Yu just enough for her to be a fully fleshed out character, cause i have a kind of a (positive) bias towards female characters, and prefer them to be well...people.... instead of a placeholder for your generic love interest.

Kinda don't care what happens to Chan Yeong, although, i think that they should focus a bit more on his personal problems instead of jumping right away on the romance train. Because if they really gonna put a man with a mentality of normalised "fast food" romance and a woman with almost nonexistent personality in relationship, it's gonna be a disaster. Which is a possibility, if they really did add a second couple just to add more screentime.

Although, i wish for them to remain just friends, cause I'm a firm believer that a character shouldn't exist only when romance is in the picture. Especially if this character is a woman. I cross my fingers and hope for the best regarding JiYu.

Cause if Heesu and Seungwon can exist by themselves, right now it seems like her character revolves purely around a man.

Oh it for sure feels very trope-y. I usually don't watch shows like that, but my gf asked me to review it for her, and i was reminded exactly why i usually don't watch much of BLs of this kind. But i should mention that the MLs by themselves don't feel bland, so it's still pretty interesting, if predictable so far. I also like the inclusion of wlw characters, it's pretty rare, as BLs usually go.

Ou, didn't watch this one, but after reading the summary i can see the resemblance 🤔 Korea sure loves love triangles created by a misunderstanding.

Controversy regarding second pair aside, why didn't they made them more interesting?

I mean, you can see why would someone like Seung Won like someone like Heesu. He's smart, straightforward, funny and tries to help people pretty much without getting anything in return. He also can be pretty silly, which is endearing. We can see that Seungwon made an effort to (at least from a distance) observe what Heesu's like, what his interests are, what does he like, so potentially, he likes him for quite some time now. Just hesitant to make a move. And we know that it's a novelty to him, considering that he only cared about his studies before. And Heesu, for now, only sees him as a friend in need of help. Their relationship is slow paced, and i think this is more realistic.

Chan Yeong and Ji Yu, however, is a very overused trope of "A popular playboy guy falls with a mysterious and quiet "not like others" girl". We are shown that his relationship usually don't last long. He doesn't know anything about her, besides the fact that she's pretty, quiet, and likes indie music. And he's already is, apparently, infatuated with her? Just like she is hinted to be interested in him, because what? He gave her the book and complimented her taste? See, this is why i don't like most straight romances, because they are quite often shown to be like that. He likes her for looks, she likes him because he gave her a fraction of attention.

And I'm not even talking about the part how they didn't show us ANYTHING regarding her character, besides the fact that she's well, pretty, mysterious, and a musician. Hell, they gave more characterisation to Heesu's sisters in those episode than to her (And i hold the sisters dearly to my heart cause of it). Maybe it's gonna get better, but begging of their relationship is already not looking good.

They could've given something more to latch on. Maybe create some negative tension and a conflict between them. They didn't....

And if I'm being honest, I don't like both of them. Chan Yeong even more, cause his playboy persona and "friendly flirting" is honestly annoying.

That's a problem that is more often seen with netflix, but if i had to guess: Either they had to postpone the release again and again because for some reason no one wanted to give them the green light, or the release schedule was too tightly packed to gracefully insert it, so they had to move it again and again, so it wouldn't be overshadowed by other releases.

I would say that BLs production is it's own hell by itself....you have to try really hard to succeed.

Ohh, i was wondering why i didn't see my own comments anymore, i was only blocked once on this site before, so i wondered if admins/moderators (?) deleted them or something. Strange, cause I thought i didn't say anything rude or offensive.

I really liked the scene when Heesu tried to guess who Seung Won likes when they had a takeout, Seung Won tried to give him pretty unsubtle hints, but Heesu still didn't get them. Reminds me of, well...me and my platonic girlfriend. She's just as clueless.

People have a right to be upset over anything they want. I won't hold it over them, cause everyone's feelings are different. Especially if it's just a personal taste, and not a hate crime. Also, to a lot of people, thinking critically about media they watch is important, cause it pretty much helps you develop your analyzing skills. Be it a book, a video game, or a show. For some, shows are pure escapism. For some, a chance to stretch out your brain, so to speak.

And only being hostile to the second group is pretty shitty, i have to say.

I'd say that it started out pretty innocently at queer people just wondering as to why exactly the showrunners found it important to make a straight couple even if there weren't any in the webtoon, but after people started reacting veeeeerrryyy aggressively towards those comments, we feel like we need to defend ourselves and our stances. Especially after the absurd amount of "heterophobia" claims.

To me? It's not THAT important, i can just skip it, it's just slightly unpleasant, but I'm used to the feeling. But i can understand people who are very uncomfortable with the fact, especially if they're not straight themselves, or have been fans of the original work.

Yeah, to all of this, but i still feel like queer people are pretty justified in not exactly being ecstatic at the sight of straight people in our queer shows for many many reasons, and that's all i wanted to say. Peace ✌️

I KNOW RIGHT? I've been lol'ing at the heterophobia comments cause i never took them seriously, but comparing homophobic people to gay people who are not comfortable with straights is WILD. It reminds me of how straight people are often complaining cause they are not welcome in queer spaces.

Gays are not well received because straights straight up hate us. Straight people are not well received in queer media because you would think that a queer show would solely focus on, well. Queer relationship. Which is apparently not something that's important.

It is NOT the same thing 😭

You do know that's a different thing cause homophobia is a very real issue, but queer people not being comfortable with straight people is an entirely another problem, right?* . Because I've been hearing this argument my whole life, and it still doesn't make sense. Because there's billions of het couples everywhere. And much less queer couples. So, nah, i don't exactly feel comfortable that they found important to insert them, especially if it's done to make the show more marketable for a broader auditory.

But, you know, wouldn't be the first time. And not the last one. So i believe that queer people are used to this. Still doesn't mean that you can't use your analytical thinking and criticise something that you watch 🙁

*(Wanted to edit to explain as to why: Straight people hate us. WE are uncomfortable with straight people BECAUSE they hate, fetishize, and chase us away from our spaces. And, yeah, we are wary of all straight people because they are prone to...yknow....killing and bullying us)

Yup, i too hope that the het romance is gonna remain at the sidelines with minimum amount of screentime, but then i look at the posters and remember that they're in the intro on par with the main couple and kinda want to sigh. But, we shall see.

The best case scenario if the ship is indeed set to sail, is to represent his bisexuality like you said, but idk how they're gonna do that if by the looks of it their attraction is moving pretty quickly (Compared to the gay couple). Kinda doubt that they're gonna include the fact that he's bi at all, and if it's gonna turn out like that, this gonna suck so bad , but i don't wanna give my hopes up yet.

And about the utopian queer stories: Yeah, i don't like them either, and the only BLs that i can say i loved is Let free the curse of taekwondo and Love in the Big city, and the second one even had straight relationships in it, but it wasn't considered to be even a secondary focus at all. And i'm fine with that. But the fact that there's now queer centric shows with both gay and straight couples, even if the straight one is secondary...well....i just hope it wouldn't become a trend.

Especially if by some miracle GLs are gonna get more popular after the airing of Friendly Rivalry. Cause like i mentioned in my other comment, we already have more than enough places to look for if you want het romances, so i don't exactly get why would you put them as a second couple. Especially considering that his "playboy" personality was enough of a proof that he's potentially straight and Heesu has zero chances with him 😬

I fear that's the consequences of the fact that nothing much happened yet 😭