warrenaa

One of the best Korean BL dramas I've seen in a long time. It's meaty, the dialogue flows nicely (not stilted as in so many of them), the four main characters are very distinctive, the acting is great and the storyline pulls you in very quickly. No wonder Daon looks exhausted having to deal with three guys (and a deadbeat father) apart from his demanding job. Although he and Seong Hyeon got off to a bad start, they've quickly patched things up and there's a flicker of attraction between them. I was shocked at Jae Min's reaction to Daon's declaration. Su Hyeon is an arrogant, nasty, self-important bastard with an odious personality; at least he can be ruled out as a love interest. I can hardly wait for the next episode.

You appear to have missed the ramification of Jin liking Wim. With that confession, the ability to read his thoughts vanished. That's my interpretation anyway.

A perfect epilogue to the series.

There's a new word that has come into prominence with the ascendance of Trump and his horrible way of dealing with people and other countries. That word is transactional. It is exactly how Lemuel behaves with various contestants he has dealings with and it casts him in an odious light. One has to feel sorry for the boys who are at the mercy of his manipulations and skulduggery. They just want to compete in these contests and do their best but with this going on it descends into something less savoury. Fortunately, Jarret and Gin are not involved in his sticky web of control. Instead, they have their own issues to deal with - Jarret needing the winnings to help him financially while Gin appears to have a chip on his shoulder and seeks to drown his misery with an excess of alcohol. His mother's solution is to have Jarret befriend Gin and curb his drinking problem and should he succeed she'll cover his rent for him. In time, these two will undoubtedly develop feelings for each other (there are no other secondary couples) so it will be interesting to see how that comes about.

Initially I gave this a 7.5 but moved it up to an 8.0 by the time it finished as it improved along the way. The two leads were nice and the shorter one had a particular cuteness as a high schooler with his fetching hairstyle. The height difference also added something to the relationship but I can't put my finger on exactly what it was. I'm a little tired of the 4 year jump, neither of them moves on and just resume where they left off only it's more sincere this time. Overall, it was worth watching.

I think the best description for Pemika is 'The Smiling Assassin'. She is the ultimate company executive, purely money focused and heartless to the real needs and wishes of people she has control of.

Is it just me or is the dialogue in Korean dramas just weird? I don't think it has to do with the translation either which, at least in this series, leaves some things untranslated. It's stilted, responses to questions are odd, they're forever saying 'what' or indicating they don't understand, people breathe out sighs of annoyance with increasing frequency and interactions are often awkward or make little sense.

What I get out of Ep. 8 is that there are multiple parallel worlds for Phu and Cir and they spent all of this episode in them but suddenlly the worlds will merge and they'll be the loving happy couple they are most of the time.

At the heart of Ep. 10 is a profound philosophical discussion: the relationship between humans and robots and how far they should go. The only certainty is that nearly everyone will have a different opinion. Complicating the matter is that of real emotion in the form of love which here is reciprocal with both parties realising what they're getting themselves into and is only possible because of the advanced developmental state of Ever 4. It certainly does transcend species.

With so much time given to Fujisawa's explanation to Sei as to why he wouldn't have sex with him, it left little time for Sei and Kazuaki to reunite as expected and it happened because Sei overheard that Kazuaki had broken up with his girlfriend. What is lovely about this sequence is how they brought up the museum's closing where Sei knew Kazuaki would be with Sei arriving there during a downpour and able to provide his umbrella as cover, harking back to a similar scene. That left only a few minutes for the happy ending, far too short in my opinion. Heaven forbid the producers make the episode longer as often occurs in other series (but never those from Japan), so one can only hope there is an additional special episode focusing on them and adjusting to life together as a couple with a satisfying sex life - that is, after all, what it was all about.

The Official Pilot was awful, a disjointed, frantic mess, but the first episode brought it all into perspective, introducing various characters and the backgrounds of the two male leads. Set in an office environment, the workers behave as we're used to seeing in a Thai drama which I daresay is not representative of office environments elsewhere and certainly nothing like one I've ever worked in. Our leads get off to a rocky start and so the story gets underway. I liked it. There are two gay boys in this office and the one who was being sucked off in the toilet cubicle will I think have a bigger role later on. There will be a lot to look forward to and immerse oneself in.

Sorry, but I disagree.

Quite the mixed bag for the final episode. Rik and Guy are an odd couple but they finally worked things out between them. Thank goodness for Tor and Pop who were always there for Dinneaw. His mum is an angel. Pony was an angel too in her own way helping Dinneaw reach success with his pottery and ultimately the homestay, defeating the nefarious machinations of Mr. Sainam. We didn't know just how evil Sangmin's parents were until now - wanting to poison him so they could reap an insurance benefit but thankfully he turned the tables on them, the father was poisoned (and hopefully he reported them to the police and were jailed), so he was able to leave Korea and be with Danneaw every day, his true love and Danneaw's true love. The last scenes of them roaming among the historic temples and finishing at an idyllic spot by a river were beautiful, a fitting way to end this drama.

The first episode seemed interminable with very little of interest occurring apart from Fou4mod and Coach meeting, finding they have a shared interest in getting their nails done and music so become friends, but that was only a tine part of it and toward the end I fell asleep, waking up just before it finished. I don't think I missed much of any significance. The second episode is even longer! More of the same, plus we hear Fou4mod singing tunelessly with his band and he becomes increasingly interested in Coach. The problem is that Coach has unrequited love for Bua. Later, alone in a school corridor, Fou4mod indicates he'd like to take their friendship a step further and they gingerly take turns giving each other quick kisses. I can't say I'm wrapped in this series and perplexed how it can rate 8.2 when there are so many other better series around. I can only give a score of 6.5.

This is a fun series with the disparity of character and looks between the two leads adding to the circus. In the opening of Ep. 4 when Nom Jued appears on campus sans glasses, an extended sequence, he causes quite a commotion, with appreciative comments on social media and finally Phra Aek exhibiting jealousy and possessiveness by not wanting others to see how cute he looks and puts a plastic bag over his head before he heads to class on the invented excuse that it's about to rain. The boy is such an innocent, oblivious to the consternation he is causing, not least with Phra Aek. He is, of course, becoming more and more attracted to Nom Jued and has to control himself and comes close to kissing him but he jerks away just in time, though it's going to happen sooner or later.

The final episode was an extended essay in nostalgia, all leading up to the final moment with the red truck hurtling down the road, Shen Nan stopping but not looking back, the appendage on his necklace cracking, hearing that no one, i.e. Shi Wen, was not killed, and Shen Nan moving on. Not exactly a happy ending, but at least Shi Wen's death was avoided. Will Shen Nan attempt to get together again with Shi Wen? We'll never know.

Personally, I'm not into this idol thing in any format whether it be a reality show or a boyband, nor can I relate to these obsessed and sometimes toxic fans who feel they own these superstars and feel that if they have a real love life then it's a betrayal. It's all a bit much but I understand it. I'm just too old for all this and it's far removed from the music I enjoy which is the classical variety. Nevertheless, it is a frequent storyline in many BL dramas and here it came to the fore and was treated with compassion for those involved even though there is still some suffering. Per seemed to come out of it reasonably unscathed. As for Thame and Po, I just hope they manage to get to the end of the series without having to go through that as well. Somehow, I think they will.

Ep. 4 was released yesterday on YouTube and still doesn't appear to be over.

Quintessential Chinese silliness with a BL subtext.

Phra Aek appears to be flustered when he's around Nom Jued sometimes, maybe because he's unexpectedly falling for him. He's definitely showing signs of jealousy, especially when Nom Jued is with Korn and is somewhat devastated when he sees him give a bouquet of flowers to Korn, then to his delight, he is given one too. Despite the brusque way Phra Aek speaks to Nom Jued sometimes, he obviously cares for him. Not quite a romance yet but it's not far off.