Hard to watch, but more than worth it

I went into this hoping for a light, fun watch. It's about a teddy bear! Cute and fun times await, right? Little did I know I would be frustrated beyond belief for the first few episodes, only to be won over and eventually more attached to these characters than half of my real life peers.
It's hard to watch to begin with, but not in the way a devastating true story might be. No, it's just genuinely difficult to get through the first few episodes when the characters seem to be such awful people, and when it's frustrating and weird. Talking furniture with horrifying CG eyes? I was very upset to look at them!
The central characters are one dimensional from first impressions, and then as the show progresses it has some of the best character development I've ever seen. The reasoning behind peoples actions, especially Nut's, is fleshed out in a way that completely blindsided me over and over. He seems like an unreasonable, selfish person but with time and context, he becomes incredibly sympathetic. But he's not painted to be a perfect person, and he has to work through his issues. But that's addressed! So many times, things that I see other shows gloss over and ignore are addressed and worked through. I didn't expect so much depth and heft to come from what I thought was to be a goofy show.
The issues that are touched upon are heavy, but they're done with a lot of care. I've not really seen another show call out the same things that this one does in such depth and precision, and I am a bit sad because I feel like some viewers might not be as resilient as I tend to be with watching unenjoyable things. The first episodes might turn a lot of people off, understandably, but oh my god to not watch it would be such a loss.
It's also long, essentially you're watching 16 movies, so there's a lot to unpack. It would be a disservice for me to unpack the plot here, even though every part of me wants to do so. I have thousands of things to say about this series, but I'll do that elsewhere.
I will be gushing about this show whilst condemning it for awhile to come. The ending, without spoiling too much, was very hard to bear but it still managed to be a happy one in its own way. Endings are very difficult, and I know some might not be happy with this one, but when watching how everything plays out it's what makes the most sense.
I doubt I'll ever rewatch the series in full, but I'll definitely go back and watch my favorite scenes, which there are a lot of.
I can't say I recommend this to everyone, even though it's probably one of my new favorites I can admit it took a lot of patience. But for the people who do watch it, I really hope it can touch them the way it did me.
Also, it feels so ridiculous to be talking so seriously about a show call The Miracle of Teddy Bear which features absurd sentient furniture, but it's one of the most serious and uniquely beautiful shows I've seen. Obviously it's got its moments, but at it's core it's a fantastic story that made me experience every conceivable human emotion to such extreme degrees that I'm going to need genuine recovery time.

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What a wild ride

My succinct review: A cute show with adorable leads and pretty bland side couples. It has an amazing soundtrack and is really lighthearted most of the time and had me smiling even at the very end. It's not the most amazing revolutionary series, but it's something I don't think you'll regret watching as it's very entertaining and sweet. Don't be afraid to skip as some parts can drag on and it would have been less enjoyable if I endured every scene.

Also, gay uncle's!!! Yay for old gay people!

Now my rambling review:

I honestly would give this a higher score if it hadn't spent as much time on the side characters who I didn't dislike but didn't really care about. Other than Mork's uncles and his friends, it was a riot every time those guys were on screen. I love Nadia but her love story bored me. If you do skip, you won't miss anything important to the main plot as I don't even think the side couple knows the main couple outside of being vaguely coworkers. I did like that the actor who played the one that wasn't Boss was really good in this role because he's played cool, badass dudes in shows like Paint With Love and Unforgotten Night and I do not personally think that suits him. I really liked seeing him as a bratty kinda irresponsible guy who wore hoodies and skateboarded and probably paid to get through med school. Seriously how's he a doctor? What a guy.

I absolutely loved Mork and Tawan. They only frustrated me maybe 2 or 3 times which is pretty impressive! They were honestly a really sweet couple and any misunderstandings were resolved well and fast because they were mature about it and actually talked to each other. (The final misunderstanding was a bit more difficult but to be fair I cannot blame Tawan at all for reacting to what he saw especially after everything that happened.) Both of them are too kind for their own good and we're unfortunate enough to have bad exes who took advantage of and stepped all over that, but they're perfect together.

The music was amazing!!! I actually saved a lot of the instrumental tracks because I liked them so much (and was actually able to find them) It was really well done and even if the scores weren't made for the series originally they were still integrated really well.

There were a lot of pretty intense twists and turns in this which shocked me, as I was expecting all lighthearted silliness and not (spoiler!!!) a bloody shooting at a festival and a random son (/nephew). Like oh my god that had me feeling like I was going crazy. (Hence the wild ride tagline)

Mork's dimple (just the one :D) made this show worthwhile. I'm only kind of joking. Also there's the fact that he is named Mork and therefore already had a foot in the door to my heart. Tawan is an absolute cutie too. I hate his initial boyfriend and wish they hadn't spent quite so much time on him, but Mork punched his ass out so it's kind of okay.

The fact that Tawan said "I know I'm not good looking and I'm not good enough for you." And Pore said "Sometimes feelings are more important than reasons." As if he agreed with that nonsense??!! Tawan baby, buy yourself a mirror and some glasses you're so beautiful and deserve way better than Mr Pimple over there.

It was really interesting to me that they managed to give pretty bad advice but still have pretty good actions they took. They basically encouraged finding a rebound and settling which was odd because that's not even what was happening. Mork was infinitely better than Por, he just had less money. Three specific instances of weird advice were "Best way to get over someone is to find someone else as soon as possible.", "If the person of your dreams is out of reach try finding someone who isn't so exhausting to obtain.", and "Love doesn't really mean much in a relationship once you get old, it's more about honesty." that last one could've been a mistranslation where they meant passion more than love, but I don't know.
There were a few things that left a little bit of a sour taste in my mouth but the sweetness of the rest of the show overpowered them.

I liked the scenes with Khai as they were very cute, and I think it's hilarious that Mork asked Tawan to be Khai's other dad before they were even dating. Mork lives by lesbian dating rules apparently.
Bonus: Tawan's dramatic ass lying in the pouring rain after getting dumped. This led to one of the most respectful changing-unconscious-persons-clothes-because-they're-soaked scenes I've ever seen. Mork was panicked but in a sweet way because he didn't want to make it weird and even though he still did (blindfolding himself and then going "Ah! His nipple!") it wasn't creepy or super uncomfortable.

I think I could ramble about this show for a long time (clearly...) but my overall opinion is that it was very entertaining and super super cute.

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Very weird premise, very good execution

The concept was so strange that I almost skipped this but I'm really glad I didn't. They do a good job not making it super weird and it just ends up being really funny and sweet! I cried, I laughed a lot.
I still think the concept is weird, like uhh dating your pet? Kinda don't do that maybe. But I love that they don't have the typical childlike naivety that they usually give animals-turned-humans. They genuinely feel like adult humans who are also very much so their respective animal. Seriously, the mannerisms and behaviors are so good without being over the top and weird (maybe aside from the pant string incident at the beginning) and I found myself smiling so much.
I was glad there was no love-triangle like I initially thought there would be. Both couples are very very cute but I am partial to Milk and the uncle (does homie have a name? Couldn't tell you) as they have good chemistry and a well balanced dynamic. The music in this show was outstanding!! (for the most part) and I'm honestly just sad that I can't find the song from the end of episode 9. It was so gorgeous.
Overall, I went into this expecting weird, cute, and fluffy and I got it. It was so much less uncomfortable than expected and I'd recommend giving it a shot. Try to make it past the first couple episodes and it gets really good. I love Strongberry and I'm really happy they got a lot of love for this series. It's well deserved!! The actors also deserve a ton of love. They all did a wonderful job and I really, deeply loved all the characters.
The ending could have gone wrong but I think they patched it up nicely and I was left satisfied and happy. It's a very feel good series with some well done heavier moments. Jungwoo's pain and loneliness really got to me. I'll end my rambling mess here, but I'll just leave it with saying this is much better than expected and I hope people will give it a shot even though the animal thing is weird.

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What? And also, why?

I won't be holding back on spoilers, because I need to specify why I feel this way.
I'll start by saying I was excited for this series because of Chap. I've liked him in his other works (Y-Destiny and Lovely Writer) but didn't like his love interests at all. So I had hope! That he'd finally get a good love story and have a role where he could shine.
And for awhile, it seemed that was happening and that Aioun would be a good love interest. I explicitly noted that Aioun was the only decent person amongst the central characters, but then his girlfriend showed up.
Jumping back, my biggest "Why?" in this is "Why did they fall in love?" Or maybe "when?" It wasn't clear to me at all where their feelings developed, and the unnecessary flashback in the final episode just showed more concisely the complete lack of development in their relationship. They went from being entirely hostile to saying that they really care for one another. What? Why?
Sichol sucked. I'm sorry, but he sucked. I was annoyed by him most of the time. Who lies to their boss on the first day? Not that Nawee was a good boss, considering he physically abused his employees, but Sichol deserved to be fired. Oh on the topic of violence, Sichol then knocks Nawee unconscious to essentially kidnap him despite knowing he has horrible agoraphobia. Said phobia was another thing handled poorly! Aioun says "you have to face your fears." to Nawee in regards to his debilitating mental illness. What? You suck! Not how that works!
Oab sucks. Who hides their brothers pet turtle and then gets mad when said brother gets upset?
This was why I initially thought Aioun was the only good person: he didn't lie to and manipulate others, physically abuse his employees, or lose his brothers beloved pet. But he did cheat on his girlfriend. And then refuse to be honest with her despite her giving him every chance to be upfront about his feelings.
Chanjao is great! She's mature and kind, and I feel horrible for her that she got stuck with someone who wouldn't just be honest. I'm glad to see a good female character, at least.
He did eventually break up with her, though he mostly just stood there and let her do the talking. What a jerk!

Nawee could have been a great character, because I felt a lot of sympathy for him with his trauma and familial issues. But you can't treat people like that! You can't throw things at your employees or punch them with an hourglass! He's entitled and rude, and his awful family doesn't give him an excuse for that behavior.
But really, when he wasn't being horrible I could almost forget what he did because he was a sympathetic and sweet boy. Chap did a good job with what he was given, which wasn't much unfortunately.
Aioun was kind, mature, and calm. Until he wasn't.
Most of the characters had their moments, but it wasn't in a profound "humans are complicated and no one is fully good or fully bad" kind of way but in a "this is a different character now" kind of way. Aside from Nawee's family, who were consistently awful, evil people.
There were good moments, but not nearly enough. It had a rather short run time, but that's no excuse for a complete lack of development in your principal relationship. It's at least some consolation that I didn't waste much time on this.
I couldn't fully enjoy the sweet scenes, because they felt undeserved. Especially after finding out Aioun was a shithead with a girlfriend he was cheating on.
Also! for the love of god stop putting the damned "trip into a kiss" nonsense. Twice they did that, and both times I rolled my eyes so hard I probably saw my optic nerve.
Contrary to my scathing review I didn't completely hate the show. I definitely can't say I liked it, but there were parts I enjoyed. Chap did a good job in my opinion, and hopefully he'll be able to get a main role again, but with good writing and a good love interest this time. Please.

The best part of this show was Jeff Satur. It's unfortunate that his beautiful songs weren't put in an equally beautiful series.

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Beautiful Music and Young Love

I definitely enjoyed this show, although with a few comments on certain things. I think the music is absolutely gorgeous and a big part of the appeal. Seriously. I can't stress enough my love for the soundtrack.
Paper and Tongfah are a bit confusing, since I'm never quite sure of what stage their relationship is at.
Still, I loved their dynamic and they were very cute together. Their story progression was all over the place, but it didn't matter to me too much since I just was glad to see them be happy together. They have really good chemistry and their kisses were super well done. They were probably my favorite couple.
Tongfah is a sweet boy and I would risk my life for him.

Chris and Jeno were cute by the end, but it was pretty lame how Jeno treated Chris for most of the show. He was pretty dismissive of him and not very nice until towards the end. Chris as an individual is great and I love him. Jeno is cute but like I said, his treatment of Chris wasn't great. But yet, when they ended up together they were so cute and I got over my complaints so I could just appreciate their cuteness.
(edit): honestly, they did have more cute moments than I remembered. Chris is an absolute sweetheart and Jeno just has trust issues.

I skipped the scenes with Near and M because they had no chemistry and I also felt like the storyline was a bit creepy. Something about M rubbed me the wrong way.

It did a good job balancing fun and serious. I was shocked to suddenly realize my emotional investment when I started crying during a sad scene.

If any of them were trying to keep their sexualities on the DL they did a bad job considering the amount of gay movie posters all over their walls.
I'll once again mention the music since it really got me good. It was gorgeous.

Overall, I'd definitely recommend giving the show a shot. It's not perfect, but it is really charming and heartfelt. I wish there were a directors cut to put back in the scenes that I can only assume were cut from the show because goodness so much felt like it was missing. But it was still a loveable show. I will definitely be watching it again

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Great acting and likeable characters

I'm quite surprised the main reviews I saw for this are rather negative. Although I know enjoyment is subjective! Still, I feel personally that it deserves a good amount of praise.
I'll start off with a few things I didn't like, which is primarily Yi Zi Tong. A lot of things pertaining to him felt unnecessary and were just generally extremely frustrating. Could have done without 85% of his screen-time. No offense to the actor of course, as he did a great job playing the character. Most other issues I have with the show are a by-product of his presence.

Shi Lei and Jin Yu Zhen definitely do have a slow burn romance, and there are some typical tropes used to progress their relationship, but I never minded. There were a lot of ups and downs between the two, where they got closer and then a bit distant again, but I found the ending to their story to be satisfying and lovely. The two had chemistry that was palpable at times, and any of their sweet or tender moments together were incredibly well done.

Shi Lei's mom is one of my favorite aspects of the show. She's sweet and caring, and you can tell she loves and supports her son in a genuine way. I could recite the entire scene of their conversation and him coming out, as I was that moved by it, but I won't do that. Just know that I could and would.

At first, the relationship between Gang and Si Qi was rather bland to me, but they grew on me and I really appreciated their story. They were kind and straightforward with each other. There were times that misunderstandings could have driven a wedge between them, but they instead just talked with each other. No running away, no forced drama. Their relationship ended up being a wonderful part of the show for me, though I know some others might not care about them so much. For me, they have a very realistic - feeling relationship.

I tried to keep things rather vague to avoid just spoiling the whole show, so I don't know if I truly sold my point very well, but the gist is that it's very charming.
Once again, my biggest complaint was Yi Zi Tong and oh boy could I write an entire dissertation about my issues with him and his presence, but I'll spare you.
Still, I've watched this 2+ times already and will do so again as it's just a guaranteed sweet watch.
I'll only briefly mention the music, since it has been awhile since actually watching the show; I can't recall the OST in full, but I remember liking a lot of it.

Overall, I'm aware this isn't a perfect show, and it might not be for everyone, but I highly recommend watching it for yourself since the viewing experience can't fully be delineated through words.

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Subverted Expectations (in a great way!) and Character Development

I'll admit, I was skeptical going into this show due to the main pairing. I've been waiting for Gawin to get a lead role though so I was equally excited. From the start it was a very entertaining series, but it was also a hell of a roller coaster.
I'll start off by addressing how I feel about Gawin and Krist as a pairing: I... Was pleasantly surprised, but not blown away. They were very cute together, but I wouldn't be super sad to see them go on to be paired with other people.

So, I have to talk about Kawi, and how much of an interesting character he is! I liked him at first, then I was incredibly irritated and frustrated by him, then I liked him, then I was annoyed, and finally, by episode 7/8 he had reached a turning point and all of his journey had been worth it. Krist did SUCH a wonderful job with this complex character, and I was impressed the whole time with the life he brought to Kawi. The biggest thing, though, was the storyline with his dad. Every single time, I had tears in my eyes. Not an exaggeration, no matter how I was feeling about Kawi, when it came to his love for his dad I was immediately overcome with emotions. It was a beautiful portrayal of a very loving father and son relationship, and I was heartbroken again and again by the loss Kawi had to endure. From the joy he had in seeing his father again after so many years, to the crushing heartbreak and acceptance when he knew it was time to let go. Even just thinking about it now has me misty-eyed. Fantastic writing and delivery there.
I absolutely LOVED how often my expectations were subverted. That unlikable behavior I thought they'd write off? Surprise, there's a reason behind it and it will be expanded upon and acknowledged! The best I think was in episode 7, I think that was my favorite episode because it was a switch up of the consistency that was starting to be established. Kawi seeing himself as an alcoholic superstar whose dad was still dead and who drove someone who was dear to him to marry a terrible man? That was just the wakeup call he needed, and he had clear character growth from that point on which was very respectable. I also loved seeing him go from being timid and selfishly insecure to more comfortable in his own skin.
I think it was very well written, even if there were parts that fell short or I think could have been better, overall there was a lot of depth to the story and the characters. As I said, there were things I expected to just be frustrating bits that I'd have to get over, but they addressed a lot of them which I really appreciate! I liked that the characters had lives outside of just what Kawi and Pisaeng had going on and I especially loved seeing Max and the pride events/symbols!
There was a lot of good LGBT advocacy in this series, from outright things like the pride events and speeches, to the subtle representation at the hospital of one of the reasons why marriage equality is so important. I loved the moments of Pisaeng accepting himself, and Max being there to support him was wonderful. I love overt pride symbols being shown on full display! While there wasn't a ton of representation within the characters for anyone who isn't a mlm, I can still appreciate that they made sure to fully voice and show support for other identities.

I want to also shoutout the music in this series. The whole soundtrack was lovely and always set the tone, and the main theme is versatile and catchy.
The production and writing overall was wonderful and I'm glad people seemed to really enjoy the series because I know many others were also skeptical. While I don't think this will be my favorite (lol), I think it was great and know for sure it will be a favorite for a lot of people.
who decided to give Krist that hairstyle tho 😭

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Worth It

After the og mini-series where Vee was an irredeemable piece of garbage I was very worried going into this. I wasn't sure how they would tell that same story and end with me not hating him.
But they did! Don't get me wrong, I did absolutely hate him at times. He had a LOT to improve, but they had his growth be well earned and well established. Mark obviously had his issues, but overall is such a lovely boy who I would die for. Seriously, he's so cute. And I really couldn't stop smiling at the end.
I can't give the most adequate review since I took a 3 month break between episodes 9 and 10 (for no reason) but as I just finished it, I can say that the ending is stellar. It makes all the angst feel worth it, and the characters all come around to being very lovable and beautiful. I especially loved the story with the parents.
There were a lot of frustrating moments in this show, but War and Yin did a fantastic job where I couldn't help but love them. It was well worth the wait, because I had high hopes for the mini-series and wished it could have been better because of the potential the two had to make a great couple. This series is that potential fully realized.

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Not the best adaptation, but a wonderful drama!

I was a huge fan of the webtoon so when I saw it was getting an adaptation I was over the moon. With that in mind, I obviously had a lot of expectations and couldn't stop comparing it to the source material which doesn't do this justice. There were a lot of differences and I realized if I didn't just think of it as a separate entity then I wouldn't be able to enjoy it. With all that said, that's why I found it way more enjoyable on my second watch, because I just watched it as a cute drama and not an adaptation.
The actor playing Haebom is SO adorable, it's honestly devastating.
They're a bit (extremely) stiff and awkward at first, but in the second half of the drama they get over that and loosen up a lot. I suppose they were supposed to be uncomfortable together, so it makes sense, but with the way it was done it just seemed like the actors themselves were rigid.
I love the dynamic switch up after they officially begin dating though, because Taesung becomes such a brat in the most unexpected and cute way, and I think it was done very well! Plus Haebom gets more confident in their interactions, so we get to see a lot of sweet moments. There were a couple questionable things on Taesung's part, but he addressed that he was in the wrong so I guess that's good?
The music is alright, nothing too memorable. Production wise, there are a couple shots that don't look great, but nothing too egregious.
I can't really seem to give a full on proper review of this since I'm mostly just gushing, but it's just that sweet! When you're in the mood for a lighthearted, adorable, easy watch that's guaranteed to have lots of wholesome moments, this is perfect for that.

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Communication? Never heard of it

"Why can't we understand each other?"
"Why don't you understand?"
These are essentially the main thoughts that are presented, but the answer is this: because you never say anything out loud! Telekinesis would be really useful in this universe, considering no one seems to know how to properly relay their feelings. Fiat is a brat and it's frustrating to see him narratively portrayed as the victim. It's one thing for a character to act that way and have some form of retribution or self realization, but he's constantly selfish only for Leo to come along and fix it. Speaking of Leo: the guy is too kind for his own good, at least towards Fiat. It's to the point where it's not admirable, because he needs to establish boundaries. The one time he almost does, he caves after about three minutes and is the one to apologize. He lets Fiat walk all over him, and Fiat still manages to put the responsibility of confessing onto Leo, as if Leo isn't the one who does everything in the relationship already.
"I love you, you hear me!?" No, he doesn't, because you were thinking when you said that. How can they be so upset that their feelings don't make it through, when they don't say a single word about them?
This is an hour long, but I honestly think that's enough of them for me. Which is sad, because I like Ja and was excited to see him as a main character in Don't Say No.
I shouldn't be surprised, considering it's the same series as TharnType which I dropped for similar issues of awful people doing awful things to others and coming out the other side the victim somehow. I guess the upside here is that Leo is more respectful and there's not such a question of consent, so that's an upgrade from TharnType. Sorry, this shouldn't be just me besmirching that show, but since this is basically just clips from the second season, it's not uncalled for for me to be mentioning it.
As for acting, I don't know if it's because I was irritated with the wholly unlikable characters, but I laughed in the crying scenes. Also, when Leo was punching the wall and venting, it felt very weak. It seemed like someone whose mom was in the other room and he didn't want her to overhear.
I don't know, I think I've just had enough of selfish people not getting called out and somehow trying to be portrayed as sympathetic. Everything worked out in the end, but I can only imagine the conflict that is inevitably going to follow in the series.
I didn't notice the music being particularly bad or good, but that's because I was too preoccupied yelling at my screen for them to get it together.
I think with better writing, Ja and First could be really likeable together, considering I like them both. This just doesn't allow much sweetness to come through, since I was too busy not liking Fiat and wishing Leo would stop letting Fiat do whatever he wants and then taking the blame after reacting appropriately.
Overall, I guess it's just not for me.
Additionally, since I didn't watch TT2, I know I definitely missed some of the nuances of the characters and this for sure doesn't give all the context needed so maybe they're not as bad as they seem, or maybe they're worse. I won't be finding out.
Also: I feel bad whenever I rate things poorly, and I did still find the two of them cute in the moments where they weren't being the worst, so that's why I didn't rate it as lowly as my precursive rant might have indicated.

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secondary characters and the casting saved the show

I'm not sure where to begin, since I have a lot to say but I guess I'll start with our central characters: Phap is loveable, kind, and extremely emotionally intelligent. Half the time. Somehow he is either a master at resolving emotional issues or he's a total Neanderthal. I found myself disliking him sometimes, and feeling endeared by him other times. He's gross and immature, but also loves animals and has a soft heart. I'm all for embracing a free lifestyle and not confining yourself to suffocating restrictions, but even I would say he's a bit too irresponsible. I try not to judge people based on their age since everyone has different circumstances, but as a 30 year old man he should be more consistently put together than he is.
Onto Maze, who I will preface I am biased towards because he's played by Singto. This, however, does not at all stop me from seeing that he's a horrible person. He's iredeemably selfish and often quite mean. He's kind to his employees, so he's not a stereotypical tyrannical CEO, but one good thing doesn't overshadow all the bad. Specifically to Phap he's controlling, demanding, harsh, critical, dismissive, and downright cruel. I've never seen a character be so selfish and yet somehow still not apologize for his actions. There should have been a scene with him pouring his heart out, explaining and apologizing for every horrible thing he did and making a promise to try bettering himself. Instead, he flips even the final conflict around to make himself appear to be the victim somehow. It's beyond frustrating and I'm upset because I see how they could have redeemed him and that just makes it worse. It was possible! It's sad because there are moments where he's likeable, though this is maybe just my bias towards Singto slipping in. Because when he's smiling, laughing, and just being a normal person he's so loveable! And cute!
Now, it might be absurd, but contrary to my wall of slander preceding this, I actually didn't hate the two. Obviously it's undeniable that they're a completely unhealthy couple, but I still found myself smiling at them being cute together, even at the end. I didn't like them very much, and wouldn't gush about their love story, but I wasn't mad.


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Sorry to say that I have more to say, but now comes what should be a much less critical portion.
Nae, Than, Neung, and the other cast of characters.

Starting with Than who is the reason I stuck this show out, and who is undeniably my favorite part. Yacht did a wonderful job and it was nice seeing him play a sweet character as opposed to the typical mischievous roles I've seen him in.
Than, from the start, is loveable and cute. He's never mean or unjustly vindictive. He is the sweetest boy and I love everything about him. Which means I therefore love Neung.
Don't get me wrong, I have my issues with him, but I can't help but love him. My main issue is that he is really petty and rude towards Phap. I like him more than Phap, but I still hate how he behaves towards him since he riles Phap up unnecessarily. He was suspicious for a long time to me, because he's not super expressive so I couldn't tell if he'd end up being two-faced or not. Luckily, he's at his most genuine with Than.
The (spoilers!) scene where they were shooting for the drama and improvved that kiss? Oh my gosh. Maybe one of the best parts of the entire show.
Nae is THE best. She's equal to Than for me and without her, so much of my viewing experience would have been ruined. She's a fun, kind, strong, influential, smart, caring, cool, and reliable woman. I love female characters that aren't just props for the plot and villainized for convenience sake. I'll give it to this show, the female characters were wonderful. Even Pooky, a horrific person, was done well in that she was a villain for her own means and not just there to cause strife in the relationships of the men in the show. She was just a horrible person, not specifically a horrible woman.
Nuna and Elle have my heart and I'm grateful for them.
I love the other employees as well, and Mr Ken is the most precious soul to ever walk this earth and I would put my life on the line for him.
Neung's manager was an incredible character and every scene they were in was made better. An absolute icon.

Overall, the show was entirely character driven and that fact makes my opinion difficult to clearly convey. Since the main characters weren't very likeable, I'm inclined to say I don't like it too much. On the other hand, because the secondary characters were so ridiculously loveable I find it hard to be so critical.
I enjoyed watching it, but I can't casually proclaim my love of the show without like 50 disclaimers.

The actors all did an incredible job. Any criticism is of the characters, and I think that adds on to my appreciation of the actors because they were able to portray a person who isn't always likeable which is a feat of its own.
I appreciate all the work put into the show and believe that the cast and crew did a great job. The biggest flaw is just poor character writing and unhealthy relationships.

Sorry for such a mess of a review, but I can obviously say that I felt a lot about the show lol

--*--
I forgot to include this very important part.
I was pretty confused by Neung and Maze's relationship, in that I wasn't sure if Maze ever actually loved him romantically or was just an overly attached younger brother afraid of losing what he felt was the last of his family. It's never made clear, and is more confusing when Neung explains to Than saying "I think there's been a misunderstanding, Maze and I are brothers." But I thought that was a well known fact? It was expressly stated but still Than and Phap thought Neung and Maze were romantically involved? It was a weird situation and wasn't made overtly clear, but I feel honestly that Maze wasn't ever in love with Neung but instead loved him so very deeply because he was his whole family.

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Deserves Better

I'm still mulling over this since I just finished it, but I wanted to write this since I believe the criticism I saw to be way too harsh.
There's a LOT of good in this show, and while most of it is Akk and Saifa (Gawin gets my immediate love always, but his character didn't do him dirty), there are other aspects to love as well.
There's a lot of funny moments, and I laughed harder than I have in a long time at some of the silliness (once again, mostly attributed to Akk)
I'll try my hardest and address other aspects than Akk, since some might not think that one incredible character can save a show.
The music, for one, is lovely. There are a couple times where it doesn't sound quite right, but for the most part I really enjoyed the soundtrack to the point of needing to make a note of it.
The mystery is really not the main focus, despite the title and everything making it seem like it is. The reveal was definitely disappointing, but not nearly as disappointing as what followed. Theo had a lot of chances to be loveable, and I didn't hate him, but he really wasn't a great lead by the end. He had plenty of opportunities for redeeming any of his faults, but he kind of just meandered away from them and chose to be rather self centered. I've dealt with far worse characters, so I didn't hate him, but as I said, by the end I didn't like him very much.
There were so many good moments that made watching this worthwhile, but I'm trying to keep this succinct. The hatred it's getting feels unwarranted, but I definitely understand a lot of the sentiments behind the criticism as I also have a lot of my own. But the journey of the show is where it's good, and I'd be sad if I had missed out on all the incredibly lovely moments by not watching it.
Most of the characters are likeable in some way other than the obvious antagonistic types, but even they aren't completely hateable.
The actors did a fantastic job, and there were a lot of subtleties that tied into things later on, which I enjoyed.
Don't get me wrong, the ending was frustrating and I'm not happy with it, but to dismiss this show as being bad is just sad and incorrect to me.

One of my favorite moments was Akk suggesting that Saifa wanted to perform opera atop the Eiffel Tower accompanied by a hilariously bad green screen of just that.
Finally, I'll stress that Akk is an incredible love interest and I think the show is worth watching just because of him. And I mean that wholeheartedly. My biggest criticisms are honestly just that he deserved better.

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Tien carried this

I went into this blind as I tend to do, and I really loved the concept! It's super cool and I'm a sucker for soulmate AUs. Also, I'll just get it out of the way and say I LOVED the music in this show. Lovely instrumentals and mostly used at really appropriate times. I have very mixed feelings, but I definitely don't regret watching it and there was a lot to love.

(major spoilers from here on!)

Initially, I couldn't stand Tai because of how much he whined about his parents getting divorced (it sucks, sure, but calm down PLEASE) and this immature behavior was a recurring theme. Sort of. I don't fully understand how the characters in this are so incredibly emotionally mature and yet so immature at the same time. In every conflict I couldn't pin a bad guy because while one person did something wrong, the other person overreacted so neither was fully wrong and neither was fully right. Episode 11 was hard, because it was just 3 grown adults throwing tantrums and screaming; Tien was the only one with a reasonable reaction, everyone else blew it SO out of proportion but he reacted appropriately (I'm definitely not biased)
They kind of dropped the ball multiple times and fumbled around with it for a bit, but typically recovered. I won't lie, I skipped/fast forwarded a decent amount of the show which made it way more enjoyable cause it definitely drags at times/characters are being annoying but since I didn't fully see all the negative stuff I can have a very positive feeling towards this show.
Patts is weird. At times, he's very loveable and trustworthy, and at other times I feel wary of him. He's really nice, but sometimes nice isn't honest and it stressed me out a little when he was being super nice. He ended up being fine, but idk I just think he was hard to read and his aggressive reaction in EP 11 was too much where it really put me off.
By the end, I didn't really care for the main couple because I was so thoroughly invested in the side couples. Tien and Lomfon are great, I'm obsessed with sun and moon/cat and dog couples and these two are SO cute. I honestly wish we'd had more from them, their little moments were so sweet and I'm not exaggerating when I say Tien means the world to me. He's absolutely on my list of sweet darling boys who I would die for. I also love Dream and Nara so so much, the crumbs we got of them were spectacular.

Overall, the show is incredibly polarizing for me because on one hand it's lovely, sweet, beautiful, and fun. On the other hand it's a bit boring and the characters can be really annoying. I love a good flawed character, but it felt like they made them perfect too early on. A lot of their maturity got thrown away and then magically found again which was weird.
Also, the soulmates thing kinda got lost? Lomfon is just casually the soulmate of both Patts and Tai? In the fight, Lomfon and Patts are yelling at each other. Patts even goes as far as to scream at Lomfon to shut his mouth which clearly shows that he can hear him, right? But they never address that which is whatever.

I almost teared up at Lomfon's apology/confession scene. It was so sweet and I care so much for both him and Tien. The kiss! It was great! I think the rewatch value is solely in regards to these two and I would gladly watch a cut version where it's just them. I didn't hate the main couple, in fact I really loved them at times. But damn they got frustrating.

It took me a long time to watch, but it was worth it! I think it's a really good show with some unfortunate decisions that got left in. I'll once again say that Tien is the most well written character. He was the most believably consistent and likeable. He was dramatic at times, but it seemed like he's just a dramatic person and not some chill/cool/calm person who just out of nowhere flips out.
I liked the dad, he was great. And Tien and Tai's older brother. The side characters were great. Oh, and there are a lot of other quirky, fun side characters which really made the show enjoyable (even if Bow was sometimes way too annoying, still love her). The vet that ALWAYS wears stupid hats? Love him. Pingpong ???? Omg I'm obsessed with them, they're amazing.

Anyways thanks for joining me on my train of thought and getting through how often it got derailed :)

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