etoks21

It's MDL.
The ratings are meaningless unless you apply them as a reverse image of reality.

Plus, if you read the fine print about how ratings are determined here, it's not a pure rating determined by member rating averages.
The staff sticks their fingers into the mix in vague and questionable ways, so who the hell knows what the rating ends up representing? This is an industry-operated/marketing-aimed site, which is telling. Though that makes me wonder how ANY show rates below a 9. lol

I'm holding off reading the reviews here until I've finished the show, but I know from the couple of headlines I've seen, and the stupidity below, that the usual oblivious, childish taste levels of the MDL herd are at work.

I'm more interested in how the show is received on IMDB and other, less insane, websites.

100%
It's going to end up as the ONLY "fantasy" romance in my top ten BLs list, I think.

hmmm...this makes me sad for you, but I don't mean that in a condescending way at all.
I, too, might take that opportunity, were it offered to me.
Hugs.

You are not alone.

ALL the actors in this show are "looking soo good." :)
All four leads, the dad, the uncle, the cop, and now even Hong, are handsome, but in distinctive and natural ways. No Korean nose jobs here!

Episode 9:
I'm putting all my hopes on the "Deja Vu," at this point. :(

This is the first BL time-travel/metaphysical-type plot, as silly as it is at its core, that has ever worked for me. Nine out of ten times, I drop such nonsense.
However, in this case, the well-written script, the director, and the actors 100% believe what they're presenting, so I believe it too. I find myself actually attempting to think through why/how things are happening as they are. Usually, I roll my eyes and drop the show. :D

The acting across the board is excellent.
It's a wonderful/interesting development that Crazy Hong is suddenly key to what's going on.

Now I wait for ep 10. Fingers crossed.

What do you mean?

Those are the people I'm talking about, and there are a lot of them here.
These are the people who like to down-rate shows that are beyond their grasp, which is why so many great shows have mediocre MDL ratings.

It was obvious from the trailer that this was not going to be a Thai-style BL, that it is more on the level of a feature film than a standard BL, plus being produced by NF, so it's not as though they weren't warned...lol. :)

My BL grip is firm, steady, and tight.
That's how I know Thai standards are non-existent.

Exactly.
For MDLers such as the OP above, that tension went a mile over their heads, and they dropped out to watch "Bad Buddy," for the 12th time.

Oh Lord, I don't watch Thai BLs unless someone puts a pistol to my head. :D
It's the JP version that's #21 on my fave BLs list.

It's funny you say that.
I'm American, but did not care for "Heartstopper" at all. I dropped it after maybe two episodes.
On the other hand, I may be the only person who likes My Love Mixup enough to put it on my 30 favorite BLs list. :)

Well, except that for me, they DO take away from the story, because I'm sitting there thinking, "what a ridiculous series of absurdly impossible coincidences/improbabilities," rather than losing myself in the story.

So, in other words, I don't think it IS great writing, at least that aspect of it. Which isn't to say I don't like the story as a whole so far.

As I mentioned, what's frustrating is that I believe all of these absurdities, except the key one, the rescuer being the boxer, could have been written to feel like natural occurences, rather than lazy, writerly short-cuts.

After all, what are the chances of me running into my cyber friend on the subway in NYC? 20M to ONE!

"BL" is used with such variation anymore, that it's kind of lost its early, fairly tight meaning.

I don't know that it's "Western," but it's a gay-themed series, not a classic Asian BL.

Hi there.
Yes, I like it a lot.
I ended up watching through episode 3 and would keep going, but it's almost 5am here, so I need to crash. But, yes, yes, yes! It's very good. :)

Episode 3;

Yikes! There...at the very end. Is that who I think it is...?

The drama is quite good. If it weren't nearly 5am here, I'd likely binge the rest of it.
So, I'll do that tomorrow night.

A lot of lovely moments in this episode.

Coincidences:
1. Two closeted, handsome, Asian immigrant gay dudes happen to sit in opposite halves of the same church confessional in the whitest city in Europe, Berlin.
2. They sit there at exactly the same time.
The above is actually about five coincidences, but whatever.
3. Said gay dudes are put in the same hospital emergency room recovery area.
4. Even though one dude got up and left while the other was still unconscious, somehow the unconscious one got released, dressed, and out the front door in time to catch up with the one who left.
5. The gay dude who rescued the other gay dude from a church fire happens to be one of the featured boxers at a match the rescued one's friend happens to take him to.
6. A random Asian chick who happens to be the sister of the rescuer/boxer, just happens to sit RIGHT NEXT TO the guy her brother rescued from the fire.
7. Asian sister throws down with some guy twice her size after brother throws the boxing match, and the rescued gay guy's friend decides to rescue HER, even though she's barely bigger and does not know the sister.
8. The sister happens to know SIX languages, so that they can all communicate even though they're from KO/JP.

See what I mean? :D

Now, one big coincidence can work for me because such things DO happen in real life.
I have a very good cyber friend who I communicated with for five years while he lived in New York City and I lived far away. We never met and did not make plans to meet, but I did go to NYC now and then. About two years after we met online, I rode the subway in NYC, a city of more than 20M people. Who should walk onto the very same subway car and sit two rows in front of me...? My cyber friend. :)
But, that's one amazing coincidence.
Above, I listed about 16.

Episode 2:
I'm all a-glow. :)

Loving the first-rate production values/acting/direction, etc.
Great vibes so far, with one caveat: I can get on board with one, maybe two, super-convenient coincidences or improbabilities in a flick/drama, but they're pushing my limit here already. ;) Not that I'd stop watching, but plot devices like this that could fairly easily be written another way or made to not seem so outlandish, distract me from a story.
If you wonder what I'm talking about, check the spoiler below.

Lastly, I wish to god Korean idols/actors would STOP with the plastic surgery.
That's another thing that distracts me, and after seven years of watching Asian cinema/dramas and following some minimal Kpop, I can spot a nose job a mile away, particularly the Korean ones that tend to look eerily similar. Far too many K-performers look like siblings or first cousins; it's spooky, b ut also true. It's that ski-slope inward/downward curve that always gives the rhinoplasties away.

I've no doubt Ok Taec Yon was a handsome dude B4 the work he had done.
It blows my mind that young people like him go under the knife and lose their natural good looks.
It's sad.
So, anyway, I'll be noticing that fake nose every time he's in profile, quarter, or three-quarter, and wondering how much of Hwang Jo Han's boxing $$$ he blew on plastic surgery. :D

WTF?
How is this boring?
Never mind...forget I asked.

Episode 1:
What a treat!
I had not paid close attention prior to watching this, and thought I'd be watching a MOVIE.
So, when I click onto Netflix and discover it's an 8-episode drama instead, I was like, YAY.
But then, I've seen, and dropped, a lot of Asian dramas that pack into 12 episodes what would have made one, good, 2-hour movie, so I was apprehensive going in.

But...episode 1 ROCKS.

Being pathetic and eager to watch this, I started at 2am where I am in the US, so probably will do one more episode and call it a night.

Have to say...coming here to leave this comment, I saw part of a comment just below mine that felt like it might be a spoiler. If anyone sees this, and that IS a spoiler, please tell the moron who left it to put it behind a spoiler button. Thanks.
And if it's not a spoiler and they're not a moron...thanks anyway. :)

Just watched the trailer again to warm up...goosebumps.
I'm stoked! :D