proceed with caution

First things first, I think that many people don't know what they are getting themselves into. This show is a BL, yes, but it's way darker and more graphic in many different areas (language, NSFW scenes, fight scenes, etc.). I will add some content warnings at the bottom for those who might need them.

Everyone keeps talking about how flawless and perfect this show is with only minor "mistakes" and honestly... I have to disagree. While yes, the production value is significantly higher than in your usual BLs, the writing was nowhere near perfect. Just to highlight one issue: We meet Kim, youngest of the Theerapanyakul brothers and immediately know that he's up to something. He's secretive and constantly sneaks around and tries to gather some important info. It makes up the majority of his storyline. It's either him playing Kimlock Holmes or him having some boyfriend time with Chay. Solving this mystery it very tricky, so he has to be smart and careful about it. And this show really wants to let us know that he is both. But then, this plot just get's sidelined and eventually forgotten about. Suddenly it's not that important anymore and once Porsche now actually wants to know this secret information that Kim spent hours and weeks discovering, another character just swoops in and says "yeah sorry that it took me an hour and a half to get you this very secretive and important information, I was sleepy and needed a nap, but here you go". LIKE??? They did him so dirty and for what...

And no matter how many times people try to gaslight me, a mature story with criminals as protagonists doesn't automatically require them being abusers. They can be bad guys and still respect boundaries and give a damn about consent. I'm sorry, but a guy automatically loses all his attractiveness to me once they cross this line. Therefore, not many attractive men in this show for me.

This show loves to twist the plot. You think that you finally settled in and know how things work and BAMM new secret unlocked, another twist in this plot and it slowly turns into a pretzel. This happens quite a lot especially in the last third of the show. And it's intruiging at first, but I got a little tired of it by the end.

The time with our main couple and main characters Kinn and Porsche was a rollercoaster ride. I got a little fed up with them by the end. It was interesting watching them navigate their feelings towards each other, especially in that work enviroment (and the power imbalance as well). I got bored of these two repeating the same behavior over and over again. They had their cute moments but at one point I was so done with them that I couldn't even take it seriously anymore. But that meant that I had a great time the last two episodes since I just accepted whatever the writers threw at me and stopped questioning things or getting all riled up over these fictional characters. So, that's that.

The one Theerapanyakul brother that got it the worst is Tankhun. He was one of the comic relief characters that could've been really great. Even though he's way smarter than people give him credit for, he was never allowed to fully step outside of the box this show put him in. He got a moment here and there where he was allowed to be the only one seeing through everyone's bs, but in the end, it didn't matter much.

I was very concerned about the VegasPete storyline, as I only heard a few bits and pieces about it and I wasn't sure if the writers would be able to handle such a difficult topic well. And turns out my concerns were absolutely valid. While the slow built-up was okay, the ending felt rushed. I would've loved to follow Pete a little more and his inner turmoil. How he manages to accept his feelings for Vegas after everything he did to him. I found their scenes to be fascinating, but they would've benefited from more time. Their relationship starts out in a deeply fucked up way and this can easily be ruined if it's not handled with enough time and care.

But credit, where credit is due: Great production. I've read probably around a hundred posts of people making in-depth character analysis, discussing color symbolism, pointing out hints and little easter eggs, pointing out parallels, and so much more. It really shows how much effort went into making this show. The sound is good, the fighting scenes are captivating, the NSFW scenes don't feel stiff or awkward but natural and intimate. I think that it's a really great product. The actors have all great chemistry with each other and seemed pretty comfortable with each other. The music was also fantastic, they had a real banger on their hands and knew it. Also the different version of it and how they used them, chef's kiss.
The only thing that I critique though is the writing.

Content Warnings: rape, attempted rape, drugging, torture, abusive parents, so much blood and death. If you are not comfortable with these things I advice you to skip this show or find someone who can tell you which scenes to avoid.

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very interesting concept but the execution was lacking

This show had a very interesting premise but, in my eyes, didn’t allow itself to go down an either darker or more lighthearted road and therefore couldn’t utilize iit. This show dealt with death and abuse but kept it all very PG-13. You definitely can still make a dark show with that rating, but this show specifically failed. This show wasn’t able to juggle and perfectly balance out romantic, dramatic, and sad moments. Therefore, it would’ve been easier if they just leaned more in a darker or lighter direction.

To give an example. At one point, Nueng’s mother and Palm’s father both get shot by assassins. And their knee-jerk reaction is to flee to a beach and hide there for idk how long and just chill there and have fun. They try to make it seem like Nueng has the best time of his life to lay the groundwork for the finale, but it doesn’t work. One moment Nueng is there, having the time of his life (even saying that he’s never been happier) and then we are reminded “oh right, the mom could be dead by now” but this show doesn’t want us to dwell on that too long, because oh look! another cute moment between our leads!

So, either this show goes into a darker direction and let’s Nueng and Palm show more humanity and worry about their parents or they go down a more lighthearted road and tell us “yeah they are fine, now look at them swimming in the ocean!” both doesn’t work. Or rather, this show didn’t make it work.

While Nueng and Palm had a stronger beginning, their ending felt weak. I absolutely love the bodyguard trope. There is just so much external and internal conflict right at your feet but the writers stepped over it. There was some interesting back and forth and testing boundaries and how far they could go. Especially since Palm’s dad seemed really really concerned his son might overstep a line and get them fired or something. And after Nueng’s outburst at the dance, yelling at Palm to “know your place” and calling him a mere bodyguard, etc. In the end it was a bigger deal to me than Palm it seemed. It should’ve laid the groundwork for future insecurities and struggles. You tell me that everyone around Palm kept telling him that there was a clear boundary that Palm shouldn’t dare to cross and that he was worth less than Nueng and he was only there to protect the rich and wealthy and he was like “yeah, anyway”? A shame. Palm just seemed to get over it too quickly, after his own father was telling him the same. It’s like everyone around Palm kept telling him the same thing and Palm just ignored it as best as he could.

The writers were also such cowards and didn’t like to address the obvious classism. They constantly brought it up but as soon as it could’ve actually made things interesting, they dropped it. Same goes for the “bad rich and good rich people” mentality. In BL there are only two types of rich people. The Good Rich People and the Bad Rich People. Nueng rarely gets called out on his privilege because he wants to help the less fortunate by playing piano for a dance club for seniors. His family is apparently stupidly rich but they are good rich people, so it’s fine. You can say about Not Me what you want, but at least they were very clear about one thing (and I am grossly simplifying here) “there is no such thing as good rich people because as long as they are hoarding their money and don’t help others with it, they are bad rich people”.

The bullying at school was definitely a choice. And to have the class president constantly come in after a “prank” and yell “guys come on, stop it” and his “I am the class president I can take care of it” obviously you can’t, Ben.

Also, you shouldn’t give away your villain if you aren’t doing anything with it. I was a bit let down after they revealed who killed Nueng’s father immediately. There was no mystery aspect to it, instead we got many mustache-twirling evil-laughter scenes with him. I always cringe when a grown-ass man is after a teenager. The only good thing about it was that it introduced an opportunity to us for a very interesting character that this show didn’t allow to become something great. Chopper.

I would’ve loved it if they allowed Chopper to be more of a flawed character. He remained pretty solid throughout the show, always trying to do the right thing and stopping his father for the most part. And I wish they would’ve given him a bit more room to explore him trying to help his father by spying on Nueng, or idk.

Chopper was by far the most interesting character for me. He was the most morally gray out of the teenage cast and definitely had a lot of internal struggles that were brushed over. His dynamic with Nueng was great. The “doesn’t matter if our parents hate each other, it has nothing to do with us” was a feast they didn’t eat. They never allowed Chopper to get close to Nueng, so his betrayal of never telling him what his father did, didn’t hit as hard. Especially when Nueng returned from the beach and tossed him aside. So much angst and drama that they chose to ignore.

With that we come to my next point. Chopper and Ben’s relationship was a mere fraction of what it could’ve been. Basically, Chopper confessed his feelings for Ben and Ben rejecting, causing them to grow apart. And right after we find that out, Ben and Chopper both insinuate that they have feelings for each other and make it more or less known to the other. And after that there isn’t much development until they…suddenly decide to move in together. We don’t even get a dead fish kiss, imagine that. Not even a high five.

On top of that, this show wanted to frame Ben as Chopper’s moral compass. Ben telling Chopper to betray his father and stop him from committing more crimes and get more people killed felt ultimately flat because Chopper was never trying to do anything but that. He tried to reason with his father, but you can’t expect a teenager to stand up to his father who literally cuts people’s hands off IN FRONT OF HIM for a living.

The whole “you should stop your father” felt really insensitive coming from Ben, after he couldn’t stand up to his own father and be honest about the kiss. It was really hypocritical. And after everything, Chopper get’s shipped off to England to follow Ben to university (and we never get a scene where Chopper and Ben talk about moving to Europe together since it… seems like a pretty big move). We don’t even get a heartbreaking goodbye between Chopper and his father. He seemed devastated after he got shot and the next scene is him being sad about his father being in jail and that’s it. He rides off into the sunset with Ben never to be seen or heard from again. And there goes the most interesting character, wasted.

Same goes for Palm and his mother. At first it seemed like Palm had a lot of resentment toward her for leaving him and his dad behind. But after she explained that she wanted to flirt and party and live her life and just wasn’t ready for a child, all seemed forgiven. And then she’s killed and Palm shed a tear or two and that’s it. Nueng got almost the entire show whining and crying over his dead father and injured mother, but Palm didn’t even get an episode or two for his injured father and dead mother? Seems fair.

I wish they would’ve divided the focus on Palm and Nueng more equally, instead of blatantly favoring Nueng and his family over Palm’s (in a way it’s poetic how the rich family get’s more screen time and is favored over the poor family).

Or, and here I come with a drastic change, make this show about Chopper and Nueng. Two cousins who really love and care about each other are thrust into a family feud that neither of them want to deal with because “no matter if our parents hate each other, it has nothing to do with us”. More or less, the bad buddy road if you will but without the romance and more family bonding. I know that this show is about Palm and Nueng and I really love the bodyguard trope, I do. But I feel like there was so much unexplored potential with Nueng and Chopper.

The ending was okay, even though I’m really over the “separating the couple for ages in their time but for five minutes on screen” trope. Even though I did understand it from their perspective at the very least. I know that many wanted a sad ending but I personally am not really a big fan of those, so for all it’s worth, the ending was fine.

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amazing thriller with a terrible ending

This show was a ride. Not only was it my first kdrama Thriller, it was also having an overall great premise. This show pulled me in from the very first second and I really loved every episode. Up until like the last three that were slowly ruining it all for me.

Story: I really love the "someone killed my sibling so I will go undercover to find the person who did this" trope and this show managed to give us a protagonist who was not letting herself be pushed around. She was smart and didn't put up with anything, but still had a kind heart. Chanmi was a real delight and a welcomed fresh breath of air after so many push-over main characters I endoured the last few weeks. She managed to be both a badass and a softie and I love her. Seonjoon was a very interesting character as well and watching him walk down the narrow path between seeking revenge for other people and just cruely beating people up to the brink of their death was chilling. This boy had to shoulder so much and my heart was breaking for him and his mother a dozen times in these twelve episodes. Jaebum was someone I didn't trust from the start. His amnesia seemed so oddly convenient and I've seen the plot twist "he's faking his amnesia" too many times, so I was always suspicious. But like halfway through the show I slowly warmed up to his charm and good nature. A mistake as it turns out, but more on this later. The supporting characters were great as well, making you feel for them and hate them, whatever the show needed you to feel. About the detectives... Well, let's just say that I have mixed feelings about them. I'm glad that they started to trust Chami more and more and were trying to work with her after realising that she was onto something. But at times it also felt very frustrating since Chanmi and we (the audience) were always one step ahead, so whenever they discovered something it was never a "oh!"-moment but rather a "finally!".

Acting/Cast: Almost all the actors and actresses were doing a phenomenal job, especially the main cast was really giving their all in their performances and it shows.

Music: Great. Just great. But kdramas rarely have bad or boring soundtrack, so no surprise here.

Rewatch Value: Up until now my review probably seems overwhelmingly positive, so you might think that my rewatch value is quite high, but not only am I not one to rewatch stuff easily, I also have very strong feelings about the ending and if it isn't satisfactory enough for me, it will immediately lower my rewatch value drastically. And as you can see from my rating, I will not rewatch this show any time soon.

The Bad:
- predictable plot twists. Okay, so this one doesn't have to be too bad, because if nobody can predict your plot twist than you have done a bad job at forshadowing it. But this show had so many plot twists that I have seen coming from a mile away and not in a "oh! I see! So this could happen!" kind of way but in a "lol maybe they pull x-twist, i hope not tho" and they did. Like my first thought was "why would Jihyun and Osung care so much about others knowing they are siblings? if they aren't dating, nobody cares" and well... guess what happened...

- characters suddenly turn dumb. This one was probably the most frustrating one. I had to watch Seonjoon and Chanmi accuse everyonea round them of murder for like ten episodes straight, they were pointing fingers at LEFT AND RIGHT, but when the culprit is RIGHT THERE they close their eyes. They literally have a conversation like: "Hey, the police says that the murderer probably used his left hand." - "Huh, that's good to know. Btw, Jaebum was acting really strange and he wrote his name with his left hand." - "Oh, you should ask him if he is ambidextrous." - "Yeah... anyway, back to the killer. So Osung-" LIKE???? They laid such a heavy focus on the left-hand-thing just for them to IGNORE IT?? What was the point of the shots of Seonjoon staring at Jaebum doing all these weird things just for him to NOT mention it to Chanmi or to not grow at least a little suspicious??

- all is forgiven. HOW?? Chanmi was ready to pull a gun on Seonjoon as soon as she suspected him of murdering his brother but all of a sudden she has a change of heart and forgives Jaebum. I know that some more time has pass and she learned to trust people and learned to love these people, yadda yadda. But she was ready to kill him and suddenly she forgave him completely. That seemed very unlike her and, after all we've been through, a little disappointing. And I'm sorry but I just can't believe that if someone would try to kill me and I wouldn't know who and someone was like "yeah it was this guy" I would WITHOUT QUESTIONING HIM FIRST OR ANYTHING just straight up go there to murder him??? Like how was that his FIRST THOUGHT?? And the way he kicked him wasn't him trying to be like "I will push you out of the window so you can have the same experience as me" but he full intended to kill him. Just good old coldblooded murder and we are just supposed to shrug it away. I know he was manipulated but just the fact that he was so ready to kill someone...idk idk

- is this an open ending or no ending? So, the thing with open endings is that they are pretty hit or miss. You can still get a sense of closure and satisfaction even if the ending is open or ambigious. But this ending felt like someone forgot to write an ending and came to set and made something up. I'm glad that they didn't kill-off Seonjoon in the very last few minutes because that would just leave a sour taste in my mouth. The characters all graduating and Chanmi just saying in a voice-over "btw he died, but live goes on" and then end credits... like no please don't. But since the very first episode we are told that he will die and he doesn't. He leaves school, get's together with Chanmi and that's it; "he's lucky for now". They are happy for now, both alive for now. But you know what, I can live with that, I can understand leaving it at that with them, since fans can now decide for themselves if they have many happy years in front of them or if Seonjoon died soon after. But with everyone else... no. What happened to Jihyun and her family after finding out the truth about her brother and seeing him literally die right in front of her eyes? What happens to Jaebum? Is he now "freed" or is he still mentally ill (we'll get to that in a second)? What about his family? What about the detectives? Are they just gonna accept that everyone pretends like this guy died of natural causes?

- everyone accepts that Osung died of natural causes. So you tell me that this school had like two dead students in a year and nobody is like "hmm, that's a little sus, we should keep an eye on them"?? The detectives arrive see that this guy apparently jumped from the roof and they just accept it with a "if enough people push the lie it eventually becomes the truth" like first of all...no that's not how that works and second of all that insinuates that she KNOWS that something's up but she CHOOSES to ignore it??? Good to know this woman has learned nothing from twelve episodes.

- Jaebum is possesed by a demon(??). Throughought this show we get many hints that there is something wrong with Jaebum. Him stating that he "doesn't remember stuff he did" and "remembers stuff he didn't do" was like an alarm bell going of. And I know that the "this super nice and sweet guy was actually the killer all along and is actually cold, evil, and bloodthirsty" is a beloved trope. God knows I do like it as well. But the way it was handled in this show... uff. First of all, I am really tired of the way people keep misrepresenting DID and make it into a Jekyll and Hyde situation. Just make him evil and say that he loves playing nice guy or something. Also Chanmi's speech of evil guy Jaejoon was truly something. Her saying "you are a demon" and "please let him free" was just...I was speechless. My girl, my man has a mental illness, he is not possessed by a demon. That's not how it work--well apparently that's exactly how it works in this show.

- the nice Jaebum being not so nice. Okay, so the thing is that everyone keeps telling you that Jaebum is a good person. Even when he literally killed someone, they say it's not his fault since he was manipulated and everyone forgives him. And I guess, yes, he does take responsibility once he's caught. We don't know what happenes after if his family just buys him out or if he talks about his illness or if he takes the blame for it all, we will never know. But what we do know is that Jaebum got his memory back of the incident quite early... like this man had some time to think. Time to feel guilty. You tell me this guy knew he killed a classmate and he just...went on with his life?? He knew he was the killer then looked Chanmi in the eyes and didn't immediately start crying?? The Jaebum who was so ready to jump to her defense all the time? The guy who was ready to cover up a murder for his friend(s)??? Also how did the fight between him and Osung end? They were ready to kill each other and suddenly they are both fine and went different ways?

- the full-circle-dilemma. I know that the whole school protecting Seonjoon was more a symbolic thing, to show that they really value him as "the hero" and that was sweet yes, if you don't really think about how unrealistic it is that not one single soul snitched. But even if you pretend that it's totally realistic for two hundred people to stick to one story and protecting a guy some hated and some loved, it still felt weird. It was supposed to be this full-circle kinda thing, a parallel to Wonseok's death and how everyone believed/accepted it to be suicide and nobody spoke up about it. But it didn't give me anything. And I know that Osung was a bad person and that some might think that he deserved it, but for me it just felt like history repeating itself and nobody learning anything.

- so who should've been the killer? So after this whole rent you might as yourself, well how would you have liked this show to end then? And I don't have a clear answer to that, since there were so many (better) possibilities. So many characters that could've made (a better) perpetrator. My personal favorite was Soyeon and Seonjoon as a team. At one point I even suspected a last plot twist that it wasn't actually Jaebum but Soyeon and Seonjoon who constructed the whole thing. It was mentioned so many times that Wonseok was someone many people wanted to see dead and maybe Soyeon and Seonjoon made that happen. And maybe Seonjoon didn't mean to kill Wonseok but just fight him and he accidentally fell out of the window or his anger spiked up because of his cancer and that's why he forgot it or idk. I haven't planned an entire alternative ending in my head, these are just a few thoughts that popped into my head in like episode 11 when I thought that maybe this show would pull a better twist.

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if you liked Manner of Death you will love this show

As soon as I heard that Dr. Sammon was behind Triage I was more than eager to watch it. I was super excited that we finally get a BL that isn't another engineer/medical student university drama, but a medical/fantasy drama. I know that we got quite a few shows and movies about time loops, but it's the very first time for a BL. Let me break down my review in two parts: The Good and The Bad.

The Good:
- The Acting. Tae and Tee both are able to carry not only their ship but also the show. From subtle to grant emotions. They did a good job portraying the characters. Also the supporting cast did well. Great casting.

- The built-up and the relationshp between Tin and Tol. We follow Tin most of the time and his POV, he only know about Tol what he knows. And I loved how we not only saw Tol opening up over time, we saw Tin opening up as well. At first, Tol was nothing but a drunk university student to him who he must safe for some reason, but over time he learns that Tol isn't what he initially thought he was. To see how them growing from distant aquaintances to close friends to lovers was amazing and well done. Also something I appreciated was that instead of judging and scowling Tol for his fuck-ups, he tried to give him advice and talk to him about it and that led to his big development in character. He didn't help Rit because Tin forced him, but he genuinely changed and understood that he had to make up for his mistakes. And Tin who grew more and more open and kind because of Tol (highlighted more in the last episodes). And to see them both struggle so much to save their loved one and the people they care about, especially Tin who had to go through the pain of losing Tol multiple times, was so heartwrenching but so worth it.

- Apparently not everyone is a fan of the POV switch, but I thought it was great. Within three episode we slowly shift from Tin's to Tol's POV. We start in episode 8 while we are still following Tin, we begin to see more of Tol's inner struggles. In episode 9 we are mostly with Tol, since Tin got stabbed and is unconscious for like half the episode. After everything Tin did, after everything he's been through the last nine episodes, it was only fair for Tol now to do the work. He had to fight for Tin now, also it drew some nice parallels to Tin's earlier attempts and it sort of redeemed Tin's creepy stalker-ish behavior in the early episodes.

- In episode 4 we got that scene with Tin almost half-asleep trying to stay awake having an encounter with Tol. We never got an explanation to how or why that happened. Only in episode 11 we see how things went down and because of this, this scene skyrocketed upwards on my top 10 triage moments list. To watch Tol realise what Tin had went through just to save him and for him to go to him and hug him and giving him some more hope was really satisfying to watch. And it also explained why Tol was so physical with him (the hug and the hand to heart), which was so vastly different from how distant he was back in the first episodes.

- Another thing that speaks for Tol was how he handled things once he found out the true reason Mai has been daiting him. It was exactly how I wished he would react. He wasn't upset or angry or threw a tantrum. He was understanding and offered help and even told her that they could be friends. Really highlighted the growth he had over the last couple of episodes. Episode 1 Tol would never.

- The side characters were great. Toi, Fang, Gap, and Sing were all really a great add not only to lighten the mood but also to talk some sense into Tin once in a while. Also the few scenes we got from Gap and Sing here and there were fun to watch.
- Rit was a great character and my heart broke for him so many times. The little crumps we got from him and Sing were so sweet and heartwarming.

- Each character served a purpose. May it be a minor or major one, but they all were there for a reason and I know that this sounds weird to point out and give credit for, but after watching too many BLs where there is this comically large cast with too many characters that are all there for no other reason than to add more faces to the show, I can not not point it out.

The Bad:
- While I really liked the POV shift from Tin to Tol and the changes that in storyline and character was interesting, I wasn't a fan of the sudden GapSing relationship. I am aware that as a side couple you just don't have much screen time, but we spent nine episodes watching them going from "he hates me" to "they begin to appreciate each other" to suddenly see them cuddling and in an established relationship. Many people on Tumblr shared their theories and why they haven't been dating before and what changed (Tin) but I would've liked an in-world/canon explanation. Or at least a better pay-off. I didn't watch these two bickering and fighting for episode after episode just to see them cuddle in the last two.

- Tol's friends were a real pain in the ass. Same as Gap and Sing there was no no pay-off. They were shown to be reckless, manipulative, and mean and they would do whatever suited them best. And instead of cutting ties with them or idk telling them to quit being such assholes... nothing happened. Rit is now back in their group and working on the project again. That was everything we got. Quite a let down. I hoped that Art would get a grip and stop hanging out with them and only hanging out with Rit and Tol instead.

- Stories that involve any fuckery with the time are careful to handle, since it's so easy to mess up. And while the show didn't mess up in that sense, there were a few established worlbuilding "rules" that did confuse me. In one of the later episodes it's established that kisses can make you remember the past loops. We don't know why. Is it true love? Or does it only work when the person who knows about the loops is kissing someone? Does it still work when Tin kisses other people? Like Sing or Dear? It's never explained, we just have to accept it. Same goes for the notebook. Once a loop ends, everything is set back to how things were at the time Tin wakes up, but for some reason whatever he writes in that notebook stays. I mean, okay, sure. An explanation from Jinta would've been nice ("Here, I'll give you this notebook to help you keep track of things, it isn't effected by the time loops so don't worry about your do-to list disappearing." or idk).

- I know that I said every character served a purpose and I won't backtrack on that, because Dr. Doi did serve a purpose. Just his role in the finale was... a lot. He held Sing and Gap hostage, shot Sing, ran to Dr. Sak and the others to keep Tol and Tin hostage, then tried to kill Tin and ends up in a mental facility because we went crazy. That's a lot.

- The "I'm gone but I'll be back"-ending that I am slowly getting fed up with. I can't tell you how much I am annoyed with that trope. After Doi injects some poison into Tin to kill him, he's in a coma for weeks, we get a montage of Tol visiting him in the hospital, writing diary entries in Tin's notebook for him. Then Tol eventually continues living his life until he meets Tin in the clock tower again. At first Tin pretends that he doesn't remember him, but then drops the "I heard kissing someone can bring back memories" line, which obviously means that he can remember. They kiss. Happy end. The quick "we are seperated for weeks/months/years in a montage but we meet again after weeks/months/years and are now happy together". It's perfect if you don't want any emotional impact. Breaking up/seperating the couple for like ten minutes of screen time (no matter how long it is in their world) has rarely made me cry. At least put him in a coma for half the episode/an entire episode to actually make me notice that he's not part of Tol's life and missing out on things, etc.

- Jinta was such a crucial part of the plot, without him there would be no plot. But while the others had their montages and happy endings, Jinta was never to be seen again. No last goodbye or him watching them from afar and smiling to himself for his plan to work out or idk. I wish we would've gotten one last scene. Also, I still don't quite understand why he did what he did. Like, why would he chose to intervene with fate and make Tin safe Tol? I read a few theories of people saying that he actually wanted to safe Rit because he would make some great invention in the future or something. But, and feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but we never find out why it's so important for Jinta that Tol survives.

- This will probably be an unpopular opinion but I wish that Tin wasn't able to remember what happened. I can see why people find that happy ending perfect, because it is perfect. But I guess I needed a little more... emotional damage? Like they really got that happy ever after ending with everything and all. Dr. Sak was caught, Mai got her mom into a new hospital with new meds, Sing and Gap are together, Rit is back with his former friends and working on the project, Tin is able to remember everything same as Tol and they are happy and together... The whole difficulty of The Last Loop was that Tin was not able to remember anything. It was a sacrifise that Tol chose to make for his and Tin's happy ending. I'm not saying that he shouldn't remember anything at all, you can still hin at him slowly win back his memory by giving him the magic notebook and let him be like "I think I might remember a few bits and pieces but not much". I just think that it would've been more impactful.

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beautiful and heartbreaking story with a sweet ending

I've just finished watching Doom at your Service and it was a delight. The actors, the cinematography, the story--it was all great. There were so many loveable characters and seeing them interact with each other was truly heartwarming. Also, the story provided enough twists and turns to keep me interested and while it did use some common tropes and clichés, they were executed in a unique and genuine way (imo ofc).

Tak Dong-kyung was the definition of a kind-hearted person and to see her suffer through so much was really hard. Ever since the first episode, this girl got no break. From her ex-boyfriend cheating on his wife with her without her knowing, to the wife blaming it on her and causing a scene, that scene causing her trouble at work, and her brother asking for money, etc. Who wouldn't get drunk and wish doom upon this world?

One of the many sweet moments were the conversations Kevin had with Dong-kyung and Sa-ram/Myeol-mang. You can tell that family is very important to Kevin and that he is happy to welcome anyone into the family and offer support (even though he might not understand them at all times xD)

This Kdrama also offered a lot of humour and comic-relief without it being too over-the-top or out of place. Especially when you are dealing with such heavy subjects (e.g. death), it's important to not lose oneself in the seriousness of the situation and make the viewing experience unnecessary gloomy and dark (e.g. Dong-kyung comes to the conclusion that she would just fall in love with Sa-ram so he could die and not her brother or anyone else she truly cares about was unexpectet and funny. Also his reaction being "sure, let's do it" was pure comedy.)

The scene--that is also in the top 10 best scenes is the dream-sequences--we got with Dong-kyung and her family and friends all sitting in this restaurant eating and showing off their gifts Dong-kyung got them. All happy and together and bittersweet feeling you get that this will most likely not come true. Then, later on you get hit with that exact scene, when Dong-kyung finally was able to make this dream come true (but without Sa-ram :`().

My favorite scene that will forver live rent free in my mind is definitely the beach scene, where Dong-kyung finally breaks down and is a sobbing mess, opening up to Sa-ram about how she truly is feeling about her situation and that she actually wants to live and doesn't want to die. And to see how all these feelings she bottled up to not burden anyone with it (and probably to not speak her nearing death into existance) truly hit hard.

A few things I do want to critizice though are:

- Sometimes the story feels dragged out. The Kdrama would've benefited from it being a little shorter. While I really appreciate that in most Kdramas almost all character seem to have something going on, it does drag the story sometimes, especially when this side-plot doesn't tie into the main plot and it feels disconnected and unnecessary. The first half of this Kdrama was really great, I would even say up until episode 10, but after that it felt a little repeptitive. Like yeah, we had to built up tension, to show how much these two tried to fight their fate and eventually gave in and accepted it, but does this really need to be streched over so many episodes? The back and forth with Dong-kyung running away, coming back, them breaking up, them getting back together, Dong-kyung accepting the deal of the Deity just to go back to square one... etc. etc. etc. It's all important for the characters and to present the overal tragedy of their situation and to show that no matter the circumstances they would've made the same choices, but it did feel a overly lengthy at times. Many things that took this Kdrama two episodes to tell, could've been easily told in one.

- Too much love triangle drama without tension. I'm not really a fan of love triangles and DAYS (really love the abbreviation) really dragged out this one. Na Ji-na got together with Cha Joo-ik in the very last/second-to-last episode. The love triangle was one of the things I least enjoyed about this Kdrama. It was just a constant who will she choose in the end and there was no real tension, since it was clear to me from the start who the "lucky one" would be. This just made it all the more frustrating and almost pathetic, to watch these two men risk everything for their crush and just aren't able to move on although it's been YEARS. Also, there was just too much whining from Lee Hyun-gyu and Joo-ik and all this "well I won't give up and fight for her" that eventually broke up their friendship... tragic.

- Childish men. Also, once Dong-kyung was together with Sa-ram, there was this constant annoying (almost child-like) jealousy and pouting at every male character (apart from Kevin, her brother and surprisingly Hun-gyu for some reason). Like my guy, this dude is a child, why are you so pressed about him having a crush on this woman who clearly isn't in love with him. And he kept pressuring her to get married, even though she clearly wasn't ready for that commitment after only knowing him for a few months. And I know it's a trope and woman in Kdramas aren't allowed to euphorically engange in intimacy, but I am really tired of this. Would it really kill you to make a Kdrama where the female lead shares the same excitement over intimacy than her male counterpart?

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a surprisingly good continuation of season one

Story: We start right where we left off, and while I was a little upset at first how quickly they pushed Kikuchi aside to return to the good old same old Mob narrating and observing his and other people's lives, trying o avoid "becoming BL". And while it was fun and I was enjoying myself, I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed at how this show treated Kikuchi. But given the title, it was no surprise that they wouldn't fully commit to the Kikuchi and Mob train. Or to say it with Inukai Atsuhiro's own words: "I'd say it was most difficult how far the characters should go. If they end up together, then it destroys the very title of this series. I think season 2 begins in a way that was "as expected"."

Acting/Cast: I was glad to see many familiar faces from season one and how that tied into the season showed more themes of outside forces and internal struggles in an established relationship rather than only focusing on meet-cutes like in season one. Especially when watching the making-off of season two, you can feel how they are all glad to be there and give it their all, and it shows.

Music: The intro slaps. I love to listen to it, and I never skip it. Ever. It's seriously a bop. And the way they styled the people this season was very dramatic, and I loved it. I'm sure there is a deeper meaning or at least some particular thoughts that went into it, but I honestly don't know, and I'd be weird to assume things, so I'll leave it at that xD

Rewatch Value: Season two only has three episodes roughly 25 minutes long, so it's perfect for a quick and easy watch.

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was in it for the sapphics

I'm going to be honest with you guys. I only watched this show for the sapphic side couple. To be completely honest, I have watched approximately 10 mins. of the show outside of the wlw couple, so maybe I am not qualified enough to write a review. Then again, who cares. Seo Ji Wan and Yoon Sol owned my heart from the very first picture I saw on Tumblr. Very cute story, very sweet. My only complaint is that they really got very small screen time and it could've and should've been longer, but since they are only a side couple, I guess I take what I can get.

The friends to lovers trope lovers keep winning. I do not regret watching this show solely for them.

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great chemistry, captivating story, great balance of softness and horniness

This BL has it all. A soundtrack that slaps, amazing call-backs and parallels, a couple with great chemistry, a story filled with compassion, angst, fluff, a little spice, and three-dimensional characters. I am totally in love with it and have rewatched it countless times and can't wait for the second season.

Every good show has at least one memorable moment that stays with you even after you finish watching it. And honestly, this show had SEVERAL moments that all live rent-free in my head, and I am not complaining in the slightest.

It's one of the very few BLs that actually don't feel cut short or oddly rushed but still leave some room for more (like a second season ;)).

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perfect comfort show with enough fluff and cuteness

This BL (with many others) had the luck of coming out to the exact right time. 2020 was an exhausting year for many people for some more than others and a teeth-rotting fluffy show was exactly what many needed and still do now. The story is very sweet and even though the worldbuilding isn't as in-depth as it could be, it's not something you would expect from it anyway. It never promises to explain to you where the magical gift is coming from and so, it's not disappointing when you don't get an answer to that.

This is a character-driven story that relies heavily on its characters. The characters have so much depth and likeability that it's almost impossible to not fall in love with all of them. This show handles the whole "being able to read other people's most private thoughts" subject pretty well (IMO). Adachi is a great protagonist and even though he's more passive, it's not boring or frustrating to watch. With Ajaso Eiji and Machida Keita, this show got great actors on its hand (especially Machida who is able to pull off totally opposite roles).

There is some over-the-top acting in this BL and it's used in a stylistic way. I didn't mind it for the most part, but there were two particular scenes involving the side couple that made me actually cringe and fast forward. But other than that, it's very cute and fun.

However, if an on-screen kiss is important to you, you may find yourself a little bit disappointed (only with the main couple though). This is not a bromance, it's very clearly a romance, even without an explicit on-screen display of affection, like kissing.

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another BL that shows the true potential of KBL

I was really looking forward to this BL and even though I had quite the expectations, it still managed to exceed them. This BL doesn't have anything super unique to it, it manages to portray what they have in a wonderful and unique way, though. As I always say, you don't have to bring something new to the table, but you have to put your own spin on things and this show did it really well.

Mad props to the writers, the director and the actors who managed to make the relationship between Sangwoo and Jaeyoung what it is. Because of them, I consider it my favorite Korean BL (with To My Star ofc). We have great female characters that aren't villanized, beautiful cinematography, symbolism, parallels, HANDS and actually well-done kisses. Not to mention the great chemistry between the two leads. I highly suggest for everyone to give this BL a chance.

(Also the casual bi representation >>>>>>>>>>)

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if you don't take it too seriously it's a fun watch

I remember when I started watching this BL and it started with *That Scene*.I paused the episode and was very confused. Was this the first season? Was this the first episode? What is going on? I went to the comments. The very first one read: For the first time watchers: Yeah, I know. You didn't miss anything, that's how it starts.
And so I went back and binged this show in pretty much a weekend. I, unlike many others it seems, haven't watched Bad Romance and therefore had no knowledge of any of the characters or the setting or anything at all.

This show had many great comedic moments (e.g. the whole chasing scene comes to my mind) and Tul and Max have great chemistry together. I didn't get the impression that the show was taking itself to serious, therefore I probably wasn't as thrown off by the sometimes very questionable choices of the characters. I laughed quite a lot while watching it, but I also rolled my eyes probably just as much. The moments that truly stood out to me where the ones between Korn and Knock, the little bits Yiwha got, and the ridiculous over-the-top comedic moments that I metioned above.

There were a few things that bugged me, though. The acting could be a little stiff and awkward at times; it felt forced and a little over-the-top. But I've seen worse. Other things that I wasn't so keen of: The cliché crazy ex-girlfriend, the stereotype of the cheating bisexual, the studentxteacher side story, the whole Bright and Farm mess...
Keeping up with Knock's bs was quite a challenge and I think that the only reason why I still gave even the slightest crap about him was thanks to Tul.

I am not an expert on BL history, but I heard from many different people that this BL seemed to be quite revolutionary in terms of intimacy and NC scenes back when it aired.

Important to add: If I hadn't watched Together with Me, I wouldn't have known Max and Tul and therefore wouldn't have known Manner of Death, which is reason enough for me to be forever greatful for this very BL to exist.

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Lawful Manners of Deadly Attraction

This title was supposed to be a (poor) homage to Manner of Death aka one of my favorite crime Bls to this day.

Laws of Attraction was all over my dashboard and timeline for MONTHS, so I did have quite some expectations. I was hoping that this could be the Manner of Death of 2023. The premise was very interesting and I did enjoy the first episode. Though, the show didn't manage to keep up my interest throughout the other seven episodes. I'm not entirely sure if I want this show to be longer to flesh out some characters and arcs or if I need this show to fix the pacing and speed things up and use the gained time more efficiently. I'm not super nitpicky about the fight scenes, the VFX/CGI and other stuff, but the budget was noticeable. This show reminded me a lot of Manner of Death, the amount of times they get beat up or chased and almost killed is nearly identical. The acting was also a little over the top or stiff. The main couple was nice in theory but Tinn seemed a bit too good for Charn. Like there was no "okay they are both unhinged, I can see it work". On one hand you have squeaky clean goody-two-shoes big bro and on the other hand you have a corrupt lawyer who has no issue faking evidence and putting innocent people behind bars and burning down houses to get what he wants. I feel like Charn had great potential but was screwed over by the writing and pacing of the show. The side couple managed to steal my heart. What can I say, I am a sucker for the bodyguard trope. Though I gotta admit, that I did struggle with Thaenthai quite a lot in the first few episodes. Specifically his apathy and disregard for other people and their death. But his character arc and storyline was interesting. The execution was fine, nothing groundbreaking or new, but fine. The sapphic couple was a nice addiction though very minor. The scene about marriage equality was brief and a little too on-the-nose, but I liked it nonetheless.

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