Maybe the real revenge was the friends we made along the way
Wanna know what the capital of Lithuania is? Are you into pink bunnies and men with bloody faces? Every time I pitch this to my friends they go "how on earth does that make sense" and every time I have to convince them that it kinda really does. YES this guy used to extort people for money. YES he got ripped off by his ex. YES he's now going to take revenge on said ex by... becoming a famous actor? This works because Minlee is Minlee and I believed everything he did as Sun. I was sold the moment he slammed that knife into the table at his audition. Perfect beautiful man. Toptap as Jay is also good, but there's something uncanny and slick about his styling that is not my cup of tea. But no matter. This drama serves:- FIGHTING. BLOOD. ACTION.
- EMOTIONS. CONFLICT.
- FOUND FAMILY. CONNECTIONS. SUN DESERVES TO BE LOVED, ACTUALLY
- SE....X
the NC scenes are quickly becoming infamous, and for good reason. People on Reddit have been working overtime to adjust lighting and slow things down to see if they can catch a glimpse of Real genitals. That's how explicit the scenes feel. A statement was released begging people not to share and upload the clips to social media (and porn sites?), which might have been a very sneaky tricksy way of getting more eyeballs on this show. All the love and respect to the actors, producers, intimacy coordinators etc. etc. etc. This show works because there was so much talent on board at all times, both in front of and behind the camera.
Either way. I've had a blast watching this. I have some issues with how the main conflict was resolved by the end, and feel like Payback could have used a couple more episodes to really stick the landing. But this was good fun and emotional turmoil. Waiting for the next episode was agony and I must thank the Payback team for releasing Minlee and Toptap's reaction videos in between eps to tide us over until the next one.
Anyway 9/10. Big recommend.
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This review may contain spoilers
The value of community
"It's not scary to be forgotten. What's really scary is you don't know you were loved."I see a lot of reviewers saying this title was confusing, but I disagree. The plot is easy to understand as soon as you accept the supernatural element of it. If you can accept that the rules of this universe is unpredictable and a little volatile, the rest is fine.
My score for this show is highly subjective (as most reviews are, I guess), simply because the theme resonates with me. As soon as I realized this show deals with the concept of being forgotten, of being erased from everyone's memory, I knew I was in for a hard time. Rewatchability is low simply because I was so uncomfortable watching the story unfold. Xiang Yong's despair as he realized he was disappearing from the lives of his loved ones broke my heart. I have to commend the actors - I think they all did amazing jobs with their roles. The community of the island was warm and felt real. By the end of the show, I really loved every character. The visuals were also splendid - watching this during the summer was a great decision on my end. I think this is the perfect summer drama.
I came for the romance and stayed for the vibes, I guess. The romance between Xiang Yong and Hao Wei was a treat, but also frustrating at times. The journey of their relationship is slow and heartwrenching, but there's a touch of "loving you in every universe" here, which I always appreciate. The side couple was also enjoyable to me, which is not always a given.
If you've ever felt like no one loves you, like life would be better for everyone if you just disappeared, this show's message is that that's not true. Your presence has a real impact on everyone around you. In your struggle to deal with the highs and lows of life, there are people who like having you around. There are people you can have a meal with, cry with, argue with. Your life has value and innate worth even if you screw up and make mistakes. There is a place for you here.
We're nothing without our community.
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Something something idols falling in love
The only reason I finished this show was because Dome is one of the most beautiful people I've seen. Endlessly charming, sweet, a ray of sunshine who tries his best to uplift others. Jeng is a great idea for a character. It's a shame everything else was such a mess. Where do I even begin???The acting....... I think some of these people have talent, at least among the main cast. I suspect the direction was off for a major portion of the show. Some of the kissing and sex scenes are among the worst I've witnessed. There's one specific sex scene that comes right out of the blue and is clumsy, poorly directed and doesn't make a lick of sense. Sometimes things happen in dramas that make you go "hmm, that's odd", but then you accept it because the acting, lighting, or VIBE sells it. That doesn't happen here. It just falls flat and you feel bad for the cast.
Story? Haha. Boy. I don't even feel like summing it up. It's a bunch of people doing vague things to make a hit song. Sometimes they practice dancing. Sometimes they go to the mall and shop for clothes. Sometimes they try to be funny.
Yeah, this drama tried really hard to be funny. They made a joke about suicide and things quickly went downhill from there. Tone deaf jokes about trans women. Comic relief where it was not needed. Sound effects. Y'all you should be laughing!!! Please laugh!!
Also the way everything ended was super abrupt and strange. Five episodes??? I mean, it's not like I wanted to watch any more of them, but really?
Anyway yeah. I will follow Dome's career with great interest. But this was a dud.
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Squandered potential
This show has a lot going for it. The actors are great, there's believable chemistry, the premise of the story is classic and evergreen, and the build-up of the romance is extremely sweet.So why have I dropped it after 10 episodes? The simple answer is that every ounce of tension was killed off after episode 6 and it never recovered. I was enjoying myself immensely until episode 7, even found myself thinking about the characters while I was going about my day. I think that's also why I'm so disappointed and uninterested in finding out how this ends.
Without spoiling too much, there's an important scene in the relationship that is immaculate. I think the show would almost have been perfect for me if that was the second to last episode, and things wrapped up after that scene. Unfortunately, the show had to go on for another 6 episodes, so they injected a meaningless time skip, introduced a silly way for the boys to continue playing games with each other, and chucked a whole bunch of project placements into the mix. The pacing of the next couple of episodes felt baffling, as the relationship between the leads was both regressing and skipping ahead at the same time. In one scene they're joking and hurting each others' feelings, and in the next they act like they've been established lovers for years. When I dropped the show, it felt mostly like how it does when me and my bestie flirt with each other as a joke.
Maybe this thing gets better in the last two episodes. Maybe not. All I know is that I don't have it in me to watch another drawn-out scene of a boy fiddling with a printer, or complimenting how healthy and delicious this iced tea is.
Do better!!!
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Immaculate vibes
Many thoughts. Number one is that the whole mafia thing was perplexing to me the entire time. What were they doing? I don't know. Why were they doing it? No Clue about that either. What I do know is that the men were hot and Vegas stole the show. I read some comments beforehand about him dominating every scene he was in, and you know what, they were RIGHT. Was he the reddest flag that ever walked the Earth? Mayhaps. Was it hot? Damn right it was. Problematic fave forever and always. At some point I stopped caring about Kinn and Porsche, but I must commend this show for including one of my favorite tropes ever - when two nerds are left in the wilderness to fend for themselves. This was such a stroke of genius that I thought maybe that episode was crafted specifically for me.The lighting team was amazing and production should be proud of how pretty the entire show was.
The sex scenes get a section of its own because they were splendid. The bathroom scene. Need I say more? Speaking of lighting, that green and yellow vibe will stay with me forever. Tied up sex dungeon thing? Hello? Vegas the man that you are……
Special shoutout to Tankhun for being batshit insane but also secretly the wisest person in that house. Reverse shoutout to Kim for being frustrating and emotionally constipated. Side-eye to Kinn for fully forgetting all about Pete in his time of need, but also thank you. Love and lust to Vegas for everything.
You will not like this if you care a lot about everything being consensual and tidy. If it means a lot to you that the story makes sense, you will probably also not have a good time. If you're in need of some good fun with competent acting, beautiful fight scenes and hot men, KinnPorsche will be right up your alley.
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Cool concept, mid execution
The main concept for this series is interesting - that there exist people who are unable to see colors unless they meet a certain someone. I liked it and thought it had a lot of potential. I see this echoed in other reviews, but I have to agree that the execution is so-so. The show is limited by the 15 minute episodes, and the story has no chance to go all the interesting places it could. There's an underlying mystery at the core of the story that is not explored fully. While the main pairing has chemistry, and while I have a weakness for dark haired, pierced pretty boys (sigh), I didn't always believe them.Cute story, cute boys, nice vibes. It's a good watch, but I wouldn't rewatch. It's not an instant classic for me, but it'll keep you entertained for an evening.
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