This review may contain spoilers
such a breath of fresh air!!!! and easily one of the most compelling storylines i’ve seen in a gl in a long time.
with such limited time, especially since the romance wasn’t always the central focus, the fact that you could actually feel the attraction naturally building between the leads is a testament to just how well done it was in my opinion, i found myself rooting for the main characters while being just as interested in the larger story surrounding them.
i also went in with very few expectations beyond knowing that people generally just said it was good, but by the end of the second episode, i was completely hooked. as the story continued, it started touching on heavier topics like self-harm, abuse, sexual violence, trauma, obsession, codependency, ect.., i appreciated how much darker and more ambitious it was willing to be compared to a lot of gls and that completely hooked me.
the character writing was easily one of the strongest parts of the series. one of my favorite things about consuming media is morally gray complex characters, being able to study characters and ponder on their actions is one of my favorite things to do.
even with the limited runtime, the characters felt real, coherent, three-dimensional and complex. i loved that the show didn’t flatten them into easy categories of “good” and “bad,”. there isn’t really a clear innocent party or perfect victim in the past timeline, and i liked that the writers challenged the viewer to sit with that discomfort. we're shown that kwan and korn’s relationship was deeply strained and explosive from the start, with kwan constantly overstepping boundaries (ex. the love spell which you could view as a form of r*pe), using self-harm threats when she felt moments of abandonment arise, and engaging in behavior that could be read as emotionally abusive and violating. at the same time, there are also hints that korn may have been physically violent before, leading to kwan’s eventual murder, while thamon’s role as an enabler adds another layer of moral complication (even though one could also argue it was probably done due to pressure from korn).
i also feel the need to mention the acting because all three main actresses were brilliant, but muisic as win was on another level for me. she gave such a layered, emotionally raw performance that i could feel everything win was going through, and i completely fell in love with the character. like by far she’s my favorite in the series, and i think she might have became one of my fave gl characters oat.
boon’s character was also really refreshing because she isn’t the kind of character you typically get to see in a central role in a gl, and as a queer person with a slightly similar personality, i felt really connected to her.
visually, the series was also really strong. the cinematography was beautiful, and i liked how the color grading seemed to sometimes shift depending on the emotional state of the characters.
my main gripes w the series are the cgi, the pacing, some of the logic behind the plot, and the ending.
the cgi/vfx were definitely distracting at times, and some moments that were probably meant to be scary came off unintentionally goofy instead. but i also do realize this might have been a lower-budget project, so i’m not holding it against the series too harshly.
the pacing was messy in places, though tbf this kind of story is probably impossible to execute perfectly in only eight episodes. that’s why im giving them grace. SOME scenes throughout the entire series moved too quickly without enough connectivity/ and no proper blending, but episode 8 especially felt like certain clips were stitched together without enough breathing room. a few lines of dialogue also felt clunky or confusing, but idk whether that was because of the writing or the translation itself.
and finally, the ending.
i’m still not fully sure how i feel about it. i’m not against doomed romance at all when it makes sense thematically, i usually love it actually.
but here, part of me felt like the ending leaned a little too much into shock value, or at least didn’t give me enough emotional or narrative closure to fully accept it. maybe the novel gives more context?, but based on the series alone, i was left conflicted at the end.
overall, even with the issues i had.. i completely think it's worth people’s time. it’s dark, ambitious, emotionally engaging, filled with amazing world building, and the kind of complicated characters i wish more gls were brave enough to write. this is the kind of character work i really want to see more of in gls.
with such limited time, especially since the romance wasn’t always the central focus, the fact that you could actually feel the attraction naturally building between the leads is a testament to just how well done it was in my opinion, i found myself rooting for the main characters while being just as interested in the larger story surrounding them.
i also went in with very few expectations beyond knowing that people generally just said it was good, but by the end of the second episode, i was completely hooked. as the story continued, it started touching on heavier topics like self-harm, abuse, sexual violence, trauma, obsession, codependency, ect.., i appreciated how much darker and more ambitious it was willing to be compared to a lot of gls and that completely hooked me.
the character writing was easily one of the strongest parts of the series. one of my favorite things about consuming media is morally gray complex characters, being able to study characters and ponder on their actions is one of my favorite things to do.
even with the limited runtime, the characters felt real, coherent, three-dimensional and complex. i loved that the show didn’t flatten them into easy categories of “good” and “bad,”. there isn’t really a clear innocent party or perfect victim in the past timeline, and i liked that the writers challenged the viewer to sit with that discomfort. we're shown that kwan and korn’s relationship was deeply strained and explosive from the start, with kwan constantly overstepping boundaries (ex. the love spell which you could view as a form of r*pe), using self-harm threats when she felt moments of abandonment arise, and engaging in behavior that could be read as emotionally abusive and violating. at the same time, there are also hints that korn may have been physically violent before, leading to kwan’s eventual murder, while thamon’s role as an enabler adds another layer of moral complication (even though one could also argue it was probably done due to pressure from korn).
i also feel the need to mention the acting because all three main actresses were brilliant, but muisic as win was on another level for me. she gave such a layered, emotionally raw performance that i could feel everything win was going through, and i completely fell in love with the character. like by far she’s my favorite in the series, and i think she might have became one of my fave gl characters oat.
boon’s character was also really refreshing because she isn’t the kind of character you typically get to see in a central role in a gl, and as a queer person with a slightly similar personality, i felt really connected to her.
visually, the series was also really strong. the cinematography was beautiful, and i liked how the color grading seemed to sometimes shift depending on the emotional state of the characters.
my main gripes w the series are the cgi, the pacing, some of the logic behind the plot, and the ending.
the cgi/vfx were definitely distracting at times, and some moments that were probably meant to be scary came off unintentionally goofy instead. but i also do realize this might have been a lower-budget project, so i’m not holding it against the series too harshly.
the pacing was messy in places, though tbf this kind of story is probably impossible to execute perfectly in only eight episodes. that’s why im giving them grace. SOME scenes throughout the entire series moved too quickly without enough connectivity/ and no proper blending, but episode 8 especially felt like certain clips were stitched together without enough breathing room. a few lines of dialogue also felt clunky or confusing, but idk whether that was because of the writing or the translation itself.
and finally, the ending.
i’m still not fully sure how i feel about it. i’m not against doomed romance at all when it makes sense thematically, i usually love it actually.
but here, part of me felt like the ending leaned a little too much into shock value, or at least didn’t give me enough emotional or narrative closure to fully accept it. maybe the novel gives more context?, but based on the series alone, i was left conflicted at the end.
overall, even with the issues i had.. i completely think it's worth people’s time. it’s dark, ambitious, emotionally engaging, filled with amazing world building, and the kind of complicated characters i wish more gls were brave enough to write. this is the kind of character work i really want to see more of in gls.
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