Best manga/anime adaptation

I do believe I haven't watched that many anime/manga adaptations, but this keeps the magical anime world and blends it so well with the real world that it doesn't feel childish, cheap, unbelievable (like my skip beat which deserves a remake xD)
Plus their outfits are rocking tho I wish they changed more, or well had more eps to give us more amazing outfits


Production and quality are really great, better than most jdramas/manga adaptations.


Anyway the writing could get a bit better, I feel like rohan is always too shocked and the explanations are a bit convenient and easy to get through.
I do think maybe even 5 eps season could allow for more character growth cuz there's a pattern of rohan getting into unexpected magical situations eventho he too has magic and he's always surprised and then it's solved
So more eps would allow for one villain to stay longer and maybe get a bit more depth, more character, friends and more dependency. Right now it's rohan, his guest appearing assistant vs 1 day villains

Anyway still a great yearly tradition and I hope they continue ❣

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Corporation lab rats

The synopsis is too simple, the drama isn't complicated or nitty gritty as I initially thought. After watching squid game and alice in borederland, the fight for money seems like a fantasy death match

But in reality we all live in a twisted trap, work.
This drama used their metaphors and connected 5 different people in a really well thought out web of connections.
Character A has an intersection with Character B, Character C has an intersection with Character B, but he also meets A, D and E..
It seems complex but it was so smooth. Also it's so short yet so full of content, honestly one of the best scripts of 2022

The metaphor does revolve around money. People need it, people get inslaved by it, people hate it but people need it



As an interior designer actually it's literally like 1ep, we draw, delete, draw, calculate, delete, given weird tasks like break tiles, glue fabric, and 90% of the time it's the mood of the team leader

I wanted to be a designer cuz I love creating, I love art and I didn't want to be stuck in a cubicle. But in the end we're all lab rats of corporation.

The 2nd ep uses the metaphor of games, does life give you a 2nd chance?


I also adored the little fashion queens♡ ep5 didn't feel connected until you get to ep6 and it becomes the bow that wrapped the story together perfectly
The revelations of the last ep were my favorite, it was shocking, it made sense, it was sad and it was really well acted

Tbh I wished for more, most of the stories felt uncompeleted and eventhough the stories were like a spark of the real meaning I became attached to the characters

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Worst writer of 2022

This is one of those cases, the writer only has the synopsis and nothing else so they use the forbidden book. Also, enemies to lovers is better for dramaland cuz sweet fl meets sweet ml and they don't play games, so they get together fast, and "breakup" or get thrown in a mess of we can't talk right now...


The story of a girl who worked at the funeral home that could see the ghosts in their final moment and grants them 1 wish
She had X amount ppl to deal with, some wanted small revenge, some wanted a message or a gift delivered. Sounds interesting right?
And it was until the writer stopped using that and instead went to the "sht my characters got together too fast, bring in the ex" honestly atleast 3 or 4 eps were wasted on the ex and her nagging.. and her mom...
Then the writer not only had the most basic past trauma, which was the exact copy of love is for suckers, but she made the three leads share the same traumq and worse, made 2nd lead a psycho..
And that took 3 more eps until poof, 2nd lead feels remorse and regrets it..... oh whoops, I didn't help a dying kid cuz I wanted a better life.. and I blamed my brother for it. And I tried to kill fl, omg I never wanted to be like my dad TT

And the last straw that black listed this writer... SHE MURDERED FLS DAD! the sweetest dad in dramaland, the most harmless dude... and how? By reusing another pregnant lady.. like where was her husband? Why kill the security guard/dad... why leave the house if you're not smart enough to not get near a movers truck..


Sure I knew with the countdown someone important had to die, which is another cheap mistake. But a big accident with multiple ppl would've been tragic enough

Maybe the itaewon tragedy made the writer change things but I doubt it. The story was laid out from the start. The writer obv used the "cliche kdrama guide for dummy writers" but things moved as planned

Cuz no drama makes the fls dad meet and like the ml unless what? They wanna murder the dad

Like there were 2 uncles they could've taken.. the fl was already momless.... just a few tears and she moves on for her happiness with the ml...

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blah

as a fanwriter that has an overactive imagination, I saw this and thought, 2 friends get closer and fall in love as they film a reality dating show, one as a contestant and the other as a pd, an unexpected paring.
but instead I got a 20 year double 1 sided crush and random "we can't confess for blah blah reason" with past trauma and dating mishaps

they gave us 2 manipulative characters (Kim Joon Ho/Han Ji Yun) and I things will explode and they'll be exposed. I wanted both to show their ugly personalities to everyone, but instead one was shut down and the other switched sides and continued her fake sweet personality..
tbh, I see it as evil karma, she was obsessed with a dude that never liked her and she knew nothing about but she imagined him as what she wanted. and now she get this creepy dude that's been looking at her through a tv and things he knows/gets her. so he sees what he wants, and she can continue her fake victim mentality psycho

I was actually enjoying it, but then suddenly it was the last ep and, nothing happened?
like I was expecting things to go down, people fight and expose their ugly side, but everyone was happy? with, everything? where did the built up tension go?

I wanted the cake rejection to be a cake fight. I wanted people to see HJY faked her slip and show her fake "perfect" persona.. I wanted KJH to be exposed for exposing Park Ji Wan's trauma

and worse of all I wanted Kang Chae Ri to show the hidden scenes between Goo Yu Reum and Park Jae Hoon, because she was the evil editing that used people for viewership... so what was the point in everyone snooping?
that 1 small "scandal"? where's the big shocking finale?

also I loved Ahn So Yeon but the heck was her ending too? the guy cheated on her. sure they weren't official, but he slept with someone else while he faked being fully invested in her


Park Ji Wan and John Jang were the only good thing out of this but even their interest in one another should've been exposed.. in the end everyone was happy, like non of the conflicts mattered... no one followed through with their evil intentions... tbh the last eps were a disappointment
it's one of those cases a writer has an idea, and thinks "inspiration" comes after filming ep per ep and then boom it's the ending and nothing is coherent

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for me the only good parts were these:
jiho's personality. it's so rare to have a shy ml in dramaland. tho they did treat him like a freak, it's like the dude didn't like what "insa" people liked, but was he a psycho? no..
he just didn't like attention, or crowds, or fake social behavior to please other people. he was not "traumitized". sure he had a bad past but not every "social slowness" is a faulty personality
and yes, by now you've guessed it right, it's personal xD I'm shy, socially awkward, and slow with the fun hangs, but I'm not an idiot with a rock head.
as a kid I did say no alot, and in uni I changed it to a "hmm yeah". because I didn't really wanna do it but I also didn't not want to do it

here, especially with the drinking, or the wedding preps at the end, jiho didn't "like it", maybe he is stuck in my no phase but sangeun wasn't really considerate, she wasn't pushing him out of his shell she kept dragging him out then kinda making fun of him, "teaching" him he should "be like other people"..
so I personally didn't think they matched. like again the wedding prep, he was ready to put himself through the struggle cuz she said she wanted a big wedding, and she didn't listen when he said he didn't want it big. then she goes and says she was doing it for him


anyway, atleast with jiho his shyness and lack of social personalty didn't come with low self esteem, doubt, self consciousness and ready to escape
no drama can survive that way so all of those traits went to saguen ;D
I'm glad he always said he'll never misunderstand her and he'll wait for her pov before making a judgment, that's 1000000 lvl male lead behavior~ also he was never shy or reluctant in showing intimacy which is another +A move

gwangnamah was a sweeite, it's nice to have male characters without ulterior or obsessive behavior towards the fl, most fl "brother zoned" end up with a secret 10 year crush
he was a good person, had his own life, worries and dreams, he could easily get a spinoff where he finds happiness, love and acceptance

another point I liked was the past childhood connection, and the ones that did have them ended in divorce or one sided crush which heavily highlights how a person is different from what one projects on them

I did however dislike the 5 year "eating mate" with 0 attempts at conversation and honestly the whole drama was flat with zero substance, I'd have tbh preferred them preparing for a wedding, looking more at "what people do to please others who think one should do that" while trying to navigate happiness and marriage. I also wanted a scene with a baby to show he's not afraid to show affection and she also adored her baby and stuff life that

anyway, I only started it for a mom watch, and stayed for her + jiho and tbh the last like 40mins were my favorite part of this drama xD

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Repetitive storyline but heartwarming results

Everyone needs love, family, and happiness but not everyone is blessed with it. What makes a family? It's the bond, the understanding and the purity of the heart

This was beautiful and exactly my style, It's a simple linear story, but I could easily give up romance dramas just to get stories like this T_T
Beautiful unexpected friendship that lead to famimance is my FAVORITE
I smiled, I teared up and I CRIED at the end TT_TT
The roommate program should be a real thing, ppl that are left behind by their families and ppl that are abandoned by their families untie to find pure love and bonding is the most beautiful form of loveT_T
ML was such a precious pure baby I'd actually love a romance based on his character, I feel like he was the 2nd lead of his own crush xD
Halmae and her ending were so sweet and sad, she put a wall on her heart but she never threw rocks at ppl. I mean like she only put a distance for her own protection but it didn't stop her from being kind ;(

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Plot done to death, just kill love triangles and focus on friendship stories T_T

Sassy go go, school 2017, age of youth, my comparisons and my hopes. Sadly it's too much like the 1st two and nothing like the 3rd one

This is cute and she is one of the rare cutie, she's social and fun loving so her bubbly personality makes sense and her past trauma doesn't make her jaded or self pitying. But the story doesn't do anything me
The ml feels bland, I'm glad his getting more recognition but he has no depth, he just feels like the neighborhood's sunbae
Atleast the uni and club stuff should make me nostalgic but I don't connect. The dance doesn't seem to have any purpose

Maybe back in 2016 I'd have liked it more. I compared this to sassy go go tho tho I don't know know if I'd like that either now? I also would've hoped for a age of youth type of friendship but tbh the love triangle and the romance ruins the potential of it being a fun slice of life experience even like school 2017

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Don't be fooled, 99% is about a cult

A traumatic past made the fl detached, she connected with her friend over this exciting outer being. It became her core memory that when her bf left her, she thought he must've been taken by aliens so she goes on a hunt

She stumbles on this crazy cult that worshipped aliens. They wanted the big father light to take them to salvation
Then suddenly it turns out they randomly have the picture of the fl and they think she's the key


So random chasings, huntings, kidnappings happen. And then the ending ep comes and pretends that yes aliens are real. But I don't believe them, as a plot move. They were all high and the bf that was missing cuz he tried to kill himself suddenly sees aliens too.. so what's the connection? Traumatic ppl

The biggest scam since the light in your eyes. It wasn't the lack of oppa that made this boring. It was the lack of that big green thing in the poster

I thought this would be a cute rescue mission where the 2 fls try to help a lost alien and develop a cute friendship
But nope. This was about a crazy cult that wanted to commit mass suicide and thought the fl was their key to the aliens that'd take them to salvation

So yeah I gave it a 4/10. One for nana, one for yeobee, one for Thomas and one cuz the production value was nice tho all completely wasted on that cheap plot

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Dirt wrapped in facy bow

there are 2 categories that's missing from the above rating system, cinematography which was a 100/10 and plot development which was a meh 5.
so like, the shots were so extravagant, so beautiful, so well though tout, so well balanced, but the story? the backstory for the evil organization was trash. the "twists" eventhough they were shocking were stupid, basically the villains were so smart yet gave away their own lives and worse make a stupid revenge scheme that compromised herself more than her victims..

like sure, sangah was a psychopath, but an elaborate acid water scheme, that obviously put herself at more risk? and the tree bottom becoming an acid pool and boom one push and it's over?
here's how I'd have done it differently. poisoned gas, and she wears a protective mask but it gets cut off by accident and boom we see her suffering chocking on her own plans. (don't judge me, I'm writing this with a writer mindset xD)
her whole persona was "conducting plays", a puppet master if you like, she planned and played everyone, we as viewers needed to see her plans fail and her seeing the wires cut off, that was the real suffering, she had no real power

and suddenly everyone was rich, when her friend got 12 years in prison.. so it was that simple? there was no death mystery cuz she never died. they didn't need to piss sangah off when they could've laundered the money that easily?




some people would look at this as a fancy metaphor for "the top 1% and people exposing their true colors infront of money" or whatever else one likes and they are not wrong
but to me it wasn't that deep. it was just 1 psychopath that married another, and her father conveniently had an organization of psychos that liked to kill to reach their goal, for what? petty angst, why? cuz that's how shallow the writer is
squid games is not a metaphor of rich and poor, it's entertainment. you can ofc see any metaphor you like, it's not wrong. we can all look at the ink on the page and see a flower, a monster, or just a splash of ink.
one and two aren't crazy, and 3 isn't a cynic that lacks creativity. I can look at a literature piece like little women the book, and say it wasn't a rich vs poor, it was just a love story. or personally I think it was more about a woman's position in society, regardless of background, women are forced with 2 options, marry rich or marry love, and the 3rd variable is the rebel's "if I don't want to be either I'll be neither"

I did not compare little womens cuz besides the basic, 3 sisters, poor, artist, material world, nothing is similar. others can see more similarities but no one is wrong


sooo, long story short, as an entertainment piece, ep8 was the best. the psycho's Truman Show was a great touch, the manipulation, the step by step puppet show and everything just being for sangah's enjoyment watching injoo's reaction was a better story choice than the veitnam, sad mommy issues, money, Vietnam and 99% of the show thinking Do Il would betray her. or being over involved in his feelings for injoo when like literally 7m is a great reason for someone to help cuz 70b is way too much to want to escape with

the songs were great, Uhm Ji Won as a calm psychopath is a great addition to makjangs and their recent love for screaming women. Kim Go Eun also rocks heavily emotinal scenes. for me, her meltdown in prison, and sangah's scheme in ep8 deserve to be in the "acting" hall of fame



going to compare this to eve, both are makjang, both wanted to go crazy, and tbh I'm sick of romance dramas breaking up the best couples and say "sad endings are realistic", it's not sad to beautiful people didn't end up together, real sad endings come from death, and the ones that need a sad ending are makjangs, a happily ever after makjang isn't worth all the pain and angst
killing the villain is not a satisfying ending. they get caught? they kill themselves. they go crazier? they fall and accidentally die

real suffering comes from detaching the villain from their power. let their world crumble. and thus, in Eve the ML saw the amount of destruction they caused and what did he do? suicide but with murder. and that's they point, muurrrrder (again don't judge I'm a writer xD) but how to make murder worse? one dies and one lives but loses everything, her memory, her sanity, her personality, her life, and she lives in a state she doesn't know what's real or not, she's just a shell
but I guess Eve got there 1st so this couldn't copy it. and psych ward is the 3rd option for villains anyway

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This was the most devastating, realistic, hopeful, peaceful yet so full of tension, dread and fear.
It felt as real as the event itself. Sure actingwise only a couple of the kids had talent, like teil and mark felt like they were the kids they played. But the awkwardness of the others actually carried the realism of normal kids stuck at a cave. It almost felt awkward seeing the real pictures at the end cuz to me they were them


The world is a horrible cruel place but to think of how one disaster untied so many different countries, cultures, social standings, a governor, a weather analysts, a ranger, a diver and so many different people became one. each and every one of them is a hero and may the one that passed away saving those kids rest peace as well.
Trash like squid games don't deserve hype, this drama does. I do remember hearing about the incident, I actually hate the news so I stopped my mom whenever she talked about it until she told me they were all saved, so I never knew how long and how difficult the whole ordeal was
Like beside it being a real fresh global news, the filming was able to look beautiful, charming and devastating at the same time. I do think the time the kids stayed in the cave before food came was glossed over too fasd, even the final rescues, 5 hours for the 1st kid, 12hours for 8. Though understandably this wasn't a documentary
I sincerely hope everyone got paid well while the rescues got medals and idk superhero capes with golden planks that has their name on it
You can't rate the story low cuz it's literally based on a new worldwide disaster, tho directing, it wasn't bad also. It balanced well between each event the only shortcomings was the newbie acting


Also, this might fall under "music" but I watched this dub, I'm not used to thai and this was a heavy drama, but I do think the English voice actors did a better job at delivering the emotions. Their tones moved well with every tension, hope, sadness and anger.
The korean dubs sounded like news and the thai was flat

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Educational cliche drama

Just like webdramas about almonds, this was a drama educating and encouraging ppl on stock investments. From a running man ep, it seems the new korean trend is investment so this was a cute and fun way to showcase what it feels like to invest. The losses, the addiction, and the benefits

Cliches are never dead so atleast it was done a bit differently, more comedic that it didn't take itself seriously and the ending was so fulfilling honestly it's like a breath of fresh air with 22's sad endings

The bonds were cute, han jieun was the highlight and the cherry that carried this show, the comedy fell a bit short but HJE kept it fresh
I like hong jong hyun and missed him in dramaland but his character did feel a bit bland, he was always too careful that he didn't feel that happy or in love. I did like his past pretrauma tho

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pre big mouse

1st off I'll say this only "worked" cuz of the actors, mainly lee jong suk. I am a LJS fan, I adore the dude but I'm unbiased when I say his acting improved so much and he carried this on his own
unlike Eve tho where SYJ and the ridiculous makjang were entertaining, this got boring after ep7ish

for acting and character I'll rate them as such

Lee Jong Suk(Park Chang Ho): 10/10, legit carried the show, went from UWU to believable mob boss in 1seconds
Im Yoon Ah(Mi Ho): 8/10 but I enjoyed her time as "minnie mouse". I wish this show was more of a power couple
Kim Joo Heon(Choi Do Ha): 5/10. he was bland the 1st half, unsurprising reveal, over estimated himself and boom he was dead in 1 second
Kwak Dong Yeon(Jerry): 7/10, he was better as the bromance cellmate, got super boring when he was revealed to be a big mouse lanky
Yang Kyung Won(Gong Ji Hoon): 8/10, better psycho villain than doha, 2 overexaggerating psychos in 1 drama gets bland, and he was the crazy one 1st so doha just felt like a copy cat
Ok Ja Yeon(Hyun Joo Hee ): 6/10 seemed more villianis but like miho, the women here were an after thought
Jung Jae Sun(Park Yoon Gab): 8/10, I know the actor as the jijjiri type of evil, so I liked how he got a bigger role and the actor tbh would've been better as real big mouse, he switched between petty villain to power boss well
Real Big Mouse: 3/10, the actor felt bland, his character twist even blander, 99% of the people didn't believe it was him xD
3 VIPs: 1/10. they were a 3in1, they dragged one side kick villain into 3 and made them 3 whiny losers


this show was a fun underdog forced to be the big dog, the prison scenes were fun, but then it all lasted so long that their main fight was just an echo "loooook for pappppeerrrr"
everything was resolved way too quickly, doha big villain that ruined water supply, miho gets sick/dies just as a pawn in the revelation and booooooooooooom, doha is killed

the best parts for me were actually the fact that they were married, but I guess like every other "marriage" in "crime" genres, the wife must die so the husband takes action ;/
this overall felt like a prequel to the story of Park Chang Ho as a real badass big mouse, in a way real big mouse was better off as an organization with no leader, or 1 guy that manipulated ppl, having 1 guy with his own set of organization just for him to die so Park Chang Ho could take over the crown on a silver platter, was all just too simple

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Watch the original instead

The best part for me was the opening scene. I hoped this went with the quirky "live actioning" their webtoons as a theme instead of copy pasting the problems from the original and dragging it to death

The original felt like Misaeng, the fl was "out of toon" with the business world since she never worked, the manga world looks detached but the editors were mentors, managers, supporters, cheerleaders and sometimes parents to manga writers
It takes several layers of attachment, social interactions "normal" workers don't usually do, and more severally our fl
But she brought a new outlook from her own experiences in life, she didn't react in ways to please the writers and instead she was sincere


And those are the things I felt lacking in this adaptation , mauem felt like a company maknae that has worked in several companies so she always had a "people pleaser" attitude. She was always bright, social, fun loving, self centered, and insensitive. She always said what's her on her mind without thinking of others

The problems were the same from the original but dragged out and boring


I loved seok jihyung the most, the world needs more bosses like him, and I'd have loved a romance focused with him

Their main big conflict was also flat.. their villain just a dude that was doing his work.. so what the company wants to close their webtoon section? one can easily make their own company. In Misaeng, the ml was too desperate for his work life to take off, and he's desperation felt raw and his connection to his position was like a baby duck finding his mom. Here, no one cared cuz honestly it'd that simple. It's just a job, there'll always be more cuz the webtoon world is successful and huge, editors won't disappear

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Start of a new era

First of all Imma be incredibly biased and say kim taeri deserved more screentime, she was amazing ❣ everyone was but I'm biased~

I think just rating "plot" isn't enough so I'll break it down
*Fantasy elements: 8/10. Alien stories have been done to death. But it is new in kmovies and better yet it was mixed into historical elements
*Cgi: 8.5/10 it was pretty cool, tho the cats were the least believe ?
*Storyline: 7/10. It was predictable, from the villains to "who" might be the new controller (?)..
*Background and built up: 7/10. Adding kids feels like a safe choice to make it more sympathetic, and easier to not build too much world setting before the movie starts
Like gaurd/thunder started the movie by just continuing their work from before the movie starts, so there's less emotional attachment. But with a kid, who becomes the adult we're rooting for, it's a safe way to act like a build-up and growth
*Childhood connection: 7.5/10. If we were forced to have a cliche fine, it was cute cuz mureok was a cutie xD tho I was redisappointed by their obvious attempt at big twist
*Action scenes: 9/10. It's been a while since Action lost it's thrill, car chasing, fist fighting are just a mashed up scene of boom boo pow pows. But this was fun

I was a bit lost on the mages, I mean if aliens exist why not magic? But also one fantasy is enough, tho again their magic vs aliens fight scene was fun

Space sweepers had more flashy cgi and world building. Tho main plot was a cheap safe choice of "kid sympathy". So here there was more story content but less world build up

Even when we realized yian is gaurd/thunders kid, we don't know how she lived 10 years alone in a historical world after being a modern world kid. She was alone, no family, no money. More depth would've been nice. Especially since they showed her going there as a 10 year old. Since the kid looks like taeri I assumed she lived in modern world then in 2032 she went back to the past

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System says it's a 4.5

I'm not gonna insult ppl that thought this was amazing. To me as someone who's seen alot of time benders and "corruption", I knew everything from ep 1. One literally just needs to see certain actors or characters and know what's up. Tho ML here is usually the villain xD

When the limping kidnapper appeared I told my mom, he's forced into it
When old CEO came I told my mom he's the villain
When 2ml came I told my mom, he'll be the soft villain
When 2fl died I told my mom, she's probably lying
When the kid died I told my mom it's a scheme

Now one would think I'm spoiling it for my mom who was watching it with me, but I was actually throwing safety anchors so she didn't get lost xD
When everything was revealed, mom didn't go "dang you told me so" she was like ah

I had more fun cuz I watched it with my mom but this was a trash plot. Every death, murder, hindrance happened just so the future needed to call the past. And honestly everything was too connected to 2 sets of villains, 2FL, 2ML, Driver and CEO.. driver was too involved in everything, tho I'd assume they didn't want new face every time someone was dead or being killed

The past connecting them all.. the dads.. honestly why do all writers do the same conflict? Murder ppl for money, have someone try to reveal it, Murder them, then have their kids do everything, and boom last ep everything is solved


FL is a horrible actress. Not to be mistaken as a horrible person. She just can't act. She's loud. Obnoxious. Cries so loudly and she cries often.
Her character here especially. She was a murderer that was given a 2nd chance. Half way through she started cursing at future ML who was actually dead/erased/rest and blamed him for going to jail. When he literally saved her from the death raw
ML was stubborn as a mule. The writers didn't want the 2 meeting in one timeline so they kept killing fl in the future, but past ML just didn't want to listen when future ML could've given him better evidence to believe FL
2FL literally could've just gotten a divorce
2ML could've sent 2fl's dad to prison then left


Anyway this was a train wreck

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