Reviews

Everything Feels So Unearned

The way I would describe this drama in two words is 'wasted opportunity'. It could have been good. A simple premise. Good actors. But it fell apart before it could get off the ground. The writing is a big, big problem.

So, I went into this drama for Singto (fickle I know, but I feel like most people did so there ya go). The trailer looked promising. The premise was simple, light-hearted and sweet. I love art and draw and paint a lot myself so I also thought I'd enjoy some of the art side of things too.

But, writing, writing, writing. *shakes head like stereotypical disappointed parent* (am childless tho...)

The writing of the characters and the plot is a big problem. It's so poor that I'm actually not sure where to begin.

Let's start with Maze. Who is he? As in what are his external motivations? Money, just money it seems. That's fine. What are his internal motivations? I haven't got a clue. Like at all. What is his backstory? Dunno. He has this step-brother who he argued with once upon a time and never resolved the conflict with (for literal years, like huh?). That's it. What are his dreams? His fears? What does he love? Hate? What makes him feel comfortable? Uncomfortable? Safe? Lonely? Bored? In this script he is a one-dimensional boss who wants money, money and more money. He is not at all fleshed out and his whole character changes in the blink of an eye without any development or substance of character.

What about Phab? If you look at the comments on here everyone loves Phab and loathes Maze for the most part. I dislike both. Phab is as much a walking one-dimensional stereotype as Maze, it's just his stereotype is more likable. Phab is an artist. In spite of being enormously broke he can still afford expensive art equipment and a nice place to live. He can afford food and other necessities for himself and his various pets. He also, simply out of a bit of a dislike, tries to refuse well-paid work when offered. Bruh, come on now. Don't be stupid. I really dislike this stereotype of artists and other creatives that they just don't care about having enough money to live (and somehow get by happily and comfortably). Being broke and being in debt is f*cking stressful. It's not a personality trait. Who is Phab? What are his external and internal motivations? He needs to earn a bit of money (although he seems mostly chill about this). That's it. That's all. What is his backstory? Who knows, maybe he is from the moon. His fears? Dreams? What makes him feel happy? Sad? Disgusted? Lonely? Bored? Who is he?

All of the other characters are not at all fleshed out enough either, but I can't be bothered to list it all here. Most are more consistent in personality than the two leads however.

Each episode of this series is predictable and unsatisfying. It is the same arc each time. Phab and Maze are in conflict over something (usually a small misunderstanding or miscommunication). At some point near the middle they are on good terms (usually unprovoked, they just are, for some reason), either sweet romantic moments or some sort of friendly situation. Then a short while before the end of the episode there is another conflict (usually a small misunderstanding or miscommunication), this then carries through into the next episode where the cycle repeats. There are a few episodes that stray from this but not many. It is a tedious viewing experience as the arc is incredibly unsatisfying.

I have just finished watching episode 10. I cannot afford a GagaOOLala subscription right now and am cancelling so I'm reviewing as I take a financial pause from GagaOOLala. Please bear in mind I'm writing this before the ultimate conclusion of the story.

Let me rewrite the overarching plot for the two leads to make the series better (according to myself).

The series begins with the first episode largely as it happens. But you see Phab has a part-time job at university teaching an evening class for art students. With this he can pay for art equipment (like I said, it's expensive, stop sh*tting around) but it doesn't support his living. Maze comes to meet Phab and offer him the work. Phab declines. Maze leaves, annoyed. A while later Phab comes across a stray animal who is injured. He takes it to the vet. The vet treats the animal and tells Phab he needs to pay for it. Phab hesitates but calls Maze. He says he'll do the wedding job if Maze pays for the animal's treatment (and the original amount). They negotiate and come to some fair amount. At the wedding Phab brings the animal. It causes havok and Maze and Phab have a similar argument to the one seen. Phab gets the job with the pay from the series and starts working at the company to pay Maze back and keep up the ruse.

As time goes on Maze and Phab bicker but we see Phab trying to work well with everyone (like in the series now) and Maze's work ethic. At some point Maze and Phab argue about the work. Phab isn't being serious enough, according to Maze. Maze is unforgiving and brutal, according to Phab. Towards the end of this argument Maze falls ill (fainting or getting dizzy or whatever) from overworking. Phab stays with him and insists he rest. Maze insists he has to work. They argue. Eventually Phab leaves but calls the VP character to stay with Maze at the office. There follows scenes/montage where Maze is overworking and Phab is noticing. Phab asks around but everyone says this is just Maze's way. After a bit of professional success the team go for drinks (like in the series). While a bit tipsy Maze gets annoyed with Phab and complains about his way of working. He then starts to talk about his own backstory. He is from a family that struggled financially. He had some sort of issue that made his parents' financial struggle worse (illness, injury whatever). He blames himself for this and feels that he caused their early passing with the stress it put them under. He is now used to overworking because he distracts himself with work and it makes him feel like he is repaying his parents or becoming more like them and their hardwork or something along those lines. He also keeps his distance from others because he's afraid of burdening them. He doesn't like when people don't work hard because it feels like an affront to his most important values. He feels personally disrespected.

Phab still draws Maze (this is still the small conflict from the series cause it was entertaining to me).

Following this information Phab becomes more considerate of Maze. He starts to bring him a nice drink at the office on occasion and pays attention to his schedule. He takes the job more seriously and becomes a bit more mature in the workplace. In an effort to encourage Maze to stop working so much Phab encourages Maze to come and spend time with the animal they both saved (and invites him to his art class in the evening). They bond over this and talk about work and their personal goals/fears/pasts etc while together. Maze talks a little more about his family and Phab begins to open up about his. Phab doesn't know his parents but he grew up financially secure and stable raised by an aunt and his grandparents. He is still close to his aunt, but lies a little about being financially fine so she doesn't worry. His grandfather died a while ago and his grandmother is ill. Money he inherited from his grandfather he spends on his grandmother's health. He learned to draw growing up in order to give comfort to his grandfather, who had dementia and would tell stories and forget them soon after. He drew them so that there would always be images of his grandfather's memory, even outside of his mind.

They connect over these memories and feelings for family. Both begin to feel romantically for the other, but Phab is more expressive and open, whereas Maze is wary and reserved. Eventually they sleep together and begin dating. Phab is open, Maze is discreet. This begins slowly to cause a little conflict.

Phab starts to feel like Maze is pushing him away. He tries to talk to him but Maze freaks out and closes off. They argue and stop speaking for a while. When Maze decides to apologise he overhears the job offer for Japan. His immediate feeling is one of fear and he tries to stop it from happening. As they forgive each other from the previous argument and Maze and Phab begin openly dating etc Phab then takes Maze to meet his aunt and grandmother. Here they learn of Japan and are encouraging. Phab is hesitant and reluctant cause of Maze. Maze realises how much of an opportunity this is and starts to encourage Phab to go.

They then do long-distance for an epsiode or so. In the ending they reunite in Thailand a while later. Phab has an exhibition on in Thailand and has got work in Japan designing posters and covers etc which he can do from Thailand.

Maze has learned to have a work-life balance. Phab has learned some maturity and adulting lessons.

In my version Nueng would be a childhood friend of Maze's. They still had the same argument cause Maze was overly dependent of, and possessive over, Nueng. It was around the time his parents died and Maze felt abandoned by Nueng. He later regretted the argument but didn't apologise because it was too connected to those horrible memories, so he buried it and remained estranged from his closest friend for years. Although he accepted he was in the wrong, he was also always hurt that Nueng never reached out afterwards either. There is no jealousy plotline with Nueng at the centre. Conflict with him is work-related and whatnot. His relationship with Than evolves similarly to the series just with fewer bs games. He doesn't try and manipulate Phab and is always polite to him.

This series needed fleshed out characters, with room for development, which is satisfied through the story. Just because it is a light-hearted premise and story does not mean your characters get to be superficial in their characterisations, all one dimensional and whatnot.

There are so many individual scenes I love. Any sweet scenes between Phab and Maze are great. The bickering, especially at the beginning, was entertaining a lot of the time. I really like the side characters. I like a lot of the humour (which is rare). But there is no narrative to this series really. It doesn't flow. The pacing is tedious. It is often like you're missing all of the information for the character motivations. It's annoying. This could have been such a nice, enjoyable watch. I enjoyed scenes, not episodes, not the whole series. I enjoyed the scenes as independent experiences. So it wasn't all bad, but it is a sign of a somewhat incoherent story/plot. They should be trying to tell us a story, led by characters. Instead they show us scenes with the characters on puppet strings just doing as they're told with no motivation or substance to them at all.

Read More

Fun and entertaining watch

This show is a romcom about 2 hitmen brothers with 2 guys that are trying to gain information on them with one being a police informant, by making them fall in love with them. It is based on Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew (and the movie 10 Things I Hate About You). The aesthetic is very typical of Jojo's (the director) works with a strong 1980s retro American influence in music, decor and fashion.

Is the story realistic of how hitmen and police informants work? No. But it is a very fun story with the 2 main couples KantBison and FadelStyle going through a cycle of betrayal, forgiveness and the ups and downs in their relationships. Both sets of actors FirstKhao & JoongDunk are skilled in their portrayals of their distinctive characters and have strong chemistry. FadelStyle's story arc is especially beautiful about accepting oneself and letting go of the past.

In the end, this is a romcom that doesn't take itself too seriously that teaches valuable life lessons along the way and can be watched in a lighthearted manner.

Read More

Was ready to hate it, ended up loving it.

I saw the mild/bad review scores before watching, and was fully prepared to be disappointed, but I guess there are some factors that make me the ideal audience for this series:
- Despite watching SO MANY series set in university and seeing similar tropes here and there, I'm not tired of them and I'm still willing to give them a chance.
- There have been a few titles in the past that I had to drop because they bored me. This one is absolutely NOT one of them. I didn't have to put any effort in finishing all the episodes either, I just played them one after another without being able to start anything else.
- The flaws of the characters didn't make them insufferable for me. I ended up finding them endearing and more real instead.
- I happen to like stories that have more fluff going on. No unnecessary tragedy in the family, no random violence, no silly attempts at sounding edgy or adult just to make a love story more interesting.
- I don't care about actors stripping and grinding on each other as they make out to make their love more believable. (Hint: if you think that passionate kisses on camera are called "chemistry", then you don't know what chemistry means in the first place. Also, if the characters need to kiss to make you understand that they're in love, then it's a very badly written story.)
- The secondary characters weren't fleshed out as much as the ones in other series (there wasn't time for any subplot, so putting more work in personalities without exploring them would have been pointless I think), but they did their job just fine and I never felt like they were filling gaps or anything like that.
- As much as the misunderstandings and the lack of communication were annoying, they somehow got me even more invested in the series, and the ending turned out to feel even more rewarding than I was expecting it to be.

This series is now among my favorite BLs. It feels sweet and comforting in a special way, and now it has a special place in my heart. I really hope I'll get to see Dunk and Joong in other projects in the future.

Read More

A Cliche Done Right!

The premise of this drama is totally cliche but wow, they sure made it fun and cute despite that! I am usually wary about trying cliche dramas like this but I watched the trailer and sensed their chemistry immediately. It was also a plus that all episodes are released at once and it is only 10 episodes.

After watching episode 1, the plot picks up quite fast; there are many funny scenes and many sound effects. Normally I don't like those sounds but it added to the scene and I actually found it quite enjoyable. It could be overbearing to some though. I liked the way the plot developed the characters and their relationships, and it was clear the motives behind their actions. There is a lot of comedy and absurd funny scenes throughout the 10 episodes but they weren't too bad to watch and I laughed a lot at some of them. Some of them really cheer you up. The romance was also nicely paced but I would have liked them to have more sweet moments and fake dating moments so I can see more of this couple. I felt that they could have had more sweet moments :( The second couple was a bit lacking but they were still cute sometimes too. It was my first time watching both of these actors and they did great! There weren't any moments where I felt like they didn't deliver the emotions or were disconnected from their characters. The friendships are also quite touching, especially the male lawyers at the firm. The drama overall also focuses a lot on the problems in society with patriarchal beliefs about women, which I found nice.

As someone who usually stays away from romcoms like this, I have to say that this drama was a pretty good watch and I enjoyed it a lot. It was nice to see this couple and their cute moments. I recommend!

Read More

Finally another drama that held my attention all the way through to the end. I've been dropping dramas left and right, so this was just what I needed to get back in the game.

As some other people have already mentioned, the drama truly shines in the first couple of episodes. The comedy, the action, the melodrama, the music and the cinematography – everything is spot on, and you feel like you are witnessing the birth of a new masterpiece. However, you flip the page, and the direction of the drama suddenly takes an entirely new turn.
Contrary to other people here, I do not think the story turned boring or bland. While the latter episodes can by no means compare to the stunning start into the drama, they are still above average of what we get presented in K-drama land.
Even though it turns into a revenge drama and you might argue the focus of the main character also changes, it's still a fresh breeze in a chaebol world ruled by men, revenge plots driven by men, where hatred and cold-bloodedness are traits mainly expressed by men. Han Yeo-Jin is a character that breaks with the stereotypes of an idealistic, warm-hearted female lead, who fights for the weak and poor and would never use underhanded means that go against her ideology. Yeo-Jin is tough, powerful, adamant and, at times, even cruel. I loved her in that role, even though my heart broke for her at the same time. The relationship between her and Tae Hyun is one of such deep understanding, that it is even more painful to see them suffer.

The drama definitely has its flaws: repeated flashbacks, too many characters without a conscience (like, seriously, the amount of hateful and spiteful people in this drama is ridiculous), obvious plot-twists, an ending that left lose ends and could have been so much better... But despite all that, I really enjoyed it a lot, and I suffered and laughed with the characters, and Doo Cheol might just be one of the coolest characters in drama history!

Enjoyment is still the biggest factor in a show for me, so I really do recommend the drama.

Read More

Soft vibes, steamy kisses, and zero drama—Shimane serves BL comfort with heat!

P and the adorable chaos twins Pan & Plai are back from Kiseki in Tokyo Chapter 2, and it honestly feels like we’re third-wheeling their Japan trip. No toxic drama, no love rivals—just wholesome vibes, good food, and a random “hey let’s all move in together” plan that somehow works. 👫👬✈️

Plot? Sure… if you count “friends hanging out, sightseeing, and convincing their Thai pals to shack up in Shimane” as a plot. But honestly? I’m not mad. Sometimes you don’t need rollercoaster drama—just soft, slice-of-life moments that feel like a warm blanket (with occasional spicy scenes to keep you awake 😉).

Speaking of spice… THIS is how you do intimacy in BL. Every kiss? Hot. Every NC scene? Steamy but not cringe. Realistic, tender, and just the right amount of “oops, did I just replay that?” energy. 🔥

Look, I get why some people say “it’s boring” or “there’s no plot.” But let’s be honest—we’re not here for Shakespeare. We’re here for pretty boys, beautiful Japan scenery, and NC scenes that actually deliver. And on that front, Season of Love in Shimane absolutely nails it. A cozy, low-stakes binge that hit the spot on my Sunday night.

Read More

When I first heard that the Hong Sister's much-needed redemption would come in the form of a horror rom-com, I was a bit perplexed by the idea. How could these two genre collide in any sort of acceptable way? However, now that I have watched, pined for, and passionately followed Master's Sun, I can see how this crazy combination works(and works well).

Master's Sun has it all: horror, romance, a healthy bit of angst, and a touch of sunlight (or is it a beam?)that rises in the heart and fills the viewer with warm fuzzies and peals of laughter.

One of the greatest strengths of the show was it's acting. Gong Hyo Jin and So Ji Sub absolutely oozed chemistry, appeal, and gave us such balanced but fantastic performances. So Ji Sub made me fall for his acting (and him) by the first episode. Seo In Guk was great as well, and at times, had me falling for both of the leads.

Storywise, I feel that the show did its best to indicate that the ghostly world isn't as scary as it seems, which plays well into the evolution of Gong Shil, Joong Won, and even Kang Woo. However, there were times where I felt that the story forgot earlier elements or threw them away. Nevertheless, the story was fairly solid.

Overall, I really enjoyed Master's Sun. When I say "really enjoyed," I mean that I'm already having separation anxiety from the brightness that was this drama.

I will definitely be watching this again.

Read More

God, why? Just why is this a thing?

I know that you're not supposed to write reviews for shows if you haven't completed them but honestly, I just couldn't contain my bewilderment with this one. I really truly don't understand why anyone in their right mind would watch this. (Especially a non-EXO fan) If you know the answer to that, please enlighten me.

I mean, this is just plain bad. Period. You've got to get high and lose a few brain cells in order to find this shit hilarious. Don't get me wrong, I've got no problem seeing Sehun, Chanyeol, D.O and Bacon do their thing but when you add one hell of a TSTL (too stupid to live) heroine in their midst, it just turns everything sour.

I couldn't handle Ji Yeon Hee's immaturity for a single second and her brother's cute awkwardness wasn't nearly enough to balance it out. She's cringey on a whole other level and it's not adorable in the least. Also, the way she talks with her mum is just awful. I swear the brat needs to sit the fuck down and check her priorities. Funny how, she's always being a snarky ass bish to her family but she can't utter a lone syllable in front of boys. And she's 22. Enough said.

Furthermore, let's not forget how they got Chan to play the brooding, cold, bad boy type. Like, I just can't at this moment. Chan out of all them? Chan, really?
He's like an adorable little puppy at his worst, m8. Why, oh, why must you do this to me?

Obviously, I watched it for plain ol' fanservice and wasn't expecting a plot, good acting or a consistent storyline and fairly enough, it did indeed lack on all those fronts. But what I also didn't expect was the human embodiment of complete and total aggravation that was our female lead.

It is amazing how I even managed to stand 4 episodes of this nightmare. It truly is a fete when a show is so horrible it makes a 15 minute episode feel like an hour. I repeatedly checked how much of it was left and when I realized that I had endured so much suffering and only 5 minutes had passed, I think I decomposed a little inside.

The only good thing that came out of this was that the guys were able to make money off of it. As far as I'm concerned, I'm sorry but I'm just not strong enough to bear this kind of agony.

I am in dire need of an efficient eyewasher and a mental detox after this. I'd try to come back after I heal and watch four more episodes to support the group but surely, recovery from this requires total mental rest for atleast more than 365 days.

For all those people who watched and enjoyed this, I envy you. Really, kudos to you. I don't know how you did it. Fighting!

(At this point this isn't even a review, more like an existential crisis.)

Read More

Pasta would be an overall delightful watch if it weren't for a couple of absolutely annoying, infuriating traits.

I think it's necessary for me to premise that I have first hand experience of how a high level restaurant/kitchen works. This is why I was attracted to it in the first place.

For the most part, what happens in the kitchen of this drama is exactly the same you will find in Michelin-stars kitchen all over the world: the strict hierarchy, the arguments between kitchen chef and restaurant direction, the treatment of women (things are rapidly changing, but high level cuisine has been for a long time a male domain, where women were treated almost like slaves). Even details in this drama are absolutely realistic, from the utensils they use to the allocation of each cooking-partie.
I had a great time watching the whole kimchi debacle, as I know for a fact that this is exactly the kind of problem a chef in such a kitchen would face.

BUT. Like Beca, the female lead annoyed me. Royally. Not so much because she would say Yes Chef every second word - that's actually quite accurate - but because she was ambitious but never showed any sign of having learnt anything. If you want to succeed in the gourmet world and you have the chance to work with a great chef you don't discuss his menu decisions: you learn! She is at the same time too humble and too conceited. She bows her head when she should show pride (grrrrrrr) and fights against the chef when HE is right (double grrrrrrr)!
And please don't get me started on the way she eats spaghetti. I'm Italian and, believe me, I cringed, to say the least. She would grab a handful of oily spaghetti and thrust them in her mouth with her hands, chewing them as if it were pigswill. In front of other people. I was disgusted. I respect different customs from mine, but you don't work in a 3-star (or even a 1 star) Italian restaurant without knowing how to eat spaghetti, for Pete's sake!

Lee Sun Gyun on the other hand is amazing. He is an arrogant jerk, but he is absolutely believable. I would never fall for such a man, but nothing he does or say comes out as unrealistic. Let me be just a little spoilerish here and say that his declaration is a great one! I finished the drama because of him and the rest of the hilarious, spot-on kitchen staff.

I can't remember the music, I'm afraid. Hence the 7.

I'm not sure I'll rewatch this drama. I laughed a lot, it entertained me a lot, but there are parts I'd need to skip entirely if I wanted to go through a second watch.

Read More

Some strange choices in last episode

I appreciated the meeting FL had with ML after their divorce, where she gave a more serious apology, admitting that she had taken him for granted, never thinking that she could lose him, and avoided gaslighting him or "both siding" the situation, or throwing in some self serving cynicism or false moral equivalency. This was quite necessary after their disastrous previous encounter. Nevertheless, I must admit that I found some of the choices in the last episode strange.

In the text below I'll add some spoilers from some other shows/movies (My Mister, Crazy Rich Asians, The Magicians, A Good Lawyer's Wife, Spring in a Small Town).

I'll point out that one's subjective preferences have really no bearing on the morality of the action in question. To illustrate why they cannot be the standard, consider the cases of, 1) someone cheating a lot but not having any intention of breaking up with their partner, and 2) Someone that breaks up with their partner before cheating. Obviously, if someone wanted their significant other not to leave them, they might think they would suffer less with 1), but obviously 2) is the more moral choice, where they are treated with honesty and respect (and reasonably the one that will lead to greater long term happiness).

I found kind of ridiculous the way FL kept underscoring, both before having unprotected sex with her ex and when talking about the event with her husband, that no feelings were involved, as if this was supposed to change everything, make what she did better or somehow make it "not count". Arguably, it made it worse in some respects (and arguably not in others), because she was essentially saying that she chose to throw away any loyalty, respect and honesty towards someone she had been married to for years in order to have meaningless and unimportant sex with someone she didn't even like. Meaning, in other words, that in terms of her priorities, a meaningless and unimportant sexual encounter ranked above (as she chose to prioritize it over) her treating her partner with loyalty, respect and honesty.

This is a bit like the stories one hears of places where men don't consider having sex with prostitutes as cheating... well, but on the other hand, the fact that they were willing to hurt, humiliate and deceive their spouses over something so futile, arguably in some ways (and arguably not in others) make it even more demeaning.

The funny thing is that I often find myself arguing against the opposite trope, where dramas will try to use "love" as a free pass, mixing issues that are really orthogonal, such as relationship issues, or feelings towards a third party, with one's decision to hurt, humiliate and deceive their partners (and/or the partner of the one they cheated with). To channel DH in My Mister, why one is unhappy and why one chose to cheat are two separate matters, and shouldn't be conflated: being unhappy (as he was) is very much not a sufficient condition to cheat, while being willing to treat your partner with no loyalty, respect and honesty is a necessary one. And that, in his words, is the crucial question: why they felt they deserved to be treated that way. As he pointed out, if you are unhappy (or, I would say, you fell for someone else), you have the option to break things off with your current partner respectfully, before pursuing a new relationship. Quite frankly, if you are at a point where you are ready to cheat, then you are at a point where you can break up with your partner instead. Another example of this notion is Astrid in the Crazy, Rich, Asian movie, where she confronts her philandering husband and when he tries to point to his insecurities, her horrible family and her faults, she tells him to not try to turn this on him, that he is the one that messed up, and that he cannot use those points, valid in isolation, as a legitimate explanation for his actions.

Anyway, TLDR, the bottom line is that while loving the third party in no way makes the decision to hurt, humiliate and deceive your partner better, certainly not having feelings for the third party doesn't make it any better, either.

Of course, there are situations like the one depicted in A Good Lawyer's Wife or The Magicians, where the wife and girlfriend, respectively, whose bf and husband slept with other women, had every right, imho, to sleep with someone else: given that their partner had not shown them loyalty, respect and honesty, they had no right to expect any from them in return, either.

Certainly, one needs a sense of proportions, and feeling attracted to someone or having a crush, spending time with someone, dating them, flirting with them, kissing them, having sex with them... these are not the same thing. I don't believe some of them even constitute a betrayal: I think that it is quite natural for people to feel attracted to various people, without it necessarily meaning that they intend to sleep with them, and I draw a clear distinction between feelings, emotions and random thoughts (or, for that matter, a physiological reaction such as arousal or lack thereof), which are not under one's control, and actions, which are. This is why we hold people accountable for their actions, but we abhor the notion of a thought crime as an Orwellian nightmare.

I think there is a distinction between working with someone, or taking care of a friend when they are sick, or liking someone that listens to our issues (all of which are imho very natural behaviors), or even having a small crush, and having full blown unprotected sex with one's ex on the hotel table. Even in the case of FL, had she walked away when her ex started flirting with her, or even when he kissed her, obviously her behavior would have had very different implications in terms of her unwillingness to cross that line (a line that, for example, her husband, who had ironically followed her out of concern for her wellbeing and ended up discovering her affair, was unwilling to cross).

I think that the notion that merely having feelings for someone, and not acting on them, would constitute cheating, is an appalling and pernicious misuse of language, because it equates a situation where one fell out of love with someone and before pursuing a relationship with someone else decided to break up with their current partner, as being the same as someone that just slept with the other person behind their partner's back, basically making it virtually impossible not to cheat, unless one only ever felt something for one person during the course of their whole life (or, I guess, for nobody).

ML's emotions are scrutinized and he is crucified over his supposed fantasies, while feeling the temptation to do something and not acting on it is treated as the same, or worse, as having full blown unprotected sex with someone behind one's partner's back. A complete moral inversion. At the same time, an impossible standard where he is crucified over any "bad" thought, and an exceedingly lose one where the thought and action are treated as indistinguisheable, or worse, where thinking something "bad" is treated as worse than doing it. In reality, everybody understands that if one merely thinks about robbing a bank, but doesn't plan to do it, they are not a thief. If thoughts were equivalent to actions, then the number of drivers being arrested every day would be much higher than the number warranted by road rage incidents. Thankfully, merely wishing to knock the snot out of someone does not translate into an intention to actually do it, let alone into an action.

I think that gaslighting him like that was completely unreasonable, and that this was also the show's take on the situation, and that the message being conveyed was that FL was being irrational and unfair when she threw that tantrum (particularly considering she had unprotected sex with her ex, something she hid from him for the last two years, until he told her he knew... here the famous rooftop scene of Ji An in My Mister comes to mind, with her telling YH that it was laughable for her to ask whether she had slept with DH, because essentially she had betrayed him first -incidentally, in a much more worst fashion than what they could ever do, at that-, and so she has no right whatsoever to complain about it even if they had done anything). I think this was acknowledged by the show when FL apologized for her behavior after their divorce.

Regarding FL's mindset when she cheated because her husband did not want to have sex, I would say that it's in some way analogous to the married guy that tries to hit on the twenty years old at a bar after his wife refuses to "put out", in order to seek validation and show that they still "got it". So, a mix of validation, insecurities, ego and horniness. I don't think it was purely a search for validation, tbh, because otherwise she would have quit once her ex showed interest in her sexually, or after he kissed her. And contrary to her hesitation and active/passive attitude when she called him, etc., when they got going she certainly seemed rather horny/passionate. I must also say that I don't really know how seriously to take her disgust for the guy versus what is kind of a play (also not sure why she kept his phone number if she was repulsed by him). I am saying this because I got the definite impression that she knew very well that this was going to be the outcome, from the time that she called the guy, and in fact that she called the guy exactly because of that.

I will note that the guy was married, and she had no hesitation in sleeping with him regardless, thereby hurting and participating in the deception of a woman she had likely never met, and that had done nothing to her, and that would have had every right not to be treated as an object and to be put in a position to make an informed decision. Then again, that's the same treatment ML gets: despite her "regret" -which barely lasted a couple of minutes before she shamelessly started gaslighting him and using her affair and his defaillance to hurt him... let's just say that their meeting after their divorce thankfully went better-, it's not as if that was enough to stop her from sleeping with her ex, or to push her to come clean with her husband in the two years afterwards, until he told her he knew.

As for the husband, I found her attitude towards him completely unfair (thankfully, she took responsibility more seriously in their follow up encounter after their divorce).

Essentially, she accused him of sleeping with the neighbor. When she learned that that was not the case, it's not as if she took a step back and acknowledged it, she pressed ahead with new accusation, and contradictory ones at that: he was either lying about not sleeping with the woman, or, once she moved past that, he was attracted to her and imagined her while masturbating, etc., or was not sexually aroused by her and didn't sleep with her only because of that (turns out this was not the case, in any case these are obviously mutually exclusive: he is either aroused by her or not).

It's hard to understand why she feels she would have any right to shamelessly attack him in such a manner, given that she had unprotected sex with her ex. To be perfectly frank, even if ML had decided to pursue a sexual or romantic relationship with someone else, it's not as if she would have any leg to stand on: she didn't show him any loyalty, so she has no right to expect any in return. A similar argument can be made about her complaints with regards to the neighbor, given that her ex she had cheated with was also married, as discussed above. So, she is essentially the very kind of person that she purports to hate (while the neighbor was by all accounts innocent -frankly, realistically paying because she didn't want to deal with a crazy stalker that followed her against her will and could have ruined her reputation with unfounded rumors-).

All things considered, FL gaslighting ML for... cleaning their apartment with his female friend, who listened to him when she refused to? Visiting for half an hour when she was sick? And so on. Imho it all felt, for lack of better words, too "innocent" or too "silly" to take seriously, particularly when compared to FL's actions. What's next, an indirect kiss being worse than sex behind a spouse's back? At least a six years old for which holding hands is the equivalent of a marriage proposal would have no double standard. It's hard to see this genuine human connection as repulsive, and even more absurd when FL had unprotected sex with her ex and hid it from ML for the past two years, and he had been living with this knowledge while pretending not to know. Overall, the notion that he should have refused to open up with someone that cared about his feelings and closed himself off to that healing experience seems masochistic, unjust and self flagellating.

As an aside, if you equated sexual fantasies with actual sexual encounters and affairs, and went on to be so invasive as to dissect people's thoughts during masturbation, equating them to an actual physical affair, any guy's body count would be in the hundreds if not thousands. Fantasies and reality are quite different things.

I believe ML when he says the neighbor was a friend he liked because she listened to him. It's not as if he ever pursues a relationship with her, even after he breaks up with his wife. But even if he had actually felt a deep passion for her, I have to say that I still fail to see how this would make him a moral monster, or worse than someone that would have unprotected sex with their ex when their partner wouldn't "put out". I mean, this is essentially the plot of the Chinese masterpiece "Spring in a Small Town", where the whole point is that the characters feel deeply attracted to each other, but decide *not to* pursue an actual affair behind her husband's back. The point is exactly that they feel a temptation, but resist it, and choose not to act on it. By the way, I don't think that, in order to be moral, they would *have* had to cut each other off their lives and not see each other again: I would see no issue with them being friends from a moral point of view, it's just that in terms of the practical situation, it was easier for them to be separated and not see each other.

In that case you would essentially have FL that chose to cross that boundary and have meaningless sex with her ex, over loyalty, respect and honesty for her partner, and ML that chose not to break that boundary and renounced to pursue a sexual or romantic relationship with someone he loved deeply as long as he was still married to FL. I frankly don't see anything wrong with the latter (well, I do see something wrong in that, given that she had not shown him any loyalty, in this specific case he really had no reason to show FL any loyalty either, though given that the neighbor was married as well he should have either waited for her to break up, or chosen someone else), in any case I really cannot equate it with, or even more outrageously see it as worse, than the former.

But we were never even close to that kind of "Spring in a Small Town" situation, the guy basically liked having a friend that listened to his problems, and didn't find her sexually repulsive. They cleaned together, and he took care of her for half an hour when she was sick, like imho any good friend would. At the very most, he had a small crush, if even that (I think not even that, tbh). Simply incomparable to anything FL did with her ex.

This honestly felt like her acknowledging some rather horrific behavior, and then grasping at straws once she discovered that what she planned to accuse him of turned out to be a fantasy. She was in disbelief for a second, and then accused him of things that were mutually contradictory, and in any case would amount to him either not being physically attracted to the neighbor (i..e. not finding her sexually arousing), or being attracted, nay, in love with her and not pursuing a sexual or romantic relationship with her while they were still married (i.e. not kissing her, not dating her, not flirting with her, etc.. not that any of those would equate to have unprotected sex with someone). The reality, more prosaically, is that he liked her because she listened to him, but never had any intention to pursue a romantic or sexual relationship with her. Which is more than okay imho, or not okay for the opposite reason: again, given FL's betrayal, if the neighbor had been unattached I would have had no hesitation to wish he would actually pursue a relationship with her.

I tried to rationalize this as a coping mechanism to reduce the guilt she felt about what she had done to him, and pretend this was more of a both-sides situation, which imho it definitely was not, in terms of the line she crossed and he didn't... but as for realism, I struggled to imagine being told your husband followed you because he was concerned for you, saw you go have sex with your ex, had to live with this for two years, and you can still gaslight him and use the affair against him? Two seconds after apologizing? But I guess I had a similar experience in My Mister or Crazy Rich Asian.

I liked that she met her ex husband after their divorce and apologized without crucifying him over his feelings and fantasies -literally what he thought when he masturbated, etc.- ... again, this from someone that actually had unprotected sex with her ex boyfriend, a married man -to use her phrasing- and who was never asked who *she* was thinking about while sleeping with the guy behind her husband's back -a missed opportunity, really, given they were in full disclosure mode ;)-. But yes, I liked her taking full responsibility for her actions and admitting she took ML for granted, without gaslighting.

Read More

It's the same but different at the same time

Wrap up the drama in one sentence: A university student and a video game maker were stuck in a loop to survive in a bus explosion tragedy.

THIS IS NOT YOUR TYPICAL C-DRAMA
There is no unnecessary love triangles, misunderstandings and golden fingers.

WHY SHOULD YOU WATCH THIS DRAMA?
If you like mystery and thriller stories. Who is the culprit? At the first glance, everyone seems to be the culprit. However, when the drama unfolds, the background story of each character in the bus is unfolded. Suddenly, you understand the reason behind their seemingly out-of-place action.

The repetitive scenes. They're the same, yet they're not. Every time the same scene is played, it adds subtle changes, for instance, minor details, if you're a mystery geek, you can actually try to deduce the plot. The producers have made it possible throughout the drama.

Every character is this drama is the main character of their own story. They are living their own life, in real bone and flesh. The drama tells their story so articulately and beautifully that I can put myself in their shoes and feel their happiness and sorrow alongside with them.

Read More

Well...

What more can I say? I love this series. Hands Down is JoongDunk's best bl and the more adult characters fit them perfectly. Dunk has also improved. The story itself was interesting, it's a shame PepperJJ wasn't developed more. Honestly, this series deserves a few more episodes, especially at the very beginning, madly in love was too fast which I completely understand because they had to fit everything into 12 episodes. The only thing I would change is for them not to drag out the story with the mother until the last episode, and put something else in its place.
I think it's my new comfort series.

Read More

over-rated drama

Just finished all 40 episodes of this drama and must say that I am surprised to see all of the 10/10 and 9/10 ratings it has received.

The drama started off strongly, I really liked the first 15-20 episodes or so. The plot moved along well with a great story line, liked the actors, also some good comedic scenes helped make the first 1/2 of this drama a decent watch.

Then somewhere around episode 25 this drama goes off the rails and just gets worse and worse until the awful ending. The last 15 episodes or so were terrible. Every episode seemed to have a 4-5 minute scene with the male/female leads being all lovey-dovey, sweet-talking each other with the obligatory love song playing in the back-ground. This got tiresome and repetitive. Every character seemed to experience a near death scene and then the other characters help them miraculously pull through. This got tiresome and repetitive. Each episode seemed to have 3 or 4 song interludes, starting to think the producers were either getting royalties or really trying to push the soundtrack. This got tiresome and repetitive. Each time a character died, there would be 7-8 minute montage of flashback scenes with that character, of course, with some song playing in the background. This got repetitive and tiresome as well. In addition, the drama had the worst ending of any C-drama that I have personally watched. It was like the script writers gave up and just wrote some nonsense to get this drama over with.

Gave this drama an overall rating of 2.0 solely based on the 1/2 half of the drama. Re-watch value should be 0 but apparently 1.0 is the minimum value I can assign. It was painful watching this drama once, can't imagine that anyone would go back and re-watch this a second time. This drama won't be showing up on any top 10 best drama lists, but wouldn't be surprised at all to see this drama on a number of top 10 worst drama lists though. Starting to think that the producers must have paid an army of people to give glowing reviews.

Read More