This review may contain spoilers
The juice wasn't worth the squeeze
This show infuriated me by the end. Snowdrop came in with a bunch of promise halted by waves of controversy — if you avoided this show because of that, congrats, nothing about it should tempt you to watch it after all.To be honest, this show started with a bunch of potential. I loved the nostalgic vibes and shiny wide-eyed jaunt towards first love. Snowdrop started to lose momentum once they got into the hostage situation. It dragged on way too long. I understood the point it was trying to make about politics and corruption, but we got the point after just a couple episodes. Someone joked that they blew their whole production budget on the dorm, and honestly, that sounds like the most plausible answer (considering they had to pay an all-star cast too... but we'll get to that in a second). Moreover, the last couple episodes were tropey and infuriating beyond belief. I didn't care enough about the romance to feel anything for Youngro or Sooho; the show didn't do enough early on to make us cheer for them. And then before we knew it, we were being bombarded by noble idiocy and regular idiocy galore. So many situations toward the end could've EASILY been preventable. Trust these competent agents; don't insert yourself into situations unnecessarily (this is directed at BOTH of our leads).
Jisoo especially frustrated me. All of the actors were incredible EXCEPT for her. And I swear, I enjoy Blackpink music! But she was so clearly out-acted throughout the whole show. She was tolerable for a couple of episodes, but once the hostage situation kicked in, she was clearly out of her depth. She gasped so much throughout the rest of the drama that I'm surprised she didn't pass out from the hyperventilation. She was the most useless person in the whole drama — you could arguably consider her a "candy" (not in the classic kdrama definition of the trope, but by effectively serving as bait for the ANSP and Sooho). Worse than a candy girl though, I'd argue that she was a straight-up liability. She was unwilling to compromise or sacrifice anything for the greater good of others. This was exemplified in a situation at the end that involved saving a random side character and harming four other main characters in the process (even leading to the demise of the one she cared about the most!). She blindly ran into situations without a plan and without being equipped to do anything, thus putting other people at even greater risk as they sought to protect her and achieve whatever random agenda she cooked up. I hate that she faced no consequences for this behaviour either; it wasn't even acknowledged as problematic. Jisoo's acting was awful too — I always knew I was watching JISOO, not some character named Youngro. This character could've had so much nuance and depth: idealistic, innocent, and in love, sure, but she could've also been defiant, emboldened, and thoughtful. If her actions were clearly borne of some strategic thought, I would've sympathized with Youngro. Instead, she was stubborn without seemingly any rationale, which made all her actions seem rash and ultimately stupid.
Then let's talk about the romance: it was cute at first, but based on where the story went, it really should've been relegated to a side-plot that took up less air time. Leave it as "Not meant to be" and move on. We lost so much closure and momentum towards the end of the drama by unnecessarily focusing on the romance. Think of all the moments Sooho and Youngro spend gripping each other, asking the other to go, and staring into each others' eyes without any interruption. You know what they could've done in that time? THEY COULD'VE ESCAPED INTO SAFETY TOGETHER. Of course, the more realistic situation would've been if there were constant pressure and action instead, with no time to shoehorn their longing for one another. Because of those moments, especially towards the end, it made their entire tragic situation seem completely avoidable. I found myself shouting at the TV during each of these moments, yelling at them to just GO already instead of standing there (in the basement).
Aside from Jisoo and the romance, the other actors did a wonderful job. I never cared for the moms' machinations (although I suppose they added some levity) or the political squabbles (how silly they turned out to be, although perhaps that was the point?), and I felt too many people were overly motivated by love (Jang Hanna, Kang Cheong Ya, and Lim Sooho especially), but some of the acting was truly superb. To me, there were four standouts: Jung Hae-In excellently blew past his archetype as only playing the boy-next-door in noona dramas. Kim Hye Yoon (Bun Ok), you somehow make me sympathetic towards you while truly giving us the least to cheer for. My only qualm was your choice to help Youngro save Ms. Oh towards the end — how was that choice in any way aligned with Bun Ok's motivations to SAVE HER OWN HIDE above all else? Yoon Se Ah (Ms Pi), I CANNOT believe you are the same person that portrayed Noh Seung Hye in SKY Castle — un-freaking-BELIEVABLE how incredibly she embodied that role as the headmistress. I would seriously watch a movie based on Ms. Pi's life alone. Yoo In Na (Kang Cheong Ya), who knew you had this role in you? I honestly wished Sooho spared her a single glance (or even wound up escaping with her as a way to avoid putting Youngro in harm's way). The rest of the cast did their job too; shout-out to students like Jung Shin Hye (who I liked to think of as "Madonna" for her stylish 80s fashion) and Kim Mi Soo, may she rest in peace.
This drama got my blood pressure up from the suspense; very much shades of SKY Castle. Unfortunately, it didn't critique current issues or hit the zeitgeist the way SKY Castle did, and it also didn't have the cathartic payoff due to its lacklustre, romance-oriented finale. Save yourself the pain of finishing this one!
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Why waste PMY in such a way? Why 'romance' is listed as the main genre? Who the heck wants to watch that cheating couple overcoming their problems given a heck of screen time? (sometimes I even felt they got more scenes together than the main cp did) and the most important: Why does this drama even exist?
When the whole romance, getting into relationship part was in bullet speed, I tried to understand. Fine they going differently, elsewhere first there's good development then leads get together but it's okay if here it's vice versa, but no lol, that development never existed so the chemistry.. first their relationship was bombarded then they 'love' each other onto us, why they do? I think the writer left that question to viewers... other than the addition of boredom there's no purpose so we have some questions to solve, right?
When I was bored more than enough from their bland and tasteless love story, it wasn't enough as we have a whole weather forecasting plot... that does give vibes is this a thriller drama? I never knew weather forecasting has that impact on common people's lives... okay I get it there are some fields where it's important, but I'm talking about common folks from my personal experience no one gives a damn to weather forecast here... some even say proudly that their predictions are always opposite to outcome. Or is this is thing is SK? or as usual glorifying every profession, it seems later case to me
It's a Netflix drama so, with their usual production quality and cinematography, I didn't give attention to osts, see if a dish is a disaster you don't care whether the parsley used for garnishing is of top quality or not.
What writer was trying to tell... I never got to know till the end, was it noona romance? (would be most bland ever), Thrilling experiences while forecasting, How to keep bitchy attitude even though you cheated... maybe it's another example of putting all random stories, most uninteresting characters (including leads), with most boring scenario.. together to form a thing called drama.. and yeah garnished with annoying... unbearable characters. Voila!
I actually have a lot to rant about but I really don't want to waste more words for ranting.. so I'll stop here, definitely not recommended. Maybe if you need to watch something that'll bore you to death then you should.
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This review may contain spoilers
A lot of things were hidden, mainly the reason.
This was a sweet story at times, frustrating at other times.My biggest gripe comes from the FL character early on.
It almost seemed as if the 14 year old version was more mature than the 18 year old.
I had a hard time at one point keeping track of her age due to her overly childish behavior and ridiculous baby voice.
No one I know has ever acted or talked like that.
From other reviews it seems she does this intentionally (?) which is even more bizarre for a character to do.
The ML was pure eye candy and he knows it.
This role was just another way for him to boost his fan count.
I disliked the way he dressed / styling of his character.
Some scenes his jeans seemed too high up and he'd have his shirt tucked in like someone's grandpa.
A 5 year age difference is not that much, especially not to dress him so much older.
I appreciated the few times they did things and it was a first for both.
Example: walking together on campus and then he plays basketball.
Even though he had already been to college, he didn't have the chance to do 'couple things'.
We saw very little development in his feelings for the FL though which was a let down.
It was very sudden and not very convincing.
The reason seems to be a complete mystery other than a few flashbacks of him looking at her (very short span of time).
He literally was calling her kid and treating her like a little sister one day and then BAM! all of a sudden he's head over heels in love with her.
How?
They could've spent more time developing that part of the story and less time on the fact that his dad killed someone while drunk driving.
I also didn't understand the constant emphasis on how wealthy the FL supposedly was.
They seemed to be middle class, maybe a little higher.
Not too impressive but somehow was a big point.
The leads are both good actors so they played their parts well, but their chemistry was very lacking.
Not a popular opinion, but given my seasoned experience, one I am sticking with.
I was not moved by it, but overall it was a good watch.
Just not worth all the 9s and 10s floating about.
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It gets to a point
I want to start this rant review by saying that, if A Dream Within a Dream (or alternatively, Everyone Hates Nan Heng) was trying to rage-bait me, then it has successfully completed its task, because I haven’t written a drama review in almost a year, but this one made me do it.The premise is interesting: Song Xiaoyu, an unsuccessful actress, gets a leading role next to an A-List celebrity (Nan Feng), but her character is only a pawn to the male lead in a terrible script. She then gets sucked into the story and decides to be as far away as possible from the “God of War” male lead. Though it doesn’t sound too ground breaking, the first episode and its satirical tone of the chinese drama industry immediately caught my attention. The first few episodes were good (although a bit too corny for my taste), but it didn’t take too long for it to go downhill, and fast.
Which brings me to the first (of many) fatal flaw, the female lead of this story. I absolutely despised Song Yimeng’s character. She is supposed to be the only “real” person in a world full of fictional characters, yet somehow acts the most caricature-like absurdly of them all. Her behavior is erratic to the point of being nonsensical. She is terrified of Nan Heng one minute, pitying him the next, overconfident in between, then suddenly in love with him (?). There is no arc here, just emotional whiplash.
Also, how do you go from repeatedly dying in a scripted world without fear to suddenly being terrified of death after your situation changes slightly? The fear itself makes sense, you could argue that, since the situation has changed, she can’t be completely certain a new death scene will result in her restarting the story, but she never has a thought process that leads to this conclusion and explains her fears. And never, not once does she seriously think about going back to her real life? She’s constantly stressed and in danger, yet seems perfectly content to remain in this fictional world just because she has money and a fake family.
Speaking of which, her family dynamics? Barely explored. She immediately latches onto her fictional family without any organic development. Why not let us see those bonds form over time, rather than expecting us to care just because you told us to?
The drama tries to critique the tropes of male-centric stories where female leads exist only to further the male protagonist’s journey. But then it... becomes that exact thing. Nan Heng and Li Shiliu dominate the screen. SYM might be the protagonist, but she spends most of the drama reacting, acting ridiculously, or even, especially during the middle part of the story, off-screen. She doesn’t grow. Even by episode 27, she’s still stuck on the idea that the script is unchangeable. No progress. No inner transformation. Just a tragic family backstory shoved in way too late in a failed attempt at emotional depth and a sense of clarity that comes out of nowhere towards the end of the story that can only be described as reaching Nirvana because she saw Nan Heng mounted on a fake pegasus and dressed in white.
And then, of course, the plot holes. So many. It genuinely feels like they filmed the first draft of the script with no revisions. Characters reach conclusions instantly, they contradict themselves within minutes. Basic logic? Missing. I could list a dozen examples, but here’s the one that broke me: when Song Yimeng, Chu Guihong, and Li Shiliu are “working together”, Nan Heng (disguised as LSL) denies any alliance with the Seventh Prince and even joins a plot to assassinate himself (which, honestly, I found pretty funny). But just a few episodes later, he’s throwing a banquet at Waning River Crescent as Nan Heng, casually walking around with Shangguan He. Subtlety? Never heard of it. And naturally, no one notices, because everyone in this drama is, tragically, an idiot.
As for overall character development. There was close to none. SYM, as mentioned previously, had no character development arc, NH was perfect from the beginning (the viewer just didn’t know about it), the emperor turned a switch and went from hating his son to loving him. As for Chu Guihong, I, innocently, thought that he would have the most interesting character arc, becoming a villain and all, but it just ends up being so incredibly exaggerated and nonsensical, I can't even say I liked that.
Then there's Song Yiting. At first I disliked her because she was annoying (which, fair, so am I), but this woman is vile. She's a predator who attempts to s*x**lly assault Li Shiliu under the pretense of wanting to “ruin her marriage prospects”. There is no gray area here. She drugs a man to force him into s*x and the show barely blinks. I could talk a lot more about this, but choose not to in order to protect my own sanity.
And if all of thatr wasn’t already enough, here enters the Scriptwriter character, who shows up, becomes a moustache-twirling-top-hat-wearing cartoon villain and then ends up helping the protagonists. Just like SYM, no real person attributes, just absolute idiocracy.
I know I have done nothing but complain, but (shockingly) there were things I liked.
The soundtrack, for one, is mostly great. Unfortunately, most of the good tracks are tied to Li Shiliu, and once he’s gone, so is the music. But during his scenes, the audio experience was really good.
The drama was indeed funny. There were many moments in which I caught myself actually laughing out loud at scenes, so I have to give credit where it’s due.
As for Nan Heng, shockingly, I enjoyed his character, for the most part. He carried more emotional nuance than expected and managed to steal the spotlight from the actual female lead, Song Yimeng, in what is supposedly her breaking-the-cycle-of-female-lead-being-a-device-to-the-male-lead story. Ironically, a drama that seems to critique the sidelining of female leads ends up doing exactly that, SYM becomes more of a supporting character halfway through the show.
Well, in conclusion, powering through this drama was like when you drive past a car crash. Horrifying, and yet somehow impossible to look away from precisely because it is so terrible.
Come to think of it, the acting, costumes, setting, and soundtrack all range from at least average to genuinely great. Production value isn’t the issue, the script is, and unfortunately, without solid writing, even the most stunning production falls flat.
A Dream Within a Dream starts off promising, dynamic, and almost clever. But it quickly devolves into a bloated mess of half-baked character arcs and lazy plotting (it seems that the writers wanted things to happen and characters to develop thoughts, but were too lazy to do the DEVELOPING part, and just threw the action into the screen). The very clichés it claims to satirize, it ends up indulging in.
If the goal was to criticize bad storytelling, maybe they should’ve tried writing a good one first.
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The almighty pen.
From a writing perspective, it’s closer to a 7.5, but I had so much fun, I cannot rate it lower than 8.5. It was quite an exciting watch, delivering all types of frustration and thrills, but ending on a rather mediocre note.Honestly speaking, the first half of the show was a good 10/10. It had everything one might want from a show like this - cute fighter, psycho brain, cinnamon roll who just wants to help. We’ve also got all the blood, pain, violence and the main character - the pen! I was eating it all up, could not stop watching and barely stopped myself from screaming at my laptop.
So what happened in the 2nd half? The drama changed from more plot/action driven to character driven… and it focused on the character I honestly cared the least about. With each and every scene I just started to hate him more and more. For all the buildup, all the tension, all the accumulated frustration in me, I was not delivered a proper closure. I understand it will have a second season, but even with that, rather than being excited and hopeful the drama left me fearful if they will deliver a more proper ending this time. I don’t want to dive into it and get a half baked potato with the last scene.
That said, the show presented a glorious friendship/bromance between Shi Eun and Soo Ho and I could not ask for more on that part. Both characters perfectly played off of each other's traits and the dynamic was just fun to watch. They were perfect partners in crime.
Oh Beom Seok was a complicated character and I don’t think the director quite well delivered what they planned with him. I feel like there was something missing with the way his character was developed. For such complex internal and external struggles, I was completely indifferent to whatever was happening to him - which is ridiculous as he is the center of last 4 episodes.
Plot wise, saying this drama lacks realism would be a massive understatement. Some scenes were so ridiculous and over the top I was just laughing. At times it was even hard to feel bad for these kids, because the situations they were in just made little sense. And this is one of the reasons I enjoyed the show. I watched it for the over the top scenarios. I wanted excitement and hype, and not pain and anxiety. That said - fear not, Weak Hero Class 1 still manages to create decent stakes and make you care for the characters, even if your brain sees the nonsense happening on the screen.
I appreciate how the drama tried to showcase what happens when someone is in a circle of violence. What they missed is to show why some characters were able to get out of it, while others got swallowed deeper and deeper.
Production value was good. Loved the fighting scenes, and loved the different approach the characters had to them. They delivered realistic blood and realistic amounts of it - someone gets punched, they will bleed, but ain’t no bloody waterfalls going on. Some scenes were quite aesthetically pleasing, though I wished they included more visual symbolism here. This is something I felt like the drama lacked.
The acting was the one that surprised me the most, on the positive note. I knew Park Ji Hoon is good and that's why I am even more amazed he delivered even more than I expected. This type of character so so easy to mess up. To create the aura of intimidation, you need some skills. to make him look empathic on top of that, is even harder. And Ji Hoon managed to do it all.
Choi Hyun Wook was honestly adorable. That said, I kind of felt like this is more violet, better at fighting version of the character he played in 2521.
Hong Kyung did a great job with the character he was given. Even if the writing for him felt rushed, he did great at portraying the change and desperation.
Overall, fun, violent and exciting. The characters were interesting, some more and some less likable. The conclusions for specific plots and situations could have been better. Perfect binge watch material.
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1Romanticizing a Toxic Relationship Does NOT Make It a Healing Drama
I love Shin Hae Sun. My acct. pic is of her. I've raved about her other shows that were healing and wonderful and have said nothing about the ones I didn't love as much out of respect for my love of her. I cannot in good conscience not speak up and warn people of the trigger warnings in this show. If you want a healing comfort show, go look at my other reviews of her other shows.⛔ Trigger Warnings:
⚠️ This show seems to want to convince the audience that it's a beautiful true love story between a woman who doesn't love herself & the man who doesn't love her either who reaffirms her low esteem beliefs about herself. It's shown as romantic, sweet and healing not sad, tragic and infuriating. Though the latter was what I ended up feeling anyways.
⚠️ Toxic ML says the most cruel things to the FL that's usually reserved for the villain of the show or a toxic ex that the FL escapes from.
⚠️ Abusive behavior like rejection, gaslighting, negging, abandonment, ghosting, verbal cruelty that lead to years of insecurities and pain that lead to a mental breakdown are never treated as such, it's shown as a normal part of a great love story. As long as a woman "loves" (more like obsessed & addicted to) a man, "love" of a toxic man is all that matters. Not Sanity. Not self-respect. Not mental well-being. Not self-esteem. Not self-worth.
⚠️ Gaslighting messages from both the show & the ML are normalized & romanticized. Healthy green flag men who love consistently and are good for a woman's self esteem and confidence are not good matches but a man who gives mixed messages and keeps a woman unbalanced & feeling like she was never good enough for him because he said that to her face multiple times in words and actions is a good match.
⚠️ Sexist ageism is portrayed in the show as just what happens on top of the fact that the real age of the leading actor is 8 yrs older than the leading actress but in the show they are supposed to be the same age. The ML clearly looks at least 10 yrs older than the FL but we're supposed to ignore that and believe they are the same age while being told that the FL lead is "too old" for the 3ML when she was maybe 1-2 yrs older but looked practically the same age as the 3ML.
⚠️ Severe mental illnesses like depression and Dissociative Identity Disorders (DID) are "cured" by ways in the show that in real life would most likely lead to that person ending up dead or permanently broken - or both.
Toxic messages to pick the red flag men over the green flag men were the reasons why I stopped watching American shows and "romantic comedies" and why they don't make money anymore at the box office. It's sad that in 2024 this kind of unhealthy, ignorant and even dangerous messaging still exists. I'll always love Shin Hae Sun's other shows, Thirty but Seventeen and Angels Last Mission: Love. If you want comfort shows or a love story that will make you feel good vs icky & despair, then go check out those shows.
This show was so disappointing that I don't think I can ever trust the Screenwriter: Han Ga Ram or Directors: Jung Ji Hyun, Heo Seok Won ever again. I definitely won't watch anything by them in the future until after the show ends and I see lots of ratings before ever feeling safe to watch something of theirs ever again.
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Watch go ahead instead.
Our secret had so much potential to become a touching and emotional story that would have always remained in my heart (something like 'go ahead') but it really MAJORLY lacks in almost all aspects.The first few episodes had me addicted! It was so beautiful and ugh the charecters were adorable.
But um i have alot of problems in the fundamental thoughts they tried to convey in this show:
- the portrayal of the arts stream is SO BAD. They treat it as though arts is something that people who want it easy take, conforming to the social norms. They state multiple times that "only few students take arts" " girls should only take arts" "science is too difficult for woman". This is in 2021, not 1800s.
- the female leads reason for choosing her stream is her ego. She wants to prove to everyone that she can do science. Even though it sounds so inspiring,it really isn't because shes literally not passionate about any science, nor does she have dreams to do science, she's not even good at science. She's literally an artist !!! Her other reason is all her friends took science.
- Male lead does everything in his power to "protect" the female lead even though she can literally do things herself. He puts his career at risk to do this too. The norms of men proposing, men buying the ring, men always paying, men not feeling cold at alllll is further amplified not in a subtle way.
- the female lead does CRAZY things for love. She literally does not care about her career for around 15 episodes and tries to do everything the male lead does(as he's the genius) by taking a break year to study in the same University and even join his research team???? When she finally realises her importance suddenly she's getting all these arts offers after doing a degree in computing. SO UNREALISTIC. Yll really think getting a job in an area that's not your major is easy? No matter how talented nobody hands out contracts to a fresh graduate from ANOTHER major. This is setting such crazy expectations that happens irl only in RARE cases.
- many scenes make no logical sense. He's poor but lives in such a huge apartment in the middle of the city? All three leads be crashing random meetings? A Start up working in so many industries? I could name so many things!
-the mom's charecter has SO MUCH EGO. Even though she's the adult, the female lead is expected to "not get mad at her" or be respectful because she "doesn't mean it". That's such a sick mindset because adults are the ones that need to be mature and not treat thier children like shit.
The leads were cute in the first few episodes but their chemistry gradually deteriorated. The show dragged the high school part quite alot. I skipped way too much even in the end of the show.
Another thing I thought could have been done better is at how they started the show with the fact that "shit happened", that made me wait for shit to happen because i knew it would and made me enjoy the show less.
The acting is pretty good, i don't have any complains in any other aspect except for the writing and the ideas presented in the drama which would leave the watchers with unrealistic expectations about life and career. Even thier relationship is low-key super unrealistic. I finished this show learning absolute nothing and gaining no insights on anything in life.
Highly not recommended.
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shut up, dont think about it and GO WATCH
it has been a hot minute since im done with the dramaTHIS. THIS IS BETTER THAN AT LEAST 40% OF K DRAMAS AND THE BEST C DRAMA IVE EVER WATCHED
1. GET YOU ON THE EDGE OF YOUR SEAT
2. THERES ROMANCE
3. ITS JUST SO GOOD
the synopsis helps explain everything without much spoilers and i tell you, no synopsis will do true justice to the drama. its just 15 episodes, 45 minutes each, even if you dont think its good at the end which i dont know why you would think that way, at least not much of your time is 'wasted'
OST not my type
chemistry is RIGHT THERE
super heartwarming. every character in the bus has a story behind, except for the internet celeb and the macho guy who was honestly useless :/
i just wish wang meng meng was able to tell her parents a thing or two in a way or another. i wished that her truth would have come out earlier so all these ordeal wouldnt happen. but legit a 100/10 drama, i will surely rewatch it. this drama is the first drama to make me scream and shout out of thrill and suspense. real good. im buying the novel like RIGHT NOW
fyi i watched without eng subs because chinese is my mother tongue, i dont think english subs would do that much of justice to the show as well. BTW there are like SHIT SHIT ton of easter eggs in the show! leave a comment on this review and i will perhaps share more that i know.
one that everyone should know is that wang meng meng and the FL are almost identical
1. they are wearing blue tops/outfits
2. have almost identical if not the same bag with the same keychains and pins
3. they both go to the same school
4. wang meng meng's mother taught at FL's high school
there are more similarities i just cant remember!
please go watch the show, it made me cried out of suspense and relief, no show has ever done that!
<3
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LMAO They Left Atom’s Arse In Phuket
The side characters in this drama were as interesting as chalk. Also, Atom. Child. You touch people with that hand!!That being said. HAHAHAKKJSHFN That ending bedroom scene was just foul!! How you gon’ do that in broad-daylight with your grandmother sitting right there?? The poor woman had to listen to her grandchild getting eaten for two days while making dessert. Yikes.
Also, for a show trying to be ‘gangster’ they sure forgot that random bathtub gangster real quick. Mfer got killed and I was like ‘Oh, so what happened with that gangster group?’ and the writers were like ‘Whomst? We don’t know them. They don’t go here. '
ACTING:
Listen, I sometimes think most bl actors take their acting lessons from a block of cheese, or from like one of those red bricks, but I'd be the first to admit that MeenPing has improved. Sure, I still went ‘Child, what are you doing with your eyebrows? And it's your arms supposed to be doing that?’ more times than I can count, but their acting did not distract me as much as it did in their first two dramas. So yaaay for improvement. Love that for them.
What distracted me though was Ryu’s parent situation. Like, it’s Meen ever going to play a role where he has loving parents? In their first drama, his mother took half his kidney and ditch him at the corner of like a soup shop, he ended up a lonely gangster in the second one, and his mother here made him sleep in the dumpster because he liked to play basketball. I’m curious what his next parents are gonna bring to the table.
CHARACTERS
Like I said, the characters in this show were as interesting as a pineapple. Literally, except for Chogun, I have no idea what anyone’s name on the team was. I think two of them became a couple because the other one collected parking lot tickets or something? Whatever, I guess every show needs background noise.
I liked Ryu and Zen, sure Ryu came with a lot of baggages, that one gangster friend? and his mother, and Zen had his sick granny, but I like how supportive they were of each other. I enjoyed watching them together, they didn’t annoyed me so much and MeenPing had great chemistry. My fav part was when they were mature enough to let the other follow their own dream. Finally, there was no unrealistic love gestures like 'I'll move to Phuket with you' and I cheered.
That being said, did Ryu leave his fancy mansion to become a hobo, where he gets beaten every 2-to-3-business-days because his mama won't let him play basketball??
Zen came off as a pushover and at times I wanted to throw sticks into his hair for being a dumbass. Literally, he had so many chances to push Atom into that damn pool but instead he ended up in his bed. It seemed like he was afraid of setting boundaries. Be firm boy, no you don't want to go watch no darn movie!
And Atom. Oh ATOM. Antony my boy. Why? Homeboy just won’t give up and leave. Am I the only one who was like ‘aww poor Atom, such a nice guy, he deserves better’ in the beginning but somewhere along the way every time he showed up went, ‘My friend go sit somewhere, that’s enough of you.’ No really, Atom’s first coach must have told him the meaning of rebound, and homeboy decided to make it his entire personality, cuz why the eff did he keep coming back knowing full well he had negative 2.0 chance with Zen?
And what the eff was up with all the nonsense romantic gesture he made for Zen?
Listen, Romantic gestures are supposed to make you swoon and go ‘awww’ You know, like in the episode where Zen got on his tiny bike and rushed after Ryu when he was kidnap for the how-many-times-can-one-person-be-kidnap-and-beaten-until-it-gets-boring time? like:
ZEN: Ryu, wait for me, I’m coming to save you. I have no plan, no fighting skills. I in no way told anyone where I was going and of course I did not bring anything pointy or sharp. But, I love you sooo much and I am coming to rescue you. *in-love noises*
Me, slowly chewing my popcorn while Zen was being thrown around like a piñata.
ME: Dumbass nooo... they beaten your arse…yous is bleeding…but awww you came to save him. *cries in stupid love* #sosad
So yeah, stupid arse romantic gestures are supposed to make us swoon. So tell me why every time Atom made some sort of romantic gestures I wanted to snitch to his dad about it like: ‘Atom’s dad, come collect your boy, he’s out here making unnecessary romantic gestures and embarrassing his ancestors.’
Literally, nonsense stuff Atom did that no one asked him to do.
- Confronting his team alone: His arse got beaten and all he got from Zen was sympathy.
- Given up his scholarship: Sure, there’s nothing wrong with being in love with a guy you met under the public pool one time, but given up your future because the boy you have a crush on’s boyfriend got beaten is wild. Like was that supposed to make Zen fall for him?
- His arse getting left in Phuket. LMAO, what, he thought getting Zen that scholarship was going to make him love him? Boo-boo.
His character was created to be the second lead that never got the guy, so he didn't bring a whole lot to the table. Sure the writers tried to make him mysterious, and interesting with whatever the hell was up with him and his dad, and sure he quit his future for a guy he met at the bottom of the pool one time, but like he was a very nice fella in the beginning.
And, yes, he was born with a hand and knew how to use the pictures on his phone to you know—do stuff, but like, he was still such a nice fella until he got on my nerve for always inserting himself in their business, like dude, read the room, you are the elephant.
Side note: Atom sure knew how to use that photo galley on his phone huh?? ^^I don’t understand why he want a boyfriend when clearly, he and himself can have a good time all on their own. See how quickly the whole thing lasted, his hand must work wonders.
Anywho, I wanted to know what happened to him in the end, but I guess I can be satisfied with his arse getting left in Phuket.
LIN LIN LIN.
What was the reason Lin fell in love with Ryu? It felt like she woke up one random Thursday and went. ‘Let’s see, what’s on my to-do-list today?’:
1. Pretend not the see my dad’s drinking problem
2. Ruin the school’s basketball team cuz im nosy
3. Fell in love with that guy I saw through the fence one time
4. If there’s time, put my nose in Ryu’s family problems, cuz, yolo right?
No, Lin having a crush on Ryu made no sense to me? Atom’s crush I understood. He met a cute boy while sitting under the public pool that one Tuesday. So he fell for his rescuer, but what was the reason Lin had a crush on Ryu? Was it because she saw him through that fence one time on the basketball court?
Whatever, her nosy arse was so annoying, getting in everyone and their mama’s business but ignoring her own. Child your father is a drinking away your collage fund, hows about we focus on that, huh? Good luck to that one dude who confused to her, now he has to deal with her and her drunkard dad.
PLOT
i actually found myself watching most of the game, instead of fasting forward. Good camera angles and I was intrigued. That being said, there was not much of a plot going on here. The gangster plot went nowhere. That one bathtub dude died in a black scene, and these children who just witness so many deaths went home and took a nap.
Zen’s grandmother being sick got annoying, because what’s with parents figure hiding their sickness? It vexes me every time it happens. Do they think them suddenly dying and leaving their loved ones alone without any closure, and feeling guilty for not noticing their sickness will be the better option?? Arrggg.
And was Ryu’s mother allergic to basketball or something? homegirl was doing too much. Like, go take a nap.
Also, why the hell did the writers expect me to cheer for that coach? He’s an alcoholic who deserved to be fired. He caused the death of his wife, and still keeps drinking, even at school, and what does his daughter do, give him more. And even when he was in trouble for it, he was still drinking it in front of the students. The way I rolled my eyes when the board voted for him to stay. Talkng about ‘I wanna keep coaching’ how about you coach yourself some rehab first!! Nonsense. And did his hair keep getting blonder?
FINALE
The ending was rushed. We didn’t get to see why the school board change their mind, how it was in Phuket, and what became of Atom, but I guess this half baked conclusion is better than waiting for a season two, no?
I was so happy when the team lost, cuz Zen is such a dumbass. Who the hell tells his team and bf his moving to Phuket seconds before a big game? Literally, he couldn’t have waited?
And also was the other team waiting for them while they were having their moment in the middle of the game? You know, cuz now it’s the time to hug and take a breather. ‘Yes, you moving to Phuket. So what do you want, a medal?’ Thank God they lost, I’d have riot if they won.
HJAJAHAHHA LMAO. They forgot that gangster friend who found him in the dumpster, only to bring him in the finale and have him literally disappear after he said like two lines. Then they proceeded to show us he turned into some hooded stalker, with a montage of his and Ryu’s time together, and I’m just rolling my eyes going. ‘Move it along, I literally don’t care about this person.’
With all that being said, y’all lying if you say you didn’t want that throuple during that awkward bed scene. Hush your face, you know you wanted it. But like, that scene made me laugh so hard—poor Zen, if only his pushover arse knew how to say 'no'.
Oh and, that theme song was dope!!!
Anyway, if you like basketball and MeenPing give this a watch, it’s good for passing the time, and I recommend it.
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This review may contain spoilers
I rarely ever write reviews of shows but I gotta write for this one. Why? Because I saw a lot of poor reviews and it made me postpone watching this.
Let's get down to business now shall we?
This is a show for the patient ones. Those that are not seeking steamy fast paced romance. Those that want all the healing they could get. This show is the definition of forgiveness and healing. It balances out every emotion you could think of. Anger, sadness, pain, happiness, loneliness and just gives you general warmth.
Is this Romance?: Hell Yes. There's tons of romance in this. Beware though, it is not a romantic drama. This is a slice of life.
Why should I watch this?: The scenery, the ost's, the production, the actors, the story, EVERYTHING.
To All those that said this show is slow, I won't say it's not, but what I will say is, the pacing is perfect for the gem it is.
SPOILERS:
While watching this show, when Hae Won found out about the truth behind her fathers death, I discovered a lot of people called her selfish for leaving and going back to Seoul and for disregarding her family's feelings.
I saw it as the opposite. I saw a woman who was hurt by her family. A woman who went through so much hurt that could have been avoided if only her family communicated. A woman who needed time to accept that her family was messed up. To me Hae Won's reaction was spot on. I would leave too. I would be mad at everyone including myself. I would need space to reevaluate everything just as she did. Remember she had a hard childhood because her mum was a "criminal." Something she didn't have to go through. That being said, I commend her for leaving to sort out her feelings.
As for Eun Seob....I've never been a Seo Kang Joon fan, until now. I fell in love with Eun Seob as a character and Seo Kang Joon depicted the character so beautifully. A hurt child who never expresses himself but always wants too.
As for the supporting characters, I ABSOLUTELY ADORED IM HUI AND JANG WU. They were real comic relief.
THE OSTS: Beautiful
OVERALL? Watch this and decide by yourself. Don't follow any one's review. I personally will be re-watching this sometime later.
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This review may contain spoilers
First half was all kind of awesome but it faltered a bit in the second half imo. As much as I love Danoh in the beginning, she started to grate on my nerves with her overly aegyo (it was cute at first but you get tired of it very quickly). Her world literally revolves around Haru and only Haru (that I almost felt sorry for her other loved ones) I loved her spunk and sass in the beginning but this girl totally disappeared in the second half to my dismay. I really liked Haru but I can't help but think that his characterization fell a little flat in the end. Did he have another meaning in life other than being Danoh's love interest? No. What a shame. Don't get me started with Baek Kyung...his only role was to be a cockblock to our lovebirds...he didn't stand a chance but was too stubborn to admit it *sigh* (they better thank Lee Jae Wook, his flawless portrayal made me care more than I should for an otherwise obnoxious character. Even though, his redemption arc came far too late, he still managed to move me and it brought me to tears when Dan Oh forgave him)Do Hwa was another character I was really fond of but once again they didn't explore him much and has been relegated as a comic relief.
Self-aware Juda was badass but her decision was quite questionable. While I felt sorry for Nam Joo (and that's probably why she chose him in the end), Do Hwa was a better fit. But we have to remind ourselves that Nam Joo never gained his awareness and that's a bit unfair to solely judge him based on how he's written. Tbh, I wasn't even annoyed by his character, his characterization was so one dimensional that it made me laugh in the end (he was such a riot)
Sae Mi never gained hers or did she? She did bully Juda in the shadows or was it a mistake of the production? She was a lovely friend to Dan Oh but a bitch to Juda (pardon my french). I'm probably the only one that agreed with Baek Kyung's comment on her being a villain (I know that's the pot calling the kettle black but still it was so satisfying). She had to hear the truth somehow even if she forget it in the next scene.
They focused too much on the pointless love triangle that they lost sight of the main themes (and the most interesting ones imo): free will, changing your fate thus stopping the neverending cycle (I would have love for everyone to work together against the writer)
Resulting in underdeveloped characters, plot holes, no explanations whatsoever of crucial points and rushed ending. Still, I enjoyed that drama for the most part and will miss it nevertheless.
Acting-wise, everyone was brilliant.
Kim Hye Yoon was great and though her character lost its momentum in the second half, she managed to give Danoh enough gravitas to keep me invested in her character.
Rowoon/Kim Seok Woo surprised me the most, he nailed the emotional parts and held his own quite well. Kudos to him! Haru is not an easy character to play since his blandness and lack of development could bore the hell out of anyone but he shines and makes you care and root for his happiness (shame they didn't explore more his bad boy side, prefer his look when he returned and lost his memories *shallow me*) . As an idol turned actor, he has the potential to be in the top-tier imo (with Im Siwan, Lee Junho, Do Kyungsoo or even Park Hyung Sik).
Lee Jae Wook ah Lee Jae Wook, my main reason on why I watched this drama and stayed...he was just perfect as usual (give that guy the awards he deserves, he's the rookie of the year, hands down) despite a terrible and disadvantageous characterization. He managed to elevate the character and made it his own. You hate his character (or rather you want) but you can't ignore him and in the end you even pity him. Baek Kyung could have easily become one-dimensional character with no redeemable features but Lee Jae Wook's amazing acting saved his character's poor characterization (conveying loneliness, vulnerability, anger and plenty other emotions as if it was a piece of cake...I swear it seems effortless to him. To think he had to juggle between two complete opposite characters (BK and Seol Ji Hwan) during 1 month makes me respect him so much more. He's a keeper.
OST was beautiful, catchy and fitting.
Does it deserve a rewatch? I'm not one to rewatch series even my most favorite ones so no I won't rewatch it...some scenes, yes (mostly Baek Kyung?! Because...Lee Jae Wook<3)
Final rating: 7.5/10.
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‘Tomorrow’; Death Meets Satire In Rowoon’s Latest Fantasy Series…
Mortality is never an easy subject to tackle in dramas. Based upon the eponymous webcomic (‘ 내일’) by Llama, fantasy series ‘Tomorrow’ decided to bring forth the topic of death in a powerful smorgasbord of social issues and topics. Instead of reimbursing the old cliché of grim reapers being harbingers of doom and death, ‘Tomorrow’ rebrands its morbid psychopomps as fashionably suave members of the Crisis Management Team, attempting to save certain unfortunate souls from suicide.
The series focuses upon an alumnus from a prestigious university, Choi Jun-Woong (SF9’s Rowoon-‘Extraordinary You’, ‘She Would Never Know’ and ‘ The King’s Affection’). Struggling to land himself on the job market, Jun-Woong’s life is changed forever when he ends up encountering angels of death Goo-Ryeon (Kim Hee-sun-‘My Fair Lady’, ‘Angry Mom’ and ‘ Alice’) and Lim Rung-Gu (Yoon Ji-on-‘Dear My Room’, ‘Be Melodramatic’ and ‘Jirisan’ ).
Waking up outside of his corporal body after an accident, Jun-Woong discovers that he has been physically rendered in a comatose state. He is given the choice by Director, Jade Hwang (Kim Hae-sook- ‘Precious Family’, ‘My Father Is Strange’ and ‘Inspector Koo’): he can choose to be trapped in his unresponsive body for three years, or he can work with them in a ‘’half- dead’’ state, reducing his comatose state to six months and then landing any job he wants after he wakes up.
Woong is assigned to the Crisis Management Team alongside Goo-Ryeon and(, by default of being her protégé,) Rung-Gu. As the unlikely trio attempt to work together as a team, Jun-woong soon discovers that his new position is far from being a walk in the park.
Adapted to the small screen by novice screenwriters Park Ran, Park Ja Kyung and Kim Yu Jin, ‘Tomorrow’ places heavy emphasis upon prominent social messages and themes.( Including sensitive issues such as suicide, the trauma of war, inequality, bullying, the generational trauma of South-Korean comfort women, depression, peer pressure and eating disorders.)
Without a doubt, ‘Tomorrow’ is a varied accumulation of satire, provocative angst and mirthful wit. Although the series was often tactful within its approach to various subject areas and themes (in particular helping to offer light-hearted respite in-between heavy-hearted points of the narrative), the screenplay could admittedly feel somewhat out of place at times with its attempts to balance between hard-hitting messages and comic relief.
Of course this is not necessarily to say that the comedy shouldn’t have existed at times. Certain issues tackled in ‘Tomorrow’ were certainly supposed to be heavy-hitting and the requirement for an interim of slapstick comedy or comical exchanges was certainly necessary. (In particular, this was shown at times by Park Ran, Park Ja-Kyung and Kim Yu Jin being able to strike a surprisingly harmonious balance for most of the series through the kaleidoscopic array of themes and contrasting tones for their audience.)
However despite certain commendation certainly having to be given to the trio of screenwriters for their consistently provocative themes and tones, ‘Tomorrow’ could sometimes feel as though it disengaged between its plot and themes. To explain this further it is important to reiterate that comic relief was often quintessential within the screenplay in order to offer respite from darker themes and subject areas.
On the other hand, it did become noticeable at times that the series would often fall victim to divulging deeply into comic exchanges. This would often divert attention away from building-up the narrative events and characters, or alternatively struggling with the opposite problem by failing to allow a necessary brake or moment of light-hearted respite for audiences to grapple with events or characters. ( This seemed to flare at times later in the show in episodes such as ‘’Someday, Because Of You’’. Although the episode tackled a heartfelt subject area and was surprisingly bittersweet , it often felt as though the prominent meanings behind the messages in the episodes weren’t as reinforced as they could’ve been.)
Of course, this is not to make out that the entirety of the writing for ‘Tomorrow’ was inadequate or unwatchable in any way. Although perhaps certain issues ( in particular mental health and eating disorders) were perhaps
not fully explored by the screenplay or given speedy outcomes , ‘ Tomorrow’ often placed a certain level of open finesse with addressing issues and helping the audience and the characters coming to terms with them.( In one of the later episodes of the series entitled ‘’Spring’’, the audience were supposed to be particularly hit home with an onslaught of emotions with the controversial and historical subject area of Comfort Women, focusing on a dark chapter in South-Korean history.)
Naturally this brings up the discussion surrounding character-writing within the adapted screenplay for ‘Tomorrow’, as well as the performances by the main cast. Perhaps one of the most notable roles in the drama is given to main male lead Choi Jun-Woong, played by idol-actor Rowoon.
Rowoon has often been the subject of intrigue and debate with his previous career trajectory as the ‘’ leading man’’. Nevertheless, Rowoon offered a fairly consistent onscreen performance as the main male lead and it is fair to say that for many viewers, this could easily be seen as one of Rowoon’s best performances yet. As the main character of the narrative and storyline, Jun-Woong embodies what many would probably classify as the ‘’everyman’’ trope.Of course, this wasn’t a bad approach per say. It is sometimes common in fiction to see a main character become a medium for the audience, especially with a character being uprooted from their mundane, everyday life and being placed in an unfamiliar world or setup.
For main lead Jun-Woong, this was evident through being caught between two worlds: the afterlife and then the everyday mortal world. ( This was also shown arguably through Woong being conflicted in initial problems with common problems of interview and job struggles and then again with attempting to navigate his new role as a member of the Crisis Management Team .)
However, this also brings up an intriguing debate with regards to Jun-Woong’s character-arc. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Jun-Woong is purposefully supposed to be flawed at times. Naturally this did not always enforce Woong to be placed as ’ heroic’’ figure at all times within the series.
He had his evident flaws and ‘ Tomorrow’ placed heavy emphasis upon some of Woong’s values feeding into an evident critique of social conformity by South-Korean society vs developing subjective morality and beliefs. ( In particular the screenplay would sometimes bring this idea up in early episodes with Woong’s shared social views on issues such as bullying, before contrasting this in later episodes with the main lead developing his own values and standpoints.)
Although it certainly allowed Woong to act as an embodiment of social views, it is noticeable that this often forced Woong into playing “ certain roles” in order to propel the storyline. Again, this isn’t always a bad writing decision but it did often feel as though there were some poorly tied loose ends such as Woong’s own personal struggles with his situation, his backstory and personal goals were often disregarded until the ending of the series.
In addition to the casting choice of Rowoon, it is hard to ignore Kim Hee Sun’s performance as grim reaper Goo-Ryeon. Hee Sun’s acting career has been eclectic and while respectfully her acting performances have varied, the actress’ pink dye job certainly helped Kim Hee Sun to embrace her suavely mysterious onscreen persona as the female lead. Alongside fellow costar Yoon Ji-On who played her laidback mentee Rung-Gu, audiences will likely find themselves tearing up and laughing at the antics of the two characters’ interactions and appearances onscreen.
As an onscreen character, Goo-Ryeon is arguably one of the most enigmatic and intriguing characters in the series. She is often fairly detached from overtly emotional displays like Woong but she is impassioned by her cause to help others. Initially viewers are supposed to remain uncertain of Ryeon’s onscreen presence. In particular, her unconventional acts of tough love towards the main lead and those she is seemingly supposed to save will bring about topics of intriguing debate for viewers.
However as the series soon reveals, Ryeon’s root cause for her actions are sourced from genuine sincerity for her position as a member of the Crisis Management Team, especially as a result of her complicated backstory. Naturally as a consequence of this writing point, ‘ Tomorrow’ placed heavy emphasis upon her mysterious backstory in the latter half of the series, similarly echoed to a lesser extent with side character Rung-Gu also.
Despite both characters having their fair share of traumatic and difficult backstories, it often felt as though Ryeon’s character arc felt a little rushed in particular. . Of course while audiences certainly did see a few hints of foreshadowing at times earlier on in the series ( in particular with Ji-On’s trauma), it certainly felt as though some of these backstory revelations and plot twists could’ve been developed or built up. There was a lot for viewers to digest with regards to Ryeon’s past and her important connections to other characters but due to an anticlimactic buildup, the momentum of these events rarely felt as though that they had reached their entirety even by the finale.
Aside from the main characters, it is also important to mention about some of the reoccurring characters of ‘Tomorrow’ also. Model-actor Lee Soo-hyuk ( ‘ Vampire Idol’, ‘The Scholar Who Walks The Night’ and ‘ Doom At Your Service’) starred as Park Joong-Gil, the straight-laced head of the Humanitarian Management Team who shares a complicated past with Ji-On, as well as Kim Hae-Sook playing the role of the Jade Hwang, the head director of the afterlife and the bureau of grim reapers. The supporting characters certainly had their necessary roles to play in the events of the narrative. In particular during the later events of the series, viewers are given several surprising backstory revelations but admittedly these side characters felt as though they deserved more screen time or interactions with the main cast in order to build up their character arcs slightly more.
Then of course there is the discussion surrounding the execution of the series. Perhaps it is important that ‘Tomorrow’ decided to offer viewers with a fairly systematic approach; introducing viewers to main lead Woong’s predicament and his unlikely alliance with the main leads, the new dilemma or issued faced in the episode, the reactions and causes of debate for the characters and viewers, the dilemma reaching its climax and then helping to resolve or bring a conclusion to the events of the episode.
This approach by the trio of screenwriters certainly allowed the screenplay to tackle a wide array of issues and problems. However, it certainly did not come without its problems either. A lot of the storyline’s early plot objectives were rarely sketched out aside from the “ mission of the team”, leading seemingly important events or obstacles for the main leads being disregarded at times and then being given half-baked conclusions by the ending of the series. As a consequence, the ending of ‘ Tomorrow’ will likely leave viewers with mixed-feelings; bittersweet and certainly offering a denouement to the events of the storyline but rarely tying off all loose ends or bringing a complete feeling of satisfaction for viewers also.
Stylistically under the leadership of directors Kim Tae Yoon (‘Another Family’, ‘New Trial’) and Sung Chi Wook ( ‘Special Labor Inspector Jo’,‘ Kairos’), ‘Tomorrow’ was often caught up in an impressive onslaught of aesthetic shots and glossy gradients, with mood lighting and tones helping to add emotional turbulence and significance for characters and viewers in certain scenes. Perhaps one slight nag with the cinematography came through a lack of consistency. Rather than attempting to stick to a particular consistent form of filming or shots and tying these scenes and moments with the worldbuilding and lore of ‘Tomorrow’, the extravaganza of surrealist scenes and panned shots heavily influenced by big-budget movies felt somewhat disengaging from the screenwriting and world building at times. Nevertheless it is fair to say that ‘ Tomorrow’ did boast an impressively stunning array of imagery and scenes.
The OST for ‘Tomorrow’ was comprised mainly of a collection of modern pop tracks, varying somewhat dependent on personal tastes. Perhaps there may be certain songs such as the surprisingly upbeat rap song ‘’Red Light’’ by J.don and the morosely lovelorn ballad ‘’My Loneliness Calls You’’ (‘’나의 외로움이 널 부를 때’’) by Suran which will appeal across the board for viewers.
The sixteen-episode webcomic adaptation will offer viewers with a surprisingly heart-wrenching mixture of social commentaries, traumatic character backstories and comic relief. At times, ‘Tomorrow’ often struggled slightly with maintaining a harmonious balance between its writing and messaging. ( This often lead to parts of the storyline feeling rushed or lacking a sense of completion such as the ending or certain character arcs.) However for those looking to indulge in a fantasy series beyond the surface level with some prominently current social and critical commentaries with a touch of traditional Korean folklore and mythological beliefs in the modern world , then ‘Tomorrow’ will certainly offer viewers with a good watch.
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A fine series with an emotionally charged MDL rating
Let me start by saying that if the low rating for this series is putting you off from watching, be aware that the MDL score has been severely skewed by viewer distaste for the studio that produced it. This distaste has also affected the way many MDLers have responded to the storyline and performances by the actors. (If you're at all skeptical about this, just peruse the other reviews here.)Given that the MDL community has seen to rate this series on a curve, for a more accurate score you should probably add 20% to whatever you see when you visit its MDL page. As I write this review that puts the number at 8.28, which rounds down to 8, and this seems to me to be a fairer appraisal of what you get here.
What I came to appreciate most about 2MTA is how the main couple's relationship is depicted. Once Tatch and Lom get together, their approach to one another becomes a model of how two people with mutual love and respect should communicate and work together to overcome any issues that arise. Misunderstandings between them are promptly cleared up and have the impact of only making their relationship stronger.
Another endearing aspect of their pairing is how Tatch's determined pursuit of Lom has the effect of transforming Lom from someone with a victim mentality into a man who is confident and trusting, and willing to smile. (At the outset Lom spends a lot of time frowning... lol) It seems to me that the moment when Lom finally becomes brave enough to take a chance on Tatch is in Episode 4, when Tatch sings a karaoke love song to him -- a song that actor Danny Disatharit sings live on-set as the scene is filmed rather than have the soundtrack patched in later, as many other series would do. This adds to the intimacy, as Danny's singing is sweet and charming. Within the context of the story its sincerity seems to finally allow Lom to see Tatch the way Tatch himself has been striving to be seen.
It is also refreshing to see that between the two guys the charismatic one, Tatch, is the pursuer. In casting Tatch the production found an actor who is, frankly, gorgeous -- tall and strikingly handsome, with an athletic build. To emphasize the differences between the Tatch and Lom characters it does seem that Mark Vachara Promma, who plays Lom, was given a "make-under" to heighten the contrast, resulting in him looking a little mousy and plain. When viewing promotional material for the series and Mark's Instagram I was surprised by how good-looking, even glamorous, he is in real life.
There are several NC scenes, which (granted) are not a must for every viewer, but what I like is how they're a welcome acknowledgement of real life, where when a couple first gets together they usually have a hard time keeping their hands off each other. This contrasts with the "one and done" approach that many other series take, as though the intimate content is something to check off the list and get over with. That's certainly not the case here, where the main leads get together several times, and in a variety of ways. ;) I should add that their excellent manner of communicating with each other is an aspect of those scenes as well. Again, a nice change of pace from the usual.
As for the six original "2 Moons" characters, who were recast for a second time for this series, I came away less impressed with their storylines, which give us so many of those things that the Tatch-Lom relationship avoids: mainly jealousy and long drawn-out misunderstandings. Ironically, these three couples are supposed to have more mature relationships than Tatch and Lom, having been together for a couple of years, but what we get from them becomes tiresome to watch.
One other nitpick is the introduction of a silly kidnapping storyline as the series nears its end.
And what about the writing, acting and production? Well, I could easily name four or five series from 2022 that have a poorer storyline, worse acting, and crappier production values than 2MTA, but have been given higher ratings despite it. While the performances here were at times awkward I generally found them to be quite good, especially for a bunch of newcomers. It certainly didn't detract from my own enjoyment.
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