Reviews

Traumatic Murder Mystery Thriller

The themes I enjoyed in Summer Strike are found family and coming up with your own criteria for what brings meaning to your life and how you want to live it. After the FL experiences the pain of her mom's death, she moves from Seoul to a small seaside village called Angok to find healing. She moves into an abandoned billiards building, which is the setting of a past crime and one to come. The library is where she spends much of her time and where she meets the reserved and intelligent ML, who is a part-time librarian and has his own family trauma. The ML doesn't speak to her at first, but they develop a kind and caring relationship with one another over time. I enjoyed that their relationship was based more on friendship than romantic chemistry and that they could count on one another. She also develops a close friendship with a high school girl named Bom, who has a lot going on underneath her tough exterior. The drama doesn't overly explore the FL's healing in a direct way after the first few episodes--I almost forgot the reason why she came to Angok in the first place! The writers are too busy putting her through more trauma. At the end of the drama, we see that the FL has created a life in Angok both personally and professionally that makes her feel at peace. I found the FL to be likeable, although the drunk scenes got tiring. The ML and FL running scenes gave me Run On vibes, hehe. Oh and shout out to Sung Min, who was annoying at first but turned out to be my fav support character.

What I didn't like:
--Women shielding men from the consequences of their behavior, in particular Bom's grandma's protection of her son. Bom shouldn't have had to deal with that. She’s a child who should be protected.
--The unreasonable townsfolk who hate the FL upon her arrival.
--The drama’s treatment of the ML's selective mutism was odd. In the beginning of the drama it was a thing, and then it kinda gets forgotten or suddenly cured.
--Why is a severely cognitively impaired person allowed to roam around unsupervised?
--Why doesn't the FL lock up the building? It's treated as if people can come and go into the building where she lives freely.
--The show doesn't know what it wants to be. It starts off wanting to be a healing drama and it quickly piles on more trauma and then it becomes a thriller at the end. It tries to do too much.
--There's too much trauma, not enough healing.

If you are looking for a comfort watch or a romantic watch, this isn't it. This is about a girl who experiences trauma on top of more trauma while being a part of and solving a thriller case with her newly found family and rebuilding her life to eventually find peace. Proceed with caution.

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Is it purely talent or mastery of execution?

This wasn’t even on my watch list. Honestly, I wasn’t sure this drama would pull me in.

And yet, here I am.

So far, Four Hands, Two Sonatas has been surprisingly compelling—emotionally heavy in a way I didn’t expect. Yes, it plays with some familiar tropes: the poor, troubled piano prodigy blessed with extraordinary natural talent, and the wealthy, pedigreed pianist carrying the enormous weight of a legendary grandfather’s legacy.

But what makes these two fascinating is that they represent almost opposite ideas of musical genius.

One plays from instinct. His talent is raw, almost untamed. Emotion seems to surge through him and spill directly into every piece, every note, every key beneath his fingers. He doesn't simply play the music—he *feels* it.

The other is precise, disciplined, almost clinical. His technique is impeccable. Every note is controlled, every movement calculated, every performance polished to perfection. And yet, beneath all that precision, something seems to be missing: the freedom to let go, to surrender to the music, to allow his own soul to speak.

Two pianists. Two very different kinds of talent. And neither is truly free.

Because behind the music are complicated families, toxic expectations, broken relationships, jealousy, poverty, competition, and the crushing pressure to succeed. What begins as a connection between two young musicians slowly becomes something far more complicated—a friendship intertwined with rivalry, admiration tangled with envy, and a longing to finally have someone who understands what their own families never could.

There is a particular kind of loneliness in pursuing greatness.

When the dream is to stand on the world's greatest stages, talent stops being something beautiful and becomes something that is measured, ranked, compared, and judged. Who is better? Who has more potential? Who will make it? Who will be left behind?

And suddenly, friendship becomes complicated when the person who understands you best may also be the person standing between you and your dream.

What happens when one person possesses the natural genius the other desperately wishes he had?

What happens when the person you most want beside you is also the person you have been taught to compete against?

And what is the price of friendship—of brotherhood—when the world keeps telling you that there can only be one winner?

The next Lang Lang. The next Yuja Wang. The next Yunchan Lim.

More than wanting either of them to win, I find myself rooting for something much more fragile: that these two talented young men don't lose the friendship that began before the competitions, before the expectations, before the jealousy—when they were simply two kids who discovered the innocent beauty of music and the piano together.

Sometimes, the greatest thing two people can give each other isn't victory. It's having someone who understands why you had to play in the first place.

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This should've been a 26 eps drama

Finally, after so long I got to finish this drama.
At first it was promising with great acting and story then it turned stale...

First, the fl: They never show her doing anything important IN ACTION, she just did it but we never got to see it. I wish they showed more of her doing something revolutionary in the Armory.

Secondly ml: This guy was operating on 5 facial expressions the whole 50 eps and I'm being generous, very boring character and acting, honestly wish he wasn't there and gave his timeslot to the fl, the drama would've been better personally, the romance was lacking anyway.

Thirdly 2d & 3rd mls: They're just there as a sorry case. In Woo was a womanzier then his character shifted to a loyal friend with daddy issues, that's it. 3rd ml what was even the point of having him? at first his circumstances gave him the highest potential to be the main ml if you think about it, I
believe the director realised this late, that he could easily steal the spotlight then didn't know what to do with him. I'm pretty sure he had crush on the princess then he goes she's like my sister?! PLEASE.

The rest: They were all repeating the same thing with nothing new added to their character, there was barely any character development here. The 2nd King especially annoyed me because WHY was he able to listen to Yeon Jeong but not the princess?? if he's not gonna trust anyone then Yeon Jeong should be included??


I really was hoping for some improvements in the 2nd half, kind of like Queen Seondok? but it just dragged on and I was far too in.. so I had to finish it.

There was so many unnecessary pauses, the camera was rolling for a bit too long and don't get me started on the characters not budging when they're in immediate danger! ooh that got on my nerve tbh

I liked the potential of this drama and I guess that's why I completed it.


I wouldn't rewatch this.

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Give it a chance, you'll be pleasantly surprised

I decided to watch this while I had nothing else to watch and thought I'd give it a try. I thought it sounded interesting but didn't have high expectations and only really watched because I wanted to see what Jeff is like as an actor. Now after finishing the last episode, I'm so glad I gave it a chance. The story wasn't perfect but it was exciting enough to keep me hooked. I was in tears from laughing which was very unexpected, I liked that the few moments of humour didn't take away from the action though. That last couple of episodes; wow, it had me hanging on the edge of my seat. The series was definitely worth watching.

I've marked this as spoilers just in case, but I'm trying to keep it as vague as possible. This is the kind of series where going into it blind is better.

Character mentions:

My favourite character by far was Pete. I felt like I was on the emotional journey with him. He is an incredible actor for the character and tough story that he played. I know it says something on his profile about taking a break from acting or leaving his old company but I would love to see him act as a main couple with Wichapas Sumettikul. He absolutely killed it as Pete.

My other favourite character which took me by surprise was Tankhun. I didn't expect to like him at first but he was such a fun and charming character.

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A one of a kind thriller drama

I recommend this drama for the people who love thriller and crime chinese dramas, because this drama did not disappoint at all !!
this drama seem like any other thriller and crime drama at first, but the more you watch, the more you get intrigued in the unending cycle of legal and moral dilemma that the characters should have endure for the sake of something that it is already theirs but due to harsh compelling circumstance they can never get it in any other way...
i loved the ethical and moral dilemma, that dilemma that make you ask yourself if it is worth it to save someone or not, and make you ask yourself over and over about the meaning of justice, and how sometimes saving or helping another person can make you pay the price in a way you never imagined, this drama was a real masterpiece, and all the actors did absolutely great here played their roles geniusly..

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It’s a no for me

Thirty seconds in and I was already annoyed. 😑 I even ran to the reviews hoping to save myself from wasting any more time. I saw one critical review and thought, okay, they’re probably being too harsh, it can’t be that bad, right? 🤔

I was wroooong. It is that bad. 😅

The MC comes off like a typical lovesick pushover who will accept anything the ML throws at him. The ML, on the other hand, is the usual unhinged, toxic BL archetype who commits every atrocity imaginable in the name of “love” and obsession.

Nine minutes into the first episode was enough for me to reach a verdict: it’s a fat no from me.

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The Best Show I've Watched In 2026 So Far

I don't know why this show is getting so much hate in these reviews. I guess it's just not the taste of the reviewers here. This show has become my absolute favorite this year so far. I was hooked from the start. The story is very interesting with many twists and turns. The fantasy/horror/haunted elements were top tier for me. There were a couple VFX scenes that weren't the best, but they didn't effect the watch for me. The majority of the FX were awesome and very atmospheric. The music had me as well. It was so awesome and very fitting. This reminded me of an old game, Dynasty Warriors, that I used to play. Loved it so much and haven't had that feeling from any other kdrama thus far, and I've watched a lot through the years.

I found this to be so satisfying of a watch. There were definitely times I was yelling at my screen over some of these villains that I hated, but it felt more realistic in the way they were handled, given they are royalty. I loved both leads and was drawn into their stories. Both leads had a huge part in this story, not just one. He was definitely stronger which, given his past, makes tons of sense, but both were necessary in the story. I found her to be strong as well, which I really enjoy and don't see often.

If you enjoy fantasy, action, and a little horror, this is a great watch for you. It was fun, thrilling, mysterious, exciting, and even had a little humor in there. It gave me a little bit of a Sweet Home vibe, but I enjoyed it so much more. I found the ending quite satisfying as well, which I didn't expect. My husband got hooked after watching a few scenes. So after I finished this, I restarted it with him and I'm watching it all over again. I noticed a few things I didn't see the first time and I'm thoroughly enjoying the re-watch

I am a gamer, so maybe that has made me biased toward this, I don't know, but it's a masterpiece for me and it's going in my favorite dramas list for sure

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Was Promisinig Until it Wasn’t: Dropped after ep 5

I’ll just start off by saying that I have dropped this series after 5 eps (gave it half the series), and idk if I will ever finish this

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Initial Thoughts:
I didn’t really see any promotions for this series and I just found it on iQIYI and decided to watch it since it was another Thai BL period drama, especially since I absolutely loved Love Upon A Time (LUAT) so much. When I first started this series, I tried not to compare the two, but they were just so similar that I couldn’t help it and this series fell far short of LUAT, I’m so sorry, but this series has been boring and disappointing. The plot has so many holes and just things that don’t make any sense whatsoever and it gets annoying and infuriating.

*******WARNING: This reveiw contains SPOILERS for BOTH Love Destiny AND LUAT***********

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The Plot: (very similar start as LUAT, but just not as good)

The story follows a surgeon, Great, who gets shot back in time, approx 300 years into another body, Gaew, and Dech, the second son of the High Lord of the region. Gaew was taken in by Dech’s family as he is a relative of Dech’s mother (are they blood related? I’m foggy on these details, so forgive any errors here) when they were young b/c his was orphaned. Gaew would grow up alongside Dech and his older brother, but when they are adults, Gaew is a mischievous troublemaker, who seems to cause problems for Dech (who watches out for him) and Dech’s mother, who is an annoying ass character, who for some unexplained reason, has always wanted to kick Gaew out of the manor without showing him any love or care that we (the audience) are able to see.

One day Gaew and his close servant, Yam, knock over Dech’s Mother’s boat, causing herself and the people aboard to fall into the stream. They lost a servant in the water and when she came back home, she immediately accused Gaew of the ‘crime’ and urged her husband, the high lord, to remove him from the household, which they refused (*****Side note: the stream looks fairly shallow and shouldn’t everyone know how to swim since they frequently travel by boat and live right by the river, so how did they lose a servant??? Also how did no one on the boat see or try to stop Yam from tipping over the boat, like HE WAS LITERALLY OUT OF THE WATER holding onto the side of the boat, like HUH?????******). So the high lord and Dech, instead, decided to perform a spell at the behest of mother, that doesn’t harm the innocent, but kills those guilty of the crime. (**Side note: so Dech and the father both didn’t want to kick him out, but were willing to perform a spell that could kill Gaew?? makes no sense*****) Anyways, Gaew obviously dies, b/c he guilty and this causes a lighting strike to hit Great (in the present time) sending him back in time 300 years into Gaew’s body.

That’s all ep 1, after that, the plot just slows so much and becomes boring. They introduce some characters, but the plot mainly consists of Great (Now as Gaew) trying to repair Gaew’s relationships and reputations and for some reason, he always seems to end up in jail or in trouble. They introduce Dech’s older brother and a powerful and rich foreign lord, but they don’t seem to be adding to the story. Great doesn’t seem to have any goal nor does he seem to do anything, other than help a person here or there with his medical skills. He tries to go home for like a split second, but then gives up?? (I think), they don’t really make it clear if he wants to stay or go back home?? Anyways it just got so boring

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Plot holes / Things that just pissed me off:
1. I didn’t like how similar it was to LUAT, at least they could have done something a little different. Things that were basically the same:
- someone gets sent into the past (gernally same era) into the body of a lord’s son (so they themselves are lords)
- Has a close servant who helps them with everything (Chuai v. Yam)
- Has a close relation and will end up in a relationship with the respected Lord’s son who liked them first (Phop v. Dech)
- The annoying mother figures and their servants ( the second and third wives of Phop’s father v. Dech’s mother and servant)
- It’s the lord son (Phop v. Dech) who finds him (Klao v. Gaew/Great) and looks for him first
- After time traveling, the ML has to solve a case (Klao with his father’s execution and Gaew/Great with him as the accused murderer case)
- also both casted the same actor (Dech’s father LD and Meng LUAT) which made it even more difficult to not draw the similarities between Love Destiny and LUAT

This was just the similarities off the top of my head, but there are a lot more, and sadly, LUAT surpassed and outperformed and out-scripted Love Destiny in every aspect.

2. anytime any boat was being shaken to capsize, no one ever saw nor tried to stop them from tipping over the boat. LIKE the boat has no walls, it is in an open space, and NO ONE can APPARENTLY see the person ‘jumping’ up and down on the side of the boat???? Like be for real, seriously

3. When Great woke up in Gaew’s body, he ran out and ended up saving a servant who had a large cut in his thighs and was bleeding out. He would end up saving him. First off, this servant has a large cut in his thigh and has been bleeding for a while since he got there, that servant SHOULD BE DEAD BY THEN, how did he live, who knows????!!?!?! Second, when Great/Gaew was treating him, no one seemed to act when any sense of urgency at all, Like are you kidding me?? If this guy is still alive, which he shouldn’t be, he surely ain’t going to survive much longer and no one has any urgency??

4. Aren’t Gaew and Dech related through Dech’s mother??? so how can you have romantic feelings for each other, you were raised as brothers. (At least in LUAT, it was made clear there was no familial connection and that they all grew up as close friends, not as siblings under the same roof and parents)

5. Why doesn’t Great just say that he is Gaew, like come on, everyone thinks you are different and that you are acting suspicously, just tell them you are from the future and that you are no longer Gaew (this would also solve the previous issue, as Dech could have developed feelings for Great) though that would still be weird as he would look like his ‘brother’

6. In the assassination attempt of the Foreign lord guy, after the lord won the fight, why did he just yell and scream at the assasin to reveal who he was and how sent him instead of chasing him, HE WAS LITERALLY STABBED and was walking out of there, like the Lord could have just run after him and caught him, but NOOOOOO. This entire sequence of scenes made absolutely no sense

7. Continuing from 6. When Great/Gaew was accused and arrested for being a murderer, why didn’t Dech just say that Great/Gaew was passed out drunk last night and that he watched over this the entire night b/c Great/Gaew was asleep, OMG an alibi, who would’ve thought that was important and excused him from being a suspect??? Like DUHHHHHH (to which there was no reason or evidence to even accuse him btw)

8. one of the eps (forgot which) literally had no plot and was just a Durian fruit advertisement for no apparent reason, just was HUHHHHHHH

9. One of, if not the most annoying thing, was that they included long LONG end credits which showed the scenes in the future (so instead of like LUAT, returning to the same time, they left, Love Destiny decided to continue the present / future time plot alongside the past). I wouldn’t mind the dual plots, but I didn’t like how they put all the future scenes which were long and important at the VERY END of the ep, I think i missed the first few. It just made it feel disconnected from the series as if it wasn’t even a part of it. For me, I also didn’t like how EVERY person who was in the past, is SOMEHOW in the same hospital the Great’s body is unconscious and being treated in. It just made it feel weird.

10. Dech’s older brother and this entire plot are entirely useless, they add nothing to the story, and should be completed erased from the series. We didn’t need to see him anymore, they could just have written him off as working in the capital or something (also just my opinion, but i didn’t like his visuals)

Keep in mind: These are only the issues I have found 5 eps (halfway) into this series

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The only good thing was Leng, August, and Na’s visuals. Dech for me, was the only interesting character and only character worth watching.

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Overall Rating: 5.5/10. (expected a lot more from this series)

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Tae was done wrong

I'm going to be honest; I wanted Tae and Jaeyeon to end up together & not just because Tae has literally no one else in his life. They had history. Jaeyeon and Geonwoo knew each other for a couple of days before they kissed & who really knows how long they were together before agreeing to date. Yes, I know attraction doesn't work like that & Tae was only ever seen as a friend, but I can't help feeling that Tae was honestly never given a chance. I also feared that he was just going to disappear from both of their lives once he learned they got together. It wouldn't have been so bad if they had just given Tae a boyfriend at the end to show us that he really did move on and found happiness.

We don't see Tae and Geonwoo rebuild any part of their relationship either. Jaeyeon seems to be the only thing making them talk to each other. Why couldn't we have gotten some resolution there? Tae said he's glad they are happy in the time-skip, but that isn't enough. They already were doing a lot in the little amount of time they had; they could have included a little brother heart-to-heart. Especially if Geonwoo was going to end up with Tae's crush of like 10+ years.

Also, what chance did the fortune teller give him? From what I saw, there was no chance for him, so that part just felt unnecessary.

What happened to the stalker who stabbed Geonwoo? What happened to their mother? The woman was apparently glued to Geonwoo as a child, so where is she now? And like I said above, did Tae move on? If he did, I don't believe it was easy at all since EVERYONE he's loved has chosen Geonwoo over him. It felt like the show was enforcing the saying "once second best, always second best" in the cruelest way possible.

This is far from the worst short BL I've ever watched, and I think that's why I got a bit upset with the way they handled the brothers' relationship & the romantic relationships. If they weren't going to actually do anything with the stalker other than use him to push Jaeyeon and Geonwoo closer, then they could have just cut him out completely. If they were going to end up together, they would be stabbing or no stabbing. Use that time instead to fix the brothers' relationship. Use it to make it believable that Jaeyeon and Geonwoo like each other. Use it to give Tae a decent ending! Give this abandoned boy some love from SOMEONE!

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Crazy Meets Crazier… WilliamEst! The Tension!!!

I have been so excited for this series and it’s finally here. WilliamEst are so perfect together and they have amazing chemistry which is shown so well in this series already 1 ep in. I honestly wanted to watch this b/c of WilliamEst, but KinBarcode took me by surprise and now I can’t wait to see their story too.

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So far, the story follows a playboy influencer, Dean (William), who has a colorful sex and social life (to say the least) and a cold-hearted illustrator, Moth (Est) who rejects any romance that enters his life. Dean’s best friend Ten, likes a vet, Pun, who has had a long time one-sided crush on his best friend Moth, but won’t pursue Moth b/c he fears Moth will cut him off. Ten wants to pursue Pun, so he asks Dean to pursue Moth to get Pun to move on, in order to give him a chance with Pun.

This is already such an interesting storyline, especially for GMMTV and I am so glad that GMMTV is finally moving on and creating more red flag / more mature and serious series, not just the cutesy ones we are used to seeing. WilliamEst are doing a phenomenal performance and KinBarcode, I am so excited to see more of them.

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So far, this series is a 10/10, will be updating this review progressively throughout :)

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Something is missing

Something is missing in this series, and I am not actually sure what exactly. The thing is, it didn't hit me like "I Feel You Linger in the Air", even though the story is quite similar. I like that it's a historical drama — some of the political and historical stuff makes it refreshing compared to typical GMMTV productions. I fully appreciate that they're trying to explore different types of stories.

What I didn't like was the second couple's story, despite the fact that I like both actors. What is not working here for me is the lack of realism. And I am not talking about having a happy ending — I am fully supportive of that. But the relationship between them is not deep enough to make me feel like they actually care for each other.

The first couple has more realism in the way their relationship is portrayed. However, it's still not super believable that from the very first moment they saw each other, they had this spark in their eyes, like they had already fallen for each other. Where is the tension building here?

Plus, I think the actor portraying Rati could also work more on his expressions. He always seems surprised or startled.

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Short and enjoyable watch with good development between the leads

This show is a decent, short watch. The FL gets a forced face swap- not body, brain, or anything else, it’s still her (somehow that kept tripping me up)- and marries into the ML’s household. A big part of the story is the development of their relationship, which I thought is really sweet and cute, and made me smile a lot as I watched. I like that he respects her boundaries and is always just waiting for her consent. The show is above-average spicy / explicit, though that’s not really saying much.

Actually their backstory is as fairy tale as it gets- they secretly pined over each other for years only to be coincidentally brought together again now. It’s practically the definition of “only in movies”. We see some of said backstory but never how it resolved, so I’m not sure why the two didn’t just exchange information back then. But you know what, it’s ok, it’s a drama meant to make us feel good, so fairy tale it is.

The characters themselves are likable, though not particularly special. The ML is a general and of course impressive, also very supportive of her; the FL needs to be protected but is not useless, overall a kind, normal, and likable person. She’s pretty relatable and her actions make sense. She is also an artist, which factors into the plot, but her skill level is not a particular focus.

As for the villains... do the SML and SFL count? They are not good people, but also not as evil as villains often are. Throughout the show, I at various times felt extremely frustrated at one or the other of them- they are both way too obsessive for reasons I cannot understand. The SML, especially, really pushed my buttons with the way he just wants what he can’t get, while failing to appreciate what he does have. What an idiot. But I also at various times felt sorry for both of them, and secretly hoped everything would work out.

The plot is not overscoped and moves along at a good pace. I was never bored, and even my annoyance at some of the behaviors was short-lived because the show quickly moves on. It’s too short to have developed side characters, but the few I saw were likable (eg the ML’s advisor, the FL’s best friend). There is a background of politics and some plotting involved, but I’d say the main focus is the development of the romance, which I enjoyed. There is also a pretty great twist towards the end.

For the acting, I thought it’s quite good. This is Cheng Lei before he got famous- I actually thought it’s a better performance than some of his later well-known dramas, but maybe I just have lower standards for short dramas. Everyone is believable.

The production is alright. Styling is ok, not the best and not the worst. For music, the OST at four tracks is longer than most short dramas, though I wasn’t a huge fan of the songs personally. But I think they and the BGM are used pretty well to set moods, and I did like some of the BGM. A lot of the sound effects were too loud though, like footsteps and peoples’ breathy little noises.

Overall I liked the show- quick and complete without other short-drama pitfalls like lack of development or being too disjointed. I found the villain situation a bit annoying and wish those characters had more depth, but I was invested enough in the main leads’ development to not mind so much. I’d give it a 7.5-8 but rounded up for being nice and short- watchable in one sitting with moderate binging skills.

ENDING – READ AHEAD ONLY IF YOU WANT TO KNOW, CONTAINS SPOILERS





I think it’s a pretty happy ending. It works out well for the main leads and they form a happy little family. The SML and SFL both meet tragic ends, though they were both so unrelatably obsessive that I stopped caring that much. There is a flash sighting of them at the end which I did not understand.

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