Reviews

Better than Exspected

Not that I thought this was going to be terrible, but my first go-around at trying to watch this didn't end very nicely (I dropped it after, like, the first 5 minutes in), but in all truthfulness, I was going through the worst case of BL-block during that time, so now, it's all better. I decided to give this one another try, and I was NOT left disappointed !

Let's Dive In.

Initially, the name of the BL series threw me off a bit. I assumed it'd be extremely smutty (which, it is, but not in the sense that I was assuming) with very little plot, but I stand corrected! I loved the direction they were in the entire time with Uea's character, even if it was a little traumatic. Do I think it's a bit much to have three different people as*****d Uea? A little bit. The first two are understandable, but the boss coming in and immediately wanting Uea was so... odd? Obviously, Uea's a very attractive man, but you also had King and Jade and the rest, so why was he immediately drawn to Uea and nobody else? It was to stir shit in the office and among Uea and King, but it all felt a little redundant. Not saying this can't happen in real life, but for it to happen as much as it did in this series, I don't know, they could've thought about utilizing something else other than making Uea more traumatized.

Actually, speaking of Uea being traumatized, that mother was probably the worst character I've seen on TV. She's obviously too full of herself and too much in love with the step-dad to see all of the wrongdoing going on around her, and I'm ecstatic that they didn't try to give her some redemption arc; she's just a terrible person and Uea learned to distant himself from her. Perfect. But I need him to save his sister, pronto. Like go back into that house and have her move in with you, I beg.

Onto the romance, I was pleasantly surprised. I love a slow burn, nothing new there, so I thought I'd struggle to find any joy in their relationship since sex was first before anything. However, they were still able to create this tension that wasn't sexual outside of their FWB relationship. It was really nice. The NC scenes were, dare I say, maybe a little much? Just for my taste though! They were still very well-shot, and very well-executed with James and Net actually looking like they want to be together, which out of everything, is the most important part. I also loved the way they talked about consent, getting tested, and letting each other know how they felt after sex. When they finally get together, it feels organic and not rushed. A really awesome job they did.

I know a lot of people talked bad about Middleman's Love, which is why I was going to put it off, but I really liked Jade's personality in this, so I'll definitely have to, at least, give it a try!

Ratings:

Story: 7.5/10 - I loved that they made Uea's character have depth, and this series wasn't just about sex. I think some parts are rather unnecessary, but overall, I was satisfied.

Acting: 8/10 - I won't give this higher than an 8, only because James, in scenes where he was supposed to be distraught, couldn't shed a tear. Outside of that though, they did a fine job in their roles, everyone did.

Music: 7/10 - I really liked the theme song!

Recommendation value: 7.5/10 - If heavy NC scenes are your thing, then this is the series for you. But also, it has tough subjects that not everyone can be mentally okay enough to see, so watch out for that. Otherwise, I think this is a really good series to binge!

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There is no chemistry between the lead actors; this isn't the first series of his that I've watched. I don't know if it's his acting in general, but romance isn't his strong suit. He's unconvincing and seems clueless about how to portray love in his performance.

Beyond the couple's scenes, most of the scenes are really boring, lacking spirit. The plot is dull, but so are the supporting characters and everything else.

There was one beautiful scene of his confession and forgiveness towards her, but it didn't take off in the end and just fizzled out.

The filming space for the entire series is cramped. The apartment is small, and it continuously shifts between boxes and faces closeup, which is unconvincing and even creates a sense of frustration.
Progresses slowly and in an unsatisfactory manner without any excitement or emotion.

The ending is also frustrating in an unusual way, making you wonder why you watched this series in the first place. It's drama over nothing.

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Adventure for the ones tha have a justice mind

This was one of the best things I ever watched, it felt like the first time you enter a fairy world, it’s so magical.

Great things:

- The characters have such a good development (you can see how their mindset changed)
- The are a lot of plots and side plots that had me crying, laughing and being amazed
- The fights were made with such care, everything came together and you can feel like you were there
- The main character is so smart! I think that this was what made me love so much from the beginning
- The music, omg the music is sooo good, the intro is one of my favorites of all time
- The finale was fair, you can see the heart of the main character and realize that the decision was correct

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I have a good cry on this

Its a Japanese sad romance film. Very heartfelt and touching movie it brings the "Fault In Our Stars" movie vibe by giving us hope. I know that theya re both have hopeless journey in their battles but they find ways to be hopeful and be happy in their own simple ways. One is afraid in dying and the other one is looking forward to see heaven but when the FL meet the ML she make fondness of him and makes him feel that he has a special place in her heart and she felt she was special and gives her to be afraid of losing him. They both find ways to make memorable moments that they may treasure. They make sure they make special efforts to make sure that they brings joy to the both of them. They know that they feel loved with each other but had no chance on saying it. When the FL is gone the ML felt bad and sad for it but instead continue in fighting for his battle. Long enough he knew that the FL was making him special in her heart by seeing her last post on socmed the real symbol of the 3 stem of Gerberas. He was happy to know that he makes the FL feel special before she was gone. And not so long ago the ML has also is gone, he is gone happy for he knew that he makes the FL happy he feels happy and content with it.

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My rating might have been higher with less episodes...possibly

What I loved:
-Park So Yi as Bok I Na. She is a terrific young actress, I've loved her in everything I've seen her in, and am looking forward to her growth as an actress.
-The youth romance of I Na. I would have liked to see more of them.
-Oh Man Seok's character of Gi Ju's father. What a calm, warm and lovely character.

What I didn't like (not in any particular order):
-I have liked Jan Ki Yong in other works, but I didn't think he did a good job here. He didn't look depressed, he looked drugged. I felt like he was just moving through the drama. I got no emotion from him.
-Chun Woo Hee looks just like Song Hye Kyo to me. Since I'm often not a fan of SHK, I struggled.
-The timeline was all sorts of a mess. For me, the fact that she was there showed that she survived in the past. No matter how they tried to explain it, it didn't make any sense to me.
-Did the ML and FL hate each other IRL? They had absolutely no chemistry with one another and didn't like each other for so long, I never bought them as a couple.
-Can we talk about amazingly bad haircuts of Gwi Ju and Grace?
-The weight loss story for Gwi Ju's sister. We see some of her struggle, but her massive weight loss was overnight.
-Pretty much all the characters other than the couple I mentioned. Her family (and she) were awful! I get that they were swindlers, but I never really saw them turn around until the last episode. Same for his family. I just didn't like them.
-Repetitive, repetitive, repetitive script. Enough with the flashbacks.

For me (please remember, this is just my opinion), I was extremely disappointed in a show that I was so looking forward to watching.

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16 episodes, no plot in sight, and I'm eating it up

I imagine the conversation about how this show came to be going something like this…

Writer A: Guys, I have an idea for a new story!
Writer B: Oh, fantastic! What’s the plot about?
Writer A: Ah, the plot? That would be good to have I guess. But screw it, we’re not doing a plot this time.
Writer C: Uh, okay… So if there isn’t a plot, what is the show about?
Writer A: Well, I had all these scene left over from other shows that didn’t make the cut, so I just kind of strung them all together to create a show. It’s about this large group of friends who are a bunch of idiots but a lot of fun, and cute boys will fall in love!
Writer B: I guess people love cute boys falling in love, so that works for me.
Writer C: Yeah, sure. So, since there isn’t a plot, maybe we should keep it short and simple? Maybe go with 8 episodes instead of the usual 12.
Writer A: I was thinking more like 16.
Writer C: But why? If there isn’t a plot, wouldn’t it be better to keep it short and sweet?
Writer A: Absolutely not. We have four couples in this, so we need more episodes.
Writer B: Oh, great! So that means we’ll have four incredibly well fleshed out couples that all get about an equal amount of screen time?
Writer A: Don’t be silly. We’ll spend a lot of time on two ships, and give the other two some scenes here and there.
Writer B: Are you sure about this? The whole thing kinda sounds like a very strange show to make. Will people really watch it?
Writer C: I guess they will if we get phenomenal actors. Maybe we should hit Khaotung and First up.
Writer A: Nope, we’ll get a bunch of mediocre actors and just make them do cute things and do puppy eyes very often, so people will look past the fact that some of them *cough Phuwin cough Marc cough cough* aren’t the greatest at portraying emotions. Not that the show really needs great actors anyway, because there isn’t really any meaningful conflict, so there aren’t many scenes of heightened emotions.
Writer B: I’m not sure, dude. But I guess if we come up with new scenes and stuff and avoid dead-ridden tropes, it might be a breath of fresh air.
Writer A: Don’t be silly. Why fix what ain’t broke? We’re going to use all the cliche scenes and tropes and we’ll run wild with them. Or do you guys have a better idea?
Writer C: Nah, thinking of something new and unique sounds like a lot of work. I say we run with what you got.
Writer B: Works for me, now let’s go eat something.
Writer A: Ah yes, eating. They do that in the show too. Like a lot.

This series is nothing new, nothing unique, it has no real plot or meaningful conflict, the characters aren’t really interesting, some actors are really struggling (mainly Phuwin and Marc, but Pond and Winny certainly won't win Oscars any time soon either), and one of the romances is dragged out beyond any point of reason. In short, it has everything I don’t like, and I ABSOLUTELY ATE THAT SHIT UP. If you ask me why, I honestly couldn’t tell you. Despite it dragging a little after a while, it was incredibly entertaining and adorable, and I honestly have not much more to say than that, so this will not be my usual in depth review.

The best part of this is by far the friend group. I’m convinced they all share one collective brain cell that hops from head to head, depending on the episode, and I love it. Okay, Fang may get his own brain cell, but the rest are definitely sharing. They’re just a bunch of idiots who do dumb stuff, but they’re so supportive of each other and they all bounce off each other incredibly well. The chemistry between the actors was great, so this felt actually believable unlike the friend groups in other shows. It also didn’t fall into the trap of forgetting about the friends as soon as the romance begins to pick up. The title fits perfectly because they really are, they just exist, which sounds incredibly boring and like a slog to get through, but it really wasn't at all (at least not for me). It was a joy to watch them and I could’ve probably gone for another five episodes just because they were so hilariously over the top and stupid and cute.

An honourable mention goes to Satang as Toey. He absolutely nailed the role and Toey is so insanely adorable that I squealed every time he was on screen. I just wanted to put him in my pocket and protect him from the world, and I loved how his friends felt the same and spoiled and protected him. So cute. Aou was phenomenal as Tan as well and despite the character being an annoying cringe fest, I found myself loving him.

That’s honestly all I have to say. If you’re a plot driven person, this show might drive you crazy because nothing really happens in it. But if you enjoy a bunch of idiots being idiots and having a great time together, then this might be for you. I honestly expected not to like this series at all, but it ended up on my list of shows I’d rewatch any day (if it weren't for it being such a large time commitment). This is not an objective 8, it's an 8 in terms of subjective enjoyment and entertainment factor. Objectively, this isn't anything great. So if you want to enjoy this, you’ll just have to give up on trying to watch this under a critical perspective, and instead embrace it for what it is, aka chaos x 100.

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I am a fan of the actor interpreting the main lead. He gave a solid performance in this one, though if you were expecting a more realistic portrayal such as he gave in My Mister, you would have to re-set your expectations: the writing in this one is different, the subject is treated in a more comedic fashion.

I must say that imho it was not always done in the most tasteful manner, if you were trying to convey a point about something dramatic, making the wounded lead the butt of a joke in the next moment does tend to detract from the dramatic tension... it would be okay in a different drama, where the focus was not so much on the feelings and inner world of the protagonist, but on other aspects, such as in the Chinese drama Divorce Lawyers' initial scene... but you cannot really go from depicting emotional pain to making the sufferer the butt of a joke without at least some of the pathos being lost in the process.

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Mature GL for the Win!

Deep Night Side Story: The Two of Us further explores the relationship of Freya and Meiji, who're also characters in the sequel Deep Night. You don't have to watch the sequel to watch this, since it mainly focuses on the main BL couple(s), but it lets you know a little more about this couple!

Getting into The Two of Us, it was so nice and refreshing to finally see more a mature GL pairing. We don't have a lot of them and the chemistry between Tanya and Ning is AMAZING! There isn't much plot, probably because we only got six 15 minute episodes, but there is something to keep us on our toes. When I first saw this couple in Deep Night, I wanted to see more of them and I'm so glad we got this show. In this show we get to hear more about Freya and Meiji's friendship and how they became more than friends (Meiji really had to put up the final test to get Freya to break lol). There were so many cute and jealous scenes, these two are so adorable! The acting is okay. I'm still getting used to the overacting that is done in Thai dramas, so there are some scenes that were cringe. Their kissing scenes and love scenes were pretty good as well, a little awkward here and there but I believe this was something new for the both of them.

If you're stuck between watching this or not, I think it is totally worth it. It's nothing hard on the heart (angst) and it's a good leisure watch. I hope this opens more opportunities for more mature (AND HEALTHY) thai gl's. It's just Freya and Meiji world, we're just living in it lol

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A Mature Love Story, feat. Park Bo Gum's smile

The reason why I decided to continue watching this drama was purely because of Park Bo Gum's smile. I FELL FOR IT. HARD. That is also the only reason I decided to stick to it till the end.

In terms of the story, there truly isn't much. And the drama also isn't the kind of drama that boasts a grand and impressive narrative. The whole drama can be summarized as what being in love looks like. While that is understandable and I really liked how everything was very mature, it was just soooooooo slooooooowwww.

The cinematography was one thing that really stood out for me. It had these beautiful postcard framed shots, truly lovely to look at. And to add the photography hobby into the mix to show more picturesque shots... Quite clever.

Now we come to the actors... GUESS WHO'S GOING TO BINGE ALL OF PBG'S DRAMAS NEXT. I was a little uncomfortable seeing how malnourished he looked in the first episode, but that short bob was quite interesting and "exotic". But damn that smile made my day. Even his character was so earnestly written, it actually shone through the series. Song Hye Kyo's character also was interesting. I am a fan of these kinds of understated, less talkative, mature female characters who talk less but are strong-willed. And Song Hye Kyo was able to pull it off quite well, seeing that this is her forte. The chemistry between the two of them though... *chef's kiss*. Often in mature kdramas, they make up for the lack of chemistry with some kissing... but here, you could actually feel how much the ML and the FL cherished each other. Full points for such an earnest performance.
Her ex-husband's character was a bit meh, but that's okay... the series justified why. I didn't really like the chaebol eomoni angle, it was a bit too much. But seen in the korean cultural context, it makes sense, i suppose? I don't know... But the best part for me was the friendships depicted in the series... it was quite nuanced and layered, and not the straight-up "oh, I'm your best friend, and I will be there just to cheer you with pompoms" kinda depiction. The actors who played PBG's parents were the MOST REAL characters in the entire series, even more so than the protagonists, might I suggest. Lovely, lovely acting by the two veteran actors there.

As for the OST, it's one of those very well-crafted albums. It is expected to hear a song explode right after any major event in the series, like BAM! And in a few series, this can be quite the hindrance (case in point, Something in the Rain). But here, because the songs were very mellow, the effect was much mitigated. Eric Nam's song and SaltnPepper's Take Me On are the best in the album IMO.

Also, as a side note, the opening credits' animated videos of fairytale tropes are quite beautiful. Nothing extraordinary, but just very aesthetically pleasing.

Cons of this series: It's a meditative watch, not fit for binging (although I did binge it at an alarming rate).
There's nothing much going on in terms of the story. Its just two people in love and... that's pretty much it.
I do wish there was some editing involved. Towards the end, it felt unnecessarily long; for example, if you skip 10 seconds, you will still not miss any dialogue. It basically takes 10 seconds or more for the actors to move past looking at each other and do things (be it talking or moving or whatever).
The pacing... it was soooooo sloooooowwwww.... like so slow, so slow... they paid so much attention to showing the couple that they didn't bother with the story at all. As a result, towards the end the conflict resolved rather quickly (in just 2 episodes) and shoddily. I understand that in a mature drama like this, there is no space for the outlandish ML FL heroics, but some nuanced storytelling to the conflicts would be better.
The treatment of foreigners is still a pain to watch. SO MUCH TYPECASTING. >_<

Over all, the drama was a really nice, soothing watch. Best to watch it on rainy days, with a coffee mug and your partner by your side (if they're into kdramas that is). The first episode is probably one of the dreamiest episodes I've seen in a long time in a kdrama. I personally feel, the drama was able to sail its way through because of PBG's smile. If the makers of this drama focused on one thing intently, then it's the visuals. Be it the actors' visuals, or the interior design's colour palettes, or the locations, or just the camera frames, they made sure it was so aesthetically pleasing. The series proved how aesthetics can aid in falling in love.

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