Couldn't ask for anything better
The first episode was flawless. Amazing production, amazing acting, and great chemistry; they introduce all 4 main characters really well, but they also leave us wondering and sparking theories. That's what a good storyline is about: it makes us imagine lots of different directions for the plot. Amazing! WilliamEst and Pardbee will make history (again).Was this review helpful to you?
what went wrong besides the casting of the fl ?
the first two episodes got me hooked, and I was ready to put up with the FL’s bad performance, but then the timeline changed and everything seemed rushed, and I skipped through everything but heejo’s scenes, a sweetheart, the only breath of fresh air in the entire show, why was her story discarded? why wasn’t she given a proper plot? she wanted to marry the ml but don’t nothing to execute that, then forced to marry someone else, but that was unfinished as well, wasted potentials honestly.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
FUN! FUN!! FUN!!!
I laughed really hard while watching this. I kept food, snacks, and water out of my mouth while watching this to prevent choking. The characters were unserious and highly comedic; the villain had something comedic in their mannerisms, in the way they were presented, fought, and at times died. I couldn't control my laughter and smiles for at least the first half.The cast was amazing; it felt like each of their roles was best suited for them. Ao Rui Peng portraying Li Changshou was natural and amazing, and it felt like himself. A character made for him, where he doesn't need to be stressed with his posture or mannerisms.
Likewise, in my opinion, Ai Mi's portrayal of Li Chang Shou's junior sister was the funniest character in this show, and I loved how she matched her senior brother and understood the meaning of his eye signs. The character Ao Jia was hilarious, funny, and interesting to me when he had big dreams of saving the dragon clan, beating himself in a fight against Li Chang Shou, and portraying the girl character Ke Le'r; in my opinion, if I were not a viewer/audience and I was just part of the characters, I would have also thought that was a girl.
It was hilarious seeing modern devices innovatively transform into something similar with the same functions in an historical drama. The mobile phones, image recorder, and washing machine- seeing Li Chang Shou make use of them felt new and refreshing.
With all that said, the second half, around episode 20, declined in the funny aspect compared to the first half. With all the tragedy, wars, crying, and fights going on, don't get me wrong, there were occasional funny moments in the second half, but I didn't laugh as much, as the story lost its focus on being funny and became more serious. But still, the chemistry of the senior-junior relationship between Li Chang Shou and junior sister was great, Loved after 3 years staying in jade division, she learnt her senior brother and understood all his micro-expressions and helped him in so many over-dramatic scenes, adding their master to the chaos made Jade division more fun than the other divisions, they were so hilarious, unserious, and loved each other.
I thought this drama was over-dramatic, but that's the charm; it doesn't have to be serious or less dramatic. The plot was silly and predictable, as the ML always has 98-99% assurance before executing his plans. The unpredictable part is that we do not know his plans; they come as a surprise to the audience.
It's not every year we get this kind of drama, so it was refreshing watching this plot. I would recommend this if you are looking for an easy watch, where you have to sit back, relax, and enjoy the play.
Do Not Eat while watching this to prevent choking.
Have a great time watching
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underrated
I found this drama during my exam time and I got so addicted that I finished it in just 2 days. I didn't expect it to have such a solid plot, the killer is actually so hard to find, so it keeps you hooked with that thriller plus romance and the funny prosecutor team.
I loved the nonchalant male lead, Ji Chang-wook's comic timing and that cool prosecutor vibe suits him so perfectly, and I love the whole office gang bromance, their banter makes the show so much more entertaining. The different legal cases in every episode and the comforting OST also keeps it light and never boring, it's that perfect mix of law, comedy, thriller and romance.
This drama is so underrated. I kinda started hating the female lead after a few episodes though. As always, writers only focus on making the guy a complete green flag and they never really care about the FL's development. She had a point, but they never really tried to make the audience understand her character, so it's disappointing. But most K-dramas are like that.
Still, their chemistry is so hot, the kisses and everything, and the villain also acted so well. It's my favorite underrated drama for sure.
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A story that treats its audience with dignity and respect!
Its been a while since I've written a review, so bear with me hehe😅I'm giving the show a re-watch value of 8.5 cuz I think i need to be in a certain mind space to watch this show in its entirety due to the angst and anger 3 of the characters bring out within you! You can def catch me rewatching my fave scenes and moments from the show!
To Cherish and Love is one of those rare lakorns I've come across with good, consistent writing, where the audience feels like they are a part of the story themselves, living with the characters' lives and feeling what they feel.
Before I can delve into anything, I have to give a shout-out to the young actors portraying the younger versions of our main leads. They truly made the story feel alive, as if their life experience did happen; their friendship, love, heartbreak, everything was indeed lived through. So so beautifully portrayed, your healt wept for the characters, and understood them much better!
The story focuses on a hard-working woman- K'Ran who is the sole bread-winner of the household after the passing of her father. In order to meet basic needs, she works multiple jobs to keep their family of 4 afloat and comfortable, always taking care of others, but not herself, as she believes she doesn't deserve it.
N'Dao, the youngest character, is a very mischievous and energetic fujoushi, who goes to great lengths in order to make sure that her favourite pairing isn't separated (I wish they could have touched on this a bit more, showing that bl actors are human too, and need to be respected as such, and are not there for "fans" to force their beliefs onto their "idols". It at least shows that bl actors behind the scenes do have relationships with women, which I appreciated, so 0.5% cut!). N'Dao does this by basically managing to sneak past all the security of the TV-Station of the ML and gives him an earful.
The male lead, forced into an engagement by his mother with K'Nana, shows no affection towards her, as his heart still beats for K'Ran though he's been trying to forget about his hurtful past. When he meets his ex-K'Ran, the FL at his company unexpectedly, he is livid. He threatens to fire her, but K'Ran is resilient, patient, and self-sacrificing, painfully so. She tries her hardest to fight for her survival at her ex's company.
I did not like how K'Yai treated her, but based on what he believed: that K'Ran is a heartless, selfish woman who goes after rich men, his actions make sense. I am not saying I support him making the FL's life ever more of a living hell than it already is in the slightest, but the story is so well-written that you hate him for what he is doing, and also want him to have an honest conversation with himself and have his eyes opened! He truly cares for K'Ran, but at the same time, he is afraid she is after K'Sam (his best friend from the US, a bl actor at his company who also falls for K'Ran's kind heart and resilience) and his younger brother K'Lek as they are rich. He makes her overwork herself so that she doesn't get time to "seduce" his friend or brother.
The show is very well executed in that, you not even for a moment feel confused or lost in the plot. You do not feel like your emotions are being played with. When you have a doubt, it gets resolved, even if not immediately within the same ep. The best part is that there is not a single miscommunication or misunderstanding (yes I choose to say this because K'Ran chose to lie to K'Yai deliberately). There are NO dumb characters!!! The story flows naturally, and the characters are actually intelligent! They find out the truth on their own, and the audience doesn't feel like we are being spoon-fed/info-dumped.
I absolutely LOVED that the other 2 male characters did NOT fight for K'Ran. They instead fought to keep her happy, to help her earn, and eat well lol, cuz that woman refuses to take care of herself my God! Thank God for K'Lek being there! And once both K'Sam and K'Lek realise K'Yai still loves K'Ran, they do their absolute best to help them both get back together again!
I am not giving the show a 10 simply because I am not satisfied with how the story dealt with K'Yai's narcissistic, selfish, clearly, hurt, AND psychotic, masochist of a mother (I wanted to cut off an entire 1%, but that would mean the entire show in only 85%), who was the cause of the rift between K'Yai and K'Ran. Living with a person like her, I know first hand that such a person will not change, whether over a long period of time (in my family's case-25+ years), or overnight just because their safety is threatened. They can pretend they have turned a new leaf, but they will NEVER accept their mistake, or let the world know of it if they can help it. So K'Aoijay revealing her disgusting deeds to the world, AND getting off scot-free really pissed me off.
Character ranking:
Grandma: Hands-down best character! And truly wise!
K'Lek: Gosh adorable bean!
K'Ran: So glad she is finally happy!
K'Sam: Can we have more men/2nd leads like this please!!!
K'Yai: You can see he's gotten his mother's masochistic tendencies, but he becomes better, and learns from his mistakes!
K'Dao: Annoying little devil (saying this is the sweetest way possible😂)
K'Nana: Girl please learn some self-worth! And someone make her pay an actual price for trying to make K'Ran's life hellish in highschool!
K'Aoijay: Lady, you need to pay for your crimes against your son, you daughter-in-law (especially), and mother-in-law, AND your granddaughter!
I'd honestly love to see a continuation of the show with just our main CP living together, a happy and fullfilled life filled with laughter and warmth. That way we could also get to see if K'Ran wants to explore going back to her studies, or Taekwando, seeing that she's truly stopped blaming herself for her father's death
And, can someone PLEASE cast the young actors portraying K'Ran and K'Yai as a couple or even friends in another show! Their chemistry was so natural!!!
Truly a great journey overall!
PS: Did anyone else feel K'Film has lost more weight or was it just me...? Ma man, you are perfect the way you are! Please don't lose weight!
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Li Chan Shou
Guys, I just finished Episode 30 of Pull Strings, and WOW 😭😭 I genuinely, genuinely enjoyed this drama from beginning to end!Honestly, it was a rollercoaster of emotions, laughter, chaos, and pure unseriousness 😂. I laughed so much I was literally tearing up. Even in scenes that were supposed to be serious, somehow the way they executed them made them funny. There was barely a moment where I wasn’t entertained. 😂
Let me just say this: Pull Strings is an unserious drama in the BEST possible way. 😭 If you’re feeling down, having a bad day, or you just need something to lift your mood, PLEASE turn this drama on. You will laugh your ass off. 😂😂
And that ending??? 👀 The way Jin Chan mentioned the two tribulations — the fairy being the hero of the first tribulation and the male lead being the hero of the second — AND THEN they gave us “TO BE CONTINUED”??? 😭😭
Yeahhh, I’m taking that as confirmation that we’re getting Season 2 because there is NO WAY they ended it like that and expect us to just move on. 😂 Now the question is WHEN are they giving us Season 2? Because I have questions! 😭
For those of you who are still wondering, “Should I watch Pull Strings?” — YES. GO WATCH IT. And for those who dropped it halfway, please go and pick it back up! You’re missing out. 😂
One thing I really appreciated was how everyone got their chance to shine. It wasn’t just about the main leads. The disciples, mentors, the sects, the Immortal Clan, Bear Clan, Dragon Sect, Ascension Sect, and everyone else all played their parts and contributed to the story. Nobody felt completely useless or like they were just there for decoration.
Everybody brought something to the table, and I really enjoyed watching how their different roles came together.
Overall, Pull Strings was such a fun watch. It gave me laughter, emotions, chaos, and entertainment from start to finish. 😂❤️
Rating: 9/10 — because honestly, I had FUN watching this drama, and sometimes that’s all I need. 😭😂
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An amazing experience ruined by the last ep
So. This was genuinely one of my favorites to watch. I adore the dynamic of the main couple and the silly group of friends they have. One of my absolute favorite lines being 'what's the difference between loving guys and girls? Honestly, nothing, they're both humans'. I should've known things were about to take a VERY sharp turn when everything seemed to be going a little TOO well. I take an entire point off what would've been a 10 if they hadn't used one of my most hated tropes ever at the end. I genuinely don't understand why it's so hard to have a happy end. Quit trying to be 'different' and end stories with sudden tragedies, it ruined the whole story for me. Also super confused on why there was another dude at the end who just happened to look exactly like the dude who got got.- Kinda didn't care for the side couple either, they were cute but I sorta felt they took up too much time
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WHAT THE HELL
done watching!! and WHAT THE HELL li changshou gasted all of my flabber with his schemes and plans, not really a fan of non-romance centric dramas but this drama got me hooked to the core!!! stayed up all night to watch until the final episodes. I loved all the characters (except probably for the problematics), i feel what they feel, clearly conveyed the emotions that they want the audiences to feeland ofc for the romance subplot, doesn't feel forced imo, they're just in denial of each other but you can actually feel the tension hehe
overall verdict: I LOVE THE DRAMA (also I love the ending, i hope it's the same cast for the 2nd season)
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Supporting characters steal the show
I liked it, overall. Good acting, good, sometimes even clever, plot, couple of nice twists, lots of dying and betreyal.The best thing in this drama was Fan Shuai Qi playing Bu Shu Lin. The best woman-pretending-to-be-man acting I've ever seen. The maleness was convincing, the aspect of knowing she's pretending was convincing, her playing a female character was convincing. Just across the board phenomenal acting.
One other thing that really made an impression was the absolute insanity of the levels of gas lighting of the 5th Prince Xiao Chang Qing. Obviously, he was meant to be the bad guy, albeit a complicated one, but the pure torture he was subjegated to from the FL as to weather she was or wasn't his deceased wife, was on another level.
I knew that Queen grandmother was the main culprit early on, because out of all of them she seemed the nicest one and that's just never true. But I liked the overall character set up and presentation where it was never trully black and white with any of them, it made the series more interesting.
Again, I'm not super happy with FL's no expression acting. Maybe I'm the problem, I don't know, but this is a trend among female actors that emoting is either extremely reserved or not present. Unless it's ugly crying and then some do it very well, but a lot of times it's just like watching dolls on a screen. There are micro expressions, sure, and the overall vibe of the actress, but it just feels flat. Especially next to Fan Shuai and He Yu.
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Meh
The story was ok, but it had too many holes to make it good. The fact that it was a short vertical only made it worse.The best thing of this drama were the visuals.
I like the idea of mixing two languages, but the English of most of them was so bad, that it didn't work. The emotions didn't come out enough because of that.
The acting was ok, but not great. Jung Jae Bin did good, Fluke Parinya Tulesin not so much.
The chemistry of the mains was not consistent, there were moments they had a lot of chemistry and moment there was none.
I recommend skipping this one.
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This review may contain spoilers
Too Dangerous to Love, Too Addictive to Resist”
The Early Spring — When Desire Is More Dangerous Than Love 🖤🔥The Early Spring is not the kind of romance that gives you butterflies and lets you sleep peacefully afterward. It gives you tension. Temptation. Stolen glances. Long silences. And that delicious feeling that two people are standing far too close to a line they absolutely should not cross. ❤️🔥
Luan Nian (Jing Boran) is exactly the kind of man a sensible woman should probably stay away from—brilliant, intimidating, emotionally guarded, and almost impossible to read.
And unfortunately… ridiculously attractive. 😏
He doesn’t need grand romantic speeches. Sometimes all Jing Boran has to do is look at Shang Zhitao for one second too long, lower his voice, or let that perfectly controlled expression crack just a little—and suddenly the entire scene feels intimate.
That restraint is what makes him so dangerously seductive.
Then there is Shang Zhitao (Sun Qian). She may enter his world as an inexperienced newcomer, but she is never simply a helpless girl waiting for a powerful man to rescue her. She has ambition, pride, stubbornness, and desires of her own—and watching her slowly learn how to stand her ground against him makes their attraction even more irresistible.
Because this isn’t love at first sight.
It’s desire at first resistance. 🔥
Boss and employee.
Distance and attraction.
Control and surrender.
Two people pretending to be perfectly professional while their eyes are having an entirely different conversation.
And THAT chemistry… 🥀
Jing Boran and Sun Qian understand that sometimes the sexiest thing on screen isn’t a kiss.
It’s the moment before it.
The hesitation.
The eye contact.
The tiny change in breathing.
The question neither of them is brave enough to ask.
Are we really going to do this?
And you already know the answer. 😏❤️🔥
What makes The Early Spring so addictive is that underneath all that temptation is something much messier. These are flawed adults mixing ambition, loneliness, power, vulnerability, and desire—and convincing themselves they can keep emotions under control.
Spoiler: feelings rarely respect contracts. 🖤
Is Luan Nian a walking red flag sometimes? 🚩
Absolutely.
Would I recommend dating him in real life?
Probably not.
Would I watch Jing Boran play this emotionally unavailable, dangerously charming man for another twenty episodes?
Without hesitation. 😂🔥
The Early Spring is sophisticated, messy, mature, frustrating, and incredibly seductive—not because it shows too much, but because it knows exactly how much to hold back.
Sometimes the most irresistible romance isn't the one that feels safe.
It's the one that whispers:
“You know this is a bad idea… so why can’t you look away?” 🖤🔥🥀
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The story hits the ground running: the clash between Yoryak (Great), a cocky boxer, and Wandee (Inn), a doctor who refuses to put up with his attitude, explodes into a passionate encounter after a heartbroken, drunken night. From episode 1 all the way through 12, the intensity between them is incredible. They don't need long speeches; simple glances, body language, and their sheer natural magnetism carry the entire show. On top of that, Yoryak's brother and his boyfriend add so much charm with their "bickering old married couple" dynamic that brings pure, wholesome vibes to the screen.
However, the show isn't without its stumbles. Throughout the series, the unnatural hospital gossip moments lead to ridiculous behaviors that pull you right out of the story. Furthermore, starting around episode 7, the narrative drags: unnecessarily stretching out the moment they formally admit their feelings feels frustratingly absurd since they act like an established couple the entire time, accompanied by a few overly predictable plot twists and silly character actions.
Despite these weak script choices and unrealistic hospital scenes, Wandee Goodday more than compensates thanks to an immensely charismatic cast. It isn't perfect, but it's wildly entertaining and highly recommended if you're looking for genuine heat.
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Lady by day, Ninja by night
I loved this show from the very first episode. It was refreshing to see a female lead like Yeohwa, a noblewoman who secretly becomes almost a ninja at night, helping people and actually being a great fighter. She has such a strong presence that at times Suho honestly feels more like a supporting character.
The villains were fairly obvious, but I was much more interested in the mystery surrounding what happened years ago. I also loved the seokjong's character; his English such a fun addition to the Joseon setting. I took a wild guess about his identity (& I was right!)
One thing I didn't like was “I’m hiding the truth to protect you” trope. Suho hides things from Yeohwa, his brother hides things from him, and it just creates unnecessary problems. Sometimes characters need to actually communicate. however it wasn't dragged so I'm not really mad.
I also got annoyed at Seok Jong for staying hidden after returning (cuz it was giving me anxiety), especially knowing his father wanted him dead. But thankfully, the story handled his situation better than I expected. (I'm so glad they didn't kill his character)
What I really appreciated was that the show didn't rely on unnecessary deaths or drag out the villain's downfall. Everything was wrapped up quite neatly, and I didn't have any major complaints. The story maintains a good pace, it's funny, emotional, and constantly thinking "hopefully yeohwa's doesn't get caught".
overall, The acting was great (female lead dominated the presence) the comedy worked well, and the balance between action, mystery, romance and humour made it such an enjoyable watch. My only real complaint is that I wanted a longer epilogue because I wasn't ready to leave these characters yet.
Overall, Knight Flower was fun, refreshing and surprisingly addictive.
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Soul Mate — What If Love Doesn't Need a Name?
How am I supposed to describe Soul Mate? Beautiful, certainly. A BL? Maybe, depending on what we expect that label to mean. A bromance? That feels too small. A romance without romance? Perhaps that comes closer. What I am certain about is that I loved it. Netflix itself presented Soul Mate as a ten-year love story between two young men and categorises the finished series as LGBTQ+. So technically, calling it BL is hardly something viewers invented afterwards. But anyone going into these eight episodes expecting the usual BL language should probably know what they are getting. There is no kiss, no sex scene and almost none of the conventional skinship we have learned to associate with two fictional men becoming a couple. Ryu and Johan don't even spend much time trying to define what they are to each other. And strangely, that is exactly what made me think about what a “soulmate” actually means.We often treat love and sex as if they automatically belong together, then treat romance as if it can only be proven through physical behaviour. But the soul isn't the body. Someone can desire another person's body without loving them at all, while another person can become so essential to your existence that imagining life without them becomes almost impossible. Soul Mate seems much more interested in that second kind of connection. Ryu and Johan meet because both are already damaged. Ryu has fled Japan carrying enormous guilt over what happened to his friend Arata, while Johan is a Korean boxer being exploited inside a violent environment of his own. Their meeting in Berlin is almost absurdly dramatic—Johan literally saves Ryu's life—but what develops afterwards isn't the instant sexual attraction of a conventional romance. It is recognition. One lonely person seems to recognise another. Then life keeps pulling them together for ten years.
Berlin, Tokyo and Seoul are not simply pretty international backgrounds. Their relationship has to survive geography, different languages, work, military service, family, violence, illness, grief and long periods when one cannot physically be beside the other. Yet whenever something truly matters, they move toward each other again. Johan saves Ryu. Ryu searches for Johan. They create a home. They help Sumiko. Eventually they construct something resembling a family without ever stopping to explain to everybody what box that family belongs in. That is why calling them simply “brothers” doesn't work for me either. Brotherhood can absolutely produce extraordinary devotion, particularly between men who have survived difficult experiences together. Friendship can also become more important than many marriages. But Soul Mate deliberately places Ryu and Johan within a queer story and repeatedly uses the language of love, fate and spending a life together. Netflix didn't advertise this merely as two male friends; even its original Japanese announcement calls it a story of their “souls and love.” At the same time, I understand why some BL viewers were frustrated. Queer audiences have spent decades being given relationships where everything was implied because filmmakers were unwilling or unable to show two men actually being lovers. So when a drama markets itself as an LGBTQ+ love story and then refuses even one kiss, questioning that choice is legitimate. Critics themselves were divided over exactly this point. The Japan Times thought the ambiguity allowed the script to play things both ways, while other reviewers saw the lack of conventional physical romance as essential to what the drama was trying to express.
For me, the difference is intention. I didn't feel that Soul Mate was embarrassed by these men loving each other. I felt that it was deliberately asking whether their relationship still needs our permission to be called love when it isn't demonstrated through sex. There is a significant difference between censoring homosexuality and presenting intimacy that simply isn't sexual. Would one kiss have destroyed that idea? Of course not. That is where I remain slightly conflicted. There are moments where the absolute avoidance of physical affection becomes so conspicuous that you start noticing the absence rather than concentrating on what is present. Two people can have a nonsexual relationship, but even platonic friends hug, lean against one another or touch naturally. The restraint occasionally feels less organic than the emotions surrounding it. Yet the emotional commitment is never small. These aren't two men who meet, spend a summer together and remember each other fondly. Their lives remain intertwined across a decade. They repeatedly make choices most people would only make for someone occupying an extraordinary place in their lives. Eventually the question “Are they boyfriends?” starts to feel less interesting than “Why do we need them to be?” That is where the title becomes beautiful. A soulmate isn't necessarily the person you sleep with. It isn't necessarily your spouse either. It can be the person whose presence permanently changes the direction of your life—the person who understands a part of you nobody else can reach. Some people marry their soulmate. Some find that person in friendship. Some probably never meet one at all. Ryu and Johan become family in that deeper sense.
The addition of Sumiko is important because Soul Mate also refuses the traditional idea that a family has one acceptable structure. After tragedy changes her life, the three of them eventually build a household around a child. Netflix even describes the series through friendship as well as LGBTQ+ themes, and that combination makes sense: the drama doesn't keep putting walls between romantic love, friendship and chosen family. Everything overlaps because real relationships often do. That broader definition of love also explains why the series can sometimes feel much more painful than a normal romance. It is filled with people carrying guilt they cannot easily put down. Ryu believes his actions—or his failure to act—helped destroy someone else's life. Johan has learned to survive through physical endurance. Other characters deal with bereavement, family expectations and responsibilities that arrive whether anyone is emotionally ready for them or not. Love does not magically repair those people. That may be one of the things I appreciated most. Johan cannot punch trauma until it disappears, and Ryu cannot simply meet a wonderful man and suddenly forgive himself. They help each other survive, but they don't become magical medicine for one another.
Shunki Hashizume was probably an ideal writer-director for that kind of story. He previously directed More Than Words that I love, another Japanese queer drama far more interested in the complicated shapes relationships can take than in fitting them comfortably inside conventional romance. With Soul Mate, he wrote and directed all eight episodes himself, so this unusual emotional language is clearly not the accidental result of several creators disagreeing about what kind of series they were making. The production also had considerably more experience and resources than the average BL. ROBOT has been producing Japanese film and television since the 1980s and was behind major Netflix productions including Alice in Borderland and Yu Yu Hakusho. Netflix itself produced Soul Mate, with filming spanning Berlin, Seoul and Tokyo. Whatever we think about the romantic ambiguity, this is certainly not one of those BLs where weak production limits what the creators are capable of showing.
And the two leads justify that investment. Ok Taecyeon is excellent, as usual. Johan could very easily have become the stereotypical strong Korean boxer whose purpose is simply to protect the more emotionally vulnerable Japanese protagonist. Instead, Taecyeon makes physical strength and emotional isolation exist simultaneously. The body looks powerful while the person living inside it often seems terribly alone. That contrast suits him particularly well because Taecyeon has spent years playing characters with very different energies, from the terrifying Jang Jun-woo in Vincenzo to romance, historical dramas and action roles. He said when accepting Soul Mate that he wanted to broaden his acting spectrum, and Johan certainly gives him something different. Isomura Hayato is an equally strong match. He doesn't need to compete physically with Taecyeon because Ryu's vulnerability operates differently. Isomura lets guilt remain visible even when Ryu appears functional. The series depends on us believing that ten years can change somebody without completely erasing the younger man he once was, and he carries that continuity very well. Both are established actors with substantial careers in their respective countries, and that maturity matters. This story could easily have become ridiculously melodramatic in less capable hands. Instead, even when the screenplay piles tragedy upon tragedy, the performances keep the emotional centre surprisingly quiet. Perhaps that is ultimately why I don't really care whether everybody agrees about the BL label. If somebody asks me whether Soul Mate resembles the BLs we normally watch, I would say no. If you specifically want flirting, romantic tension, kisses, sexual intimacy and the progression toward an identifiable boyfriend relationship, this may actually disappoint you. The marketing created understandable expectations because Netflix itself described it as a love story between two men. But if you ask whether I think Ryu and Johan love one another, then my answer is completely different. Yes. I just don't know whether the vocabulary we normally use is large enough to describe exactly how.
Final Thought
Maybe Soul Mate works best when we stop asking whether Ryu and Johan are boyfriends, brothers, best friends or something somewhere between all three. They are soulmates. Two broken people from two different countries accidentally meet thousands of kilometres from home. One saves the other's life, and from that moment their lives keep returning to one another for ten years. They protect each other, search for each other, hurt because of each other, construct a home around each other and become part of a family that would not exist in the same form without both of them. If that isn't love, then I'm not sure what else to call it. The absence of a kiss doesn't make that devotion meaningless, just as adding a sex scene would not automatically have made it deeper. At the same time, I understand viewers who wanted the series to be less afraid of physical intimacy, because queer love deserves to be allowed a body as much as heterosexual love does. Both reactions can be true. For me, however, Soul Mate ultimately reaches for something slightly different. Bodies age. Bodies become sick. Careers disappear. Countries separate people. Life changes around us whether we want it to or not. What the series asks us to imagine is a connection surviving beyond all of that—something that cannot quite be reduced to sex, romance, friendship or family because it contains pieces of all of them. That is why I found it beautiful.
Not a conventional BL. Not simply a bromance either. Just two souls that found each other, and never really became separate again.
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More Like Backpay!
Obviously, the theme of this series is revenge with a side order of justifiable karma. I, perhaps alone, found this series exceptionally dark with very little socially redeeming value to it. Honestly, the two protagonists are certainly not compasses of morality. The story is replete with immorality and cut-throat business practices. Although the story likely contains some truths, it centers on the entertainment industry’s more salacious aspects. Because of its concentration and focus on the depraved part of the entertainment industry, the end result makes it look like there is nothing socially redeeming about any of it. Yet, the lure and enticement of fame and fortune is, and always will be, its addiction. I would agree that this series is a dark romance – very dark. And that is all acceptable. What concerns me is when it tries to be morally correct or present the moral arc as somehow bending towards the antagonists being seen as protagonists because they have been favored with astonishing and exceptional good looks while the real champions are mapped out as expendable, superfluous, or irrelevant. That is so plain wrong.Was this review helpful to you?
