Reviews

Satisfied on a rewatch

To preface this, I knew going into this my expectations would be way too high. I'm a big fan of Choi Wooshik and have been waiting for this show to come out for like two years. I also spent coins to read the webtoon in its entirety when it was finally released in English.

I'll start off with I did enjoy this. And I enjoyed reading the webcomic too.

Edit: im currently rewatching this with someone who didnt read the webcomic and having a pretty good time. I think i judged this harsher than it needed to be. I guess im a hater? Its a pretty fun drama. I liked it the first time I watched it and im liking it even more the second time ^_^

WEBTOON AND ADAPTATION
The part about the story that is both interesting and frustrating is the way it tells itself. Our protagonist isn't really our protagonist. We don't know much about him (who he is as a person, yes we know he's a student and aimless but...) and we don't have a lot of opportunities to connect to him. It's more like the circumstances around him are what make him the protagonist. Instead, our cop ends up being the real protagonist, having a story arch that follows his relationship with his father. Yet... in some ways he feels like he falls short of that role as well. Writing characters in this way is unique and that in itself is interesting.

The show was an overall pretty faithful adaptation of the webcomic. There were some small details that felt important to me that weren't included. For example, I remember that when Lee Tang first encounters Song Chon, eventually Lee Tang tells Ro Bin that he had some sort of instinct that he had to stay away from Song Chon, like he was being hunted. I understand that was told visually in the adaptation, but I was waiting for that line so I was a bit disappointed. Also, the scene where the girl is being felt up in the train, Lee Tang, if I remember correctly, gets mad at the guy. What I though was interesting about how the scene was originally written had more to do with what it revealed about society and how it treated injustice. It was a small detail, but the way they framed the scene changed its impact on the narrative.

[update they rereleased the episodes of the webtoon and my question was answered so i deleted this section of the review]

Something I was hoping would be changed in the adaptation was the portrayal of Ro Bin and Lee Tang. In the webtoon, I remember wishing they were more dynamic characters. Like, if they could have had some more likeable traits to them, or could have been written in a way that made the ending more impactful feeling around these two characters. Ro Bin didn't really change much, but I did end up feeling satisfied. Lee Tang I kinda wanted to see more sides to him though. He's a character that anyone could have played, being super stoic and flat, which ended up feeling kind of disappointing. But he was like that in the webtoon and I can't blame the scriptwriter for preferring to be faithful than risking anything else.

THE ADAPTATION ALONE
I felt like peoples reactions to being murdered were handled in a weird way? I'm not sure if that was a casting problem or a director problem. This probably stands out most in the death of Nan Gam's father. The script literally describes the ways his fathers face changes, but we don't see that reflected on screen. I'm not sure why this was a consistent problem. I felt the reactions were lacking for him, Gyeong-a (Lee Tang's coworker, I might be misremembering her name), and also in the "murderous expression" from Song Chon when he first kills Nan Gam's father.

One thing that stood out to me though was the amount of respect that was visible on screen and in the script. The writing did its best to respect the original story. And the cinematography, parts of the soundtrack, and especially one fight scene stood out as respecting forefathers in the action genre. In particular, Old Boy stood out to me. Song Chon's scene fighting the gangsters, I think you would have to be blind to miss that longshot fight scene. The use of the oboe in the soundtrack... reminds me of something but I can't put my finger on it. An ode to something, but idk what. Someone help me out, what is this reminding me of?

But the soundtrack was somewhat hit or miss for me. I was surprised by that. Sometimes it felt really good (especially in the first half of the series) and then other times I was like, "Ah this sounds like a pretty typical soundtrack piece," which was weird to pair with a story like this... again its a very atypically written story so I expected the soundtrack to feel a little off-kilter overall. Not overly done obviously, as the writing is more like an unnerving pull away from the mainstream instead of something that's off-the-walls-crazy, but still... just something that feels "uncomfortably different from what you're used to" should have been the overall feeling of the soundtrack imho.

Whoever was the editor was having a lot of fun! I loved the way they played with sound, how the soundtrack would suddenly cut-off, how the introduction scene of Nan Gam made his chewing gum sound uncomfortably loud for the first few chews... yeah if anything their sound design and the way soundtracks were edited to build and break tension in a scene was good. Good job editor! Also loved the way they visually transitioned between shots. First episode is a great example of this.

I liked the fun zoom ins, I think it added some character to the camera. The character of the camera could have benefited from being visually messier throughtout the series. It does have its shaky camera, and at least one extreme close up but I wanted more. Thats probably more of a personal preference though. [Edited out some comments after a rewatch]

I LOVED however, the way they played with darkness and shadow. Sometimes it felt like it wasn't in good taste, especially when the cinematography was over-saturated as if in post-production they might have realized they made a mistake. (Watching on a different screen has different results for this though) HOWEVER... omg when Lee Tang is just outside the car, lurking in the shadows... in the warehouse when the lights go on and off... the sudden flash of the taser in the car... a few of those scenes really stood out as good use of lighting.

I thought the leads of the show did a pretty good job in acting. They were both bad at fake yawning haha, but the elements of their acting that were important to their characters were well done. I did feel a bit disappointed in Lee Tang as a character, because he is pretty flat. As I said before, he feels like someone anyone could play because he's so stoic like most Kdrama leads played by idol actors. Choi Wooshik is most interesting in characters that have a wider range of emotions because I find him expressive and charismatic. Still, I do think he played Lee Tang well. He did a good job of portraying the subtle changes in Lee Tang and immersing us in the crumbling life of this character. I was kind of hoping that when Nan Gang finally saw Lee Tang in the warehouse, that for a split second they would show Lee Tang in that convenience store uniform because it is SUCH a striking change in character. The way he has changed his aesthetic into that greasy hair, the weight in his expression, how he carries himself, that split-second emphasis through Nan Gang's perspective would have been interesting. It also allows us to feel a connection between the two characters who know each other. I could go on but this is already too long haha. Nan Gang's actor was also pretty good and I came to respect him for this role.

Beware: harsher than necessary point ahead: I may be wrong but it felt like there was a lot of trust in the team. Like maybe things weren't tested or things weren't critiqued that could have been. I respect a team that trusts itself, but I respect more a team that builds that trust through communicating. I first felt like the show lacked communication when I saw the poster. It felt like someone had to pull together shots into something instead of being able to get the team to work together to make a solid poster. There's a few minor details in the acting, that felt like the crew wasn't communicating when a scene was lacking in some way. Like there was a trust in the overall ability of the show and not enough interest in the details that made the show. This is more of a judgement on my end and obviously I wasn't on set so don't take this part of my critique to heart if you disagree.

FINAL THOUGHTS
So yeah I had a good time watching this. I think I'd like to rewatch this in a few years when I've forgotten some details of the show and webtoon.

I couldn't help but criticize the show just because I'd been waiting for it for so long, but I did enjoy it haha. I think I was afraid of it being terrible so I looked for all its faults. Now that ive done that its easier to actually enjoy it in my rewatch. Again, I like it the first time I watched it and Im liking it even more the second time. It really is creatively made and you can see all the hard work that went into it.

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what a long long journey…

my very first reason watching this drama is because of Wang Hedi… he is such a feast for my eyes ??

Bai Lu is pretty. I’m indeed agree with Shan Yan that she is a fairy?

anyway, the drama is a long journey. for the first and last episodes are interesting, but when you are in 20-ish episodes it was starting to bore me. i almost tempted to skipped this but again Wang Hedi is something to look at.

their lack of communications were making me crazy, either the lead or second lead. their problems can always be solved within minutes if only the are talking ? *sigh*.

overall, it’s actually might be your favorite drama as long as you can stay for the whole episodes.

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Rollercoaster

This is called a roller coaster... I'm not a big fan of the omegaverse, but I was curious to see how the story would unfold and I was really pleasantly surprised. It was already clear from the first episode that there would be a lot of action in the story, but I did not expect that the plot would take such a turn. I was ready for something like Love in the air, but although these two series have something in common, there is not much at all.

The chemistry between Babe and Charlie sparkled so much that it blinded everything else around. Their scenes were simply unforgettable and whether they were acting like lovebirds, helping each other, trying to protect each other or fighting, the actors always gave it their all. Behind the scenes videos and fanmeetings are just proof that Pavel and Pooh are a perfect duo and I firmly believe that I will see them in another project soon.

The side couples were also great, but the "side couple steals the show" rule didn't apply here. Babe and Charlie starred in all circumstances. But Way completely won me over. I know what the vast majority feel about him, especially after THAT event, but I stand by the fact that he wouldn't be able to do it anyway.

S P O I L E R >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Way Baba loved sincerely and from his heart. He wouldn't be able to hurt him, and if it went that far by accident, he would never forgive himself and would blame himself for the rest of his life. I don't know anyone who liked him and everyone hated him after THAT event, but I knew he would get his redemption arch and win everyone's hearts in the end. The same goes for Kenta. Kent completely surprised me. A few hours ago I read somewhere the theory that Tony will be stabbed in the back. He did it Literally. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< <<<<<<<<<< END OF SPOILER

I had an inkling of what would come at the end, but it still broke me. The best experience associated with Pit babe was watching episode 8 or 9 on a tablet on the bus.

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What was this ending!?

Oh my God! I'm freaking out!! I mean, the drama was amazing by itself, all the characters, the story, the very well-done war scenario, it was all incredible. BUT THEN, Chae Ok suddenly comes back to life, AND THEN Master Jang appears as another person IN THE FUTURE!?
Is it like a "past life lovers" following the time line? Like... past first then present? No boring flashbacks but a season for each time!? I'VE NEVER BEEN SO EXCITED FOR A SECOND SEASON IN MY WHOLE LIFE!!
I completely loved it, the romance was incredibly well-developed, the historical content was very good and detailed, it made me feel into that time, and sweet Jesus, Jang Tae Sang just give me so much Gatsby vibes!! The 30's vibes with the new money aesthetic, with his wealthy clothes and all... I'm just in love!

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In the Pits

I wanted to like Pit Babe. The racing concept, in particular, was intriguing to me as was the action/mystery aspect of the story. The inclusion of several actors that I was familiar with and liked was equally appealing. However, the more I watched, I found the lack of explanation regarding the plot and characters' actions, the poorly developed relationships, and generally awful script to be a major turn off and by the end, I was more just happy that it was over than anything else.

Pit Babe suffers from a mess of a plot combined with terrible writing. It tried too hard to combine multiple genres and failed to do so in a coherent way. I also found the lack of any kind of explanation for things to be very frustrating. I was aware this was based off a novel, but had never read it or looked into it, so I went in blind. I was immediately slightly confused by the whole Alpha concept which was never explained and which became further confusing with the introduction of Pete and Way as Enigmas. The story is apparently part of what's called the Omegaverse which I had no knowledge of and had to go poking around the internet to even get a basic understanding of what it all meant. That was a major strike against this series. You cannot expect people to have necessarily read the source material so there needs to be some kind of explanation woven into the story to at least give a general idea of what's going on. As frustrating as it all was, I eventually just went with it as I had no intention of doing a lot of extra research that I shouldn't have to do in the first place. Aspects of the "senses" that some characters had was also either not properly explained or not explained at all. Why did some have it and others didn't? How exactly did they work? After Charlie's fake death, the fact that Babe's sense was apparently fluctuating between them was equally left unexplained. Again, there was a lack of explanation in general, and that, combined with a number of fairly glaring plot holes, really took away from the story. The first half or so of the series was plagued with a certain level of repetition with Babe finding out something about Charlie that made him question his feelings and kick Charlie out, go crying to Way who pretty clearly was trying to manipulate him, only to discover that it was either an overreaction on his part or Charlie had hidden some piece of information for a good reason and they would eventually reconcile. Some of Alan and Jeff's interactions also felt a bit repetitive at times towards the beginning though less gratingly. I found the ending to be unsatisfying. Tony's dead but what about all the kids and cleaning up the mess he made? What happens with Kenta and Pete? Instead of answering any plot related questions or attempting to wrap up the story, the last ten minutes or so are mainly NSFW scenes or cute scenes between the two main couples. It felt cheap. The pacing was inconsistent. There were a few moments where it got into a good flow, but those were generally pretty short lived. There were far more moments where it just dragged.

This is yet another Thai series that suffered from an overinflated cast. There were too many characters introduced at once and even by the end I still didn't have all of them straight. Because there were so many characters, there was a tendency at times for characters to disappear for a period of time and then suddenly pop back up. That also didn't help with keeping them straight. A number of those characters proved to be superfluous and could have very easily been cut or condensed into one character to make things more cohesive. Besides the two main relationships of Babe/Charlie and Alan/Jeff, there were several others that were toyed with but never went anywhere which was annoying. North and Sonic was a pairing that was teased and actually could have been made to work but was never confirmed. Pete and Way was a late addition that was somewhat interesting, but too little, too late for me compounded with the fact that given Way's feelings for Babe, I doubted he was ready to move on so quickly. There was also Pete and Kenta's history which could have been used to bring them together, but again, they completely disappeared after Tony's and Way's deaths.
- Babe was interesting initially with his playboy attitude and cockiness, but an underlying current of kindness and though he would deny it, love for his friends/family. All of that immediately gave him a certain depth of character, but his sudden change of character when it came to Charlie was odd. He went from being a playboy to a committed relationship essentially instantaneously. There was little to no reasoning given to what it was about Charlie that made him fall in love aside from the fact he didn't smell like other Alphas. It was instances like this that left characters feeling unrealistic. While his lack of trust was understandable, his back and forth with Charlie got old very quickly and even in the last couple of episodes, the way he said things, the wording he used, made me wonder if he really did love and care about Charlie. Certainly I never got the impression that his feelings were quite as deep as Charlie's.
- Charlie left me with a lot of questions regarding his past and how he got to where he was. There was a lot left unexplained about him in general, including why he didn't smell like other Alphas did and how his sense worked and how he found out how it worked. I didn't find him to be a particularly interesting character. Sure he was cute, he obviously cared about Babe and worked to take care of him, but as a character, he felt fairly shallow. His love and loyalty to Babe seemed to make up most of his personality. But similarly to Babe, it wasn't made clear why he fell in love with Babe aside from physical attraction. Time was not well delineated in this series, but I did find his improvement in racing to be improbable, particularly since it seemed that he was a complete novice and yet in a relatively short period of time he was somehow able to compete with Babe who'd been racing for years.
- Way was a disappointment of a character. He'd "loved" Babe for years, however, it's clear that his love was more an obsession than anything true. He didn't hesitate to use his sense on Babe on several occasions to nudge him in what he perceived as the right direction, namely breaking up with Charlie and remaining alone. Nor did he hesitate to attempt to force himself on Babe eventually and showed more remorse for having been caught than for what he actually did, at least initially. The fact that Pete was so easily able to turn him was implausible to me and it was clear that they were going for a redemption arc which conveniently concluded with his death. It felt shallow, cheap, and poorly executed. I have no issues with a redemption arc if it makes sense with the character and is properly done, but this was not it.
- Alan and Jeff were generically cute, not that that's a bad thing. I did enjoy their relationship and the build up of it. It felt better developed than Babe and Charlie's since they'd worked together and gotten to know each other before they got together, but there was still a bit of that element of what really drew them together. Separately, I appreciated Alan and his care for those under him. He was loyal to a fault and he truly treated the team and those who worked with them as family and my heart broke a little for him at Dean's betrayal and seeing how much that hurt him. While Jeff's sense and how it worked wasn't well explained, he made it sound like he had to actively use it when touching someone and yet there were times when it seemed like that wasn't the case, it did give him the excuse to be a loner and then have Alan be the one to help coax him out of his shell. While not an overly strong character, I did generally like him. He, and Charlie for that matter, could have just disappeared, but instead they stayed behind to fight Tony.
- Tony felt cartoonish as a villain. I never found him to be particularly threatening or scary. It seemed they were going for the kind of character who appears benevolent on the surface with a malicious streak under the surface, but I don't think they successfully brought that out. Certainly he was an absolutely horrible person, but there wasn't enough to him to make him a true threat. There was nothing regarding his history and how he came to power to help give him depth as a character and that was a major failing.

While the plot and writing were definite detractors from this series, the cast made the most of it and they were a highlight. Pavel's acting has improved since I last saw him and despite the inconsistencies of his character, he did quite well and I enjoyed his portrayal of Babe. Pooh was the baby of the cast, I believe, and this was his first role so I wasn't surprised when he didn't quite meet the standards the others. Not that he was bad, he actually did a decent job all things considered, but there were moments where it was obvious that he's quite green. His chemistry with Pavel fluctuated a bit. There were times where I really felt it and others where it seemed hollow. However, I'm chalking that up to the writing more than anything. While I was not a fan of his character arc, I do think Nut did a great job as Way and working with what he had.

There was one aspect of this series that I really liked and wanted to comment on and that was how Babe and Charlie did not conform to the norms when it came to who was top and who was bottom. With most BLs, the more traditionally masculine looking character, i.e. taller, more muscular, etc., is the top and the softer character, i.e. shorter, less muscular, cuter, etc., is the bottom. I liked that it was flipped with Charlie as the top and Babe as the bottom. It was refreshing, particularly the way that it was normalized, no questions asked, it was just the way things were. That is one aspect that more BLs should normalize, not pigeonholing characters' sex position based on appearance or even personality.

The production aspect was overall pretty decent. There were some odd camera angles at times and some awkward jumps, but overall, nothing too distracting or detracting. The action scenes felt amateurish at times and obviously choreographed rather than natural. The music was catchy, but forgettable.

Pit Babe could have been so much more than it was. The racing concept is not one that I've seen used frequently and it was refreshing to be outside the typical high school/college setting, but the poor writing combined with the messy plot and multiple plot holes just made it fall flat. The lack of realistic characters and well developed relationships was another detractor. There were parts of it that I enjoyed, but as a whole, I wouldn't have missed out on anything if I never saw it.

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A love letter dedicated to youth

Ah!... I love romance, I love seeing people falling in love. I loved the couples in this drama. But I gotta say, my most favorite thing here was the group. I loved everything in this drama but I simply ADORED their friendship. I wish I had friends like that in my teen years. Damn I wish I had friends like them today!

This drama made me feel so much nostalgia for my school days. But also, it made me feel sad for not having that for myself. A lot of moments I kinda felt were bittersweet because of that. But I think that's good cuz it's meaningful in a way. Actually this drama can be very deep sometimes. Like in the end of ep 10, all of what Zaizai says about grandmas, but especially the part when she says that she misses her grandma but doesn't dare say it to her father cuz he certainly misses his mom too. It was so beautiful! I almost cried. Other moments and quotes I liked are:
- In ep 19 when Gu Ran wrote a letter to Jiang Jia and he says "all life encounters are reencounters after a long time apart" it resonated to me and I felt it;
- At the end of ep 9, Zaizai says "every existence is meaningful to someone" and that everyone is somehow special for somebody;
- In ep 18, the conversation between Guan Fang and his grandma after her surgery. It made me really feel how time passes and one day we'll have to be the ones taking care of our parents.

Second couple is really cute. I liked them just as much as the main couple. Unfortunately they only get together in the penultimate ep so they had practically no screen time together doing couple things. It was sad bc they had a lot of potential and I really liked them.

ML's parents were the worst, I hated them. The way they treated his younger brother Luli better than Lurang and always put all the blame for anything bad related to Luli on Lurang infuriated me. It was so sad seeing Lurang distancing himself from Luli due to that and Luli sad for not being able to have a brother relationship with him. I just wished that when Lurang become an adult he stopped talking to his parents bc they don't deserve him. Fortunately, they resolved their issues and now they can be brothers for real, regardless of what their parents do to Lurang. And the drama kinda forgets all this plot after the brothers reconcile so we don't know if Lurang still goes through this after graduating.

I missed them as a group in the final eps. They chose to focus on the main couple after graduating from school and the side characters were left aside a little. They could've showed more of the leads's friends after graduating. What they were working or anything in specific. Although I loved them as group in school (and I loved it all for real, the best part of everything) they spent too much time working on their time at school that when they became adults it all felt rushed. The drama lost a little of what made it so special. But it was good regardless of that. It was well-rounded and complete the way it was.

OSTs for this drama were really good. Besides there being many, they really set the tone and energy for each scene. I loved their vibes. And the visuals on the overall are stunning. The opening is so sweet with videos of the group filmed with a recorder. It's all so nostalgic it put me in the right vibe for the eps.

So that was it. I super reccomend this drama if you like slice-of-life youth dramas. It had the perfect amount of romance, friendship, a little bit of found family and healing. What I want to say is that I felt so moved watching this. It was a love letter dedicated to the youth.

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Will enjoy the twists if not for the spoilers

Must mention, the spoilers on this show ruined the experience for me . But had i not known the spoilers open every where on social media i would have definetly been mind blown by the twists this series had. Not one not 2 but many.

Loved the new ans fresh pair babe amd charlie. Charlie is the cutest character i have ever seen any BL. Lie he topped the list of cuteness his silly smile really melted me and ofcourse Babe's hotness is worth mentioning.
What i found really unique about this series is how Babe was so weak for charlie and the storyline got really interesting at times by theintroduction of new plotline.

I felt like i entered expecting someone but later discovered this was something else. The NC scenes must mention were hot the couples stole the show and all the characters were bearable.
Few episodes kinda felt dragged out towards the end but overall it ia a good series and Pavels acting was outstanding throughout loved watching Charlie too. The other couple story line developed a little late but loved their plot too

This is defenitly a series i would re watch only for Babe and charlie's interactions the rest is completely skippable.

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The interaction between the main leads is just so adorable!

Loved all the moments between the main leads. Like the FL said many times, the ML could spout jokes with such a straight face and he was charming doing it. Chen Xiao was such a perfect choice for this character, he was a bit churlish but also sweet.

There that one time when you want to hit him on the head and tell him to go tell her the trust instead of hiding like a coward, but he just behaves like one for a long time. Thankfully, its not that long and we have a smart FL who figures it out.

All the women in this show were so powerful. It was beautiful to watch them focus on success of their businesses. They each had a dream and they found a way to achieve those despite all the obstacles standing in their ways. They even changed things for future.

The scene where the FL gets flogged is so sad, yet somehow added more more meaning to her fight.

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not entertaining enough

i was looking forward to this drama and had high expectations, so it was really sad when i started and it wasn't able to keep me hooked enough to watch all the episodes. the story is interesting, but too slow paced (how can a show that only has six episodes be so slow?), and that doesn't particularly please me. i wanted to know how the story would end and i thought several times about just watch the remaining episodes to finally finish it, but the first episodes failed to make my want to know the story's conclusion strong enough for me to be willing to watch the rest after three boring episodes.

there are many great mystery/thriller dramas out there but this is definitely not one of them.

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Should have been called The Chairman and solely focused on him- maybe it would have been a 10

Despite my initial excitement and high hopes, "Reborn Rich" left me feeling disappointed and underwhelmed. As a dedicated viewer of K-Dramas, I was eager to dive into its storyline and characters, anticipating another captivating addition to my watchlist. However, despite my genuine desire to like it, I couldn't overlook its shortcomings.

From the outset, I found myself struggling to connect with the plot and characters. Especially the main character played by Song Jong Ki. The rest of the cast, though brilliantly consisting of solid veterans in K Drama world, did not have a deft script to give them nuance and flair.

Despite the intriguing premise, the execution felt lackluster, leaving much to be desired in terms of depth and development. Chaebol families have incredible nuance and intrigue that regular families do not have and the fact that this drama failed to exploit this was bewildering. As the episodes progressed, I hoped for improvement, clinging to the possibility that the drama would find its stride. Maybe Song Jong Ki would show some bite , maybe psycho cousin will have more nuance than being 2 dimensionally psycho , maybe the ill inserted romance will find its stride.Unfortunately, my enthusiasm waned as the storyline failed to engage , and the characters failed to resonate with me on an emotional level.

There was a useless thread of a romance that was strangely inserted which also just added a bad taste to everything.

BUT I must mention the incredible Lee Sung Min who played the amazing Chairman.With his commanding presence and nuanced portrayal, Lee Sung Min breathed life into the character of the chairman, elevating every scene he graced with his talent. His impeccable delivery, whether conveying authority or vulnerability, added depth and complexity to the character, making him the most compelling figure in the entire drama. Maybe the drama adaptation should have just focused on the Chairman instead of the grandson.

Overall, "Reborn Rich" is a disappointing K-Drama that fails to deliver on its promise. While it may have had potential, its lackluster execution ultimately makes it forgettable and unremarkable in the crowded landscape of Korean dramas.

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It is a truly beautiful drama.

This was one of the dramas that make it feel close to real life.
-The casting is amazing, like literally the best. The actors did not dissapoint at all. They deliverd all the emotions that was needed.
-The story is pretty good. It is not bad, but could have been better. Especially with the time travel. but despite this it was was a very heartfelt and emotional story. I cried a lot bcos the characters were either relatable or had a very sad story. Especially the main character they had such a sad yet heart-touching romance.
~ Every actor and actresses did a very good job especilly Kim Mi-Kyung. I always love her characters. and Ji Chang-Wook. I
have yet any other dramas with the FL.
~ The only character I despised but ended forgiving is Young-Pil's father. Like it was just annoying seeing him hate everyone
becouse of his pain and grief. Like no one told not to mourn for his late wife, but dening others to mourn was just wrong. But at
the end of it all I was glad that he came around.
~ Don't even get me started with that b*tch Eun-Ju, I hate the character . The actor is good to portray the character for me to
despise this much. But to some extent I feel like she complemented the story, bcos without her Sam-Dal and Young-pil won't
have met each other that soon.
- The ost's were all so good. I particularly love the scene where there were fights and everything would be in slow motion and a song would be playing in the backgroung. It made so entertaining.

Overall this drama was one of the best releases of last yr.
I fell in love with the show. I also enjoyed it.
I would really recommend to others.

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Despite frustrating ending + writing flaws, worth it for the butterflies that the romance provides!

I have watched the previous chinese adaptation "Addicted" of the novel and was curious to see the newest adaptation and how the director and screenwriter will be able to build up this BL relationship while meeting the censorship criteria. Fortunately enough, I think they did a very good job regarding the development of the relationship.

They choose to develop the story in a less toxic way. I liked how toxic it was in the previous adaptation, but here they made it something else and it is as interesting and much more wholesome and candid. They managed to handle the censorship very well: the relationship between the two guys is clearly romantic and with a lot of chemistry despite not being able to show much. Everything is in the subtext, which I really enjoyed.

The downside of the story resides in the last third of the series with a not very inspired resolution to some of the familial conflicts as well as an abrupt ending that felt very much open and which was to me super frustrating. It seems that once again an adaptation of the novel is stopped in the middle of a narrative arc. A season 2 would be more than welcome to conclude better the series but sadly enough, I don't think anything is planned in that respect.

The two actors casted as main leads were really good. They had a great chemistry together and I totally believed in their characters' strong feelings for each other. They managed to convey so much with just their eyes, the looks they were throwing to each other as well as each of their very innocent touching. That's impressive to express so much with so little skinship: every little hints they gave regarding their affections and even more felt like a precious gift to the viewer. The secondary cast was more of a mixed bag in terms of performances.

I enjoyed the production value of this drama. There were a lot of very pretty and memorables scenes between the leads showcasing very well sweet moments between them. I also enjoyed the soundtrack: I liked less the opening song but the other three songs were very solid and such a vibe fitting the romance very well.

I would recommend this to people looking for a Youth BL that really put the focus on developping in a wholesome and believable way the relationship between its main leads. The scenario might be a bit wonky at time as well as the actions of some of the side characters but the main relationships (as well as the two actors acting as leads) is really worth the time invested. Be aware that the ending might be frustrating, but the journey of the romance really offset this point to my eyes.

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Great Synergy but Weak Individually

Perplexing. I really do not know how else to describe this series. It is indecisive yet oddly compelling to watch. The two main leads are strangely engaging together, yet individually, blend into the woodwork as part of the background furniture. This is completely a story of synergy. Honestly, this is a rather low-key drama that is underplayed and relies more on the screenplay than acting. It is surprisingly well written, which is expected as it is a story about a novelist. This is an entertaining story to be sure. Nothing deep but well written. Ironically the side couple provided way more interesting dynamics. This is easy watching.

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