Potentials Wasted & Left a lot to be desired

the first half of the show is pretty soild (for a rom-com) but the second half is boring as hell. i skipped alot just to be done with it. I watched it for PMY but her acting is questionable at some points. Main Male lead's performance was also underwhelming, the second male lead was good tho.
i think what made the second half unbearable to watch (aside from the poorly written script) is that the main characters had no chemistry, the FM and the second lead worked better for me, and it's not for "second lead's sympathy" reasons, they pairing felt refreshing and made up for the chemistry which lacked in the endgame couple. in addition, i think their stories would've made a lot more interesting plotlines and events than what we've been left with. I was surprised by the LGBTQ+ representation but again, something was lacking, much like most of the sub-plotlines, it felt poorly done and toned down.
to put it simple, yet another underwhelming project from PMY.

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Sky Castle turns to The Penthouse S3

The show starts off pretty strong, the acting, story, thrill on MAX! very reminiscent of Sky Castle (A must watch btw!).
However, at some point the plot holes start showing and the show got progressively worse & worse. take the acting for example, it was very got at the first half of the show, but it got worse and worse, i found myself laughing at how bad it was during a couple of scenes, notably by Mi Ho & Ji Ye, when theu cried or they yelled or literally any scene beyond staring into the camera like a fish, they were honestly so bad... like the kind camp rock kind of bad lol

~Now let me break down my thought on some things

1. The investigation:

girl do i have questions
°Why wasn't the husband a prime suspect?
°Why did the police so absolutely no investigation whatsoever?
°In the finale, the detective somehow stopped ignoring the fl's doubts??? and they arrive ~magically- to arrest the husband?? it's so poorly written might as well sit on the floor and beg.

2. The neighbours:
I liked the bitchness of the other moms, again, Sky Castle vibes. They were cruel and absolutely merciless with each other. their dynamics were very hooking. it seems the writer saw that and was like "nah nah let me ruin the one good thing about the show" and suddenly it's garbage. like im sorry how come Na Yong forgave the icy witch who literally drove her to suicide???????? and youre telling me all main female characters suddenly started caring for fl?????? this pushed girl boss✨️✨️ energy ruined it for me.

3. The Female Lead (Mi Ho):
let's👏🏻fucking👏🏻talk👏🏻about👏🏻it👏🏻

one of the worst most boring stupidest fls EVER!
she got on my nerves so bad, every time she gets some sort of information about someone, she confronts them head on! like are u serious girl?? what if one of them was the murderer?? her character was very flat and one dimensional, but considering the fact she couldn't recognise her mum's abuse of her sister, i guess it's very on brand of her to be so blood boilingly oblivious. if you want a smart fl, definitely skip this one.

4. Plot holes/unfinished stories:

*Mi Ho's mum got off wayyyyyy to easy for my liking, there was zero consequences for her when realistically she's the source of all evil on this show.

*Did the ignore the fucking pedophilia??????
I despised the way they handled this issue, and it seems it never got acknowledged by the police either. also, what happened the poor girl (Yu jin's daughter)?? did the writer seriously just send her bad to her grandma??? is that feeding scense supposed to be her happily ever after?????????? the show straight went to below 5 when i saw this scene.

*that cheater didn't meet a harsh enough ending, idk it didn't feel satisfying.

*The little twin SHOULD in fact MUST go to therapy, not be sent to the US. // i honestly hate how very little psychological perspective was taken into account during the making of this show.

*Making the mom who got scammed by the banker mom forgive the scammer is so lame & shows that the writer does not understand how ppl think at all. this one ties back to my point about the girlbossification of every female character in the show, just weird and shallow.

*[this one out of sheer pettiness only so take it with a grain of salt] the Mi Ho's colleage is very annoying, like in real life he'd be the worst person to have for a work partner lmao.

~tbh the only person who i have nothing but positive notes about is Yu Jin, she did the thinggg or whatever Ariana Debose said lol

OVERALL
if you value your sanity, don't even bother. the story had SO MUCH potentials but everything got so messy after the episode when the husband woke up (men stay ruining everything huh?)

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A Realistic Portrayal of Queerness in Conservative Places - NOT a BL

To elaborate on the headline, the story follows a realistic journey of a gay man in a very conservative & bigoted environment such as SK. Despite the curated places in which queer life rejoices, our MC deals with bigotry and prejudiced outlooks on various aspects of his queer experience. Therefore, if you go into it expecting a BL cliché, disappointment will await you. The show has its ups and down, let's dissect.

TRIGGER WARNINGS !!!
Homophobia, Internalized Homophobia, Sexism, Suicide, Suicidal Ideation, Abortion, Prejudice Against HIV Patients, Sexual Assault (IMO), Cancer, Death.

- MC, aka Ko Yeong:
to put it simply, he's a dynamic character. he can be a bit frustrating at times although I personally didn't feel bothered by those situations. for example, when he aggressively turns down the photographer guy, I couldn't help but think he was being needlessly cruel during the act. however, upon observing the following sequence of events, I understood why he choose to be bluntly honest, to the point of cruelty.

Additionally, I loved how unnerved as a person he is. despite the social dilemmas and often times, outright traumatizing experiences he went through, he remaind optimistic. Watching him grow up and mature was such a delight, albeit gut wrenching at times. His growth regarding love and romance was very relatable as most queer people in conservative places struggle with imagining a happy future with a romantic partner, but that doesn't stop the yearning and loneliness which often feasts on the failures of meeting said yearnings.

- Social Commentary:
I'm impressed with how packed the show was with social commentary on several topics within the show, which is mainly why I think it would be unfair to call the show a BL. no offense to BL fans, I like a fair share of them. However, it's undeniable how facetious and fetishising the industry is as a whole. what sets shows such as Love in the Big City and I Told Sunset About You is that they deal with queerness as a reflection and portrayal of real life rather than arbitrary fiction. that aside, the show deals with a plenty of social taboos, not only concerning queerness, for example:

* Feminist issues: the show has a healthy dose of discussion regarding sexism and feminism, from the shaming of sexually liberated women to abortion to misogyny. although I think more could've been done, the little we got was appropriate and left space for discussion and reflection. ~8/10

* Religious bigotry against homosexuality in a way that mainly focuses on queer people's truama rather than exposing the hypocrisy of religious bigots, which is what I encounter more often. interestingly, we've encountered two very different portrayals of homophobia caused by religion. the first instance being the editor boyfriend whose shame and internalized homophobia pushed him into living a double life. in one, he doesn't deny himself the carnal pleasure of sexual intercourse with Yeong whereas in the other, he viciously contributes to the abundance of bigoted ideologies cemented in academic spaces, something that I personally think is sinister considering SK's hyperfixation on education and pretentious academic achievements. The second instance is Yeong's mum who went from sending her son to conversion therapy to slowly accepting him. Although there was no scene in which they talk it out, I am satisfied with that since change doesnt happen overnight and she clearly didn't have the time to sit it down and deconstruct her prejudice, yet she did give her son the closure he needed in a final act of love. 9/10

* HIV:
This one might be the heaviest imo. the show fleshes out the soical reception of HIV's patients and how prejudice against them is integrated into the fabric of every aspect of life, even queer spaces. we see how Yeong's diagnosis affected his relationship with almost everyone and everything, from potential lovers to friends to work to travel. I think this one is an enough reason to watch the show. so incredibly well done. ~10/10
(regarding the sexual assault trigger warning, proceeding to have unprotected sex with someone and giving them an STD/STI while knowingly being actively reckless with others, is sexual assault in my opinion.)

*Mental Health:
there was an attempt. I don't think it's one of the most impressive or well-done I've seen but it was good enough to deliver the point and delay the emotions of the characters to the viewer. I think they quickly moved from the suicide of the photographer, although they did a good enough job addressing Yeong's attempt. I'm unsure whether i would've liked it better had they spent more time delving into the mental stuggles that queer people go through in a highly difficult environment such as Seoul, nonetheless, I'm satisfied with what we got. 7/10

- The Friendships:
MC's friendship with Mi Ae is quite impressive considering that majority of depictions of the friendship between gay men and straight women almost always fall into either fetishising the man or simplifying the woman. Contrary to that, Yeong and Mi Ae's friendship showcases a true bond and platonic love for one another.

Yeong's squad, although I wish we got a closure of them reflecting on their prejudice against HIV patients, I loved their bond and how they showed up for each other. In places where queerness is condemned, having a safe space and safe people who share, love and relate to one another in crucial and it shows during the series.

- The Romance:
very realistic which is why I think the show dropped in ratings here lol. we didn't get the rosy, once in a lifetime love story which we're used to in BL and other queer productions, instead we went through the motions of a young gay man's search for love and companionship. there were times when honesty might've saved the situation but it also might've created a deeper resentment between them. it's a series filled with "what if". I found myself wondering what if Yeong did this or his partners did that, hoping for a "better" outcome, which is sadly very reminiscent of real life.

ultimately, I think the outcome of each of Yeong's relationships was realistic, although depressing.
*the photographer: he can't force himself to love someone even if in his mind, he knows that person is good for him.
*the influencer: ironically, Yeong reaped what he sowed.
*the editor: Yeong can't fight the editor's battles with internalized shame and homophobia for him, it was a dead-end from the start.
*Gyu Ho: even if on paper, they could've worked, it was a bundle of social systems that wrecked their dyncamic. I think of their relationship as an example of "the one that got away", they both weren't growing in the same direction unfortunately.
*Habibi: idk how to describe their "relationship" other than a rebound.

Honorable mentions:
- the acting is very good! I can't wait to see more from Nam Yoon Su.
- love the T-ara songs lol.
- the cinematography is good.
- explicit scenes aren't a cringe fest, hooray ig.

THE ENDING:
open ended. I have no problems with open ended projects if done well, which is what we have in this case. some might be unsatisfied with where the events stopped. However, I enjoyed the growth and developments that we witnessed and as I think the show is realistic, it was yet another aspect of realism. we can't conclude the story just yet, life continues.

OVERALL:
such an amazing show where more could've been done but it ultimately left the door open for interesting conversations. it might be disappointing if you look at it idealistically, but realistically it is very well done.

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