Through ep 5/8. Struggles with writing (dialogue, plot, and characters), acting, music, and heavy-handed makeup. It comes off like it's trying really hard but has ended up campy.

Max and Nat do have good chemistry, but that's not enough for me to think positively of this series.

Possible trigger warning if you've ever been in an emotionally abusive relationship, or with a narcissist, or someone who uses an illness to compell you to stay with them.

The script is juvenile. Dialogue is shallow, cliche, repetative, and awkwardly unnatural. Like, "Don't overthink things. It's probably nothing to worry about... You should take this time to really think about your feelings and things." But you just said to stop thinking? *Facepalm.

The plot is convoluted and requires a ridiculous amount of suspension of disbelief. There's a lot of generic/bad elevator music and it's really obvious in spots.

The main character Yi is a compulsive manipulator. It casts an uncomfortable shadow on all the romantic scenes thus far; it feels more like purely selfish coercion. Because of Yi's long-standing and blatent disregard of Khondiao's mental and emotional well-being, it's difficult for me to enjoy the pressured-seduction heavy plot (which is a trope I often enjoy). More on this under the "general spoilers" section at the bottom of review. I really didn't like the emotionally abusive way Yi treated Khondiao in Cutie Pie and he's just as bad here. Though he's supposedly trying to make up for his horrible past treatment, Yi's current approach still includes lies and misdirection, and is not respectful or even thoughtful of Khondiao. *His actions, both previous and current, do not match his sweet words.*

Nat shows some potential as an actor and I'd really like to see what he can do if given a decent script. I most enjoyed the moments when his character starts showing some backbone and pushing back. There's a fire behind his eyes that makes those moments engaging.

Max's acting hasn't improved from Cutie Pie. He postures a lot and his emotions stay on the surface in almost everything he does. In other words, he's not good at pretending. He doesn't internalize and embody what his character experiences.

I am impressed with NuNew; how he manages to infuse such sincerity into his few, inanely-written lines here is beyond me, lol.

Now onto the emotional (and sexual) manipulation. GENERAL SPOILERS below.
If Yi doesn't remember any of his relationship with Khondiao, then it's so not romantic for Yi to all of a sudden start getting heavily sexual with Khondiao. The audience may know that Yi's miraculously and quickly gotten his memories back, but Khondiao doesn't because Yi is purposefully keeping that from him. From that perspective Yi is just a guy, with no emotional attachment, trying to get into Khondiao's pants. And going after that hard. Yi forces attention on Khondiao, and while Khondiao tries to put up boundaries, he keeps relenting to the seduction and sweet-sounding words because he's trauma-bonded and co-dependant on Yi, thinks he loves him, and is touch-starved. When really, there has been nothing redeeming about their relationship for years (or ever).

The approach written for Yi to take in this series is not putting things to rights in a way that is at all respectful to Khondiao. I can't believe Yi truly loves him. To me there is nothing sweet in that dynamic.