Encapsulates the best kind of kdrama feelilngs

I really enjoy the lead characters and their journeys individually and together as friends and as a couple. The conceit of the gaming mechanics guides them to grow their relationship organically. I really like how though there are general goals and issues to resolve, it's still up to Myung Ha how he proceeds and how he treats Yeo Woon and everyone else. It's so refreshing to see the two actually spend time as a couple and that they have the tasteful amount of kisses and physical intimacy. The handholding is always so warm and cute.

The opening episodes while Myung Ha is learning the ropes of his situation are so hilarious and I love how the stakes are tangible and that's what drives the angst rather than ridiculous misunderstandings that a lot of other stories drag out the story with, no matter the run time. I really like how the internal lore explains the situation that Myung Ha is in as well. I love how the ending lets both Yeo Woon and Myung Ha make their own choices, such a lovely ending of second chances to live life with love, romantic, platonic, and familial.

The show has very nice editing, sound, lighting, and cinematography, being cinematic without being distractingly ostentatious. The show definitely makes the best use of it's probably small budget. At 8 episodes and half hour runtime, the show makes use of every second and is streamlined to all the most important parts of the storytelling. This does mean only lightly delving into the side characters and the stalker subplot, but it doesn't detract from the story at all. I'm here for the main characters and there is enough character interactions with the others to build the world.

The pacing is fantastic and the developments makes it very easy to binge like all the best of kdramas are. Definitely worth a watch for anyone in search of a good drama.

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Bait and switch premise

The show has a brilliant visual and romantic chemistry match up with Victoria and Song Wei Long as He Fan Xing and Yuan Song, but their relationship is basically relegated to being an afterthought side story that also has to share time with a litany of various side stories and you wouldn't even know Song Wei Long is the male lead as his screen time is more like that of a supporting role while a whole other character is treated like the male lead and is the one that spends most of the time with the female lead. I hope Victoria and Song Wei Long will star in different drama that
does legitimately feature both of them as the actual leading screen partners throughout the whole show.

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One step forward, two steps back

It's nice to see Chinese bl, especially costume wuxia drama with a reasonable budget find it's way to being made uncensored through international cooperation and online distribution, but it's also going backwards to the time before the complete ban on Chinese bl that had a ton of romanticized domestic assault. I know that this story is already toned down from the original story, it would have been great if it was just removed entirely. Just Huai-en murdering innocent people and chopping hands off in a blind rage got the point that he's messed up just fine. There's already plenty of interesting psychology to explore with all the birth secrets and horrific way Huai-en was raised. The chaotic doctor guy was fun and I think it's good there wasn't too much of him and his childhood lover minion guy, but the scenes that they had could have been better expressed than they were.

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Yes man vs No man

Both lead characters Jin Woo and Ki Sub are very neurodivergent coded with very different coping mechanisms in relation to their respective family members that are directly responsible for raising them. Jin Woo being an isolated regimented perfectionist out of from his childhood habit of earning perfect scores to hopefully get his father's attention to spend time with him. Somewhere along the line he's shifted to thinking that he will never have his father love him more than his father loves his work, but he continues living life the way he always had with everything precisely planned out. Ki Sub never turns anyone down so as to not disappoint them, but he does so anyways when whatever he agreed to inevitably falls apart because he doesn't care like the other person does, which includes relationships with both women and men. He has a mysterious heart condition that his school doctor or nurse sister has been monitoring him for since he was a child and he never wanted to create conflict with her, so just agreeing to everything asked of him. Whatever it is, the show never goes into, but I truly hope his love is truly the miracle medicine needed for his heart to heal.

Ki Sub went through life sublimating all of his desires, but his subconscious seemed to finally fight back with the timeline of spending time with the person he's been unconsciously crushing on since he started college before he immigrates to the U.S. It's absolutely unhinged the way he barges into Jin Woo's home and life. It's interesting how Ki Sub immediately points out Jin Woo likes him and asks him why he won't confess and Jin Woo has witnessed all of Ki Sub's campus confession acceptances and heartbreaking to know where it goes to not want to confess. Ki Sub going through Jin Woo's things is extremely rude too and not right to do and his contract making can be seen as a desperate move he's doing to stay close to Jin Woo before his brain and heart finally connect the dots as to the reason why. His consistent presence is something Jin Woo actually needed, that Ki Sub isn't just going to accept his confession without any meaning. Thanks to modern technology and the culture of filming people without the consent, which also yikes, Ki Sub can see himself outside of his own body how he looks at Jin Woo. He's so used to seeing how people look at him when they like him, he can finally understand what his own feelings are.

Kim Hye Jin is the bi and self aware queen who becomes besties with her perfectionist habit twin Jin Woo who called Ki Sub out on behalf of her friends and crushes and finally finds someone of her own. No notes. Meanwhile Balg Eum is a self conscious wreck to the point that he lashes out physically and emotionally at In Ho he never deserved being abandoned wordlessly in high school and definitely not being treated so violently when he finds Balg Eum again. With the way Balg Eum was punching In Ho, it was like the latter betrayed him or something, but the poor guy was innocent of everything! Balg Eum was just embarrassed that his family is bankrupt while In Ho's seem to be financially stable enough for him to pursue piano and he can afford to buy an expensive watch as a gift in present day too. Though it's not delved into, he could have just saved up for it too, we don't get to know too much about In Ho except that he truly loves Balg Eum unconditionally. I'm glad Balg Eum became self aware at last that it's his own ego problem and he definitely needs time and distance to be a better person, but he really put In Ho through hell. He wasn't even working so much to pay off debt for his family, it was just to save up money to save face for when he one day meets up with In Ho again.

Although Jin Woo and his father finally come to an understanding that the latter threw himself into work as a coping mechanism for the grief of losing his wife and Jin Woo's mom, it was also such a heartbreaking moment when his father offers going home to spend time with Jin Woo and both understand it's too late and not what either needs anymore. It was so civil and such a crushing blow to the heart. Jin Woo is already all grown up, lives on his own, and now has Ki Sub as his companion to enjoy and experience life with. I hope he and his father figure out a way to connect differently eventually. Although we don't get a meeting scene between Jin Woo and Ki Sub's sister, Ki Sub made it pretty clear who is the one that makes his heart beat and calm, so he's pretty much out to his sister and I'll take his word for it that his family is happy for him to make decisions for his own happiness. Jin Woo and Ki Sub's public New Years celebration kiss and no one making any sort of deal about it is so sweet. The little epilogue that they have crossed paths before in high school as they walked in opposite directions during winter time is a lovely little closer too. They always had a magnetic pull towards one another even with a brief glimpse that probably neither even remembers.

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Dull Paradox

The first four episodes follows Lee Tang bumbling his way into being an accidental vigilante with an uncanny ability to kill people that turn out to be murderers or other vile offenders while leaving no evidence of the kills is the most kinetic and interesting comparatively to the second half of the series which pretty much grinds to a screeching halt to focus on the beleaguered detective and delusional serial killer with Lee Tang running hiding from the police as a b story. What a waste of time to not develop and focus on the guy with the supernatural powers who can identify actually guilty people upon contact, even a brush through layers of winter clothing. There's gratuitous, explicit nudity as well, one of which is for a crime.

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Poor Opening

There is a fine line between expressive and over acting and the actress that plays Ah Young has annihilated that line and needs to take it down 5000 notches. The character is also immediately very annoying, turning off the tv that someone's in the middle of watching to hit on them, daydreaming and impeding traffic with her car stopped on the road but of course gets away with it because the cop that stops her knows her and she continues to take a phone call while standing in the middle of the road after he drives off. She literally writes herself in as a y/n character of course under the guise of saving Woo Bin. I feel so bad for this guy getting physically harassed by her. It was nice to see her be separated from him once Rebecca writes the police guy Myung Hwan in as her husband and probably his partner as their kid to distract her. It's weird that he's the only one that didn't get to return to his police officer job and is suddenly running the beachside book store. This drama randomly has the most explicit sex scene in recent non Netflix kdrama years.

It was a terrible struggle to get through all of her scenes even with the short half hour plus run time of a mere 6 episodes. This could have been way more enjoyable with a good actor with better acting skills, but this isn't that. It still has an interesting premise that they tease at the end could be expanded upon. I hope if they do it will be better cast with competent actors as the lead.

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Doesn't deliver on the deal

The best of the series is that Song Kang plays the part of an ethereal being (Gu Won) who can convince people in desperation to sign demon's bargain very well and handles both the emotional and humorous parts of the story compellingly and delightfully, whereas his co-lead Kim You Jung does not play a convincing 28 to 32 year old age range CEO (Do Hee) at any point in the story, with no gravitas, charisma, or authoritative aura. She is pretty miscast, the role would have been better served by an actor that's actually around that age or can play up that age. The writing for Do Hee and the show as a whole is not that much better, with her being morally repelled on things based on the needs of the writer in that moment rather than as anything that she particularly stands for consistently or confronts to change her mind. Part of the reason for this is probably because the show itself doesn't want to examine too closely how Gu Won enables a lot of evil doing in the span of a decade in exchange for taking the soul as well as damning desperate kind people to hell. It seems that he may have a choice, but that's a dangling plot thread never fully addressed. There's so many and I'll touch on some in a bit. Both the actress and writing does better for Wolshim, which would have made sense if she could have brought in a bit more of that character's strength of will into her modern day incarnation being as they are the same soul, but it doesn't happen.

There is also a lack of chemistry between Gu Won and Do Hee, which could be overcome if the characters had connection, but the writing doesn't develop that nor does it define the rules of it's supernatural world and it's stakes very well. People go to hell, but what that entails isn't explained. What was Gu Won's experience of hell? How did fisherman guy get out to reincarnate to make the same deal again and how did he become Gu Won's butler? Is the sentence in hell temporary or does it depend on the crime? Do people of all faiths go to the same hell? Or does it only apply to people in the Catholic faith? The reasoning between how the transfer of Gu Won's power to and from Do Hee occurred is also ill defined and then also did nothing with the premise of him dealing with life without his powers. It's merely an inconvenience as he still has access to it through Do Hee and he's also very financially secure with his art foundation where he also lives and also really just so the character would hold hands, but nothing more that affects Gu Won on a deeper level.

At this point, every kdrama has a serial killer plot and so does this one. I thought the ambiguity between the actual mastermind being son Do Kyung or the father Seok Min at first to be a good way to keep the sense of mystery, but they reveal who it was way too soon and Seok Min is just the stock over the top villain afterwards. It was weird how at the end of the drama they show a scene remembered by the mom Se Ra about Do Kyung and her like they were a relationship the show cared about all along, but they weren't. There were extremely extraneous sub plots that did nothing to service the story as well like the sister Soo An being extremely jealous and obsessed with Do Hee and the entire mafia that is obsessed with Gu Won. The weren't even useful in finding the other killer's identity as the police did that just fine. Ga Young's obsession with Gu Won was also really annoying more than anything. There is also nothing to build on her current relationship with Gu Won aside from being his actual stalker that even the show called out. They aren't even shown as friends but at the end it's supposed to be touching that he says goodbye to her. She tried to get his wife to take poison pills. If all these subplots weren't used to develop or parallel the main characters as people then everything is so mind numbingly surface level and wasted screentime and storytelling potential.

The ending is so frustratingly lazy. There is zero reason for Do Hee to block the shots for Gu Won. The show didn't even try to make it work by making them magic bullets that can kill a demon or something. It's just something to force Gu Won to make a decision that causes his combustion. The way he's brought back is also extremely anti-climactic. So it was because he won a deal with God, but why didn't that just immediately kick in? Why three years? Why did god have the wait three years? Everything is so arbitrary and meaningless. I initially had a slightly higher rating for this drama, but the more I think about it, the worse it really is. To end on a positive, there is one storyline that the drama actually did good on and it is Chun Sook, Do Hee's adoptive mother. The actress played the conflicting love and guilt toward Do Hee so well and the mystery of what she did had a full circle connection back to Gu Won. Her memory of seeing Gu Won collect on Do Hee's dad's deal was a great reveal. The timing of withholding and revealing this information was good too. She felt like a full person despite the shorter amount of screen time compared to the other characters. Again potential for the drama to be better is always there, but they always kept going in the opposite direction.

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Atypical Kdrama

Right off the bat I enjoy the casting of the main leads for Gwi Ju and Da Hae. I like how Jang Ki Yong is playing against his usual cool guy role, being a dorky regular Joe Gwi Ju who has the mushroom/coconut hair. Chun Woo Hee is effervescent as Da Hae who gives off this endearing charm where it's understandable how people are drawn to and trust her. I love how both of the actors ground even a silly funny reactions so that they aren't cringey, which includes the bickering which is usually a fast forward moment in other dramas. I love the scene where Da Hae goes off to con a fourth husband in order to shake of Gwi Ju. She shows off her full con mode, she's very effective but Gwi Ju doesn't have any jealousy or anger or is even phased. Which was a preview version of later when he finds out she faked her death in an attempt to save him. He was angry and confused, but he just embraces her as soon as he realizes why she did what she did. Their chemistry is so good! Of the extended cast, Kim Geum Soon is really impressive as Baek Il Hong, Da Hae's loan shark turned adopted mom. She's fantastic at keeping her motives ambiguous as to whether she's sincere or a plot, whether she loves Da Hae or she's a cold hearted crime boss who will collect on Da Hae's due.

The writing for the most part is really good. The writing for this show actually understands how to withhold and reveal information with impact. They play with the expectations of the powers really well from the evolution of Gwi Ju being able interact with past Da Hae, to her revealing to him things his future self did but the audience aren't sure if she's lying or not and she's able to use this in a actual lie as well, to her simultaneously interacting with both past and future him, and how he's saved. The flower scene is probably the most trippy time travel event of the whole series, because she didn't lie but he also didn't buy the flowers until his future self gave them to her. Ina's friend/bully doesn't even know that Ina has the power to read minds when she looks into people's eyes but was unknowingly able to use it to mentally bully Ina. Da Hae is able able to flip Man Huem's fatalist viewing of her negative dreams into a reinterpretation of the events into a positive outcome, building on what her fellow regular human father in law Man Seok has been doing to make the positive dreams come true. Man Seok seeming like she was tricking Il Hong about a vision about seeing the daughter she lost (the one that died while she was in prison) grown and alive but actually was about embracing Da Hae who faked her death hit me so hard in the heart.

The weakest part of the writing is Dong Hee's storyline and struggle with eating and body image. Dong Hee was used a comic relief character when she was heavyset and then suddenly she's just all serious when she's lost the weight again. The optics of that is really suspect to say the least. I could see there was the intention of wanting to convey the reasoning behind Dong Hee not being able to fly was not actually her physical weight, but the crushing mental insecurity and regret, but I don't think the story conveyed that as well as it can be. Then the other weak parts was the unnecessary teasing of the scumbag doctor by Da Hae and Grace that causes him to push her out the window and then him being the one to cause the foreseen school ire that forces Gwi Ju to time travel to the past feels forced. It's like they just transferred all of Dong Hee's cartoony nature into him just to move certain plots along.

The conclusion is lovely though. It turns out Da Hae and Gwi Ju definitely got frisky at least once at some point because they have a son at the end and it's so beautiful that her child is who brought Gwi Ju back to the safety of the future. I thought it was funny that they didn't show Ina's face in the future, only that she has long hair. Her actress was probably actually around 11 at the time playing a 13 year old while all the class mates were played by 14 or 15 year olds which makes her look as small as possible, so I understand how it would be hard to age her up. They should have cast an older kid so she could reunite with her dad too. Overall the drama was very enjoyable to watch and it's always great to see kdrama try to do something different and mostly succeeding.

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A sweet show that takes too long to get to

The first six episodes is an awful slog to get through and doubly so when watching from week to week. The writing treats the audience like people who have never seen a television show before and the misunderstanding goes on forever. 6 episodes, which exactly half a span of the show is way too long to get to the relationship and very unfortunately probably soured a lot of interests in it. I quit watching it as it aired as well and came back to complete much later. I did enjoy watching the characters once the relationship started proper. I love Sun so much, she's not relegated to passive love interest, but she's very in tune with her feelings, communicates everything to the people around her, asks for advice, and apologizes when needed. She's kind and her popularity makes sense. Ongsa is capable of being spicy when she's lost in her comfort zone with Sun, leaving behind her neurotic defeatist self, as is Aylin at the end. Oooh girl that kiss melted Luna completely. I really like how the show models patience and understanding for neurodivergent Aylin. Her room is pretty cool as well. Ton continuing to pursue Charoen despite her repeatedly saying she's not interested being played for laughs is not funny at all. I hoped this drama would be much better than it was, but alas it's not.

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Competent Housemates/Colleagues to Lovers RomCom

One of the strengths of this series is that both JaeYoon and JiHoon have individually defined character arcs that are influenced by the other. There is no secondary couple or plot, so everything is focused on the two main characters with a supporting cast that fills out the rest of the world as needed. The funny moments did make me laugh when they occurred, which is sprinkled in here and there like most kdramas.

JiHoon's preference for good shower pressure is actually pretty relatable. Despite playing up his spoiled brat persona to the hilt and got a nepo assignment, he's actually a competent team manager and can be quite observant and mature, being the first one offer a truce to JaeYoon and not even be mad at the concussion he sustained from his employee/landlord and having zero issue when JaeYoon drunkenly reveal love woes about a man. JaeYoon doesn't put up enough boundaries to either of his so called friends, both taking advantage of him in their own ways. The comparatively worse one being SeungSeok who JaeYoon is in love with and is aware is using him to buy all sorts of unnecessary and not good quality things, but continues to allow it like a moth to a flame. JaeYoon does start drawing boundaries as a landlord with his pesky new tenant and later no longer letting himself be used anymore after JiHoon helps him fully question how he's been treated.

Some memorable funny moments were when way before they realize their feelings for each other and JiHoon first starts patting JaeYoon's hair, looking into his eyes and thinking "I'm starting to get the feeling I'm going to get my annual raise." and later a heartbroken drunk JaeYoon finds an abandoned pig plushie next to his fallen fork which he leans against the plushie that he starts babbling his heart out to, a scene where JiHoon finds and takes both home and sets the plushie nicely with the rest of the apartment decor. I like how JaeYoon ups his styling game so dramatically after officially dating JiHoon that suddenly all the office ladies finds him attractive and JiHoon is all upset like "He's my boyfriend and I can manage to stay calm, why are ya'll making a fuss???" and tries so awkwardly to block BitNa from giving those ladies any information about JaeYoon.

It feels like they barely dated for a day before JaeYoon finds out that JiHoon is the president's son and breaks things off unilaterally and retreats to his parent's seaside restaurant. JiHoon's a new flashback to their happier dating times seems to indicates more time had passed between their dating and break up though. They should have put a longer montage to indicate that if so. We finally get JiHoon's full back story explaining why he had basically given up on his dreams, losing himself in partying and womanizing. It's nice that he decides to quit and start his own company, but that was pretty presumptuous to turn in JaeYoon's resignation as well without discussing with him first to start their own company. And not even offering co-ceo position to his man and they have another employee that interrupts their spicy lovey dovey work argument anyways.

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A varied ride

I really like the opening credit sequence. The editing of the sound effects with walla interwoven with the music then with the visuals of color and light splashes over the various sequences is really energetic and cool.

Pavel is the standout performer as Babe with a nice emotional range, charismatic screen presence, and a fully committed performance. He is the best part of the entire show. I really love the confidence he gives Babe, not just as a racer, but of Babe in his own skin as a person. His emotional moments are very well done, it's so nice to see an appropriate response to the intensity of the respective situations. He shows the emotions in his eyes and expressions so nicely. Paval carries the scenes he's in and I really hope to see him in future productions with acting partners on at least a similar level of skill to play off each other. Babe does have insecurities in terms of his relationships with other people stemming from the betrayal from both his bio dad and adopted dad, and later from his best friend which I'll touch on later.

The acting of the rest of the cast range from hit or miss to extremely distractingly green without enough directing to steer them. The second lead who plays Charlie in particular is so lost and needs more direction to go further from just acting cute and with a pouting voice ALL of the time regardless of what the scene is about. It got tiring a few episodes in when it was clear there was no further modes to the character. There are so many scenes where it's supposed to be emotional and Babe is bringing it, but Charlie is giving nothing. The character is also already written so one dimensionally with no purpose outside of being with Babe that it would have given him some bare minimum pathos if his interest in racing was genuine and worked to be good at it. I really watched all the way to the end hoping there would be an improvement once the reveal about his true intentions kicked in, but no change.

The intimate scenes seem to be well coordinated. I'm curious to know if they employed a coordinator, but however it was done like through a scripted breakdown and the director discussing ahead with the actors, there was a clear plan and choreography for every sequence. It's tastefully done even though sometimes it seems like it skirts the line between artistic choice and self-censorship with more freedom in the uncut version. It would have been great if the same level of attention were given to the fight scenes which the actors did their parts very well, but the filming and editing really needed to cheat the angles better to make everything look more believable, which again not the actors fault at all.

The regular sets of Babe's house with the wild interior design of the automobiles and faux broken concrete walls, americana-esque bar, and racing garage were pretty nice. Way's and Alan's house were shockingly expensively looking as well, no wonder Dean is extremely mad he's not getting into the big races because it looks like it pays extremely well. The most hilarious set was the hotel that Kim was staying with the murder scene level amount of blood in the bathroom but Kim is not bleeding anywhere. I guess we can assume it was blood from whoever Kim was fighting off, but nothing in the show indicates that.

The show is the strongest in the first few episodes and then proceeds to lag and drag on the plot points with very surface level coverage of the story and implications. I'm not gonna talk about them all, but I have to talk about Babe and Way's storyline which had a lot of time paid to it, yet still oddly fumbled at the same time. There is a tantalizing scene where Babe tells Alan that Way has been making him feel like he's not worthy of love by telling him that others only want to take advantage of him. It's so fascinating that he realizes that Way has been doing something toxic like that. Way is so certain that Babe must have noticed him being in love with him all these years. There is so much for these two to actually confront each other about. Then the scene where Way attacks Babe was fully horrific and is the most affecting scene from the terror in Babe's reactions to him being immobilized, realizing Way has powers, realizing his best friend has betrayed him, and being assaulted all at once. Serious kudos to Pavel's acting in this scene. You would think after this there would be a huge showdown between the two to air out their years and years of history which includes the shared trauma of being adopted and abused. Way gives an apology followed really quickly by his sacrifice, which he should have had some blood on his face for the severity of his wounds. Babe cries and tells Way that he loves him, after Way is dead which is really ridiculous and funny, he didn't tell Way what way wanted to hear a second earlier when he still could. Pavel's performance is really good, just an odd decision in the writing/directing. Babe being open to him and Way returning to their friendship was a really great opportunity for them to have a much needed deep conversation that would hit on the major themes brought up as supposedly important to the story, but it's such a huge missed necessity that the show didn't bother to do.

A few odds and ends that again does not encompass everything else, Kenta and Pete's story only showed up towards the end, but the set up of their emotional connection and stakes was one of the more interesting ones after Babe and Way. Sadly they didn't get time to finish their story. Kim's whole plot just randomly stops as well. I'm really glad that Jeff who gets paired off with Alan is at least 20, though the power imbalance of his boss constantly disrespecting that he's already said he doesn't like being touched is pretty gross.

Overall, the show had the parts to be better, but wasn't utilized to it's potential.

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Contrived soap within the guise of a modern drama

This is a bridge lakorn style drama, which is a hybrid with elements to appeal to the different generation of tv watchers. I have yet to see one nails the two tones right and this drama is the worst of the ones I've seen so far. Just because it's part soap, doesn't give it undue lenience to be badly done. The premise of the misunderstanding is dragged on for way too long, past the point of sympathy for the Meena. It's actually really creepy that she claimed to be a strangers girlfriend in the first place even if she meant well and it's just way worse the longer she did it but that's just not questioned, just shrugged off by everyone. It did more damage than harm and not in any way that added to the story. The way the show went about extending her lie is frustratingly forced with a sudden interruption every time or she changes her mind, even when the situation makes no sense to keep up the lie to a particular person. Her entire storyline is just consumed dragging out this lie for one excuse or another while making moves on the brother she has the hots for without making things clear to either men. Nothing else goes on for her character to develop. She literally never comes clean to a single member of the family of her own accord. Everyone just conveniently accidentally learned the truth or was told by someone else. So her arc was that she was lonely and wanted a man and lied a whole bunch and got a man with his eventually big loving family, everything she wanted.

I feel a lot of sympathy for the way Than was emotionally abused and bullied by the adopted mother and brother his entire life since his birth father died saving him. He loves his adopted family very much, but very much enabled Arthit's toxic behavior as well as aggressively went after a woman he thought was dating his brother long before he accidentally found out she's actually available. That's never questioned either. The way that he's treated by his mom and brother to the point of a very self harm idealizing sounding message at his adopted father's cremation ceremony is only ever heard by Cathy and not dealt with in the drama.

Cathy turned out to have the most well rounded arc despite not being a lead. The Meena role looked and felt like it would fit the actress Jan very well, especially with her being age appropriate for the part if they didn't want to make the characters in mutually consenting adult age gap relationship which would have been great if it was, but other than that Cathy is probably the best role in the whole show. She started off as not valuing herself very well with Arthit who treated her poorly. She was desperate enough to go along with his twisted scheme to destroy his brother, she actually saw Arthit for the scum he is and played him while helping Than who she sees is a good guy and very good at his import work. He's already a great collaborator even before she sees him as a possible romantic partner. She manipulated Meena into fooling Than and sent the message to the mom with her last straw broken, but actually had the self awareness to feel bad for what she's done. She gains self respect, not getting back with Arthit though she is cordial with his attempt at becoming a better person. Go Cathy!

Arthit has the most unearned redemption arc of the series. He is selfish, spoiled, and enabled by his whole family and even Than, but even beneath that he has a cruel, unhinged nature with a near sociopathic tendency to hide behind a mask of kindness while taking extreme pleasure to torture Than just to see him be miserable and less than him. This is definitely never addressed and too deeply entrenched to believably be changed by Than getting hit by a car in place of him. They never show a single moment where he ever lets up being the biggest douchebag and show kindness or brotherhood to Than that would be that glimmer of hope that would allow for such a drastic change in a short amount of time.That second hit and run is pretty ridiculous too, it makes no sense for Than to swivel Arthit out of the way to take his place. The scriptwriter just needed it to happen and couldn't think of a sensible way. Like every time Meena conveniently gets interrupted.

The second most unearned redemption arc is the mother, they have Arthit say that Than took a lot of the blame for the shenanigans Arthit was up to when they were younger, but that woman hated Than from the start for no reason. He was literally freshly orphaned and she treated him like a cockroach. Arthit learned a lot of that from her too. Her son lying and Than getting hit by a car is not enough for her to believably turn that switch to loving mother. They never showed any moment from her towards Than to build up to this ending

The second couple with the two university kids Alan and Khaotung were so childish they might as well be in high school. The non consensual photo, video, kissing, all just played for laughs and "cuteness". The most disposable storyline. Alan's relationship with his brothers is more interesting. He's the youngest and grew up better with Than's influence while still spoiled by his mother. Than and Alan have the closest familial relationship. Arthit and Alan barely interact besides the former bribing the latter, which already says a bit, but it would have been interesting to explore more.

The character of Than's adopted father was gone too soon from the show. He could have been the source from which moments of redemption of love for Than could have been sown before he kicks the bucket. Character development across the board was sorely lacking, the time wasted on furthering the misunderstanding until the last episode and suddenly they wed. There's no sufficient time to reconcile the characters at all. Even if they didn't do set up for love before the lie, they could have done work for them to bond after instead of random road accident, coma, and wedding.

I initially thought that it would be an older woman, younger man dynamic, but it seems like the main characters all seem to be around the same age. It's never addressed and it's distracting, but it's the least offensive out of everything else going on. The casting is okay, everyone played their parts well. I hope to see Jan get some female lead roles with great writing for her to sink her teeth into. The music is serviceable. I definitely will not be rewatching and putting myself through this exercise of dragged out frustration, save for maybe some of Cathy's scenes.

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Heartwarming coming of age romcom series

I really like that the lead actors for Gun and Tinn are the same age as each other as well as with the characters they play in the series and that the teens get to exist as teens rather than as cyphers for grown ups with adult soap operatics overlayed on them. Their youth allows for them to be silly during humorous ways in a way that's endearing that's also balanced by each actor's innate screen presence. Their individual characters and collective chemistry carries the series well. It's always good when the main characters are the draw.

The writing shows deep familiarity with both teen school campus drama and rom com tropes and gives the characters good definition that can be understood even underneath the green acting skills of their young, but capable actors and doesn't rely on misunderstandings to pad out the story or manufactured angst. The drama unfolds from the flow of the story that takes place throughout the final high school year of teens which shifts gradually shifts in tone as the anxiety of the impending competition and future heightens at the cusp of graduation and adulthood.

It was interesting they did a perspective shift with the 1st ep from Tinn's pov and then 2nd ep from Gun's and then evenly afterward. I LOVE both guys know their own feelings immediately. Gun having had his crush for years and Tinn immediately picking up on it as soon as Gun let slip that he's been flirting with him and they have their eye connection. The healthy communication between Gun and Tinn is so refreshing, they don't let misunderstandings or jealousies fester. They talk it out and are loving and affectionate. We never see Gun's parents together, but from context they were probably loving like Tinn's parent's. The calm, sweet relationship is a lovely base for their coming of age struggles of

Not to say this show escapes from the angry, petulant, emotionally volatile guy archetype which they pour into Win. I really dislike that character and that ship as well. The writing did try to show he had a loving side with how he's caring with Sound, but the acting did not come through in reconciling the two sides, let alone add more. Sound's actor was better able to convey vulnerability beneath his superiority complex and the writing helped to with him making the deal with Tinn to go to get treatment for his hand.

Tiw is the representative that asks the questions from the audience. It would have been more interesting to give his pairing with Por the screen time of the secondary romance. Tiw has the most thankless job of helping Gun, Tinn, and the entire music club. He always steps up and never even got to go swim with his ducky float. So when Por who has a bit of similarity in setting up and cooking for the others getting to spend time with each other being the two that showed up and Por noticing Tiw spending all the time taking photos of others on their last day of school, it's could have been better developed sooner.

It's wonderfully done how the realization of the main characters sexualities to themselves and to their family is understood and comes with the beautiful vocal support and allyship that queer characters and the very real community they represent deserve to see and feel modeled in the media. The reaction shots from the secondary characters are great. The wish redeeming scene was the best use of the product placement. It made sense they were desperate for any drink, and the raw and brutal break down and the apologies was a powerfully moving scene. On the other hand the harmful forced outing by bl shippers was glossed over and could have been handled better. Some plots beats got lost or were rushed like the implied financial issues of Gun's mom and all the pair the spares plots except for Yak.

The cinematography, editing, and directing were all competently done which is such a relief to my eyes. I never felt the pacing was slow, a lot happens every episode starting with the first one to further the story and to further the relationship. The way they reach the points where imagination ends and sweet reality begins is so lovely. All in all this drama is a definite recommend to watch and rewatch as well.

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