It's always disappointing when a drama doesn't live up to expectations, but usually there's at least something redemptive about it. Venus in the Sky though just bombed and it bombed hard. It's glacially slow with episodes that are far too long with far too much repetition. And once the leads finally get together, we get multiple NSFW scenes that seem more about pushing the limits than showing that these guys are actually in love. I just did not feel the chemistry. It's a pity because it did have the potential for more.

The story is lacking severely. There's not much of a plot and the drama suffers because of that. Venus and Sky were college friends until Venus confessed that he had feelings for Sky which Sky didn't reciprocate. Venus's response was to block Sky and cut off all contact. Three years later they meet again by chance at which point Sky has realized that he actually does have feelings for Venus and sets off to win him back. The first episode isn't bad. It sets things up decently, though there's some confusion regarding time frame and what's past and what's present. From there though it becomes a slog of increasing repetition as Sky tries to win over Venus and Venus repeatedly rebuffs him. It would have helped if there was a bit more variation to how Sky goes about this, but there's not, and it's not until around Episode 7 that things start moving along which is far too little, too late. While Sky does eventually wear Venus down and they do get together, the story continues to drag as repetitive drama with the side couples is brought up and Venus and Sky act like horny teenagers. It's tedious to say the least. I suppose the ending could be considered cute, but I was so done with everything that frankly I was just relieved to be done with it.

I didn't find myself particularly interested or attached to any of the characters. I generally liked Day, Bom and Kla, but not to any real degree. They just served as the occasional pleasant diversion from the constant annoyance of Sky and Venus. The characters lacked depth and it made them feel quite superficial. Venus's anger towards Sky felt excessive. I get it, he broke your heart, he was giving mixed signals previously (they really did act like a couple, so I get that Venus thought Sky might reciprocate his feelings), but three years is a long time to hold onto that much anger. And even if he was hurt by Sky's rejection, it wasn't as if Sky deliberately led him on. Without a better reason for his anger, it created a disconnect for me as the viewer. Otherwise, I just did not find him to be a particularly compelling character because there was so little to him. He was boring to watch and his reactions felt repetitive. Even after he and Sky got together, I just could not bring myself to care about him. Sky spent most of the time acting like a whiny child. I was over him within the first couple of episodes. He had zero respect for Venus's boundaries, physical or emotional, and essentially stalked him. Maybe it's because I'm a woman, but I found his approach to be disturbing and deeply concerning. And his pushiness continued after they were together. There were times where it felt like he cared more about his physical needs than what Venus actually needed. The scene where he lets Venus initiate physical intimacy while he's sick and doesn't stop him is a prime example. There was also the element that his feelings for Venus were not well explored. The realization of his true feelings obviously came after Venus cut him off, but was that the catalyst for that recognition or was it later? I think that's something that should have been given time to look into. The communication between the two of them was alternatively decent and then completely lacking. Sky had a tendency to misinterpret situations and then go sulk about them without actually discussing anything with Venus. The side couples really didn't interest me much. I initially liked Janus, but eventually got tired of the repetition with him promising to tell Bom about things and then proceeding to tell him nothing. That inevitably led to a fight and Bom storming out the door. I did like Bom. I appreciated his patience and kindness. He was a sweet guy and I felt bad that he had to deal with Janus's determination to take everything on his shoulders. Tong and Kla were even less interesting. Again with the repetition of not communicating and then getting into fights. Kla was a cutie though and he did try so hard to make things up to Tong and make him happy. I will say that the side couples did have some good conversations and at least with Tong and Kla there felt like there was progress made in the relationship on that front. Janus and Bom also made some progress, but part of me wonders if Janus really learned his lesson.

For all that they had some very steamy scenes together, I really did not feel the chemistry between Tod and Cheque. Part of it could be that I simply did not like their characters, but I also found their acting lacking. Neither one showed much range. Cheque seemed to alternate between looks of condescension and scowling and maybe two other expressions. Tod was either overly perky, moping around, or sleepy and he just cycled through those expressions as needed. They were just boring to watch. Most of the other actors struggled with the same lack of variety of expression.

While there is a fair amount of product placement, it doesn't feel too in your face mostly because of the way it's promoted with Janus's business. It still took more of a priority than it should have though. One thing that really stood out to me and that was off-putting was the almost complete lack of background characters. Sky works in a hospital, Kla works in a hospital, Janus owns a 7-Eleven, and yet the hospital always looked practically empty, we never saw any other doctors or medical staff aside from the main cast and one or two nurses who were there and gone and there were rarely any customers show in the store. It made the world feel very isolated and unreal.

There is nothing about Venus in the Sky to recommend it. It's a long slog with very little reward. If NSFW scenes are your thing, I would recommend watching Episode 1, maybe 2, and then jumping to Episode 7 or 8 through to the end, you won't be missing anything by skipping the rest. Otherwise, I would say best to just avoid it.