KinnPorsche (2022)

Fucked up people, Fucked up plot and a whole lot of Fucking

Rearly has a drama been so inconsistent in quality, plot, characters... ok more or less everything....As this drama is one of those you will have to turn off your brain to watch and instead turn on your thirst as it is completely flooded with thirst scenes and not so much plot most of the drama. As very little makes sence, untill the end where most of it comes together in an oddly confusing way, but yhe good type of confusing...

The story served (without spoilers) is basically a poor, strong male lead in need who likes to fuck a lot, and gets Stockholm Syndrome from a guy in the mob and now he suddenly only wants to fuck the same guy. They also have a lot of guns (both of the flesh and type you shoot to kill), and well earned trust issues.

This is not the only guy with Stockholm Syndrome as it seems to be part of the theme.

The other theme is an exploration of truth, who needs one that actually goes along with reality when you can twitst your own? Just shoot to kill and hope the people with amnesia don't regain their memory and all will be fine (if they regain their memory just shoot them too).

The music, lighting and all round visuals where breathtaking.

Side characters range from so lovable I cant believe they where not the mains to oh please let me skipp this guy before I drop this drama.

All in all pretty entertaining, but I do not really get the hype.

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Disappointing with a capital D

Before getting mad at this review, lemme just say this is one's opinion just like anyone else's. If you liked it, that's great, my opinion shouldn't be an offence to yours. To reiterate, this is an opinion.
This BL was definitely up there in terms of hype for me. I was looking forward to watching such an action-packed drama, and while it delivered for some, a lot of it fell back for me.

What makes it good?
I enjoyed the use of colours and lighting for some of the scenes to give it more of a mafia aesthetic. The scenery for some episodes worked splendidly and there's so much more than just one simple location. It added a lot more to the overall dark raunchiness of this show. The acting is great overall, Bible and Apo being among my favourite actors of the show. Some of these actors are rookies which amazes me how they took on such a complex role and nailed it super well. Born actors is an understatement. The psychological aspects of the show are also intriguing to me, because of its complex nature in KinnPorsche. I don't know if it was intentional in some parts, but it made the characters a little more lifelike.

What makes it bad?
The subplots are one of the biggest problems I struggled with while watching this. I became so lost due to the nature of the pacing. "Where was the plot going?" was something constantly swirling in my head, because it felt like it was going one way before doing something completely different. The editing was at times cheesy CGI effects that didn't make sense, especially towards the end. Some of the music didn't fit the scenes or takes you out of focus. This next point might be polarized but the whole "morally grey" direction they went with the characters felt like a quick label to add as justification. While yes the rating, the whole mafia notion of the show makes you expect to see the morally grey side, I couldn't find any of that with the relationships, because they started off bad and didn't improve as the episodes went on. It felt more black and white, as in "here is character, this is their backstory, now their actions are justifiable". Yes, this is a fictional show, but some parts of it I can understand will make people very uncomfortable due to the execution of such scenes. Also, yeah this is a BL but the lack of women in this show really felt offside. They were mostly put in the plot as a "here's a woman" and then disappeared like a Thanos snap (the same feeling for a certain pairing was treated as a "side support character"). Give us more badass women in mafia shows, dammit!

I was expecting to jump into this mafia drama and be amazed, stunned, whatever else relates to shock in the dictionary, but a lot of it didn't jump out at me. There were some very interesting parts, don't get me wrong, but the entire plot was messy and didn't make much sense. This has cool action, great acting and a neat psychological dive, but that's really all I found were the best parts of KinnPorsche.

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Decent story, many story holes but MARVELOUS ACTING ???

Did it live up to the hype that it got before airing? The answer is Yes and No, for obvious reasons.
The story itself was decent. It had several questioning moments that didn't make sense but overall it was alright.
The actors and their acting skills are what made this show shine. From the main couple to the side characters, the side couples everything was terrific. Even though there were obvious story holes for particular couples( VegasPete, KimChay), at the end of the day it was somewhat easy to understand what was going on.
The character development was done perfectly and I really liked that. For certain parts, it felt like they rushed some things but overall it was interesting and intense. The soundtrack was amazing.

There are moments where the characters( the couples) enjoy the abuse, the violence, the torture, and the toxicity of the other partner. Speaking of which, the love between the couples is toxic af. I totally understand where that is coming from (from past trauma), but promoting it is not good. It fits the story but it's not something that is healthy. Keep it in mind because it's a story after all, but some will find it disturbing.

Is it the best BL out there? No, but it's not the worst. Many BLs these days are coming strong and this one was no exception, but is definitely not the best. Give it a try, it is definitely worth a watch if you enjoy these kinds of topics.

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A good enough drama if you're looking for pointless angst

Honestly, this show is entirely overhyped and absolutely not the "best bl" out there. In fact, it's extremely far from it.

I'll start off with what this show does well. Firstly, the camera work, editing, tensions between characters, and props are all very good. The acting was good, but arguably not where it mattered most. It definitely pulls you out of the scenes sometimes, but it's nothing too harsh. Generally speaking, the visuals of this show are sure to not disappoint, however, that's all that this show did flawlessly.

If you think about your favorite "classic", you may notice that quality-wise, they don't typically hold up to today's standards. So what brings you back to them? Why, even after possible decades, do you still enjoy it? Most reasons would be something like a good plot, good acting, sensibility, relatability, etc. Those exact elements are exactly what Kinnporche heavily lacks. Without its budget and time to be made, the show would honestly have nothing worth your while.

As for the plot, it has a good enough start. It's interesting and definitely grabs your attention in a time where most queer stories revolve around a cute, innocent, school love story. But the more you watch, the less sense anything makes until it finally unravels itself entirely. The way this plot is written, you'd honestly be baffled at which characters were born into the mafia and which weren't seeing as they all have the same morals. Yes, this show is dark, but absolutely not within reason, given that most of the messed-up scenes could be cut out entirely and the show would still work just fine. And to make the characters' terrible actions worse, no one learns from anything. The entire series is one long loop of making a mistake, suffering the consequences, learning nothing at all, and repeating it over and over until the show ends about 60x more messy than necessary.

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welcome to vegas baby

I will start out by saying that I Really truly wish i could have enjoyed this show! it has a lot of potential and a never before seen budget for a bl. most of the actors are good/ok which is truly a miracle and i was actually interested in some parts of the plot. all that being said it is also impossible to ignore that this is so clearly taken from an absolutely worthless source material that got really messy as they tried to adapt everything into something that actually made sense for a live action tv show. i was so excited to watch a mafia bl series because this trope is usually so poorly explored and going into this i didnt even think that it would be done in a completely ideal way in the first place but i really just thought that they would at least have the smallest amount of respect for the themes and topics addressed in the show. so let's get into this.

(EDIT: please when reading this keep in mind that i watched this series in a vacuum. i'm not a part of the kinnporsche fandom nor do i care for fandom fights. i simply wanted a good show that was promised but not delivered <3 this is 100% the opinions of a casual viewer so keep me out your crazy talk ok thanks lol)

kinn
my biggest issue. something that made it nearly impossible to keep watching this show. is that kinn is one of the worst characters that i’ve ever had the displeasure of knowing. theres nothing sexy about seeing a man being extremely unpleasant to everyone around him at all times and at about the third episode i already couldn’t stand to look at his face anymore. not only is he not nearly a decent person he’s also a horrible leader. i dont know why anyone in the show acts as if he’s in any way competent..? towards the end of the show half of his bodyguards had died of extremely preventable causes if only had kinn stopped to think for 2 seconds but all he knows is how to have sex and throw tantrums. he’s at his worst in those moments where he pretends to have a plan to solve everything and then he turns around and spends the entire episode doing nothing like in the whole mess with tawan. “ok so i will pretend that i believe tawan and arrest porsche!! and im absolutely not telling him about the plan ahead of time!! im very smart and intelligent” like WHAT IS YOUR PLAN HERE?? because i still dont even know??? this man sent thoughts and prayers to a life or death situation that involved his destitute ex and psychotic cousin. terrible person terrible man terrible leader. it actually physically pains me that no one made the slightest effort to give any depth to this character and make him more of a likeable anti hero with questionable morality. he can do bad things and still have qualities that would make me, as a viewer, interested in the character. i was expecting a smart mastermind mafia leader. but his character development was essentially going from “horrible person” to “dumb as rocks”. at the end of the show he was kind of useless for anything that didnt include showing up like a jumpscare every time porsche needed help with anything or just standing next to big windows while making childish dirty jokes. but you know how it is.

porsche
not much to say about this guy other than the fact that he’s just stupid. and he doesn’t have any values like he says he does. it made me go insane that kinn could do literally any terrible thing to him and everything would be automatically solved as soon as they kissed. i genuinely could not take a guess at anything that he was thinking at any moment and i was never convinced as to why he ended up liking kinn. extremely one dimensional character with no depth at all.

kinn AND porsche
i DO NOT understand how can they put together the main couple of the show with this absolutely hateable man and expect me to root for them. the amount of times that i was yelling at my computer screen for porsche to RUN AWAY from that place because i could not in any way support this couple. porsche is an ok guy! i like him alright! but sometimes it really seemed like his character motivation was just…"the script said so!" "we all know the main couple has to end up together!!" nothing he did seemed like it was a result of rational thoughts going through his head!! very frustrating and exhausting. i realized that this show did not take itself seriously right after kinn had done appalling horrible things to porsche while being completely sick and deranged to him and everything gets solved because… one day they get stuck in the middle of the woods…? and im supposed to be ok with this just because kinn had a few seconds where it seemed like he might have cared for porsche in the slightest even though it doesn’t make up for anything that he has done in any way shape or form?? towards the end of the show i had an undying urge to skip every kp scene because i simply was not interested. every interaction was cringy and had no chemistry and i was left there wondering why i was still watching this show if i could not stomach the main couple. but listen up! this is 100% the writers fault because how are you going to put together a couple composed of an insufferable man and a victim in a completely unbalanced bizarre dynamic. they either have scenes that are completely toxic or moments where the mood completely changes into a light-comedy, sugar-water tv show and at this point the mafia theme isn't even the main plot, it's mostly just a suggestion. i wouldnt even have a problem with a bit of comedy in this if it wasn't portrayed in the absolute most inconsistent and absurd way with the rest of the show.

unseriousness
i think >the< worst sin committed by this show is that it absolutely does not know how to identify the tone of each scene. sometimes the experience of watching an episode is so surreal that i really started to think that i was losing my mind at one point. i’ve been high before and i think the experience of being high makes more sense than the plot progression of most episodes. i know this because i watched one of the episodes with a hangover on a saturday right after coming back from a party on friday and i started to get genuinely worried that the effects of the weed might have been strong enough to carry over to the next day. but no. it really was just the plot of the episode that made absolutely no sense and i really thought i was losing my mind. unironically. the jokes being told at completely inappropriate moments about extremely disturbing topics. or scenes that didn’t even feel like they fit into the same show. and i wont even go into all of the actually serious topics that were dealt with in completely cheap and honestly OFFENSIVE ways because i dont want the word count of this review to go up to 200k.

welcome to vegas baby
so lets get into what really matters. vegas. what a great antagonist. every week he was the only thing that actually made me want to sit my ass down on a chair to watch this infernal show. he’s by far the most interesting character in this and all i wanted was to get more of him!!! we love an extremely corrupt unhinged manipulative character that does anything to get what he wants with absolutely no shame. and i like this so much because for the first time the writers were actually treating all the bad things he did as ACTUAL BAD THINGS! he’s an evil guy. he does evil things. and i was only rooting for him because this is a fucking MAFIA SHOW. if i wanted to watch kinnporsche’s horrible dates with absolutely no chemistry i would just put on any other random humdrum bl. but NO!! vegas and his plotlines actually made me consider the potential that this show had if it simply committed to a more serious mature dark tone thats actually worthy of the bloody mafia show that was promised. there’s something so special about these guards’ boss making sure that he fights alongside them. the episode that vegas goes out to do his little missions with porsche were my favorite parts because it was just A LITTLE TASTE of what could be an actually well executed mafia show… vegas killing people in cold blood negotiating with dealers setting up all his little plots and then going out to drink and celebrate!! its so good to see!! i feel like they lost so many opportunities in what they could have done with vegas. there were so many directions that they could have taken the plot in that would have been SO much better than what we got. even if we got it just as an exploration of what could happen. like if for one episode vegas took over. and we would be able to see a bit of what it would be like if vegas was in charge and how things would change. it would even be good for kinn’s character because we would be able to see him at his lowest which would end up humanizing him. and if they wanted to get a “happy ending” (HAPPY FOR WHO ?!) they could just make kinn taking back his family’s power and that would make him a more respectable leader. but as far as i know vegas has to fight for all that he has while kinn just sits on his throne and has never worked a day in his life. anyways! just one of many examples of something that i think could have fixed the mess of this plot. we’ll get there. i also love how they managed to make vegas the big bad villain crazy psychopath be someone thats actually so vulnerable. its in the small details like the fact that he is the big bad villain of the show but he genuinely really cares about his pet hedgehog. i love the trope of "evil guy is really close to a very small animal" to insinuate that he’s not as bad as we think. and oh my god bible absolutely gave his entire life to this performance you could see the vulnerability in his eyes in the scene that the hedgehog dies and in a bunch of scenes of him with pete or with his dad. and even the fact that we can see again that this big bad villain actually has all these deep messed up daddy issues that really hurt him on a very personal level and that actually a lot of the bad stuff he does are actually rooted back in the complex relationship that he has with his father. congratulations you’ve just perfectly humanized a corrupt character with questionable morals its really not that hard i dont know why they couldnt do it with kinn who’s just a completely perverse and evil guy for absolutely no reason. and i'm not saying any of this excuses anything that he did because it obviously doesn't, but it's just a further analysis on why i think vegas is the best written character in the show.

vegas and pete
yes. just yes. up to halfway through the show i was entirely convinced that nothing would be able to save it. and then this happened. like im completely aware of how sick their relationship is at first. i wasnt watching it like “awwwww how cute” because at no point were they trying to portray them in that way (like they did with kp). like for the love of god they kissed and a evil little horror song came on. THIS IS THE TYPE OF CONTENT THAT I’M LOOKING FOR IN A MAFIA SHOW. insane things going down. crazy insane psychotic traumatized people bonding through it all. i dont want ridiculous dates eating little pastries in the middle of the park. it makes me SICK that they weren’t the main couple. in what world does a well written couple with a set of extremely deep and interesting characters gets like THREE episodes to get sorted out. this isnt right. my theory is that there were 2 separate writer teams. one to write kinnporsche and another one to write vegaspete (they gave kimchay for a set of rabid lab rats to write. i wont even go into them because i’ll just waste my time.) the kinnporsche team did all the worst things a set of deranged humans could possibly think of as seen in the plotline of the show and then the vegaspete team got together and went "...okay now that we know all that can go wrong lets try to do this RIGHT." and they made an effort to deliver the only actually well written couple in this show. i honestly dont even know if they’re actually well written or if my brain is just gaslighting itself because i like vegas a lot and want to support anything he’s a part of. but i would say that its at least the only interesting couple that makes even a little bit of sense and it's a waste that it wasn't explored further.

vegas vs kinn
i think the reason as to why vegas works and kinn doesnt is exactly because they don’t try to make vegas look like a good guy with cheap jokes and they actually take anything seriously for the first time in the show when it comes to his character. i loved vegas’ role and the way that they never try to redeem him. and if one day they actually try to i just hope to god that its not like “oh vegas and pete got stuck in a tree house and solved all of their problems in 3 little conversations! now vegas is good and he’s kinn’s bestie. actually now he works at a local flowershop and does volunteer work” because that was kind of the vibe we got for kinn’s redemption and that’s exactly why it didn’t work. i just wanted this character to disappear the whole time. but anyways.

vegas’ dad
i dont have much to say other than the fact that i HATE when a tv show gets a single character to pile all the blame for everything that has even went wrong in the plot. vegas is a bad person? vegas’ dad’s fault! porsche’s mom died? vegas’ dad’s fault! kinn’s dad died? vegas’ dad’s fault! we’re being victims of climate change whose effects will become irreversible in about 10 years? vegas’ dad’s fault! be braver with your won characters. they can do bad things and still be likeable. this is so lazy.

finale
where do i even start with this. if there was a limit to the amount of times that a single person can handle seeing other people pointing guns and staring at each other melancholically for several uninterrupted minutes i would have reached this limit about 20 times already. absolutely unbearable and painful to watch. everyone had the opportunity to kill kinn but didn’t despite having a gun glued to his face. i really dont get it. what a fucking mess. and the worst part is them trying to tie together all the loose plotlines in a single episode like “oh yeah i forgot that we had things to explain lets leave absolutely everything for the last episode it’ll work out” and suddenly porsche’s mom is alive and kinn’s dad is dead but no wait he’s actually alive and no one knows what happened and nothing that we knew matters to begin with and FUCK the ENTIRE plot. it was actually offensive the way they finished off vegas’ arc by having him get shot by a completely random nameless man after having finally grasped some autonomy in his life just so that he would be mentioned later as an after thought to suggest that he’s still alive. and a post credit scene?? that was very cute by the way but i dont see the reason of it being post credit its almost like the writers dont want us to care about vegas so they just throw us a little bone like “go fetch!!!” what kind of disrespect do they have with their own character. which just happens to be the best character of the whole show. this show is full of plot holes also like why was the minor family just suddenly okay with being led by porsche?? they could just do that??? where are vegas and pete in all of this?? and macau?? i know that it looks like they might be setting up for a second season or a spin off but this shit left me so disappointed and now i have a head ache. let's do better next time <3

tl;dr
instead of a respectable mafia show we got a bunch of goofy plotlines with cheesy cheap childish dialogue and poorly tied together scenes. next time try not to make a show for 13 year olds with an 18+ rating just to include sex scenes lmao

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Almost nonexistent plot line, basically just sex

*tw: rape, abuse, sex talk*

The acting was, without a doubt, absolutely amazing. Especially Bible (Vegas) and Build (Pete) as well as Apo (Porsche) delivered outstanding performances. As someone who didn’t read the book or saw the film, I was going into this completely blind and oblivious.

I didn’t like the toxicity in every relationship. The relationship I couldn’t stand at all was Kinn and Porsche. The writers glamorized rape, mental abuse and physical abuse as if it was a normal relationship. Kinn mentally abused Porsche throughout the whole series, gaslit him and stabbed him in the back multiple times.

I’m not saying Vegas and Pete’s relationship was a good one but it was honest and open. Definitely more enjoyable to watch than the main couple.

In the end, I don’t even recall WHAT THE SHOW IS ABOUT. In the beginning, there seemed to be a storyline but the more the show progressed, the more it was focus on sex and less on an actual story/plot.

If you want a BL version of 365 Days with a tint of fifty shades, go for it, but if you’re looking for a nice and action packed mafia romance with a good and watchable plot, this show is not for you.

Would give 7/10 but just for the performances of actors (if I were to review just the plot line, it’d be 4/10).

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Overhyped and a show to feed the fetishizers. Disappointed.

Oh lord, where do I even begin? I am extremely disappointed with this show that I can not simply put it into words. The storyline is nonexistent and if someone asked me what the story of kinnporche is, I will be brain dead trying to explain. The relationship between pretty much all characters (with their lovers) revolves around sex and I KNOW for a fact that this drama is famous for its explicit sex scenes. It even glorified sexual abuse, rape and torture like what the hell man. Literally WHAT is the story of this drama? Characters forgot about Pete and that’s a reasoning for his storyline? When Pete returned back to the gang, no one cared? I hated it wholeheartedly. I will continue to watch until ep 14 but don’t expect me to watch this show at season 2. I am not coming back. If you actually want to watch a good show that show cases a pure love story, watch the shows untamed, manner of death or bad buddy. Not this. Absolute waste of time (trash in other words.)

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A mafia BL done right

I solely rated this based on my enjoyment as a viewer and now fan of the series.

I had no prior knowledge of KinnPorsche as I had not read the novel like many others, but in the early stages of KP's release and the awesome craziness of the mdl comment section, I came to understand and anticipate certain parts of the story which enhanced my excitement for the upcoming episodes - perhaps being a big reason as to why I enjoyed this as much as I did.

As a fan of BL, I have never seen one with such a high quality budget as KP - from its stunning aesthetically pleasing cinematography to perfectly fitting and beautiful sounding osts to strong acting skills and chemistry that's prominent both on and off screen. Other productions should take notes haha.

For its genre, this was portrayed really well. I don't say perfect because I believe it could have included more marfianess in terms of fighting scenes. I would have loved it if they had given more screen time and back story to other characters and spent time further developing some other minor plot holes, but it wasn't necessarily needed, that's just me being picky.

This is the first BL where I loved every couple, usually there's at least one I don't really like and skip but nope, that's not the case at all for KP. The build up between Kinn and Porsche's relationship was so good and left me begging for more; their tension, their passion, their desires and lustfulness for each other ugh perfection. I wish there were a similar build up for Vegas and Pete, but it seemed a bit rushed, even though you could feel their chemistry bursting through the roof. Kim and Porchay were so cute, I really liked their little moments.

As I briefly mentioned earlier, the cast's chemistry is amazing, and they could possibly be my favourite casting of all time! I've never developed that many crushes within such a short amount of time before, they all have their own individual charms and personalities that shine and I came to love every single one of them (which I will continue to support). I will never stop talking about Build's adorable smile (petit poney by 88century reminds me of him lol), Apo's cute goofiness and fashion sense, and Jeff's perfect eyebrows and heavenly singing voice (plus his - Kim's - hot but deadly fighting skills). Also can't forget to mention how Tankhun is the best comedic relief character and lowkey the smartest amongst them all so go him! I loved experiencing KP's journey alongside the cast and other fans, and I'm so proud of what they have achieved as a result of its release, they all did an incredible job.

I'm not one to watch dramas a second time, but I feel like this has rewatch potential considering the plot's many hidden meanings and messages you may miss the first time round (and is also overall just an easy watch - for the most part).

I don't typically give 10's easily, I tend to be pretty harsh and could be for this, but at the end of the day KP is just a drama and I happened to love every second of it!! Such a gem, it will definitely hold a very special place in my heart.

** Please check trigger warnings before watching this!

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It's Complicated

KinnPorsche was a WILD ride to say the least!!!

Before I get into the nitty gritty of my thoughts about this show, I would just like to say that I enjoyed the fandom that assembled for this show on social media. I loved reading theories and thoughts on Twitter, TikTok, and here on MDL. I loved the engagement that came from this show. It made the overall viewing experience more enjoyable for me.

KinnPorsche I would say is more of a romance set in a mafia world and not the other way around. With the mafia plot being more of a background event that comes up at integral times. KinnPorsche I would say is definitely more character and relationship driven which I loved. With that being said, I wanted to start off by doing a character analysis and relationship analysis of the main characters…

MAIN CHARACTER ANALYSIS/ PERSONAL THOUGHTS:

KINN: He is the head of the Main Family. I saw him as someone who is always trying to appease his dad and live up to his expectations. He wanted to become a singer growing up and he had different plans for his life but now he has to assume this position. So, there is this struggle between doing what he wants to do vs what his dad wants him to do. Kinn has trust issues due to a past relationship he had with his ex Tawan and because of the life he has lead and the people he has encountered. He puts up a facade of stoicism and intimidation when in reality he is sensitive and loving. So, it’s interesting to see his walls break down and his true character come to light as the show goes on. It’s good that he found someone like Porsche who helped him to be vulnerable and grow (even though I would say Kinn is definitely one of those types that let’s love cloud his judgment when it comes to his job as a mafia boss). But, I will say personally, that despite seeing the layers of his character as the show went on that he didn’t really stand out to me that much and I know that’s weird to say since he has a lot of screen time but I found myself to not be as invested in his character like I was with the other characters and I don’t know if it was because the way he was portrayed or the way he was written but something didn’t click for me (he’s still sexy as hell though so I will give him that lmao). Like, the way he was acting all tough and badass in the first and final episodes was what I wanted to see from his character throughout the entire series. I feel like they could taken more of those elements into account with the other episodes.

PORSCHE: He is working as a top list bartender when the series begins and it’s said he was a former national Taekwando champion and an underground boxer known as the Phoenix. He’s also an orphan who is responsible for taking care of his brother Porchay. I loved Porsche’s character because he did provide some comedic relief to the show like others have said. He also was a pretty even keeled person and I especially loved how much he cared for his brother (their relationship though not shown too much was very enduring to me) and knowing Porsche’s brother was his driving force for going to the mafia and doing all of the work made me like his character as a person as well. I do have to say though that Porsche was a bad bodyguard and I would have fired him pretty quickly lmao and you would think that with his background and the life that he has lead up to this point that he would know better and have better judgement especially stepping into a situation that can be dangerous and around new people who could have ulterior motives. He fails to see the magnitude of the situations that he’s in sometimes and that irked me. To have him become the head of the Minor Family in the final episode is questionable move since I don’t think he’s really head of the mafia material but it’s a good move on Korn’s part because Porsche is so consumed by his love of Kinn that he will basically do what the Main Family wants I feel personally so it’s almost like Kinn would be the head of both families essentially. I thought Porsche was a entertaining to watch.

VEGAS: What a wounded soul this guy was. He is the son of the Minor Family and like Kinn, he works so hard to appease his dad and live up to his expectations just like Kinn. But, I think the difference between him and Kinn is that no matter what Vegas does his father is never proud of him and sees him as not worthy of being his son. Not to mention, his father constantly abuses him. Vegas has essentially turned into a monster because of his dad and his circumstances and the cycle has continued on. Vegas always had ulterior motives and was always scheming against other people. He was the antagonist and villain of the story and with him and Pete coming together, the depth's of Vegas's character was revealed even more and he became more layered (I will talk about him more in the relationship analysis). But, he was one of my favorite characters of the series because I am a sucker for multi layered and villain characters. I would like to add a disclaimer though that I don’t condone anything that he was doing AT ALL!!!

PETE: He is the most trusted bodyguard of the Main Family and throughout the series he was shown as being loyal and he had an almost innocent way about him. He was pretty kind and happy go lucky from what I gathered about his character. But, he had a hidden darker side to him that was revealed when he got with Vegas (I will talk about him more when I get to the relationship analysis like Vegas)

KIM: I really enjoyed the portrayal of Kim’s character even though he didn't really have much screen time. He’s the youngest of the family and lives a double or you could even say a triple life working as a musician, being a student in college, and doing work in the mafia. He doesn’t really associate with his family that much and he lives on his own. He could honestly do well as the head of the Main Family because he’s smart and doesn’t let anything get in his way. He’s also quite detached and doesn’t know how to use his words apparently when it comes to letting people know his true feelings lmao

PORCHAY: He’s trying get into college to become a musician and I would describe him as naive and young and dumb in love and it makes him to make questionable decisions that can be typical of some teenager. He’s the sweetest guy and you can just tell he wouldn’t harm a fly. We didn’t really get to see much of his character like Kim but you can tell he really loved and valued his relationship with his brother Porsche and you all know I liked that aspect of the show.

TANKHUN: What a joy he was to watch! He’s the oldest of the Main Family and he was kidnapped when he was younger and is dealing with the trauma from that so to others he may come across as a little off. The family decided that he was definitely not fit to be the head of the Main Family so he’s just living his best life watching dramas and wearing the best fashion with his bodyguards in the house. He's definitely over the top and over dramatic but it just works. I think Porsche really helped him to break free and start enjoying going out more since he confined himself to the house out of fear due to his past trauma. But, the thing with Tankhun is that he is actually the smartest one out of the entire family. He was always correct about people and situations. He was one of the favorite characters as well. I loved him so much!!!

RELATIONSHIP ANALYSIS:

KINN & PORSCHE: To start off with these two, I do have to say that I am still a bit confused on how exactly they found their way in love with one another. You know Kinn had eyes on Porsche and Porsche was his type but I am still trying to understand what really drew them to one another especially on Porsche’s side. On another note though, you could say that these two helped each other in the sense that they both found someone that they could be vulnerable with unlike any other. They had great physical and emotional chemistry with one another. Something that was ever present in their relationship though was the trust and jealousy issues and even when you thought that those issues had been resolved, the issues still kind of lingered on to me especially the trust issues. Yeah, they are cute and sexy and all that but I’m still debating on whether I think they are actually a good couple or not weirdly. I think they still have a long way to go and need to work out some kinks in their relationship. But, I was happy to see them together in the end.

VEGAS & PETE: Their relationship came to be the one that I was most invested in and they didn’t even start interacting until the end of the show. I think what really drew them to one another was their shared trauma. Vegas was abused by his father and Pete was abused his father as well. Vegas finally found someone that broke down his walls and got to the root of who he truly is. Pete was able to reveal another side of himself with Vegas. He didn't have to put on this happy go lucky attitude even though he was dealing with his childhood trauma as well. He could just be his true self with Vegas so I understand the appeal with this pairing. The reality though is that the show focused on the beginning stages of their relationship and it just doesn’t sit right with me. I have to judge what I see and I didn't like what I saw. Vegas tortured and abused Pete and kept him locked up and that’s just not right no matter how you look at it. I get why Vegas and Pete are drawn to each other and I get the attraction but the abuse just rubs me the wrong way. Pete, despite his feelings of love for Vegas, knew that the situation he was in locked up with Vegas was not okay too that’s why he ultimately chose to run and they come together in the end which is questionable. I also want to add that you could argue that Pete is a masochist and you could also say that Vegas and Pete’s relationship is a dom and sub relationship when it’s an EVOLVED relationship but even then, those types of relationships have boundaries and communication between the two parties about how the relationship is going to be. Vegas already started their relationship off on a bad note with the abuse and the power trip so it doesn’t really make sense to me why their relationship was romanticized the way it was (no matter how cute they are together… you need to see past that to the truth of the situation and the truth is ugly). If I had a friend in a relationship or situation like this, I would tell her to run or help her to get out of it. And I get that it’s fiction but that still doesn’t change how I feel. I think if they met under different circumstances I would feel better about them as a couple. They come back together at the end and I feel very conflicted by it because while they may love each other… the love is rooted in abuse and pain.

KIM & PORCHAY: As for these two, I don’t really feel like they got a whole lot of screen time and opportunities to really delve into their relationship compared to the other couples in the show so I was not really as invested as I could have been with them as a couple. Their relationship was more surface level to me. You had Kim agreeing to give guitar lessons to an eager Porchay ,who doesn’t know that Kim is apart of the mafia, just to get intel to find out more about Porsche and what the deal was with him. Kim ultimately started to have feelings for Porchay but he wasn’t going to let it interfere with his investigation (which I really don’t understand what the point was of his investigation since the audience was already getting information from the other characters). Porchay revealed that he loved Kim (which I thought was a bit too much since he hadn’t known Kim that long to even use a word like love but he is a teenager so I understand lmao) and then it’s revealed that Kim is apart of the mafia and Porchay goes through a teenage crisis where he dyes his hair and tries to take drugs because he’s so heartbroken and he doesn’t want anything to do with Kim and you see Kim looking out for him without Porchay knowing and trying to get back with him to no avail. There was no arc or resolution for this couple. Hopefully if they do a season two, we get to see this couple explored more.

PROS & CONS:

PROS:

— CHEMISTRY: When I tell you the couples featured in this drama work SO freakin well together. The chemistry was NEVER lacking. There was no awkwardness or anything in terms of the affection or closeness that was presented. I have to bring up the love scenes featured in this drama as well since they were a huge talking point and they were tastefully done and the actors did what needed to be done (let me just leave it at that lmao). I commend the actors for being open to portray racy scenes like that. I think it takes a lot of courage and willingness to bare your soul and your body like that for an audience to see

— MATURITY: I love that this BL drama in particular dealt with more mature topics and was aimed for an older audience. Since I am an adult, I like to see stories that I feel like I can relate to on some level. Some BL dramas I feel can be too juvenile for me at times in terms of the topics and material covered so I can’t really connect with them like I want to but with this one it immediately clicked with me

— CINEMATOGRAPHY: THE LOCATIONS!!!! Applause all around to the camera crew!!! Everything was shot so beautifully and the lightning was equally as gorgeous. The show was just so aesthetically pleasing. You can tell that they had a budget to give this show the best quality that they could give and it showed

— MUSIC: Let me just start by saying that the opening theme Free Fall has and is still on repeat. I love that song so much!!! And not to mention the songs that Jeff and Barcode did for the show. They both have such amazing voices!!! The music really added to the overall feeling of the show and I think they chose the right music for the right scenes. The music just took the show to another level for me

CONS:

— SCRIPTWRITING/PLOT: I feel like this drama could have been written better overall. There were some plot holes and writing that I found to be questionable at times. The writing I feel was inconsistent for some of the episodes. Some episodes it was on point and some episodes it left me wondering what was going on.

— ROMANTICIZATION OF ABUSE AND DUB CON (or however else you want to define that scene in Episode 4): I mean come on now. Kinn had no business trying to have sex with Porsche who was under the influence of a date rape drug and then to top it all off, you had freakin Vegas who had given him the date rape drug and tried to force himself on Porsche not once but two times. Vegas also sat up here and abused and tortured Pete and people want to act like that’s okay and look past that blatant fact and bring up the fact that they are cute together which rubs me the wrong way. It’s not okay and it will never be okay. Vegas needs some serious therapy and Pete needs therapy too to recover from the abuse he experienced. Actually the whole cast needs therapy if I am being honest.

I am still debating on my overall final score but for now an 8.0 out of 10 sounds good because I was expecting more from this show but I was genuinely entertained by this show week by week despite its flaws. The experience watching KinnPorsche is definitely one that I will never forget.

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Really!?! Major disappointment!

Was expecting mature, intimidating, dangerous mafia guys but instead got 2 man childs acting like they've just discovered sex for the first time (with all the cringey, awkward, overly horny crap that comes with it). Don't even get me started on the seriously messed up relationship of the 3rd couple. VegasPete stole the show with their chemistry despite their all kinds of wrong relationship. KinnPorsche on the other hand was seriously laughable and utterly unbelievable. Kinn saves Porsche from being RAPED while he's drugged and then a few minutes later RAPES the drugged out Porsche himself... and yet Porsche some how falls for him? Are you kidding me?! Not to mention he befriends Vegas the guy that drugged and tried to rape him in the first place. Also the mafia plot went out the window like 4 episodes in because they are by far the most ridiculous, unintimidating, laughable mafia i have ever seen.

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Two years ago, this would be ground-breaking

Like many people, I have been waiting for this series to air for way too long. I have been through all the airing dates, the delays, the rumoured cancellations, the teasers, the trailers, everything. Even though, it’s been a few days since KinnPorsche finished airing, I wanted to write this review, because I waited way too long to watch this series. I will try to make it as less tiring as possible.

I haven’t read the book, so my thoughts are solely based on what I watched, how I experienced it and my expectations. So excluding the first two episodes that were worse that my physics teacher in high school, below are my thoughts for the rest of the series.

Directing & Cinematography
With a few exceptions, I would say that there were quite a few visually pleasing scenes and for the most part the directing was very well done. I liked the lighting they used and the framing.

Fight scenes
The fight scenes were a huge problem for me. Some were good enough to entertain me and others were ridiculous. Besides the sounds that sounded fake most of the times, but well they were much better that some other Thai series I have watched, there were other problems.
One of those problems was the camera movements. I get why some directors like shaking the camera to create tension, even though I don’t agree, but you need to know how to do that. Showing me a wall when there is a fight scene is not the right way to do it! Making me dizzy and confused about what is happening is also a huge miss. Plus, when the fighting scenes are not well choreographed, don’t use full shots! How am I supposed to get into the fight scenes, when I see people standing there pretending to fight the air, because the protagonist must win, even though they could have easily killed him like nine times?

OST
For me, "Why Don’t You Stay" by Jeff Satur was definitely the highlight of the original soundtrack. No lies, I am basically obsessed with this song. The instrumental and the opening song were also quite nice to hear.

Product Placement
It’s a Thai series, I don’t know why I expected something better…


Plot
So, here lies the biggest problem. I haven’t read the book, so after watching the trailer, I had certain expectations. I was waiting for a plot driven series with a sprinkle of same-sex relationships. What I got was romance with a sprinkle of nonsensical wattpad-like plot.
Ok, let’s be honest, the plot makes no sense. Like at all. Porsche is acting like a three-year-old, being irresponsible af and the mafia is being way too cool about it. There are way too many things that don’t make sense, but I will not mention them, because of spoilers.

Humour
Oh God, I hated it. To be honest, it is a hit or miss, I personally didn’t like it at all, with that fish scene being quite disturbing (still hoping that those fish were fake). Imagine my shock, when I was expecting to watch a serious mafia-based plot and the first four episodes -at least- had so many comedic scenes that felt like they were there just to make the episodes longer.

Acting
Before talking about the actual acting, where the hell did they even find so many good looking people? WHERE? All of them were like they walked out from a fashion show or something; Vegas and Tay (Kinn’s friend) obviously forgot to change their model-like clothes.

And now to the acting. I would dare say that it was much better than I expected, especially taking into consideration that many of the actors don’t have that much experience. I enjoyed the majority of their performances and most importantly I didn’t feel like they forced themselves to act. People that have been watching BLs for a while, know what I mean.
With the exception of some scenes that felt a bit cringe (mostly the ‘’I am speaking another language’’ ones), I was very satisfied with the acting. The chemistry between the actors was also very good and to be honest, I feel like all the cancellations and delays helped them get more acquainted with each other and this is the result.

Romance & Intimate scenes
Like I previously mentioned, I liked the chemistry between the characters and I think they did a pretty good job, making their relationships seem real. At some point though, the main couple became a bit boring to watch and I would like to see more of the other couples, especially the relationship between Vegas and Pete that felt like it started way later that it should have. Even the relationship between Kinn’s friends was much more interesting and I am mad we didn’t get more of them.
KinnPorsche offered some very steamy scenes that you have probably not seen before in a popular BL series. And once again, everything felt quite natural to watch which is a huge plus!



All in all, KinnPorsche was an entertaining-enough series, thus the rating, that should not be taken seriously. I enjoyed it much more, when I accepted that this is not the serious mafia-based series that I was expecting (since they had advertised it as such) and the mafia-plot was basically the background that just didn’t have to make much sense.

The thing is, that five years ago, when the BL series that got produced every year could be counted in one hand, people didn’t have high expectations. This would be phenomenal back then. Why? Good budget, good actors, fun to watch.
Nowadays, there are so many BL series and people have the option to choose what to watch, picking what they think as best from a variety of dramas. At this point, the majority has started looking for well-written stories and not just for a portrayal of a same-sex relationship on screen. This series is definitely something relatively new, but certainly not ground-breaking.

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Empty and Disappointed

If you're going to make a mafia show, be brave and give us a mafia show. Vegas is the only character I'd come back for a second series for, but because I genuinely like Apo as a person, I decided to finish this series with the mindset of it being a standard BL series. I initially dropped it at ep.10.

/Finale EDIT~
The series actually gave me a little of what I wanted/expected in the last 2 episodes and it has been left with an intriguing plot twist that paves the way for a sequel, which is interesting. They must have been planning/hoping for a season 2 from the start. I felt like I had seen the end of Act 1 rather than an end to the series. This show LOVES plot twists and I wanted that from a 'mafia' theme, but it's very frustrating when the writers can't maintain a rhythm to execute it well.
Overall, if I had gone into this series thinking that it's just another Thai BL (or better yet, no expectations at all) I probably would have enjoyed this more, rating it more around 7. The noncon and repeated loss of plot would still have kept the rating down. As other reviewers have said, this show is wildly popular because of it's 18+ content and the intense idolisation of the cast and the new Kings of BL couples, MileApo who say they don't do fanservice but they very clearly do, Mile more so because it sells and it's working.
I'm exposing myself here as I do feel very emotionally drawn to Apo. I see a lot of myself in him and I can't help but want to cheer him on, so if there's a season 2 or whatever comes next, I'm likely to be back for him. Bible who plays Vegas, is another honourable mention. Only then I'll remember my lesson and leave my brain off. //


I started watching shortly after ep.2 aired and I'm legitimately devasted at how this has turned out and no, it's not because of the violent content. The trailer promised us everything we wanted from this show and I was hooked from the first episode. Heaven knows the BL genre has a routine. A system that works and after a while, it gets stale, frustrating and needlessly melodramatic.
KinnPorsche started off sexy, tense, violent, dangerous, everything you'd expect from a show classified as a 'Mafia BL' but each week as I've waited, the story gets less and less of what it promised and is just falling into the same old BL routine. The route that works. Drama for dramas sake.

I loved episode one. It was everything I thought the show would be. Two humanly broken characters trying to survive their world while colliding into each others.
/Finale EDIT~ I got that flavour back in ep. 13 & 14. If they can keep the plot on that level for whatever sequel is in the works, a lot more people wouldn't be left feeling so angry about this series.//

I can forgive the drunken kiss in ep.3. I'm an adult. I've gone to parties and been drunk. If you live your life, this will probably happen at some point. Understandable human screw ups and Kinn was shown to feel bad about it. Cool. I like that.

But then the first red flag happens in ep4 when a drugged up Porsche gets r*ped by Kinn. It doesn't matter that he was 'seducing' him or Kinn was holding back or that the piano music made it seem really romantic. It was r*pe. There could have been alternate scenes to this situation that would have given just as much sexual tension without involving this very toxic trope in LGBT+ media. But I was willing to wait it out and see how this was dealt with.
The next episode is spent torturing Porsche further while he deals with ptsd and Kinn feeling bad about it but not actually doing anything, and just rubbing salt into the wounds because he was 'distancing himself'. Then it's all forgiven because Porsche realises he's in love with Kinn and has put it behind him by the time Kinn manages to say something, at the end of episode 6 after their happy little vacation in a forest.
Am I surprised? No. Not shocked in the slightest. This happens a lot in BLs because when it's two hot guys, it's just rough sex. They're tough enough not to make a big deal out of it right?
Followed by lots of romantic fluff and the ever eye rolling 'return of the ex/third party' arc. Again. More drama for dramas sake because Tawan was only there to annoy you, as most third party arcs usually are, and Kinn didn't involve Porsche in his plans because we don't know what Kinn is going to do from one moment to the next.

If hot guys having sex, every where and anywhere is what you're looking for, cool. I'm a member of the LGBT+ community and every now and then eye candy is fine. But I honestly had higher hopes for this one. It really isn't as revolutionary as everyone says it is. A new standard in filming and sex scenes for the BL genre, absolutely, but revolutionary? Absolutely not.

----Further thoughts on story & characters----

The actors seem like really sweet people who are just trying to make the world a better place and they did the best they could with the script given to them. And personally, is one of the biggest reasons why I think this show is doing so well. They are talented, likeable people, and everyone has the hots for them. It's always a winning combination.

*Kinn could have been a phenomenal character. He is deep and complicated but we never see why. Only that he doesn't trust anyone because of an ex and is currently obsessed with Porsche. He's super rich and acts like every seme ever. He exists to be rich and sexy with a big **** and that's it. He's completely colourless despite always wearing red and some pretty nice suave suits. He just mopes about in his pyjamas drinking and being jealous in the first few episodes. We only see inside Kinn's head when it comes to Porsche and even then, it's glimpses. Kinn is as much an emotional fort to the audience as he is to the rest of the characters. What Kinn says is controlled by the writers. With the exception of the forest episode where he suddenly transforms into a love sick puppy, what he says and what he doesn't say is purely for drama and emotional tension which is lazy writing and infuriating for me as the viewer. He is also shown to be able to fight pretty well but that was only convenient once to ramp up the sexual tension between him and Porsche. You would also imagine a character like this to be exceptionally intelligent but this is never explored either. No intense out manoeuvring or mind games despite all the chess analogy. Oh yeah, and he forgets about Pete because convenience for plot, and having sex with Porsche is more important.
No real mafia business transactions beside once beating up an old man for vague reasons and to slightly injure Porsche to further his romance.

I honestly still don't know what the family does other than a very brief overview where even Porsche doesn't really care and falls asleep, so we see and understand very little about the family dealings. There was an Italian branch but they appear, disappear and then reappear to be slaughtered. No other purpose than to serve as a shoot out.

This is not a Mafia BL. It's a BL with a slight mafia theme.

*Porsche.
You can do anything when you look as good as Apo Nattawin. Can't lie. He is a stunning looking human being. Every shot, he's glowing, captured from every angle as the camera lingers over his sculpted features and abs and just teasing full frontal as the camera pans down some shower shots. Apo is the main visual in this show and the camera crew knew it. Unfortunately, his character Porsche, is frustrating and stupid. A little more depth than Kinn as the show is mainly his POV but the writers failed him. Hard. He started off strong, a sexy cool guy, a martial artist who took down armed men in minutes, an underground boxer driven by money problems, and escapes Kinn's kidnapping. A character who has raised his little brother from childhood with little help from a gambling addicted uncle who just seems to make things worse. He is understandably reluctant to join the mafia as gangs have ruled his life since his parents death.
Once he's with Kinn, this is all forgotten. He's bumbling, childish and annoying. Only every now and then do the writers remember he has skills and it's still never put to use. I was expecting a man fighting to protect his little brother, tooth and nail in a cold mafia world, with conflicting difficult emotions about his job, his role and his burgeoning love for his boss. Nope. We get a useless fool getting drunk, starting fights and needing to be saved from them, and suddenly, and almost randomly, in love with Kinn. Then he spends the rest of the show mostly in his underwear, doing something in water and having sex with Kinn.
Apo's body is more important than Porsche's story.
/Finale EDIT~
I cannot emphasise that last line enough. Apo may have seen this as a challenge as an actor but as the viewer, he might as well be made to do poster or calendar at this point. We've seen everything besides his genitals that are carefully hidden behind Kinn's arm and clever camera angles. Nudity is natural when the plot makes sense. This is just pure fan service //


Kinn and Porsche are obviously the main focus of the show. Their name is the title. But it really is just about Kinn and Porsche's romance and that's it. Everything else is an add on or a serves as a background. Two other couples are squeezed in for variety but neither really make sense.

Kinn's little brother, Kim and Porsche's little brother, Chay, starts out with an actual plot on Kim's behalf and has just developed into cringe. Jeff is the second visual in this show but he's not as sexualised as Apo since there's no sex so they're just focusing on his 'silent cool guy' persona, leaving him as a blank wall. Kim is clearly, and seems like the only, mafia brains in this whole show but there's so much time spent on Kinn and Porsche that we don't really see a lot of what he's up to or why.
Chay is sweet and innocent and to be fair, seems almost too pure for someone who has had the upbringing he's had. If Porsche worked that hard to protect Chay from the cruelty surrounding him, we never see the depths of this in Porsche's behaviour.
As adorable as Chay is made out to be, he is flat and one dimensional serving as nothing more than the brother of the protagonist and a chess piece for Kim's detective work. Much like Kim, there just wasn't enough spacing for their plot for me to be satisfied with it. It just seems like a rush to develop a romance and create more drama from it.

Then finally, there's Vegas and Pete. Stockholm syndrome. There's meant to be a relationship out of this one but I honestly couldn't see it. A very toxic and abusive one, yes. But the loving, romantic one that fans are hoping for. In the next 3 episodes? Really? I feel bad for the BDSM community because this is not how it works and I'll be really annoyed if we're using the word 'love' at the end of this.
/Finale EDIT~ I actually appreciate how this one developed. Unfortunately, they were using the word love after this, however, it was portrayed more for what it was, 'trauma bonding' but being confused as love. This twisted dynamic was almost what I had been expecting from Kinn and Porsche but the plot was still very rushed and again, left open for a season two. I would actually be interested to see more of this one, if it was done right. //

The rest of the characters exist to fill out the bodies. We know nothing about them other than they are the cardboard cut outs of the giddy, goofy friends but are still the best bodyguards there, or are the love experts for Kinn and Porsche because that's the only thing that matters here.
Porsche has two school friends who are so rarely seen, it's like the writers remembered them at the last minute and had to add them in during post.
The ep 9 & 10 plot twists were barely plot twists because we rarely seen the characters involved. I can't feel anything for a character who had no development, no interactions other than be bullies to Porsche, with 3 second cameos every other episode.
/Finale EDIT~ the characters in question are never spoken of again, further exposing how little the writers cared about them. //

Kinn's older brother Tankhun is another example of this is just another BL that just happens to have a mafia background. He's the camp character. Every BL has to have one for some reason because heaven forbid a gay show is taken seriously. There's no development for him either. He's supposed to be a damaged character which is why Kinn is the heir and not him but instead of letting us feel any pity for his pain, he's reduced to the whacky comic relief character with an outlandish wardrobe. I can almost let the cartoon sense of humour throughout the show pass but Tankhun is just too much and almost insulting 10 episodes in.

The cinematographer is the real hero of this show. They know what they're doing. They know how to capture the most beautiful shots, make use of lighting, colour psychology, framing, let everyone know there was a bigger budget than usual for the show with nice cars and expensive hotel rooms. There is a never ending source of beauty happening around the characters. There's no rating for them but if there was, I'd give them a 9.

This is meant to be 14 episodes and the pacing is like it were to be much longer. I would be guessing 50 if I hadn't previously known. I would be more accepting if that were the case but it's not. This show is all sparkle and no taste and in the end that's all it's going to be. All that budget, those gorgeous trailers/art films released before airing. It's all hype and it's a major let down.

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