I started this show last night when I saw it pop up under Viki's "recently added" section and binged the rest of it today because I was so addicted and invested. I haven't seen a ton of dating reality shows, and the ones I have seen have mostly been those trashy/guilty pleasure ones that took air time away from music videos on MTV and VH1. I didn't really know what to expect going into this one, but boy was I surprised at how overall cute and wholesome this was!

The cast. Loved them. Although they didn't get equal screentime, they each brought something endearing to the table, and I enjoyed getting to know them through these 11 episodes. There wasn't a single one I disliked, and as a small aside, I thought it was so cool to see several with multiple, visible tattoos on their bodies. That made for a refreshing break from what we're traditionally shown in Korean media.

The set up and premise was interesting. Rather than having one eligible bachelor make a selection among several hopefuls, a group of eight men are brought together and they must essentially match themselves (or attempt to) by going on dates and otherwise spending time with one another. I haven't seen this format in a dating show before, so I liked that unique aspect.

That said, this show largely felt like one big speed date. While most of the first dates were, I'm assuming, set up randomly, most of the subsequent dates (which weren't many) were based on whether the two respective parties mutually liked and chose one another, which rarely happened. Perhaps in theory the boys were expected to get to know one another at the house during down time to see if they clicked or not, I think I would have enjoyed the set up more had there been more organized activities for the guys in the beginning, to give them a more structured and extensive way of breaking the ice and getting to know one another. I think that would have benefited the more introverted contestants and perhaps given them a fighting chance down the road of being selected. Seven days is an absurdly short amount of time to try and connect with someone, and this felt a bit rushed and focused too much on first impressions, which as we know can be misleading. I also wish we could have seen more of the quiet, intimate moments that some of the contestants shared, such as the long talks before bed we were told about. Finally, some parts seemed unnecessarily cruel to the contestants (like notifying them that they did not receive a single letter from one of the other contestants).

Another thing that surprised me a bit was that the cast pretty much got along with one another and the drama was rather light. There were a few moments of misunderstandings and love triangle situations, but overall this was pretty tame. No catfights or sabotage; at times, the show focused more on the platonic friendships being formed rather than the potential romantic ones. I also really appreciated the show bringing to light some of the issues gay people (and I'm sure the queer community at large) face in Korea by having the contestants talk about their own experiences. It was important to put out and hopefully reassuring to hear, and I wonder if this being Korea's first gay reality dating series had a lot to do with how vanilla and, in some aspects, educational this was. Small steps, can't bring something too shocking.

I'm looking forward to Season 2, but I do hope it's messier and spicier.