Tin, a doctor, gets stuck in a time loop where he must stop a college kid from dying and expose a sinister back-market organ trade, in order to escape the loop. I am NOT a fan of time-loop narratives (I think I’m the only person on the planet who actively hates Groundhog Day) but I DO like a strong premise and the way they unfolded the plot was more like a mystery. In this Triage worked better for me than the actual mystery did in sister-show Manner of the Death. It was smart, I liked that. Also Fiat blond is v cute.

One of the greatest things about Triage was that all of the characters were complex but not necessarily likable, more pleasingly flawed. TinTol gave a great mutual kiss. (Look some of us have been waiting 5 years for it!) And the twist around who has to fix the timeline was elegant. Jinta = The ultimate BL Shipper: turns back time so his boys can be cannon. Also teaching Tol a lesson in forgiveness and communication.This is a CLEVER show.

Where Triage falls down, for me, like Manner of Death, is going to be in rewatchability. Once the element of surprise is removed, there isn’t enough romance holding this show together to make me want to rewatch it. But I think the story is a lot stronger for having not been all that romantic. It’s just, I happen to be a romantic at heart.

Ultimately, I liked Triage a lot, I thought the plot was good if a little redundant and occasionally exhausting. The pairs were all well done, low heat but with decent chemistry and the support characters were great. Still, this felt less BL than it does gay time-slip suspense. If anything, the romance arc detracted and distracted from the main plot. But I’m in BL for the romance, and the rewatchability, and Triage had very little of either, so I’m giving a lower than expected score, knowing this is going on many people’s best of the year lists. And I can totally understand why.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS