Oh boy, what to even say. When I started watching Dead Friend Forever, I was having such a wonderful time. A fun, if not particularly original, concept, a familiar cast (for those who watched The Hidden Character), and the promise of lots of bloody, vengeful violence promised a great time. I had a whole murder board of clues going and did weekly recaps with my friends. For a while, this was one of the best titles on a line up of five or six actively airing shows! And then.... it really went wrong. DFF feels like a major case of "bit off more than they could chew" from every department.

-The Full Review-

STORY:
While there were a few high points, the story for Dead Friend Forever was incredibly uneven. Some characters, like Non and Tee got beautiful and moving individual story arcs that really explored the depths of their guilt, anger, and pain. Some characters, like White, Fluke, and Top barely manage to scrape their way out of the second dimension. The writers never quite managed a competent ensemble, and most characters had little to no connection to each other despite being friends for years through extremely traumatic events.
On a grander scale, the plot was... even worse. The authors had a horrific over-reliance on flashbacks. The worst example being a detailed flashback after a "Previous Episode" segment that contained most of the same clips, forcing the audience to watch them Twice in a Row. I hate this device because it creates one certain history (as opposed to allowing characters to lie/misremember) and denies the audience the more interesting scene of getting to watch the characters argue it out and react to the various betrayals and shocks.
Finally, I won't spoil the details of the ending, but a single prop/plot washed out so many of the intriguing clues and mysteries with a singular (and pretty stupid) answer. I used to look forward to rewatching this series to see the little pieces and exchanges I missed, but it slowly became clear that... that wasn't really going to be a concern anymore. Most of those "clues" are just red herrings for the audience to chew on while they wait for the grand reveal.

ACTING:
Let's start with the good! Barcode is a phenomenal talent, as always. Non proved to be a monster of a demanding, tragic role, and Barcode handed him very ably despite his youth and relative inexperience. While some of the "horror" scenes got a little repetitive (mostly due to the authors), all of the most emotional and raw scenes were really beautiful. He's a joy to watch. JJay and Ta were powerful acting partners for him, rising to create some truly genuine interactions that carried the heart of the story. Fuaiz and Bump continue to improve as well.
The rest of the time.... Yikes. Despite an over-reliance on flashback (as opposed to watch two characters have a difficult conversation), the acting still managed to be largely melodramatic with a lot monotone shouting and unnatural flailing. In some of its worst moments, it was difficult to tell (even broadly) what emotion a character was supposed to be portraying. I never did decide if some of these relationships were genuine? Friends with benefits? Revenge? It was that unclear (in the acting). I think that the stakes in this show were simply too high and too distant for a largely rookie cast to grasp effectively.

PRODUCTION:
For the most part, Dead Friend Forever provides its usual level of quality expected by a Be On Cloud production. Lighting, set dressing, costumes, and props all look great (with a few minor continuity errors that we mostly found because we were looking so hard for clues!)! It was a joy to pick out little details around the set that enhanced the story and provided clues. I don't have an issue with the quality of the show here. That said, editing could have used some work. I know this genre deliberately obscures, but time and distance became so unclear that it genuinely began affecting my understanding of the story.

INTIMACY:
:/ I was not a fan of the way intimacy was handled in this show. Most of the NC scenes did not connect smoothly with the plot (Why did we need a Tee/White sex scene?) or the choices being made for specific characters outside of their NC scenes (Phee is... different in the sheets, I guess?). I don't think this story was the appropriate place for "sex for sex's sake" intimacy, as it was NOT a romance, and I don't know that they adequately justified (most of) the NC scenes they did choose to include. I would have liked to see more thought and work go into connecting these moments to characters involved and the relevant plot.

In all, I have actively withdrawn my recommendation of this title to most of my friends. I will definitely not be so hasty to recommend an unfinished show from this team again.