Fell short of potential

I liked this drama at first, but by the second episode I found myself skipping the main couple’s scenes, which meant i was skipping through the entire show, essentially. they had a nice first kiss scene, but other than that, they were so boring to me and I found Giseop super strange. the plot about him dressing like a girl and getting a tattoo just to be Jin Woo’s type was just random and very weird and he just gave me weird vibes, i did not like him at all and he actually made me sort of uncomfortable. i felt like their chemistry was forced and Jin Woo’s characterisation wasn’t consistent. i also didn’t like the token female character common in BL dramas, i could’ve done without that.

i enjoyed the second couple way, way more, and thought there story was more interesting and their chemistry felt more natural, but unfortunately they had criminally few scenes and very little development when they were shown, and didn’t even end up together, the way i understood it. but i also felt like their story was a bit cliché and the soured relationship could’ve been redeemed if it was handled better, especially when the actors had chemistry and potential.

the main couple ate up 98% of the screen time, which wouldn’t be a problem if the series was all about them, but if a second couple is gonna be included and have a storyline, they need to have equal or at least sufficient screen time. the second couple got so little scenes they may as well have not even been there, which is a shame, but korean BL dramas are so short compared to typical k-dramas, they really don’t have room for a second couple most times. 20-30 minutes per episode doesn’t leave a lot of room for complex development.

Also, on Viki this is rated R for some reason? i struggle to see why, as there’s really nothing explicit or mature in it.

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Pretty good, could be better

i enjoyed this drama, it was relatively light and nicely done. the main couple’s casting was good, too. they’re both beautiful. i liked the dynamic between them, their banter felt pretty natural and their scenes together didn’t feel forced, though i have few things i didn’t like.

i felt like the story would have been more naturally paced had there been more episodes, but i know bl dramas outside of thailand aren’t quite there yet.

despite miyata liking takashi deep down, it felt like miyata came around to admitting he liked takashi ahead of the plot a bit and he discarded that girlfriend rather quickly, too. she was more of the token girl that gets dumped for the boy, no real characterization on her part. could have done without that. but he played hard to get with takashi, then all of a sudden he warmed up and went all in and they sleep together, but the scene was still noticeablely chaste (i’ll forgive this since miyazaki says it’s his first time) and that push and pull felt a bit odd to me, especially in a limited time frame and especially because i felt like for two people who were once lovers and haven’t seen each other in over a decade, i expected a bit more passion and fire but idk. i also felt two love rivals in such a short amount of episodes was unnecessary and the second love rival was rather random, too.

we actually got more kisses between miyata and takashi than i expected going into it, but that being said, they were far more chaste than they should have been for two men in their 30s. not that we needed NC scenes left and right, but a few kisses more than the “press and hold” would’ve made sense. i mean, i’ve seen some pretty passionate scenes in japanese series, i know they can do it. but overall, it was a decent series and still worth the watch.

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Pretty Interesting and Different

The 18+ rating on this is definitely needed, as there are very adult scenes and themes, though sometimes the NC scenes weren't necessary to the plot and therefore could have been left out. Some characters got more than others for no particular reason, as well. The series almost gives off softcore porn vibes at times, just without the nudity, right down to the music, but overall it's very sex positive in the way that we see different characters who all have different relationships with sex, sometimes bad and sometimes good.

The pacing was a bit slow to start, the story didn't really pick up until the 3rd or 4th episode and there's quite a few characters to keep straight at first. I thought the plot was interesting and the twin infiltrating his missing twin's friend group to find out what happened to him reminded me of the Not Me series, though obviously the plots are very different.

I liked the focus and handling of the sex work industry and how we see both good and bad come from it. i liked some of the couple dynamics a lot, particularly Puen/Aob and Prom/Nont, but some characters felt a bit under-developed to me, namely Keen, and I would have liked to have learnt more about Prom as well, though i adored him anyway. One thing i found super odd and kind of distracting was the frequent but really random use of english between characters that wasn't really intrinsic to the story or the plot, especially when none of them were fluent and everyone spoke thai natively, it was a bit jarring to have half conversations spoken in english for no reason.

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