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wasted potential...
cw/ spoiler warning: sa, abuse, harrassment, plot in generalFirst of all I want to say this series had major pacing issues, the first 6 episodes could've been 3 episodes and the last 2 should've been 4-5 episodes. I know the most of the plot happens in the first episodes but still.
I really liked the cast, they did their best with what they were given.
Now, the wasted potential comes from Tae-Yi and Juha, both of them were way too problematic to be redeemed with one shitty apology. Juha had like 3 scenes where he harrassed/ borderline assaulted Se-Heon (given his internalized homophobia his actions are more nuanced and his hug scene with Doyoon is a great start to redemption), but Tae-Yi??????? He assaults Se-Heon physically and verbally and then s*xually?????? For no good reason????? Foul. I can't believe Se-Heon forgave him so easily because first his reaction to that kiss and then his action outside the bar were absolutely horrible and his apology was just "sorry that I hurt you" like be fr.
If we only saw Tae-Yi verbally warning Se-Heon and then warming up around ep 4 it would've been excusable because his mental state was still bad because of his brother.
Briefly touching on Juha and Do-Yoon's "kiss": obviously kisses aren't the most important part of a bl, and actors shouldn't do it if they don't want to, but this excecution was just really lazy, in my opinion it would've worked exactly the same if not better if it was a kiss on the cheek. I'm also a bit dissappointed we never got a conclusion to their story, even if they just remained friends they could've shown up at the end.
That was all I have to say I think, in conclusion it had a lot of potential but they lost it near the end.
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Don't watch if you want a cohesive story
CW: HEAVY PLOT SPOILERS, sa, abuse, r*pe, harrasement, violence in generalI finished this like over a month ago so my bad if i get some details wrong.
As the title says, don't watch this if you want an interesting story about a twin dissapearing and the different aspects of sex and the sex industry. The show did have all those elements, but the end result was a mess, there were so many characters that by the last episode there were still people whose names I didn't know (eg the 2 football guys).
If you're interested in a lot of badly shot and awkward nc scenes, maybe give it a shot.
I understand that most people watched this for the nc scenes and to those people I ask: why? There were a lot of nc scenes but that doesn't mean they were good. The acting in those scenes was fine but the way it was shot left much to be desired, how am i supposed to believe two people are getting it on when i can see their bright pink "RICH" underwear in every shot. Comfort for the actors is always the most important part with nc scenes, and i hope they felt safe and protected during, but that doesn't mean you can't make it look real with some clever camera angles.
the story starts of interesting with the storyline of Zoey and Teena but by the time they get together in the middle of the show they get sidelined and forgotten until the last 10 minutes. Their conflicts were interesting with their dynamic of virgin x former-sex worker but they did have some strange out of character moments (eg Teena going through with sex when Zoey clearly stated he wasn't ready, this didn't feel like Teena at all). Zoey's character twist at the end could've been great, a r*pe victim taking back his sexuality on his own terms with someone he loves, but the fact it gets reveals in the last 5 seconds in a voice-over and that's it is really underwhelming, especially since we don't know if he told Teena or not.
Nont was definitely my favorite character since he was so passionate about finding his brother, which made his story extra sad when we find out what happened, but even that wasn't handled well. The perpetrator of what happened to his brother being revealed after the credits with no motive and no one who knows makes it obvious they were hoping for a season 2, but with the mid reception I don't know if that's possible. Nont deserved to know what happened to his brother, and the audience being the only one who knows is a bit depressing. Sadly I was really invested in this plot, but they had to make way for more nonsense plot with characters I don't care about.
Honestly I don't really have much to say about the other characters except 2 things: 1. it was extremely out of character the way the friends kept switching up on each other, first being mad at Zoey and then at Nont. This is an extremely toxic friend group but I had hope that Nont and Zoey would've stuck by each other. 2. It took me so much willpower to not skip through every scene with First and Soong because they were done so dirty with their dialogue and it was extremely hard to watch. all their random english lines and then some conversations being in english with the worst Thai dubbing i've ever seen was rough, but their story was at least kinda interesting.
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Finally made it to the end
short review: much better than I expected and really liked it but I totally understand people not watching it for the platforming alonelonger review: before I hate on the platforming let's start with the actual content of the show :)
I really liked both leads, their personalities were convincing from the start and the short runtime made sure there weren't any unexplained personality changes. All the side characters did good too. I was surprised how much they plot they crammed into the runtime and I was always anticipating the next episode. The small cast did make it a bit easy to see who the culprit was going to be but I enjoyed watching the other characters figure it out.
...now, let's talk about the worst thing about this show: the platform
I had the willpower to not spend money on this but boy was it hard. 7 ads every day added up to only 4 episodes a day, so I think it took a bit over 2 weeks to watch it all, rough. I'm glad I continued watching because it's honestly worth the watch in my opinion but the platforming definitely brings it down and without it I'm certain the show could be way more popular, which is dissapointing for everyone involved.
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Its.... fine
Like the title says.... its fine, everything about it is just okayThe plot: fine, wish they could've focused more on the street basketball part
The setting: fine, it's good for a sport bl and I liked that they showed that at least Meen and Ping could actually score
The acting: fine, some highs and some lows but overall it's not horrible, standout performance from Coach Ton. Wasn't really convinced by Meen and Ping playing high schoolers so that took me out of the immersion
The characters: fine but on the lower side, most characters didn't get enough screen time (looking at you side couple #3) and a lot of screentime wasted on Atom's one sided crush
The romance: fine, fairly simple but appreciated except for the unnecessary love triangle. Also not a fan of having this many couples when 2/3 aren't fleshed out
The ending: fine, extremely rushed with unnecessary plot points but ultimately wrapped up fine
In conclusion it's a good watch if you're bored and have nothing else but it's not a standout show, and that's completely fine (no pun intended) ,not every show needs to be 10/10
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