A disjointed mess with a few good scenes

This was a very strange series. The scenes of the main couple were pretty good, but there weren't a lot of them and the rest of the series was boring and made very little sense.

Lee Jun's past as an idol was so irrelevant to the plot that he could just have been a regular new office worker and it wouldn't have changed anything. He could have simply been friends with Hyun Jae and Simeon for different reasons and the plot would have been the same. I'm honestly not sure why Hyun Jae and Simeon are even considered part of the main cast when they really didn't do much. I guess they were there to serve as rivals for Choi Jun, but it didn't really work. Simeon was way too straightforward and Hyun Jae just never confessed. It was also obvious from the beginning that Lee Jun wasn't interested anyway.

There were just too many characters for no reason and as a result, they all feel really shallow. Even the two main characters don't get enough development. Why make Lee Jun an idol if you're not going to show and/or utilise any aspect of him being one? Also, we don't know anything about Choi Jun at all other than the fact that his father is the company's president (which is completely glossed over) and that his mother made him move to the US against his will. And he has a fiancée, just because? Why not, at this point.

Jun and Jun also never have a proper conversation about their past or how they feel. The bulk of their interactions comes in the shape of disjointed statements scattered over the course of 8 episodes. I feel like they REALLY needed to have a conversation after the scene at the end of episode 3/beginning of episode 4, but they just proceeded to ignore each other and focus on work until the end of episode 6. Then the last two episodes were pretty good but it took way too long for them to get to that point. Also, it might just be me, but I feel like their kid versions would have worked better if they were swapped. I actually went back to check if I mixed them up because Choi Jun comments about how Lee Jun was always cute, but in the flashbacks, it seemed like Choi Jun was the cute/passive one who got picked on. There was a bit of a disconnect there.

What I did like, however, were the cute/funny/steamy scenes between Jun and Jun. The humour was also a lot dirtier than I expected from a KBL, which was a pleasant surprise. The second half of episode 3 was particularly good, and everything after the kiss at the end of episode 6 was decent, but the series as a whole had way too much boring office filler and not enough interaction between the leads. A lot of the dialogue made very little sense and the editing was all over the place. If I were to rewatch, I'd skip everything except the Jun and Jun scenes.

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Too slow and poor story

I didn't know what to expect when I started watching this. I mostly watched it because it was on Netflix and highly rated on here. It started kind of slow, but I figured it would get better. It did after a few episodes, but then it became really slow again and only got worse after that. It doesn't help that the episodes are 80-90 minutes long. The leads' relationship took too long to build up and then stalled for ages and it was boring.

Also, I wish this was tagged as "ensemble cast". I know there's main characters, but honestly, the side characters have just as much screen time as the leads. The fact that a dozen characters have around the same amount of screen time means the characters have a lot of depth, but it leaves no time for a real story. The most story happens in the first episode when Hye-jin quits her job and decides to move to Gongjin. After that, it's mostly slice of life for the rest of the show, with some drama that honestly feels forced. Du-sik's big secret was revealed way too late into the show and was hyped way too much for something that wasn't his fault, and Gam-ri's death at the end was really out of the blue and unnecessary.

That said, the acting was really good and I particularly liked Director Ji as a character. Gam-ri was another favorite of mine, and I would have given the show an 8 instead of 7 if they hadn't killed her off for no reason. I also wish they'd done more with DOS and with Mi-seon and Eun-cheol's relationship. Overall, not a bad show, but ensemble casts and slice of life are not really my cup of tea.

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Waste of time. Do not watch.

I feel like this second season was a complete waste of time seeing as nothing changed between the end of season 1 and the end of season 2. The situation remained the same so season 2 might as well not exist. There was no character development whatsoever, unless you count Jojo becoming more and more irritating.

She's honestly the worst female lead I've ever seen in a drama. Are we supposed to feel sorry for her because of what her parents did? In season 1, because of the way Gul-mi and her aunt are treating her, we're led to believe that she did something terrible, but it turns out it wasn't her fault. I thought we'd learn something new in season 2 but nope, so I guess the way they treated her never made sense in the first place. She did nothing wrong, and also they kept saying she was mooching off of them, even though she worked two jobs and paid rent? Also, her aunt suddenly being nicer to her in season 2 was kinda random.

The whole Duk-gu plotline was so dumb. It was really obvious from the beginning that he and Brian were brothers because of the last name and how Jojo's friend says "they could be brothers" when they do the face analysis. Not sure if we were supposed to be shocked? And it looks like Duk-gu is supposed to be the good guy, but to me it just seems like he gave Jojo the shield so Hye-yeong would have a chance with Jojo because he felt sorry for him. So basically, he meddled with Jojo and Sun-oh's relationship? What a great guy.

Then there's Jojo acting like she liked Hye-yeong from the moment she saw him in the nurse's office in season 1, but there was no sign of her liking him at all until halfway through season 2, and all of it felt so forced. It felt like she was just pretending to like him out of pity. Seriously, what a boring character. He's dull and plain-looking and has no redeeming qualities. He's obsessed with Jojo and it's honestly pathetic how he's willing to date her even if she never likes him back just because he wants her by his side.

Jojo clearly liked Sun-oh up until she got the shield, and even after season 2 it's still not clear why she installed it other than "I was scared". Scared of what? Sun-oh helped her through her trauma on Jeju island, and then she just dumps him for no reason? She never does give him a decent explanation. Also, they mention her meeting Sun-oh's mom after the accident, but we never find out what happened or what was said. So many plotholes and things that lead nowhere. What was the point of Hye-yeong's dad being in prison? What was the point of the crazy guy who killed people because of The Ringing World? Why is Jojo suddenly this great artist in season 2? It's never mentioned at any point that she likes to draw, and no one is impressed by her talent when they discover that she's the artist. We know nothing about her other than she works two jobs to pay back her mom's debt and she's a compulsive liar who doesn't care about other people's feelings.

All the characters were awful, except for Sun-oh and, surprisingly, Gul-mi. She was believable as a mean girl (even if her reason to hate Jojo made no sense) and she was passionate about things. First, becoming an idol, then becoming a content creator, and then becoming a member of the Badge Club. She had more character development than all the other characters combined.

Sun-oh came off as a bit creepy in season 1 at first when he brought Jojo in an alley and asked if he could kiss her, but it's later clear that no one in his life has ever liked him and that she's the only one that makes him feel something positive. It's ridiculous that he apologises to Jojo after reading her instagram post as if her non-explanation somehow justifies the way she treated him. And again, season 2 didn't solve or explain anything. Sun-oh is still as hurt and confused in the end as he was at the end of season 1 and he's stuck with a girlfriend he'll probably never like, if we're to believe what Yuk-jo tells Jojo outside the store.

So, what's the moral of the story supposed to be exactly? The very first scene of season 1 makes it seem like the point is that Love Alarm is a terrible invention, which is further reinforced by the fact that it divides the population (What happened to the Anti-Love Alarm people btw?) and causes suicides and crimes, but Duk-gu says it was meant to be invented? Why is he against Love Alarm 2.0 if it helps prevent suicides? Also, how can he be against 2.0 if his goal was for Jojo to consider Hye-yeong as a potential boyfriend? Instead of giving her the shield, wouldn't she have seen Hye-yeong on the list with 2.0 anyway? I think I'm thinking too hard about this poorly-written mess.

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Too serious, I don't get the hype

I decided to watch this because it just finished airing and it was getting a lot of 10/10 reviews, but I have to say I think it's overrated.

What I liked:
- Higher budget than most BLs
- Good acting
- Good ending

What I didn't like:
- The drama felt a bit forced
- No humour at all, takes itself way too seriously
- Most characters felt two-dimensional
- A lot of filler, some episodes felt too long
- Editing was a bit weird, music randomly stopping, etc.

I think overall, it felt a bit too serious. Not bad, but not my cup of tea.

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Needs to be watched at least twice

I know I'm late to the party reviewing this, but one of the reasons I waited so long to watch it is because I read several opinions saying this was a very toxic series. I finally got around to watching it a couple weeks ago and the first watch was definitely very different from what I expected. I could see what people meant by "toxic", but when you put yourself in the characters' shoes, you see that it actually isn't. The main character is an unreliable narrator, and for that reason, there are things you only really understand on the second watch, and it's 100% worth it.

The series has an amazing amount of details and it's very impressive how much plot the director and screenwriter managed to fit into 6 episodes without it feeling rushed. And of course, the actors are extremely talented and really brought the characters to life. Easily one of my favorite dramas.

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A mess from start to finish

This was honestly a waste of time. The leads had so little chemistry that they weren't even believable as friends, let alone lovers. They had nothing in common and fought in every episode for the dumbest reasons. The love confession was the most underwhelming thing I've ever seen, and the ML who at first rejects the other suddenly changes his mind after a timeskip with no character development to back it up. They kiss once at a camera angle where you know their lips probably aren't even touching for real, and then they start dating but still act exactly the same as before. The romance is nonexistent. Sprinkle in their family issues that make no sense and add absolutely nothing to the plot, and that's pretty much all this show is.

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Weird music

One of my first thoughts watching this was that the music is extremely weird and distracting in some scenes, especially in the first half of the show. Odd choices were made in that department.

The two MLs were really good but the rest of the cast was a bit weak. It felt really low budget when other characters were present.

The story was okay but I feel like one of the MLs did a complete 180 in episode 4 and the rest of what happened was kind of trivial. The drama in the last two episodes felt tacked on just to make the show longer.

Overall, it was pretty cute and funny, but a lot of it was really over the top so you have to suspend your disbelief just a tad. I've seen other people mention harassment in the first few episodes, and I get where they're coming from, but I didn't get the feeling that the ML felt threatened, he just seemed annoyed, so in my opinion, it wasn't as bad as people are making it out to be. Worth a watch if you're bored.

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Disappointing

This was hyped so much, I was expecting something amazing, but it was mediocre at best. It started out pretty good; the quality was much better than season 1 and the first two episodes had me hooked, but then it quickly devolved into slice of life and nonsensical drama. We get it, Seo Joon is a celebrity and he gets bad articles written about him. It's the same plot as season 1 all over again, except the MLs are getting back together instead of getting together for the first time.

I honestly found Ji Woo's character extremely toxic. The reason he broke up with Seo Joon and ran away never really makes sense even after he explains it to both his ex and Seo Joon, and he's a total dick for 99% of the series. The worst part is when he sleeps with Seo Joon at the end of episode 4, only to start treating him like garbage again the next day. Then he stays like this until the last episode, where he delivers one of the worst crying scenes I've seen in a drama. The crying was so bad it made me laugh.

A lot of things didn't add anything to the plot and just felt really random. Ji Woo's dad's friend who scammed the entire village? Why did they blame Ji Woo for that when he was in high school at the time? Makes no sense. Ji Woo's ex? I get that she was there to make Seo Joon think that Ji Woo still liked her, but they really didn't do much with that so it seemed a bit pointless. Also, for an ex that supposedly broke Ji Woo's heart, he forgave her real fast. And how exactly did she find out Seo Joon was Ji Woo's ex? Their conversation was disjointed and her thought process was never shown. Ho Min becoming an idol? I get that the actor is an idol in real life, but that was so random and unnecessary.

One of the things that bothered me the most in season 1 was that Seo Joon's PTSD about things breaking was never explained, so I waited all of season 2 to get an explanation, only to get an underwhelming, half-assed flashback in the last episode. It didn't make a lot of sense. The whole thing about his parents moving to Italy because he annoys them was also random.

All of that said, the leads have pretty good chemistry and Son Woo Hyun's acting is great, but it's not enough to save the mediocre plot.

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Underrated

I watched several BLs in a row that I thought were overrated, and I think this one is severely underrated. Maybe it's because I prefer lighthearted, comedy-type dramas. This one had everything I love in kdramas, with BL on top. Just the right amount of romance, comedy and drama. I'm honestly confused as to why this doesn't have Comedy listed in the genres.

The story was simple but not boring, the acting was great, and the OST was really good. I'm probably going to put a few songs from it on my Spotify playlist. This also didn't have the "low-budget" feel that some BLs have. Honestly one of the best dramas I've watched, including non-BLs.

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Could have been much better

This made so little sense, lol. It's a show about a vampire, but besides drinking blood and being immortal, he has no other vampire characterictics. He can be out in the sun just fine and I don't even think I saw a fang.

The plot was a mess, especially in the last episode. What was the ring about? What was the random scene on the basketball field after the lady asks Jun Ho if his heart is at ease? After going back to check, I realise it's probably Min Hyun dreaming, but it was very confusing. Why was Min Hyun even asleep in the classroom? Why does he hug Jun Ho when he wakes up as if he thought he'd lost him? Didn't they just sleep together then went to class?

Why didn't he drink his blood when we already know from the first episode that he can drink some without killing people? Why did the other vampire have red eyes? How did Min Hyun's brother find the hideout when no one else in school seems to know about it? Who even was the older lady? She seems to work at the school? They tried way too hard to fit a convoluted plot into eight 10-minute episodes.

This also had the low-budget feel that most KBLs have. The only reasons I'm not rating this lower than 6.5 stars are because the two leads are great, and some scenes fall into the "so bad it's good" category. I see there's possibly a second season in the works - hopefully it answers some of the questions and gives this mess a proper ending?

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