This review may contain spoilers
I was first very sceptical about the recast and didn’t watch the second season immediately. Actually I wasn’t too fond about the first season, which felt so far from reality in every aspect, but especially Bass has kept a special place in my memory and heart. However, I don’t regret that I watched the second season eventually.
Some aspects I really liked about season 2:
- The idea of remaking the whole first season within the first couple of episodes was a good one (although it was not that well-executed).
- Some of the new cast members did a surprisingly good job: my personal favourite was new Forth, but also new Wayo surprised me.
- The storyline around Park did succeed in bringing some real drama into the story and the writers made him a surprisingly ambiguous character (he had me fooled for a moment, back in the cinema).
- I can’t complain about missing queer representation, Wayo’s Gang made me love the season much more. Sure, it’s highly stereotypical, but in a good way imo.
- Kit’s family was another aspect of the storyline that made it feel more real and down-to-earth to me; his brother was overacting, but eventually had a nice way of showing affection.
There is a lot that bothers me about this season as well, though
- The music. I mean, the title song was really okay and even in line with the season 1 title song, I don’t expect Getsunova-style hits in every series I watch. But the overall soundtrack was extremely boring and sometimes seemed incomplete, as if they had left out some scenes in post-production entirely (I thought my audio was broken in some moments). Come on, I need music for it getting to my heart!
- Some of the actors were not convincing at all, and I feel like that applies to more of them in this season than in the first one. From the main cast, I just couldn’t get used to Ben, his facial expressions were so out of touch with his scenes sometimes.
- Overall, the story is so pointless! I can’t even decide which season was worse in that regard. It left me with that empty feeling all over again. It’s probably the very definition of yaoi, but I just can’t fully appreciate a story without a story.
There’s a lot that could be improved for season 3 (if it is realised), but I have not much hope for that, since the source material is what it is. Because I am a BL lover, I’m probably not as critical about this (and season 1) as I should, so I will give both seasons 8*. That might be too much compared to more “serious” and more thoughtful dramas, but after all I gave Love by Chance 10*, so with that as my guiding point 8 seems fair to me.
Some aspects I really liked about season 2:
- The idea of remaking the whole first season within the first couple of episodes was a good one (although it was not that well-executed).
- Some of the new cast members did a surprisingly good job: my personal favourite was new Forth, but also new Wayo surprised me.
- The storyline around Park did succeed in bringing some real drama into the story and the writers made him a surprisingly ambiguous character (he had me fooled for a moment, back in the cinema).
- I can’t complain about missing queer representation, Wayo’s Gang made me love the season much more. Sure, it’s highly stereotypical, but in a good way imo.
- Kit’s family was another aspect of the storyline that made it feel more real and down-to-earth to me; his brother was overacting, but eventually had a nice way of showing affection.
There is a lot that bothers me about this season as well, though
- The music. I mean, the title song was really okay and even in line with the season 1 title song, I don’t expect Getsunova-style hits in every series I watch. But the overall soundtrack was extremely boring and sometimes seemed incomplete, as if they had left out some scenes in post-production entirely (I thought my audio was broken in some moments). Come on, I need music for it getting to my heart!
- Some of the actors were not convincing at all, and I feel like that applies to more of them in this season than in the first one. From the main cast, I just couldn’t get used to Ben, his facial expressions were so out of touch with his scenes sometimes.
- Overall, the story is so pointless! I can’t even decide which season was worse in that regard. It left me with that empty feeling all over again. It’s probably the very definition of yaoi, but I just can’t fully appreciate a story without a story.
There’s a lot that could be improved for season 3 (if it is realised), but I have not much hope for that, since the source material is what it is. Because I am a BL lover, I’m probably not as critical about this (and season 1) as I should, so I will give both seasons 8*. That might be too much compared to more “serious” and more thoughtful dramas, but after all I gave Love by Chance 10*, so with that as my guiding point 8 seems fair to me.
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