Bed Friend (2023)

could have been a 10/10

Overall: there was potential to tell a story well that we never see; however, the title, trailer and plot synopsis all misled viewers into what this series would be about. Bed Friend is not a steamy series about friends with benefits and more about coping with trauma. I am basing this review by the series itself and not based on the novel as I believe series should stand on their own. 10 episodes about 40 minutes. Aired on GagaOOLala (cut version, 1 30 second deleted scene per episode is listed separately up to ep 6), iQIYI (uncut version) and YouTube (cut version). Later aired on Viki (uncut?)

Content Warnings: *dub con kissing/touching/sex (I'll put more in a comment marked with a spoiler), attempted/beginning sexual assault, trauma, past: parental abuse, grooming, molestation; homophobia, victim blaming, manhandling, punch, sexual harassment, stalking

What I Liked
- frenemies to lovers premise (though they needed to show more why Uea hated King so much)
- child actor did an excellent job
- supportive friendship although Jade didn't make me laugh
- caring/sweet moments
- styling
- NSFW scenes (although they are a bit too choppy for me, the actors actually kiss each other and do a good job during them), liked the consensual kitty play
- episode 3, setting clear rules/boundaries, people might not agree/like some of the rules but I appreciate being upfront about what is acceptable and what is not (though I think they both later violated at least 1 of the rules)
- 1 terrible character had consequences
- showed them going together to get checked for STDs
- referenced therapy and medication*
- some good camerawork/cinematography like at the beach

Room For Improvement
- choppy/difficult to gauge how much time has passed, it's never a good sign when a series changes the number of episodes mid airing, scenes would jump quickly, in episode 10 they were in the car and then immediately in different outfits in the office, also what cheapskate stunt was that, don't combine those two events!
- King is not all green flags, starting at ep 1 around 25 minutes, but it continues with him pressuring Uea to move to his condo, victim blaming Uea, also him doing that "plan" without consulting Uea first (though he checked on his second plan)
- Uea's lack of agency, I really wish Uea had initiated some of the plans, it felt that stuff was constantly happening to him or people were doing things on his behalf
- *still felt a very unrealistic "love cures all trauma" message, especially with episode 10 and the scene about turning off the lights
- I realize this is based off a novel but it's just too much trauma, it's trauma after trauma after trauma, I wish they would have focused on 1 aspect and fleshed that out really well
- why did they make every male character in love with Uea???
- the NSFW scenes were too short/not enough/too artistic for a series called Bed Friend and with the premise of friends with benefits, that glass in episode 10 came off as weird instead of sexy
- several terrible characters had no or little consequences, also they didn't clearly show that the half sister didn't know because if she suspected or knew and still pressured Uea to return home, then she can disappear along with his mom
- the office humor and the comedy sound effects were not funny and the tonal shifts were jarring as well
- King's approach/plan in the beginning felt like a very fictional way to go about things, I couldn't tell if his feelings changed or if they were that way from the start
- ep 1 not a fan of an exposition dump for an intro
- both violated the "rules" they set up
- nonsense stuff, he didn't know there was a camera in his office, who put the camera there??? nonsense computer code/screen
- production value issues including odd camerawork, poor editing

Citeste mai mult

I appreciate the attempt, I question the presentation.

I’m not sure how I feel about this drama. Being romance driven, I cared about romance the least. While I loved the gradual healing on Uea’s side, I do believe the level of trauma this child had to face in such a short period of time (screen time wise) made it a bit ridiculous for me. By the 3rd toxic person in his life I just started to laugh… And it’s not like this scenario is completely unrealistic - many people who were victims become victims more than once. That said, the way they presented it with lack of good spacing in time and pace, I just could not take it seriously. The presentation was just lacking too much.

I also could not get on board with how Uea treated King a few times closer to the end. Everything that happened at first is understandable - miscommunication happens, especially if you don’t trust the person yet. At some point though, it felt more like Uea testing King for no other reason than enjoying watching King plead. Even that would not bother me if they established it’s something King is into, but they did not. So it seemed like a mind game when King had to constantly prove how much he loves and respects Uea to the point of asking before he can touch him (and I don’t mean in a sexual way, I mean literally any way) and being denied by Uea with a smirk on his face. That’s when I started to think - maybe Uea is truly completely not ready to be in a healthy relationship and needs to book a visit to a therapist first. It’s not like it happened a lot, but enough for me to feel a bit uncomfortable.

While I loved King, I also find him painfully underdeveloped and one dimensional. Net did a great job with acting, but the writing of the character itself was empty.

As for the nsfw scenes - let’s say I’m glad I watched the cut version, because even that was a level of cringe I could barely handle. Most of the bed scenes made me laugh, some skipped completely.

Acting was decent - big props to all the villains, perfect presentation that made me hate them with a passion. Net did great with some vulnerable scenes, but James sadly does not have enough skills yet to truly deliver the pain and suffering Uea as a character was internally going through.

Production was okay. Lately a lot of BLs are truly overdoing it with the blur filter on actors faces making them look like Barbie dolls - ain’t fan of that. Last episode was more like a bonus than the continuation of the plot - everything was concluded and there was nothing left to add. Personally, I was kind of bored watching it.

Overall… I don’t know. I kind of enjoyed it? It led to a few interesting conversations I had with folks on mdl, but I find it sad that most complex ideas came from the community and not the show itself. A lot of things were truly basic and simplistic, and by now I think we can expect a bit more nuance from the genre.

Citeste mai mult

A boring softcover porn with questionable acting

There is no main storyline and the characters are one dimensional at best, with Ueas main trait being a gratuitous trauma dumpster.

The first part of the show mostly consists of strung together, cheap, gratuitously long, softcore porny looking scenes with some random office moments thrown in between and some random blackflashes to Uea being assaulted and abused by his family members. Overall a strange concoction but let’s move on.

We have King, who is apparently a player, and Uea, who’s hates King bc he is apparently a player. This could work as the most basic concept idea but not as a finished script. There’s so much information that’s lacking. When did King and Uea meet the first time? Was it at the bar when King tried to hit on him or was it at the office? Ueas hatred towards Kings doesn’t make much sense either. It’s not like King cheated on him or promised him something, hell I don’t think he even managed to ask Uea a question at the bar, before Kings apparent date or one night stand showed up and Uea took offense to it like a scorned, betrayed and cheated on wife.

Kings obsession with Uea also comes off as random and nonsensical. Why is he so hellbent on getting someone who holds nothing but disdain for him for no good reason? It would make more sense if King actually had some sinister ulterior motives in mind but that’s not the case at all and therefore his actions and decisions come off as incomprehensible and random.

At some point Uea drinks himself unconscious and King takes him home and takes advantage of him but I guess that’s not his fault bc Uea asked him too lol. I actually don’t mind non consensual situations if they get addressed later on, at least to some degree, but I don’t think it happened here. Anyway, Uea gets angry the next day but still decides to become fuck buddies with King later on, for no good reason. Maybe it’s bc King gave some money to Ueas mother but I’m not sure. It’s hard to pinpoint the moment when and why Ues decided to keep banging King, especially knowing his random hatred towards playboys.

The latter half of episodes concentrate on the cartoonishly evil Boss, who randomly wants to get into Ueas pants and King being jealous bc of it. The boss gets fired and the last two episodes are pretty much unnecessary, endless, boring fluff and sex with no semblance of a plot whatsoever.

I don’t even understand why King and Uea decided to become fuck buddies in the first place bc their dynamic never reflected it, even from the start. They acted and behaved like they’re in a perfect, monogamous relationship right away. There was no tension and no conflicts that one would expect to see from such concept idea. Even the sex scenes were always portrayed in the same way, which became very boring very quickly.

The trauma aspect wasn’t addressed properly either. It’s like Uea didn’t have a personality apart from being a victim. Everything evolved around his trauma and how it was magically fixed by him dating King. It’s like the trauma was a romantic trope instead of an actual serious issue for Uea to get through. There was no logical build up to Ueas decsions at all. He let himself be abused by his irredeemably evil mother for years and just suddenly broke off their contact, seemingly at random. I know that the rapey Boss came by but it didn’t reveal any new information for Uea to suddenly be able to stand up for himself.

The acting wasn’t good either. James isn’t someone who is ready for a main role yet. All of his emotional scenes were laughable at best bc he wasn’t skilled enough to pull them off. He needs a lot more workshops and practice. I can’t really say much about Net bc his role wasn’t as demanding as James‘ but I didn’t cringe as much when he was on screen in comparison to James. I’m sure they’ll get other projects to work on and I hope that they, especially James, will acquire more acting skills till then.

I guess Dimundi‘s works aren’t really clicking with me but I have to give them some serious credit though bc while their works might not be for me, they certainly are popular enough. They isolate a specific audience and appeal to them, which I think are mainly very young, straight girls in their late teens to early/mid twenties that are mostly looking for fluff and sexual content with a typical cookie cutter Uke as a self insert and a perfect, hot seme to take care of him/them.

Good for Domundi though.

Citeste mai mult

A nothing burger served on a slab of soggy bun

Honestly, this is a well acted series but a bad, bad story. It takes a self-indulgent, arrogant, delicate flower and tries to make him a self-indulgent, arrogant delicate flower. Sure, there are moments of real drama and abuse in his life and kudos for dealing with issues. But they are done so with such superficialities and everything else is presented from a one-sided perspective. This relationship is completely one sided - one gives and the other takes. That may be fine in the beginning that will get old fast. The overall story is confusing, disjointed, and is chaotic. And the lovemaking scenes are some of the worst. I fast forwarded through them. They are gratuitous and so rehearsed that they are phony and show no chemistry at all.

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Bed Friend Should’ve Been Put To Sleep

Two things I honestly can’t believe: 1) My first review is going to be on this drama and 2) I sat through all of the episodes.

First things first: If you love this drama but are close minded, don’t read further because you won’t like what I have to say. However, if you love this drama but are open to seeing it's flaws (imo), please proceed. And finally, on the contrary to both, if you absolutely hate this series, either don’t waste your time reading or see how many things we agreed on. Got it? Good. Let's get messy because god, this drama is. (spoilers ahead for Bed Friend, Tharntype, and Love In The Air)

Important note: The rest of this review contains mentions of multiple forms of ab*se. If you are not comfortable with that topic, I don't recommend proceeding.

It's dramas like Bed Friend, Tharntype, and Love In The Air that are the best contenders and biggest examples for one of the many problems in the BL film industry (specifically Thai BLs) and whose obsessive fans make me lose faith in…well, just about everything. That problem, while shockingly is hard for some (the fans) to pick up on, is the masking of SA and/or using SA as a means of characterization, not development. Now, now, don’t come at me and say that Tharn, Sky, and Uea were SA’d for a deeper reason because to the lengths that these series go to continuously bring up the assault (not that it is to be ashamed of, but the show doesn’t do anything respectable with it) is insane. Ex. 1) In Tharntype, Type tells Tharn about his SA experience and they grow closer; only by this point, the viewer probably forgot that just a few episodes before, Tharn SA’d Type at night in their dorm room. Viewers might have missed this if they don’t fully understand what SA can look like—it happens in different forms. 2) In Love In The Air, after Prapai stalked Sky and they finally got together, Sky was tricked by his ab*sive ex-boyfriend into seeing him again. After Prapai saves him, Sky tells him what happened in his past relationship, and the show depicts multiple scenes of the ab*se that are certainly hard to watch (seriously, what was that for? we just watched another scene of his ex attempting to SA him and they proceed to show us more?). While these are not the same shows, it proves that toxic and flawed depictions of how shows deal with assault is continuing and increasing. I could go into more detail, but for times sake of both you and me, I'll just focus on Bed Friend from this point forward.

Uea is our *main* main character. Most of the story is seen through his point of view with flashbacks from his past and he gets most of the screen time. He seems to not like socializing too much, but he does when needed due to his job and his friend, Jade. He likes to avoid being the center of attention, he’s not confrontational, and he keeps his feelings and problems to himself. He’s suffered through a multitude of ab*se (like being locked in a bathroom by his mother, be*ten by his mother, attempted SA from uncle twice) that is still ongoing (financial ab*se from mother, attempted SA from his ex-boyfriend, predatory relationship with his boss and mental abuse when he sees his uncle during visits home). It is easy to feel empathy for Uea, pain for his situation, and hope that he meets someone very deserving of him.

But instead we got King. King, a fellow co-worker of Uea, is masked as Uea’s saving angel, the one good thing in his world, his knight in shining armor, his escape from his dark and damaging past, etc. You get the point. Therein lies my previous point of masking SA: You know how their relationship really kicks off? A one night stand. With Uea. Who was drunk…. What was the reason? What was the reason?! Uea was clearly concerned, guilt ridden, confused, and distraught as we see him wake up next to a sleeping King. Not something I personally wanted for our love interests to start their, well, love. For a show that had a character go through the amount of trauma that Uea did up until this point (and more comes later), you would think (I guess, hope) that he would be a promoter for self-advocacy, body autonomy, and overall thought-out decision making when it came to something as personal and deep as sexual intimacy. And maybe he would be, but we never see this thanks to King and Uea being drunk. While the show tried to make it seem like Uea initiated the event (King stayed a little too close to Uea on the bed, imo), it doesn’t matter because King says “you’re really drunk” to him, and they proceed to do the deed?!? Knowing he isn’t sober?!?!! Bye. I should have checked out after this but instead, I got in too deep and needed to see how this series would fall apart and disappoint me more.

I know people are probably screaming at me saying, “King was the causality for Uea’s healing! King saves Uea from other assaults so many times! King blah blah yadda yadda yo gabba gabba.” Maybe, sure. Even so, I so deeply wish they took this into a different direction. Uea’s “healing” is now not a result of his recognition of his self-worth or his realization that one shouldn’t deal with his circumstances alone, but instead because of a friends-with-benefits relationship that he started because he was lonely and hurt by his ex-boyfriend cheating on him and who later tries to SA him so he uses these feels, WHILE DRUNK, as the motivator to sleep with King?!?! WHAT ARE WE TRYING TO SAY HERE, MANDEE CHANNEL?? PLEASE, HELP ME UNDERSTAND BC I. DON'T GET. IT.

The SA scenes aren’t a plot point (a moment in your story that impacts the character or the direction of the story in some way) or a plot device (a storytelling tool or technique that is used to propel a narrative). It’s…there isn’t even a storytelling-based word to describe it other than unnecessary. The directors and writers clearly are obsessed with inducing a shock factor but what such an act truly does is degrade the potential meaningful message of the story. It was impactful, but in the worst of ways. (Would have been "better" if it only happened once (like with the uncle) and that being the sole message surrounding Uea's character: you are not the bad thing that happened to you.)

Okay, taking a breather for a sec…side note: UEA'S AB*SE ISN’T EVEN MENTIONED IN THE SYNOPSIS. Viewers (myself included) most likely went into this series expecting an office romance with enemies-to-lovers, but what we got was a sorry excuse for chemistry, acting, an actual deep plot, a logical narrative, and we got the use of ab*se for shock. If you resort to consistently using ab*se to make your reader feel SOMETHING good for your character, I suggest- no I BEG you to switch out of a writing career. With the three drama’s I mentioned before, and more that I am sure are currently in production, we really don’t need to see more media with this narrative.

Okay, sorry, my review is getting a bit long so time to speedrun this (plus I don’t want to give this any more energy):

Transitions:
Some of the transitions feel SO. AWKWARD. The characters either say too much, too little, or there’s an awkward pause (I literally watched the last 3 eps on 2x speed). Also, sometimes, what characters are saying makes me think I missed a whole thing of dialogue. It could be because I’m watching it in English, but idk (ex. Uea and King’s argument in ep 7).

Cinematography:
The cinematography is the pinnacle of average. The only pretty shot was the beach scene at the end of ep 4 and beginning of ep 5.

Acting:
It's not great. It’s not the worst I’ve seen. But it’s not great. Sadly, the only actor that had a very good performance was Uea’s younger self (everyone else kinda pissed me off).

Conclusion:
I'm giving this series a 1.5: A 1 because I can't go any lower, but a + .5 because Uea’s younger self did very well in his role.

While I ask that viewers stray from this series so we are not increasing views therefore increasing these half-baked/toxic relationships and gaslighting stories anymore, I can’t stop you. So, if you do end up sitting through 420 minutes aka 7 hours aka 10, 42 minute episodes, don’t simply waste your time and, instead, reflect on the content you are consuming, how it aligns with you, what you’re watching it for (emphasis!!), and think about who or what does this really benefit.

If you made it this far, I deeply apologize for making you think about this series any longer. I'm going to throw myself off a cliff, pray I live but wake up with amnesia so I forget this series. Bye! xx

Citeste mai mult

Boring waste of time

I liked the premise and idea for the plot, the relatively high production value and an array of veterans who supplemented the generally young cast (was nice to see Jakkrit Ammarat again, he played Tian’s father in “A Tale of 1000 Stars”, here he portrays King’s father; other familiar faces include Passin Reungwoot - Pran’s father from “Bad Buddy”, here as Uea’s stepfather - and Tawatson Plengsiriwat, who played Chai in “Love in the Air” and here stars as Krit).

However, none of the above can change my perception of this show: "Bed Friend" is a poorly written and abysmally acted, actually bad BL. Shame, as the plot could have been developed into a much, much better script, which - with proper cast - could turn into a great BL. A bulletlist of the shows flaws includes:
- unlikeable and annoying protagonist (Uea),
- stiff/wooden acting (James has only two facial expressions: annoyed and amused; most of the young cast has no acting abilities whatsoever - and it shows),
- lack of chemistry between James and Net (chemistry between the main/only couple in a BL is mandatory - here we have a travesty of that),
- King’s actions in earlier episodes raise a lot of red flags and this isn't addressed in any way then nor later,
- the basic plot makes sense, but the script does not,
- every episode contained several filler scenes or shots, as well as scenes which were stretched beyond belief (by unnaturally long pauses, prolonged stares etc.) - all in an effort to make each episode at least 45 minutes long; this shows how little actual content there was in the script,
- annoying and/or dumb side characters, too many side characters with little or nothing to do,
- clickbait “sex” and “sensual” scenes (added nothing to the development of the plot, were included only to generate buzz and create a false impression that the show is about something; if you want to see two attractive males do sensual or sexual stuff - there's plenty of that elsewhere),
- serious issues (sexual assault, discrimination, abuse, trauma) were treated in a superficial way and either remained unresolved or were resolved in unrealistic ways (e.g. without any effort/time or offscreen).

tl;dr: this is a bad, boring BL which can be watched on fast forward with sound off.

Citeste mai mult

This is my first BL and I'm not really sure why I picked it up. I was interested in the premise of the friends with benefits turned more where the casanova is converted. But that is not what this drama delivered. Instead you get a story of 'love overcoming trauma' which was not ever mentioned in the synopsis. The cast is all good looking which makes this nice to look at when watching, the OST is too repetitive and forgettable, the cinematography is very average, and the nsfw scenes are awkward.

From the beginning you are told rather than shown that King is a player which made it hard to grasp since for the entirety of the show he only ever was interested in Uea. I expected to see an enemies to lover trope but King never seemed to dislike Uea at all. He was charming and portrayed his emotions well through his eyes and facial expressions even though the character was written fairly one dimensional as purely the love interest with not much else to him. Their relationship begins with a drunken one night stand, which I can agree with other viewers that King definitely should not have continued that night knowing how truly drunk Uea was but King had also been drinking so you could say they made that mistake together.

Uea was not a very likeable character at all. The actor did not carry the emotional scenes well at all and I found him primarily annoying and hard to understand. His back story with trauma and toxic relationships also was not done well and was used as purely a shock factor. While victims do often get victimized again, it felt unrealistic especially in the time frame it was portrayed to have happened that he was targeted so frequently. Then you have Uea's treatment of King specifically after King's confession that truly bothered me. He was controlling and arrogant but in a way that King's previous behavior toward him did not warrant. For Uea to go from being a sex buddy to then not allow any touch what so ever felt weird. The two also showed more chemistry and interest as just bed friends than they did as a couple. The bed scenes were also odd and choppy but then nonexistent once they became a couple.

The last episode was also pretty boring to watch as it added nothing to the plot, it was just there to create an ending. Overall while this show is pretty to look at it lacks in substance.

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A Story Without Context

I fully say I can’t review a show when I don’t know what the drama’s main intention was trying to convey. There is so much missing that it affects every aspect of the show. I can reasonably say I don’t know if the actors did a good job conveying the character’s emotions or intentions, mostly because I couldn’t figure them out. The primary purpose of music added to a show is to help you feel important emotions with the characters. I couldn’t enjoy the music selections because I was more caught up in trying to ascertain why this scene was emotional or essential to the plot.
As the title says, ¨Bedfriends¨ is a story with little background knowledge and context for why characters and situations are happening. Little to nothing is explained about the character’s backgrounds, expectations, and intentions as the drama progress. This drama is like an outline an author would have made when planning to write a script. For example, I want these characters here and this to happen. A very light idea to keep the storyline moving but with the intention of the author returning to fill in the blanks and build out the characters later. That never happened; this rough draft became the final product, leaving much desired. As a standalone drama, I find it lacking.
HOWEVER
I assume it will make way more sense if you read this as a follow-up to the novel. I have not read the book so I can make zero guarantees about that truth. I’ve also heard rumors that this was supposed to air as a sequel to ¨ Middleman’s Love¨, and I’ve seen no accurate citable sources to agree with that. I am again making my point that this drama cannot give its audience a clear explanation of essential background knowledge when watching, even if this is a sequel turned prequel. I hope the same
problems are not found within ¨ Middleman’s Love¨, but I guess I’ll have to wait until it airs to find out.

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Too much bad (especially the writing) wiped out the good

LIKEs:
Apartment and office sets were well designed.
Location scenes, like the temple and the Aunt’s place, the boating moments= beautiful
Good and appropriate wardrobe
Music that helped express feelings of the characters due to the lyrics being sung, were well chosen.
Actors and actresses for the most part well casted.
Finally a psychiatrist is suggested in a Thai drama where the main character goes through trauma!
I also liked that Uea’s healing was gradual.
The issue with the Stepfather was handled abruptly, but at least he was punished
Wardrobe was suitable and fashionable.

DISLIKES:
Writing:
UEA is abused by: mother, uncle, ex-boyfriend and Boss Krit
Ridiculous amount of abuse towards UEA, that by the time the Boss Krit gets in on the abuse, it has become sadly laughable.
Too many sex type scenes, so there is no impact by their intimacy. There wasn’t much chemistry between the Male leads, even though they tried to make it so.
Under developed characters: King’s back story
Plot holes were noticeable and the script was poorly created.
Every bad review on here talks about the terrible writing, so I won’t repeat what they’ve covered.
Production:
Bad editing where scenes cut off abruptly and then more filler scenes. Very bad editing. (Even towards end of series)
Music:
Abruptly playing music, even just audio while actress or actor speaking, then cutting it off suddenly. Doesn’t add suspense or anything and drowns out the voice speaking.
Acting:
The forced crying was just terrible acting. They could have panned the camera away, put in eye drops and made better crying moments. When the character Jade cried in the last episode it was so bad I hit mute.
Uea’s mother, the actress was not good. She over did everything, but that might have been the Director’s fault.
Directing:
Overly long moments where the actor/actress paused too long or stared forever, etc. This caused pacing issues, and the time could’ve been used more wisely.

OVERALL:
As with all Thai dramas the product placement was overly present. Unfortunately the bad writing and editing, etc., weighed down the potential of this drama. I wont rewatch it and there are better BL dramas to watch, so I wont recommend this either. Waste of time.

Citeste mai mult

Way too much of everything

this is my first time giving a low rating like that but I think its just my personal preferences that made me go with 4 stars only. I dropped this series because it was too much of uae's trauma scenes, too much off these sexual scenes with king. I mean sum hook ups are fine duh but every dayum 5 minute a s*x scene was really too much and it took the special meaning s*x can have in a relationship. I just wished for more focus on the development in Kings and uaes relationship but I also only watched 4 episodes. I just don't want to keep up with all these unnecessary s*x scenes, trauma scenes. But that's just my preference.

Citeste mai mult

Highkey Overrated

It's clear that the casting of the main couple did a lot of the heavy lifting in making this show seem better than it is, don't get me wrong, NetJames' acting is spot on! The writing however...

I really tried to like this show, and it started off with potential;
- Having a mature show with two consenting adults is hard to come by in BL so I was intrigued as to how they would approach it.
- I like the inclusion of setting boundaries for hooking up and showing that consent is important.
- A small detail I really liked was showing them going to the doctors to get tested, it's not shown in BLs because I feel like some cishet female BL watchers don't really see gay relationships as real relationships lol but anyway it's important to bring attention to this kind of stuff.
- I liked that it didn't feel like I was watching a straight couple, too many LGBTQ dramas end up shoving their couples into the heteronormative box, even though Uea presents more on the feminine side and vice versa it didn't fall into straight-ness so I can appreciate that.
- I don't like the way they wrote Uea's trauma, him being constantly harassed and assaulted throughout the whole series, I found to be kinda "inspriration porn" ish, it just felt like the show kept belittling Uea rather than having him heal from his trauma.
- Tell me why the HELL did King send that video of Uea getting assaulted to the whole damn office without consent... Top 1 thing NOT to do to your boyfriend who has a lot of sexual trauma.
- Overall King's character felt flat, his only personality trait was that he was a sleazy player but OH? He's secretly kind? Never done before!
- Uea had every right to run away and take time for himself and never come back, but King just expects him to come back to the office... Like uh okay?
- I'm so tired of dramas not knowing basic biology, you can't sick from standing in the rain for three minutes, let alone bedridden; unnecessary sick episode, should've gone without it.
- Overall the writing felt lazy, either Uea has a trauma or they are having sex, nothing else really happens.
- You can't put Tutor in the intro for the whole series and only have him appear in the last two seconds of the final episode, it feels like a scam.

Conclusion: If you like trauma and gay sex, watch it I guess

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I dont know what the focus was...

I dont know what the focus was....... You have a title like this with very pretty actors who dont hold back on the sensual scenes. You expect a fluffy fun romp of a show with a bit of hate, sass, and tension between Uea and King who dont exactly hit it off in the beginning. The show is clearly servicing... tracing fingers on bodies ecetera ecetra. All of this is meant to provoke a particular response. A spicy edge, no holding back kind of deal. Then suddenly you are hit hard with a flood of trauma after trauma of Uea's backstory. Anytime you think it was already bad, you get hit with something else. Uea's past is fraught with trauma and somehow he becomes a beacon in the current day that brings in more abuse in nearly all aspects of his relationships. So immediately my mind goes off and I had an unsettling thought.......is this show trying to provoke a response with this too? With Uea's trauma? Because thats pretty messed up if so. But after watching it to the end, I think it's more of a problem of doing too many things at once and the drama became unfocused because of it. So what came out in the end was a confused juxtaposition of the sexy time scenes side by side with the traumatic experiences that threw me off. Since they piled a load on Uea's story, there was no time to go through it all to unpack it. The drama tried to do too much and it just didnt work. But with the negatives aside, I do have positives. I particularly liked the actor who played King. I found his emotions believable and out of the entire cast he stood out to me the most. Had he been given a better story, better dialogue, and Im sorry to say a better acting partner...Actually, just a new project entirely.....I would watch that to see how he does. I think with the actor who played Uea, he was too...how do I say? Pretty? But, hear me out. When he is sobbing and breaking down, that's when I thought...pretty. Im not talking about "pretty" as in a beautiful performance, but too pretty as in...he's too perfect in appearance and in his acting. He doesnt let himself become imperfect, messy, or ugly. They made him look too angelic, flawless, and always put together and perfect. He doesnt look exhausted. He isnt even slightly disheveled or disoriented. I get that we gotta make these actors look beautiful. But, let's say there is no getting around a flawless image. You can still present a beauty who clearly has been through some shit with a skilled actor. It was impossible for me to believe that this is the same guy who experienced all of that trauma. His acting felt acted and not embodied. I dont think he was the right fit for this role. Clearly not the only reason why this drama didn't work for me, but its a contributing factor. Overall if i had to rate this, it's a 5.5 out of 10 for me.

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