Jack & Joker: U Steal My Heart! (Uncut Ver.) (2024)

A Hot Mess Express with Occasional Sparkles

So, here’s the tea. This is my first YinWar series. I came in fresh, untainted, with no expectations except for the ones the trailer gave me. AND LET ME TELL YOU, THAT TRAILER BAITED ME LIKE A FISH. I was ready for a sleek, sexy, high-stakes enemies-to-lovers heist drama, and instead, I got… whatever this is. My soul is bruised, my heart is heavy, and my standards? Betrayed.

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Plot: A Straightforward Disaster

When I saw the trailer, I thought we were getting some Ocean’s Eleven meets KinnPorsche type of fantasy. You know, a slick thief (War) and a hot, brooding cop (Yin) constantly outsmarting and chasing each other until their hate turns into sexy love. In my head, I imagined War being this clever, mischievous thief always one step ahead, Yin playing the serious cop obsessed with catching him, and eventually, a forced partnership to pull off a high-stakes heist.

But NOPE. What we got instead was a thief who couldn’t steal a pencil case without messing it up, a cop who looks like he’d rather be napping, and a plot that was more “connect-the-dots” than mind-blowing twists. The pacing was all over the place—one moment, they’re at odds, the next, they’re basically dating. GURL. WHERE’S THE BUILD-UP? WHERE’S THE SLOW BURN?

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Character Breakdown: The Good, The Bad, and The WTF

Joke (War’s Character):

Joke is supposed to be an infamous thief, but let’s be real—he’s more “infamous” for his mess-ups than his successes. He steals exam papers, gets caught slipping at food stalls, and somehow, we’re supposed to believe this man is a criminal mastermind? Please.

Don’t get me wrong, War acts his ass off. He’s charming, funny, and carries this chaotic energy that makes Joke somewhat likable. But the writing? TRAGIC. Joke has no consistent personality. One minute he’s impulsive and rebellious; the next, he’s sensitive and emo about his daddy issues. Oh, this man is textbook “my family sucks, so I’m gonna act out for attention.” Therapy is expensive and stealing shit is cheaper. And don’t even get me started on the lack of character development. He goes to prison, but does he come out stronger, wiser, or cooler? NOPE. He comes out the same chaotic mess he was going in.

Also, let’s not ignore the elephant in the room: WHY DOES HE LOOK EXACTLY LIKE BAEKHYUN FROM EXO? And his voice sounds A LOT like Bible.

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Jack (Yin’s Character):

Jack is the serious, logical foil to Joke’s chaos. At least, that’s what he’s supposed to be. Instead, he spends most of the series looking like he forgot his lines. Yin, sweetie, I love you, but your acting here was flatter than my bank account after Black Friday.

Jack’s backstory is solid—he was a soft, hopeful guy until tragedy turned him cold and logical—but the execution? Meh. Yin’s blank stares and lack of emotional depth didn’t sell it for me. And the “cold, brooding” vibe he’s trying to pull off? It feels more like “tired and mildly annoyed.”

Also, can Jack be meaner? Please? I wanted him to ruin Joke’s life, not half-ass his cold-guy act. Be toxic. Be cruel. BE A BASTARD. Instead, he’s out here trying to save his grandma like he’s in a Disney movie.

The only saving grace? His chemistry with War. These two somehow make their mismatched mess of a relationship work. When they’re not awkwardly navigating their feelings, they’re serving chaotic, dysfunctional boyfriend vibes, and honestly, I was here for it.

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Side Characters: The Real Stars of the Show

Aran (Mark’s Character):

OH. MY. GOD. Aran is the drama, the moment, the queen we didn’t deserve but desperately needed. He’s spoiled, bratty, and absolutely iconic in every scene. Mark ATE this role, left no crumbs, and slayed so hard I wanted to throw my wig at the screen. Every line he delivers is dripping with sass. “Sorry, I don’t speak broke.” Like, who gave him the right???

But the writers did him dirty. His storyline starts off strong—daddy issues, a disownment arc, and a slay-tastic fall from grace—but they didn’t give him the redemption he deserved. Why is my man knitting sweaters with Tattoo when he should be rebuilding his empire, walking into boardrooms, and telling his dad, “I’m rich, bitch”? Justice for Aran, you cowards.

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Tattoo (Prom’s character):

Tattoo started as a selfish, money-hungry backstabber, and honestly, I respected the hustle. But after betraying Joke twice (and somehow getting forgiven TWICE?), he finally became a semi-decent human being. His dynamic with Aran was GOLD. The tension, the subtle moments of care—ugh, I wanted them to kiss so bad. But no. Instead, we got crumbs. CRUMBS.

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Hope and Save:

These two are giving “pick-me couple” energy, and I hated it. Constant PDA, zero depth. NEXT.

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Romance: From Enemies to Lovers to… Meh?

This series wanted to be enemies-to-lovers, but the transition was so fast and forced it felt more like “mild acquaintances to boyfriends.” Where’s the tension? The slow burn? The longing stares across a crowded room? Instead, we got, “I hate you,” followed by, “Actually, let’s date.” The fluff scenes felt like they were written by someone who’s never been in a relationship, and the one sex scene? If yall a loyal subscriber of IQIYI, you should know that anything that have ‘Uncut’, the sex scene will be SPICY AS HELL. But then…. Ugh. Don’t even get me started. It started off spicy, but then it went soft and awkward. Like, bro, are we watching GMMTV-lite now?

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Action Scenes: Weak AF

Also, why was the action so weak? War knows how to throw a punch—props to him—but Yin? Sir, what are you doing. His moves were stiff as hell until the last episode, and by then, I was too over it to care.

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The Theme: A Missed Opportunity

And can we talk about the theme? The whole Jack and Joker thing is cute in theory, but why the hell are they using tarot cards instead of playing cards? Like, make it make sense. Joke should’ve been leaving Joker cards behind after every heist, not pulling tarot readings out of his ass.

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OST: WHERE??

The OST was so forgettable I legit thought they forgot to include one. The opening theme is just a tune, and the background music? Nonexistent. Give me a bop, a ballad, SOMETHING.

Final Thoughts:

This series had potential but ended up being a hot mess with occasional glimmers of brilliance. War carried the show, Mark served face and drama, but the weak plot, flat acting from Yin, and lack of emotional depth left me unsatisfied. Final score: 7/10. Will I rewatch it? Hell no.

BL directors, if you’re reading this, call me. I’ve got better ideas and a lot of sass to spare.

Citeste mai mult

absolutely disastrous fall-off

*I initially left this review on the main listing, but since I actually watched the uncut version, I've reposted it here.

God, where do I begin. I guess I'll say that at the start, I was enjoying myself. Sure, it was a little contrived and there were always pacing issues from the episode 1 on, but there were enough interesting elements to have me willing to go along. Over the following three months, I then experienced what the proverbial frog being boiled must have felt as around me the waters got hotter and hotter until I was being turned into rancid jelly.

Quick premise recap: Through a series of contrivances, Jack and Joke meet as youths (Joke is somewhere around 20, Jack is 18) and bond. Jack runs into Joke while Joke is robbing a bank, Joke approves a loan for him, then Jack gets accused of participating in the robbery, Joke turns himself in and goes to prison for 5 years while Jack ends up working for a loan shark referred to as Boss. Time skip forward, Jack is out of prison and wants to go apologize and is upset to find out that Jack is no longer the sweet kid he remembers but instead a (seemingly) brutal debt collector. He teams up with two of Jack's friends to steal Jack's parents' ring from Boss, which he's been using as leverage to keep Jack working for him, and free Jack from this life.

Okay. That seems fine, right? Except from there the plot proceeds to introduce more and more elements, getting increasingly out of control as it goes. I should have known it was doomed the moment they introduced The Evil Crime Boss monopoly game in a scene that must have taken a solid 10-15 minutes but felt more like an hour. I doubly should have known when in, like, the next episode they did an almost identical scene but with a digital game of Chutes and Ladders. In case you didn't get it, these rich people see the poor as their playthings. Do I understand what any of these people actually do? Nope!

From there, it just gets more comic book before reaching absurdist heights with a final episode that includes three characters handcuffed to video game consoles with bomb collars on while for some reason they're forced to play hangman in one of the most excruciating sequences of television I've been subjected to. And then it's revealed that all the danger the characters were allegedly in didn't actually matter, because the escalating events of the past three episodes were actually all just the Four Horsemen screwing with Boss. Which thematically, yes, makes sense, but also negated 90% of the character decisions that had come before.

It's hard to describe what a letdown this show was. It started with a promising premise and themes of the cycle of poverty and self-interest versus self-sacrifice, all to abandon that for a poor knock-off of Squid Game. Character arcs are introduced and dropped at the speed of light, interpersonal conflicts that should be a major problem are resolved in a few lines, and plot points that seem incredibly important just disappear into the wind.

Things that were good:
- War is still a great actor and manages to pull genuine pathos out of an insane script.
- Yin and War have the chemistry and heat to convince you of Jack and Joke's attraction even if their romance arc felt pretty anemic towards the end.
- For the most part, it looks great, and the early fight scenes especially are fun.
- Victor, perhaps the only actor who truly understood what genre he was in, chewed the scenery to bits and left no crumbs.
- The first heist involving the fashion show was pretty fun.

Things that were bad:
- Almost everyone was hopelessly incompetent. If you were looking for a fun, slick heist show, this is not it because no one is good at anything, including Joke who is allegedly a master thief even though we are given absolutely no reason to believe this.
- Wildly inconsistent pacing and tone. Perhaps the Saw traps at the end would have felt more fun and camp to me if the first couple episodes hadn't been relatively grounded.
- Character motivations bounced all over the place, especially for the antagonists. We're told in a two line exchange in episode 10 that Boss is actually doing his hostile takeover of the Four Horsemen as revenge for his parents, which is given no further explanation or depth aside from another single line in the finale that has no relevance and is never mentioned again.
- Characters and plot threads were dropped for multiple episodes. Side characters Save and Hope, who have a lot of bearing on the plot as minions for Boss, straight up disappear for like three episodes straight. Tattoo, Arun, and Hoy, who all seem really important at the beginning, also have arcs that are completely dropped.
- People/the show seems to conveniently forget there are guns for long stretches of time, or just forget how basic physics work.
- One of the most poorly executed twists of all time because we have no information about the people involved in said twist. You have time to make Jack bark like a dog for like five solid minutes but can't give us a Mean Girls-style rundown of the Four Horsemen? Please.

I think the most frustrating thing is that there were absolutely seeds of a good, fun show, but it was buried beneath ten layers of nonsense that should have been cut in the first round of edits. Like, not even. It should have been cut at the outline stage and then thrown into a fire never to be contemplated again. I am willing to accept a lot of nonsense in my media, I am able to suspend disbelief, and I have watched a lot of objectively bad television, but this manged to hit my threshhold on everything. Even watching it with friends didn't help; we ended up setting the finale on 2x when we realized there was still half an hour left after watching people mess with an ipad in a cheap-looking warehouse set for an hour. I guess I'm glad other people enjoyed it, because I like Yin and War, but kings, this one should have gone back to the drawing board.

Citeste mai mult

just incredible

from the very first episode of this show I knew it was going to become my favorite BL, and I was 100% correct. this review is going to be all over the place because I dont even know where to start. everything about this show is just perfect. the casting is so well done -- each actor fits their character so nicely and I couldn't imagine someone else in any of these roles. specifically, the actors playing tattoo, Arun, carbon, and hope did an amazing performance and executed their roles so well, I could tell they were all committed to their characters and there wasn't one scene I felt like they were lacking. and of course, yin and war as jack and joke. I don't even know what to say about them because both of them are such talented, passionate actors who could not have done a more incredible job. every scene between them was passionate and energetic. I was on the edge of my eat every time jack and joke were alone together because yin and war's chemistry is something I don't think I have ever seen before. what may have been small or boring moments in other dramas with other actors were exhilarating because the natural chemistry between them was SO apparent. in particular I want to talk about war. he delivered an Oscar worthy performance as joke, especially in episode 11. I could literally feel the emotions coming off of him because he was completely immersed in his role as joke. as for the plot, I was a little worried because the episodes being an hour/hour and a half long each leaves a lot of room for many boring fillers. jack and joker did not have that once. I truly cannot think of a time while I was watching jack and joker that I was not glued to my screen, even in the more funny parts which I still loved. I think it had a perfect balance between being serious and comedic. everything flowed together pretty coherently, however there were a couple confusing parts/plotholes in the last two episodes but that's bound to happen and they were very minimal so it didn't influence my rating or love for the show that much. jack and joker is ABSOLUTELY one of the best if not the best BLs released this year. I hope that yin and war have even more productions to each other, because jack and joker is something so one of a kind and I do not think any BL will top it for me for a very long time (if ever). thank you yin and war for this absolute masterpiece of a show that I will rewatch 100000 times <3

Citeste mai mult

A masterpiece

I actually stopped writing reviews, but for this show, I feel like I need to share my thoughts. This will just be me praising every aspect of the show, so..don't expect much.

I usually don't rate Thai BLs that high. Jack & Joker is actually my first 10/10 Thai BL. While I normally struggle with the episode length of most Thai shows, I enjoyed every second I spent with Jack & Joker. I prefer much shorter shows and I paused J&J after 20 minutes, when I first started it around the premiere. :'D Because I just couldn't bring myself to watch sooo long episodes. But then I came back shortly before the finale and I don't regret it at all! I didn't think in any moment, that this scene could've been shorten or cut or written differently.

Every character adds something to the story and they all grew on me. I will miss them so much. The comedy bits made me laugh so much, and while they toned it a bit down towards the last episodes, I love that they didn't get rid of it completely. Yeah, sure, it's not a drama for everyone. Maybe some people prefer only serious shows and will think the comedy is misplaced, but for my taste, it was perfect.

The cast is A-MA-ZING. Everyone got casted soo well. They fit their role perfectly and I couldn't imagine any actors for it. The acting is great, the OSTs is beautiful and the story kept me interesting through every episode, which really isn't easy with that length!

It's definitely not a romance focused show, but it has some romance, it has one of the best NCs I've watched (listen..I watched 452 dramas so far, I think I have definitely a ground to judge this.. :D) and the combination out of action, romance, spicyness and comedy was just like I like it.

I wouldn't want this show any other way and I am more than pleased. After LM I craved more YinWar and I wasn't disappointed. Hopefully we won't need to wait another 2 years for their next show!

Citeste mai mult

YinWar

These boys, Men, did a fan-freaking-tastic job. I have given out 10s before but I've never done 10s all they way across the board. I'm so so so throughly impressed by this series.

it was heavy almost all the way through the last episode so a special episode showing a calming peaceful existence with the new boss in place and what the family atmosphere would ease up the tension I feel greatly, especially toi ting wont be their adopted child now.

I have seen their life is but a dream poster with kids though so I feel that may be a prelude to the type of special episode I'm hoping for? fingers crossed 🤞🏻

Citeste mai mult

Jack and Joker- A Masterpiece That Redefines Thai Series – A Must-Watch

If someone ever asks me for a Thai series recommendation, Jack and Joker will 100% be my first pick! From start to finish, it’s honestly a masterpiece. The cast, the story, the acting, the visuals—everything just came together perfectly. It’s not just good; it’s hands down one of the best Thai series I’ve ever watched, and it’s comfortably sitting in my top favorites.

Massive shoutout to Tee Bundit Sintanaparadee, the genius director behind this gem. The way he planned and executed every single scene was just brilliant. The storytelling was smooth, the pacing was perfect, and there wasn’t a single moment where I thought, “Ugh, maybe I’ll skip this.” Nope, this series had me hooked every second, and I loved every bit of it.

And oh my god, the cast and production team—y’all are amazing! The actors nailed their roles so well; they made me feel every single emotion like I was right there with them. And the production team? Wow. The effort they put into making every scene look so stunning and setting the perfect vibe was incredible. You can just tell how much love and hard work went into this.

Jack and Joker has literally everything you could ever want—drama, emotions, insane performances, and visuals that will stay in your mind forever. This series is honestly in a league of its own. If you haven’t seen it yet, you’re seriously missing out. It’s that good!

Citeste mai mult

YinWar made a Masterpiece!

I freaking love this Series.
YinWar put there whole soul and love in this series and it shows.
the story was well written and truly believable.
this show made me smile, cry, sitting on the edge of my seat, laugh and so on.
I highly recommend everyone watching this series.
let's support all there hard work.
I have to admit after ep q0 I took a brake until ep 12 and 12 were out cause I saw some scenes and wasn't ready for what I've seen but bow I finally saw the last two episodes and in only those it gave me all the emotions.
I truly am impressed with YinWar and there chemistry was overflowing. I don't wanna spoil anything so I'm gonna stop here.
in conclusion: Jack&Joker = A Masterpiece imo.

Citeste mai mult

Just watch it!

The uncut version really was uncut omg I loved this show no I love this show so much it has such a special place in my heart omg!!!! We saw raw, evert day, realistic love from Jack & Joke. I love that is was really and it showed normal people trying to make a better world for themselves that’s why it’s a 1000/1000 for me.

War and Yin such as great job playing these characters cause they are both incredible actors themselves wow and they are so talented and just humble people. The fact that they produced this show especially for their fans is beyond amazing they really love their fans.

Joke when he come out of jail his goal was to find Jack and apologize to him but when he found Jack he was not the kid he knew anymore. They had both grown over the years and we can see Joke trying to make amends with Jack but Jack is like nope it’s not going to be that easy for you and so he makes him work for him but you can see that Jack already forgave Joke along time ago. I loved how the relationship progressed and grew to something so beautiful. Now when this uncut scenes began wow we just the raw love real raw that was such a great moment. They really went all out for this show it was such a great way to end the year with a great show.

The love between Jack and Joke was so cute the build from hating each other to absolutely doing anything to protect each other is the best. It was just a good show wow. The side characters were also good we loved them Tattoo, Hoy, Arran, Rose, Save, Hope, Toi Ting and Grandma(the real Cupid of Jack and Joke). They did such a great job and each of them we lived them so much!!

Overall this is the best show of 2024, the fact they Yin and War produced this as a present to us their fans says a lot about them cause they wanted to thank us and it was evident in their acting and everything they gave us in the show it really was outstanding. Now I was hoping that we get a season 2 but it was announced that Jack and Joke coming back in February 2025!! Yay! So 1000/1000 for me for this show it’s a masterpiece everything the actors, the music, the characters, the OST, the story line, the production team. This is the kind of show you enjoy from first episode to last cause they gave us what we want and also unexpected this as well which made it even more spectacular.

Go watch Jack & Joke : U Steal My Heart! You won’t regret it!!

Citeste mai mult

obviously not a romance-focused series

first of all i want to say thankyou for everyone involved in this series-yinwar, actors, director, producers, staffs, everyone. i might be new in this fandom (less than a month, i'm here after eps 9) but i'm very grateful and thankful i'm not late. big applause to yinwar, for believing in the story, potraying jack and joker, invest their own money..

it is indeed a successful series. hopefully i'll still be here to see them enjoy the view of northern light. hope to see more of their works, either as a partner or individually. a big thankyou as well for other actors and staffs involved. they made this series possible.

now i want to talk about things i remember. this is me after finishing the series earlier this morning hahaha. plot holes. it's something that's been bothering me. i can't mention every plot holes i found but for sure i'll try to read others' opinions and to see if i can find new facts to make this story whole in my head. maybe the first one is- the couple ring. people said it's the fake ring joker made during that robbery scene(?) i guess it's correct? but again, some plots aren't explained explicitly. sometimes i just don't have the memory nor ability to pick up all the cues and connect them. and some other plots that maybe i just don't remember the details well lol

i loveee the osts! no complaint ofc. acting? amazing. storyline? mindblowing. at first i didn't expect this series to be this heavy and action-focused but hey, they did it! at the end we only get some tiny bit of romance haha but for me it's pretty acceptable but ofcourse i want a bit more of romance, especially after everything jack and joker went through. i also love the character developments!

this is def my fav series of all time! i knew it even before eps 12 airs lol but yeah, highly recommended for people who want to watch bl but not too much romance involved, includes action and comedy as well! at least it's not too heavy because we can still laugh here and there between scenes lol

even though it might seems like there's not much of jack's pov, but for me, both povs are perfect. i love how they potray jack and joker in their own ways. jack struggling with almost everything in his life but still helping people instead of focusing on himself, and joker struggling to ask for jack's forgiveness, stealing while actually his intentions are good. their communication might not be so smooth but it's better than nothing.

so, maybe that's all for now. love the angst as well hahaha hopefully we can see more of heavy plot bl series in the future!

rewatch value 9.5 because it's on iqiyi and i don't think i can handle the stress of thinking about the whole plot lol

Citeste mai mult

SAD THAT IT ENDED T~T

Why.... why did it have to end?? I wish I could continue to see there life together..... *sniff sniff*
I do have to say that some scenes were kind of goofy which was actually nice because it made the series less dramatic and intense.
The only fight scenes that were actually good in my opinion were the ones with War and Yin, the other ones were a little silly.
I loved the build up for the romance between Jack and Joker! The tension, the hidden feelings that were about to explode, the moments where they felt like it was just the two of them against the world? AHHHH, yes please!!!! They are just so hot together lol.
No matter what, Jack will always forgive Joker and Joker will always try to make it up to Jack. They fight for each other and they love each other very dearly. Where can I find that?? T~T
Also, can I get a different series where Prom and Mark get together??? I saw their small interaction in Love Mechanics and I think I saw a little something between them even though Mark was only on screen for 7 seconds lol.
Anyway.... LOVED Jack&Joker!! MASTERPIECE >~<

Citeste mai mult