This series literally and figuratively taken the BL genre to another world!

This series really surprised and impressed me. Its story is novel even if most of us have seen tons of supernatural romcoms in the past, but this series offered us a new dimension of a BL genre. We all know how the characters in BLs are conflicted about coming out and falling for a fellow guy, what more if the reason for your coming out is because of someone who do not physically exist? I love how the story unfolded throughout the series except for the revelation part. I wasn't satisfied by the reason behind Met's death and how it was dealt afterwards. But I'm willing to forgive this series because I really enjoyed the main plot, i.e. the attraction between Than and Met.

About its cast, we all know that Singto is the main guy here being one of GMMTV's biggest stars. I kinda expected how he will deliver his role and he did not disappoint me. If there's someone to commend here, it should be Ohm. So far, from all his series I watched, his acting here is the best. I was moved by him and I wouldn't deny it. I hope he'd be given more projects to explore and hone his skills and enflesh his acting potential.

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Worst Nanon and Chimon series. I love these two actors, so I watched it.

So many plot holes. The main plot is a bore. Production is poor. Don't get me wrong. I am a big fan of the lead actors but this series is a big disappointment.

At the onset, you already know who the main villain is. But of course, they tried to execute an unnecessary plot twist to save this production from the shame of a predictable mystery thriller. The series could have ended in episode 10 but their plot twist extended it for another 2 episodes.

There are also too many unnecessary scenes, which certainly are a waste of time and resources, especially the unrealistic fight scenes. The only saving factor of this series is the cast. If you're not a fan of any of the actors, watching this series is a waste of time.

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What you feel is not the Second Lead Syndrome, it's the Plot Betrayal.

So, why do I think Start-Up committed a plot betrayal? Let me ask you this, how did the main male character of the "story" become the second male lead of the "series"? In writing a story, you don't build a foundation that you will not use in the end because you can make it float by capitalising on a fanwar.

You might also be wondering why Han Ji-pyeong is favoured by majority of the viewers than Nam Do-san. We don't need to pit the two male characters against each other and compare their features and flaws. The story is written to make viewers experience Dal-mi's feelings vicariously. The plot's exposition clearly established who really is Dal-mi's love interest. The rising action of the story is premised on Ji-pyeong's struggle to reveal himself (and his love) to Dal-mi. They dragged this til it reaches its climax in Episode 15, making its falling action relatively short (with some lame excuses and justifications for a Do-Dal ending) and the denouement disconnected from its origin. Hence, the backlash from some of its viewers.

It really was a promising series. Majority of its viewers who watched it until the last episode hoped that the original main male character's struggle will be resolved properly even if it was virtually impossible when Episode 14 gave all the leverage to Nam Do-san. Hence, even if Nam Joo-hyuk plays Han Ji-pyeong or Kim Seon-ho plays Nam Do-san, majority of the viewers will still root for Ji-pyeong. It clearly is not about the actors but the story and how it established its characters. Nam Do-san was not even a full character until the last minute of episode 2, whereas Ji-pyeong is already a core character connecting all the other main characters, i.e. halmeoni/Mrs. Choi, Dal-mi, and the boy from the television and newspaper, Do-san.

I have to admit that Episode 16 was able to conclude other subplots well, from the apparent success of their start-up to In-jae's reunion with halmeoni and her family. Sans the plot betrayal, this series would have been one of the best KDramas of 2020.

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This series is way better than Blacklist production-wise for having the same director who grossly failed in the latter. There are still too many plot holes. Some of which are inconsistent timelines, others are promising subplots that they failed to address towards the end, e.g. the two main characters have met before in Hong Kong but the male character never discovered that prior meeting.

I'm glad, however, that the characters of the two lead actors are different from their usual roles. It's something fresh to see. Happy to see New playing a character who is a complete opposite of himself. I also love Krist's acting here. I would say that Krist truly is one of GMMTV's gems. He deserves projects with better directors though.

As for the chemistry, I kinda like Namtan and New's chemistry than Jane and Krist. I like Jane but her chemistry with Krist did not work for me. I ship TayNew but I also would like to ship NamNew from hereon.

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