FLA is the story of a man who remembers his past lives (the last three of them) and is waiting to be reunited with his lover - something that hadn't happened in any of his other past lives. The reason for his remembrance and his continued reincarnations, is because what he wants is love. His first love to be precise. FLA and Yeon Seok lead us to assume that his first love would 1. Reincarnate 2. Reincarnate in the same time period as him 3. Meet him and fall in love with him again. 4. Is born with the same name again. FLA leads Yeon Seok to assume the same as well, because of which he keeps waiting for Ha Yeon to show up. Maybe we would have benefitted from seeing what happened to a Yeon Seok who didn’t meet Ha Yeon or fell in love with someone who was not Ha Yeon.

But FLA is a simple series and likes to keep things that way. It takes some chances and liberties to be as uncomplicated as possible, sacrificing some crucial developments of character and plot in the process. Jin Hyeok serves no purpose in any timeline. It’s unclear what he wants from Ha Yeon. The situations we see him in are obviously made to look like he’d like to pursue Ha Yeon but he never makes a move. Ha Yeon himself was so ambiguous in the beginning that I was sure he remembered as well. His adoration of Yeon Seok and his novel seem to stem from something deeper. But those threads are abandoned. There are other unanswered questions like- is Yeon Seok going to keep reincarnating until he finds his love?

That said, this is truly a five character-six episode series that does justice to its time and the story it takes up. By keeping the plotline simple, it avoids drama and is able to present its issues in a realistic and empathetic way. The leads’ conflicts on finding out the harsh truths may be predictable but they appeal to our emotions and make us root for them. This is further accentuated by some amazing performances from Jin Gun and Jeon Chang Ha. Even if the resolution of the conflicts is a disaster (we never got to know why Ha Yeon changed his mind; in that respect we also needed a better confirmation that Yeon Seok of the present loved Ha Yeon of the present, than one single statement at an offhanded moment), the story achieves its objective.

Reincarnation is more or less an unused trope in bl. Fantasy is not. Therefore, FLA plays out pretty well overall. It is amply helped by good cinematography, costumes, visuals and music. Though the ending is warped, its emphasis is, in what is a pun on the title, on falling in love for the first time, much like Because This is my First Life is about experiencing life for the first time. That redeemed the entire show for me.

PS- don’t miss the epilogues.