holy wholesome series batman!!!!

it's been a while since a bl series has impressed me this thoroughly. and whilst i usually don't think it's fair to compare unrelated pieces of artistic work, in my humble opinion this has shone a light on what some other series haven't done so well.

the very way this series was set up from episode one was so strong because you have an immediate idea of who tian is and where his character direction is going. they follow that by setting up a strong location with an equally strong supporting cast. i can't speak for anyone else but every single member of the village made me so happy. it's a rare gem to watch a romance drama and not just be invested in the main couple!!!

but speaking of our main couple the chemistry was simply /chef's kiss. earth and mix managed to make me feel on a profound level how much tian and phupha loved each other and ached for each other in each other's abscence. and the truly impressive thing is most of that was conveyed with half the touching, grinding and kissing of other bl dramas. don't get me wrong all that has it's place i think it's just truly impressive what the two managed to communicate atmospherically through subtle body language and subtext.

i also genuinely appreciated the change in scenery. i think it was such a breath of fresh air to have a bl drama not set at college. again that still has it's place i just think they were able to tell a very unique story because of it.

10/10 loved this drama so much more than i thought i would going into it initially.

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some of y’all are harsh

this drama doesn’t deserve nearly the amount of hate it gets. is it the best thing ever? no, not by any stretch. however when there are dramas that excuse literal sexual assault, calling this the worst bl ever isn’t fair in my opinion.

if you’re not into slow burn this one isn’t going to be for you. but honestly i think that was evident in the title: step by step.

let’s start with what i didn’t like to get it out of the way. the pacing and time given to certain storyline’s wasn’t the best. spending that much time on jaab and jen only to give no resolute ending to them was in fact a choice. it’s clear the writers tried to pack in too much. in that regard i understand the frustration.

the production at times was admittedly messy. two characters in the same room with completely disparate audio quality. it often sounded like they recorded at different times. shaky camera work here and there. music cutting off abruptly to an almost jarringly silent background.

the other common critiques i can’t get as far behind however. i liked that our mains were realistically flawed. i don’t think what we ended up seeing was no character growth. growing as a person isn’t about never making mistakes or even never repeating those mistakes, it’s about acknowledging when you do. which was one of the biggest take aways of step by step - and i think they did that well. i personally don’t want characters who never do or say stupid things. especially when they’re young or come from extremely sheltered backgrounds. i want them to talk about it and find a common ground which pretty much all our characters succeeded at in the end.

i also greatly appreciated their critiques of the bl industry and the shippers. it was good to see an acknowledgement that whilst they use bl couples to sell products the company heads are often very homophobic and that the general public doesn’t like any gay couple if it conflicts with the marketed ship. a nice follow on from lovely writers’ criticisms imo.

again i understand that the agonisingly slow push and pull of it isn’t for everyone, but there are plenty of snappy bls where the mains get together by episode 5. i liked being dragged along by my back hairs personally. the one thing i will say is the breakup in episode eleven felt unnecessary. the conversation about them not always communicating in the most conducive way could have happened without them spending two years apart, but i digress.

all that paired with a cast of really likeable side characters i would absolutely rewatch this

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it was... interesting

I'll start by saying props to Net and James' chemistry, because it really carried the whole show.

Unfortunately for me, there isn't much that narratively worked about it.

The trauma storylines they gave Uea felt extremely heavy- handed. As other reviewers pointed out, it's not that people can't be serial victims, it's that the show didn't execute it well. And James just didn't have the acting experience to really emotionally convey what that's like. I also didn't overly appreciate that the trauma at the hands of men in his life felt purely like a chance for King to knight in shining armour the situation. As if all survivors need is a protective partner to come into their life. I understand the point was meant to be that King helped Uea love himself and set his own boundaries, but i'm not sure that was clearly communicated tbh.

Now to King and Uea's relationship. I think the problem with it was the show spent a long time telling us King was a player and they only had a FWB relationship, but at what point did they actually show that? It was pretty clear to me that King was down bad from the beginning. Which made the whole "will they, won't they?" dynamic feel super low stakes. Because like, they spent the whole show dating. They just called it something else. But again, props to their chemistry, because that was fantastic.

Idk it felt like a very nothing plot in the end unfortunately.

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10/10

I knew people loved this show going into it, but it's genuinely one of the best BLs I've ever watched. In fact I think it sets a new standard - especially for Korean BLs. It was clearly given thought and an amount of care that is usually only afforded to heterosexual dramas.

The cinematography, the soundtrack, the actors' chemistry was all a complete success in my opinion. It also (accidentally to my knowledge) provided some excellent representation of an autistic character navigating dating and adult relationships. Not to mention casual bisexual representation without it being a *thing* that it patted itself on the back for.

There are so many good things to say about this drama honestly. The only downside is how short it is, but don't let that discourage you from watching and loving it.

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