Stopped Midway Through!

Off/Gun were fantastic & no, i'm not comparing series and roles here. just wanted to get that statement out of the way.
I stopped this series at episode 5. when something is interjected into the story for absolutely no reason & without justification and it sinks the already nonexistent storyline - i tap out. and during episode 5 (the father's visit to Prem) i tapped out. this was change for change sake. there was no reason to add that piece to the story. the reaction or lack thereof from Prem to the father annoyed me. this is not realistic in the slightest. no one will just stand there and be insulted and do/say absolutely nada. Moreover, as an adult/late teen, no one will tell you to stop seeing someone and you listen, especially a stranger you don't know. huh?

then to proceed to make excuses to your love interest. lie to your love interest. avoid your love interest. accept the notion that you scammed/stole from them. HUH? this is was nonsense. i cannot in good faith continue this series with the expectation that when i arrive at, let's say episode 9, some other nonsense curve/twist with out reason/justification.

I have yet to grasp why studios have perfectly great movies/series going and destroy with the need to interject drama. messy drama is not a requirement for folks to enjoy your content. realism, yes. drama, no. i guess, unfortunately, this is where the world is. people need controversy in order to stay engaged. i'm not that guy and will not subscribe to that kind of content. EVER!



*****UPDATED REVIEW*****

i finished watching the series 10 hours after the first review and i'll just say this...episodes 6-12 continue to raise my blood pressure. i could have done without finishing it, but i like to complete what i've invested in. the only good thing about this series was the discovery of the song Baby Crush, which i love now. that said, we can throw this series away.

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BL Masterpiece

sigh, how much i’d enjoy an episode 9, but not a full second season (simply because another season isn’t needed).

i intended to have this on as white noise while i worked on some other things, but as luck would have it…i kept glancing during EP. 1 and binged all 8 episodes.

Karl & Vlad, unlike so many characters in a BL series, were real - they were human. the story was not focused on a kiss…the pursuit of sex…a love triangle, yet two human characters. LGBTQ+ portrayed correctly. chill nights watching movies, friends over, dinner, attraction, fear, support, love, hope, retreating from the world, living in our own little bubble where it’s safe. not brave enough to endure the whispers, the rumors, being shunned, the looks, the faces, is it safe to hold hands, how do ppl view us?

a series with a meaning & i think beneficial for everyone new to BL to watch as an opener. i, i’m sure like most of us, started somewhere else in our BL journery & watched this along the way.

really was a Top Tier series that needed & deserved an episode 9. just for closure and to tie up loose ends.

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Directing Mix-Up

this is where i leave the camp & go back home.
i was pretty much looking forward to this show after each of the first 4 ep's.
i have no idea what happened during ep. 5. the acting sucked. the story sucked.
fourth/atom cannot confess his feelings. something dumb keeps happening. annoying.
long stares at nothing. long stares at each other. long stares daydreaming. just long stares.
at this point it feels as though they are trying to stretch a 5 ep show into 12. & there are 7 more.
there literally nothing left to tell of the story. we've seen it all. what else is there other than more staring?

i'm so confused as to why directors are doing this relentlessly. just tell the story and move on. if there's more, create a 2nd season. don't stretch a story out! viewers will grow annoyed with the show, the directors & possibly tune out a future product. the only ppl being punished here, other than the viewers, are the actors. fourth is incredibly talented and attractive, so it's difficult to give up on his acting. i'd for sure watch him in something other than this. i remember when Cooking Crush was released and ppl were livid because OffGun deserved better roles...a better storyline and they had proven themselves able to carry a more serious drama and not that particular kiddy drama. i actually enjoyed Cooking Crush, but now i understand what critics meant. there was so much this story could deliver with GeminiFourth...it just sucks the direction it's going. the comedy is not landing with me - well it's hit or miss and more miss than hit, i assure you. i may pick it back up when it's over and binge it all the way through for a different result, but as it stands now, this is only the 2nd BL i've every dropped. i dare not say what the other one was. thinking about the suffering makes me cringe all over again.

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Destined

The budget was nonexistent, but clearly the crew worked with what they had and it paid off. The actors & well the entire cast worked hard and what they lacked in a budget, they made up for it in acting skills and great music choices. Honestly the music was amazing to me. I found myself using Shazam multiple times. I actually plan to look up all of the music after I write this review to make it easier on my life.

the plot was not groundbreaking - it wasn't something we've never seen before, but new actors & a new determination made for a great story. you felt the emotions of the two main characters. you grew with them during each episode. you hoped for particular outcomes and if you were like me, found yourself annoyed at one particular character. good grief.

it's definitely worth a watch. if you only realized it was a good series around episode 3 - you may find yourself needing to go back and rewatch the entire series to pick up on things you missed in the first few episodes.

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Short & Sweet

This was not a groundbreaking BL - the plot/storyline was pretty basic.
Youth love. i think a main difference here was Sang Ha openly expressing his love for Jin Won without having a secret about his love or needing friends to help motivate him to tell Jin Won. He was very open and assertive.

this is very short series, so no harm - no foul if you don't like it. not as if you've invested weeks or multiple days into it, but i do think it's a cool watch while waiting for another deeper BL to arrive. I usually prefer Thai series, but i'm not totally against Korean series/movies. the subject matter is a bit different. if this were a Thai series, things would have been a bit different. not saying that's a negative or positive. Thai directions usually add a lot of messy mess (sometimes unnecessary) but i know some enjoy that sort of thing.

it's worth a watch & maybe a rewatch later, if you missed something or just enjoy the actors. Let's be real, who doesn't enjoy Cheon Seung Ho =)

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Disgusted!

"i don't like men....i just like this one guy"
"i only have these special feelings for him"
"i'm not like them...maybe i am like them"
"he's a man - i'm a man"

i'll stop there and just say...stop doing this in BL's, PLEASE! it is some of the most annoying subject matter i've ever sat and watched. this is not reality and never will be. trying to convince me to buy into the premise that a guy is a gay/bi without them admitting they're bi/gay, but having this confess to one guy, but still proclaiming to love women, is just a headache in itself...minus the other clusterfuckery going on.

for this shit-show of a series...was it horrible? yes! could i have done without the nonsense at the end of episode 9 and all of episode 10? abso-fuckn-lutely. the homophobic father...typical and annoying. if you're going to make a BL series centered around gay males or self-discovery (coming out) don't make it about halfway being bi or almost being gay. Chon in episode 10 drove me up with walls not accepting a damn apology. if i were Ton, i would have left and said deuces. if anyone thinks i'm about to get on my knees in the hot sun - sweating bullets, while being rejected by a halfway cute guy laying in his bed with the a/c on...gotta be kidding me. never in this lifetime. however, after sitting in the sun and i guess sleeping on the ground...sending notes through the window...having my notes thrown in the trash and dumped on the ground....having water thrown on me while i sit outside sweating, by the person i want to accept my apology and fix the relationship...Chon still says no...but removing my shirt and giving a story about a tattoo does the trick and i'm home free and my relationship is restored. good fckn night, folks. oh but Ton's body was nice af....to me.

aside from that - this was a disaster - DEE ZAS-TER!

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Better Ways To Enjoy Your Time!

as i say in most all of my reviews:
remember reviews are only good for the person that wrote them. we all have different perspectives and interests, so what i say here may be the complete opposite of what you see when you view the series.

that said, and to keep this short, i was not fond of the script or the actors. the only reason i completed this show is simply because i started it and I didn't intend to do that. it was a complete accident.

i enjoyed the music. the ex was annoying. the kiss scenes were awkward. the actors tried to work with what they had, but it was an uphill battle from the start. the female work friend was hilarious to me.

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Hello, Love!

Remember, when reading reviews...
That review is only good for the person who wrote it.
Please do not skip a series/movie simply because you saw a negative review.
That said, Hello Stranger: The Movie, is the BL quality I enjoy.
I binged watch the series and movie all in one evening without interruption.
And I'm happy I did. This was a beautiful story of Mico & Xavier.
Mico, adorable as adorable gets. His tears, you felt. His words, you heard!
He gave of himself to this role - as did co-star, Xavier. The acting was phenomenal.
JunJun/Seph...what great friends and support. JunJun, more than anyone was the rock.
JunJun was beyond necessary with his bits of logic & just sheer common sense.
It subtracts sex, lust, the need to be physical, love triangles, & confusion.
It simply addresses real life emotions & events. Tugs at the heart.
A story told...hmm...coherently. Actors with chemistry who were passionate.
This movie should be included in the every BL list as a mainstay.
We should rewatch/revisit this title often as a reminder....

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Between TeamWin & DeanPharm

Listen, it goes without saying that the storyline of DeanPharm had so much appeal that could have been further tapped into during this series. Dean was such an alluring character. Very attractive. Reserved, intelligent, respected on campus. Pharm was an absolute sweetheart. I would've enjoyed exploring the story of these two.

That said, TeamWin was also quite interesting. I enjoyed their characters separately, however something about them just didn't mesh well together on the screen for me. When writing these interviews, I try to keep in mind that just because something does not mesh for me, does not mean that's truly how it was. It's my opinion and I try not to judge a series/movie based on a clear opinion. Others may have found the chemistry between TeamWin quite powerful. Towards the end I enjoyed the very emotional scenes with Team & his past. It was quite emotional and brought tears to my eyes. Very well executed.

Also, I wanted to mention PrinceBee. They had a very cute relationship. I cannot express how attractive Bumblebee is and his smile is beyond adorable. Another relationship that had legs and could've been explored more.

Taking everything into account, this was a great series (in my opinion) acting, plot, value, execution, on topic, emotional response...ect ect. It's worth a watch for every BL fan.

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A Gem

You will experience a range of emotions while watching this series. I said spoilers are contained, but not exactly. As it relates to spoilers, all I'll say is the "mother" never grew on me and although I did understand her plight, the sheer realness of her character made it hard to watch and accept during the series. I hoped that once her son confided that she was smothering him - she would back off. not the case. he illness only worsened.

Who could I identify with the most - the son. The son did everything for his mother and an independent life was not to be had. Which i think was the greatest tragedy. In the end, I hope there would be a happy ending. Still not to be had. Well I guess depending on who you ask, it could have been a happy ending. For me it was not a happy ending. For me I felt joy during the the short courtship, but mostly sorrow.

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Sighs in Fantastic!

This is not at all a long review.
All I can say is I screamed at my Mac so many times watching this series.
I was rooting for Lee & Choe with everything in me.
I wanted Choe to get his life together and follow his heart.
I wanted Choe to address his "sister-crush"
I wanted Choe to grow a spine and standup for himself.
I wanted Lee to hold on just a little bit longer for Choe.
I was so hopeful towards the last few episodes, but it was not to be.
I could be in the minority on this, but I felt that displayed true chemistry.

Great series all around and great acting.
I recommend and rewatch.

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