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VERY SLOW "COUPLE DEVELOPMENT" AND BLAND STORY LINE
First of all, I want to acknowledge Man's hotness and somewhat acceptable acting skills. Given that he is still fresh in the industry, he delivers the character well enough. On the other hand, Ben , I'm guessing he is also a fresh actor but still needs a lot of workshops in acting. I find him in this series boring and sometimes over-the top acting.The premise is great, it's not that kind of BL where it's always the set up is either in high school or in university. The idea where the boss will eventually falls for the employee is great! But boy oh boy!!! How many episodes are we going to wait and see how Jen and Pat have a significant romantic scene!?? The closest we have so far is where Pat is crying over a comment on episode 7 and leans towards Jen.
It's so painful to watch Pat talks like he have this speech impediment thing. I don't know about it, is it in his acting or just plain stupid style?! Either way it's so annoying!
THIS IS ONE OF THE SLOWEST BL COUPLE DEVELOPMENT I'VE EVER WATCHED! YES THE TITLE IS STEP BY STEP BUT COME ON!!! IT'S NOT STEP BY STEP ANYMORE AFTER 7 EPISODES, ITS LIKE INCH BY INCH, IT'S LIKE A TOUR GOING TO "COMALAND" OR MAYBE "BORINGLANDIA". PEOPLE ARE LITERALLY SNOOZING WHENEVER THEY WATCH BEN TALKS AND SPEAKS LIKE EEHH...OOHHH... P'JEN...IIIHH..EEE...OOHHH LIKE COME ON SPIT IT OUT!!!!! IT'S NOT CUTE AT ALL!!!! YOU ARE WASTING MAN'S HANDSOMENESS AND GOOD LOOKS! SERIOUSLY!! Dee Hup House WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR COMPANY?? I USED TO LOVE YOUR SERIES ESPECIALLY LOVELY WRITER... LOVELY WRITER IS ONE GOOD EXAMPLE OF A GREAT COUPLE DEVELOPMENT... I'M SURPRISED THAT MYDRAMALIST GAVE THIS SERIES A 7.8 RATING WHERE IT SHOULD'VE BEEN 1.0
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So far meh
I have finally made up my mind and i am watching this but personally to me this series is booring. Kept watching, take a break and coming back. Its like a boss and a babe just slower and boooring. The main cast pat his facial expression just pissing me tf off. I hope later down it picks up because i Am at episode 4 for the longest while. I know its called step by step but come on nah man. The other brother whos in love with the pete look alike to me hes just beautiful and thats about it and the pete look alike ?? but as i said before Lets see if i can reach to 10 because right now i dont know.Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
STEP BY STEP TO HELL….annoying Pat
Okay so i was really looking forward to this series because i loved lovely writer i thought Deehup will produce another banger. I was sorely disappointed, the trailer is misleading because i thought i was going to be in for a thrilling ride.What i got was a lacklustre story, poor acting from Ben, i actually remember lol when he was squeezing his eyes hoping tears would come which never did. Daddy Jeng kept me going for a while but even he couldn’t keep me on this. I dropped it at after ep9. I couldn't stomach another 3 hours of this train wreck.
It’s a shame because i can see that the series had potential but just was poorly executed.
My favourite things about the show
-Daddy Jeng doing push ups and cooking.
-good cinematography on occasion
-Jeng and Jaab’s sibling relationship
What I hated
- Poor story telling
-Poor acting from Pat
- Pat was just an annoying character dunno if it is the way he was written or because of his acting my guess is its both.
Not sure about the end or whether i will go back and finish it.
Update. I have gone and finished it and to be honest I wasted my time. It was an awfully executed ending. Jeng again doing well with his acting, I couldn’t tell this was his first project.
Watch at your own risk ⚠️
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Honest review for Step by Step
Story: Good story but not depth. Lots of emotions are missing. The story is very weak . This story mainly focus on main characters. Jeng and Pat have good characters but they have to improve their relationship.The side story based on Jaab and Jen has totally messed up in my head. Wht about their relationship ? I'm confused about that . The writer have to focus on them also .
Actors are good and their acting is overall okay. Pat is good but sometimes I think it's too much childish. Small part charectors are doing good work. Their stories are not enough to understand every emotional things.
To be honest sometimes I thought they were forced to do this acting .
First 2 -3 episode is going good but after that it's turn not good as ago.
Songs are really good.
This is my personal opinion. I don't want to watch it again . But for one time is enough. intimate scenes are not needed that much if the story has power and actors are talented.
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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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Lent, mais sympathique
J'ai bien aimé le drama mais ai plusieurs doléances à faire :- Le jeu de Ben n'est pas au niveau, contrairement à celui de Man qui est impeccable. Il ne sait pas bien jouer et fait beaucoup de grimaces, mais il est très cute. Par ailleurs son personnage n'est pas particulièrement sympathique, il boude beaucoup, a toujours cette tête de chien battu ("sad dog" comme ils disent dans l'épisode 11), ce qui est problématique, ils devraient le montrer heureux qu'on se fasse une idée plus précise de son caractère (problème de temps et de montage ?) Quand il sourit, il est adorable, devient attractif. Il a l'air d'avoir des principes mais le jeu de Ben n'aide pas à comprendre le personnage, il est très creux, aucune profondeur dans son jeu, il sourit quand il doit être heureux, fronde les sourcils quand il est triste. Je ne comprends pas le personnage et ne comprends pas comment ni pourquoi Jeng en tombe amoureux.
- L'alchimie entre le couple principal m'a posé problème, inexistante au début, elle devient folle lors des scènes intimes. Les scènes de baisers, de sexe semblent si naturelles, et j'ai du mal à comprendre le passage de l'un à l'autre.
Le sexe est par ailleurs tout à fait naturel, il fait partie sainement et simplement de leur relation, ce que j'apprécie beaucoup. Pat ne peut coucher avec Put mais se donne naturellement à Jeng, leur attraction est folle quand ils sont seuls.
La différence de taille est juste délicieuse.
- Je sais que beaucoup de personnes ont été rebutées par la lenteur de l'évolution de l'histoire, ce qui n'a pas été mon cas. J'aime vraiment quand un scénario déroule tranquillement, doucement ses personnages. On suit "step by step" la création d'une relation. Non, mon problème est plutôt inverse : c'est "step by step" au début et c'est "let's run as fast as we can" à la fin. Ils mettent 10 épisodes à se mettre ensemble et 1 épisode à se jurer l'éternité...
- Un certain nombre de points et/ou la réaction de certains personnages n'ont aucun sens ou ne sont pas expliqués (par exemple, comment Put sait-il que Jeng aime toujours Pat, pourquoi Chot et Ae poussent Put à aller parler à Pat, le chef fait la vaisselle d'un grand restaurant...) Par ailleurs rien n'est réglé avec le père et le frère, ni même avec la mère. Problème de scénario ou de montage ?
- Le dernier épisode d'1h42 ressemble plus à un special qu'à un épisode. Jaab et Khanun ont complétement disparu. Même Pat a changé. L'histoire de Jaab est un peu laissée en suspens, on peut imaginer qu'elle se termine bien, mais imaginer seulement.
- Le téléphone est un personnage à lui tout seul. Je n'aime par ailleurs pas beaucoup les flashbacks intempestifs, non nécessaires.
Par contre, j'ai un nouveau crush : Man. Il est sublime. Même avec un costume marron, que je n'aime pas du tout d'habitude.
Et c'est cool de revoir Up. Et Bruce. Et Poppy.
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How to destroy a well built story in the final episode
Step by Step is a cute, slow-burn office romance about a new employee falling in love with a guy, who later becomes his boss (that's all you need to know, really).The story in the beginning is really nice and well built. We can see grown ups falling in love slowly. Because they are boss and employee, which isn't easy, and because they both have backstories. I am in love with Jeng and Pat, who consider what their feelings might do or mean. The two of them grow stronger together, push each other to become better people and they both make mistakes and learn from them. For once, we have a love rival appearing who actually gets a shot - and it doesn't work out. Not because Pat is destined to be with Jeng or because Put is a villain. They just are different and things have changed between them.
The side couple was a great story, too! They are friends and scared of the next step or don't know how to take that step. And then one of them is in a relationship, which creates even more problems. All the characters are so real and I loved so much about the series. The acting and writing, some of their conversations and quotes... At times, there was too much about business for my taste, but it is an office series, so it was to be expected and okay.
What cost this series so so many stars - and made me write the review - is the ending. It took the writers one episode with overlength to destroy the whole series they had built so carefully. What we built over 11 wonderful episodes and what made this series so great was thrown out of the window with full force in the end. Pat becomes a hotheaded boy who overreacts and Jeng a shy mouse who won't speak up for himself. And then they jump in time - for whatever reason - and we are back to zero. How did they expect the viewer to buy that the trust they'd allegedly lost in each other after their big drama would be back after a bit of a timejump? If it wasn't bad enough for Pat to get over Jeng, why did he wait to meet him for years? And they did Jaan and Jane dirty, but sending them off to Japan and not letting viewer see their happy end in an OVERLONG EPISODE!! I am still so angry.
I did enjoy the lovey-dovey scenes of Pat and Jeng once they "resolved" their issues. They were cute, they played the roles well. But I couldn't forgive the writers for simply causing a big drama to get some tears and then ending it the way everybody wants it to end.
All my love goes out to the actors, who did a great job. Chemistry and acting were great, I enjoyed everything between them. But that last episode would have been better off not written.
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Jeng deserved better than Pat
I watched the uncut version of the series, mostly because of a handful of characters: Jeng, Chot, Put, and Jaab. Jeng, with his good looks, smarts, charm, poise, elegance, and all-around goodness, had me wondering why he fell for Pat. Pat, on the other hand, was this mix of annoying traits—rudeness, loudness, childishness—that just didn't gel with Jeng's awesomeness. Seriously, Pat's only saving grace seemed to be cuteness and a few bright ideas. But when he couldn't handle criticism without a meltdown, it made me cringe. And their relationship was very bizarre. Pat went from a slight interest in Jeng in the beginning to hating Jeng and bashing him non-stop, to lovey-dovey with Put, to over Put in a second, to grieving after Put, to accusing Jeng of games??? to professing undying love for Jeng, to hating him and abandoning him, to going back to him. What on earth was this relationship? Such a waste of good NC scenes on this mess of a couple.Now, I was all set to dislike Put for his past actions, but even I couldn't help but feel a bit bad for him for falling for Pat. Honestly, a more intriguing plot would've been if both Put and Jeng dropped Pat and found love with each other. Why not, right?
Chot was the comedic gem, adorable, and a great coworker. Jaab didn't exactly rock my world, but he didn't annoy me either. Jane, though, took the cake for being one frustrating second lead. His baffling behavior with Jaab left me scratching my head, wondering what on earth he was thinking.
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Could have been good with much better editing.
A lesson that Thai drama creators never seem to learn: if you don't have enough of a story for twelve movie length episodes, you have to make the drama shorter. Audiences aren't interested in ridiculous supporting characters that have no purpose other than filling time.I watched half the drama and the combined IQ and EQ of all the characters was going down instead of them growing up and learning from their mistakes. Only one of the main characters showed any amount of growth, so I don't buy into him falling for the hormonal teenage brained crying disaster that they gave him as a love interest. But I think this imbalance was also the result of them trying to stretch the story.
Too long, too stupid and just not good enough for the obvious amount of money they put in.
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this is Amazing
this has remained 10/10 for all the 4 episodes so far. its absolutely amazing and everyone should watch.its funny and the acting it's good. the story and production is good too. idk why this is rated so low as its really good
the actors are handsome too.
alot of nice guest / support characters too, Green, Elisha, Up etc.
good show overall and definitely rewatchable. this should end at a sold 8.3 overall. Definitely get into it if ur trying to see if u should.
can't wait for the other episodes.
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Good show, somewhat unsatisfactory ending
So, the set-up of the story was solid.The beginning and middle were great.
But the "great conflict" and the ending were unsatisfactory. (More details below.)
Overall the show is a 7.
The acting was great for what was asked of the actors.
Shooting was solid.
Music was negligible; not bad but not memorable either.
The story development though...oooof. Back to what is said at the start, details below, rant incoming.
"The Details"
So we have a rich older boss and a young newbie employee falling in love.
Add in a domineering father, etc. etc.
The plot is nothing new.
What made the show good was the acting, particularly Jeng, and the details within the story, how everything unfolded.
This show took the concept of "slow burn" and "pining" and created a gorgeous masterpiece.
What pissed me off?
1- Pat's character and his reactions, especially the "great conflict" and its resolution.
2- The ending leaving too much up in the air.
Let's deal with Pat first.
My complaints:
1) A crybaby
2) Can't accept reasonable work critique (constructive criticisms)
3) Bad communicator in his relationship with Jeng (especially the "big conflict")
4) Expecting Jeng to move on and forgive him, without him having done anything to make up for the hurt he caused, and having waited so freaking long to speak up and apologize (offering a minimal 'apology' to boot)
Any reasonable person in their twenties could, and should, expect to receive critique at work. There's no possible way that that doesn't happen. No person enters a field, enter the job market, capable of doing their work without direction and correction. Jeng was a micro manager. That's true. But never hurtful or rude, nor did he ever belittle Pat. No need to take everything so personally and have a crying jag every time you're corrected. Grow the heck up!!
The crying jags.
I understand stress. I get feeling hurt. But Every-Single-Freaking!-Time!! The guy is forever crying. He's in his twenties for heaven's sake!!! Again, I say, grow the heck up!!! Stoop acting like an overwrought teenager.
Too much crying. Just...too much.
The "big conflict" and it's resolution.
Both come back to him being a bad communicator with Jeng.
I can, and do, understand why he was mad at Jeng and hurt. (Though I also understand why Jeng did what he did. He should've been honest for sure. Maybe he should've let Pat turn him down, even if it meant watching Pat fail. But in truth, all Jeng did was make up for a situation caused by Jeng's own father which Pat shouldn't have been facing in the first place. )
Pat taking a step back to overcome that blow, I could understand that.
But the amount of time he took? How brutal he was about it?
No. Just...no.
Especially since afterwards, when they make up, he swears up and down that he never hated Jeng and was only angry. Sorry, anger doesn't last that long if you care about the other person. Your good feelings for the other person, and your sympathy for the hurt the other person must be going through too, overweighs anger in time. Pat acted awfully to Jeng.
Which brings me to their make up. I truly feel bad for Jeng. He deserved sooooo much better than an unreasonable, temperamental, and selfish child- which is precisely how I view Pat. Pat = Expecting everything, giving almost nothing, running away when things are tough, and only concerned with his own feelings.
As for the ending of the show itself:
Two major plot points were left hanging, which I don't appreciate at all.
I've seen other comments from viewers requesting a special episode to tie things up. That would be better than nothing, but even if we do get that special, I'll still be mad. The series itself should have concluded with a proper, full ending. A special is just that: a special bonus visit where we can see the happily-ever-after in progress; it should not be a continuation of the ending.
So ultimately, is this show worth watching? Yes.
Will I rewatch it? Yes.
Can it stand to be better? Yes.
Would I call this a good show? Yes.
Thanks for reading :))
Enjoy!! <3
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A train wreck with bad time pacing but at least there’s Chot!
Step by step or few steps backwards? I genuinely need to speak to the people in charge of this show. This was like a really terrible car wreck where you want to look away but just cannot. Time is seemingly up to one’s imagination in this story. It’s nonexistent apparently. Ae literally just getting pregnant and then miraculously being 30+ weeks and then randomly giving birth on the street. Then cut to her wedding day with no baby weight. It makes no sense but I guess they just want us to accept it. If time gaps weren’t enough of a problem well the acting is definitely something also. The main leads.. Acting wise both main leads could’ve done more but I will say the actor who plays Jeng made Pats character slightly believable. Pats character is a big crybaby and I know he cannot control the script but he can control his acting. Pat cries when he’s happy and when he’s sad and it wouldn’t be bad if he actually shedded some tears. Gave me war flashbacks to Pete (much love though) when he did love in the air.Character wise. From the beginning Pat irked my nerves and he just got worst throughout. Even with a 2year time leap he has no growth and still thinks the world revolves around himself. He needs to grow a backbone.
Ae and her friend prem. They’re some of the most selfish people in the show so it makes sense they’re best friends. She knew he was in love with her and basically kept stringing him along and he told her he liked her on her WEDDING day. I have no words.
I also have experienced my first distasteful comment in an Asian drama when referencing a western drama. Ae makes a comment about lily in Paris and body sizes. She talks about how even though she’s pregnant she’s still smaller than the MC (Lilly Collins). Lilly Collins has been very vocal on her anorexic and bulimia past. With it being 2023 you would think or at least hope the jokes about body sizes would’ve done ran out.
The Jaab and Jen storyline makes no absolute fucking sense. The writers of this show should receive an award for pulling off the impossible. I truly did not think they could make their storyline even more frustrating but they did up until the very end. I’m in disbelief that they made their storyline even more confusing and nonsensical. Genuinely baffled. The way their storyline goes makes you feel like you missed several chapters with them. I felt like I was watching another show and just started midway through. Jaab liked Jen but Jen had a boyfriend and then they kissed then avoided each other. Jen left and Jaab got a partner but is still pining over Jen? And they’re both sad and for what? Jen moved back home and months pass and hasn’t spoken to Jaab. Jaab spontaneously goes to visit Jen only to find Jen went to Japan. The writers give us absolutely nothing with them other than us seeing Jaab leave for Japan.
In the beginning I could not stand Put because he was manipulative but he’s one of the only characters that seemingly got a growth arc and I actually like him better in the end.
The Pat and Jengs storyline is another frustrating one. Jeng likes Pat but Pat is a big crybaby. Them getting together but being careless even though they have a boss/subordinate relationship.
And do not even get me started the Pat/Jen pity party scene. They had no reason to be acting that way.
Aside from that hot mess the love scenes were top tier and Jeng speaking English. Oooh boy it was getting hot in here. And Jeng working out. Yesssss ma’am I need to be cooled. Chot being the iconic character he is and giving me reasons to stay. Anyways watch it for Chot and Jeng and if you’re bored. Even the cute ass montage at the end is not enough to distract you from the train wreck this show was. Do not expect much between the filler episodes, plot holes and weird pacing of time.
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