Really good watch

Since I'm patiently (or rather the opposite) waiting for season 2 to be released, I thought I'd get my thoughts out and write a review on this series. Although it isn't the best bl in the world, out of the many I've watched, it is one of my personal favourites and here's why:

Firstly the series does an amazing job of balancing its four couples. I commend it a lot for this because many of the shows I've seen are barely able to handle two couples, let alone four. Developing multiple storylines that seamlessly run alongside each other and are each well thought out is hard, but My Engineer was able to do this quite well. The only couple I would say they left out a bit in terms of screentime was TharaFrong, but I guess due to the pacing of their relationships it makes sense.

Now getting into the actual couples:

- We should probably start with BohnDuen since they're the main cp. Without saying too much, they are frustratingly adorable... that's the only way I can describe them. When they first started out I just found them the cutest. The whole premise of Bohn using the flowers as an excuse to get to see Duen each morning was so sweet (also I was really surprised and happy about how quickly he accepted his feelings for a guy). However when they got together, naturally that's when the issues started. Actually, they started when they first became closer, but when they got together I guess that's when it became more ridiculous. Between Bohn's anger/jealousy issues, and Duen's adversity to affection and even words of affirmation; their relationship kind of declined for me. Of course, it's not surprising that they would disagree as they did, but after a while their actions became repetitive and against other storylines they became stagnant. Despite this. I liked their progress at the end and still find them annoyingly cute together.

- Onto MekBoss; I really liked their relationship development. I did see spoilers about them though so I knew what to expect, but it was still pleasantly surprising. Mek kind of reminded me of Third from TOL with the whole unrequited love situation, so obviously I was rooting for him and feeling his pain every time he was on screen. But in a twist his love wasn't unrequited (I still wish we'd got to see more about that because it was brushed over way too quickly after the time we spent watching Mek pine for Boss. Anyways, I loved how the series set them out, and that we go to see through Boss' actions as well as his words, that his feelings were true.

- TharaFrong. I'm conflicted. First of all I love Thara and his pet lizard cupcake; his character is so adorable. Im not going to pretend I didn't spend a lot of the season annoyed at Frong though. I just kept thinking he wasn't 'good enough' for Thara (mostly I didn't like that he was always being rude to Thara, particularly at the flower shop and the hospital), obviously though his character developed, and I sympathised with him a lot. Their ending, although unsatisfying was I think justifiable, because we didn't see enough of them for it to be as impactful if they got together. Hopefully next season their plot is developed more.

- Now onto my favourites RAMKING!! Out of all the cp's, their storyline was the best structured and written. From the time they first saw each other to the end, it all felt natural; even considering how weird it is that they hardly knew each other and ended up living together. Even when I was annoyed by them, I didn't want to miss a second of their scenes because they were all so meaningful. And just like TharaFrong, I love how their relationship extended past simply liking each other. It was touching to see King helping Ram out in his time of need, and constantly comforting him. And the way in which this care, that he thought was purely friendly, transformed into a plot for him to realise his feelings was really clever. Also can we talk about how cute that flower scene was!!! And the kiss!!! Anyways, I really enjoyed how the series set up these two characters as opposites but at the same time one in the same; they complemented each other so well.


Other than the couples, I appreciate how the series addressed some issues. For one, I was really surprised to see the whole top and bottom debate and its conclusion. I was scared it would be handled badly and then brushed away (especially with the scene where Bohn was drunk), but they addressed it well. Also, the fujoshi satire was funny in a way where I wasn't uncomfortable with the presence of those character types. And the representations of the struggles with sexuality were done better than other bl's. The actors also did an amazing job. All the emotions were portrayed well and I really felt each scene. The whole production was good as well.

The only faults I would say are that some plots, ie BohnDuen jealousy, were drawn out and got annoying at some points. Also the dubbing for Mek... the budget looked really good so I don't know why the dubbing was so distractingly bad; his acting still managed to shine through though.

Overall, I really liked My Engineer. I postponed watching it for a while because I read the title and thought it would be another engineering bl with the same plotlines and phrases; but it was a fresh series. Of course it isn't the best bl, and if you're looking for a life-changing one this isn't it. But its worthy of a 9 imo because it was well constructed, nearly completely unproblematic, greatly acted, cute and funny. Definitely a comfort show.

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