I came into this show knowing I loved about half the creatives and hated about half the creatives, so it was always going to be a best-of-times-worst-of-times situation for me. I was, honestly, pleasantly surprised where we ended up! High production values and an interesting concept will get you quite far, and 4Minutes had both in spades--plenty enough to cover some fumbling of plot lines and moderately lackluster romance. Though I think in the end I enjoyed the concept of this series more than the actual series itself, I am going to send out tweets telling me "when it's finished" friends to pick up... so. I guess they got me there!

-The Full Review-

STORY:
Sammon, Sammon, Sammon... It's always the same shit with you, isn't it? Women bleeding from their pregnancy-related-illnesses, a solid attempt at "medical accuracy." awkward/stiff romance in all the strangest places, and an ending that never quite manages to kill enough of it's darlings to stick the landing. And illegal casinos, now, I guess? I'm being rude.
I think 4Minutes is actually quite a bit stronger than Dead Friend Forever and tighter than Manner of Death. While the ending still dragged, I think there was an attempt to really bring all the pieces full circle that improved the quality of the series overall. I loved the concept a lot, and felt that there was a reasonably good use of the 4Minutes concept throughout the narrative, the strongest being in the earlier episodes.
That said, I think pacing and execution was quite sloppy. The first four episodes were full of intrigue and suspense. but the later episodes didn't keep pace conceptually as the action sped up. The 4Minutes touchstones were lost to a lot of montage and time skips that made it difficult to stay invested in the time-bending narrative. I ended up feeling much more connected to the characters on the grounded timeline.

ACTING:
Well, there's no coy way to say it. I think Fuaiz and Bas stole the show entirely--but I don't think it was entirely their doing. Everyone in this show is at worst a competent actor and at best really quite an interesting performer. However, the structure of the story was much kinder to the characters in "reality," in terms of audience connection and the ability to build character.
Fuaiz and Bas had very traditional character arcs. We get an initial impression of their characters, and then slowly the plot reveals the layers of their psyche. For Fuaiz, I loved the balance of how cold and calculating he tries to be over top the much more unstable distress. The way he broke and then smoothed over the pain was heart-wrenching and won me over immediately. For Bas, the struggle between his responsibilities was not quite so intriguing to me... until it built to breaking point in the final episode. Really beautifully raw emotion coming through with very little dialogue.
For Jes and Bible... I was less impressed. I was surprised, because I loved Bible as Vegas. But the shift between Great's 4Minutes ideal reality, reality as we know it, Tyme's 4Minutes reality, and the new normal... really lost their characters along the way and the romance with it. They felt less dimensional and less stable as characters over time, not more real. The performances in any given moment were solid, but they didn't add up to a coherent character. It was... a little flat.
For the stand out ensemble I am going to take a minute to once again bitch that Be On Cloud is absolutely Wasting Jet by using him in these one-dimensional villain characters. I watched all of the Hidden Character and I fell absolutely in love with rendition of Porsche and I want to see that actor again. Stop punishing him for a bad choice in partner a year ago and give him something to work with!

PRODUCTION:
Gorgeous, as always, though not quite on par with Kinnporsche. I think the stand out moments of this series were the moments when reality and the 4Minute experience begin to blend. The snatches of spot-the-difference were beautifully chosen and very alluring. Unfortunately, some of the other shots got a little muddled and confusing--some of the darkness too dark and unstructured to be clear, some of the effects in the dream scene nauseating, and some of the choices a bit cute for the kind of production they were having. These weren't overly offensive though.
The only two choices I really disliked were the stupid stuffed animals (no one should take GMMTV's lead in shoving blatant merch opportunities into their series) and the use of Why Don't You Stay. Leave what is special to each production where it is. You've gone above and beyond to differentiate this from Kinnporsche and separate the cast from what they were in that series.... the cover was a misstep (and quite poorly sung).

INTIMACY:
Ok. The NC scenes were realistic and artistic. I enjoyed the way we were introduced to characters and their personalities through their sex scenes! I think there was clear purpose and choice for the degree of explicitness these scenes were shot with and I think they really pulled them off well in that regard. I hope that, despite Pond seemingly awarding himself the title intimacy director with no training, these shoots were a positive experience for the cast.
That said,,, They weren't hot LOL??? That's the best way I can think to phrase my complaint. Despite such a degree of explicitness and nakedness, very few of these scenes had a good sense for chemistry and connection. The plot was clear, the choices and conflict was clear, but the connection wasn't really happening in the moment. The pacing and framing always stumbled in a way that prevented them from being great. It feels like a step backwards, if I am being honest.

In all, I knew I was going to struggle with this show and the show struggled in exactly the places I expected it to. So, if you really like Be On Clouds post-Kinnporsche work or you're a huge Sammon fan... you'll probably have a great time (no pun intended)! If you, like me, don't... I think it's still worth watching and interesting work in it's own right. I think this company is still finding it's footing and discovering it's voice. This was a pretty good attempt!