GMMTV has done it yet again and produced a perfectly mediocre show that could've been great if they had just focused on the right aspects. This is becoming increasingly frustrating because it seems to be a problem with almost all GMM shows. Yet, I was enjoying this one quite a bit. Let me explain...

Keen as Moo definitely carried this entire thing on his shoulders. He's portraying the character incredibly well and he made me love Moo a lot despite him being a bit annoying and cringe. It's like the role was written for him, and I can't wait to see what projects he does next. Sea is cute but I don't think he was ready for a main role just yet. His acting feels stilted and he struggles to carry emotions, which is fine considering he's very early in his career. This is not supposed to be any hate towards him, because it's not his fault. The production company should've either prepared him better or put him in side roles first before offering him the main lead in a show.
The two of them together are a cute pair. They do have chemistry, but I think it fell flat sometimes because Sea just seemed to be very focused on his acting. Once he feels more comfortable and natural, I definitely think they have great potential to become a wildly beloved ship. They've got a lot of chemistry behind the camera as well, so I think it's really all up to more acting classes, but I definitely wouldn't mind seeing them together in the future. I call this the JoongDunk effect, because they also have overflowing chemistry behind the scenes that fell flat in their first project together because of their acting struggles. It got a lot better in their second show, so I have hope for Sea and Keen too.

My main gripe with this series is (once again) the story. The first half of it is pretty boring. If it weren't for Keen stealing my heart, I probably would've given up on watching and just fast-forwarded through the whole thing once it's all finished. That part of the show was just your stereotypical GMM BL with all its usual tropes and cliches - plus the added element of wanting to become an idol. That in itself isn't a new concept for a BL either, but it's new for GMM, so at least there was a breath of fresh air. However, for a show centred around dancing and singing, I wish they would've gotten actors who are better dancers. The music was great, but I almost died of cringing every time they rehearsed their TikTok dance and at the audition. Like please, if that's the focus of your show, get people who can dance well and give them an actually solid choreography instead of whatever the hell that was (Edit: The dancing in the final episode was a lot better, so maybe it was just the choreo that made it feel so awkward). But anyway, the second half of the show then centred more around that idol aspect, but it was done in a very unsatisfying way. There were so many interesting ideas there, but we barely saw anything of the contest apart from all the contract drama about not being allowed lovers. That was explored a little bit but sadly not enough, and then suddenly they were a boyband and mega successful by the power of a one year time-skip. It's such a cheap way out when really, the story would've just started to get interesting. Why not show the repercussions of becoming famous, and what that means for your social life other than not being allowed to date? Why not show how large of a struggle it can be to make it big? Why not delve further into what it means to get shipped with your fellow band member, and what implications that has for the relationship with the person you actually like, or how it can compromise a friendship? Why not explore more about Moo's status as a nepo baby and how that's giving him a hard time being liked by the public? The list of what would've been interesting to explore goes on, but since they refused to delve further into any of that, I digress too.

If you ask me, the whole first half of the show should've been cut to focus on the idol life instead. Establish Moo struggling to pass auditions in the first episode, have him meet Yos and Tae at a dance studio or something, and have them land a spot in the idol competition by the end of episode one. Kang could've just been the caterer at the company and that's how him and Moo meet. Then they would've really had time to explore interesting ideas rather than spending half of the story replaying the same old uninteresting cliches. If Moo knew from the get-go that he wouldn't be allowed to date, him building a relationship with Kang would've been much more interesting in the first place.

They had something really good on their hands with Yos and Tae that would've been super interesting to dive into on a deeper level, especially after they became part of the same band. But sadly, they didn't do that. There were a few scenes in the last two episodes that scratched on the surface of shipping culture, but it wasn't nearly enough. I did like their storyline for the most part (minus the kiss while Tae is asleep, can't believe we're still doing that), though that's probably just because I'm a sucker for friends-to-lovers with a lot of pining. That's mostly why I liked them, not because their relationship was set apart from others or because of overwhelming chemistry.

All in all, this was pretty adorable. Sometimes a little too cringe for my liking, but a lighthearted watch with many aww-worthy moments and solid music. Though it makes me a bit mad at what this could've been and what it ended up being in contrast. Sadly, this doesn't set itself apart from other GMMTV shows as much as it should've and could've. I'm starting to think that in the GMM writers room, whenever an interesting concept that requires careful and thorough exploration is suggested, someone's like "Nah, people just want to see two cute boys kissing. Let's solve it with a time skip and get back to the cuteness," which is very sad. They're standing in their own way of producing actually interesting and unique storylines.