i originally only started watching this one because i was bored and needed to waste time. i didn't think anything would come of it but i was hoping to be entertained.
i proceeded to become deeply obsessed with the show for the next 2 months.
love triangles, or squares or whatever, have never been something i've been drawn to in TV, so imagine my surprise when i couldn't stop thinking about this one.
many bare minimum things to be praised here, so i'll get that out of the way - i like that taem wasn't villainized like many women in BL. she was wonderful and loveable and i adore her.
discussions of safe sex, including STD vaccines. discussions of mental health issues and trauma in a normal way, that doesn't blame the affected character or makes them seem like a bad person. i like kao - i LOVE kao. being an ace lesbian myself, it's always difficult to see yourself represented in media. often times, queer relationships are inherently made sexual. and if you're asexual, you can't be interested in a relationship, right?
i loved that they showed kao's struggled with being a gay, asexual man - it made me feel seen. he's someone who has an intimate understanding of sex, but it doesn't interest him. many times, asexuality is attributed to inexperience or a lack of knowledge. kao doesn't have that, and he's still ace. i wish there was more screentime for him! i was really hoping for it. either way, i'm so happy he ended up finding someone who was right for him <3 love blue as well!!
the relationships characters had between each other was beautiful. kao and dee's friendship, dee and his grandma, yak and yei, all different kinds of platonic love that was so comforting to watch.
i actually quite liked when they focused on those relationships for a bit, i saw many people criticize the later episodes for being boring, but i thought it was a really nice way of exploring the characters and their bonds deeper.
now, of course, i do have to give some words for the main pairing as well. dee and yak are both very lovable characters to me. they both have some struggles, and they don't act perfect sometimes. but they communicate pretty well most of the time and their relationship is one i genuinely found myself very invested in and actively rooting for.
(also, the tropes were so good... that brief enemies to friends... the fake dating going into friends to lovers... UGHHH fake dating is the best trope ever. you're telling me they're pretending to be in love, but then someone actually develops feelings??)
they are very supportive of each other. great and inn are wonderful actors and portray them so well. if there's one thing i would criticize, it's that some (!!) of their kissing scenes felt a bit stiff lol
i think there's room for improvement there. otherwise, i just really loved the show.
honorable mention for oyei and cher, i personally didn't feel much for their relationship, but the episode of them getting engaged did get me teary-eyed. i <3 queer joy!

-some criticism: relationship starts off with them having intercourse while one character is under the influence. he seems to be (surprisingly) present and he remembers everything afterwards, but it still makes me feel a bit weird, because minutes earlier, he literally passed out. i don't drink, so i don't know what it's like to be drunk, but i don't think that's how it works?? lmao
sometimes you need to close your eyes at inconsistenties like this 😭
-ep 3, yak mentioned worrying about his public image for dating a man, and this worry is truly NEVER brought up again. not sure why it was said if they were just gonna abandon it like he didn't say it 🤣
-i don't really understand why they made ter and taem end up together. it was pointless. and to be honest, i think she deserves someone better.

there's more things but honestly my memory is not very good, so i'll leave it at this. anyways, i really liked this. it's my favorite BL released this year, and probably ranks high in my all time favs. i love rom-coms. we need more rom-coms of adults. they are truly WONDERFUL! and i hope we will see more of greatinn :)

i'm gonna miss this show so much! next week, i will sacrifice my soul to dee / yak. stay tuned for that