purplewhalecz
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Had me in the first half, ngl
Only slight spoilers ahead.I've been watching this while it was airing and now that it's over, I have to say I'm a little disappointed. Let me start off by saying the cast nailed its job - everyone brought their characters alive, made them believable, and the chemistry (not only between the main leads) was great. That's not where my problem with the show lies.
The story starts very strongly. We have Sailom, a boy whose family is poor and who has to work alongside going to school, yet he never complains and we even see him be very grateful and happy with what he already has. Then we have Kang, who is a spoilt rich brat and who takes out his own personal issues on others by bullying them. Their paths cross and I love, LOVE how Sailom never gives in to Kang, how he stands strong, his chin up, even making Kang seem like a fool and giving him a taste of his own medicine. Then, after a certain incident, these two are forced to work together - aka Sailom tutoring Kang as a sort of punishment from his grandmother.
The first half of the show is really nice. We see the boys growing closer, one falling sooner than the other, and before they realize it they're fighting the world together. We learn how it really is with Kang and why he is the way he is, we see him work on his past mistakes and growing into a better person. Stuff happens, misunderstandings happen, love triangle happens - all of those things I was still thrilled to watch. (I saw people complaining about how fast Sailom fell for Kang considering all the nasty sht he's done to him, and to be honest, I kinda agree, but I think this was largely messed up by the pacing of the show and time jumps.)
Then, towards the end, things start to escalate and somehow I'm starting to question what happened to the original plot? We're fighting mafia now? Like I know it's called "Dangerous Romance" but I guess I misunderstood where the danger part lies on the equation. And on top of that, characters now start to act differently than where their development was leading up to - Kang switches emotions and opinions left and right, Saifah throws all his love for his brother out of the window, like where did this come from?
I like that pretty much every issue that occurred in the series was solved very quickly and it didn't drag. However, some things seemed a little rushed. Sometimes it felt like there must've been some scenes cut from the broadcast or the time jumped without notice, making me question "Okay but didn't you have a different opinion on this 10 minutes ago?". It became messy and inconsistent in some parts, which was a shame.
Another two issues I had were flashbacks and the use of music. About the first one... Did we really need any of them? Serious question. Like ok.. if you give me a flashback in ep 10 about something that happened in ep 2, I'm perfectly ok with that. But is it necessary to show me something I saw in the last episode or even a few minutes ago? Come on. Perth and Chimon are both skillful enough to convey needed emotions without the editors making 100% sure we remember that Kang had given Sailom his beloved blue umbrella three times in one hour. And about the latter, I actually want to clarify that I'm a huge fan of the OST for this show, it's just the way they used it that bothers me. The main song, "Wind" (sang by Chimon), stole my heart before I even started watching the show, but they definitely overused it. Sad scene, funny scene, romantic scene, you name it, they played it there. Idk, it just took away the magic and purpose of it for me. Sometimes there was a character sad and we got a rather cheerful music over it - now what is that, why don't you fuel my sorrow and make me bawl my eyes out more? Somebody in the production team messed this up and I need them fired.
I would say.. sometimes the scenes just didn't hit the way they were supposed to. I'm not sure what was the main reason, whether the pacing, the music, or whatever.
Now that the rant is over, let's get back to positives.
I wasn't part of the "will Perth and Chimon work well on camera as a couple?" train cs tbh, I had no idea they were gonna play together until DR was announced, but as soon as I saw them I had no doubt they would nail this. I love them both as individuals and as actors, and I had no doubt about their chemistry. (And if you didn't enjoy their kissing scenes cs they weren't hot enough according to your standards, I guess ask yourself what you watch each show for and if it's able to provide it to you.)
Guy and Nawa, oh dear, they were awesome. I enjoyed their story so much, from enemies to friends (in question) to love interests, I ate their scenes and felt hungry whenever they ended. I'm thrilled to see these two work together in the future.
Pimfah, although she's been done dirty later on, she was awesome. Actual good human being, luckily not just a love interest to stirr things up but a good friend to both Kang and Sailom. She was great, along with the real powerhouse of the series, the GRANDMA.
Saifah, although they butchered his character towards the end as well, I loved his moments at Kang's house where he showed how deeply he cared for his brother. It must've been hard for him as well, taking care of both himself and Sailom, from relatively early age.
All school friends of both main leads were great and I loved how we saw them - with kind of pressure, haha - hang out together even when KangSailom weren't present. Even through they started off as enemies, they were able to maturely leave past in the past and move on.
It started off as a 10 for me but ended up falling down to 6-7. I still enjoyed it but I wish it was written better. It shouldn't have been called Dangerous Romance... If they cut the "dangerous" part and focused more on Kang's character development from bully to Sailom's bf and their relationship overall, I think it would be much better. Although it has its flaws, It's still a show worth watching.
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7 stars for 2 only stars
Yet another show that I kept hearing so much about but it didn't live up to my expectations. Except for the main couple - which would've been an easy 10 if they were the only couple on the show (maybe ft Pond & Cha-aim) - this series was a hot mess.Let's stay with the main stars for a bit longer: Ae and Pete were great. So good they made me rewatch the show so that I could spend more time with them. They had their ups and downs but they solved every problem almost immediately, in a mature way, with communication. I think that's what I loved the most about them - how open and honest they were with each other. Given that this was their first real relationship they've done a better job than some married couples. And what more - they were extremely cute together. Saint and Perth really took their job seriously and portrayed those two characters perfectly. I was kicking my feet and giggling like a teen girl whenever they were experiencing any kind of their "first" together, starting with something so simple as a bike ride. If this series was purely about them, it would be 10/10.
As for the other couples... Let's go in order of how much I was bothered by them.
Pond & Cha-aim were probably the only other couple I had no issues with. They were cute, funny, maybe deserved a little bit more screen time. I'd really love more depth to Pond than just being a P addict, which we could see a little bit here and there, but I feel like he was there mostly as a comedic relief.
Tin & Can... had potential, but their story could've been written much better. I know the second season focuses on them (and I do plan to watch it) but I doubt they'll do better than in the first season. I must admit I had no interest in them watching LBC the first time so I was a bit bothered when they were stealing screen time from the main couple in the last couple of episodes, but the second time around I became more invested. Sadly, both times I failed to find a good reason why Can would fall for Tin other than feeling sorry for him and his family issues. In the beginning, Tin is nothing but an arrogant asshole and even later he keeps playing with Can instead of trying to keep him by his side (to help him.. whatever Can is helping him with). I also failed to spot a moment when exactly Tin changed his mind about Can (or poorer people in general) and that's why I just couldn't understand why they even keep talking to each other or hanging out. They weren't even friends to begin with, why would Can waste time on someone who has been nothing but an ass to him? Also, Tin forcing himself on Pete made me a bit uncomfy, ngl.
Tum & Tar.. I still don't know what to think about these two. I wasn't a fan of them in TharnType and am not a fan of them here, too. I know they're step bros and we can't really control who we fall in love with... But it's still a pretty uncomfortable relationship to watch if you ask me. Not even talking about how poorly sexual assault is handled in this whole fictional universe.
And lastly, talking about assault... What the heck was Kengkla and Techno? Who thought this was ok? Who thought this was fun, romantic, or whatever? At first I found it cute and amusing how Kla is using Technic to get a shot with his brother, but it started to get weirder and weirder. Who tf ruins someone's motorcycle just so they could play a hero and give their crush a ride? Who tf keeps checking on when a grown ass man comes home just so they could talk - or sleep - with them? Pick up your balls from the ground and go ask him out if you're interested in him. And wtf happened in the last episode...? Not only you rape someone but you also accuse THE VICTIM of the same thing and then ask them if they'll date you? I seriously wanna know what drugs the writer of that scene was on because what in the world was that?!
Anyways...
Watch this show for Ae and Pete. They're worth it. Ignore the rest, forget some scenes happened. That's what I'm trying to do.
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I like the story, but not the execution...
This one is a hard to rate. I've heard so much praise about this show ever since I started watching BLs and was curious, however, I must admit if it wasn't for me wanting to watch Between Us I would have watched UWMA much later.I really like the story. The idea of a couple who's love ended in a tragic way being reincarnated and finding their way to each other again, I mean, that is a hell of a story. Unfortunately, the execution didn't meet my expectations. If I'm being very honest, it was way below them. Some scenes were dragged unnecessarily long, unrealistic dialogues and way too many "dramatic moments" which weren't exactly dramatic... There were a lot of issues I had with this series production wise and let's just say I was glad ep 17 is finally over.
While I don't think any of the actors are bad, I failed to feel the chemistry most of the time. There definitely were moments that I highly enjoyed, but I just didn't "buy it" most of the time. The most natural and enjoyable characters for me were Korn and In (and Win with Team, although they didn't have that much screentime).
The story became more interesting towards the end (there were moments when I was really surprised, of even in shock) but still, it was dragged a lot for my taste and I do believe if it was written a bit differently, I would enjoy it much more. We see Dean and Pharm being drawn to each other and both of them having flashbacks to their past lives, but I feel like they didn't talk about it or try to solve the mystery that much. Early on, Pharm keeps crying randomly (well, after a flashback, but nobody around him knows that) yet nobody - especially Dean - ever asks him why? What's wrong? Why are you having a breakdown just cause our spoons touched? And after they confess to each other about having dreams about the same couple, why don't they try to find out who it is? What happened? I mean, Dead did a little bit of searching, but Pharm seemed to not give a damn about it for a good chunk of the show, and then was acting all shocked when he "found out the truth" when it was him who told Dean that he doesn't wanna hear what Dead had found out. I dunno..
Like I said, the story is really interesting, but I wish it was written or directed a bit differently.
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I don't usually write reviews, but...
I have to give an applause to the actors. Although the story is something we've probably all seen before many times and it gets frustrating here and there, the actors make it so entertaining to watch that I'll gladly go through all the pain again. Especially the main couple impressed me. Whatever emotions the characters were going through, I was going through it with them. Both of the actors did a great job and the series wouldn't be as strong as it is without them.I also really enjoyed all the side characters and how (honestly kinda strangely and unrealistically) nice everyone turned out to be, and that there wasn't too much "sauce" around. Sometimes there's too much focus on the supporting storylines that it takes away from the main one but here it was a perfect amount for me.
Also, War could narrate a book and I'd listen to it every night before sleep. I found his voice so soothing that I was kicking my blanket whenever he had a longer dialogue.
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