Every episode was full of tension and Jang Eui Su served. In fact, he not only did the grocery shopping, he went ahead and prepared a full-course meal. That man fed us and nobody can convince me other wise. His acting is phenomenal and I think Han Gi Chan held his own in his own way. Truly, Jang Eui Su made everyone seem a little mediocre soooo. I would recommend if you want to relive the exhilaration of your first crush/gf/bf. I can't stress enough how well this was shot, directed, and portrayed for such a short series. I hope Korea does more content like this is in the future. There is a Korean boy/girl feeling validated somewhere and I'm happy for them.
My only gripe is that I wish each episode was a little longer, though I also feel that it was executed perfectly within the time frame given.
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The story is nothing new, if not even a little cliched and intentional on the angst factor.
What drew me in every week is the acting from both the leads. The tone had a somberness to it, and the color grading made it seem like it was going to have a sad ending.
But fortunately, it didn't. It was sweet in the end, but it didn't wow me because I've seen similar concepts being done way better before. Maybe if they extend each episode to more than 11 minutes, the plotlines and character development would've been more fleshed out. Right now a lot of their behaviors didn't feel organic, and resulted in more "telling" instead of "showing" (in this case a lot of clear, spelled-out internal monologues describing how the characters felt) This is not particularly actor's fault, of course, I just wished the transitions between each plot point was made more clear.
Kudos for K-drama's breakthrough in LGBTQ though. I applaud the bravery of the two lead actors and the production in general.
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This review may contain spoilers
Good Watch
Where Your Eyes Linger served as my first Korean BL Series ever, and I was not left disappointed. I loved the concept of this series, and I loved the actors that starred in it. While it was good, it's one of those watches in which you enjoyed yourself, but it's not going to be very memorable. Not because it wasn't entertaining, but it was just an okay series. I wish there were longer episodes and more screen time. Some of the stories felt rushed and not executed as well as they could've been. But, I loved Kang Gook and Han Tae Joo. I loved how they reacted off of one another, and how we could obviously see their relationship developing deeper.Overall, I recommend this, it was a fun and enjoyable watch and I hope we can see these actors again.
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Much ado about nothing. An overrated BL drama
This was nice but not great. Apart from being a SK production, what this series has more to offer than others BL?- The acting? Yes the actors were good especially KG (he emoted better than his co-star) but many BL have good actors.
- The filming and direction? Yes, it was good. I've noting to complain about. Other BL also have good cinematography (Crossing The Lines, The Untamed...).
- The plot? Nope, it was not exciting nor mysterious. All the boxes were ticked: bestfriends to lover + rich male lead (seems mandatory in Kdrama) + homophobic dad + girl used as a prop + impossible love... Nothing new.
We barely delved into the characters: we know nothing about them except they've been together for a while and they secretly like each other. What else? What is KG's background? Since when is he HTJ bodyguard? What is HTJ family life? And KG's for that matter? What are their desires and ambitions? Hobbies? Flaws?
Don't tell me they couldn't explore all this because of the episodes duration. Who told them to make this format? Wouldn't it have been better to have less episodes with a longer duration in order to set the background and show more about their personalities ?
Imo the format isn't really the issue since other short dramas like Long Time No See and The Boy Next Door have a better narrative than WYEL.
I admit WYEL has qualities but I needed more to love it. I wasn't invested in it. So I'm wondering: once removing the fact it's a SK BL, what's so great about it people critize other countries BL and declare WYEL the best bl of all time?! Come on, let's be rational. You can love a series without bashing other ones.
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I was really looking forwards to this show. I was a fan of Gichan on pdx101, and I'm always excited to see queer characters in korean dramas (especially main characters). This did NOT live up to the hype. I wouldn't watch it again and Im not gonna go tell all my friends to watch it, but i don't feel like it was a waste of time. It was still entertaining. It just could've been A LOT better. If it was longer and perhaps had a bigger budget maybe, then it could've been really good.
They did their best with the acting considering the script and characters. It was a few people's first acting jobs, but they did pretty good! The sparring / fight scenes were done well.
The writing was not my favourite. The characters were all quite flat (except for the friend who snitches on them, but even he had little depth). Gichan's character was extremely irritating until he confesses. It's a VERY generic angsty overused plot about a gay couple getting torn apart and disowned blah blah blah the story has been done a billion times already. Like couldn't they have added a 5 minute scene at the end or something with them being happy together rather than just ending with a kiss?
The ending was pretty abrupt and it felt like it should have been the middle of the show instead of the ending. Like that's it? There's nothing after that? I was so sure there was gonna be another episode or two after but nope! So that was disappointing as well.
The soundtrack was good at least?
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Where your eyes linger is the first Korean BL drama that I really liked. Previously, i have watched some of the BL/LGBT movies released over the years, and while some of them are very well made, the majority have the grey or dark kind of stories, and i can`t say i enjoyed them that much. I found them memorable and i am fond of them, but why do they have to be so sad??? ??While watching the first episode, i thought that surely has to be something between Tae Joo and Kang Gook which will be revealed later, because the interaction between them were really close, like the way lovers will behave towards each other ( or my fujoshi side were seeing things that aren`t there, hahaha) . I thought that Tae Joo likes Kang Gook and tries to flirt with him or mess up with him with the purpose of getting a reaction from Kang Gook. The first impression Kang Gook has given to me was that he most likely knows that he likes Tae Joo but he is in a situation where he thinks he isn`t allowed to hope more happening between them because in that case, what they have will disappear, or that he is afraid of things changing between them. I really understood why he thought like this, he is in a situation where he has to carefully consider what to do. This is the dynamic that i thought those two has at the beginning. I was really surprised to realise at the end of ep 1 that while this is true for Kang Kook case, Tae Joo tends to like being spoiled by Kang Kook, because he is used of him always doing what he wants and this is why he acts that way. I thought that Tae Joo has always treated Kang Gook different from other people, and what is between them is more than friendship and that he also unconsciously knows it, but he never had to confront it and nothing from Kang Kook has did until then has made him think of him in that way.
At some point, is revealed both of them thought that they have a servant and master relationship, especially Kang Kook. Tae Joo treats Kang Gook as a friend and someone who knows he will always protect him and will do things for him. He is not that of a good friend though, but at the same time he doesn`t look down on Kang Gook. In my opinion, them treating each other like that and trying to not get too personal with each other, is a way to keep the relationship between them going on smoothly. If people look closely at how they behave around each other, is not really a servant/master kind of relationship because while they try to behave according to those two roles that they indirectly acknowledge, they care about each other and they wouldn`t do something really hurtful and bad to the other.
I think Tae Joo is a very well written character, even more than Kang Gook, because while he is a spoiled brat, who tends to do what he wants most of the time, he rarely crosses the line. He knows to take responsibility when he does something wrong and he gives respect to people close to him. Otherwise he wouldn`t have agreed to go to England as his father wants him. I honestly love watching characters that have the kind of character Tae Joo has, because him behaving how he sees fit and without being considerent of others shows he has his own beliefs and that he has a strong character which can withstand many things not going his way, without giving up on his goals easily. I understand some people finding him rude, a bad guy, asshole and all kind of bad words, but i think people can`t deny that he is a complex character. When it comes to Kang Gook, he doesn`t have that much of a unique personality on it`s own, and while he is not around Tae Joo he tends to treat all people around him in a kind and considerent way while losing himself, of how to say it, putting other people needs above his owns. I observed that only when he is around Tae Joo he acts in a more genuine way, as how he is himself, how the real him is, which is when he shines. I think the best scenes that Kang Kook is in are the ones where he is interacting with Tae Joo, especially the ones where there is tension or when they are fighting because it brings the real and more emotional side of him.
In the end, i will mention some of the things that i liked the more about the drama and the things that has made me remove one point in my rating.
The things that i liked the most about this drama are the acting, the OST, the cinematography, the effort the actors has put into this drama that has made even the most harder to act scenes a pleasure to watch ( in this drama i could really felt the effort and thoughts that the actors has put into it), the poetic and clever lines that the characters are saying in almost every ep which elevated the quality of the drama, the tension and the chemistry.
What i liked the least is the direction the story has took in the last two eps, the slow motion flighting scenes, and the badly executed kiss.
Everything that happens in the last ep is too dramatic and while it was foreshadowed in a way, i still thought that the story took a too dramatic turn out of the blue.
The kiss was too cringe to look at it, and it has stand out even more because in their other scenes the characters has great chemistry.
The OST for this drama is amazing,. At some point i thought that i wouldn`t like the drama as much as i liked it, if it weren`t for the OST. I liked every single song for it.
The acting of the actors are at a scale of 8/10 in my opinion which is really high for my standard. I think how good the actors are at acting and how much they have prepared for the role is showed the most in the intense scenes or when the characters are fighting, because they are more challenging.
While the story in this drama isn`t very original i still wasn`t bored when watching because in my opinion it was well writed and executed. I think the most interesting parts is the words the characters used to describe their relationship and themselves.
In the end, i think the main reason of why i liked the drama and why it was so appealing to me is because of how well the characters get along with each other despite being so different. I think is that something between the characters that only have it, that makes this drama unique and memorable to me.
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What I like about this is that the story is very cohesive. I like how the characters were developed and how it ended. Everything is perfect(at least for me). I wouldn’t even complain about the time (10 minutes the most and about 15 minutes for the last episode), I think it makes sense since it doesn’t have much drama to be stressed about and even if it’s like that. The story felt complete.
Acting wise. I must say everyone did a great job.
I hope that Korea can produce more series like this — they’ll probably give Thailand a run for their money.
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The two main actors did a wonderful job. Because the drama is so short (each episode is only ten minutes long) it would have been necessary to cram as much in each episode as possible. And they did. The interactions between Gang Gook and Tae Joo are sweet, angsty, and filled with repressed tension. The takes are shot nicely, and make everything feel more intimate between the two. The music is wonderful as well. Kudos to everyone involved in this, I enjoyed it thoroughly.
My only complaint is that it's too short. I could have happily watched way more of these two.
Definitely give this one a try. It's short, sweet, and to the point, but oh so worth it!
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Worth to watch, Making you asking for more!
This is my first ever review here in MDL and i know for the fact that only this series will have my first review.LIKES:
- the STORY development is astoundingly great. The LINES we incredible although im just basing on english subs for that. We know for a fact korean series are great with this but i keep thinking how the story develop and portrayed in a 10 mins episode is mind blowing. One fact is that storywriters in Korean series are the mastermind themselves. such a great craft!
- the ACTORS portrayed so well that even before they utter their respective lines you can see the facial expression, eyes portrayal and body langauges SHOUTS how they feel.
- wtf SOUNDTRACK lingers on my mind. upon release of their OST in spotify i have already played them in loop. the OST is so great that ive been playing the opening song more and more times. Everytime the opening song as the series starts my mind is open to what will happen to this series and even ending/closing song in which it is the same makes me wonder grrrrr what will happen next.
- the CINEMATOGRAPHY is superb. every shot, every angle, and every camera motion fits the story, the characters and the soundtrack. codus to editors and producers for this...
DISLIKES:
- i think i have to wait for the last episodes to give you my dislike as so far NO MAJOR DISAPPOINTMENTS.
-EDIT: No disappointments up to the last episode!
OVERALL: This series is a very well made craft! Hoping to see another KBL as we know this is one of the few KBLs around. It would be for a long time for another KBL to replace it in my heart. As my ultimate Thai BL series is TharnType. This is my only KBL in my heart.
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The story: Even though every ep is only about 10 min long, the short episodes created a coherent story without any unneeded filler. Every line was picked out to represent the character's feelings perfectly, every scene where the main characters faces were seen was amazingly shot and the story was just remarkably beautiful, though the bodyguard/master trope was in the beginning, the story built up very well
Acting/Cast: The emotions portrayed by both the ML's were extremely nuanced. Every scene that they were in could be analyzed in essays, which many fans actually did. The time constraint, in my opinion, made for a more compelling watching experience, because the words that couldn't have been said due to lack of time were said by both the leads eyes. I'll be following both of these actors in their future dramas, I can't get enough of the nuances in their faces that say more than a 1000 words
Music: Loved it, spent the days between the episodes listening to the OST, will be continuing now as well
Rewatch value: Absolute. Have to restrain myself from going and rewatching the whole thing again. I miss those guys. Every ep is worth a rewatch, every scene between the main leads makes me feel something profound.
PS: I have never rated a drama 10/10, before I thought, that such a drama didn't exist. I am glad to be proven wrong
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Perfect feel-good binge-worthy drama
If you're thinking of watching, please do! This show was wonderful in so many ways. Both Han Gi Chan and Jang Eui Soo did a fantastic job at acting. Especially for Gi Chan, I can imagine it must've been hard to debut as an actor in a BL drama, not long after trying to debut as an idol. He was so good at expressing his emotions, I really couldn't tell that it was his first time acting. Every actor did a fantastic job portraying their characters!Without spoiling too much, the story is very sweet and had my emotions on a roller coaster, even though it was so short. The development between Tae Joo and Gook was amazing and I am a sucker for romances like these.
The only negative I have is the length of the episodes because let's be real, eight 10-minute episodes isn't exactly a lot. Yet, I noticed after contemplating a lot that it was fitting that the episodes were short, as a lot of k-dramas have the same plot of a 10-minute episode but stretch it out into 50 minutes. This drama got to the point instead of adding too many unnecessary elements to stretch out the time, which is a plus. Though it would've been nice with maybe 20-minute episodes. But it just got released as a movie on Korean Netflix, and I am excited for the day it gets released onto other international Netflix services because I could watch this again and again!
So if you're thinking of watching, you definitely should!
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Not innovative, but well executed
First off thank you to the writers for not turning the woman main character into a horrible target for fanhate. I judge BL often in large part on how they handle their women characters, and while there was some fujoshi stuff peripherally, the woman mc was likable and had a personality. ??I really liked the acting and writing. As my title says, it was not an innovative plot, but they did something much done very well. I always understood the layers of meaning the actors and lines meant to convey and they handled ambiguity well. I think also they did a good job balancing one of the main character's brattiness/manipulation with likeable qualities like humility (of a sorts, e.g., recognizing how nonsense the capitalist aristocracy in Korea is), ready forgiveness, and openness.
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