Step by Step (2023)

STEP BY STEP TO HELL….annoying Pat

Okay so i was really looking forward to this series because i loved lovely writer i thought Deehup will produce another banger. I was sorely disappointed, the trailer is misleading because i thought i was going to be in for a thrilling ride.

What i got was a lacklustre story, poor acting from Ben, i actually remember lol when he was squeezing his eyes hoping tears would come which never did. Daddy Jeng kept me going for a while but even he couldn’t keep me on this. I dropped it at after ep9. I couldn't stomach another 3 hours of this train wreck.


It’s a shame because i can see that the series had potential but just was poorly executed.

My favourite things about the show
-Daddy Jeng doing push ups and cooking.
-good cinematography on occasion
-Jeng and Jaab’s sibling relationship


What I hated
- Poor story telling
-Poor acting from Pat
- Pat was just an annoying character dunno if it is the way he was written or because of his acting my guess is its both.

Not sure about the end or whether i will go back and finish it.

Update. I have gone and finished it and to be honest I wasted my time. It was an awfully executed ending. Jeng again doing well with his acting, I couldn’t tell this was his first project.

Watch at your own risk ⚠️

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Honest review for Step by Step

Story: Good story but not depth. Lots of emotions are missing. The story is very weak . This story mainly focus on main characters. Jeng and Pat have good characters but they have to improve their relationship.
The side story based on Jaab and Jen has totally messed up in my head. Wht about their relationship ? I'm confused about that . The writer have to focus on them also .
Actors are good and their acting is overall okay. Pat is good but sometimes I think it's too much childish. Small part charectors are doing good work. Their stories are not enough to understand every emotional things.
To be honest sometimes I thought they were forced to do this acting .
First 2 -3 episode is going good but after that it's turn not good as ago.
Songs are really good.

This is my personal opinion. I don't want to watch it again . But for one time is enough. intimate scenes are not needed that much if the story has power and actors are talented.

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some of y’all are harsh

this drama doesn’t deserve nearly the amount of hate it gets. is it the best thing ever? no, not by any stretch. however when there are dramas that excuse literal sexual assault, calling this the worst bl ever isn’t fair in my opinion.

if you’re not into slow burn this one isn’t going to be for you. but honestly i think that was evident in the title: step by step.

let’s start with what i didn’t like to get it out of the way. the pacing and time given to certain storyline’s wasn’t the best. spending that much time on jaab and jen only to give no resolute ending to them was in fact a choice. it’s clear the writers tried to pack in too much. in that regard i understand the frustration.

the production at times was admittedly messy. two characters in the same room with completely disparate audio quality. it often sounded like they recorded at different times. shaky camera work here and there. music cutting off abruptly to an almost jarringly silent background.

the other common critiques i can’t get as far behind however. i liked that our mains were realistically flawed. i don’t think what we ended up seeing was no character growth. growing as a person isn’t about never making mistakes or even never repeating those mistakes, it’s about acknowledging when you do. which was one of the biggest take aways of step by step - and i think they did that well. i personally don’t want characters who never do or say stupid things. especially when they’re young or come from extremely sheltered backgrounds. i want them to talk about it and find a common ground which pretty much all our characters succeeded at in the end.

i also greatly appreciated their critiques of the bl industry and the shippers. it was good to see an acknowledgement that whilst they use bl couples to sell products the company heads are often very homophobic and that the general public doesn’t like any gay couple if it conflicts with the marketed ship. a nice follow on from lovely writers’ criticisms imo.

again i understand that the agonisingly slow push and pull of it isn’t for everyone, but there are plenty of snappy bls where the mains get together by episode 5. i liked being dragged along by my back hairs personally. the one thing i will say is the breakup in episode eleven felt unnecessary. the conversation about them not always communicating in the most conducive way could have happened without them spending two years apart, but i digress.

all that paired with a cast of really likeable side characters i would absolutely rewatch this

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How to destroy a well built story in the final episode

Step by Step is a cute, slow-burn office romance about a new employee falling in love with a guy, who later becomes his boss (that's all you need to know, really).

The story in the beginning is really nice and well built. We can see grown ups falling in love slowly. Because they are boss and employee, which isn't easy, and because they both have backstories. I am in love with Jeng and Pat, who consider what their feelings might do or mean. The two of them grow stronger together, push each other to become better people and they both make mistakes and learn from them. For once, we have a love rival appearing who actually gets a shot - and it doesn't work out. Not because Pat is destined to be with Jeng or because Put is a villain. They just are different and things have changed between them.
The side couple was a great story, too! They are friends and scared of the next step or don't know how to take that step. And then one of them is in a relationship, which creates even more problems. All the characters are so real and I loved so much about the series. The acting and writing, some of their conversations and quotes... At times, there was too much about business for my taste, but it is an office series, so it was to be expected and okay.

What cost this series so so many stars - and made me write the review - is the ending. It took the writers one episode with overlength to destroy the whole series they had built so carefully. What we built over 11 wonderful episodes and what made this series so great was thrown out of the window with full force in the end. Pat becomes a hotheaded boy who overreacts and Jeng a shy mouse who won't speak up for himself. And then they jump in time - for whatever reason - and we are back to zero. How did they expect the viewer to buy that the trust they'd allegedly lost in each other after their big drama would be back after a bit of a timejump? If it wasn't bad enough for Pat to get over Jeng, why did he wait to meet him for years? And they did Jaan and Jane dirty, but sending them off to Japan and not letting viewer see their happy end in an OVERLONG EPISODE!! I am still so angry.
I did enjoy the lovey-dovey scenes of Pat and Jeng once they "resolved" their issues. They were cute, they played the roles well. But I couldn't forgive the writers for simply causing a big drama to get some tears and then ending it the way everybody wants it to end.

All my love goes out to the actors, who did a great job. Chemistry and acting were great, I enjoyed everything between them. But that last episode would have been better off not written.

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Jeng deserved better than Pat

I watched the uncut version of the series, mostly because of a handful of characters: Jeng, Chot, Put, and Jaab. Jeng, with his good looks, smarts, charm, poise, elegance, and all-around goodness, had me wondering why he fell for Pat. Pat, on the other hand, was this mix of annoying traits—rudeness, loudness, childishness—that just didn't gel with Jeng's awesomeness. Seriously, Pat's only saving grace seemed to be cuteness and a few bright ideas. But when he couldn't handle criticism without a meltdown, it made me cringe. And their relationship was very bizarre. Pat went from a slight interest in Jeng in the beginning to hating Jeng and bashing him non-stop, to lovey-dovey with Put, to over Put in a second, to grieving after Put, to accusing Jeng of games??? to professing undying love for Jeng, to hating him and abandoning him, to going back to him. What on earth was this relationship? Such a waste of good NC scenes on this mess of a couple.

Now, I was all set to dislike Put for his past actions, but even I couldn't help but feel a bit bad for him for falling for Pat. Honestly, a more intriguing plot would've been if both Put and Jeng dropped Pat and found love with each other. Why not, right?

Chot was the comedic gem, adorable, and a great coworker. Jaab didn't exactly rock my world, but he didn't annoy me either. Jane, though, took the cake for being one frustrating second lead. His baffling behavior with Jaab left me scratching my head, wondering what on earth he was thinking.

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Could have been good with much better editing.

A lesson that Thai drama creators never seem to learn: if you don't have enough of a story for twelve movie length episodes, you have to make the drama shorter. Audiences aren't interested in ridiculous supporting characters that have no purpose other than filling time.
I watched half the drama and the combined IQ and EQ of all the characters was going down instead of them growing up and learning from their mistakes. Only one of the main characters showed any amount of growth, so I don't buy into him falling for the hormonal teenage brained crying disaster that they gave him as a love interest. But I think this imbalance was also the result of them trying to stretch the story.

Too long, too stupid and just not good enough for the obvious amount of money they put in.

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Good show, somewhat unsatisfactory ending

So, the set-up of the story was solid.
The beginning and middle were great.
But the "great conflict" and the ending were unsatisfactory. (More details below.)

Overall the show is a 7.
The acting was great for what was asked of the actors.
Shooting was solid.
Music was negligible; not bad but not memorable either.
The story development though...oooof. Back to what is said at the start, details below, rant incoming.


"The Details"


So we have a rich older boss and a young newbie employee falling in love.
Add in a domineering father, etc. etc.
The plot is nothing new.
What made the show good was the acting, particularly Jeng, and the details within the story, how everything unfolded.
This show took the concept of "slow burn" and "pining" and created a gorgeous masterpiece.

What pissed me off?
1- Pat's character and his reactions, especially the "great conflict" and its resolution.
2- The ending leaving too much up in the air.

Let's deal with Pat first.
My complaints:
1) A crybaby
2) Can't accept reasonable work critique (constructive criticisms)
3) Bad communicator in his relationship with Jeng (especially the "big conflict")
4) Expecting Jeng to move on and forgive him, without him having done anything to make up for the hurt he caused, and having waited so freaking long to speak up and apologize (offering a minimal 'apology' to boot)

Any reasonable person in their twenties could, and should, expect to receive critique at work. There's no possible way that that doesn't happen. No person enters a field, enter the job market, capable of doing their work without direction and correction. Jeng was a micro manager. That's true. But never hurtful or rude, nor did he ever belittle Pat. No need to take everything so personally and have a crying jag every time you're corrected. Grow the heck up!!

The crying jags.
I understand stress. I get feeling hurt. But Every-Single-Freaking!-Time!! The guy is forever crying. He's in his twenties for heaven's sake!!! Again, I say, grow the heck up!!! Stoop acting like an overwrought teenager.
Too much crying. Just...too much.

The "big conflict" and it's resolution.
Both come back to him being a bad communicator with Jeng.
I can, and do, understand why he was mad at Jeng and hurt. (Though I also understand why Jeng did what he did. He should've been honest for sure. Maybe he should've let Pat turn him down, even if it meant watching Pat fail. But in truth, all Jeng did was make up for a situation caused by Jeng's own father which Pat shouldn't have been facing in the first place. )
Pat taking a step back to overcome that blow, I could understand that.
But the amount of time he took? How brutal he was about it?
No. Just...no.
Especially since afterwards, when they make up, he swears up and down that he never hated Jeng and was only angry. Sorry, anger doesn't last that long if you care about the other person. Your good feelings for the other person, and your sympathy for the hurt the other person must be going through too, overweighs anger in time. Pat acted awfully to Jeng.
Which brings me to their make up. I truly feel bad for Jeng. He deserved sooooo much better than an unreasonable, temperamental, and selfish child- which is precisely how I view Pat. Pat = Expecting everything, giving almost nothing, running away when things are tough, and only concerned with his own feelings.


As for the ending of the show itself:
Two major plot points were left hanging, which I don't appreciate at all.
I've seen other comments from viewers requesting a special episode to tie things up. That would be better than nothing, but even if we do get that special, I'll still be mad. The series itself should have concluded with a proper, full ending. A special is just that: a special bonus visit where we can see the happily-ever-after in progress; it should not be a continuation of the ending.

So ultimately, is this show worth watching? Yes.
Will I rewatch it? Yes.
Can it stand to be better? Yes.
Would I call this a good show? Yes.

Thanks for reading :))
Enjoy!! <3

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A train wreck with bad time pacing but at least there’s Chot!

Step by step or few steps backwards? I genuinely need to speak to the people in charge of this show. This was like a really terrible car wreck where you want to look away but just cannot. Time is seemingly up to one’s imagination in this story. It’s nonexistent apparently. Ae literally just getting pregnant and then miraculously being 30+ weeks and then randomly giving birth on the street. Then cut to her wedding day with no baby weight. It makes no sense but I guess they just want us to accept it. If time gaps weren’t enough of a problem well the acting is definitely something also. The main leads.. Acting wise both main leads could’ve done more but I will say the actor who plays Jeng made Pats character slightly believable. Pats character is a big crybaby and I know he cannot control the script but he can control his acting. Pat cries when he’s happy and when he’s sad and it wouldn’t be bad if he actually shedded some tears. Gave me war flashbacks to Pete (much love though) when he did love in the air.
Character wise. From the beginning Pat irked my nerves and he just got worst throughout. Even with a 2year time leap he has no growth and still thinks the world revolves around himself. He needs to grow a backbone.
Ae and her friend prem. They’re some of the most selfish people in the show so it makes sense they’re best friends. She knew he was in love with her and basically kept stringing him along and he told her he liked her on her WEDDING day. I have no words.
I also have experienced my first distasteful comment in an Asian drama when referencing a western drama. Ae makes a comment about lily in Paris and body sizes. She talks about how even though she’s pregnant she’s still smaller than the MC (Lilly Collins). Lilly Collins has been very vocal on her anorexic and bulimia past. With it being 2023 you would think or at least hope the jokes about body sizes would’ve done ran out.
The Jaab and Jen storyline makes no absolute fucking sense. The writers of this show should receive an award for pulling off the impossible. I truly did not think they could make their storyline even more frustrating but they did up until the very end. I’m in disbelief that they made their storyline even more confusing and nonsensical. Genuinely baffled. The way their storyline goes makes you feel like you missed several chapters with them. I felt like I was watching another show and just started midway through. Jaab liked Jen but Jen had a boyfriend and then they kissed then avoided each other. Jen left and Jaab got a partner but is still pining over Jen? And they’re both sad and for what? Jen moved back home and months pass and hasn’t spoken to Jaab. Jaab spontaneously goes to visit Jen only to find Jen went to Japan. The writers give us absolutely nothing with them other than us seeing Jaab leave for Japan.
In the beginning I could not stand Put because he was manipulative but he’s one of the only characters that seemingly got a growth arc and I actually like him better in the end.
The Pat and Jengs storyline is another frustrating one. Jeng likes Pat but Pat is a big crybaby. Them getting together but being careless even though they have a boss/subordinate relationship.
And do not even get me started the Pat/Jen pity party scene. They had no reason to be acting that way.
Aside from that hot mess the love scenes were top tier and Jeng speaking English. Oooh boy it was getting hot in here. And Jeng working out. Yesssss ma’am I need to be cooled. Chot being the iconic character he is and giving me reasons to stay. Anyways watch it for Chot and Jeng and if you’re bored. Even the cute ass montage at the end is not enough to distract you from the train wreck this show was. Do not expect much between the filler episodes, plot holes and weird pacing of time.

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#WHATTHEHELLHAPPEND

Okay I loved the series in the beginning and then it just went nowhere - and it had so many opportunities especially towards the end! You were expecting this big final showdown between Jeng/Pat & Jeng's dad - he even hints at it saying that ...'I think my dads planning something' - and with the brief sit down with mom .... it was odd??? Then the ending of Jane & Jaab are you KIDDING ME!!! WTF Happened? Then Beam ...I really wanted to see him end up with Put at the end like a nice ending for him but it was like the writer just dropped him mid series .... What is sad is that THE CASTING WAS BRILLIANT , because the chemistry between Pat - Jeng & Jane - Jaab were amazing - the cast ensemble was very strong but the story never went anywhere - you were waiting for an x from Jeng's past to enter into the story or a climax from the father realizing his heir just quit after he found out the son he groomed for his seat , quit for his lover - but absolutely nothing ....im happy they ended up together I guess .... but I really would have liked the story to have moved forward more - just my opinion.

I was really looking forward to this for so long because ..Mr Jeng can turn me into a bottom anytime lmao - was disappointed due to how good this could have been because of the actors chemistry as a whole they were all good looking and very talented but it ended up being a story that stood still in time lol.

PS: Pardon, I am dicta-typing - voice to text - my apologies for usage. Big sorry coming from a Literature and English instructor lmao

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A cute slow-burn

IT'S IN THE NAME! The drama is called "Step by step" so of course it is a slow-burn! i don't see why people keep complaining about the story being too slow. I really liked the drama, especially the main couple (Jeng and Pat are my babies from here on out) did an amazing job and had really good chemistry, even the side characters did a really good job. Some story arcs did feel unnecessary and some were border line awful ( I'm looking at you, Jaab and jane) but all in all, it was a good watch.
If we go by the characters, then Jaab would be the one that really did NOT do it for me, and the actor couldn't deliver the bare minimum. The first two episodes with his scenes were still okay and cute, he could tell he is a spoiled yet nice person and know a little bit about him but the moment they introduced the cheating arc, it was a big no for me. Their entire story was just painfully boring and I could not care less. What infuriated me even more is how he handled everything in the later episodes, his character was honestly the worst and even the actor did not do a good enough job. Jane was just there, i could not care less.
Next, I liked Pat's friend group, especially Ae, she is the power mom of the group and the bestie we all need. Though i did not like her selling Pat's number to Put and a few more such things, in all, I liked their dynamic. (Though i don't see why that other friend needed to have feelings for Ae, CAN TWO PEOPLE OF DIFFERENT GENDERS {and are also straight} NOT BE BFFS? IS IT THAT HARD ? DOES ONE OF THEM NEED TO HAVE FEELING TO BE THERE FOR THEIR FRIEND IN TIMES OF NEED???? )
The story line between Pat and Put didn't bother me that much. I thought it was a good way to show that not all relationships work out, sometimes apologies just don't fix things and sometimes letting go is important too. Pat hurting over their eventual and final break-up was also a nice reflection of someone just mourning over the loss of a relationship. I felt it was nice and fresh to show such sides of the character like Pat who was very much impulsive with his emotions in the beginning. I did not find his crying for all that annoying at all.
Pat did have a lot of break-downs though, and while I am all for showing emotions and embracing them, I did feel that his young age compared to his peers made him look impulsive and a slave to his emotions. but they could have handled his emotional arc a bit better, maybe introducing an arc where he visits counselors and therapists and work out his inner thoughts. Just learning how to say no won't fix all his problems. but all in all, i really liked Pat's character and couldn't help see him as a baby i need to protect too! he is just too precious!
Jeng and his hot-self also wasn't perfect. He had his own set of flaws but at the end, i think all those made him seem more human. and his love for Pat is just perfect, i love for much he pays attention to Pat and i love how much he loves him. he made mistakes with Pat but it also seems like he learnt from them too and that's all that matter eventually.
Also the scene where Pat forgets his birthday and ends up having a breakdown in front of his parents was so perfect. I know how it feels to drown yourself in work so much that you forget about yourself completely. The guilt that passes eventually when you realize how much of life just passed us by while we were too busy to even notice really hits hard. I could also see how he felt awful for not remembering that his parents would visit when he already doesn't have both of them together anymore, being a child of divorce is hard and that scene really made me pause and think a lot.
Chot, our MVP, our diamond diva! she is the moment!! Chot is literally the best character! i loved his everything!!! I'm so happy that he is so happy with Krit and i hope they have a good relationship (i love how krit just showed his face like twice and then just disappeared but it makes sense, i wasn't interested in their arc at all and the bare minimum we got from Chot was enough to make him lovable ).
Overall its a good but slow drama, the pacing is an issue i admit and they didn't do a good job with the time lapses (I got confused many times). other than that, its good for a slow weekend. ManBen did a good job and i hope they do another project together soon!

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misstep by misstep (watch ep 1, 2 and 10)

Overall: there was a solid premise here and I would like to see Man again but the writing/editing was lacking. I watched episodes 1-4, 10 and read through comments about episodes. Aired on YouTube, GagaOOLala and WeTV (depending on your country). Same production company as Lovely Writer.

Content Warnings: vomiting, harassment, sexism, non con picture/video taking, likely more

What I Liked
- the supportive friend group, talking about making your own destiny
- Pat pushing back on older people automatically deserving respect because of their age
- Pat almost punching that other dude who was harassing Pat
- a couple funny parts
- nice to see an established couple and Chot was great, that phone conversation in episode 10 was amazing, would have been even better as an in person conversation
- talking about getting a vasectomy is rarely mentioned and much appreciated
- NSFW scenes/kissing in episode 10 was fairly well done
- (neutral) has comedy sound effects (I really dislike the gulping noise that they use)

Room For Improvement
- the timeline/time skips, I dislike time jumps and the timeline here was pretty confusing, I think this took place over 5 years
- choppy parts (they get ready for a fancy event but then we never see them at the event? suddenly they are in a car?)
- the pacing was too slow, there are many scenes that could have been cut or shortened (toilet humor to start with),
- what do two attractive men see in Pat? I was hoping for some character growth but found it very lacking. He drinks too much in front of his boss and then does it again later? He is shocked by Jeng's declaration? He cries when confronting Jeng in episode 10? He cries several times at work, he argues with a client due to personal feelings, etc.
- Jeng bothered me at times as well, he doesn't get to tell another adult to stop drinking (and then bring him to a bar directly afterwards???), he was a bad boss, I was hoping to see some growth but he disciplined a subordinate in front of another subordinate, then somehow it appears that person was not moved to another team? And why on earth did Pat have to apologize to his harasser, he shouldn't have apologized even if he hit the dude. From an earlier episode, I thought Jeng would see he got those pictures and then apologize to Pat but that never happened. Jeng refuses to talk to Pat in episode 10 and goes back to sleep. Jeng had a decent plan in episode 10 but then months go by and he didn't implement it and instead did something that would make things even more of an HR headache...
- the side couple wasn't introduced well (I was never sure what their jobs were) and I wish Jen didn't have an (apparently nice) boyfriend because it made impossible for me to root for their relationship, also they took up too much time in episode 3, then randomly one of them has a new boyfriend???
- in episode 5 Pat (a character in a fictional BL series) says "bl couples profit off the identity of the LGBTQ community", I mean, they probably do but the queer community also benefits from bl series existing, many bl series are romcoms with happily ever afters instead of the normal tragic ending we get and maybe seeing two men end up happily together can change people's minds a little, it at least gives more exposure. And maybe it wasn't the creators intention but putting Zee and Nunew as the other couple insinuates that they are profiting off the LGBTQ community (when first of all they might even be part of that community for all I know) and I've heard they are major supporters of LGBTQ rights
- nonsense things, Jeng manages a restaurant and is a marketing manager?

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