Step by Step (2023)

Good series with some flaws

I really like this series so far. The story is interesting, the dialogues feel natural and I like the slowburn romance between the main leads, as well as the story of Jane and Jaab.

However, episode 6 left me unsatisfied in some ways.
For example: I feel like Jaab's character is a bit too much at times. The constant pouty face during the scene with his mum made me cringe. He is supposed to be an immature person but somehow it just felt like bad acting during this scene (which should not the case because he did a great job in the previous episodes).
Speaking of unnatural acting, why the hell does Pat always look like he was asked to eat a pile of crap, whenever Jeng asks him to spend time together? Who would dare to look at their boss like this after a nice dinner invitation??? Even if you don't want to go, at least be subtle!
The episodes are pretty long, while little happens storywise. Some scenes could be cut without making a difference.

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despite everything i enjoyed it

I got interested in this series when i saw for the time the pilot trailer because at that time it was even not planned to come out many bls with office romance that nowadays exists. So when i saw the first episode i enjoyed so on and even didn't complain about the slow pace but I'm a little disappointed being more than hour per episode and until episode 10 love is mutual and maybe that's not that bad but then they rushed everything and later you are telling me the didn't talk for 2 years. I think is fine how the took all the situation with Pat's ex but everything should be shorter i don't if was actually necessary the tell us everything about Jiang group does.

Characters:

Nan: Talking aboutn Jiang group i'm glad to see Nan because there are not many girls in bls, but they took it from us for about many episodes and and returned it for the last 3 ones.

Ying: i don't why they made us hate her to the beginning just because she likes to gossip and at the end we love how she defends Pat.

The straight couple: ... I mean what was that, they have more story than the secondary couple. Honestly, i don't care if they are straight my point here is what was the purpose of them.

Chot: I think his story was interesting but they also didn't show us much

Jeng: For me one of the best characters, i related to him as older sibling and i really like his development

Pat: at the beginning i related to Pat because i thought he was a sensitive person but then I think he is a little bit immature and maybe and emotionally unstable and i didn't like at the he didn't considered Jeng's feelings.


Acting:

I feel like Dee hup was like, let's take mostly of the cast of lovely writer and don't tell Kao (I'm joking because i think Kao actually couldn't be there because he signed with other company) i think the characters from lovely writer have the same attitude for Step by step so i feel like it's nothing new, now with Man i think he made a great Job and portrait right all the emotions, this the first project of Ben so of course he has a long way to go but he did his best and we love both of them ?

Talking about Up I also think he made a great job because his character it's really different from lovely writer

Some good aspects:

Dee hup queen of consent.

My final thoughts:

They should have handled the pace of the story better, too long for some stuff, short for the other... like, at a very lacking level.

Honestly it wasn't that great as i expected but i love dee hup projects so i'm rooting for their next one, 'I feel you linger in the air' i hope the don't mess up this one ? because i have high expectations for this.

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Worth the steps

Honestly, the story develops pretty much like the name "step by step". It is definitely slow burn and demands your patience for the romance to blossom. But I will consider the fact that this is not the story of a couple living their love-life, but a couple (or two) navigating through their life to their ultimate love .
If you are into stories which you can relate to in your life, this one is for you. There are no lies here, it shows life at its realest form. No exaggerated scenes, no unbelievable happenings.
The actor portraying Jeng is the cherry on top of the cake, he's such a natural actor. He perfectly shows the emotions and confusions and awkwardness of his character and is a delight to watch.
A little unclear about how the side couple's story ends, but probably (hopefully) its for a second season.
Totally recommend, its worth it.

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TAKE A STEP, IT AIN'T THAT BAD

There is always that one employee who is bullied in an office, and there is always a strict and indifferent office chief, and there is definitely always a love triangle between people that you know. This series has been a refreshing breeze blown into the BL industry.
Step by step showcased a real life development of a realtionship of working adults, without that Love at first sight effect nor the Magic of television bringing characters together with little effort; it was real, full of endeavors and persuasive. There was that employee getting pushed to the limit of resigning soothed by his self-reflective office chief and they spent time and mercy on one another and on themselves. In time, they found out their hearts had already reserved a place for the other person. That was full-proof and credible. It also brought up the genuine confusion and hesitation of people being in love with someone out of their reach. The absence of crazy mind-bending dramas were actually good in this series because we actually got to see how love hurts, how love lifts, how envy and disappointment projected into actions. Almost everything were close to reality, understandable and well-captured.
However, the series seemed to had taken a turn for worse since the latter-half of ep 9 to the end. Suddenly, the character, the integrity of the series just went off; we had jumbled timeline, we had people making nonsense drama, we had characters going against their nature and made bad decisions, we had plot holes-making time jump and we had problems being solved so easily that it should have been illigal. It became so off-putting and dissuasive when now, I can't figure out what had happened during that time jump, I can't piece together any development of the characters and I was so surprised to see nonsense drama appeared making the core value of the series depreciated.
All things aside, I do love the acting of the actors, almost everybody did their parts wonderfully and they were expressive and persuasive; making the whole journey became enjoyable despite the down turn that I mentioned.
All in all, this series didn't win the prize for me but It definitely did what it could and I would recommend everybody to give it a try, you'll be stunned by the main couple's chemistry.

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TESTING MY PATIENCE STEP BY STEP

The starter is doing great but after episode 4 it's getting boring and I couldn't afford nor waste my time to watch this series. The uke is great but the seme-... Im sorry but I really get bored just watching him playing this character. Like no emotion, his eyes are empty. The casting is great but I don't think the director being fair to Man when they decided to hire Up as the second lead. Obviously I like Up to be pair with Ben better. I mean HELLO??? Anyway, I think the gap of acting skills are huge between Man and Up. Up looks much sincere and his eyes are sparkling with admiration when playing the character Put whenever he is looking at Pat. I am sorry but this series DISAPPOINT ME SO MUCH. The review is 7.5 which is total nonsense. There is no real conflict in this series just a bunch of office workers gossiping about his boss and there is no heart throbbing scenes either. I can count how many times I doze off while watching this series and I feel like they are trying to give off the same vibe with 'A Boss and A Babe' but failed miserably. Anyway, I am dropping this. Never going to continue watch this.

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Great Start; Ok Ending

I placed spoilers at the end of this review.

The series was enjoyable in the beginning even though the boss/employee office romance concept is nothing new. Unfortunately, this fades away as the series continues. The script started off strong, but gradually gets weaker towards the end. The last episode was ok, but a little bizarre and has my most hated story element. The script also had some very weak points. There are times it introduced things without any context to it. I also find the timeline a little confusing because there were no indications on the time progression. On a positive note, the script at least sticks with all of the storylines that were introduced. Well, sort of. See the spoiler alert at the end of this review if you want more information. Overall, the acting was ok. The new actors were not horrible, they just need to improve their skills. The more seasoned actors are the ones that shined. The co-workers’ actions seem overly dramatic, but I think this was done on purpose to emphasize how toxic some work environments can be. The cinematography was good most of the time, but there was some shaky camera work.

Random Note:

It was cute how they incorporated several nods to Lovely Writer. It was also great to see many of the actors from that series in this one. It was like a mini reunion.

I usually can keep track with how all of the characters are connected to each other, but I’m still confused on how everyone actually knows each other.

The English subtitles were good with the exception that it didn’t show English subtitles when printed content appears on screen a few times.

Although I was not bothered by the pacing, there was a lot of wasted screen time. Many of the episodes had a lot of filler scenes that were not needed. This should have been an 8- to 10- episode series because it really didn’t have enough content for 12-episodes.




********Spoiler Alert********

It was bizarre how the sexual harassment case was handled, but this is probably a cultural thing.

The storyline between Jaab and Jane was ok in the beginning, but became tedious and annoying by the end. I was not a fan of how Jane flirted with Jaab in the beginning when he knew Jaab obviously liked him.

I don’t understand Pat’s actions in episode 9. He acted like he was the one that confessed to Jeng and that Jeng turned him down.

As for the ending, it was a little weak. We get a 2-year time jump that serves no purpose. I hate series with time jumps because it’s just very lazy writing. It has a happy ending for Pat and Jeng, but Jaab and Jane’s storyline is left to the sideline. We see Jaab packing to see Jane, but we have to assume things are good with them with the little information we get in that scene. Once again, I’m confused at the time progression during the end.

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Great to watch with your finger on the fast forward button

I actually liked/loved the characters enough to stick with the whole series. For an English speaker - it was tough only getting translations of what was said - nothing written was ever translated but, I would eventually, be able to figure it out.

I agree with many reviews in that Pat took too long to mature. For being a 25-26 year old there were times his actions mirrored childlike. Understandable for someone who was babied/coddled but, when you enter the workforce - you do need to take steps to grow past your safety zones. The writing reflected the times - they mentioned safe zones many times.

I agree the writing was a little off. Plot points were introduced and never followed up on. The whys and hows of character choices were never fully explained. Side characters remained blank canvases and only used when needed. Many times you will find yourself asking "Who is that?".

I appreciated the reality of the whole story. Controlling Dad finally realizes he can't control his son but, has nothing against him - dad even mentions his performance for the past two years has been near flawless. It was a nice shot of him throwing away his son's resignation and basically, letting him do what he wants - relationship wise. The mother appeared to like Jaab over Jeng though, that is never explained.

Being a standard BL - you can fast forward through the fluff and waste of time scenes. So predictable and just by paying attention as you zip through the scenes - you can still see what is happening and not miss a thing. Overall, I really loved the characters enough to where I will be watching favorite scenes/episodes again.

I loved when Jeng is slowly watching and paying attention to everything Pat likes and dislikes. His reaction to Pat not liking the shrimp nuggets is perfect. For someone who loves to cook and wants to share his creations - it goes to your soul when you want someone to like what you prepared. It bothers him so much, he changes the recipe so, Pat would be able to eat if ever offered again. I have watched the submitting the peer review to the scenes of them working together several times - they are real enough to completely believe.

Again, worth a watch but, don't feel bad for fast forwarding through the things you don't like. I am not a fan of screaming queens - never have been. I can't even stand to watch that horror film Mama Mia - even with the Abba music as bait.

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they took this junk step by fucking step

I am averaging out the episodes right now, and then I will talk about this low-key disappointing show. Okay, that took forever. The average for this was 8.375 stars out of 10 stars, and I rounded it down to 8 stars out of 10 stars because fuck this show. I feel like I invested too much time and energy into this show for the ending to be that damn ass. There are so many unanswered questions. I hate it. Okay, I am going to try to talk about the good and the bad of this dumpster fire show.

I started this on April 19th, and it is August 17th at 2:09 am. Damn. So I was talking about how the show wasn't off to a bad start. I had no idea anyone's names; it was a fresh start to a new show. I was describing what Jeng and Pat looked like and making my predictions. The dictator and the baby were both good ways to describe Jeng because of his control issues and the way he dealt with everything. I said that Pat had juicy lips, and I was saying that he fell for Jeng fast, but boy was I wrong. And the camera angles were making me sea sick.

I said that the workplace harassment really topped off the second episode because of the way it was handled. And I was trying to get behind all the weird things Pat was doing, and they were pretty warranted at the beginning. There was a drunk scene, which was one of many. And I was saying how I was really hyped for the show to be all the way out.

Mr. Jeng is a serious overthinker, and he inherited his father's control issues, as did his brother. I was still really excited and just enjoying it; there is definitely some alcholism and addiction in this, but that's fine, I guess, because it doesn't matter if the show doesn't focus on it. Yeah, not a whole lot was happening, and that's basically the whole show.

We meet Chot, and I love him so much. His character is funny and just has an overall good presence in the show. And him being in a relationship with was the best and only good loop this show had. It was just really cute. It was an easy watch, and the shit they were sending in the group chat gave me some crazy second-hand embarrassment; it was bad.

Two people got proposed to in one episode. I make a backhanded comment towards Jen about how he should break up with his current boyfriend, who gave off a very bad vibe before he started kissing CEO's sons. I was hating on the love triangle, and rightfully so. I think in the description, all three of them were still mains, so I was just hoping that Pat would fall for Jeng and not some old flame who is an idol now for some weird reason.

I was once again hating on the love triangle for playing with my feelings. Pat was such a cry baby in this, and shit was getting on everybody's nerves, including mine. You can work shit out with out crying dawg; you are a full-ass adult. I think he was 24 during these episodes, like, what? I understand if you are under the age of 18 and still in school, but he's literally making money, has a job, and is still having full-blown temper tantrums because stuff is not going right. That's not very proactive of him. This show isn't very proactive, actually.

Pat continues to collect these men like Pokemon cards. I kept talking about Pat's lips because they are beautiful, and fuck that love triangle version like 8 at this point. This was getting on my nerves so much. The whole show was at this point.

Then we had the slow dancing scene, which saved this series (by the episode rating) from being an actual 6. It was a sensational and, overall, really great scene. I was pretty surprised that Jeng was gay, actually. I thought that it was going to be aI am only gay for you type of thing. That made me start to feel better, but then I remembered that literally nothing had happened up until this point, and it had been eight episodes.

Giving birth was so unnecessary, but I got so into it that my heart was racing like I was helping deliver that damn baby. They hadn't even kissed yet, and Jaab and Jeng have some generational control problems and generational non rizz.

The world messed these two up, bro. My prediction was right on June 30th about Toh being behind it. "Bro wants to watch the world burn with his meet the Robinson-looking ass." I ate that one up. But nah, I would have finished this so much earlier, but I knew episode 11 was going to be bad, so I decided against it.

Until today. Them in the infamous episode 11 were so gilded lilies by the cult or the other way around. the haven't given enough song. Jeng ruined them. I was having a hard time trying to remember what had happened and who everyone was, but we got through it. Pat's haircuts midway through some scenes were funny. And his lips are beautiful.

I was pissed about that ending. They were barely together for like an hour on screen for the whole long ass show. Everyone was getting on my nerves at the end. Oh god. I was confused because of the time skips, and Pat put in his two weeks like four times, longer than he had probably been working there. Nah, I am so glad I am done with this. I was very disappointed. This show had so much wasted potential. I wouldn't recommend this because it's a waste of time and energy for a couple to barely be together for an hour on screen. That's it. It's now 2:33 a.m. Okay bye!

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Funny and light hearted.

The series is fun to watch and has sweet and laughable moments. I find Jaab cute and sweet but not okay with him getting between Jan and his boyfriend not ok stealing someone else man, hate stories where someone steals someone else guy. Pat is a bit naive which gets on my nerves at times. I hate all those facial expressions he makes when people ask him questions. The story is good and funny but I don't feel the chemistry between the leads as much as I wanted to, looks awkward at times instead of loving, they do have cute moments but wish Pat was not so childlike so much. I love Pat's friends Chot and Ae, they are great friends and support. I love that they have English conversations so cute. Put is a bit annoying but that is expected. Wish it had a better ending as it does leave you with a few unanswered questions.

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Cute for the most part

I've enjoyed this show quite a bit. The slow burn was nice. I like that they really addressed the actual issues of an employee dating a boss. They seemed to have set it up that there could be a second series and I'd certainly love to see the actors in their roles again, especially Jeng and Chot, not to mention giving us a bit more of Jen and Jaab closure.

Best parts:
The Pacing Up to Episode 11: I liked that it was slow and when we finally were given that kiss we wanted to see, it was great.

The Character of Jeng: Not gonna lie, I think Jeng is an ideal boss and I kind of think Pat was being immature about his 'control freak' nature. The guy was just making sure his team didn't fail because if it did, people would be out of a job. That's the sort of manager you want. I also love that we've got the older, bigger, more dominant guy being vulnerable and really just a big softie. He's sweet and he's awkward at times. Man's portrayal of the contrast of a guy who needs to be in control of everything and his complete simping over Pat is fun to watch. Also, every time Jeng puts his hands in his pockets I nearly got a nosebleed.

Jaab and Jen's stuff: Listen, Pat and Jeng had some steamy kisses but that kiss between Jaab and Jen might be the best kiss I've seen in BL. With how good it was, I was really expecting a follow up with their characters. Jaab is an interesting character and I found myself wanting to see more of him.

Chot: He's cute, he's funny, he's endearing.

Worst Parts:
Pat: Mr "I dislike that my boyfriend has backup plans to ensure a project I'm working on doesn't fail and my department isn't shut down and people lose their jobs.". Maybe I'm just looking at it from a grown-ups point of view but I'd be glad for my manager to have contingency plans in case what I was doing failed. When Pat wasn't angsting over his boyfriend making sure people didn't lose their jobs, he was fine but I couldn't get over the idea that he'd be so angry that a manager wasn't putting all his eggs in one basket that was held by the new guy who's inexperienced. Yes he fancies you Pat, but that doesn't mean he should blindly let you do anything in the workplace.

Pat's Parents Scenes: They seemed unnecessary and I mostly skipped through them. I get that they're there to provide sage advice but I'd have rather that advice come from Ae, Chot, Nan, Ying..or anyone else, really.

The Pacing at the End: I feel like even if they DO give us a second season, this first season needed at least another 2 episodes. The last episode felt way too rushed given how long they spread out the first 10 episodes. It was abrupt in its pace change.

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One step forward, two, sometimes three steps backward

Oh the potential this series had!
And no, I'm not writing a delusional review like a few I've seen in here that were written on April 18 (the day the 1st episode aired!) and on May 3, telling me how wonderful the show is and giving all perfect scores.
This show is far from perfect and here's why:

1. Plot/Storyline: Office love is nothing new... we've seen a few office BLs recently like the Korean "Roommates of Poongduck 304", the Japanese "Cherry Magic", or the Thai "Bed Friends", so no, not an original setting. The way it was executed was also part of the problem with Pat entering a gossiping nest of a company as Ying and other employees cannot stop criticizing their boss in the episodes 1-3 (more or less) and suddenly, they magically stop. Jeng is the son of the company's president but is a micromanaging boss who doesn't trust anyone to do the job so he is always verifying it behind their backs or trying to influence the way his employees do certain things. The company's president is Jeng's father and he is also secretly involved in many things as he controls his son's life the way he wants and Jeng rarely says anything.
All that changes when Pat comes to work, as he is brutally honest since the beginning and Jeng begins to understand his mistakes even if he doesn't do much to change during the show. Pat finds two good friends in Chot and Nan who shield him from the gossip around him and give some good advice inside the company and Ae helps Pat outside of the company. Both him and Jeng slowly fall in love... and I REALLY mean SLOWLY!... as the don't do much until the latter episodes as Pat is living with very low self-esteem and insecurities and Jeng is uncertain if Pat will like him. Plus, Put is always lurking in the initial episodes as he wants to get back with Pat despite having broken up some time ago. So far, nothing that exciting... and it shows, as the series moved at a glacial pace sometimes with never ending scenes that included useless meetings, commercial shooting, Pat crying 3,467 times, Jeng looking confused... which takes me to...

2. Characters: Pat is smart when talking about marketing and ad design but he is a whiny crybaby for everything else. His relationship with Put goes nowhere and yet, he takes him back. His relationship with Jeng should have been developed since episode 4-5 but we had to go through his insecurities and doubts and then his overly dramatic moments of being disappointed in what Jeng did. Mr. Jeng is a nightmare boss that wants to control every single detail but he transfers that to his relationship with Pat when he doesn't trust him at all on episodes 10-11 and goes behind his back paying influencers so Pat's project becomes a success... something Pat finds out thanks to Jeng's father (another manipulative person). Jaab acts like a spoiled brat sometimes and he likes Jan or Jane (his name was written in 3 different ways in the English translation) but he gets rejected and he tends to sulk and sigh all the time. Jane simply disappeared around episode 7-8 when he quits and leaves, then he re-appeared briefly in Ae's wedding and then he supposedly went to Japan for two years. Way to mess up the secondary couple! The other characters are mostly forgettable... Ying is a gossiping machine at first, then transforms into a model worker and then quits in episode 12 to become a BL novelist... and her book?! "Step by Step"... how original! Put is the third wheel in most of the scenes as it fell like he never really matched the mood of the other characters... he wanted pat back but didn't try too hard... he wanted to antagonize Jeng but he wasn't that mean or cunning, so it ends up being just another character. Chot is the only saving grace of the show as he is the boisterous and colorful character that brings some sense to the rest of the cast while providing some funny moments as well. This reflects badly on...

3. Directing/Writing: Not sure what the final purpose of the show really was. The main relationship develops at a slow pace, the secondary couple had no development after Jane leaves and the ending for them leaves A LOT to be desired, and the straight (Ae/Khanun) couple goes from dating, to being pregnant, to marrying, to having the baby... so they developed quite quickly compared to the main couple. The uncut episodes were quite long (episode 12 is 1 hour and 42 minutes long!) but in this case, longer episodes didn't necessarily meant better episodes. Instead of having the chance to develop the characters and the situations a bit more and a bit better, directing and writing fell in the same traps throughout the series. If there is a problem, let's have Pat cry on his father's shoulder or have him argue with Jeng (while crying) and finish it with Chot or Ae or both providing some advice to Pat and Tae giving advice to Jeng, rinse and repeat this cycle. We saw this trend several times on the show and it became dull and annoying as we knew it will happen eventually. Questionable directing and writing also caused problems in another area...

4. Acting: Man (playing Jeng) is the most experienced actor from the bunch and his acting skills were ok, particularly when he cries with Jaab and acts vulnerable for the first time in the series. But he looked a bit stiff in some other scenes when it was Ben (playing Pat) who had to express more feelings than him. Look for the scenes of Ben crying and Man is just standing there watching awkwardly and then saying his lines. Bruce (playing Chot) was finally in his element as a diva after we saw him as the bad guy in "Lovely Writer" and had a quick appearance on "Paint with Love". Here he shines as he looked comfortable in this character and sometimes even stole the scene over the two leads and Up (playing Put) who felt flat for most of the show as he did not have many things to do as a secondary character. Saint (playing Jaab) was a nice surprise as he not only is very attractive but his acting was decent at times... he still needs some time to develop them but he seems to be on track. Wind (playing Jane) was a mystery... his character had some moments with Jaab but then he basically leaves on episode 7 and rarely appears afterwards. And finally, we go to...

5. The finale: Oh boy... you would think that 1 hour and 42 minutes will be enough to tell us the end of this story. Sadly, this episode became a long and almost boring one with the usual 7 meetings per episode with filler characters taking fake notes and pretending to be relevant for the scene. The episode is set 2 years after the previous one and Pat has blocked Jeng and moved on to create a company with Chot and Ae but about 90 of the 102 minutes of the episode, he is distracted, thinking about Jeng but doing nothing to talk to him and solve the issue... something that could have been done in about 5 minutes, maybe 10. They finally reconcile in a cheesy scene in the restaurant's kitchen with Pat telling Jeng he never hated him and that he was not hurt, only angry about what he did to him before but he wasn't angry anymore... so, you blocked him for 2 years but you weren't thaaat mad? Then, instead of having some scenes with Jaab-Jane... we get NOTHING... we get more Pat-Jeng dull scenes with two birthdays in the span of 3 minutes, Pat acting like a child while eating curry and Jeng finally resigning from his father's company... oh and we met Jeng's mother for about 5 seconds before she leaves.

A few more things... the production cannot even get things right as the trophy "Broccoli House" wins for the Best Ad is misspelled saying "Best Ad Awrad 2024" and what was the point of having all the meetings with Ms. Nadia from Fjord group in English? Sabina (the actress playing Nadia) is Thai-Austrian and we saw her recently in the mediocre "War of Y", so we know she is fluent in Thai. In this series, she only speaks in English and when she does, she clearly has an accent and she makes several mistakes... so what was the point of that?

In the end, another Thai BL series that leaves me with the sense of what might have been if some things were done differently or at least, done better.

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