Beyond the Star (2023)

too many characters/couples and an unfinished finale (watch the 1 couple cut)

Overall: there were 9 actors listed as main roles and 14 listed as support roles, they needed to cut the characters by half and then focus on the fewer characters/couples. I took a full point off for that finale which was one of the worst finales I have ever seen in anything, they dropped several plot threads/had no resolution for several characters/couples. 8 episodes about 40 minutes each. Aired on iQIYI and MFlow Entertainment's YouTube Channel (not in the U.S.). Produced by MFlow Entertainment which also made Tin Tem Jai, Ai Long Nhai, Coffee Melody Second Chance and With Love.

After airing they made a special cut of just the established couple which I'd suggest watching instead of the series https://www.iq.com/play/beyond-the-star-nnkh0lxm1c?lang=en_us Just wish they would have had a better ending for them than a pinky promise promising not to cheat...

What Suggestions if you watch the whole thing (prioritizing the established couple and intimate scenes)
episode 1 - 14 minutes established couple sniff kisses
episode 2 - 32 minutes established couple in a window seat having fun
episode 3 - 5 minutes established couple in a tub having fun
episode 4 - 4 minutes glasses & friend dream kissing, 22 minutes established couple flirting & 33 minutes shopping
episode 5 - 16 minutes established couple on a couch having fun, 33 minutes established couple brief kisses
episode 6 - 36 minutes foot injured couple confession, sniff kiss and bed scene
episode 7 - 24 minutes (NSFW with foot injured couple) to 33 minutes and just pretend that's the end (episode 8 does have a meh NSFW scene with that guy wearing glasses 31-37 minutes)

Content Warnings: non con video recording/sharing, slap, manhandling, attempted suicide

What I Liked
- an established couple, they had some nice kisses/scenes
- cafe worker's dimples (though not sure why he lied about his part time job when the other character specifically said he didn't have to lie about it???)
- some decently done NSFW scenes (the established couple)
- (neutral) there were a few comedy sound effects, they weren't overwhelming

Room For Improvement
- there were a ton of characters introduced in episode 1 and I didn't care about any of them, I did eventually figure most of them out but then characters would vanish for an episode or more
- nonsense writing, a character said that they were waiting for another character to practice when we clearly saw them all practicing...
- slow pacing, I watched at 3x speed, didn't care about the rival company stuff or dance practices
- slap was not needed and not funny
- kind of hinted at a love triangle was annoying
- that final episode was absolutely terrible, barely anything was resolved, they also threw in a very serious thing in episode 8 with no discussion of counseling/medication/help

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what the hell was that

Was that really supposed to be an ending! This looked like could've went on another
two or three episodes and they just threw their hands up in the air when they got to
episode eight and said f**k it and left the show unfinished. The story was all over the place.
There was to many main characters. I couldn't find anything about the story
made sense. At the end of the last episode your left what a blank look on your
face wondering what the heck did I just watch and scratching your head confused
about what was supposed to be going on from the start to the end.

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