CA (caution advisory) this is a show definitely worthy of the American TV-MA rating.
This is a great show. It's going to go down as one of my favorites BL or otherwise. I was crying from episode 1! The show feels so unique and refreshing because they avoid most of the BL tropes and cliches (at least with Pete/Ae).
Honestly, I wanted to give the show a 10/10, but I really did not care for the secondary storylines. Pete and Ae carry the entire show for me. I was shocked and pleasantly surprised that right off the bat Pete came out to his mom in the first episode and she accepted him! I was so happy to avoid that trope. I really love Ae's character he is direct and never shies away from Pete. I also love that they avoided the whole "only gay for you" trope. I can't emphasize enough how much I like Ae's character. He was never at any point embarrassed to be around Pete and when he realized he had feelings for him he didn't push him away and/or get angry at him. 99% of the issues that arise in these dramas are from a lack of communication and that doesn't really happen with Pete/Ae or else it is quickly squashed. This feels like a really genuine exploration of first love. There's a lot of sex and mention of sex in this show, but I really appreciate how they present it. It felt real and carefully done.
I really wish they had made Tin/Can's relationship platonic because where they had otherwise been really good at avoiding tropes this relationship falls into so many (guy with a rough past is angry at the world until he meets the happy-go-lucky character (who he is mean to in the beginning) that opens his heart and makes him trust again)/ the enemies to lovers. But damn, it took until episode 14 but they reeled me in. They got me. I mean Tin's scene in the shower! Ugh, my heart was breaking.
You get the feeling early on that they always envisioned a season 2 (which is confirmed and set for 2020) although after shooting the first season the director said there wouldn't be one. The secondary storylines are very poorly laid out and convoluted leading you to believe they will delve into these storylines in-depth in season 2. I have no idea where the Tar/Tum storyline is going or what are the circumstances surrounding what happened to Tar and how that relates to Type and his BF. *Update: i watched TarnType so i no longer have these questions, although is still don’t know where they’re going w/ Tar/Tum. I highly recommend it!* This forbidden familial love trope is one of my least favorites. I also don't know or frankly care about Kla's crush on No. I HATE the way they set up their relationship, That's rape. It was rape and for the life of me i can’t understand how they spent time dealing with Tar’s emotional issues from being raped only to have one character rape the other (ugh!!).
I wasn't sure but I came to like Tin/Can's storyline but the rest of them weighed down what was otherwise a fantastic show. I highly recommend it. I definitely will re-watch at some point (just as enamored with the 2nd rewatch) although I'm skipping over some parts. I was also unsure about season 2, but after seeing the trailer I have slightly higher expectations. I am among the many heartbroken that Saint will not be participating in season 2 :(.