Ariel
United States
This review may contain spoilers
This is REALITY (TRIGGER WARNING)
I'm not going to lie, I come to have expectations when I watch most BLs. I want to believe they all will end with the main couple getting together and living happily ever after.
When I watched this I did not get a happily ever after, I got reality.
It started off like most series do. It had the same concepts: There's the Junior, Shin, who looks up to someone, maybe has some sort of feelings for them. Then the Senior, Keng, who is either hiding his feelings and sexuality but as soon as he meets the Junior, he realizes he can't fight it anymore. There's also the friends, and this series definitely has the good friends and the bad friends. The good friends who support you and fight for you, Pramote and Bright, and the bad friends, AKA Man, who do things that make everything worse.
Episode 1 had me thinking it was a normal series. There was the awkward moments, and the scenes where you think "Oh they might hug" or "Oh they might kiss". But there is also the story line behind the main couple that shows the jealousy and anger of rejected love. Man was jealous because he saw the way Keng looked at Shin, and instead of being a good friend and being understanding he decided to use social media to force Keng to come out as gay. Not exactly the way you want to get someone to accept your feelings. The result of social media is what starts this train wreck. The "effect" faceless people on the internet have is astounding. And as a result, Shin starts to step back from his relationship from Keng.
Episode 2... now this episode started out showing the consequences of social media. What else could Shin do but step back. But his friends supported him. (BEST FRIENDS EVER) They stood by him while social media crucified him because he was a "nobody" while Keng was "popular". I won't lie, at this point, I was hoping that Keng and Shin would talk it out and remain friends at the least. So coming up to the end of the episode, when Keng was at Shin's house and they were talking, I was very unprepared for the results. For Shin to step out of his comfort zone and be honest about his feelings was good and should have been received with understanding... but Keng, already having his own issues concerning family and feelings did not receive it well at all. And sometimes that is the reality. You won't get someone who UNDERSTANDS, and if they already have their own mental health issues you ARE going to get anger and resentment. Keng response was horrible and also a little sad. When he raped Shin and afterwards told him he loved him... God that broke my heart, because to me it showed that he really didn't understand AT ALL.
Episode 3 was also a hard one. This episode showed the aftermath of the rape and once again how social media still made a VICTIM INTO A PERPETRATOR. Faceless people on the internet had their own opinions about things they just didn't know. Sad but true reality. How do you force yourself to speak up when no one wants to listen and all you want to do is fade away. Shin attempted suicide was heartbreaking, because WHAT ELSE COULD HE DO? In his mind, there was nothing left... I do have to say though, that his friends and his parents were the best support system anyone is this world could ever have. They supported him and defended him, through everything. They also didn't try to tell him to get over it. They just said they would be there for him to lean on. THAT is the BEST support you could ever get.
I won't spoil the ending though in case anyone else is reading this. I did very much enjoy it though.
If my kids were older I would let them watch this, because it gives a view on how rape just isn't male-female, it can be same sex. It shows that even behind closed doors, no one is perfect, there's always going to be someone out there who wants what they can't have. That mental health issues are real! Even if you can't see it, even if you don't think someone can have it, even if they tell you it's all in your head... it's real. And also that social media can be a platform for bullying, rumors and hatred. Just because it's on the internet doesn't mean it's real. Use your words wisely.
10/10 would watch again , but honestly I'm going to have to wait awhile.
When I watched this I did not get a happily ever after, I got reality.
It started off like most series do. It had the same concepts: There's the Junior, Shin, who looks up to someone, maybe has some sort of feelings for them. Then the Senior, Keng, who is either hiding his feelings and sexuality but as soon as he meets the Junior, he realizes he can't fight it anymore. There's also the friends, and this series definitely has the good friends and the bad friends. The good friends who support you and fight for you, Pramote and Bright, and the bad friends, AKA Man, who do things that make everything worse.
Episode 1 had me thinking it was a normal series. There was the awkward moments, and the scenes where you think "Oh they might hug" or "Oh they might kiss". But there is also the story line behind the main couple that shows the jealousy and anger of rejected love. Man was jealous because he saw the way Keng looked at Shin, and instead of being a good friend and being understanding he decided to use social media to force Keng to come out as gay. Not exactly the way you want to get someone to accept your feelings. The result of social media is what starts this train wreck. The "effect" faceless people on the internet have is astounding. And as a result, Shin starts to step back from his relationship from Keng.
Episode 2... now this episode started out showing the consequences of social media. What else could Shin do but step back. But his friends supported him. (BEST FRIENDS EVER) They stood by him while social media crucified him because he was a "nobody" while Keng was "popular". I won't lie, at this point, I was hoping that Keng and Shin would talk it out and remain friends at the least. So coming up to the end of the episode, when Keng was at Shin's house and they were talking, I was very unprepared for the results. For Shin to step out of his comfort zone and be honest about his feelings was good and should have been received with understanding... but Keng, already having his own issues concerning family and feelings did not receive it well at all. And sometimes that is the reality. You won't get someone who UNDERSTANDS, and if they already have their own mental health issues you ARE going to get anger and resentment. Keng response was horrible and also a little sad. When he raped Shin and afterwards told him he loved him... God that broke my heart, because to me it showed that he really didn't understand AT ALL.
Episode 3 was also a hard one. This episode showed the aftermath of the rape and once again how social media still made a VICTIM INTO A PERPETRATOR. Faceless people on the internet had their own opinions about things they just didn't know. Sad but true reality. How do you force yourself to speak up when no one wants to listen and all you want to do is fade away. Shin attempted suicide was heartbreaking, because WHAT ELSE COULD HE DO? In his mind, there was nothing left... I do have to say though, that his friends and his parents were the best support system anyone is this world could ever have. They supported him and defended him, through everything. They also didn't try to tell him to get over it. They just said they would be there for him to lean on. THAT is the BEST support you could ever get.
I won't spoil the ending though in case anyone else is reading this. I did very much enjoy it though.
If my kids were older I would let them watch this, because it gives a view on how rape just isn't male-female, it can be same sex. It shows that even behind closed doors, no one is perfect, there's always going to be someone out there who wants what they can't have. That mental health issues are real! Even if you can't see it, even if you don't think someone can have it, even if they tell you it's all in your head... it's real. And also that social media can be a platform for bullying, rumors and hatred. Just because it's on the internet doesn't mean it's real. Use your words wisely.
10/10 would watch again , but honestly I'm going to have to wait awhile.
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