Much deeper than anyone's giving it credit for
This show is one of my all-time favourite queer TV shows and I don't say that lightly.
The story starts off with the classic character tropes of "big manly jock guy whom everyone fawns over" and "timid, heartwarming orphan who wants nothing more in life than to repay the kindness of the people who took him in" - and then it flips the whole thing on its head.
From the very beginning Haebom is not your typical, heteronormative damsel-in-distress archetype. He is fairly introverted and clearly very conflict-avoidant, but he has boundaries that he enforces and defends uncompromisingly from the start.
Over the course of the show, as he gets more and more confident, he starts sticking up for himself slightly more often, but he is not and never has been a pushover.
Taesung, in turn, is far removed from the strong, protective hero stereotype. While he genuinely wishes to help Haebom and does occasionally actively confronts his bullies, he stays mindful of Haebom's wishes for him to not interfere and never tries to swoop in heroically during a conflict, he always lets Haebom handle it himself first.
This puts the two on a fairly even footing with each other and as the story progresses they begin to balance out each others' strengths and weaknesses exceedingly well - Taesung is good at confronting problems head-on and facing people directly, Haebom knows how to elegantly solve and de-escalate precarious situations.
The fact that Haebom at one point calls himself Taesung's "knight in shining armour" and Taesung agrees, is a further subversion of tired old tropes and showcases their deeply loving and respectful "Lean on me if you need to, I'll lean on you in turn" dynamic perfectly.
Another thing the show handles wonderfully is jealousy and insecurity in relationships. Between the two of them Taesung is the touchier, clingier partner while Haebom is more reserved and independent. However the two of them are always on the same page about these issues. They openly acknowledge Taesung's occasional jealousy (which, by the way, never stems from any fear of infidelity or a desire to control Haebom's actions) and find workable compromises.
It's okay to want to spend time with your partner, it's okay to be clingy sometimes. Just as long as all parties involved are happy with their situation and other important aspects of their lives, such as work or social connections, aren't negatively impacted.
From the first episode onwards these two continuously check in with each other to make sure they aren't overstepping any boundaries and that they are both happy in their current situation.
In fact, when Taesung does become insecure in their relationship, and when he does become overly clingy, Haebom immediately recognises this as odd and unhealthy behaviour and sets out to find the cause of the issue.
Furthermore, as an added bonus, we get to see two romantic partners directly asking each other for affection; "Can I have a hug please?" "Can I lay on your arm?" "Please just hold me for a minute". Depictions like this are as incredibly rare as they are wonderful, and I very much appreciate that the creators of the show chose to portray the characters like this.
All of the above then adds up to a nuanced and realistic portrayal of a healthy relationship that honestly made me want to weep with joy a little bit.
Lastly I want to mention one more great strength this show has - its cast of deeply likeable yet complex supporting characters.
From Taesung's mother and Haebom's complicated relationship with her, to Jin Ah and Yong Hee who frequently act entirely independently from the main characters rather than serving as nothing more than a duo of backup yes-men, all these characters are unique and their stories compelling. They bring some interesting depth to what could otherwise have been a fairly shallow, fluffy story and round out the show perfectly in my opinion.
This show isn't perfect, it does have its flaws, but it is so much more than what it appears to be on the surface.
So if you are looking for a low-angst show with truly interesting queer characters and a story with much more complexity than anyone seems to be giving it credit for, then this is very much the series for you.
The story starts off with the classic character tropes of "big manly jock guy whom everyone fawns over" and "timid, heartwarming orphan who wants nothing more in life than to repay the kindness of the people who took him in" - and then it flips the whole thing on its head.
From the very beginning Haebom is not your typical, heteronormative damsel-in-distress archetype. He is fairly introverted and clearly very conflict-avoidant, but he has boundaries that he enforces and defends uncompromisingly from the start.
Over the course of the show, as he gets more and more confident, he starts sticking up for himself slightly more often, but he is not and never has been a pushover.
Taesung, in turn, is far removed from the strong, protective hero stereotype. While he genuinely wishes to help Haebom and does occasionally actively confronts his bullies, he stays mindful of Haebom's wishes for him to not interfere and never tries to swoop in heroically during a conflict, he always lets Haebom handle it himself first.
This puts the two on a fairly even footing with each other and as the story progresses they begin to balance out each others' strengths and weaknesses exceedingly well - Taesung is good at confronting problems head-on and facing people directly, Haebom knows how to elegantly solve and de-escalate precarious situations.
The fact that Haebom at one point calls himself Taesung's "knight in shining armour" and Taesung agrees, is a further subversion of tired old tropes and showcases their deeply loving and respectful "Lean on me if you need to, I'll lean on you in turn" dynamic perfectly.
Another thing the show handles wonderfully is jealousy and insecurity in relationships. Between the two of them Taesung is the touchier, clingier partner while Haebom is more reserved and independent. However the two of them are always on the same page about these issues. They openly acknowledge Taesung's occasional jealousy (which, by the way, never stems from any fear of infidelity or a desire to control Haebom's actions) and find workable compromises.
It's okay to want to spend time with your partner, it's okay to be clingy sometimes. Just as long as all parties involved are happy with their situation and other important aspects of their lives, such as work or social connections, aren't negatively impacted.
From the first episode onwards these two continuously check in with each other to make sure they aren't overstepping any boundaries and that they are both happy in their current situation.
In fact, when Taesung does become insecure in their relationship, and when he does become overly clingy, Haebom immediately recognises this as odd and unhealthy behaviour and sets out to find the cause of the issue.
Furthermore, as an added bonus, we get to see two romantic partners directly asking each other for affection; "Can I have a hug please?" "Can I lay on your arm?" "Please just hold me for a minute". Depictions like this are as incredibly rare as they are wonderful, and I very much appreciate that the creators of the show chose to portray the characters like this.
All of the above then adds up to a nuanced and realistic portrayal of a healthy relationship that honestly made me want to weep with joy a little bit.
Lastly I want to mention one more great strength this show has - its cast of deeply likeable yet complex supporting characters.
From Taesung's mother and Haebom's complicated relationship with her, to Jin Ah and Yong Hee who frequently act entirely independently from the main characters rather than serving as nothing more than a duo of backup yes-men, all these characters are unique and their stories compelling. They bring some interesting depth to what could otherwise have been a fairly shallow, fluffy story and round out the show perfectly in my opinion.
This show isn't perfect, it does have its flaws, but it is so much more than what it appears to be on the surface.
So if you are looking for a low-angst show with truly interesting queer characters and a story with much more complexity than anyone seems to be giving it credit for, then this is very much the series for you.
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