Relatable, but room for improvement.

'The Trainee' takes place in an office setting with an ensemble cast featuring BL elements, meaning that it's not quite BL, and the BL romance is turned down, which was fine by me. Every character is seen and heard - some a little too much - although the series is supposed to focus on its main protagonist, Ryan.

There are two mentors, Jane and Judy - this brings back memories of 'The Jetsons'. If you know, you know - and throughout the series, their actions parallel their behavior when it comes to their trainee. Judy is like the walking manual for 'How Not to Pursue a Workplace Relationship' whilst Jane is the opposite... until the last episode!

The acting from everyone was top-notch, the OST is chef's kiss, and the setting is cinematically beautiful. What failed in the end was the writing. I believe the writing could've been stronger in many areas. Overall, I like the series, and despite its many flaws that I wish I could fix, it's the best series I've seen this year from GMMTV production-wise. I've watched every episode more than three times and it could've easily been a solid 10, but I had to take away two points for the lackluster writing at times and the useless triangle that went nowhere.

Watch if:

^ You like/love the cast
^ You like/love OffGun
^ You like an office setting
^ You're interested in what Off's hot boss era looks like
^ You don't care for the BL or the commercialized GL
^ You're a trainee or a mentor
^ You're into filmmaking
^ You just want to try something new.

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