This review may contain spoilers
Dear My Star...best episode hands down...
It is difficult to give Close Friend a single, comprehensive review since each of the six episodes depicts a story independent from the rest. So here goes:Episode 1 Pretend to Love
I dont know what happened, the OhmFluke chemistry I was so looking forward to was not here. Maybe because of the characters they portray? I thought for sure Pierce will cheat on Typhoon with Marc...I could feel some sort of tension between those two that made me feel sorry for Fluke's character. Pierce was so unlikeable I wished the main characters would just break up. That kiss made me cringe. Anyway, the story was rushed and I felt unsatisfied overall.
Episode 2 Just Friend
My first reaction was: what the hell did I just watch??? I thought it was a love story, but it was about a cat and his human. I did not know what to make of it lol but it was fun. I have cats so maybe I could relate. That being said, I liked this episode more than the previous one.
Episode 3 Willing or Not
This story was cute and fun. Mini breaking the fourth to complain about Titan was hilarious. Max and Nat acted well, and I was rooting for their characters. I knew them from Why R U? The Series but I liked them more here. This episode was much better than the first two, so I thought they arranged the episodes in such a way that the latest episode will be better than the last.
Episode 4 Just One Life
The story was so fast-paced that in a span of one day (or less than 20 minutes for the audience lol), Yoon's character went from almost commiting suicide due to a broken heart, to potentially liking his close friend, Talay's character. I found it a bit illogical and thus couldn't root for them to be together. That being said, I could empathize with Talay's character; he portrayed it so well that even the confession was not cringey. On top of it all, the locations for this episode were just beautiful that I want to visit them someday lol.
Episode 5 Dear My Star
Best. Episode. Period. Where do I start? The story was pretty simple, but the 90s setting is what makes it so unique and interesting. Production was on point and detailed. The cinematography was so good, they captured the feel and ambiance of that era. Jimmy and Tommy as Night and Mek were just so believable as high school students and penpals/phonepals. Their chemistry was such that I could feel it even when they are not on scene together. They were so cute and adorable, and their acting performance was so amazing that I could literally feel them falling in love. Their first meeting moved me to tears...it was THAT good. And when Night grabbed Mek's hand and pulled Mek to him, and they just both looked into each other's eyes....I screamed because I thought for sure they were gonna kiss (they didn't), and even though it was illogical I didn't care, I just wanted them to be together. But when Night said "friend" it just crushed me. I understood it though, the 90s was not that tolerant to that kind of love and it was their first meeting for God's sake!!! Anyway, we got that awkward hug at the end so I'm good lol Everything about that scene was well-directed and well-acted, and the restraint in Night's and Mek's actions was what made it so believable and real. Jimmy and Tommy just pulled me into the story, I wanted to know more about Night and Mek. I am still so curious how their story will continue, given the situation in the 90s. All in all, this episode was amazingly well-done. I was a bit skeptical of the less than 15 minutes runtime, but they managed to pull it off, and so brilliantly too!
Episode 6 Imagine You
Kimmon and Copter are a cute couple here, no doubt about it. I liked Ray, he was a cute fanboy, Copter really did his character justice. But I also felt really sad for Ray, he was living an illusion. Btw, secondhand embarrassment is real!!! I have to say, though, I was confused by the story, especially the end. Honestly, I don't know what happened there. The sci-fi element of this episode is different and interesting, but I just wish there was a little more explanation about it, so I could relate to the characters more.
So my ranking, based on my enjoyment of the Close Friend episodes, are as follows:
1st Dear My Star
2nd Just One Life
3rd Willing or Not
4th Imagine You
5th Just Friend
6th Pretend to Love
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