Still A Masterpiece

I remember finding this series because I stumbled upon it whilst searching for dramas to watch. I went into it completely blind without knowing anything about the plot, and when it was over it became my favorite BL. 2 years later it’s still at the top of my list, even though a lot of good BLs have come out since then, so I decided to rate every section and explain my reasoning.

Story (10/10): In my opinion, the story was beautiful. It’s the best friends to rivals to lovers cliche but it’s done in such an emotional way that it feels different to everything else i’ve seen. If you don’t get into the story, then it might appear as boring at times and some of the scenes might look like they don’t have meaning, but everything is connected and every small detail gives insight into the main character’s mindset. If you pay attention, you’ll realize that every scene matters and things you might not understand start to come together.

Acting/Cast (10/10): The acting is great. The main character (Teh) has many flaws and I feel like his confusion throughout the story is portrayed very well. The entire point of his character is that he’s not perfect, and he’s a realistic portrayal of someone who’s having a lot of doubts and experiencing things he’s never felt before. Even though we, the audience, might feel anger because of his actions, and some people even dislike him, you have to put yourself in his mindset and realize that the reason he’s such a complicated character is because of everything he’s going through. Oh aew, the second lead, was also perfectly casted and you feel all the emotions the actor portrays. PP is an amazing actor and nobody else could’ve done such a good job. Finally, the chemistry between both leads is still the best I have seen in any BL up to date.

Music (10/10): The music really set the mood in every scene. It made sad scenes feel even more emotional and evoked uneasiness in the more tense scenes. Basically, the series wouldn’t be the same without it.

Rewatch Value (10/10): I have rewatched this series multiple times and although it’ll never be the same as watching it for the first time, it still makes me emotional and cry at a few of the scenes.

Overall (10/10): Overall, I would say this show is a masterpiece. I find it difficulty to find any flaw with it. The characters, whether you like them or not, were made to be exactly how they seem and makes the whole story more realistic. The story, which i’ve seen some say is boring, is done very well in my opinion and is not boring at all if you understand the importance of every scene.

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Conflicted Feelings

As a huge fan of ITSAY, I will say that I had conflicted feelings about IPYTM, and all of it comes from the story.


SPOILERS AHEAD-

Story: I understand the whole point is to portray realism. In ITSAY, the reason why Teh’s character is “controversial”, and some of the people who have watched the show strongly dislike him, is because he’s a complicated character who is selfish at times but is struggling a lot with his self identity. In IPYTM, a similar approach is done and he’s still a selfish character who has trouble figuring out what he wants. Therefore, I understand the decision the directors made and do think it’s realistic for Teh to cheat on Oh Aew the second that their relationship faced conflicts, especially with someone else appearing at the seemingly perfect time.

With that being said, just because I understand why the show did that, does not mean that I agree with it. To me, the ending in ITSAY was meant to demonstrate how Teh and Oh Aew overcame their obstacles and ended up together despite their struggles. IPYTM does practically the same thing and ends with Teh and Oh Aew reuniting and overcoming the cheating, which is my main problem with the story. I felt that the decision to be realistic by including cheating but still keeping a somewhat “good” ending does not work because, in my eyes, that already removes some of the realism. Including cheating in a second season just to be “realistic” has always seemed lazy to me, because there’s many other alternatives that would make the story realistic. However, what I think is even worse is if a show decides to include cheating, has the character forgive the other, and still acts like there’s hope for the characters. My main issue wasn’t even that Teh was forgiven, because that’s not necessarily unrealistic, but the fact that the story was hopeful at the end is what made me not like it. If the characters were going to reunite at the end after one of them cheated on the other, it doesn’t matter what the directors do, the ending will never be a good one because there’s always going to be doubts and part of the original trust they had for each other will be gone.

There were many other options to be realistic but not include cheating, such as having them break up because of their differences or conflicting feelings. That way, it would’ve been more natural if both of them realize that they still love each other years later. Or if it’s going to have cheating, I personally don’t want to see the characters get back together.

Therefore, although I understand why the story went the way it did, I just did not like it and felt like there were other ways for it to be realistic and not take the typical cheating route. And if they are going by the cheating and forgiving route, I don’t want the story to seem happy or hopeful at the end because that removes the realism for me.

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