This review may contain spoilers
On today's episode of office BLs: Is it romance or is it workplace harassment?
I've watched about one and a half episodes of this train-wreck, and while I'm not usually one to judge and review shows based on so little run-time, I just have to with this one. Usually, I persevere through bad shows, hoping they'll get better, but in 9 out of 10 cases, I end up regretting to have wasted my time. So, in the spirit of self-care, I will not make myself suffer through another minute of this mess.
I normally don't review shows I've only seen so little of since I don't really think it's fair. So take my review with a grain of salt. But what I have seen of it has been so painful, I just have to rant about it.
The most glaring issue by far is the acting, specifically James as Mr. Elis. I really don't like to shit on actors because it is a difficult job. But boy oh boy, this guy cannot act at all. Okay, that might be a bit harsh. Maybe he could pull off another role, but definitely not this one. Mr. Elis is supposed to be this stern, fierce, confident company boss. Instead of looking fierce or strict, though, he just ends up looking either constipated or like he's a moustache-twirling villain, practicing for his villain monologue at the end of a terrible movie. This role would've demanded for a ton of charisma and charm, which the actor has absolutely none of. Thus, he comes across like a walking plank of wood with angry eyes attached to it. When Elis is supposed to look happy, James somehow makes him looks evil. In one flashback where Elis was supposed to be portrayed as kind by buying food for Pat, he had this evil smirk on his face like he poisoned the meal or something. I was literally waiting for Pat to get up and drop dead to the floor. Elis looks angry in scenes that are (what I assume to be a poor attempt at being) romantic, and when he's supposed to actually act like a tough boss, he's unconvincing. It really looks like he's a robot who's got a wrong program installed, thusly mixing up all kinds of human emotions. It's borderline unwatchable, but it is kind of funny.
The acting performances of everyone else involved don't stand out as either bad or great, so I'll leave that judgment to people who choose to watch more of the show. But if one of your main leads stands out so badly, I just cannot rank this higher than a 5 in terms of acting.
On top of the poor acting, there is zero chemistry between the main leads. As established, Elis just looks like he wants to kill Pat whenever he gets close, and Pat looks uncomfortable more than anything. Which I cannot fault him for because this feels like a bad case of workplace harassment. Mr. Elis tried to kiss Pat, Pat told him he's not comfortable with it, and then in the next episode, Elis keeps getting close to him in several almost-kisses. It's not cute or hot, it's scary. Maybe if there was actual sexual tension and Elis didn't look like he's planning to commit murder every time he steps close to Pat, this would've worked better. But it's all just painfully uncomfortable. There's no vibe, no sparks, just an immense sense of threat.
All that put me off the show entirely. But here are some other random grievances I have with the first episode and a half:
- If you centre your story around a boss, you should dedicate some time to establish what company he's the boss of. The first episode did nothing to inform viewers, so he's just some vague CEO.
- The characters don't seem to have personalities outside of their work persona. Pat is a dedicated assistant, Elis is a strict boss. That's all I could tell you about them. There's no appeal, no personality, no nothing to get attached to, or root for them.
- The editing and overall premise is confusing. At the start of the first episode, when they graze arms, we get a brief scene of Elis and Pat getting down and dirty. I still don't know what that was about. At first, I thought they were currently having an affair, which isn't the case as it seems. So what was that about? Was that just a dream sequence? Pat's imagination? Did they sleep with each other in the past and now they're not? You should make sure your first episode establishes these things clearly.
- We've reached a new low of flashbacks. You know how I complain about shows flashing back to scenes that happened two minutes ago? Well, this show flashes back to a FLASHBACK that we got two minutes ago. It is also filled with flashbacks in general which is something I just don't generally vibe with. If you have that much to tell about the past, maybe you should've started your story at another point in time.
- The dialogue often feels clunky and unnatural, especially among Pat and his two friends. They also give off big cringe energy which I assume will only get worse.
- Pat needs to get his glasses adjusted. If you have to push them up so many times, you need to get them fixed. This is not supposed to happen.
That's as much as I can say. I've promised myself not to suffer through any more BLs when my gut tells me they're just going to end up making me frustrated. Besides, I'm just not one for office romances if the two people involved are in different power positions. It just makes me feel uncomfortable, especially when one of them is as pushy as Mr. Elis here. Therefore, I will now distance myself from this series, and devote my time to better shows. If this does turn out to become a masterpiece of cinema, my words shall be damned, but I really doubt that.
I normally don't review shows I've only seen so little of since I don't really think it's fair. So take my review with a grain of salt. But what I have seen of it has been so painful, I just have to rant about it.
The most glaring issue by far is the acting, specifically James as Mr. Elis. I really don't like to shit on actors because it is a difficult job. But boy oh boy, this guy cannot act at all. Okay, that might be a bit harsh. Maybe he could pull off another role, but definitely not this one. Mr. Elis is supposed to be this stern, fierce, confident company boss. Instead of looking fierce or strict, though, he just ends up looking either constipated or like he's a moustache-twirling villain, practicing for his villain monologue at the end of a terrible movie. This role would've demanded for a ton of charisma and charm, which the actor has absolutely none of. Thus, he comes across like a walking plank of wood with angry eyes attached to it. When Elis is supposed to look happy, James somehow makes him looks evil. In one flashback where Elis was supposed to be portrayed as kind by buying food for Pat, he had this evil smirk on his face like he poisoned the meal or something. I was literally waiting for Pat to get up and drop dead to the floor. Elis looks angry in scenes that are (what I assume to be a poor attempt at being) romantic, and when he's supposed to actually act like a tough boss, he's unconvincing. It really looks like he's a robot who's got a wrong program installed, thusly mixing up all kinds of human emotions. It's borderline unwatchable, but it is kind of funny.
The acting performances of everyone else involved don't stand out as either bad or great, so I'll leave that judgment to people who choose to watch more of the show. But if one of your main leads stands out so badly, I just cannot rank this higher than a 5 in terms of acting.
On top of the poor acting, there is zero chemistry between the main leads. As established, Elis just looks like he wants to kill Pat whenever he gets close, and Pat looks uncomfortable more than anything. Which I cannot fault him for because this feels like a bad case of workplace harassment. Mr. Elis tried to kiss Pat, Pat told him he's not comfortable with it, and then in the next episode, Elis keeps getting close to him in several almost-kisses. It's not cute or hot, it's scary. Maybe if there was actual sexual tension and Elis didn't look like he's planning to commit murder every time he steps close to Pat, this would've worked better. But it's all just painfully uncomfortable. There's no vibe, no sparks, just an immense sense of threat.
All that put me off the show entirely. But here are some other random grievances I have with the first episode and a half:
- If you centre your story around a boss, you should dedicate some time to establish what company he's the boss of. The first episode did nothing to inform viewers, so he's just some vague CEO.
- The characters don't seem to have personalities outside of their work persona. Pat is a dedicated assistant, Elis is a strict boss. That's all I could tell you about them. There's no appeal, no personality, no nothing to get attached to, or root for them.
- The editing and overall premise is confusing. At the start of the first episode, when they graze arms, we get a brief scene of Elis and Pat getting down and dirty. I still don't know what that was about. At first, I thought they were currently having an affair, which isn't the case as it seems. So what was that about? Was that just a dream sequence? Pat's imagination? Did they sleep with each other in the past and now they're not? You should make sure your first episode establishes these things clearly.
- We've reached a new low of flashbacks. You know how I complain about shows flashing back to scenes that happened two minutes ago? Well, this show flashes back to a FLASHBACK that we got two minutes ago. It is also filled with flashbacks in general which is something I just don't generally vibe with. If you have that much to tell about the past, maybe you should've started your story at another point in time.
- The dialogue often feels clunky and unnatural, especially among Pat and his two friends. They also give off big cringe energy which I assume will only get worse.
- Pat needs to get his glasses adjusted. If you have to push them up so many times, you need to get them fixed. This is not supposed to happen.
That's as much as I can say. I've promised myself not to suffer through any more BLs when my gut tells me they're just going to end up making me frustrated. Besides, I'm just not one for office romances if the two people involved are in different power positions. It just makes me feel uncomfortable, especially when one of them is as pushy as Mr. Elis here. Therefore, I will now distance myself from this series, and devote my time to better shows. If this does turn out to become a masterpiece of cinema, my words shall be damned, but I really doubt that.
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