catherine
Fun and inspiring, a little bittersweet
This was actually so great.
I really loved the relationship between the leads. The backstory added a lot and wasn't overdone, and even though they butted heads it was playful and they never crossed that line. I really loved the little will they-won't they dynamic (of course knew they would) but it's this little period of carefulness and tension before a couple gets together that I always love the most and this drama showcased that really well.
Overall, the romance was just so mature. Despite their silliness, when it really came down to it, they communicated and supported each other through tough times, and I just absolutely love a drama without any unnecessary misunderstandings or breakups. The relationship was just so healthy. With gaming dramas like Go Go Squid where the FL isn't a gamer, one of my key complaints was that the drama always sidelines the story of the FL's professional growth. I definitely felt like the female lead's role in this wasn't as important as the male leads, but the way they handled her arc and gave her character agency to be someone outside of the gaming world and outside of the team was actually a pleasant surprise and probably one that I hadn't really seen in a drama like this before.
The second lead couple was less serious but I still also really liked watching them. Individually they were great characters and together they were entertaining.
Another great part of gaming dramas is probably the friendships and that absolutely shined in this show. I really loved seeing how all the side characters had their own roles in the story and grew as characters, even the ones I expected would just be comic relief. It was just so fun to see the team come together and become friends and see how the underdog story came together, without swerving too extremely into subplots, but still giving side characters their time to shine.
The friendships in the backstory was wonderful too; it really showed the e-sports industry as a whole and helped with the depth of characters' histories in flashbacks.
I always really love the theme of following your dreams, of taking risks vs. playing it safe, of humility and learning, etc. in these sports dramas and this was no different. At its core this feels like an underdog story — the male lead is trying to make his comeback in a rookie team that no one believes in — and I was worried it would be too cheesy if they won everything. But the drama showed this really well too, and I loved seeing different issues that the team had to overcome, and how even then it wasn't all sunshine and roses at the end but they had each other. There's some bittersweetness in there, but overall I just found this to be a really fun and yet inspiring and comforting drama. Would highly recommend, especially to those who liked Falling Into Your Smile.
I really loved the relationship between the leads. The backstory added a lot and wasn't overdone, and even though they butted heads it was playful and they never crossed that line. I really loved the little will they-won't they dynamic (of course knew they would) but it's this little period of carefulness and tension before a couple gets together that I always love the most and this drama showcased that really well.
Overall, the romance was just so mature. Despite their silliness, when it really came down to it, they communicated and supported each other through tough times, and I just absolutely love a drama without any unnecessary misunderstandings or breakups. The relationship was just so healthy. With gaming dramas like Go Go Squid where the FL isn't a gamer, one of my key complaints was that the drama always sidelines the story of the FL's professional growth. I definitely felt like the female lead's role in this wasn't as important as the male leads, but the way they handled her arc and gave her character agency to be someone outside of the gaming world and outside of the team was actually a pleasant surprise and probably one that I hadn't really seen in a drama like this before.
The second lead couple was less serious but I still also really liked watching them. Individually they were great characters and together they were entertaining.
Another great part of gaming dramas is probably the friendships and that absolutely shined in this show. I really loved seeing how all the side characters had their own roles in the story and grew as characters, even the ones I expected would just be comic relief. It was just so fun to see the team come together and become friends and see how the underdog story came together, without swerving too extremely into subplots, but still giving side characters their time to shine.
The friendships in the backstory was wonderful too; it really showed the e-sports industry as a whole and helped with the depth of characters' histories in flashbacks.
I always really love the theme of following your dreams, of taking risks vs. playing it safe, of humility and learning, etc. in these sports dramas and this was no different. At its core this feels like an underdog story — the male lead is trying to make his comeback in a rookie team that no one believes in — and I was worried it would be too cheesy if they won everything. But the drama showed this really well too, and I loved seeing different issues that the team had to overcome, and how even then it wasn't all sunshine and roses at the end but they had each other. There's some bittersweetness in there, but overall I just found this to be a really fun and yet inspiring and comforting drama. Would highly recommend, especially to those who liked Falling Into Your Smile.
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