Life is full of reflective moments, missed opportunities, pain, and found love. It’s full of dreams, wishes, and hopes that we reach for, crave, and fear.

And that’s precisely what the Korean BL Starstruck delivers.

Moments.
Missed opportunity.
Love.
Fear.

Adapted from the novel of the same name by Ha Tae Jin, Starstruck tells the story of two childhood friends, Seo Han Joon (Kim In Sung) and Jo Yoo Jae (Zuho), and the burgeoning unrequited love that blooms from their friendship. And it does it by focusing on the tensions between them, both from their growing confusion and unstable home environments.

There’s a permeating wistfulness to Starstruck, like a pensive memoir punctuated by wishful yearning. A wish for someone elusive. A desire for a relationship that may end a dependable friendship. And because of that, there’s also a lot of pain that comes from hoping so hard for something that feels impossible.

Starstruck is a constant battle.

While Yoo Jae and Han Joon seem to be in a perpetual war, they’re not fighting with each other as much as they are with themselves and the feelings they fear. It’s hard to cross a line you’ve drawn for yourself. Lashing out is common when frustrated and anxious, and those anxieties are palpable in Starstruck, so much so it hurts the heart to see.

Starstruck’s push-and-pull relationship between Yoo Jae and Han Joon is not only relatable, it’s humanly interesting, especially how they try to hold onto a friendship they’re aware has changed because Yoo Jae, in particular, relies on it. It’s hard to let go of something you’ve become comfortably dependent on even when you know there’s ‘more’ there. The fear of losing someone is equally as intense as loving someone. The desperate kiss at the end of Episode 6 conveys that fear as much as it does the desire for that ‘more.’

While Starstruck feels like one big argument, that’s one of the things I like about it, flaws and all. It’s a different realistic way of looking at how complicated going from friends to lovers can be depending on the depth and importance of a friendship, which continues to open doors for stories that do more, explore more, and take more risks with what they do. So, despite some of the apparent budget limits this has, I’m invested in what they wanted to convey.

Instead of falling in love, the series focuses on the tensions that arise from falling in love.

This focus makes it feel like the beginning of a story. Viewers are offered the rough patches, the awkwardness, and the uncertainty of new love, which leaves room for what could be.

Starstruck may not be for everyone, but I love that it explores a different kind of narrative than what we’ve seen in KBLs. It opens the door for writers to experiment with their stories, to build relationships as much off the awkward and tense as they do the instant gratification of instant attraction.

And that sells it for me.

We’ve moved into an era of BLs where intimacy is expected. While leaving intimacy out can sometimes be frustrating, I am content seeing screenwriters take risks and challenge themselves. As someone who came into BLs when intimacy was hinted at more often than shown, I am drawn more to the storytelling. It’s better when a series can combine intimacy with emotionally compelling content, but my recent need for better told stories opens me up to the possibilities of more. It piques my interest when writers try to tell better stories in a market looking for repetition. And in the process of experimenting with film styles and ideas, this will one day lead to a combination of the two, storytelling and emotionally intimate storytelling.

That said, Starstruck certainly has its cons, mainly odd transitions in the final episodes that felt less artistic and more abrupt, and the plot points that could have developed into major emotional stories if the series had more time. Han Joon’s mother’s illness and debt. Yoo Jae’s struggles to adapt after being cut off.

All of this needed more time, but I still love the journey they gave us.

Starstruck has a good story with an artistic eye for building off rising tensions, but its time frame severely holds it back.

For a story that drops you into the tempestuous tensions of love and acceptance, check out Starstruck now on iQiyi.

Rating- 3.5 out of 5