Yet again, this is another example of a potentially good BL series that went awry. There is a lot of good acting in this series. The issue is, it was wasted in a noxious story. I want to cry over the content (or lack thereof) that is being used to construct BL stories. While I know there ought to be no topics off limits, I do wish more positive representations of ‘Boys Love’ could be portrayed. Or at least ones that are not always so pessimistic in nature and content and/or surrounded by such ugly and negative dimensions. Generally speaking, Korean BL tend to be dark and broody; this one was exceptionally morose and despairing, sprinkled with a mixture of odd personas that sometimes worked. And sometimes not.

One must suspend their beliefs – a lot, to make this story work. Nam Yun Je (Cha Hak Yeon) is a killer. But not in the traditional sense of the word. Cold and calculating. Almost sociopathic yet not. Although afraid of guns and swords, he kills his victims in unorthodox ways. Of course, each deserves their individual fate. The story goes out of its way to convey that. While I am not here to impose my moral beliefs onto a society, I felt there was something more going on than the superficial presentation we were given. And indeed, there was. Perhaps these murders were ALL justified; yet it still felt wrong. I have a significant issue with a person or a group of individuals, who determines, outside the constraints of enacted laws that establish the punishment of the guilt of others without due process (that may have been rightly or wrongly enacted). Otherwise, we may well indeed justify anything. My issues center on what the moral and ethical climate of the story is and where it goes and the moral and ethical fiber of the characters involved. And this series, regrettably, is filled with Machiavellian individuals. You simply cannot separate, or at least I could not, their actions with who they were.

Yun Je has two friends. A female friend that from the beginning has an obvious romantic interest in Yun Je. Im Yu Bin (Ju Jin Yeong) has a bubbly and outgoing personality which is just the opposite of Yun Je’s reserved and laconic one. Yun Je, however, seems to show no reciprocal interest in her romantically. His other friend, Yoo Ho Jin (Kim Hae Jun) always did appear to be more than what he presented himself to be. I never accepted his portrayal. When he finally reveals himself at the end (although I am still not sure what he really was), it just never came off as plausible and rang hollow. It all seemed too convenient. For me, he represented the weakest link in this story.

By accidental design, a ‘neighbor’ of Yun Je, Han Jin Hyeok (Kim Lee Han) has been ‘saving’ Yun Je’s victims to get his attention. Until a confrontation became inevitable. In an unbelievably ironic twist, their paths had previously crossed. Yun Je and Jin Hyeok have a ‘history’. Unfortunately, Jin Hyeok’s life, although he was a famous baseball player with a rising career, is a tragic one. His father has made his life, as well as others, a miserable hell over the years. The sole reason for Jin Hyeok wanting to meet this vigilante killer was to try to convince him to do the same to his father. However, the drawback is that Yun Je does not kill for friends.

The story is bigger than the characters could tell. Or perhaps the theme sickened me so much that I had a hard time following the story. Without giving too much away, how could Yun Je be a killer and yet cavalierly work at a convenience store? Who and what did he really work for? Did he not get compensation for killing? Was this all done for altruistic reasons? Who decided who is next and why? Why was he so poor? Finally, if Jin Hyeok could figure out his movements and modes operandi, why could the police not do the same thing? This story, on the surface, made no sense to me, logically.

There is nothing wrong with the acting in this series, however. It is overall very strong – for the protagonists. For such a short series, it is told remarkably well and rather fully. Nothing really surprised me about the outcome since it essentially follows the standard cinema playbook. Taken as a whole, the series is entertaining and well performed. Where it shines is with the centralization of the two protagonists. However, the production is objectionable. I HATED the cinematography. I detest vertical-style filming. It all feels and seems like watching something through a funnel. It is astonishingly limiting. This may be the latest ‘go-to’ in filming and perhaps the least expensive to get a story out, but it limits a full visualization experience for the audience. And the audience in this case is – ONE! It is diminishing and limits the full experience of ‘seeing’ the whole dimension. I also watched this in toto. If I had to watch this in episodes of two minutes spread out, I would never have. There was not enough to pique my interest in watching ANYTHING for two minutes. Whoever thinks presenting a series this short in segments of 2 minutes should honestly have their heads examined. This is nothing creative about presenting it in that fashion.

As I said, the acting is essentially spot on. The two main protagonists do a great job of making the story entertaining and feel like they are indeed falling back in love with each other again. We could feel that they had a history together and they carried those feelings with them into their current situation. The dynamics between all the characters are rather interesting and the screenplay dialogue between them is quite good and crisp in many scenes. While I thought it was a bit naïve for Yu Bin to NOT see what was going on between Jin Hyeok and Jun Je, it is perhaps understandable since she was so much in love with Jun Je. And when she asked Jin Hyeok to try to help her rope Jun Je into liking her, I thought that was just so classic. All that did was cement the relationship between the two of them. In some sense, I felt sorry for her. These characters presented distinctive personalities and their interactions with each other were quite forceful and honestly portrayed. They felt indeed real.

Where this story also falls flat is in its awful theme. It now is beginning to seem that only marginalized individuals can develop a gay relationship. Why are these stories so degraded and amongst the dredges of society? Even worse than that, there is always a period of redemptive waiting to pay for your sins before you can be with the person you love.

What is doubly sad is that the two protagonists have such great screen chemistry when together. They could make a powerful new couple or dare I say ‘ship’. There is a certain sincerity about their connection that is quite credible. Their kissing scene, for example, was so reminiscent of the scene from “Casablanca” between Rick and Ilsa before she boarded the plane. (If you are unfamiliar with that scene, look it up. It is classic and iconic). It had that same feel about it. Too bad this story did not match that same sentiment.

I am getting weary always looking at gay relationships through the lens of a dark camera. While I do NOT want moonbeams or Pollyanna stories, I would like to see two handsome men, who are not caught up in a whirlwind of negativity, be able to develop a relationship not always based upon some astonishingly dramatic force of nature that is so far off the beaten path that it is virtually unrealistic or unrelatable for the rest of the world. A killer who kills but is terrified of killing instruments seemed counterintuitive. And a person he supposedly loves actually kills his father at his behest and he is still able to make love with him, is all so mind-twisting and gives a sense that only disdainful guys are able to form gay relationships. And even then, you are obligated to wait for your compensatory penance before you can be reunited again. And of course, like all true fairytales, your Romeo awaits for your return.

This is utter nonsense and an unnecessarily dark, overly broody BL series that, while well-acted, presents a very ugly picture of gay life, yet again. Most gay life is NOT this dramatic! Developing a ‘normal’ gay relationship is difficult and hard enough under ordinary circumstances and it is certainly not a bed of roses afterwards either.

Surely, there are BL mythoi out there that are not so fringy that can still capture the imagination and the fantasies of the audience. Or do we really need to be so joltingly entertained to believe these dregs are the only individuals capable and deserving of gay love? If so, I honestly weep.

Rating- 2.5 out of 5

Streaming on- TVING