A Shoulder to Cry On (2023)

É tão bom que ainda não consegui acabar

Quando gosto muito de uma série eu adiu os últimos episódios, ou quando pretendo rever só revejo os melhores momentos.

No passado eu já tinha lido o manhwa e posso dizer, que muitas pessoas não gostaram ( eu afirmo isso com base nas avaliações que deram no manhwa). Mas surpreendentemente muitas pessoas até gostaram da série. Ela segui fielmente o manhwa, o que me fez gostar ainda mais de ver a série.

Primeiramente foi um acaso ver, já que não tinha planejado vê-la. Mas assim que eu vi um episódio, eu dava-me a ver outro, ou então esperava para ver mais. Não é uma das melhores séries que tenha visto, mas o enredo não é chato e é bem trnaquilo de acompanhar. Gostaria de dizer mais coisas, mas simplesmente não consigo.

Os atores foram sensacionais, eu amei muito vê-los nas cenas e descobrir que eles fazem parte de uma banda de kpop, fez querer ver o seu trabalho... enfim é só um aparte.

No geral eu gostei muito do enredo, apesar de não passar pelo que os dois passaram eu consegui compreender os seus pensamentos e até mesmo as suas ações. Sinceramente Tae Hyun é irritante no início, mas dá curiosidade para saber o que vem depois, portanto quem não gostar dessa personagem, não desista do bl por causa dele. No fim penso que você pode chorar um pouco ao perceber o quanto ele é solitário e até mesmo uma pessoa triste sem ninguém ao seu lado.

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Rough path with some sweetness and the ending that lost focus…

A Shoulder to Cry On delivered quite a few good messages that would resonate with teens and young adults, and even a few lessons that can change the perspective of the adults, as long as they are willing to think about these topics after the episodes end. A nice step into a different direction in a well known high school set up.

That said, is this truly the deep and complex psychological story as some people claim it to be? Depends on what you compare it to. It’s not as sweet and silly as many high school and university BLs, and there is an attempt to add layers to the characters, especially on Tae Hyun’s side. So compared to other K-BLs, one could see it as something more. If you look at it in a broader manner, sadly it’s just another enemy to lovers trope with trauma as a cherry on top.

Yes, it does tackle some serious and important topics like childhood trauma, lack of emotional support, repressed feelings, guilt, resentment, forgiveness. Yet, all on surface level. It’s like a weather talk - just a starter for the conversation.

I think the biggest disappointment for me comes from how black and white they tried to present really complex situations and how fast they moved away from them without truly putting time and effort to give a proper resolution, which was especially obvious in the last two episodes. How to put it… it lacked nuance. It made me feel like the production team does not trust the audience to handle difficult topics so they made them as approachable and simple as possible. God forbid someone finishes an episode with conflicted feelings about the characters.

Personally, my favorite part of the plot was Da Yeol’s doubts about his path. It’s an issue most young people resonate with and many adults still struggle with. It was best written, paced and concluded part of the story and I wish the drama focused on it a little bit more.

Then we have the acting, which was fine during the teen daily life scenes, and questionable at best during the emotional scenes. There were a few moments I could see Shin Ye Chan tried to convey strong emotions, but it just did not translate on screen. Similar issues happened with more “heart wrenching” scenes from Kim Jae Han. Realistically speaking, for debut roles, these were quite challenging, so I’m; not exactly surprised by the end product.

Undoubtedly the production was a massive improvement compared to other short k-bls. Longer episodes allowed the story to have a more even pacing without too many things being painfully rushed (putting aside the final conclusions). While it still lacks in comparison to mainstream dramas, it’s on par with other web dramas, which is far better than what we’ve got until this point from Korean BLs.

Improvement from makeup artists needed though.

Overall, it’s great to see a longer format and I’m glad it was given to a story with an actual plot that at least attempted something more than “sweet teen romance”.

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