Jazz for Two (2024)

cowardly gay dudes that hate the boys they like

at first, jazz for two seemed promising. the synopsis was intriguing and the first episode didn't seem half as bad, but it quickly went downhill.

the entire series shows immense sympathy towards seheon, doyoon, and taejoon's love interests. but they completely do not deserve it.

there is clear distaste towards juha, even from his own sister, but the reason doyoon appears to forgive him every time is because juha saved him once before hurting him tenfold? juha is not given a clear redemption arc and it is hard to forgive his character so quickly, especially considering his sexual assault of seheon.

in regard to seheon, i cannot understand why he likes taeyi so much. upon their first encounter, taeyi injures him and continues to be hostile towards him, even assaulting seheon the day prior to them getting together. taeyi's emotions sway too often and it's not clear what he wants-- he is the kindest person to seheon one day, treats him like he's shit the next, then wants him back all over again, and seheon is too forgiving and blinded by whatever the hell he sees in this boy.

while internalised homophobia is a real issue that many lgbtq+ people face, jazz for two handles the topic poorly with very little care. each romance is the same. one boy openly shows his feelings towards his love interest and his love interest responds with disgusting, homophobic retorts. for taejoon and sejin, it leads to the worst case scenario and a horrible fate; but taeyi and juha are able to simply solve anything with a sorry and a kiss. what bugs me is that the internalised homophobia is never addressed and the three boys do not come to terms with this issue.

additionally, there was something unsettling about the way the series handles taejoon's death. i understood taeyi at first. he was grieving. he was hurt that his brother made the decision to kill himself with no apparent reason, leaving taeyi by himself to search for an answer. however, what bothered me was taeyi's idea that taejoon killed himself because he was a 'weak man.' i did not enjoy the repeated idea that suicidal people are weak; it was like we disregard what went into that person's decision and look down on them because of how they felt about themselves. unless i had missed something, taeyi does not understand the full depth of his brother's story. taejoon was alone. he didn't want to burden his little brother and the only other person he could turn to abandoned him. i understand taeyi's anger, but i do not think it is right to think that taejoon ended his life because he was 'weak.'

i would've liked to see more with the relationship between seheon and his father, as well. it felt like the argument between the two was simply a plot device used to get seheon into taeyi's house lmfao. quickly after that event, it was like his father had just disappeared (unless, again, i missed something).

despite the poor writing, i applaud the actors. their emotional performances were well done and were able to draw me in. unfortunately, the story fell through and all went down the drain with it.

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it's cute and chaotic, but kind of a mess

The story is about a classical piano player who dreams of playing jazz, and a jazz player who because of a traumatic past, doesn't want to play jazz. Honestly the story is a bit strange, you think they're going to go in one direction and then they yank you the other way. I havent read the manhwa so I'm not sure if it's the adaptations fault or not, but I do know it doesn't flow very well. Their meeting was chaotic and intense, and their development was toxic angst, but i enjoyed the angst. I'll leave a spoiler comment to rant about the story, but I'll leave the review at that.

The actors did an okay job, they're all cute and decent actors, but the two mls chemistry is just okay. They did a good job with the tension in the scenes though. Also our little side couple had great chemistry.

The quality of the filming and production were good, well shot scenes and decent music, no complaints there.

Overall I'd say its worth the watch, it was a cute story for the most part, and the angst and tension are great, but just be ready for a toxic and strange ride in the story line.

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Jazz for Two Might be for You

This drama and the characters truly shined the most in tension-filled moments where it felt as though all the air had been sucked out of the room. I also rather appreciated the consistency of the character's flaws/toxic behaviors, with there also being guilt and growth. Also, the fake-out conflict being resolved through thoughtful perspective and acceptance? Loved that. More not dragging things out for added drama and instead having a main lead think rationally, please!

Based on this drama's description, I expected less than average—to not be excited at the prospect of seeing the story progress. I was glad to find I could lose myself in Jazz for Two for a while.

All this praise aside, I wish the curtains closed more smoothly on this drama. At least ten extra minutes were desperately needed to tie up the side character's stories as well as allow a smoother transition as to where the main leads ended up. When the credits started rolling, I legit thought I was being punked. I was like, "Come on, there's got to be five more minutes left, right? Did I skip ahead?!"

All in all, I would recommend it. Just keep your expectations moderate.

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I wanted to like it so bad..

Seeing a Korean BL about music students was so exciting to me at first because of my love for music and LGBT dramas. But I was just so disappointed. First of all, the premise was just boring to watch. An 8 episode drama would usually take me no more than 2 days to finish but this show took me 5 days. There was so much potential to dig deeper into the characters trauma but it felt so lackluster.

But the bigger issue lies within the ships. I liked Taeyi and Seheon at first, but after Episode 7 I was done with it. Was no one who recommended this show gonna mention the casual SA that went unmentioned? I don’t care if Taeyi was hurting, I don’t care if Seheon “wanted it”, when Seheon told him to stop he should’ve done exactly that. It’s 2024 and we still have these kinds of scenes… sigh.

And don’t get me started on the second couple… I hate bully x victim tropes so much that this was a no-go from the start. But the line “I’ll love you even if you bully me” made my stomach twist in a bad way. It’s such a shame cause these actors would be good together, it’s just the characters.

Anyways, point is I wouldn’t waste your time on this show. It’s not that good. Watch The Eighth Sense or something instead

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OVERFLOWING WITH GOOD VISUALS

STORY
There was really nothing new about the story, characters who can't move on from the past, confused guys coz maybe the school they are in are all boys ? Is it ? But I think I have seen some girl students, maybe girls are just separated, whatever and present affected by the past things and sort of. I was able to go through it tho, It was easy to understand and entertaining ! Like off course ! Korean drama makers are so expert with it. Since the drama was short, we are not able to see how Se Joon's Dad finally allowed him to play Jazz as he wanted for me somehow that is the point of the story, like it seems since Se Joon have associated with Tae Yi he seems like became divided, I think it would be better if they have also shown some of SeJoon's enthusiasm on Jazz genre and how he is on fire to become a jazz player, but it is still okay, this drama somehow is about visual and gay romance anyways which they did not lack at all
My favorite parts are the confrontations and their confessing, how straight guys react when someone I mean when a gay says they like them, this is how guys react in real life, it happens in reality, but what does not happen in reality is they are not being liked back, also the suicide part, that is pretty serious and a reality also, maybe we have some awakening here
ACTORS/ ACTING
This is what I hated to Korean BL makers ! They always choose guys with too perfect faces ! Like how are we fans gonna refuse ?! This drama has so much of it ! Junho SeonBae so good looking and sexy ! Do Yoon so great acting ! I wanna have a friend like him ! And so pretty face ! Tae Yi he is like Hyeong Seop, him being silent is so sexy , and this newkid member so pretty face and so beautiful lips ! , the acting is enough and satisfying for me, just right facial expression, good script and the tension is in the air so our eyes are so so full of it.
OVERALL
Visual 100% Gayness 100% HAHAHA and rewatchable 100% STORY so so .. OST so so

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Dated and confused ...

I dunno how in the span of 60 days, did I end up from watching one of the best KBLs to one of the blandest KBLs of 2024???

One questions the logic of why the charcters pine after those walking red flags . Getting assaulted and insulted cant be overlooked in the name of love, I mean its 2024 for godsakes. While one can reason it out saying that the characters were kids, their redemption should have had more depth justify that argument.
The shorter duration of the drama hinders the character and storydevelopement significantly. Often times it struggled swinging between the theme of grief and resilence, it failed to stick to one and fumbled its pace and storytelling. Thus the whole drama felt unfinished. I sincerly hoped that charcters had some form of growth , but alas the growth/improvement that they showed comes across as superficial (espl Jung Ha) .
The actors were wonderful , special shout out to Song Han Gyeom and Kim jung Ha.
I really wished that Se heyon and Do yoon came together, they had waaay better chemistry and would not have made the drama feel so dated.

bottom line : great visuals + jazz music + paper thin plot =/= a good drama.

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I got excited for nothing

I hate the feeling of being disappointed in the outcome of an anticipated show. An example of this is Jazz for Two who did pretty well during their promotions but the quality of the drama itself was below average. K-BL always has this standard of embellishing the visuals from the casts to its cinematography which became their trend and branding. It was satisfying but not good enough to save the whole show.

Where did they go wrong? It was from the pairing and acting of the cast. They’re all good-looking but lack the right amount of chemistry needed to sustain the romantic vibes of the story. I felt nothing but emptiness despite seeing two handsome men kissing each other. Weak character establishment can lead to failures in catching the viewers’ attention.

It was a good start but that’s it! The next episodes were mediocre with inconsistent tension and phasing from the main leads. Seeing Shin Yechan back in his BL role, even though it was only a cameo appearance, was the best thing in the show.

Did someone remember the psychiatrist on EP04 talking to Han Taeyi? I am annoyed by his way of sitting like a mafia while communicating with his patient. The little details are also important factors that need to be polished now and then. I was also a bit unsatisfied with Seo Do Yoon’s love interest with his senior Jooha, the victim who fell in love with his bully. Is it considered masochist or is it something that occasionally happens with teenagers’ romantic aspects in life?

Nevertheless, it was obvious that the side couple had better chemistry than the main couple. Kim Jin Kwon’s delivery of his role as the main lead was too frail. His role in ‘To My Star’ was lovely. I believe he can do better especially since he is the front liner of the show. Han Taeyi and Seo Doyoon have a better onscreen appeal with decent chemistry; they are my ghost ship.

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so promising, yet so disappointing

I've never written a review before, but I feel so strongly about how absolutely insane this show was.

the couple's storyline's made no sense, the characters were so wishy-washy, especially Taeyi, he could never decide on a personality. Seheon was honestly just annoying, Juhe was straight up a bad person, and Doyoon was completely normal...until you realised how weird and toxic his romance was. I honestly wasn't in support of a single romance in this show by the end, I was just angry at the characters.

the story overall was just a mush of stuff that wasn't well planned at all, I found myself laughing in shock at scenes that were supposed to be sad because it was so insane. it felt like they skipped necessary scenes between stuff, because things would change out of nowhere making it not make sense. it all just felt so far-fetched and unrealistic. one thing I did appreciate was the portrayal of homophobia, because it is very much real in Korea, but most K-bl's act like it doesn't exist. I'm glad this one had some elements of that to make it feel more real and heartbreaking.

I really liked the overall aesthetic and visuals of it, the colour grading was nice, so I was really hopeful, because I can be very specific when it comes to colour grading, I just wish the story had been good.

I honestly thought the actors weren't too bad, the script was just terrible. how does anyone play such insane characters convincingly? I quite liked Juhe's actor though, he did a good job, but his character felt the most realistic of them, so maybe that's why it was possible to pull off.

I haven't read the webtoon, but it seems like people don't think this is accurate to it and that the webtoon is good, so I think I'll read that instead.

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Tão fraca que não teve forças pra contar tudo.

Fui assistir essa série despretensiosamente, mas os primeiros capítulos foram acima da expectativa; e eu realmente estava esperando que fosse se tornar muito boa. Mas conforme o desenvolvimento, parece que a história começou a se perder cada vez mais e mais.
Mas antes, vou citar os pontos que eu achei positivos nela. A premissa é interessante: ela consegue te prender no início da história e atiçar sua curiosidade para saber o que vai acontecer dali em diante; a atuação é boa, e acho que os atores conseguiram trabalhar muito bem no que foi entregue a eles; a música e a fotografia são decentes, mas nada que chame tanto a atenção.
A história tem alguns furos e muitas falhas no desenvolvimento. O protagonista é um pianista apaixonado por jazz, mas que vive com um pai muito exigente, restrito, e que desaprova que ele pratique qualquer outra coisa que não seja música clássica. Isso não é spoiler. Tudo isso nos é apresentado nos primeiros minutos da série, e é por muitos episódios uma GRANDE parte da trama principal; mas assim que ela deixa de ser conveniente pros roteiristas, ela é simplesmente descartada sem qualquer conclusão.
E acredite, falta de conclusão é o que não falta nela toda. Constantemente você vai receber muitas informações que vão começar a ser desenvolvidas, jogadas pra debaixo do tapete e depois completamente esquecidas. E dá pra entender que isso pode ser pela falta de tempo, já que não é uma série muito longa, mas se você não tem tempo para desenvolver tantas coisas diferentes assim, você simplesmente NÃO introduz elas.
E isso sem falar da passada de pano que os tópicos mais sensíveis recebem. No fim todos eles se resolvem com um belo "desculpa" e acabou o problema. Desenvolvimento dos personagens? Não teve. Consequências pelas atitudes deles? Adivinha: também não teve. Coesão? UAU, que inesperado, TAMBÉM NÃO TEVE.
Por fim, é uma história que consegue te entreter e que tinha um bom potencial; mas que conseguiu falhar em quase tudo que ela se propôs.

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