Why are you? Is it because of love?

Warning: this is the first review I'm writing on MDL and I have no idea if I'm doing it right. It will most likely be quite long since I have a habit of elaborating my thoughts thoroughly, so bear with me :)

Where to begin... This drama gave me a real headache because I had to watch it twice to fully understand what it is about and how to rate it. I'm a fairly new casual watcher of BL and I'm evaluating BL dramas according to the same criteria I use for any other drama (more specifically - eye candies and steamy scenes have no impact on my judgement). With that in mind, I think it's fortunate that I've already seen several BLs (university and other) before watching this since I got familiar with the BL concept and usual tropes. If this had been my first BL drama, I would have probably considered it a complete nonsense - which it isn't. Far from it.

I read a lot of other reviews and I saw many people complaining about the lack of plot or a poorly developed storyline. They are 100% right - there is no actual plot here. All this drama has is an idea, which could have turned out as a masterpiece if only it had a better execution. Speaking of the execution, it's horrendous. It's full of repetitive dialogue, poor directing and sloppy editing. Pacing is changing constantly. Scenes are either too long or too short. All of that makes it really hard to recognize what this drama is trying to do. And it's actually trying to throw all BL tropes out of the window.

STORY

So, what do we have here? At the (very confusing) beginning we are introduced to four characters: Tutor, Fighter, Zon and Saifah. They are all university students (of course). The setting is as exaggerated as possible - there are 10 BL couples (it's not really 10 but feels like it), every girl is a fujoshi and everyone is obsessed with BL teasing, hinting and shipping. There's no need to bother memorizing and differentiating between numerous side characters because they are in fact irrelevant. None of them has a distinctive personality and they only serve as the background. Zon is the narrator of this story and an indicator of its self-awareness. He knows he is in a BL novel, paired with Saifah, and he is desperately trying to avoid his inevitable fate - which is really funny at times. Their characters and dynamics are totally typical for a BL. Development of their relationship consists of one cliché scene after the other. They have no real depth and they fall in love because they are supposed to, just like the rest of side characters.

And in the middle of all that, we have Tutor and Fighter. Their story and their characters don't belong here, they are in a completely different genre - a soap opera (as they said it themselves) with a typical rich/poor romance... but not exactly. Cliché, but somehow opposite of it at the same time. This is where the creativity of writing shows, despite overall being incredibly messy. We get to follow the progress of two relationships (Tutor/Fighter and Zon/Saifah) with almost the same scenes (first meeting, getting into conflict, rain, studying together, kissing, meeting the family, nursing etc.) but handled in a polar opposite manner. In a universe where everyone is rooting for BL couples, Tutor and Fighter are questioning their feelings and wondering if they are doing the right thing. Within their story, several problems of LGBTQ+ community are addressed. It's a well developed relationship between two equal individuals, intentionally placed in an unrealistic setting. That stark contrast is not an inconsistency or a flaw, it's the whole point of this drama.

ACTING

Acting was overall very good, with Zee being a real standout. He doesn't have to say a single word to express his thoughts and feelings, his eyes are saying it all. Natural talent. I genuinely enjoyed watching his facial expressions. Saint also did a great job with his overly melodramatic character. And their chemistry - it's seriously something. They didn't need all those steamy scenes to be convincing, in fact they didn't even need a single kiss. I lowkey wish they had a chance to work together in a drama with a strong plot, like Manner of Death. Tommy and Jimmy also did well in their respective roles, although they weren't given much to work with. Same goes for the rest of the cast.

MUSIC

I liked the songs, they were all really nice. Sound effects were a bit overused but they fit the vibe of the drama.

REWATCH VALUE

Tutor/Fighter parts are highly rewatchable (all of them, not just the beach scenes haha). The rest - not so much.

OVERALL RATING

This is objectively a 7.5 drama at best - it's hard to give more to something with a nonexistent plot and a bad execution. Still, I'm giving it 8.5 although it's generous, just because I appreciate what it wanted to be.

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