There were such wildly mixed reviews of this show among BL friends in my community that I had to watch it myself to decide. And overall ... I liked it and admired what it tackled and how.
SUPERVISOR/SUBORDINATE DYNAMIC - First of all, I usually hate this plot, which sucks for me since it seems that so many Asian dramas love this premise. This, along with the high school kid and older person always gives me the ick because of the obvious power imbalances. Usually, I have to let this go while watching and just pretend it's a fantasy or that both are colleagues, not manager/employee, but it can be challenging. What I liked about this series is that even though it seemed to romanticize this at first, it did not lose the plot. Eventually, the real issues inherent in this dynamic came to a head and had to be addressed ... in multiple ways. It made the ick feel so much better. And in the end, the power dynamic was nullified to be a non-issue, so I felt better about shipping them.
INTERIORITY - I really loved how much we got of both characters and their private lives. Not some half-a**ed trauma flashback and extreme phobia. They both had issues that were ingrained and present from the start, persisted throughout the series, and was cause the 11th-hour breakup. It's perhaps one of my favorite BL breakups because I felt it made complete sense. I identified with the injuried party so much. Praise to Man and Ben for having to tackle so many emotionally nuanced scenes. While some may think Ben had to cry too much as Pat, I related to how he felt too much sometimes and had problems regulating his emotions because he cares so deeply about doing good work. I've been there!
SUPPORTING CAST - I loved seeing so many Lovely Writer favorites return, and in different ways. Up as the ex Put wasn't just a 2D cardboard cutout mean ex but someone who had his own faults and was slightly sad because of them. I almost didn't recognize Kenji as Toh ... and I felt he was underutilized. Zorzo was so fun as Ae, especially when she was paired with Bruce as Chot -- yay he got to play such a fun character this time around! They even gave redemption to one previously annoying character Ying. What a loveable bunch. ... But this brings us to a failure...
2ND COUPLE -- As many have said, Jaab & Jen's storyline had so much potential, but wasn't given any sort of resolution. Even if there's an idea of continuing their story later in a short or something, I felt we were still left hanging. One extra scene could've left viewers from feeling so unmoored. That said, they had a very hot kiss, and I think that's one reason we were left hanging on this.
UNDERSTATED HUMOR - While Chot and Ae gave me the best moments, there were a couple really unexpected, fun things that happened that made me actually laugh out loud with how real it was. One involved MLM, and if you've ever been on the receiving end of that pitch, you may also admire Pat's swift evasion strategy.
TIMELINE - There are maybe 2 major timejumps that happen. One is less obvious but once you notice one character's body changes then you can follow. This is more of a timelapse than a timejump, but because of this it may not be that obvious. I wasn't too confused but some sort of time markers would've been better. The second time jump I felt was absolutely earned and necessary. That said, because of that, I needed more from the 2nd Couple.
WORKPLACE DETAILS - I love workplace dramas where they actually work and we can see the ins and outs, the challenges, the strategries. Start-Up and Forecasting Love and Weather are both k-dramas that do that well. Lovely Writer was more about the industry than the work, but that still was fun. This one lets you in on the many levels of digital marketing, from concept, audience and budget to slideshow, pitch and execution. There's an element of entertainment in here also because they use influencers, and of course a bit of meta commentary about BL (although not as strong as in Lovely Writer). I love this ish! Only downside -- there was a bit TOO much office gossip & meanness at the beginning to the point it felt cartoonish. The thing is, I've dealt with narcissistic bosses, being used for being reliable, being underestimated, passed over or worse -- had accusations lobbed at me. So yes, there's definitely a truth to it.
PARENTS - As with in Lovely Writer, I think this series does intergenerational relationships well. Pat's parents were fully realized people .. while Jeng's was, well, a villain. That felt true to how Jeng's issues though. Some interesting scenes with Pat's parents, and their divorce is never judged.