Needed more time

As was mentioned in a few other reviews, this show packed a lot into a short amount of time. They could have done so much more with the storyline and adaptation to give this story so much more breathing room.

First and foremost, what we know is the ML, Seung Jun can't seem to open up and suffers from PTSD, but we don't know exactly why yet. To be honest, we never *truly* find out. We get a hint of it when Seung Jun gets drunk and we learn it had something to do with a past relationship of some sort. Since this is a BL, we can make the assumption it was with a past relationship with a man, which we further learn when Joo Won shows back up in Seung Jun's life. Even then we don't truly know the depth, only know that he betrayed him and seemed to be using him. The pushiness of the second ML, Jae Hyun, makes it difficult for Seung Jun to open up and it's obvious there are moments where he seems to be comparing Jae Hyun to Joo Won.

Then there is the best friend/neighbor who is *obviously* in love with Seung Jun, but quietly takes a backseat because he knows of the trauma from his past and is there to support him. It's implied that the two are FWB, though you can also argue that they are simply cuddle buddies with Ho Yeon wanting it to be more than that.

To be honest, I had little to no interest in the romance of the two leads. Perhaps it is because I am biased toward Kim Kyu Jong, who played Joo Won so deliciously narcissistic, creepy, and downright nasty. But I was far more interested in his character and the history with Seung Jun. I've seen Kyu Jong in other things and he has such range that I see so many hating on Joo Won (rightfully so) and yet knowing more of him, it makes me proud to follow him because he is one of the sweetest people. I hope people hate just the character and look for other things he has done, plus his music as both a solo artist and with SS501/Double S 301, because his talent is phenomenal.

I think this show could have done so much better if they had done it as either a longer web series or a full series. I am fine with the episodes being short in time, but there needed to be more than 8 episodes. We never really got any history of Jae Hyun, we never got to know or see the struggles of Ho Yeon being in his position as someone who obviously loved Seung Jun but was relegated to only the bestie.

I feel that this show could have been fleshed out so much more for us to see much more of Seung Jun's past with Joo Won, including understanding why Joo Won suddenly came back into his life and wanted to be with him. Was it a case of Joo Won only using him as a plaything? Did he see Seung Jun as his "property" and when Jae Hyun arrived on the scene and he saw he could potentially move on, he couldn't handle it? Just what exactly DID Joo Won do to Seung Jun, other than obviously being manipulative and a cheater to cause him to have the level of PTSD that he did that he needed medication? As it "reads" right now, Seung Jun comes off as extremely weak IMO. I wanted to see those scenes more than I wanted to see the two male leads "falling in love".

I had no real investment in Jae Hyun because we knew nothing about him. Except for apparently owning a cafe, we had no backstory for him. While I am all for a love-at-first-sight type of story (I'm a romantic), this one fell short because of how little time the show had to tell its story.

Ultimately, I will probably watch the episodes that Kyu Jong was in again, because I watched this series for him, but otherwise, I would probably not rewatch this often. I hope in the future, when it comes to web series like this, that production companies/writers consider expanding the episodes to have more of them if they want to keep them short to keep people's attention. Complex stories like this need more time to grow and breathe so so much story isn't squished into so little time. It does a disservice to the story and the characters because this could have been such a compelling drama otherwise.

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Loved everything about this especially Zhu Yi Long

I absolutely loved this show and can't wait for Season 2. The only reason I gave a lower rating on the story, is because it is an incomplete story right now as we only have the first half of the series to go by. I would say my only complaint is we barely see much of what happens with the Thunder City team after Wu Xie ends up at Warehouse 11.

I am in the minority, it would seem, regarding Glasses and the Mute Girl and their hint at romance. I absolutely adored them together and hope to see more of them in season 2 and where a relationship could potentially go. The only female that seemed out of place in the entire thing was Piaopiao. Almost like she was shoehorned in at the last minute for Fatty to have something to focus on when not helping Wu Xie while he was at Warehouse 11, especially when he had Bai Hao Tian to assist him so much IN the Warehouse. Though I started to warm up to Piaopiao a bit more as the show progressed. I am just curious if it will be addressed more in season 2 after seeing the trailer.

I very much enjoyed the relationship between Wu Xie and Bai Hao Tian. I see a lot of people discussing how he doesn't see her romantically, but I personally think he does, but he's fighting it because as far as he knows, he is terminally ill so why would he put that heartache on someone. There were too many times where Zhu Yi Long played it as Wu Xie fighting an attraction towards her by claiming she was too tomboy-ish and too young for Wu Xie; ultimately I think Wu Xie's attempt to remain distant is to protect Bai Hao Tian from being hurt more when he dies if some miracle doesn't happen that saves him from his terminal illness. Personally, I think something is going to happen while heading to Thunder City when they are back on that path that will lead to a means to treat his lung cancer.

With that being said, with how prominent they seemed to show, in the beginning, the connection that Princess Mute had as a leather figuring to Wu Xie, I feel like she/Thunder City is the key to Wu Xie surviving this illness. I am curious to see if/how they expand on that in season 2.

I tried not to get too annoyed with how the plotline with Thunder City just seemed to drop off halfway through because I know they will get back to it for season 2. I think splitting the show how they did because of how they have to do "seasons" now in China makes it seem choppy, whereas if they were able to put all the episodes out at once, it would have flowed better. Either way, this is a show I will be watching again and again along with many others of Zhu Yi Long's that I've enjoyed. I might even have to do a rewatch in anticipation of season 2.

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