Passo a Passo (2023)

Definitivamente não é 'passo a passo'

Step by Step não faz jus ao nome. O drama pulou todos os passos necessários para entregar uma narrativa coerente e coesa. Na verdade, ele conseguiu fazer o mais difícil: com episódios longos (mais de uma hora), ele falha em desenvolver todos os personagens secundários e, até mesmo, o foco do drama - o casal principal. Ou seja, não consegue fazer o mínimo.

Vamos começar pelo mais fácil: aquele amigo que tem crush na Ae. Apresentaram esse conflito e depois morreram com ele. Na reta final do drama, houve uma espécie de conclusão, com ele se declarando e a Ae falando que já sabia dos sentimentos dele. E fim. O plot teve, literalmente, começo e fim, mas nada no meio. Terminou do mesmo jeito que começou: do nada. Não influenciou em absolutamente nada na história, não mostrou o conflito do cara, como esse sentimento poderia ter afetado relações e alterado a dinâmica do grupo. NADA. Simplesmente não há razão de existir.

Agora os colegas de trabalho. O drama começa mostrando o quão difícil está sendo para o Pat se adaptar ao novo emprego, principalmente por causa do tratamento dos colegas que, em suma, é tóxico. Abusam da boa vontade dele, das relações de poder, além dos momentos de assédio sexual e moral, e homofobia. Um prato cheio para aprofundar as problemáticas do mundo corporativo para pessoas LGBTQIAPN+ e como uma relação amorosa entre chefe e subordinado fica no meio de tudo isso (ainda mais uma relação homossexual). Mas é claro que não vemos nada disso. As cenas de escritório foram distanciadas, assim como os personagens daquele núcleo, que somem por boa parte dos episódios. Mais uma mais vemos personagens sendo apresentados e largados de mão. E, pra piorar, quando um deles volta a ter mais destaque na narrativa, a Ying (a que virou autora de BL no final), aparece com outra personalidade. Ela era uma das pessoas mais absurdas daquela empresa que, de repente, vira uma fada sensata. Coerência? Não temos.

O Chot é um mar de carisma. Não é à toa que é um dos personagens mais adorados do drama (o jeito espalhafatoso e intrometido dele me irrita profundamente, mas isso é um problema unicamente meu). Ele tem uma representação bastante importante ao mostrar um gay afeminado em uma relação longa e estável com alguém que ainda está no armário. Somos apresentados a uma problemática bacana sobre o processo de sair do armário, como isso afeta a relação com alguém que já está fora dele, a confiança que um tem no outro, a espera etc. Se eles abordam todo esse processo? Já sabemos a resposta. Temos poucas cenas com os dois, mas todo o cerne dessa situação é apresentado num diálogo entre o Chot e o Pat e é resolvido em seguida com.... uma ligação do namorado falando que se abriu pros pais e que os dois foram convidados pra jantar com eles. É isso. Um situação tão importante foi resolvida com uma cena onde nem vemos a cara do namorado.

Mas o que mais me indignou foi o desenvolvimento (inexistente) do casal secundário. O próprio nome já diz: casal secundário, logo, supõe-se que eles teriam certo destaque na narrativa. E isso (quase) se confirmou quanto teve um episódio, no começo do drama, praticamente dedicado a apresentar a história deles. Porém ficou por aí mesmo. Vimos que o Jaab gosta do Jane e o Jane está confuso. Jane termina com o namorado e há uma briga com o Jaab, que não teve nenhuma espécie de embasamento. Jane, numa decisão desnecessariamente drástica, larga a vida que construiu e volta pra casa, e não vemos a resolução da história. Jaab, do nada, começa a namorar alguém que nem vemos, termina com esse alguém, vai buscar o Jane na casa dele, Jane está no Japão e, depois de dois anos, Jaab vai pro Japão atrás dele. Se me dissessem que o ator que faz o Jane foi demitido da produção e não souberam como continuar com o plot do casal, eu acreditaria completamente, porque eu nunca vi algo tão mal elaborado.

Vou finalizar com o casal principal, que foi o problema menos severo, mas ainda um problema relevante. Minha estranheza começou com o Pat aceitando voltar a namorar o Put, pois não foi uma atitude coerente com o desenvolvimento do personagem. Suas atitudes demonstravam amadurecimento e superação em relação ao relacionamento deles; sempre me pareceu uma pessoa muito bem esclarecida. Eu, pelo menos, não enxerguei dúvida ou hesitação nos momentos de convivência deles durante as gravações do comercial. Mas tudo bem, eles voltaram a namorar, o Pat percebeu que realmente se equivocou e aí veio o término do namoro. Pat também nunca demonstrou interesse amoroso pelo Jeng depois que ele se tornou seu chefe. Aquele clima que surgiu no momento que eles se conheceram foi quebrado rapidamente. Depois disso, não veio mais nada. No máximo umas olhadas de quem reconhece o quão bonita uma pessoa é. Por outro lado, sempre ficou claro o crescente interesse do Jeng pelo Pat. Talvez o desenvolvimento do Jeng tenha sido o único aspecto coerente da trama. Num momento de vulnerabilidade, quando ele diz ao Jaab que não vê nos olhos do Pat reciprocidade de sentimentos, eu não poderia concordar mais! Porque realmente isso não é demonstrado de nenhuma forma. Por isso, aquela reação exagerada que o Pat tem quando descobre que o Jeng gosta dele não faz o menor sentido. Até tentei passar um pano quando vi, poderia ser a reação de alguém que não acredita que poderia atrair a atenção de uma pessoa como o Jeng, mas depois o Pat corre atrás do Jeng e fala que gosta dele também e aí não entendi mais nada. É como se tivesse virado uma chavinha nos sentimentos dele.

As coisas já estavam estranhas antes, mas o episódio 9 foi o pináculo de tudo. Dali em diante foi uma sequência de eventos desconexos. Se a versão sem cortes estava assim, quero nem imaginar a versão com cortes. O episódio 12 seria perfeito se todo o resto fizesse sentido. O aspecto positivo do drama que mais chamou a atenção foi a química entre Jeng e Pat. As cenas dos dois juntos são bem naturais e críveis, não tem aquele "travamento" que costumamos ver em BLs (quando dois atores heteros e "brothers" claramente estão desconfortáveis um com o outro nas cenas mais íntimas). Infelizmente, eles não seguram muito bem as cenas mais emocionais. Ver o Man chorando me dá vontade de chorar também, mas de vergonha mesmo.

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Drama mediano que poderia ter sido muito melhor

Tinha tudo para ser ótimo.
O Man tem uma das melhores atuações do drama, mas, em contrapartida, o personagem Pat é terrivelmente imaturo e dramático, transformando a relação dos dois em algo cansativo de assistir.
Os personagens de apoio são ótimos, com destaque para a Ae e para o Chot.
A história de amor do Jaab e do Jane foi muito mal construída, confusa. Entendo que talvez queiram fazer drama só para eles, mas acho que não valeria, pois foram muito mal desenvolvidos.
O próprio casal principal teve um desenvolvimento raso. Boa parte da história se passa no escritório com conflitos de trabalho. A relação mais aproximada e "apaixonante" do Jeng e do Pat só floresce após muitos episódios. Enfim, poderia ter sido bem, bem melhor. O que considero uma pena, pois alguns personagens realmente tinham muito potencial, como o Jeng.

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Slow steps with questionable pacing and timeline. Also, let me just add I love Chot.

It's started off great but it fell flat towards the end. From time to time the plot and the timeline feels off and hard to progress. The plot is not consistent at all. Sometimes it's good and sometimes it feels like it's all over the place and honestly I can't quite grasp the time skip. I don't even know what the screenplay writers were thinking like where is the whole in between story, especially of Jaab and Jen??Also Pat and Jeng, they both have one hell of a chemistry but their storyline is seriously slow, like it can not even be called a slow burn. It leaps from 0 to 1000 and then the next moment they are back to 0. What I am trying to say is the pacing is a mess. This series could have turned out to be so much better. It had so much potential but it couldn't live up to it.

However, hear me out, it's not the best but not the worst either; it's worth a try, especially the first half of the series.

The characters are lovable but then again sometimes a little annoying and even rash. Starting with Jeng, his character is most of the times calm, composed, reasonable, a little controlling and hands down his visuals. Also, it was kind of cute how he was so bothered about the manager performance appraisal review from Pat. And Pat is cute especially when he is drunk. He worries a lot and even messes things up but sooner or later he rectifies it too, of course after the damage is done though. Also, he cried a lot, more so, in the second half of the story and I wasn't quite a fan of it. I do get it that the writers wanted to portray him as a pure, upright and innocent person but he came off to be irritating at times. His actions were questionable and his reasonings didn't quite make sense.

The most disappointing part of the series for me was the story of Jaab and Jen. Damn!! Jaab and Jen , in the starting, the tension between them was so clearly evident. I was actually more interested in their story than the main couple's storyline even though I did love the main leads. I was manifesting them and somehow it worked. They ended up kissing and it left me in total awe - I was like 'WOW' but then at the same time 'What just happened?!' Right after that kiss, it just turned into ghosting and then out of nowhere there is Paint. Also, two years gap. Their story is officially a mess.

What I really really adore in this series is the bond between the two brothers: Jeng and Jaab, it's heartwarming. They bond and blend so well. They are effortlessly funny in the right amount and supportive too. Further, the friend circle of Pat is hilarious and also extremely supportive in whatever he does which is both good and bad but I love them especially Chot. Touchwood to the bond that Pat and Chot share.

Chot really is the MVP of this series. He is sassy, confident, funny in the right amount, a reliable friend, an understanding lover and a heart stealer. Also, the office plot in the starting is so on point from the part of not getting the credit for the work one has done to the gossiping colleagues and this kind of really riled me up.

The series is not the best but it's still worth a try.

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A big disappointment

The teaser, the pilot, the trailer... they were all fantastic and hyped me up for the show.
Then the show started and I felt sorry for Pat, poor soul was crying in the bathroom. Then he cried again... then he whined and pouted the entire episode. Now that I am done with that mess, I can honestly say that Pat is the most annoying characte of this year. Yeah I know it is only July, but there isnt any ex girlfriend with evil plans or homophobic dad that slaps everybody, that could be as annoying and irritating. Pat has great ideas, but he is always staring with his mouth slightly open, in silence...

The other characters are great, the ''villain'' becomes a cool lady, EVEN THE VILLAIN IS NICER THAN THE MALE LEAD!!
If you focus on the other characters, you will have fun. Unfortunately you will have to skip like 20 minutes of the male lead whining and like 10 min of him in silence, but those 15 minutes with Chot, Ae, Mr Jeng, Jaab, Jane, will be great!

I feel sorry for Ben. He deserved a better debut in acting. I will keep supporting his work. And his voice is beautiful.

If you feel like watching... then watch. It is a forgettable show with some good scenes.

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Don't get fooled by +ve YT comments/reviews

Read at your own risk because I am about to be rude and realistic :
This series is a waste of time no matter how much you try to defend it. No this is not a mature BL drama. This is not how slow-burn works. Some fujoshis have quite a low bar ughh. Also, please DO NOT compare this to Eclipse which was a MASTERPIECE.
Don't get fooled by reading positive reviews. Skip it if you are not fond of the plain plot.
The only positive things are : Chot's dialogues and Jaab's charismatic looks. Apart from that, Khun jeng was pretty hot.
Nothing happens in the first 7/8 episodes and suddenly everything happens in the last few ones.
Very boring side characters and the main character with basic storylines.
What was more frustrating was Pat. His weird lip movements were straight-up irritating. His indecisiveness and drama weren't cute or mature. He bored me to death.

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I dropped the show

It takes me a while to realize I don't like a show until I'm almost finished with it, and that's excactly what happened here. I used to be excited for the next episode and then it started feeling like an obligation to keep watching😕

The issues I have with the show are:
The dialogue is bad and cringey, they baby Pat like he isn't a grown man (like the convo with his parents about their divorce was something that should have happened when they first broke up years ago), the music is bad, its WAYY too slowburn, Pat's feelings are so murky it's still even hard to see when he started liking Jeng and if he really does, the other characters stories are executed poorly, and the story overall just isn't that good.
Wouldn't reccomend unless you wanna feel like you wasted your time.

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So frustrated

I am not gonna lie at first it seemed like this drama had potential but Ben's character just kept making me mad. He had 0 character development thorough the story, there was no chemistry for the leads. It left me frustrated. if i could leave it at 0 stars i would. Maybe find a person who has stronger chemistry connection with Jeng's character. I'm in no way trying to be mean but some actors can't mesh well with some people or their presence isnt fitting for the role. It makes me wonder if the roles for Ben and Up were reversed. Up seems to be a better fit for Pat's character than Ben. Maybe it would have came together better.

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JUST STOP!!!!!!!

If your looking for a BL workplace series PLEASE PLEASE go watch Bed Friends or A Boss & A Baby. The story is slow the character development is worse. The side characters are way more interesting. The 2 main characters had no chemistry. Who ever decided to make this show should rethink the people incharge of casting & scripts. I loved the 3 side couples &honestly think they would have developed their stories more because they all had a lovely chemistry.Nothing really happens until episode 8. I have never dropped a show in my life but i found myself fast forwarding through the last 2 episodes & they should have ended it at episode 11 because 12 is just a hodgepodge of randomness.

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Why?

Tried so hard to like this but as it wore one long episode after episode I felt like I was in an endurance race of mediocrity.
Pat has three faces...open mouth breathing, grimacing and then my favorite...trying hard to act like he is thinking. He's a singer not an actor. Give it up kid. Or watch some GMM TV great actors for clues. Your director obviously doesn't have one. Or was saddled with you and tried to fix to no avail. Really the worst BL performance I have ever seen. And I wanted so much to like from previews.

Chot and Jeng are fine and fun to watch and good production values but so long and who cares. The lead actor is so out of his depth and even puffy lips cant save him. Jaab is stunningly handsome but a case of arrested development aided by rich spoiled kid syndrome. Think he read German philosophers to learn to act soulful and sad.

Sorry this is a waste of time. Sorry I did. You are warned.

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A continued mix of annoying and frustraing

Disappointing. The intimate scenes are hot, sure, but the main relationship and story overall left a lot to be desired. Watch the love scenes on YouTube and save yourself the time and emotional frustrations of this show.

The character Pat is annoying and Jeng is frustrating.

Pat is whiny and rude, his character "development" is too little and too late. I personally understand the difficulties with emotional disregulation, but the struggle to manage strong emotions does not excuse thoughtlessness, obstinance, self-centered-ness, and a "oh poor me, everything is unfair" attitude. And "being cute" is not enough to make this character really likeable.

I do appreciate that Jeng tries to evolve the way he behaves with others once it's pointed out to him. The struggle to change something so ingrained was portrayed fairly realistically.

The boss and subordinate dynamic in this show stayed uncomfortable. This is where the frustrations with Jeng's character comes in. (More below)

For a healthy, sweet, and realistic-feeling boss/subordinate BL I recommend The New Employee, a 2022 Korean drama. It doesn't have intense intimate scenes like this show, but I found it overall so much more satisfying!

Generalized SPOILER regarding this show's relationship dynamic & why it was frustrating:
The boss & subordinate relationship is poorly handled by both characters, but especially Jeng, the boss, who is also much older. I was so frustrated that he didn't take any proactive steps to protect Pat socially and professionally. As time went on it felt like Jeng repeatedly purposefully put off thinking ahead and planning for a future where they could both succeed together. Instead focusing on just getting what he wanted with Pat romantically without caring about any ramifications for Pat.

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Thank God it’s Over

This was one of the worst series I have ever seen. Wny did they make the lead characters so unlikeable? No chemistry whatsoever.

Pat was so annoying. He acted like a toddler. He whined and cried and pouted the whole series. Plus, he has the worst facial expressions. This sweet, young actor seriously needs some more acting lessons and a better script next time.

Jeng made me want to pull my hair out. He was cold and stiff to begin with. Then, when trouble started, he wouldn’t open his mouth! He let Pat walk away for two years and when Pat showed the slightest bit of interest, he wouldn’t say anything and ran away! I’m so over these guys. The only time I thought he was cute was at the end when he was pretending not to know Pat. That should have been in episode 1. To me, their whole relationship through the last episode was super forced and awkward.

This is my opinion but I loved Pat and Put together. It was the cutest thing when they both got the giggles. I was rooting for them the whole show even though I knew it wouldn’t happen. I loved how they showed him putting Pat’s happiness before his in the last episode.

Lastly, what the heck happened with Jaab and Jen? I loved that couple so much but I guess the actor that played Jen had to leave because we never saw him again in the last few episodes. Something happened for sure because that was too weird.

Overall, the story and editing was so bad. They would jump from place to place without any explanation. Ep 12 had two birthdays basically back to back. What? Did they run out of things to do?

I stuck it out in case there was a good ending to this mess. There wasn’t. I’m just am so glad this is over now so I can strike it from my memory.

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This was a great show!

Said no one.

Expectations were high. And you know what? I loved the beginning. It was a great slow-burn. But then it got worse. First of all, what did Mr. Jeng see in Pat? Yeah, Ben (the actor) is somewhat handsome, but Pat's personality is the worst! A little tip for the creators: The main character should be likeable, and we should sympathize with him. I personally hated Pat. He was crying all the time, he was annoying... The question everyone has is - why did Mr. Jeng want crybaby Pat so badly?

Don't worry, I have a ✨theory✨ for you!!! Mr. Jeng's daddy issues are hitting hard, and he needs to get this innocent boy and take care of him because his dad never cared about him. Boom. A different explanation doesn't exist. Does he love Pat because of his personality? LOL NOPE. Does he love Pat because he likes to have sex with him? Probably. Lol. (I mean those lips... Sorry, I have a dirty mind.) Nothing else comes to mind. I don't know why he likes him; well, my theories can maybe explain it, but other than that, it's a mystery.

I did not care about the other couples. Jaab and Jen were a boring couple. Pat's sister and her husband were really cute, good for them. Chot and his boyfriend were cute too. Also, Chot supremacy!!!

The last episode was sooo long. Longer than my crush list (Man and Saint were added to the list after this show, HAHAHAHA.) It was like an office simulator. Literally POV: You are working in an office. No, thank you. I'm disapointed. Will I ever rewatch it? Oh, of course I will! For a million dollars maybe :)

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