Jazz for Two (2024)

It wasn't bad but that doesn't mean it was good

Let me start this off with the two actual good things about this show: the casting and the cinematography . The cast was great and they did so well with they had to work. The cinematography was sooo nice, the scenes were shot really well, which usually is a big pet peeve of mine. These two factors made the show seem waaaay better than it actually was and on the surface it really seems like a good show. However, looking behind the pretty surface shows lack of care in character and plot development.

I went into watching this with little to no expectations, so at first glance it seemed like a good drama. I watched it in a day (4 episodes in the morning and 4 at night) and it was a smooth watch, something easy and kind of simple. Which is exactly where the problem lies in my opinion. I loooove a good easy show, something not too taxing to watch and that gives me a chance to enjoy a silly little watch. And Jazz for two could've done just that but they didn't and that was unsettling. I am no fan of big conflicts in shows but I do appreciate that when it happens there's room to solve the conflict and work it out. In the case of this show nothing like that ever happens. Be it the absolute toxicity of the side-couple's relationship or the SA that just gets sweeped under the rug. I get that with the running time being this short there's not enough room for big conflicts to get solved extensively, however, as a director there should be a certain awareness around what you can and can't do with your resources. If there's not enough time to properly discuss heavy themes then for the love of god do not introduce them?

Taeyis reaction to the kiss was absolutely vile and not justified no matter how internalized his homophobia is. For someone that had such a violent reaction to a kiss from another guy he got over it pretty fast, which is just poor character planning on the showrunners side. The inconsistency in the character development is baffling to me. Let's not get into how Seheon didn't even get a real apology, he just suddenly got kissed and a little "sorry" and all was well.

Doyoon and Jooha are problematic on a similar level but even having less screentime than the maincouple they somehow managed to make that relationship seem more controlled and plausible. The intense homophobia coming from every single couple, even the brothers (what even was that, introduced solely to serve as a poor reason for the maincouple to break up for like? 2 minutes?), is just too much to solve with that kind of running time when you're already trying to get two strangers to establish some sort of bond, then to fall in love and then to overcome a heavy topic like suicide within their relationship. All the while they're dealing with school work, a controlling dad that just suddenly disappears (seriously where did he go?) after he served as a plot drive to get the main couple to become closer and writing a song/winning at a festival. There's so much going on that you don't even have time to process everything that's going wrong cause they keep piling up new plot points for the watcher to digest.

So, as the title suggests, overall it wasn't that bad, it's just that it wasn't good either.

Leia Mais

highly overrated

First, I don't like that every couple in a BL has to be BL couple... How stupid is that?
Second, the last two episodes are extremly rushed. While 8-parters are nice to binch-watch, they do nothing if the story does not fit.
I did not read the webtoon, so I can only review what I saw.
And the story is a mess and unbelievable. Only Ji Ho Geun and Kim Jung Ha made me believe in their characters. From bully to lover was unblievable as well in just one episode and to cast an idol for a main role was just a financial decision.
The last two episodes where rushed as f, for a better understanding at least four episodes have been needed,.

While the premise of the show started strong, the story falls of a cliff. The kisses shown were mostly just touching lips which is lame. "Song Joo Ha" could have kissed on the cheek to convey his feelings. A kiss on the lips would have not been needed, but maybe the director/writers thought the do need fan-service.. Also Han Tae Yi forcing himself was a stupid thing to do, especially when he does have feelings for Seo Do Yoon. While the first six episodes are ok, the last two are a total mess. Song Han Gyeom looks "gay" -(but which idol doesn't?), he does not fit his role at all. Sometimes you can feel he tries but his own personality is in stark contrast to his role and he does not manage to do it. With all the 10 ratings of several people I think they are fans of eyecandy but not thinking about the story which is maybe because our world gets more and more superficial. And to make all couples gay in a BL, is not what a good story needs. If they had only focused on only one couple the eight episodes might have fit. For me this series is disappointing especially because the first two episodes are the best and the last two are the worst.

Leia Mais

Nothing like the webtoon

Loved the webtoon. I already showed my concerned about doing 8 episodes for this and gosh... I was right.
First, the webtoon is quiet explicit but here, kisses are forced. Only the last kiss on episode 8 felt real, the others were either bad or faked by hiding behind lighting or objects, it feels like neither the actors or the director was into BL to begin with.

The actors, well...
First Ji Ho Geun, a new actor who is the only one who look and act like the character in the webtoon. But his partner Kim Jin Kwon (Newkids) was only here to attract fans. First he doesn't even feel like a jazz player as he really look like an idole. But he also look nothing like the character, who is strong, opinionated, and can face Han Tae Yi easily. But Jin Kwon look like he may cry.
Second, the other main couple. Kim Jung Ha playing Song Joo Ha is a strong bad boy with a big heart. In the drama, they made him a bully. All the back story is changed and make the relationship completely unbelievable. Seo Do Yoon "kissing" him out of nowhere seems that the director had to come up with something to introduce them as a couple. It would have been better that he didn't. The focus could have been made on only the main couple id needed. Song Han Gyeom (Omega X) is cute in it, but he certainly doesn't look like a student.

The story is the other thing that completely changed. Yoon Se Heons father, very nice person in the webtoon, is more pushy in the drama and completely desapeared after. With only 8 episodes, it is only making things worse for the characters development. And the brother was not even in the webtoon, they created a back story for the reason of Tae Yi's brother suicide, but why make every single characters BL, even in a BL story, some characters could have been straight too. Song Joo Hee and Song Joo Ha's story is so nice but taken off the drama.

Let's not forget that Han Tae Yi is supposed to know a lot about jazz, like Yoon Se Heon because of his lost brother, yet he doesn't play, but sing. But Ji Ho Geun is not an idole, they made him a trompettiste and they create a jazz group (Jazz for two became the name of a song written by the brothers of the main couple). He faked sing the last song on episode 8, and was poorly hidden. And lets not forget the whole relationship between the main couple, who become close because of the unpredictable suicide of Han Tae Yi's brother. The story here is unpolished, rushed and incomplete. We barely fly over the whole thing.

If you never read the webtoon, you may like it. But it felt forced because they cut too much important things to fit into 8 episodes. It could have been done differently, cut things that were not needed and focus only on the main couple would have made the 8 episodes cleaner. Of course, it's not a complete disaster, and its still watchable, but I wouldn't run to watch it again!!!

It's very rare that I am that hard with a drama, but it's now 2024. We expect that Korea starts being more open to LGBTQI+ in their drama. Not only they can make full length drama with at least 12 episodes of 45 minutes. Especially if they take it from a well loved and popular webtoon. It starts to show that they neither respect the audience, nor the author and only try to make money out of popularity from either the webtoon or the actors playing in it.

Leia Mais

The best as the support.

I honestly fail to understand how the weakest of the actors and the most basic of the plot were picked to lead the show, instead of showcasing a great, but uncomfortable to witness story of the supporting couple… make it make sense.

Don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy Tae Yi and Se Heon, but I also could not stop myself from feeling like it’s basically The Eighth Sense 2.0 with no improvement that would validate its existence in my eyes. Their story was unnecessarily complicated and too simplistically presented.

On the other hand, even though with criminally little screen time, I totally bought everything going on between Do Yoon and Joo Ha and if given more chance and focus, this could have been quite a refreshing concept to see in BL.

I’d love a story of how the one that protected becomes a bully and how it creates conflicted feelings in the leads. How it would be hard for Do Yoon to forget the warmth he felt when he first met Joo Ha - the hope that what he first saw is still in him. The internal conflict - for how long and how much he should put up with to keep that hope alive? When to give up?

How one magic kiss does not cure your internalized homophobia. I loved the locker scene. I loved how Seo Do Yoon said: I won't confess nor kiss you, let's just stay like that in a hug for a little bit. And that was as much as Joo Ha was conformable with at the moment, and it was fine. Relationships are almost never 50/50 all the time. There are times when one gives 80 and the other 20, and then other times when one gives 30 and the other 70. And I think they could have had something real good with this side couple. Would it be uncomfortable to watch? For sure, but some of the best stories are the ones that make you face some unpleasant feelings.

What’s more? Realistically speaking, Tae Yi was far more violent towards Se Heon, but somehow people don’;t really have as much issue with him. Poor boy was slammed across various surfaces quite a number of times.

Acting wise… it had its ups and downs. Ji Ho Geun and Kim Jin Kwon did great with lighter scenes, but the more emotional ones did not really reach me. Song Han Gyeom aced everything. It’s a fact. Kim Jung Ha surprised me with the more vulnerable scenes, especially since most of what the character presented was being a douche.

Visually speaking it was good. Each year we can clearly see improvement in the quality of production, filing and editing in Korean bls.

Overall, perfect for a binge watch, but made me crave a full story of the side couple and I will be forever salty if I won’t get it.

Leia Mais

Was really good at first but quickly went downhill

I'm not very good at writing reviews and I have a lot to say so bear with me lol.

CW/ sexual harassment, bullying, SA, Spoilers, physical violence

Okay so I actually really liked this drama when it first started airing. If the rest of the drama was like the first few episodes, I would've given it an 8.5 or 9.0 easily. Entire cast was super cute and the acting was good!

HOWEVER! it wasn't long until I started seeing red flags and just terrible pacing and plot holes. Like did he own his dad so hard, he had to go into hiding?? lmao I wish we could have seen some character development and the reconciliation between them. Also, Taeyi grieving for 99% of the show and then suddenly letting go of his brother and trauma in the span of a minute? and the sudden reveal of both of their older brothers having feelings for each other felt so rushed and forced, it was unnecessary (was most likely just random plot thrown in to have them break up for .5 seconds lmao).

The biggest thing that turned me off of this drama was how toxic both of the relationships were.

Taeyi and Jooha treated Seheon and Doyoon terribly but a simple sorry (or a hug in Jooha's case?? lmao) was all they needed to forgive and forget? They deserved sooo much better. Jooha literally bullied and violently assaulted Doyoon MULTIPLE times (not to mention him sexually harassing Seheon and then it just never came up again/Seheon says "I'm fine now" and invites him to perform with them? like what?)

Both Taeyi and Jooha had really bad internalized homophobia which is a sad reality but they never resolved that or showed any character development and it kind of just felt like they were painting gay relationships to be something dirty and shameful.

And don't even get me started on Taeyi SA'ing Seheon outside the bar!! (what a strange and disgusting reaction to Seheon simply being there? no normal person would react that way, he needs to be locked up lol) Then he shows up like the next day, plays piano with him, touches his hand all affectionate lol, gives him a little "sorry I hurt you" and then it's all smiles and kisses?? Be so fr... and the way their relationship does an immediate 180 afterwards.. Taeyi didn't even seem like the same person! (ngl the winking at each other behind their hands was pretty cute tho lol). I had already checked out by the 6th episode and was powering through because I was already too far in, so by the time they got together, I couldn't even enjoy the cutesy moments/kisses/affection which is usually my favorite part ):<

They went from being hostile to acting like nothing ever happened. I wish they would've had the angst earlier on (or preferably not at all lol) and then showed character development for the last few episodes.

Also, the fake/blurred kisses were a little weird. I'd much prefer they didn't even have Jooha and Doyoon kiss (and I'd much MUCH prefer that they didn't have a relationship at all LMAO)

My rating is much lower than the other reviews I'm seeing but I really cannot stand dramas normalizing abusive and toxic relationships. If it was just the weird pacing and plot holes then I would've rated it higher.

Leia Mais

Aggressive

Homophobic and gay

felt stockholm syndrome-y

it felt like a lot of backstory/details were cut out and nobody wanted to elaborate on ANYTHING (unless the webtoon is written the same lmao)
the way the characters attitudes/personalities switched up SO FAST made it feel as tho there wasn’t enough time to write character development so the writer just said fuck it and went with cringe and threw shit at the wall
whatever was going on in the beginning had to be for shock value or something cause ??? .... + the fact that everyone just forgot about the sister towards the end ??? made it seem like jooha was just being a lil silly ?

the whole story with jooha and doyoon is .. interesting !.. and doesn’t really make sense with the personalities we were given

this was a weird watch.. but it wasn’t the worst thing ever
thank you hangyeom ?

Leia Mais

disappointment.

- I was having a lot of hope for this series because the webtoon is my no1 favorite, but the more I watched, the more disappointing it was.
- I disliked how they changed, not only Seheon's personality, but Taeyi's also! Seheon was never afraid to speak his mind to Taeyi, he was strong opinioned and he stood his ground too, but the series made him weak and just so.. not Seheon?! And Taeyi not being half included in the whole jazz part is so frustrating. Their miscommunication and lack of time they spent together is so frustrating?
- However, what bothers me the most is excluding the most important part and the most important piece of 'Jazz For Two', which would be 'Autumn Leaves'. ("I want to forever be your Autumn Leaves. Please play me.")
And the way they made the father harsh towards Seheon, when he never was, how he forbade Seheon to play jazz, while in the webtoon he felt how Seheon played with more emotion just because he was in love. His father loved him, but here it's not even understandable why he acts the way he does towards Seheon.
Everyone's personalities were.. gone? They had new ones in the series, which is annoying to see.
- The series is watchable, especially if you didn't read the webtoon, but I just would never rewatch it ever again..

Leia Mais

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.

Leia Mais

Jazz and internalized homophobia holding hands

'Jazz for Two' is subtle in mixing several themes to bring us a romance between two boys, with the world of jazz as a context, marked by internalized homophobia in one of the members of the couple.
A lover of this rhythm, Song Soo Lim, known for directing 'A Shoulder To Cry On', adapts the popular Clazju webtoon in live action, published in Lezhin Comics in 2017, offering us a romantic and musical drama with a complaint against a problem which can lead members of the LGTBIQ+ community to feel ashamed of their identity and question their own validity as people, as well as making them feel isolated and alone, which can lead to mental health problems such as anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress.
With its unique combination of music, romance and drama, the series, produced by MODT, confirms the growing appeal of BL dramas and webtoon adaptations, both by fans and the industry.
With the inclusion of jazz music themes, the series is not just a story of high school students, but a testament to the power of storytelling to explore universal themes such as love, identity, friendship, grief, musical studies, personal improvement, the discovery of sexual orientation, the process of overcoming complexes and traumas, acceptance, intolerance, homophobia, internalized homophobia and internal family struggles, in its narrative arc about a journey of discovery for the four protagonists .
In an intimate tone, the series is structured around Han Tae Yi (Jee Ho Geun), a cold, scheming and expressionless musical prodigy who has brilliant trumpet skills and a captivating voice, and Yoon Se-Hun (Jin Kwon), a jazz otaku who wants to be recognized for his music and has just transferred to Wooyeon Arts High School.
When the gaze of Yoon Se-Hun, playing the piano with a slight smile on his lips, and that of Han Tae-Yi, surprised, from the door of the old music room, meet, a dazzling visual combination occurs. This eye contact will be enough to change their lives. We are facing a spontaneous piano recital that is actually the overture to romance and seduction.
Have you ever met someone who makes you feel restless and calm at the same time? Have you fallen in love with a person who, although beautiful, seems complex and mysterious to you? Have you crossed your life with someone who keeps your heart rate at 112.5774 beats per minute?
If this happens when you listen to jazz, it also happens when you meet the love of your life. Se-Hun's arrival at Tae Yi's school represents an alteration in the latter's routine, where the hours in which he does not study or make music are spent immersed in his thoughts, among which an apparent hatred towards him stands out. musical genre caused by the suicide of his brother, who was a genius jazz pianist, which is why he lost the will to live. On the one hand, Se-Hun's brilliant appearance contrasts with his own, while on the other, he has been shocked by his piano performance.
The attraction between them does not take long to materialize and little by little we witness how the surly and cold Tae-Yi opens up to the feelings that invade him, slowly but unstoppably revolutionizing his life emotionally. However, he rejects Se-Hun's feelings and distances himself from him.
If the reason why Tae Yi's brother commits suicide has always been a mystery, I am even more intrigued by the young man's question to his uncle: "Was my brother weak (in character)"? This made me think early on that both had had sexist and even homophobic teachings from their father. Would Han Tae Joon's (Byun Sung Tae) death have been related to this cause? Why does Tae Yi reject all approaches from Song Joo Hee (Kim Min Ah), Song Joo Ha's (Kim Hung Ha) sister? There was no doubt in my mind that Tae Yi was gay before Seo-Hu came into his life.
In this way, a very sensitive topic that is rarely addressed in BL is introduced in such an open and stark way: internalized homophobia. Marked by trauma, having to comply with what is demanded of him by a conservative country with strong patriarchal and heteronormative traditions, with an internalized homophobia that prevents him from admitting his own homosexuality, in a fascination that reflects his struggle of feelings: hatred and desire, Tae Yi rejects the boy he loves over and over again.
Tae Yi has all the cards against him: traumatic and painful experiences, such as bullying, physical or emotional abuse, the loss of friends and family. Tae Yi is a victim of the discrimination, rejection or shame that some LGTBIQ+ people feel towards their own sexual orientation or gender identity. It is a common problem among people who have grown up in societies that stigmatize or repress sexual diversity.
The series, for my taste, is a very subtle and interesting criticism of the discourse that seeks to suffocate minorities by stating that being homosexual is something abnormal and depraved. But instead of taking you down the path of vindication in search of conquering our rights, Song Soo Lim directly shows us the consequences that something that seems so general has on a normal person.
In theory, something that would not have to affect Tae Yi, who spends his days at school, his house or his uncle's bar, oblivious to everything and everyone, except forgetting his deceased brother. But it does affect him, because after meeting Seo-Hun his whole world collapses, feeling a fascination for him that borders on obsession. Tae Yi transforms into another person, but he doesn't know how to react to him. He doesn't know what the consequences will be of his actions of admitting to himself that he loves another man.
How to repress and hide a part of yourself that is suffocating you little by little and eating you away from the inside. But also, this inhibition not only affects you, but all the people around you who are also swept away by that gale.
'Jazz of Two' is a series that proposes us to reflect on internalized homophobia, on the many generations that have been affected by that intrinsic message that society constantly sends you and that tells you that you are not normal, that there is something wrong with you and that you have to hide, make yourself invisible. How you learn to put certain feelings or opinions in a box and wear a mask to feel safe, at the cost of never being your true self.
And I really liked that the drama portrays this process realistically, not in a perfect entity, but in a fallible young man, who is struggling with his reality, who makes mistakes, who takes steps back and is afraid. Tae Yi lives two separate worlds. That of the talented high school student, that of a genius with a trumpet on his lips, on the one hand, and that of a gay boy in love with the jazz-loving student, on the other.
It might seem for these reasons that we are talking about a dark and depressing series. But it's not like that. Its director also shows us what it means to build community and how your queer family, especially the other three young protagonists, and their uncle, can be there for you in difficult times.
'Jazz of Two' is sometimes a mirror that many have found difficult to observe. It will remind us of so many moments in which people who carry a great deal of internalized homophobia within themselves feel just as uncomfortable as Tae Yi, with the same feeling of hopelessness and helplessness.
For this reason alone it is worth giving great recognition to the series, to the members of the technical and artistic team. How can we not consider the series timely, revolutionary, provocative and innovative in a country like South Korea, where relationships between people of the same sex are not yet recognized and equal marriage is not legal, when in the United States, a nation supposedly less conservative, every day states pass laws that seek to bring LGBT+ people back into the closet, or in Spain a children's movie is censored because it shows a lesbian kiss.
But it's not just the main couple who is damaged by internalized homophobia. The second, made up of Song Joo Ha and Seo Do-yoon (Song Han-gyeom), two other students at the school and the latter's friend of Tae Yi, will also suffer for this reason. And even a third, made up of Yoon Se Jin (Ko Jae Hyun), Se Hun's brother) and Han Tae Joon, Tae Yi's brother, composer of the jazz piece that gives the series its title.
Just like that of the main couple, the chemistry between Seo Do-yoon and Song Joo-Ha is also unique. Both characters show their passionate emotions, capturing the viewer's attention. It also adds curiosity about what type of relationship there would be between them through the question posed by the first: "What happens if I cross the line?", incorporating new tensions and questions to the story of four sensitive and pure teenagers who go through friendship. and love.
The viewer can appreciate that it is not a simple plot, as it may seem at first glance, by showing us the social reality of South Korea, to which is added a homosexual love relationship marked by internalized homophobia, with jazz music as background.

Leia Mais

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.

Leia Mais

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.

Leia Mais