Problematic

It seems almost forced how many excellent reviews this drama has. And there is a difference between excellent and good. I know there is some sort of war has been going on between "haters" and hardcore fans. It came to the point where I simply want to provide at the very least some form of criticism to this show, which it absolutely deserves, as pretty much any other show out there.

First of all, I am not a hater. But I certainly do dislike the show very much. I have to point out that I have nothing against the actors as I have no interest in making it personal. The problem that I have with the show is the premise of it.

Another issue I want to address is how much negative feedback someone criticising it receives. It's like some form of hysteria, and, more than anything, it just makes the show much more unattractive, and experience watching and trying to participate in a discussion almost unbearable. The community around it feels sick and unhealthy, toxic in itself. Though, somehow it fits the drama.

Now, about the show itself.

As I have pointed out previously, I don't like the premise of the show. Basically, a very insecure guy is being obsessed with a very beautiful lad and, apparently, falls in love with him for the beauty. And the good-looking lad at some point is in love with the fact that someone is obsessed with him, and that person too, presumably. What do these people have in common? What would they talk about? Do they even enjoy spending time with each other? What do they do? Who knows. Worse than that, we see a dynamic of a "king" and his "servant", where the insecure character falls into the serving the overly idolised person. Literally, serving. And it is presented as a dynamic that no one is concerned with? I don't really care about the feelings involved in this whole ordeal, nothing in the drama makes me sympathise with both characters. This sort of behaviour should be looked down upon and not presented as a form of beautiful kind love. Even if it is love, it is twisted and it should be made clear, which show completely fails to do.

One might argue that all kinds of love should exist, and, to be honest, fair enough. But where do we draw boundaries? Some things should be noted, it should be shown that this twist in their relationship is out of the ordinary and is unhealthy. It bears consequences, there's complexity. It's not just black and white, well, it's not supposed to be. Well, not in the show. The show is very one dimensional in portraying it, and one sidedly positive. It is way too simplistic.

What it fails to do completely is to actually show any kind of love. All I personally see, these were obsessions over different characteristics of each character, there was nothing to suggest that what they feel towards each other is true love. The show told us about that, but what it was supposed to do was to show it. It didn't.

Romanticising this sort of relationship is deeply alarming. The creators/writers should understand what public they aim this show for, who would watch. Yes, creators do have such responsibility, it has nothing to do with triggers per se but a general common sense and understanding. It has nothing to do with censorship either. Does this show has a right to exist? Yes, absolutely. Do I think it's a good series? Absolutely not.

This relationship between those two is just a relationship that can happen. Sadly, I would like the shows of this sort to address how this relationship if not bad, then at the very least realistic. This is a very polished and romanticised version of what these sort of relationships actually look like. Too many logical flaws as well. Even twisted logic doesn't justify certain actions, there's no full picture.

On other fronts. The actors are pretty okay but I didn't feel the chemistry. It is shot well. Sadly, nothing can save this show for me. It feels hollow. Good looks but not much on the inside.

Someone in the community I follow mentioned this part of a famous poem in my native language (which I found a translation of) and I can't help but think how much it fits not only the couple but the show itself.

"But if it's so then what is beauty?
Why is it so idolised by all?
Is it a vessel, empty absolutely?
Or fire flickering behind a vessel's wall?"

On that note, I hope this review would also help someone to see other perspectives of the show. There are plenty of people who didn't like the show but simply don't say anything in order to avoid the backlash. And those who loved it, loved it, perhaps, a little too much and hence even the rating of the show is higher that one might expect. It doesn't reflect the reality. At least it feels so to me. I might be wrong, but at this point I don't really care much.

I just wrote down some thoughts I had and it wasn't a really organised review. I would like to leave it here and leave the show behind me too.

Cheers.

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