Cliche but with its own charms

I don't usually write series reviews but I feel like I need to write one for this. After watching all 12 episodes, I think this series was very well made from the cinematography, the plot, the character development and even the ost.

Cinematography: The whole series was very well made. The camera angles and color scaling are very top tier. Watching the NC scenes, the angles and emotions conveyed were very good. It was very well thought of. I would call the NC scenes love scenes, not sex scenes based on how everything was shown. It just felt sincere and was not lust induced.

Plot: Yes the plot was very cliche but I think they were able to connect it perfectly with the main message of the series which is marriage equality. Because of this premise, they were able to openly and greatly talk about marriage equality, gender equality and all the concerns the society has with it (i.e. same sex marriage not being legal so how do same sex couples share their assets and properties?) throughout the series. I also like how they just don't mindlessly put it in just so they can say it's there. It was really well thought of and didn't seem awkward. Also, aside from marriage equality, I really like how they also put in little pockets of social issues in there. They talked about age gap relationships, inappropriate sexual jokes, loving and accepting yourself etc. Like the same sex marriage message, they were able to flawlessly blend it within the plot and story flow. Compared to other romantic comedy series I have watched, I think the story flow and plot for this series was quite smooth and didn't seem so rushed. Plot holes are significantly lesser vs other series.

Character Development: The main problem of the series imo is the communication problem between the characters. Yes, it's very cliche but I think it's very common in real life too. I think this main problem showed character development not only between the two main leads but also with the supporting leads. You will see the development of each character from the start of the series to the very end. I admit it was difficult to watch since as a viewer, you will know exactly what is happening and know what the character is thinking but keep in mind that the characters themselves do not know what you know as a viewer just like how we struggle with ourselves and others in real life.

I also really like how most if not all of the conflicts in this series are internal conflicts. (the character's struggle with themselves). There wasn't a hard third party conflict or family vs the two lovers cliche. It was mostly about the characters dealing with their own internal problems which I think is relatable in real life.

Actors:
The actors, especially Zee was great as usual. I think this guy can act just by using his eyes tbh. He was able to deliver the right emotions to the viewers very well which is hard bc his character is very serious and doesn't seem to show emotion much.

NuNew who is a rookie actor did exceptionally well in my opinion. As a rookie, he had so much crying and emotional scenes which I think would be very hard for a newbie to handle. He delivered very well. It didn't seem so awkward and the tears looked very natural. He also sang in the series. His voice is really nice. This guy has a very bright future ahead because he is very talented.

For Max and Nat, as supporting actors I think they were able to do well, although of course there is always room for improvement. I think they supported the main characters well. Max (Hia Yi) with Zee (Hia Lian) and Nat (Diao) with NuNew (Kuea). I personally liked Kuea and Diao's friendship. Their scenes were always so adorable!

As for Tutor and Yim, I heard that their characters weren't originally in the novel so I get it that they seem a bit out of place and had quite a few scenes. I think they were included in this series as a way to introduce them to the audience. They had good chemistry and I'm excited to see more of them, hopefully in bigger roles.

Also, just to add, this series has a very top tier OST. The songs are just so goooood! Literally my favorite ost for this year tbh.

Overall, I think it was very well made. Of course no series is perfect and there will always be negatives. Personally, I felt like the secrets between the characters were waaaayyy too much. Like Kuea had a whole other persona he was hiding from Lian. Although I understand it has something to do with Kuea being able to accept himself first, it just gets so drawn out for me as a viewer. Aside from some few small things like that, I think Cutie Pie was able to deliver more positive points vs negative points for me. I would suggest people to watch it first before judging because of the "cliche" premise.

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