Theory of Love (2019)

Man, this show is playing with my feelings. I haven't read the entire novel (which it is based on), so I need to find the translations, but they keep being taken down. Supposedly there will not be a bed scene, but a floor scene?!! I need to read that right now or else I will go insane. To be honest it is really good and I love slow burn dramas and novels so if you are a fan of those 100% recommend this. Also, it is friends to lovers which I also very much love, so it basically is the perfect bl drama for me. The two main roles have close chemistry so that makes the drama even better. I would give it 10/10 but I really need to know how the floor scene goes down before doing such a thing. anywho, I really recommend this drama for those who are into slow burn and friends to lovers. it is currently ongoing, and you have to wait every Monday for subs, but it's always worth it. Warning, one main character, Third, cries every episode. I would watch it as episodes come about, but I think it would be an amazing drama to binge watch. I can't give a full review since the drama is still releasing episodes, but so far it is a must watch, and trust me I know my bl. I have watched and read too many to count.

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A Masterpiece

Soulful, emotional, and brilliant. This is absolutely one of the best BL series I have seen. It is an epic love story more than a BL series. The acting is perfection and captured the essence of each of their characters flawlessly. For me, this is a masterpiece and is a cinematic gem. The screenplay of this series is nothing short of brilliant. This series left me emotionally drained and in a real sense feeling heartbroken. This series presented characters that are flawed, victims of others AND themselves, but also willing to sacrifice. Getting to love and giving love is not always straightforward or a series of rom-com events. The way this series presented love was imaginative, real, and profoundly moving. If you want to read my full review of this brilliant series, please go to my free blog site at ppbongi.medium.com.

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Honestly this was a very childish drama. The characters seem to live in a fantasy world where being gay does not cause them or their neighbors any conflict, and therefore they can accept their feelings for someone of the same sex without any internal conflict, and without wanting to deny it in front of others. A world like that is really too beautiful to be real! One of the reasons why this drama does not convince me is that the character of Thrid could be perfectly changed by a not very graceful girl and the story could be exactly the same, and we would have a story like the ones we have seen a thousand times, grace here is that Thrid is a boy, but the writer does not take advantage of that subject well. To begin with, we also don't understand why Thrid likes Khai, loving a idiot is something I don't like, and believing that person will change with love is a typical that dramas want to make us believe, and I don't believe in that. People do not change, if you love them you have to accept them as they are or later you will be disappointed again. But I admit that it is fun to see that idiot crawl for love, surely that is the reason I stayed watching this drama!
The one in this drama is also a world where there is no sex, and the sex there is is practically mentioned as something bad, something to satisfy a selfish need. And I don't agree that sex is just that. Sex is linked to love. But here they try to sell us an innocent romance and it lacks a spark. It also didn't help that the kisses between them felt really uncomfortable.
The use of cinema in the drama also didn't convince me ... at first I liked Thrid talking about himself and the movies in the vlog, but the movies were so damn commercial. I would pull my hair if I was in film school talking about those movies! Some movies like "Les amours imaginaires" or "L’estate addosso" or some other interesting movie could have been cited, but no, the films they talk about are as banal as drama. I don't hate her, but it was necessary to repeat the “Love actually” scene twice? when is it so worn out?
In summary, I only recommend that you see this if you are under 18 or still maintain innocence. You will find beautiful and cheesy scenes if it is what you are looking for, but also a great lack of depth and real world. But if you have passed the age and want to see a real gay story among the best friends, I recommend you watch: Merlí (series of Catalonia).

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I had heard about Off-Gun ships and wanted to see myself. Maybe I had very high expectation for the series. I would say it is an average series. It indeed did have its cute moments. But I couldn't feel the chemistry between Off-Gun in this series. As the story progress, I lost interest in this series. I watched the last few episodes just to ditch the series all together. I generally form a kind of bond with the characters and the story, I never felt that in the Theory of Love.

The good thing about the series is the cast. P'Shane gave the show some fresh air. P'Un's and Two's story was also beautiful. Bone's role was the best. I am not giving spoilers.

Overall not a series I would watch again. Maybe it is just me.

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Okay, I'm not going to lie. When I heard they were making this BL I couldn't WAIT! I loved Off/Gun in that other BL - Honey Puppy Love (I think) where they played Rome/Pick. They saved that show for me. And I thought, yes, this ship is going to sail again.

Where should I even begin with how bad this was.

Kai (Played by Off) is a MASSIVE jerk (and I'm using jerk because if I used the word I really want to use, I'll get banned from this side). The things he did to Third were UNFORGIVABLE. It got so bad, myself and a few others were hoping this ended sadly. We wanted it to end with Third deciding to leave to work on himself and Kai either dead or in therapy. Kai used Third for everything - to break up with his girlfriend, to work out his homosexual tendencies....It was heartbreaking (and not in a omg that is written so well and I love it but it's so sad way) no, this show literally was cringie AF and shouldn't have been aired like that.

Third (played by Gun) spent the ENTIRE series crying over this jerk who treated him like a second thought--lower than a second thought. The relationship between the two of them was beyond toxic and I was beginning to be scared for the people watching the show.

I don't think these two should have wound up together. They're both horrible together and just horrible people.

That kind of relationship his not healthy and I really worry that young folks are watching this show thinking that mess is normal!

The only saving grace and BARELY was the characters Too and Aun (played by White and Earth) as well as Bone (played by Mike) and even Bone I wanted to grab him by the shoulders and shake him. The only reason I continued watching the show, was because of Aun and Too.

I was so disappointed. This show was so bad, people on Youtube hasn't gone through and made cuts of Too and Aun. I think they just don't care.

Listen, go watch something else. You'll waste your time on this one. I mean, sure, it had its moment, but in the end, the only characters I was rooting for were Too, Aun and Bone.

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Honestly, this by far is one of my favourite series! I enjoyed every moment, and I am so glad I stumbled upon this drama. The story was beautifully written, and the actors and actresses all portrayed their characters with so much depth and emotion; I felt hurt sometimes when one of them got upset. The story was slow paced, however, I think that slow pace really built up the emotions and attachment that viewers got (like myself) to the characters. The soundtrack is one of my favourite aspects too; subtle, clam, motivational, inspiring, and eye opening. The cast was also nicely chosen, and all of them became my favourites after this show. I will definitely watch this again. For those who are is search for a BL drama, I highly recommend this one! One of my top favourites definitely :)

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Flipped perspective

I'll be honest, I really expected to hate this show. Or at least to find it mediocre enough to forget about. I watched it shortly after finishing Not Me and watched the first few episodes with someone who hated the show and told me to watch it after mentioning he didn't like it.

Theory of Love has a quite classic, basic story befitting its tone, cinematography, and overall themes. Third, a film major who does movie reviews, is in love with his best friend Khai, a player who changes girlfriends at the blink of an eye. It's about a seemingly hopeless unrequited love and the angst that comes with pining over someone who is never looking at you.

I was *not* enjoying it at first. I found Third crying in the shower bearable (despite my slightly amused, mostly cringing reaction to it at first) but I couldn't quite vibe with his point-of-view as a main character. Things just weren't clicking for me.

And every single episode, I grew more and more annoyed. Khai as a character seemed more and more awful as a friend, especially as we saw Third take the fall for his actions and cry every single episode, while still holding onto his feelings, which felt unfounded. To quote myself, I said multiple times during the first half of the series: "I *hate* Khai."

When he was acting nice, I didn't trust him. I was suspicious and wary, just like Third! And I completely understood his feelings, as someone who would probably act the same but absolutely hated seeing it. And when Khai continued to stoop lower and lower, I completely was in Third's shoes. Frustrated, betrayed, annoyed, and done with Khai, despite the small charms that did get through to me.

The thing was, I was being perfectly manipulated by the show. I hated Khai, I told myself. I would continue to hate Khai, I thought.

Here are some things I said as the POV switched:
"flipped" do i need to deal w khai pov from now on ?? why NONOOOOO
khai would have to go through hell for me to feel bad for him after that show of things
i enjoy khai suffering. like fr deserve
"im gonna chase after third" STOP LIKE JUST STOP
i have no idea what khai could do to make me go Yes i am happy they ended up together. like idk fucking make a new personality altogether ? cuz its like theres no REASON LIKE THERES ABSOLUTELY NO REASON FOR KHAI TO BE LIKE THIS. hes acting like such a fucking loser rn why do you even like third suddenly. it feels like he saw the video and was just like omggg

But I was completely wrong, and actually went for as much of a change in perspective as the characters do! Because actually, despite everything up above. Khai is now my favorite character in Theory of Love, and I adore him dearly. I quite literally have spent the last month thinking about him every single day.

I *love* Khai.

His change was wonderfully written. He lost the person he didn't know he was in love with, reflected, and realized that he fucked up. He sort of speedrun the complicated feelings Third had to deal with (seeing his best friend with another person) and realized that he hurt his best friend and love of his life deeply and he had to change. So he did!

He really did change as a person and the KhaiThird dynamic did a drastic turn from what it once was, as Khai realized he had to treat Third the way he deserved, and Third realized he couldn't let himself keep getting treated the way he was and put his foot down. And honestly, while I found the jealousy plot incredibly cliche and not very well executed (we *know* UnTwo is real at this point anyway) I loved watching Khai and Third fall in love properly.

Khai is an incredibly flawed character. He's stupid, self-absorbed, and he hurts people. But he grows! And the moment he finally realized how stupid he was, you realize his charms. He's like an overeager puppy following Third around, a genuinely *cute* guy who we realize has deep abandonment issues and a lacked the ability to really be self-aware.

I'm allowed to play into stereotypes because I am also bisexual but I will say - Khai not realizing he's bisexual while dressing like *that* and acting like *that* and being a film major was so hilarious to me it still makes me giggle when I think about it. Oh to be so unaware you don't realize you've been in love with your best friend for years (you especially come to find the hilarity of this during the ebook) only to realize it after you've hurt him to try and *get him to fall out of love with you.*

I love the structure of Theory of Love! The two leads get their own halves of the show to explain their perspectives, and the flip of their feelings was incredibly satisfying, as well as the one movie per episode format. I haven't watched any of the movies referenced, but just with a glance at Flipped I can tell the story worked in really nice references. Theory of Love is a romance about romances about characters who watch romances, and that worked for me very well.

The acting was wonderful. I love Off, I love Gun, and I love OffGun!

Third's crying scenes and Khai at the train station stand out to me as gems, and the supporting cast is also wonderful. Everyone fit their roles well.

One point I will make is that I didn't quite enjoy the other characters quite as much as I came to love Khai and Third. I didn't hate anyone's storyline, but I feel like none of them quite hit the same amount of charm I grew to enjoy from KhaiThird by the end of the show. But I can't say that's quite a bit issue when they aren't the main leads and have no reason to be. I like what Two and Bone bring to the show, and they're a very funny quartet.

Anyway, Theory of Love really took me on a wild ride. From hate to love and disconnection to really, really connected with the show. I'd recommend anyone to watch this show as long as they take it on its own terms and really let themselves get swept away with the show. I'm currently rewatching it after having read the entire ebook, and I appreciate it even more. It's a well-crafted show and I'm impressed by the skill of its ability to make me equal parts despise and adore Khai, who I feel is really the best part of the show once you really start to see into his own head.

Your honor, Khai isn't really a bad guy. He's just stupid. And I love him for that. So does Third!

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A serious and mature take on relationships with introspection and character development

NO-SPOILER REVIEW

Be prepared for a lot of film references and allusions as this series is full of them. The mood of this series is overall serious and somber, touching on some deeper emotions. If you're looking for a break from some of the sweet and happy dramas out there, this might be the series for you. If you're looking for something more lighthearted then this may feel a bit too slow or sad for you. The characters here deal with difficult situations, come to terms with real issues about themselves, and go through a lot of character development. The pacing can be a bit slow at some parts, but it matches the overall feeling for this series.

Pros
- The characters experience significant development throughout the series, something not always found in most dramas.
- This series does a good job of handling emotional and relationship issues in a relatively realistic and mature way.
- Plenty of moving scenes where you feel deeply for the characters.

Cons
- It can feel a bit too heavy and slow-paced at times.
- The emotional toll can be high on the viewer.

Overall
- If you're a fan of stories with more somber moods and more realistic takes on relationships, you'll definitely enjoy this.

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I loved this show. I find the storyline not to be the most realistic but I didn't really care. I thought it was good. It was a very emotional show for sure. Khai was so stupid like he could tell in the one scene that the love poster was for him and not his girlfriend. The part that was unrealistic was the whole finding a video on his friend's third computer and seeing that he liked him. Then after finding out he starts to fall in love with him. But when he does start to find for third he does try his best and be a good man and stuff so I liked that. The second romantic relationship was fine. Nothing to write home about there but it was bad. It is surprising that after all khai has done to third that he would even give him a chance at the end. But love makes people do things like that. I hated having to see a third go home and cry in the shower that broke my heart when that happened in the story. Even know khai did a lot of bad stuff to third I want Khai to get help when his bike crushed on the road. Khai and third had great chemistry together for sure. So whoever made this story did a great job on it and you can tell his or she was passion about the project. I loved that the story cover film majors because that major is not as commonly done in bl stories as of yet at least from what I have watched personally. The only thing I didn’t like was how many kisses khai tried to do on third after khai fell in love with him and third didn’t want the kiss. But overall I love the show. I recommend it to all.

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I don't understand how people rate this highly

Borderline offensive in how terrible of a BL this is, incredibly toxic relationship with bad acting, no chemistry between leads, constant regurgitation of the same plot point of oblivious toxic lead ignoring the sensitive introvert who would otherwise keep love a secret forever. Incredibly exhausting show. Even the subplots of the far more interesting characters literally go nowhere and are rushed at the last second to have a yes/no answer as to whether they happen or not, most frustratingly seen in the HETERO romance subplot between Bone and his teacher in the GAY BL. There are so many better shows with actual chemistry that are rated lower than this. I'm struggling to see how this was made only in 2019, it's so archaic and toxic, and I don't even mind good, passionate toxicity if its written well and has context, as I greatly enjoyed Tharntype. Genuinely a very stale and infuriating show and I strongly urge anyone to not watch it because you could literally spend the time watching anything else.

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I begin this knowing that TharnType and Dark Blue Kiss are ongoing and Until We Meet Again will soon coming out.

I write that headline too after watching a lot of BL dramas in the last 3 months, and even i've rewatched this series again before writing this review. But don't 100% objetive review because i can't. This series made me feel so many emotions that i don't believe i can be very objetive in terms of storyline at least but I'll give it try,

I recommend this series a lot, but have in mind that his series doesn't have a lot of happy moments, it has a lot of sad and frustrating moments, if you tend to cry then prepare some tissues.

Story: 9/10
- The Story is around a group of 4 friend... and one of them (Third) is secretly in love with another (Kai). The story centers around them, but there some side stories for the other two friends (Two & Bone).
Storywise it's simple, but a love how they approached it. The characters aren't perfect at all, they have a lot of flaws that makes them do a lot of mistakes, but those are flaws that exist in real life, i've seen people in those situations, and i've suffered a little of them too. Of course, this is a drama so they are a little bit exaggerated to make the drama flow, but it was well executed, well produced and edited.
It has some beautiful details, and uses its theme perfectly for the audience to understand (Comm arts Student & films), dnd last but not least, & the something that i really appreciate is that i didn't encounter an scene that was totally pointless or extremely long.
The only downside for some (but not me at least), is the frustration that the protagonist, specially Third, can produce to some people.

Acting/Cast 10/10
I can't say anything bad about the acting and cast.

Gun as Third - I can only praise his acting in this series. I could feel every emotion that Third felt. and was superb. I like his acting more than in Puppy Honey and there it was already good.

Off as Kai - His improvement was incredible. Sometimes he takes a goofy and funny character, and here Kai has something of that too, but it was more than that... he can make you hate Kai and his easygoing and selfish personality, and then you could understand him. I love his acting here a lot more.

White as Two - A good friend, but not a perfect one, and that was well portrayed, loved how his relationship evolved and the chemistry it forge. I can't go into more details without spoiling his story.

Mike as Bone - A lot of people didn't like his storyline and felt it pointless, but id didn't feel it that way... because thanks to it, it made you know how beautiful is Bone inside, and Mike portrayed that almost perfectly.

Earth as Aun - For some reason In a lot of his dramas i can't buy his character 100%, but here he convinced me a lot more. I won't go into details, because of spoilers.

Neen as Lyn, and Sara as Paan - they played their part very well both have roles in the side storylines, but they did a very good part. and liked especially Neen, she was very sweet.

Music 10/10
The OST is used perfectly... the opening and main theme are used a lot, but it didn't felt repetitive thanks to the variations of the songs. I love the OST of this series, and it portrays a lot of emotions in the scenes that are used. On Point.

Rewatch Value 10/10
i've always say that this has 50% objetive and 50% subjective part.
Objectively, thanks to its simply plot and that the series doesn't revolve in a mystery it facilitates the rewatch value. so 10. As for the subjective part.. it very rare that a series makes me wanna see it again ,an i want to see it a third time now. I even enjoyed more the second time than the first.

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