Cutie Pie (2022)

La mejor serie adaptada de una novela

Cutie Pie no es para todos los públicos, y no por las escenas que todos podemos pensar, si no por la propia historia que como su título ya indica, es una historia dulce, sin mucho drama, y eso no es para todos los gustos.

Cutie Pie trata de una pareja que se conocen desde que eran niños y siempre han sabido que se iban a casar (aunque no les fuerzan, tienen opción de rechazar el matrimonio) pero que a medida que se hacen mayores esconden sus verdaderas personalidades para intentar encajar uno en la vida del otro.

Sin querer da muchos spoilers, Hia Lian trabaja duro desde que era un niño para poder encajar en la familia adinerada de su prometido y que no le juzguen, y Kuea intenta ocultar su verdadera identidad por la misma razón: encajar con lo impuesto por la sociedad y su propia familia (de forma indirecta) y ser el marido perfecto para el empresario en el que se ha convertido Lian. Sin embargo, ambos se dan cuenta de que eso no funcionará, y tendrán que descubrirse el uno al otro de nuevo si quieren que su matrimonio funcione.
Cierto es que ninguno de los dos hace las cosas demasiado bien y tienen muchos malentendidos pero, ¿ sería una buena serie sin esos malentendidos que enganchan a la audiencia? Ambos personajes cometen errores, pero también tienen una buena comunicación cuando realmente quieren sacar su relación adelante.

Sobre la pareja secundaria no hay mucho que decir, excepto que su historia avanza muy lentamente y está llena de secretos y remordimientos, y que ninguno sabe qué hacer con ello (sospecho que tendrán protagónico en una segunda temporada).

Yo que he leído la novela, solo puedo decir que es una adaptación extremadamente buena. Los actores parecen sacados de la propia novela y no sólo eso, si no que añade temas que en la novela no se tocan demasiado, o lo hacen sin profundizar.
En la serie se habla de los derechos de las personas LGTBIA+, no sólo una, sino varias veces, y sobre todo, sacando a relucir la falta de derechos que tienen las parejas homosexuales para poder casarse en Tailandia.

Se ha convertido en mi serie favorita sin duda alguna.

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Anticipated series worth to watch ( it takes two to tango)

Vale la pena ver esta serie, no se deje engañar por las malas críticas dejadas aquí por los revisores que no vieron la serie completa. Cutiepie es una de las mejores series BL para 2022.
La historia, la cinematografía impresionante y los actores son excelentes al interpretar a sus respectivos personajes.

Puedo decir del ep 1 que Kuea interpretado por (New Chawarin) hizo un excelente trabajo al abrir las palabras en inglés en su verso bueno y también muy inteligente. Nunca pensé que un actor novato está interpretando un papel tan pesado en su hombro. Él da vida a Kuea. Otro momento de orgullo de CutiePie es en su episodio piloto que recibió y es la tendencia número 1 en Tailandia y en todo el mundo a través de las aplicaciones de Twitter.

No veo nada malo con Kiss. Cómo en el mundo sucedió un beso no es consentimiento. Para mí, estoy en mis últimos 30 años ahora, pero experimenté a mis primeros 20 años besando a un extraño en un bar cuando estaba ebrio. Supongo que es una experiencia maravillosa también. Creo que los revisores aquí en MDL no pueden experimentar besar a alguien (extraño) lo bueno con Kuea, su primer beso es Lian.
Además, lo no sexual nunca sucedió en la escena de Carolina del Norte en Cutiepie. Supongo que ambas partes están borrachas por la borrachera. Y Lian dijo que sabes lo que estás a punto de hacer, ¿verdad? Si no es lo que te gusta me puedes decir.
Esta serie hizo sentir que hacer el amor se siente bien siempre con consentimiento.
Force Kuea a vivir con Lian, ¿realmente viste la serie desde el ep 1 hasta el ep 5 para decir que es FUERZA? No creo que una prometida necesite obligar a su amante a irse a vivir con él en casa. Y la edad de Kuea sus 20 años (el consentimiento consexual de Tailandia tiene 15 años) y no es
(La pedofilia son sentimientos sexuales dirigidos hacia los niños).
Kuea y Diao tienen la edad adecuada para quedarse con Lian y Yi. Y no creo que los estudiantes universitarios tengan menos de 13 años, 555 (risas de Tailandia).
Problema LGBTQ como el matrimonio entre personas del mismo sexo, supongo que esta serie está luchando junto con compatriotas que pertenecen a la comunidad. Estos no son los viejos tiempos, sino su cultura inmóvil que este país sigue como estar comprometido a una edad temprana.
Supongo que el matrimonio no es para parejas heterosexuales, pero todos deberían tener el mismo derecho. Puede que no sea hoy pero algún día se le dará a esta comunidad. La razón por la que Lian le propone matrimonio a Kuea a pesar de que sabe que Kuea todavía tiene un secreto que no quiere decírselo a Lian. ¿Quién recuerda que Kuea le dijo a Lian que es la misma persona que lo besé en el bar? Lo que Lian le dijo es divertido y quiero que tú mismo me lo cuentes. Lian aceptó y amó a Kuea tal como es, ya sea como Kuea/Kirin. El amor no es egoísta. Esto es lo que Lian está tratando de transmitir con su acción. Con respecto a la propiedad de Kuea y la madre que no le cuenta sobre su propiedad, supongo que el deber de los padres es proteger a sus hijos de esta manera, la madre de Kuea lo protege a él.
Problema de YiDiao con no poder recordar lo que sucedió en el pasado. Supongo que olvidé el episodio exacto, pero creo que hablaron sobre los recuerdos perdidos de Diao.
Dijo que Diao se asustó de que los perros de Hia Yi lo mordieran.
Una vez más, antes de poner una mala crítica, asegúrese de que no lo atrapen mintiendo porque esto se discutió en la serie. Y el episodio final, YiDiao, dijo que no te preocupes, Hia, recuerdo todo, por favor, no cedas a la solicitud de mi padre de extorsionarte.
Me alegré mucho con NuerSyn porque su historia es corta, pero da algo que esperar para la pareja de novatos. La química es buena. Debo decir un poco de tiempo de pantalla, todavía tenemos eso en un episodio especial para fin de año.

El final es bastante hermoso al decir que apoyan a lgbtq. Su amor es más como el primer y verdadero amor por LianKuea y YiDiao.

El OST es sobresaliente y agrega sabor a la serie. También complementa la serie. Me encanta NuNew La voz es como un ángel enviado del cielo. Vale la pena dedicarle tiempo a esta serie y volver a verla también. Esto es 9/10. Sé que esto no es perfecto y yo tampoco soy perfecto en mi revisión.

Desde el fondo de mi corazón, quiero agradecer a Zee, NuNew, Max, Nat, Yim, Tutor, Poppy y el equipo de cutiepie, una serie súper hermosa que vale la pena recomendar para nuevos y viejos fanáticos de bl.

Gracias, mi amor Cutiepie
Patty

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Lo que podría haber sido

La verdad es que la serie cumple su función que es entretener.

Sin embargo, su trama se podría haber aprovechado muchísimo más. Siento que toda la historia principal fue siempre un ida y vuelta de los protagonistas ocultando cosas el uno del otro, lo que resultaba en que la serie se volvía repetitiva. Uno ocultaba, el otro lo descubría, lloraba, se reconciliaban y así hasta el matrimonio.
La pareja secundaria fue mi favorita hasta determinado capítulo, porque no sabía cual era el motivo de que estén distanciados. A pesar de que desde el principio no sabíamos si estaban juntos, eran amigos, o cuál era su relación. Mientras pasaban los capítulos más intrigada estaba por saber el porqué de que Hia Yi no le prestara atención a Kon-Diao. En determinado momento todo se soluciona mágicamente.
En algunos aspectos sentí que la dirección respecto a la actuación estaba muy forzada para hacerla entrar en estándares más cercanos a un manga, determinadas pausas que no siento que pertenezcan dentro del ritmo tailandés (tomar con pinzas). Es difícil explicar este punto, pero cuando Kuea lloraba, el ángulo de la cámara, las pausas entre palabras, etc desentonaba con el talento previo que había demostrado el actor. Lo mismo pasa con Kon-Diao.

La serie carece completamente de desarrollo de personaje. Pero la cinematografía estuvo muy buena.

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Nothing Cute About It

I was very intrigued by the synopsis of this drama and having liked Zee's acting in Why R U?, I decided to give it a shot. It was, quite frankly, a hot mess. I honestly don't even know where to begin. There was so little good about it and so much bad. It all felt very forced and unnatural and much of the story made little to no sense.

I was not impressed by the overly preachy beginning and ending dialogue. Do not get me wrong, I think same sex marriage should be legalized in all countries. That being said it felt out of place and unnecessary. I feel like there were more subtle ways of getting the point across that would have been more tasteful and again, less preachy.

The story was a complete and total mess. More than a romance, I felt like it was a drama about toxic relationships and how not to communicate. It is very and I do mean very, kiss scene heavy. I think those scenes were put in the drama to try to draw attention away from all the problems both in the story and in the relationships. Both Hias are depicted as being very controlling and possessive, to the point of wanting to know what their SO is doing at all times. While they try to portray this as them just being worried and caring, it came across as extremely unhealthy to me. For example, Hia Yi sets a curfew of 9pm for Khondiao who has to leave his friends in order to make said curfew in one scene. Hia Lian has had someone monitoring Kuea for who knows how long and is fully aware of the secret life he is living. Both men also seem quite unconcerned about the fact the men they love are afraid of them. The level of control the Hias have is just disturbing. At least with Yi and Khondiao's relationship, there is a moment where Khondiao stands up to Yi and their relationship seems to achieve some level of balance though still very much skewed in Yi's favor. Lian and Kuea's relationship, however, is stagnant for the entirety of the drama. Though Kuea has a few moments of defiance, in the end he always gives in to Lian. After the scene at Lian's father's birthday party, I was really hopeful to see a change, but it was basically just everything back to normal with no real growth or resolution. Overall there was just such a complete lack of character development.

On top of the toxicity of the relationships, there's the lack of explanation for why characters acted the way they did or why things are the way that they are. When and why did Kuea suddenly feel the need to act like a perfect person to suit Lian? When did Lian turn into the cold, emotionless jerk and why exactly did he tell Kuea he didn't love him? I felt like his reasoning and his initial behaviour was glossed over and dismissed far too easily for all the damage it did. Also, what was with the arranged marriage? Why was that in any way necessary? And how did their families even know each other since they were from such different backgrounds? The background was just so completely lacking and nonsensical that there was no way anything else could make sense. On top of all that you have Yi and Khondiao's story which was incredibly vague and disjointed. I was actually semi-interested in it because of the mystery of what Yi did to Khondiao. The "mystery" was that Yi didn't actually do anything, it was an accident. And the flashback regarding that incident made it seem like they had a similar relationship to that of Lian and Kuea which seemed out of the blue as I never got that impression previously.

The plot positively drags. Scenes are drawn out that don't need to be drawn out or are just repeated multiple times. The couples keep lying to each other and failing to communicate. There's this constant theme of maybe telling the truth would be the best thing and then in the next scene they're lying to each other again. Its honestly so frustrating to watch because they never learn and even at the end, it doesn't feel like anything has really changed.

While the story was terrible, the acting was not. Zee and NuNew in particular had good chemistry and while there were a few moments where I felt like NuNew's acting was a bit forced or awkward, I thought he did really well for his first roll. I also have to give a shout out to Poppy as Foie for bringing some much needed comedic relief. He was absolutely hilarious and I laughed every time he was onscreen.

The characterization, again, was lacking. I have rarely seen a drama with such stagnant characters. Very few characters had any real growth and most of them seemed to be in the same place at the end as they were at the beginning with nothing or very little learned from their experiences. That was very disappointing for me. I can generally forgive or at least mostly forgive a bad storyline/plot if the character development is good, but it was just wasn't there.
-Kuea really does come across as a doll, maybe not an Annabelle doll, but a doll nonetheless. He acts the way he assumes others want him to and even when Lian tells him he loves him no matter what, he refuses to trust him. On the one hand, I can understand that lack of trust, based on how Lian is at the beginning, but after a while it just seemed like an excuse. His roundabout way of trying to get information was also frustrating, adding to the whole lack of communication theme. His constant assumptions made things worse for himself and others. In the end, I didn't really feel like he had learned how to communicate to prevent the same issues from recurring.
-Lian's cold then hot attitude was just confusing and, again, never clearly explained. It also felt overdone and too abrupt going from his cold boss persona to adoring partner. I feel like that could have been pulled back to make it somewhat more believable. Based on his personality, I have trouble imagining someone like him making out in public. And although his attitude changed to all lovey-dovey, he still came across as controlling.
-Khondiao came across as more of a kid than an adult so taking his relationship with Yi seriously was a bit of a stretch. I did appreciate him standing up for himself though and I felt like he had more character development than others. He seemed more able to stand on his own and stand against Yi if necessary at the end.
-Yi came across to me as a sadist who enjoyed the control he had over Khondiao and the fear he could incite. He supposedly feels guilty towards him for something that happened during their childhood, and so takes care of him, allowing him to live in his house. He wants to know where Khondiao is at all times and even sets a curfew for him. The communication between the two is just nonexistent. They get together without discussing any of their issues really and it just feels so forced. While he does soften, he doesn't ever seem to trust that Khondiao can take care of himself and remains overbearing.
-I can't say that I had much of an opinion about the other side characters. Foie was an amusing diversion when he was onscreen and added some much needed comedic relief. Kuea's university friends were also amusing. Of them, I did enjoy Nuer and Syn's love story. As a side couple, their story was not really elaborated on, but they made a cute couple and were by far the healthiest relationship.

There were two moments that I particularly appreciated, though one promptly got thrown out the window shortly thereafter. The first is just before Lian and Kuea have sex for the first time, Lian asks for Kuea's consent, making sure that he's not drunk and knows what he's doing. It was nice to see since most dramas just imply that both parties are consenting. To actually have it verbally given was refreshing. That was promptly thrown out the window multiple times afterward when Kuea clearly says no or to stop and Lian keeps kissing him. Apparently you only need to ask the first time and its fair game after that. The second moment was when Kuea is with his university friends and one of them asks the sole woman in their group if she's on her period because she's cranky. She gives him a proper verbal beatdown that was kind of awesome to see.

As a side note, I always have an issue with the way most pets are treated in Asian dramas and this one was no exception. Aside from the Golden Retriever who, unsurprisingly, seemed to be content being on set and getting pets, the Chihuahua really bothered me. The poor thing's body language screamed that he was stressed and did not want to be there. I felt so bad watching. And also, having Yi give him as a gift, just no. It is never a good idea to give an animal as a gift, there are too many things that could go wrong. And I will now step off my soapbox.

The music was overall good. I did like NuNew's voice and I think he's frankly a stronger singer than actor. I didn't love the song that Lian and Kuea sing to each other though so having to hear it twice was a bit painful. Actually both those scenes in general were just awkward to watch.

I will also comment that the whole engineering/university setting is massively overused and this was no exception. While the automotive engineering aspect was different and more interesting with the students working on their project, it still felt repetitive.

This is not a drama that I would ever recommend anyone to watch. It has no substance and instead promotes toxic relationships as being hot. It uses steamy scenes to make up for the fact it is lacking in anything remotely genuine. At times it felt like an infomercial about gender equality, but I couldn't take it seriously because none of the couples, aside from Nuer and Syn, portrayed anything resembling a healthy and normal relationship. I highly recommend NOT wasting your time with this one.

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A Hot Mess!

Gosh, I don't even know where to start. This was one of my most anticipated BLs of this year, and I am so disappointed.
Let me start with the good. I adore Zee. I have been following him since Why R U? and he is literally why I was looking forward to this drama. His acting did not disappoint, and I was pleasantly surprised by NuNew. For a first-time actor, he did a great job. There were a couple of scenes where I felt like he could have delivered more, but overall them and the rest of the cast did a pretty good job acting-wise.

Another thing that actually led me to finish this instead of dropping it, is the side couple. Syn and Nuer. OMG. They are just the cutest lil beans I have ever seen in my life, and if I had to watch an entire drama of them just staring into each other eyes, I would!!!!

Finally, the music. I will be honest and say I don't know much about Thai music, but this drama introduced me to so many great songs that I have been listening to on repeat.

Now let's move on to the bad. The story was a complete mess! And honestly, calling it a storyline, is a bit of a stretch. The same plot was dragged and spun for the entire twelve episodes and the characters just kept lying and deceiving each other. Not to mention, the pacing was so hard to follow. I felt like I had no idea what was happening half the time. I get that the whole point of this drama was to watch them grow and learn to communicate, but I still feel like they haven't. In fact, this show had some of the most stagnant characters I have ever seen. There was little to no character development for both of them, in the end, they both found out each other's secrets, did nothing to resolve the miscommunication, and continued on in their lives like nothing was wrong, but NOTHING CHANGED! There are so many things that I felt went unaddressed. The show should have focused less on being preachy and more on actually writing a plot with substance.

Hot kissing scenes are always fun to watch, but it's not going to save a drama with a boring messy plot or boring stagnant characters. The saddest thing is, this had the potential to be so good. A stellar cast, a good budget, and an established fanbase. It had everything going for it. Unfortunately, it just couldn't deliver.

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Normalizing toxic relationships 101

This show is the worst thing I've watched in a while...
Why is it normalized that Diao and Kuea are literally SCARED of the people that should love them?
How are Kuea and Lian supposed to be close
childhood friends even though they can't have a conversation about anything else than their relationship? Don't they have any common interests?

The characters of this show are puppets, flatly written to somehow drive the barely existent "plot" to some fan service, (there are so many unnecessary kiss scenes!) and then slip into the next recycled filler material about how they betray and gaslight eachother. These relationships are so unhealthy!
I was also just disgusted by the way that Hia Yi and Hia Lian treat Kuea and Diao like they are their dogs, it was infuriating! Two of the few things they did right in the show were letting Kon Diao stand up for himself and having Kuea be determined to call off the engagement (Only at first unfortunately). The glaring problems in their relationships were rather ignored instead of actually solved.

Despite the weird premise of the show I was genuinely hoping that the main couples were going to develop a meaningful connection over time, but there was barely any development. In fact for example, instead of showing his rebellious side more as the show went on, it felt like Kuea adopted a part of the "Annabelle " mindset more and more as his real personality. Just saying yes, smiling, shallow sweet talk and ditching the last bit of depth his Character had, until his breakdown when Lian proposed to him (The only emotional moment, I could actually get invested in). But afterwards he quickly paddeled back into mindlessly
obeying Lian.

Onto the next problem: Yi and Lian seem always keen on making Diao and Kuea as dependent on them as possible, taking their autonomy and controlling them, which is being portrayed as cute and caring, but it is plain toxic.

The "friendship" between Yi and Lian was also very lackluster, when they were meeting up they always just seemed annoyed and were missing, like pretty much any relationship in the show, any real common interests apart from being business partners.
Fortunately at least Kon Diao and Kuea's friendship was overall supportive and one of the few positive parts in the series.

Side note: I do appreciate the effort the actors put into portraying the characters well, but even good actors can't save a badly written show.

The only romantic relationship that wasn't absurdly unhealthy was the one of Syn and Nuer, they seemed to actually be on one wave length and even though their relationship was also lacking depth, it was still very cute and worth watching.

I truly believe that this show was made for a kind of thirsty viewers who don't really care about the plot as long as there are plenty kissing scenes between two hot actors (even if the kisses don't really feel romantic), as this is the only way I can explain why this show isn't as widely called out for what it is:

(also tldr) A substance lacking excuse for kissing scenes with a plotline almost exclusively consisting of normalizing unhealthy relationships, a few good songs and 10 minutes of preachy dialogue in the beginning and end, that can't be taken seriously, because nothing said is actually reflected in the show.
They should have called this series "normalizing toxic relationships 101"

I'm very disappointed, what a waste of time!

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A Waste of Time

Honestly, this show was a huge letdown for me all around. The production value was great, the acting was overall pretty good, but the story? The relationships? A big, hot mess that never truly got solved by the end.

We can start with the positives. I liked the actors (for the most part— to be honest, New's crying scenes felt inauthentic at times), and the chemistry between the couples was pretty good. Not mind-blowing by any means, but enough for me to buy that they were actually attracted to each other. I loved pretty much all of the friendships, as well! Kuea and Kon-Diao were great best friends, and actually supported each other equally in a way I feel I hardly ever see in fiction. I also really enjoyed all of Kuea's school friends— they were hilarious and so much fun to watch on screen. And honestly, Syn and Nuer's little side relationship was the best-executed plotline in the whole show. The last positive was Foei, who was a side character that stole the scene every time he showed up; I enjoyed the comedy he brought immensely.

And now, the negatives. For starters, a lot of the storyline and plot felt very, very nonsensical. The arranged marriage aspect felt very forced, because there didn't seem to be an actual reason for Lian and Kuea to be arranged to be married. It was like the writers wanted to make us see that they were really in love and not actually being forced into marriage, even though that's the whole point of an arranged marriage plotline. There was also so much weirdness around how Lian and Kuea had known each other since Kuea was a baby, and yet at some point (we never find out when, because why would they ever give us any answers??) Kuea starts acting like a "perfect little doll" and hiding who he actually is. But it's also pointless because the viewer learns early on that Lian knows everything Kuea is trying to hide from him— so what is the point of Kuea hiding it? Why don't they ever just communicate about anything ever?

And that's not even starting on the mess that is the Yi/Diao plotline. Somehow, that one makes even less sense than Lian and Kuea's, since Yi and Diao aren't even together prior to the start of the show! It's weirdly written where it's made to look like Kuea and Diao are in the same situation of pining for their fiances while they think the Hias don't actually love them back, and yet it's not until way into the show that we find out that Yi and Diao aren't anything like that. And pretty much nothing about them and their situation is ever explained, presumably because the writers want to do a sequel series surrounding them.

In the end, the only way to enjoy this show is to just not think about anything and enjoy each scene for what it is rather than as it should be as part of an overall narrative. I wouldn't recommend watching it, as pretty much every other drama I've watched thus far has a more cohesive storyline with relationships that actually make sense.

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Cutie Pie? More like a sleep paralysis demon!

[I don't normally write reviews on MDL, since I'm easily influenced by my emotions and such reviews may not be helpful for most people. BUT!! Cutie Pie deserves one. If you're looking for a more impartial review, I recommend the one from @Purple Scenes]

TL; DR : Just don't. And if you do, know when to quit. I didn't.

STORY: 1/10

I will give it a symbolic one star for trying, since the premise sounds actually pretty interesting. Unfortunately, by the end of episode 2 it's all but buried. What comes after is inconsistent, boring, repetitive filler that's just vaguely separating all the fanservice and NC scenes. Progress comes and goes whenever director demands a skinship or dramatic tension. You can't consider any piece of information as established. Subplots are abandoned or explained insufficiently. If you're looking for an arranged marriage portrayal, it's not there. Neither is a dual personality of one of the main leads. There is no real push-and-pull dynamic between the MLs present, either.

There are 3 pairings in this drama - LianKuea, YiDiao and NuerSyn. The show focuses mostly on a relationship between Lian and Kuea, who portray a standard BL dynamic of seme and uke. Lian is a business man that's cold on the outside, but secretly cares deeply for his other half. Kuea, who is portrayed as a spoiled, bratty child with rebelious hidden side, is literally swept away by Lian. In fact, Lian cares for Kuea so deeply, he feels the need to know everything about Kuea! It's his sacred duty to decide what's best for Kuea at all times! Anything, just to give Kuea the perfect life his little doll deserves. I'm sure many of you can already see where they're going with it.

YiDiao is basically a slightly altered rehash of LianKuea. Yi is portrayed as more aggressive partner compared to Lian, while Diao is a more scared version of Kuea. At the start, we can see Diao shaking during all of his interactions with Hia Yi. For a reason that's poorly explained to audience later on, Diao lives mostly alone in Yi's house and needs to notify Yi by phone each time he steps out. Or hide from him. As their relationship progresses, Diao earns himself a curfew of 9 pm.

Neither of those relationships develop significantly in any capacity, other than their physical intimacy. Both major conflicts are "solved" in the last episode with less than 5 minute conversations that explain next to nothing. Those neverending cycles are all presented as simple miscommunication. And we still get a "happy" ending for both of them.

The last pairing, NuerSyn, is barely even worth mentioning. They have less than hour of overall screentime and no reason to be together at all. That said, they are the most healthy, unproblematic pairing in the show. Which can be partially explained by writers forgetting to do anything with them.



POTENTIAL TRIGGERS (with minor spoilers included) :

Age gap - both between actors and characters. Main two couples consist of older, successful men and their barely adult, (financially) dependent lovers.

Grooming - both couples knew each other since they were kids. The main couple was engaged to be married since their early teen years, while the situation for YiDiao is more unclear (they are meant to be engaged, but no real information was given in the series). Both Lian and Kuea talk about how they were preparing for the marriage.

Arranged marriage - this one doesn't bear much weight in the bigger picture and is mostly a cause of other triggers.

Power imbalance - Both Lian and Yi basically control the lives of Kuea and Diao. Starting with where they live, where they go and when they return, to spying on them, following them around and being able to influence their financial situations. Both Lian and Yi are trying to solve their relationship problems by giving Kuea and Diao gifts.

Gaslighting / Lying / Hiding information - Both Yi and Lian have a major secret that has the power to impact life of their partner. Kuea and Diao hide their interests from Lian and Yi in fear of being punished or rejected. Kuea questions how much Lian actually knows about his "hidden" side. Lian's trying to force Kuea into confessing his hobbies, while pretending to know nothing. And much more, but that could count as spoilers for the show.

Unclear (try non-existent) consent in romantic interactions between Lian and Kuea.

Basically, if you get triggered by any abusive behaviour or manipulation tactics, tread carefully. To make it even more disturbing, the show never addresses it: It's all presented as normal, romantic, or even hot! Major issues between the leads are waved away by a simple "miscommunication" excuse.



ACTING/CAST : 5/10

The roles didn't seem miscast to me. Actors are attractive and their skills are mostly good enough, so I barely notice any issues. Characters aren't really multilayered, though, no matter how much they try to convince you otherwise.

Zee alternates between blank face, evil smirk and puppy eyes.

Max is either aggressively angry or looks as if he's being eaten alive from inside. He also smiles, once or twice.

Taking into consideration it's NuNew's first role, he does fine (except from when he has to cry, which is often). Also, he does the most grating fake voice I've ever heard. Iconic!

Nat is overdramatic, but it kinda fits his role. I personally found it funny, but it might annoy you.



PRODUCTION VALUE / CINEMATOGRAPHY : 8/10

A lot of money was spent on this drama. Such a shame it was in all the wrong places. It looks really good and it sounds decent, if you are able to ignore everything that's happening .



MUSIC: 5/10 -> 6/10 post edit

Some of the songs are pretty good, especially "Change" (NuNew's original song I think) and "Just Being Friendly" (NuNew's cover of song by Tilly Birds Ft. MILLI ). The main OST is fine (around the same as other BLs). The rest of songs were boring to me, but not insultingly so.

Edit: The music got to me more, because youtube just won't stop pushing NuNew into BL OST playlists. Especially the ending song (Love) is now bearable. So I came here to up my "music" score in order for it to more reflect my new situation. That said, I like to waste time on stupid stuff, so I decided to rank all of the ost songs I found and decide. Here are the results:

My Cutie Pie (main OST - 7.5), Change (9), How you feel (5.5), Be Yours (5), Always You (3), Alone (3), Suddenly (3), I Feel Your Love (Dead 0. This song makes me icky, sorry. I would have liked it more if it wasn't used at all), First Date (3), Just Being Friendly (9), Love (7.5 - the major ending event song ). The mean score comes to 5.045454545. I'm not petty enough to raise the score by 0.045454545 points, especially after all that time I spent looking for the songs. So, let's give it a 6. Out of 11 songs, I only really love 2, and one of those is a cover. I kinda like another 2, one of them cover. I could bear 2 more, but they are sort of a nothing burger. The rest is just boring and generic sap.


REWATCH VALUE : 1/10

I don't recommend you to watch it even once, let alone a second time. There are plenty of shows that look good. Plenty of songs that sound good. If you want to watch the NC scenes, there are bound to be plenty of edits being made. It might be worth it to wait for fan compilation of the third pairing, though, if there is one.



OVERALL : 1/10

If I could have given it a lower score, I would. In my personal opinion, this show should have never been made. It's unhealthy in a way that's dangerous to the whole BL community. There is no climax, no point, no meaning. Nothing. I'm not even sure they had a script to begin with. It feeds entirely off fanservice (which only got WAY WAY worse after the drama ended), cute visuals, and above average soundtrack. It's boring. It's tiring. It's uncomfortable. It's trying to take a high moral ground by promoting equality for all of 15 minutes, which is just plain pathetic, considering how the show itself handles the relationships. Even hate-watching it gets old very quickly. In short, I consider Cutie Pie a failure in every way that counts for a viewer.

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