Step by Step (2023)

some of y’all are harsh

this drama doesn’t deserve nearly the amount of hate it gets. is it the best thing ever? no, not by any stretch. however when there are dramas that excuse literal sexual assault, calling this the worst bl ever isn’t fair in my opinion.

if you’re not into slow burn this one isn’t going to be for you. but honestly i think that was evident in the title: step by step.

let’s start with what i didn’t like to get it out of the way. the pacing and time given to certain storyline’s wasn’t the best. spending that much time on jaab and jen only to give no resolute ending to them was in fact a choice. it’s clear the writers tried to pack in too much. in that regard i understand the frustration.

the production at times was admittedly messy. two characters in the same room with completely disparate audio quality. it often sounded like they recorded at different times. shaky camera work here and there. music cutting off abruptly to an almost jarringly silent background.

the other common critiques i can’t get as far behind however. i liked that our mains were realistically flawed. i don’t think what we ended up seeing was no character growth. growing as a person isn’t about never making mistakes or even never repeating those mistakes, it’s about acknowledging when you do. which was one of the biggest take aways of step by step - and i think they did that well. i personally don’t want characters who never do or say stupid things. especially when they’re young or come from extremely sheltered backgrounds. i want them to talk about it and find a common ground which pretty much all our characters succeeded at in the end.

i also greatly appreciated their critiques of the bl industry and the shippers. it was good to see an acknowledgement that whilst they use bl couples to sell products the company heads are often very homophobic and that the general public doesn’t like any gay couple if it conflicts with the marketed ship. a nice follow on from lovely writers’ criticisms imo.

again i understand that the agonisingly slow push and pull of it isn’t for everyone, but there are plenty of snappy bls where the mains get together by episode 5. i liked being dragged along by my back hairs personally. the one thing i will say is the breakup in episode eleven felt unnecessary. the conversation about them not always communicating in the most conducive way could have happened without them spending two years apart, but i digress.

all that paired with a cast of really likeable side characters i would absolutely rewatch this

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Semi-interesting story but with poor chemistry and bad directing

I started watching this after having seen a summary on YouTube which caught my interest.

The story per se is not bad, although a bit cliché. The department manager and heir of a big company and an employee fall for each other - misunderstandings ensue, drama emerges and generally K-drama proceeds as expected. So far so good.

First let me start with the positive things: all characters evolve in a manner which is not usual in such dramas. The plot has all the necessary ingredients to make a great drama.

However, and now come the negative things: the said elements simply do not work. They seem like random scenes thrown together in a way that they are completely disjoint. There is no read threat in the plot. Certain scenes do not fit, while others would fit if there weren't so large logical gaps between them. The lead characters (Pat and Jeng) come from completely different worlds. So different, that all their interactions seem dissociated from the story told. There is not enough going on to justify what is being told. One minute cry-baby Pat rejects his Boss because he still needs to find out his feelings (while he himself effectively plays around with his ex), and the next minute they divulge each other in the car. Mr. Perfect (Jeng) changes from a stern, hated by his employees manager into a respected team leader. Super rich, successful, handsome (like spending 3 hours in the gym on a daily basis), living in a super maisonette with his totally immature little brother (who undulates between subversiveness and independence, himself an innocent boy and at the same time a game player), excellent cook, who spends time to develop a recipe that suits Pat's taste buds, when he sees him saying he does not like celery. The gap is too large, and the causality of his actions simply is unbelievable. One detail that kept confusing me is also the time intervals between scenes. Sometimes something takes place the day after and sometimes a month or two later, and this is not made clear enough.

One last negative thing is the chemistry between the two main leads. I am anything but convinced that they develop feelings for each other. I guess, after having watched countless Bl dramas (I probably should find another hobby LOL) with actors who couldn't be better suited for each other, this one falls rather short. It is also their total incompatibility, mature vs. young, tall, full of muscles and totally manly vs. rather boyish, super rich vs. middle class, super clever and talented vs. more normal, good cook with his own restaurant vs bad cook (although son of a cook), I can go on for ever. The gap is really unbridgeable, and their initial encounter (when they still do not know who the other is) simply to short to develop such feelings. Everything seems forced and unrealistic.

I am not sure where to attribute all these flaws... Don't get me wrong, the series does not suck or anything, it simply is produced at a rather amateurish level.

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Cliche BL Set In Office

**Brief Synopsis**
B (Employee): Pat
T (CEO): Jeng

- Beginning: B is a new employee at T’s company. He meets T for the first time when he spilt coffee on him. T notices B way before B notices him. From the very start, T finds B interesting and slowly develops a crush on him. However, he is his manager so he tries to keep his crush a secret by being very strict with him.

- Middle: Despite trying his best at keeping a distance, he is still unable to resist getting closer to B and starts finding ways to spend time with him outside work. At first B is very nervous around him, believing him to be serious and strict and scary but after a while, he relaxes and starts to like him as well. After B suffers a heartbreak, T finally decides this is his chance and asks him out. His first confession is rejected because B doesn’t believe he is serious (as T is rich and handsome while B is just normal), but after some thought and advice from a friend, he decides to give it a chance. They started dating.

- End: But before they could have their happy ending, another obstacle comes their way. People have seen B and T being intimate so rumours that B had slept his way to a promotion began circulating around the company. B wants to cool it off for a while but T doesn’t want to discuss it. But when B finds out that T has kept an extremely big secret regarding his job from him, he is deeply hurt, breaks it off with T and leaves the company. Some times later, he finds himself face to face with T again, this time to collaborate on a new project. By that time, B has realized that perhaps he had misunderstood T and deeply regrets breaking up with him. He goes to see T and begs for a second chance, which T gives. The show ends with them together again.

**My Opinion**

WHAT I LIKED ABOUT IT:
- I really like the characters, especially the one playing T. He is really good at playing the manager and everything about him is just so sophisticated. B on the other hand is awkward and adorable. I really like this kind of pairing and have been rooting them on since the beginning and wondering just what T will be like once he starts dating B.
- Although still a little dramatized, I found the depiction of the workplace to be rather accurate. I’m glad they showed B dealing with being a new employee and T finding ways to support him even if they aren’t lovers yet.
- I really like the acting. The actors did a great job at portraying the affection between the two characters. They also did a great job at being what their characters were supposed to be. As for the supporting cast, their acting was okay as well.
- I really liked the concept of this show and for what it’s worth, I think the concept was pretty well executed. The pacing was a little too slow for my taste but the story flowed well.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE ABOUT IT:
- The plot is cliche and predictable. I have tried guessing what would happen multiple times and has guessed right every time. There is a set formula for these types of stories and this show falls within that formula.
- There were times when the dialogue was just a little bit too much, too awkward in mind but those moments are few so that’s okay.
- There aren’t enough intimate scenes, just two, but they are pretty well shot and moderately hot.
- Miscommunication is used as source for angst. B left without giving T any chances to explain, breaking off with him and disappearing. It is an overused cliche.
- Denying the other person’s feelings because you think they are better than you and shouldn’t like you is also often used as source of angst.
- The length is also something I didn’t like. It’s just way too long for no reason. I felt there were a lot of padding in the sense you can skip forward and still not get lost. Less attention could have been given to other pairings or other events and slim down the run time.
- Despite the long run time, I felt their relationship lacks buildup. We have no idea why T liked B in the first place and why B suddenly liked T when he was obviously deep in like with another guy just then. It felt more like T is B’s rebound, cheapening their relationship a little bit.
- Although I know it’s intentional they were written that way, I really didn’t like the other women in that department. They don’t seem to do anything and cause trouble with their gossip and yet they are not punished.
- Sometimes B feels too soft. Although B’s reaction is probably realistic but since he is a character, I would have loved to see him with a backbone. Luckily, he does seem to become more confident thanks to T.

**Conclusion**
An OK watch but probably won’t be revisiting.

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If you're into fast-paced and sexy scene heavy BLs, this ain't for you lol

I never thought I'd ever write a review about a series, but I have the biggest urge to defend this series. First off, finally a drama that focuses on showing what irl working looks like and not just prancing around pretending to do something important by just using big words LMAOO. Everything about the office and on-site work plot I absolutely loved it and highly recommend to people who want to know what working in corporate as a young fresher looks like. The plot. I do have to admit it is a bit slow-paced but I am into slow-burn so I didn't mind lol.

Second; the cast. Everyone did an amazing job in this series, hands down some of the best acting I've seen in a while. Trust me fr cause I watch tons and tons of Bl dramas all year round. I do have to say that P'Man was my favourite in this, he has proved himself as a very talented actor. It is so hard to act by just your facial expressions, but he did such an amazing job, especially in the crying and pining scenes. Typically the bl tops are portrayed as "too tough to break down/ be vulnerable", but his character was so on point with showing his emotions and being so raw about it. He deserves more recognition honestly. But the cast for Pat, Chot, Ae, Jaab, Jen, Kanun they all slayed as well!

Third; the characters. The chemistry was chemistrying for sure. The main leads were adorable and so were the supports as well. I often find people saying the characters didn't have any "real" obstacles like a homophobic mother or toxic ex or sabotaging 2nd lead etc. But I think everyone should take a step back and realise that being human in itself is an obstacle for being in a relationship lol. Not saying these factors don't make sense, but I feel like even in "straight/gay/lgbtq" relationships its the individual's emotions that usually drives the decision and not these things. When you are confused about your feelings about someone, or when you're insecure in yourself and think less of yourself in comparison to another person, or when you're helplessly in love but can't be with that person due to practical reasons: these are all equally valid reasons and circumstances as any homophobia or scheming ex. I do admit that the character of Pat is dumb sometimes, but he's human, we're designed to be dumb LOL. So realistically speaking I think this series did a good job with all their characters, and Chot and Ae are so fun I loved them to bits!

Overall I'd say that if you're used to seeing things escalate from like the 2nd ep itself then you'll meed a lot of patience to watch this. Highly recommend this, do watch this if this review interests you lol ><

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This Was Supposed To Be A Glowing Review

I am acearo but I am now also desparately in love with Man. The amount of times I said "goddamn," in response to his mannerisms cannot be counted– he exudes attractiveness, and I normally only find people pretty at best. Chot is a perfect character, I wish Chot was in every scene, but I am biased here as well as I have been ferociously interested in Bruce since Lovely Writer. Up until episode 8 or 9 this was an almost perfect series to me and I intended my review to be a dissertation on how wrong it is that the rating is 7.1. Obviously, my rating now is now far below that, so let's get into it.

Pat is uniquely irritating. He cries at the drop of a hat, is never in the wrong despite always being the problem, and generally manages to make every issue excruciating to watch. I do not like the character. I actually did at first because he had a lot of pizazz and determination, but that kinda disappeared around the halfway mark.

The storyline gets more disjointed as the show progresses and, at some point, it feels distinctly like the writers forgot their own plotlines. The coworkers (Ying especially) are gossipy, mean, and basically bully Pat and then they all chat happily at badminton?? Jen tells Jaab he'll stay away from him and then....doesn't. Like at all. Not even for one scene. Jaab tells Jen they should stay friends but last we saw them, Jaab was still 300% cooked for Jen and we get no insight as to why he suddenly decided not to go for it. Actually, speaking of JaabJen, I've never been so disappointed by a formerly interesting couple. Up through the kiss, I was invested in them. Right after the party when Jaab for some reason decides to shoot himself in both feet, I had to force myself not to skip through their following scenes right through to the end. It was just so stupid, entirely unwarranted, and woefully under-explained.

The entirety of the Jeng's dad plotline was meh. Put was.....there? I was kind of indifferent to him (I love Up, so he was at least nice to see) and the story around him and Pat, especially after he's shown caring only about Pat, then taking him for granted the moment they get together, then caring only about Pat again once they're apart. He felt more like a plot device than a character. I really want to disparge Pat more right now, but we'd be here all day.

Jeng is perfect, I have nothing bad to say. except maybe he should leave Pat and the company and just vibe at his restaurant.

Tbh, I had a feeling that, to maintain my high rating, I should've just stopped at episode ten because we all know how ep. 11 goes, but I chose my path because Man is not in any other BLs and I do not like him enough to subject myself to any form of not-queer media. I enjoyed how much of the office we saw and the maturity (read: this is not the right word) of the characters (bar Pat and like, all the side character coworkers). It's rare to have older characters be the focus of a BL so I really appreciated it in this series— not being in high-school, college, or fresh out of school is really a blessing for this genre.

The music was okay at first but once the waterworks kicked off (so much fucking crying is2g) it got irritating hearing the sad piano all the damn time. The acting was ok to good. I can see why people might be underwhelmed with Man's acting, I thought he was good though, provided he wasnt trying to act sad. Pat was good provided he wasnt crying or being dramatic or speaking. Chot was perfection, as was Ae and her husband.

I will probably rewatch this, but really just for Bruce and Man, so make of that what you will. Maybe worth one watch if you stop at episode 10 before the bs. 3000% worth multiple watches if you drop it around episode 8. I actually like that the episodes were long, I didnt really get bored, but I always watch everything at at least 1.5x so.

I am once again trying not to hate on Pat but dear lord he is the entire reason this show went to shit. Like even the bullshit storyline between JaabJen has nothing on how annoying Pat's character was. I hate that he was babied throughout the show; everyone can hear mean or realistic things except Pat. But Pat is the one who needs the reality check the most. I had a lot of sympathy when he was being bullied at the office but the moment it stopped he became one of the most insufferable characters I've ever had the displeasure of watching, and I've watched some real garbage. Pat's character feels like the type of person to show up to a wedding in white and then cry when they're reprimanded. Just spoiled and self-centered. My rating was actually still a reluctant 7 until episode 12, at which point Pat wore through my already hair-thin tolerance and I dropped it. What a waste of good potential. Tbh, I'd give this a 9 if Jeng didn't take Pat back. Fuck Pat fr.

Thats about it. This started great and then shot its own feet until it was just mediocre.

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Never again. So many people hype it up giving it the attention it hasn't earned. The characters were unbearable, I skipped more than watching it. The interaction that Pat had with his colleague was the only bit I enjoyed as they got to be themselves with no expectations or worries. The ex was interesting as he seemed the silent type, never thought he would threaten Jeng but hey do we really know anyone? Don't fully understand why they broke up in the first place. The ending was so confusing as there was lack of communication making it so awkward to watch forced conversations

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A THAI VERSION OF UNINTENTIONAL LOVE STORY AS THEIR NEXT PROJECT?!!

I enjoyed most of the series until about the end of episode 10, but episode 11 and the beginning of episode 12 were pretty disappointing. Some of the crying scenes really did not need to make the cut so I think that the script itself needed some work. It seemed that emotional scenes might have been a bit difficult for Ben to get into. However, I think that Ben has great potential as an actor and since this was his first project, I'm sure he's improved with some practice. Now that he's probably more comfortable with his partner Man, he's very likely to do much better in his next project with him. If they work together again in another series, I think they would be a good pair for a Thai remake of the Korean series "Unintentional Love Story". Man would be a perfect Yoon Tae Joon with a serious demeanor. And Ben would be a great, cheerful, and animated version of Ji Won Young.

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O passo a passo de como ser uma péssima série.

Comecei a ver Step by Step através da recomendação de uma amiga. Assistíamos separadamente e depois comentávamos uma com a outra o que tínhamos achado do episódio, mas depois de um tempo acabamos desistindo. O motivo? A série ficou super (e quando eu digo super, é super mesmo) arrastada. Chata. Sem vida.

Ok, vamos começar pelo casal principal: Man Trisanu, o ator do Jeng, infelizmente carregou o casal nas costas. Não apenas no quesito de romance, mas também de atuação: o Ben Bunyapol, ator do Pat, é uma porta. Eu juro. Eu tentava de todas as formas simpatizar com o protagonista, mas não conseguia. A história do personagem, em si só, não tem nada de especial, então o ator não conseguir transmitir um pouco de emoção que seja realmente não ajuda na conexão com a série. Eu realmente não quero parecer grosseira ou fazer parecer que estou atacando o ator, mas juro, se eu contasse nos dedos quantas vezes o coitado teve que espremer os olhos com toda a força para tentar (e apenas tentar, porque não conseguiu) fazer uma lágrima cair, me faltariam dedos. Nos pés e nas mãos.

Quanto aos outros personagens, não ficam muito para trás: se eu fosse reclamar de todos eles separadamente, acredite, minha resenha ficaria enorme. Jaab parece que está bêbado em todas as cenas, Jane é insuportável e Chot é chato, mas se salva em alguns momentos. Os únicos personagens que não me irritaram em algum momento da trama foram Ying, Nan e Khanun.

Sobre a história: o intuito era mostrar as diversas etapas de um relacionamento, mas enrolaram tanto que a série ficou arrastada e perdeu grande parte do público. Parei de assistir no episódio 10, até que me forcei (literalmente) a assistir até o final. A trama estava tão cansativa que coloquei na velocidade de reprodução 2 para não ter que pular tudo, mas se eu soubesse que o final seria tão ruim, teria feito como minha amiga e ido direto para o último episódio, não iria perder nada.

Step by Step com certeza não foi apenas minha grande decepção do ano, mas também do universo dos BLs. Tinha de tudo para ser uma boa série, mas se perdeu no meio do caminho. Se você quer uma dica, procure por outros BLs de escritório, você vai encontrar outros que valham a pena — porque esse, infelizmente, não é um deles.

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A bl with huge potential fell flat due to poor execution

Well I am going to come straight to the point and jot down the positive points first
1. This was a bl with immense potential cuz it had actors with extremely good visuals. Plus the actor who played Mr Jeng was on point with his mannerisms and expressions. I loved the character.
2. There were scenes that honestly made me laugh. No sarcasm I really did laugh and giggle.
3. I loved few side characters like Chot and I really wish they make a sequel of him and Krit his partner falling in love 8 years back.
4. The bl was realistic in many ways how toxic office culture is.
But that's it I guess.
Now comes the reason why this fell flat
1. There was no binding agent in the various sub plots. Some items didn't even mean sense as to why they were added.
2. Mr Jeng is the only round character who had a change in his personality and although it's being said that Pat has become more mature, his constant whinning infront of his colleagues was heavily unrealistic and honestly irritating, which ultimately makes him a flat character that never changes throughout.
3. The actor playing Pat has to go through a lot of acting classes to be able to perfect the role of Pat cuz even if you're a fresher, at one point you don't break down and cry in front of colleagues even if you're being fired. You express your disappointment through subtle expressions and words, not by letting your snot drool over your face.
4. I didn't realise this was a mature bl until the very end episodes. In the first episodes, it seemed there was chemistry but it severely lacked in the middle and even in the end in the bed scenes. Man aka Mr Jeng did his best to bring the chemistry but unfortunately only one actor cannot drag the entire show.
5. The intimacy was too sudden. Why Pat couldn't believe Me Jeng liked him and why he suddenly started liking him was beyond me. Gay men have a radar where was that. We never had our bosses running us favors even as women and even if they do we get the hint.
Basically, the direction was at loss. Screenwriters were being misled to make sure there were enough scenes for promoting the drinks and what not. As a director, one must know how to make art and make profits alongside. I feel bas for the plot really had high potential to be a super hot drama.

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Drama mediano que poderia ter sido muito melhor

Tinha tudo para ser ótimo.
O Man tem uma das melhores atuações do drama, mas, em contrapartida, o personagem Pat é terrivelmente imaturo e dramático, transformando a relação dos dois em algo cansativo de assistir.
Os personagens de apoio são ótimos, com destaque para a Ae e para o Chot.
A história de amor do Jaab e do Jane foi muito mal construída, confusa. Entendo que talvez queiram fazer drama só para eles, mas acho que não valeria, pois foram muito mal desenvolvidos.
O próprio casal principal teve um desenvolvimento raso. Boa parte da história se passa no escritório com conflitos de trabalho. A relação mais aproximada e "apaixonante" do Jeng e do Pat só floresce após muitos episódios. Enfim, poderia ter sido bem, bem melhor. O que considero uma pena, pois alguns personagens realmente tinham muito potencial, como o Jeng.

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I had to make up my own mind ...

There were such wildly mixed reviews of this show among BL friends in my community that I had to watch it myself to decide. And overall ... I liked it and admired what it tackled and how.
SUPERVISOR/SUBORDINATE DYNAMIC - First of all, I usually hate this plot, which sucks for me since it seems that so many Asian dramas love this premise. This, along with the high school kid and older person always gives me the ick because of the obvious power imbalances. Usually, I have to let this go while watching and just pretend it's a fantasy or that both are colleagues, not manager/employee, but it can be challenging. What I liked about this series is that even though it seemed to romanticize this at first, it did not lose the plot. Eventually, the real issues inherent in this dynamic came to a head and had to be addressed ... in multiple ways. It made the ick feel so much better. And in the end, the power dynamic was nullified to be a non-issue, so I felt better about shipping them.
INTERIORITY - I really loved how much we got of both characters and their private lives. Not some half-a**ed trauma flashback and extreme phobia. They both had issues that were ingrained and present from the start, persisted throughout the series, and was cause the 11th-hour breakup. It's perhaps one of my favorite BL breakups because I felt it made complete sense. I identified with the injuried party so much. Praise to Man and Ben for having to tackle so many emotionally nuanced scenes. While some may think Ben had to cry too much as Pat, I related to how he felt too much sometimes and had problems regulating his emotions because he cares so deeply about doing good work. I've been there!
SUPPORTING CAST - I loved seeing so many Lovely Writer favorites return, and in different ways. Up as the ex Put wasn't just a 2D cardboard cutout mean ex but someone who had his own faults and was slightly sad because of them. I almost didn't recognize Kenji as Toh ... and I felt he was underutilized. Zorzo was so fun as Ae, especially when she was paired with Bruce as Chot -- yay he got to play such a fun character this time around! They even gave redemption to one previously annoying character Ying. What a loveable bunch. ... But this brings us to a failure...
2ND COUPLE -- As many have said, Jaab & Jen's storyline had so much potential, but wasn't given any sort of resolution. Even if there's an idea of continuing their story later in a short or something, I felt we were still left hanging. One extra scene could've left viewers from feeling so unmoored. That said, they had a very hot kiss, and I think that's one reason we were left hanging on this.
UNDERSTATED HUMOR - While Chot and Ae gave me the best moments, there were a couple really unexpected, fun things that happened that made me actually laugh out loud with how real it was. One involved MLM, and if you've ever been on the receiving end of that pitch, you may also admire Pat's swift evasion strategy.
TIMELINE - There are maybe 2 major timejumps that happen. One is less obvious but once you notice one character's body changes then you can follow. This is more of a timelapse than a timejump, but because of this it may not be that obvious. I wasn't too confused but some sort of time markers would've been better. The second time jump I felt was absolutely earned and necessary. That said, because of that, I needed more from the 2nd Couple.
WORKPLACE DETAILS - I love workplace dramas where they actually work and we can see the ins and outs, the challenges, the strategries. Start-Up and Forecasting Love and Weather are both k-dramas that do that well. Lovely Writer was more about the industry than the work, but that still was fun. This one lets you in on the many levels of digital marketing, from concept, audience and budget to slideshow, pitch and execution. There's an element of entertainment in here also because they use influencers, and of course a bit of meta commentary about BL (although not as strong as in Lovely Writer). I love this ish! Only downside -- there was a bit TOO much office gossip & meanness at the beginning to the point it felt cartoonish. The thing is, I've dealt with narcissistic bosses, being used for being reliable, being underestimated, passed over or worse -- had accusations lobbed at me. So yes, there's definitely a truth to it.
PARENTS - As with in Lovely Writer, I think this series does intergenerational relationships well. Pat's parents were fully realized people .. while Jeng's was, well, a villain. That felt true to how Jeng's issues though. Some interesting scenes with Pat's parents, and their divorce is never judged.

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