Very well put. The tone direction is wayyy off. The better path to take would have been Mok healing by himself before he meets Nano again. If the author was just making angsty romance, they could have done it. But they shoowd a realistic depiction of declining mental health so why not fully commit rather than just dipping toes into everything.
FOR REAL! I’m actually so disappointed. I built up way too much hype in my head and set my expectations sky-high... honestly, it’s probably my own fault from the start for expecting the author to actually dive deep into the psychological stuff and give us proper, complex character analysis.
Y'all don't read the author's notes and it shows. Where did she even mention this will be a psychological, slice of life deep story? The first season was literally mostly about a threesome. This is supposed to be a black comedy with two damaged and imperfect characters. Why we got to see Mok's traumatic past and him spiraling out of control the past few chs(a small introduction of who he is and his reasons). That doesn't mean this was supposed to go the therapy/deep self reflection crap y'all being screaming about. It's supposed to be about one idiot, sadistic and dramatic top and his equally questionable bottom and their damaged and weird relationship, nothing more nothing else.
What are you being so defensive about? "It's supposed to be black comedy" well it's failing then cuz there was nothing comedic the whole of first season. Just turning characters into chibis won't make a work dark comedy lmao. Ik the author didn't mean for this to be psychological-- I literally stated that they dipped their toes into everything. And you are just lying to yourself and everyone else if you think this work WON'T pull people to talk about the psychological aspects of it-- it clearly tried to depict declining mental health. All I said was that that I think the romance should be after Mok gets some self healing for both Nanjo and his own benifit, which is an opinion I can have for myself and there's no logic in you getting all mad about it when people discuss or bother in critising some aspects of a story-- it means they usually like it u know.
Oh and I notice that people who talk like you always like to act like Mok and Nanjo are equal in their faults... "Equally questionable" bro.
At the end of the day, I only care about what’s right in front of me and what’s actually being shown in the storytelling. And what I saw was a manhwa with SO much wasted potential…it could’ve delivered such a masterclass on healing and mental recovery. I wasn't even asking for a miracle, literally just something engaging enough to read!
Clearly, I just expected way more than what this manhwa is actually capable of delivering, and honestly, it is what it is. I’m not throwing a fit, I’m just sharing my opinion that I’m disappointed and that’s totally valid.
Agreed! I love this but would've loved it even more if they had maintained the tone. Like, the season opening was a banger. Was anticipating a lot. Today's update wasn't as bad as the last tho. Still feels a kinda light-hearted, yeah.
That’s exactly what I meant. I just expected the season to take a more… I wouldn’t say darker, but maybe more serious direction from the start? I was hoping they wouldn’t have Mok and Nanjo meet again until Mok had actually come to terms with the fact that, in his current state, he doesn’t deserve Nanjo, that the way he loves him isn’t healthy, and that he genuinely needs to work on himself and become a better person if he wants the kind of love and acceptance he’s longing for.
I just wanted Mok to heal because he acknowledged his own mistakes and flaws and genuinely wanted to change, rather than Nanjo’s love being the only thing that "heals" him without him going through some actual process of self-reflection or recovery first.
But maybe the author is going to explore all of that as the story progresses, just in a much lighter way than I expected. Idk
And honestly, I don’t get why people get so pressed whenever someone shares a different interpretation or idea. At the end of the day, we’re all reading the same manhwa because we like it. Nobody’s here trying to drag the work or say it’s bad or anything. We’re literally just discussing it （￣へ￣）
And it's pretty nice to have in-depth discussions like this!! I've been saying this from the beginning- only people with emotional maturity should read this as to not reduce it down to a story revolving around threesomes... It's sexy as hell AND an important part that's actually significantly tied to the plot, hello!!?
I genuinely agree with everything you have pointed out and would've loved to see how the characters were processing the catastrophic ending of S1 (which we get a from Mokyeon's POV only to take a nose dive). From how Nanjo was in today's update, I feel that MAYBE he is going to start being protective of Mokyeon (as he is very clearly in a vulnerable state) in the way he was of Sunhwa because he thought Sunhwa needed it. Not with the same intensity yet, but I think that might be one of the ways he'll actually stick by Mokyeon's side and maybe that's the exhibit the author is taking. Not sure yet. But first, please, Mokyeon needs HELP.
FR, not everyone is mentally prepared to get how deep this manhwa actually is on a psychological level! Like, even if the author doesn't fully lean into it, the fact that these characters are literally walking psychiatric cases is reason enough for us to have deep breakdowns and to feel let down when the plot takes an unexpected turn.
Calling this manhwa a "dark comedy"?? I was genuinely shocked, like... ARE YOU SERIOUS?! I haven't seen a single drop of comedy in this whole story..except maybe the burger chapter in S1 and the last two chs of S2, and honestly, I don't even count those as comedy. They're just light, low-stakes filler panels.
S1 was entirely built on a toxic threesome (which is inherently unhinged to begin with), two tops with massive miscommunication that spiraled into blackmail and coercion (not assault in the literal sense, but physical encounters with zero genuine consent).
Then Mok took his desperate craving for Nanjo's body and his exposed vulnerability behind that cold demeanor, and twisted it into a full-blown obsessive fixation and stalking; tightening the leash on Nanjo with escalated threats.
Meanwhile, Nanjo is a top used to be a straight guy stuck in absolute denial about his own submission, carrying a massive savior complex with a total mystery-box personality where you never know what he’s actually thinking.
Then S2 kicks off super dark and painful, serving us Mok’s tragic backstory, showing his mental, physical, and psychological spiral, his unhealthy obsession... only to culminate in a suicide attempt, and then resetting right back to square one with the desperate stalking.
How am I supposed to view this as just some lighthearted dark comedy?! The character writing here is so deep and fully deserves proper analysis. I have every right to feel disappointed when it suddenly pivots into a fluffy, lighthearted vibe and starts thawing the ice between them without giving Mok any REAL character growth.
I need his healing arc to actually involve him owning up to his mess, paying the price, and actively fighting through therapy…not just an apology and a mental breakdown, if you catch my drift.
And honestly, I think your theory is spot on! Nanjo might actually start trying to understand Mok properly now, especially since he’s doubting his past judgment of him. Seeing how frail Mok is both mentally and physically, he’ll probably start sympathizing with him in his own way.
Exactly I loved the depth of the characters in- they're all their own person, shaped by their experiences (as we see with Mokyeon) and it's beautiful. I've been really excited for this as I started reading this without any expectations and realised the depth of things a few chapters in everything is so bland and robotic and stiff these days. The dark comedy comment was so funny I burst out laughing. Just because the characters are sometimes casual or having a light moment doesn't make it as much as a dark comedy as the plot is making it a deep, psychological series. It's actually more of the latter than the former than it could ever be...
The over-saturation of mindless, repetitive tropes in the bl scene is desensitizing so many readers. They're a form of brainrot. Well, anyway. I can't tell if I want to see Nanjo's pov. On one hand, I AM interested in what he's thinking. On the other, I feel like the way the tone has shifted, we might get a silly pov which would entirely ruin the character Nanjo's established himself as so far. And also! So agree that an apology isn't cutting it! He needs to get better...
tbh, BL tropes these days have gotten so insufferably stale and hollow. Everything just relies on mindless smut and toxic dynamics for cheap views. Even though this manhwa was built on a purely sexual premise from the jump, it actually gave us real psychological depth and human nuance..which is exactly why I put my hopes so high.
And about Nanjo’s POV? Yeah, count me out too. If the author drops his POV right now, it’s just gonna be him realizing his feelings are shifting towards Mok and lowkey accepting that he’s falling for him. We’re definitely not getting the deep psychological or intellectual insight we could’ve had back in S1.
What I actually want is a backstory reveal showing what triggered his savior complex in the first place. Just dive into his past traumas, not his current play-by-play thoughts on the situation. Honestly, I’ve already accepted that the whole manhwa is anchored in Mok’s perspective anyway.
I honestly don't even know why I'm disappointed with the direction this manhwa is taking. Like, I don't even want any angst or heavy drama, but I still wish the author had actually given the grief, the burnout, and that total loss of will to live the time it deserved to breathe.
She definitely rushed the pacing..probably because she wants to wrap it up in two seasons like she mentioned before (unless she changes her mind). We literally drained all our sadness and empathy earlier on, back at the start of S2 with his tragic backstory, his mental and physical decline, and finally his suicide attempt... only for the plot to suddenly shift into this kinda soft, fluffy, lighthearted vibe.