beta
You know what, I think the reason why almost everyone dislike season 2 is not because of Brian. I have several theories:
1. The changes of MC
We are first introduced to Ian as the main character, But suddenly in season 2, in the flashback, the main character changed to Brian. I'm sure a lot of people aren't ready for that because they already attached to Ian. "But they are the same person". Nope, their souls may be the same, but they are different people. Even Ian doesn't like it when he was compared to Brian.
2. Transition from S1 to S2
The transition from season 1 to season 2 was kinda...bad and not smooth. S1 ended with a cliffhanger of the conflict between Soleite and Ian. It's hard to enjoy S2 without thinking about what would happen in the current timeline. It was as if Ian's worries had come true. Now we are faced with the fact that Brian-Soleite's relationship is better and stronger bond than Soleite-Ian's, and Ian's insecurity that Brian is a "better person" than him is true.
3. As in the previous point, this story is supposed to be about "Ian", the reincarnation of Brian. And as a result of the past story being too detailed, Brian's character overshadows Ian. And I think telling the story of the past condensed into one season is not clever. IF the flashback was only about 20 chapters and the rest was told bit by bit interspersed with the main story, maybe people's response would be better. I love this analogy by an account with username Nikki in the comments:
"This is the equivalent to being happily married, then an old friend of your spouse's sits down and starts rambling on about how GREAT your husband's ex was, what a WONDERFUL and INTELLIGENT and CHARMING and ACCOMPLISHED person they were, and that the ONLY REASON they didn't work out was because their family moved across country or some shit."
I don't know how the author will develop Ian without bringing Brian along(impossible). Because I don't think the author is that cruel to make Ian's character disappear, considering that Ian's insecurity towards Brian was one of the big plot points in season 1. And again, I'm not the author and I still don't know the continuation of the story. So I will continue to support the author and continue following this manhwa. buy the official chapters on Tappytoon if you can, guys!