This is the second vertical AI BL drama I've sat through, and honestly I went in knowing better. I had it on while I was doing cardio at the gym, and what struck me was just how much the plot echoed the last one I watched. Same step brother romance angle, same mystery girlfriend showing up near the end, same extra guy pining after one of the leads. Genuinely the only thing going for it was the runtime, the whole thing wrapped up in forty five minutes flat. The setup kicks off with Finn moving schools because his mom just married into money. He finds out his new step brother Aiden goes to the same place, and he's warned to keep his distance from him. Their first run in at school is rocky, just like you'd expect, but there's this odd pull between them neither can shake off. Finn keeps telling himself not to read into it because Aiden's straight and openly homophobic. Things shift when some kids start bullying Finn and the student council president, Ryan, steps in to ...
Jesse, 16 year old, is one troubled kid. He cuts school, goes to bar, has somewhat of a regular thing with a gay couple because he likes being used, sells his sleeping pills, had ADHD, curses at his shrink and overall a very difficult kid. To make matters interesting, he is an adopted kid who doesn't' get along well with his mother at all and has recently been contacted by her birth mother and then by the birth father causing all kinds of emotional upheavals in his already turbulent life. Jesse and the therapist have an interesting dynamic. Their relationship feels more like angry-father to angry-son than like therapist to patient. The session builds tension-- you think the two of them might fight, and then suddenly the tension breaks and Jesse becomes submissive, or cooperative, or has a moment of genuine reflection.
The whole show is very interesting. Since it is only a section of the whole show focusing only on one patient in the case, I am sure I was missing a lot of context, but still it was an alright watch. Having said that, all that non stop dialogues for 7 episodes each of about 20-25 minutes gets a little too much after a while. Jesse is clearly a very very difficult child. It is obvious, so I do appreciate the seriousness and maturity with which this shrink handles him. Jesse's story and background is also not an easy one. Many a times, you do understand where he is coming from but at other times, you are not very sure. The actor playing Jesse is fantastic. He is scene stealer. The shrink comparatively as a more subdued personality and also does well. Overall, this is a very serious show. More than Jesses's sexuality, the focus here is more on his attitude and his struggle to come to terms with his adoptive family and the storm that has come into his life with sudden appearance of his birth parents. (4/10)
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