Star Struck (Korean Series)

Childhood friendship turning to love is a story that almost all of us will connect with. We may admit or not, but probably most of us had some level of crush on our friend, because that person was the one closest to us who you could share all your secrets with, things that bother you and that vulnerability brings you close. The situation in this Korean BL series is similar but the show has way too many unnecessary conflicts and the pattern of presenting a scene, then showing us the background behind the scene, was fine a few times but every single time, this idea of direction started to become pointless. Also towards the end, the conflicts were not properly resolved. Thankfully this 8 episode series is about 17-20 minutes each and a breezy watch.

Han Joon and Yoo Jae are childhood best friends. In the last year of high school, You Jae is a popular kid with even the girls swooning over him. But the friends stick together. Han Joon lives with his depressed mother and struggles financially, while You Jae is miserable due to his parents' constant quarreling. They, along with their other friends are preparing for the university entrance exams. When a girl who likes You Jae approaches Han Joon for his help, he hesitantly agrees but when he makes a new friend at the coaching class who also has a crush on the same girl, he tries to help him too. It turns out that Han Joon has been harboring secret crush on his best friend. After a couple of misunderstandings, finally Han Joon confesses his feelings to his best friend, knowing very well that staying friends with someone after being rejected is not easy. He tells him that if his answer is no, they cannot longer be friends. The suddenly six months later, they are both in the same universe but their friendship is not as coherent as it used to be. You Jae tries his best to not be awkward, but something always holds back Han Joon. He still cannot bear to be close to Yoo Jae. Eventually one evening You Jae kisses him and they decide they can try dating. After some more family drama, eventually things work out for them as a couple.

The first two episodes were great in terms of pacing - proper set up and characters’ introduction. Nothing felt rushed, but after that I don't know what happened, especially the last 4 episodes that are set in university. Nothing gets properly developed or resolved. The makers tried to bring in both their family situation to maybe show a commonality of their bind, but the same conflicts in the last 2 episodes had no bearing to overall plot. One's parents getting separated while other's mother in hospital could have been totally avoided, because it really did not do anything at all to the overall story. Also, like I mentioned before, Many scenes felt disjointed, then they would go into flashback, give us the context and then continue. It's gets repetitive after a while and frankly made me lost interest, in an otherwise endearing couple. They had good chemistry and looked good together but the character arc were never completely developed. Why is Han Boo not willing to even give his friend some time to think about hs confession. It's a bit rude, IMO, to just profess your love to someone out of blue and then expect either a yes or completely disconnect. Similarly, did You Jae always have feelings for Han Joo or he just just gives in so that he doesn't lose his best friend. The love story didn't feel justified to me. They jump to conclusions, express themselves immaturely, and offend each other with reckless remarks. There's too much conflict in this series. From jealous spats to heated confrontations, the excessive animosity overshadow the romantic encounters in the narrative. Instead of showing the couple happily in love, the storyteller wastes time introducing unnecessary tension. They don't seem compatible at a romantic level at all to me. There is total lack of physical intimacy that you would expect of a romantic couple. The last two episodes are extremely rushed and just add to the overall frustration. The premise of the show was nice, but sadly the screenplay and the directions as a big letdown. (5/10)