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 ...
Ralph and Randy have ben a couple for forever now. Ralph is a needy romantic still clinging to his fantasy of a happy-ever-after marriage, while Randy is a vain and unapologetically shallow serial cheater who eagerly jumps at any opportunity to spit venom at his nebbish-y spouse. To call their relationship dysfunctional would be putting it lightly, for example they even get turned on the they physically and verbally start to fight; leading to some uncomfortable moments. In season 1, we see two anti-romantic leads spent each episode hashing out their differences in front of an ever-changing parade of therapists – none of whom are able to last more than one session with them. It sounds gimmicky but this was a lot of fun since every therapist brought their own fun quirks. Ralph and Randy are firmly established as hateful from the beginning of episode 1, and proceed to show us just how over-the-top their hatefulness is until we love them for it in spite of ourselves.
The second Eason gets a little more elaborate. Ralph and Randy are finally resolved to get a divorce, but after a financial catastrophe, where they evaded paying taxes leading to a brush with the law, they can’t afford it; furthermore, to qualify as residents in a new subsidized housing facility for LGBTQ elders, they must be a couple; so they are forced to continue living together. There are still a few therapists in the mix, 2 younger queens who are assigned to them to mentor, their parents are introduced where one of them is connected to all kinds of illegal activities. In this season, we get to see the couple’s interactions with other characters and experience their life together first hand instead of only through the catty and quippy recaps with which they would regale their couples counselors in season one.
As characters they ar both horrible still, but now we also see the interactions not just among them but even with others. The additional characters of butch lesbian manager of their new housing facility or the hunky Latino chef adds new and more fun dimensions to the show. Both seasons are still very much a fast-and-furious onslaught of bitchiness and bad behavior that will have you cringing and laughing at the same time. My favorite scene was the whole generational confusion over pronoun usage. The show may offend some, but hey it's still delightful. With a delightful chemistry that the two actors share, , sharp writing, and finely-tuned acting carrying most of the weight, that’s more than enough reason to cast off any preconceptions you might have and take a dip in this short format storytelling. (6.5/10)
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