Is this technically a gay show? Even after getting through the whole thing, that's still kind of tricky to answer. There's never any physical intimacy shown between the two leads, not even a single kiss. What it gives you instead is something that goes way deeper than that. It traces an emotional bond that spans a full decade between two guys who are both dealing with their own baggage, and what they share basically amounts to being soulmates. The story moves across Japan, South Korea, and Berlin. Honestly, whether people want to call what they have a romantic relationship or not doesn't really matter to me. A relationship doesn't need a label like boyfriends attached to it to actually mean something. And closeness doesn't need to be physical to feel genuine. What this show captures is something quieter but way more powerful, a bond rooted in understanding, respect, and just showing up for each other. Across eight episodes, each running 35 to 45 minutes, this is one...
Jake, our lead guy is a high school senior. He is constantly pushed around by his father to play basketball to make into the team, probably because of his own shattered dreams. But Jake is not very good at it and is honestly least bothered. He has a girlfriend for a while who is pressuring him to lose their virginity together, but for Jake it doesn't feel right. Something is off. Things change when a new boy Aleks moves across him, an out and proud gay boy who also happens to be a good basketball player. Before he realizes, Jake finds himself very attracted to Aleks and the feelings are reciprocated. He suddenly starts taking interest in basketball just to be close to him. With his continued attraction, he still keeps going around with his girlfriend. In the meantime, Jake's mother finds out that her husband has been cheating and the family foundation that Jake thought was secure starts to crumble. Meanwhile Aleks tries to be supportive of Jake since he is new to this, but Jake doesn’t know how to cope with that identity at a social level. Having experienced homophobia, he assumes the worst in everybody. Eventually everything starts to fall into place. Jake has a heart to heart wit hhis girlfriend and explains her everything and slowly starts to accept who he is. Meanwhile, the love between two boys gets stronger and they even attend prom together. All this while the parents try to be as supportive as possible and the film ends with a beautiful kiss between the boys.
As much as the film is about Jake, it is equally about his family. We see her over worked mother finally reaching a breaking point in her restaurant career which she never wanted to do but got forced into because of marriage. His father is going through his own crisis not sure of what to do with life while his marriage crumbles. And coning go Jake, he is trying his best to live in this world of facade where he can keep everyone happy. The more that Jake struggles to adhere to the socially imposed ideals that his parents and girlfriend demand of him, the more the facade cracks. There is a lot going on when it comes to Jakes relation with his girlfriend and his attractions for Aleks. The script never fully addresses how aware Jake is of his own queerness, but it’s clear that things with Val aren’t working sexually. And when openly gay and very sexy Aleks comes in the picture, we know for a fact where things will be headed. At places the film feel stretched but still there is a calmness about the plot a certain identifiable aspects of the film, that makes it for a decent watch. Watch it for cute Jake and hot Aleks. From the perspective of a queer coming out story, Golden Delicious ends with a sweet, romantic flourish that confirms Jake is going to be ok; but it needed a few more minutes of Jake making amends and putting in the work to repair his relationships, and/or a little less forgiveness. (6.5/10)
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