This is basically a high school BL where two guys who have nothing going on in common somehow end up getting really close to each other, and that's kind of the whole point of the title too. There's barely any drama or fluff packed in here, it stays pretty straightforward the whole way through. A little bit of friction pops up here and there, but it's nothing compared to what you'd normally get in this kind of show. Runtime wise you're looking at 8 episodes, each one sitting around 25-30 minutes. The two guys carrying the story are Akira and Kanata, and funny enough they knew each other's faces way before they ever knew each other's names. Kanata's the type everyone likes, always got people around him, popular guy, but there's this distance to him that people can't quite place. Turns out he had an injury that ended his football days, and that's what pushed him into being more withdrawn, and it only got worse once his younger brother got picked...
We are back in the world of best friends Jack and Danny and the other two Corrin and Yemi finishing the friend circle. The first episode starts with Jack's causing Shannon winning a huge sum of money and they all go for a holiday in Greece. With comedy at the fore the episode is definitely funny focussing on evolving relationship of Danny and Corrin and also Jack's wish to lose his virginity. This is now the final year of college in 2015 and everyone will likely move onto their paths. We see how Jack is still learning his way around his sexuality and his sexual escapades, Yemi throws a bomb when he decides to quit college and run his own fashion line and alongwith Corrin and Danny they are all supposed to submit a college dissertation. We continue to see focus on Shannon, who is now dating father of her first child, and guess what, she soon gets pregnant again. Jack continues to push his mom to date men and she finally gives a try. The large focus on last 2 episodes is on Danny and his mental health. His cousin comes out of jail but Danny maintains his distance. Final blow comes in when Danny's granny passes away and he goes back in his deep state of depression where no one can help him. We are told that he didn't make it eventually but in a befitting finale, we are shown that only if Danny would have waited, what could his life have been.
This time the show is not just about people who deal with mental health but what happens to all the people who care for them. Danny was gone but what then happened to all the people who loved him and cared for him immensely; is also the strong focus of the show. As audience, I always though the show was about Jack and his friendship with Danny, only to realize that this was actually a love letter to Danny and what a gut wrenching love letter. After watching the first episode, I thought maybe the makers will not be able to match the great heights that first two seasons had established, but I was wrong. It very soon starts delving deep into friendship, moving on from college to make new friends, love and dating and most importantly mental health and trust me when I say, I was not prepared for what was unfolding before me. My review may sound like this is an emotional drama but trust me, the way it merges comedy with drama, it is to be seen to be beleived. Moving between comedy and drama is tricky. Only the rarest of comedic shows can manage that transcendent moment, where the quest for laughs is shelved in favour of some emotional – existential even – truth. I mean they even found comedy in the scene when the nurse informs Danny of his granny's death.
The creator of one of my fav shows 'Queer as folk' summarizes this series really well. He said in a tweet "Funny and wild and filthy and kind, and then the final episodes take writing somewhere else, somewhere new. Astonishing, brutal, hilarious. All power to @jackdaverooke, what a voice. This is TV for the ages" And his words couldn't resonate more with me. It's a heartbreaking yet very beautiful watch. Just when you think that this comedy show cannot stir your emotional strings, it gives you a finale that you did not expect. Everyone needs to watch this show asap. I will be looking forward to what Jack Rooke will bring us next, but until then watch this show, please, for its poignant depiction of how depression can look from the outside and how it can feel from the inside. It’s heartbreaking, it’s beautiful, it’s a valuable companion in itself: sitcoms don’t get much more deep and meaningful than this. (9/10)
Comments