Let's just cut right to it, this show was painfully boring. There, I said it. A story built around partial amnesia has real potential, but between the choppy scene structure and random flashbacks thrown in constantly, the whole plot ends up feeling more tangled than it needed to be. The romance doesn't fare much better either, it's written so poorly that I never really found myself invested in this couple. Both leads come across stiff on screen and deliver their lines in a really awkward way. The show runs 8 episodes, each somewhere around 30 to 35 minutes. Hanuel, a 29 year old language teacher, wakes up after an accident only to realize his memory stops at age 19. It turns out he'd been in another accident back then too, which is why his memories cut off at that point. He has zero recollection of the fact that he's currently living with his childhood friend Saebyeok, who's now a huge celebrity. That makes the whole situation even harder for Hanuel to wrap his ...
He Xiang Yong ends up back on a small island near Taipei after losing his job. Things with his father are already tense, and he can't shake the feeling that everyone on the island is silently judging him. Together with his best friend Li Wan Zhe, he wishes on a shooting star that nobody will recognize him anymore. The next morning, somehow, it's actually true. Nobody knows who he is, and his own father, running a B&B, mistakes him for an intruder and throws him out. That's when he spots someone working at the B&B, none other than his old school crush, Chen Hao Wei. Only Wan Zhe still knows who he really is, because it turns out Wan Zhe made his own wish to the stars too, his being about wanting to feel unconditionally loved. Wan Zhe sets Xiang Yong up with a fake identity and gets him hired at the B&B. Around the same time, Wan Zhe's wish starts working on his friend and customer Aomi, who suddenly starts chasing after him hard. As Xiang Yong and Hao Wei spend more time together, they start untangling old misunderstandings from when they were kids, and slowly fall for each other. But around episode six, another burst of magic hits, and both guys wake up in a completely different timeline, one where his dad is now single, Aomi's feelings for Wan Zhe have vanished, and everyone's dealing with fresh heartbreak. It comes out that this island has a whole history tied to these wishes, and there's one mentally ill resident who's apparently the only person who can undo the damage. The final stretch is riddled with plot holes and rushes toward an ending that leaves the romance feeling kind of unsatisfying. I was having a genuinely great time up until that point, but those last three or four episodes just drained all the fun out of it for me.
The show's biggest strength by far is the island itself and how beautifully it's all filmed. Every shot is stunning, those weathered old buildings, that skyline hanging in the distance, no matter where the characters wander off to, the series always finds the beauty in it. There's even some underwater footage thrown in, and honestly the production values are top tier across the board. Every episode weaves in flashbacks to Xiang Yong and Hao Wei's teenage years, and those scenes are wonderful, simple little moments that leave you with this warm, cozy feeling. I was completely hooked on their sweet childhood friendship. Thankfully that same chemistry carries over once they're adults too, and there's plenty of tender moments between them even with all the confusion going on. Both actors are good looking and do a great job in their roles, though the constant angst in their relationship does start to wear on you after a while. Luckily the second couple picks up all the slack. Honestly this might be one of the best secondary couples I've seen in any BL series. Watching one guy chase after the other, take care of him, and slowly win him over was just incredible to watch. Huge credit to that pairing alone. The supporting cast, Uncle Hue, the dad, the old lady running the shaved ice shop, and just the overall island atmosphere, all of it is handled really well. It's a shame they didn't put in the extra effort to stick the landing. They could've easily ended things at episode eight, right when the couple falls back in love and shares that kiss, but instead they stretched it out four more episodes. There's a lot here worth loving and getting invested in, but it's also maddening once the plot turns into a mess, and I'd bet barely anyone could actually explain what happens by the end. The show doesn't always make sense, but it's got so much love, heart, chemistry, and natural beauty going for it. That's what this rating is really for. (7/10)
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