#but by allowing this disbalance it doesn't come to me as a surprise that people are either shocked at what can be percieved as the writers

[ctl-yuejie]

overall, I wasn't disappointed or surprised where the couples ended up in the show. Depending on how you interpret them, TopMew and SandRay aren't necessarily having a pure happy ending. The vibe - so to say - is still off in many ways.

If this is a compromise between having branded pairs and still trying to keep the story more open, I don't like it but I can live with it. It leaves space to further contemplate whether everyone got what they hoped for without undermining themselves. When I first read the post, I wasn't too convinced that it'd become an issue, but now I agree with @bengiyo that no branded pairs would've been better.

it can be argued that the show leaned a bit far into the slut-shaming, but to me it didn't seem to be the message the writers wanted to send but the reality of this friendship group. however, what does make me yearn for something that could've been is that not only did boston - a complicated and interesting character - get handed the short stick, Neo and Marks screentime was much less than the other pairs which only made his ending feel this much more painful.

not every scene can make it into the final cut, but their conversation after boston makes out with boeing leaves it unclear whether they had actually talked more about their boyfriend status or not. i think the break-up afterwards is a good choice for the characters either way, but it feels like some scene was left out (i am taking it personal if it was the pool table sex scene).

And while I enjoyed SandRay and - towards the end - thought that TopMew were quite interesting, I could've done without the second reading time for the kids and the fire alarm scene.

For a show that introduces the four friends as an ensemble, it doesn't add up to me that both Boston and Chueam got so little (and that with such stellar performances by Lookjun and specifically Neo) careful consideration.