Fan Service – Series Review & Episode Guide

Geonwoo has been famous since he was a child. This man grew up on camera, earning him many fans over the years. If you need proof of his popularity, just look at the ratings. He joins a dying show, and suddenly, it's resurrected. But off camera? Geonwoo is kind of grumpy. He speaks to people coldly. He rarely smiles. If you aren't close to him, you probably think he hates you. And let's not ignore the jealousy. His cast members resent how easily he overshadows them.

Lately, Geonwoo has been on edge. Someone out there is obsessed with him. He has received anonymous packages from a stalker, whose creepy little messages disturb him. He reports it to the police, but the threats keep coming. One day, Geonwoo finishes an interview. His manager is having car troubles, but Geonwoo refuses to get a ride from anyone else. Instead, he decides to walk home by himself. Along the way, Geonwoo notices a random guy trailing behind him. Same direction. Same pace. Geonwoo suspects it may be his stalker.

The so-called stalker is a random university student named Jaeyeon. He isn't actually plotting anything sinister. He's literally just walking in the same direction as Geonwoo, a few steps behind him. But Geonwoo is way too suspicious. He confronts the poor guy by shoving him against the wall. Geonwoo straight-up accuses Jaeyeon of being the stalker. Jaeyeon is stunned. This man was minding his own business two seconds ago. Now, he's being called a criminal for no reason. Jaeyeon insists he has no clue what's going on.

Things spiral fast. The argument gets tense enough that the police show up. Geonwoo threatens to call his lawyer and press charges. Jaeyeon is rattled. In a panic, he pretends to call his own lawyer. Instead, it's just his friend Taewoo, a law student. Taewoo rushes over, ready to defend his buddy. Then, he freezes. It turns out that Geonwoo and Taewoo are actually brothers. Around the same time, the police finish checking the surveillance footage. They confirm Jaeyeon did nothing wrong. It has all been a misunderstanding.

Once the police clear out, the manager swoops. The priority? Keep this incident out of the headlines. They offer compensation, but Jaeyeon doesn't want money. Instead, he asks for a one-on-one interview. It's for his school assignment. Geonwoo agrees. Thirty minutes. Private interview. For academic use only. He tells Jaeyeon to come to his place the next day so they can get it over with. Afterward, Jaeyeon is in shock at what just happened. Out of nowhere, he has a private meeting with one of the biggest stars!

Taewoo fills his friend in on the family lore. He and Geonwoo are technically brothers, but they don't have a close relationship. After their parents divorced, both boys stayed with their mother. Her entire world revolved around Geonwoo's acting career. Taewoo was neglected, so he appreciated his dad's visits. One day, the dad picked Geonwoo up for an unannounced visit. Their mother accused him of kidnapping. After that, he was banned from seeing the boys again. Taewoo knows it wasn't Geonwoo's fault, but he still grew distant from his brother over time.

Oh, Fan Service… What the HELL happened!? The first three episodes were going so well! The writing was surprisingly sharp. There were funny moments that made me laugh out loud. The banter between the friends felt natural. The confrontation scene where Geonwoo wrongly accused Jaeyeon was memorable. This story had such a strong start and kept that momentum going for a while. But then… the second half nosedived so hard. I'm disappointed because Fan Service came close to being a good BL drama, and then it flopped.

I really liked the cheekiness at the start of the series. You can tell the writer had so much fun with the script, sneaking in little jokes here and there. "You look like a cat's nutsack." That one-liner? Lethal. The characters also have funny reactions. Geonwoo's blunt honesty often clashes with Jeongyu's ditzy personality, making their exchanges hilarious. "I'm too young to go to prison for murder," Jeongyu says after giving Geonwoo a nosebleed. The humour is working on me! I breezed through those first few episodes with a big grin, completely entertained. Early on, Fan Service left such a great impression.

I'm a huge sucker for any childhood-friends-to-lovers arc in BL dramas, so of course, Jaeyeon & Taewoo's scenes worked on me. I adore their snarky banter. I love how relaxed they are around each other. That moment when they shared a popsicle in the playground? That sealed the deal for me. Oh, I'm locked in! I'm shipping them until the bitter end. Sure, Jaeyeon has funny interactions with his other love interest, but they literally just met. Their relationship can't compete with two besties who've known each other forever! Jaeyeon and Taewoo are clearly endgame.

Episode 4 is when Fan Service loses its spark for me. There's a scene where Taewoo gets upset and confronts his brother. It felt SO clunky, like the writer was trying to manufacture drama. When the stalker shows up in Episode 5, that's also awkward as hell. The tension escalated too fast and then it was resolved like nothing had happened. Both moments are tied to important plots. The family rift and the stalker arc are major pillars of the story. When they get handled so clumsily, it really hurts the series. It's hard to stay invested in a drama that fumbles two big storylines.

Worst of all, Fan Service backed the WRONG couple. I was rooting SO hard for the two besties to end up together. Instead, Jaeyeon chooses Geonwoo. HIM!? But WHY??? It's not that I'm against Geonwoo. I like his character just fine. But at this point, he hasn't spent enough time with Jaeyeon. It feels almost random that they're suddenly attracted to each other. One minute, they're beefing. The next, sparks are flying? If Geonwoo was always meant to be the endgame, the story needed to be written differently. Give them more scenes! Focus on building their relationship!

In my head, I had such a different vision for how this series was supposed to go. I wanted Jaeyeon falling for his bestie… I wanted a storyline where Jaeyeon helped the two brothers work through their issues… The second half also gets more serious, which is a problem since the actors are better at comedy than drama. By the end, Fan Service left me feeling disappointed. Sure, I laughed at some jokes early on, but both the story and the romance went downhill. This BL drama seemed so promising at first… *sighs* Can we delete those last three episodes and try again?