The Trainee – Series Review & Episode Guide

Ryan is a 21-year-old third-year economics student who still has no clue what he wants to do with his life. His dad and his older sister, Ink, run a small neighbourhood print shop. Ryan sometimes helps out by doing graphic design for customers, which he actually enjoys. He also spends a lot of time watching movies and YouTube videos. Even so, his future is unclear. His childhood best friend, Tao-hu, keeps nudging him to explore his interests beyond the family business.

Tao-hu is applying for every internship he can find, and he drags Ryan along to the interviews for moral support. Ryan isn't thrilled, but he goes anyway because that's what best friends do. One of the companies on their list is Good Pick, a production house. Ryan has no idea what they actually do until Tao-hu explains that they make movies. Tao-hu is an advertising major, but he applies here anyway because film production sounds fun. Ryan tags along too, despite having zero experience and absolutely no qualifications for the job.

The interview is led by Baimon, a director who decides to question two candidates at a time. Ryan is paired with Pie, a film student who has even won awards for her work. Baimon is clearly impressed by her credentials. Meanwhile, Ryan mostly sits there in awkward silence. When he does answer, his responses click with Baimon. Ryan talks about helping at his family's print shop, and Baimon somehow interprets that as relevant industry experience. Surprisingly, he hires both Ryan and Pie for a three-month internship to learn the ropes of film production.

Tao-hu ends up doing an internship at a different agency, so Ryan must start his new job at Good Pick on his own. There are four other interns in the office. Pie is the film student who already knows a lot about production. Pah is the outgoing one in the art department. Tae is the nerdy editor with glasses. And then there is Ba-Mhee, Tae's devoted girlfriend, who only applied because he did. She joins as an account executive under her mentor, Judy.

Ryan meets Jane, the assistant director. Jane will be mentoring him and Pie since Baimon is usually busy with other projects. However, Jane is overworked and not in the best mood to babysit interns. On the first day, Ryan and the others made many mistakes. When they miss a deadline, Jane is harsh with his criticisms. Ryan seriously considers quitting on the spot. Thankfully, he grows closer to Pie, Pah, Tae, and Ba-Mhee. The five of them lean on each other for emotional support as they brace themselves for the next three months of their internship.

By the second day, Ryan is already thinking about quitting. But then, he pulls it together for a new assignment. Jane needs an actor on short notice, and Ryan manages to find one. For once, Jane doesn't criticize him. Of course, things get messy again. Ryan realizes he made a mistake and immediately spirals. Instead of blaming him, Jane is surprisingly calm and even kind. He reassures Ryan and talks him through it. Ryan starts to see that his work matters. With Jane's quiet encouragement, he feels more confident and even a little excited about the job.

My early impression of The Trainee is positive! I like that the story is about five interns starting a new job at a production house. It's not one of those boring office dramas where everyone just sits at their desks. Instead, we actually get to see them make a movie. How fun! The series takes us behind the scenes of film production. The crew is editing clips, designing props, brainstorming ideas… They even show us the less fancy tasks like accounting and client pitches. It's quite interesting to learn how this industry works.

Our protagonist, Ryan, is one of the five interns at the company. Ryan starts out painfully shy and seems out of his depth. He keeps screwing up and getting yelled at by his strict mentor, Jane. Stop scolding him, ya big meanie! Eventually, Ryan goes on a beautiful journey and comes out of his shell. He makes friends with his coworkers… He gains confidence in himself… He discovers what makes him passionate… And yeah, he even falls in love along the way. By the end, Ryan isn't the same nervous kid from day one. He transforms so much over the three-month internship, and watching his character arc feels amazing.

The first half of the series is stronger than the second half. After a while, the storylines start to feel repetitive. Most conflicts follow a similar pattern: intern screws up, intern learns to ask for help, rinse and repeat. It gets kinda boring. The later episodes also focus less on the characters doing their jobs. Instead, we get countless scenes of their relationship drama. I don't care which intern has a secret crush! I just wanna see them produce more movies! The worst part is Ba-Mhee's love triangle, which drags on forever. The annoying scenes suck up too much screentime.

Let's talk about that godawful love triangle. Ba-Mhee is dating Tae, but she catches feelings for Judy. First, she hooks up with Judy and cheats on Tae. Then, she dumps Judy and runs back to Tae. OMFG!? This is the WORST possible outcome!!! Making Ba-Mhee a cheater is bad enough. But then she tosses Judy aside, as if her feelings for women were just an experimental phase. If you're gonna do a GL storyline, stick to it. Don't make the girl go back to her boyfriend! I also hate how the series ruins Judy's character, who was so likable before she got caught up in this mess.

I actually like Ryan and Jane as a couple. Their feelings for each other grow naturally over the series. When these two are finally on good terms, they have such adorable exchanges. The leads (Off and Gun) also share a comfortable rapport. Plus, the beautiful cinematography adds a romantic ambiance to their scenes together. However, there aren't enough lovey-dovey moments. Where are the cute movie dates? The late-night chats? The physical affection? For a nine-hour BL drama, I expected plenty of relationship time. Instead, we only get tiny crumbs here and there.

The last few episodes focus on Jane, whose career has been stalling. He has already learned everything from this company. Finally, he has the guts to step out of his comfort zone and take on a new challenge. It's a meaningful conclusion! That said, the finale fumbles Ryan & Jane as a couple. During the five-year time skip, they weren't even together. Their separation made it feel like this relationship was never important to either of them. Overall, I like The Trainee as a series. The character arcs have substance. But I must admit, the romance leaves me underwhelmed.