Play Me – Series Review

Yihyun is a famous actor devastated by his mother's sudden death. One day, she collapses right in front of him and never wakes up again. The experience is so traumatic that Yihyun's mental health suffers. At his lowest point, he climbs onto a rooftop and considers ending his life. Thankfully, Yihyun gets rescued. After surviving this crisis, Yihyun realizes he needs a break to recover his mental health. He decides to officially retire from acting, shocking his fans and everyone around him.

Growing up, Yihyun's mother was a domineering stage parent obsessed with making her son famous. When he was a kid, she'd lock him in a room until he memorized his lines and could recite them perfectly. Now that his mother is gone, Yihyun is free to make his own decisions. He no longer wants to act. Instead, he wants to pursue his dream of becoming a director. His manager, Siho, reluctantly supports the career change, though he hopes Yihyun will return to acting. Meanwhile, Yihyun's close friend, Taeseok, is also concerned. Taeseok has a crush on Yihyun and keeps a close eye on him.

Yihyun's project is The Mermaid Prince, a screenplay he wrote in high school five years ago. It's a revised The Little Mermaid, but with a gay romance and a happier ending. The idea came from his teenage crush, Jaeon. Back then, Yihyun was so smitten with Jaeon that he wrote a screenplay to impress this guy. Sadly, their romance ended in heartbreak. Yihyun overheard Jaeon talking to his friend. Jaeon claimed he hung out with Yihyun because of his fame. Those words stung so badly that Yihyun cut ties with him. The two never spoke again. The Mermaid Prince was left untouched.

Now, Yihyun wants to turn that old screenplay into a stage musical. He has secured a theatre venue for the production, but the place needs renovations before it's ready for showtime. Between managing the venue and preparing for auditions, Yihyun is too busy to look after his dog, Kimchi. Siho hires a part-time dog sitter. Guess who gets the job? It's Jaeon. These days, Jaeon is a struggling actor who takes on odd jobs to make ends meet. He looks after Kimchi without realizing who owns the dog.

At first, Yihyun and Jaeon don't bump into each other. Siho has given the dog sitter strict instructions to leave the house before Yihyun comes home. Not only does Yihyun take good care of Kimchi, but he even cooks for the homeowner. Meanwhile, auditions are underway for The Mermaid Prince. Yihyun isn't impressed by any candidate until Jaeon's turn. Despite giving a great audition, Jaeon gets rejected because Yihyun holds a grudge. Jaeon is upset since he believes he deserves the role. Siho intervenes and convinces Yihyun to cast him anyway.

Yihyun offers Jaeon the leading role, but Jaeon has a condition before he'll accept. He wants them to spend some one-on-one time together, supposedly to practise their lines. The real reason is that Jaeon wants some answers. Why did Yihyun ghost him in high school? Yihyun refuses to explain himself. Now that they'll be seeing each other constantly during rehearsals, avoiding those romantic feelings won't be so easy. Besides, Jaeon has no intention of keeping his distance. He's determined to get close to Yihyun again.

Play Me is so boring. The story revolves around Yihyun, a wannabe director. He's staging his first musical, but it's just not interesting. Does "a few guys reciting lines in a tiny theatre" sound that fun to you? This series feels slow as hell, and I have a hard time paying attention to whatever is happening. After a while, everything kinda blurs together. I can't tell the difference between a serious scene in Episode 2 and another serious scene in Episode 3. I can watch an hour of Play Me and not remember a single damn thing.

The writing isn't engaging. When the characters talk, it never feels like they're saying anything important. Blah blah blah? Blah blah blah. That's what their conversations sound like in my head. Yihyun and Jaeon spend lots of alone time in the theatre, where the blah-blah-ness is especially painful. The bad writing affects the romantic dialogue, too. The cheesy lines kill whatever intimacy the couple has. During a confession scene, here's what we're supposed to gush over: "I like you. I've liked you since I laid eyes on you. Whether it was back then or now, I like you." Wow, he likes you? I never would've guessed from the eleven times he said it.

Yihyun holds a grudge against Jaeon for gossiping about him behind his back. Jaeon spends the first half of the series trying to sweet-talk his way back into Yihyun's good graces. Their relationship drama is a snoozefest. Can we move on already? Thankfully, the couple gets over this nonsense. Once the tension dies down, they can finally focus on flirting. Are these BL moments anything special? Nah, it's your usual romantic fluff. Even so, I still enjoy seeing the couple act sweet and playful around each other. At least I'm a little more invested in the romance than before.

Play Me isn't a high-budget BL drama. Most of the action takes place in a tiny theatre, so don't expect many fancy filming locations. Yet, the visuals still look pretty decent. The camera uses intimate close-ups to capture emotional moments. It also gets creative in bringing ordinary settings to life. During Episode 5, the leads prance around a room with colourful fabrics hanging from the ceiling. The setup is basic, yet the scene feels so dreamy as the couple shares a tender kiss. It's impressive how the filmmakers can create such a magical atmosphere with almost nothing.

Yihyun is the most important character in Play Me. The whole story revolves around his emotional journey. He's overcoming childhood trauma! He's letting go of old grudges! Too bad his actor (Park Seong Hyeon) can't deliver a convincing performance. Sometimes, his eyes widen so much that he looks startled. Other times, his reactions seem phony. His co-star (Yang Hong Seok) does a better job and portrays Jaeon more naturally. But when it comes to romance, he holds back and plays it safe. The couple exchanges these timid little kisses that lack any passion.

In the finale, the leads perform their musical. They sing! They kiss! Yeah, I guess that's a nice way to wrap things up… But am I emotionally invested? No. The series hasn't been interesting up until now, so I don't care how it finishes. Overall, Play Me reminds me of those forgettable Korean BL dramas in the early 2020s, like The Tasty Florida, Wish Me, or You Make Me Dance. Remember those? Probably not. They had decent visuals, but the stories and romances left little impression. I suspect Play Me will suffer the same fate and become another obscure footnote in BL history.