Craving You – Drama Review & Episode Guide

Kent and Kane

Kent and Kane were cute to watch at first. The two of them clashed initially with some playful banter between them, which made for an interesting dynamic. Their relationship seemed to be developing at a normal pace, at least in the first few episodes. However, the romance didn't make too much progress and stalled for a long time once Soda and Noah came into the picture.

Even though Kent and Kane were supposed to be the main romance in Craving You, the attention largely shifted towards the secondary couple instead. There were one or two episodes where Kent felt seriously sidelined, as if he wasn't even the main character of his own series. It's kind of ridiculous that a BL drama about a bakery doesn't have the spotlight on the baker himself.

Neglecting the relationship between Kent and Kane made their romance feel hollow. In other words, it was a little half-assed. The two of them didn't have enough screentime to bond in a meaningful way. Kent and Kane were certainly warming up to each other, but they weren't at the stage where an authentic romance would materialize.

When Kent made his surprise love confession, I wasn't fully invested since there wasn't enough build-up in the storytelling. It's a shame because I think Kent and Kane could've been a sizzling couple, with intimate kisses that can go on for days, if only their romance was handled with more care.

Kane and Soda

I was actually pretty engaged with the relationship between Kane and Soda. I liked that these two characters had history in the past, with a lot of unspoken and unresolved tension between them. The high school flashbacks were a nice touch, showing us how they fell in love and why they didn't end up together.

At one point, I was more emotionally invested in the romance between Kane and Soda than I was about Kane and Kent. A part of me was rooting for Soda to break off his engagement and get together with his high school crush. He clearly wanted to be with Kane more than Noah, so just follow your feelings and go for it! Team adultery! 😈 

Unfortunately, Soda was so fickle and feckless that the love triangle stopped being fun after a while. This guy can't seem to make up his mind between his fiancé and his old flame. On one hand, I hate that he's playing with Kane's emotions. On the other hand, I also hate that he's dragging Noah along instead of just ending their engagement. It's annoying to watch a guy who can't make any commitments. Both Kane and Noah deserved better than this cad.

After dragging on their messy relationship drama for so long, I didn't like how it got resolved. They teased us with the possibility of Soda and Kane getting together. I thought we were building up to the moment where either one of them would make a pass at each other, leading to some juicy drama. Instead, nothing happened and Soda suddenly stopped having feelings for Kane just because. Ugh, how boring and unsatisfying.

Soda and Noah

I'll start by saying that it's refreshing to see a same-sex marriage depicted in a BL drama. Since Taiwan is literally the only country in East Asia where this is possible, it's pretty cool to see this cultural norm reflected in the series. Maybe one day we'll see a diversity of gay men and women getting married in Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Philippines, and other places around the world. But for now, we'll have to settle with Soda and Noah as the poster boys of gay marriage. ⚣

Unfortunately, the relationship between Soda and Noah didn't really do anything for me. I was surprised that Craving You dedicated so much focus on this couple, even at the expense of the main romance. I don't mind that Soda and Noah got emphasis, but my problem is how they didn't do anything interesting with the storyline. Their relationship drama was largely unpleasant, highlighted by lots of arguments, secrets, and indecision. All their scenes were repeating the same few points and they felt like a chore to watch.

From the moment they were introduced, we all knew these two would break up at some point and then get back together in the end. I guess their wedding ceremony was nice, even though it felt kinda undeserved after so much drama. Are you really sure you want to marry him, Noah?

By this end of the series, I already lost all my patience with this couple and felt staunchly indifferent about the two of them. They could've gotten married or gone splitso in the ending, I wouldn't care that much either way.

Poor acting

To be honest, the acting wasn't that great in Craving You. They are not terrible or anything, but I just found most of them a little lacklustre. They're lacking in enthusiasm when delivering the lines, and their expressions looked lifeless in some of the scenes. I don't think the acting was too detracting, but this isn't one of the strengths in the series.

Kane

I liked Kane's character the most and can totally understand his appeal. I get why Kent, Soda, and all those female fans are going gaga over him. He's cute, sings well, and has some spunk in his personality. Unfortunately, he lost that spark and got too bogged down by the drama in the second half of the series. Nonetheless, I'm Team Kane!

Shirtless

Craving You felt like a series that would give us some generous and gratuitous fanservice, so it was a little surprising that we didn't see a lot of skin. We don't see anything from Kane. We only see Kent's back when he is getting changed. We see Soda and Noah getting steamy in the shower and shirtless together in the same bed, but these scenes were quick and not very clear. Overall, there was very minimal display of skin in Craving You.

Homophobia

There was a tiny bit of homophobia from some characters, but these were mostly quick comments and nothing that overwhelming. I can't think of anything else too controversial about this series. There was a depiction of nyctophobia (fear of the dark) that got more serious than I expected, but I don't think it would be too triggering for the majority of people.

The songs

I liked Kane's song "8 Seconds", which had a nice melody and some pretty lovely lyrics. It definitely gave credibility to his character's whole singer-songwriter vibe. The other song that he sang at the wedding was also quite pleasant.

Fantasy sequences

Craving You relied too much on fantasy sequences to portray the romance between Kent and Kane. These scenes were shot beautifully with some great intimate kissing, but I just don't like that they are fantasies. Why do we have to pretend these kisses never happened? Why are they only happening in Cora's head? All the fantasy segments in Craving You would be so much better if they were real scenes that actually developed the plot.

Happy ending

Craving You had a happy ending with both couples getting together. Soda and Noah got married, while Kent and Kane became an official couple. I liked that Kane went public with his relationship, but wished his coming out journey was more dynamic.

It could've been interesting to explore the consequences of a celebrity coming out, taking us through the emotional highs and lows. Instead, Craving You glazed over his coming out moment in the last few minutes, despite building up this story arc for multiple episodes. Like a lot of the storylines in Craving You, it was resolved in a very half-assed way.

Nonetheless, I did like the final scene between Kane and Kent, which had the same cute and lighthearted tone in the first half of the series. I just wished the entire series was like this moment instead of all the unnecessary drama along the way.