Long Time No See – Drama Review

Good story

All things considered, they did an impressive job with the story, covering so much content in the little amount of time they had. I don’t think they were completely successful squeezing all that plot into 75 minutes. The story started showing its cracks due to the time constraints. Still, it was a valiant effort and the overall product was enjoyable to watch.

The series faltered in the final act, where the storytelling felt strained under the massive weight of the plot. They were trying to hit all the important plot points in the little remaining time they had, but just couldn't explain everything clearly enough.

Given their limited budget and airtime, Long Time No See probably overextended itself and was too ambitious with their ideas. Either extend the length of the series or pare down the plot, because you can't squeeze two hours of story into one hour of content.

Chisoo and Gitae

Long Time No See hit its stride after the characters got together, where they depicted a natural attraction and a healthy relationship between two boyfriends. They were a cute and compatible couple, showing decent amounts of affection, playfulness, and genuine curiosity about each other. Their romance progressed believably in a short amount of time.

It made sense the two of them jumped straight to sex after meeting each other, then built a romance afterwards. Imagine the guy you talked to online wasn’t actually a catfish, but turned out to look like a total sex god? You'd bang him first and then find out what he’s like later.

I thought their relationship was so mature at first, like a real one between two adults. I liked that they went on cute dates, had personal conversations & showed a playful sexual appetite for each other. Their romance felt healthy up until a certain point.

Gitae's character was particularly strong in their scenes as a couple. He seemed like such a joyful dude and his enthusiasm was infectious. I can believe how he was able to make Chisoo happy and bring him out of his shell.

Great acting

There were great performances all around from everybody. The cast might be small, but they all pulled their weight. Even the supporting cast had their moments to shine.

The versatility that came from Chisoo's actor (Tak Woo Suk) was outstanding. He showed a lot of range and nailed every type of emotion as needed. He was good at getting heated and angry, he was good at being sad and mopey, he was good at feeling hurt and betrayed, plus he was good at being sweet and tender. He even nailed all the intense choreography in the fighting sequences. This guy does it all.

Gitae's character was particularly strong in their scenes as a couple. He seemed like such a joyful dude and his enthusiasm was infectious. I can believe how he was able to make Chisoo happy and bring him out of his shell.

Chisoo

I didn't mind that Long Time No See took a much darker turn in its second half, where they elaborated more on the dangerous life of a secret assassin. This was a high-concept storyline that they didn't execute perfectly, but it gave Chisoo's actor lots of substantial material to work with.

He was great in those scenes depicting a wide range of emotions, including fear, anguish, vulnerability, and an overwhelming sense of powerlessness. Chisoo anchored the dramatic parts of Long Time No See and he did a fantastic job with a complex role.

Gitae's sister

I liked Gitae's rapport with his sister, who was fabulous and should've been given more material, starting with a name for her character. The scene where she questioned Chisoo's intentions with her brother was a small detail that added more dimension to the character dynamics.

Another scene where she comforted Gitae and encouraged him to be happy was great too, like genuine words of wisdom from an older sister to a little brother. Scenes like these may not seem significant to the plot, but they help to make the story more well-rounded.

Brief nudity

Surprisingly yes, but it's not clear and no important bits are shown. You see a naked side profile of Gitae, but he's very strategically positioned. Chisoo also flashes something, but the scene is poorly lit & I dunno what I'm looking at.

Both actors do take off their clothes frequently with opportunities to see their six-pack abs. Also, there's one particular scene where they undress each other, but their movements are so awkward & they even fell down on the ground!? You expected the scene to be sexy, but it ended up being slapstick comedy instead. 😂

Homophobia & violence

Yes, Chisoo goes through an outrageously traumatic homophobic attack in the first few minutes of the movie. That scene was followed by Gitae doing something cute and lighthearted, so the tonal shift gave me whiplash. The series also has a fair amount of violence and some poorly made blood that looks more like water paint.

Physical intimacy

The biggest pleasant surprise for me is the level of physical intimacy between the two leads. They got really affectionate with each other, a lot more than I was expecting. The leads were like kissing nipples and tongue deep into each other's throats.

I've watched some stuffy mainstream K-dramas where gay characters never exist, so I didn't expect this Korean BL drama to be so different and so forward. It's inspiring and almost feels culturally significant to see these two guys kiss without reservations. Bravo.

The length

I would change a couple of things, mainly making quality improvements with a bigger budget. However, the most glaring issue is the length, because the series is too damn short at 75 minutes. They crammed in so much plot and did their best to create a coherent narrative, but you call tell they were skipping over some scenes near the end. The story simply would've flowed better if they could flesh things out with more time.

Recommend

Despite some of the flaws, you gotta give Long Time No See credit for what it managed to achieve. I was particularly impressed that they included these elaborate and choreographed fighting sequences between the characters. Fighting sequences? In a BL drama? Consider my mind blown.

I really wished this series had a bigger budget that allowed them to explore their creative potential with more polish. This was a great BL series that just needed more refinement to take it to the next level.