Where Your Eyes Linger – Drama Review & Episode Guide

Simple story

Where Your Eyes Linger is definitely heavy on the drama, but it never feels excessive or overwrought. Since these characters are likable, you want to root for them to work through their struggles and get together in the end.

Most of the focus was maintained on the relationship between the two leads. It doesn't introduce too many secondary characters, convoluted storylines, or other unnecessary elements that detract from this romance. It successfully understands that less is more. Just a pensive glance or a piercing line of dialogue can already convey so much dramatic tension.

Tae Joo and Kang Gook

The romance was an emotional journey, supported by some pretty great performances from the actors. Both go through a mix of emotions, from doubt and confusion to jealousy and anger. I felt immersed in the romantic drama between these two friends. As they fumble with their feelings for each other, it was an emotionally charged journey that kept me engaged.

I liked the relationship between Tae Joo and Kang Gook, who shared a natural and comfortable rapport with each other. However, I wished there were more displays of romantic affection between them. Yes, they stare into each other's eyes, they play-fight all the time, and they even sleep in the same bed together. There was some physical intimacy between them, but not enough physical affection.

There were some pivotal scenes when the characters could've kissed in the moment, but the series shied away from the action for whatever reason. The actors seemed comfortable with each other, so it's a missed opportunity that they didn't get to express their affection more physically.

Where's the action? Give me some kissing, stroking, petting, caressing! It's like they get every facet of BL right, except for the part where they have to show their love physically for each other. 😞

Great acting

I thought the acting was above average, and both leads were pretty equal in terms of their acting skills. Kang Gook had the more emotionally nuanced role, and he was given better opportunities to showcase his range in the scenes.

The actor (Jang Eui Soo) was particularly great at giving these super longing glances with his eyes, which are brimming with emotion. So many scenes in Where Your Eyes Linger rely on Kang Gook speaking with his eyes, which he does so wonderfully.

Kang Gook

As mentioned above, Kang Gook did have the more emotionally complex role, so I gravitated towards his character from the start. He's the guy with the secret unrequited crush, so it's just easier to feel sympathetic towards his circumstances.

Tae Joo

As for Tae Joo, he started off as a rich brat and I wasn't fully on board with him at first. However, he was pretty charming and I did warm up to his character over time. In fact, I started feeling bad for him after he confessed his feelings and Kang Gook rejected him so harshly. By the end, both characters won me over and I liked them pretty equally.

No nudity

Nope, nope, nope. They went out of their ways to make sure you don't see any skin. There was a quick scene of Kang Gook getting dressed, but we only get to see his muscular back. There was also a lengthy scene where Kang Gook helped Tae Joo to take a bath, and you'd think there has to be something on display, but all you see is a foggy shower glass panel or extreme close-ups of their faces.

Some violence

The characters get into some fights here and there, but the physical violence doesn't feel too excessive or gory. There's a subtle air of homophobia from Tae Joo's dad, but nothing triggering was explicitly said.

Schoolyard confrontation

My favourite scene was the confrontation after the dodgeball game. Up until that point, the characters kept their feelings mostly bottled up inside. After so long, it was exhilarating to reach this breaking point, where Tae Joo released all his pent-up emotions in this heated exchange.

This scene was angry, aggressive, and full of adrenaline. I didn't know what to expect — were they gonna kiss, fight, confess, argue, or "do it here" (which was Kang Gook's first thought 😂)?

Hye Mi

Hye Mi seemed to have a pretty quirky and offbeat personality for a female love interest in a BL drama. I would've been interested in learning more about her character, but she only got a limited amount of screentime. In a longer series, Hye Mi's character could be fleshed out more and make the love triangle even more riveting to watch.

Happy ending

I was pretty satisfied with the happy ending, which jumped ahead in time a few years later. It was a very sensible conclusion for them to get back together now that they're adults. I liked that their feelings didn't change for each other, and now that they are "equals", the two of them can give their relationship another go.

With that said, I hate that we have to wait until the last scene for a three-second kiss between the leads, which cuts away to the credits immediately afterwards. Imagine watching a romance where the only time the couple kisses is in the last three seconds. I'm sorry, but how annoying is that? I'm not asking for a three-hour kissing marathon here, but a little more than the bare minimum would've been nice.