Season 1 |
Episode Guide
Episode 1 – | Review Score – 4/5
Episode 2 – | Review Score – 5/5
Episode 3 – | Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 4 – | Review Score – 4/5
Episode 5 – | Review Score – 5/5
Episode 6 – | Review Score – 4.5/5
Episode 7 – | Review Score – 4.5/5
Episode 8 – | Review Score – 4.5/5
Episode 9 – | Review Score – 4/5
Episode 10 – | Review Score – 4.5/5
South Korean dramas have been steadily increasing in popularity but similarly, Thai BL (boy love) dramas have been picking up steam too. As a result, there’s been a lot more attention given to Korean BL dramas. These romance dramas, showing the relationship between two male main leads, is something that the South Korean culture is still warming up to.
The year 2023 has got off to a great start with a large number of BL dramas releasing in the first quarter of the year alone. The Eighth Sense is one such high-school drama, following the story of Jae-won and Ji-hyun.
Ji-hyun is a country boy who arrives in the city of Seoul for college. He runs into Jae-won, a senior from a different department who goes to the same college as him. Ji-hyun grows interested in Jae-won and joins the college surf club to spend more time with him. However, the two soon catch feelings for each other and Ji-hyun risks getting his feelings hurt while Jae-won risks exposing himself to a trauma that he has been trying to process for years.
This 10-episode show is a great new addition to the world of Korean BL dramas, and it’s actually longer than the usual short-lengthweb dramas we’ve been getting recently. It also tries to adopt a Westernized style of narration in comparison to the usual K-drama episodic flow.
With episodes that start and end abruptly, there is a lot more room for imagination with the show and fans can analyze the episodes as they would like. The show also uses props like the surfboard – one that only Jae-won and Ji-hyun are seen using throughout the show – to imply the way these two are trying to balance themselves around the waves of heterosexual people around them.
Colours also play a very significant role in this BL and it is amazing how the makers use vibrant pink and purple every time Ji-hyun and Jae-won are together. The lighting is usually kept dim on purpose when Jae-won is all by himself whereas when his ray of sunshine, Ji-hyun, is around him, everything starts to brighten up.
The storyline had so much more to offer in terms of the internal conflicts of characters like Yoon-won and Eun-ji as well as the snobby personality of Tae-hyung that all could have their own spin-offs to give viewers more insight into their lives.
With the way this season of The Eighth Sense ended, there is some hope that the show will come back for a second, but it is also possible that the next season could be a lot more emotional than this one.
The actors do a great job portraying their characters, despite it being most of their first projects. However, Im Ji-sub and Oh Jun-taek do a great job in their respective main roles of Jae-won and Ji-hyun. It is particularly commendable of Oh Jun-taek, considering this is his first-ever acting project. Im Ji-sub has a long way to go with his charming on-screen presence and I will be looking forward to his future projects.
The OST to this show includes sombre and soft singles while ‘The Story’ by Conan Gray is a sweet surprise in the penultimate episode of the show. This series has a wide range of Korean as well as English songs that play in the background, all of which go well with the theme of each other episode.
Knowing that fans are expecting another season of this drama full of angst, one could hope that the makers decide to renew the show for a new season centered around Jae-won’s trauma and how he tries to process it, instead of pushing it aside.
The show is a great weekend watch and every episode makes you want to see more of Jae-won and Ji-hyun together because they really do make a really cute couple.
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Verdict - 9/10
9/10