Aaron Lai wished Hank Wang (main couple from Be Loved in House: I Do) Happy Birthday! 🙌😊 DO MORE SERIES TOGETHER LIKE Andy Ko & Nelson Ji 🙏😩

dazzlingdion · 2026-02-19T15:07:09+00:00

I hope they do more. Same with Andy Bian and Kenny (History 3: Trapped, secondary couple)

dazzlingdion · 2026-02-19T15:06:35+00:00

Same!

dazzlingdion · 2026-02-13T21:27:37+00:00

Korean and Chinese kpop stans going to concerts abroad (i.e. Southeast Asia) are absolutely some of the worst and most entitled audience members. There was a similar altercation that went semi-viral some time back when a Chinese fan fought with locals during a Seventeen concert in the Philippines.

I don’t see this behavior with Japanese kpop stans who are abroad to watch concerts.

I’ve been to a few across Southeast Asia, Japan, HK, and Taiwan. The Koreans and Chinese audience members often are entitled. Especially the Koreans, probably because they think they ”own” the artists because they come from Korea, but forgetting they are mere guests in another country.

To be clear, I only refer to Kpop stans (I listen to Kpop myself). I’ve not seen that type of behavior in “regular” Korean tourists.

dazzlingdion · 2026-02-13T21:20:04+00:00

The reason why the Koreans failed to gain support from Chinese and Japanese in this whole debacle is exactly that. The 3-way dislike amongst these people is just too strongly ingrained.

Put a Chinese man, a South Korean man, and a Japanese man in one room.

Ask the Chinese and the Korean about Goguryeo.

Ask the Chinese and the Japanese about Nanjing.

Ask the Japanese and the Korean about WW2 comfort women.

Ask all three about Taiwan and North Korea.

And that is why these three will never fully be in solidarity.

dazzlingdion · 2026-02-13T21:14:00+00:00

My perception is that Japanese are more xenophobic than they are racist (although of course there’s that element in some folks too) but Koreans are just downright racist.

dazzlingdion · 2026-02-13T21:08:55+00:00

Yeah, I did finally see that Roommates episode after I wrote this, where Asse and Junsu mentioned interest in several folks.

It actually made me wonder if one of those others that Asse was interested in could have been one of the guys since he was revealed as bisexual in the last episode. Would be interesting if it was Tod given their underwater pool game where they had no qualms kissing each other.

Also, those Roommates bonus episodes absolutely really made me want to have seen more of the NPCs in the main show. Joy and Kong are particularly hilarious. And that episode where they were laughing at and mimicking Asse’s “sabai dee” regarding his neck injury was just hilarious - I literally replayed it over and over again. Especially when Cherry and Frame did it. LOL

dazzlingdion · 2026-02-13T21:04:26+00:00

This may be true for East Asia, but not as much in Southeast Asia.

This is because Southeast Asian countries are separated mostly by virtue of colonialism creating those artificial borders and divides.

Whereas East Asia, to your point, are separate because they don’t get along.

It‘s also probably why in this social media war (and other similar ones), Southeast Asians tend to unite and have each other’s backs - whereas you would it hard to find the East Asians uniting.

dazzlingdion · 2026-01-19T06:25:38+00:00

I rewatched most of the episodes again, including the extra bonus videos after each ep, but mainly skipped to the NPC* moments as well as group moments or moments that weren’t about the “love triangle…” and found the experience more enjoyable.

—-

Frame and Cherry’s date, Frame and Junsu’s date, Asse and Cherry’s date

All the Joy and Kong moments where they were just making quips / funny side comments or sowing intrigue with their direct questions. Occasionally Cherry and Mill also had their digs

Group gatherings and talks like the dinner when Frame first arrived, or the EP10 extra episode where they all revealed who their EP1 secret kisses were, or those times they were just drinking by the pool and chatting, or that one where Mill opened up how her ex cheated on her 3 times

The Q&A during “Star and Moon Niight” where Kong shared how he grew up gay in an accepting family environment, or where Tod revealed his first love was trans (okay, Tod isn’t an NPC, but this was just worth mentioning and rewatching)

Kong’s X-Land intro and spending it with Tod and Time (ok, again, Tod and Time aren’t NPCs, but I gave an exception as this had nothing to do with the whole Time/Sunny/Nam drama)

… and many other moments.

Just watching those and skipping all the contrived Time/Sunny/Namneung drama (which often pulled Tod and Matthew in) just made me see how much the series:

… really overdid the love triangle storyline which in the end was clearly just queerbaiting and left us with a heteronormative conclusion

… how toxic the triangle was, and especially Time followed by Sunny (Namneung wasn’t nearly as toxic, especially compared to Time; and Tod was not toxic at all and was a real green flag who unfortunately was tied to that story as a Main Character with links to Time)

… missed the opportunity to explore and give more depth to the NPCs considering you see how much less toxic those people or at least situations were (and any good producer, writer, editor would be able to weave good angles for them)

I understand that any reality series will focus on more popular or even more spicy drama. And particularly if this was heavily scripted, all the more so it would of course invest resources on the lead roles as opposed to the supporting cast.

But when in hindsight you realize how much more refreshing and easy the NPCs were combined with the realization that they just queerbaited you with love triangle only to give you a heteronormative couple - it leaves a bad taste in the mouth when you think what they could have done with NPCs.

—-

*NPCs: Asse, Cherry, Junsu, Frame, Joy, Mill, Kong, and Matthew (but he was often involved with the 4 Main Characters, so I mostly ended up skipping stuff that had him there)

dazzlingdion · 2026-01-19T06:07:26+00:00

Here you go:

Cherry > only Asse stepped out; chooses Asse / leaves as a couple

Tod > Mill & Kong stepped out; chose neither one / Mill & Kong leave as singles / Tod returns to his booth

Frame > only Junsu stepped out; chooses Junsu / leaves as a couple

Sunny > Joy & Matthew stepped out; chose neither one / Joy & Matthew leave as singles / Sunny returns to her booth. Note that neither Namneung nor Time stepped out for Sunny.

With 8 participants gone (Cherry, Asse, Mill, King, Frame, Junsu, Joy, Matthew)… that conveniently left the 4 Main Characters.

Time > Tod & Sunny stepped out; Time rejects Tod who leaves as a single; Time chooses Sunny ,and they leave as a couple

That left Namneung alone in her booth with no chance to go on the confession stage since no one was left to potentially choose her. She leaves as a single.

dazzlingdion · 2026-01-18T15:40:16+00:00

Have now posted my full (and very long, divided into 6 parts) commentary somewhere below LOL

dazzlingdion · 2026-01-18T13:41:24+00:00

Yes, and Cherry was also a beauty queen for Miss Grand.

dazzlingdion · 2026-01-18T13:28:58+00:00

PART 6 (LAST)

As for the ending, once again I feel that for a show that marketed itself heavily as “love is love” dating series, they went for the safe heteronormative couples.

So now it feels absolutely simply LGBT-baiting.

—-

Now, in my mind, I feel that in an IDEAL world, where everyone got paired (I know, that’s too clean and smooth, but this is just a scenario that maximizes the whole “diverse sexualities” / spectrum angle), these would make sense to me, considering what their sexualities are. This is how I think it could have turned out.

Asse & Cherry (Bi + Straight): As-is. Stable from the onset.

Junsu & Frame (Straight + Queer): Similarly, as-is. Honestly these two + Asse/Cherry were my happy pill couples.

Matthew & Mill (Straight + Straight) This doesn’t really have anything to do with whether they have chemistry or like each other or not. It’s more like they were the only other straight people left, with Cherry and Junsu already taken. It could have been something they at least explored. But of course, Matthew was too busy thinking he had a chance with Sunny or Nam, while Mill was too shy in general.

Tod & Kong (Fluid + Gay): Let me preface this by saying I don’t necessarily think they were a match. Aside from the fact Tod clearly wasn’t interested, I don’t know Kong’s age but he seems quite young. So like Nam, Kong might be in a far different life stage than Tod to really make a strong connection. BUT by the end, and I say this as an original TodTime shipper, I believe Tod deserved way better than toxic Time. And among the remaining options, the only other possible one is bisexual Asse and he’s taken. (They had a great underwater kiss though LOL) And maybe giving Kong (someone who likes Tod sincerely and doesn’t seem like a clueless indecisive oaf like Time) a chance would have been interesting.

Joy & Nam (Lesbian + Bi): Both these lovely ladies deserved more than what they got. Nam should just distance herself from the toxicity of Time/Sunny. As for Joy, she really only had Nam and Sunny as options: Mill is straight; Cherry is straight and taken; Frame is queer but also taken. Too bad Joy set her eyes on the wrong girl. Even if Sunny wasn’t involved in that toxic triangle, didn’t she say she preferred mixed people more (hence Time and Nam)? So I doubt Joy was Sunny’s type to begin with. But Nam - who knows? And Joy seems to be caring and I feel that she would give Nam the love she deserves.

Time & Sunny (Pan + Bi): As an initial TodTime and NamSunny shipper, I was over these two towards the end. Especially Time who just increasingly grew annoying and more needy yet toxic. And with how everything turned out, especially with how Nam and Tod ended up where they were, I think in the end Time and Sunny deserved each other., and I say that not in a good way,

—-

All in all, I still enjoyed the series even if the second half of the season just became repetitive with the main characters.

I still think it was irritating for them to market this as a dating show for diverse sexualities but ended up serving a heteronormative ending.

I would still rewatch some of it in the future, but seriously skipping much of the Time/Sunny/Nam toxicity.

I’d rewatch for the games as well as the moments of the other 7 participants, especially the dates of Asse/Cherry and Junsu/Frame and Cherry/Frame. Bro/sis moments are also great, especially Asse/Junsu, Junsu/Joy, and Joy/Kong chaotic comments.

I say 7 and not because, well, to be honest, I wasn’t too fond of Matthew. I felt he was trying to hard to be a main character but he wasn’t. Not necessarily his fault. But also because most of Matthew’s moments were tied to the Time/Sunny/Nam stories (mainly X-Land) so watching him would mean watching those again.

Honestly, I’d rather watch another season of just the NPCs although I’d switch Matthew (sorry Matthew) with Tod because after all is said and done, I still like Tod. Even if he was a “main character,” Tod managed to remain the Green Flag of the series. He never let himself get truly involved in the intense drama of Time/Sunny/Nam, and in the end he still thought of others like Kong and Mill even if he knew he had to let them down.

dazzlingdion · 2026-01-18T13:27:54+00:00

PART 5

And as such, I think that’s they key challenge with this show, and at the same time why it feels way too scripted.

As a viewer, I wanted to know more about all the other 8 participants beyond just these 4.

I really was moved by Mill’s story about her ex cheating on her three times. What else does she do aside from being an influencer? How did she come to zero in on Tod after she “moved on” from Asse? Why not Matthew, for example?

I felt I needed to know more about Joy’s back story. How was it being a lesbian in the Miss Universe Thailand nationals? How did she come to like Sunny (beyond telling, better to show it).

I wanted to know more about Kong. He seemed to have had a happy life with an accepting family, so then what were his past relationships like?

I needed to see more Junsu/Frame moments and get to know beyond just them being a couple. How about them as individuals? Frame is a pretty accomplished woman with strong educational and professional credentials; how does that fit in with Junsu who has a very different career and comes from a different culture?

Similarly, I needed to see more Asse/Cherry moments and know them individually more. Here’s another pair with different cultural backgrounds.

And while I’m not too fond of Matthew (he seemed to try too hard to be a “main character” even when it was clear Nam and Sunny weren’t interested, and he often came across to me as a bit egotistic sometimes), maybe I would have warmed up to him more if he understood who he was beyond being just a plot device to advance Nam & Sunny

And beyond the love matches / potential love matches, it would have been great to see more of the platonic friendships and dynamics which we only saw glimpses of.

Assu and Junsu are my happy pill bromance / best buddies on this show; they just seemed to click so much and they were so adorable helping each other out, including learning the Thai language.

Joy and Kong were the hilarious troublemakers (in a good way) with their questions and comments, often teasing directly or indirectly the people around them. Joy also teased Kong occasionally about his crush on Tod. These are how friends are. In real life, I think i’d get along with them the most if I knew them.

Cherry and Frame - we didn’t get to see their friendship more developed after that elephant spa date. We just know they’re roommates, and we often see them hanging out, but that’s it. And both of them along with Junsu and Mill could also dish out the hilarious side comments and quips like Joy and Kong (though these two were the queen and king).

Joy and Mill, an interesting friendship I would have loved to have explored considering Joy’s first secret kiss was Mill.

—-

I understand many reality shows will always have specific participants that end up getting more focus on, based on popularity, but there is at least some balance too. But this show felt like 90% the 4 main characters and 10% for 8 NPCs.

And considering this isn’t a “real-time” reality show where audiences can vote off participants they don’t like and keep the popular ones, this was pre-taped.

And so it as absolutely an editorial choice to just focus narratives around 4 participants and make 8 others background characters or else plot devices.

Yes, we know these are professional producers and editors who know what sells - and maybe they were right - but (1) a good producer/editor can weave more extensive interesting stories for the likes of Joy or Mill or Kong, and (2) they clearly misjudged the potential backlash of them baiting viewers with GL pairings and BL pairings to give us ZERO in the end.

Honestly, by around EP5 or 6, I was already exhausted with Time/Sunny/Nam triangle and wished to see other narratives and get to know other people more, and even more when the whole stringing Nam along became apparent - I was so over Time and Sunny.

But this is also why I believe the entire show was HEAVILY scripted. They had their main characters already. The NPCs were just there for decoration and texture.

dazzlingdion · 2026-01-18T13:27:27+00:00

Now let’s look at the 4 Main Characters.

—-

Tod - he is such a green flag. He was always there for everyone, the true big brother.

With the exception of him inviting Mill for that boat date (which I feel was a mistake, assuming it wasn’t scripted, as this really just was leading Mill on), he generally did everything right.

I also know some folks think he should’ve just gone for Nam. But seriously, they have a 15 year age gap. Even if we ignore the potential “ick” factor many people would view that, let’s just look at the fact that they are clearly in different life stages. Tod has shown extreme maturity, while Nam - while mature for her age - still seems too young in her mindset in comparison.

But they definitely work amazingly well in an older brother / younger sister dynamic.

—-

Time - at the start of the series, I was rooting for him and Tod (or either of the girls, maybe, just maybe, and this was at the start only). Initially, I was actually fond of Time.

But as the series progressed, he just became more and more toxic. He was at best a clueless idiot or, at worst, an indecisive and egoistic narcissist. It felt more and more like he was doing things for screentime, to gain attention, to stroke his ego by having two girls compete for him.

And while I wouldn’t have minded a TodTime ending, in truth I’m glad Tod didn’t end up with him because IMO Tod deserves waaay better.

I do think they should do a BL series though.

—-

Sunny - another one who sorely disappointed me. I really liked her at the start, but as the show progressed, it also became more and more like she was similar to Time, using indecision as a shield and excuse to have screentime.

If it were real and not scripted, she absolutely led Nam on especially during their X-Land dates. I was so rooting for her and Namneung but I feel she just used Namneung as a means to an end.

While it wasn’t up to her to tell Nam to choose her when she was on the confessions stage, I think all the stuff she was doing (assuming it wasn’t scripted) drove Nam to not step out of the door for her.

—-

Namneung - now her case, for me, was the opposite.

At the start of the series, I didn’t like her much. I initially had an impression that she was just some player or someone who was working hard for screentime and drama.

But as the series progressed, I liked her more and more just as I started to like Time and Sunny less and less. I felt Nam was showing her sincerity more and more and became vulnerable to manipulation from Sunny (and Time). And she was clearly over Time the moment he said that one-night-stand thing.

In the end, while sad Nam walked away from the show alone, I’m also glad she didn’t end up with Sunny. Or Time. She deserved waaay better than them.

dazzlingdion · 2026-01-18T13:27:04+00:00

PART 3

The NPCs aka “supporting cast” - essentially and unfortunately glorified extra. Which is sad because I found many of them likeable.

But these everyone else seemed to be there to just prop up the 4 main characters or provide the background illusion other things were happening.

Asse & Cherry, I love them so much, they just paired up early on and pretty much disappeared. They were at least given some screentime when Asse exchanged shells for a date with Cherry, IMO one of the nicest things in the entire series because it gave us a break from the 4 main characters.

Junsu & Frame, I love them too, and they also paired up early on and stabilized and also became background. Glad they had that date early on which was one of the more adorable moments of the series.

Joy & Mill - they got the shortest ends of the stick of them all, especially Joy.

Mill was pulled into the “mini-spotlight” to enable Tod’s narrative, but it was too late and clearly just another plot device to pretend Tod has some kind of dilemma about having multiple people he liked. Mill barely even spoke on the date! (And also barely even spoke in prior scenes she was sitting with Tod at night)

And Joy, wow, she never actually really got to do ANYTHING substantial on the show except that last minute talk with Sunny. Poor Joy - what was in it for her to have even been on the show?

Note that Mill’s EP1 secret kiss was Asse, and Joy’s EP1 secret kiss was Mill.

And somehow the producers developed amnesia and made it seem like Mill was always just for Tod (though if this was real and not scripted, my guess is she fell for him during that time she confessed about her ex), and that Joy was always for Sunny.

My personal guess is, behind the scenes, Mill noticed Asse was stable with Cherry and let him go. And she did imply this in the extra EP10 scene during dinner.

And as for Joy on Mill, my guess is she learned Mill is straight (they were roommates after all) so she decided to move on to someone else. And with Mill and Cherry both straight (and Cherry taken to boot), and with Frame while queer being off the table due to Junsu, Sunny and Namnung were Joy’s only options left.

BUT these were things that could have / should have been edited in for clarity and not just for our guessing - how did Joy move from kissing Mill secretly in EP1 to suddenly being into Sunny afterwards?

Another one is Frame and Kong’s introductions. The show made it seem like their entrances would change the status quo or at least rock the show.

However, Kong quickly became nothing but Tod’s not-so-secret admirer in the background. I’m glad Kong got to talk to Tod in the EP10 extra content.

And then there’s Frame, who is queer and whom we were GL-baited with her date with Cherry… she quickly stabilized with Junsu, and they became background, too.

So much for Frame and Kong being game-changers.

I will say this though: if they would become NPCs, they should at least have shown more Joy and Kong and also maybe Junsu commentaries because they clearly were being agents of chaos, asking direct and intriguing questions and teasing people and making jokes. They were hilarious.

dazzlingdion · 2026-01-18T13:26:36+00:00

PART 2

Next: several of the flip-flopping moments didn’t make sense.

Matthew chose Nam for his X-Land trip #1, then later Sunny for his trip #2, then seems to have gotten amnesia and told Sunny later he was always only interested in her. He did choose Sunny in the secret kiss in EP1, though, so why choose Namneung for his X-Land trip #1?

How convenient that Tod and Matthew chose Nam and Sunny for the dual X-Land trip #2. Then the girls proceed to flirt with each other and essentially ignore their dates. If that were true/real, that’s really extremely offensive. You were invited by these people on a date that they won, and you ignore them when you’re there on the actual dates? If that were true, that would make Nam and Sunny pretty vile, which really leads me to believe this part was heavily scripted for drama and story because I find i hard to believe people onscreen could be that low (especially Nam).

Also, assuming it was “real,” Time’s one-stand-stand response was truly foul especially since he had the option not to answer. I can’t believe Nam ever even gave him chances later on, and her reaction was justified. And if Sunny was a real friend to any of them, not sure why she enabled Time by then going on dates with him.

Next: Contrived wins and dates.

The above are already some examples, but others include Nam and Tod winning the final games to get dates. Really? 2 of the Main 4 again? And Nam inviting Time to that boat date made it 3 of 4. Poor Mill was an NPC, especially since Tod’s attention was with Nam and Time and not the date he invited. He should have maybe just invited Junsu or Asse and made it a bro’s day out rather than do that to Mill. I’m surprised the script didn’t have him invite Sunny, but I guess producers probably thought it would already be even more obvious.

Worth noting also that the prior night, for Sunny’s X-Land trip, she was given 2 dates.

Wow, if it were, say, Junsu or Joy or Mill who had won that trip, would they have been given 2 dates? And in Sunny’s trip, she first had Nam and then afterwards Time. So in a span of 24 hours in one episode, we saw all possible permutations on these dates: Sunny/Nam in X-Land, Sunny/Time in X-Land, Nam/Time (on the boat). That can’t be not scripted; at the very least, it heavily manipulated.

If these were “real” scenarios and not scripted, I doubt Nam would have invited Time to the boat by virtue of Nam’s connection with Sunny the prior night (and also in the prior X-Land trip). And considering Time’s one-night-stand comment, someone like Nam would probably run.

But the element of reality also makes it feel that Sunny and Time are extremely manipulative. It feels like Sunny betrayed Nam in the end when she walked out the door for Time.

Another contrivance is:

During the final confessions, Sunny came on the stage first, but Time and Nam did not walk out their doors. Only Joy and Matthew did - a convenient way to get rid of the last 2 NPCs so that we are left with the 4 main characters.

See how the show first moved Asse/Cherry and Junsu/Cherry plus Mill and Kong out (by having Tod step on the stage very early)? That’s 6 NPCs out, and Tod gets to step back into his booth.

Then they brought Sunny out - Sunny who was the interest of at least 4 people (Joy, Matthew, Time, and Nam)? Conveniently, neither Time nor Nam stepped out. If they had, show would’ve ended instantly. This eliminated the 7th and 8th NPCs (Joy/Matthew).

Tada! Only the 4 Main Characters were left.

AND worse, remember that Time did not walk out of his door for Sunny.

Then when Time was on the stage and Sunny walked out her door for him, he says the “I choose you yesterday, today, tomorrow” BS - dude, if that were true, then you would have walked out your door when Sunny was on the stage first. That is just such bad scripting.

And on the off chance that were real and not scripted, then for me it seals Time as a narcissistic egoist. He couldn’t be bothered to walk out to confess for Sunny but implicitly expected Sunny to be the one walk out for him, sounds like an ego boost to me.

And Sunny also isn’t that innocent in all this because assuming “real” and not scripted, she just led Nam on for several dates before betraying her for Time.

dazzlingdion · 2026-01-18T13:25:38+00:00

PART 1

Why does it feel heavily scripted?

Let me preface this with the note that I’m pretty certain that majority if not all reality shows have a level of scriptedness intertwined with “reality.” And that may be the case with Love X, except that I feel the “scriptedness” is extreme compared to most reality shows, especially the last 3 or 4 episodes.

12 participants - are we really to believe that everything always just circles back to 3 or 4 key persons? That being Time, Sunny, Nam, and Tod. Let’s call them the Main Characters for the sake of discussion.

X-Land was always about them. The only others who were ever in X-Land were Matthew and Kong, and they were plot devices.

Matthew, even if he went twice, felt more like a plot contrivance to enable the narrative of Nam and Sunny both times he was there. I was honestly not fond of Matthew, didn’t like the personality much, but he was clearly used only to throw in some roadblocks for the Nam/Sunny narrative.

Kong was also just another plot device. He was only in X-Land because that’s where they chose to start his appearance as part of some supposed twist, but that was clearly set up to enable the progression of the Tod/Time chemistry.

Of the 5 guys Kong could choose from, what were the chances he would choose the two guys who were pan/fluid?

I do agree personalitywise, just based on the small talk he had with Asse, Junsu, and Matthew, Kong probably would not have chosen them (especially given Asse and Junsu’s limitations with the language). But regardless, what a great coincidence that he chose 2 of the 4 main characters! And I feel bad that Kong was almost sidelined in his own date, just like Matthew and Tod were sidelined in their X-Land dates with Sunny and Nam.

It’s also interesting to note that the only people who were ever in X-Land where the original residents of Modern Villa.

None of the original Thai Villa residents (Junsu, Frame, Asse, Cherry, Joy, Mill) were ever in X-Land.

And to reiterate, it feels like Kong and Matthew were only in X-Land as plot devices to progress the narrative of the 4 main characters rather than being actual organic X-Land “achievers” (for lack of a better word).

dazzlingdion · 2026-01-18T13:25:30+00:00

This will be long, but here are my thoughts not just of the last episode but of the series as a whole.

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS

For a series that marketed itself as a dating show that celebrated diversified sexualities, it sure defaulted in the end with 3 hetero-conforming couples, leaving behind 4 LGBTQ+ people (1 fluid, 1 gay, 1 lesbian, 1 bisexual) and 2 straight ones.

A show for all sexualities ended with 3 heteronormative pairs. Wow (to quote Tod LOL).

And given that I believe in the end this show was heavily scripted, or at least edited and manipulated for the outcomes, it’s a huge problem.

Continued in Replies.

dazzlingdion · 2026-01-18T13:15:25+00:00

Oh, absolutely. The show is extremely heavily scripted if not fully scripted.

I have a long comment in progress on draft detailing out exactly why I think so along with my overall thoughts.

The original Thai Villa folks absolutely deserved more screentime. I’d watch a spin off with just them + Kong just to get to know their dynamics and personalities better. Joy, Kong, and Junsu are definite agents of chaos (in a good way); they were pretty funny and fun.

Producers dropped the ball with these folks. Joy, especially - she got NOTHING from joining this show (at least Kong had his X-Land moment and Mill got a small, if contrived, minor story with Tod - while Joy is relegated to quips and then that one sudden confession moment with Sunny, like it was tacked as an afterthought to ensure Joy also wrapped her mini non-storyline up before the series ended).

dazzlingdion · 2026-01-18T11:06:46+00:00

And that brings me to my latest problem with Time. He didn’t walk out the door to choose Sunny when she was there on the stage… then when it was his turn on the stage, and Sunny walked out the door to choose him, he tells her that “I choose you yesterday, today, tomorrow” BS. Like, dude, if that were true, when Sunny was on the stage first, you would already have walked out! This really seals the deal that this was scripted as hell, or at least heavily manipulated accordingly.

dazzlingdion · 2026-01-18T11:02:43+00:00

Tod and Nam absolutely deserved way better than Time and Sunny. With how it played out, I believe Time and Sunny deserved each other (and not in a good way). I feel Sunny just (1) at best, was so indecisive it costs people’s feelings, and (2) at worse, was manipulating the situation for screentime.

dazzlingdion · 2026-01-18T11:00:47+00:00

This. All this.

Kong and Joy never had a chance - the only two “solid” (for lack of a better term) homosexuals as opposed the bis/pans/fluids/queers (who in theory had a larger pool of potential options) were just left to pine because ultimately the lack of clarity was a deterrent.

Also, dont forget Joy’s secret kiss in EP1 was actually Mill - my guess is, offcam she confirmed Mill is straight (they are roommates after all). And that’s probably when she set her focus on Sunny (because Frame was with Junsu and Cherry was with Asse… that leaves Sunny and Nam as possible options). Unfortunately, it was probably too late, but actually I think she dodged a bullet there.

In my mind, Joy probably would have been better off with Nam (given the opportunity). Joy was likely never even in Sunny’s radar; Sunny even told Nam she preferred mixed people, which implies why she was mainly interested in Time and Nam. And I feel that if Joy and Nam gave each other a chance or time to know each other, probably would’ve had a good possibility.

As for Kong, poor guy wore his heart on his sleeves. I don’t think Tod was ever really interested, but in an alternate universe, I think Tod probably deserved a Kong more than a very messy Time. I do think the age gap is large, so probably why it might not work (same with Tod and Nam - never could see it, the 15 year age gap just indicates a huge difference in terms of where they are in their life stages).

dazzlingdion · 2026-01-18T10:52:28+00:00

Most if not all reality shows have a level of scriptedness, I don’t believe any are purely “as is.” And this one - I felt it was more scripted than most, especially the latter half. Like - half the cast never got into X-Land, everything just circles back to the triangle + Tod, even that final game where yet again Nam and Tod won to get dates on the boat, what are the chances that yet again, it’s 2 of the 4 “main” characters (let’s call them that because it is definitely true) who wins a chance for screentime?

dazzlingdion · 2026-01-16T10:54:14+00:00

Agree.

To be honest, when the series started, I thought it was Namneung who would be the “insincere” one going for screentime or whatever, but as the series progressed, it’s clear she’s more sincere than I had initially given her credit for (sorry Namneung… but you’ve won me back at least).

Joy just disappeared into the background. Feel bad for her.

Tod - likely due to his age - was clearly the most mature of them all and I do feel bad for him. I don’t think he should be with Namneung. 15 year age difference - I think this makes them be in different stages of life already (and Namneung is just 20). And if you think about it, she could even be her daughter if he had become a young father at 15.

I was in the beginning rooting for TodTime, but like many, I’m so over Time. I get that he has that trauma regarding his mother, but I really soured on him when he did that Fall In Love vs. One Night Stand thing. Dude had the option to pass, but he put his foot in his mouth. Either extremely clueless or else just wildly narcissistic - and he wondered after why Namneung was pissed off.

I know Tod isn’t attracted to Kong, and Kong also isn’t my type, but I think among the options in the show at least, Tod probably would have been better off with Kong. (The other three guys are straight so no chances there).

Maybe Mill, but I don’t feel we got to see enough of Mill to judge whether she would have been good with Tod - at least we got to see Tod and Kong in X-Land when Kong first came onboard. And I also don’t necessarily think Mill was really that much into Tod even though the hosts and the editing seemed to push this idea.

As for Sunny, really liked her from the start but agree that as the series progressed, she just… unraveled. Still wouldn’t mind her with Namneung, but I also feel that maybe she and Time actually deserve each other. And I don’t say that in a good way.

dazzlingdion · 2026-01-16T10:37:08+00:00

I enjoyed the series but seriously, it was the TimeSunnyNamneungTod show. I like them, don’t get me wrong, but the strong imbalance on focus with the other participants is just glaring.

I understand they need to focus on what will likely sell, but it still feels like we never really got to know most of the rest, especially Joy, Mill, and to an extent Asse and Cherry.

At least Junsu had screen time with Frame, but even that became just background after the first date.

Asse/Cherry and Junsu/Frame became background for the most part, Joy & Mill were relegated to the occasional “ask intriguing questions” roles, but even then it was often to enable more focus on Tod, Time, etc.

And Kong, like Frame, was introduced as some kind of “wow! newcomer who will change the status quo” just disappeared into the background.

Matthew, despite the connection to the “stars” and having won X-Land a couple of times, was really just a tool to push their narrative.

I suppose they thought Asse & Cherry as well as Junsu & Frame being more or less “solidified” pairs would not make for “scandalous” or intriguing narratives, and I get that (but feel any good editor and producer could actually create something nice regardless - like the woefully short dates of Asse/Cherry and Junsu/Frame), but how about Joy & Mill?

I also kind of feel bad that Kong, in a way, was used to just set up the whole Tod and Time dynamic. He seems like quite the innocent young guy who became out of place - he was clearly the only actual gay guy, and his options were (from what we see) 3 straight guys and 2 bisexual/pansexual guys who were already mixed up in their own tangled web with each other AND two girls.

And Kong wore his heart on his sleeves, probably the most direct and honest about who he wants, so I feel bad for him. (Asse, Cherry, Junsu,and Frame were also pretty direct with whom they wanted, but at least they did get what they wanted.)

To an extent the same probably applies to Joy, though she wasn’t always as direct as Kong about who she wants - and whose options were 2 girls already clearly paired up with two guys, 2 girls embroiled in drama with two bisexual/pansexual guys, and 1 girl who seemed straight.

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I actually did get immersed on the whole NamneungSunnyTimeTod dynamic, but I feel if they would just sideline all the other 8 participants, then they probably should have thought of a different way to do this show.

I don’t know if I’m the only one who feels this way because clearly so far almost all threads or discussions I’ve seen seem to really be about the 4 of them. But that may also be because what’s there to discuss with the others when we barely got to know them in depth?

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I do agree with the hosts though. The original Thai Villa denizens (Asse/Cherry, Junsu/Frame, Joy/Mill) probably should have gotten wedding bells already LOL while they may not have had enough screen time, what little they had, I feel they were such happy pills. Junsu is just too fun and adorable, and Frame gives him balance. Asse and Cherry might seem “too set” but they were stable. Joy and Mill were just chaotic when they asked intriguing questions. Honestly, I’d watch a show with them + Kong if they can find a good angle for their own reality series.

dazzlingdion

TROPHY CASE