I made this blog to share my thoughts and views on the shows and movies I watch as well as the books I read. I am personally someone who loves to critically analyse every single character and just talk about them. So this blog is kind of like a safe space where I can share my thoughts as well as hear out the opinions which others have. I look forward to creating memories for a lifetime <3
Well, finally finished the show (it’s been two days) and I finally gathered my thoughts to write a solid review.
Just to be clear, I started this show without knowing that it was a webtoon adaptation of a series which was problematic. I didn’t know anything about that but I am not gonna let that cloud my judgement since from what I read the show and the webtoon are different for the most part.
I started this show because I am a sucker for revenge dramas (I have watched study group, weak hero class, taxi driver, judge from the hell, etc) and this did NOT disappoint me a bit.
Also some of the quotes stuck to me so much because as someone who experienced inequality in school as a child I genuinely understand how bad my school life was before I met my now best friend.
Initial thoughts:
The introduction of the main character (Na hwajin) was made with a banger! The way he gave the victim justice gave a sense of satisfaction since the beginning.
The only episode which irked me a bit was the one where the influencer students faked getting assaulted, I just felt like that type of portrayal was not needed.
Another thing which pissed me off was the fact that how parents actually can put up with their kids shitty behaviour with the excuse of them being “kids” because kid or not, there are basic manners which every parent needs to teach their kids and that was just not shown. The parents just seemed too self engrossed to even bother to look after their kids to tell them what’s wrong or right.
Two quotes which stuck with me were— “Not every teacher deserves to be a teacher.” (I cried when I read that) and “The first step to getting help is asking for help.”
The reason why the first quote resonated with me so much was because I lowkey went through so much humiliation as a child because of the teachers in my school. (A duster + chalk was thrown at me by a teacher when I was in 2nd grade, in first grade a teacher told my then friend that she should not be friends with me because I was a average student and she wasn’t, humiliated by my teachers for not being that smart and what not. The list could go on honestly…)
I personally also feel like the romance between those two was lowkey not needed because we already had the main lead going through grief and although there was some chemistry between the other two members of the bureau it just felt a bit rushed (?) if you get what I mean but other than that the little moments you get of the male lead with his fiancee before it all went down were so wholesome. They deserved so much better:((
But I genuinely enjoyed this show so much and I might get hate for this lol.
Overall verdict:
I liked how every episode focused on a new case (kind of like taxi driver but instead of giving two episodes for one case it had one episode for one case).
It gives you a sense of satisfaction when the victim gets the revenge and justice they deserve. The fact that the bureau stood with the victims, not a student, not a teacher but the victim is a great message because sometimes no matter how much authority a person can have they can still be going through something.
Also the fact that in the series, the gangsters who were given a second chance managed to earn it. They redeemed themselves by correcting their behaviour while on the other hand the elite students were so deep in that they didn’t even realise how far they had gone.
In the end, villains aren’t born, they’re made by the society. If most of the people in the show had proper guidance and were pulled back before they lost themselves then maybe they could have saved themselves but sometimes not everyone has the privilege to have the right people in their lives to guide them down the right path.
Final verdict:
Honestly, this was a good quick watch. Personally someone who was losing interest in just kpop (I think we all know why that is…) and Kdrama in general this show gave me something fresh to focus on.
This show is worth it if you’re looking for something quick to watch which will be finished in a day or two. Especially if you are someone who likes highschool revenge dramas!
The only thing missing in this show was not having cha woomin in it as a highschool bully lmao. Bros is known for that 😭.
Is it just me or have you guys also noticed when actors/actresses (mostly in actors I have seen) start making a specific face or like a facial expression after a certain show or movie and just embody that in their system so they just have that expression whenever they’re acting? Like the roles and characters can be different but the face is the same expression they had over the last few films 😭 (not to say most of the time their previous works were sooo good)
I just finished watching season one of My Life With The Walter Boys and to say the least, I was pleasantly surprised by it. I did not expect to like the show as much as I did and only decided to give it a try after seeing a clip of Alex ( Ashby Gentry).
I personally expected the storyline to be the same as The Summer I Turned Pretty but it was not. Although the trope is pretty much the same where the girl is in a love triangle with two brothers, the pacing of the show and the characters are not even remotely similar to the ones from TSITP.
Honestly I would have stopped watching but then I saw Nathan (Corey Fogelmanis) and went “Farkle? What are you doing here honey?” so the people who get it get it lol.
Initial Thoughts:
My Life With The Walter Boys is like the typical teenage romance drama which revolves around a girl who is stuck between two brothers and then starts playing the both of them. It is set in the countryside with a beautiful ranch and horses. You get the flirty guy (Cole) and the cowboy (Alex).
The starting of the show was a bit iffy for me and I was about to quit it because I just could not understand what was going on. As someone who dived into this show with no prior knowledge (except the fact that it is like TSITP) I was lost for the first fifteen-thirty minutes because they never properly mention about the death of Jackie's parents and to move the plot forward faster they just make a huge timeskip of six or so months to show that Jackie is moving in with her now guardians, The Walters.
It is a whole new and different environment for Jackie as she is someone who was born and raised in New York and she was suddenly just told that she would be moving in with like 11 boys (One girl who I am guessing is around 10-11).
Now the reason I said that I expected it to be like TSITP was because I only knew that it was a love triangle between the two brothers who fall in love with the same girl and although the plot and trope is same, in my opinion the vibe and the characters are drastically different than the ones from TSITP.
Characters:
Jackie:
Jackie is the daughter of a famous fashion designer who used to live in the upper west side of New York and went to a private school. She is a dedicated person whose goal is to get into Princeton by hook or crook because her father went there. Now after losing her whole family she had to move in with the walters.
Now I don’t understand the whole school calling her ‘lucky’ just because she moved in with the walters when that poor girl had just lost her whole family in an accident. She is basically doubting her self worth and turned towards the first person who showed her kindness and care who turns out to be Alex. It could have been cole but he was acting like a jerk so eh.
At a degree, she is messy, yes because she did kiss cole the same day Alex said I love you to her but I don’t think she took it to heart because she knew that Alex was already drunk and wasted and sometimes people say things they don’t mean to when drunk but her kissing Cole and then running away to New York just because she did not want to face the consequences of her own actions made me dislike her bit.
Okay but wasn’t her mom a fashion designer? Why were her outfits reminding me of those youtube fanfictions about BTS where the girl is always dressed in a pair of jeans and some sweater + collared shirt combo. It is just my opinion but I did not like her outfits that much in the first few episodes (Love her dress choices though. Especially the wedding one).
If we keep aside her relationship with Cole and Alex, then we gotta talk about how Jackie handled Parker’s feelings in the last episode. I mean that girl only ever had an older sister and she was still getting used to being the older sister with Parker. The way she managed to understand Parker and comforted her made me happy because Parker finally started feeling understood since she only ever grew up around boys who no doubt are…boys.
Now I don’t dislike Jackie that much but I do not like how she played with Alex’s feelings and in the end managed to prove him right about being insecure about how Cole always ‘steals’ his girlfriend because the poor boy was already hurt in the past by his brother.
Alex:
Alex is like the sweet guy who is socially awkward and doesn’t really know how to converse with people who are new. He has only ever been friends with his childhood best friend Kylie and didn’t talk much with others (from my observation) until he got with his girlfriend, Paige who later betrays him by kissing Cole.
Speaking with no bias in mind, I honestly found the way Alex was acting in a few scenes understandable because till the very end he thought that Cole kissed Paige on purpose despite knowing the fact that he is dating her. Now that accusation is very much possible because after that injury Cole goes through he changes himself and starts hooking up with girls. Although Alex later realises that the feelings he had for Paige was just a crush, at that moment for him it was too much to handle which built up the hatred towards Cole.
Alex already had those envious feelings towards Cole because he thought that he had it easy since he was a good football player and knew how to talk with others without embarrassing himself. Alex thought little of himself and didn’t really take the effort to talk with Cole when he saw him kissing Paige (Even Cole did not bother to clear out the air and just let ALex believe that he kissed Paige despite knowing that she was dating Alex).
Now when Alex met Jackie, for him it was like a fresh start in a way because Jackie obviously had no idea about their past and the more time he spent with her the more he started catching feelings for her. They both had a few classes together which led to them getting closer and he was also the one who took the efforts to help her settle down without making her feel as if she did not belong there.
From the beginning Alex was nothing but sweet to Jackie and even stepped aside and did not intervene between Jackie and Cole when he saw them together and just let them talk while being on the sidelines.
Cole:
Cole is the typical hunk of the show which every girl likes. People even call it the Cole Effect which no one can escape because he is just that charming of a guy. Now at the beginning he did try to act like a jerk towards Jackie but honestly speaking he was anything but that. Yes, he snapped at her a few times but he was already grieving over not being able to play football anymore (he was basically aiming for a sports scholarship but since he cannot play anymore then he would not be able to get a scholarship) and how it will affect his future in return.
Now from what I noticed Jackie was more comfortable around Cole in a sense that she talked more about her feelings, what she felt and also about her family. Jackie seems to be more of a closed off person who doesn’t talk much about her feelings but when she’s with Cole it just naturally comes.
She has had more deep and truthful conversations with Cole than Alex. With Cole you also see how he cares so much for his siblings and family (his bond with Parker is so sweet. Reminds me of my bond with my older brother) and it was unfortunate that the thing with Paige caused such a rift between him and Alex.
Now I am still watching the second season but oh my god the way Cole treated all the girls in the series got on my nerves! Yes he later manages to redeem himself but that was only after Erin and Jackie call his shitty behaviour out.
If Erin would have agreed to go off with him that day after she told that they’re done just because Cole was giving her attention again then I would have been mad because you cannot just play with others like that.
But honestly speaking, it also takes real efforts to muster up the courage to own up to your mistakes and the fact that your actions hurt others which Cole does own up to. He apologises to Erin and agrees with the fact that what he did was wrong. He also tries to patch things up with Alex (which was of no use later on because he did prove Alex’s insecurities right by kissing Jackie)
Aside from that I just really love his smile in all honesty 😭he should smile more :((
Relationship between Alex and Cole:
I am going to keep this segment short because I just wanted to address that Jackie didn’t do much to ruin the relationship between Cole and Alex.
Alex already had that pent up anger against Cole because of the misunderstanding between the two of them and when Jackie came it just kind of made the rivalry more visible. Sooner or later Cole and Alex were going to fight if it wasn’t Jackie than it could have been someone else, who knows?
And I don’t agree with the people who say that Alex only liked Jackie because he realised that Cole is interested in her, he already seemed to have taken an interest in her and when he realised that Cole likes her as well it just made him more determined to get closer with Jackie.
Alex cares about Jackie and so does Cole. Both of them have different ways of showing it.
Although I do think the relationship between Alex and Cole could have been mended if not for the kiss between Jackie and Cole but I feel like they can still make their relationship work. Maybe time will tell.
Overall Impact:
I think MLWTWB was a pretty good drama. It wasn’t a new trope or anything but it still felt new in a way and wasn’t a total replica of TSITP. It had a few moments where I felt emotional, I also felt bad for Jackie and wished they would have added a few more scenes where she’s shown grieving or vulnerable.
The relationship of the siblings is strong. No snitching rule, standing up for each other and just being there for the others. Jackie also slowly managed to fit in with them and was a great older sister to the younger ones.
Final verdict:
I think it’s a good watch if you’re looking for something with a love triangle plus some drama. It’s set in the countryside so you’d get the aesthetic of cowboys, horses, greenery. There’s also a big barn and what not (Alex is a literal cowboy so…) so I think it’s worth it.
