Step By Step The Series - Tumblr Posts
La Pluie and Step by Step are not enough. I miss the days when I had to struggle to keep up with all my current drama obsessions. *sigh*
*jumping off Tumblr because NONE of the Step by Step spoilers look good*
All I'm seeing is misery for everyone in my feed.
Someone please get me to the side of Tumblr where people aren't bashing a 23-year-old character for not leaping into the arms of his 35-year-old BOSS 48 hours after breaking up with his first love for the second time. HIS BOSSSSSS.
I'm as aggravated as the next person about the pacing of the show but that's because they are trying to squeeze 3 books into 12 episodes - not because the characters are working through real reservations and challenges.
WTH?! People are posting Episode 12 content. No place is safe.
I completely forgot about the sister!
I'm not sure if she was the oldest, but she should be older than Jaab. Maybe she is interested in taking over ...
We've always been confused about the Step by Step timeline but this episode really took the cake for me hsdlskfsfj apologies for the nitpicking but it really is because I saw SO much potential in it and I love the characters and the acting so much🥺
We FINALLY got an official explicit "2 years later", couldn't you add a few more of these? ðŸ˜
So in the first episode or so Pat mentions he's 25, then a couple of episodes ago he had his bday which I assumed was his 26th. Then this episode, 2 years later he celebrated his birthday (I assumed 28th) and on what I thought was a few days later he told Jeng's mom he's gonna "turn 26 this October" which is an odd thing to say right after your (28) birthday ksjfsfsd
The morning after the embarrassing singing Pat doesn't remember their chat in the kitchen? but they're being so normal around each other? Then how much time passes in the relationship it's so unclear!! We get both their bdays ig?
Did they have them break up just so we'll get another honeymoon phase? Because really, they could have just let them stay happy instead of doing that without showing us anything changed that would allow this relationship to work this time around,.,
The back and forth in Pat and Jeng 's relationship was jarring af but ahh well they WERE cute at the end and I did like their playfulness..
Jeng's dad's evil refusal to let him quit... yeah let's ignore that and not mention it ever again after that meaningful trash throwing : )
OH and with all the discussions about Jeng being the eldest and expectations.. are we all just ignoring their older sister??? There was a whole episode about how sweet Jeng is with his niece but I guess she stopped existing?
Put being pat's in ex who? let's involve him in all the discussions about his relationship with jeng.
Jen and Jaab???? I don't even have anything to say, except maybe I'm kinda glad we didn't get a whole arc of them this episode bc idc 😬
Ae and Chot- iconic as ever I love them, them eating the nuggets is something that can be so personal.
Pat and Jeng's outfits this episode? also iconic.
Step By Step - Overall Thoughts
Bear with me as I try to tackle this messy show. There's only 2 other shows I have done full length reviews for on here, so I don't know well this will come out. But I do have thoughts and this show took up 12 weeks of my life so I have to share them.
What I Liked
- Man Trisanu is such a great actor, I loved him in every single episode. In one of my earlier post I said, if I were to rank BL actors, he'd be near the top of the list, it still holds true.
He was a clear standout from this show. Despite his towering physical stature, he does such a good job at making Jeng feel small and vulnerable in his weakest moments and he's got the best whipped look on his face when he's looking at Pat, also, his micro expressions are so on point. If nothing else, introducing me to Man, will always be a point in the show's favor.
- The first half of this show is amazing. Like the first 5-6 episodes I was so on board. It had such an interesting setup, the workplace romance was working really well, despite its slow buildup, the chemistry was hitting all the right notes. I also loved how realistic the show when it comes to office politics. Not just that, it was so fascinating that instead of solely focusing on the romance aspect, the show seemed invested in Patt and Jeng's career growth, both of them were learning how to be better at their jobs, while working with each other.
- Man and Ben's chemistry works for most of this show, until it doesn't. But I think the parts where the chemistry doesn't work are also the parts with the weakest writing, so it's not really the actors fault. Overall I enjoyed watching them together, in both the cutesy and the high heat moments.
- I really enjoyed Chot. He hits all the right notes when it comes to being a good supporting character, and I love Bruce, so there's some personal bias involved here, but still overall, he got a nice arc and a cute side story. I also enjoyed Ae. When the show knew what to do with her, she had some of the funniest lines in the show.
- I enjoyed the sibling dynamic between Jaab and Jeng. Jaab's presence in the story as the openly queer second child, who has no stakes or interest in the family business, also adds more context to the pressure Jeng feels to keep up with his dad's expectations. So despite how badly the show messes up the execution of Jaab and Jen's "second couple" storyline, I enjoyed Jaab's presence in the narrative. (Yes, this makes Jaab sound less like a character and more like a plot device but I can't help it that the story doesn't know how to use this character very well, despite his potential.)
What I didn't like
- Oh boy, I am gonna try to keep it short, because I wrote quite a bit in my weekly breakdowns, for the last 3 episodes. Episode 10, Episode 11, Episode 12.
- The second half is clunky. And so many people have pointed out the problems.
I will tag some of my favorite contributors in the Step by Step tag. They've made several posts over the past few weeks breaking down the good and bad parts of this show.
@lurkingshan @bengiyo @heretherebedork @respectthepetty @waitmyturtles
I think for me, these were the 3 main issues with this show -
- The choppy editing. Most episodes of this show are longer than 70 minutes, so it really really shouldn't be difficult to make sense of the show's timeline, but by episode 9, almost no one who was watching could keep up with the timeframe of any of the events. Also, did we really need the finale to be almost 100 minutes? Nope. Most episodes of this are longer than necessary but it wouldn't be an issue if the writing supported the length a little better, it doesn't.
- The show has so many interesting ideas it wants to tackle such as Pat's and Jeng's professional growth, homophobia in the workplace, Jeng's familial struggles, Pat's struggle to feel like his professional growth is not completely dependent on or tied to Jeng, Put and Pat's relationship and eventual breakup - round 1 and 2, the influence of BL actors and BL industry as a whole. The show collapses under the weight of trying to tackle all of this, while also trying to somewhat stick to the traditional beats of a BL and tell a compelling love story. The love story here isn't bad but it's just muddled with so many other things that by the end it's difficult to really care about any of it. The show fluctuates between being a workplace drama and a BL, for most of its runtime, then finally commits to the BL aspects, then fumbles the bag on the execution, only to go back to being a workplace drama with BL elements. It's just all over the place!
- The Jaab and Jen problem. The show establishes an interesting side couple, gives them an explosive kiss in episode 5 and then just does nothing with it? Why? What? Every week for the past 4-5 weeks I have been asking the question - what's up with those two?? I am calling it out with respect to Jaab and Jen but it's present for most of its supporting characters. Look, it is rare for side characters to be given clear, full, well-written arcs in BLs but this show spends so much time in establishing these characters and their conflicts in the first half, only to then just either forget about them and write them off the narrative completely. This problem is most prominent with Jaab and Jen, but it does with almost all side characters, except for Chot.
Final Rating
3.5/5
I am so sad about this because if you asked me around episode 6, this was potentially going to end up at 4.5 for me (for reference, there's only 3 BLs I rates a full 5/5, so a 4.5 is pretty close to perfect for me.)
Current Ranking
25/40 (This is based on my ranking list of all BLs I have watched till now, interesting that this ranks just couple spots above ABAAB. It doesn't mean anything, just something I do for fun.)
Rewatch Potential
Almost none.
Favorite Moment
The office chair shopping sequence
Recommendation to a friend
Yes - but probably not as a beginner BL and with a suggestion to space this out and watch 1-2 episodes per week instead of a binge watch.
15 Day BL Challenge - The Sequel
I'm late af but ummm
Day 24: What Storyline/trope do you enjoy and wish to see more of?
"How the DILF got his GROOVE back."
You know the hopelessly single 30-something yr old man being absolutely terrified of the young man he wants to share his benefits with. He has accepted that he's going to be alone forever until that cute younger stud crosses his path. His knees ache, his back hurts, and he's just old at the ripe age of 30-something...maybe knocking on 40. And then he meets that cute 20-something year old (late 20s at that) thundercat that has him acting different and acting up. His nose is truly open for the first time in-ever. I enjoy that type of story tremendously and the flavors are vast like box of french chocolates you have to bite first to see what the inside is. It's a thrilling adventure.
