The Boyfriend Episodes 4-6 were released on July 16, 2024, after its premiere last Tuesday. The show is hosted by MEGUMI, Chiaki Horan, Thelma Aoyama, drag queen Durian Lollobrigida, and Yoshimi Tokui. Each episode has a runtime of about 40-45 minutes.
The show follows nine young men who spend a month in a beach house, operating a coffee truck and navigating the emotional rollercoaster of love and friendship. The cast of The Boyfriend includes Dai (22), Taeheon (34), Ryota (28), Gensei (34), Shun Nakanishi (23), Kazuto (27), Usak (37), Ikuo (22), and Alan (29).
Also Read: The Boyfriend Episodes 1-3 Review: Slow Burning Game of Push and Pull
-This Article Contains Spoilers-
The Boyfriend Episodes 4-6 Review
The Boyfriend episode 4 starts with Usak choosing Dai as the coffee truck partner for the day. Although he had hoped for Kazuto, he wasn’t at the Green Room. However, the last episode ended with Shun and Dai’s date, where Dai was head over heels and Shun expressed that he was losing interest. The new episodes do not provide more explanation or context about their situation but Shun can be seen being passive to Dai’s efforts.
While Usak expresses his interest in Kazuto, he feels that he can’t approach him. It stems from his introverted nature and insecurity that he feels that his personality off the stage isn’t exciting and rather ordinary. On the other hand, Alan also expresses his interest in Kazuto, to other cast members. The next day Alan is appointed to run the cafe and others are asked to voluntarily express their intent to partner up.
Alan hopes that Kazuto will raise his hand as well but he doesn’t. Thus, he chooses Taeheon among the ones who did. Back at the house, Usak’s chicken budget becomes an issue once again. Since they have a limited daily budget, Dai expresses that they are going over budget and need to cut down. Usak feels bad about it and says that he will cut down his intake. That’s when Alan suggests that they could meet the cost with their coffee sales instead.
The next day, Usak is appointed the coffee truck lead and hopes Kazuto to raise his hand, this time. However, he doesn’t and thus he chooses Alan. They don’t have any romantic spark between them but Alan helps Usak understand that he needs to change his ways for his crush to notice him. The following day, Kazuto is made to run the truck and almost everyone volunteers to work with him.
Since Alan and Usak had already worked two days in a row, he ended up choosing Shun. During their shift, Shun expresses that Dai’s energy and vibe are too much for his laid-back personality. Meanwhile, Kazuto realizes that he needs to act on his feelings as well and asks Alan for a chat, after work. Kazuto expresses that he wants to know him better and would like to work together next time. It makes Alan quite happy.
What Kazuto didn’t expect was that the same night he would receive confessions from Usak and Ryota, as well. It leaves Kazuto in a pickle and feeling overwhelmed. Eventually, the next day the truck is said to be closed, and the cast members are given a chance to go on a sleepover date. Just like last time, the ones who will write each other’s names will go on a date.
Alan, Usak, and Ryota write Kazuto’s name and Dai expects to go with Shun. However, it’s revealed that only one couple matched and it was Kazuto with Alan. Not only Usak and Ryota are disappointed, but Dai is also shocked by Shun’s changed demeanor. He later asks Shun to have a conversation and asks what changed after their date. Shun then honestly tells him that he doesn’t think they are compatible and it would be best to be friends instead.
Dai is clearly saddened to hear this but he takes it well and asks Shun if they should start over as just friends. Meanwhile, on Kazuto and Alan’s date, they reveal to each other about their families. Alans shares how his father was taken away at the age of 6 and he hasn’t seen him since. Also, he longs to have a family since he couldn’t have it in his difficult childhood.
They seem to be bonding emotionally but Alan’s direct approach to create intimacy makes Kazuto a bit uncomfortable. He insists on bathing together and giving each other massages, which Kazuto goes along with but seems to put him off. He says in the confessional that he has mixed feelings after the sleepover. Once they come back, anxious Ryota tries to gauge what Kazuto and Alan’s situation is but is rather met with a confused and overwhelmed Kazuto.
On the next day, the cast members are asked to decide by themselves about who will run the coffee truck. Usak adamantly says that he will and wants to run it with Kazuto. Since nobody else objects to it, they go ahead. Compared to the sleepover, Kazuto seems much more relaxed with Usak but he is met with surprising news. Usak reveals to him that the motive behind working together was that it was his last day on the show.
Before that, he wanted to confess his feelings to the person he liked and thus chose Kazuto. It makes him emotional, while Usak asks for privacy to write in their shared log book. Once they return to the Green Room, all the cast members are shocked and become emotional to bid him goodbye. Usak’s exit shows how much he had changed in just a short time. From being timid to being honest and pursuing his heart with no regret.
He explains that he has to go abroad due to his work and came despite knowing that he would be there for just a few days. As a parting gift, he drew character sketches of each member in the logbook. Taking inspiration from Usak, Gensei gathers courage and asks Ryota to work with him. At first, he misunderstood that Ryota was into him but gradually realized that he had feelings for him instead.
Thus, he decides to be honest with him by confessing that he likes Ryota and even gives him a necklace, as a gift. However, Ryota doesn’t understand the gravity of his feelings and takes it as a friendly gesture. He continues to pursue Kazuto and once Gensei becomes aware of Ryota’s crush, he takes a back seat. Amidst the love triangles, a new cast member enters the house when Taeheon and Kazuto team up to run the coffee truck.
Ikuo is the same age as Dai, ie 22 years old, and has a completely different personality from the remaining cast. His outgoing personality goes well with Dai’s bubbly persona. Thus, he actively tries to pursue Dai during the picnic, the next day. Dai also expresses some interest in him and shares with Ryota. On the other hand, their closeness starts to bother Shun. Although he says that it’s not jealousy, he gets annoyed to even look at them.
It seems quite contradictory since he was the one who shunned Dai’s feelings and now feels angry with his closeness with the new member. Similarly, Alan also asks Kazuto about where his feelings stand. Kazuto tells him that he was really interested in him before the sleepover date but now he thinks of him as just a friend.
Final Thoughts: The Boyfriend so far
Compared to the first 3 episodes, it’s good to see each cast member’s story in the house. Usak’s whole journey was definitely a moving one. At first, it seems like he isn’t getting along with anyone but his exit leaves the most impact and shows a good example of someone breaking out of their shell.
At this point, even the audience must feel the same as Dai about Shun – what exactly is going on in his head. His hot and cold behaviors are not only confusing but also emotionally manipulative. But if one has seen the trailer of the show, it shows Dai and Shun-like silhouettes kissing near the seaside. Thus, it’s predictable that Shun will make some move after seeing Dai getting away and reel him back to him.
Even Ikuo’s preview showed him apologizing for coming in between someone’s connection, so it could be speculated that he was talking about Dai and Shun. Until last week, I would have supported them but this week makes it clear that Dai and Shun are definitely not compatible. They could be attracted to each other because they are quite different from the type of people they might have dated, and want to see where it leads. But it looks like a teary road, for both of them.
Among them, only Taeheon is quite ambiguous and hasn’t been shown much. He did express interest in Shun but it’s unclear whom he wants to pair with. On a side note, it looks like Kazuto just wanted to take a break from working in the food/beverage servicing industry and didn’t raise his hand to work in the truck. Sadly, he was chosen the most by everyone to work.
Rating: 3/5
The Boyfriend is available for streaming on Netflix. New episodes 7-8 will be released on July 23, 2024.
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