Burnout Syndrome 1×10 Review: Final Episode

This is one of the few BLs where I did not want anyone to end up together. And while I do not want to characterize this as a “happy” ending, it is an ending that makes sense for who these characters are as individuals.

The final episode picks up almost immediately from where last week’s episode left off. Jira goes to Pheem for help, which is brave of him, considering that he very recently chose Pheem’s former best friend over him. I was actually proud of Pheem for sticking to his guns; he changed Jira’s contact to “Do Not Answer”, and then he didn’t answer! Good boy. Unfortunately, Mawin undermined all the strength that must have taken Pheem as a way to apologize to Jira for throwing urine on him all the way back in episode 4.

Jira hopes that Pheem can hack into Koh’s AI program and delete the data that would allow it to replicate Jira’s art. Unfortunately, Pheem is unable to do so, and in the end, he suggests that Jira accept the inevitability that even if they were able to delete it now, it would still end up there in the future. Now, he’s not necessarily wrong, but that is quite possibly the worst thing he could have said in that moment.

Meanwhile, Koh has gone to Burnout Bar and coincidentally been paired with Ing. Unsurprisingly, he takes absolutely no accountability for his actions that led to Jira breaking up with him, instead acting like a victim. Oh, he’s a dog that was abandoned? Sure, after he bit off his owner’s hand.

It’s also not surprising that he tries to catch Jira at his apartment and begs him to come back. He never apologizes. I don’t even think he realizes what he did wrong. Everything is just about him. He can’t sleep, so Jira needs to come back. It’s laughable that he thinks a few hours is enough time for Jira to get over it, but then, he doesn’t understand what the problem is, so I suppose that makes sense.

When Jira visits Ing the next day to cry about his broken heart, she gives him what may be her first piece of actual, solid advice. Maybe she’s tired of seeing Jira make bad decisions and then get upset when it turns out those decisions are, in fact, bad. Whatever the reason, she tells Jira to grow up. Is he an artist, or isn’t he? He’s not less of an artist because a computer stole his work. He doesn’t need Koh to find inspiration; inspiration is everywhere around him.

I loved this scene because I think it’s a good way to look at the conversation around AI in the art world. I appreciate that the show itself seemed to take the position that AI-generated art is inferior to human art, because it’s a position that I agree with. It does this by having Jira describe his process and the emotions that went into painting each individual flower. There is also a little bit of this in Ing explaining to Koh how difficult it is to be a curator.

But I was disappointed that at times the narrative seemed to back away from a hard line in the sand by saying things like, AI is an inevitability, your work would be duplicated anyway. Maybe that’s true, but that’s not a reality we have to accept. It’s like Burnout Syndrome was trying to make a point but was too afraid to come out and say it. As I mentioned in my review for last week’s episode, multiple current GMMTV shows use ChatGPT, so it seems at odds with the company’s own beliefs.

Perhaps all of this is an inevitability, but it’s important that you not wallow in that prospect. As Ing told Jira, find a way to do art that AI can’t replicate. Become ungovernable. Art is art because it’s made by humans, and humans possess the ability to think for themselves. Humans also possess the emotions that enable us to make art that makes us feel, but also makes others feel.

I maintain that Koh’s initial reaction to Jira’s artwork – being moved to tears – was genuine. I can even see that he believed he was paying Jira a compliment with what he was doing. It shows a fundamental misunderstanding of artists in general and Jira in particular, but Koh was explaining this with such joy that I forgot that technology can also be an art form. Koh was caught up in the theory and the process and didn’t consider the practical applications. There are a lot of concepts that sound really cool that should not exist.

My point is, Koh still seems to have an emotional response to Jira’s artwork, but not the computer-replicated version. And interestingly, I believe that Jira’s art helps change Pheem’s perspective as well. When he got the tattoo, it was superficial; he had no understanding of art or the artist whose work he was inking on his body. But when he comes to Jira’s exhibition after the time skip, he asks Jira about his process. It’s the first time he’s really shown a genuine interest.

And it’s interesting to look at the greater fandom reaction to this show and see how universally despised Koh is. There are BLs featuring much worse characters, whose characters are often not redeemed, and they are not quite as hated as Koh is. (Off does have a habit of that. People hated his character in Theory of Love even though he went through a hell of a redemption arc.) What is it about Koh that makes people consider him worse than literal murderers?

Anyway, Ing offers to host an exhibition for Jira’s artwork in one year’s time, to motivate him to continue painting. For some reason, he immediately calls Pheem and asks to borrow the painting Jira gifted him. I don’t know why he needs this now for an exhibition that won’t be happening for a year, but I suppose we needed to facilitate the confrontation at Burnout, where everyone collides for the first time.

This scene was amazing. It was so junior high, but that makes sense when you consider that both Pheem and Koh are emotionally stunted, grown-up children. That was a fight between two computer nerds. I was impressed that Koh was able to hold his own, but then he does do a lot of swimming (even though we never see him swim after his lesson with Jira). Still, Pheem is a guy who brings his own bat to a rage room.

I think this fight is also emblematic of how they both view their relationship with Jira, as though he’s something that can be stolen. But I also recognize that it was about more than Jira, which is something Jira also acknowledged, when Ing kept encouraging him to break up the fight.

Everyone rushing out to witness the fight was peak comedy. I saw someone on Reddit liken that scene to the scene in Bridget Jones’s Diary when Mark and Daniel are fighting and Tom runs into a nearby restaurant and screams, “It’s a real fight!” Ben coming outside and going, “Whose side are we on?” was hilarious. Also, I admittedly cackled when Pheem said he’d meet Koh outside after he finished his drink, and Koh just downed it.

Koh, who started all of this by storming into the bar, declares that he doesn’t like people because of all the drama. Ultimately, Jira seems to recognize that he and Koh won’t work, so he tells Koh it’s best if they end it here. You know, like a liar.

When I checked the timestamp after this scene and realized there were only 18 minutes left, I actually began to get excited at the possibility that, for once, we would have a show where no one ended up together. I thought that was the only way they could end this without really mangling the characters or the story they’d been telling. Amazingly, I forgot about time skips.

So yes, I suppose a time skip would be the natural way to do it. And you know what? I’m not even mad. I do think time skips are a lazy way to gloss over important character development, but there was no other way to conclude this series. Once Ing planted the seed of Jira’s future exhibition, we had to see that.

I am a little disappointed that we didn’t spend more time with these characters post-time skip. We only see a glimpse of everyone. Pheem found a new job, but we don’t learn anything about it. Jira had his first exhibition, but only sold one painting. I’m slightly surprised that it was Pheem who facilitated Koh and Jira’s reunion, but I suppose once he got Jira talking about his art, and he realized how much of it was still influenced by Koh, he thought he was doing a good thing.

Koh is the one I really wish we learned more about. We know that he sold his AI software, and he’s now living in his parents’ old factory. He’s still tinkering with circuitry. But what else is he doing? Has he started a new company? Did he learn anything in the past year?

In the end, it doesn’t matter what Koh did or didn’t learn. Jira has spent the past year unable to get over him. Despite Ing telling him to find inspiration in the world as a whole, the centerpiece of Jira’s exhibition is a painting of him and Koh. And Koh, surrounded by Jira’s art, as well as the flame lilies that Jira brought to his apartment, has also been unable to move on.

I actually liked Jira’s speech about how every time Koh slept in his car in Jira’s parking lot, he kept everything he was feeling inside and used it to paint. 277 times in one year is a lot. That man is down bad. Both of them, honestly.

Jira and Koh falling back into each other could also be considered an inevitability. They were always led by physical needs. (That shot of them on the desk, yowza.) Even in episode 8, when they first got together, the thing that Koh said he liked most about Jira was that he’s pretty. Koh is a man who “hates” drama yet constantly stirs it up, and Jira is a man who is super into that. These two are only suited for each other. It wouldn’t be right to inflict them on anyone else.

This isn’t a happy ending. But it is an ending that works for the characters. It’s meant to be imperfect because these characters are imperfect. I don’t see them lasting long, but then, I also see them as that frustratingly toxic couple who is forever breaking up and making up.

Overall, I really enjoyed Burnout Syndrome. The acting was phenomenal. Off, Gun, and Dew all put in stellar performances. I know all three of them can act, but it’s nice to see other people becoming aware of that. The soundtrack was great. The cinematography was fantastic. I really loved the ambiance of the whole show.

I appreciate GMMTV putting out a show that was this mature, even if they couldn’t go all the way with it. This was the perfect story to go against the branded pair, and I know some people will be disappointed that they didn’t. I’m not always looking for realism in my BLs, but I did find this ending to be incredibly realistic. I’m sure everyone knows at least one couple like that.

I do wish the message about AI had a bit more teeth; I feel like the show was trying to make a point, but ultimately wouldn’t take a hard stance. We delved a bit into the ethics and had a small conversation, but in the end, this was more of a slice-of-life story about fundamentally flawed people and their hopelessly entwined relationships.

I’m really happy that this was a show that OffGun got. It’s nice to see the older actors get meatier roles where they play adult characters their own age. This makes me very excited for their next show, Gunshot, which also has darker themes – although that will depend very much on the director, and not everyone is Nuchy.

Author: Jamie Sugah

Jamie has a BA in English with a focus in creative writing from The Ohio State University. She self-published her first novel, The Perils of Long Hair on a Windy Day, which is available through Amazon. She is currently an archivist and lives in New York City with her demon ninja vampire cat. She covers television, books, movies, anime, and conventions in the NYC area.

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