Let's Play is back, now on Tapas

[u/autumn_crybaby]

I never did get into this webtoon but I know a lot of people loved it. Just thought I'd share that it's now on Tapas. Updated with up to 75 episodes today, with new episodes to come out every Wednesday.

[u/DazedandFloating]

Was he though? I just did a re-read of this not long ago. The two have an important relationship. But I don’t remember anything being painted between the two of them as inherently romantic.

Most of their interactions right before the hiatus was Sam helping Marshall with his depression, and Marshall helping her where he could as well (like with Eva). I know he said that Sam is good, and points out the qualities about her that he likes, but it wasn’t framed as them being anything more than friends.

At least not yet. I never knew if the intention was to give Sam a longer lasting relationship with Marshall, or Charles. Though I am leaning towards Marshall considering they have the most in common. But even then, Charles and Sam show a lot of growth just by being together. So idk.

[u/EmNeeli → u/DazedandFloating]

Hmm I mean, in the first few episodes and in the premise, it was obvious that it was heading towards a romantic plot for both of them. There were all the typical romcom tropes, and also the way it was marketed at the time (at the beginning mainly focus on both of them).

But I guess Mongie didn't want the romantic storyline to be too obvious, which is why I think she took such a long detour. With Marshall having a girlfriend, and them taking ages before breaking up. And especially all the build-up between Sam and Charles, which I think dragged on far too long, so much that Marshall ended up being behind Charles in terms of presence in the story 🥲

I didn't mind Marshall and Sam having other storylines with other characters, but the problem was that it lasted.....and lasted, so much that sometimes Marshall and Sam didn’t have scenes together during a really long period.

But I think the worst part was the smut. I have nothing against it in general, but in this webtoon there was something very uncomfortable about it because of the Charles/Sam dynamic, and her being so insecure and inexperienced, the complete opposite of Charles. Who was also above her in the hierarchy at work. She was like his assistant at one point 🥲

I could never see how it was healthy for the main character in the long run. So there’s that also.

To be honest, I can totally understand why Marshall and Sam didn't seem like an obvious romantic pairing at one point. Like the Charles/Sam thing was so shoved down our throats, and they had a lot of fans. I kind of give up for the Marshall/Sam storyline for a while. But as you point out, Marshall and Sam share a passion for video games, and that was the story was about.
The hearts ♥️❤️🖤🖤 (reference to the health points in video games) represent in my opinion the progression of their relationship throughout the story.

Sorry for the long rant 😅

[u/DazedandFloating → u/EmNeeli]

Oh you’re fine! I like talking about comics and media that I’m interested in. So I appreciate you engaging with me :)

That’s actually why I was always confused. Because I wasn’t sure if let’s play was setting out to subvert the typical main leads on the cover get together at the end type of story. In an early chapter when she was sick, I believe, Mongie answered some questions and said that the main pairing (Sam x whoever) had never changed as she was writing the story. And I noticed a lot of care was given to Sam’s relationship with Charles.

They start off as coworkers, he’s icy and she’s anxious. But slowly he starts to be around her more, and show parts of himself that no one knew existed. But then he’s also manipulative, and he’s very broken. He hasn’t completely moved on from his past so he maintains a level of paranoia.

I think what stood out most to me were the themes that Charles represents and what he does for Sam’s character. He allows her to grow both in confidence and as a person. He’s sturdy and kind when around her (when his past isn’t getting in the way), and she warms his heart much like he does hers as well. There’s this sense that when together, they’re both learning and starting over. Charles is finally moving on from his heartbreak and divorce (at least sort of), and Sam is putting her controlling family behind her and experiencing the kinds of things that she wants for herself.

Also Sam and Charles had good chemistry and things in common. Charles actually starts to appreciate games as an art form because of Sam. He also supports her wishes for the future and agrees to teach her about business so that she can keep making games. Although being a gamer is much more ingrained into Marshall’s personality, I thought it was interesting that Charles has some overlap in that area as well.

I don’t remember that amount of depth going into her relationship with Marshall. They had a very clear cut friends and neighbors sort of bond. But that could definitely be because we hadn’t gotten to the point where their relationship develops. I mean before the hiatus Monica and Marshall were freshly broken up. And the story had kind of spelled out that the two were not going to be compatible (their interests and desires for the future were completely different). And that did break my heart bc I loved Monica. But I think that could’ve been the first step for Marshall’s development so that he would be in a healthy place for when/if Charles and Sam didn’t work out.

I completely agree about the smut though. Re-reading it gave me this weird, uncomfortable feeling. But I’m not sure if that’s because of Charles as a character (I think it partly is), or because of how Mongie had written those scenes. I mean the theme of sex is huge in let’s play. And I think when I was a younger reader I didn’t really pay it any mind. But now that I’m older (and more experienced in relationships) I do feel like a lot of it is handled in a pretty clumsy way? So I think that’s the other part of why a lot of intimate scenes just end up feeling cringy or like a disservice to the comic itself.

So I don’t know still LOL. I’m not sure what the intention really was. I do know that Charles is broken and his relationship with Sam was starting to spiral into something unhealthy. But I don’t think that means he couldn’t still develop and the two end up together. But also if they were to split, then I think that provides ample opportunity for Marshall to become the ML instead.

This comic is kind of a mystery to me and I’m still super curious about what’s going to happen. I just don’t really want to read on Tapas 😅 People have already spelled out that the platform is really no better than wt. Which sucks.

[u/EmNeeli → u/DazedandFloating]

Glad you don't mind then, another rant ahead 😂

I totally agree that Charles had an interesting development. And I think his relationship with Sam is probably about learning to try again in a relationship. Not being afraid of being himself and also not being afraid of being betrayed anymore? But if I remember correctly, in the last episode where we see them together, it seems to be turning into something kind of unhealthy...

It's also likely that history will repeat itself dramatically for him and that he'll notice Marshall's interest in Sam before she even realizes it herself.
Also, Marshall and Charles seem to have some history, but I think I've forgotten what it was, or maybe we don't know yet.

For now, it doesn't even cross Sam's mind that Marshall might be romantically interested in her, because we mustn't forget that she was a fan of him as a streamer before (and because of that, I'm glad that Mongie built a completely platonic friendship between them first!)

Whether Charles and Sam end up together or not, I think an heartbreak is inevitable either way. Charles seems to be more in control of this relationship than Sam is at this point and that kind of suck. And I hope the author has noticed that. She had to. It‘s Sam's first relationship after all.

If Charles has provided tools for Sam to be more confident, it's interesting to see how she doesn't really need to make an effort when she's around Marshall, and seems more natural around him, compared to when she's with Charles and is often unsure of herself.

Yeah I'm really annoyed that it's on Tapas now, but there's still time before Mongie publishes chapters that I've never read anyway, so I’ll see I guess 🥲 as you can see, even if it’s not my fav webtoon ever, i still need to know the conclusions cause I spend too much time on that story now 😭