Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss

I like twisted, dark romance plots - any form of tragedy always get me hooked.
This is the first time I'll write such an extensive review for any comic, as I am new here and apparently the short snappy reviews alla letterboxd don't work here. So I'll write more and expose my bad English.

Plot
I basically read this Manhwa as soon as it launched on the English version of Webtoon. Webtoon always launches 3 Episodes at once and that's the chance the author gets to get you hooked, and hell yeah I was. Tras Belongs in the Trash Can starts out pretty good, you are already interested by the fact that you got to read a male MC in a romance manhwa and a nuanced one even. He is an asshole from day one, basically a professional sugar baby who exploits woman after woman. Then he meets this one super rich girl and thinks to himself: jackpot. Only that she is sooo cute and soooo innocent that he can't bring himself to exploit her for money, as he usual does. So already, we can get that our MC isn't so bad after all. This alone could make for an interesting redemption arc, a: you changed me for good, kind of thing.

I'm happy we got more. The sweet girl turns out by EP3 to not be too innocent and starts showcasing her manipulative mind episode after episode. And as reader you just want to unravel more and more of her, of him, their past and why all of this is happening. After finishing an episode you halt, thinking: who is the Trash now? Who the Trash Can?

How twisted is it? Enough to keep you curious. It doesn't go completely gore or horror like It's Mine, Killing Stalking etc. It's not about murder or shocking you with anything like that. Trash Belongs in the Trash Can is about manipulation, gaslightning, the borderline between love and obsession. What does a twisted mind think of as 'love'? It has family drama and delves into the childhood of the characters and how they became who they are.

It is a character driven drama, so finding the characters engaging (not alaways necessarily likeable, that's something else) is key for this kind of work. I'd say the creator did a really good job in that and the backstories to the characters were very interesting. There are two secondary characters who form a relationship and in the authors notes I read they are meant to present a different kind of love and contrast the romantic relationship of the main couple. However this intention wasn't always clear to me while reading. I did like the second couple and it was a general fan favourit but the placement of their story didn't always blend in smoothly and messed up the pacing a bit.

Another critic point would be that I wasn't as hooked anymore by the latter half or third of the series. Maybe it was the limbo of asking myself: where is the story going? How will it end, what's the goal? While I was never tired of reading the story, I just wasn't as excited anymore and didn't jump as soon as a chapter released. But keeping such high interest is hard for a serial work anyways. Fortunately this stretch wasn't too long as it then became clear where the story is heading and I was pleased to NOT see it dragged out. Instead we are left with a satisfying ending to an interesting story.

I do recommand Trash Belongs in the Trash Can to anybody who loves alternative love stories, flawed characters and some good old family drama.