Nevertheless, (2021)

An ode to the bittersweet mess of youth.

~If they lose their scales, they'll lose the patterns and colors on their wings, and won't be able to fly~
~Happiness is a butterfly which, when pursued is always beyond our grasp, but if you sit quietly, might alight upon you~

(I'll give a spoiler warning when it's needed)

Nevertheless appreciation depends on people's sensitivity, but it's an excellent drama for many reasons and I'm here to explain why. If you can't handle college students being messy, I wouldn't recommend this drama to you. If you like stories of complicated feelings, thoughtful, realistic and mature dramas, then go ahead. The story was incredibly well thought-out, the characters were layered and the drama was visually very aesthetic too. Everything was carefully executed, I love K-dramas because they give us beautiful productions like this, but Nevertheless is pretty much like no other because it was less scripted and more raw. It's deep, complex, artistic, subtle and sentimental. Clear explanations are not thrown at your face at all and the play on perspectives challenges the audience.

The drama is based on the webtoon but the two are different works that have each taken their own path. Nevertheless is a masterpiece because every time you will rewatch it, you will notice new details. The fanbase wrote literal essays because of all the attention that was put into it, it's almost to the point that you can analyze every scene and every line.

Before going in depth :

Cinematography, acting, music : Absolutely on point. The music and cinematography suit the drama perfectly. I know that not everyone is hooked by the atmosphere/pacing but you can't ignore it was perfectly done (personally it was the first time I felt so immersed into a drama to the point of dreaming about it every night). Song Kang and Han So Hee nailed at portraying their character's emotions, their gazes, the way they talked, the subtle gestures...

Some things I need to mention : 1. The artistic aspect and the butterflies. The butterflies were real and Nabi's sketches in her room too as Han So Hee herself graduated in art. 2. The way they filmed everything was genius. 3. The modern and realistic take on relationships and feelings that the drama portrays, and not only thanks to the main couple. (we even got representation of lgbtq+ characters!) 4. The way they beautifully captured intimacy, not just sex. Nothing was unnecessary. Not to mention Rio's songs... (though if you want real sex scenes this is not it (obviously), plus they're very few, quite short and only in the first few episodes) 5. The side characters and the diversity in their personalities, just as in real life, and also the friendship between all of them. I even liked the teacher! 6. The internal dialogue and the narration. 7. The struggles of young adults in their twenties were portrayed very well. I'm not in my twenties yet, but I know that people related and I also can feel it already. 8. The poster with Jae Eon lying on Nabi's shoulder says it all. 9. https://twitter.com/mignonxminion/status/1483615011477934081 - (not by me) check this thread if you want! :) you don't have to read everything, just scroll to get a glimpse. beware though, spoilers. I recommend checking only if you have seen the drama.

Stop here if you don't want major spoilers.

To begin with, Jae Eon is admittedly a flirt, but to what extent do people really know him? He did not deliberately hurt people, he never used his past as an excuse, and no one cared about him before as much as Nabi did. There is a great portrayal of what's a toxic person at the beginning and that is Nabi's ex. Jae Eon also was touchy-feely (pretty much his way of communicating) but he wasn't controlling like her ex and didn't abuse her. Her ex, on the other hand, destroyed her self-esteem. Jae Eon told her she's the prettiest (and the happiest) when she works, her ex told her she's the prettiest while having sex. Her ex kept blaming her, has Jae Eon ever done that to her? Never. The drama starts out with Nabi’s agency completely robbed by her ex, yet when she meets someone so passive that every choice in the relationship is hers - she totally crumbles under the pressure. She is also very critical of herself for multiple reasons. This drama is undeniably a fascinating character study, I'll have to omit a lot of details but if you want more, look at the link I put in the comments section. The first episodes are almost entirely told through a distrustful main character’s POV and the audience is left wondering what the truth is. Halfway point leaves you questioning people's POV (especially Nabi's). Later episodes let you looking back at the first episodes with new eyes, which is clever.

Nabi is not you and neither she is a victim of a toxic man, unless we are talking about her ex. Both were responsible for their choices and actions and it's pretty clear that she hurts Jae Eon too.

I know that it depends on one's sensitivity but some people are going way too far. Please try to appreciate these two characters, this is all I'm asking for. People inventing them disorders and evil motivations are ridiculous. Yes, some people actually do that, I even saw people calling out the drama to be anti-feminist. It's also contradictory to view her as a naive and stupid girl while that's clearly not what the drama shows. Those same people made her dirty, sounds like hypocrisy to me. Haters will continue to demonise the drama anyway. I love Nabi and Jae Eon so please listen to what I have to say.

Jae Eon's feelings about Nabi are clear. First, the bracelet he made for her, as well as the butterfly-shaped suncatcher. The scene where he wrapped his shirt around her waist, when he offered to be her partner for the work, the scene where he was worried to the point he called the emergency because she didn't respond (she was sick), the scene of the fight where he loses control of himself and beats the man who hurt her, when he was there the day of her anniversary, his discussions with his mother, Seol Ah and Kyu Hyun, and finally the reveal of his love at first sight. He confirms it near the end by talking to her about how he first met her at the exhibition and how he saw it as fate when he met her again one night, without directly saying who it was, Nabi thinking it was just another girl until she saw the drawing.

Now it's time to go more in depth.

Before anything, you have to take into consideration their conflicting feelings for each other causing the mess that is their relationship, but also : their past experiences and their family's situation. Nabi never saw a successful relationship from her mother while not even having a good relationship with her (but she had her aunt) and Jae Eon had a well off mother who couldn't give him the love and attention he needed, making it hard for him to even love himself. Jae Eon had the same abandonment issues as Nabi, his manifested in aloofness and hers in insecurity.

Jae Eon was interested in Nabi since the first time he met her at the exhibition hall. They met again by coincidence after that night. Nabi knew what kind of person Jae Eon was. Nevertheless, she already fell for him and against all odds, by herself, she kissed him. She knew what kind of relationship she was getting into, there's no need to act as if she didn't. Both were sexually attracted by each other but there was more on both sides. There wasn't really anything wrong with their relationship in the first place. It was quite messy but still they were happy with it and having a good time together - until bad things happened such as gossip, Nabi's ex return, Seol Ah's lie to Nabi and this girl's brother encounter with Jae Eon. Their relationship then becomes unhealthy because of the miscommunication, insecurities and fears. Nabi felt pathetic because she wanted more than what Jae Eon could give and she was confused about his feelings. He didn't want to commit but at the same time he didn't like how Nabi was straying away from him, especially for other boys, while most of the time he stayed with her. He had feelings for her (he started to realize his own feelings when he told her "It's not like that." which is something he wouldn't have done normally) and didn't want her to go, but again, he couldn't have a serious relationship with her and let's not forget that he didn't know himself if she ever saw him as more than a friend with benefits. Once Nabi realized she’s not able to accept that type of relationship anymore she ended it and that’s what it was. Yet, Jae Eon still decided to pursue her despite everything, something he would never do before. Actually, he kept coming back to her until the end. Even though he met another girl when Nabi left, he kept thinking about her and he decided she's the one after his discussion with his mother.

Jae Eon did his worst mistake at that one moment (when he saw Do Hyeok), in spite of Nabi's feelings. Rather than being sincere, he was swept up in emotions and acted selfishly, and Nabi felt it so she did not believe him. The lack of communication between them was still there so they just exploded in anger once again and regretted. This is the best summary I can give. Then episode 10 happened and ended everything in the most beautiful way. The ending was perfect and meaningful.

(I'll post the rest in the comments section because MDL reduced the characters limit)

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1st half: So realistic, it makes you queasy — 2nd half: so clichéd, it makes you yawn (loudly)

This series is definitely for a more mature audience, now I get the 19+ rating. It's not your typical fluffy rom-com with a lighthearted tone, sweet more caricatural than real characters and heart fluttering moments.

Well, this series does make your heart flutter, but for other reasons, namely, a) the sexual tension between the leads and b) the anxiety and unease that comes along with it. It initially is a realistic depiction of what dating nowadays looks like, of trust issues, fear of commitment, the struggle to really open up and the stress when you can't read your crushes' mind and intentions. When to call yourselves exclusive? Is there even such a thing? Nowadays, is there really the option of falling in love and staying in a monogamous relationship when there might always be 'a better option' out there? You might be one swipe away from an exciting rendezvous, the acknowledgement you lack from your partner, the distraction and escape you need (from yourself). The earlier episodes of the show really makes you ponder on all these things.

Also, you can really see that women are working on this show as they've captured the essence of what concerns and bothers women (in their twenties) so well. Be it the excitement, obsession and fear of rejection when having a huge crush on someone, the dejection when you try hard at university or work and are still left-behind, the urge to fit in and still feel disconnected with everyone. Really well-done.
The cinematography, pace, dialogues and background score also enhance the emotions and mood to a great extent.

As for the romance, the main theme of the plot, I think a lot of people might actually drop this series, because the story seems so relatable and doomed to be painful, too relatable even, for those who have experienced something similar and just can't cope with it anymore. And even if you might not agree with all of the female lead's actions and at times find her annoying and irritatingly irrational, she is still absolutely relatable, as you can literally grasp the train of thoughts that leads to these actions and decisions of hers. I further believe we've all either been in such a situation, were tempted enough or 'have this one friend' to/who despite seeing the red flags can't help overlooking them, knowing this might eventually crush us/them. Cudos to the cast for making our anxieties come alive.

Sadly, the earlier episode are by far better than the latter ones. At some point the story starts to feel repetitive and drained; there is no real progress and the authenticity and originality up until then slowly but gradually devolves into a clichéd run-on-the-mill romance, —outdated even — in which the heroine is (seemingly) stuck b/w two boys; although her final choice is blatantly obvious. Curious if there'll be an unexpected turn in the end. Also, there were some personal issues with an actor, wherefore his screen time was reduced drastically; reasonable, but unfortunately it took a toll on the quality of the drama.

All in all, this show had great potential — until the makers felt obliged to follow the 101 k-drama formula. Watchable only for the chemistry of the leads and the side stories, even though the ending is unfit imo and Song Kang's lack of emotions (blame the character) even make his pretty face boring.
And I urge you all to listen to the soundtrack, even if you don't want to watch the show: so fresh and SO good!

*EDIT*
If you've already seen the show (or do not plan on watching it) and would like to know why I felt the ending wasn't really fitting, see the comment section below this review. It's marked as a spoiler.

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Geniuely a really good drama, not what everyone is making it out to be

I’ve never written a review for anything, but I feel like this had to be my first. As I think people are making Nevertheless out to be worse than it is. Personally I really enjoyed this drama so much.
My favorite things:
1. The cast was truly amazing and their chemistry was so good that I always found myself smiling at the screen and repeating many scenes
2. THE ACTING!! The way they portrayed every single scene truly came down to the chemistry between them but just wow Song Kang and Han So Hee's acting truly needs more credit than what they are given
3. Every single ost in this drama was beyond beautiful, I looked forward to every week adding a new song to my ost playlist to have all the tracks on constant loop
4. The story was very realistic for their situation and this is the biggest thing I think people are making out to be worse than it is

One main thing I think people are forgetting or pushing aside is this is supposed to be a friends with benefits relationship and it is very emphasized from the beginning that that’s all that’s wanted. The word “toxic relationship” keeps being thrown into correlation but I personally don’t see anything toxic about their relationship when everything was put out there about the friends with benefits narrative. Yes, their relationship can be seen as flawed as the aspect of feelings are very evident but we also have a character who has never felt any of that and it’s an unfamiliar feeling that they don’t know what to do. In addition, communication between Na Bi and Jae Eon doesn’t really happen except for the times they explode in anger since they don’t address what they’re feeling.

Nevertheless (haha), I think everyone has mixed reviews depending on your stance on a friends with benefits relationship, but if you’re looking for a drama that’s more raw with sexual scenes and tension. A cast with amazing chemistry and a lot of fun scenes when they’re all together. In addition to people trying to understand their emotions and feelings when it comes to love this would be a great drama.

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A waste of time

Nevertheless is a K-Drama adopted from a webtoon with the same name. Before watching the kdrama, I have already read and finished the webtoon.

*SPOILERS FROM THE WEBTOON*

In the webtoon, the story was straightforward because we know that PJE is just playing with Nabi. Nabi knew this NEVERTHELESS she still wants him. However, PJE continued being a player and Nabi ended up with Dohyuk, who had more depth in the webtoon.

Now that we have gotten the overall storyline from the webtoon, lets talk about the drama. I came into this knowing that the writers would definitely change up some parts because we know that kdramas doesn't like to be faithful to its webtoon counterpart (True Beauty). My expectations were not met at all. This drama is just 10 episodes of repetitiveness and back and forth from the main leads whereas the background stories were definitely more compelling. I will be analyzing the main leads only for this review since some of the characters weren't in the webtoon.

1. Park Jae Eon: In the webtoon, he is your charming playboy who can't commit to a single girl. He tried to but his efforts were diminished by Nabi when she told his gf a very off-putting comment which ruined his relationship with Nabi and his gf. This scene happened in the drama. HOWEVER, somehow, for some unknown reason, he forgives Nabi and is suddenly infatuated with her for no reason. What makes her different? Well we don't know. The writers completely took a different approach and painted Park Jae Eon as a victim with a sad background story and can't convey his emotions blah blah blah. The story was supposed to be realistic but it turned out cringey and predictable. A typical "bad-boy-turned-soft-when-he-falls-in-love". People who like PJE only sees him through Song Kang's face. Prove me wrong

2. Nabi: In the webtoon, Nabi was more outspoken. In the drama, she's more passive. There is nothing compelling about her. Nothing interesting. She is a very bland character who needs to find herself first before committing and jumping into relationships. One minute shes angry at PJE and the other shes not. Like, what make up your mind?!?!

3. Dohyuk: In the webtoon, he is cute but as we got to know him we found out that he did it with a girl who had a boyfriend. Hence thats why we see him saying that he always falls for girls who have boyfriends. In the webtoon, he ends up with Nabi. In the drama, Dohyuk is just too smitten with Nabi that he sees everything in rose-colored glasses. Basically he'd do anything for Nabi. This kind of character could definitely bore some viewers so that's why I think the writers should've added more dimension to his character. Well, they should've added dimension to all of the main characters.

All in all, I wouldn't rewatch because the episodes are too long and the leads gets on my nerves. The OST is really good tho. The acting... well.... it could've been better. I think this drama would've been better if it was just a short webdrama instead of a long 10 episodes with 1 hour each drama.

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Everything was pointless after the ending...

Since the ending is happy, what was the point of all those episodes if Na Bi learned nothing? If she falls into his trap both at the beginning and at the end, then we have watched a pointless drama and wasted 10 hours. For this, the story does deserve the lowest score because it didn't develop at all. Instead, it was an endless circle showing the same situations without any progression.




Very dissapointing.

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And it messed up. Nevertheless,

Realistic portrayal, are you kidding me?

Anyone curious about why's there a comma after Nevertheless and same with the native title 알고있지만, (I know but,) No, it's not spelling mistakes xD That comma holds its own value in the story... Nabi's story, as of the fact knowing the outcome of her actions she still takes them. Nevertheless,

If I've to sum up the whole thing,

- Unlikable leads with the worst characterization
- Slow Paced with some boring episodes
- Many frustrating, you-wish-to-give-them-long-lecture moments
- Interesting subplots and side couples
- Eye candy with beautiful cinematography
- Wonderful music
- 0 character development.. at some point it feels in -ve
- And-the-main-couple-kinda-sucks, but-their-chemistry-somehow-works
- Having said that it has a realistic portrayal it ends up being like any other drama... Dramatic and unrealistic.
- Toxic relationship.. do I've to mention? it's like the second tag with a 91% score, Edit: Now it's 93% :')

Even though it has many butterflies but don't expect butterflies moments xD

Never got this mixed feeling for any drama. 'Romance' is a genre and almost everyone is wishing that leads shouldn't end up together where the best option is staying single in the end. By that, you can definitely assume how messed up things are. Not gonna comment on what realistic approach this show offers, as I'm inexperienced, so this review is about what I feel about drama not how much realistic portrayal it has,

This is almost a rant, but why is there 5.5 there. Am I being generous? yes lol. Ngl, I enjoyed and was entertained by some parts. It managed to hold me till the end and I adored supporting characters a lot and their stories (Special mention: Yoon Sol loved her). Maybe this explains,

Not a typical or cliche type one, but also story doesn't have much. But writing is messy with the pace... It wasn't even enough just for 10 episodes as some episodes even felt filler with 0 progress in the story. Despite being frustrating and disturbing in some parts, it is intriguing. And honestly, I really liked subplots, the stories of side couples. You won't find any meaningful conversation or pearls of wisdom. But you'll end up getting frustrated at some characters for their stupid decisions.

Talking about casting, I like it! not really impressed by Song Kang's acting but improvement for sure. So Hee, I just checked her profile and realized I've seen her 2 dramas with supporting roles... but I don't even remember seeing her :') well, this time she sure left an impression on me, I'll remember her. And this is the opposite for Jong Hyeop.. even after seeing him for a very short time in his previous work, he was memorable, and I think he's good as Do Hyuk.

I couldn't picturise leads before, but when I saw them on-screen together. I felt the chemistry between them,... and ah definitely a lot of tension. The heck everyone is good-looking even if some roles are just for 1-2 episodes, a perfect drama if you are finding something just for looks.

Na Bi.. sorry I'm sick of your monologues, even some support roles have fewer dialogues than her monologues. She isn't stupid she knows what she is doing, from the start just she couldn't resist herself, it is called a lack of decision power and shrewdness, not stupidity. AND why everything about her should revolve around boys (the start of her story is with her first love being pure trash) or whom she ends up with, doesn't she have her own career, future? girl get a life! other than that love triangle I would prefer some development in her.. as of the fact she said a lot of times her work is just mediocre, well if you can't believe in yourself how you're gonna put your best work out there. After getting out of the friends with benefits scenario she said No every time whenever Jae Won approached her so even if I don't like her as a character but I appreciated it but then... you know ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯

Jae Eon is a manipulative jerk he's is kinda guy no one wants to encounter in rl (Please don't bring looks here, I'm talking about the character), from his first introduction his personality is clear. Now you might expect a drastic change in him, right? true-love-changing-life thing? sorry to disappoint you, you get nothing. In fact, gradually you encounter his obsession toward Nabi (and I won't call it 'love' lol). Few good qualities about him... mmhm he is handsome, anything more? oops sorry, um maybe another one he's good at his work. If you count flirting in good things? It was cringy :')

Do Hyuk aka Potato boy. He's typical ideal second lead whom everyone loves and roots for him. Kinda too perfect for Nabi to the point I felt she doesn't deserve him. Well, he's cute, caring, he knows how to cook, um what girl wants more? Though why he was so head over heels for Nabi is confusing, just because she's pretty and his first love? oh yes, dramas love to glamorize first love.

The production value is high what to expect from jTBC and Netflix, so top-notch cinematography, aesthetics, color grading, and styling. I found the intro interesting it's short but those slide with music give is an artistic vibe. I absolutely adore OSTs, Loved how the soundtrack is used, it balances everything.

We're Already - KIMMUSEUM
Nevertheless - Night Off
Whisper - PARK JI WOO
Butterfly - J.UNA
Love Me Like That - Sam Kim
So Tender - Say Sue Me

don't-let-anyone-stay-single-in-the-end well, of course, it's drama, where everyone should get their partner, so many side couples for sure... but the fact was I wasn't bothered by it, I was happy and much more interested in their stories and development between them. Ah though the crappy editing of Kim Min Gwi's scenes in some last episodes annoyed me a lot, it was uncomfortable to hearing his dialogues when the camera focus is on different faces.

I liked some starting episodes, the pacing, and execution but then it losses the momentum and becomes repetitive.. and dramatic losing the realistic touch, I mean wasn't that the key point of it before?

In the end.. we've left with nothing, ah maybe a new slang,

Do you wanna see butterflies?

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losers

if i wanted to see a pretty girl go head over heels for toxic men and not move on i would just go out and see my friends... both yu nabi & jaeeon they are both LOSERS ! there's no other word to describe them. they're both equally as annoying but jaeeon's a menace yea.. and yu nabi is just stuck with the "i can fix him" mindset OKAY SURE GIRL GO AHEAD ure so boring .

last episode i literally skipped throughout because it was just them staring and yu nabi ruining the vibes at the start for being sad when everyone else was happy like oh my god girl MOVE ON!!! so annoying .. ure not gonna d13 without him.. whats so good about jaeeon anyways.. literally waste of my time watching the last ep cus nothing happened ..

i would say that the side characters carried the show definitely!! no need to explain who and what we all already know its soljiwan zz also justice for dohyuk poor guy nabi is stupid literally on the last episode she said "i know he doesn't make me happy and i'm happy when i'm with you but.." GIRL WHAT U NEED IS THERAPY NOT JAEEON my god..

overall i quite enjoyed it since i binge watched the show (also by skipping most parts) and thank god it only has 10 episodes .. the cinematography was amazing but not enough to make me recover from the stupidity of yu nabi and jaeeon.. i actually have nothing else to say other than that they are both Losers..

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The perfect drama to glorify toxicity

Just why in the world would they make Jaeeon in ep9 show his true colors and how he was never serious about Nabi, how he was absolutely shitty towards Dohyeok, how he asked her out just because he wanted to "win" over Dohyeok, make him yell at her, twist her wrist, actually harass her, sl*t shame her for being in a fwb with him, mock Dohyeok and so much more, AND she even threw him off her life, just for this crappy, mediocre and incredibly dangerous ending?
This isn't even about which ship won at the end or shipping anymore at all, it's about an awfully dangerous message that this drama sends. They're saying "it doesn't matter if they guy you like is toxic, a potential abuser and player, and if you're gonna get hurt, just go for it because he has a nice d!ck!!"
This is seriously such a huge waste of cast, potential, and everything. This drama could've been one of the best if they properly showed how NOT to act in a toxic relationship, but at the end of the day all they did was literally glorify an abuser and cheater. Like someone else said, the writers were progressive enough to write about same sex relationships, friends with benefits, open relationship, but were unable to give the leads a proper ending? If the writers of Love Alarm couldn't make Sunoh end up with Jojo even though Sunoh was a thousand times a better option than Jaeeon, why would Nevertheless writers do something like this, and why would the webtoon creator even allow this, AND why would Song Kang and Sohee do this too? From the interviews, they looked like they didn't approve of Jaeeon (as they should) and kept rooting for Nabi to snap out of it.
Honestly, this is all so disappointing. Someone should cut out all Soljiwan's scenes for anyone interested in the Girl Love plot without having to go through the painful experience of this drama. Bitna and Gyuhyun had so much more development than Nabi and Jaeeon despite the awful screentime cut. A seriously awful drama. Only giving 2.5 stars for Jonghyeop and each supporting couple only (and .5 for the sunbaes).

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Such a bad story line

This was the worst Korean drama I saw in 2021. In fact, I stopped watching it after episode 6. I took time to read reviews so I knew how the story ends. Apart from the fact that the main leads are good -looking, and their acting is superb, this story line is so lame. How can a woman like Nabi be so stupid and indecisive? Too many monologues. I thought she would be wiser as time goes by, but reading the review of episode 10, I gave up. It's not worth warching. The side stories are even better than the main one.

I hope there would never be a Season 2. Better to see Han So Hee and Song Kang in other news dramas, rather than being together in this bad one.

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No development, no depth, no meaning, but nevertheless, love, I guess...

What a waste of potencial, seriously. I don't understand how they took 10 episodes with the FML being the same as she was in the beginning: a girl with an insecurity about relationships. I liked Nabi in the first episodes because for me she's a real character and her emotions are really genuine. But we're talking about a drama, and us as viewers, especially women's, wanted a good development for her. Every character in any drama needs to be developed because we have to know that these characters learn something about the difficulties they were into. What Nabi really needed was a good time ALONE, to focus on herself but it seems like the message that this drama wanted to pass to us is that even Nabi being insecure about Jaeeon`s feelings and even him hurting her in many ways she just likes him so fuck everything. Ofc we can all have insecuritys in any relationship but I think that Nabi ending up with someone she's insecure about and almost went crazy for, was really wrong. At least they could have waited a little more and then, years later, when both characters matured, they could think about being together.

And omg, it was so hard to empathize with Jaeeon. Sure, Nabi knew what she was into and Jaeeon not wanting to date isn't the problem, but a normal person who have a different thought about relationship wouldn't be chasing a girl that thinks way different than him. And beyond that, this character seemed so cynical for me... when answering Nabi's questions about the women he got involved with, he always blamed them, as if they were the ones who were chasing him. When Dohyeok tells him to stop fooling Nabi, he wonders if he could mess with her that much, as if he didn't knew he messes with her. I seriously couldn't understand him at all, even when he seemed to care about her and changed for her. Knetz blamed Song Kang`s acting but actually I think its the script fault as we saw before that Song Kang is in fact, a good actor. The character itself just don't have depth and it doesn't look genuine. For me, we end up not knowing important things about him and thats why I end up not liking him and not understand him. (and the script putting that scene with his mother to try to justify his personality was just cliche as well and not enough for me to understand him, he stills end up with no depth).

Dohyeok for the other side was perfect, but just another perfect SL. Altought I really liked him and preferred him over Jaeeon, Nabi ending up with him would be too forced because she never liked him or gave him any type of signs that she could like him. He really was there just to make Jaeeon`s character jealous. The side characters were definitely more interesting that the main characters and I really liked that we had a LGBT couple, I think that this is the first time I see a LGBT couple in a drama who isn't mainly LGBT.

Nevertheless had interesting topics such as the perspective of not wanting to date, abusive relationships and insecurities, but with main characters not having a good development and being persons who is difficult to empathize, its really hard to enjoy this. We can't say that the main leads doesn't have chemistry, because they really have an insane chemistry, but when we see how this drama is going, even the hot scenes with the main leads and even Song Kang being a really attractive character, things just won't be interesting anymore. And altought the drama tried to portraiy real things, the ending was just cliche as we had one more "problematic"guy who changed himself for the girl he likes. It’s a shame because for me this drama had a lot of potencial. Nabi`s emotions was real and I liked that Jaeeon was a different main lead with a different vision of relationship. They just wasted everything.

PS: One thing I really liked was the cinematography and the OST, they were really good. Besides that, the acting wasn't bad but not the best as well.

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RELEASE THE SOLJIWAN CUT

The first half of this drama was actually really promising — I liked the idea of an unconventional relationship, of a drama that actually discusses toxicity, a lesbian slow burn, etc. Not to mention how beautiful the cinematography was. The second half of this drama, however, seems rushed and full of typical cliches, but without any of the build-up. There was a typical love triangle with a really annoying and irrelevant second lead, and there was a side couple that was even more irrelevant.

Still though, there were some side couples that were great and I wish the drama dedicated more time to them.

But I just gotta say that Soljiwan carried this show. HARD. They were the perfect longtime friends-to-lovers and the yearning and just healthiness of the relationship was so beautiful. I wish so much that the drama had been braver with showing their scenes and had just dedicated more time to them because they were the best part of the drama hands down, and all the stars of my rating is for them.

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‘Nevertheless’- The Drama That Failed To Reach Its Full Potential.

It feels as though “ mature” tag romance dramas aren’t often taken seriously in K-dramas, but ‘ Nevertheless’ attempts to present things differently. The webcomic-based drama focuses upon the turbulent relationship between art students Nabi ( Han So Hee) and Jae Uhn ( Song Kang) connected together throughout their infatuation with butterflies. However (controversies aside surrounding the allegation case of actor Kim Min Gwi), whilst ‘ Nevertheless’ soared high at times, the drama could often find itself smacked face into the ground with its own problematic flaws also.

Watching the "relationship" between Nabi and Jae Eon play out is similar to getting stung repeatedly by a swarm of killer bees and then falling in a ditch filled of stinging nettles and vipers. Nabi and Jae Uhn aren’t in an overtly healthy relationship . Nabi is revealed to have been a victim of several abusive relationship in the past, and so projects her anxiety into committing herself again into a long-term relationship by seemingly maintaining only sexual intimacy with Jae Uhn. In the first episode alone, Nabi even admits openly to viewers that ‘I don’t believe in fate or love anymore. But this situation, it’s pretty unrealistic’.( Yet secretly yearns for more .)On the other hand, Jae Uhn’s nature is seemingly “ obscured from view”- one minute he happily pines over Nabi, the next he is chatting another girl up, only to pull out serious red flags when he suddenly appear out of nowhere in front of Nabi to “ save the day” .

Of course this is supposed to be the plot device that keeps the main storyline moving . Jae Eon and Nabi are both flawed people who only bring out the worst in one another. (That’s the point. )However, this is also where the drama failed to utilise this storyline to its full potential also. Director Kim Ga Ram may have seemed to think it was a good idea to bog down 20 minutes of screen-time with brooding eye- exchanges between Nabi and Jae Eon onscreen, but having an episode with only
20-25 minutes of quintessential storyline, 20-25 minutes of moody gazes, saucy scenes and then only a brief checkup on subplots isn’t entirely the best format to follow for every episode . Perhaps it wouldn’t have been so bad if the drama had gradually increased the essential storyline scenes as the series progressed, but soon the drama began to lose a lot of its original intrigue an incessant loop of pretty much the same setup where Nabi or Jae Eon would be lusting over the other, a misunderstanding would occur, they’d ghost one another or make the problem worse ( usually hurting one another or someone else in the process), lengthy scenes of pining gazes would occupy screen time, a cut to one of the subplots and then suddenly Nabi and Jae Eon are on “ reasonable” terms again.

Of course this is nothing to do with the actress behind Nabi .Soo Hee really captivated her role well. The slight uncertainty morphing onto her face and a twitch of her hand with trepidation really helped to animate her onscreen persona to life. However, as a character, Nabi’s was seriously poorly-written . The female lead initially starts off the drama as a sympathetic female lead; we are made aware of her experiences early on, and can see how she is falling hook, line and sinker again into a toxic relationship with Jae Eon as she even voices her own awareness that ‘It feels like something new is about to begin. I’m probably not mistaken’. Although where Nabi ultimately failed as a character wasn’t inherently to do with her conflicted feelings between Jae Eon and the softer option with Doo Hyuk ( Chae Jong Hyeop), but her self-depreciation and lack of self-respect as an individual . Yes, Nabi is a victim of abuse and we cannot forget that. However, it is a really irksome fallacy by screenwriters and writers that someone in Nabi’s vulnerable position” can somehow be fixed from years of emotional trauma by being in a " committed relationship ”. Nabi ( at the end of the day) had serious emotional and psychological issues which needed time and healing, not implicating her in order to keep a poorly enforced plot device working .

This isn’t to entirely drag and degrade the series down. The OST was pretty good, and Ga Ram’s cinematography was really mesmerising also. Two memorable scenes of the drama came through how director Kim Ga Ram inter-played lighting and symbolism here subtly- Jae Uhn in the room of butterflies with the door ajar yet all of them trapped with him, and then the open freedom of the meadow with Doo Hyuk and Nabi sat together enjoying the natural world overtly. The creative juices can only run so far into a series, however, before the problems soon dry them up. For example whilst Song Kang is a good actor, he didn’t feel entirely right as Jae Eon . He did certainly captivate the charismatic ambience of the main male lead , but he was honestly a little lacklustre by rarely radiating prominent vitality as his onscreen Casanova persona.

Of course the subplot characters were fairly intriguing in their own right - cool-headed and punk aesthetically adorned Oh Bit Na ( Yang Hye Ji), a good friend of Nabi, and the taciturn Nam Kyu Hyun had a constant “ will they, won’t they?” dynamic to their relationship. However with the controversial scandal surrounding Min Gwi, the producers made a quick and prompt decision to entirely cut out Kyu Hyun and Bit Na’s relationship scenes( as much as possible) during the last few episodes.Effectively this had a detrimental impact upon an important side couple’s development. However, this problem was also found with Sol ( Lee Ho-Jung) and Sol’s repressed feelings towards her blatantly oblivious best friend Seo Ji Wan ( Yoon Seo Ah) ‘s lacking screen time was diminished even further by the focus on the teachers and their” chemistry” in order to make up for lost screen time between Kyu Hyun and Bit Na.It wasn’t bad per say this couple being focused upon , but there were a myriad of variable storylines which were poorly sketched-out or abandoned throughout the drama which could’ve been explored instead such as the mysterious man that Yoon Soo bumped into, exploring Sol’s sexuality and feelings in more detail ( as well as her possible reasons for liking an unlikely person like Ji Wan), Jae Eon’s interactions with his family possibly providing further indicators into his current mind-frame , exploring Bit Na’s friendships as well as her experiences with trauma and even Jae Eon’s -ex’s story were all beyond wasted potential. The ending only provided this as case and point by failing to tie off loose ends as well as justify Nabi’s chance to heal and gain self respect.

So, is ‘ Nevertheless ’ actually worth watching? The delivered result of ‘ Nevertheless’ will ultimately vary for a lot of drama fans. Many will likely praise the more explorative and daring promiscuous themes in the drama, as well as the art house-style cinematography, the alternative OST and most of the cast. However, it is easy to see where ‘ Nevertheless’ also fails to reach the mark ; the pacing was off even at the best of times, the turbulent relationships ( including the side couples ) rarely met their full-potential and the main characters weren’t given enough opportunities to escape their one-dimensional shells as plot devices. Certainly not a cataclysmic drama, but sadly failing to reach its full potential also.

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