Underrated and undervalued
I wanted to write a review for this drama because I think it is vastly underrated. Reading the comments it was clear that the toxic elements in the main relationship were a serious problem for a lot of people. As far as I’m concerned, showing toxic relationships is not a problem as long as the consequences are also honestly shown. And for me, this drama does that. There is a beautiful moment of show-not-tell in the very last scene which I will write at at the bottom as a spoiler. And that moment spoke volumes to me.I thought it a beautifully insightful show about the types of relationships that happen in your inexperienced early twenties, when you are trying to live the fantasy of your adolescence and start to realise that a great deal more is required of you than you had expected. That however much you assumed it was going to be possible, you can’t have your cake and eat it too. Love it seems, is not some magical thing that waves its wand over you and suddenly Cinderella is dressed for the ball. Excitement is not the only necessary ingredient or even the main ingredient. Trust, not manipulation, must be there and that is something that you need to work out how to build and then maintain.
Song Kang did a masterful job as the fb Park Jae Eon. So good in fact that there were many times I just wanted to slap him (metaphorically speaking). His character’s arc is about reliance on sex as the answer to all problems and what it takes for him to realise it is not the only answer and sometimes absolutely the wrong answer. A criticism would be that not enough time was spent on Park Jae Eon. His character transitions were there, but I could have done with a little more help, especially towards the end, in recognising them and understanding them. Time could have been stolen for it by omitting the somewhat bland relationship taking place in the office. As a viewer you need to work a bit, don’t just notice Jae Eon’s jealousy or his domesticity, but realise what those things mean.
Similarly, Han So Hee was also very good as the conflicted and self-doubting Yoo Na Bi. Again her reasoning was not always explicitly stated but hinted at all the time. Of the leads, only Chae Jong Heop as Yang Do Hyuk had a straightforward role which was because there was no significant character development. He played the nice guy nicely, what more can be said. It was not a demanding role. There was lots to like in the relationships of the supporting characters, which looked at different hurdles to be crossed in the relationship game. In particular Lee Ho Jung as Yoon Sol stood out.
This drama is not a romance about getting love right and living happily ever after. It’s about getting love wrong. It invites the viewer to observe the mess that we make of things with each other and what might be required to muddle along in a better way.
It is a good script, with credible dialogue, brought convincingly to life by an able female director and good actors. It showcased some great artworks (Na Bi’s sculpture at the end was stunning) and some beautiful cinematography. And for once, because it was a Netflix original, the sex scenes were realistic and believable.
This drama does not lay it all out for you, but requires your attention to detail and some thought. To really get the most from it I would recommend that you watch it twice (it’s only 10 episodes long, so not too onerous to do that) and track the development the second time round. You will see and understand much more once you know where it’s headed. If you are prepared to put in a little effort, it will not disappoint.
Spoiler ahead…
Spoiler ahead…
In the last scene, Na Bi almost drops Jae Eon’s hand when she sees Do Hyuk in a cafe with another girl. The look of naked panic and vulnerability on Song Kang’s face is what spoke volumes to me. Na Bi will leave Jae Eon behind quite quickly and he knows it. It is not Na Bi who will be hurt by this relationship. On the contrary she will gain confidence. He is the one who will be licking his wounds. I just hope to any sort of god that he doesn’t go to Paris with her, that would be just too painful!
What my rating means: 8+ A great drama with interesting content and good writing, direction, acting, OST, cinematography. But didn’t quite have the requisite sparkle to bump it into my all-time fave list. Worth watching.
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good drama, not your typical fairytale
looking at the ratings I might have to look into low rated kdramas exclusively now . welcome to the real world my sweet 11-year-olds. ML is not toxic at all, he never cheats on her, FL believes the words of every tom, dick & harry about the ML and keeps breaking up ( not that they are in an official realtionship). according to kdrama fandom the complete responsibilty of a realtionship lies on the ML and FL should be treated like a princess all the time anything other than that is highly 'toxic'the chemistry is off the roof, kisses make you feel two adults are doing it, which is missing in general in kdramas with their fishy kisses. the story/plot is not really there, we'd have loved to see some backstory of both leads and side leads as well, the side characters are amazing, and the lesbian couple could get a show of their own. probably one of the very few dramas where I didn't skip anything.
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Such a good cast for shitty ass show
Not even joking when I say this is the worst kdrama I have watch along with love alarm season 2...The only good thing about this drama is the second couple and the cast, like the acting is good and they have such a great actors and actresses but the story is B O R I N G, the main character is so lame and the other one it's a jerk, there's nothing interesting about them, really, the second couple made the drama watchable, if you wanna know about them, just watch the clips and don't waste your time.
It's a shame that they gave this drama to such a great cast.
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Painfully Realistic!!!
I know a lot of people didn't like the story due to toxic characters, but I will try to explain why I liked every damn thing about this series.Let's begin with the CAST. I don't think anyone could have played the roles better than the way they were portrayed. From the very first look at Park Jae Eon, I knew he was going to break everyone's heart, yet he justified his role and made us fall for him to the point that every time he would hurt Na-Bi, I would feel similar pain. I would say that's an ace in acting. Na Bi also played her part well; being soft and confused in places but also being firm when she understood she couldn't handle the complicated relationship anymore. As for Do Hyuk, he was the cute and the most uncomplicated green flag in the show. He was the true Angel but unfortunately, the Devil will always be too tempting!!!
OSTs: They were good, too good to say the least. Every composition was kind of made to amplify the emotional depth of the scene. That made the show a lot more heart-touching.
STORY: It was realistic to the point where at times it left me with a dreadful feeling. The attraction between Jae Eon and Na Bi basically begins with sexual tension, which is more relatable to our generation. They then decide to keep it simple by not defining their relationship in any terms; another relatable situation. But what made me feel awfully familiar with the situation was Na Bi's conflict over why she's torturing herself knowing things will only get worse and Jae Eon pulling back when the things matter the most. These two situations I have experienced a lot in my dating life. Being afraid of getting hurt or not letting your feelings show because you are internally conflicted are the most common reasons why compatible people can't stay together. Some may say these are toxic traits but if you think, you can't really avoid it because these insecurities stem from the past and you can't change that. I would also like to focus on the fact that both, Jae Eon and Na Bi never saw a successful romantic relationship of their single parents. That will leave some mental scars that were bound to affect their own dating life. It's easy for us to categorise red and green flags but in the end, when you are in a relationship, things are not that simple.
But their sexual tension was off the chart; half the time, I had to stop the scene inbetween cause I was fucking breathless. Song Kang is a pure representation of sex (I know it's sexualizing comment but it's also true)!! If I would have been in Na Bi's place, I would have also given in just for the whole sexual chemistry, consequences be damned!!
Side Note: I loved how they represented art and butterflies in the series. I am an Architecture graduate, so art holds a high place in my life. In this series, art played a huge role in reciprocating feelings between Na Bi and Jae Eon, which were open to interpretation by viewers. Example - Jae Eon making Butterfly Suncatcher and Bracelet for Na Bi might not mean anything to others but for me it was admirable. A guy putting effort into making something himself is a huge plus point. It made my heart beat a little fast and my brain fuzzy. I also think creative guys are hotter than nerdy smart ones!!!
Lastly, I have rated Rewatch Value at 8 because I don't think my heart could bear to go through the emotional torture twice. But I might watch Nevertheless again, maybe after a few years when I am romantically at a good place...
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To watch or not to watch? (yes, watch it rn!)
You can shit on me for this, but I'd really recommend everyone to give this show a try even after seeing all the negative reviews.It is intimate, captivating, enduring and perfectly captures the reckless nature of young relationships. It's rocky, imperfect, yet passionate and sentimental.
You will fall in love with side couples, and be allured in with beautiful cinematography and soft light.
I do not give a flying fuck about people saying that the relationship between main couple is unhealthy. They are as imperfect as the people are and the actors did an IMMACULATE job on portraying every emotion in the most raw, natural and beautiful way.
This drama awakens the most intense emotions in people, and you can see that by the amount of the negative reviews lol. You will either love it to death or hate it to death. Nothing in between.
"Nevertheless" is not about the morally right relationships and impactful plot, it's about intense emotions that people can experience thanks to each other.
I can't stress enough how much this was a breath of a fresh air for me. For the last couple years I've gotten so sick and tired of all the sweet k-dramas that we were fed, and this title is exactly what i wanted to see.
Even though we were left with some unanswered questions, I am guessing that we can find the answers for these questions in the manhua. ( but imo they aren't that crucial to how they ended this story).
If you still aren't sure is you should give this a try, than let me tell you, the intimate scenes are TOP TIER. The are never over the top or distasteful, the chemistry between the actors is insane and I felt like I was given a glance into someone's private life.
Also there's a wlw subplot that has a happy ending :') I am very thankful to netflix and JTBC for the cute , unsexualized and realistic portrayal of the wlw couple. It was relatable, fresh and warm.
OVERALL :
I will totally re-watch this drama next year. It's great and I am very curious in how my point of view on this drama will change over the course of time.
9,8 / 10
Because I loved it dearly but i still don't know what the hell was with that lighter lol
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My opinion of this passionate, romantic drama
The Man:Do you think this drama is unrealistic? I don’t think so. Haven’t you ever seen a man who only wants one thing from a woman? Haven’t you ever seen a man that doesn’t want any commitment in the process? They call them players in the social world or users in the not-so-nice world. Sometimes they just called them creeps. Some people will watch this drama and think he was honest with his feelings and worthy of praise. Sure he was. For all ten episodes, he never said a word or looked at her without a manipulative meaning behind it. There was no chemistry, just a man working on his mark—a butterfly for his collection. Guess what? Do you think he changed in the end? Releasing his butterflies was comical. Please make no mistake about it; in the end, he captured the butterfly.
The Woman:
This woman was oblivious to everything around her except him. Her artwork and communication skills suffered, and her entire personality changed the second she met him. I don’t think she realized that she had no chance to escape the butterfly net. She was naïve enough, or weak enough after a breakup, to fall for his cheesy approach. She wasn’t looking for a relationship in the beginning; she was looking for the same thing he was, uncommitted passion. She couldn’t even look at him without getting weak in the knees, and he was well aware of her feelings. Hanging with him after he made himself clear was her problem. She tried to turn herself into the victim, but in reality, she was just there for him to use, and that’s exactly what he did. I saw no redeeming value in her character other than the passion she had for him. Everything else, everybody else suffered in the wake.
Conclusion:
It gives credence to the saying, ‘nice guys finish last.’ She made a point of crushing her childhood friend so many times, but she would come back to use him to make herself feel better. He dodged the bullet. He should consider himself lucky. She was not the kind of woman that would coexist with a nice guy. Or at least she would only be there until the next bad boy cast his net.
Plot:
The plot was not too involved. Girl falls for the player, the girl thinks she can change the player, girl rejects the nice guy, and finally, the girl surrenders to the player. There is nothing unrealistic about this plot, I’ve seen it dozens of times in real life. It might have been better if they spent a little time building up the destroyed character of the player. It would have made her look better. In the end I just saw two users walking hand in hand.
My ratings:
I will probably rate this better than my words show because I like any dramas with romance and passion. This drama had both so I enjoyed it.
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This review may contain spoilers
From Lust to Love
This drama is not for everyone as a lot of people seek for love in dramas but this started with lust . It starts with sexual tension that slowly turns into obsession towards each other then wanting to be together.This does depict the situation where people really cannot show their true feelings to other people.It's a slow burn with some artistic and visually rich both in atmospheric and appearance of all actors. All the songs provide a perfect ambience for all kinds of situation shown. "LOVE ME LIKE THAT" is my favorite.
I love the fact that Yu-Nabi made the fact clear "HEART WANTS WHAT IT WANTS". People cannot force their feelings knowing the fact that other person can make you happy but you wouldn't be able to feel that happiness no matter how much we try. Moreover, Park Jae-on does bring the best out of Yu-Nabi that is most important in any relationship.
What more stands out is supporting cast. Oh bit-na character is something that made me watch this drama more. After watching this I am happy that I didn't miss beautiful and confident female actresses that backed each other directly and at times indirectly.
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Am I the only one who genuinely enjoyed this drama?
I don't understand all those bad reviews and comments honestly? I think this drama was really good. It felt real. You don't see this type of relationship often in kdramas. Song Kang was perfect as Park Jaeon, he portrayed a popular guy whose scared of commitment, and Han So Hee as Yu Nabi was also great at portraying a girl who can't resist him. They showed exactly how it usually is in real life. Their relationship could be seen as a toxic one but I don't think it was. I think it was just full of challenges and uncertainties. However, I think everyone who watched it and who is planning to watch it, should develop their own opinion on this. Ofc I have a lot to impute to Jaeon but also to Nabi, they both weren't perfect yet I feel like they were perfect for each other. I definetly recommend this drama to everyone it makes you feel all types of emotions and also supporting roles and their stories are really worth paying attention to.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Do people ever really change?
Having been with a creative male for 32 years, I relate to the female lead when she said that she would regret going with him, but she would anyway. These indviduals can be very addicting, and like a narcotic they exact a painful price. I have never known the joy with anyone as I knew with him, but I also never knew the depth of pain as well. He will always come up in my mind and I will recall the intense euphoria followed by exquisite pain. If you choose to love a Creative, be forewarned of the addiction potential.Was this review helpful to you?
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Its a new kind off drama
I´ve just rewatched the series for the third time, and I decided to read what other people thought about it. Because personally this is my favorit drama, I haven't read the webtoon but as if the series alone its very good.It has everything in it, its more for teenagers because it a lot about toxic drama, and has some 18+ scenes.
I would be very disappointed if she didn't end with PJN but she did which made me love it even more.
Overall its af very good series and has everything in it<3
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This review may contain spoilers
Have some intense scenes
Sorry for the spoiler .It was the story about two persons , A girl and a boy . The boy and the girl who donot have good love history but both thought in the different way . The boy pretend to be a playboy . He never made a serious relationship but the girl actually wants a serious relationship. When both met ,the girl fell in love with him but the boy was not sure about his own feelings . Girl realised the fact and she left him but when she left him ,he realized his true feelings . Still not able to say his true feelings to her . On the other side the girl didn't have control over her feeling. Not able to forget him . At the end she asked him to go on a date . He replied her that was she sure . Would she not regret . By this reply if I would in her place ,I would leave him because still he was not sure but she told him that she would not regret and the drama end with the kiss. So this was the story . I think it has some intense scene which made some spectacular to like the drama but I really didn't like the dramaWas this review helpful to you?
