Amberino

Great cast and soundtrack, but this one really fell short. I haven't read the webtoon which apparently has more depth, but just based on this k-drama it was just not worth the time. It was hard to watch the main character, Nabi, go through so much and learn nothing. She turns away from other chances at happiness to pursue a toxic relationship with a narcissistic partner, and even worse, she's so so passive through the whole story.

Nabi is immediately taught not to be trusting and vulnerable. The show sets her up for a new romance and to pick a direction for her life and work as an artist all at once. I was so ready for the moment she finds her voice and stops being a bland, boring, melancholy spectator in her own life. It just. never. happens. Instead she lands right into that doe-eyed 'surely I can fix him' role and gets hurt again. Song Kang is great at playing the bad guy heart-throb character and the sexual chemistry is great in this show, but it's hard to imagine them as a couple when trust can never be a sure thing. Jae Eon starts off as a jerk, who we discover has reasons around vulnerability, and then he just... stays a jerk. It's hard to enjoy the romance because Nabi is always up to feel shocked, hurt and dejected over and over and we're supposed to believe this is growth away from Ep1? The plotline with Yang Do Hyuk is genuinely heartwarming, and so is the side-plot with another couple in the friend group, which just makes me wish the main story didn't leave such an awful taste behind.

I get that this show is called "Nevertheless," and even the idea that the 'safe' choices aren't always the what our heart wants, but man. Both of these characters need some time to just focus on themselves.