MaryC
Portugal
This review may contain spoilers
A trainwreck of a show
Where to begin?
This is the kind of show where every single person watching has its one perspective and insight of what it means and what the characters feel (mostly because the writers failed at their one job and we’re the ones left to pick up the pieces), so bear with my personal opinion.
First of all, I feel like this season is a whole nother drama. Almost as if they didn’t know in season 1 how the series would evolve. There’s no conductive line, it’s like the first season had its own place in time and then you start the second season with a whole new genre and essence. I think the fact that it was divided into 2 seasons didn’t help at all. For 2 years we were sold this love triangle plot that seemed like the main thing and then in the end of season 2 we find out the real purpose of the show (in my opinion) was to show what happens when someone who has a lot of trauma in her life tries to find comfort in romantic relationships to help her cope with her struggles. The result: heartbreak up and down, to that person and everyone around them. I actually think that’s an interesting approach actually and I think if they had done it on purpose, the drama would be a lot better and people would understand it more.
some highlights (good and bad) on the season itself:
-stunning cinematography in every single scene!
-the symbolism of the seasons (of the year and of the show), season 1 being the comfort of autumn and the second one being the spring, in which the cherry blossoms connected with the blooming of a more mature love and the cleaning up for a new start, the healing of the past and moving on to the future
-the production was on another level on this one and it showed the power of netflix, every single scene was shot incredibly with so much detail into it
-they way they disregarded Duk-gu and his suicide experience, making me him come back just to serve the plot and as mean to help the lead screw eveything up once again infuriates me. He was always negglected by his peers and by the writters aparently. i would really love to see more about his side of the story and understand him a little more. I also think he could have been more explored in this season regarding his come back and the relation with his brother. But i guess they really had to make the whole season about the never ending toxic and unhealthy choices of the FL.
-the main villain (Gul-mi) of season 1 became the comic relief of the second, it was a good call, she was much more likeable but i still think they ended up not going far with her character development
-I really liked the depth they gave to Hye‑yeong, it explained a lot of his actions and personality, and we didn’t just have to accept him as the typical best boy just because. The best written character of the drama in my opinion, the only one you actually came to know, what he liked, his hobbies and interests, and the way he saw the world, very real and tridimensional, unlike the other characters that to me just served the plot most of the time
- the dystopian shit they pulled with the app and how it affected the social interactions of an entire generation, where people don’t even rely on their feelings and trust in the app more than their own hearts, this was a plus, sometimes more interesting than the main plot, could have been more explored tbh, they could really went further with it.
-the scene where Yuk-jo says “we can't go on like this anymore can we” looking at Sun-oh with her eyes in tears and a smile… it really broke me inside, I think she did an incredible performance, since I saw her on season 1, I really liked her and the fact that she wasn’t your typical SL was so refreshing, one of my fav characters this season, really glad that she ended up with Sun-oh, I think he really liked her but was just too caught up in his first love where he never got any closure. However, I must say I find it really wrong the fact that this drama always tries to push the "i'm gonna fake that i love you until hopefully one day i wake up and i really do" idea. that's ridiculous, love doesn't work like that. It's really unhealthy even for a kdrama, and they did it in every conversation,/interaction/relationship. Sending some really messed up messages to everyone watching. Dangerous and irresponsible, plain out wrong in my opinion. For a drama that wanted to pierce our morals and make us question our own actions, it really missed the whole point.
-the scene when Jojo met with Sun Oh for the last time and the flashback of them running down the same road… i was devastated, not because I was rooting for them (at that point I was really at peace with where it was going) but to me they did it in a very beautiful way. I'm a crybaby but I didn't shed a tear the entire drama until that scene. I don't know if it was because of the nostalgic feeling or the fact that I'm just sensitive to goodbye scenes. The idea of saying goodbye to your first love really moved me and the fact they hurt each other so much but are now finally able to move one... I just couldn't handle it, it broke my heart when they looked at their younger selves. They were genuinely in love at the time, and it felt so painful to see how sometimes life happens and reality strikes and your life can change in a very drastic and painful way, leaving scars that could last a lifetime. It was heartwarming at the same time, to see those memories of the past of when they made each other smile and helped each other cope with the horrible world around them. a lot of feels indeed, one of the most heart shattering scenes of the drama but also one of the most pure, beautiful and intense one.
-JOJO…. i mean they ruined her character by making “being the victim” her only personality trait.
They took it way to far, and actually made her feel less real and nuanced, they lost her essence behind that label, i think it really made it hard for anyone to relate to her, feel sorry or understand her. To me I really think they gave her an exaggerated amount of obstacles, even the one healthy individual thing she had, her drawings, was used to give her more trauma and guilt. jesus christ, the girl couldn’t even draw without causing someone to die?! of course she’s not okay and only screws up, so much trauma and never once a visit to a therapist or a sign she was dealing with all the trauma the writers put her through.
-the breakup… i’m not even judging her reasons, but the way they wrote it was awful. Even in the end I would be okay with everything if it wasn’t for that main event that kinda started the entire plot of this season. You just can’t ignore it, because they made the plot all about it. It’s ridiculous the way they NEVER actually explained the why behind it, not to Sun-oh, not to us, they just moved along, always referring to it as the cause of the entire plot of the season, without actually explaining it. It’s not only disrespectful to the character that spent 4 years of his life heartbroken and traumatized, but to us that were invested in this show for 2 years. I really can’t understand how could a drama with such a high production level could make such a blunt stupid choice. It’s obvious that doing that would make everyone feel like something was missing and that the ending and everything that led to it were just wrong and empty. This particular choice really sabotaged the entire drama for me.
-the running scene, that for me was one of the best of the entire season, I really liked the symbolism of it. Maybe this is because healing dramas are my cup of tea but I really think this is what I wanted from her character all along, no boy drama, but to see her face the past and deal with it and be able to see her move on, I think it’s a plot much more adjusted to the tone of the drama, being that they always tried to portray it as something mature with symbolisms and traumas and very introspective, much more a fitting than a love triangle plot focused. However beautiful it was, it wasn’t therapy and that’s what Jojo really needs. She can’t be in a relationship until she fixes herself and that’s a process, it doesn’t happen overnight. The drama itself was all about how someone like that can hurt other people so the fact that in the end they gave her a love interest without any real growth blows my mind.
In conclusion, it was a mess. They had a lot of potential and good content, but they just did awful decisions and didn’t deliver any real and consistent idea. It’s a shame how they managed to turn a good drama into a common joke that will always be remembered as a trainwreck beginning to end. I feel sorry for the actors because they did their best and I’m genuinely curious about who approved this script and thought it would work. I hope they fire that person or else I would politely ask Netflix to stay away from the kdrama world. please.
This is the kind of show where every single person watching has its one perspective and insight of what it means and what the characters feel (mostly because the writers failed at their one job and we’re the ones left to pick up the pieces), so bear with my personal opinion.
First of all, I feel like this season is a whole nother drama. Almost as if they didn’t know in season 1 how the series would evolve. There’s no conductive line, it’s like the first season had its own place in time and then you start the second season with a whole new genre and essence. I think the fact that it was divided into 2 seasons didn’t help at all. For 2 years we were sold this love triangle plot that seemed like the main thing and then in the end of season 2 we find out the real purpose of the show (in my opinion) was to show what happens when someone who has a lot of trauma in her life tries to find comfort in romantic relationships to help her cope with her struggles. The result: heartbreak up and down, to that person and everyone around them. I actually think that’s an interesting approach actually and I think if they had done it on purpose, the drama would be a lot better and people would understand it more.
some highlights (good and bad) on the season itself:
-stunning cinematography in every single scene!
-the symbolism of the seasons (of the year and of the show), season 1 being the comfort of autumn and the second one being the spring, in which the cherry blossoms connected with the blooming of a more mature love and the cleaning up for a new start, the healing of the past and moving on to the future
-the production was on another level on this one and it showed the power of netflix, every single scene was shot incredibly with so much detail into it
-they way they disregarded Duk-gu and his suicide experience, making me him come back just to serve the plot and as mean to help the lead screw eveything up once again infuriates me. He was always negglected by his peers and by the writters aparently. i would really love to see more about his side of the story and understand him a little more. I also think he could have been more explored in this season regarding his come back and the relation with his brother. But i guess they really had to make the whole season about the never ending toxic and unhealthy choices of the FL.
-the main villain (Gul-mi) of season 1 became the comic relief of the second, it was a good call, she was much more likeable but i still think they ended up not going far with her character development
-I really liked the depth they gave to Hye‑yeong, it explained a lot of his actions and personality, and we didn’t just have to accept him as the typical best boy just because. The best written character of the drama in my opinion, the only one you actually came to know, what he liked, his hobbies and interests, and the way he saw the world, very real and tridimensional, unlike the other characters that to me just served the plot most of the time
- the dystopian shit they pulled with the app and how it affected the social interactions of an entire generation, where people don’t even rely on their feelings and trust in the app more than their own hearts, this was a plus, sometimes more interesting than the main plot, could have been more explored tbh, they could really went further with it.
-the scene where Yuk-jo says “we can't go on like this anymore can we” looking at Sun-oh with her eyes in tears and a smile… it really broke me inside, I think she did an incredible performance, since I saw her on season 1, I really liked her and the fact that she wasn’t your typical SL was so refreshing, one of my fav characters this season, really glad that she ended up with Sun-oh, I think he really liked her but was just too caught up in his first love where he never got any closure. However, I must say I find it really wrong the fact that this drama always tries to push the "i'm gonna fake that i love you until hopefully one day i wake up and i really do" idea. that's ridiculous, love doesn't work like that. It's really unhealthy even for a kdrama, and they did it in every conversation,/interaction/relationship. Sending some really messed up messages to everyone watching. Dangerous and irresponsible, plain out wrong in my opinion. For a drama that wanted to pierce our morals and make us question our own actions, it really missed the whole point.
-the scene when Jojo met with Sun Oh for the last time and the flashback of them running down the same road… i was devastated, not because I was rooting for them (at that point I was really at peace with where it was going) but to me they did it in a very beautiful way. I'm a crybaby but I didn't shed a tear the entire drama until that scene. I don't know if it was because of the nostalgic feeling or the fact that I'm just sensitive to goodbye scenes. The idea of saying goodbye to your first love really moved me and the fact they hurt each other so much but are now finally able to move one... I just couldn't handle it, it broke my heart when they looked at their younger selves. They were genuinely in love at the time, and it felt so painful to see how sometimes life happens and reality strikes and your life can change in a very drastic and painful way, leaving scars that could last a lifetime. It was heartwarming at the same time, to see those memories of the past of when they made each other smile and helped each other cope with the horrible world around them. a lot of feels indeed, one of the most heart shattering scenes of the drama but also one of the most pure, beautiful and intense one.
-JOJO…. i mean they ruined her character by making “being the victim” her only personality trait.
They took it way to far, and actually made her feel less real and nuanced, they lost her essence behind that label, i think it really made it hard for anyone to relate to her, feel sorry or understand her. To me I really think they gave her an exaggerated amount of obstacles, even the one healthy individual thing she had, her drawings, was used to give her more trauma and guilt. jesus christ, the girl couldn’t even draw without causing someone to die?! of course she’s not okay and only screws up, so much trauma and never once a visit to a therapist or a sign she was dealing with all the trauma the writers put her through.
-the breakup… i’m not even judging her reasons, but the way they wrote it was awful. Even in the end I would be okay with everything if it wasn’t for that main event that kinda started the entire plot of this season. You just can’t ignore it, because they made the plot all about it. It’s ridiculous the way they NEVER actually explained the why behind it, not to Sun-oh, not to us, they just moved along, always referring to it as the cause of the entire plot of the season, without actually explaining it. It’s not only disrespectful to the character that spent 4 years of his life heartbroken and traumatized, but to us that were invested in this show for 2 years. I really can’t understand how could a drama with such a high production level could make such a blunt stupid choice. It’s obvious that doing that would make everyone feel like something was missing and that the ending and everything that led to it were just wrong and empty. This particular choice really sabotaged the entire drama for me.
-the running scene, that for me was one of the best of the entire season, I really liked the symbolism of it. Maybe this is because healing dramas are my cup of tea but I really think this is what I wanted from her character all along, no boy drama, but to see her face the past and deal with it and be able to see her move on, I think it’s a plot much more adjusted to the tone of the drama, being that they always tried to portray it as something mature with symbolisms and traumas and very introspective, much more a fitting than a love triangle plot focused. However beautiful it was, it wasn’t therapy and that’s what Jojo really needs. She can’t be in a relationship until she fixes herself and that’s a process, it doesn’t happen overnight. The drama itself was all about how someone like that can hurt other people so the fact that in the end they gave her a love interest without any real growth blows my mind.
In conclusion, it was a mess. They had a lot of potential and good content, but they just did awful decisions and didn’t deliver any real and consistent idea. It’s a shame how they managed to turn a good drama into a common joke that will always be remembered as a trainwreck beginning to end. I feel sorry for the actors because they did their best and I’m genuinely curious about who approved this script and thought it would work. I hope they fire that person or else I would politely ask Netflix to stay away from the kdrama world. please.
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