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This review may contain spoilers
A fun rom-com that misses a few beats
Enemies with benefits is your ultimate rom-com by the way. Maybe the series itself lol, but not what I mean here. Enemies to benefits in a workplace is the ultimate rom-com, it just hits different every time. You have enemies to lovers (arguably one of the best tropes out there), a FWB setup to add tons of tension and forbidden romance thanks to workplace proximity to give the audience the perfect balance of angst. It just works.
I wish Enemies with Benefits was actually that perfect. It was close, just did not live up to the expectations I had set for it. But to be fair, I had sky high expectations, so it is a bit on me. For the most part, it lived up to them - especially in terms of chemistry. It was absolutely incredible. Jan and Jingjing have always had incredible chemistry and nothing can take away from that.
Even the plot was pretty much airtight, we get their enemies to lovers arc, tons of angst and misunderstandings that come with dating in the workplace, great side characters who actually play a role in the story, and a proper story itself that was set in the workplace and concentrated on the love story without compromising on their relationship as coworkers.
I only really have two things I wish they'd done better. First, is buildup.
I love a good buildup to any relationship. Those yearning glares, the speeches that say "I would hate her face if it weren't so pretty", those unruly smirks thrown around just to see if it catches their eye. I love buildup. And we got? ONE episode. I needed more!! Genuinely, it would have been that much more amazing to watch them fall in love if we'd actually seen them be enemies. One disagreement in a boardroom meeting, unfortunately does not make for enemies I believe.
The second thing I wish they'd done better - the balance in the relationship. It's always a give and take, and most of the time it was Lal giving it her all, and taking responsibility for any conflict. Maybe it's just me (in fact, in both cases here) but it felt like I blinked and then Wine was suddenly in love? The lack of buildup and the disbalance in their relationship - because even being FWBs is a kind of relationship - really took away from the amazing chemistry that Jan and Jingjing (and to that extent, Lal and Wine) share.
That's all there is to it really, just those two facets I didn't enjoy. Sure, their relationship wasn't completely healthy, but what relationship is without fights and flaws? Lal was an entire green forest, Wine had some serious character growth and that's all I really want from my rom-coms, one or more characters who grow and change with their relationship.
Was this a brilliant series? Not so much. Was this enjoyable and fun, and just incredibly romantic? Yes, definitely yes. It was a fun watch and I would certainly recommend it to anyone looking for a good rom-com, with some slightly questionable behaviour from the leads, but mostly Good though haha.
I wish Enemies with Benefits was actually that perfect. It was close, just did not live up to the expectations I had set for it. But to be fair, I had sky high expectations, so it is a bit on me. For the most part, it lived up to them - especially in terms of chemistry. It was absolutely incredible. Jan and Jingjing have always had incredible chemistry and nothing can take away from that.
Even the plot was pretty much airtight, we get their enemies to lovers arc, tons of angst and misunderstandings that come with dating in the workplace, great side characters who actually play a role in the story, and a proper story itself that was set in the workplace and concentrated on the love story without compromising on their relationship as coworkers.
I only really have two things I wish they'd done better. First, is buildup.
I love a good buildup to any relationship. Those yearning glares, the speeches that say "I would hate her face if it weren't so pretty", those unruly smirks thrown around just to see if it catches their eye. I love buildup. And we got? ONE episode. I needed more!! Genuinely, it would have been that much more amazing to watch them fall in love if we'd actually seen them be enemies. One disagreement in a boardroom meeting, unfortunately does not make for enemies I believe.
The second thing I wish they'd done better - the balance in the relationship. It's always a give and take, and most of the time it was Lal giving it her all, and taking responsibility for any conflict. Maybe it's just me (in fact, in both cases here) but it felt like I blinked and then Wine was suddenly in love? The lack of buildup and the disbalance in their relationship - because even being FWBs is a kind of relationship - really took away from the amazing chemistry that Jan and Jingjing (and to that extent, Lal and Wine) share.
That's all there is to it really, just those two facets I didn't enjoy. Sure, their relationship wasn't completely healthy, but what relationship is without fights and flaws? Lal was an entire green forest, Wine had some serious character growth and that's all I really want from my rom-coms, one or more characters who grow and change with their relationship.
Was this a brilliant series? Not so much. Was this enjoyable and fun, and just incredibly romantic? Yes, definitely yes. It was a fun watch and I would certainly recommend it to anyone looking for a good rom-com, with some slightly questionable behaviour from the leads, but mostly Good though haha.
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