[This was actually a pretty long rant, but I had to remove 2/3 of it because MDL limits reviews to 10 000 characters]

Started well, then turned into a crying fest, then went back to what it should have done from the beginning but in such an unearned, nonsensical and jarring way, that this supposed 'rom com' turned into a parody of its genre : Terribly formulaic, no satisfying closure to any of the conflicts raised and a final cop-out twist in episode 13 that definitely cemented this drama into the mediocre and forgettable category.

Final ratings 4.

My love for both leads saved me from giving less. The show was weak but the performances were strong but alas my frustration level got so HIGH and the over-the-top “fake sweetness” of the last episodes prevented me from giving this a passing grade. In fact given how annoyed I got… had it been other actors, I’d probably would have given less.

When a show is not consistent with itself, that’s were I draw the line.

But let’s start with the good... err 10 000 characters limit so let's forget it, there's plenty of other reviews for that.

Now..

On to the long rant (sigh...)

This show doesn’t know what it wants to do. Is it Melo, Slice of Life, Rom’ Com? Choose what you want to do and stick to it. You want realistic problems with realistic solutions ? Sure. Then follow through with all characters.
Every single problem these characters faced apart from Seok Ryu’s were magically resolved overnight.

Absentee parents ? No problem, let’s all hug, and over 30 years of neglect are swept under the rug. Estranged couple with NO COMMUNICATION whatsoever notably because of the assumption that one is cheating the other ? No problem ! The dude with whom she is supposed to have cheated is gay. So all of these years of not talking disappear overnight after some dramatic night in the forest !
Also the husband who has been shown to always be busy because of his work at the hospital, has now all the time in the world to get drunk literally everyday with Seok Ryu’s dad. Makes no sense, but since these two were the only ones that truly made me genuinely smile/laugh by the end of this drama, I’ll give them a pass.

Children are not stupid, if they see your careers are more important than they are in your eyes, they learn the hard way to become indifferent very early in life. Seung Hyo caring about your divorce?At 34? Seriously? As if! If he even cared about the both of you at that point that would be short of a miracle.

Ah… but it’s a rom com’, why so serious? Why? I don’t know, ask the show. They went into a full cancer nightmare, work harassment, blaming shit, crying fest and so on and so forth for more than 6 episodes, so I feel entitled to get the same amount of care for issues foreshadowed since episode 1. Is that too much to ask?

Wife gas-lighting her husband literally every day ? Let’s put some drama in so that she makes a grand declaration because even if she gaslights him, she’s got his back so everything is forgotten. She doesn’t need to change because « her heart is in the right place ». And I’m not even talking about her hitting literally everything that moves.

Little Brother is spoiled and want easy money. Got scammed one more time, made his parents loose some money AGAIN, but poor dude is crying because he’s just a victim of circumstances. Big sis is doing a small talk and we’re all back on good terms ?
NOPE. Doesn’t work show.

Journalist’s got a daughter so you can see how Mo Eum and him can’t be a couple because of South Korean’s society… BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT NOPE. Plot twist, his daughter is actually his niece so there’s no longer any real obstacle because this show HAS NO BALLS !!!

But we do need to have the mother opposed to it for I don’t know why, because there’s 3 episodes left, and by God do we need to fill the minutes… with these overly long-ass episodes.

As for the romance…. My God, let’s just forget how it started. I don’t even know were to start, and this review is already too long…

The good : Seung Hyo and his ex. That was actually a pretty satisfying and realistic part of the drama. Not overly dramatic just pretty natural and nice. Gotta give praise where it’s due.

The VERY bad: Seok Ryu, her ex and her present


The ex comes to visit South Korea and win Seok Ryu back. At that point, Seung Hyo is not yet going out with Seok Ryu. Yet, he feels entitled to act jealous, is extremely rude to her ex who HE DOESN’T KNOW, acts like he’s got dibs on her when she hasn’t even agreed to be with him.

WHAT.A.TURN.OFF

But it’s Jung Hae In, he’s the male lead so we’re supposed to give him a pass. So Ok. I’ll give a pass to this MAJOR RED FLAG.

Any man acting in such an overbearing way when you’re not even going out together yet is to be fled from immediately. You can be sure it’s gonna be worse once you get together. In fact, you can smell the wife’s beater from miles away.

He’s not like this because he likes you. He’s like this because you’re his thing, and you need to stay in line.

But it’s a K drama so don’t worry, once he gets the girl, he’s gonna turn all nice. And you bet he is going to get her because at some point after having declared his love, he tells her  « I don’t do friendship with you no more » meaning if the dude can’t be her boyfriend… he’s decided he’s going to put an end to their 30+ years of friendship.

Another Minus for the Emotional Blackmail.
Also, INCONSISTENCIES anyone ?

Wasn’t the reason why you didn’t want to say your feelings in the first place was because you were afraid of losing your FRIENDSHIP ??? Why are you so willing to flush it down the toilet now ? Are you 13 ? I don’t mind the childish banter but at some point a 34 years old do need to show the maturity of a 34 years-old WHEN IT COUNTS.

Ultimately Seok Ryu gives up Mister Green Flag for Mister Red Flag because of… K Drama. She cries at the airport and I wonder why.
Either you still have some feelings and you cry because you’re realizing what a gigantic mistake you’re making or you don’t.

It wouldn’t have been nice for the fiance to say : " I realize you never loved me as much as I did. I supported you through your darkest time, put my career on hold for a year, you threw me away for one dispute, I crossed a whole continent to win you back, only to realize your heart never truly belonged to me. It’s a good thing we broke up. I deserve better".

But it’s a K drama so, we can’t make the FL look like she acted terrible towards a man who’s only crime was to love her so he apologizes for "not helping her the right way" and "realizing she needed other people by her side". And I’m not saying he didn’t make mistakes, but it takes two to tango, and he was the only one who tried to dance.

The truth is, you never loved him enough, you didn’t want to live in the US, you hated your job, you missed a certain someone that wasn’t your fiance. You had plenty of reasons to go back to South Korea, but show decided to put the blame on the break-up YOU initiated instead of on all the elephants in the room.

As far as feelings go, I was never sold on her being with any of them.
It’s difficult to sell a couple when one party was, until recently, engaged with another man who supported her through her cancer ordeal, who she had a five-year intimate relationship with, and who cried crocodile tears when said man left. Obviously you need all these EXTRA SWEETER THAN SWEET scenes to make you believe this relationship is more solid than the one the FL left behind ( THE CRINGE is through the roof)

It was too melo before so by episode 11 it’s in sweet overdrive – to the point of turning the show utterly ridiculous, boring and cringe. As soon as our lead are together they sleep together. As soon as they sleep together, we’re speeding to the marriage proposal??? Girl got engaged after ¾ years of dating with Saint Ex, but not even half a year has passed since she broke off her marriage that she already has another dude’s bracelet around her wrist. .

It would have been good if all that sugar had been peppered throughout the whole show instead of drenching viewers in it for the last episodes... Also since they need to make us feel some empathy for the other characters we get all the conflicts I talked about above, resolved in speedy, unsatisfactory and ridiculous fashion. Even when there was supposed to be legitimate issues, the show treated it as a 'non problem' and I would have given an example if there was no 10 000 characters limit.
This writer needs some fake dramatic plot device such as: husband being scammed by V-tubers, Little bro being scammed by fake protein company, Mother who thinks she’s got Alzheimer and gets lost in forest, Seok Ryu breaking his arm and so on and so forth... in order to get some great empty declaration of love or other BS, so that the conflict is resolved.

The drama concludes with a very neat (and predictable) but dissatisfying little bow. I slugged my way to the end, only managing to finish because I cut each episodes in 4 to 5 parts alternating with more engaging shows or surfing online.


Last but not least… WHY do I have to commit to 3 HOURS EACH WEEK for a ROM COM’ ?!
A FUDGING ROM COM DOESN’T NEED 3 HOURS A WEEK!!!
ARE YOUR DRAMAS ANY BETTER ‘CUZ THEY’RE LONGER?

NOPE. THEY.ARE. NOT!!! WHY TVN WHY?

So please, for the love of all Drama gods Past , Present and Future, STOP THIS INSANITY!