Juggles too much, risks being forgettable

The pilot episodes failed to effectively draw me into the characters & hindered my emotional investment in their journeys. This weak start sets the stage for subsequent disappointments. However, I was able to finish the drama because of my love for Han So-hee.

Notable, was the lack of nuance in Park Seo-jun's portrayal of Tae-sang. Despite the character's complexity, Seo-jun's performance falls short, making it challenging to connect with Tae-sang's internal conflicts about self serving motives and altruism. His comedic moments lacked freshness and the clever wit needed to bring more depth to his character.

The forced and unconvincing romantic plotline between the leads is totally unnecessary & almost childish.

So-hee's acting prowess is evident but is hindered by shortcomings in the script, making her character's journey less compelling.

Lastly, the quality of dialogue was notably subpar & lacked the richness it needed, coupled with the majority of scenes taking place at Onseong Hospital being repetitive and boring, which diminished the overall viewing experience, especially given the historical context of the drama.

Overall, the multiple plot lines could've been better integrated to make the drama seem more cohesive.

I'm skeptical but I hope part 2 of season 1 will renew my interest for season 2.

Edit: I finished all 10 episodes & I'll stick by my initial rating. Now that I have finished the drama, I think I can confidently say the casting for this drama was absolutely OFF. I felt like a lot of people were miscast and that is why this drama does not deliver what it should've - I did not find myself at the edge of the seat, the creature was not scary tbh, the villains were boring and nothing stood out per se. It is what it is.

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Wasted chemistry

The foundation for this show is very very weird. When the FL confesses she likes the ML, who was initially wooing her best friend, and gets rejected, the FL forcefully kisses the ML to prove a point?? The ML does the exact same thing later when he's wooing her to prove to her he's committed to wooing her???

The ML's sister has an ANNOYING ass baby voice and is very childish; even though she's never acted before, she is employed to act in the FL's new movie, and because she's a rookie, we're forced to painfully watch her mess up lines 5 million times and her cry as a result of being reprimanded for that. To make things worse, they force a relationship between her & the director of said film in the last episodes and it is such a cringe fest.

The main leads have great chemistry and it's a shame it was wasted on this stupid ass plotline.

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Worth watching.

The two leads chemistry is apparent so that kept me hooked. I loved Dali's hair and fashion! Beautiful!

I enjoyed watching the two leads up and down relationship up until the moment they got together. There were some really swoonworthy moments.

The supporting cast, I feel, was not the strongest. I particularly did not enjoy Moo Hak's family's acting - the dad, step mom and son. Its seemed very obvious they were acting.

Also, I wish we'd have seen more of Dali and Moo Hak in the last episode. They overplayed making it look like they had broken up. I actually wish the last two episodes focused more on them, We only got like 3 minutes of their kiss in the last episode coz the writers wanted to trick us. I don't think that was the wisest way to end the drama but hey.

Overall, cute show.

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Everything feels forced

I was really excited to watch *Love Next Door* because it's by the creators of *Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha*, a drama I absolutely adored. So, I was surprised to find myself struggling to get into this one.

Almost every character seems designed to fit into predictable rom-com tropes, making the show feel too manufactured. There are very few moments that feel genuinely authentic. While I really admire Jung Hae-in as an actor, I’m starting to feel like rom-coms might not be his strongest suit—or perhaps it’s the writing in *Love Next Door* that’s failing to showcase his abilities in this genre. I also love So-min, but her characters overuse of bickering and shouting as comedic devices is starting to wear thin.

One scene that unfortunately stood out to me as cringey was when she "discovers" what she wants to do, and Hae-in’s character watches her smile, seemingly realizing he still "loves" her. The moment felt incredibly forced, rather than heartwarming or authentic.

Honestly, everything just feels forced and some scenes are overdramatic for no reason.

I’ll keep watching and hope for improvements, but I’m not feeling too optimistic about it so far, which is a shame.

Edit: I forced myself to finish this drama and wow, what a disappointment. This should have been 10 episodes max, it was too dragged out and boring!

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