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This review may contain spoilers
What did they like about each other beyond the sex?
Good chemistry and hot leads often delude people into romanticising and idolising a romantic relationship. Clearly the case here with so many people fawning over the ML / the leads.
I am simply gonna talk about the writing because that's what lets this drama down. Acting, direction, score were all great.
If the writer's intention was for the leads to end up together, then he/she has failed because rather than show me why these two will work, the writer showed me all the reasons why these two wouldn't work only to give them a happily ever after at the end. I would have given this a really high score if they ended it with the leads not ending up together.
In the 6 years of the relationship, other than in anger / break-up, these two never once communicated their feelings. There was zero sharing from both their end about what was going on in their lives. Other than spending the weekends together having sex, what did they even do or bring to each other's lives? They were never shown going on a proper date (other than the Tibet trip towards the end) or even having a normal conversation the way they would have with their friends respectively or like the way they talked when she saved him in the mountain. There was nothing real about their relationship. It was very superficially written, and acted by 2 gorgeous actors who had great chemistry together. There were lots of time jumps here and there but there was little intricacy or detail to their relationship other than the makeout scenes. I can see why he fell for her at the beginning and wanted to pursue her but after they got together - what even made him stay? I can see why she, too, felt attracted at the beginning. But what made her stay?
The unequal power dynamic, the socio-economic difference between both of them and most importantly, the way he constantly belittled her in almost every conversation heavily weighed down their relationship. These were never addressed. The unequal power dynamic with him being her boss and her walking on ice to keep the relationship hidden so that their relationship will never be misinterpreted as him praising her at work due to their relationship behind closed doors stressed her out. Her need to make money and have a stable job while he could splurge easily made her feel inferior in the relationship. The way he constantly belittled her in almost every conversation made her retreat, hide and step back so that she wouldn't be of any problem to him.
Instead of addressing this unequality and having the leads either
(1) be better together - transform this unhealthy relationship into a positive, healing one with both being vulnerable and learning to communicate better
OR
(2) not be better together but be co-dependent / have a home in each other - acknowledging the unhealthiness but leaning back on each other for support, for love. I am not against toxic relationships but you gotta show me how they make it work.
But the show didn't do either, and I was left confused as to why they even dated for so long. Both of them did not change. Neither did they truly have emotional and vulnerable moments together beyond the sex that made the relationship compelling. There was a lack of intricacy / detail beyond the sex that made the relationship feel real.
WHY THE FL NEVER FELT SAFE TO OPEN UP WITH HER "BOYFRIEND" He did not empathize and used cutting words all the time to belittle her.
The tone of the relationship was set the day he accused her of leaving the bag at his house on purpose and she was made to realise that he doesn't like clingy women. He brought her a bag the next day and she made it very clear that she did not want it and that she would stay silent in return for the bag. He did not correct her. The way he proposed being in a relationship - he made it clear he doesn't do romantic relationships and that they'll inform the other if they are sleeping around to which she proposed exclusivity. What is she to take from the proposal? Clearly she was once again made to feel that this isn't a relationship where they'll be on an equal footing and where they'll be like a normal boyfriend/girlfriend. The mistake at work - how difficult was it to simply type a 'how are you' message to her? She needed his support. He said Dony is likely to sexually assault her because she is the most naive. She is enticed to leave with Alex because she is cheap and obedient. 6 years of a relationship and he belittled it saying that she was with him just to climb the ladder. How can she truly be open when all he does belittle her at each point?
She was problematic too - I mean if she can't see him with another woman, why did she think he would be ok with her meeting her ex? Or why would she talk about marriage right when they're having so many problems.. was she really expecting an exciting answer from him LOL
WHY DID HE BELITTLE HER ALL THE TIME?
He never felt secure in being honest about his feelings because of his past with his family / dad (which was barely addressed in the show). He grew, and did learn to give her some appreciation over the course of the relationship but where was the empathy whenever she was struggling? How difficult was it for him to type a 'how are you doing' whenever she made a mistake or ran into difficulty? He had his freedom to go on overseas trips with his friends or handle his work issues by himself but couldn't take it that she had her own friends, and did not share about her work decisions. Much of their conflict revolved around work-related issues - why did he never try to understand how work and earning money was important for her?
WHERE WAS THEIR EMPATHY FOR EACH OTHER? WHAT DID THEY EVEN LIKE ABOUT EACH OTHER?
Whenever they took breaks or had long periods of not talking, there was never a 'how did you cope' or an emotional sharing session after that. They never admitted their issues, and neither did they ever really try to address them.. the only way they coped was having sex. Did they ever try to know what the other was feeling or even up to?
His praises for her was always about doing well at work. But what did he like about her as a girlfriend.. what value did she bring for him? She respected him as a boss who knew what he was doing. But what did she like about him as a boyfriend? What value did he bring to her life that her friends didn't bring?
Had the show ended with both of them giving each other closure and walking separate paths, I would have applauded it. But the writing never rose above the superficiality of their hot sex to give a thoughtful, meaningful dialogue about the way their miscommunication, his treatment of her, the difference in balance of power, the socio-economic difference, their psychology made them suffer and impacted the way they dealt with each other. Him creating a museum of her at the end to propose was absolutely cringe and till the end, there was no heartfelt conversation between these two. I can't believe that people are romanticising this dynamic and people are calling it 'real'. Other than the sex, these two didn't even feel like a couple. I mean which young couple doesn't talk at all?
I am simply gonna talk about the writing because that's what lets this drama down. Acting, direction, score were all great.
If the writer's intention was for the leads to end up together, then he/she has failed because rather than show me why these two will work, the writer showed me all the reasons why these two wouldn't work only to give them a happily ever after at the end. I would have given this a really high score if they ended it with the leads not ending up together.
In the 6 years of the relationship, other than in anger / break-up, these two never once communicated their feelings. There was zero sharing from both their end about what was going on in their lives. Other than spending the weekends together having sex, what did they even do or bring to each other's lives? They were never shown going on a proper date (other than the Tibet trip towards the end) or even having a normal conversation the way they would have with their friends respectively or like the way they talked when she saved him in the mountain. There was nothing real about their relationship. It was very superficially written, and acted by 2 gorgeous actors who had great chemistry together. There were lots of time jumps here and there but there was little intricacy or detail to their relationship other than the makeout scenes. I can see why he fell for her at the beginning and wanted to pursue her but after they got together - what even made him stay? I can see why she, too, felt attracted at the beginning. But what made her stay?
The unequal power dynamic, the socio-economic difference between both of them and most importantly, the way he constantly belittled her in almost every conversation heavily weighed down their relationship. These were never addressed. The unequal power dynamic with him being her boss and her walking on ice to keep the relationship hidden so that their relationship will never be misinterpreted as him praising her at work due to their relationship behind closed doors stressed her out. Her need to make money and have a stable job while he could splurge easily made her feel inferior in the relationship. The way he constantly belittled her in almost every conversation made her retreat, hide and step back so that she wouldn't be of any problem to him.
Instead of addressing this unequality and having the leads either
(1) be better together - transform this unhealthy relationship into a positive, healing one with both being vulnerable and learning to communicate better
OR
(2) not be better together but be co-dependent / have a home in each other - acknowledging the unhealthiness but leaning back on each other for support, for love. I am not against toxic relationships but you gotta show me how they make it work.
But the show didn't do either, and I was left confused as to why they even dated for so long. Both of them did not change. Neither did they truly have emotional and vulnerable moments together beyond the sex that made the relationship compelling. There was a lack of intricacy / detail beyond the sex that made the relationship feel real.
WHY THE FL NEVER FELT SAFE TO OPEN UP WITH HER "BOYFRIEND" He did not empathize and used cutting words all the time to belittle her.
The tone of the relationship was set the day he accused her of leaving the bag at his house on purpose and she was made to realise that he doesn't like clingy women. He brought her a bag the next day and she made it very clear that she did not want it and that she would stay silent in return for the bag. He did not correct her. The way he proposed being in a relationship - he made it clear he doesn't do romantic relationships and that they'll inform the other if they are sleeping around to which she proposed exclusivity. What is she to take from the proposal? Clearly she was once again made to feel that this isn't a relationship where they'll be on an equal footing and where they'll be like a normal boyfriend/girlfriend. The mistake at work - how difficult was it to simply type a 'how are you' message to her? She needed his support. He said Dony is likely to sexually assault her because she is the most naive. She is enticed to leave with Alex because she is cheap and obedient. 6 years of a relationship and he belittled it saying that she was with him just to climb the ladder. How can she truly be open when all he does belittle her at each point?
She was problematic too - I mean if she can't see him with another woman, why did she think he would be ok with her meeting her ex? Or why would she talk about marriage right when they're having so many problems.. was she really expecting an exciting answer from him LOL
WHY DID HE BELITTLE HER ALL THE TIME?
He never felt secure in being honest about his feelings because of his past with his family / dad (which was barely addressed in the show). He grew, and did learn to give her some appreciation over the course of the relationship but where was the empathy whenever she was struggling? How difficult was it for him to type a 'how are you doing' whenever she made a mistake or ran into difficulty? He had his freedom to go on overseas trips with his friends or handle his work issues by himself but couldn't take it that she had her own friends, and did not share about her work decisions. Much of their conflict revolved around work-related issues - why did he never try to understand how work and earning money was important for her?
WHERE WAS THEIR EMPATHY FOR EACH OTHER? WHAT DID THEY EVEN LIKE ABOUT EACH OTHER?
Whenever they took breaks or had long periods of not talking, there was never a 'how did you cope' or an emotional sharing session after that. They never admitted their issues, and neither did they ever really try to address them.. the only way they coped was having sex. Did they ever try to know what the other was feeling or even up to?
His praises for her was always about doing well at work. But what did he like about her as a girlfriend.. what value did she bring for him? She respected him as a boss who knew what he was doing. But what did she like about him as a boyfriend? What value did he bring to her life that her friends didn't bring?
Had the show ended with both of them giving each other closure and walking separate paths, I would have applauded it. But the writing never rose above the superficiality of their hot sex to give a thoughtful, meaningful dialogue about the way their miscommunication, his treatment of her, the difference in balance of power, the socio-economic difference, their psychology made them suffer and impacted the way they dealt with each other. Him creating a museum of her at the end to propose was absolutely cringe and till the end, there was no heartfelt conversation between these two. I can't believe that people are romanticising this dynamic and people are calling it 'real'. Other than the sex, these two didn't even feel like a couple. I mean which young couple doesn't talk at all?
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