felcie
France
A second season vastly different from the first but still enjoyable.
Since I wrote a review for the first season, I figured I might as well write one for this season. I didn't rewatch the first season before, mostly because I didn't like it that much, and also because I hadn't really planned to watch this one. This being said, even I can tell that both seasons are very different but I ended up enjoying both as much for very different reasons.
Right from the beginning, you can tell that they wanted to do things differently simply with the fact that they just ignored the cliffhanger from the first season and it goes right in random happy scenes. It's a bit disorienting at first, but once you just accept that it's going to be different, it's fine. Overall, the vibe of the second season was more enjoyable to me, it's more relaxed, less angsty and dramatic. Things happen, obviously, but it doesn't sour everything for no reason. The characters take the time to think about the situations they're in and eventually work towards a solution. In a way, it fits the evolution of the characters, especially Jo Jo and the kind of relationship she's in when the show starts: calm, more mature and building slowly.
However, most of the subplots around the Love Alarm app and how it affects people are pretty much gone here, which is a shame because it was the most interesting part of the first season. Maybe because I've been watching mostly crime shows lately, but I really wanted more from that murderer storyline so it was very underwhelming in the end. Some questions are answered but so... awkwardly, a bit like they forgot to actually develop their ideas until they realized that they only had two episodes left. Since the focus wasn't on that at all anyway, it didn't prevent me from enjoying the drama but it still is disappointing that they didn't fully exploit the concept. The downside of having a lighter season romance wise means that they dropped all the interesting conversations the first season had brought to probably keep the general vibe of the season.
As for the characters, I feel like Gul Mi and Sun Oh (the Sweet Home line?) were the ones with the most interesting development. I like the fact that Gul Mi ended up working on her flaws without becoming a completely different person. As for Sun Oh, I feel like he was stuck in the past while everyone seemed to move on so he felt left behind by the people he loved the most. While he annoyed me a lot in the beginning of the season (and in the first season as well...), he does learn how to be more understanding in general and he finally opens up without being aggressive. His relationship with Hye Yeong was my favorite in the first season so I wish we had more scenes about them and their friendship. I don't have much to say about HY and JJ... but I like that we saw JJ continue to work on her trauma and try to be more honest with her feelings and with others. HY... just isn't the most interesting character. I like him but he was a simple and nice but flawed guy in the first season and that's still how he is. A couple of introverts isn't the most riveting thing to watch but it was cute, at least.
So, overall, I'm giving this a 7/10, just like the first season. In the first season I couldn't stand the romance but I liked the subplots around the app itself or the side characters, in this season I liked the romance side of the story but most subplots were either badly done or just not there.
Right from the beginning, you can tell that they wanted to do things differently simply with the fact that they just ignored the cliffhanger from the first season and it goes right in random happy scenes. It's a bit disorienting at first, but once you just accept that it's going to be different, it's fine. Overall, the vibe of the second season was more enjoyable to me, it's more relaxed, less angsty and dramatic. Things happen, obviously, but it doesn't sour everything for no reason. The characters take the time to think about the situations they're in and eventually work towards a solution. In a way, it fits the evolution of the characters, especially Jo Jo and the kind of relationship she's in when the show starts: calm, more mature and building slowly.
However, most of the subplots around the Love Alarm app and how it affects people are pretty much gone here, which is a shame because it was the most interesting part of the first season. Maybe because I've been watching mostly crime shows lately, but I really wanted more from that murderer storyline so it was very underwhelming in the end. Some questions are answered but so... awkwardly, a bit like they forgot to actually develop their ideas until they realized that they only had two episodes left. Since the focus wasn't on that at all anyway, it didn't prevent me from enjoying the drama but it still is disappointing that they didn't fully exploit the concept. The downside of having a lighter season romance wise means that they dropped all the interesting conversations the first season had brought to probably keep the general vibe of the season.
As for the characters, I feel like Gul Mi and Sun Oh (the Sweet Home line?) were the ones with the most interesting development. I like the fact that Gul Mi ended up working on her flaws without becoming a completely different person. As for Sun Oh, I feel like he was stuck in the past while everyone seemed to move on so he felt left behind by the people he loved the most. While he annoyed me a lot in the beginning of the season (and in the first season as well...), he does learn how to be more understanding in general and he finally opens up without being aggressive. His relationship with Hye Yeong was my favorite in the first season so I wish we had more scenes about them and their friendship. I don't have much to say about HY and JJ... but I like that we saw JJ continue to work on her trauma and try to be more honest with her feelings and with others. HY... just isn't the most interesting character. I like him but he was a simple and nice but flawed guy in the first season and that's still how he is. A couple of introverts isn't the most riveting thing to watch but it was cute, at least.
So, overall, I'm giving this a 7/10, just like the first season. In the first season I couldn't stand the romance but I liked the subplots around the app itself or the side characters, in this season I liked the romance side of the story but most subplots were either badly done or just not there.
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