itwillneverbefar

I was really excited for this but keep dragging my feet to watch and I realized it's cause I just don't have faith that a K drama writer can pull off this type of story. I hope I'm wrong but I suspect from the comments that I'm right

Man JCW and Yejin had ZERO chemistry, and the entire story hinges on their weird obsessive sexual tension, of which there was none to be had. They were like a platonic aunt and nephew, it was so awkward any time they tried to act sexual or flirt. Despite them really trying to sell it I just could not feel that Cho Won had even a drop of desire for Lady Cho.

JCW had some really fantastic acting within scenes, but his overall performance was uneven as he was not able to pull all the different sides of Cho Won together into a coherent character or character arc that I could fully connect to. I feel with a better script or director he could have pulled it off, though. He was able to play this type of character very well in Empress Ki, and his casting felt spot on.

Nana was absolutely wasted. It was a huge misjudgment to focus so much on the blandly acted concubine while pushing Hui Yeon into the shadows for most of the show.

The show's main exploration of love vs obsession was interesting but man the execution was disastrous.

Honestly about the same level of badness. In Tempted WDH and MKY had amazing chemistry, while the same two characters in this had like ZERO chemistry so it was hard to care or really feel connected to their weird obsessive relationship. Both in Tempted and in this show there is a completely unnecessary plotline that has nothing really to do with the main plot and really drags the plot down.

I think WDH made a much more convincing reformed bad boy and was a better actor than JCW here, JCW though JCW had his really great moments.

It picks up a bit in ep 5-6, and 8 is quite good. Idk if it's worth watching the whole thing tho

yeah there are def worse dramas, I think the issue is that this is a story that has a lot of bold and risky elements, and so it feels worse when it doesn't deliver.

That's the only episode where I felt like the potential was reached.

Ep 8 was quite good, but man it took a lot to get there.

I think that's the point. His obsession with Lady Cho made it impossible for him to understand actual love even if he felt it. He was doomed to never be able to have either the object of his love or the object of his obsession, which is why he left them both at the end.

I stopped watching this after the first ep when it originally aired cause I hate the "love at first sight" trope. I like seeing love develop because they actually like things about the other , not just cause he thinks she's pretty or whatever. But maybe I was too hasty and should keep watching?

"almost"

It literally says it's in the same universe, so it's sequel of sorts.

If anyone is looking for a similar drama to binge while waiting between episodes of this I highly recommend Page Turner. It's only 3 episodes but tells a full story, and focuses on the connection between three different pianists--two who are expert level rivals and one who is just beginning to discover his love for piano. There is zero romance but SO much tension and chemistry between the 2 male/1 female leads.

The point of the drama is to explore their connection on a level deeper than cheesy sexual tension, and phrases like "listen to the sound of my voice" aren't uncommon when talking about art and artistic connection esp between two musicians who work together. So if you watch this drama and your only thought is "omg they're so gay for each other!!" then you're not really engaging with it in a way that's meaningful, and that's grating to the rest of us that are here to watch something of substance

This is an unfair straw man you've created. You're critical of others for not being understanding and open-minded, yet then not giving the same courtesy by trying to understand the viewpoint of some of the commenters here that you might disagree with. Not everyone who disagrees with you is a bad actor who secretly hates gay people.

I don't care that they're two men, I enjoy watching dramas like this with no romance. I have loved many male/male romances in actual romance dramas. But as a pianist myself, I just want to focus on the connection between two musicians which goes so much deeper than the superficial sexual tension or infatuation that is the core of romance dramas. Even if they WERE a couple in the drama , the connection of their art would still be so much more interesting and moving to me and I'd be annoyed that it is a romance instead of focusing on the artistic connection.

You don't get to accuse me of being secretly homophobic just because I disagree with you on the nature of this drama. That's just as disgusting as anything you're accusing others of doing.

Why does there have to be a team Rashta or a team Navier? The opposite of love isn't hate, it's indifference. Getting worked up about Rashta was half the fun of reading the webtoon every week, it would not have been the same without her. I can appreciate that she was a victim in many ways while also hating the choices she made that hurt those around her. Every hero needs their foil, and Rashta is the exact opposite of Navier, and so is the catalyst for so much of the interesting drama of the story and growth for Navier. I can find Rashta enraging while also appreciating her as a great character in the story. And I feel like the majority of so called "Rashta haters" feel exactly the same way.

I really tried to like this drama but Ae Sun is legit emotionally abusive towards Gwan Sik, like she is just an awful selfish person who so far has done nothing but use him and tear him down according to her whims, and yet he is so unrealistically kind and loyal to her despite that, I don't really find this any sort of poignant or realistic depiction of love, I find it toxic and cliche. Instead he should love himself and leave her to find someone who truly appreciates him.

I wish they'd stuck to the family relationships, like the one with her mother which was genuinely beautiful, but I'm not gonna watch another 10 episodes of emotional abuse and codependence presented as some epic love story. I like flawed characters like Ae Sun but not when they're worshipped unrealistically by the ever-faithful simp ML despite their flaws.

The kinda rare times we see deep, intimate male friendships in TV or movies it's pretty much always within hyper-masculine settings like the military or law enforcement or sports. So I really like being able to watch a drama about two close platonic male friends that is set in what is considered a "soft" or "non-masculine" setting like classical music and the arts.

I really love stories about platonic friends or siblings because it feels like a more pure look at what love and connection mean. Most romance makes it all about the infatuation and sexual tension and the actual relationship is pretty superficial underneath all that. I would be totally fine with zero romance in this drama, and instead just seeing all three as close friends.

The drugs were in response to the stress from fame, to imply he needs them to act is judgmental and toxic

She also has a lot of charisma and is a good actor, let's give her credit for more than just having masculine features

I love the forced skinship trope SOOO much. This premise is insane but sounds so fun. probs the drama I'm looking forward to most for fall/winter.