k-dramatic
Italy
This review may contain spoilers
Do introverts mate? Not in this drama
This is another one of my hormone-driven viewings (I am seldom proud of them) I convinced myself to undertake with the sole purpose of reliving the strong feelings Yoo Yeon-seok elicited in me during Mr. Sunshine. I was hoping for a modern Dong-mae and, predictably, was disappointed.
Sadly, no character in this drama is supposed to be charming. Also, do not be deceived by the word "love" in the title. It may lead you to believe this drama is about the birth of a love story when in fact it is about an aborted one.
We have two introverts that start liking each other and, as tortuous and difficult as their path toward a relationship is, it's not interesting enough to fill 16 episodes.
All the things that are said about introverts and their problematic approach to reality are true, though.
To the unsuspecting eye of an extrovert, the behavior of the characters, the female lead in particular, may seem senseless if not cruel. However, an experienced introvert, like myself, knows that 99% of her choices derive from the fact that she wants but can't let the world see that she does because she thinks she's not allowed to want. So she tries to be content and devotes herself to the next best thing and all her actions hinge on the subsequent guilt and bullheadedness that chains her to her choices. At the same time she is not able to kill the hope of getting what she truly wants and can't lie convincingly.
The male character is just as cowardly and twisted, of course.
Obviously, this is all very toxic for the people involved yet it is not senseless.
These characters' motives are clear to me.
I must be just as damaged as them.
I think this drama gives a realistic, albeit depressing, point of view on adult relationships (romantic relationships as well as workplace relationships). Nonetheless, it gets boring to watch this asinine mating dance of adult insecurities and emotional damage.
I guess the performances are good, yet not outstanding. I am still a fan of Yoo Yeon -seok though.
The ending is as lukewarm as the rest of the series. I don't think there's any true character growth except maybe for Jong-hyun who manages to find his self worth and build on it (and Soo-young is a bit responsible for this growth despite the mess she made of him).
There is no real take home message here save only for the fact that the interest of love might be just as burdensome as the interest on loans. (I wanted to end this with a wise adage or something, but I came up with this cringe motto. I guess it goes well with the realistic and depressing tone of the drama, though)
Female Empowerment Score 3/5 : the women here try to help each other in a difficult, chauvinistic, work environment
Sadly, no character in this drama is supposed to be charming. Also, do not be deceived by the word "love" in the title. It may lead you to believe this drama is about the birth of a love story when in fact it is about an aborted one.
We have two introverts that start liking each other and, as tortuous and difficult as their path toward a relationship is, it's not interesting enough to fill 16 episodes.
All the things that are said about introverts and their problematic approach to reality are true, though.
To the unsuspecting eye of an extrovert, the behavior of the characters, the female lead in particular, may seem senseless if not cruel. However, an experienced introvert, like myself, knows that 99% of her choices derive from the fact that she wants but can't let the world see that she does because she thinks she's not allowed to want. So she tries to be content and devotes herself to the next best thing and all her actions hinge on the subsequent guilt and bullheadedness that chains her to her choices. At the same time she is not able to kill the hope of getting what she truly wants and can't lie convincingly.
The male character is just as cowardly and twisted, of course.
Obviously, this is all very toxic for the people involved yet it is not senseless.
These characters' motives are clear to me.
I must be just as damaged as them.
I think this drama gives a realistic, albeit depressing, point of view on adult relationships (romantic relationships as well as workplace relationships). Nonetheless, it gets boring to watch this asinine mating dance of adult insecurities and emotional damage.
I guess the performances are good, yet not outstanding. I am still a fan of Yoo Yeon -seok though.
The ending is as lukewarm as the rest of the series. I don't think there's any true character growth except maybe for Jong-hyun who manages to find his self worth and build on it (and Soo-young is a bit responsible for this growth despite the mess she made of him).
There is no real take home message here save only for the fact that the interest of love might be just as burdensome as the interest on loans. (I wanted to end this with a wise adage or something, but I came up with this cringe motto. I guess it goes well with the realistic and depressing tone of the drama, though)
Female Empowerment Score 3/5 : the women here try to help each other in a difficult, chauvinistic, work environment
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