red carpet2345

I Had a Crush... Until the Drama Took Over

I like dramas that are sweet but still feel grounded in realism, which is why I felt drawn to this drama. One of the things that immediately interested me about Crush was that the main character is blind, because it opens up a completely different way of experiencing the world. I also liked the career choices in the drama. A braille teacher, a composer, and someone wanting to work at a radio station all felt refreshing and meaningful, especially nowadays when most people spend their time online or watching series.

It even made me realize how important radio actually is in this context. Before watching this drama, I sometimes thought that radio might eventually disappear, but afterward I realized how sad that would be. The series reminded me that voices, sound, and imagination can create connection in ways visual media sometimes cannot.

I also enjoyed the sweetness at the beginning and the way the characters felt imperfect and awkward while trying to navigate their first relationship. Their interactions felt warm, sincere, and playful, which really gave this series its soul.

I especially liked the way the story explored perception and how different people experience the world differently. Because the male lead is almost completely blind, even ordinary moments felt sensual and mindful. Watching the characters discover the world together created some of the drama’s strongest and most emotional scenes. It was beautiful to see how they slowly warmed up to one another and began integrating each other’s perspectives into their own.

However, even though the trailer hinted at some dramatic moments, I still felt somewhat misled because I did not expect such a huge middle-arc conflict to completely change the tone of the story.
The middle section especially felt overloaded with family drama and misunderstandings. Many conflicts were introduced, but not all of them were resolved in a satisfying or emotionally sincere way. Some side characters and friendships also felt underused, and I kept wondering what purpose certain friends had in the overall story besides occasionally moving the plot forward.

I also felt the character growth became less authentic over time. Certain personality traits that were initially sweet and playful gradually started to feel impertinent or frustrating instead. The characters also seemed to lose some of the warmth that originally made them so likable.

One thing that especially disappointed me was how the drama handled the topic of blindness later on. Earlier in the story, it beautifully showed that although people perceive the world differently, there can still be beauty in those experiences. However, later parts of the drama made it feel as though being blind automatically meant being incomplete or “broken” until it could be medically fixed. I wholeheartedly support people gaining sight through operations if they want to, but I disliked the implication that blindness itself was something inherently defective. This felt contradictory to the more nuanced and compassionate message the beginning seemed to present.

Another missed opportunity for me was the couple’s shared daily life. I would have loved to see more scenes of them learning how to truly live together — creating routines, understanding each other’s needs, balancing messy and careful spaces, and finding practical ways to support one another. That kind of grounded relationship development would have been much more meaningful to me than the excessive dramatic conflicts that took over the story.

I also wish the characters had experienced more genuine healing by the end of the story, especially the male lead. At times, it felt as though emotional wounds were simply pushed aside rather than truly understood and worked through.

Despite my criticisms, I still think Crush had a beautiful emotional unique moments. Even after the drama lost most of its direction later on.

Read More

Strong start, but lost its heart along the way

I honestly wasn't expecting Dazzling to grab me as quickly as it did.

At first, I thought the female lead was a little too cocky. But that impression disappeared almost immediately. She simply knew how to stand her ground, even if she did it in her own unconventional way. That confidence made her incredibly easy to root for, and I quickly grew attached to her.

What I loved most was watching two complete opposites slowly learn to fit into each other's lives. Neither of them tried to change the other for long. They acknowledged what the other person needed and made space for it. The air conditioner subplot is probably my favorite example of this because it perfectly captured how much they cared for one another. I also loved seeing the female lead slowly open herself up to a more domestic lifestyle and embrace experiences that were completely new to her.

The ML was so loving and thoughtful, always making room for the female lead in his life. To me their bond felt not only romantic, but also like found family. There was so much trust and quiet affection between them that I found myself looking forward to every scene they shared.

Another thing I really appreciated was seeing the female lead become part of the family. Instead of just living with them, she genuinely wanted to help. Watching her come up with ideas to improve the family shop showed how much she had grown. She felt mature, balanced, and comfortable with herself.

Even the male lead's mother fascinated me. She wasn't an easy character to like, but I could understand why she became the way she was. She clearly cared, even if she struggled to show it in healthy ways. I kept waiting for the moment where she would finally break free from all the pain she was carrying. The drama seemed to hint at that several times, but it never quite reached the emotional payoff I was hoping for.

Sadly, the warm cozy feeling from the start fades away by middle of the drama.

The biggest disappointment for me was the male lead. In the beginning, his kindness made me look up to him. Later, though, it felt like he carried everyone's burdens entirely on his own. Instead of building a life together with the female lead and his family or at least finding a way that could help support his family without him having to hold everything together, he seemed to sacrifice everything for everyone else. What had once felt loving slowly became emotionally exhausting.

The female lead also started acting in ways that confused me. Earlier, she had become such a grounded and mature character, but suddenly she was participating in childish revenge schemes that were presented as funny teasing. For me, it completely undermined the beautiful trust that had made their relationship feel so special in the first place.

One thing I'll always give this drama credit for is its structure. Before watching, I read the synopsis and expected the school setting to appear much earlier. Instead, the story carefully built its characters and relationships first. When I realized what the writers were doing, I thought it was brilliant. It felt like the drama was setting itself up for a really meaningful coming-of-age story where the school arc would naturally become the next chapter.

But instead of continuing to develop the relationships and dreams it had spent so much time building, the story began relying on outside drama. The shop, endless admirers, misunderstandings, and conflicts that felt forced started taking over.

Eventually, I reached a point where I stopped watching. Not because I hated the drama, but because the feeling that had made me fall in love with it had disappeared. The beginning felt safe, warm, and full of genuine love between its characters. By the middle, that feeling had been replaced with conflict that, to me, existed more to stretch the story than to deepen it. That might actually be what disappoints me the most.

Dazzling introduced characters I genuinely cared about and built relationships that felt authentic and comforting. I truly believed it was setting itself up to become something special. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, it lost the heart that made me fall in love with it in the first place.

Read More