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Bring back messy, flawed characters
In a world obsessed with green flags, it’s kind of refreshing to see two characters that just do so many things wrong. They fight, break-up, and back together countless times, but then they have these really sweet moments that make you understand why people stick around in these types of relationships. It’s messy but so much more interesting than a couple that’s just made up of two perfect people, and I had a fantastic time watching this live and seeing all the discourse on it — to see so many different takes on it is a good thing, and it’s a testament to how all the viewers’ perspectives are shaped by different lived experiences.
I do have my own opinions on the dynamic between the leads, and for me the power dynamic is such a huge cloud over their entire relationship that I mostly find myself on the side of the FL and anxiously waiting for the imbalance to even out. Her character development as she grew into herself at work and started speaking up for herself was really great to see, but her character doesn’t truly break free until the big separation, which is why the pacing made me increasingly nervous as the show went on and it hadn’t happened yet.
Word on the street is that they cut the drama from 32 episodes and I think those episodes were really needed. There are a few scenes between the leads that are fantastic and really highlight how much history there is between them, but I think we still needed slower development: more scenes of both of them growing by themselves as people, and then more time for them to come back together and trust each other again. I’ve made it clear that I thought the power imbalance was a huge issue, and I feel like there was still some pushiness that I was uncomfortable with that could’ve been resolved if there was simply more time to develop them. The last episode in particular moves really fast, and it also feels like some subplots (Lumi’s romance arc, for example) were started and never really expanded on.
Despite that, I think some of the subplots were the most powerful episodes, and the side characters were all wonderful; I really loved the focus on female friendships in certain episodes and when it came to supporting each others’ careers or comforting each other thoughout the show in general. And there was also a really powerful and heart-breaking portrayal of depression in what ended up being one of my favorite episodes.
Overall, despite the rushed pacing at the end, I really enjoyed this one and all the thought pieces that came with it. It’s messier than most cdramas for sure, but that’s what made it memorable, and the chemistry between the leads really sold it. Great OST as well.
I do have my own opinions on the dynamic between the leads, and for me the power dynamic is such a huge cloud over their entire relationship that I mostly find myself on the side of the FL and anxiously waiting for the imbalance to even out. Her character development as she grew into herself at work and started speaking up for herself was really great to see, but her character doesn’t truly break free until the big separation, which is why the pacing made me increasingly nervous as the show went on and it hadn’t happened yet.
Word on the street is that they cut the drama from 32 episodes and I think those episodes were really needed. There are a few scenes between the leads that are fantastic and really highlight how much history there is between them, but I think we still needed slower development: more scenes of both of them growing by themselves as people, and then more time for them to come back together and trust each other again. I’ve made it clear that I thought the power imbalance was a huge issue, and I feel like there was still some pushiness that I was uncomfortable with that could’ve been resolved if there was simply more time to develop them. The last episode in particular moves really fast, and it also feels like some subplots (Lumi’s romance arc, for example) were started and never really expanded on.
Despite that, I think some of the subplots were the most powerful episodes, and the side characters were all wonderful; I really loved the focus on female friendships in certain episodes and when it came to supporting each others’ careers or comforting each other thoughout the show in general. And there was also a really powerful and heart-breaking portrayal of depression in what ended up being one of my favorite episodes.
Overall, despite the rushed pacing at the end, I really enjoyed this one and all the thought pieces that came with it. It’s messier than most cdramas for sure, but that’s what made it memorable, and the chemistry between the leads really sold it. Great OST as well.
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