The main reason I checked out this show, is honestly because of the mixed reactions I’ve heard to this show.

I’d heard some very “meh” reactions to this one, and at the same time, some very positive reactions as well. Plus, Show received decent ratings, which means that the domestic audience liked it reasonably well, or at least, didn’t hate it.

I wondered whether I’d manage to like this one too, with some suitable lens adjustments.

However, that was not to be, unfortunately. 5 episodes in, I’m calling it quits on this one.

Still, I hope that you guys will find this Dropped post helpful, in terms of deciding whether this one is something that you’d enjoy.

MY TRAJECTORY WITH THIS ONE

I guess the best way to sum up my trajectory with this show, is that I didn’t love it right away, and I didn’t dislike it right away either.

It’s a slow burn either way, I guess? 😅

I found that with some lens adjustments, to expect a slice-of-life workplace story rather than a rom-com, I managed to enjoy the first few episodes reasonably well.

Meaning, I didn’t love-love this show, but I liked it in a low-key, mild sort of fashion.

Unfortunately, by the time I finished episode 5 and was ready to head into episode 6, I found my interest dwindling quite significantly, which is when I decided to drop out.

STUFF I LIKED

The weather stuff can be rather interesting

Weather and the forecasting of it, is definitely an area where I don’t have much exposure or knowledge.

Therefore, I did find it quite fascinating to see the amount of work and science that goes into forecasting the weather, and managing all the things that come in relation to that, like weather warnings, protection of property, and the like.

I honestly haven’t ever given it a whole lot of thought before this, so it does feel quite fresh, to feel like I’m learning new things, albeit in a drama setting.

The weather analogies 

The weather-related voiceovers, which pepper each episode, can be literal weather things, or metaphors for relationships.

I thought these were quite nice; thought and effort definitely went into that.

[SPOILER ALERT]

For example, in episode 3, “In between seasons” is literal, but it also refers to where our leads are, in terms of their relationship status.

The fact that we start the episode with Si Woo’s voiceover, and end with Ha Kyung’s voiceover, is a nice touch too.

[END SPOILER]

Manager Eom’s arc

Show introduces us to Manager Eom’s (Lee Sung Wook) home situation in episode 2, and even though this is a secondary arc, I found myself feeling more emotionally engaged with this arc, than our main ones.

[SPOILER ALERT]

It doesn’t take long for us to learn that Manager Eom’s relationship with his wife and daughter (Jang So Yeon and Lee Seung Joo) is strained and distant, largely because he’s spent so much time living apart from the family, because of work.

It’s clear that he’s back in Seoul because he wants to heal his family relationships, but it’s not going as smoothly as he’d hoped.

Those beats, of the three of them struggling to get used to living together, and Manager Eom feeling pushed away by both his wife and his daughter, are pretty poignant to me.

It’s already sad enough that they had to live apart for so long, so I find it even sadder, though realistic, that they would struggle to live as an intact family unit, when this reunion should be something celebrate.

[END SPOILER]

This is the arc in our story that I found myself most emotionally invested in.

STUFF THAT WAS OK

The workplace stuff

It’s a bit odd, but I found myself more engaged with the workplace nuances than the romantic nuances, in this show.

[SPOILER ALERT]

For example, in episode 3, I like how Ha Kyung (Park Min Young) and Manager Eom resolve their situation. I like that Ha Kyung bites the bullet to talk about it, and I like Manager Eom’s frank response, that she needs to give direct orders.

This works out to be a brief but practical and helpful conversation, and I can see them working better together because of this, going forward.

[END SPOILER]

The loveline between Ha Kyung and Si Woo

Based on Show’s marketing, I had the impression that the romance between Ha Kyung and Si Woo (Park Min Young and Song Kang) was supposed to be a main draw.

Unfortunately, one of the key things that I felt was missing from this show, was a sparkling OTP.

Let me concede upfront, that chemistry is a very subjective thing, so some people might see lots of chemistry between two actors, while I see none, and vice versa.

Therefore, take my opinion with a pinch of salt, since you might well feel differently.

Essentially, the OTP chemistry wasn’t coming through, for me.

Every time we get supposed heart-thumping moments, I would understand it in concept and theory, particularly since Show helpfully gives us the audio cue of actual heart-thumping sounds, but I didn’t feel it, like, at all.

[SPOILER ALERT]

And so, when our leads fall into bed with each other in episode 2, I didn’t feel any spark between them, even when they were sitting in bed, undressed and tousled from having spent a supposed hot night together.

That’s pretty underwhelming for any loveline in any drama, yes?

However, on the upside, I did low-key enjoy the various scenes of Ha Kyung and Si Woo getting to know each other better, and helping each other, over the next few episodes.

[END SPOILER]

The thing with second leads Ki Joon and Yoo Jin

Ki Joon and Yoo Jin (Yoon Park and Yura) are written as second leads who are easy to hate.

[SPOILER ALERT]

After all, they both cheat on their significant others, in order to be together, and then parade their relationship around in a manner which I can only describe as shameless.

By the episode 3 point, though, it starts to become clear that things between Ki Joon and Yoo Jin aren’t as rosy as they appear.

Given how horrible they were to their exes, this feels like some kind of poetic justice, and for this reason, I’ve got them in this section.

I just rather liked seeing how Ki Joon and Yoo Jin encountered regrets for their rash relationship decisions.

Like in episode 4, when we see how Ki Joon had used to find Ha Kyung such a help, and in contrast, how Yoo Jin is being such a hindrance, that he’s got to actually clean up the mess that she’s created for him, with that article.

That kind of thing gave me little stabs of satisfaction, every time they showed up.

[END SPOILER]

STUFF I DIDN’T LIKE SO MUCH

The characters don’t really pop, for me

To be fair to Show, by the time I decided to pull the plug at the beginning of episode 6, the characters were landing better for me, than in episode 1.

However, I’m still including this section because the improvement is honestly on the mild side of things.

In episode 1, I’d felt like almost all our characters were more like archetypes than real people. By episode 6, they did feel more like real people, but more in the 35% range than in the 85% range.

That’s not great, at least to my eyes, and I do think that Show could have and should have done better with this.

Because, in a slice-of-life type of story, you’re mainly depending on your characters popping and engaging your viewers enough, for those viewers to want to stay with your characters, through the minutiae of their daily lives.

One of the things that doesn’t help in this area, is the way some of our characters are written to act.

[SPOILER ALERT]

For example, as early as episode 2, it seems to me that Si Woo appears almost unaffected by Yoo Jin’s betrayal.

This struck me as very weird, since Yoo Jin’s betrayal is supposed to be a key foundation piece to our story, and why it drives Si Woo and Ha Kyung to have a sense of solidarity, in the first place.

That bouquet thing, where it’s revealed that Si Woo had created a scene at Yoo Jin’s wedding by making off with her bouquet, felt more like a prank by a naughty kid, than an act of anger by a wronged lover.

I tend to think that this didn’t work, both because of the writing, as well as the delivery.

[END SPOILER]

Sometimes I find Show draggy

With slice-of-life approaches, there’s always the danger of a story landing as draggy, particularly when certain slices of life don’t work as well as intended.

That was the case for me, with this show.

Certain portions just didn’t work for me – [MINOR SPOILERS] like the portion when Ha Kyung and Si Woo are at odds with each other and bickering a lot, and also, the bits where Mom (Kim Mi Kyung) is shown to be obsessed with getting Ha Kyung married off. [END SPOILERS]

Those were the parts that I found draggy, personally.

I mostly don’t feel Show’s sense of humor

Show isn’t intended to be a comedy, and therefore it doesn’t try too often to be funny.

However, I did find that when Show did try to be funny, I mostly didn’t jive with its sense of humor.

[SPOILER ALERT]

For example, in episode 3, I didn’t appreciate the intended comedy in Ha Kyung getting all flustered at the arrival of their colleagues at the chicken restaurant, hiding under the table, and sneaking out like that.

In the same episode, I also wasn’t feeling Ha Kyung’s awkward discombobulation around Si Woo, which I believe had been intended to be at least entertaining, if not actually funny.

[END SPOILER]

SAYING GOODBYE

For the first 4 episodes of this show, I’d start watching the episode, planning to make a decision whether to drop the show, based on the episode itself.

And, surprisingly, I’d end up feeling like I’d like to watch just a little more, before deciding. Which is how I managed to watch 5 episodes of this show, despite not really having strong feelings for it.

Unfortunately, the end of episode 5 and the beginning of episode 6, is where I decided that this show really isn’t for me, after all.

First of all, I feel like not a whole lot happened, in episode 5.

I get that the main idea is that Si Woo and Ha Kyung are very different, and that leads to an unstable atmosphere in their relationship.

But, because I’m not really invested in this loveline, thanks to what I feel is poor chemistry and casting, this development doesn’t make me feel more engaged.

At the same time, there’s some philosophical stuff in there about weather people, and how accountable they should be held, for incorrect forecasts. I get that this is probably important on some level, but it doesn’t really grab my interest either, unfortunately.

Ki Joon and Yoo Jin having problems is still mildly gratifying, but it’s starting to take on petty, childish overtones, like Ki Joon making it a point to call Yoo Jin in front of Si Woo. That’s lame, and makes me roll my eyes. I was not super entertained by this.

The introduction of a mysterious source of frustration in Si Woo’s life – from an estranged parent, perhaps? – is also not my favorite thing.

The preview for the next episode doesn’t look super promising, in that it indicates trouble ahead for the OTP relationship, as well as Si Woo and Ha Kyung as individuals.

This is when I realized that the bottom line is, I don’t care enough about these characters, to want to buckle in for the long haul with them.

I’m sorry, but it is what it is.

Goodbye, weather people. Be well!