Hi everyone!

Today, I thought I’d share my episode 1 & 2 notes on Love Is For Suckers, because I’m liking it very nicely so far, and I was wondering if you’d like to join me? 🤗

These are my episode 1 & 2 notes, exactly as they appear on Patreon, ie, without screenshots (I’m saving those for the actual review).

I hope you all enjoy, and I hope you’ll consider joining us over on Patreon, for the rest of the discussions! ❤️

Episode notes:

E1. I like this one, so far.

Honestly, I was kinda on the fence for a while there, but by the time I was two-thirds of the way through this episode, I felt my interest perk up. And by the time I was done with the episode, I was properly interested in and invested, and keen to keep going.

Not bad a trajectory, for a first episode, I’d say.

The reason I’d felt a little iffy about this one, is that the tension between Yeo Reum and Jae Hoon just wasn’t popping, for me.

I mean, I was intrigued by where we first open the episode, because I’d assumed that this thing, where Jae Hoon appears as one of the bachelors on the dating show, was going to come a little later in our story.

But, by and large, we spend our episode on the time leading up to this point, and for a while, I just wasn’t feeling either of our lead characters.

I didn’t feel the spark in their interactions, I didn’t find it amusing that they were always disagreeing with each other, and I didn’t know what I ought to care.

Also, I found it secondhand embarrassing, to watch Yeo Reum being dumped by her “ssum” partner.

AND, I didn’t like how John Jang continued to make her look bad at work, with the way he talked about dating older women, and the way he posted those pictures of her to his social media, where she’s all muddy and disheveled.

I didn’t like that very much, and even though it’s still early days yet and therefore I’m not yet deeply fond of Yeo Reum, it was just hard to watch in principle, y’know? Like, why should anyone be subjected to this kind of treatment?

On top of that, so much isn’t going well for Yeo Reum, like the way her program’s getting terrible ratings, and how her program budget gets cut, as a result.

It just feels like rather too much, y’know?

I was mildly tempted to tap out, but thankfully, things turned around for me soon enough.

There’s this scene somewhere at about the three-quarter point of the episode, where Yeo Reum finally breaks down and admits that it’s exhausting to be a single older woman, who’s hoping to find true love, because guys have stopped showing interest in her, past a certain age.

That resonated with me, because it’s true that men generally stop looking at women past a certain age, as potential partners.

And, what she says, that Jae Hoon wouldn’t understand, is true as well.

As a man – and a rather clueless one at that, which I’ll talk about shortly – he isn’t subject to the same “expiration date,” and therefore he really wouldn’t know what it’s like to be in Yeo Reum’s shoes.

Even though he’s the same age as Yeo Reum, and even though he puts in a lot less effort into his grooming and appearance than Yeo Reum, he’s still considered decent marriage material.

It’s unfair, but it’s also how the world works, unfortunately.

Backing up a bit, I just wanted to say that for a good stretch of this episode, I wasn’t at all impressed with Jae Hoon.

Sure, he’s somewhat helpful as a friend, in that he does help Yeo Reum buy chicken feet like she asks him to (after some haggling, but fine, he does buy it), and he does actually go to her filming site to pick her up, like she’d asked.

BUT. There’s something very clueless about him, that is rubbing me the wrong way, at least so far.

It boggles me mind, actually, that he couldn’t figure out that the reason Yeo Reum had asked him to go to her filming site to pick her up, while dressed in his best clothes and carrying a bouquet of flowers – right after she’s been dumped by John Jang.

The fact that he thought it would be funny to prank her, by showing up in sloppy clothes and flip-flops, while holding a bunch of weeds instead of flowers, is quite horrifying to me.

This shows me that he really doesn’t understand Yeo Reum the way he thinks he does.

Instead of helping her, his prank only served to humiliate her further, and I can’t help but shake my head at the fact that he doesn’t seem to be able to piece together why Yeo Reum’s upset.

This does not endear him to me as our male lead.

THAT SAID. Jae Hoon does redeem himself fairly well, this episode, with the way he cleans himself up and puts on a suit, and shows up at Yeo Reum’s filming site, with a huge bouquet of flowers.

He’s viscerally upset at all the various things that John Jang does, that disrespect Yeo Reum, and that does earn him brownie points in my book.

He might be clueless in some important ways, but at least he’s demonstrating that he sincerely cares about her, and doesn’t want people to bully or disrespect her.

And, from the way he explains himself to John Jang, that he’s just some dude who’s trying to look good to Yeo Reum, because she’s a woman whom he’s curious about, I can tell that he was listening, when Yeo Reum talked tearfully about how hard it is to be in her position.

Of course, it’s probably too soon for me to breathe a sigh of relief, because I’m pretty sure that Jae Hoon and his clueless flippant ways are going to still get to me, going forward, but hey, at least we have some progress?

E2. This episode, I’m growing to appreciate the friendship between Yeo Reum and Jae Hoon more.

I realize that I think their living arrangement is cool, where they share a house, but have their own private spaces in which to do their own thing.

And yet, when they want to hang out, they can do that in the yard, or in each other’s homes.

They have independence, but at the same time, they have someone whom they can fall back on, who’s almost like family – and someone with whom they can share groceries.

I rather like the idea, come to think of it. It’s kinda nice and cute.

Of course, things are going to change if Yeo Reum and Jae Hoon are going to become a couple, but for now, I like the cozy-yet-independent vibe of this arrangement.

I also find myself growing more fond of both Yeo Reum and Jae Hoon, and that is a very helpful thing too, considering that this is their story, and I’m going to need to want to root for them. 😁

This episode, Show introduces us to Yeo Reum’s ex, In Woo, and fills us in on the background of their relationship and eventual break-up.

I typically don’t like it so much, when dramas bring the exes back into the picture, because most of the time, it’s just to create angst for our blossoming OTP, but I find that this time – so far anyway – I actually find it a reasonably valuable thing.

For one thing, I like knowing that Yeo Reum has had a serious relationship, and isn’t just someone who’s been single and yearning for a boyfriend, all her adult life.

The fact that she’s had a happy relationship, where she and In Woo had been giddy in love, and had been talking about marriage, lands well, for me, somehow.

And, I also rather like the idea of In Woo reappearing in Yeo Reum’s life, and admitting that he’s not over her.

Mainly, I just like the idea of Yeo Reum having choices. I know she’s going to fall for Jae Hoon at some point, but I like the idea of her falling for him without having regrets about her past.

Yeo Reum talks about it a bit, this episode, about how she occasionally thinks about In Woo, and wonders how her life would have turned out if she’d married him; if she’d made a different choice.

And, looking back now, it does seem like they broke up over something that wasn’t that insurmountable.

Sure, at the time, it had seemed like a huge deal, that she would either have to give up her job, or break up with him.

But now, in the present, with more perspective and wisdom about her, she realizes that there was a third choice; she could have married him, and then just had a long-distance thing for the first few years of their marriage.

Put that way, it really does seem like they might have broken up over nothing.

However, as Jae Hoon points out at the end of the episode, it’s not quite nothing, because In Woo had applied for that overseas posting without first discussing it with Yeo Reum.

On hindsight, sure, it’s something that they could have overcome, but if that’s the way In Woo was planning to do things as a general rule, that that’s not healthy, and would have become a problem, even if they’d overcome the initial problem, of his New York job posting.

Still, I like that Yeo Reum is literally being given a second chance to reconsider how she feels about In Woo.

This is her chance to get back the life that she’d thought she’d lost; a life with In Woo, which, in her mind, would have been a happy one.

On another note, Show’s giving us all these moments which show us just what a hardworking PD and all-around decent person Yeo Reum is, and I really like that.

It’s making me warm to Yeo Reum in quite a significant way, and I’m already rooting for good things to happen to her.

Because, I mean, just how many bad things can happen to her, right, with her program getting canceled on her birthday?

We’re also learning more about Jae Hoon this episode, which I appreciate.

We don’t get the full story of what happened with his job, that’s caused him to leave neurosurgery and become a locum doctor at a plastic surgery clinic, but there’s implied angst there, which I somehow appreciate in principle.

Even without knowing what that hidden angst is, I feel like that angst is adding some weight to Jae Hoon as a character, just by existing, and I appreciate that, because otherwise Jae Hoon mostly comes across as a flippant bum. 😅

I must say, Jae Hoon’s blind date Ji Yeon is turning out to be a gracious, patient and rather persistent person.

I like her, in spite of myself.

Ordinarily, I don’t typically take to competition when it comes to the central loveline, and so, since Ji Yeon is clearly making an effort to get to know Jae Hoon in a romantic space, I shouldn’t like her – but I do.

I like how she’s honest and frank, without appearing desperate. I like how she’s gentle yet stands her ground and doesn’t give up easily, just because Jae Hoon behaves badly on their blind date.

She manages to be dignified and sweet, even as she pursues Jae Hoon, and that is really admirable and endearing.

I already feel bad for her, because Jae Hoon’s destined to fall for Yeo Reum and not her, right? 🙊

And yet, through all of this, I do also find myself perking up with attention, each time we see an indication that Yeo Reum is important to Jae Hoon, or vice versa.

For example, I liked hearing about how Jae Hoon had been there for Yeo Reum, when she’d been brokenhearted and constantly drunk, after breaking up with In Woo.

Nothing says love and acceptance, like catching someone’s vomit with your bare hands, eh? 😝😅

I also like the fact that Yeo Reum feels able to be so honest with Jae Hoon, in sharing her thoughts and feelings, even when it’s a topic that’s as delicate as In Woo.

There’s also how Jae Hoon basically drops everything to run to Yeo Reum, when he sees that news snippet and worries that she’s the woman in the report, who’s been reported as dead.

Of course, there are also little moments like how Jae Hoon gives Yeo Reum his jacket because he can see that she’s feeling cold.

And then there are those few extra glances he throws in Yeo Reum’s direction, most likely to make sure that she’s ok, before he settles down to sleep in the car.

Plus, there’s the way Jae Hoon buys Yeo Reum a cake, and celebrates her birthday with her, even though she’d given him the impression that she had plans.

These two have a pretty good thing going, as it is, and of course, that also creates the element of risk, of potentially losing the friendship, if they take things romantic, and it doesn’t work out.

I’m not super keen on the various elements of sexual innuendo Show’s served up in these first two episodes, but it’s not detracting from my enjoyment of the show, so that’s fine.

Most importantly, we have that moment of hyper-proximity and hyper-awareness between Yeo Reum and Jae Hoon, as they fall into each other’s personal space, in an effort kill that mosquito.

I’m preeeetty sure they won’t go through with the kiss, but even now, with how they’re within kissing distance of each other, and literally sharing the air that they’re breathing, I can already feel a distinct crackle. 🔥

This is good. I’m enjoying this, and am very much looking forward to see how these two besties navigate these very new, very unfamiliar hyper-awareness waters, going forward, in our next episodes. 😁

*This show is being covered on the Early Access Plus (US$10) Tier on Patreon*

To view episode 1 & 2 notes in Patreon, along with everyone’s comments, you can go here!

You can find my Patreon page here, where episodes 1 through 4 notes are already available. Just look for the tag “Love Is For Suckers” or click here.

Episodes 5 & 6 notes will be out on Tuesday, 1 November 2022! I hope you’ll consider joining us!

It’ll be a way to have fun, and support me at the same time? ❤️

PS: For more information on what the Patreon experience is like, you might like to check out my Patreon update post for October, which you can find here!

Update: You can now check out my Patreon update post for November, which is here!