THE SHORT VERDICT:

The drama worked out to be a pretty mixed experience for me.

In short, I thought some of the arcs dealing with familial relationships were truly excellently written, with certain beats making me feel particularly seen and understood. 🥲

Unfortunately, I felt that some arcs, including the OTP arc, were unevenly handled, and I found certain portions quite underwhelming.

Overall, I do think that this could be a pretty enjoyable watch, with some lens adjustments – which I’ll talk about next.

THE LONG VERDICT:

Honestly, I’ve given this drama more thought than any other drama I’ve been watching recently, because of.. well, what feels like many reasons.

Like, when Show was working for me, all my thoughts went into all the nuances of why I loved it so much.

And then when Show wasn’t working for me, all my thoughts went into exactly what went wrong, and what could’ve been better.

Additionally, I feel that, anecdotally speaking, people seem to either love the first half and then feel underwhelmed by the second half, or hate the first half, but love the second half – if they manage to stick around for it.

I feel like very few people I’ve come across, have loved this show equally, from start to finish (if that’s you, though, let us know about your experience in the comments, please? 🥹).

My completely non-scientific conclusion, after my many hours of pondering and analysis, is that it comes down to: Expectations.

I will elaborate on that very shortly. I promise.

OST ALBUM: FOR YOUR LISTENING PLEASURE

Here’s the OST album in case you’d like to listen to it while you read the review.

I have to say that I did enjoy the music in this show. I feel like the music spanned a nice range of feels, with some being very breezy and uplifting, while other tracks lean more poignant, laced with a little angst.

My favorite track is Track 2, What Are We, which I find very earwormy. I like the sound of the strumming of the electric guitar, which I think creates an interesting canvas for the breathy, rock-laced vocals, and together, it lands as a laidback-sexy sort of groove, which I dig.

Here it is on its own as well, in case you’d prefer to listen to it on its own. Just right-click on the video and select “Loop.”

HOW I’M APPROACHING THIS REVIEW

First I’ll talk about how to manage your expectations going into this one, and what viewing lens would be most helpful.

After that, I talk about what I liked and liked less, covering the more macro aspects of Show, and then I give the selective spotlight to characters and relationships, in a separate section.

Finally, I also spend some time talking about my thoughts on our finale episodes.

If you’re interested in my blow-by-blow reactions, &/or all the various Patreon members’ comments during the course of our watch, you might like to check out my episode notes on Patreon here.

MANAGING EXPECTATIONS / THE VIEWING LENS

Remember what I said earlier, about how I think Expectations are at the center of just about everyone’s uneven experience, watching this show?

Let me explain.

In my opinion, one of the big problems, is that Show was advertised to us as a rom-com. All the trailers and posters indicated that this would be a friends-to-lovers rom-com, and I think we were just all primed for that.

I think that all of us were just SO READY for this pairing of Jung Hae In and Jung So Min, in what we thought would be a great prime-time rom-com, that many folks felt really perplexed when Show didn’t actually behave like a rom-com, for a really long time.

Instead, in our earlier episodes, we get a lot of family drama, which I think might have even possibly felt like a personal attack on those who were really, really waiting for a rom-com. 😅

Like I mentioned earlier though, I personally really liked the way writer-nim dealt with the familial relationships and dynamics, and I, and all those who, likewise, felt seen and understood in these arcs, suddenly had sky!-high! expectations of just how good the writing would be, in this show.

In our minds, I think it was like, “Wow, if you’re able to understand familial relationships so well, and tackle the emotional issues so well, imagine how amazing you’ll be, when we get to you tackling the romance?” 😱

The thing, though, is, Show doesn’t approach the romance with the same kind of nuance or finesse that we’d appreciated in the earlier episodes.

Which is why many of us who’d loved the familial arcs felt disappointed, when the focus finally shifted to our OTP relationship.

HOWEVER. Those who’d signed up for a rom-com, and had chafed at all the familial arcs, actually felt like their patience had been rewarded, and they were finally getting the light rom-com that they’d signed up for.

I do think that this explains the very varied reactions that I’ve seen, in response to this show.

And now, for the PLOT TWIST: I really don’t think that Show is a rom-com, nor do I think that it’s a melodrama.

After finishing this show, I’ve come to the conclusion that the best viewing lens, to maximize your enjoyment of this show, is that of a family drama.

Specifically, I think that it would be best to think of this show as a family drama that happens to have flashes of brilliance, but isn’t actually brilliant, and can be pretty clumsy and awkward sometimes, like most family dramas can be.

The fact that Show is really a family drama at heart, would also explain the more cutesy, sanitized manner in which the OTP relationship is handled, when it becomes Show’s focus.

AND, the family drama lens would also help deal with any logic lapses or stretches along the way (and there are some), because in my experience, that’s just how family dramas tend to roll.

I’m not about to rewatch this show with a family drama lens, but I do sincerely think that if you used a family drama lens, that you’d have a pretty good chance of enjoying this one.

MY TRAJECTORY WITH THIS SHOW

Keeping what I’ve said in mind around expectations, I thought that it would be helpful if I shared with you upfront, my trajectory with this show; that it might help put my various reactions into context.

I started out really loving this drama, to the extent that I even wondered if this might actually be my drama of the year; yes, I loved it that much.

On both the family and OTP fronts, it felt like everything was very tenderly and sensitively written, in the sense that I felt like writer-nim had a deep and tender understanding of relationships.

After episode 6, however, I felt my hearts-in-eyes enjoyment slowly start to wane, though I did manage to enjoy episodes 7 through 10 quite nicely. By episodes 11 through 14, however, I was feeling very underwhelmed and disappointed.

Like, where had my sensitive, tender, brilliant kdrama gone, and what was this clumsy writing, and where was the sparky, simmering OTP chemistry that had had me all breathless? 🙈

In a surprise development, however, I found myself enjoying the finale episodes quite well – much better than I’d expected, actually! – after taking a week away to clear my mind.

That’s also when it came into focus for me, that Show is a family drama at heart, and maybe I’d just had the wrong expectations of it, all along. 😅

I feel like knowing all of this, would help you make sense of everything else that I’m going to say, in this review.

STUFF I LIKED

Some of the episode titles

One of the things that stood out to me, was the naming of our various epsiodes.

To my eyes, it all felt thoughtfully, tenderly done.

First, I really like how we start an episode with one title, but consistently end with an amended title, each time, because it emphasizes the idea, that our story and our characters are all moving forward.

Second, some of the episode titles felt especially clever &/or meaningful.

In this spoiler section, I’m just going to highlight my top three favorites.

[SPOILER ALERT]

E2. Episode 2 is titled “Hate” which then morphs into “Love,” but I’m more taken by the original Korean, because “미움” morphs into “마음” with, not the addition, but the extension of a single stroke.

It feels like Show’s saying, that when you reach out and touch someone else, hate then turns to love, and I really do love that. 🥲

I’m sure there are many other examples of Show being thoughtfully and tenderly made, but this is the one that really sticks in my mind, for a start.

E5. I’m very taken with the episode title for episode 5, because we start with “Go Back” but end with “Confession,” which is such a great pun, that I have to take some time to explain it, just in case anyone missed it.

(The subs say “Go Back To You,” but the Korean is “Confession.”)

Because, in Korean, “confession” in the sense of confessing one’s feelings (versus confessing one’s crime) is “고백” (“gobaek” or the hanja 告白) – which sounds like “go back.” Isn’t that quite brilliant? 🤩

E10. I love-love-LOVE the episode’s closing, where we hear Seok Ryu in voiceover, that after crying for a long time, with swollen eyes, she walked out the door with Seung Hyo.

..Which is when we see that the episode title morphs from “Bear in the Cave” to “Mouth of the Cave.”

It’s honestly more thrilling in hangul, because the word “bear” (곰) flips upside down to become the word “door.” (문) I LOVE THAT.

It’s so clever and neat, AND, it mirrors Seok Ryu’s turnaround, in such a literal fashion.

And I love that as we see the word “bear” become “door,” we hear Seok Ryu say that she walks out the door, with Seung Hyo.

Ahhhh. SO MEANINGFUL. I LOVE. 🥹🥹🥹

[END SPOILER]

When the emotions feel raw and real

I think this is where a lot of viewers are divided.

Like I mentioned earlier, I found some of the familial arcs very on-point and relatable, but some viewers found these same arcs very frustrating and annoying.

I guess we can’t help the way we feel, yes? 🤷🏻‍♀️

I do think a lot of it has to do with our individual backgrounds, contexts and experiences, which in turn affect our personal response to these arcs, when we see them unfold on our screens.

And so, even though we can’t help where we come from, my goal, in this spoiler section, is to at least offer a different perspective, because the arc that might have driven you nuts, might have spoken to me or someone else, in a very real and visceral way.

When it comes to these arcs, I also just wanted to day that often, the scenes themselves may be stylized or exaggerated for dramatic effect, but the emotional beats ring true.

When I was in love with Show, this was my literal favorite thing about it. 🥲

Last but not least, I thought I should mention that I won’t be doing a separate section on Mi Suk and Geun Sik (Park Ji Young and Jo Han Chul), because I’m using their arcs so much, in this next (very long) section.

[SPOILER ALERT]

Mi Suk

E1-2. Once we realize that Mi Suk actually feels embarrassed about her lack of personal career achievements, and pours all of her hope onto Seok Ryu, taking vicarious pride in Seok Ryu’s achievement, it becomes much easier to understand why she takes Seok Ryu’s achievements – or lack thereof – so personally.

Asian parents having very high expectations of their offspring is already a well-known phenomenon.

(I did tell you guys about the top-scoring girl in my primary school, yes? She scored 100 marks for every test and exam, and the one time she got 95 marks on something, she got scolded by her mother. She ended up topping the entire national cohort, at our Primary School Leaving Examination, but I always wondered what it was like to be in her shoes, where 95 marks was not good enough).

Asian parents who didn’t manage to achieve much in their own careers, often because they sacrificed for their family and their children, thus pinning their own hopes on their children, tend to have even higher expectations of their kids.

(Not that that is a good or healthy thing; this is just how it is, y’know?)

As I understand it, the reason that Asian parents tend to be this way in the first place, is because of poverty. At least, that is what I learned from my mum, who grew up in poverty.

When you’re living in poverty, you know that the only potential way to lift yourself and your family out of poverty, is through education. That’s why you work so relentlessly on your education, and then on your career.

I think that thinking eventually just.. stuck, as a way of life, kinda? 😅

On a related tangent, I thought it would be relevant to talk a bit about the Asian way of discipline, which often is a combination of scolding and some kind of physical punishment, whether that’s smacking or caning.

I’ve seen some of you express discomfort at watching Korean parents smack their children, and I wanna say, I don’t think dramas are just putting that in there for entertainment.

I honestly think that that’s a reflection of the culture; that this is how Korean parents are, when it comes to disciplining their children.

As you know, I’m not Korean, but in my own experience, I’ve been caned more than a few times, growing up, as punishment for bad behavior &/or bad grades. It was what I and all my friends experienced, growing up.

That doesn’t make my parents and their entire generation a generation of abusers; this was their way of disciplining their children.

Certainly, there’s a fine line between discipline and abuse, and I don’t think Show is condoning abuse.

(I’d say a good rule of thumb here, is when kdramas show us chaebol dads who pick up golf clubs against their children &/or employees, that’s abuse. Smacking, yelling, and generally chasing after your children with leeks while making empty threats to kill them, is not actually abuse. 😁)

It’s just showing us how Mi Suk, as a Korean parent who has all her hopes pinned on her daughter, expresses her anger and disappointment, when she’s told that Seok Ryu gave it all up, on a whim.

Of course, we find out that Seok Ryu isn’t actually telling the truth here, but Mi Suk doesn’t know that.

As far as Mi Suk is concerned, she believes Seok Ryu’s cover story, that she just got tired of everything, and that’s why she quit her job and broke off her engagement.

Given the context that Mi Suk believes that one should pour one’s all into elevating the social class one comes from, it definitely would seem highly irresponsible of Seok Ryu to give it all up on a whim.

And so, when I see Mi Suk go after Seok Ryu, in episode 1, with that handful of leeks, I feel like I can understand why she’s so shocked and horrified, and why she so desperately wants to change everything back, and have Seok Ryu go back to the US, and make like this never happened.

On that note, it actually makes sense to me why Seok Ryu would have developed this habit of acting like everything’s ok, when she’s actually not ok.

I feel like she must have figured out that her parents were proudest of her when she shone the brightest at school, and didn’t give them any problems, and this is her way of presenting her best self – by pretending that everything’s ok, even when nothing is ok.

I saw some comments online where viewers found Seok Ryu annoying, but I have to say, I don’t find her annoying.

The way Jung So Min is playing her, even though the cues are on the subtle side, I find it quite easy to see that there’s more going on, on the inside, versus what she’s showing her friends and family.

And so, I concluded that everything about her tough girl image, from acting like nothing’s wrong, to grabbing Seung Hyo in a headlock, is all just her act; a coping mechanism of sorts, so that she doesn’t have to show everyone just how vulnerable and hurt she really is.

I definitely think that that lens helps, so if you’re struggling to like Seok Ryu, that might be a good lens to try.

Also, even though Seok Ryu’s done well at work and therefore very likely has a decent amount of savings, it’s worth noting that she chooses to go home to her family, even though she’s also clearly quite terrified of telling her parents that she’s now no longer engaged nor employed.

I do think that this shows that she actually wants to be back in the fold of her family’s arms. And, I also suspect that this might also mean that she’s been lonely without them, while in the US. 🥲

I honestly found the have-it-out scene very cathartic to watch.

It’s hard for an Asian kid, to not only stand up to their parents, but actually tell their parents how they feel, so it felt really needful, honestly, for Seok Ryu to tell Mi Suk that she just wanted to be her daughter, not her pride and joy; that she wanted to be Mi Suk’s daughter, even when she didn’t have a fancy job or a promising future.

The key to Mi Suk’s reactions to Seok Ryu, really rests in Mi Suk’s understanding of Seok Ryu’s actions.

What I mean to say is, the crux that makes the difference, is when Mi Suk realizes that Seok Ryu is hurting.

I genuinely think that Mi Suk would not have raged with leeks, if she’d had any idea upfront, that Seok Ryu had been hurting.

Because Seok Ryu had put up a nonchalant front, and claimed that she’d quit her job and broken off her engagement, more or less on a whim, Mi Suk had lost it, and thought that Seok Ryu had recklessly thrown away everything that she’d ever worked for, just because she’d felt like it.

It’s only later, when we have that have-it-out exchange, that it becomes clear that Seok Ryu is hurting.

The way Mi Suk then cried gutting tears all by herself, sitting in the storeroom that Seok Ryu’s bedroom had become, was really quite affecting to watch, honestly.

I feel that for the first time, Mi Suk was putting herself in Seok Ryu’s shoes, like the way she puts down the bedding and tries to lie down in it.

I so love that Mi Suk decides to ask Seung Hyo to redo Seok Ryu’s room, so that Seok Ryu would have a proper place to sleep, whether she was staying for a few days, or a few months.

Ahhhh. That is SUCH an Asian parent thing to do, to not actually talk about the feelings, but do something to demonstrate their love.

Mi Suk making a special breakfast of abalone rice and calling Seok Ryu to the table is one way, and this thing with the bedroom is another way.

Both ways are Mi Suk showing Seok Ryu that she’s loved and accepted, and honestly, this part really got to me, because it reminded me of when I’d had to come home to my parents’ home, when my marriage fell apart.

I’d had to call home in the middle of the night, to ask if I could come back, and my mum had said yes instantly, and they’d hastily straightened up my room, so that I’d have a proper place to sleep, upon coming home, never mind that it was literally the middle of the night.

That’s why this part of these episodes really resonated with me, and made me appreciate my mum all the more, for the way she’d taken me back in, no questions asked, when I’d most needed it. 🥲😭

E3-4. I do really like that the overt expressions of affection continue, from Mi Suk to Seok Ryu, in these episodes, like in the way Mi Suk leaves a pot of curry on the table for Seok Ryu, with a note that she should warm it up before eating.

Seok Ryu doesn’t yet reveal why she’d quit, or that she’d found her fiancé cheating on her, but she does make it clear that she’s hurting, and just wants to be Mi Suk’s daughter, regardless of whether she has a fancy job or a promising future.

That’s the thing that gets to Mi Suk, and that’s why she sits and sobs alone, in Seok Ryu’s room.

And that’s also why, after this point, we see Mi Suk no longer going on about Seok Ryu’s job, preferring to let Seok Ryu figure things out on her own, in her own time.

I don’t know if some viewers might find this turnaround on Mi Suk’s side on the abrupt side of things, and wonder if Show had just been exaggerating Mi Suk’s Tiger Parenting in episode 1, just for dramatic effect.

I don’t feel that way, in that, I think that with most Asian parents, once they realize that their child is hurting, all the Tiger Parenting instincts take a backseat, and they start to express their care and love, in the ways that they know how, like in preparing food, or preparing your room, like we saw in last week’s episodes.

Mi Suk’s not a monster parent who only wants a successful child; the moment she realized that Seok Ryu’s hurting, is the moment when everything changed – and that’s why we see a very different Mi Suk, in these episodes, at least where Seok Ryu is concerned.

Geun Sik

E5-6. I found it quite poignant, when Geun Sik finally caves and admits that the only value that he sees himself contributing to the family, is the small income that he makes from the tteokbokki shop.

The way that he feels so small about it is clear, and I feel like there’s a strong element of Imposter Syndrome in there as well, which is something that I think many of us would be able to identify &/or sympathize with.

I’m glad that in the end, when the scammers have been caught, that Mi Suk tells Geun Sik that his tteokbokki is special, and that it’s precious food that has raised their kids, and that there IS a lot in his life, including her and the kids.

Aw. It feels like Geun Sik’s parched soul is finally receiving the watering that he’d needed for a very long time, and I found this all very poignant. 🥲

Mi Suk and Geun Sik, in response to Seok Ryu

E7-8. In terms of the strong opinions that Mi Suk and Geun Sik share, this pair of episodes, it’s not fun to watch, but that parental desire to see their child do better than they, and have a better life than they, does ring true for me.

Like I mentioned in my earlier notes for this show, a lot of the high expectations and hard parenting that we see in Asian parents, stems from a desire to have their children lifted out of the poverty that the parents themselves had experienced.

Mi Suk doesn’t want Seok Ryu to live the same unremarkable, “shabby” life that she’s lived in Korea, and that’s why she jumps at the potential chance for Seok Ryu to go back to the US; she sees that as Seok Ryu’s chance to live better than she’d lived.

And Geun Sik expresses strong feelings about not wanting Seok Ryu to go into cooking, for essentially the same reason.

He’s endured a lot of hardship as a cook, and he doesn’t want Seok Ryu to have to endure the same hardship, even if she expresses a true interest in cooking, like she is now.

In his eyes, he just wants his daughter to live a more comfortable life than he’s been able to lead.

Put that way, it’s honestly quite a touching sentiment. It’s just a pity that it comes out packaged in strong feelings and harsh words – but again, that is also quite a typical Asian Parent sort of trait, which Show is exaggerating somewhat, for dramatic effect.

The thing that resonated the most with me, these episodes, is Seok Ryu’s frustration over her parents’ disproportionate expectations of her, as their eldest child.

As an eldest child, I can relate, and her poured out frustrations really struck a chord with me, because it’s true that as the eldest child, you do tend to have to deal with much higher expectations than your younger siblings.

This particular beat did stir up some memories of some pretty emotional moments for me, so this was altogether a very poignant scene for me. 🥲

E9-10. I really empathize with Mi Suk and Geun Sik, in that, beyond the initial disbelief, anger and heartbreak, there is so much self-reproach.

It felt so real to me, when the two of them sit together the next evening, and think about all the ways they must have let Seok Ryu down, for her to have ended up going through such a terrible thing alone.

On that point, when Mi Suk talked about scolding young Seok Ryu for crying too, and giving her more stress than she’d already had with baby Dong Jin, it really resonated with me; that whole thing about the expectations of an eldest child, y’know? 🥲

And yet, it’s so clear to see that they’re just flawed human beings, who’d tried their best, the best way they knew how, and I find it impossible to blame them for anything, even if there might be some truth to Seok Ryu’s “eldest child syndrome” stemming from  what she’d been told in her formative years.

[END SPOILER]

When Show makes me empathize

Not everyone would agree with me, but I personally didn’t find any character in our story world outright hateful.

I do think that Show does a solid job of helping us to understand each character, and therefore have empathy for them.

Hye Suk (Jang Young Nam) is arguably the prickliest character whom we meet in our early episodes, and I was impressed by the way Show got me to empathize with her, quite quickly.

[SPOILER ALERT]

E3-4. Hye Suk is a pretty prickly character, so much so that there is a distinct chasm between her and the rest of her family, including her precious pride and joy, Seung Hyo.

Her words are barbed and her actions, sharp and dismissive, and yet, these episodes, I found myself feeling a stab of empathy for her, when we see that she’s trying to get a new overseas assignment, but it isn’t quite forthcoming.

It looks like her boss is just fobbing her off with some pleasantries and then diverting her attention with an invitation to lunch, and from that quick close-up shot of Hye Suk’s face, where we see her gaze become uncertain, I felt like I could feel her uncertainty.

And, everything about her situation seemed to just pop, suddenly, for me.

It feels like she’s backed herself into a corner, where her family finds her presence a source of stress and burden, but she’s somehow no longer getting those overseas assignments that used to come easily and frequently, that would take her out of the discomfort of being around her family, while giving her something to humble-brag about, to her friends, in order to boost image, both in their eyes and her own.

It’s not stated explicitly, but my gut says that we’re likely tapping into that dynamic, where women in the workplace tend to hit a ceiling, past a certain (mature) age, and they’re treated as less valuable than before.

It has been many moons since I worked in an office, or been in a corporate environment, and yet, I couldn’t help but feel a very real stab of sympathy, when I caught that glimpse of Hye Suk’s struggle.

[END SPOILER]

When little details reflect real life

I also liked it when Show threw in little details that felt true to life, like this scene in

[MINOR SPOILER]

E3-4. I like how Mi Suk’s group of ahjumma friends ooh appreciatively over the little bouquets of lavender that In Suk brings for everyone.

Again, this little note feels very genuine, in that, women do tend to pour their everything towards their family and their work, leaving little for themselves.

And so, this little beat, of the ladies basking in the prettiness of the lavender sprays, and then Mi Suk putting that as her SNS profile picture, feels poignant.

This little thing is a way of putting herself first, because flowers make her happy, and I liked that very well. 🥲

[END SPOILER]

STUFF THAT WAS OK

The handling of our OTP relationship

I had very different feelings about the handling of our OTP relationship, over the course of my watch.

In the earlier episodes, up to episode 6, I was really quite thrilled by the writing around our OTP, and I was stoked by the chemistry that I saw.

Episodes 7 through 10 were less fun, but I felt like I could understand what writer-nim was going for, and why things were written the way they were.

I was, however, pretty underwhelmed by the treatment of the OTP relationship from episodes 11 through 14, which I’ll elaborate on, both in this spoiler section, as well as the spotlight on the penultimate episodes.

That said, I found myself in a more neutral space in terms of my feelings for the OTP arc, by the time I got to the finale.

So overall, I’d say that, taking into account all the pluses and minuses around Show’s handling of the OTP relationship, it kind of evens out to neutral, for me.

As promised, here’s a look into why I’d felt dissatisfied with Show’s approach to the OTP, in episodes 11 & 12.

[SPOILER ALERT]

E11-12. After the heaviness of the past several episodes, with Seok Ryu’s cancer secret coming out and all, I would have preferred for Show to have shifted its focus to the development of the OTP relationship.

After all, that’s where the focus had been, when we’d left them at the end of episode 10, with Seok Ryu talking about she and Seung Hyo walking through the door together.

Instead, Show opts to shift the focus to the relationship between Hye Suk and Gyeong Jong, while the OTP stuff percolates in the background.

Now, in principle, I don’t mind it so much, that Show pushes the Hye Suk-Gyeong Jong thing to the forefront in favor of the OTP relationship, because I understand that Seok Ryu does need time to sort through all of the feelings about everything, and about Seung Hyo in particular.

What I had a problem with, is how Show really relegates all of this processing to the background, like it’s one of those apps that works quietly in the background without disturbing you as your work, and you only know that they’ve done something, when you go in later, to check on the progress.

As a result, when Seok Ryu finally rushes over to Gangwon to see Seung Hyo at the end of episode 11, it actually feels quite sudden, like it came out of close to nowhere.

I don’t just want a vague understanding that Seok Ryu’s feelings are percolating in the background, I want to SEE how she is processing everything, and how she’s inching closer to acknowledging her feelings, y’know?

Also, I understand that it’s weird and awkward for Seok Ryu, with Seung Hyo’s feelings for her out in the open like that, and she doesn’t know what to do.

However, I do feel like Show leans too hard into the awkwardness, both before and after our OTP gets minted.

I just generally found many of the OTP interactions much too aggressively awkward, to the point of taking me out of the moment, because they felt too exaggerated to exist in real life. 😅

Also, yes, we do get some OTP-focused moments, like when Seok Ryu goes to pick up a drunk Seung Hyo, when the ahjumma calls her on Seung Hyo’s #1 speed dial, BUT, I feel that Show fails to point the spotlight on Seok Ryu’s developing awareness of her feelings for Seung Hyo.

Like, sure, we can go on a detour and focus on Seung Hyo’s parents, but along the way, couldn’t we have had a stronger, more obvious series of spotlights, on body language that could have let us know that Seok Ryu’s feelings for Seung Hyo, and her awareness of said feelings, were simmering?

That would have worked much better to bring us to the point where she hears his sweet confession / assurance in French, then flies to Gangwon to see him.

As for the confession scene itself, I have to say that I have mixed feelings about it.

The confession is underwhelming in terms of the words Seok Ryu says, but I do think that the draw here, is that Seung Hyo understood her, beyond her words.

He could tell that this wasn’t her usual excuses, and could read, from her eyes and body language, that this was her being awkward about acknowledging her feelings for him.

And so, the sweetness in the scene, is more in his ability to understand her, and in his response to her, which goes through a few stages, ie, surprise, uncertainty, gladness, and then a response that’s warm, accepting and romantic in one, with his answering kiss.

The other thing that I found underwhelming in this scene, is Seok Ryu’s awkward body language, in response to Seung Hyo’s kiss.

Again, I feel like Show is leaning too hard into the awkwardness bit.

Like, I geddit, these two have been friends for years, and therefore, this is new and unfamiliar territory and that’s why it can get weird and awkward, but AT THE SAME TIME, they have both acknowledged a love and attraction for each other that is romantic, so I do wish that PD-nim could have allowed that to show through, y’know?

Instead, we spend almost the entirety of episode 12 in a state of discomfort, with Seok Ryu feeling like Seung Hyo’s especially distant from her, now that they’re actually dating.

Again, I can appreciate the concept, but I don’t like the execution.

Listen. The episode is 1 hour 20 minutes long. And Show literally drags out this misunderstanding for the majority of the episode, without actually showing us Seung Hyo’s point-of-view.

That’s not fun from where I’m sitting, anyway.

They could’ve – should’ve! – given us glimpses into the discomfort and nerves on both sides; I think I would have felt much better that way. At least that way, I would understand why Seung Hyo was acting that way, and also, empathize with both of them.

I was relieved when they talk candidly about their feelings, towards the end of episode 12.

Like, YES, they both apologize, and explain how they feel, and Seung Hyo even admits that he’d felt quite gratified to know that Seok Ryu had felt jealous about him working with Tae Hui,

All very healthy and positive, finally. 🥲

And then we have the natural skinship that I’d felt was missing, as our OTP decides to take things to the next level.

It’s just.. can I nitpick and say that I don’t really like the way Seung Hyo’s written as saying that he’s having bad thoughts about bad actions..?

I mean.. that’s honestly not very romantic. 😅

We could have had a sweeter, sexier version of events, if Seung Hyo had something more along the lines of, “Being in this room with you.. makes me want to kiss you.. and stuff,” and Seok Ryu could say, “I’m ok with that.. and stuff,” all lowered lids and gentle whisper.

Ok, sorry, that probably isn’t the best-written romantic scene, but I’m just trying to put words to a vibe, and even with those clumsy words, that could have worked, yes??? 🥹🥹🥹

Instead of “bad thoughts and bad actions”???

Ok, maybe I’m the only one struggling to get on board with the phrasing here. 😅

[END SPOILER]

Handling of the secondary OTP relationship

I like the concept of our secondary OTP, and I also like where our OTP ends up, but I have to confess that I didn’t enjoy the initial bickering phase that writer-nim gave this pairing.

I was legitimately relieved when we hit the episode 5 to 6 mark, and they stopped bickering; I found it that painful to watch.

It’s weird, isn’t it, that writer-nim does such a great job of writing the bickering between Seung Hyo and Seok Ryu, but then serves up such a very different flavor of bickering, when it comes to our secondary OTP?

With Seung Hyo and Seok Ryu, the bickering feels completely organic and natural, and I feel like the dialogue is sharp, bright and witty.

When it comes to the bickering between Mo Eum and Dan Ho, however, it consistently comes across as unnatural and try-hard.

Maybe a junior writer was assigned the task of writing the dialogue for the secondary OTP, and writer-nim herself only wrote the dialogue between Seung Hyo and Seok Ryu?

I don’t know, but I would believe that, because the tone of the conversations just vibes completely differently.

That’s why the handling of our secondary OTP also lands in this neutral zone, for me.

STUFF I DIDN’T LIKE SO MUCH

When Show brings back the ex-boyfriend

I wasn’t too hot on Show bringing Seok Ryu’s ex-boyfriend Hyeon Jun (Han Joon Woo) into the picture, and I also didn’t like that he stayed in the picture for as long as he did.

However, to Show’s credit, I do think that his exit was eventually handled with respect and sensitivity, which I count as a plus.

That said, I’ve still got him in this “not great” section because I felt that his presence actively held back our OTP relationship from progressing, and that was something that I really would have liked Show to have put more active focus on.

Here are all my thoughts around Hyeon Jun’s arrival and departure; the good, the bad, and the why-is-he-still-here??? – just not in quite that order. 😁

[SPOILER ALERT]

E7-8. Hyeon Jun’s arrival interrupts us at a very key moment – where Seung Hyo’s on the verge of telling Seok Ryu what he’d meant about her driving him crazy – so I welcomed him even less than usual, ha.

A good chunk of episode 7’s screen time is occupied by Hyeon Jun trying to get Seok Ryu to take him back.

I genuinely don’t begrudge him the right to come back to Korea and try to mend things with Seok Ryu.

That said, I don’t think very well of Hyeon Jun for continuing to badger Seok Ryu, and refusing to take “No” for an answer, when Seok Ryu makes it clear to him that, as far as she’s concerned, there is no going back, for them.

I feel like by the end of episode 7 (tops), Hyeon Jun should have accepted Seok Ryu’s answer, and respected her right to turn him down.

Therefore, by episode 8, he’d already outstayed his welcome, in my opinion. 😅

Related to this, I wasn’t a big fan of the scenes where Seung Hyo and Hyeon Jun are trying to outdo each other, in getting close to Seok Ryu.

E9-10. I do think that Hyeon Jun is sincere, in the ways that he knows how.

When Seok Ryu had received her cancer diagnosis, he’d taken time off from work so that he could help take care of her.

And now, when she’s declared that she wants to pursue cooking as her passion, he’s actually helping her get information on a culinary school that would give her a strong, professional start.

However, I do get the sense that he’s never truly understood Seok Ryu, or that she’d felt truly able to be herself, around him.

I guess it’s not a lot to go on, but the fact that she’d fought to be so strong and bright during her cancer treatment, instead of showing her fear, feels like an indication of that.

And the fact that he hadn’t picked up on the fact that there was more going on with her, underneath that brightness and determination, feels like an indication that he didn’t truly know or understand her.

With the depression, it’s hard to fault him, in the sense that most laypeople don’t really know what to do in the face of depression, and he did what I think most people would have done; he was supportive as possible, while waiting for the depression to “blow over.”

But depression doesn’t just “blow over,” and it makes sense that it was just a matter of time before things just blew up.

I am relieved to know that Hyeon Jun hadn’t cheated on Seok Ryu like Show had originally hinted at, but I do agree with Seok Ryu, that there is no starting over, with their relationship.

The way Seok Ryu describes how her life is forever changed from the cancer diagnosis, is very true.

Just because she’s survived it, doesn’t mean that she can be confident that she will never have to fight it again; what she says, that she will never be completely free, that she will always be not too far from death’s door, rings true to me. This is what cancer survivors have to live with.

Given that Hyeon Jun had lost patience in waiting for things to blow over, I can see why Seok Ryu would feel that it’s better for them to part ways.

E9-10. It feels fitting that Hyeon Jun would come to the realization that he’s just not the person that Seok Ryu needs right now.

Depression or not, I would agree with that statement, so I’m pleased that Hyeon Jun decides to return to the US, and I am also pleased with how things are wrapped up, between him and Seok Ryu.

I like that they come to a natural and mutual agreement, that their season is over, and that it’s just time to say goodbye.

It feels like a nice step of maturity, for Seung Hyo to go to the airport with Seok Ryu, to send Hyeon Jun off.

Honestly, I do appreciate the goodbye between Seung Hyo and Hyeon Jun, because, for the first time, these two are speaking as people who both love Seok Ryu and want the best for her. I felt that was very meaningful. 🥲

It feels meaningful too, that Seok Ryu and Hyeon Jun thank each other for everything, and shake hands, while wishing each other happiness.

And, it feels like perhaps Hyeon Jun’s estimation, that Seung Hyo’s the new person in Seok Ryu’s life, might be the statement of truth that Seok Ryu needs to hear.

I honestly like how respectfully writer-nim treats the closure of this relationship with Hyeon Jun, and that Seok Ryu instinctively starts to grieve, after their goodbye.

And I’m glad that Seung Hyo – practicing the observation skills that he’s learned for his seok ryu tree – responds instinctively, to shield her with his jacket, so that she can cry freely, for as long as she needs to.

Awww. Isn’t that so gruffly yet so sweetly supportive of him? 🥲

[END SPOILER]

When the handling feels whiplashy

Generally speaking, I was fine with Show shifting tones between beats, but there was a specific portion in episodes 11 to 12, where I felt it got out of hand, so much so that everything felt pretty whiplashy, as a result.

Specifically, I’m referring to Show’s treatment of the relationship between Hye Suk and Gyeong Jong.

[SPOILER ALERT]

E11-12. I appreciated the emotional beats in this arc, from Hye Suk’s complicated emotions that spanned pride, sadness, awkwardness, fragility, vulnerability and a deep sense of loss and confusion, to Gyeong Jong’s deep worry and despair that he had perhaps lost his wife for good.

And honestly, I didn’t even mind so much, the memory loss thing, because in my head, there were several possible reasons that Show could use to explain it, and some of these options were pretty reasonable, to my mind.

For the curious, they were, 1, menopause (some people do feel like they’re losing their minds, with the massive hormonal shifts), 2, early onset Alzheimer’s, 3, mental health condition (I forget the exact condition, but it was explored in Daily Dose of Sunshine, and the patient did keep forgetting large chunks of things), and 4, brain tumor.

I didn’t think Show would go the route of brain tumor, since we’ve already had a legit cancer case in our story world, and I reasoned that we didn’t need the heaviness from another cancer case.

So my guess was that it was either menopause related, or mental health related, and it did turn out to be mental health related, in episode 12.

I understood that Show wanted Hye Suk to be shown in a vulnerable, fragile sort of light, particularly with the strong, nonchalant sort of demeanor that she’s consistently shown to the world, including her close friends and family.

And I also understood that this could be the Big Shock that would cause Gyeong Jong to see Hye Suk in a whole new light, thus triggering their reconciliation.

All that said, I did not love the execution of it all.

I personally found the mountaintop scene too melodramatic than I felt was necessary, and then I found the aftermath, too hokey-cutesy. In a word, it was whiplashy.

I think this is the thing that disappointed me the most, on a macro level.

It felt like the husband-wife dynamics between Hye Suk and Gyeong Jong are amped up to levels that no longer feel raw and real.

Sure, the emotional beats still hit home, but not in that “this feels so real” 🥹🥹 sort of way that I’d admired in other scenes in earlier episodes.

Instead, the emotional beats are encased in melodrama, followed by hokey-cutesy, and I feel like those chosen tones actually detracted from the emotion of it all.

Don’t get me wrong, I do love the idea of Gyeong Jong being a smitten puppy, but to just make that the resolution for this couple’s estranged relationship, does feel kind of overly convenient and overly simplistic, y’know?

I’d just.. expected Show to have treated the resolution with as much nuance as it had treated the marriage issues that had estranged them in the first place. That would have felt more balanced, I feel.

[END SPOILER]

SPOTLIGHT ON A FEW CHARACTERS & RELATIONSHIPS

Jung Hae In as Seung Hyo

I’ve enjoyed Jung Hae In in a number of dramas before this (like One Spring Night and DP), so I was very excited to see him actually headline a rom-com (or so I thought, anyway 😅 – coz as we’ve discussed, I don’t think Show was meant to be a rom-com in the first place).

I personally think Jung Hae In does a really good job of the role; I feel that he makes Seung Hyo very endearing and likable, in his boyish way.

I thought I’d focus this spoiler section on exploring the moments in time when Seung Hyo says or does things that aren’t very nice, in an attempt to shed light on why he might have behaved the way he did.

I also thought it would be good to touch on a little bit of his growth journey, though I’m aware that I’m not getting into all of it.

Think of this as my quick little highlight reel on Seung Hyo, if that helps? 😅 I will talk more about him in the section on our OTP, I promise. 😁

[SPOILER ALERT]

E7-8. I don’t like it so much when Show plays Seung Hyo’s jealousy for laughs, because I honestly much prefer when Seung Hyo’s not getting terse with a third party; he tends to say not-so-pleasant things at those times, which almost taint my affection for him as a character.

I say “almost,” because I do feel some sympathy for Seung Hyo.

I see him as getting rather panicky and feeling threatened, because Hyeon Jun’s shown up at a time when Seung Hyo’s struggling to allow himself to be vulnerable with Seok Ryu, and that’s why he’s just putting his foot in his mouth, almost as a reflex.

Plus, I do absolutely believe that Seung Hyo feels protective of Seok Ryu, and is ready to beat down the guy who’d broken her heart, if necessary.

E7-8. I thought it was nice when Seung Hyo takes Seok Ryu on his bicycle, and they ride amid the falling spring blossoms. Sooo pretty!! 😍

It’s all very sweet – that is, until Seung Hyo starts asking about Hyeon Jun, and ends up asking Seok Ryu if she doesn’t have any self-respect, for wavering at Hyeon Jun wanting to get back together again.

Eep. I love Seung Hyo, but this was a Very Bad Thing to say, and I want to smack him upside the head, for saying such a insensitive and hurtful thing to Seok Ryu.

Not cool, even when I take his jealousy into account. 😕

However, I did think it was quite sweet, when, after the initial scare that someone might have been following her on her evening walk, Seung Hyo tells Seok Ryu that he’ll walk behind her, so there’s no reason for her to be afraid.

That was pretty nice, I thought. 🥲

E9-10. I do love the parallel that we get, of Seung Hyo learning to listen to and take care of his pomegranate tree, as he learns to listen and take care of Seok Ryu.

I mean, that scene where he goes to the florist and asks for help, he literally says, “Can you please save my seok ryu?” and I love all over again, how writer-nim is so thoughtfully witty that way.

Not only was the pomegranate tree something that would literally remind him of Seok Ryu, it’s a stand-in for Seok Ryu, as her namesake. 🥲

And it feels very apt, that just like with the pomegranate tree, Seung Hyo needs to learn to pay attention to the unspoken, in order to figure out how its doing and what it needs, he needs to do the exact same thing with Seok Ryu.

[END SPOILER]

Jung So Min as Seok Ryu

I really enjoy Jung So Min as an actress (like in Because This Is My First Life, and Father is Strange, I really looked forward to her outing in this role.

I do think that she does a good job of the role, even though, as I discuss in various portions of this review, I sometimes found the writing around Seok Ryu’s actions rather perplexing.

That said, I wanted to understand her, and root for her.

Because I’ve seen some dislike floating around the interwebs for Seok Ryu as a character, I thought I should attempt to shed some light on her character, at least in the areas where I feel like I can understand her.

That’s what this spoiler section is about.

[SPOILER ALERT]

E9-10. I thought I’d talk a bit about Seok Ryu’s decision not to tell her family about her cancer diagnosis, because this part really did resonate with me.

To be sure, I haven’t had the exact same experience, but this thing, about the eldest child learning from a young age, to not burden their parents, as much as possible, is definitely A Thing, for me.

As you all know, I had surgery late last year, and it was a pretty major surgery, even though it wasn’t a terrible thing like cancer.

I kid you not; I told my parents not to come to the hospital, and that there was no need to visit.

My reasoning being, that hanging around a hospital wouldn’t do them any good, especially since my mum is immunocompromised, and that if I needed help with anything, I could ask the nurses.

I didn’t even leave instructions with the nurses on whom to call, about my ward details, after my surgery. I just figured that it wouldn’t be necessary, y’know?

But, thankfully for me, the hospital’s protocol meant that the nurses looked at my emergency contact details after my surgery, and called my mum to inform her that the surgery was over, and tell her which ward I was in.

My parents basically ignored my instructions not to come, and came to see me anyway – and I was very, very grateful, because I was in much worse shape post-surgery, than I’d anticipated.

It was just comforting to have my family come over and bring me warm cocoa and soft soybean pudding, even though I could barely eat or drink, being drugged up on morphine and all. 😅

And so, this thing where Seok Ryu had felt unable to tell her parents about her diagnosis, because she didn’t want to worry or burden them, really struck a kind of chord with me, y’know?

Yes, I know that she should’ve told them, and yes, they absolutely would have wanted to know, but at the same time, I understand why she’d felt that way, and why she’d ended up keeping it to herself, y’know? 🥹

And, I totally get that sense of relief that comes through, even as Seok Ryu squirms so uncomfortably, while Mi Suk asks if it’s true, and then walks over to hug her.

The relief that Seok Ryu feels, as she cries in Mi Suk’s arms, is, I think, the relief that she doesn’t have to try to hide it anymore, and also, that she doesn’t have to try to be stronger than she feels, either. 🥲

I’m glad that Seung Hyo suggests that “welcome home” party for Seok Ryu, because it is true that she hadn’t had one, when she’d first come back to Korea.

At the same time, this feels like a true welcome home sort of moment, because now, Seok Ryu’s truth is out there, and everyone is welcoming her wholly, difficult diagnosis and all. That feels meaningful to me. 🥲

[END SPOILER]

Seung Hyo and Seok Ryu

As I’ve alluded to in other portions of this review, this OTP relationship had some serious sparks of promise for me, but I’d ultimately felt underwhelmed at certain points of our story, by both the writing and delivery.

Since I’ve explored the not-so-great bits in other sections of this review, I thought I’d reserve this section for all the bits that I did love. 🥲

[SPOILER ALERT]

E1-2. I really like the tone of our OTP banter; to me, it’s not too aggressive. They vibe, to my eyes, like two reluctant siblings who find it “so not cool!” to be found in each other’s orbits. 😁

The thing I like most, is that underneath all the bluster and expressed annoyance, it’s easy to see that these two people really do care about each other, and trust each other.

And how about the smiles that we see Seung Hyo leak, from time to time, when he thinks about Seok Ryu?

Like at the end of episode 1, when he walks away from her house, and thinks about how she’d fiercely protected him from other kids, calling him her baby – and then he smiles this little, slightly teary, affectionate smile.

SO MELTY, omigosh.

I love this idea that Seung Hyo has a soft spot for Seok Ryu, despite all his grumbles and complaints. 🥲

Even though Seok Ryu doesn’t want to tell anyone about why she’d supposedly quit her job, I feel that what she tells Seung Hyo on that hilltop, where they rest after running from Mi Suk’s raging leeks, comes from something real.

She may not be telling him the specifics of her true situation, like how she’d been fired, and how she’d found her fiancé cheating on her, but the emotions and exhaustion that she describes to him, feel real. 🥲

And when Seung Hyo has financial problems at work, Seok Ryu can tell, just from looking at him, that something’s up, even though he doesn’t say anything.

I like that she knows him that well, and I also like that she actually cares.

I also like that she goes to the trouble of getting him a congratulatory pomegranate plant, for the opening of his new company, and I love that he actually takes it to the office. 🥰

And, I didn’t notice this until I revisited the scene for these notes, but pomegranate in Korean is seok ryu, which is her name! 😁 That’s why she tells him that it’ll remind him of her.

Even though he asks if he can throw it away, I love that he basically accepted it and dutifully brought it to the office. Tee hee hee. I love that. 🤭

And, when Seok Ryu actually shows up at the opening (which, I find that she’s sweet like that; she’ll say all kinds of gruff nonsense, but she’ll do something sweet and thoughtful, like search for that brooch for Mi Suk, and bring it to her), I like that Seung Hyo tells her, with a note of gentleness in his voice, that she should stay and eat, since they got an expensive caterer.

And then, when he overhears her big have-it-out argument with Mi Suk, I love that he’s concerned and actually goes out looking for her, and then finds her – because he knows exactly where she’d be. 🥲

I love that he just sits with her, and even goes to buy an umbrella, when it rains, but then climbs right back up, to sit next to her again.

More than that, though, I love that he understands that she’s hurt and actually needs to cry, and that all of her blustery funny stories, are just her way of covering up her pain.

I love that he tells her it’s ok to cry, and I love that this permission, is exactly what it takes, for Seok Ryu to let the tears flow. 🥲

Also, isn’t it sweet, that when Seok Ryu insists that Seung Hyo tell her what’s bothering him, and he says that there are some bad debts, she’s immediately ready to intimidate those debtors into returning his money.

Aw. It’s really endearing, honestly. 🥲

E1-2. I am blown away, first by how willingly Seung Hyo takes on the task of redoing Seok Ryu’s room, and how he really applies himself to the task, such that he doesn’t even show up to the office.

And then, I’m blown away by the fact that he remembered everything about Seok Ryu’s room, down to the littlest detail.

OMIGOSH. That thought, that he really knows her that well, and cares enough to remember, and cares enough to put effort into recreating the space, and even fill her ceiling with star stickers, just floors me. 🫠🫠🫠

I’m officially smitten, you guys. How is Seung Hyo this sweet and thoughtful??? 🥹🥹

I just love the thought that Seung Hyo move back home, and is therefore now literally Seok Ryu’s next door neighbor – where his room faces hers.

Eee!! I can already imagine the potential sparks.

..Which we already get a little taste of, via that flashback, where Seung Hyo had caught a falling Seok Ryu, and they’d landed on her bed. You can practically feel the crackle in the air; the hyper-awareness is so keen on both sides. 🔥

I cannot wait, honestly, to see more of these two together.

E3-4. These episodes, I love how we’re getting more context around the relationship between Seung Hyo and Seok Ryu.

I just love the fact that she always made sure that she was there for him.

At his important swim meet, she’d skipped her mock exam so that she could be there for him, when he’d had no one else, not even his parents.

I just love how enthusiastic and unabashed she is, about cheering him on. She doesn’t care what anyone else thinks; she’s there for Seung Hyo, and isn’t afraid to shout it from the mountaintops. I love that. 🥲

Post-accident, she’d made sure that she was there for him, even when he was pushing her away; she made sure that he wasn’t isolated, even if it meant climbing the wall to get to him through his room window.

And now, in the present, when she perceives that he needs her, for his firm’s pitch to Greip, she makes sure that she’s there for him too, even though the mere mention of Greip makes her uncomfortable.

I really appreciate how Seok Ryu is willing to put her own needs aside in order to be there for Seung Hyo.

Right now, she’s the one who’s unemployed, and searching for direction, and he’s the one who’s pretty successful, with his own architectural firm.

He and Hyung could’ve hired a translator, no problem, honestly, but she chooses to be there for him, even though she’s still lost at sea, in relation to her own career. I thought that was very sweet. 🥲

And, I also really love how he’s always there for her too, in his own way.

Like when she feels like a phony for not revealing that she’s no longer working at Greip, and still gives that student talk, he tells her that her experience at Greip is still valid, and therefore her sharing is still helpful, so it’s all good.

Aw. That’s something that Seok Ryu needed to hear, I do think.

Plus, he knows right away, when Seok Ryu talks about those potential jobs that the headhunter offers her, that this isn’t the kind of work that truly inspires Seok Ryu.

He’s the one who helps her see the truth in that, and that feels very important.

Isn’t it sweet too, of Seung Hyo to think of digging up the time capsule, because he thinks that it might be helpful to Seok Ryu, as she tries to figure out her true dream?

Ahahaha. I’m pretty sure that when he suggests it, he had forgotten that he’d ever written in his letter, that he liked Seok Ryu. 🤭

I just LOVE, though, this idea that Seung Hyo’s liked Seok Ryu for a long time.

It’s not super surprising, given that we’ve seen leaked affectionate looks and smiles from him since episode 1, but I love it anyway.

And, I can buy the idea that he’s somewhat in denial of his feelings, at times, like when he realizes what he’s written in the letter.

It’s almost like he’s trying to convince himself that these feelings are all in the past, if they ever existed at all, and it’s a pretty delicious piece of context, to underscore all of his interactions with Seok Ryu. 🥰

Of course, I love-love-LOVE the swimming pool scene at the end of episode 3.

Now that I think about it, the way Seung Hyo baits Seok Ryu in this scene, poking at her until he gets the rise that she needs, to actually unleash, from a deeper place, and jump into the water, is very much like how she had burst into his room all those years ago, and then baited him, so that he would unleash, from a deeper place – so that he would feel better.

There’s something very poignant and beautiful about that, even though on the surface, it’s all very bickery and chaotic.

It might look bickery and chaotic on the surface, but underneath it all, they actually have each other’s best interests at heart.

Seok Ryu had burst in on Seung Hyo, to make sure that he wouldn’t bottle up his pain, but let it out, and now, in the present, Seung Hyo’s baiting Seok Ryu, so that she’d gather the courage to jump into the unknown – the water, but also, the future. 🥲

On that note, though, I have to say that I really appreciate the fact that the chaos between Seung Hyo and Seok Ryu really works for me.

Like the way she starts flailing about in the water, and starts grabbing at Seung Hyo, while he tries his futile best to steady her, is so cute and funny and real to me. 🥲

I do love that in the midst of all this, Seung Hyo teaches Seok Ryu to relax in the water; this feels very symbolic to me, since I feel like the water represents the unknown future. 🥲

And, I feel it’s very significant too, that Seok Ryu would actually be able to finally relax, with Seung Hyo by her side, in the water.

Ahhh. Extending my metaphor (because I can’t help myself), this feels like Seung Hyo’s presence, next to Seok Ryu, because she trusts him, will be the thing that helps her to relax, even as she ventures into her unknown future. 🥲

I love that she opens up to him, lying on her back in the water, and shares that she’d felt scared, and had felt like nothing without her Greip job, and I love that Seung Hyo responds with solidarity and empathy, because he’d felt the same about swimming.

Augh. I love how these two are able to identify with each other like this. 🥲

And then of course I love-love-LOVE the part where Seung Hyo asks if she would do things differently if she could go back to before she quit her job, and she answers with an unreserved “No.”

And then he asks if she would do things differently, if she could go back to before she’d called off her engagement, and she also answers with an emphatic “No” – and then, as she loses her balance in the water, he grabs her in a princess-carry and he goes, “That’s good, then.”

Eeee!!!! I totally flailed all over the floor at this, no lie, because I’d taken it to mean that this was good enough for him – because he liked her.

And, this is also the point when we learn that Seung Hyo had written about his feelings for Seok Ryu, in that time capsule letter.

Ahhh. In the light of this, “Stop Line” changing to “Starting Line” also feels like it refers to their potential relationship.

Because, while Seok Ryu’s had a “Stop Line” with her ex-fiancé, that’s now become a potential “Starting Line,” for her and Seung Hyo? 🥹

E3-4. After the whole drama around the Greip presentation, I was comforted to see that Seung Hyo follows Seok Ryu, even as she leaves the hotel, and then randomly chooses to hike up what looks like Namsan Mountain, in her high heels and all.

How sweet is he, that he follows her all the way up to the top, and then, when she sits down, he finally sits with her – and then hands her a pair of slippers, because he knows that her feet are hurting? 🥲

And then, when she starts to say that if she’d loved her work more, she would have hung in there longer, I love that Seung Hyo sets her straight right away; that it had been straight up workplace harassment, and that it had nothing to do with how much she’d loved her work.

Those are wise words, and I like that Seung Hyo is able to set Seok Ryu straight, and prevent her from going into another thought spiral.

And then, isn’t it SO CUTE, how Seung Hyo gets that lock, so that he can write down all of Seok Ryu’s grievances there, and they can cuss Chris out with every imaginable petty affliction, heh.

I do love how cooperative Seung Hyo is; like when Seok Ryu says that there’s lots more to write, and he should’ve bought a bigger lock, he quickly says that he’ll write smaller.

Tee hee hee! I thought that was adorable. 😁

And just like that, he’s helped Seok Ryu feel better at a really low point in her life, not unlike how she’d once helped him feel better, at a really low point in his life. SCHWEET. 🥲

E3-4. I love-love-LOVE that Seok Ryu is so personally invested in Atelier In getting the Greip job, that when she hears the news from Seung Hyo, she instinctively grabs him for a hug – and I love how we then get the flashback and context, that she’d once grabbed him for a hug, back when he’d visited her in the US, and he’d responded in the exact same way as he’s responding now: with a frozen but very clear expression of discombobulated hyper-awareness.

Eeeee!!!! I love it!! So much!!

He likes her now, as much as he’d liked her when he’d written that letter, and said that he didn’t dare to tell her, because he didn’t want to ruin their friendship.

I get the feeling that this hug is going to bring it all back into focus for Seung Hyo, and I cannot wait to see how their connection continues to evolve. 😍🔥

E5-6. We do get some sudden moments of hyper-proximity these episodes, which turn out to be a big trigger for Seung Hyo’s subsequent efforts to keep his distance from Seok Ryu.

First, there’s the happy hug at the end of episode 4, and then, after that, when they head back to Seung Hyo’s office so that Seok Ryu can make him a congratulatory meal, there’s how she trips, and he ends up catching her in a startled princess-carry.

I squeed at both points, of course, because I just love when these two get up close and personal with each other, whether intentionally or unintentionally. 😍

Honestly, I think it’s really sweet that Seok Ryu wants to make food for Seung Hyo, to celebrate his company winning the Greip contract.

(I did chuckle at the reference to Something in the Rain, when Seok Ryu says that she’ll show him what it’s really like when a pretty noona cooks for him – because the native title for Something in the Rain is Pretty Noona Who Buys Me Food. 🤭)

And then I couldn’t not squee at the soft, glad gaze that Seung Hyo wears, while watching Seok Ryu cook.

Ahhh. I honestly feel like he was quite possibly feeling pretty positive about maybe acting on his feelings for Seok Ryu; that is, until he overhears Seok Ryu telling Mo Eum that she does, in fact, still love her ex-fiancé.

Sigh. I can see why Seung Hyo would then change tack abruptly, and suddenly start to distance himself from Seok Ryu.

I feel like he probably believed it was the only way forward, since she was still in love with her ex-fiancé, and also, we do hear from him, later in these episodes, just how much his feelings for Seok Ryu affect him; that he literally tends to feel like he’s losing his mind.

With that context, I can better understand Seung Hyo trying to distance himself from Seok Ryu, even though I found it sad to watch (because I much prefer the two of them together than apart 🥲).

In a manner of speaking, you could say that Seung Hyo’s decision to distance himself, is an attempt at self-preservation.

E5-6. I ended up liking pretty well, the inclusion of Tae Hui (Seo Ji Hye), Seung Hyo’s ex-girlfriend, in our story, because I feel like her presence did several important things.

1, I feel that it shows us, as an audience, how strongly aware of Seok Ryu he is, even though he’s actively pushing her away.

The moment Tae Hui appears and surprises him from behind, saying, “It’s been a while,” you can see Seung Hyo’s eyes dart right over to Seok Ryu, to see how she’s taking this very unusual situation.

He cares instinctively, about how Seok Ryu feels, particularly about him with another woman.

And no, I absolutely don’t mean this in a “he’s testing her” sort of way, but more in a “I don’t want her to get the wrong idea” sort of way.

2, It absolutely does provoke Seok Ryu to think, at least a little bit, about Seung Hyo in a romantic context.

Like that flashback, when she tells Na Yun that Seung Hyo and Tae Hui had been very passionate as a couple.

She can’t say that sentence without acknowledging the fact that Seung Hyo’s a sexual being, rather than just her childhood friend, y’know?

Plus, there’s also the instinctive jealousy that kicks in, when she sees Tae Hui hanging around Seung Hyo.

That’s got to at least get her thinking a little bit, yes?

3, it eventually is an eye-opener for Seung Hyo himself, because Tae Hui turns out to be a reasonable, observant person who actually wants the best for Seung Hyo, rather than an obsessive ex-girlfriend (THANK YOU, writer-nim!).

I really do like that Tae Hui points out to Seung Hyo just how much he lights up in Seok Ryu’s presence, and how strongly he responds to Seok Ryu, versus how he’d responded to her, back when they’d dated.

Can’t lie; I love the confirmation that Seung Hyo hadn’t ever been passionate about Tae Hui, and had only been a weak flame, in response to her strong one.

Yes, it’s the fangirl in me; I want allll of Seung Hyo’s passion to be reserved for Seok Ryu. 😁

I do love how Show oh-so-naturally throws in a moment of hyper-proximity and hyper-awareness, in the morning call scene, where Seok Ryu jumps on Seung Hyo while he’s lying in bed, thinking that he’s her brother Dong Jin (Lee Seung Hyub).

That whole thing, where Seung Hyo pops out from under the covers and pins Seok Ryu down – while shirtless – is all pretty rawr to me. 🔥🔥😁

I also kinda love how this moment of hyper-proximity not only ends up underscoring the episode, but also, that this leads to Seok Ryu joining the Atelier folks on their trip to Tae Hui’s workshop, where more Important Moments happen.

Like what I mentioned above, about Seung Hyo getting mad at Seok Ryu, and Tae Hui pointing that out to him.

But also, there’s how Seung Hyo ends up cleaning Seok Ryu’s doenjang soaked top, and Seok Ryu knows, just by looking at the top hanging out to dry, that that had been Seung Hyo’s doing.

I do love that detail, that she would know it’s him, without needing anyone to tell her. 🥰

On top of that, there’s also how Seok Ryu realizes that her true passion is for cooking, not just in how she cooks for the group and they end up loving her food, but also, in how Tae Hui talks about finding her own passion – and also, in how thrilled she is, by that vat of aged soy sauce.

I love that moment when Seok Ryu says out loud, like she’s realizing it for the first time, that she wants to cook.

She looks so entranced, and Seok Ryu looks so gently glad for her, as he looks upon her and her moment of realization.

Aw. I’m really glad that he was there to witness the very moment that Seok Ryu found her dream. 🥲

And I love that he pieces it together, as he catches himself smiling; that what Tae Hui had said was absolutely true: he’s always looking at Seok Ryu, and when she smiles, he smiles too. 🥲🥲

I love just as much, that we get to hear Seung Hyo in voiceover, say that he’d been running away from his feelings for a long time, but now, seeing her smile like this, he can’t help but like her.

Ahhh!!! He’s admitting and acknowledging his feelings for Seok Ryu!!!

I mean, yes, this is still all in his own head, but him admitting it to himself is an important first step towards eventually admitting to her, yes? 🤩

E5-6. It occurs to me, while I’m writing these notes, that while episode 5 explores Seung Hyo’s feelings, and how he arrives at a place where he feels ready to accept his feelings for Seok Ryu, episode 6 is about Seok Ryu discovering Seung Hyo’s feelings for her.

We start with her finding his time capsule letter, where he’d written about his feelings for her, and we see her whole mind start to implode at the implications – when Seung Hyo lies, and tells her it was all a prank, while he tears the letter out of her hands, crumples it up and tosses it in the trash.

Oof. That must have been so mortifying for Seung Hyo, to have his secret letter be read by the very person from whom he’s trying so hard to keep it secret. 🙈

At the same time, that must have been such a rollercoaster of emotions for Seok Ryu.

But it also feels kind of fair, in the sense that it seems high time that she get on the emotional rollercoaster for once, since Seung Hyo’s been riding it all this time? 😁

E5-6. I’m a bit disappointed that Seung Hyo’s still pushing Seok Ryu away, but I have to say, I was basically pumping my fist, going, “Yesss,” when Seok Ryu flatly refuses Seung Hyo’s request, and says that she will NOT stay out of his life.

..Which is when Seung Hyo blurts out that she’s been driving him crazy, both in the past and now – which is what gets Seok Ryu thinking about Seung Hyo’s first love, and how she never knew who it was.

..Which is how she ends up running after him and asking him, seriously, and with bated breath, what he’d meant with what he’d said.

Ahhh!! I feel like we are on the cusp – really the cusp! – of feelings coming out into the open for real, and I am very much here for it, my friends. 🥹

E7-8. I am glad that Seung Hyo reaches the point where he feels that he should – in fact, must! – tell Seok Ryu about how he feels about her, never mind about anything else.

I do think Show does a pretty nice job of sprinkling various thought nuggets for him, so that he’d naturally come to this conclusion, from Mo Eum telling him that he has to save himself from unrequited love, to Tae Hui talking about how you won’t know how a clay piece will turn out, until you’ve put it into the kiln.

Honestly, I rather like that Seung Hyo’s confession is low-key and matter-of-fact, versus some fancy affair with flowers and candlelight. It just seems more in line with the tone of their relationship, y’know?

Speaking of which, I found it understandably awkward for the both of them, in the wake of Seung Hyo’s big confession.

The way they both angsted that night, unable to sleep, while each incessantly checking on the other, through their respective windows, was quite amusing.

And, it’s quite perfect, I thought, that we see that Seok Ryu had actually once had a bit of a crush on Seung Hyo too, back when they were kids, and he’d shown her a way to be less scared of the water.

Aw. That reciprocity is very sweet. 🥲

That whole thing where they went into the convenience store to look for an expiry date that they could use, for Seung Hyo’s confession, is quite silly, but it’s just the sort of silly that I would expect between them, so I was happy to just sit back and watch them muddle over the various products that have expiry dates. 🤭

Isn’t it cutely dorky, the way Seung Hyo takes that packet of milk and puts it so carefully in the fridge, while observing its expiry date in a very attentive, countdown sort of fashion? 😁

E9-10. I do feel bad for Seung Hyo that Seok Ryu tries to push him away, and box him up as a childhood friend, when he wants to be so much more to her, but again, I can understand Seok Ryu’s thought around this.

Just like she doesn’t want to burden her parents with her diagnosis and her pain, she doesn’t want to burden Seung Hyo either.

Her cancer diagnosis and subsequent depression had taken such a big toll on her relationship with Hyeon Jun, that I’m sure Seok Ryu can imagine the same thing happening with any other romantic partner who might come into her life.

And the last thing she wants, is for her relationship with Seung Hyo to end up broken and ruined, the same way her relationship with Hyeon Jun has ended up.

At least, that’s my read of why Seok Ryu turns down Seung Hyo’s feelings.

I am honestly glad that Seok Ryu’s diagnosis comes out into the open at the end of episode 9, even though I’m a little iffy at the idea of Seung Hyo opening her medical documents and reading them, without permission.

I guess this is just the tone of their relationship, in a way? They’ve grown up like two peas in the same pod, almost, and they’re close enough that she could open his drawer and read his time capsule letter, and he could open an envelope he sees in her bag, and read its contents?

I’m going to put this down to me not fully understanding the degree of closeness in their relationship. 😅

While Seung Hyo’s words sound like they’re about him, ie, “How could you do this to me?,” the heartbreak that I hear in his voice, is the thing that speaks loudest to me, through this entire scene.

His words might be asking how she could have done this to him, but to my ears, his heart is breaking for her, and what he’s heartbroken about, is that she hadn’t let him in to support her and be there for her, when she’d needed him most.

In that sense, I feel like he’s actually asking, in essence, how she could have done that to herself, by shutting him out, y’know? 🥹

I guess what I’m trying to say is, to my ears, Seung Hyo’s heartbreak was clearly for her, rather than for himself, and all the cracks, tremors and plaintive notes in his voice, and the tears in his eyes, were so affecting, that I legit teared up, in response.

And the thing is, he looks so truly heartbroken, that when Seok Ryu replies that the reason she didn’t tell him, is because she knew he’d be like this, I.. can’t help but understand, as well.

E9-10. I’m honestly a little surprised to learn that Seung Hyo had actually shut Seok Ryu out of his life for a season, after he’d gone to the US to visit her, and had seen her with Hyeon Jun.

It’s sad for sure, but I rationalize that he’s doing the same thing that we’ve seen him do in earlier episodes; keeping Seok Ryu at a distance, in order to protect his own heart.

I do feel bad for him, because of course he would blame himself now, on hindsight, knowing that he’d actually pushed her away when she’d most needed him.

But, I am glad that he does try to talk to Seok Ryu, and tell her that she should lean on the people who love her, in difficult times, even though she doesn’t listen.

And when Seok Ryu disappears to the beach for some time to think, it honestly pleases me that Seung Hyo’s able to find her, when no one else has a clue as to where she might be.

The way he provokes her into spilling the feelings that she’s been holding in for so long, is so reminiscent of the way she’d once provoked him, when she’d climbed the wall to get to his room.

The method might feel rather brusque and extreme, with him picking her up and dumping her in the water, but I guess this is just the way with these two, since her way of provoking him to express himself, had been pretty extreme too.

What matters here, is that she does finally let out all the emotions that she’s pent up for such a long time, and it’s cathartic and important, that she gives expression to them all now. 🥲

And importantly, it feels like, afterwards, Seok Ryu’s able to speak more frankly with Seung Hyo, like the way she tells him, casually and matter-of-factly, that she’d love to have a cold beer, but she can’t do that kind of thing anymore.

I love, so much, that Seung Hyo tells her that if he gets sick, he’d want her to go with him, and buy him juice, and wash her hair – and that if she gets sick, he’ll go with her to the hospital, and do the same for her.

This feels really important, like it’s a redefining of their relationship, and I love that he’s firm about it – and then gets her to call his dad, which is when she gets the news that she’d just had an infection, and that it’s nothing to worry about. YAY.

It’s such a relief, and I’m glad that Seung Hyo grabs her in a big hug, and doesn’t let go, even when she grumbles in protest. 🥲

It’s true that Seok Ryu doesn’t hug him back, but it does also feel like progress, that she’s content to be held in his arms, yes? 🥲🥲

[END SPOILER]

Kim Ji Eun as Mo Eum

I just wanted to give Mo Eum as shout-out because she felt like a breath of fresh air, particularly when our OTP was angsting about their own problems.

She always comes across as cheerful, forthright, sensible and straightforward, but not without as sense of humor; someone who has a dream that she fights for, but also, someone who doesn’t hold onto things too tightly.

I thought she was pretty cool, and just generally very likable. 🥰

Seung Hyo and Dan Ho

I also just wanted to give a quick shout-out to the burgeoning friendship between Seung Hyo and Dan Ho.

They’re so cutely awkward together, and yet, their desire to be friends is sincere. They’re a pair of dorks, and I found that very endearing.

[SPOILER ALERT]

E5-6. Seung Hyo’s still figuring things out, and I honestly rather like the idea of him becoming closer friends with Dan Ho as he does that, and I especially like the way he introduces himself to Yeon Du as her dad’s neighborhood friend.

It.. kinda-sorta feels like Seung Hyo’s acknowledging Dan Ho as a legit part of the neighborhood gang?

I really like Dan Ho when he’s in this thoughtful space, and I love that his response to Seung Hyo’s question “for his friend,” (pfft) is to mention Seung Hyo to himself, as the swimmer who’d shown such great determination, in the past.

I thought that was a very nice touch, and a very suitable, positive, hopeful thing for Seung Hyo to chew on.

[END SPOILER]

Mo Eum and Dan Ho

Even though I didn’t care for the initial bickering stage of this connection, I did actually like the concept of this loveline, and I did enjoy Mo Eum’s connection with Dan Oh, particularly once we got past the initial bickery stage of things.

[SPOILER ALERT]

E1-2. I find myself nicely tickled by the instant crush that Dan Oh develops on Mo Eum.

I mean, she’s so coolly badass, and so matter-of-fact about it, while being actually pleasant as a person, that I honestly understand why he’d fall so hard, and so fast. 😁

Also, I find it quite amusing that Dan Oh is such a dorky klutz, generally speaking.

I feel like these two could make a cute little couple in our story world.

E3-4. I am amused at the idea that Mo Eum has declared that Mudflat Man is her ideal type – without realizing that Mudflat Man is none other than Dan Ho, with whom she now keeps butting heads. Pfft.

And of course he’s now her next door neighbor as well; she just hasn’t realized it yet.

E5-6. These episodes, I liked that Mo Eum softens towards Dan Ho, after that whole incident where she scolds him at the hospital for leaving Yeon Du alone at home.

I’d wanted Dan Ho to defend himself, because he hadn’t left Yeon Du home alone; there had been a nanny with her, but Nanny had stepped out of the house for groceries.

But I take the point, that Dan Ho finds himself lacking as a father, and takes full responsibility for her, because he likely sees it as his fault, that he hadn’t been personally home to take care of her.

Aw. That thought does make my heart go out to him. 🥲

E7-8. I like that Dan Oh and Mo Eum are spending more time together, and therefore getting the chance to get to know each other better.

Of course, there’s the thing where Mo Eum finally realizes that Mudflat Man is none other than Dan Oh, ha!

I was mortified for her, for blurting out that she felt like Mudflat Man was the man of her dreams – and then realizing that he was sitting right next to her. 🤭

I thought it was quite cute that Mo Eum then proceeds to have all these various heart-thumping moments in response to Dan Oh. 😁

E9-10. I’m glad that Mo Eum and Dan Ho have that moment of solidarity in his yard.

With these two, it’s these moments of honesty and solidarity that really draw me in, rather than the bickering, or the awkward hyper-awareness.

It feels quite meaningful, that Mo Eum shares how she feels about Seok Ryu, and Dan Ho in turn shares a difficult season in his life, when he’d lost his wife, but Yeon Du had come back to him, like a miracle. 🥲

It’s honestly really great that Mo Eum tells him that it’s ok to cry, and that he actually does shed a few tears, like he’s never allowed himself to cry, despite how difficult this situation must have been for him.

Mo Eum’s reflexive kiss could’ve been a great milestone for these two, if Dan Ho could’ve seized the moment, and just kissed her back.

But, instead, this turns into a new point of mortification for Mo Eum, and we’re back to awkward things like her hiding from him, which, dang it. I’d imagined that we were past this. 😅

E11-12. I really did a silent cheer when Mo Eum went up to Dan Ho and officially asked if she could be Yeon Du’s mom, because she really likes him.

I thought that was refreshingly brave, especially after all the darting around and hiding that we’ve seen her do, in response to her feelings for Dan Ho.

I’m bummed that Dan Ho freezes up like that, and I suspect that it’s probably because he’s made some kind of promise to his late wife, to never love another nor replace her – something like that?

I’m proud of Mo Eum though, for owning her feelings and sticking to her stance, even after Dan Ho turns her down.

That takes courage, and I like how she’s in this gentle but firm space, in continuing to like Dan Ho, even though he isn’t open to the idea of dating her.

I’m sure that will change soon enough, and since I like it when these two are being serious, I’m actually looking forward to Mo Eum sticking to her gentle “I like you” guns, and Dan Ho finally coming around to how he needs her in his life. 🥲

[END SPOILER]

Hye Suk and Gyeong Jong [SPOILERS]

I found it an endearing idea, that despite all the walls that they’ve found between them over the years, that Hye Suk and Gyeong Jong are actually still smitten with each other.

All the lack of communication was hard to watch, but again, it’s something that feels organic and true to life, in that, I can believe that with their busy schedules, it’s easy for communication to take a hit, and thereafter, it’s easy for misunderstandings to form.

I did love the moments when Gyeong Jong gets all dazzled by Hye Suk over the littlest things, and it’s the sweetest, dorkiest thing.

And then it’s just as sweet and dorky, that Hye Suk gets equally dazzled by Gyeong Jong, like when he swoops in to save her from getting cut by the glass on the floor, and cleans up the broken glass himself.

Oh, these two. They are so in love with each other, that I couldn’t wait for them to figure out that the feeling is still very much mutual.

Afterwards, even though it was whiplashy in the introduction, I did find it cute that they became such a lovey-dovey pair. 🥲

SPOTLIGHT ON THE PENULTIMATE EPISODES 

Preface: I thought I should state upfront again, in case you missed my earlier section where I talk about this, that this was the literal pinnacle of my disgruntlement towards the writing and delivery of our story.

So.. heads up that there are strong feelings ahead 😅, but also, I managed to enjoy our finale episodes much more than I’d expected to, given the way these episodes went for me, so that’s the silver lining. 😁

I decided to keep this section in, so that you could get a flavor for where my dissatisfaction was coming from, even though you might not feel the same dissatisfaction, particularly if you use the family drama lens that I’m recommending. 😇

[SPOILER ALERT]

E13-14. My friends, I dearly want to love this show, but I have to admit that these episodes were a mixed bag, for me.

I think I might be in the minority here, because all I’ve seen floating around the internet, is lots of squees and heart-eyes for these episodes, and I, uh, don’t exactly feel the same way.

To be clear, there are several moments that really worked well for me, in these episodes; I am genuinely grateful for those.

At the same time, to me, it felt like these episodes were filler-heavy? Like, I didn’t feel like the long episodes were warranted, this week.

In Show’s earlier episodes, I had felt like the long episodes were warranted; that Show had a specific story to tell with the arc that it had chosen, and it just.. needed that amount of time to tell its story.

This week, it felt to me like Show had gotten used to the lengthy episodes, and had felt obliged to give us lengthy episodes, even when it didn’t really need to, because we were expecting it. 😅

Also. I might be going a bit all over the place here, but after Show had demonstrated so much sensitivity and skill in unpacking various complicated emotional states and relationships, it now feels like Show is trying to demonstrate a different skill – rom-com, with an emphasis on the comedy – but it doesn’t really seem to be an actual strength?

In my head, it’s kind of like a serious professor, who’s shown how knowledgeable he is in his area of expertise, suddenly turning around and trying to act like a clown – and pretty much falling flat, because clownery is much more difficult and complex than it looks, and he’s just.. not a clown. 😅

I’m sorry. Have I offended everyone in the room yet? 🙈🙈

But that’s the brutal truth; I did not think that these episodes were Show’s best, and it honestly makes it worse, that Show had been marketed primarily as a rom-com, because I think all this time, I’ve been waiting to see how the rom-com part of this drama’s DNA would actually show up – and now that it’s showing up, I’m not impressed. 😅

Like, huh, they really should’ve just marketed this as a melodrama, so that Show wouldn’t have felt pressured to act like a rom-com at any point in its run. 😅

Alright. Let me stop waffling about in such broad strokes, and let me attempt to talk about specifics.

One of the things that’s not working for me, weirdly, is Seung Hyo and Seok Ryu as a couple.

This is very strange, because I’ve only been rooting for them to get together, like, allll series long. 😅

Maybe that’s the problem? I don’t know how to explain it, but I feel rather underwhelmed by how they are, as a couple.

To my eyes, many of the sweet, happy scenes, as well as the sexier, cozier scenes, feel very posed and planned.

For example, the morning-after scene, where we see them in bed together.

Doesn’t that look incredibly posed? Like, the blanket is pulled up so neatly, just so, so that it reveals their bare shoulders, as they face each other, and have that conversation, where Seung Hyo tells Seok Ryu that he loves her.

Now, I love the fact that Seung Hyo tells Seok Ryu that he loves her, and that there hasn’t been any moment in his life that he hasn’t loved her; that is very touching.

BUT. In the context of this very posed visual, where they aren’t even touching each other, after supposedly having a night of passion, after their feelings finally find release, it doesn’t ring true? Like, it feels just as posed as the visual, if that makes sense?

I would have expected the skinship to have appeared more natural and cozy; that would have felt more in line with the context of the scene, y’know?

Afterwards, all the stuff about keeping their relationship a secret feels kind of rom-com fillery to me, like writer-nim was just trying to stuff the episode to the seams with as much secret dating as possible.

Also, I am perplexed that the kisses between our OTP feel quite posed and sanitized, because the chemistry between them had been so promising, from before they became a couple.

Like, they became a couple, and suddenly all the skinship stops feeling natural? I don’t.. understand? Is it just me? 😅

Additionally, I feel like Show’s attempt at giving us OTP Cuteness is really hampered by Seok Ryu’s various refusals, and her reasons for those refusals.

I’m a little torn here, because both things feel true to Seok Ryu’s character, but having both things drop on poor Seung Hyo in the space of two episodes, feels like a bit much.

It basically bogged down the lightness that Show was working so hard to serve up, and that clash just bothered me.

I can’t help wondering if there could have been a better way for Show – and Seok Ryu – to have handled all this.

Like, with the thing about feeling inferior to Seung Hyo; could she have been more honest with him about it, and sooner?

Because, each time she comes up against one of her issues (her inferiority in episode 13, followed by her mortality in episode 14), she just turns Seung Hyo down without a real explanation, and it’s just very perplexing to watch.

This weakness in communication between our OTP also gives me the feeling that our OTP isn’t actually in a very good, strong nor healthy space, and that’s not how I would like to feel about our OTP, especially since their relationship is supposed to be based on a lifetime of knowing and understanding each other.

I would have hoped that they would have been able to tap on that lifetime of togetherness, to build a strong foundation for their relationship, and make this friends-to-lovers thing feel extra precious, y’know?

Instead, we have Seok Ryu backing away from Seung Hyo and making feeble excuses for turning him down, first, when he asks her to attend that gala dinner with him, where he’s due to receive that award, and then, later, when he asks her to marry him.

It makes me feel sad, frustrated and exhausted, really. 🙈

I am honestly more interested in the state of affairs between Mo Eum and Dan Ho, at the moment.

I thought it was a pretty great reveal that Show gave us, about the truth of Dan Ho’s relationship with Yeon Du; that he’s her uncle, and not her bio dad.

So simple, and yet so world-tilting, at the same time, with Yeon Du greeting her parents in the photograph in the niche, at the columbarium.

That just amps up the tragedy of Dan Ho’s loss by several times, because he hadn’t lost a wife; he’d lost his entire family. Oof. That’s harsh. 😭

I can imagine Mo Eum’s heart going out to him even more, because even my heart’s going out to him, and I’m not the one with hearts in my eyes for Mudflat Man.

I’m relieved that this opens the communication channels between them, even though Dan Ho continues to maintain, for some time, that he and Mo Eum should never be.

I’m honestly not super clear on what changes Dan Oh’s mind, though I tend to think that it’s Mo Eum’s sweet tenacity, when it comes to her feelings for him.

Even when she’s drunk, she still likes him, and tries to let him know that, by launching herself at him, while telling him that it’s not an accident. Aw.

I guess she’s just managed to wear down his defenses, over time?

I was honestly rather disappointed with Jae Suk’s response, because she’d been so forthcoming in her affection for Yeon Du before.

But, when she mutters her reasons under her breath, I can better understand her – and, this also validates Dan Oh’s reasons for distancing himself from Mo Eum, in the first place.

He’d already calculated that it wouldn’t be fair to Mo Eum, and that many things would be very hard for her, starting with her own mother.

I do think that this arc resolves a little simplistically, but y’know, in a context where I feel like Show is over-complicating our main arc, I’m not truly opposed to taking a simplistic way out here, y’know? 😅

In any case, I’m relieved that Jae Suk’s opposition doesn’t last for very long, and once she makes up her mind to accept Dan Oh and Yeon Du, she acts on it, like the boss lady she is. 🤩

I thought that was nice. 🥰

As for our OTP’s two sets of parents, I was honestly feeling pretty happy with how things were going for a while, with Hye Suk inviting Gyeong Jong to move back to the master bedroom (he’s so cute in his eager acceptance! 😁), and Mi Suk empathizing with Geun Sik, and suggesting that they close the snack shop.

BUT THEN. We have that huge falling out between Mi Suk and Hye Suk, when Hye Suk offers to pay for Mi Suk’s cruise ticket, for their girls’ trip.

Honestly, I actually really liked the falling out at first, because the way all the pent-up feelings and insecurities were spilling out on both sides, felt very raw and real.

Like, I could believe that there would be such complicated feelings on both sides, despite their many years of friendship.

However, I will say that my interest promptly dropped the moment they started the catfight, with all the hair-pulling.

To my eyes, it felt like we’d gone from a potentially cathartic confrontation, with all the pent-up, complicated feelings spilling out, to a cheap-shot all-out brawl, to get some narrative tension. 😅

I didn’t like that much, particularly when Show leans into the potential funny, by having both husbands furtively meet up to discuss how to navigate the situation, only to get roaring drunk, and then get caught by their respective wives.

This is all very rom-com stuff, with an emphasis on the comedy part, but like I’ve mentioned earlier, this stuff just doesn’t seem to work very well for me, with this show – at least, not this week. 😅

All that said, I’d like to say that I appreciated Seok Ryu’s conversation with Dong Jin, where Dong Jin admits his feelings of inferiority, and Seok Ryu advises him to just find what matters to him, because most people don’t actually become outstanding.

That feels like an excellent mirror for Seok Ryu herself, really, because that encapsulates how she feels too, and what she should do as well. 🥲

As for the marriage proposal, I wasn’t into the comedy of errors of everything that went wrong for Seung Hyo on D-Day, the day he’d planned to propose to Seok Ryu.

But I do like that in the end, he’s as moved as she is, when she receives an encouraging comment on her video, and makes that very heartfelt proposal.

It’s just.. she turns him down without explaining her reason, and I just really feel very frustrated by that.

Basically, it feels to me that Show is going around in circles and biding time, until it gets to the point where it’s allowed to move on to a happy ending.

That said, I did genuinely like the honest conversation that we get between our OTP, at the end of episode 14.

I love that when Seok Ryu admits her fear, that she might not live very long, Seung Hyo points out that no one knows how long they’ll live; that we all live with the same uncertainty, and tells her that no matter the length of time that he lives, he wants to live it with her.

Aw. That was very sweet and touching, and I did like that moment very well.

It’s just – the way Show is going about it, we can already see with stark clarity, that the whole reason we have Mi Suk and Hye Suk fighting, is so that our OTP will have a new obstacle in front of them, the moment Seok Ryu agrees to marry Seung Hyo.

I don’t like that much at all, I gotta say. It’s far from elegant, and the long episode lengths make this so much worse, because it extends the circling, for what feels like no good reason. 😕

But oh well, here we are, on the cusp of the finale, and since all of this circling has been in service of a promised happy ending, I’m hoping that Show manages to deliver, and deliver well.

THOUGHTS ON THE ENDING [SPOILERS]

E15-16. Y’know, after I came away from episodes 13 & 14 feeling so perplexed and underwhelmed, I didn’t have high hopes of liking these finale episodes, but I’m very pleasantly surprised to say that I found these episodes to be quite enjoyable, in that quintessential family drama kind of way.

Like, nothing was very remarkable, but it was pleasant to spend time with our characters, even though they spent some of that time bickering or at loggerheads.

Specifically, Hye Suk and Mi Suk spend much of episode 15 still in fight mode, but with the family drama lens on, it didn’t bother me too much, and the eventual make-up scene, where they finally talk things out, was quite heartwarming.

While it’s all a little on the dramatic side of things, I’m glad that they figured out that they didn’t hate each other, and actually really care about each other, and don’t want to be enemies.

In fact, our finale episodes are basically like being on a carousel where we make sure to make a round of visiting our characters with happy moments; it’s quite nice, when you think of it that way?

I really liked that moment when Mo Eum asks Yeon Du permission to be her mom, and Yeon Du tells her that she’s even dreamed of having Mo Eum as her mom, aw.

It was also heartwarming, the way both Dan Ho and Yeon Du support Mo Eum’s posting to the South Pole, without reservation.

Geun Sik’s retirement was handled nicely too, with that customer from long ago managing to come and eat his food on his last day, and then everyone coming together to celebrate his retirement with him, after hours.

Dan Ho interviewing him for an article was a nice touch too; I liked that Geun Sik felt special, on his retirement day. 🥲

I thought it was sweet that Seok Ryu proposed to Seung Hyo, to reciprocate the two proposals that he’d given her, and it felt like a sweet, down-to-earth way to do it too, with her cooking him that dish that he likes, and promising to cook for him for the rest of his life.

Aw. Quite lovely.

Shout-out to MC for predicting from quite a few episodes ago, that the perfect solution to Seok Ryu’s cooking dreams, is for her to take over Geun Sik’s diner, because that’s exactly what happens, in this finale.

I thought that Geun Sik getting Seung Hyo to design and renovate it was a nice echo of when Mi Suk had asked him to redo Seok Ryu’s bedroom, when she’d first returned from the US.

This felt like a nice bookend to that.

I’d honestly expected Seung Hyo and Seok Ryu to get married in these episodes, but it felt fitting too, that while they delay their wedding for a year while Seok Ryu focuses on building her new business, Hye Suk and Gyeong Jong take the chance to renew their vows.

After all that they’ve been through in their marriage, I do like the idea of them marking a fresh start, with a vow renewal ceremony. 🥲

I felt that things started to lean a little silly after the 10-month time-skip, but I suppose it kind of goes with the territory, if I think of this as primarily a family drama.

To me, it was rather exaggerated and silly, that Mi Suk and Hye Suk would swop positions, and start bragging to each other about the other person’s child instead of their own.

I get the idea though, that they’ve come a long way since the first time we saw them trying to out-brag each other about their own kids.

I liked seeing that everyone is doing well in their careers, and that Seung Hyo’s seok ryu tree is thriving and bearing fruit, while Na Yun growing a crush on Dong Jin, now that he’s applying himself and being serious about his career, was a cute little drive-by bonus.

I would have preferred if Seung Hyo and Seok Ryu didn’t spend our final minutes arguing, but I get the idea, that they are learning to fight without allowing the arguments to truly drive a wedge between them.

Altogether, I do think that it’s a healthy note on which to send them on their way, into their future together, knowing that they’re equipping themselves to handle whatever comes their way. 🥲

THE FINAL VERDICT:

Uneven in spots, but ultimately wholesome and heartwarming.

FINAL GRADE: B+

TRAILER:

MV:

PATREON UPDATE!

The next drama I’m covering on Patreon, in place of  Love Next Door, is A Virtuous Business [Korea].

You can check out my episode 1-2 notes on A Virtuous Business on Patreon here.

Here’s an overview of what I’m covering on Patreon right now (Tier benefits are cumulative)!

Foundation Tier (US$1): Entertainment Drop (Sundays) + the first set notes of all shows covered on Patreon (that’s 2 episodes for kdramas and 4 episodes for cdramas)

Early Access (US$5): +The Judge From Hell [Korea]

Early Access Plus (US$10): +A Virtuous Business [Korea]

VIP (US$15): +Romance in the House [Korea]