A Disappointing Romance Drama on the Verge of Being Good
This is a romance with an interesting premise and potential for some great character interactions. Instead what we got was a short, awkwardly paced, and often frustrating experience which couldn't keep it's own momentum. At the beginning we are curious about and rooting for the protagonist, but by the end we are as fed up with her as everyone around her is. Character development jumps lightyears in a few minutes and then drags along for another half hour, and things feel stretched out and rushed all at the same time. Let me explain a little better.My greatest criticism of this drama (although I have many) is the main character. Listen, I love me an introverted character. I'm not even opposed to those that are outwardly rude (as long as they have a reason, like a backstory or mistaken view about life), but I draw the line when said character cannot develop out of their rudeness, at least in a somewhat believable manner. Not to spoil anything, but the main character makes progress in some scenes only to completely regress in the other. Then, later on, certain developments are maintained, leaving you to always wonder whether the current moment of the story will even matter in the long run. If you can call it a long run.
The pacing of this drama is very poorly done. There are only two hours of total content, so basically a movie, and yet they make it seem like a rushed series. We trade in steady and meaningful character development for tropes and backwards plot lines. Why develop characters further into a believable romance when you can totally backtrack things already established with misunderstandings and tropes? Keep in mind, these tropes that are crammed in there are usually meant for 16 hour full length dramas, and aren't things that can be recovered from in this amount of time.
The worst part is that the potential is frequently visible. Every moment of hesitation we see in the main character before she acts out, every honest dialogue that starts between our romantic leads, and every meaningful change in our character's behavior brings a spark of hope that maybe- just maybe- the series is about to pick up, change is about to happen, and the story will get interesting. It doesn't. The hesitation doesn't turn into later not doing it, but instead into the same amount of hesitation. The honest dialogues are, while not forgotten, lacking in emotional impact in later scenes. The meaningful changes in our characters are, more often than not, just reversed later on in the story. And so it hovers in the awful zone of "almost good" where you can't stop watching in case it gets better but it never does.
I am not going to recommend this drama. I find it disappointing. It's not that it's bad, it's just so almost good that it's painful to watch.
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Pra finalizar, não preciso deixar claro que se tornou meu mini drama favorito, certo? Então creio que vale muito a pena dar essa chance a uma história tão curta, porém tão proveitosa de conselhos e ensinamentos.
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Dysfunctional people need love too
First, the synopsis is not correct. The character of Na Ji Young is not a "rugged individualist". She suffered from depression, antisocial personality disorder, and probably a couple of other disorders. She was a mess, and she wasn't a nice person at all. Then you have Park Byeok Soo, who had problems of his own - he couldn't stand to be alone. So you've got her that can't love, and him that loves too much. This was a difficult watch for me because I wasn't able to relate to their personalities.However, thankfully it was only two episodes so it didn't get mired down in filler that is so prevalent in Asian dramas.
The acting was good, and once they got together and opened up a little it became more enjoyable. This drama emphasized the damage that people that are supposed to love you can do. It also brought to light - is it better to have loved and lost or never to have loved at all? She didn't want to let anyone in because she was terrified of being hurt, yet her transition of putting herself out their to her co-workers reaped positive results. The photo montage toward the end of the show gave us a glimpse into their future lives. One amazingly hot kiss was a treat to see.
I felt that the woman playing the psychiatrist did a poor acting job. She was entirely too flippant to be dealing with other people's psyche. She could so some serious damage.
I can't totally recommend this drama, but due to the fact that it was short, I was glad I watched it.
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Realism, Individualism, and Love.
As someone who suffers from depression, the journey can get a little lonely. And, once it stops being lonely, it's very difficult to break my habits and let people in, especially if I don't trust them. I love this drama for two reasons:a) The realistic portrayal of one of the results of having depression, i.e., need for self reliance. You only trust yourself and no one else. Everyone in your life either gave up on you or treated you with acute absentmindedness and neglect. I see so much of myself in her and my mother in hers.
b) The absolutely beautiful acting by the leads. My goodness, both of them are yearning for love, and are depressed. It's obvious that even though he's "positive", he's suffering from depression. He has separation anxiety and is yearning deeply for love. He doesn't trust others either, however, he loves people and therefore, brings himself to the point wherein he doesn't distrust them. Hyo Rin's absolutely amazing as well. In that, she doesn't play the character in a "crazy" or overstated way. I often see that that's how having depression or anxiety is described, whilst people can have their overheated moments, just like someone without either of those, most of them are calm and quiet, just looking to get through life everyday. I love them both so so much for these roles.
I have ONE problem with this though, and it's only that it was too short. This could've done with another episode or maybe two more, at most. This would have fleshed out the struggles/confrontations that both characters were required to have with themselves, each other, and everyone around them.
Finally, I would love to watch this again, because, GOD, it's kind of life changing. Well done for the story writers, the directors, the music producers, and everyone involved.
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A nice sweet quick watch
It was nice and also thoughtful. Most times words are thrown out and people disregard them with excuses such as they are too young to understand etc . But words do have consequences.I related to the male lead, that cycle of wanting so much to be liked and working for it. This drama taught me, you shouldn't always prove to people/work so hard for affirmation. Watching it from an onlookers perspective, you could see how emotionally draining and empty it is.
The acting was good too. Overall it was a nice
soft emotional watch, with life lessons sprinkled in there.
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hidden gem
I totally loved watching it . Funny Romantic Self Healing . One Cute LovestoryThere isn't much story in it just two different characters who had struggled childhood and messed up family and they grew up with different personalities . This one mostly focused on female lead who is introvert and dont want or interested in any of the relationships so it is kind of interesting .
The love track and the chemistry between is soo adorable to watch , the scenes were too funny
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This review may contain spoilers
alright, this review might be too emotional instead of objective because i just finished the special, and my tears won't stop.i didn't know two episodes (with SO much plot) would be enough to make me cry.
i watched this special just to tick off a prompt in 2020 drama challenge. i didn't read the synopsis and just gave it a shot because i liked the male lead of the special in Be Melodramatic.
watching the first episode, i was so freaking sure that this is that this a show with the typical "hate to lovers" trope. that they'll fight, they'll separate, they'll miss each other and then realise voila! i love him/her.
but I WAS SO WRONG!
also, i don't think I have ever seen poop being used as a plot point. lmao. this was new and realistic. it made sense and wasn't a cheesy way to make the characters share space together. loved that.
and, thank you for portraying mental health in a realistic way. it doesnt become instantly better just because you have a good love life and a loving partner. you still have boundaries, you still push people away, you're still scared. i think this show did a fantastic job in showing that.
the only reason i'm not rating higher is because i wished it was longer and i could have watched more of their fluffy relationship.
i'm glad 2020 challenge made me watch this.
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This review may contain spoilers
Our two main leads both have issues of abandonment and psychological trauma from childhood experiences. As adults, they are dealing with their issues and loneliness in different ways: the ML surrounds himself with as many people as possible no matter if they’re just using him, and the FL does not allow anyone to get close to her. As neighbors, their different personalities clash in the beginning, but eventually they realize that they are not too dissimilar and begin to fall for each other. This is a well written, acted, and directed two-episode drama. It touches on mental health, and shows the effects of how family dysfunctions in childhood carry over to our adult lives. This is also one of few Korean romantic comedy that I’ve seen that shows realistic adult relationship: sex before marriage or even committed relationship, and honest to goodness actual kissing and not the frozen lip fish eye kind. It does have a happy ending, but the main leads first had to address their own issues before they both can move forward together. What made this short drama extra special is Gong Myung, who brought life to the lovable character Byeok Soo. Was this review helpful to you?
Love can heal anything-Why not depression?-This drama is a good. I would suggest u to watch it
Easy going boy-Who is naïve to believe everyone.Introvert Girl-Who dont believe anyone. What will happen if they meet in a lonely Christmas eve?
(Its a irony for me to watch this alone in a Cristmas eve. :P But i felt really happy to choose this drama to watch today. This indeed gave me positive vibes)
There were several dramas out there related to mental health and healing with love. This drama depicted it in a very natural and sweetest way.This drama has fun cute romantic moments too.
Relationship in real life always not a bed of roses right? I loved ML character and his acting very much. Its heartwarming to to see him stand for his FL even though her character is twisted and hurted him several times.
If u expect a Cliché lovely dovey drama and came here then its not ur cup of tea.
If u want to watch realistic romantic healing drama which gives some insight to our life then go for it.
It has only 2 episodes It wont be a loss if u see it
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I'm quite the introvert myself, so I found this drama very relatable. I might not be of the same intensity as our main character here, however, I'd say I'm pretty darn close. Or maybe I'm just a potato. Nevertheless, I think this drama had a positive message to spread, which is why I felt it resonated so well with its audience.
All of the actors/actresses did incredibly well with their acting. The only problem I had with the casting was that I felt Min Hyo Rin didn't really fit her character. I don't want to blame her for my inability to connect with her as the character, so maybe I'll just blame myself for not being as visually appealing as her. How do I even explain this? Basically, what I'm trying to say is that because she's super pretty and I'm not even within 20 miles of her league, I can't fully relate to her character. Or at least, I don't understand why her character is the way she is.
This drama only had two original soundtracks so there wasn't much to base this rating on. I was a more generous with this scoring, though, because of how much I loved one of their soundtracks. I think that one song did a noteworthy job of setting the tone for the rest of this drama.
Overall, I'm quite satisfied with its ending, although, I do wish they had given me a little more time. If anyone has extra time on their hands, I would definitely recommend this short series. Despite it having some minor setbacks, there were easily overshadowed by all of the great things I love about this drama. If I find some extra time myself, I would have no qualms about rewatching it.
With that said,
Llama out.
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