Love to Hate You

Very Nearly Perfect

The impact of Netflix's involvement in Korean dramas has been the subject of a lot of debate. This drama shows that its involvement has not been all bad. Love to Hate You was an outstanding example of the genre that for a long time seemed to be dead, or dying, in K dramas— the pure romcom.There were no serial killers, no dark, malicious arc at all. Instead, this drama did something quite revolutionary. It was a pure romcom with a powerful, positive message about gender roles and hypocrisy in Korean society.

It shared that message without preaching by the simple medium of creating a female lead who lived the message. Throughout the drama the point was made that Yeo Mi Ran's behaviour was in no way different from that which is not merely tolerated but almost expected of men in Korea, but vilified and socially criminalised for women.

A perfect propaganda puff piece is very difficult to pull off, but this drama managed it and the casting of Kim Ok Bin in that lead role was inspired. I have followed her career since being involved in the fan subbing for her 2014 drama Yoona's Street, and one thing that annoyed me about that drama was that despite being (at the time) a 4th Dan in hapkido, not only did her character never get to show that, she also needed rescuing by the male lead. In the years that followed, I learned that this was quite common - female actors with serious martial arts skills having to play characters who were nothing more than damsels in distress needing to be saved by a man. In this drama, Mi Ran explicitly condemns that trope, and free-diver/boat-driver/martial artist Kim Ok Bin gets plenty of opportunities to demonstrate her own action junkie skills. Kudos to all involved for that decision.

Seeing a female lead who was literally empowered to take care of herself and stand up for others was refreshing, but just as refreshing was the fact that this romcom was genuinely funny. As a general rule K drama comedy and I get along almost as well as Seoul and Pyongyang, but I laughed so much throughout this drama. The romance was well handled too. For once there was a romantic K drama with a thirtysomething female lead who was not a giggling virginal child, and that fact was central to much of the story. It was refreshingly realistic, and kept cringing eye rolling moments to a minimum. I also loved the way the drama showed different sets of exes coming to terms with their past and moving beyond it. Using their words - mature, adult, thoughtful behaviour, almost unheard of in KDrama romcoms.

On a personal note, I loved the casting of this drama. Three of the actors have been favourites of mine for some time. First of all Kim Sung Ryung: when I started watching K drama is back in 2013 she quickly became my Noona crush - so gorgeous, so glamorous. So it was great to see her given a role here that was a celebration of women in her situation and stage of life. Next up Go Won Hee. Another actor I've always found aesthetically appealing, but this drama was perhaps the most satisfying sidekick-dongsaeng role yet. She seems to be making that kind of character her own, and in this drama she got to deliver laughs and love. Brava! Finally Choi Yoon So. She caught my eye in the very first time I ever saw her in and then she disappeared from Dramas of the genres I watch. Her introduction in this Drama as the apparently telepathic interpreter for the mute director was very entertaining, and her character avoided all of the usual stereotypical pitfalls of that particular kind of role.

I was very close to scoring this drama 10/10, until the public proposals. I absolutely HATE public proposals, and consider them as nothing less than crude emotional blackmail. It is my serious wish that every single person proposed to publicly, whether in a crowd of people on a street or on a Jumbotron at a stadium, emphatically rejects the proposal. The final episode of this Drama contains TWO. I was actually prepared to let the first one slide because it made sense in context. The second however was stereotypical, clichéd and just plain awful. Even in drama this good there can be no excuse for that kind of blatant manipulation. For that unforgivable lapse , I scored this drama all the way down from 10/10 to 9.9/10. Putting it inside the top 5% of the 330 3K dramas I have finished as of the time of writing.

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If Wei Wuxian can wait until I've finished this, it must be good!

Started LTHY just a few days ago and at the same time, on my last 4 episodes of the Untamed... (I'm dreading the ending..) anyway.. with a list of 178 other dramas to watch, the now famous 'kiss scene' between the two male leads, piqued my interest and it also crept onto my list. With just 10 episodes I thought I could watch it quickly and fortunately it had me hooked from the first episode .

If anyone is old enough to remember the romance novels by Mills & Boon - they were always the same formula - his is indifferent to her, she hates him, but... hmm, he then starts to become intrigued by her, she starts to love him.. and then .. you can guess the rest This then was a good old fashioned Mills & Boon.. and a real treat. Main leads had such great chemistry and there were plenty of laughs a long the way. I think I must have had a smile from ear to ear most of the time.. awwww cute!! And Yoo Teo ... you're now my second husband (Gong Yoo is first ;-)

A good romcom for anyone new to Kdramas. Well done! Ok.. back to Wei Ling..

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man hater turned believer

The characters of the series are as follows:

NAM KANG HO and YEO MI RAN are the main characters of this series. 

DO WON JOON and SHIN NA EUN are the best friends of our main characters.

YEO MI RAN believes the worst in men. She is like that because her father is a sexist who belittles women. This strained her relationship with her father.

NAM KANG HO is the same for women. He does not trust women because he thinks that women are not able to stay loyal and gold diggers. In his early years of being an actor, he met his first love and his first relationship with then rising star actress Oh Se Na. Their relationship was a secret to the public. When Oh Se Na started to become famous, she ended her relationship with NKH for a rich suitor. She and her manager even accused Nam Kang Ho of being a stalker. Because of this, Nam Kang Ho became traumatized to the point that he developed anxiety when getting near women in general. His anxiety is so serious that he has to take medication for temporary relief.

This series is a must-watch for all hopeless romantics. One can learn a lot from this series. 

This is a happy ending.

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Cute fast sweet drama

This was honestly a good 10 hr drama to binge. The main’s chemistry is so cute! The main guy, omg! After watching the episode he was actually part of VAGABOND🤩. AND I am still waiting for season two for that!
The second main guy (Do WoJun) is from MONEY HEIST Korea and the third female actress (OH SENA) was actually in a relationship with (Do WoJun) on MONEY HEist. So it was kinda cute to see them here in this drama.
The drama may be basic but honestly, it's the chemistry, how their relationships started and ends that I look out for.
I love the cast so much!
Especially the female lead being badass at getting rid of the stereotype of how women should stay put and quiet. I love her for that.
I would honestly watch some of the scenes again. Their kissing and romantic scenes ❤️❤️
Supposed to finished yesterday but I went out til 4am💀.
8:16pm 2/22/23🤩

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Fun and Breezy Romantic Comedy

At ten episodes around 45 minutes long, it’s a quick and fun ride. I almost think this drama would have benefited from one or two more episodes as the conclusion to the two main love stories felt a little too rushed to make for a satisfying ending. Nam King-ho and Yeo Mi-ran have a typical romance with some nice skinship scenes, but their romance didn’t feel fully fleshed out by the end of the series. Even less so was the romance between Do Won-jun and Shin Na-eun. What did the second leads really like about each other besides them being hot? No clue, friends.

While the romances were enjoyable, the true intimate connections were felt between the main leads and their best friends. Teo Yoo and Hi-hoon Kim had insane chemistry together, and the story points this out with plenty of romantic beats between the two. It’s queer baiting for laughs and giggles, which is a bit disappointing. It could have so easily made for a contemporary and fun BL romance. Mi-ran and Shin Na-eun also had a kindred spirit connection that felt genuine and heartfelt. I always enjoy a good sismance and bromance, which this show did well. It was fun and quick so I have no complaints, but I'm not sure it was all that memorable.

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“Femme Fatale vs Homme Fatale”

From my perspective, the show has a rough start. A lot of the issues comes down to the characterisations of the leads. The ML is fairly straightforward, he is portrayed as a handsome movie star that distrusts women on the whole and despises those he considered to be parasites. His psyche is so damaged that physical interactions with females can bring on physiological reactions. Because of this, he puts up a brave front but is secretly an introvert and shies away from contacts other than his close friends and relatives.

On the other hand, the FL is an extrovert who is good at many things including martial arts, motorbike racing and stint driving. She never does anything by half measures. She always hone her skills to the best of her abilities. Interestingly, this mirrors the actor who plays that role. Kim Ok-bin is very accomplished in all those areas and more. In the drama, she is layered with a very strong sense of justice, and she sees bad men everywhere and is more than happy to step in to give them their just dessert. While she is happy to use her fists, she doesn’t shy away from unconventional methods like seducing a cheater and then dumping them just to give them a taste of their own medicine. I love how strong and powerful she is and she is not dependent on any man for her identity. Hurrah!

Just to mix things up, the writer-nim also put the ambiguous relationship between the ML and his male BFF on full display. Maybe she is trying to create more interest with the complex interplays so that the various characters will spark off each other. Unfortunately, that approach didn't gel with me. It feels like busy work and fire off conflicting messages.

The OTP's meet-cute is built upon the mistaken intention trope but is stretched to its limit. This makes it hard to ship the OTP from the start. Fortunately, the misunderstanding is cleared up quickly and we soon moves on to the contract dating trope.

Round 2!! The OTP's romance is now on track. At the same time, we learn more about the leads’ backstories so that we can understand why they behave the way they do. Honestly, while I accept their backstories on face value, they do feel like being engineered to fit into the narrative.

Acting is very good and the action sequences are highlights. The FL is the star of this show, and she excels in so many different disciplines. The ML is handsome but carries a lot of baggage and he did well in that role. We are lucky that this is not an idol drama so that while the actors are good looking, they can back it up with their acting abilities.

Furthermore, with good, seasoned actors, it is not hard to ramp up the OTP’s chemistry. Their skinship is certainly much more natural and intense than the usual perfunctory stuff. Their love line helps to lift the show above average but that is assuming the first few episodes did not dent your enthusiasm.

Two other minor points, the show can’t help itself from adding a cacophony of cute animal sounds, dings and clangs after every “humourous” moment or dialogue. It gets old pretty quick. The 2CP’s romance is too draggy. The show made it clear that the FL broke too many hearts while the 2FL has her heart broken too many times. So she decided to push the 2ML away at all cost. The problem is that it is obvious to the audience that both are pining for each other but this charade went on until the dying minutes of the show. It would have been nice to see more 2CP sweet moments.

In the end, the second half of the show is very entertaining and swoon worthy. I am happy to rewatch that but I’d skip the first half. Peace out.

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Live your life

After watching only two episodes of the series almost two months ago, I decided to pause the series and watch other programming instead. At the time, I was not in the mood for the genre and decided to revisit it at a later date. I am glad that I did. I enjoyed watching Love to hate you despite its brief length. The characters each had their own lives before circumstances and life brought them together. During their time together, they even developed their own identity as a couple.

There are times when I like watching shows where the passionate lovers take a short break from each other and are not in each other's faces almost all the time. It seems that they are more refreshed when they are together.

Celebrity lives are forever changing and public opinion is always an issue. It is no longer possible to exist with privacy dating in its normal form. In spite of this, the leads built a strong foundation of love. The fight scenes and comedic tone were enjoyable.

If you are in the mood for a cool series that has love, a tad bit of action, comedy, and strong female lead, this may work well for you.

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Watch it definitely!

"Okay, so 'Love to Hate You' ? It's like they bottled up that perfect buddy vibe.Their chemistry is next-level. They've got this banter that's so natural, you almost forget they're acting. When they get all serious or share a moment, you're right there with them. The way they play off each other? It's what makes this show addicting. Plus, the storylines? Keeps you hooked episode after episode. If you're into shows where the leads just click and make you laugh and feel all the feels, this one's gotta be on your watchlist. Seriously good vibes!"
And the chemistry is good 🔥 and as for comedy it is so on 🤣 you will laugh at almost in each episodes
So,give it a go!
Oooohhhhh writing it while laughing about its scenes 😅😂🤣

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