Song kang’s portrayal is a study in contrasts: his rugged allure makes him utterly captivating, yet his inner turmoil keeps you at arm’s length. Han so hee shines as his counterpart, offering warmth and resilience while seeing the real man behind the facade. Their chemistry is electric, capturing the messy, unpredictable nature of romance in a way that feels both personal and universally relatable.
The drama digs into the pain and vulnerability behind that dazzling exterior. We see him wrestle with his inner demons and the scars of past failures, making his journey of self-discovery both inspiring and heartbreaking. The series doesn’t shy away from the messy truth: sometimes, the person you fantasize about is exactly the one you’d rather keep at arm’s length. This raw portrayal resonates deeply with current generation audiences , who crave authenticity and are tired of the sanitized “perfect love” stories. They know that true connection means embracing imperfection—choosing someone despite the chaos they bring, even when it might hurt.
The supporting cast adds layers to the narrative, each character bringing their own story of heartache, hope, and resilience. Their interactions aren’t just background noise; they highlight the complexities of modern relationships and the unspoken bonds that form when life gets messy. In Nevertheless, every glance, every silent moment, and every burst of laughter speaks to the bittersweet reality of love—raw, unfiltered, and utterly human.
#Nevertheless #RealLove #GenZFeels #MessyRomance #UnfilteredEmotion #AuthenticDrama #LoveAndFlaws #ModernRomance #CulturalRealism #TrueConnection
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The aesthetic was flawless
This is a very sexy drama.It's slow, sensual and very much centered around the relationship (or lack-thereof) of the main couple, so if character driven stories aren't your thing, I don't think you'll like this. Personally, I loved it.
I also quite enjoyed the close-ups on their eyes and mouths and the scenes where they showed parts of the faces and bodies of certain characters, but never the whole person at once. It was very reminiscent of manga or manhwa vignettes. I thought those were very cool directorial choices.
The music went great with the overall chill vibe of the show, and it was fun how butterflies kept coming up in the songs.
Great drama. 10/10 would recommend!
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The struggle to define and understand one's emotions. Never say Never!!!!!
I had put off watching this drama due to bad reviews here and there but somehow this drama kept drawing me in. Anyway i gave into the urge and finally watched it. Do i regret it? No!!! I don't. Here is why: if you have ever been in a series of relationship and have lost the feeling of being in love caused by betrayals, then you would understand this FL's journey, her fears, anxiety and her need for something solid and someone who could give her security. There are alot of people out there very similar to the ML's character, they never believe in just being with someone for any period of time, why? Because they don't know better, so they keep coasting along until if they are lucky enough they meet someone whose personality is so attractive that it begins to open them slowly without them realizing to a different understand of what it means to have someone to walk through life and be in love. This drama depicts each characters perception of what love is, while some characters have an early understanding others struggle with how to deal with the emotion or if there is even an emotion to deal with. And the big question how do you know if it is love???While most people may argue that the first half was good and the other half very cliche, i don't hold that view, may because i have seen similar situations play out. There is always someone in the corner waiting to pick up what you throw away. It may not be immediately but someone is always lurking just around corner to either pick it up or try to destroy what you have because they want what you have. And sometimes it takes a long trip to understand yourself,what you really want in a relationship like our FL and ML, because at the end of the day no matter how much you deny it, in one way or another we all crave being loved without interference of any kind from a third party.
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This review may contain spoilers
When dysfunction meets chemistry...
Late to the game. But we watch what we watch when it happens. Now was my time.It's just a drama but it's also a slice of life condensed into ten episodes.
Bottom-line, both ML and FL are immature and dysfunctional. All that internal monolog each one has, needs to be articulated instead of rolling around in their respective brains. But then if that happened, this drama would be about two eps long.
TL;DR....Darn chemistry!
1. The FL and ML are both emotionally stunted....based on various reasons.
2. Both are poor at communicating due to #1.
3. Like most guy/gal communications, it's the age-old-not-soon-to-change he's literal, she wants him to read her mind and make the first moves. Articulate those emotions, baby!
4. FL wants the ML to be close while stiff-arming him to keep him away at the same time. This one is on her.
5. She wanted the relationship to be "friends with benefits", but be exclusive. That's not how it works.
6. He's the embodiment of pheromones barely contained by his skin aka oodles of charm and charisma. So Trouble walking on two-legs. But that's other peoples issue to deal with. He's in trouble only if he acts on it. Can't expect a guy to walk around with a paperbag over his head right?!?! ML is no more toxic than the FL...contrary to other comments, but we're all entitled. So viewers who assign this label to one or the other -- this is a judgment based on the viewer's own bias in my opinion.
8. If anyone is toxic, it's the ML's stalker former girlfriend. ML is her addiction. She has to be the one to stop cold-turkey.
9. Sad, not sad that noodle-guy didn't win the girl, but life is about timing. I could cliche him ad infinitum about missing the boat but I won't.
Nevertheless, while the ship did return, it wasn't for him.
See what I did there. ;-)
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Kang Song and Han so-Hee's best.
I initially went into this with no expectations or idea about the plot, I clicked on it simply because I had just finished watching "My name" which starred Han so Hee and I really liked her.The realisation of what I had just watched hit me right after I finished the final episode, the first 6 episodes were engaging and I didn't feel bored, but I did start getting a little bored of the endless meaningless dialogue and the misunderstanding trope after but then the last episode made up for it.
I think the reason why I'm willing to overlook the flaws in this show is because of the cinematography. It was beautiful, the colours especially blend in with the soundtrack and give you this almost dream-like experience while watching it.
When I think of this show, I think of the two protagonists, colours and soundtrack. I've never watched a k-drama which utilizes colours to its fullest extent to make the viewer feel the emotions of the show allowing them to completely immerse themselves in this dream-like sensation.
That's all I have to say. I'm not very good at writing reviews but I felt I had to get this off my chest.
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This review may contain spoilers
Nevertheless I Sill Watched This Show
Very average feeling about it. The whole show felt like pulling teeth to watch, took me a whole month to finish this one. Had a lot of problems that I just couldn't ignore. I'm glad the couples I like got together but they got together at the end but they weren't given much screen time after that. the main couple is toxic and irritating. The acting is phenomenal everyone did well portraying their facial emotions. The music sometimes tends to get loud almost to the point it was overbearing. One good thing was the main actress will become of my favorites and ill follow her in the recent movie My Name.Was this review helpful to you?
Pretty but frustrating
Nevertheless started off SO strong — the vibes, the chemistry, the cinematography — everything pulled me in right away. I really thought it was gonna be a deep, messy, emotional ride. But honestly? The characters just... didn’t grow at all. It felt like they were stuck in the same toxic cycle over and over, and no one really learned anything. I kept waiting for something to change, for someone to wake up and choose better for themselves... but it never happened.It was beautiful to watch (visually stunning for sure) and the actors did great with what they were given. The chemistry between Nabi and Jae-eon was insane, no denying that. But without real character development, it ended up feeling kind of empty to me. Like, all the ingredients were there, but the story never really cooked, you know?
Still worth a watch if you’re into slow-burn toxic romances and ✨aesthetic✨ scenes, but if you’re looking for growth and a satisfying payoff... lower your expectations.
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This review may contain spoilers
Horrible leads, not so great plot
Plot-This plot is about the main girl and how she is skeptical of love because her ex-boyfriend cheated on her. She went to the bar I think and she accidentally met the male lead. The male lead's character revolves around him being a player, who doesn't "believe" in a real relationship and he just wants to fool around and play with the main girl. Eventually, they ended up being friends with benefits. The main girl catches feelings, but she still wants to hit it. Even though she obviously knew the rumor about the male lead being a playboy, but she wants it---So across the episodes; the male lead and main girl basically go back and forth trying to see who will cave into each other. The male lead is awful, predictable, and is not honest about his feelings. Sure, you can be a playboy; but be upfront about it. The main girl is a mess too, she is drawn to the male lead and his fake likes and kisses; and eventually, throughout the messiness, they ended up together (roll eyes).Acting-good, everyone acted their characters well. I really do not like male lead; his character is trash!!!!
GL plot- It was cute to see two best friends confront their feelings and ended up together :). Their plot was the only good thing that save this show.
Rant over!! :)
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When it was released, I thought this show was low on plot and was more on steamy romance and bed scenes so I was discouraged to watch it, but i was proved wrong. This drama showed real life depictions of a relationship, the good, the vague, the bad. In dating you see all these signs but “nonetheless..” you have to take the risk to see where it goes.
No wonder Han So Hee became famous, she really portrayed her role very well! The side characters were great too! They brighten up the show a little bit.
Overall, i didn't really get into the drama at first, i watched it for the side characters, but the show and plot picked up itself in the middle and the later part, where we see small character developments with the ML. 😊
The ending was nicely wrapped up too! Which I like!! 🩷
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Watch it for the lesbians and cinnamon topography
Pro: The camerawork and framing in this show is so so good in this show. It's stunning. It's breathtaking. It almost distracts you from the fact that the plot isn't actually going anywhere. Han SoHee and Song Kang look wonderful in this one, as they always do. Soljiwan supremacy.Cons: The ending will definitely leave you wondering what kinda message this show was trying to send. Watching this feels like you're traveling down a river, and the scenery is generally nice and all, but nothing is really happening. Some of the twists and turns you're taking are a little concerning, and the destination is nothing like you expected it to be.
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Out Of The Chrysalis ➰️ Into Self Awareness ➰️ An Art School Fable About Taking Wing VG 7.6
Right from the start I'm thinking:"Yo! Oh NO! Women and girls don't need to be watching this!"
This story follows the lives of art students, particularly Nabi's group of friends. Though the focus is on their love lives, the stresses of classes, projects, competitions, and future plans factor heavily in the story. The protagonist is Yu Nabi, a beautiful and talented but resigned, student.
The show starts with her painful break-up. She is then quickly seduced by the powerfully sexual Park Jae-eon (Song Kang from Sweet Home-8.5 & Navillera), who is a notorious womanizer. They couldn't be more different, except for the "road closure" signs on the way to their hearts. She starts a physical relationship with him but continually doubts him. He never asked for more anyway. This type of dude is not good in real life. Users like this tend to be on the sociopathic scale. Naive girls will think the can change him, that they'll succeed where other women have failed. It won't work, girls. You will get your heart shredded.
"It's making me so uncomfortable," was my thought, from EP 2 through midway when there was a plot shift. At the same time, I was also thinking that the director & actors handled the seduction scenes well. They are as steamy as the kitchen in a noodle restaurant. Nabi moves on to other guys. She has no shortage of admirers herself. These relationships may make her more at ease, but there are clearly no sparks, such as the ones Jae-eon ejects when he's performing his craft.
My method is: No reviews without watching the entire show, intolerable pain being the exception. If I had broken it off with Nevertheless in the early episodes, which I was not enjoying, I would've had a much different opinion than I now do after watching every frame. A solid 25% (it seems) of the early episodes consists of Nabi staring with an emptiness that showcases how a hammer shattered her fragile shell. Her emotional core is pulverized. She's struggling with school. Nothing is going right. She's shut down.
Nabi brightens up in the very last scene, when she settles on the next step in the direction of her future. She smiles radiantly, her voice lifts an octave or so, her words suddenly flow with ease: She's confident. There was so much transformation in that last smiling sentence that it was breathtaking.
The director, Kim Ga Ram (Flower Crew: Joseon Marriage Agency -7.4), created her own piece of art in this series. This is Kim Ga-ram's third effort. All three are rated solidly with an increase in the IMDB rating for each one. We should be looking forward to more excellent offerings from Ms Kim. Screenwriter, Jung Won, is just getting started.
Not only was Nabi's transformation handled aptly, but there are many scenes that are excellent, with imagery and metaphors noticeable in the first watch. (Another go-through would only reveal more.) In Ep9, for example, Do-hyeuk gives Nabi an umbrella. He told her it will rain. He has an extra umbrella. Cut to Jae-eon who looks out at the deluge, umbrellaless. Do-hyeuk was prepared for heartache. He had braced himself. He was ready for rain. Heartache snuck up on Jae-eon. He never saw it coming. Several others in the extended group, who had been longstanding friends, also pair up. Their romances were all done well.
Adorned with a butterfly tattoo on the back of his neck, Jae-eon claims it means: The ugliness & pain of happiness & a lack of freedom. While Jae-eon has looks, money, talent, and popularity, which are all things that people believe will make them happy, he's not happy. He's lived free with many women, which left him not free to pursue a meaningful relationship. It's obvious that Jae-eon's dingy apartment -it's almost grayscale- is emblematic of his closed off heart. "Nabi" means butterfly. Nabi emerges from her chrysalis at the end of the show. That emergence had nothing to do with a man. The criticism of Nevertheless promoting toxic relationships is not fair. Nabi's confidence, in the end, was from, by, and through HER, not anyone else. This show is a cocoon that yields it's beauty right on time.
The sculpture on which Nabi labours for the entire semester appears lackluster, just as Nabi does. She takes a step toward joining society by finally taking on assistants. The reveal for finished works will be the end of semester art show. What's on display is Nabi herself. Nabi's piece has taken up wings to fly. The process and the show are the stages of a butterfly. The matured Nabi powers through her entrapments in full stained glass splendor. She might as well fuse with her sun-catcher and bracelet.
This is a well-crafted show. I would give it a rating of around 7.6, but it doesn't rise to the level of a solid 8. The director will likely be there with her next effort. Nevertheless, this series is well worth watching. It's not like the 3' deep cutesy romances. The director has crafted something more complex. In fact, I would classify this as a drama about self-awareness and self-liberation first, and a romance second.
QUOTE📢
Happiness is like a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you. ~Nathaniel Hawthorne~
〰🖍 IMHO
🎬8 🤔6 🎭8 💓6 🦋8 ⚡1
Age 15+
In order of ~lite&trite~ to ~heavy&serious~ you may also like:
Modern Day:
A Witch's Love 7.8;
Love to Hate You 8.9;
Oh My Ghost 10;
Our Blues 8.7 - ensemble piece;
It's Okay Not To Be Okay 9;
Love Struck in the City 7.3;
Hospital Playlist 9;
My Mister 9.5;
I'll See You When the Weather is Fine 9;
Action/Sci-fi/fantasy:
Signal 8.6;
The Cursed 8.3;
Flower of Evil 8.9;
The Man from Nowhere 8.9;
Black 9;
Squid Game 8.4;
Romance junkies only:
My Secret Romance 7 (if you ff thru overdone flashbacks);
Boys Over Flowers 8 ~ melodrama to the max;
The Bride of Habaek 7;
Heirs 7.3;
That Winter, The Wind Blows7
Something in the Rain 9
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This review may contain spoilers
An artist's romance. Nevertheless aptly describes Nabi.
In short, it was a steamy artist's romance. In my opinion based on artists I know, and my own life, we draw inspirations from our surroundings and how deeply they affect us. The more we feel, the better our artistic instincts awaken.As this drama wasn't a sweet romance but realistic one, my take in judging it is different.
Slight spoilers here guys (if any)-
The endless rebounds, attraction, struggle to understand, openness to explore and get to know themselves and their romantic partners. Na Bi left her relationship with her ex-teacher who was an artist and got into a steamy open relationship with the ML- a guy who liked to flirt with anyone attracted to him. He could use it to his advantage and string them just enough he got what he wanted at his own pace, with a distance he liked to maintain. This story showed how such kind open relationship was hard to maintain as the relationship progresses over time. Very realistic behaviour when your body can't get on the same page with your logic and ignores red flags as Nabi faces an ambiguous relationship that had no boundaries with a person full of unspoken lines that she wasn't able to cross. Trying to juggle her studies, ambitions, and her unconscious nod to romance, she experiences how each important position in her life was interlinked- grew as a person, an artist, drew her boundaries and straight up finally gave ML a choice. Ofcourse during the course, she slipped, made mistakes and in the end, came to her own conclusion (be it right or wrong. Such is life). While I may not agree with her choices, but I appreciate her assurity, own interpretations, self worth and confidence while making them.
For the ML on the other hand, the progress was so sloooooow. I never got his deal, could never get fully invested in him. He used all the right words, right actions, his calculated thoughtfulness that mentally and emotionally linked, touches that simulated sexual awareness... He was fully in control of himself most of the time. Always aware. He lived like a butterfly. Yes he changed a bit, though it was minuscule enough that I felt his life and progression may have happened offscreen and thats why I couldn't understand his perspective, growth, pain. His whole character was built on vagueness in terms of decisions, until he released the butterflies and lightly asked for her back
They both finally entered into a relationship, with their eyes open. As people they wanted to give it a go. As artists, they both will gain from each other- through love, pain, attraction, heightened emotions, and when they split (they know they will), they'll gain further still. They just want to enjoy the now.
In a way Im glad the SL didnt get Nabi. I feel like the person she is nowouldn't have gelled well with him for long if they had. She would have been emotionally exhausted to be with him because she never gave me that vibe that showed interest and he would have put in a LOT of effort ( he already was) and he would have felt a bit insecure in the relationship. It's best it ended as a first love. She was always invested in the ML. He deserves someone else. In the webtoon though, I prefer that ending.
I agree with Bhoomi though, it was realistic enough to be queasy, and later on there was a lot of eye rolling on part. Became too repetitive with no development.
That saying, I loved watching the supporting characters more, especially in the 2nd half of the drama.
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