Nevertheless,

Such a bad story line

This was the worst Korean drama I saw in 2021. In fact, I stopped watching it after episode 6. I took time to read reviews so I knew how the story ends. Apart from the fact that the main leads were good-looking, and their acting was superb, this story line was so lame. How could a mature woman like Nabi be so stupid and indecisive? Too many monologues. I thought she would become wiser as time goes by, but reading the review of episode 10, I gave up. It's not worth warching. The side stories were even better than the main one.

I hope there would never be a Season 2. Better to see Han So Hee and Song Kang in other new dramas, rather than being together in this bad one.

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Nevertheless, it turned out to be a disappointment.

It seems Nevertheless too was just another rollercoaster ride, where the drama initially is able to build up so much of anticipation and excitement but literally goes downhill from the midpoint onwards. If you were looking for an honest, realistic portrayal of college romance, then nope this doesn't cuts it, not even close. Nevertheless basically covers just the crust of it whereas I was hoping to unravel the basic core of the experience and the involved characters.

My major disappointment was character development of Park Jaeon or the lack thereof. Expecting more in depth focus on him, his personal life and how and why he was the way he was because honestly, if you want to convince the viewers that a legit fuckboy has turned into a lovestruck puppy, you don't do that through super cheesy intimate scenes instead, you ought to uncover and display his plot arcs with his family and past and his gradual journey to redemption with few episodes from his perspective and not just Nabi's. I mean c'mon Song Kang's acting potential at least deserved that! What was his equation with his mom? What happened to his father? Why did his ex girlfriend or whatever she was just left all of a sudden? Why was he still playing with Nabi's feelings when he fell for her at first sight? Why didn't he confess Nabi of his said "first sight love" much before? Why was he being a douchebag when he could have been so much more? Guess nobody will know.

The drama had no plot whatsoever it just swinged between the concept of attachment and dissatisfaction, these themes could have been explored more genuinely but sadly that was again, me expecting too much out of this 10 episode of a drama.

Using the word realistic in the plot blurb and then going ahead with the second lead receiving the emotional blow despite him clearly being a superior choice and the male lead sweeping off the lady in lead irrespective of the fact that he clearly doesn't deserves her, the Korean Drama writers must be jamming on "oops, I did it again" a little too much I guess.

Like many have said already, the only silver lining of this drama were the side couples especially, Ji Wan and Sol. Chef's kiss to these two cause boy, am I glad that this unexpected but totally necessary plot was added into the drama because they kept me invested in the whole thing till the very end. Extra points and appreciation for the little cameo by that very cute kitten in episode 7 and 8.

I won't recommend this drama to anyone but the ones who crave to see physical aspect of a romantic relationship more than the emotional because you rarely see that happening in the Korean Drama industry and I get that.

In conclusion, the brilliant cinematography, casting, chemistry between the lead duo and OST will sweeten up the toxicity shown in here for sure but still, the lingering sour taste of it all will remain.

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A promising start which plummets quickly to dissapointment

The drama starts of from Na-bi freeing herself from a toxic relationship but little does she know that soon she will enter the same path with Jae-on. Ofcourse we all would've felt butterflies seeing the chemistry between the two main characters when they meet at the start however we also knew what kind of person jae-on was so we wished for him to have a character development. I would say that we didn't really get to see his development fully as he only starts to change in the last episode. This is presented when he finally releases his butterflies after episodes of saying that he will. Butterflies were used as a metaphor of rebirth and change and releasing them meant he is ready to let go of his previous "flings" and his actions such as flirting. Whether he really changes or not is for Na-bi to handle because what went through that girl's head. At the end I would've just wanted her to stay single because Do-hyuk did not deserve her. Jae on literally is such a manipulator I will never forget the way he harshly grabbed Na-bi's hand in the second last episode. Even after having a go at him she still ended up going back to him. The side couples definitely carried the show for me it was so sweet watching them. Overall I think the ending was a big disappointment and the ending of the webtoon was way better. Also Sam Kim's OST was just perfection the butterflies it gave in the first half.

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It was dull and disappointing, Nevertheless

Nevertheless might have been much better, if there was a good storyline, likeable pair of lead characters and a bit decent pacing.

The story never felt like romance, instead it was 90% complications for the leads, which I felt kind annoying and the end wasn't compelling enough. I personally like the lead characters (So Hee Han & Song Kan) but there pairing felt dumb, disappointing and it never kept the show to be interesting. Instead I was quite amazed by the pairing of the supporting characters, which were developed quite well.

The only positive thing about this drama was the music which I felt was soothing to the ears and quite melodious. Along with that, I loved how the relations developed among the other supporting cast, which was way better showcased than the lead characters. It was a wasted potential, Nevertheless.

Cons:
• Unlikeable lead characters
• Weak storyline
• Less of love story, more of irrelevant complications among the pair
• The pacing was very slow, with couple of episodes being flat boring

Pros:
• The OST was soothing and melodious
• The supporting casts had a better relationship development

My Rating : 5.5/10

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Disappointment

I hate when Kdramas adapt Webtoons and just give a different plot completely. This reminds me of CITT. At least with CITT there was the excuse that the Webtoon wasn’t over. This one had everything fleshed out and a whole ending the go off by. The ratings were already low in SK so they could’ve at least done a decent plot that leaves the people that watch it interested or satisfied. The relationship between the two main characters was toxic from the beginning. Who was more toxic doesn’t matter because they were both trash at certain points. That alone should’ve concluded that they don’t belong together. Jae eon Is a player, he straight up ran with the “I don’t date” premises from their first conversation. How tf did he fall in love with her before that then? I wanted to see how he never changes so she chooses herself. Every single time she did, she went back to him right TILL THE END!!! This should’ve been wrapped up in 6 episodes but over 10 hours in 10 episodes was a waste for an ending as crap as that. Hello Kdramas, friendly reminder that “the power of love” doesn’t exist 99.9% of the time and shitty men won’t change for you. Stop selling this sick fantasy and start properly acknowledging the toxic behavior these MLs have.

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I will start from positive Side couples -
they have such a beautiful story . Collage friends been together for years then one fall then another . The GL couple were highlight of the show . Their acting and character development Rating = 9/10
Here i start the main part O boy is it 2005 ? I am asking again is it 2005 why the main plot is so shitty why main couple are so shitty . A fboy with naive girl who is used by others and fboy act reckless - change for her . Like didnt we leave that shit in 2010 ? What was on writer mind No character development, No plot , No love stroy Nothing people want FL with with A guy because his face is handsome Really ? If i could really give this drama Rating for Main couples its -1 /10. Never watching love traigle again so much disappoiment . Worst Drama of 2021

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Tired

Han Sohee I love you babe but this entire show… a mess, a mistake. I could write an essay on how much I hated it and everything that was wrong but I really don’t want to waste any more time on this show. So I’ll keep it brief:

Romanticizing toxic relationships in 2021, really? Absolutely stagnant, two dimensional, and uninteresting characters. Slow, dragged out plot that did a 360, ending up exactly where it started. Superficial relationships (did the main couple talk about ANYTHING?). The horrible tattoos; I absolutely despise butterflies now. I could go on.

Please I’m begging everyone to go read the webtoon. It actually makes sense instead of whatever the heck this was.

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I had such high hopes for this drama, but the ending left me disappointed. The drama is beautifully shot, and the side characters are wonderfully written, but it threw away the unconventionality that had originally kept me watching. I had hoped that the drama would dive into the character development of the female lead and her struggles with love after leaving a toxic relationship, but it did none of that. The main couple had chemistry, but halfway through they got incredibly boring, and I found it hard to believe either of them changed for the better since the drama rarely bothered to show it. While it's arguable that it was more realistic this way, I found that it fell into the same tropes of the female lead ending with the toxic male lead, and the theme of choosing romantic love over choosing oneself.

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Nabi is the toxic one

Before I started this drama, I was bombarded with TikToks about how park Jae eon was toxic and how Nabi kept missing or ignoring the “red flags” but after watching, idk if those people are willfully dense or if they watched a completely different show because NABI WAS THE TOXIC ONE.

The comments, reviews, and online posts will have you thinking that this drama is about a girl who falls for a player that repeatedly treats her poorly yet she fails to see it and find a better man but that is not the case.

Park Jae eon and Nabi met in a bar, and they lost their chance at a hookup. The next time they meet after that is when her friends invite her out for drinks. They had no relationship-he found her attractive and flirted with her and she reciprocated yet her perspective will try to trick you into thinking it was more. They were two college aged adults who were into each other, they owed nothing to each other, and they promised nothing to each other, but Nabi behaved as though he not only promised her monogamy and fidelity but that he was breaking said promise every time he so much as looked at a member of the opposite sex.

I realized halfway through the drama that her behavior was pathological. Nabi’s insecurities in her “relationship” with Jae eon did not stem from him, his actions-or lack thereof. Rather, they were most likely caused by her childhood where she witnessed/lived through her mother being openly cheated on and mistreated by a string of boyfriends. This coupled with the fact that her first boyfriend was a professor who spent their entire relationship manipulating and gaslighting her only to also cheat on her did not make for a very emotionally healthy and secure person (relationship wise). Nabi’s insecurities and mistrust were not Jae eon’s fault nor his responsibility. She needed help but instead of processing her issues in a healthy way, she clung to Jae eon and projected it all on him-making him the villain of her story and as the viewers saw it from her perspective, he became the villain to them too. Note her instinctual reaction to potato boy and his cousin on the pier for the first time (this exactly mirrors her reaction to every interaction she’d witnessed between Jae eon and another girl even if it was innocent)-this was not due to “scars” caused by Jae Eon but ones she’s been carrying around for most of her life.

Also, important to point out: they both agreed to enter a sex only relationship, but she wanted more, and she never expressly told him this. She just punished him for not behaving as though they were in an exclusive and romantic relationship when nothing about their original agreement had changed.

Also, Also important to point out(sorry): most of her ideas/opinions about Jae Eon stemmed from third party rumors. Neither she nor us actually witnessed Jae eon behaving that way-we were just told by people who also barely knew him. The messed-up part is that she, as someone who chose to get close to him only saw him as the person the rumors depicted-she never got out of her head once. What’s worse was she believed the man who cheated on her over him-like why are you even listening to anything he has to say…especially about your “relationship”.

I don’t know what story the writer was trying to tell but I felt that they spent too much time on Nabi’s uncertainties about a relationship that she had exerted zero effort on and less on why Nabi thought and behaved the way she did. I also understand that a lot of the opinions of and animosity towards Jae Eon might have been transferred from the WEBTOON version of the story and I never read the WEBTOON so idk how they portrayed their story there but this is what I got from the show and if it's not how it's meant to be, fault the writers/directors but realize that the stories differ and you can’t hold drama Jae eon accountable for things that WEBTOON Jae eon did.

I honestly think that Oh Bit Na is who everyone thinks Park Jae Eon is.

Park Jae Eon deserved better. He spent the majority of the show trying to figure out what he did wrong, what was wrong with himself and trying to fix it when he was perfectly ok. Dating or sleeping around with consenting partners-especially in college/at their age does not make you a bad person or someone in need of fixing. If he were ready for a relationship, he would’ve been in one, but he chose to have sex-only partnerships and was content. She gaslit and forced him into one because while she wanted him, she wasn’t satisfied with having the part of him that he was willing to give, she wanted her idealistic relationship with her idealistic partner and in the end, that is what she got.

Also, potato boy was annoying.

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Why did I even bother?

Usually hate-watching means the show is so bad it’s actually entertaining. Here, it’s just bad, with the characters so annoying it’s hard to find someone to root for. Truth to be told, if I knew the ending before I started the show, I would not bother with watching at all. I was intrigued by the interesting beginning, and not smart enough to leave when I saw the first red flags warning me, this leads to nothing good. One could say I’m Na Bi, and this show was Jae Eon - leaving me angry, annoyed, frustrated and exhausted.

What seemed like a promising portrayal of a toxic relationship, ended as nothing more than another angsty young adult love story, that is even more pretentious than I could ever expect it to be. When in fact, it’s just fancy trash with pretty actors in it.

The main plot is the relationship between Na Bi and Jae Eon. Here’s the thing though - the relationship makes no sense. At first it’s presented as a strong sexual attraction, but it never really moves to anything more. Whenever the writer tried to incorporate any strong feelings from either female or male lead, it made no sense. What are these feelings even based on? By episode 4, the main romance became extremely repetitive and boring. How many times can we see Na Bi cry and Jae Eon be a jerk?

Na Bi was just painful to watch. By the end of the show I felt like she literally learned nothing. There was no development and no progress. The moment I saw some change, she took a U-turn into a crying mess.

Jae Eon was one dimensional and an empty shell. Don’t know what the writer was thinking, but you cannot develop something that does not exist. Giving him a last minute character development, when from the start he had no character or personality was a miracle in itself.

Bit Na and Gyu Hyun were more fun to watch, since both characters were stronger and had more of prominent personalities, but even they ended up on the rather shallow note. While they could have addressed some more interesting ideas about relationships and be a good mirror to Na Bi and Jae Eon’s relationship, the writer left me with little discussion and no real conclusion.

The only couple I truly did enjoy watching was Min Young and Kyung Jun. They were funny, sweet and relatable in all the best and heartwarming ways.

Except for them, there are exactly two things that Nevertheless, did well - LGBT representation and the amazing soundtrack.

While we’ve gotten more and more gay relationships in k-dramas lately, rarely ever we see lesbians presented in any way. At best it’s vaguely suggested or mentioned as a “personality trait”. It’s good to see a side story that truly explores the romance between two girls, and how they both deal with growing feelings. Sadly for me, I could not enjoy their ploy, since I could not stand Ji Wan as a character.

No matter how much I might dislike Nevertheless, the soundtrack is full of amazing bops. I listen to Butterfly and Love Me Like That daily - some of my favorite songs from 2021.

Overall, I could easily write a whole essay on why this show was basically a writing failure, but I honestly do not want to waste any more precious minutes of my life on this title. Let it die on my completed list, never to be visited again.

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Disappointed

What to say about this ending? They romanticized a toxic and abusive relationship. They romanticized that a woman is indeed a repair shop for men. I feel shame and pity for Na-bi because in that conversation where they return their relationship, it is evident how emotionally dependent she is on him. She knew what he was like, what he put her through, and yet she threw herself into his arms again. I am disappointed! Fortunately the secondary couples - Sol and Jiwan, Bit-Na and Kyuhyun, Min Young and Kyung Jun - saved that story.
They could have made Na-bi discover female empowerment. They could have made her realize with Jae-eon that no one deserves to go through an abusive relationship. What about Jae-eon saying he fell in love with her at first sight? This was never a crush because if he really had fallen in love with her, he would have had intentions of getting into a serious relationship with her from the start. And not just after losing her. What starts wrong will never work. Except in Nevertheless, history made people think everything that happened was normal.

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Not Worth The Hype

Before watching this drama, I had heard so much hype about it. Everyone on Tiktok and Twitter were losing their minds over it. So, I decided it must be really good if everyone talked about it so much.
But honestly, it really just felt like it was trying too hard to appeal to an audience who was looking for a more "mature" drama. The main reason I even watch dramas is because I love watching the pure build up to a relationship. And I think that many shows have done that very well.

This drama was a rare case where I loved everyone but the main characters by the end of it. The female lead is exhausting to follow, the male lead is just a walking red flag (as dubbed by viewers on social media) and the conclusion is frustrating at best.
The only good part of this show was the soundtrack. I added well over half of the OST to my playlists because they're just so good.

In closing, watch this drama if you want to understand the hype. However, just be prepared to be annoyed for most of the 10 episodes.

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