Also in the wake of Harvey Weinstein and Jeffry E, consent has become so important and no drama usually do that well however this angle was explored beautifully with no characters ever crossing boundaries. I feel that some of what women go through with their bodies and the physical pain that they feel at specific times was also such a healthy thing to show. I wish more Korean dramas did that. I have seen a few Chinese dramas show this such as put your head on my shoulder (I love that drama) and I always love it when these things are addressed.
The redemption arc of main lead was awesome since he did not have a linear path but he went back and forth, sometimes slipping on his path to being a better person till he could find his Center. I think that was beautifully done. He also received his comeuppance since he realised that lot of people actually did not like him and were hurt by his actions. I feel that both the hero and the heroine fit like two imperfect peas in a pod.
My only beef with this drama was that this drama showed clearly rich kids since no one seem to have any financial problems and that was unrealistic. How were they thinking of earning money and what were some of the avenues they wanted to do beyond college. I wish that was addressed since I think before love, what concerns a college person is how will they earn and make a living in this world. And I thought that this bit was very poorly done. There should have been some focus on this. It felt too easy peasy for people to earn money, like hey I will open a noodle shop and hey I will earn pots of money, hey I will make metal sculpture and I will earn pots of money that is so unrealistic and unreasonable
Was this review helpful to you?
You can't get an STD from a toilet seat, or from watching this show. thankfully.
Details from above: "Park Jae Eon finds dating a waste of time but likes to flirt. Even though he is friendly and cheerful towards all, he does not pursue others. Park Jae Eon is a master of “push-and-pull” who doesn’t get swept up in emotions. Jae Eon draws firm lines between himself and other people and doesn’t reveal how he feels."Friendly and cheerful towards all? Um. No. Park Jae Eon is a complete slut who has sex with many women a week, and probably gives them all STDs. He sets up dates with women, then ghosts them to have sex with someone else.
He finds himself "drawn" to FL. why? because her name is Butterfly and he has a butterfly tattoo on his neck. They meet for the second time at a party. He's deciding (out loud in front of everyone) whether he should stay at the party or go get laid at his prior engagement. He decides to stay, and "gets together" with the FL. More correctly, FL sees him tonguing another woman in the alley behind the restaurant, and when he sees her, he sends the other woman away and says to FL, "I really wanted to kiss you..." Oh, the romance!!! She's smitten. He doesn't even wipe his mouth before he tongues her too. She tells him he smells like cigarettes. No, not the other woman's mouth.
They get together. He proceeds to cheat on her. Over. and Over. and Over. 2ML is kind, attentive, smart, gorgeous - everything you would want in a guy. So of course: ew. Gross.
FL finally dumps him? Or he leaves her. I can't actually remember. Then poor ML suffers. Will she have mercy on this disgusting, sleazy low life? Will they get the happy ending they so desperately deserve? Can he be cured of his syphilis? Maybe. Watch to find out. I don't want to spoil it for you.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Realistic portrayal of romance
As i read from some of the comments, this drama definitely is more suitable for those above 25.First and foremost, it does not follow typical kdrama plot whereas people can easily identify right or wrong. Here we have a male lead as typical playboy who wanted no string attached relationship and female lead as pretty but not so innocent girl who fell hard for him. From first episode, the way the male lead try to get FL's attention is classic. He did not immediately offer to take her home after a drink with their group of friends. He let her trying to approach him first. Beside i did not get why people call him toxic. All the time in their relationship he let her make the decision. I guess most of viewers are getting biased due to the webtoon.
What I love about this drama is how they make him finally want to start a real relationship with her. IT IS ABSOLUTELY NOT GLORYFYING TOXIC LOVE STORY as people have been saying. He feared of losing her for good at the same time he realized his true feeling for her. And how did he realize that- all thanks to our sweet potato boy. It did happen irl as well. Didnt you ever see a guy would show affection only after losing something that he thought already belong to him? At the end of the drama, Nabi has sort of standing up and have a equal balance in a relationship with him. We did not know how long their love story going to last but actually who cares, they are just in their early 20s.
The only thing i do not like about the story is they dance around the question Nabi asked Jaeon "do you have a girlfriend?" the whole time. They could just solved it in episode 6 or 7 instead of dragging it until episode 10 and not addressing the Nabi main concern "did he cheat on me". That thing is sure her deal breaker which shown since the beginning of the drama.
Other than that, I enjoy this drama thoroughly and definitely would binge watch again during free time.
PS: Song Kang's acting in N is superb. His best performance so far i have to say. He brings out the Park Jaeon that makes us believe we would fall head over heels for even if its screaming walking red flag ;)
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Torture, disappointment, irritation also known as Nevertheless
I've never reviewed any drama I've watched before but I felt like I really needed to do one for this.I'll keep it short...
I quite dislike the main characters of this show, they're boring, at times really pathetic(yu nabi) and repetitive which made this show painful to sit through and tbvh, the side characters were much more interesting. This show is such a slow burn, almost as if I'm watching paint dry. Just when you think it's getting somewhere, NOPE! it's back to square one and it's been like that for most, if not all the episodes. I'm pretty sure if you watch the first and last episode only you've watched the whole show because there's absolutely no process. However, I cannot disregard the great acting, cinematography and the OST.
I procrastinated watching this show a number of times because of the mixed reviews I saw literally everywhere; nevertheless, I watched it and regretted it.
Was this review helpful to you?
Not a sad ending
The storyline is absolutely amazing! Everything is so natural. Unlike the dramatic and overly specialised stories of other dramas this story was very touching but yet something that seemed very realistic. Especially the music, the music was very well directed. The actors as always have exceptionally and very skillful portrayed their characters. This drama broke my heart but the last episode patched it all up! I couldn't have thought of a better ending for them. It's DEFINITELY worth the watch I LOVED ITWas this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
You do not fall for a nice decent guy who loves you since ages but fall for a player because you feel he’s changed although he humiliated you, calls you names because you fwb with him. This is exactly what this drama portrays and it’s dangerous. Na bi chooses apparently good looking guy who did all the horrible things to her just cause he says he’s changed. Never in a million years people change their true colors. She rejected a guy who loved her since ages just cause of a player.This sets a wrong precedence to those who learn from dramas about love.
They could have done a better job either at portraying the player or made our love struck fool a little less innocent so we could make sense of the story.
Was this review helpful to you?
not bad meaning bad but bad meaning good ya know
I liked this drama. The director's eye for the way a woman gazes at a man is so real, SPOT ON, visual filming done right. I knew this version would be different from the original comic which is why I binged the comic before the show ended to see what the differences were and honestly I enjoyed the drama more. I have never been into the slice of life genre anyway. However, the slice-of-life moments that I did enjoy were stress acne and surprise time of the month scenes. I was glad that Yu Nabi never forced Jae won to be better. She hoped for better but she never forced it and knew when to back off even if it was a little later than one should. Seeing Jae won grasp his own realization midway and thinking, "oh I really am messed up" was so satisfying because they finally had his inner narration displayed(something the comic lacked). I got a sense of his thoughts and I really wish there was more of that like half Jae won narration and half Yu Nabi narration. I appreciate the growth that Jae won had out of all the characters. He really had a redeemable moment at that end that I felt only he could pull off, you'll know what I mean when you see it. I loved potato dude he was adorable and a bit too perfect. He really deserved someone who appreciated all those cute things he did like omg how can you say no to that smile. So yeah I've been rewatching it and will continue to do so, don't judge me.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
One of my favorite coming of age shows
This is a show quite unlike other college or romance dramas out there. It's written to show the complicated nature of growing into adulthood, without being judgemental on its characters.I could easily identify with the protagonist, and could see how her previous relationship, and her estranged relationship with her mother, made her as hesitant as she was. For me, I found that the show emphasised how she regained agency such that she was free to make a choice for herself in the end. It was a well-written character arc.
Male lead Jaeeon was equally complex, it's actually quite interesting how everyone has their perception of him, and you see him through the lens of the female lead Nabi and the people at school, but as the show goes on, you start to see that he may not actually be as perceived.
One I really liked is that the show made a clear distinction between changing for love and changing for yourself. For Jaeeon, he comes to realise how unhealthy his worldview is, how he has to be a better communicator, and thus grows little by little.
The cinematography is thoughtful, the soundtrack carefully curated to match the feelings of the characters. The nuances make all the difference in this drama (they are carefully laid out in story and performance) and while the pacing may lag for some as Ep 7/8 did for me a little, I found it mirrored how personal growth is never linear or a quick process in reality. Of course, Han Sohee and Song Kang did a great job in bringing these characters to life, and the supporting cast members also did a commendable job.
Was this review helpful to you?
The plot may be flat, nevertheless…
Have you ever met someone in your life that makes you feel anxious but excited at the same time? You feel a pull towards them and know instinctively that trouble is not far where they are…nevertheless you cannot resist your curiosity. You know the risk is high that this connection will either break your heart or heal it. Nevertheless...The plot may seem obvious to some, but for me it was the first time ever (having seen a hundred dramas already) that I kept wondering if it will end the way I expected it to be. Even if it left me wondering where it would end the plot itself is not overwhelmingly creative. The drama lives for the soundtrack, camera angles and chemistry between the two main actress and actor.
I had to watch it three times to start liking Park Jeo Eon. He reminded me too much of someone I knew so I could completely relate and felt Nabi’s internal struggle too well. It was hard to watch them fighting their pride, misunderstandings, and past, however, if they just had a conversation like adults the drama would be over after episode 3. But it drags. If you don’t like this kind of torture you will be frustrated very quickly. It’s still worth watching since this drama is very openly addressing LGBTQ+, sex, and gaslighting, which is unique in Korean dramas.
The filming production is very high and extremely delicately shot. I live for the soundtrack, it’s been in my playlist ever since.
Was this review helpful to you?
Holy Hell, Nevertheless,
I sincerely feel that this show would be better without the 2 main characters.
They're both frustrating because their issues are so simple yet they just play dumb not to try and solve them.
The issues of all the supporting characters are similar or more complicated, but they're not fools.
The show is incredibly slow, which would be fine if it was interesting.
I feel I watched the last 4 episodes only to say that I finished it and because it was just 10.
The actors though are fine, the writing and scenario is at fault.
Nevertheless,
There's too many k-drama out there to waste your time on this.
Was this review helpful to you?
Huge potential, Nevertheless
I never write reviews and I watched tons of Kdramas, but I love reading reviews here before watching a show so I thought I would add my own, because I wasn't gonna watch it initially. I only saw the preview trailer on Netflix with that scene in the bar and I found it very intriguing and well paced. I ended up binging this show....This show begins differently and has its own mood.
I could understand Nabi and from the beginning we meet a very interesting female lead we get attached to and want to see her evolve. it was very promising until the show just ended up being a cycle of back and forth on repeat and I couldn't see a true evolution of Nabi, just like her professor keeps saying. Only by the end of the show do we see her making interesting changes.
I won't talk much about Jeon ML because there is not much to say, except for a weird evolution he goes through. however, he did play his role very well in the beginning to create that atmosphere of doubt, confusion and red flags,
the 2nd ML was a nice addition at first and a huge contrast to the other ML, he played his part brilliantly, but I feel that plotline lingered too much.
I LIKED: the flow of the show and the mind voice/vocal was spot on. I applaud the show for portraying the uncertainty, the anxiety, the confusion very well shown through the FL, but I was hoping for more evolution from her and a clearer evolution of her relationship with the ML. the butterfly, the sculpture project, and the drawings were all beautiful analogies as well.
DIDN'T LIKE: the main lesson /meaning behind the show was a bit shallow for me where it could have had a deeper approach on vague relationships, toxic relationships and love etc....
I give it an 7 because it did convey a lot of emotions through the plot and characters, it made me question my own approach to my previous relationships and my own reaction to red flags. While there were lots of cringy cliché parts of the show, I did enjoy the more explorative parts of it.
I would not rewatch it though.
Was this review helpful to you?
Really, really SLOW and I thought quite boring.
I'm shocked someone would give anything over 3 stars to this KDrama. The slow pace and brooding of the characters was almost overwhelming. It took me a very long time to finish and afterward, I feel like I wasted too many hours on this particular drama. The ML and FL were just unwatchable all they did throughout the whole series was look half asleep. I will make sure that I thoroughly read the reviews of anything these two are involved with BEFORE I choose to watch. The supporting cast was much better and animated and with much more emotion. This is just my humble opinion.Was this review helpful to you?
