LOVE.exe

I wish I could start by saying “ I was pleasantly surprised by how good the drama was.. " But I can’t.. I will just join the echo of others and say this was a mess of intentions.. The drama tries to look smart and progressive in the Hollywood way, without actually being either.. It ends up being visually dull and emotionally empty, filled with the kind of ' look at us ' choices clearly meant to impress a certain crowd rather than serve the story..

It’s astonishing that so many people were involved in the production of this drama and nobody had the brain to tell them, “Don’t air this mess yet.. At least work on it more and refine it before throwing it out there to get criticized and torn apart..” I honestly don’t know what they were trying to achieve here.. Anyone with half a sense could predict this would end up as a mediocre drama, if not a dumpster fire.. Had some fun moments that made me laugh and some mild intimate scenes as well.. But that's it.. The dialogues, with all those coding jargon was a complete disaster.. They tried way too hard.. The script had no real substance.. I am pretty sure they were counting on the trendy inclusions to give the show a boost, to make it seem more modern and appealing but it just came off forced and unnecessary.. With some rewriting, better dialogues and decent improvements in the characters, this could have avoided being such a mess.. It still wouldn’t have become anything great, but at least it wouldn’t have been received this poorly..

It starts out okay, though right from the beginning you have to forget logic to go along with the plot.. By halfway, it falls apart into a series of cliched, silly plot points.. This is just my opinion, the vibrator scene was funny, yes but it also felt unnecessary and a bit out of step with what you would normally expect from a Korean drama..

And that flashback scene generated with AI?? What even was that?? Horrible.. I was also curious about what she would have done with her ex’s number if the ML hadn’t shown up.. She looked hesitant to delete it.. If you are going to throw in a scene like that, you should at least close it off with a clear answer.. Leaving it hanging like that just makes the girl look bad..

The ending was even more absurd.. I hope they are not planning a season 2, because that just won’t work.. Not because they don't have any story left to explore, but because with how disastrous the response has been I doubt anyone would greenlight another season.. So we are just left with, whatever that ending was..

I had hopes for Kim Yo Han after The Winning Try, but he really disappointed me with this script choice here.. He is obviously better than this.. Both of his upcoming dramas look promising, especially Starry Us.. I just hope it finally sees the light of day instead of getting pushed back indefinitely without any updates.. And Hwang Bo Reum Byeol?? She is yet to prove herself.. Maybe in the next project??

So unfortunately for me, the drama collapses under the weight of its own premise.. While a handful of the jokes work, the larger concept feels empty and sometimes even a little strange.. The drama tries to create a feel good illusion of ' freedom of choice ' where identity, desire and romance are treated like trendy accessories rather than genuine human experiences, decorative add ons with no real emotional weight..

Okay then, my verdict?? if you are watching it just for the vibes and don’t think too deeply about what’s happening, you might have some fun watching the comedy and a few cute moments between the main leads.. But that's it..

Oh, and if you are a programmer, please stay away from this.. You might need therapy to recover from the coding jargon alone..

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It ended, finally

It's not updated yet but I'll assume this drama is completed and just post the review.
For those who don't wanna read it all: this drama is sht. Plot contrivances and plot holes one after another, to keep the story going, when in fact a lot of stuff would've been resolved faster. More so because the characters are students that do exactly that: resolve problems using logic...
I'll keep it simple, because I don't wanna waste even more time on it. Also, I'll say this here, because I must say it again and again. I'll talk about the drama's quality, not the enjoyment factor. Those are NOT the same. You can enjoy bad media, and thats ok (aka "my guilty pleasure"). Just make sure you know it is bad. Yes, you can find it funny (dunno why), to each its own, but do know it is bad and it should be rated as such. And why this drama? Wouldn't it be better to watch a different one, or re-watch something that you already know it is good? Just sayin'...

Before starting the real review, I wanna address an "interesting" fact. I was talking to someone and that person kept bringing politics into the talk about this drama's quality. "No, no. I like it 'cause its different." "Yes, but the script is bad." "Yes, but the lgbt (yes, only those 4 letters were used, so I'll do the same) community..." "Wait, what? I'm talking about this drama and its writing..." "Yes, I understand, but here in the States, lgbt..." And thats when it hit me. Most people that regarded this drama as amazing were praising the fact that it uses a different formula and/or they praised the comedy (neither true, btw). And the funny thing about that? This drama goes meta: in its universe, the FL takes a job as a rom-com screenwriter consultant, for a script regarding a rom-com in a science campus backdrop, (just like this drama), and the writers wanting to use the usual tropes (like this drama), and the FL basically drops the job because she realises the show is gonna be sht (just like this drama). So: WE got a drama that is different (supposedly), that in fact it is full of the usual tropes, that it looks bland, with its setting in a bland location. Our FL dropped the job because she realised the story had no future. And yet, WE, the viewers are supposed to like this drama that uses the same formula.... The irony is strong with this one. And no, using meta commentary doesn't make it better if the flaws remain unresolved. Btw that meta thing keeps going and going and going.... If the ending is real-life inspired it would make sense why I hated that character (maybe self-inserted).

And now, back to our main program. Visuals. Drab. Everything looks bad. The location, the colour palette, the cinematography. Oh, the costumes (because I also talked about that with said person). Everything looks cheap.
Audio. Kinda decent, I guess. Nothing special, but the tracks used are on par with the scenes, and the mixing was done at appropriate levels. The less than meh part was the over-usage of the "disk scratch" sound effect, but I guess thats because it was coerced by the script, always going for the "cue music, aaaand now sudden stop 'cause the scene abruptly changed, and now pls laugh" trope. Also here, I could add that the OST used were usually ok. I don't remember any of the songs, but maybe thats because I don't listen to that genre. Dunno.
World-building. Meh. Supposedly its about young people and their struggle, with half-talking english,... all the "cool, modern" stuff. You get a very very basic setting and thats it. Ofc, you don't need more, because nothing is really happening, but oh well. The pacing was meh. This drama is more a slice-of-life kind of thing. Every episode feels like an every day stuff. And no, its not really and "every day" because time passes and the characters tell us that its a different week/month, to help us. Lucky us... Character development. Don't make me laugh.... The is an attempt for some (one) of the supporting cast, barely the beginning, but you can't truly call it a character development.
And all the drama is basically a big manipulative editing trope. Every aspect, every bit of drama, of stakes, are in fact events edited and lated re-edited to show you a "different side". Basically they lie to you and then they go " no no, its ok, see? Actually it all happened this way". So, your investment is null. And next time you won't even bother to care, because they'll change the scene and show you a different result anyway. Yes, great drama... You'll definitely enjoy it....
So, what we have here is a low production value ...thing. It looks cheap, it feels cheap. Heck, it is cheap.

And now the "good" parts. Lets start with a mid one. The comedy. The so-called comedy is in fact a series of cringe scenes and/or dialogues. You know those jokes that made you laugh very loudly even when you never really got then, when you were 13yo? Thats what we have here. Or some extremely cringe moments that are played for laughs. For full minutes. Ghostbusters 2016 levels of cringe.
The romance. Its not really a romance. It is supposed to, yes, but the execution... Oof. You know how the "normal" trope is to have the characters meet, hate each other, warm a little, fall in love hard and use the second half of the season to show just useless fluff, apart from the last two episodes when some fake drama occurs, but they get over it and then live happily ever after? Well, thanks to this new, innovative formula, nothing happens for 2/3 of the season, then we have fake drama, for us, the viewers, because in-universe there was never one but the ambiguous, manipulative editing made it look like something was going on. Oh, the last episodes were truly horrible (especially the last one, especially the ending... pfff). I had to pause after 5 minutes, to get over the cringe scenes. And 5 minutes later, I've paused again. And again, 10 minutes later. Yes, I checked my watch every time. The fking skit kept going and going and going. *sigh* It was a looooong watch...... I started finding increasingly new reasons to pause the video.
After all this the warm-up I think we're ready for the main stuff. The writing is horrendous. What people praise is in fact all sht. The story, the comedy, the characters, everything. Full of tropes but done in all the wrong ways. From that discussion I've mentioned, "I like that we have a reverse trope, how we have a smart FL and a dumb ML". Yes, this is the first usage of such trope. Thank God we got this drama to represent! We have the dumb friend, "with heart" (I hated her so much!), that smiles and doesn't "read the room", always in the couple's way. And ten seconds later that fact becomes a source of comedy, ofc. Sure, the couple itself is always in its own way, but lets move on. People talking half-sentences out-loud, and continuing in inner monologues, so that misunderstandings occur. Also, talking out-loud "by yourself" trope. Also, 5 minutes of "bad-luck" scenes, one after another so that the plot can illogically be pushed forward. And so on, and so on, and so on.
I guess this a good point to talk about that specific stuff. The script is full of plot devices, plot contrivances and plot holes. Some examples. An important one, where the FL is hooked by an umbrella of a guy walking by, so that she is dragged a couple of meters, so that she interacts with our ML. You're supposed to forget that logic and physics exist, in a science-based drama. You know, gravity, the force needed to drag a person, the force to keep the umbrella from bending or not ripping the backpack it was strapped to, the fact that the guy keeps walking and drags her, that he never falls down because of the change in momentum. OK. Another physics-related one, where a heavy flying (thrown) object reacts as a paper plane, flying in a slow-mo that even Snyder would be envious of, and people having time to react to said object by dodging/deviating its trajectory and such. For the laughs, ofc. Again, its an important scene because it influences the FL's future. Or a "normal" one where our main group tries going somewhere but all kinds of obstacles keep getting in the way, or people physically stopping her to talk. Like I said, all the sh***y tropes that make this drama "innovative and new".
The characters. Or more exactly the inconsistency of it. From the annoying FL, to the kind-hearted dumb friend. Sorry, aloof friend. The air-headed ML that suddenly becomes very insightful in the last 3-4 episodes... Yeah, no. You won't care about anyone. Or shouldn't.
The acting. Well, the dialogue is sht, so that didn't help, but the acting also wasn't great. The casting used B-list (maybe) actors. Or at least it felt like it. There was no "natural" chemistry. Most "acting" was bland or it even felt fake. Yes, we get a couple of nice scenes, but just a couple?? Also a fun fact (for me anyway) that made me chuckle: the actress in the wheelchair, moving her hips and legs. Yeah, she's cute and her general acting wasn't bad, but also showing that she didn't care THAT much about immersion :))))))) Oh, another "funny" thing for me. In the episode 14 (question mark? I might've been the end of the 13th one, dunno, don't care enough to check) a new character gets together with the group. I was thinking that you might swap the males around and it would feel the same drama. Again, amazing casting :)))
To sum all this up: sht script, with sht dialogue, story full of plot holes and contrivances one after another, after another, after another, after another, so that the story happens in the only way the author intends it to. And I'm not exaggerating or something, having "bad luck" 6 times in a row? Wtf?? Can't you write a better scene?

Ok, the drama also has some nice things. Like.. uh... sometimes is trying setting up some stuff that pays-off in a decent matter. Example: the ML makes a joke about a name and why it would be funny, and that exact situation does indeed happens. yes, there are a couple (maybe even a lot) of stuff like that, so tis not bad from start to finish. Another thing: the FL acts decent enough at times. Another one, Some of the supporting cast were more than good actors/actresses, also with a sliver of shadows of a character development. There. Some positive things. Who are we kidding? Dropping a pinch of salt in a bowl of sht and calling it decent? :)))

FFS! I failed at keeping it simple... You must understand, its a drama with episodes of 30ish minutes. Even watching at 2x speed, it still wouldn't end fast enough. It gets a rating of 3. The high note is for the audio and those aforementioned decent supporting cast. Low production drama about stuff, trying to be something else and failing at everything. Entertainment value? Maybe, if you like that kind of comedy, I don't judge... Re-watching value? Not really, not even by the ones that praise it. After the hype will be gone, they'll forget all about it, until they see the title by mistake and go "Oh, yeah, I've watched that, I liked it. I hope it gets a new season". And forgetting about it, again.
Anyway, thats all I've got for today. Have a lovely evening.

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