Elmond_u

The first episode had me hooked. It was cartoonish and tropey, yet charming and lighthearted. It didn’t take itself too seriously, and, as an audience member, I didn’t either. But, like many K-dramas, it only went downhill from there. Characters became more illogical and annoying with each new episode. The plot, a bastardization of better rom-coms that came before it, was held together only by a thread of coincidences and the audience’s sheer force of will. Were there upsides to this horrific experience? Yes, a few. The comedy was actually pretty decent up until the second half, when the writers forgot this was a rom-com and started writing a murder thriller. Plus, I discovered Bae Nara, whose character is arguably the best written in the show.

See, I started watching this for Jung So-min. She was great at first, but I started to notice a gradual decline in her acting. She always looked confused at times when her character was supposed to be feeling fear, anger, love, and other emotions. That really didn’t help in selling the romance. And her character, Yoo Me-ri… don’t even get me started on that moron. She was initially portrayed as brilliant, detail-oriented, morally upright, and ever ready to defend herself. But that all disappeared pretty quickly because the plot had no use for such qualities. I mean, how’s the ML supposed to save her if she can save herself?

Another issue with this is the FL’s ex. He’s toxic, abusive, and manipulative, but the show doesn’t treat it as seriously as it’s supposed to. They mostly played it up for laughs, but it was not funny at all. They never should’ve portrayed such serious subject matter in the first place if they knew they weren’t ready to go all in.

The villain plot in this is so unnecessary, but not as unnecessary as the childhood trope. Something that was meant to act as a catalyst to kickstart their romance ends up being the only reason they fell in love. There’s no substance or deep conversation—just googly eyes and fawning over each other’s looks. Yet somehow the ML is willing to sacrifice everything for her, as men normally do for women they barely know. Chemistry would’ve helped, but that’s absent too.

The secondary couple had so much potential, but poor time management caused theirrelationship to feel sidelined. They were actually one of the few good things about this show.

All these gripes, however, pale in comparison to my greatest issue with this show: coincidences. I can’t imagine where the plot would be without them. Most of the major plotlines advance because characters randomly overhear vital information from gossip or private conversations. In fact, gossip is the main method of information dissemination in this show, and side characters simply exist to gossip. Also, characters bump into each other several times a day purely out of coincidence. It makes you wonder if all the houses, workplaces, restaurants, and bars in this show are located on the same street. It’s ridiculous.

Frankly, I was only able to watch this show by turning my brain off first. It didn’t stop me from questioning all the madness, but at least it stopped me from losing my shit. The ending was mediocre slop that AI could’ve easily thrown together. Who knows—maybe AI did write this. Sure seems that way.