1
Slow burn? More so no-burn...
I fail to understand the high rating on this platform. I like slow romances, I generally don't mind clichés and I didn't expect anything when I started watching this.
I also like the quiet type who lets their actions speak for themselves rather than verbally express their feelings.
It's just that here, ML says "I don't like you", ML's actions say "I don't like you" and the script goes "He likes her." We never get much insight into why he is so very reserved, and the few things we do see come in way too late. We also never find out what the characters exactly like about each other, and the reasons they name don't really sound like love, but more like convenience.
As we see them go through several stages in life, there is almost no character development. No matter their relationship status, their dynamics barely change. Hence, I wouldn't say the story has a slow pace, I'd say it has almost no pace, because there is absolutely no progress whatsoever. The couples` chemistry in the very last episode actually was so adorable and I wish we could have had more of that. But it's just not worth going through the 22 episodes before where the characters experience the same things, act the same way and make the same decisions. Not once do they have an honest and open talk with each other. Their whole relationships is so, so unhealthy. I wouldn't use the words toxic or red flag here, because they're young and simply don't know better - but they also never learn from it. Had they shown the characters learn from each other during their relationship, this could have been a decent drama, but maybe 2017 just wasn't the time for a story like that.
As of the year 2025, I don't recommend watching this anymore. You can watch it, but you could also spend your time watching one of the other hundreds school nostalgia dramas that actually show characters growing up and maturing along the way. If you like the school nostalgia trope more than the maturing and coming of age trope, you might love this drama still, but this dramas repetitiveness and overall tone simply failed to catch me.
I also like the quiet type who lets their actions speak for themselves rather than verbally express their feelings.
It's just that here, ML says "I don't like you", ML's actions say "I don't like you" and the script goes "He likes her." We never get much insight into why he is so very reserved, and the few things we do see come in way too late. We also never find out what the characters exactly like about each other, and the reasons they name don't really sound like love, but more like convenience.
As we see them go through several stages in life, there is almost no character development. No matter their relationship status, their dynamics barely change. Hence, I wouldn't say the story has a slow pace, I'd say it has almost no pace, because there is absolutely no progress whatsoever. The couples` chemistry in the very last episode actually was so adorable and I wish we could have had more of that. But it's just not worth going through the 22 episodes before where the characters experience the same things, act the same way and make the same decisions. Not once do they have an honest and open talk with each other. Their whole relationships is so, so unhealthy. I wouldn't use the words toxic or red flag here, because they're young and simply don't know better - but they also never learn from it. Had they shown the characters learn from each other during their relationship, this could have been a decent drama, but maybe 2017 just wasn't the time for a story like that.
As of the year 2025, I don't recommend watching this anymore. You can watch it, but you could also spend your time watching one of the other hundreds school nostalgia dramas that actually show characters growing up and maturing along the way. If you like the school nostalgia trope more than the maturing and coming of age trope, you might love this drama still, but this dramas repetitiveness and overall tone simply failed to catch me.
Was this review helpful to you?
