Kiwi

I’ll open by dealing with the confusion mentioned by others in their reviews. I didn’t feel any. The flashbacks were not entirely conventional, but I was clear about when each scene of the first few episodes were set, and I experienced no issues understanding motivations, reasons, timing, or context. Maybe the writer, director, and editor have the same kind of funky brain I do, but these reviews surprised me. Perhaps the cues are not tuned to everyone, so watch with that in mind. I’m happy to throw out a spoiler marked comment thread clarifying these scenes if anyone wants.

I agree with one of these other reviews about the kisses. Total duds. I also agree with that one about the going behind the lead’s back trope being in really poor taste, given how the second romantic interest had conducted himself. I got a good handle on the whys and wherefores of every step taken apart from that. It really annoyed me, and was the only misstep by the lead’s main romantic interest. Other than that piece of utter f***wittage he was a walking green flag.

I tend to watch these fluffy romances with my critical faculty running at a low idle, and though it’s not at the pinnacle of any of the related crafts, I loved the set dressing and lighting in this series. The decor of the tiny publishing firm ticks all my Scandinavian sensibility boxes, with the warm, beautifully designed wooden furniture, and the clear case of book hoarding that was in progress. His flat, however, felt pretty lacking. Anybody who would kit out their office with such warmth should also have a warm, cosy home. The rest of the locations were as well dressed as the wee publisher, though.

As mentioned, the kissy moments were badly directed/performed, so I assume the gorgeous leads are both straight, and/or the director is a prude. Other reviewers have used the “dead fish kiss” phrase, and it was never more appropriate than in this instance. It’s a shame, because the lead pair are both gorgeous.

This is a romance where all three of the romantic triangle of leads end up better off than they were at the start, which makes for a deeply satisfying piece of mind-candy. And this series is mind-candy. It’s not profound, logically robust, or powerful. It’s a sweet romance based around three people with similar dreams, but very different ways of seeking them, and everyone developed for the better, even if the internal logic of the writing showed some gaping holes 🕳️

Enjoy. I did.