This review may contain spoilers
Ignore the negativity, embrace "Woojoo's Universe"!
I've been following this show since it was first announced and it has been the happiest six weeks for me watching it every week as it aired. The overwhelming negativity for this show feels completely undeserved and feels more like viewer dissonance with the drama than the actual maker's fault.
I will put it out there right off the bat that this drama is for people looking to watch a slow burn relationship built on a foundation of shared grief, responsibility, and friendship. If you are looking for instant gratification in grand pink-filtered dates and overt romantic moments, you won't find it until the end.
What this drama does well though is actually much rarer for kdrama standards. It shows how real feelings develop from scratch between two complete strangers who began their journey being bickering enemies, then to indifference, then slow attraction and finally deep love. It also shows how feelings manifest in real life unlike the usual loud moments that have become a prerequisite for romance shows.
These are evident in how Taehyung chooses to pick up the camera he vowed not to ever again just so that Hyunjin and Woojoo would have warm water at home, how Hyun Jin encourages Taehyung to give photography a try again and how both of them cheer for each other in their personal successes, how Hyun Jin worries about Taehyung the whole day even when she's out with her first love, how Hyun Jin stays up all night to tend to a sick Taehyung because she knows he hates the rain and how lonely he gets when it rains because of his childhood, how Hyun Jin only ever allows Taehyung to help her, see her vulnerability, tears and complaints, how Hyun Jin instinctively understands Taehyung's harsh words to her were from a place of fear and helplessness and how Taehyung immediately regrets what he said and comes home with a peace treaty in the form of food, and so many more instances I would need a rewatch to catch them all!
This is what love in real life looks like. And it was so refreshing to see these moments in a drama amongst the sea of other shows that always get the loud dramatic moments right but never stop to dwell on the smaller more "mundane" stuff that ironically create more lasting impact on the foundation of a longterm relationship. And even more rare to see them from a female lead when lately especially, it's always become the male lead showing up in small and big ways for female leads that hardly ever reciprocate the same kindness.
This natural camaraderie is obvious from the first day Taehyung moves in with Hyunjin and Woojoo, and how easily each of them fit into their individual roles in their "new family". Anyone observing from the outside can see the potential that already exists.
Both the leads have realistic and well written character arcs. Taehyung goes from being traumatized, selfish and afraid, to healed, selfless and responsible. Hyunjin goes from pampered and immature to emotionally stable, mature and accountable.
All because the other helped them and stood by them through actively choosing to provide for and be responsible for Woojoo, the center of their universe.
The title is completely apt here because both of them truly give Woojoo the universe, and it shows up in how every thought and action of theirs keeps Woojoo at the forefront. How Taehyung and Hyunjin choose to learn through their mistakes and find stability and love together. Like I said, this is so evident from the start that when they eventually acknowledge their mutual feelings and become a couple, it feels like any other day in their already established life together because they had already been a family long before both of them even realized it. The shift isn't jarring, but like any natural progression of a real world relationship.
Now does this show have flaws? Absolutely yes. The production quality is inconsistent and creates awkwardly paced editing jumps from time to time especially in the first few episodes, crucial scenes that appear in BTS videos like an almost kiss between the leads don't show up in the final edit, the plot introduces a mostly unnecessary love triangle that could've been concluded sooner and worked into one more episode of Hyunjin and Taehyung navigating coparenting, building new bonds with their neighbors who become their found family, and developing their relationship further so we might've ended up having two legal guardians for Woojoo (rn it's only Hyun Jin even though Taehyung is just as involved in Woojoo's life) and a wedding with Woojoo as their flowerboy ^^ !!
But none of this derails the show because there is adequate space given to all the secondary characters and plot points like the neighbors, their individual work lives and the inevitable legal obligations regarding guardianship. The leads have chemistry for days and this stays consistent throughout the show. The love triangle objectively doesn't take up any more space than is usually the case for this trope with the leads getting appropriate screentime together and individually in every episode. There is humor, friendship, romance and a whole lot of adorable moments between the leads and Woojoo to make this a worthwhile watch.
Bae In Hyuk is a fantastic actor with impressive comedic timing who gets a lot of moments early in the show to explore these strengths, his emotional moments could use some more work and I hate the makers for making him do all that aegyo in the end there but he makes them tolerable regardless, and his screen presence reminds me of Seo In Guk in so many ways and I can see a promising career for him in the future.
Roh Jeong Eui has the most loving gaze and prettiest smile when Hyun Jin looks at Woojoo and Taehyung. She makes her character thoroughly lovable and relatable. I cried with her when she breaks down in front of Taehyung seeing the insurance papers for her sister's death. It really hurt to see a character that had tried to remain so strong up until that moment finally lose it when she realized the true gravity and cruelty of that moment.
Park Yuho who played Woojoo is the highlight of the show. His tiny dialogues and adorable presence make every moment he's in even better. His reactions are truly the highlight of this show, so many meme worthy adorably hilarious moments from start to finish.
Park Seo Ham is unfortunately very forgettable here. He lacks screen presence in this drama and the show doesn't really do him any justice either with how one dimensional his character is written. The usual way green flag MLs and SMLs are who have no personality outside of serving the FL with no sense of boundaries and personal choice. Adding to this is how he also comes across very condescending and lacking awareness of his own privilege while also weaponizing it and his feelings for Hyun Jin to push Taehyung away in a very manipulative underhanded manner.
The neighbors, Taehyung and Hyun Jin's work colleagues and friends and neighbors on the other hand make a much better supporting cast and create many memorable moments as well as add to great world building.
This is a show you should watch for its slow appraisal of finding love where and when it is least expected, learning to be brave enough to rely on others, and the unique moments that come out of coparenting and shared living.
Is it the best? No. Does it deserve all this hate? Absolutely not. Does it get things right so many shows don't? 100% yes. Does it deserve a fair chance from new viewers? Absolutely yes.
I will put it out there right off the bat that this drama is for people looking to watch a slow burn relationship built on a foundation of shared grief, responsibility, and friendship. If you are looking for instant gratification in grand pink-filtered dates and overt romantic moments, you won't find it until the end.
What this drama does well though is actually much rarer for kdrama standards. It shows how real feelings develop from scratch between two complete strangers who began their journey being bickering enemies, then to indifference, then slow attraction and finally deep love. It also shows how feelings manifest in real life unlike the usual loud moments that have become a prerequisite for romance shows.
These are evident in how Taehyung chooses to pick up the camera he vowed not to ever again just so that Hyunjin and Woojoo would have warm water at home, how Hyun Jin encourages Taehyung to give photography a try again and how both of them cheer for each other in their personal successes, how Hyun Jin worries about Taehyung the whole day even when she's out with her first love, how Hyun Jin stays up all night to tend to a sick Taehyung because she knows he hates the rain and how lonely he gets when it rains because of his childhood, how Hyun Jin only ever allows Taehyung to help her, see her vulnerability, tears and complaints, how Hyun Jin instinctively understands Taehyung's harsh words to her were from a place of fear and helplessness and how Taehyung immediately regrets what he said and comes home with a peace treaty in the form of food, and so many more instances I would need a rewatch to catch them all!
This is what love in real life looks like. And it was so refreshing to see these moments in a drama amongst the sea of other shows that always get the loud dramatic moments right but never stop to dwell on the smaller more "mundane" stuff that ironically create more lasting impact on the foundation of a longterm relationship. And even more rare to see them from a female lead when lately especially, it's always become the male lead showing up in small and big ways for female leads that hardly ever reciprocate the same kindness.
This natural camaraderie is obvious from the first day Taehyung moves in with Hyunjin and Woojoo, and how easily each of them fit into their individual roles in their "new family". Anyone observing from the outside can see the potential that already exists.
Both the leads have realistic and well written character arcs. Taehyung goes from being traumatized, selfish and afraid, to healed, selfless and responsible. Hyunjin goes from pampered and immature to emotionally stable, mature and accountable.
All because the other helped them and stood by them through actively choosing to provide for and be responsible for Woojoo, the center of their universe.
The title is completely apt here because both of them truly give Woojoo the universe, and it shows up in how every thought and action of theirs keeps Woojoo at the forefront. How Taehyung and Hyunjin choose to learn through their mistakes and find stability and love together. Like I said, this is so evident from the start that when they eventually acknowledge their mutual feelings and become a couple, it feels like any other day in their already established life together because they had already been a family long before both of them even realized it. The shift isn't jarring, but like any natural progression of a real world relationship.
Now does this show have flaws? Absolutely yes. The production quality is inconsistent and creates awkwardly paced editing jumps from time to time especially in the first few episodes, crucial scenes that appear in BTS videos like an almost kiss between the leads don't show up in the final edit, the plot introduces a mostly unnecessary love triangle that could've been concluded sooner and worked into one more episode of Hyunjin and Taehyung navigating coparenting, building new bonds with their neighbors who become their found family, and developing their relationship further so we might've ended up having two legal guardians for Woojoo (rn it's only Hyun Jin even though Taehyung is just as involved in Woojoo's life) and a wedding with Woojoo as their flowerboy ^^ !!
But none of this derails the show because there is adequate space given to all the secondary characters and plot points like the neighbors, their individual work lives and the inevitable legal obligations regarding guardianship. The leads have chemistry for days and this stays consistent throughout the show. The love triangle objectively doesn't take up any more space than is usually the case for this trope with the leads getting appropriate screentime together and individually in every episode. There is humor, friendship, romance and a whole lot of adorable moments between the leads and Woojoo to make this a worthwhile watch.
Bae In Hyuk is a fantastic actor with impressive comedic timing who gets a lot of moments early in the show to explore these strengths, his emotional moments could use some more work and I hate the makers for making him do all that aegyo in the end there but he makes them tolerable regardless, and his screen presence reminds me of Seo In Guk in so many ways and I can see a promising career for him in the future.
Roh Jeong Eui has the most loving gaze and prettiest smile when Hyun Jin looks at Woojoo and Taehyung. She makes her character thoroughly lovable and relatable. I cried with her when she breaks down in front of Taehyung seeing the insurance papers for her sister's death. It really hurt to see a character that had tried to remain so strong up until that moment finally lose it when she realized the true gravity and cruelty of that moment.
Park Yuho who played Woojoo is the highlight of the show. His tiny dialogues and adorable presence make every moment he's in even better. His reactions are truly the highlight of this show, so many meme worthy adorably hilarious moments from start to finish.
Park Seo Ham is unfortunately very forgettable here. He lacks screen presence in this drama and the show doesn't really do him any justice either with how one dimensional his character is written. The usual way green flag MLs and SMLs are who have no personality outside of serving the FL with no sense of boundaries and personal choice. Adding to this is how he also comes across very condescending and lacking awareness of his own privilege while also weaponizing it and his feelings for Hyun Jin to push Taehyung away in a very manipulative underhanded manner.
The neighbors, Taehyung and Hyun Jin's work colleagues and friends and neighbors on the other hand make a much better supporting cast and create many memorable moments as well as add to great world building.
This is a show you should watch for its slow appraisal of finding love where and when it is least expected, learning to be brave enough to rely on others, and the unique moments that come out of coparenting and shared living.
Is it the best? No. Does it deserve all this hate? Absolutely not. Does it get things right so many shows don't? 100% yes. Does it deserve a fair chance from new viewers? Absolutely yes.
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