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This is NOT Love
I'm currently watching The Early Spring and am a little surprised it is topping the charts...for me, the romance is a bit cringe. I did stop watching at ep13 because I was no longer interested in their romance whatsoever - while perhaps Luke's actions are not to the level of Red flag, I'd certainly put them at a glaring Yellow.
Their personal relationship starts off with them sleeping together after Luke 'saves' her at a bar where she had become pass out drunk because she and her tutoring partner had inadvertently ordered 20 martinis while badly practicing English...and naturally she felt like she had to finish her 10. Even though she was so drunk that she did not remember her address causing Luke to take her home, she somehow 'sobered up' after a couple hours of sleep. To his credit, Luke did ask if she was sober before taking her to bed. Aside from there being no way she was sober enough to actually give consent at that time, there is the issue that she would have been so hung over that the only thing she'd want to be intimate with is the toilet bowl … with it being 50/50 if Luke would even hold her hair.
Afterward, she calls it an accident, yet when they are alone together, Luke repeatedly will move in close, invading her personal space even though she is visibly uncomfortable with it (then they have her do something such as touch his arm to show that she is actually OK and this isn't 'really' a RED flag moment.
After they decide to start dating but to keep it a secret since it is against policy, Luke repeatedly does small gestures of intimacy toward her even though she tries to have him stop – knowing that she would take the brunt of the punishment if they are caught.
Of course there is the glaring flag that he is much older than her AND is her boss, which admittedly, seems to be a common trope for office romances.
And there is the jealousy. When she is going to go help her best friend with her job assignment of running a speed dating event, he prevents her from going because of jealousy. This is just one of several jealousy incidents.
Finally, there is their complete inability to actually communicate with each other. Both have the issue that they will be upset by something the other has done and rather than talk, they go passive aggressive.
Their 'romance' is why couple's counselors, divorce attorneys and battered women shelters exist. Little about it was leading me to believe they should be together nor that their relationship would be anything but a disaster.
Their personal relationship starts off with them sleeping together after Luke 'saves' her at a bar where she had become pass out drunk because she and her tutoring partner had inadvertently ordered 20 martinis while badly practicing English...and naturally she felt like she had to finish her 10. Even though she was so drunk that she did not remember her address causing Luke to take her home, she somehow 'sobered up' after a couple hours of sleep. To his credit, Luke did ask if she was sober before taking her to bed. Aside from there being no way she was sober enough to actually give consent at that time, there is the issue that she would have been so hung over that the only thing she'd want to be intimate with is the toilet bowl … with it being 50/50 if Luke would even hold her hair.
Afterward, she calls it an accident, yet when they are alone together, Luke repeatedly will move in close, invading her personal space even though she is visibly uncomfortable with it (then they have her do something such as touch his arm to show that she is actually OK and this isn't 'really' a RED flag moment.
After they decide to start dating but to keep it a secret since it is against policy, Luke repeatedly does small gestures of intimacy toward her even though she tries to have him stop – knowing that she would take the brunt of the punishment if they are caught.
Of course there is the glaring flag that he is much older than her AND is her boss, which admittedly, seems to be a common trope for office romances.
And there is the jealousy. When she is going to go help her best friend with her job assignment of running a speed dating event, he prevents her from going because of jealousy. This is just one of several jealousy incidents.
Finally, there is their complete inability to actually communicate with each other. Both have the issue that they will be upset by something the other has done and rather than talk, they go passive aggressive.
Their 'romance' is why couple's counselors, divorce attorneys and battered women shelters exist. Little about it was leading me to believe they should be together nor that their relationship would be anything but a disaster.
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