Nrsh2

I think, first things first, the actors make this look so organic and real. The dynamic of characters make sense and the viewer is left with trying to understand the character more than trying to fill loop holes or catch the next one. For CDramas I think office romance is kind of my goto (its not for KDramas lol). So, this hit the spot in terms of the story, acting, music and tons of variety in the scenes. There wasn't the woman falling and being caugh 5 times in a row IFKYK. I think as a western viewer there are definitely tropes of the characters that are hard to understand. I actually like this as a takeaway because I would rather question and engage with the show then just consume. So, what do I mean? I think the parts thats frustating is understanding the charcter's motivation. The show does good job of showing main characters but maybe their relationships to their family, and upbringing, atleast things the two main characters think they don't align on are not fully clear. Maybe thats just explained so much in other shows that this show didn't feel like they needed to spend time doing alot of that. I think this is more true for the FL's intention than the ML. She is ambitious and independent, but alot of her motivation is promotion and earning a name for herself. When she decides to move back to her parents it almost feels sudden, and I think its confusing if she genuinely did want that or was purely running away. Again, its nuanced in its portrayal so maybe that what should appreciated that she lives imperfectly and tries to do her best. So yeah, I don't think its like other dramas in this genre especially portraying female leads choices. In terms of the ML, its a bit hard to understand his drawbacks. He is hot and cold, like a bit too much. I think the main goal with him is that you are supposed to see his progress, but sometimes its also hard because as a viewer you are like he kinda stays the same hot head mean dude for a while, but changes once they get back like the second time for a bit and becomes more patient,... but it doesn't last. I definitely think this show made me question, should they even be together? At some point, I was like ok if they don't end up together thats fine I wouldn't mind because they tried and tried alot.

SO yeah, the realism of it makes sense (apart from no one finding out they were dating for so long), romance setup is great that viewers don't have to feel like they are watching two different shows before they get together and after, it stays in focus, but it definitely makes you question the characters.