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This review may contain spoilers
Crying when you see other people’s happiness because you feel you don’t deserve it. Yeah, I know that feeling.
The series starts off pretty well, but then two or three episodes fall flat (the knife attack ? That whole thing was ridiculous), and after that, it never really manages to get back on track. It does try some new things, though, and it deserves credit for that. Unfortunately, that’s not enough.
People believe that breaking up means losing their shared memories, a part of themselves, but the good times aren’t lost. They always happened. This couple doesn’t know where they stand anymore because they’ve filled their heads with grand ideas about love, and they don’t know how to communicate since everything has been buried under the weight of their daily lives. At some point, it has to come out. They don’t know how to react anymore.
Based on all those elements in the first few episodes, I thought this was a mature series. We see the characters come to accept that loving someone sometimes simply means showing your vulnerability to them. Being 29 years old and crying like a 7-year-old. Admitting that you’ll never be what the other person sees in you. It also raises some interesting questions: if you’re not living for yourself but for someone else, is that still living? Even when love fades, continuing to live for the other person, I don’t know what to call that… a waste ? Episode 11 poses the question more clearly but doesn’t provide any answer.
It turns our expectations of romance on its head, with a couple who’ve been friends since childhood and no longer know if they love each other or what to do with their lives. Lots of people have been through this, and it hasn’t often been at the heart of love stories. Is it a success ? I didn’t find any chemistry between these characters ; neither in their relationship nor in the infidelity. Namgung/Seo Kang Jun says, "Go see that man who brought you back to life". At what point ? I saw a very awkward drunken kiss and no affection whatsoever. None at all, actually. No one really shows their feelings. Mido/Ahn Eun-jin doesn't seem at all like she’s found life within her again. That’s the major flaw and not the least of them...
I don't even want to get into the story of how Mido's father died while saving Namgung as a child. It's horribly written and completely unconvincing. Very annoying. And it's revealed like the climax of a thriller. Read the room, please.
Anyway. It’s nice to see couples with complex relationships who make mistakes or are just plain unlikable. But here’s the thing: the execution is mediocre, the subplots are boring, and over the course of 14 episodes, it fails to live up to its promises. A failure.
The series becomes tedious without exploring the whys and wherefores. We’re asked to cry (What’s that ? Static violins in a minor key and some piano notes with reverb ? That’s the cue: cry !), but we’re not given the tools to do so.
I struggled through it until the end when I didn't have anything else to watch. And partly to see the Titanic sink, I'll admit. I don't know what happened, but it's a total flop even though it had everything it needed. All the right ingredients, but no yeast. (Why all these metaphors ?)
We can't really fault Ah Eun Bin and Seo Kang-jun, they're both doing their best and acting pretty well, especially her. (mostly her, tbh) One of the final scenes, on the beach, is quite moving, and the whole series should have been just like that scene. Voilà !
Bullet review :
_One thing I don't understand is why people are all standing so close to each other's faces ? It's stressing me out.
_Stop kissing like that. You can see you're not making it work. Zero passion, zero desire, no love.
_"Work with people who respect you, not the highest bidders. Nobody considers their dog a colleague." Not bad. And join a union.
_The sweet potato part... fascinating. I don't think we explored that story enough. Please be even more boring. I want to know all about those chips and those office rivalries between colleagues.
_Koreans exile themselves to an island and fish, apparently, when things aren't going well. A Shop for Killers does the same thing. Either the writers have no new ideas, or it's a real thing.
_Episode 5: Namgung threatens to have his mother committed, as his guardian. Not cool, man. This mother character is inconsistent. Sometimes riddled with debt, sometimes rich, living off her son, then off some man... It's long and uninteresting. What does she do with all that money ? Why does her son have to solve all the problems ? Nah, who cares.
_Mido and the lawyer are incredibly bored together. She's sulking. He's not interested in her, her life, or her tastes. He demands that she smile. I don't understand.
(By the way, the lawyer set fire to a high school and caused someone's death ? Excuse me ? What do we do with this information ? Nothing. We won't do anything with it.)
The series starts off pretty well, but then two or three episodes fall flat (the knife attack ? That whole thing was ridiculous), and after that, it never really manages to get back on track. It does try some new things, though, and it deserves credit for that. Unfortunately, that’s not enough.
People believe that breaking up means losing their shared memories, a part of themselves, but the good times aren’t lost. They always happened. This couple doesn’t know where they stand anymore because they’ve filled their heads with grand ideas about love, and they don’t know how to communicate since everything has been buried under the weight of their daily lives. At some point, it has to come out. They don’t know how to react anymore.
Based on all those elements in the first few episodes, I thought this was a mature series. We see the characters come to accept that loving someone sometimes simply means showing your vulnerability to them. Being 29 years old and crying like a 7-year-old. Admitting that you’ll never be what the other person sees in you. It also raises some interesting questions: if you’re not living for yourself but for someone else, is that still living? Even when love fades, continuing to live for the other person, I don’t know what to call that… a waste ? Episode 11 poses the question more clearly but doesn’t provide any answer.
It turns our expectations of romance on its head, with a couple who’ve been friends since childhood and no longer know if they love each other or what to do with their lives. Lots of people have been through this, and it hasn’t often been at the heart of love stories. Is it a success ? I didn’t find any chemistry between these characters ; neither in their relationship nor in the infidelity. Namgung/Seo Kang Jun says, "Go see that man who brought you back to life". At what point ? I saw a very awkward drunken kiss and no affection whatsoever. None at all, actually. No one really shows their feelings. Mido/Ahn Eun-jin doesn't seem at all like she’s found life within her again. That’s the major flaw and not the least of them...
I don't even want to get into the story of how Mido's father died while saving Namgung as a child. It's horribly written and completely unconvincing. Very annoying. And it's revealed like the climax of a thriller. Read the room, please.
Anyway. It’s nice to see couples with complex relationships who make mistakes or are just plain unlikable. But here’s the thing: the execution is mediocre, the subplots are boring, and over the course of 14 episodes, it fails to live up to its promises. A failure.
The series becomes tedious without exploring the whys and wherefores. We’re asked to cry (What’s that ? Static violins in a minor key and some piano notes with reverb ? That’s the cue: cry !), but we’re not given the tools to do so.
I struggled through it until the end when I didn't have anything else to watch. And partly to see the Titanic sink, I'll admit. I don't know what happened, but it's a total flop even though it had everything it needed. All the right ingredients, but no yeast. (Why all these metaphors ?)
We can't really fault Ah Eun Bin and Seo Kang-jun, they're both doing their best and acting pretty well, especially her. (mostly her, tbh) One of the final scenes, on the beach, is quite moving, and the whole series should have been just like that scene. Voilà !
Bullet review :
_One thing I don't understand is why people are all standing so close to each other's faces ? It's stressing me out.
_Stop kissing like that. You can see you're not making it work. Zero passion, zero desire, no love.
_"Work with people who respect you, not the highest bidders. Nobody considers their dog a colleague." Not bad. And join a union.
_The sweet potato part... fascinating. I don't think we explored that story enough. Please be even more boring. I want to know all about those chips and those office rivalries between colleagues.
_Koreans exile themselves to an island and fish, apparently, when things aren't going well. A Shop for Killers does the same thing. Either the writers have no new ideas, or it's a real thing.
_Episode 5: Namgung threatens to have his mother committed, as his guardian. Not cool, man. This mother character is inconsistent. Sometimes riddled with debt, sometimes rich, living off her son, then off some man... It's long and uninteresting. What does she do with all that money ? Why does her son have to solve all the problems ? Nah, who cares.
_Mido and the lawyer are incredibly bored together. She's sulking. He's not interested in her, her life, or her tastes. He demands that she smile. I don't understand.
(By the way, the lawyer set fire to a high school and caused someone's death ? Excuse me ? What do we do with this information ? Nothing. We won't do anything with it.)
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