This review may contain spoilers
Chaotic, Illogical, and Somehow Still Fun
*Disclaimer: This review contains major spoilers for the entire series, including plot twists and the ending. Read at your own risk.
This drama is so dumb — ridiculously bad. So bad that I can’t even be mad about it. What’s worse is that I think I might have actually enjoyed it at times. I didn’t know it was possible for a show to move this fast-paced while also going absolutely nowhere.
The setup was nice, and I liked the first episode, but overall the story made no sense. It felt like the writers just threw all logic out the window. The plot twist came out of nowhere and didn’t make any logical sense whatsoever. It was very clearly added purely for shock value, with no real thought behind it.
Like, you’re telling me Arisa dedicated her entire life to avenging her dead parents and somehow never realized her mother was alive, yet Lalin and King figured it out in a single day? Her mother must have just done a terrible job faking her own death because what even was that?
Mek being secretly evil was very obvious — I think most people guessed that from the trailer alone. It’s a very common trope in revenge stories like this, so it didn’t feel original at all.
The writers also couldn’t even commit to giving Mek an actual redemption arc. Instead, they just had him appear out of nowhere and take a bullet for Arisa in the last episode like that was supposed to magically undo everything. I literally didn’t even know he was there until he got shot. How did he even know where they were? Was he just stalking Arisa the whole time?
The characters were barely developed. I couldn’t tell you a single thing about either Arisa’s or Lalin’s personalities outside of the revenge plot, aside from Arisa being resentful and emotionally closed off. Lalin especially felt underwritten at times. She kind of only exists so Arisa can love her. The show briefly mentions the struggles in Lalin’s own life, but they’re rarely explored deeply enough to actually matter. As a result, Lalin mostly ends up serving as the person who helps heal Arisa and teaches her how to love again. Which is cute, don’t get me wrong — I just wish we had gotten to know Lalin a bit more as her own character.
The romance was also rushed (though that’s somewhat understandable considering the show is only eight episodes long), and for most of the series, not much of real importance actually happens.
I also think a story that tries to combine revenge and romance like this needs a decent amount of emotional angst for both aspects to really work together, and Broken of Love surprisingly had very little of it. Considering the drama is built around betrayal, trauma, and revenge, the emotional tension felt oddly low most of the time, which made a lot of the drama feel underwhelming instead of intense.
I think the best episodes were Episodes 1 and 7. Even though all logic disappears after Episode 6, that’s also when the plot finally starts moving. The earlier episodes mostly just felt like buildup.
Of course, the show wasn’t completely bad. The acting was decent overall, and Faye and Atom had enough chemistry to make the romance one of the more enjoyable parts of the series. Even when the writing lost me, their scenes together still worked. The love scenes were also shot really well and felt surprisingly tasteful and intimate compared to other GLs.
I also liked the dynamic between Wei Ling and Arisa. Their rivalry had a fun push-and-pull tension that kept their interactions interesting, and I found that aspect more engaging than rest of the revenge plot. Visually, the show looked great too. The cinematography, lighting, and overall aesthetic were very polished and satisfying to watch, which definitely helped make the drama more entertaining despite all its flaws.
Overall, this is one of those dramas that’s objectively a mess but still somehow entertaining enough to keep watching. It had potential, but the weak writing and lack of logic held it back from being anything memorable.
This drama is so dumb — ridiculously bad. So bad that I can’t even be mad about it. What’s worse is that I think I might have actually enjoyed it at times. I didn’t know it was possible for a show to move this fast-paced while also going absolutely nowhere.
The setup was nice, and I liked the first episode, but overall the story made no sense. It felt like the writers just threw all logic out the window. The plot twist came out of nowhere and didn’t make any logical sense whatsoever. It was very clearly added purely for shock value, with no real thought behind it.
Like, you’re telling me Arisa dedicated her entire life to avenging her dead parents and somehow never realized her mother was alive, yet Lalin and King figured it out in a single day? Her mother must have just done a terrible job faking her own death because what even was that?
Mek being secretly evil was very obvious — I think most people guessed that from the trailer alone. It’s a very common trope in revenge stories like this, so it didn’t feel original at all.
The writers also couldn’t even commit to giving Mek an actual redemption arc. Instead, they just had him appear out of nowhere and take a bullet for Arisa in the last episode like that was supposed to magically undo everything. I literally didn’t even know he was there until he got shot. How did he even know where they were? Was he just stalking Arisa the whole time?
The characters were barely developed. I couldn’t tell you a single thing about either Arisa’s or Lalin’s personalities outside of the revenge plot, aside from Arisa being resentful and emotionally closed off. Lalin especially felt underwritten at times. She kind of only exists so Arisa can love her. The show briefly mentions the struggles in Lalin’s own life, but they’re rarely explored deeply enough to actually matter. As a result, Lalin mostly ends up serving as the person who helps heal Arisa and teaches her how to love again. Which is cute, don’t get me wrong — I just wish we had gotten to know Lalin a bit more as her own character.
The romance was also rushed (though that’s somewhat understandable considering the show is only eight episodes long), and for most of the series, not much of real importance actually happens.
I also think a story that tries to combine revenge and romance like this needs a decent amount of emotional angst for both aspects to really work together, and Broken of Love surprisingly had very little of it. Considering the drama is built around betrayal, trauma, and revenge, the emotional tension felt oddly low most of the time, which made a lot of the drama feel underwhelming instead of intense.
I think the best episodes were Episodes 1 and 7. Even though all logic disappears after Episode 6, that’s also when the plot finally starts moving. The earlier episodes mostly just felt like buildup.
Of course, the show wasn’t completely bad. The acting was decent overall, and Faye and Atom had enough chemistry to make the romance one of the more enjoyable parts of the series. Even when the writing lost me, their scenes together still worked. The love scenes were also shot really well and felt surprisingly tasteful and intimate compared to other GLs.
I also liked the dynamic between Wei Ling and Arisa. Their rivalry had a fun push-and-pull tension that kept their interactions interesting, and I found that aspect more engaging than rest of the revenge plot. Visually, the show looked great too. The cinematography, lighting, and overall aesthetic were very polished and satisfying to watch, which definitely helped make the drama more entertaining despite all its flaws.
Overall, this is one of those dramas that’s objectively a mess but still somehow entertaining enough to keep watching. It had potential, but the weak writing and lack of logic held it back from being anything memorable.
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