No. This one starts on 9th Sept. One and Only ended last week. But at least they are airing back to back. I think I'll have to watch Joy of life season 2 with my grandchildren after 40 years if it's ever made.
Before starting this long complicated comment on Nabi-Jaeon love story I'd like to just clarify a few things: 1. This is not a rant. I stopped caring for the lovestory to be upset about it and watched it from a character, story, and narration perspective.
2. Iāll just talk about the main couple's relationship because other than that i thought the whole show was pretty good. I especially liked Sol and Jiwan. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Art teach: Is the sculpture crumbling down or building up?
Nabi: Depends on the perspective
That's about the whole show.
I was so mad at this that I thought about quitting at episode 7. Then I thought, wth! let's try to see it in 50 different ways and finish it. So, i didā¦ finish watching it with a different approach.
The thing about the ending being realistic is actually right. It is realistic.
Love with all your heart. Love bravely. Love fearlessly. But never stop loving yourself. Falling in love with a bad person is not one's fault. But never realizing it, not admitting and trying to get out of it, or trying to find normalcy in it is a disservice to oneself. It's disrespecting oneself. Not loving oneself. And it's not fair.
And No, everything is not fair in Love.
When i put myself in Nabi's shoes I understand why it's so difficult for her to quit Jaeon.
She came out of a shitty relationship and in the next few minutes a charming gorgeous dude is hitting on her. Itās quite okay for her to think of shaking away the terrible mood and going to have some fun. It's no problem. But then the dude's also an expert manipulator and has been eyeing her for some time. So she falls for his charming caring ways because her last dude was all about bullying her for wearing nailpaint and her not appreciating his lovely gesture of displaying her nude sculpture of a private moment without her consent. So it's possible for her to see the star in Jaeon the manipulator's eyes.
She didn't only have sex with him, they spend some good non-sex cozy moments together too. He was caring, helpful, always lending his ears to her problems and making her feel she's the only one in the world whenever she was with him.
The red flags couldn't compete with all the rush and happiness she felt with him.
She's too young. They are all young. And people make mistakes and learn from them.
The reality in the show is her struggling to quit Jaeon and failing every time. Going as far as running away from him out of his radar, asking him to never show his face again, etc. but all to no success. He successfully sucked her into his alluring attractive exhilarating heady vortex in the end.
This happens in real life too. With toxic relationships, cigarettes, snortā¦ People need external intervention , support, strict discipline to get out of such situations. I get it. The reality part.
The not real part is how they try to make a cigarette into a chocolate covered celery stick with the cinematography and storytelling.
Jaeon the thus far flirty fuckboi changed into a real boy after doing Nabi!
He was a bad boy so what. He realized his bad ways and is trying hard to change it. Every person should get a chance to better themself. Every character can have an arc. Totally agree!
If they had stuck to telling this story from Nabi's perspective then it could have been better i think. Instead they started giving Jaeon a character and perspective to redeem him, but stopped quarter way (could be not enough episodes thatās why).
I have no context for his character other than Nabi. The two other interactions of his we get are the mother who's like a 3 minute insert of again no context other than Nabi's dancer mom who ignored her heart. She was in the story to preach her her son just thatā don't ignore your heart! Like wth! This makes 0 contribution to the story. Why am i supposed to listen to the lady i am never even introduced to properly. This 3 minute scene worked for Nabi's mom's case since we got to know a bit more about Nabi, and got a glimpse of her mom and their relationship through this.
The next big (or just unnecessary long winded) interaction, the girl whom he spends time with when heās not with Nabi. Who's she again!? I never got any introduction to her either. She told Nabi that she used to be Jaeon's gf. Am i supposed to believe her! since she said she lied to Nabi. Why is Jaeon spending time with her? A favor(!) could beā¦
So what I see of his transition from apathetic fuckboi to slightly shook real boy are those scenes of him acting like a jealous bf, jerk, stalker, looking conflicted and thinking He ruined this relationship!
His transition to me is like those abstract paintings i am too dumb to understand. He's still a mystery. And i can feel attracted to a mystery but can't feel empathy or sympathy for him. Saarry!
But the final Twist of course takes the cake! Jaeon the nonlover, nonliker, nondater had already fallen in love at first sight with Nabi at the beginning of the show. Take that Usual Suspect.
So when finally Nabi chose him it was indeed realistic but slapped on a so far unrealistic story. The writer didn't yet have the expertness to write a realistic complex dark relationship, neither does the director have the vision to direct it. That's why the ending makes me hella confused. But that was my fault...
This is the reason i think the drama has such polarized opinions.
The people who are upset with Nabi's choice could prolly have been less unhappy if the show showed the real atmosphere of a toxic relationship and how in spite of being aware of it people can't get out of it. Not the sensual, romantic, beautified simulation of it.
Therefore I stopped taking their lovestory too seriously and quit looking at it with expectation. It was my fault for having that mindset at the beginning. The writer or director didnāt promise any such thing to me. Now that it's over I'll treat it as just another lovestory like twilight and friends.
OH MY GOD! It's over! I finished watching! And now I am DEVASTATED! What am I gonna watch now? What! It made me so utterly happy, laugh, feel emotional... What is gonna feel this hole in my heart now? I have to wait until sept for hospital Playlist to end. Where's snow white's sleeping apple when you need it... I wanna just sleep for 1 and a half month straight! T-T I am gonna rewatch it within a month. For sure.
I love how hopelessly, clingily, crazily, passionately Woo Yeo is in love with Dam. I love that the love is not only one sidedly longing. I love that they both are going through the same emotions and feelings and at the same intensity. I love that the feeling of love is balanced. I love their love's journey! I just fking love it!
I love your review. Do hyuk is potato boy because on his and Nabi's first meeting on the bus he dropped all his potatoes he was carryingš
1. This is not a rant. I stopped caring for the lovestory to be upset about it and watched it from a character, story, and narration perspective.
2. Iāll just talk about the main couple's relationship because other than that i thought the whole show was pretty good. I especially liked Sol and Jiwan.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Art teach: Is the sculpture crumbling down or building up?
Nabi: Depends on the perspective
That's about the whole show.
I was so mad at this that I thought about quitting at episode 7. Then I thought, wth! let's try to see it in 50 different ways and finish it. So, i didā¦ finish watching it with a different approach.
The thing about the ending being realistic is actually right. It is realistic.
Love with all your heart. Love bravely. Love fearlessly. But never stop loving yourself. Falling in love with a bad person is not one's fault. But never realizing it, not admitting and trying to get out of it, or trying to find normalcy in it is a disservice to oneself. It's disrespecting oneself. Not loving oneself. And it's not fair.
And No, everything is not fair in Love.
When i put myself in Nabi's shoes I understand why it's so difficult for her to quit Jaeon.
She came out of a shitty relationship and in the next few minutes a charming gorgeous dude is hitting on her. Itās quite okay for her to think of shaking away the terrible mood and going to have some fun. It's no problem. But then the dude's also an expert manipulator and has been eyeing her for some time. So she falls for his charming caring ways because her last dude was all about bullying her for wearing nailpaint and her not appreciating his lovely gesture of displaying her nude sculpture of a private moment without her consent. So it's possible for her to see the star in Jaeon the manipulator's eyes.
She didn't only have sex with him, they spend some good non-sex cozy moments together too. He was caring, helpful, always lending his ears to her problems and making her feel she's the only one in the world whenever she was with him.
The red flags couldn't compete with all the rush and happiness she felt with him.
She's too young. They are all young. And people make mistakes and learn from them.
The reality in the show is her struggling to quit Jaeon and failing every time. Going as far as running away from him out of his radar, asking him to never show his face again, etc. but all to no success. He successfully sucked her into his alluring attractive exhilarating heady vortex in the end.
This happens in real life too. With toxic relationships, cigarettes, snortā¦ People need external intervention , support, strict discipline to get out of such situations. I get it. The reality part.
The not real part is how they try to make a cigarette into a chocolate covered celery stick with the cinematography and storytelling.
Jaeon the thus far flirty fuckboi changed into a real boy after doing Nabi!
He was a bad boy so what. He realized his bad ways and is trying hard to change it. Every person should get a chance to better themself. Every character can have an arc. Totally agree!
If they had stuck to telling this story from Nabi's perspective then it could have been better i think. Instead they started giving Jaeon a character and perspective to redeem him, but stopped quarter way (could be not enough episodes thatās why).
I have no context for his character other than Nabi. The two other interactions of his we get are the mother who's like a 3 minute insert of again no context other than Nabi's dancer mom who ignored her heart. She was in the story to preach her her son just thatā don't ignore your heart! Like wth! This makes 0 contribution to the story. Why am i supposed to listen to the lady i am never even introduced to properly. This 3 minute scene worked for Nabi's mom's case since we got to know a bit more about Nabi, and got a glimpse of her mom and their relationship through this.
The next big (or just unnecessary long winded) interaction, the girl whom he spends time with when heās not with Nabi. Who's she again!? I never got any introduction to her either. She told Nabi that she used to be Jaeon's gf. Am i supposed to believe her! since she said she lied to Nabi. Why is Jaeon spending time with her? A favor(!) could beā¦
So what I see of his transition from apathetic fuckboi to slightly shook real boy are those scenes of him acting like a jealous bf, jerk, stalker, looking conflicted and thinking He ruined this relationship!
His transition to me is like those abstract paintings i am too dumb to understand. He's still a mystery. And i can feel attracted to a mystery but can't feel empathy or sympathy for him. Saarry!
But the final Twist of course takes the cake! Jaeon the nonlover, nonliker, nondater had already fallen in love at first sight with Nabi at the beginning of the show. Take that Usual Suspect.
So when finally Nabi chose him it was indeed realistic but slapped on a so far unrealistic story. The writer didn't yet have the expertness to write a realistic complex dark relationship, neither does the director have the vision to direct it. That's why the ending makes me hella confused. But that was my fault...
This is the reason i think the drama has such polarized opinions.
The people who are upset with Nabi's choice could prolly have been less unhappy if the show showed the real atmosphere of a toxic relationship and how in spite of being aware of it people can't get out of it. Not the sensual, romantic, beautified simulation of it.
Therefore I stopped taking their lovestory too seriously and quit looking at it with expectation. It was my fault for having that mindset at the beginning. The writer or director didnāt promise any such thing to me. Now that it's over I'll treat it as just another lovestory like twilight and friends.
No hard feelings ā
edit: I promise I found this only after my comment
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zab_DscuAag&t=15s
I am gonna rewatch it within a month. For sure.