This review may contain spoilers
Emotional Depth Held Back by Pacing
This is so my type of show — very character-driven, with main leads needing to come to terms with their past, etc. It reminded me a little of Welcome to Samdalri, which I loved (and honestly, I started watching this drama because Lee Jaewook was in it). So why a 7.0 then? I was between a 7 and a 7.5 because I still enjoyed it, but looking back there were a lot of issues that I couldn’t ignore.
For one, the pacing was all over the place. The beginning was slow and a little confusing, and they really dragged out the reveal about the twins. But the fact that they were twins didn’t even end up playing that big of a role in the climax. Because of the delayed reveal, you would think it would be a bigger deal, but it ended up not being one. Then the pacing got faster, then slowed down again, and then got even slower at the end. Honestly, there was a lot of “happiness” at the end with the wedding of the second leads. The main leads got together, and then there were still two and a half episodes left! Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoyed it (but also I’m super happy in real life right now and just chilling, not pressed for time).
Another thing was the climax of the story. The reveal about why they weren’t together kind of made sense but didn’t fully explain all of the tension and the passage of time. I can empathize with and understand the characters’ feelings, but there were so many different plot lines that all added to the climax, which made it a little harder to follow (and they didn’t even further develop those storylines). When the climax did happen, it didn’t feel satisfying enough, because it was built on so many different misunderstandings that I lost the plot.
Basically, Song’s mother had just passed away, and then she found out Baek Doha was pretending to be Baek Doyoung while he was missing, presumably dead. She got mad and told him to leave and never come back. Later you find out she has a pattern of saying the opposite of what she means. Baek Doha feels guilty and actually listens to her. Two years go by, and then he comes back. Song is angry and cold to him, but it turns out it’s because she has abandonment issues — she doesn’t want to get close and then see him leave her again (her mom died, her dad ran away after, her foster siblings always left, Doyoung went to the mountains then died, Doha went back to the States and only visited in the summer). She eventually comes around when she realizes how much she cares about him.
In between, she briefly dates the lawyer because she wanted to be an adult and not revert to her childish ways when she’s with Doha. Doha, on the other hand, still feels guilty over his brother, thinking he was always selfish and took what his brother wanted (Song). It turns out his brother always wanted what was best for him and wanted to help him truly belong, which is why he did the whole three-stars constellation thing. He had supported Song and Doha’s relationship the whole time. Song helps him realize that — which becomes the climax at the mountain — and then happily ever after. She addresses her abandonment issues when Doha leaves for the US and comes back, and also when she reunites with her dad.
The second-lead storyline is basically a 12-year relationship where they hid their true emotions and pretended to always be happy, partly because the guy is a wheelchair user after a hockey accident. They break up, realize the truth, and get back together.
So basically, expectations didn’t match the climax enough. Nothing really happened — just a lot of misunderstandings and self-guilt in the context of grief. Which does make sense, and I do empathize, but it makes the drama only a 7.0… BUT one that I completed! The second-lead storyline was also based on misunderstanding and lack of proper communication. I thought they would do more with the disability representation, but I was a little disappointed.
For one, the pacing was all over the place. The beginning was slow and a little confusing, and they really dragged out the reveal about the twins. But the fact that they were twins didn’t even end up playing that big of a role in the climax. Because of the delayed reveal, you would think it would be a bigger deal, but it ended up not being one. Then the pacing got faster, then slowed down again, and then got even slower at the end. Honestly, there was a lot of “happiness” at the end with the wedding of the second leads. The main leads got together, and then there were still two and a half episodes left! Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoyed it (but also I’m super happy in real life right now and just chilling, not pressed for time).
Another thing was the climax of the story. The reveal about why they weren’t together kind of made sense but didn’t fully explain all of the tension and the passage of time. I can empathize with and understand the characters’ feelings, but there were so many different plot lines that all added to the climax, which made it a little harder to follow (and they didn’t even further develop those storylines). When the climax did happen, it didn’t feel satisfying enough, because it was built on so many different misunderstandings that I lost the plot.
Basically, Song’s mother had just passed away, and then she found out Baek Doha was pretending to be Baek Doyoung while he was missing, presumably dead. She got mad and told him to leave and never come back. Later you find out she has a pattern of saying the opposite of what she means. Baek Doha feels guilty and actually listens to her. Two years go by, and then he comes back. Song is angry and cold to him, but it turns out it’s because she has abandonment issues — she doesn’t want to get close and then see him leave her again (her mom died, her dad ran away after, her foster siblings always left, Doyoung went to the mountains then died, Doha went back to the States and only visited in the summer). She eventually comes around when she realizes how much she cares about him.
In between, she briefly dates the lawyer because she wanted to be an adult and not revert to her childish ways when she’s with Doha. Doha, on the other hand, still feels guilty over his brother, thinking he was always selfish and took what his brother wanted (Song). It turns out his brother always wanted what was best for him and wanted to help him truly belong, which is why he did the whole three-stars constellation thing. He had supported Song and Doha’s relationship the whole time. Song helps him realize that — which becomes the climax at the mountain — and then happily ever after. She addresses her abandonment issues when Doha leaves for the US and comes back, and also when she reunites with her dad.
The second-lead storyline is basically a 12-year relationship where they hid their true emotions and pretended to always be happy, partly because the guy is a wheelchair user after a hockey accident. They break up, realize the truth, and get back together.
So basically, expectations didn’t match the climax enough. Nothing really happened — just a lot of misunderstandings and self-guilt in the context of grief. Which does make sense, and I do empathize, but it makes the drama only a 7.0… BUT one that I completed! The second-lead storyline was also based on misunderstanding and lack of proper communication. I thought they would do more with the disability representation, but I was a little disappointed.
Was this review helpful to you?
