This review may contain spoilers
Love Alarm 2 Review , Messy Thoughts, Honest Feelings
My review is late, but I had to put it out. My sister recently saw Love Alarm, and she was so pissed lol. I said why not, I waited two years for the release of Season 2 of Love Alarm to come out back then for the same reaction. The cast was amazing, and the acting was superbly done. The music was amazing, my favorite was Blooming Story by Tearliner. But I’m honestly sad about the message this season brought.
What happened with the cliffhanger in Episode 8? Jojo was almost attacked, but nothing came from it. Usually, a victim should report something like that, even if her boyfriend shows up. Especially when the person came directly to her workplace. With how strong CCTV is in Korea, that should have led somewhere. Build just a profile, really, someone that obsessed does not show up just once. I really cannot get over how the killer was not properly pursued until after the girl was murdered.
Then the story shifts, and suddenly Sunoh is framed as the selfish one. But Hyeyeong knew Jojo tried to reach Sunoh several times after the accident, and he never said anything. It changes how everything is seen. Hyeyeong liked Jojo for such a long time, but never had the courage to say anything until Sunoh openly expressed how he felt. It says a lot, and not romantic at all. It tells you that Sunoh didn’t take anything; he just wore his heart openly. Hyeyeong had feelings for a long time, but he stayed silent. I'm not saying his feelings weren’t real, but because he wasn’t willing to risk anything for them. Not getting rejected by someone you claim to love. You'd want to try even once, but instead, he didn't want disruption in his daily routine at work; he chose to have no discomfort. Then Sunoh steps in and does the exact opposite. He speaks his feelings, he takes action, and he makes it known publicly that he loves her. And only then does Hyeyeong move. That shows what his love is, reactive. His timing makes them feel conditional. And in a story about emotions, that silence says just as much as any confession.
That's not the kind of love that chooses you openly, but the kind that waits until the path is already cleared or until someone else proves it’s possible.
It also raises a harder question about Jojo. Because if someone only steps forward after another person leads, are they choosing you, or stepping into an opportunity? And Jojo staying with Hyeyeong until he was finally able to stir something in her does not make sense. It felt like she was running the entire time. She settled for him because she did not have to confront anything. Because she did not feel anything strong enough to challenge her. At times, it felt like she stayed out of gratitude. Out of pity. Because he loved her that much. Even later, it feels like she only began to return those feelings after so much time had passed, almost like guilt shaped that response. Like she could not keep allowing Sunoh to affect her after everything, so she convinced herself of something safer.
That is not a fair and honest foundation for love. And that is why Season 2 made it hard for me to even watch Jojo. I didn't want to sit through her scenes. How do you grow in one season just to fall in the next? I have watched so many dramas where characters face their fears and actually overcome something. Jojo did not face anything; she ran from everything, and she did not conquer anything.
Yukjo, I actually liked her a lot. She is loyal, a real ride-or-die. There is nothing wrong with her. But I did not want her with Sunoh, because he will never love her the way she deserves. He would only put on a facade because that is what he grew up seeing. Look at his parents. His father loves his mother, but his mother does not love him back. She settled because he loved her, and he still cheats because no matter what he does, his love can't reach her. That dynamic is not love; it is survival. There was even an interview scene where his dad brought his phone, and proved his love for her when his Love Alarm rang only for her, but his mom said she had left her phone at home. Because she already knew it would never ring for him. That moment said everything. And Sunoh is walking into the same pattern.
There is also the scene where Sunoh comes back smiling, and his mother asks if he saw Jojo again. Not Yukjo. Because she already knows Yukjo is not the one who reaches him like that. Jojo is the only one who can make him feel that way. So why put him back with Yukjo? Yes, she loves him deeply. Yes, she is loyal. But that does not mean she should be in a one-sided relationship. She deserved her own path. He deserved to heal and move forward properly. Instead, they are both left stuck.
Sunoh should have started anew with someone else years later, after he healed, not Yukjo. It sends the message to settle for someone who loves you more. It worked out for Hyeyeong, but are we saying it is okay to live in an unhealthy dynamic?
Jojo should have grown. Instead, Jojo stayed where she felt comfortable. A place where she could say, “I should be happy because of this,” or because of how someone treated her, rather than what she truly felt. Even Gulmi actually had growth. More growth than Jojo. Jojo kept using what happened to her as a reason not to try, not to move forward, just to stay in a shallow space where she did not have to confront anything. What happened to her was serious, but it became an excuse she never moved past. And those scenes were replayed too much. Gulmi, on the other hand, stayed honest. Even at her worst, she never pretended. She never forced feelings just because it would benefit her. She never pretended to like Duk-gu, no matter how famous or rich he became. She stayed true to herself.
Even Duk-gu, in the end, pissed me off. Saying, This is a log of when Jojo would have rung your Love Alarm, felt unnecessary. Like what? Almost like forcing proof where it shouldn’t be needed. If her love was that strong, it should have shown clearly without an app, without data, without a “what if” file being handed over at the end. The fact that the show needed that device makes it feel forced, like they didn’t trust the story to stand on its own. Because even without the app, it was obvious. Her eyes light up with Sunoh. You can see it. Her emotions are alive. But with Hyeyeong, everything feels routine. calculated and hesitant, like she’s responding the way she thinks she should, not the way she actually feels.
If anything, I would have removed the Love Alarm completely. Let her face her emotions without anything guiding or shielding her, just her and the truth. At times, it feels like the WEBTOON writer created an alternate version of events to reshape something personal, trying to see if it's okay to settle. I was hoping Netflix would take a different direction, similar to how True Beauty built confidence in Lim Jukyung while still inspiring growth.
If I am misunderstanding the message, I would genuinely like to know.
Because right now, it feels like a story about avoiding truth rather than facing it.
What happened with the cliffhanger in Episode 8? Jojo was almost attacked, but nothing came from it. Usually, a victim should report something like that, even if her boyfriend shows up. Especially when the person came directly to her workplace. With how strong CCTV is in Korea, that should have led somewhere. Build just a profile, really, someone that obsessed does not show up just once. I really cannot get over how the killer was not properly pursued until after the girl was murdered.
Then the story shifts, and suddenly Sunoh is framed as the selfish one. But Hyeyeong knew Jojo tried to reach Sunoh several times after the accident, and he never said anything. It changes how everything is seen. Hyeyeong liked Jojo for such a long time, but never had the courage to say anything until Sunoh openly expressed how he felt. It says a lot, and not romantic at all. It tells you that Sunoh didn’t take anything; he just wore his heart openly. Hyeyeong had feelings for a long time, but he stayed silent. I'm not saying his feelings weren’t real, but because he wasn’t willing to risk anything for them. Not getting rejected by someone you claim to love. You'd want to try even once, but instead, he didn't want disruption in his daily routine at work; he chose to have no discomfort. Then Sunoh steps in and does the exact opposite. He speaks his feelings, he takes action, and he makes it known publicly that he loves her. And only then does Hyeyeong move. That shows what his love is, reactive. His timing makes them feel conditional. And in a story about emotions, that silence says just as much as any confession.
That's not the kind of love that chooses you openly, but the kind that waits until the path is already cleared or until someone else proves it’s possible.
It also raises a harder question about Jojo. Because if someone only steps forward after another person leads, are they choosing you, or stepping into an opportunity? And Jojo staying with Hyeyeong until he was finally able to stir something in her does not make sense. It felt like she was running the entire time. She settled for him because she did not have to confront anything. Because she did not feel anything strong enough to challenge her. At times, it felt like she stayed out of gratitude. Out of pity. Because he loved her that much. Even later, it feels like she only began to return those feelings after so much time had passed, almost like guilt shaped that response. Like she could not keep allowing Sunoh to affect her after everything, so she convinced herself of something safer.
That is not a fair and honest foundation for love. And that is why Season 2 made it hard for me to even watch Jojo. I didn't want to sit through her scenes. How do you grow in one season just to fall in the next? I have watched so many dramas where characters face their fears and actually overcome something. Jojo did not face anything; she ran from everything, and she did not conquer anything.
Yukjo, I actually liked her a lot. She is loyal, a real ride-or-die. There is nothing wrong with her. But I did not want her with Sunoh, because he will never love her the way she deserves. He would only put on a facade because that is what he grew up seeing. Look at his parents. His father loves his mother, but his mother does not love him back. She settled because he loved her, and he still cheats because no matter what he does, his love can't reach her. That dynamic is not love; it is survival. There was even an interview scene where his dad brought his phone, and proved his love for her when his Love Alarm rang only for her, but his mom said she had left her phone at home. Because she already knew it would never ring for him. That moment said everything. And Sunoh is walking into the same pattern.
There is also the scene where Sunoh comes back smiling, and his mother asks if he saw Jojo again. Not Yukjo. Because she already knows Yukjo is not the one who reaches him like that. Jojo is the only one who can make him feel that way. So why put him back with Yukjo? Yes, she loves him deeply. Yes, she is loyal. But that does not mean she should be in a one-sided relationship. She deserved her own path. He deserved to heal and move forward properly. Instead, they are both left stuck.
Sunoh should have started anew with someone else years later, after he healed, not Yukjo. It sends the message to settle for someone who loves you more. It worked out for Hyeyeong, but are we saying it is okay to live in an unhealthy dynamic?
Jojo should have grown. Instead, Jojo stayed where she felt comfortable. A place where she could say, “I should be happy because of this,” or because of how someone treated her, rather than what she truly felt. Even Gulmi actually had growth. More growth than Jojo. Jojo kept using what happened to her as a reason not to try, not to move forward, just to stay in a shallow space where she did not have to confront anything. What happened to her was serious, but it became an excuse she never moved past. And those scenes were replayed too much. Gulmi, on the other hand, stayed honest. Even at her worst, she never pretended. She never forced feelings just because it would benefit her. She never pretended to like Duk-gu, no matter how famous or rich he became. She stayed true to herself.
Even Duk-gu, in the end, pissed me off. Saying, This is a log of when Jojo would have rung your Love Alarm, felt unnecessary. Like what? Almost like forcing proof where it shouldn’t be needed. If her love was that strong, it should have shown clearly without an app, without data, without a “what if” file being handed over at the end. The fact that the show needed that device makes it feel forced, like they didn’t trust the story to stand on its own. Because even without the app, it was obvious. Her eyes light up with Sunoh. You can see it. Her emotions are alive. But with Hyeyeong, everything feels routine. calculated and hesitant, like she’s responding the way she thinks she should, not the way she actually feels.
If anything, I would have removed the Love Alarm completely. Let her face her emotions without anything guiding or shielding her, just her and the truth. At times, it feels like the WEBTOON writer created an alternate version of events to reshape something personal, trying to see if it's okay to settle. I was hoping Netflix would take a different direction, similar to how True Beauty built confidence in Lim Jukyung while still inspiring growth.
If I am misunderstanding the message, I would genuinely like to know.
Because right now, it feels like a story about avoiding truth rather than facing it.
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