Crelisya

(This review might change as the drama goes on.)

UPDATE: Okay, I think I finally figured out what’s bothering me about this drama.

Objectively, this drama doesn’t really have a story. And honestly, I’m okay with that. It’s a slice of life, so I don’t need some huge plot or a big objective driving everything. The problem is that the things that actually happen often make no sense. We keep getting these random, borderline ridiculous situations and the drama is like “well, that’s just real life.” Like... is it though?

And the FL is probably my biggest issue at this point. She genuinely seems to have no goal or direction in life. I don’t really see what she’s doing at university either, because she basically just seems to be there to live out her romance. Her whole life revolves around the ML. That’s literally it.

And honestly, I think there’s a HUGE self esteem issue with her. Not in a “poor girl, she needs to find herself” way, but in a way that actually makes her pretty insufferable sometimes. She decides she likes this guy and then just goes all in, even though he literally didn’t ask for any of it. And the worst part is that he rejected her THREE times, yet she keeps pushing anyway. She throws herself at him, puts expectations on him, keeps pushing her feelings onto him and acts like because she chose him, he somehow has to deal with it.

Girl, please. Get your priorities straight, focus on your studies, figure out what you actually want to do with your life, and maybe have a life outside of this man for once.

And I actually understand why so many people criticize Sejin, but I also don’t think he’s completely wrong about her. She really does come across as entitled sometimes, like she thinks she’s somehow entitled to his attention just because she’s decided she wants him. And there are definitely moments where she crosses his boundaries. He’s not perfect either, obviously, and I’m not saying everything he does is justified, but I can understand some of his frustration with her.

That’s also why their relationship doesn’t really work for me. So many of their interactions are more awkward than romantic, and the whole thing feels forced. Even the kisses don’t really do anything for me because I don’t feel like their relationship has been built up enough for those moments to actually hit.

And then we just keep going in circles. They barely even interact. You get a little bit of them at the beginning, a little bit at the end, and then the rest of the episode is just... nothing. Or things getting dragged out for way longer than they need to be.

I’m not necessarily bored watching it, which is weird because objectively not much is happening. But I do think there’s WAY too much stretching things out. I was expecting something deeper, especially because the drama seems to really want to give off this “deep and meaningful” vibe. But so far it’s mostly just a bunch of young adults who are lost, confused and have no idea what they’re doing with their lives.

I still like some things about it though. I like that it tries to feel grounded, the dialogue is generally pretty natural, and I like that we get different perspectives instead of everyone being reduced to “good person vs bad person.” The characters do feel like actual people in the sense that they’re messy, contradictory and sometimes make stupid decisions.

But realism alone isn’t enough for me. If you’re going to have barely any plot, then the characters need to carry the drama. I need the character writing or emotional depth to make me care, and right now I’m just not really getting that.

I’m still watching though, because I’m curious to see where things go. And honestly, I prefer the other professor at this point. He feels way more intriguing to me, and I’d actually be more interested in seeing the story explore his character. Maybe things will eventually come together and I’ll understand what the drama is trying to say, because right now I’m still waiting for it to give me something.

The only drama I’ve genuinely loved this year so far is In Your Radiant Season, and I think that probably set my expectations way too high. I’m usually much more interested in depth, character writing and actually having something meaningful to say than just watching people exist for 12 episodes. I’m still hoping it can somehow live up to my initial impression...

For French speakers: Since this drama wasn’t picked up for French subtitles, I subbed it myself (VOSTFR). Check the comment below for the link!