This review may contain spoilers
chemistry so good i forgive their red flags
this show would be over a lot faster if they cleared the air with one (1) conversation, but i forgive it because it's such a banger. they're both kind of insane for a good chunk of this but it's sufficiently justified that it didn't lose me and oh my god the CHEMISTRY.
i see now that this was what love beyond dreams was trying to emulate. lingorm and mieaya have a similar dynamic: ling and mie's gazes alone are lethal (in both love and hate); earn (orm) and aran (aya) are both trying to win over an ex who's very actively pushing them away; lada (ling) and lené (mie) are both extremely harsh in their rejections. I'm pretty sure they even use the exact same set/location for the executive office.
the differences are significant though. where mie's performance is completely unhinged and way over the top, with insufficient narrative justification, ling's fury is mature and nuanced, with good reason from lada's perspective. it's a rage and hurt that bubbles beneath the surface. she's visibly fighting to keep her emotions from overwhelming her. when we see flashbacks to the abject state she was in during and after the break up (masterfully acted btw), it's apparent just how much she's holding back.
none of it would work if they weren't so cute (and hot) together ofc, but thankfully they really, really are. i'd say LenéAran are 70% heat, 30% sweet. that's flipped for LadaEarn, which is the right balance for this show. the love has got to be so strong even lada's manipulative, homophobic mother can't deny it (it is, she can't, i cried).
overall, the production values are pretty strong too, except for the lackluster OST and opening/closing credits (so far it seems only gmmtv can do this well) and the bizarre decision to use an aspect ratio change to bracket flashbacks. maybe it could have worked if they kept the widescreen aspect ratio throughout the entire flashback, but they clearly didn't want to do that because they shot all the scenes for 16:9. they also do a slow transition between the aspect ratios every time, which is distractingly languid and really misses the *flash* in flashback. weird, weird choices.
but before i end this review, i have to shout out the supporting characters: lada's friend group at the hospital are true ride or dies and i love their dynamics; earn's agent/hypewoman is an absolute delight and her beef with bow's agent is great; and lada's mother is a heinous nightmare (complimentary).
i see now that this was what love beyond dreams was trying to emulate. lingorm and mieaya have a similar dynamic: ling and mie's gazes alone are lethal (in both love and hate); earn (orm) and aran (aya) are both trying to win over an ex who's very actively pushing them away; lada (ling) and lené (mie) are both extremely harsh in their rejections. I'm pretty sure they even use the exact same set/location for the executive office.
the differences are significant though. where mie's performance is completely unhinged and way over the top, with insufficient narrative justification, ling's fury is mature and nuanced, with good reason from lada's perspective. it's a rage and hurt that bubbles beneath the surface. she's visibly fighting to keep her emotions from overwhelming her. when we see flashbacks to the abject state she was in during and after the break up (masterfully acted btw), it's apparent just how much she's holding back.
none of it would work if they weren't so cute (and hot) together ofc, but thankfully they really, really are. i'd say LenéAran are 70% heat, 30% sweet. that's flipped for LadaEarn, which is the right balance for this show. the love has got to be so strong even lada's manipulative, homophobic mother can't deny it (it is, she can't, i cried).
overall, the production values are pretty strong too, except for the lackluster OST and opening/closing credits (so far it seems only gmmtv can do this well) and the bizarre decision to use an aspect ratio change to bracket flashbacks. maybe it could have worked if they kept the widescreen aspect ratio throughout the entire flashback, but they clearly didn't want to do that because they shot all the scenes for 16:9. they also do a slow transition between the aspect ratios every time, which is distractingly languid and really misses the *flash* in flashback. weird, weird choices.
but before i end this review, i have to shout out the supporting characters: lada's friend group at the hospital are true ride or dies and i love their dynamics; earn's agent/hypewoman is an absolute delight and her beef with bow's agent is great; and lada's mother is a heinous nightmare (complimentary).
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