nopasaran

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).

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janhae vs comphet and they both lose

alternatively: janhae's steak is so juicy she's drowning in it

obviously it's pretty ridiculous that some corny, nepo loser who makes na/jan constantly feel like she has to put on a performance is somehow competitive with a smokeshow whole package like leemai/jingjing who na can be herself around. more herself than she's ever been allowed to be before in fact. but that's the point. she's caught between what she thought she wanted and what she never thought she'd want but really, really does. but it's all too much, too fast, and it culminates in a legendary crash out.

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janjingjing OP pls don't nerf

i just love them so much 😩

it's hard to sum up my feelings when they've been spread out over 2+ months, but wow what a ride. it's not what i expected, but it is what i wanted.

this can't be called enemies to lovers or even rivals to lovers. they're not enemies in any meaningful sense past the first episode. they just appear to be thanks to wine's cold and uncompromising work persona. it's really secret friends (with a *lot* of benefits) to lovers. or maybe even more accurately, secret situationship to real relationship.

these two crazy kids started catching feelings from the jump, it just took them ages to realise it. wine because of ~trauma~ and lal because she doesn't have the first idea how fwb is supposed to work. she knows the words and the basic theory ('it's just sex, no feelings!'), but the practice? not a clue. and like, girl same. the funny thing about feelings is they just happen. you don't get a lot of say in the matter. the best you can do is avoid actions and situations which are likely to stir up feelings, like snuggling, holding hands, sharing secrets, staring deeply into each other's eyes, having incredibly passionate sex...

...but that's all the good stuff! the kind of benefits package you'd struggle to turn down even if you wanted to. thankfully, the premise of the show means we get a good selection of these benefits in every episode, in addition to the series-long will-they-won't-they, which got much more tumultuous than i expected. janjingjing are not only cute as fuck, they bring some serious dramatic firepower too. ep 8's pyjama scene is up there with namtanfilm breakdowns (except with much better narrative justification).

and once again i have to shout out the supporting cast. kapookciize finally getting the spotlight and a happy ending (with a couple extras along the way 👀) warms my heart, even if they didn't get loads of screen time (give them their own series gmmtv!!!). tae as korn does a great job being an evil snake i want lal to beat the shit out of. pompam as lal's flight attendant friend is a delight every time he's on screen. and the mvps are easily ployphach and JJ as lal's sales team. they play off each other so well, with bas' cutting remarks and numnim's devastated facial expressions. I'd love to see this comedy duo again.

finally, the OST is wall-to-wall bangers. they spam them every episode and i don't care because I'm bopping to them every time.

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