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Frustrating, confusing, and goes nowhere
Look, I actually enjoy infidelity plots when they’re done well. Cheating is undoubtedly wrong but in real life there can be so many other factors playing into how a relationship gets to that point. Getting to explore emotional nuance with flawed characters is a good thing and I really want more dramas to be brave enough to explore these themes. One show that I really liked is a Taiwanese drama called Before We Get Married.
This one actually started out really strong. The characters separate very early on and basically outright state the issue in their relationship. They had known each other for so long and there was so much baggage and emotional suppression because of everything they’d been through together. I liked the addition of the side characters as well, who both added really interesting dynamics into the story: the hoobae at work who reminds the ML of a younger FL and of a simpler time, the lawyer with questionable morals who sees right through the FL and makes her feel more understood than her partner of ten years…this was all INTERESTING.
But the drama got really confusing as it went on — I’m not sure if it was just me but the arguments that all the characters kept having were either very repetitive or so vague I had no idea what they were really fighting about.
One thing was very clear though; the drama wasn’t delivering on the emotional depth I was hoping for. Even though it started out with an interesting dynamic between the leads, conflicts soon devolved into the leads just seeing each other with their new partners and the situation becoming awkward or uncomfortable. I think there’s definitely a way that this can be done well if the second leads are effective mechanisms for the leads to explore more things about themselves but also have their own character growth and plot, but I don’t think this drama was quite successful at either. I found myself not caring about any of the subplots the second leads were involved in — not the potato stuff with the SFL, nor the lawyer stuff with the SML. Same with all the other side characters and family members. I just didn’t really care.
Ultimately I think the show misses the mark on multiple genres; it doesn’t work as a melodrama because none of the emotion or the angst manages to come through, and for me it doesn’t work as a romance because by the end it doesn’t feel like any of the characters should actually be together. Namgung/Mido was very unhealthy, Namgung/Sua lacked depth and I really disliked how the writers destroyed her by basically making her okay with being a mistress, and it seemed like Mido completely lost her spark once she and Taesung got into a relationship. Y’all…we need writers to do better when it comes to writing female characters.
Overall, lots of potential but definitely did not pan out. I think this show tried to be too deep and ended up confusing itself. I feel like I can still see the potential here and I enjoyed the earlier episodes so I'm not rating it as low as others seem to, but it does feel like the show had no idea what to do with any of its characters.
This one actually started out really strong. The characters separate very early on and basically outright state the issue in their relationship. They had known each other for so long and there was so much baggage and emotional suppression because of everything they’d been through together. I liked the addition of the side characters as well, who both added really interesting dynamics into the story: the hoobae at work who reminds the ML of a younger FL and of a simpler time, the lawyer with questionable morals who sees right through the FL and makes her feel more understood than her partner of ten years…this was all INTERESTING.
But the drama got really confusing as it went on — I’m not sure if it was just me but the arguments that all the characters kept having were either very repetitive or so vague I had no idea what they were really fighting about.
One thing was very clear though; the drama wasn’t delivering on the emotional depth I was hoping for. Even though it started out with an interesting dynamic between the leads, conflicts soon devolved into the leads just seeing each other with their new partners and the situation becoming awkward or uncomfortable. I think there’s definitely a way that this can be done well if the second leads are effective mechanisms for the leads to explore more things about themselves but also have their own character growth and plot, but I don’t think this drama was quite successful at either. I found myself not caring about any of the subplots the second leads were involved in — not the potato stuff with the SFL, nor the lawyer stuff with the SML. Same with all the other side characters and family members. I just didn’t really care.
Ultimately I think the show misses the mark on multiple genres; it doesn’t work as a melodrama because none of the emotion or the angst manages to come through, and for me it doesn’t work as a romance because by the end it doesn’t feel like any of the characters should actually be together. Namgung/Mido was very unhealthy, Namgung/Sua lacked depth and I really disliked how the writers destroyed her by basically making her okay with being a mistress, and it seemed like Mido completely lost her spark once she and Taesung got into a relationship. Y’all…we need writers to do better when it comes to writing female characters.
Overall, lots of potential but definitely did not pan out. I think this show tried to be too deep and ended up confusing itself. I feel like I can still see the potential here and I enjoyed the earlier episodes so I'm not rating it as low as others seem to, but it does feel like the show had no idea what to do with any of its characters.
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