Jen

Sometimes I feel like k-drama screenwriters blindly shoot at a concept board of niche ideas and then try to connect the dots between everything they landed on so that it makes sense. This drama takes the cake in this regard: it could have carefully and purposefully explored cheating, unrequited love, family and medical trauma, sudden rise to fame, delusional disorders, miscommunication regardless of language, the inner conflict between jealousy and professionalism, I could go on. But it didn’t: all of these topics were discussed on a surface level, and the introduction of every next plot element felt like a whiplash. I could get on board with the almost fantasy-like depiction of Muhee’s hallucinations in the first half of the show, but even they felt like a betrayal to me as a viewer, since I went into this expecting to watch a “realistic” romantic comedy. From episode 7 onwards, however, it was simply a mess: the genre switched, new ideas kept appearing, we learned so much about the characters that we simply didn’t need to know, and the conflicts already laid out barely got a satisfying resolution.

The main premise - the reality format “Romantic trip” and Muhee falling for the interpreter in her ear instead of the Japanese actor she is going on dates with - is lovely. I think the show did a good job of exploring the relationship between language and love, but it could’ve gone even deeper. What are the constraints of Muhee and Hiro not speaking each other’s language when it comes to developing feelings? What misunderstandings can happen even if she and Joo Hojin can communicate freely? The message of “there are as many languages as people” is beautiful and I think the show missed out on not fleshing it out even further. In this line of thought, I wish we had seen more of Muhee and Hiro’s relationship, or at least understood why he ends up falling so hard for her despite her rejecting him all throughout the show, never bothering to learn to speak his language and going from 0 to 100 for no reason (at least from his perspective). I assume the show didn’t go in this direction to avoid setting up a love triangle like it appeared it would in the initial episodes, but I think simply seeing more of the filming process would’ve provided much needed context for both Hiro AND Hojin’s feelings towards Muhee. (Also, I self-indulgingly wish I’d seen much more of Hojin’s struggle to interpret Hiro’s growing fondness towards Muhee).

The biggest flaw of the show is definitely Do Rami in those middle three or four episodes. The motives behind her actions did not make any sense to me at all, even when one accounts for Muhee’s childhood trauma, negative self-talk and avoidant tendencies. On the one hand, Rami was there to push Muhee to do things she otherwise wouldn’t (that could bring her happiness), on the other, she was simply sabotaging her. The episodes where Rami was in the spotlight were incredibly frustrating to watch and did not manage to achieve the desired effect of her acting as an interpreter between Muhee and Hojin. Not to mention that, as far as I know, that’s not the way dissociative identity disorder functions: other personalities don’t simply disappear once their protective (or chaos-stirring, according to this drama) role is fulfilled. Muhee’s mental problems were not researched with the care needed to portray conditions surrounded by so much misinformation already. I wish the show had simply focused on her audiovisual hallucinations and how they affect her work on set and relationships with the crew. It could’ve even touched upon medical neglect instead, since one of the psychiatrists in the beginning did say her problems are “beyond medicine” (in the subtitles I read). Anything would’ve made more sense than what ended up in the script.

I hated that the main recurring conflict was between the leads and their mutual backing off from confessing/committing to each other, when it would’ve been way more heartwarming and meaningful to show them sticking together despite everything and navigating any misunderstandings by learning more about each other’s pasts and minds. I would’ve loved, for instance, a bigger focus on their family histories in a way that actually contributes to understanding how they act. What did Hojin’s shaky relationship with his mom bring to the plot? Absolutely nothing, it tied to nothing else and contextualised none of his behaviors or beliefs. What about his novel? Was that the only way to write a(n unnecessary) conflict between him and his mom, something to mention on two occasions and then never again? And why did we barely get to see anything about his relationship with his brother, the one who was supposed to marry his long-time unrequited crush Jiseon? Wouldn’t a conflict there have been much more productive in the grand scheme of things?

Genuinely, the vagueness of the show regarding so many of its central elements has to be where everything falls flat. Because we never really understand why Hojin was so hung up on Jiseon, or why she came together with his brother to begin with. It is never explained how Muhee’s uncle and aunt mistreated her, and the big reveal in the end regarding her family had 0 emotional impact and felt like an afterthought simply added to the script to explain Do Rami’s presence from a couple of episodes ago. These random lore drops that were barely explored felt like the screenwriters were exceptionally proud of a brainstorming session and wanted to include everything they'd come up with about all characters, regardless if it actually contributes to the show.

But at the end of the day, I mostly enjoyed watching this drama. The event-packed plot prevented me from taking breaks even when I was endlessly frustrated, and the acting was truly exceptional to the point where it distracted me from… everything else. I wouldn’t Not recommend it - just be prepared for disappointment, especially if you’re expecting a romantic comedy like I did.