Team Dramabeans: What we’re watching (December 3, 2022)

MAY I HELP YOU: The preemptions interrupted the flow a bit, and prevented me from slowly watching the two newest episodes over the course of several days as I usually do. This time around, after I re-acclimated to this warm and lovely dramaworld I didn’t want to leave, and binged both yesterday. But that aside, I continue to love this story and characters. The show is not ambitious or trying to break the mold, and it’s all the better for it. There’s so much care evident in every moment from the big (both confessions were the perfect mixture of romantic and bittersweet–great kisses, too) to the small (the quiet reveal that the young dead teen’s crush left her a letter, too and Tae-hee trying to surreptitiously give the FL hangover medicine without her knowing). The OTP is also really working for me; this is one of my favorite Hyeri performances, hands down. Overall, this is a delightful show that delivers the feels without ever feeling cheap, obvious, or like it’s pandering to the audience. More people should watch it.

CURTAIN CALL: Unlike others, I haven’t minded the slower, more thoughtful pace and tone of this show. It has meant that we were able to carefully understand all the characters and their motives. The timing did feel exactly right for the reveal, though (the near misses were bordering on absurd), and I’m excited to see where the story will go from here, especially with the real grandson. Romance-wise, it’s hard to picture the leads coming back together, but with eight episodes left we’re surely going there at some point. KHN is so good in this and with his natural comedic gifts, elevates a lot of the scenes. But really, the whole cast is doing well because this is a well written and well directed show.

LOVE IS FOR SUCKERS: Now for a show that was not well written or well directed.

As with “Law Cafe,” “Love in Contract,” and a couple of other recent romance-centric dramas, I do appreciate the fact that writers and directors are trying to open up the romcom genre and explore deeper issues, while portraying dating and sexuality somewhat more realistically. But as with those other two, this one ultimately missed the mark. The show simply introduced too many issues (eating disorders, childhood sexual trauma, bipolar disorder, fat phobia) to then almost immediately abandon them. Not to mention the meta critique of reality shows that promised so much scathing social commentary but delivered only a by-the-numbers takedown that was as shallow as the shows they satirized. The creative team gets props, I suppose, for taking these things on at all, but in the end, I would have preferred a simple, straightforward friends-to-lovers storyline. And more Joon and Ji wan. But again, I fear that if more time had actually been spent on their story, the writers would’ve screwed that up, too, so it’s probably better they left us wanting more.

One of my biggest complaints is that the writers spent way too much time trying to…

Team Dramabeans: What we’re watching (December 3, 2022)
Source: Buzz Pinay Daily