No Gain, No Love (2024)

From Promising Beginnings to Disappointing Endings..

I rated this drama 8.5 based on the first 7-8 episodes.. It started of really well with spot on comedy.. Great acting and steady story development.. However after those initial 7 episodes the characters became bland.. And the forced humor felt out of place.. Even thats understandable conisdering this is a romcom.. But Some of the choices the characters made were really nonsense..

Constantly being let down by the Korean writers who struggle to deliver satisfying endings.. They Often resort to forced breakups.. Unnecessary time skips.. And last minute reconciliations.. As if thats the only way they know to end a story..

I honestly didnt understand the need for Cha Hui Seong's story.. She is in an open relationship and the couple sleeps around with other people.. Then she gets pregnant but she doesnt know whose baby it is?? What sort of dilemma is that?? What lesson is the writer trying to convey?? Modern relationships have no morals??

The second couple was interesting.. With Lee Sang Yi delivering a solid performance like in his other dramas.. Han Ji Hyun had her moments but her cuteness felt forced at times.. And her acting was all over the place.. She is a good actress but i hope she doesnt follow the ' i need to do smut to get the recognition i deserve ' mantra.. Spice up Our Love was an unnecessary spinoff filled with cringe and cliche romance.. I am looking forward to her next drama with Lee Min Ki..

The main couple's story started off really good.. The first seven episodes were genuinely hilarious.. But unfortunately took a fall afterward.. The ML supported the FL through her struggles and was always there for her.. Yet she broke up with him right after her mother’s funeral.. She clearly lacked empathy there and it was just a dumb thing to do.. He loved her mother as if she were his own and she didn’t allow him the time to grieve.. Son Hae Yeong was a mature character.. But her decisions felt childish and selfish.. Instead of facing the hard times together.. She cruelly cut him off.. Leaving him alone when he needed her most.. How is that love?? Kdrama FLs often take love for granted.. I wished they wouldnt get back together..

The conclusion felt rushed.. With a last minute reconciliation that didnt do any justice to the way the story developed.. The FL didn’t even try to stop the ML AGAIN.. He had to chase after her to make amends..

" I never regretted letting you go " Thats what she said..

In conclusion.. While the drama faltered after the first seven episodes.. It still delivered memorable moments and strong performances..

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NO WATCH, YOUR LOSS!

What a pleasant surprise, one of the best of the year!

I would say Im a little bias going in to the show. Shin Min Ah is one of the few Korean actresses that i reallly really adore so I am predetermined to love this just for that reason. Casting the very good looking Kim Young Dae is just an icing to the cake. At first it seems like an off-pairing because of the age gap, but they worked that in the story seemlessly and i didn't think, not even once did the age gap seemed apparent because they jived so well together -it's all thanks to the strong performances of both leads.

The story is a little bit off-putting at the beginning. A seemingly modern liberated woman engaging the services of a man to be her fake husband to survive in a corporate environment. HaeYoung seems to be a big red flag at first that will do everything to move ahead of her career. It was done in the guise of light and fluffy early episodes. As the episodes go by we discovered the layers to the characters, with the last couple of episodes being so emotional, gut wrenching and heart harming at the same time.

What sets it apart from some of the other May-December affair specially the one which aired almost at the same time (Im not saying it's Cinderrella at 2AM) is how each episode of this series seems important. They developed the characters and cliffhangers in a way that you'll keep coming back for more each week. What's more, the second couple and even the third couple, for that matter, were all engaging to watch.

I just hoped they didnt end it at 12 episodes cause i feel like there's still so much more to tell and i would love to see more of Hae Young and Ji-Uk together. I know they are adding 2 special episodes for the Gyu Hun and Ja Yeon fans and will also be first in line to watch it but i still wanna see more of the main couple and the other characters.

For me, one proof of very good writing is when you wanna see and know more of each characters - and that is very evident here even up to the support casts. I would have loved to see more of the male secretary Ha Jun cause he was being initially primed as the 3rd party to GyuHun and Ja Yeon's love story plus his character has very strong personality. Manager Jang and GyuHun's parent's stories also seemed unfinished (and what an underuse of the actor Choi JIn Ho). And should i also dare to mention the non-closure of UJae and I Rin's characters (with I RIn not even showing up at the the last episode).

So will i recommend? Yes, what are you waiting for?! Definitely one of the best K dramas of the year!

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