Love in the Big City (2024)

Learning to Accept Love and Live Without Regret

The story was written quite well I feel and overall had solid acting from all characters, major or minor. In a time where many k-dramas feel they have grown formulaic, this one felt fresh in many episodes. I felt that it had a strong strong and somewhat flat but overall appropriate ending for the story's meaning and purpose. The few qualms I have with the drama are easily ignored as it truly shines with Go Young's internal monologue and how it never drops the original meaning it wants to convey.

I'm truly glad that the ending did not result in a rush to mend Go Young's love life with the perfect guy and end off with a happily ever after. The eight-episode format as well significantly improves the drama's quality and its ability to convey all it has to say in a timely manner. By the end, it was nice to see Go Young grow as a person and understand that while he has changed so much from all his experiences with love, he's still learning. However, he doesn't let his regrets consume him by the end, whereas a more naive version of himself may have.

However, as mentioned earlier, there are a few minor points where the story can feel a bit weak. Particularly, Go Young's friend group's hangouts occasionally. While I'm glad they don't slowly disappear in screen time and the supporting characters have depth to them, it can feel empty watching some of the scenes and seeing nothing happen or be said. This is true with a lot of these pocketed scenes across the plot, where it feels like 5 minutes just passed by and nothing, even in the overall episode, was contributed.

But, again, all of these are more than made up for in the acting, the story overall, music and great depiction of a variety of gay men and how they'd actually interact.

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Yeong's worst enemy....

This series had me until episode 6 and then it just was a dull hum until the end. It's was a beautiful realistic story. One of the greatest joys was watching Yeong move from being self indulgent over exhuberent college kid to a self aware realist, a published writer. This is also the greatest sadness. He drew on his experiences, his environment and poured it into his writing. Along the way he lost his sparkle.

Gyu Ho and Nam Gyu both suffered the same fate. Yeong's inability to accept love without expectations caused him to lose two people who truly love him. It seems all his relationships were doomed due to his desire to have the razzle dazzle fireworks to continue throughout, without being able to accept the mundane. Only after they were over, would he be able to see what he truly lost and regretted. Not knowing his true self and his inability to be alone encouraged two relationships that should never have been. Habibi and Yeong Su came with hidden baggage, one abusive and the other just sad. Yeong Su lived in shadows and manipulated Yeong's niaivete to live in his internalized homophobia. Habibi, with a hidden wife and child, embarks on a journey with him, hoping to capture a bit of Yeong's sparkle to relieve his boredom. Seeing him too drunk and overworked, Yeong chooses himself and walks away. Both relationships were poor choices to facing a life of solitude and expected failures.

His mother is shown to have moved from denial, abhorring, to knowing, to minimally discussing. She doesn't accept his life but still loves her son.

The real charmers, the electricity powering his life, were his close group of friends and roomate Mi Ae. Yet, even with them, some bits of his life were closed. His HIV status is only shown to be discussed with Gyu Ho, who loved him enough to truly accept him as he is. Gyu Ho, after the cowardly way Yeong breaks up with him, never contacts him again. Though, through the bartender at their favorite spot, he let's Yeong know, he is still loved. Not yet ready to make any contact, in the end, it is his friends that he is seen enjoying the fireworks.

The story was beautifully told, and with flashbacks in the last two episodes, we get a fuller history of the reality of his best relationship, Gyu Ho. The sad part for me is that he began to let his status have an effect on him and as he took stock of his life, became more subdued. The last two episode felt like a gradual slide down from the high.

Every character was skillfully brought to life. Yeong was a free spirited over the top whitty self accepting non judgemental dreamer who was scared to dream and Nam Yoon Su killed it. This is a must see at least once.

Note to directors and editors at large:
Flashbacks: This is how it's supposed to be done. Ever flashback should reveal something new and actually propel the story being told.

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