I watched this drama back in August so it's almost two months since I finished it and since then I have been lurking around over here just reading people's opinions. Some I could agree with and some I couldn't and then there are those who are just straight up annoying and these people all belong to one set. The Hyeyeong supporters. Gosh they really get under my skin. I would probably never have chosen to leave this "review" here if they hadn't gotten to me. This is hardly even a review.

I have always been a huge dramaholic. I have grown up watching American and Indian TV shows and have only been watching Korean dramas since 2022 but of everything I have ever watched, Love Alarm has had the deepest, most emotional impact on me. I don't hate this show but I don't love it either. There was so much potential here and all of it was wasted. Especially in the case of Sunoh. Like my gosh! What did they do to the man??!!
Especially after he finds out about the shield the man just goes completely bonkers and I'm left staring at my screen. Like what???
And then there's Jojo. Oh God this girl!
I saw a comment on YouTube that said, "this drama had 99 problems and 70 of them could have been solved if she just talked" and I wholeheartedly agree with this comment. Throughout season 2, I just kept screaming one thing "girl talk! For the love of God just open your mouth!!!" People say she didn't need to explain herself to Sunoh. I don't agree with that but I didn't just want her to talk for his sake. I wanted her to talk for her own sake. For four years she kept carrying the guilt and shame she felt towards him in her heart. I wanted her to be kind to herself by speaking up and getting rid of that guilt. She may not have owed Sunoh anything but she did owe it to herself. She did owe herself that compassion and she didn't do it. She refused to acknowledge the deep emotional impact her decision had on Sunoh and just tried to move on with her life. It didn't even occur to her to try and make peace with her past before choosing to love someone like Hyeyeong until AFTER he walked out on her.

I empathize with both Jojo and Sunoh because I see a part of myself reflected in both of them but I cannot give them a pass for their stupidity. Sunoh was annoying and Jojo was frustrating.
On more occasions than one this drama had me doing the facepalm or going "bro, wtf?!" and that kiss outside the college scene just made me want to tare my hair out!

I have so many thoughts about this drama I feel like I could write a 100 page thesis on it and it still won't be enough for me. That's the impact this drama had on me.

Now to talk about the thing that really matters to me. Sunoh and the hatred the Hyeyeong supporters have for him.

First of all, it's so sad that they refuse to see him as anything more than a pretty face with plenty of money.
Secondly, it's infuriating how snobbish and condescending Hyeyeong supporters are towards Sunoh supporters. They don't seem to realize that their condescending behaviour makes us want to hold on to Sunoh even more. Not only that, but their behaviour makes us (or at least me) like Hyeyeong less. Their behaviour is so off-putting it's annoying.

Sunoh is a toxic, manipulative, red flag they argue. Well I could argue that Jojo was toxic and manipulative too, would they agree with me if I say she's toxic too? No, of course they won't. It doesn't fit their narrative.

For me, for someone to be truly toxic, for them to be a true red flag, their actions have to come from a place of malice. The intent of the action has to be to cause hurt. For me it's the intention behind an action that defines toxicity or "red flags". Neither in Sunho's case nor in Jojo's was there ever any real intention to cause hurt. There was something really interesting I read on a Twitter post "hurt people, hurt people" and this immediately made me think of Sunoh and Jojo. They were causing hurt to others because they themselves were deeply hurt not because they intentionally wanted to hurt anyone.
This is why I see both Sunoh and Jojo as more tragic than anything else.

If the Hyeyeong supporters are so hell bent on finding a red flag then maybe they should look to Gulmi. She's the REAL RED FLAG. She's the one who's truly malicious, toxic, selfish and just over all obnoxious.

I didn't like Season 2 but I also didn't like Season 1. Season 1 was too fast paced for me while season 2 was too slow paced. Not to mention, that if it weren't for all the filler scenes, this season would have ended in just three episodes. That's how little of a story there was to it.

Honestly I don't know if I would have watched this show had it been for any other actor. I might have dropped it somewhere along season 1. It's not my kind of story especially with the pacing. The only reason I stuck it out is because of the presence of Song Kang. So if I'm giving any rating to this drama it's because of Song Kang and only Song Kang.

Oh, and because I'm petty and I want to annoy the Hyeyeong supporters I'm going to hope the ratings of this drama fall even lower than they already are. It's fun to see them throwing tantrums. And I'm going to encourage my friends to come and leave bad ratings here on purpose just because of these annoying people.*insert wicked laugh* ??