Rainime
daydreaming about my celebrity crush
This review may contain spoilers
Tae Sumi undeservedly villainised
1. TAE SUMI
My main complaint about this drama is how they villainised Tae Sumi for "abandoning" a child she never agreed to raise. She went through the entire pregnancy, put her life on hold and future in danger just to give birth to a child she didn't want - for the sake of her ex-boyfriend who desparately wanted to keep the baby. And she's turned into a villain for it. Young-woo calls her a bad mother, when Sumi never was her mother, except biologically. It's sad that Young-woo grew up without a mother, but Sumi had every right to choose not to be part of Young-woo's life. If anyone's at fault, it's Gwangho (Young-woo's father) as much as I like him.
2. JUNHO X YOUNWOO
I also have complaints about Youngwoo and Junho's romance. I think it was unnecessary, but it's not a K-drama without a romance. I don't like how Junho acted like Youngwoo did something wrong by not assuming they're together. They never made their relationship official, and yet he expected an autistic person to assume that they were in a relationship just because they'd been on a few dates. He also said something like "why would I do those things if we weren't together?" in reference to the dates Young-woo took him on. It was unnecessarily cruel to basically tell her that he didn't enjoy the activities she chose and he only did them for her sake.
It's nice that they tried to represent a possible relationship between an autistic and allistic person, but for me the relationship felt forced and unnatural, with little chemistry.
Also touching on the point of romance, the Sooyeon x Minwoo side romance was also unnecessary and disappointing. Minwoo wasn't a good person and it was displeasing to see Sooyeon develop feelings for him.
3. ASD REPRESENTATION
Yet another low-masking savant character, but I'd say the representation overall was not bad and they explained several autistic traits (e.g. Youngwoo's way of self-regulating by counting when transitioning from one place to another because it decreases the feeling of overwhelm, and her preference for kimbap because it prevents the shock of unexpected textures and tastes) instead of just throwing them in without explaining why she does those things.
Something I didn't like was that there was inconsistency in her autistic traits... She is super sensitive to physical touch and can't even hold hands, but is okay with kissing? I suppose it could be possible but it was so weird to me, like the producers ignored her sensory sensitivities so that they could make a cute kiss scene.
They made Youngwoo's character very cutesy, which I have mixed feelings about but they still showed that she faced rejection and discrimination at all stages of life despite having "cute autism".
One thing that would have been nice is if the drama showed Geurami having ADHD or some form of neurodivergence, as a way to show how neurodivergent people tend to make friends more easily with each other.
4. WHAT I LIKED
I liked the characters on their own and the comedic scenes, and the cases were enjoyable. The music was lovely and the whole aesthetic of the drama was very pleasant. I don't have much else to add, but overall it was enjoyable which is why I've rated it high despite the complaints.
My main complaint about this drama is how they villainised Tae Sumi for "abandoning" a child she never agreed to raise. She went through the entire pregnancy, put her life on hold and future in danger just to give birth to a child she didn't want - for the sake of her ex-boyfriend who desparately wanted to keep the baby. And she's turned into a villain for it. Young-woo calls her a bad mother, when Sumi never was her mother, except biologically. It's sad that Young-woo grew up without a mother, but Sumi had every right to choose not to be part of Young-woo's life. If anyone's at fault, it's Gwangho (Young-woo's father) as much as I like him.
2. JUNHO X YOUNWOO
I also have complaints about Youngwoo and Junho's romance. I think it was unnecessary, but it's not a K-drama without a romance. I don't like how Junho acted like Youngwoo did something wrong by not assuming they're together. They never made their relationship official, and yet he expected an autistic person to assume that they were in a relationship just because they'd been on a few dates. He also said something like "why would I do those things if we weren't together?" in reference to the dates Young-woo took him on. It was unnecessarily cruel to basically tell her that he didn't enjoy the activities she chose and he only did them for her sake.
It's nice that they tried to represent a possible relationship between an autistic and allistic person, but for me the relationship felt forced and unnatural, with little chemistry.
Also touching on the point of romance, the Sooyeon x Minwoo side romance was also unnecessary and disappointing. Minwoo wasn't a good person and it was displeasing to see Sooyeon develop feelings for him.
3. ASD REPRESENTATION
Yet another low-masking savant character, but I'd say the representation overall was not bad and they explained several autistic traits (e.g. Youngwoo's way of self-regulating by counting when transitioning from one place to another because it decreases the feeling of overwhelm, and her preference for kimbap because it prevents the shock of unexpected textures and tastes) instead of just throwing them in without explaining why she does those things.
Something I didn't like was that there was inconsistency in her autistic traits... She is super sensitive to physical touch and can't even hold hands, but is okay with kissing? I suppose it could be possible but it was so weird to me, like the producers ignored her sensory sensitivities so that they could make a cute kiss scene.
They made Youngwoo's character very cutesy, which I have mixed feelings about but they still showed that she faced rejection and discrimination at all stages of life despite having "cute autism".
One thing that would have been nice is if the drama showed Geurami having ADHD or some form of neurodivergence, as a way to show how neurodivergent people tend to make friends more easily with each other.
4. WHAT I LIKED
I liked the characters on their own and the comedic scenes, and the cases were enjoyable. The music was lovely and the whole aesthetic of the drama was very pleasant. I don't have much else to add, but overall it was enjoyable which is why I've rated it high despite the complaints.
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