Fight for My Way is friends to lovers at its peak. The show spent time building up the friendship between Ae-ra and Dong-man so that it felt really believable that they had been best friends for decades. Their banter, jokes, familiarity, and teasing felt very genuine. Fight for My Way felt very different in its portrayal of friends to lovers because there was a lot of honesty and vulnerability when they were coming to terms with their feelings for each other. I loved that they were constantly saying little things before they got together about how the other was making their heart flutter or that they had the impulse to kiss. The two of them were navigating their feelings together and being very cautious about it because it is the most important relationship in their lives. The evolution of their friendship into something more was an absolute delight to watch and the show leaned into the awkwardness that would come with wanting to be romantic and physical with your very best friend in a very charming and endearing way.

While I did have some issues with the storyline around Ae-ra and Dong-man, especially their last minute breakup, most of my gripes were with the other storylines. They have two other best friends that are a couple and he just did not deserve her in any way. Seol-hee was wonderful, genuinely so kind, and seeing the way her boyfriend treated her was so upsetting. It felt like the show really let him off the hook when he did not deserve it. She could have done much better and I would have preferred seeing her storyline be about finding someone who really appreciates her and her getting the life she’s dreamt of. Dong-man’s ex was another character who it felt like the show took it really easy on. She was infuriating to watch and a lot of her behaviors were actually illegal.

The show would have played much better if they just wrote out the entire landlady storyline. It was not executed well and it was very rushed because they waited until the end to reveal anything. It wasn’t needed and it would have been better if they used that time to focus on other relationships in the show that did really work, like Ae-ra and Dong-man’s families.

I loved both Ae-ra and Dong-man individually as characters, in addition to their relationship. Both actors had great performances and fantastic chemistry. This is the perfect pick if you’re looking for a show with the friends to lovers trope.