I was originally going to post a simple comment regarding my two cents on this drama, but then I figured that it's impossible to condense all of my thoughts into anything less than a whole review. After all, I talk a lot.

The biggest danger of being on this platform (or any similar site, really) is getting swept up in the mob mentality that is a high rating. Time and time again, I begin watching a drama with high hopes just because so many other people loved it. Sometimes, I agree. Other times, I find that I have basically scammed myself through other viewers' preferences. One of those other times was my recent experience with Just Between Lovers.

Just Between Lovers is, by far, not a bad show. I completely understand why so many viewers fell into it. The casting choices, the cinematography, the soundtrack. There’s a lot to brag about. The plot choice is a challenge, but one I commend the writer for choosing. PTSD, survivor's guilt, depression; these things are incredibly difficult subjects to put into a drama without being insensitive, inaccurate, or both.

While I’m not entirely dissatisfied with how the writer depicted these mental conditions, I do feel that she should have gone much further. I didn’t really get into the heads of the characters as much as I expected; so my heart didn’t hurt for them at all.

For Just Between Lovers, the characters should have been the main point. We can understand the technicals of what they went through just by reading a synopsis. In that case, it’s the show’s responsibility to show us more about them; not merely history, but who they are down to every nerve in their body. Okay; maybe that's pushing it for a 16-episode drama, but you understand what I mean? I want to relate to them on some level. Instead, the writer relied too much on the fallacy that “tragedy” automatically equates to a sympathetic audience. In trying to make us viewers feel sad with a truckload of melodrama, we end up not feeling too sad at all.

While I admit that I'm frequently too much of a stickler for well-written characters, I firmly believe that this oversimplification of characters was what failed this show. There were just too many characters to deal with effectively and all at once. The writer was trying to show that everyone is dealing with their own inner demons, which is fine; but then why do I not feel anything for any of them except for the smallest shred of pity? The experience was very similar to when you watch news broadcasts about car accidents: you might wince, feel bad because of what happened. But you most likely don’t have a great enough connection with the victim to truly feel bad for him as a person. That’s a big issue for a drama in which it’s all about seeing the characters as real and human.

Amongst everything, I think that the writer wasted the most time on the romance aspect. (The irony of naming a script “Just Between Lovers” and have a viewer hate the romance. Ouch.) This might’ve just been a trickle-down effect of me not liking the character development enough to appreciate the relationships. I tried to like it, and the pairing was cute; but not anything groundbreaking. It seemed as if the romance was an excuse for more melodrama that the show didn’t need.

The saving grace for Just Between Lovers was the acting. I may have felt lukewarm toward their characters, but I’d be spitting lies if I claimed I wasn’t immersed by Junho and Jinah in each of their more intense scenes. I only completed this show because of them. The amount of emotion that these two harbor in their eyes, namely when they’re crying, is appallingly wonderful. Especially Junho; the amount of acting talent that this singer has is unfair. It’s a real shame that their characters weren’t written better, otherwise the acting would have been explosive.

Altogether, the writer could have done more with the characters instead of focusing on the story alone. Had there been more focus in the character department, I would hardly have any complaints.