I honestly don’t know how to feel about this kdrama, I have many mixed feelings and that’s because I absolutely loved Rang but I also loved Yeon, Yoori and Shinjoo, however I couldn’t care less about Jiah and her relationship with Yeon. One thing that made me keep watching kdramas was the fact that they made me love romance again, after middle school I started almost hating even the hint of romance in books and tv shows and movies, I always either didn’t care for the couple or hated it, kdramas broke that curse and made me even straight up giggle (GIGGLE) at romantic scenes. This specific show on the contrary made me feel absolutely NOTHING when it comes to the main couple. I didn’t giggle, I didn’t cry, my heart didn’t flutter or break for them. I simply didn’t care about them in the least. Maybe it’s because the build up, the slow burn, the way they got together wasn’t given enough care and depth, we were just supposed to believe that they were meant for each other, that they loved each other deeply and that we should root for them. Later on in the show we were given many nice and heartwarming moments of them together but by then it was already too late for me to start caring because they didn’t make me feel the yearning and the stages of actually falling in love with each other, which for me are the most important part.
Secondly: Jiah. Just like her relationship with Yeon she also felt really bland to me, she didn’t have any distinguishable characteristics that made her stand out, she just felt like the classic and bland YA protagonist that I used to find and not care for in books and shows when I was younger. I didn’t hate her and din’t find her annoying, I simply didn’t care about her.
The plot of the show itself wasn’t anything new, I’m sure I’ve read this story before, but if I had cared about Jiah and her relationship with Yeon I’m sure I wouldn’t have minded in the slighted however exactly because I didn’t care for her and her relationship I was less invested in the story because the plot itself revolved around those two thighs.
Now let’s talk about the reason why I’m having such a hard time rating this show: lee rang. It’s been years since I fell so hard for a character and a side character at that. Another thing that kdramas managed to do was make me fall for the main characters while in the past I used to fall for side characters, this drama managed to bring me back to my old ways. I honestly loved him in ways I haven’t loved a character in a long time. I cried and cried and cried because of him, from beginning to end. His relationship with Yeon and his relationship with Yoori and then his other relationships were all extremely well done and well written, they had depth and nuance to them, in a way it kind of shocks me just how well written his relationships are when yeon and jiah relationship felt so superficial to me.
Both him and Yeon aren’t necessarily new and original characters that we’ve never seen before, just like with Jiah, however I still loved both of them, they still had heart and depth and their own original things that made them stand out and that made me love them.
Talking about Yeon: I absolutely loved him in the beginning, he’s fun and funny and cool etc etc but from halfway through the show I started to care less about him because much of his character is strictly connected to Jiah. I still loved him of course but not as much as I thought I would have.
So here’s where my dilemma comes from. I honestly can’t decide what rating I should give this show because I LOVED to bits Rang and then also Yeon, Yoori and Shinjo, their relationships and their stories but didn’t care about what was actually the main focus of the story, so how can I say that loved the show when I didn’t really?
I’ve heard that there’ll be a season 2 so I’m 100% going to check it out.