catherine
Peak friends-to-lovers
Guys. This drama is the pinnacle of friends-to-lovers and of the flipped trope — two of my absolute favorite things. The pining is immaculate.
The best thing about friends-to-lovers is the push and pull between two people who know each other so well and thus are so good at communicating, and two people who are so scared that feelings will change their relationship that they pull away from each other instead. This drama, once again, hit that spot absolutely perfectly, and the actors really sold every scene.
I also really appreciate how the side characters were incorporated. The closeness of the two families is really convincing, and I'm even more impressed that the two main leads had their own little friend groups. It adds a lot to the depth of their characters and their friendships by showing what their personalities are like outside of each other.
The only two little hiccups I would consider this drama to have would be:
1) The plot around Eiw's father. I understand why it's included — so that the story isn't just romance — and thematically it does kind of make sense with his character, but I just didn't find myself caring about it. I'm also not completely sure I agree with the final messaging of forgiveness in the end but this is partly my own worldview, and partly the fact that the drama just doesn't have enough time to really make it hit emotionally.
2) The second ship. It's not handled horribly but the age gap is still very very weird to me.
Overall though, this drama was 100% worth the watch for the main romance, and I hold every hug scene very close to my heart.
The best thing about friends-to-lovers is the push and pull between two people who know each other so well and thus are so good at communicating, and two people who are so scared that feelings will change their relationship that they pull away from each other instead. This drama, once again, hit that spot absolutely perfectly, and the actors really sold every scene.
I also really appreciate how the side characters were incorporated. The closeness of the two families is really convincing, and I'm even more impressed that the two main leads had their own little friend groups. It adds a lot to the depth of their characters and their friendships by showing what their personalities are like outside of each other.
The only two little hiccups I would consider this drama to have would be:
1) The plot around Eiw's father. I understand why it's included — so that the story isn't just romance — and thematically it does kind of make sense with his character, but I just didn't find myself caring about it. I'm also not completely sure I agree with the final messaging of forgiveness in the end but this is partly my own worldview, and partly the fact that the drama just doesn't have enough time to really make it hit emotionally.
2) The second ship. It's not handled horribly but the age gap is still very very weird to me.
Overall though, this drama was 100% worth the watch for the main romance, and I hold every hug scene very close to my heart.
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