I'm Not a Robot

I’m Not a Robot

8.5/10

I'm Not a Robot

Genre:                                                Episodes: 16                                           Year: 2018

Romance

Comedy

Synopsis:

Kim Min Gyu is the director of a finance company, but lives in seclusion after developing an allergy to human contact. Hong Baek Gyun is a developer of android robots, and his most recent AI, Aji 3, is based on his ex-girlfriend, Jo Ji Ah. Baek Gyun is in the process of selling Aji 3 to Min Gyu, when an accident causes the robot to break down. Baek Gyun offers to pay Ji Ah to pretend to be Aji 3 while the robot is being fixed.

Cast:

Chae Soo Bin (Jo Ji Ah/Aji 3)

Yoo Seung Ho (Kim Min Gyu)

Uhm Ki Joon (Hong Baek Gyun)

Park Se Wan (Pi)

Song Jae Ryong (Hoktal)

Kim Min Kyu (Ssanip)

Kang Ki Young (Hwang Yoo Cheol)

Hwang Seung Eon (Ye Ri El)

General Thoughts:

Well 2018 sure has started off strongly. After going through a year that had a bit of a drought of good romantic comedies, ‘I’m Not a Robot’ was like the long awaited rain. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come and not a start-with-a-bang-end-with-a-fizzle scenario.

This was the rom-com i needed in my life right now

The robot/human set-up is a new take on familiar trajectory, but it was handled so, so well. The path was pretty similar to a lot of typical rom-com stories- meeting-deception-falling in love-discovery of deception-fallout-make up. That being said, this drama had its own twist on that set-up that made everything seem much newer and more innovative than it actually was. 

Good Characters = Happy Audience

Rather than it seeming like this drama was treading the same path as a hundred others before it, it was more like this drama was coming along to show those hundred others how it should be done. Scenarios I usually find myself rolling my eyes at, such as the angsty patch in the middle, instead had me feeling invested and understanding. Because rather than using these situations to try and spur the plot along or fill out more episodes, ‘I’m Not a Robot’ used those moments to highlight character development and struggle that it had laid the groundwork for previously. What the show did so well is that it made its characters the main focal point- not the various occurrences in the plot. Yes, there were robot hijinks and a company backstory, but very clearly the main point was Ji Ah learning her self-worth and Min Gyu learning to trust others. The hows and whys were important too, but it was the way our characters responded to these situations that was the main draw. And of course the characters themselves.

The human allergy was constructed surprisingly well

Min Gyu was completely loveable, and quickly became a hero to root for in the very first episode. By opening with Min Gyu and not Ji Ah, the show allowed us to get a complete understanding of who he was, how is human allergy impacted his life, and ultimately how much he craved human contact. This was essential, as his first few interactions with Ji Ah didn’t exactly show him in the best light- he didn’t get out of his car to greet her, refused to pay her, and was basically a big ol’ jerk.

Yoo Seung Ho, please stay in rom-coms

But because we’d previously seen how terrified Min Gyu was of his allergy and how totally awkward he was (he threw a birthday party for his robo-vacuum), this scene became hilarious rather than being a reason to dislike the lead. Ji Ah wasn’t as whacky as our hero, but she was a refreshing and loveable heroine.

She may have the lowest IQ, but she has the most common sense

She did have a few Candy traits, but she was also innovative and stubborn, which gave her a sense of individuality. I loved that the show played her IQ for comedic effect as it was done in a sensitive way. No one was making fun of Ji Ah for being dumb, but the characters’ surprise (including coming from Ji Ah herself) when things worked out well for her were just hilarious. Such as her heart lamps being based on a complex hypotheses that took the scientists years to figure out, or her simple solutions to problems she couldn’t solve (such as breaking the box rather than finding the code to open it) that made Min Gyu think she was a extraordinary, futuristic robot. The side characters were all delightful, particularly those on the Santa Maria Robotics Team. Baek Gyun was a refreshing second lead, as it’s not often we get totally nerdy second leads actually being the ex-boyfriend of the heroine. They’re usually two completely different ballgames. But Baek Gyun had his own character arc of self discovery. I’m endlessly glad that the writer opted for Baek Gyun searching for the meaning behind his and Ji Ah’s break up, rather than simply having him compete with Min Gyu for her affections.

I always prefer when the second leads don't encroach on the happiness of the leads

There were certainly elements of regret and Beak Gyun wishing he could go back and be a better man to Ji Ah so that he could keep her, but his quiet, individual realisation that he and Ji Ah were now two different people made him and his arc so much more engaging and enjoyable. For a drama that had its heroine posing as an actual inanimate object for a large portion of its runtime, the male leads to an outstanding job at treating her like her own entity to be connected to and communicated with, but not fought over and won.

Teaching Min Gyu How to be Human Part 1

Hoktal and Ssanip were mostly there for comedic relief, and they were very funny, but they also had their more poignant moments. These came particularly when there were scenes of bonding between Min Gyu and the Santa Maria team. It’s Hoktal and Ssanip who are at the dinner Min Gyu throws, and it’s these two that chase after Min Gyu's car after he discovers Aji 3 was a human.

Scientists and love are always a fun time

Where the importance of these characters lie is that it shows Min Gyu opening up to a group of people, rather than only to Beak Gyun- which makes a world of difference for Min Gyu’s development. I was so happy to see that there were also a variety of female side characters- and they all had different, yet likeable personalities. How often does that happen? (For those of you who don’t know- not often). Pi was nerdy without being classically shy. She was bold and sure of herself, and was a great addition to the story. Her one-sided love and eventual love-line with Beak Gyun was super sweet and I always enjoyed watching the two interact, as Pi was often the greatest source of hard truths for Beak Gyun, as she was significantly more socially clued in than Baek Gyun. Sun Hye was used more for comedy alongside Hoktal and Ssanip, but in a similar way as Pi, she was the perfect person to deliver hard truths to Min Gyu. As someone who wasn’t a part of the Santa Maria Team, she was excluded from the complete betrayal Min Gyu felt when he discovered how the team had been deceiving him, and as such she was able to give him the facts of the situation without getting yelled at, scorned or ignored.

Learning to Forgive- also known as Teaching Min Gyu How to be Human Part 2

It was Sun Hye’s message that everyone would move on without Min Gyu if he didn’t choose to forgive that lead to the big reconciliation. Sun Hye’s character was carefully set up all series long with just the right amount of involvement so that she would be able to deliver this message- which I found to be an example of truly excellent writing.

Two thumbs up for a second female lead who isn't a basic b*tch

I was all primed to dislike the second female lead, Ri El, and I was so pleasantly surprised that she wasn’t at all how I thought she’d be. Rather than being the petty, shallow rich girl who comes to marry the hero, Ri El has a lot more depth. For one she has a conscience, which already depicts her differently from every other rich female character. Despite being the second female lead, I loved how separate her story was from Min Gyu’s, as it gave space for the main romance to grow and prevented us from getting annoyed by her character. Rather than watching her pine over the man she doesn’t get, we get to see Ri El begin to realise how her father is using her for his own agenda. Ri El doesn’t just sit meekly by, and goes out on her own to figure out how she can break away from her father and become her own person. Rounding out our support cast is Kang Ki Young as Min Gyu’s ex-friend. I’m so glad that Kang Ki Young is getting more meatier roles (he’s mostly had roles more like Hoktal and Ssnip before), as I’ve always found him a great actor. He’s an excellent comedic actor, but after seeing him as a kitten murderer in ‘While You Were Sleeping’, I’ve been excited to see him get more roles.

The company plot-line stayed where it belonged- in the background

He played Yoo Cheol with a great ambiguity. For a long time I was unsure if there was a simple misunderstanding between the men, or if Yoo Cheol actually seriously wronged Min Gyu. Yoo Cheol’s conflict was really interesting to watch, and provided some interest in the company plot-line. Like most company plot-lines, I didn’t actually care about what went on in the company,

I like you so much better in comedy than in melo

but Yoo Cheol’s actions in the company directly aligned with his relationship with Min Gyu. If Yoo Cheol supported his father he was abandoning Min Gyu for good, but his choice to walk away from his father and all his wrongdoings is what enabled him and Min Gyu to reconnect. With all great characters there of course needs to be great acting to back it up. Kang Ki Young wasn’t the only one that impressed me. I’ve sort of come to dislike Yoo Seung Ho a bit- not as a person, but as an actor. I don’t have any problem with his acting, which I find to be of a high quality, but then I started to realise that either his characters were annoying (Remember) or the drama was just bad (Ruler). I think that maybe because he’s so good at crying it gets overused a bit and his characters can sometimes be annoyingly weepy. But I like him so much more in rom-coms. He’s cute and funny and delightful, but also has the acting ability to back up the more emotional moments in the drama. I loved him as our hero, and he suited the role really well. Chae Soo Bin was just an absolute standout. Her last three dramas just fell of my to-watch list, but I’d heard good things about her.

She also kinda has the perfect face for playing an AI

Seeing her in action is so much better. She has a great flair for comedy and is a solid emotional actress- I was on board her rants and raves and all her heartbreak, and she made Ji Ah a beautifully relatable character. As well as making Ji Ah a wonderful heroine, I love Chae Soo Bin as Aji 3. There was great distinction in her facial expressions, her body movements and her voice, so it was always clear (to us) which character she was portraying.

Magic umbrella of magic

Also special shoutout to the Westerner who wasn’t the worst actor on the planet- what a nice change of pace from our usual white guys/gals. The directing and writing matched each other perfectly, and one thing that really stood out to me was the competence at which they told their story. The writer and director had faith that we were all smart little cookies and could follow along without feeling the need to overexplain anything, or rehash the same information again and again. This kept the story feeling fresh and the momentum racing. I also applaud the show for its minimal use of character flashbacks. Despite drawing parallels between the leads and why Ji Ah understood Min Gyu’s loneliness, the show didn't feel the need to actually show us a childhood version of Ji Ah being similarly solitary. Instead we heard this information as we needed it from characters in the present, which also allowed us to see Min Gyu’s response- which we wouldn't get in a flashback. I’ve never been a big fan of overusing flashbacks, and despite how easy it would have been to do that here, we don’t get an overload of them.

What Was Great:

Human Emotion:

I’m finding more and more that what gets me invested in dramas and causes me to really fall in love with them are the characters behind the story.

And I love these characters

A lot of the time it feels like we’re just going through the motions and using the same old formula when it comes to the rom-com storyboard. ‘I’m Not a Robot’ doesn’t do anything groundbreaking story-wise

Rather than using miscommunication as a plot device, this drama actively avoided it

(in fact it follows that old formula to a tee), but it’s the way the characters were written so humanely that made the drama so great. The characters feel like people- not just figments of some writer’s imagination. Often the problems presented could only be overcome through our characters’ development, and it worked because our characters acted like actual people and tried to learn from their mistakes and better themselves. And they communicated well- how much do I love that practically a whole episode was devoted to Ji Ah and Min Gyu sitting down and having an open, honest discussion about their feelings and how they wanted to proceed (hint- I loved it a lot). The writer knew exactly what scenes would be impactful and could draw the exact emotion she wanted out of the audience- a trait that a lot of rom-com writers seem to lack. 

Bearable Angst:

Usually I hate angst in rom-coms. There’s always a patch of it, usually just on the other side of halfway, and usually it’s ridiculously unbearable and completely avoidable. However, in this drama the angst made sense.

I get why they can't be together and I get why that sucks

Falling love with a robot is pretty angsty stuff. She’s not real, she’ll never be real, and the ‘person’ you’ve fallen in love with is just a machine with pre-coded responses (or so Min Gyu thought). Min Gyu’s choice to reset the robot in an attempt to overcome his feelings for her was believably sad.

It is inadvisable to fall in love with your pre-programmed companion

This was helped along by the fact that his complete isolation and lack of interaction with people from the outside world made it understandable how he could end up falling for a humanoid robot where most other people would be able to clearly draw a distinction between human and robot. The heartbreak from both the leads after the reset also made complete sense. There was no plausible way for the two to see each other again at that time. Min Gyu thought the robot he’d fallen in love with had been completely reset, and Ji Ah can’t reveal that she’s a human for fear that Min Gyu’s feelings of betrayal will trigger a fatal allergic reaction. Min Gyu’s actual feelings of betrayal are again understandable, as he’d been lied to by people he’d come to trust and love completely. There was no easy away around this particular angst- from the moment the drama synopsis first became available we knew we’d be headed for this particular territory. Because there’s just no way to come out of that sort of deception (as innocently as you may have gone into it) without hurting the one who was deceived.

This situation could not have been avoided

There was no moment when Ji Ah should have told Min Gyu and just didn’t, because from the moment she stood in as Aji 3, Min Gyu was always going to feel betrayed when he discovered the truth. The pièce de résistance was that the angst was just the right length. It wasn’t so short that it made the characters’ reconciliations unbelievable, and it wasn’t so long that I stopped caring.  

What Wasn’t:

Forgotten Plotline: 

I know it was pretty strongly hinted that Min Gyu’s groundskeeper was Madame X, but the whole Madame X thing just kinda got ignored a bit.

I don't even have a screenshot to go in this section- just shows how little airtime this plot-line got

I didn’t necessarily need a big Madame X reveal, but at least a little confirmation, or backstory or something would have been nice. As it was it just kinda felt like they ran out of time to include that particular plot-line.

Recommend?

I 100% recommend this for those that are lovers of a good rom-com. 

I adore all the parallels of this kiss

Because This Life is My First

Because This Life is My First

6.5/10

Because This Life is My First

Genre:                                                Episodes: 16                                           Year: 2017

Romance

Comedy

Synopsis:

Nam Se Hee is a man who owns his own home but can barely afford the payments for his mortgage. Yoon Ji Ho is a woman who struggles to find a place to live after she is forced to leave home. Se Hee looks for a roommate to earn some extra money, and Ji Ho jumps at the chance to find a place to rent that doesn’t require a deposit.

Cast:

Jung So min (Yoon Ji Ho)

Lee Min Ki (Nam Se Hee)

Esom (Woo Soo Ji)

Park Byung Eun (Ma Sang Goo)

Kim Ga Eun (Yang Ho Rang)

Kim Min Suk (Shim Won Seok)

Kim Min Kyu (Yeon Bok Nam)

Yoon Bo Mi (Yoon Bo Mi)

General Thoughts:

Before I get into the bulk of this review, I kind of feel like I want to explain my rating a bit. I know a lot of people adored this drama and would rate it highly, but for me the end sort of ruined a lot. That being said, I also couldn’t ignore that a large part of this drama was really, really good.

Mostly fun

The majority of the show sat around 7.5-8 so I felt it was only fair to knock that down about a point for the way the show concluded. Anyway- moving on. This drama is part of the genre that’s really taking off recently- slice-of-life. I myself am a huge fan of this genre (Weightlifting Fairy, Age of Youth, Fool’s Love), so I was pretty excited to hear of this new and popular drama. And boy did the show deliver.

Slice-of-life is the new black

It’s pretty much everything you want in a slice-of-life. The characters are slightly odd but are relatable in a sympathetic way, the situations (despite certain craziness) have a familiar, realistic vibe, and the whole show is coloured by a thoughtful and insightful commentary about life. The emotions of the drama were spot on and were what made it really memorable. While the plot was engaging and fun, it was the characters and their touching stories that made the show memorable. Of course when you think of the most memorable character you have to think of our leading man, Nam Se Hee. He was totally weird. He was whacky in a way that should have made him un-relatable, and yet time and time again I found myself sympathising and agreeing with him. Who hasn’t wished for an ordinary, quiet life with no surprises at one time or another? It was fun to watch Se Hee slowly start to come out of his shell around Ji Ho and gradually start to express himself more. Ji Ho was a perfect match for his weirdness (for the most part), and it was nice how the show explored their compatibility. It’s not that they were the perfect man and perfect woman, but their personalities made them a good fit.

Oddly compatible

It didn’t feel like some other person could be more suitable for our main leads. Rather than fire and sparks, our couple had a comfortable and relaxed chemistry. They felt safe and secure around each other, and didn’t feel as though their idiosyncrasies would be judged. It was a nice way to move through the relationship, having the leads start as housemates.

I don't often get to use 'K-Drama' and 'good communication' in the same sentence

Unlike usual rom-com set-ups there was no real ridiculous event that forced them together, nor did they have a hate-love relationship- they were just two people who happened to meet and suit each other really well. The housemate set-up also allowed the lead characters to be quite open with each other. While there were some things they kept from each other (such as their growing fondness for each other), they were very clear on their preferences and their comforts, which allowed the two to gather a pretty clear understanding of each other early on. For the most part, the communication between Se Hee and Ji Ho was really excellent. Se Hee always expressed when he felt that Ji Ho had crossed a line and Ji Ho mostly let Se Hee know when he had confused her or hurt her feelings. It was this honesty that made their relationship feel real and sincere and made them a couple to root for. Lee Min Ki was a standout in this drama- able to completely adapt to Se Hee’s strange quirks and mannerisms while also making him a unique and likeable character. Despite Se Hee’s rather contained nature and lack of outward dialogue, Lee Min Ki could perfectly express the inner goings on of his character, making Se Hee likeable and relatable.

He doesn't look it- but this character's a lot of fun

Jung So Min also did an excellent job with our heroine. Ji Ho isn’t exactly a new type of character in K-Dramaland (she had some pretty distinct Candy characteristics), and yet Jung So Min gave life to Ji Ho in a way that made her feel fresh and interesting, and set her apart from all those other heroines with similar characteristics. She gave Ji Ho a more thoughtful and introspective nature which worked well for the story this drama was telling.

I don't think I could ever lie in bed with Kim Min Suk and not look at him

The two other couples in this drama were interesting in their own right, and felt like they were telling their own stories rather than simply being there to pad out the main storyline. Ho Rang and Won Seok were a great contrast to the main couple. While Ji Ho and Se Hee were just discovering their feelings, Ho Rang and Won Seok were feeling the strain of their long-term relationship. It was a interesting idea to follow, as it’s a story that’s tinged with sadness. Neither Ho Rang nor Won Seok stopped loving the other, but they had just reached a point where their wants and desires diverged. I wouldn’t go as far as saying I liked ether of these characters, as I feel like so much of who they were was defined by their relationship- which was failing. It’s not to say they were unlikable characters, I just felt rather passively about them. I neither liked nor disliked the two, but the story they were telling was one that was engaging. It’s quite a modern tale where both the characters weren’t where they’d thought they’d be in life and were desperately looking for that something that would propel them into that happy future they sought. For Won Seok that was getting his app running and off the ground. For Ho Rang it was marriage.

Chasing happiness doesn't often result in happiness

Obviously these two wants didn’t exactly go hand in hand. Despite their love for each other and all the time they’d spent together, neither was willing to sacrifice what they thought was really important for the other. Ho Rang didn’t want to wait a long time for marriage, and Won Seok didn’t want to have to give up his dreams just so that he could provide for a family. As we headed into the drama’s final episodes I really liked where this relationship was headed. While it was sad that the two broke up,

Is it bad that I wanted them to break up?

I thought it was an important message that you shouldn’t sacrifice something important to you just to maintain a relationship. How many dramas have we watched that take place after this sacrifice where resentment and regret have kicked in? Of course, the drama quite happily ignores this message in its final episode when Ho Rang and Won Seok get back together. But more on that later. Acting-wise I thought Kim Ga Eun and Kim Min Suk did well. It was a feat for Kim Ga Eun to prevent Ho Rang from becoming dislikable. She’s a type of character that I really don’t like- stubborn, selfish and unwilling to admit to any fault. Not only that but she felt quite dated. Ho Rang was 100% set on being a housewife and not working, and yet she did basically nothing to try and work towards her dream. We didn’t see her help Won Seok in any way, and all she seemed to do was whine that they weren’t getting married without thinking about the realistic issues. They’re barely surviving on both their incomes, so how does she think she’ll be able to stop working after marriage? Her ideals felt very old-fashioned and rather inconsiderate to her partner. However, despite aaaaaaall these shortcomings, Kim Ga Eun managed to inject a sense of cuteness and innocence into her character. It didn’t go as far as to make Ho Rang likeable, but at the very least it made her bearable.

Their story was more interesting than fun

I always love Kim Min Suk, and this was no exception, though admittedly I might’ve just liked the character because it was Kim Min Suk. As always he was cute and endearing and loveable. Soo Ji and San Goo were my favourite couple in the show. They had a much more typical rom-com trajectory but hey, there’s a reason that formula works. Their initial bickering was a great source of comedy.

My favourite couple for sure

In fact, San Goo himself was a great source of comedy. He was dorky and eccentric in a sweet way, and similarly to the main couple, the writers did an excellent job at showing how it was Sang Goo’s exact brand of quirky that Soo Ji needed. Soo Ji herself was a character I liked. Despite her hardness and stark view of the world, she had a determination and a drive that I really admired. She had a realistic view of the world and knew what she had to put up with to get by. That being said, as Sang Goo became more involved in her life, Soo Ji also started to learn that what she wanted might be worth a bit of risk. It was only with Sang Goo’s support that Soo Ji was able to take that scary step out from her awful, yet well-paying, job into her own business venture that had a risk of failure. What I liked most about the relationship between Soo Ji and Sang Goo is that it felt like a very modern relationship (unlike Ho Rang and Won Seok). Both Soo Ji and Sang Goo knew it was important for Soo Ji to be a working woman, and offered each other love and emotional support rather than the promise of financial support.

That's how you get the girl

They felt like a very well balanced pair because they took the time to work on themselves and were able to define themselves outside of their relationship. Park Byung Eun was wonderful as the dorky CEO. He was just swoony enough to warrant being able to snag a catch like Soo Ji, but had a nice layer of dorkiness that made it clear why he wasn’t drowning in female affections.

I'll never say no to K-Drama gal pals

Similarly, Esom gave Soo Ji a great classiness and shaped her into an excellent career woman. It was always clear to see Soo Ji’s discomfort around her male colleges and her simmering anger, despite these scenes not having a lot of dialogue on her part. Esom was also brilliant at expressing Soo Ji’s defence mechanisms. When you have a gorgeous character like Sang Goo, rebuffs on the fame character’s part can came across a bit harsh and uncalled for. However, Esom always took care to give Soo Ji such vulnerability that her harsh words to Sang Goo always seemed like a shield rather than an attack. Considering how much people seemed to love the female friendship in this drama, I personally thought that there weren’t a lot of scenes with the three girls interacting. When they came around I did enjoy them, particularly the way that polar opposites Ho Rang and Soo Ji clashed. But at the end of the day, this drama really was all about the leads and their developing relationship.

What Was Great:

87.5%:

As I mentioned above, most of this drama was excellent. 14 of its episodes were thoughtful, introspective and just plain delightful. Despite the whacky premise (girl enters contract marriage with landlord for cheap rent), the realism of the characters grounded the show.

Strangely, this situation isn't as weird as it sounds on paper

Se Hee and Ji Ho may have been weird, but they were weird in an utterly believable way. The writer played out the logic as to why these two would think a contract marriage was in their best interests, and the pure logic of the situation (despite its complete ridiculousness)

For 14 episodes I really loved this couple

made me as a viewer believe that this marriage was in their best interests too. The episodes had a heavy amount of internal dialogue and monologuing, and yet the drama never (or at least in these 14 good episodes) felt like an excuse for an overly indulgent, artsy writer to spew their poetic rumination on life- which is usually how it feels when a drama has so many thoughtful voiceovers. Because both our leads were already deep introverts and analytical thinkers, it felt natural rather than obnoxious to have running dialogue over scenes. Rather than simply being a show for pure entertainment (which is still good, don’t get me wrong), this drama offered thoughtful commentaries on life, dreams, love, and expectations. The relationships felt real and the characters felt lived in, giving the drama a beautifully contemplative, yet still entertaining and engaging vibe.

What Wasn’t:

12.5%:

Unlike the first 14 episodes, the final episodes tanked. Not actually because the final episode was actually one of the highest for ratings, but logically. Thematically. Emotionally. This drama’s final episodes failed for me.

Did the main writer die and someone else had to write the end of this show?

It’s not just that the episodes were bad either. I can live with bad, bad is bearable. When an ending is bad you can still kind of shrug it off and appreciate what the show did well and wonder what might have been (Cheese in the Trap, Come Back, Ajusshi). What made this ending particularly bad was that it actually effected how I viewed the rest of the drama.

How could you ruin this beautifully poetic break up?

Rather than just taking an unsavoury direction in its final moments, the last two episodes had me questioning the meanings I’d got out of previous episodes. Ho Rang and Won Seok rekindling their relationship was all kinds of wrong for me. They’d had their sad breakup and then their beautiful goodbye over the phone where they'd wished each other the best and said they were thankful for the great times they’d had together. Great. Perfect. What a beautiful way to end a long-term relationship where the two wanted completely different things. Ho Rang and Won Seok needed to be content with themselves and their own lives before committing to a serious relationship. However, after getting back together at the end I felt as though the writer was ripping away the thoughtful message she’d delivered previously. Because screw these guys finding their own motivations and goals- love cures all. And the now for the rant I’ve been waiting all week to write, but also kind of dreading for the memories it would bring up. Ji Ho leaves. Yeah, the actual f*ck writer-nim.

Was it really that hard to say 'Please tell me if you don't want me to leave'? Apparently so.

After 14 episodes of these two people communicating effectively suddenly Ji Ho fails to see Se Hee’s intentions (which she’d been good at noticing before) and fails to express herself bluntly so that she could hear his response (again, which she’d been so good at before). Instead she tries to emotionally blackmail Se Hee into admitting his feelings by telling him she was leaving (wtf man, I still can’t get over the stupidity of it all).

I'm not sure what we're supposed to feel

But of course we all know this isn’t going to work because we’ve just seen 14 hours of how Se Hee is an emotionally wounded man who would rather put up walls and isolate himself rather than exposing his feelings to be potentially trampled on. Not to mention we (and Ji Ho) know that he was actually planning a confession anyway, and Ji Ho was just trying to force it out of him faster. So then Ji Ho leaves because she loves him (omg it’s so unbearably stupid) and Se Hee is sad. He’s not just sad he’s devastated. He allowed himself to be open and vulnerable to this girl and she walked out because he was taking his time giving her his wounded heart. It seemed like the writer was trying to use the expectations of others and the pressure of marriage to justify Ji Ho leaving, but quite frankly there are so many ways those issues could have been addressed that didn’t involve Se Hee getting kicked to the curb. Ji Ho then comes back some time later and Se Hee’s a bit mad but not really because he just accepts her back, and Ji Ho apparently doesn’t regret leaving him and causing him an ocean of pain. The two then set up a new contract supposedly to help manage their families’ expectations and keep each other comfortable.

Girl, you so don't deserve him now

Which basically comes down to neither of them attending the other’s family functions. Which doesn’t speak of a healthy relationship to me. What about that episode saying a person brings their past and future as well as their present? I’d say a person’s family is a large part of their past and future and ignoring their family is ignoring a part of that person.

I did not watch you for 14 hours so you could get divorced

What happened to the episode saying that good-daughter-in-law-syndrome came from wanting to be loved by your partner’s family? Nope, comfort is more important apparently. I sort of get what the writer was going for- a new style of marriage that centres around the wants and desires of only the couple and ignores the meddling of outsiders, but I also kind of wished the show had stuck to its previous messages rather than trying to introduce new ideas in the final hour. The rapid conclusion after Ji Ho’s time gallivanting off by herself undermined any reason she might have had for leaving in the first place. Why are they magically able to communicate better now that’s she’s returned? Why have all their issues simply disappeared into nothing after a brief hiatus. Because love cures all. Again. And during this time Ji Ho is also ignoring a perfectly good opportunity to further her writing career because Se Hee’s ex is involved. I was sure that this show had given both our leads enough emotional maturity to work through that issue, and was unbelievably disappointed when Ji Ho chose comfort and ‘love’ over her passion.

This drama should have been so much deeper than 'love is magic'

To have the final commentary of the series boil down to ‘we’re going to trust in our love’ was just a huge letdown, and felt cheesy and unrealistic unlike the rest of the show. At least the show gave a satisfying conclusion to Soo Ji and Sang Woo, because by the end there I really thought the show was just looking to mess up every good thing it had created.

Recommend?

Yeah. For most of its run it’s a sweet and insightful story. Do be prepared that the ending isn’t exactly up to the same standards as the rest of the drama though.

It came so close to being amazing