TV-seasons watched 2021

season 1.

1. Season

As I have found out while browsing through some reviews online, it seems that I might be the only one, who really, really liked this show. :D Like I already wrote after watching the first four episodes, I found refreshing, that they were not afraid to show casual sex (I mean, it happens a lot in real life) or same sex attraction between two girls. I found the drama to be realistic and romantic at the same time. I could easily recognize my young self in Nabi and her friends. Many of us humans are afraid of getting hurt, and that is why we make bad decisions – or no decisions at all.

So, the story goes like this: Nabi (played by Han So-Hee) is an art student and disappointed in love in her previous relationship. She ends up having a friend-with-benefits sort of deal with a very handsome, but notoriously commitment-free young man (Jae-on, played by Song Kang) in her art school. What was supposed to be just sex very quickly developes to something more, but both of them back away from it. Jae-on because he isn’t the committing type (or so he thinks) and Nabi because she is afraid that she would most likely get hurt again. Jae-on falls back to his normal behavior of meeting women casually and spending too much time with his ex-gilfriend — who still has feelings for him (not the best idea). Nabi seeks safe haven from a childhood friend (played by Yang Do-Hyeok) that she recently met again on a buss. This guy is everything a girl could ask for. He’s nice, good looking and he can cook! But there is no spark. This guy is sweet, but boring. She enjoys spending time with him, but in the end she still longs for Jae-on. After some time and many, many episodes of angst and misunderstandings they eventually end up together.

I’m usually the one suffering from ”second lead syndrome”, but not this time. I probably would’ve cursed this show if she ended up with the ”potato guy” (as he is known on the internet). Many people have been criticizing this drama for that she ends up with this horrible guy who wasn’t faithful to her, but I don’t quite get it. They weren’t exclusive at the time. I don’t think anything wrong was done there. Just two young people afraid to seize the moment. The oldest story in the book.

Like in any good romantic K-drama there are also other couples that find each other. My favourite was Bit-Na’s and Kyu-Hyun’s romance that reminded me of Nabi and Jae-on, only in their relationship the girl was the one not wanting to commit. Kim Min-Gwi who plays Kyu-Hyun is so handsome! Oh my! I should watch more of his dramas. And like I mentioned earlier there is also a same sex couple. Something not seen in mainstream K-dramas that often (I’m not counting BL to be mainstream).


So, why did I like this, when so many people disliked it? I don’t know. Maybe because of my own personal experiences? Maybe because I enjoyed it being so straightforward, when romantic dramas tend to sugarcoat things? Because it felt realistic to me? What I didn’t like: the art they were making wasn’t very good. Nabi was working with the same sculpture for months but didn’t make any progress. She also didn’t really look like an art student. She’s way too tidy to be an artist. :D


My review:

**** 좋아요 / Johayo

Season 1

Season 4