Great drama if you know what you're getting

I tend to only be interested in writing a review if I feel like I'm in the minority. Lots of negative reviews of this drama seem to be written by people who were expecting something else. So, let me speak for the other side and clear some things up from the beginning, here's what this drama is about: A woman and her two friends go through a very difficult year together and find strength to get through it by relying on one another. This is an especially character-driven drama, rather than story-driven.

Mi-jo is the central character, and her relationship to Chan-young is the primary relationship. I would say that Joo-hee and Seon-U or Jin-Seok are probably the second leads. If this were some rom-com and Mi-jo/Chan-young were the ML and FL, no one would be upset about them taking all the screen time. It's weird that everyone seems upset that the illness isn't the most important storyline--this is about their whole lives and that was a large part of it, but not the only part. I do agree that ALL the side plots eventually got a bit chaotic, but I liked getting small bits of insight into everyone's lives.

I thought it was an interesting move to tell us the ending in eps 2, but it allowed for so much more development of the leads and the (really wonderful) rest of the cast. I loved all the parents, with the glaring exception of one. I loved Mi-jo's sister, I fell in love with Seon-u and his love of Mi-jo. (I took a break from this one to watch Yeon Woo Jin in Shy Boss). Would have liked to see a little more of Joo-hee's relationship, but that's just because Hyun-jun's character seemed to have a lot of potential--but again, they aren't the main characters, so I'm fine with not having every answer.

Another thing that anyone should know by the opening scene, but in case you are wondering: This is a TEAR JERKER. I normally don't like tear jerkers and specifically come to kdrama for the comedy and romance. That said, this was a lovely story about women's friendships. Some of the side plot points were a little over the top (Seon-u's father and his sister; the slapdash adoption that appears late in the story, the jailbird), but they are all meant to get in the way of Mi-jo and Chan-young's friendship, and to show the different ways their friendship has shaped how they respond to difficulties.

Mi-jo is an imperfect heroine. She is anxious, clingy, and a bit of a control freak, maybe that's why she is getting so much negativity in the reviews. But, an imperfect character is way more interesting than a perfect one! Again, if you come to this drama interested in watching the main character move through her life and her relationships, including her close friendship to a terminally ill woman, you will be far less disappointed than if you come to this expecting an ensemble slice of life drama.

The music was good enough that I didn't notice it.

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Why so much hate for this drama?!

I’m not sure why I watched this one, considering how awful so many of the reviews here make it seem. But I’m glad I did.

The relationships in this drama are more complex than the usual fare. Maybe that’s why so many viewers thought badly about them. This was a problem for Nevertheless, too.

So many reviews say the ending was awful, and… I’m not sure what drama they watched. In the last two episodes, I kept thinking, “Okay, the terrible ending is going to start here, right? Nope. Here, then? No… huh.”

I’m not going to post any spoilers but there’s a happy ending—well, there’s always that one second male lead who has to be lonely in the end (>cough< Baek In-ho, Yoon JiHoo >cough<), but otherwise, it was good.

This drama portrays what deep betrayal can do to a person (I also like Lovestruck in the City in this regard). The reviewers complaining that the decisions characters made were selfish or nonsensical must be lucky folks who have never been betrayed by a good friend or lover. It messes you up! It makes you distrust!

There *are* three very selfish characters, only one of which sees the error of their ways… but the leads are self-preserving, not self-serving. Many people made mistakes in 2003 in this film, but nearly all of them were trying to do the best they could with only part of the story. That happens, especially in many peoples 20s! If anything, I’d say the healing quality of this drama hasn’t gotten the attention it deserves.

Is it perfect? Nope. There’s an over the top action side story that felt unnecessary, and —& I don’t think this is a spoiler— how can having to poop become blackmail fodder? It wasn’t laugh out loud funny and what romance there was wasn’t heart fluttering—but it was complicated and the attempts at mending these relationships required leaps of faith that I thought were handled well. I loved it whenever the suitors had to work together & especially loved Ha-nee’s conversations with her various father candidates.

Standouts elements include the Cranberries cover, the daughter and halmoeni, the the depiction of a messy breakup and it’s fallout.

Things other reviewers were worried about, but I didn’t mind, include the lack of deep dive into the “movie industry,” the FL turning down help over and over—she didn’t ask to be rescued!— and Dae-o’s whining. Anyone who carries a burden for 14 years will take some time to shift their worldview.

Things that *did* drive me nuts: “Guido Orefice” (COME ON), the last time jump, the other teacher (that guy, seriously), one ruthless character who wasn’t ever punished, the release party for a major film looking more like a lame office birthday party, and there really should’ve been more kissing.

I’m not sure if I’d rewatch it, because there are so many in my rewatch pile already, but I wasn’t mad about watching it once.

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Only sort of a love triangle

The plot is messy; agreed. The love triangle fizzles out a bit early, and along with it, presumably, an opportunity to better understand why the heck those two were friends in the first place. But, I came here just to defend Pyo Na Ri’s choice because the amount of folks claiming she picked the wrong guy is just… perplexing.

Yes, one guy is “nice” and rich, but he’s also controlling (all that consideration comes at a cost—she needs to do what he says or else get yelled out, or coldly shut out) and, most importantly, she’s never fully comfortable with him. We never meet his father, but the writing makes it pretty clear that Go Jung Won is a lot like him. Most importantly, says he’ll “never give her up” even when she asks him to. BIGGEST RED FLAG EVER. Run; don’t walk.

Meanwhile, while the other guy is “selfish,” sure, but that is pretty clearly demonstrated to be about his fear (of failure, of ridicule) rather than a lack of regard for others. He cares so much for the people he loves that he sometimes does or says the hard thing instead of the easy thing. Lee Hwa Shin shows Na Ri his vulnerability and he makes multiple real sacrifices for her happiness (overcoming the very fears that made him selfish in the first place). He’s even willing to let her go when he thinks (briefly) that that’s what she wants.

plot wise, lots of loose ends and weird red herrings (voice phishing…? what?!), and the bit about Chef getting “cured” pretty much canceled any wins for ace visibility, but big props for the breast cancer angle, great lead chemistry, and wonderful twin cougar supporting roles.

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Why do so many people get this one wrong?

I rarely write reviews unless I’m in the minority or I really, really agree. In this case it’s the former.

A couple of points to consider if you haven’t watched this drama and have read the reviews here (no spoilers):
- The relationship is set up from the start as problematic. That’s the point. Downscoring it for that is like downscoring a villain for being “unlikeable.” If you only like warm, comforting love stories, this is not the drama for you. Just like I’d recommend that you not watch horror dramas if you don't like to be scared.
- The folks saying there was no development of the characters missed some things. That’s all I can say without spoilers.
If there’s a theme to this drama, it’s about figuring out what you really want vs what your habits draw you toward. Lots of folks in this show make hard decisions in an effort to get closer to happiness. Is everyone 100% “fixed” in the end? No. But that’s also the nature of the ending… it is an ending for viewers, but what if you consider it a beginning for the characters?
BOTTOM LINE: This is a sexy, interesting drama that portrays complex characters and out-of-the-norm-for-kdrama relationships. If you’ve had bad relationships, you may not like it (tho I’ve dated someone similar to ML and loved to hate him for the first 2/3rds)—but this is the risk with any plot that reminds you of your past. The sdtk is great, it’s beautifully shot, and like that old relationship status, “it’s complicated.”

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It’s great if you skip a few episodes

I took the advice of one reviewer and skipped episodes 10-15. I am glad I did because of how mad I was when 16 started. But at least I wasn’t depressed! And I really didn’t want to be sad after such a strong start. Man, were those first 7 episodes CAPTIVATING. I was blushing at the screen. Swoon-worthy? Like whoa! I didn’t even hate Stand By Your Man completely. But everyone is right, it heads straight to Dumpsterville after that. Just get through 9 and then fast forward to the last one. None of the minor plot lines are going to be resolved satisfactorily anyway, and you can easily figure out the broad strokes of what happened—why sit through five hours of Sads when life is short! Tune in for the typical kdrama ending: “it’s some number of years later, and it’s possible they will finally get to live happily ever after, if this blurry wide shot of silhouettes on a beach is any indication”. Still worth it to watch the first half, if only to see kdrama’s best boyfriend ever, Jung Hae-in, fall for a girl. And SYJ is great as flustered and cute, if cynical, hot noona. I could see myself rewatching some of the first episodes, because they are artful and make my heart flutter. Though for overall rewatchability, I’d recommend One Spring Night over this one.

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Grim story + high production quality + strong talent

I will admit to queuing this up solely on the basis of wanting to see Jung Hai In be something other than the best boyfriend, ever. He does not disappoint, inhabiting a soldier who is both highly intelligent and somewhat naive. This is a trauma-fest, and if you have trouble watching shows that feature bullying, sexual abuse, physical violence, etc, then I would skip it. But the terrible scenes are necessary to underscore the terrible situation in S Korea's military. There are plenty of news stories, if you want to google check the show's writers.

The first 4 episodes are 9-10s. No spoilers, but it gets a little wild at the end, with the last two eps being more like 7.5-8 in my opinion. The stories of the deserters are all gut-wrenching, but the show is produced so well it is hard to look away.

I'm looking forward to a second season.

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