March 21, 2024

Let's start with what's good about the series: for the most part, it's an easy, relaxing watch. It's set at a university which has a nice campus, and the weather is lovely, which means you get lots of scenes of the characters wandering around in the sunshine surrounded by flowers and foliage.

The language is also on the easier side, as the characters primarily use common, everyday vocabulary and grammar relating to life as a student. There is some academic terminology, but nothing particularly specific to the course the main characters are studying (business administration). There's a bit of slang used, but overall, it's very accessible for the language learner.

So what's not so great about this series, you ask? Well, I think a culmination of poor writing, miscast characters, and sub-par acting has resulted in a bland and forgettable show.

Firstly, the characters lack depth. When introducing the characters, before their personalities are even established, we're shown traumatic flashbacks or difficult living circumstances, which is obviously meant to invoke pity. I don't think this is a good method to get your audience invested in a character (nevermind several) - I think it would have been more effective to show us how likeable the characters are, then introduce their difficulties later.

However, the writing leaves a lot to be desired: although characters change throughout the series, rather than this seeming like growth, it just feels unnatural. This is exacerbated by the acting - 강민아 does well given the constraints of her character, but 박지훈 and 배인혁 are disappointing in their roles. 박지훈's acting seems limited to playing cute and cheerful characters; he struggles with the range this role requires, and isn't believable as the cool, bad boy type. 배인혁 fails to bring any warmth to his character, and his relentless gloominess makes it difficult to root for him, even with his difficult circumstances.

The supporting characters are even less developed - I think the only character who had a well-defined role and was cast perfectly was played by 최정우, although his storyline is rather unsatisfying. There are too many supporting characters, and none of their stories come to satisfying conclusions: one girl falls in love at first sight, confesses, is rejected, and so she transfers schools!? Actually, even the main characters' storylines aren't particularly satisfying...

There's no chemistry between any of the characters either, which is a glaring problem since the story revolves around friendship and romance; it's as if they are all making small talk with strangers in an elevator. Both the writing and acting fails at portraying believable relationships - often it is left to the music to create the atmosphere that acting and writing can't - and I wasn't invested in the characters, their romances, or their friendships.

Strangely, this series feels both too long and too short: it's too long for what it is, as the story could have been told much more succinctly, but it's also too short for what it needs to be to fully flesh out the story and characters.

Something that particularly bothered me was how the domestic abuse was portrayed: cartoonish villains, over-the-top acting, and tragic music playing in the background. It just seemed very overdone, as if included for shock value and to manipulate the viewer's emotions, which felt really distasteful.

If you just want something to watch mindlessly this could be a good choice - I finished the series in just a few days, as it was easy to understand and just interesting enough to keep me watching. While it's not the worst thing I've ever seen, I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend it.

Content warnings: bullying, domestic violence, mentions of suicide

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