Emergency Couple stands out from the Kdrama crowd by making its main couple begin as divorcees. An unlikely starting place for a romance but this comedy was ready to take on the challenge. Rise above and surpass the challenge they did and with a grace that makes it look easy.

This drama is adorable. It's light, fresh, unique, and oh so funny. It manages to balance the seriousness of Jin Hee and Changmin's past with the ridiculous coincidence of their present. My favorite part of Emergency Couple was how it didn't shy away from the more serious issues that can arise in a relationship. Though it remains at its core a comedy there are so many refreshingly real moments between our leads as they begin the slow and arduous process of learning to trust and love each other again. The pay off for the audience is so worth the wait. Episode to episode we wait with bated breath hoping they will be able to overcome their past, his family, and her misgivings; it all finally culminates in an explosion of romance, passion, and love that they are so tentatively grasping and at risk of losing forever at any second. The tension doesn't break until the very end and the audience is left with a sense of euphoric relief.

The thing that made this drama not just good but exceptional for me was its character development. Jin Hee and Changmin begin the drama as fundamentally broken individuals. Jin Hee has come a long way from the version of herself we see in flashbacks to the time she was married to Changmin, but she has yet to heal or move past her self doubts. She is putting on a mask for herself and everyone else but her confidence is only skin deep. Changmin on the other hand feels defeated and empty. He has lost the woman he loved mostly because his family refused to accept her, and now that she's gone they welcomed him back with open arms. He's conflicted and feels lost but he's pretending that everything is better without her when in reality he just misses his wife. She learns to see her own self worth both with and without Changmin through her growing confidence in her abilities as a doctor. He learns to reorganize his priorities to reflect what he wants and needs in his life to be truly happy. They needed their time apart to grow and mature as people and when they come together again it's as fully realized versions of themselves who can lift the other up through love and mutual support.

If you're looking for a more mature take on a comedy I can't recommend this drama highly enough.