The fake marriage trope is now firmly established as a recognised genre and j-drama has done its best to invent a sub-genre whereby the marriage is between two total strangers with little or no preamble.

It can be very interesting and rewarding to see two strangers navigate living as a married couple with all the obligations and expectations from families and society. Finding love is a must and that journey of discovery is usually what sustain us and defines whether the Show succeeds. This show started on the right track but then lost its way in a maze of its own making before eventually finding the exit. The viewer is taken on a protracted run through the maze and it is frustrating when we can see the correct path before us but the protagonists always seemed to take the wrong turns.

The show is billed as a rom-com. There is the usual overacting and it has lots of romance in its plots but most of them seem to circumvent our OTP. It is as if the writers are giving us a tutorial on what true love is with lots of book examples. Unfortunately, the ML must have slept through most of it.

Time and time again, the ML was confronted with "feelings". He would get confused or misunderstood simple signals. At one stage, the FL shouted that she loves him and he replied "that's nice. What's for dinner?" (that is not what he actually said but you get my drift). The problem is that this doesn't happen once but repeatedly. The ML was berated by his friends, family and even his love rival as being dumb, idiotic and clueless. This is a person who works in advertising, well educated and pushing 30. He is not a shut-in. I can accept social awkwardness and inexperience but his behaviour is next level. Yet, at the same time, he has a long time crush on someone so he is not without feelings. While the FL was better represented, she was portraited initially as scatty, impulsive and naïve but at least she knows what love is when it hits her between the eyes. Of course the FL spent much of the show annoyed, disappointed and/or confused.

So with all the tutoring, expositions and observations of other people falling in and out of love over many episodes, you'd think our CP got the gist, right? Nope, not for 90% of the run. Even after multiple "confessions" and the donning of couple's pyjamas they still broke up on the weakest pretence. Forsooth, ye ol' curse of Failure to Communicate! The writers loved to use this device. They would have the actors interrupt other each repeatedly at key moments or an action is totally misunderstood but there is never any clarification. That is painful to watch as it was so obvious and served only to prolong their suffering and ours.

Speaking of love, there seems to be a queue of people who would fall in love with our protagonists pretty much at first sight. Random characters would be introduced for an episode or two, hit on one of the leads and sow confusion and then disappear. Why is this the only way for our protagonists to get any clarity about their feelings?

In terms of chemistry between the leads, there is a bit but there should be a lot more. The pairing just never felt 100% right. The Show tells us again and again that they are perfect for each other but I don't feel it. Friends, yes but soulmates? Kisses are rare and felt wooden. You just don't sense the passion. The herd of unicorns are MIA for this show.

Of course the ending is HEA with hints of multiple pairings. I would have prefer a show that spend a lot more time and energy showing us how the OTP falls in love and work together to sort out problems rather than standing around observing other people's love affairs and then completely botch their own. This is not a DIY car repair video after all.

There are much better examples of this genre such as "Because This Is My First Life" and "Shanai Marriage Honey".

The Show is watchable and there are funny and cute moments but it doesn't balance out the tedious bits. There is next to no re-watch value for me. Peace out.