IN DEPTH review + alternative endings and where to stop for viewers that dont want open ending

Writing this review freshly after finishing all 9 episodes, everything is very clear in my mind as I binged it all in one sitting. I did not read or even look up the original manhwa or novel (whatever it is called), so I have nothing to compare the drama version to, and I also DID NOT come in with any expectations. Usually when viewers read the novel first they may be more biased since things may be different from the plot in a good or bad way, but I came in with no expectations, just to clarify. Apologize for long review, but I try to be detailed and helpful. It is totally okay to disagree as its just my opinion! Disclaimer: it may seem like im bashing the ending and everything, but I still gave the drama a 7 rating so im not really hating to clarify, rather I am not satisfied. If I were to describe this drama it would be like competing in a race and doing well on the first few laps, then just not completing the last lap. You see, this is a romance drama. Not a healing drama, not a slice of life, not action, not comedy, not historical. Least they could have done was a satisfying romantic ending.

Things I liked:
1. Good romance and kiss scenes. Actually thought they had more and better kisses than most dramas I see nowadays.
2. 9 episodes of like 35-40 minutes (the last 5 minutes are just credits so its not actually 45 min), it can be binged, and even if you dont like it, its a short watch, you dont really 'waste' a lot of time. Also, if you wanted to rewatch for whatever reason, it would be easy.
3. Nothing much going on in the drama other than the romance aspect, which is good as you dont have to give your attention to many subplots. However, the drama is still a bit confusing with plot holes and time skips which I will talk about below.
4. Characters are likable, there's no character I didnt like, and love triangle was not overly annoying. Acting was also good, everyone was pretty good but I just thought the ML acting was okay. Not bad but not good.

Things I didn't like: (SPOILERS AHEAD, but I really think people should read this before watching)
STAR: I am fine with open or sad endings but for this specific drama I can think of more reasons of why they couldve/shouldve been together than not, which is why im so frustrated (see #4). I would also like to point out that this drama really has no plot other than 1. Doona going back to her career and 2. romance. There are only 2 overarching plots, yet they couldn't even make it clear and things were very confusing to me as a viewer (see #2 & 3). There were details left out, no explanations, time skips, some things just dont make sense.

1. Open ending. Obviously not every drama will have a good ending. But we (or at least me personally) watch dramas to escape from reality... why would I as a viewer want to spend my free time to watch a 'bittersweet' ending when they can just give a happy ending for romance, as its literally the only plot. Also, many others argue that it was a 'realistic' ending, but realistically they would and should have ended up together as Doona literally explains they can date after 2 years, which have passed, and they both still have feelings for each other. Correlates with my fourth point.

2. Many plot holes. Like we still dont even know clearly why Doona even left the group, we just know it's somewhere along the lines of being overwhelmed, but we dont know clearly. We dont know if she really couldn't sing or if she faked it (she sings perfectly well in ep8 and also debuts again as a singer) We dont know if Mr. Park (the manager dude) is a good or bad character and his relationship with her. He is such a grey character, and obviously his role is big as he is the one that sends her to the house alone, but we dont even know really if he has a good or bad intent. ML and FL family is not even talked about, which I dont mind but still it counts as a plot hole... like what sickness does the ML's sister have where he has to take care of her. Is Doona being an idol to help her mom out of debt? Did her mom pay back the debt? Also ML's best friend is literally Doona's biggest fan, but he doesn't even know ML and her dated???

3. Time skips (especially in ep8 and 9). As a viewer I often got confused in the later episodes of when events started happening. It's not very clear if it's a time skip to the future or past or present. And this is related to the plot holes, as literally we go from them dating to suddenly being split apart in ep8. Very confusing and it is not really shown when they leave each other. One moment they are in bed together, then the next moment she is already at the idol building, no goodbye no telling each other nothing. In other simpler words: Doona is edited weirdly, it's very oddly spliced. As someone said: "All events move forward in a non-linear pattern, with the story constantly moving back and forth." It would have been better to give better explanations and more straightforward storytelling so the reader is not left to presume or assume or guess on anything. Directors could have used 1 hour episodes or just made it 10 or 12 episodes instead of 9 to not rush things and skip explanations or events. This was a Netflix kdrama, the directors definitely could have changed the length...

4. The ending along with the romance is probably the most important thing, and what I dont understand is in the end, when Doona becomes an idol, she still wanted to secretly meetup and date. The ML has feelings for her obviously, but I dont understand why he doesn't want to. We are not given any reason why either. Okay, whatever, I can look past that... BUT
2 years pass, (Doona literally says they can date after 2 years when she's in a more stable position), the ML is back from the military, they meet again... but they still dont date???? And in the second to last scene, the FL goes to ML's house and they finally talk and hug and say they miss each other and cry. They also could have gotten back together here for a happy and realistic ending??? But no, the last scene they are back to strangers walking past each other in public. You didnt need to add scenes, and im fine with a 'realistic' sad (quote on quote realistic since in the drama Doona says she as an idol CAN date after she is stable as an idol, although in real life idols probably cant date) or happy ending rather than an open confusing ending.

Alternative Endings:
1. If you want sad ending, just stop in ep9 when won jun says he is going to the army and Doona leaves for the train. This is a realistic and sad ending for those that dont care about happy ending. Realistically she is now back to being an idol and cant date, like real life Kpop idols with restrictions on dating.
2. If you want happy ending, stop in ep9 where they hug and say they miss each other. If you end here, it will be like they got back together finally. They are back to dating and the end.
3. Open ending just finish the whole thing, then go back and watch the opening scene of episodes 1,2,6,7,8,9. They meet again at the railroad tracks. And in episodes 8 and 9 they go on a date. You can interpret this as they are secretly seeing each other despite being an idol. OR, the other open ending is that you see in the last scene where they walk past each other but dont say a word but Doona looks back at Won Jun. This can also be interpreted as they have broken up and are chose to prioritize their own careers over love. Either way, they have succeeded in their careers, and isn't necessarily a bad ending. People have heartbreaks in real life too, and not every partner is a marriage partner!

Something I noticed, not a judgement, just something I noticed:
The opening always has some scene where it can be interpreted as an open ending, but I went back to every episode just to see it. They just walk to the railroad crossing, in earlier episodes they are wearing black (keep in mind). In the later episodes we see them cross the railroad and walk to each other. But this time the ML is not wearing black, he is wearing tan suit (arguably this would mean a different day, or maybe they just didnt pay attention to outfit detail and accidentally wore wrong outfit) In the last episode, the opening scene the FL is wearing a cap and different outfit. (this outfit is NOT the same as her ending scene outfit, but the ML is wearing his ending scene outfit. I guess the opening scene would be telling the viewer that they meetup and go on a date. However, you would have to piece every opening scene together to visualize it, which is very hard to notice and do.

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Not really a RomCom

Going into the drama, I watched it without putting too much thought. Only after reading comments online did I see the controversy, but I will not talk about the controversies (the age gap/cultural appropriation). I'll let the viewer watch it and form their own opinion.

Pros:
1. Great cast. The only reason I finished the show was for JiChangWook and KYJ. Both are very attractive and good (or capable at the very least) at acting their roles/characters in my opinion. Supporting characters were okay, I don't have any strong opinions on them.
2. If you like slow burn romances, then this show is for you. But, I warn you, there is not much romance.
3. I will give it a +1 since this drama has the FL liking the ML first, and them making moves.

Cons:
1. No skinship. I don't really recall hand holding. There were a few hugs, but there is no kiss scene. Ending is a teaser kiss but they don't actually kiss. I still don't know why they butcher the ending like that when this is a romcom. Yes there is kiss scene in episode 1 but for the sake of the development I don't classify that as a kiss scene.
2. The drama could have been better if there was no kiss scene in the beginning, and they saved that for episode 9 or 10 or something. Yes, I get that it may follow the web toon but hey not everything needs to be followed right? We can make some adjustments for the sake of it being a drama? Right?
3. The ML is involved with his ex for like a majority of the show. Way too much time invested with his ex when the show needs to develop and move on. If I remember correctly, his ex is still in his life around ep9. And even up till the last episode the ex is still trying to get back with ML... isn't this a tad bit too much?
4. Too much attention/emphasis with the parents. The drama does not give enough attention and screen time to the couple. I wouldn't even call them a couple, but yeah. They need more conversations together. They really don't have much to talk about, now that I look back and think about it. It's mostly them just laughing or ML making some joke on how he's awesome and FL praying that ML makes a move. I don't mind this though, I only mind the emphasis on the side characters and family.
5. Most of the show is just the FL hoping the ML likes her (dont get me wrong I love it when the female makes a move on the male first), but its so repetitive to the point that it gets boring. It's to the point where as the viewer I just wish the ML just accepts her advances, but throughout the show its just the same repeating process. I am talking about the times AFTER the ML has broken up of course.
Here's where it gets interesting.
When the ML finally proposes to the FL, guess what? The FL pulls a 360 and says she needs to think about it... when she has been madly* in love with the ML since before ep1. At this point the director could have gave a classic kiss scene. But hey I understand not every drama needs a kiss scene for romance right? They could have even just done some cliche romantic talk scene but no. They just further complicate by having the FL be undecisive then run away.

TLDR: Beginning episodes were pretty good. Stayed for the cast. Plot and development were not good. Cast was eye candy, probably the only reason to watch. Not a very satisfying drama.

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