Responses
Thanks for the great comment, I'm going to give this chance
THANK YOU for this comment. this made me appreciate this series a little bit and actually got me through that frustrating second season
You know what, I get why so many people are annoyed with Jiheon, but I found his character flaws pretty realistic actually? Absolutely he made horrible misjudgments, with consequences that hurt himself and his loved ones - but it felt consistent with his character, which was heavily flawed. And yeah that makes him a difficult person to get along with, but that was part of the point of his character - his personality is so cynical and presumptive that he has a hard time making lasting, trusting connections with other people… which feeds into his cynicism and rash assumptions, making it a cycle that is not easy to break.
IDK, I kinda liked how he was characterized because he felt like a REAL person. Kinda bitchy, kinda haughty, downright cruel sometimes - but kinda just a kid in terms of emotional maturity, which made him endearing somehow. And no he didn’t have the WORST trauma, but he DID experience narcissistic parenting which absolutely DID have a severe impact on him - it left him with such a deep insecurity, because parents like that teach you that you have to EARN love, it will never be unconditional. If you think you can only find love if you’re worthy of it, your self worth becomes so fragile…
And I thought the main antagonist was actually pretty well characterized too, as a manipulative, narcissistic abuser who honed in on people’s weaknesses expertly. And I like that he’s portrayed as a talented artist - talent and being a good person are wholly separate things, and honestly if anything many highly successful people are also some of the worst people, because they have the power to get away with a lot, and the lack of ethics to steal and manipulate to get or keep that power. So I didn’t blame Jiheon for getting manipulated. He was an insecure person, and the villain used that to sow doubt in him, the way he’d down with many others before…
If anything my issue is more that I’m concerned whether he’s in a strong enough mental space to even BE in a romantic relationship… he’s a little too codependent on his partner for emotional support, which is dangerous. Other than that, tbqh it was a cute love story and the characters were interesting to me. And. YES the miscommunication was a little ridiculous, but it at least felt like it came from a place of deeply ingrained psychological issues, at least on Jiheon’s side. JUST my opinion…