Just Between Lovers (2017)

Let alone the K-drama category, Just Between Lovers is one of the best dramas I've watched in such a long time! This does not fit the type in which K-Dramas are made.

Kang Doo and Moon Soo come as strong leads, always being by each other's side, supporting each other and bringing out the best of each other. They are the ultimate relationship goal for me. Simply because, they are mature and wise. They talk about things that worry them, instead of creating misunderstandings and heartbreaks. They don't try to get the other person jealous for stupid reasons. They understand each other. They give each other space.

What I loved the most was even with the hint of a love triangle, they didn't go too much into it. I HATE triangles. Here, what I liked was that no false hopes were given and the triangle was broken as soon as it got made.

Now onto characters :

What I love in Moon Soo is that she isn't like the normal female leads. She doesn't get jealous, doesn't create unnecessary drama and isn't a damsel in distress. Rather, she's strong, opinionated and support for so many characters in the drama!

Special shoutout out to the Grandma! Her, Sang Man, and Kang Doo! Always look out for their dialogues if you watch this drama. They'd teach you so much about life with their simple sentences, it's crazy!

Another good point is that no character is angel and none is the devil. Everyone has their set of negative and positive points. And, I really loved that cuz that made them more human.

Also, this drama isn't for you if you like fluffs. However, if you like to see a relationship where feelings feel real, monologues that pierce through your heart, and characters you can see yourself in, give Just Between Lovers a try.

But, warning, it's angst. You'd keep on crying till the last episode. So keep the tissues near!

I wanna write more but it's almost 2K words lmao! (Also, not grammar checking it,so forgive the mistakes) 

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Great watch at any point in your life

This is, still to date, my favorite drama I've seen. I've watched it completely now three times at different points after life-changing events. I had first watched it about a year after my grandfather whom I was very close to passed away, another when everyone I seemed to know — including myself — were having health and medical issues, and another while I was expecting a child. Each time I watched, I connected deeply to some part of a character's story, be it a main or a supporting character. The past histories and present plots of just about everyone in the show is fleshed out in a such a realistic way that anyone watching can find some part of it relatable.

Besides the amazing storytelling, the chemistry between the leads and even second leads is second-to-none that I've seen and the acting overall from the entire cast is top notch. Usually, there's one character in a drama that feels like they are just reciting the script without any sort of depth. Not the case with this one, at least in my opinion.

But I don't think I would have liked this show as much as I did if it weren't for the OST. It was the first (and only) drama I've seen where I even remembered the music afterwards. The songs match the scenes they are played in perfectly and add so much more emotion to them.

I truly cannot recommend Just Between Lovers enough if you're looking for something different from your average romcom kdrama. Please give it a try.

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a timeless masterpiece

So, I'm writing this in 2021 even though I originally watched this in early 2018. But I am writing this because I love it now just as much as then. Which I can't say for every other drama I watched in 2018.

This is a drama you should watch when you need something both comforting and tear-jerking at the same time. Which, I think we could all use that sometimes. This drama also features characters that feel real! Due to the writing and acting and overall vibe of this drama, I could sympathize and feel for each of the characters in their own way.

Kang Doo and Moon Soo also have one of the most healing and beautiful romances. Not a lot of dramas that deal with trauma carry the romance arc properly, but this one did. The leads have dynamic chemistry and I'd love to see them on screen again. (Also when I first watched I had no clue Junho was an idol till like halfway through. He's amazing.)

The music.... ohh the music. I found myself humming along to many of the beautiful osts because I recalled them from my first watching. The OST is one of the best ever. I still listen to the songs from it today.

Rewatchablity was an A+ for me. A lot of the time when I try to rewatch dramas I'll drop them, but rewatching this one I found myself finding new details and falling in love with the beautiful little world in this drama all over again.

SO, 10/10 Overall, it shows a beautiful journey filled with many life lessons and it's such a well-paced and incredible drama. Don't miss out on it if you're on the fence of watching it or not.

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Good but difficult to rate

Whilst I was a fan of this drama, I found it very difficult to know how much I liked it. This has probably been the drama that I have found most difficult to rate, perhaps ever! Just Between Lovers has an amazing story, with perhaps one of the greatest couples in dramaland, with a sublime OST, 70 minute episodes that usually feel more like only 30 minutes, and also showing that a story that I thought had quite a basic concept, not be dragged out but instead kept interesting over the whole amount of episodes.

However, one thing I had realised by perhaps the mid-point was that I felt like the story gave the vibe that the viewers should only really pay attention to the couple, and none of the supporting cast. Perhaps I only felt that way, but yeah, the vibe I had just gotten was that the supporting cast was only really there to add numbers and I guess just to make the story more whole. Either that or I was just uninterested with everyone except the main couple. I guess that's why I loved the drama, but couldn't give it a higher rating - I guess it would have been a lower rating if the supporting cast had been given more time! This isn't to say the supporting cast acted poorly - all of their acting was great!

I still highly recommend this drama and I believe it is a great choice, especially for those in need of healing, or those who just need a change of scenery in their lives. I felt like I really needed to watch this drama at this specific point in my life, so perhaps some other people will also feel like this.

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One of my new favorite dramas!

I just finished this show, and I'm a bit speechless, to be honest. This show blew me away in such an amazing way with the storyline, the characters, and the acting. I fell in love with almost everything about this show, and it has instantly grabbed a top place on my list. 'Just Between Lovers' has a lot going on like trauma, healing, relationships, drama, romance, comedy, and so many other things. I loved how all the characters have true development, and you can see it span out throughout the show. As sad as I am that I won't see these characters anymore, the ending was perfect, and I'm so happy with everything! Please check out this show it's beyond beautiful.

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I liked this drama a lot. The story of all the characters, and how they dealt with tragedy: whether it be self-destruction, self-hatred, or healing. Some people are able to move on with their lives, while others are trapped in their grief.

I only had a couple problems with the drama, primarily Moon Soo's mom and then Moon Soo herself. Moon Soo's mom was, to be frank, verbally abusive towards her daughter off and on throughout the episodes, and definitely contributed to Moon Soo's guilt complex. Worse, she never properly apologized for the harmful words she said to her daughter. I so badly wanted to smack sense into that woman, because even if she's grieving she had no right to speak to her daughter so cruelly.

As for Moon Soo, I really liked her character. She was understanding, empathetic, and was great at communicating when something upset her or when something was wrong. Then episode 15 happened, and she did an abrupt turn-around of her pre-established character, refused to communicate, and then stupidly and hurtfully broke up with Gang Doo for a hot minute, just so the drama could be...dramatic, I guess? I mean, they broke up for about half an hour of actual drama time, before getting back together once she found out about Gang Doo's sickness. So I felt that the whole episode 15 was practically pointless.

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Imbalanced Romance Between the Heroic Kang Doo and the Immature, Cowardly Moon Soo

Kang Doo and Granny end up being the only two truly noble and likeable characters in this entire series with Ma Ri and Jung Yoo Jin being right behind them. The show would have been so much stronger and better if even Moon Soo had even half the character of Kang doo. In the end, we realize that she doesn’t even remotely deserve him.

Kang Doo and Moon Soo are survivors of a horrific accident; a newly built shopping mall that collapses on them when they were teenagers. As the story unfolds, we find that Kang Doo is about as noble and heroic as a person can be. Yes, he’s got a temper, and for a while, he feels pathetic and unworthy. But not only does he rebound, he is always looking after people; looking after those he cares about; and even beyond that, he’s always THERE for them. That’s the mark of a truly noble person. Jun Ho Lee should’ve won every single acting award out there for giving us a harrowing and complex depiction of a Kang Doo who is always in pain, always struggling, always fighting, and always doing right by people. He mirrors the famous quote of Rocky Balboa of, “Life ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.” Does Kang Doo stumble and make poor decisions? Yes, but he always quickly sees that there is a better way. He’s a man who’s continuously tormented.

Moon Soo, unfortunately, is someone who finds it safer and easier to just stay within her little bubble world. One could argue that Kang Doo has had a much harder road in life, and yet Moon Soo lacks the courage and even the conviction to fight and be there for those who need it. Actress Jin Ah Won is almost a complete opposite from Jun Ho Lee. In fact, she’s easily the weakest actor of the ensemble. Her expressions are often stoic and bland. She looks like a 15-year-old and she gives us a Moon Soo who acts like it too. It’s nearly laughable the times that Kang Doo tries to hug her, and she recoils like an 8-year-old child who’s had a spider dropped down her shirt! It shows her level of immaturity.

What really angered me was when Moon Soo finds out about Kang Doo’s health condition. At this point, she’s not even talking to him at all. She’s ignoring him. He goes to her house to tell her about his problem. Without even opening the door, he faints. She then gets angry with him for not telling him! How exactly does THAT work?!? I was like, “Are you kidding me?! You were ignoring him and you blame HIM for that?!” That was my last straw with Moon Soo. From then on, I had no heart or sympathy for such a cold, cowardly character who is unable to see past her own pain. Throughout the series, Kang Doo is always there for her. And throughout the series, Moon Soo constantly comes up short because she can’t be there for him when he needs help, and she invariably and conveniently ignores and forgets all that Kang Doo has been through. She completely dismisses it and even his condition when she hasn’t the guts to deal with it.

I’ve been watching K-dramas for nearly 5 years now. I’ve seen so many good ones and a few bad ones. However, I can’t remember one where I’ve found the leading lady so unappealing.

I can’t even sympathize with Moon Soo when she tearfully asks her friend, “Why does Kang Doo have to go through this? Hasn’t he been through enough? Why is this happening to us?” Funny questions from a person who can’t even be with him when needed, and by someone who’s blatantly ignored him. How can there even be an “us” when you refuse to be a participant or even show up!

The characters of Granny and Kang Doo keep this series afloat. By the last episode, I nearly decided to forget the whole thing as I was so fed up with Moon Soo. I wouldn’t wish a “Moon Soo” on anyone. She’s about as supportive as a piece of used tissue.

Kang Doo and Granny make this series a “10” for me. Moon Soo makes it about a “3” or “4”. Not to mention that actress Jin Ah Won is about the worst kisser I’ve ever seen! Kissing her must be like kissing a dead fish. No heart. No feeling. It says a lot about Won’s comfort level and her ability to even act out a simple scene like that.

While the story is an intriguing one, this definitely isn’t a series I’d watch again. It deserved a much better actress than Jin Ah Won; someone seasoned and professional enough to really give us a likeable and intriguing character with a complexity to match Jun Ho Lee’s performance. The imbalance really hurt this series. I certainly won’t look to watch anything else by Jin Ah Won. She sticks out like a sore thumb in this series against far better performances by nearly everyone else who all overshadowed her.

Kang Doo’s sister is almost as bad. Not even a hug or word of support for a brother who’s dying. Was it the writer’s intention to give us such cold, unfeeling women in this show? If so, he succeeded! He gave us two mothers who aren’t even worthy of the title.

Kang Doo is a hero in every sense of the word for always doing right by others; for always looking out and caring for others. The true shame is how no one was able to do the same for him.

The series also ends way too conveniently with a "magical" and unlikely ending. The writer didn't have the guts to go down the road less traveled and realize that Moon Soo might have actually learned the most about herself and appreciated Kang Doo had he not survived. The ending was a real cop-out which undermined much of the premise of the series.

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Story - 10
The story and plot revolve around the initial trauma of a building collapse. Throughout the story, I found myself wondering both what happened under the building and what was going to happen next. Though some plot lines you could tell where going to happen in the next couple of episodes, instead of feeling bored with guessing, I found myself wanting to watch it be delivered. Growing from Trauma, dealing with the the aftermath and the effects of it, never truly go away, yet you are just trying to move one day at a time until you find yourself moving on thinking about the future days. This drama perfectly captures that and so much more. I highly recommend to people who need a healing drama. The user Fanitha wrote an article about healing dramas, and I couldn’t picture another drama being in the number one spot. A must for Korean drama lovers anywhere. (Link to article below)

Acting / Cast - 10
This is the type of acting and casting I love to see. Everyone, and I mean everyone, to me was perfect to a capital T. The relationship between the characters is all that I wanted it to be and more. There was more depth to the chemistry of the whole cast, which is something I haven’t seen many times. The whole cast, shined brightly also due to the chemistry of the two leads. It would be hard for me to pick out a relationship or line I didn’t think was well acted or well thought through.
I have only seen Lee Jun Ho’s one other time in the movie Twenty, but even then I knew he’s acting was great. This honestly put him on my favorite list. I’m excited to see how his career goes from here.

Music - 10
The music….guys, the music! There is this one song that plays and I know, my heart is going to go! This was it for me, regarding music. I always let everyone know, I’m not a music person, but this is fantastic. It didn’t distract me from what was on screen, in fact it helped pull me in. A++ for whoever was in charge of this, it was fantastic. (I already downloaded the OST to my spotify playlist. One of my favorites)

Rewatch Value - 8.5
The subject matter is heavy, definitely not something I would recommended to watch every month, but there is something in it, that seems to heal you as you go. This drama is something I would definitely watch again, and would recommended to my friends who do watch dramas. Even those who don’t. Trauma is Trauma, and the way the depict each person’s journey and growth to overcoming is relatable to many. This drama left me with a good feeling and one I hope to keep onto the next one. It felt complete.

Overall Score: 9.6

Links:
Healing Drama article by Fanitha - https://mydramalist.com/article/5-healing-dramas-recommendations-063182533
User Fanitha (Check out her many other articles! She definitely knows what is talking about!)
https://mydramalist.com/profile/fanitha

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