One Shot Scandal (2023)

A CRASH COURSE IN LIFE

DISCLAIMER: These are just my thoughts; we don’t have to agree and I’m not looking to argue with anyone.

This show should be called Crash Course in Life, not Crash Course in Romance. Overall it had more comedy, slice of life and drama / thriller than romance aspects.

First off I wanna say that I really enjoyed this show and before it was finished I was excited to rate it super high like a 9/10 but now my feelings have changed and I give this show an 8-8.5/10. Studio dragon definitely doesn’t really miss with the shows they produce… for the most part, they seem well put together, thought out, and executed. You can feel all the actors efforts no matter the script and I think that’s what makes their productions truly worth watching / amazing.

For episodes 1-8 I was super invested and loved the direction the show was going in even with the annoying controlling moms but then after that, the show took a different turn and idk… it became very predictable, and I found myself not as invested as the first time. Maybe because I watched this drama weekly instead of binging it in one go is the reason, I feel this way but idk… the show ended up missing the mark in some ways. Don’t get me wrong the comedy and light-heartedness of the show was really touching and I even found myself tearing up a few times. At its core, you can really see that love and family relationships is an ongoing theme throughout and that these people will always fight for and protect the ones they care about.

In my humble opinion, since Haeng-seon and Chi-yeol got together I felt myself losing interest… there weren’t as many obstacles in their relationship prior to dating and it seemed like their romance got overshadowed with trying to find out more about the murders and who exactly was targeting Haeng-seon and her family. It was predictable because Dong-hui seemed suspicious from the get-go. Honestly, I was not satisfied by his suicide because he got the easy way out instead of having to rot in prison and pay for his crimes. I keep saying this, but I hate when female leads are always so carefree and nice to persons who clearly don’t mean them well… same goes for Su Ah’s mom. I literally did not care or feel sorry that her husband cheated on her. If anything, it was karma and it served her right. She was always praying on the downfall of other moms and their kids so that her child could remain on top and well… what goes around comes around.

Hae-e’s mom coming back the moment she got into a coma was your stereo-typical drama moment. I’m sure everyone could see that coming. I really felt bad for Hae-e because you could tell she didn’t see that woman as her mother after so many years and felt obligated/forced to be nice to her and tolerate her bullsh*t. It was painful watching her pretend to care for and be interested in Hae-e when you knew the real reason she was here was to try and pimp Haeng-seon and Chi Yeol (him specifically) out of money. She literally had no scruples or shame about doing it either and I’m sure at that moment Hae-e realized she was nothing like her mom at all… and she didn’t even want to be. Her bio mother was a nuisance and to me, she added nothing to the plot other than tension and unnecessary drama. She was only a plot device trying to create strife and break their little family apart.

In the end, I’m glad she realized that Hae-e grew up fine without her and she was just intruding on her life by sticking around. She was a sh*tty mom and I’m glad she realized that and packed her bags to allow Hae-e to be happy with the family who raised her.

This show really got me in my feelings, especially the last episode. Scratch a lot of the bad things I said before I absolutely loved this – THE LAST EPISODE CAME THROUGH!!

Chi Yeol and Haeng-seon both deciding to buy each other rings and proposing to each other was golden. They really are made for each other and I love that their feelings have never wavered. Even if this show is frustrating keep watching because the love between the characters will really get you. It’s about the pure love between a mom and her daughter. That scene when Hae-e ran into Haeng-seon’s arms just like in the flashback had me crying!!! Even Sun-jae's mom making amends with both her sons and accepting Hui-jae as he was touched me so deeply. Su-A's mom becoming a mentor/coach at the pride and helping other parents to get their kids on the path to seeking higher education was a good turn of the tables aswell. It seemed like everyone really changed for the better. A big surprise for me was Geon Hu and Su A liking each other, Hae-e actually giving Sun-Jae a chance and Jae Woo getting Young Joo pregnant. I mean they added it all at the end/epilogue but I still ate it up.

All in all, this drama was good. It gave what needed to be given and tackled a lot of situations while still maintaining the funny, lightheartedness of it all.

I give this drama a solid 8.5/10 and some brownie points for being able to tug on my heartstrings ❤️ I would 100% recommend it to others and I would rewatch it in a heartbeat.

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More than a classical romance this is about the elite education hype, Gangnam mothers & scandals

"Crash Course in Romance" ... well.
Starting with the title, makes me jump right into my criticism. Don´t get me wrong. It doesn't concern the KDrama itself. On the contrary! Yet, this international title business... again I don't know why... (well, I'll probably never understand it...) Why does the international title have to suggest a completely different story? Why does (in this case) Netflix for the international audience want to present something completely different than the tvN (co-)production? Why can't the story announce its story for what it is in the first place? In this case: A KDrama about the one shot scandal involving Gangnam's one shot math teacher. A story about Gangnam rivalries between students, between mothers, between teachers. A story about Gangnam scandals that can easily destroy lives... There is also a love story (or two) on the side, but if you tune in specifically for the romance, you have to see how you´ll deal with what is actually offered. (I would guess that might be a bit disappointing.)

Surely, a romance is brewing, but in fact it's the characters, the story and the context around it that create a substantial with plenty of life of its own – apart from the amorous relationship dynamics. There is something like a criminal case, too. It get´s more and more dramatic. Gripping, even. Overall, as a dramaturgical leitmotif, with a socially critical wink it nonchalantly pokes fun at the recent education hype. At the same time condemns, too. So, in fact, this is something completely different than the title suggests.

I last saw, experienced and appreciated actress Jeon Do-yeon almost 5 years ago in the KMovie "A Man and a Woman". She is not an international superstar, but a nationally respected and recognized actress in film and television. Besides her mostly profound and meaningful play, here she also shows a clownesque, quirky, yet adorable side. She is actually 50 by now. However, here she plays a woman in her 30s. Imagine that. Here (as well as most recently in 2022 in the KDrama "Twenty Five Twenty One", where the main actress, as a 31-year-old, slips into the role of a senior high school student,) it is working. In fact, this gives the characters more lifelike substance, apart from just being 'young and pretty'. At least that's my opinion. Some may be more critical about this casting-philosophy. However, in South Korea it probably bothers less. The number of viewers has exploded over the course of the 16 episodes: from almost 1 million to more than 4 million.

The competitive advantage here, that generally carries this KDrama and sets it apart from the Rom+/-Com of many a style, is substance and grounding that comes with life – a life which is hard enough, for the protagonist at least. She may run light-footedly down the streets and take life's challenges in a sporty manner, but she has also lost some feathers along the way and made severe sacrifices. She´s past her youth by now. But she stands in the middle of a sound and solid life.
The male protagonist, too, has already experienced a lot in his vita, including some unpleasant encounters with life – despite everything he seems to be living in the fast lane at the moment. Among other things, with his stress-related eating disorder, he brings in a topic of the time that is comparatively rarely addressed in series - if only marginally, and certainly not among men. Here the eating disorder is even the hook for the encounter between the two protagonists...
Nevertheless, "Crash Course in Romance" has a upbeat side to it. ...It´s the clown's job to bring some jokes and fun into bitter seriousness – some say that you should be able to laugh about your own life, otherwise you are probably not taking it seriously enough... Others say, you should be more serious about bringing wit and humor to your life… Whichever you prefer, this KDrama here and there contributes to that, while the background against which the plot unfolds is actually peppered with serious jabs at the normal madness of South Korean everyday life in Seoul, south of the river - in Gangnam: The educational stress and pressure to perform among the students, among their mothers, among teaching staff, as well as in tutoring academies. It´s serious stuff. There is stalking vs. MeToo, social media terror, escape tendencies up to suicide, you name it. Bitter seriousness here becomes the hook for plenty of drama. And these dramaturgical stumbling blocks (or rather metal balls in this case) keep getting in the way of two hearts that want to beat faster. Nothing compares to a scandal in Gangnam. That keeps the characters within the story on their toes, and the KDrama audience superbly entertained.

Re.: Romance... yes, there is.
The two of protagonists sort of stumbled into it. That wasn't on the agenda for either of them. Besides they aren't the youngest any more... (Don't worry: for the younger generation among the viewers, the KDrama also offers a touch of amorous teenage vibes in the subplot with the 'daughter' of the protagonist and her two admirers...) In any case, the love story of the protagonists is told with delicacy, sensitively, but humorously, maturely and at the same time chastely. Given the circumstances under which the two protagonists led their lives, this is quite authentic. In general, unnecessary cotton candy is avoided.

As so often, I initially had no idea what to expect from this KDrama – at least there was none of the totally hip superstars and no incredibly new or exciting story. I almost overlooked the KDrama because it's rather inconspicuous. I didn't have high hopes at all. And yet, just because everything seemed so banal about it, it made me curious. It's fascinating how this story was able to wrap me up with its idiosyncratic dramaturgical narrative style. Once again one of those productions that are becoming spectacular in their unspectacular way...

Well, if only it weren't for the title...
…but I already mentioned that at the beginning...

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Crash Course in Romance and I , The Union of Two Universes

Like many people, I got interested in the drama after watching a few edits on Tik Tok and OH how thankful I am for those edits! Crash Course in Romance for me will go down in my Top 10 dramas of 2023. Like many people, I had been in a drama funk and this drama sparked my love for Romcoms every Saturday and Sunday. The way they were able to showcase a mature, healthy relationship with a middle-aged adult was so REFRESHING! I loved how they allowed Nam Hae - E & Sun -Jae to end up together AFTER a few years passed when she was in college and healed her relationship with her mom and he healed his relationship with his mom. The thriller edge in this drama definitely kept me on my toes from episode 2 - episode 15, and I think they did well with wrapping up this drama in THE HAPPIEST WAY POSSIBLE. Thank you Crash Course in Romance for reigniting my love for K-Dramas. Hopefully, Mr. J will be a better man in Taxi Driver 2 ( which I am watching next)

If you are interested in watching a drama that will keep you feeling all the emotions and more, PLEASE GIVE LOVE TO CRASH COURSE IN ROMANCE! I promise you won't regret it!

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Too many pointless subplots, too many dead-end side characters and a misscast FL

First of all I'll just go ahead and tackle the big elephant in the room with this drama: FL is misscast.
I have nothing against the actress and she looks great in her age, she just doesn't look the age she's supposed to be in this drama and I find it insulting I'm to believe she's around her mid to late 30s. Episode 8 clearly mentions 2010 as the year the mother passed, at that point ML was in university and she was in the team. EVEN IF I assume FL to be 26 at the time, that would make her around 39 years old in present time (and that's a stretch because it's shown like if her career was cut very short and if she was 26 at the time she would have already been on the older side for a national athelete). Either way, Jeon Do Yeon doesn't look 39 nor early 40s and it completely broke the inmersion for me. The cherry on top is the way FL acts and dresses, they decided to make her an old fashioned mother and it's also ridiculous when in the first episodes it's mentioned how she looks too young to have a daughter that age (when many of the other actresses playing mothers are around the same age than Jeon Do Yeon). The actress that plays Dan Ji's mother, Hwang Bo Ra, is 39 in real life yet no one mentioned in the drama she looked too young to have a daughter that age... lol
This was easily solved if they A) had taken a different actress or B) had changed the script for the FL to be closer to the actress' age. I don't care about the age gap of the actors, they simply don't look the age they're supposed to be, especially and mainly her. I clearly remember 2010 and where I was, so it's very immersion breaking that I'm to believe FL is anywhere in her 30s.

This also brings me to the fact the best friend also dresses and acts like an older woman. Why? Are they trying to mock working classes or something? (and it feels even more so when she's not dressing like that in the end when the time jump, now she's studying to be something more than a side dish shop assistant she doesn't have to dress like that? *eye roll*). I don't understand the purpose of this other than the clash that can visually produce between ML and FL (but then why the best friend too?). But this also brings me to another point, while I do think the main leads had physical chemistry and there were cute moments between them, they didn't fit together at all. They didn't seem to have similar views nor similar likes or anything, and his love for her was quite sudden, in the sense that it was shown as a sudden crush. I did like the progression of the relationship since it was more mature, but I couldn't get pass the fact they don't show anything they share that you would think makes them belong together (or am I to believe it's only because he knew her mother?).

When I started watching this drama I did have some expectations that being set around korean education there was going to be a bit more criticism of the education system, but I should have known better. While there are illustrations of problematic situations surrounding the education system there is not really any conversation about how problematic it is except for a couple of sentences in the last episode, where ML, I might add, suggests a division approach to levels that not only has been done before many times, but that it has been proven as many times to not work well, and this is coming from a teacher, the ML, that is supposed to be the best of the best.... hmmmm... ok. Also, except for the school teacher timidly mentioning the education system is a problem, the blame is generally put on the students, "Kids nowadays do ridiculous things. They consume highly caffeinated energy drinks and take pills. We even sent out several announcements asking them to cut down. [...] The educational system and parents' mindsets are to blame. [...] I'm a mere school teacher as well." So this guy thinks that parents have more power to change things than a "mere school teacher"...hmmm ok, no wonder things are like they are and Korea has such a level of teen suicide. System and those enforcing it bring teens to the brink of death and look puzzled at "kids nowadays doing ridiculous things".
This drama doesn't address the issues, only shows some of them but there isn't a real in-depth commentary on the problems of such system.

There are too many out of the blue subplots to acts as fillers. The thriller part of this show was predictable from the start, didn't add much in the sense of nuance for the main characters (ML already had that nuance from the past with Ji Dong Hee's sister's death) and it was solved in the most anticlimactic way possible. Similarly, the subplot they decided to bring for the last two episodes was dragged as well but solved quickly and without mention of any of the parts. Nam Hae Yi acts like a total brat and once the bio mother goes it's brushed under the rug like nothing happened.

Generally I didn't like much the FL here, on top of being portrayed as a quite stereotypical ajumma it irked me so much how she treated her brother, she was always kind of angry and having a go at him and only worrying about him (and anyone else for that matter) when she couldn't handle her own selfish anxiety. She's that type of person that seems she worries about others but only worries about the fact she's worried or will be worried, and so she pressures others to do as she wants so she doesn't suffer the anxiety... kind of toxic right?
I thought it was bad taste the way the "romance" between the FL's brother and best friend is portrayed, it's very out of nowhere, it's not developed, it doesn't grow and was extremely forced.

I nearly dropped this drama on the first half solely because of the mother's club, it wasn't entertaining, it was very annoying to watch even if I know many parents are probably like that. This also brings me to the fact that generally I found all characters to be very unidimensional, either they were good or they were bad. Yes, they try to tell me towards the end that Soo Ah's mother was actually not that bad, but I'm not sure how it can be excused that she pushed her daughter to the edge of death with her selfishness and obsession, same goes with Seon Jae's mother.

There were some cute moments and I did like the dynamics of friendships in the school (minus Soo Ah, that also her problems are never fully tackled either, they're just forgotten), especially Geon Hoo and Seon Jae, and I wished there had been more story to Dan Ji, since she seemed cool. I liked Hae Yi in the beginning but in the end I was very fed up with her.

Music was forgettable and annoying at times for me.

Overall I'm not sure to whom I would recommend this drama, since it's a mix of too many half-baked ideas and even the main one, the romance, is not very good. It's watchable if you have nothing else but otherwise no.
I generally don't tend to rewatch dramas but I certainly wouldn't this one.

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Crashed Course or it delivered?

So I literally unaware of it's hype and jumped into this after seeing the tags and it's OFC intrigued TITLE "CRASH COURSE IN ROMANCE" like it's cute.

This drama beautifully portrays a mother-daughter relationship that transcends mere blood ties. Additionally, it sheds light on the harsh realities of the education system and the extreme obsession parents often have with their children's grades.

GENRE/TAGS:

If you're seeking a pure Romantic Comedy, this might not be the right pick. It incorporates elements of mystery and thriller as early as the second episode. While there is chemistry between the characters, the romantic aspect may not be entirely satisfying due to insufficient development, especially considering it's marketed as a rom-com.

ACTING:

The main and supporting characters delivered their performances as per the script, showcasing their potential, although the writer didn't fully utilize them. Jeon Do Yeon portrays Nam Haeng Seon's simplicity and vibrant energy exceptionally well, making her optimistic views towards life palpable. Jung Kyung Ho as Choi Chi Yeol exudes charisma and a mesmerizing vibe, balancing humor, a hint of arrogance, and a soft side seamlessly.

MUSIC: The OST is soothing to ears

OVERALL OPINION:

This drama starts off strong, captivating viewers with its engaging, fun, and delightful storyline. However, after episode 10, it loses its way, becoming extremely messy with shallow plot development, numerous plot holes, and unresolved questions, leaving viewers puzzled and disappointed.

This drama would have been more effective as a character-driven story rather than relying heavily on its plot. The writer's attempt to keep viewers engaged by introducing numerous subplots in almost every episode ultimately led to a lack of resolution and coherence by the end.

To be honest, the drama could have benefited from a greater focus on developing its characters rather than incorporating a pointless mystery arc that ultimately felt underwhelming and detracted from the overall narrative.

One thing I know is this was goingggggg extremely well upto Ep. 10 (like you should literally watch till that only if you don't wanna pull your hair next 5 episodes LMAO)

In conclusion, the first ten episodes of the drama are worth watching, but beyond that, there's no guarantee of quality. If you're hoping for a compelling mystery or thriller, it's best to skip this one as it's poorly written in that aspect and may disappoint.

If you reached till here,
Thank you for reading my review (⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)

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There's A Reason Why 'Crash" Is in the Title

It's been a few days since I watched this and I feel obligated to write an unbiased review as I am not a fan of either lead. I don't dislike them (never even saw the FL before). I just don't follow them. Also, I don't write reviews of a show I'm watching prior to the ending of a drama or movie.

The story is interesting. A star math teacher (Nerds unite! - sorry a star teacher just makes me happy) suffering from his own demons finds comfort first in the food and eventually in the company of a lady that runs a bon chan take out. Unbeknownst to him, murders that are connected to him are being committed. It didn't seem as if the writer knew where he wanted to concentrate or perhaps bit off more than he could chew. The story can't figure out if the main story is this budding romance, the serial killings, or the slice of life storylines surrounding the high school/secondary school aged teens. To be quite frank the SoL is the better of the 3. I don't know if that's the writer's or the director's fault, but the teens were more interesting and developed than their adult counterparts. They were also better cast.

Don't get me wrong. The cast from leads to support were good. I just feel that judging by the age the lead characters were supposed to be, either they and/or their younger selves were miscast. No, I am not a misogynist or an ageist as I was called just for asking how old the characters were supposed to be by a rabid fan. Not only am I female, but I'm in the same age group as the damn lead actress. But I am also honest and I know damn sure that not many 50 year olds can pass for a character in their early 30s. And when I say not many, I mean virtually none. I don't care how many shots the ML gets in his face, he can't pass for early 30s either. If they wanted to hire their leads, they should've altered the script. If not, they should have hired leads that at least looked the part. As for chemistry, there was none between the ML and FL. I have never seen Jung Kyung Ho have chemistry with any romantic character. The only female I've ever seen him have any chemistry with was a friend in Hospital Playlist. He's fantastic with bromances just not romances.

The music was ok. Nothing to write home about. The rewatch value is negative. I wouldn't recommend Crash Course to anyone. If you love mystery thrillers, not only will you guess way before the big reveal, but you will be ticked and underwhelmed by the resolution. Rom Com fans, you can do better. Yes, there were some good scenes, especially in the last episode, just not enough. If you just need to kill time and have watched everything you could possibly watch, then and only then would I say, check out Crash Course.

OK let all the hate comments commence. I won't read any of them anyway.

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It's frustrating

Before anything I'll avoid talking about the age gap bc it's overdone at this point.

However, that doesn't mean I won't talk about the fl.

-1st of all her fashion choices? In my life I've never seen a heroine dress that way. And this says a lot bc I don't even care about fashion or what the actors wear ever! Literally ever! But what was happening in this drama punched me in that face so I couldn't ignore it how much I tried (I did try, a lot)
The outfits she wore were all grandma like outfits. Literally. I mean everyone has their taste but it doesn't even look good on her or flattering. On the contrary she's a beautiful and youthful looking woman (in her irl everyday life) but the outfits made her look older than she actually is.

-Second of all Never in my life have I seen a fl with literally ONE hairstyle throughout the 16 episodes? (a part from a bathroom scene and the end scene) her hair is in a tight bun 99.9% of the time. She looks gorgeous with literally any other hairstyle except that!

Okay enough about the fl, she's a great actress and
a beautiful woman but she didn't make the best choices this time around.

Now the drama itself.
-There's ZERO chemistry between the leads ZERO! And it's not about the age it's just a compatability thing.

-the plot is predictable and flat and every time they face a problem, the problem solves itself in the dumbest way possible or they straight up IGNORE IT AND NEVER TALK ABOUT IT AGAIN!

-so many useless subplots that didn't turn out to anything in the end.

-bad characters that didn't get what they deserve and good characters that didn't get what they deserve either.

It started out okayish, had potential. It was even funny but all went downhill after the first third of the drama.

The only good thing about this drama is the acting bc they all are really good actors.


Overall it was a frustrating experience for me and I'm sorry yo say I wouldn't recommend it.

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Just my thoughts after I finished watching...

AFTER I FINISHED WATCHING THE DRAMA

I really enjoyed the romance between the adult main characters. They had great chemistry.
The drama also touched on several topics related to the problems of Korean society, such as the pressure parents put on their children to study. And that leads to the question of what eventually happened to Sua? It seemed that in the earlier episodes she had quite a lot of screen time, but eventually she was forgotten and the creators focused on explaining the mysterious plot, the solution of which was obvious anyway.
Also what about Hui Jae and his mother? They went on a trip and suddenly everything was fine? I feel it's not enough to close their story.
I really enjoyed this drama until it turned out that the stories of several characters were not properly closed. Also, the dark plot took up a bit too much screen time, because only one person could really be the culprit - especially considering that the creators wanted to direct suspicion to Hui Jae in the first place.
But most of the time I had fun watching this drama. So my rating hasn't dropped much.

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AFTER I WATCHED 9 EPISODES
Rating 10/10
We knew from the beginning that there is some mystery in this drama. So we know that finally the dark subplot will be resolved. However, at the moment, most of the scenes are lighter and mostly do not refer to the dark part of the drama. This is quite a typical treatment in Korean productions, and I like it.

In the drama, we also have mothers obsessed with their children's education. Including one really annoying mother-daughter duo.

So far, I really like everything about this drama and I'm looking forward to the next episodes.

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AFTER I WATCHED 1 EPISODE
Rating: 8/10

I like that it looks like we've already gotten some introduction to all or most of the threads that will be covered in the drama. The first episode gave me the feeling that it will be a bit of a cute, sometimes dark story with humour typical of Korean productions. I really like actress Roh Yoon Seo and at the moment I watched all the things she starred in. I have high hopes for her character.

I've seen comments about FL looking old. Well, the actress is almost 50 years old and is 10 years older than the actor playing the role of ML. Of course, it can be seen sometimes. But it's not so noticeable that some people make such a big deal of it. They both look great and fit their roles.

I think I'll like this drama, but we'll see. So far it looks really good.

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Middle-Aged Couple Finds Love

It’s refreshing to see a mature, seasoned-by-life couple, late30s/early40s, finding love and having a passionate romance. Sweet love isn’t just for the young and gorgeous! This drama is so full of warmth and love and healing. This good woman—kind, selfless, plain, down-to-earth—heals the stomach troubles and the troubled soul of a cranky, lonely, persnickety man with her excellent cooking and cheerful personality. Her family, which includes her lovable autistic brother, a studious daughter, and her ever-loyal best friend, becomes his family. Funny, heart-warming family drama.

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started from the top.. now we are here

This drama started off incredibly strong. So much so that the latter half of the drama dropped my rating from 9.5/10 to 8.5/10. 8.5 might seem a bit high considering how annoyed I was at times but these characters grew on me so much that I simply can't bring myself to give this a lower rating.
The writers were the ones who honestly f'd up a big time. Haeng Seon and Chi Yeol are one of the best couples I've ever seen. The actors have great chemistry and my heart fluttered so much at their scenes. I truly want a love like that for myself.
But the cons of this drama really started to overshadow the chemistry at times.
The murder mystery got wayyyyyy too much screentime considering that there was no mystery. They revealed/ made it insanely obvious way too early. I was getting annoyed at how it was dragged out more and more.
And while the murder mystery was getting dragged on, they also had like 20 different characters who had ongoing stories but all of those were left unfinished and/or unpolished. Sua was the one that pissed me off the most. Did she even end up getting therapy ? or did she magically heal from those hallucinations because why were we even shown those scenes?
Hui Jae and his family were also shown a lot but somehow they didn't give any of these characters enough time to redeem themselves. I pretty much liked the last episode but I have to admit that this drama tried too much.
Way too many characters who needed serious therapy but somehow everyone was doing okay at the end..
sigh
It's a bit disappointing to admit that with these actors and their chemistry, this drama could have been so much more if the writing was a bit more consistent.

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The math just didn't math.

It's been a while since I completed a drama that I disliked this much. I started watching without expectations, and even though I knew the extreme study culture storyline would be hard for me to relate to I was open. The pressure the students faced and the young actors' performances turned out to be the best part of this show. Unfortunately, this drama gets failing marks in all other categories. The romance plot was dated and stale. The mystery plot was comically bad. I really wanted to root for this aunt who shifted her whole life to raise her niece but instead, I watched the same petty rants and schemes from entitled parents, I watched two clearly older romantic leads acting like awkward children dating, and that was honestly more annoying than wholesome, and I watched the most unnecessary thriller plot that I still don't quite understand. And I still kept watching.

Jeon Do Yeon plays Nam Haeng Seon, our supposedly strong and super athletic lead who too often for me was passive and boring. I know many people have complained about her age, but I'm not sure that's why her character felt off to me. She and her bff played by Lee Bong Ryun were surely meant to seem less sophisticated compared to the other women characters, but that should not mean being bland. She is matched with Jung Kyung Ho who plays Choi Chi Yeol a supposedly super dynamic rock star teacher who was also cheesy and bland. The backstory provides a perfectly reasonable explanation as to why these 2 fall for each other but I just didn't believe it based on their interactions. Their romantic moments seemed forced. Their smiles at each other seemed super fake. Teacher Choi's high kicks were so ridiculous that they made his motivational teacher brand seem less believable. I totally understand the writer's intentions with the lead characters but they just didn't work for me.

If I'm honest, my favorite performances were Roh Yoon Seo as Hae Yi and her friends, and Oh Eui Shik as Jae Woo. Jae Woo was really a weird comic relief character throughout, but he still managed to create a believable and likable character... one of the few. The rest of the characters, mainly obsessed parents and rival students, were too extreme to feel real at all until the very last episodes. Maybe the extreme parts were meat for laughs but I wasn't laughing. And don't get me started on the random murder/suicide plot that never seemed to really fit at all. They clearly gave up on that plot based on its conclusion.

Would I watch this again? Absolutely not. I don't even know what kept me watching until the end. I think part of me kept hoping to connect to the characters or for the story to start making sense but eventually, I was just waiting for it to finally end.

Overall, this drama gets a hard pass from me, and I don't mean a passing grade. Maybe people who can relate to this kind of pressure to get the top grades or go to the highest-ranked schools will relate a little more but that won't make the writing any better. Sure, it ends well, as far as closure for the characters, but the end also felt too simplistic and too dragged out. I was watching the clock for the last 30 mins. Maybe for some watching the banter between an unconventional family or a different kind of couple may be enough to keep them engaged, but I wish this drama went on fewer tangents and developed the two leads enough to carry the whole story. Maybe if you want a drama with a more retro feel then you can find some charm in "Crash Course in Romance". Me? I can't recommend this drama or understand its high rating. The math just didn't math for me.

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