I Know But (2021)

Not Worth The Hype

Before watching this drama, I had heard so much hype about it. Everyone on Tiktok and Twitter were losing their minds over it. So, I decided it must be really good if everyone talked about it so much.
But honestly, it really just felt like it was trying too hard to appeal to an audience who was looking for a more "mature" drama. The main reason I even watch dramas is because I love watching the pure build up to a relationship. And I think that many shows have done that very well.

This drama was a rare case where I loved everyone but the main characters by the end of it. The female lead is exhausting to follow, the male lead is just a walking red flag (as dubbed by viewers on social media) and the conclusion is frustrating at best.
The only good part of this show was the soundtrack. I added well over half of the OST to my playlists because they're just so good.

In closing, watch this drama if you want to understand the hype. However, just be prepared to be annoyed for most of the 10 episodes.

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High Quality, Atypical Show That Is Almost-Completely Negated By Its Ending

First, some important points: this show is a potential trigger for people who have experienced toxic, emotionally manipulative relationships. There is NO physical violence and NO serious crime (IE. NO rape, etc.), but in the first few minutes of this show, you will see someone in an emotionally abusive relationship. This show is NOT your stereotypical Kdrama romance where you have a female lead, a male lead, a second male lead, a lot of laughs and heartfelt moments, and a sunshine-and-rainbows ending. There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with enjoying these feel-good romance shows (I know I do), but this show is NOT ONE OF THEM.

I will NOT include spoilers, such as who ends up with who, but it is impossible to review this series without alluding to broad themes and discussing some overall challenges, plot trends, and character personalities. Furthermore, the ending alone severely decreases my rating of this show, so I will allude to it without specifics. If you want to go into the show completely blind, then please stop reading here.

The first 9 out of 10 episodes of this show are very intriguing. Based on a web toon, it is an exploration of realistic romantic relationships, which includes the pettiness, immaturity, and dishonorable intentions that sometimes accompany them. On the one hand, you will see typical romance, such as fun, sexy flirting, selfless acts of caring, or heart-to-heart talks. On the other hand, you will see negative behaviors, such as characters creating problems borne from insecurities, doing and saying hurtful things to make people jealous and uncomfortable, or simply acting like complete jerks out of solely selfish motivations. My experience watching this drama can be described as if I were watching a long shot of two train cars colliding in super-slow motion.

If you look back at the discussion about this show, you’ll discover contentious talks. Different people held different views on each of the characters, particularly the main ones, Na Bi and Jae Eon. I think most people see Na Bi as being insecure and in an unlucky, difficult spot with both her love life and her academic efforts. I also think most people see Jae Eon as exuding pure sex and attraction, while being very honest that he does not believe in relationships, and as a result, only wants to hook up. What people disagreed on was whether or not their actions were reasonable or justified, whether each was at fault for their misfortunes, and whether each could learn and change. Even when the second male lead, Do Hyuk, comes into play, I do not think it is made fully obvious which lead you should be rooting for - he is a very considerate gentleman to Na Bi and has harbored long-time feelings for her, but does the pair have enough sexual chemistry? There are no fantastical villains or completely righteous heroes in this series, so I don’t think there is an absolute answer to this question. Moreover, I don’t think it is easy to find fault in the second female lead, Yoon Seol Ah, either, who is essentially just a straightforward love rival for Jae Eon. The leads’ interactions with each other display the positive behaviors that cultivate romance, but also the toxic behaviors that hinder an interpersonal relationship. As the plot evolves, I think the core question is “in a romantic relationship, to what degree is the importance of sexual attraction, emotional attachment, mutual respect, and friendship?” I think each of the male lead characters evokes a different sense of each aspect and it’s interesting for a real-life person to think about how they prioritize these factors, given their personal preferences and life experience.

Completely separate from the web toon, the show created all-new side characters that match this grey area. You have an LGBTQ+ character who is not out yet but also deals with the age-old-problem of “do I risk ruining the friendship or do I keep silent about my romantic feelings?” Then, you have a separate storyline about a capricious girl who greatly values sex and sleeps around, but suddenly finds herself with a strong desire to engage in a monogamous relationship. All of this adds to the feeling that the people in this show are living, breathing human beings and not simply super-hot, super-charming, super-selfless characters that exist in other shows.

The general ambience was expertly established to match this humanistic feel. The cinematography, especially the lighting and the camera work, capture the slow-burn feeling that is needed for this kind of melodrama. The OST is very appropriate, having mostly muted sounds and melodies, while leaning heavily on guitar performances, which in total give the music an “indie/coffeehouse feel" - it wasn't my favorite OST of all time, but I thought it fit. The acting is superb -- Song Kang, by all outward-appearances, seems like a genuinely stand-up guy in real life, yet he easily transforms into the suave, intense-staring, oozing sex-at-all-times, possibly-a-jerk Jae Eon. Han So Hee is totally convincing as the attractive-but-not-the-most-attractive, kinda-normal but deeply insecure-and-doesn’t-realize-it, going-through-a-tough-time girl Na Bi. Of the side characters, all were also great and fulfilled their roles well. The fanbase seemed to really love the LGBTQ+ characters and they were A-OK from my point of view. For me, I especially enjoyed Yang Hye Ji’s portrayal of the overly-meddling, whimsical, and overly-honest Bit Na. In the end, I say, hats off to the actors, director, writer, and production crew for their hard work.

However, there were still some minor production blips. Kim Min Gwi is currently embroiled in real-life scandal, and as a result, his character was minimized, with the result being some awkward scenes where the camera intentionally focuses away from his physical figure and gives a really strange feel as you listen to him talk off screen. The show also seemed to waste some precious time which led to rushed side-character endings: in particular, there was a lot of random screen time given to two teaching assistant characters. They were so forgettable that the first time they were shown together on screen by themselves, I forgot who they were and thought I had accidentally tuned into a different show. At the end of the day, these drawbacks were minor points.

The main issue I had with the series was that I felt that the last episode undermined the entire plot and character arc of the main characters. Episodes 1 through 9 clearly establish that the show is about flawed people interacting with other imperfect people in the setting of romance. Like real people, the characters make mistakes, but also like real people, the characters are given opportunities to learn and grow from their mistakes - sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. What I expected of the final episode is that it would be a logical conclusion towards the lessons that were learned as well as the lessons that were not learned. However, to me, Episode 10 is simply forcing the leads to end up in particular relationships/not in particular relationships with no careful explanation as to why. To be clear, the issue I have with it is not which people ended up together or which did not, but it's the fact that their conclusion did NOT feel inevitable and did NOT feel like it was developed towards in the preceding 9 episodes - in fact, the way that Episode 9 ended seemed to imply the the leads were going in a totally different direction. As a character-driven drama, this is anathema: you need to spend the time showing the adversity that a character faces, how they respond to it, and how certain personality changes are inevitable. In other words, you have to SPEND TIME to show CHANGE - real change by real-life people is difficult and takes a long time. Thus, a realistic show also needs to spend the time to gradually morph their characters. Put another way, I felt the ending was simply a stilted fairy-tale ending made to force final pairings and/or force certain characters to end up alone. I will offer this analogy: imagine you are watching a Kdrama with two, mega popular idol stars in lead roles. You also have two minor, less popular idols in supporting roles as the second leads. You learn that the male lead is an attractive and dumb man. You learn that the female lead is an attractive and blunt woman. Throughout the series, the main conflict and misunderstandings stem from the man being stupid and the woman being overly straightforward. Nevertheless, they slowly overcome their differences, discovering that they complement each others' strengths and deficiencies, and therefore develop a romantic relationship, which culminates in sincere confessions, steamy kisses, and emotional moments. The second-to-last episode shows you that the two leads have accepted their differences, and are planning their marriage together. Then, all of a sudden, in the last episode, the show pulls a complete 180: suddenly the male lead possesses genius level intellect without explanation. Because of this out-of-nowhere intelligence, he breaks up with the female lead as he realizes he no longer needs her. A last minute crisis pushes him towards the second female lead. We see a montage of all the times he interacted with the second lead throughout the show - the male lead misses the second female lead greatly. She, in turn, wants the male lead a lot. Ultimately, they begin a relationship with each other. That is essentially how Nevertheless felt like it ended to me - we ignored the personality traits of the leads that we had carefully developed over 9 episodes, ignored the lessons they had learned, ignored the adversities they had overcome and put them together/didn't put them together with people purely due to a last-minute crisis fabricated by the show. It was like all the time I spent with the show was thrown into the garbage in favor of a completely new start from left-field.

It's such a shame. I am a huge sucker for character-driven shows and I felt like this show was initially going to be an "easy recommendation" for me, but I absolutely cannot do it unless you are a mega fan of the actors or the crew. There is definitely high production quality in here which prevents me from giving the show under a 5, but the subversion of the final episode felt like such an egregious betrayal of my watch time. To be clear, there are certain shows out there that are designed for us to live a romantic fantasy vicariously and thus for these dramas, I don't think we really pay attention to how unrealistic it is: you basically want to watch two mega-hot, super-talented stars fall in fake-love on screen and enjoy every second of it. However, Nevertheless was never this type of show. In fact, it quickly established itself as a semi-realistic look at relationships and displayed so many moments of raw, lifelike opinions and emotions. Yet, it ultimately leaned on a contrived ending -- there is a final line that Na Bi says that ironically captures this feeling of mine, "This is just too unrealistic". Therefore, I feel the show failed miserably for what it seemed to set out to do.

For me, this show is a pass.

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So slow….

Glad this was only 10 eps. It was really slow and boring through most of it. I have a few hang ups. Na Bi really set the relationship for failure from the beginning. She listened to everyone and their stories of who Jae-eon is or who and what they think he is. She had a bad relationship right before that left her with a bad attitude to begin with. If you go into a relationship with a bad attitude and not really opening up and being honest to begin with then it really is doomed. I think they both were stupid in their communication! They never said what needed to be said when they had a great opportunity to do it. It was infuriating!! So many times I wanted to stop watching because I wanted to seriously smack them upside the head. He showed her so many freaking times how he felt but she was to stupid to see it! Even in the end she still talked about how he would disappoint her again and then saw Do-hyeok and almost let go of Jae-eon’s hand. She was still wavering!! Sheesh! If this is really the reality of how young people today communicate and have a relationship I feel bad for them!

Story - so slow. It was agonizing just like a said above! It was not the best storyline for me.

Acting/Cast - the emotion was there. It was good acting. I was not disappointed in that. I was just disappointed in the story they had to work with.

Rewatch - probably not! I personally am not one for slow, boring, and poor communication shows. I like when people are honest and open. Like I said before if this is how young people date and communicate… I feel bad for them.

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the drastic change in storyline.

to be very honest, they just spoiled the ending of the drama. talking about the characters- PARK JAE EON, YU NA BI AND YANG DO HYEOK HERE. na bi is the most confused female lead in any kdrama ive ever seen. she would've chosen to stay single and pursue her future in paris, if i was in place of na bi i would've chosen my carrier instead of being in a toxic relationship with a jerk with whom i know living will be hell, neither will i choose my childhood best friend and make his life miserable as the likenesses will be one sided!? the ending of the drama instigates young teenagers to be in a toxic relationship even when u know the person with whom u are is a jerk. she doesnt care as the ending line says- "i know this will cause pain, but im okay with it" WHAT AN IDIOT NA BI IS. girl get a life! i just feel bad for my potato boy :") i rated this drama so low because the ending was not just appropriate according to me (different people have different opinion) otherwise, the casting of this drama was perfect, i was happy and satisfied about every other lead, the ost is catchy as well!! gonna miss this drama every Saturday :") signing off. ***AGAIN, I AM JUST ATTACKING THE CHARACTERS AND NOT THE ACTORS*** ps- i ship han so hee and song kang alot, i mean who doesnt?? NEED ANOTHER DRAMA WITH THEM BEING LEAD!!

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great visuals but repetitive

This is the kind of drama where you know it is going to end badly but you find yourself watching anyway. I have no idea where this story is going to go because I didn't read the webtoon but I have an idea and it's not good.
This drama definitely has a few appeals: visually appealing leads, beautiful cinematography, and the romanticism of a toxic relationship. And sure we've seen college dramas, but this one centers around art majors. That's an interesting and unique touch to this show that I like a lot. But despite these things, the show still feels a bit bland. It kinda feels like the same thing happens every episode but in different ways and I'm kinda tired of it. Nabi puts her foot down, calls Jae-eon out on his bs, puts him in his place, and ghosts him, then he'll come crawling back and do something swoon-worthy and Nabi will let him off the hook again and again and again. I get that's kinda the whole point with this drama but my god did it get repetitive fast.

Song Kang has really surprised me by how many shows he's been in lately, not to mention how diverse his roles are. I hear he might be enlisting soon so he's probably trying to establish himself before serving, and I think he has already. His acting still needs improvement on the emotional side. Or maybe I'm just saying all this because the only thing I've seen him in besides this is Love Alarm. We know he can play the handsome, likable guy but I wanna see more depth from him as an actor. Han So Hee is okay here. Her performance is alright but I really expected more from her after her performance in TWOTM. She was very good there even tho her role was kinda minor so I was expecting a lot from her first lead role. Sadly I was disappointed. I like her character's background but it's frustrating watching her make the same mistakes with Jae-eon in every episode. At least she looks incredibly good with the ML, ri

Now unto Yang Do Hyuck a.k.a. potato boy. He is so gosh darn cute. He's so kind and sweet and humble-the opposite of Jae-eon. You prob already know which team I'm on(lol) but if Nabi ends up with Jae-eon and not him I will be so mad. How can you say no to his puppy eyes?

- I'm back after a month of seeing the finale and I gotta say in really disappointed in the ending.
(CAUTION: SPOILER ALERT)
So unrealistic yet unrealistic at the same time. Maybe I played myself but I had a small glimmer of hope that Nabi would choose neither of the MLs and perhaps take the self-improvement route. That to me was the more ideal and healthy ending. It's clear guy #1 wasn't good for Nabi AT ALL and I find it hard to believe that he really changed for her, but at the same time Potato Boy wasn't a good choice either. Yes he is the boyfriend that Nabi deserves but not the one she needs atm. She really needs to stop dating altogether and develop some sense of self worth, make get therapy for her previous traumatic relationship, and then seek someone who will truly value her for who she is and not what someone can get out of her. But instead we got her openly admitting to the second lead that she knows Jae-eon is bad for her and constantly hurts her, but she cant control her feelings for him so she ultimately choose him. I'm gonna be honest, I understand her logic as a girl with no self esteem or worth, but that did not make me any less livid. The last ending scene was the icing on the cake for me. Its just not possible for Jae-eon to do a complete 180 with his behavior because he "loves" Nabi. When he refused the girls advances and numbers, I thought the only reason he did that was because Nabi was around, bit given his track record, I guarantee if Nabi wasn't there he def would've entertained those girls. And that's the gripe I have with the writing the last episode. Jae-eon's "change" towards his relationship with Nabi was horribly done and felt insincere because it wasn't earned. I'm sorry but once a fuc boi always a fuc boi. Guys like Jae-eon don't change, especially for nice naive girls like Nabi. I already wasn't going to rate the drama so high but ep. 16 made me drop my rating even more.

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I shouldn't love this, NEVERTHELESS...

Whew, I am most likely going to be in the minority on this one, but I LOVED THIS SHOW FROM START TO FINISH. It was well-paced, cozy, and suspenseful. This is peak romance.

I think a lot of the webtoon readers are upset because they came in expecting one thing and got something different. They were expecting certain subversions of tropes and two dimensional characters instead of ones that are morally grey. To be honest, Song Kang's Jae-On is NOT a complete fboi—he's a poor communicator above all. He was haunted by a bad reputation and neglectful upbringing; Nabi became suspicious of him before he really gave her reason to. He feebly attempted to go back to his old ways when she ran away and continuously pushed him away, and it didn't successfully distract him. I don't want to excuse all his behaviour though; he pushes boundaries and the whole Seola dynamic was sketchy. He never truly said no to Seola, even though it was clear EVEN TO HER that Jae-On's attention was no longer hers to hold captive. This is a story of setting people free to let them make their own decisions, and Seola's decision to set Jae-On free allowed him to finally set his own butterflies free. If there's one thing I didn't like, it was how the Seola storyline got tied up without ever clearing up the ambiguity of their relationship. Somehow, I can't even hate her though — she clearly stood up for herself when she realized it wasn't working for her. As for Nabi, she is frustrating with her mixed signals, and yet her behaviour is so clearly expected of a young person who's suffered with abusive relationships and astonishingly low self-esteem. She's too afraid to define the relationship early in fear of losing it, but lashes out when she doesn't receive the validation she so desperately needs. Throw in the confusion of another hardcore suitor in Potato Boy, and I understand how she was so confused.

I think that's the best part of this series: I loved allllll the characters. Normally, some side characters (or worse, the main characters) get on my nerves or I simply don't care about them. In this case, I was gripped by the suspense of the will-they-won't-they between Nabi and Jae-On, I was invested in Potato Boy's success, and I LIVED for Bitna/Gyu Hyun, the sunbaes, and ESPECIALLY Sol/Jiwan. Can we talk about how refreshing and progressive this drama felt?!

This show is best if you don't spoil the ending for yourself. Knowing that there's the "expected kdrama path" vs. the "subversive webtoon path" brings so much suspense to the last few episodes as long as you don't know which direction the story will go. So if you're reading this review to decide whether to watch the show, please do not read the next paragraph. :)

Ultimately, I was satisfied with the ending. I am sure this opinion is controversial. The only other ending I would've been happy with is if Nabi went off to Paris alone and thriving, and WHO IS TO SAY THAT WON'T HAPPEN STILL? But I would not have been happy with the webtoon ending because the chemistry and timing was all wrong between Nabi and Potato Boy. He pushed her because he liked her so much, and she accepted his affection for a while because she was so vulnerable. You can argue that chemistry isn't everything; that having a good, dependable relationship is better than a passionate one. But they are so young, and it's so not fair to him. Potato Boy doesn't deserve to be with someone who pines over someone else. And between Nabi and Jae-On, the best part to me is that they finally COMMUNICATED. They made their choices without any disillusions. Nabi doesn't expect things to last forever between them, but she owes it to herself to see things through — perhaps to get him out of her system, or perhaps to give him a chance to surprise her. I truly believe the drama version of Jae-On has done enough to deserve that chance. As the side characters underscored in their closing scene, what's the point of a relationship if you don't love the other more? The truly romantic point of view is that both sides should feel lucky. They are too young to settle — arguably, we should all come to the same conclusion in our lives.

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EAT WHAT YOU WANT, DO WHAT YOU WANT AND LIKE THE PERSON YOU LIKE, THAT'S ALL YOU HAVE TO DO .

I understand why most people are pissed at the ending. For some it's wrong for her to dump potato guy, For others Jae eon is a big no no and they (ML AND FL) would for sure suffer later on. BUT here's my point :
In last episode Professor said this to Nabi : EAT WHAT YOU WANT, DO WHAT YOU WANT AND LIKE THE PERSON YOU LIKE, THAT'S ALL YOU HAVE TO DO . For me this pretty much sums up all of Nabi's feelings. She wanted to be with Jae Eon knowing she might regret ( as she herself said in finale) because she chooses to be with him in the moment and not leave any regret.

Look man, Its simple if u want it to be . Everybody wants to be happy . She found her happiness in Jae Eon ; temporarily or permanent. That's the only way to find out.

Besides, it would have been very unfair to potato guy if Nabi had accepted him knowing she is obviously still in love with Jae Eon.
This drama served its purpose for me that is Yes I enjoyed it a lot.

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Pointless, toxic...and.. sex? "Friends with benefits"

The story of a romance between a man who is annoyed with relationships but likes to flirt and a woman who wants to date but does not believe in love.
This show is just so toxic and after the third episode I was so done with it, but somehow I ended up watching it.
If we talk about the monotonous story line, this show gets the award. Just so boring and honestly you can easily skip so many parts in one episode.

1. The main male character is portrayed as someone who is hot, charming, good looking "bad boy". Plus there is some sort of pain or emotional abuse witch they made it seem so cool, but in reality, there isn't anything cool with that. And everyone seems to forget that he is actually very manipulative person, who besides fucking every good looking girl, there isn't much to him.
Every girl seems to forget about his "real face" once they look at him and have sex with him...
2.The main female character. Now with this is what you call someone who makes mistakes, seems to understand that what she has done is not good, but then she does it again and again. NABI is a character who doesn't understand her own feelings at first place, she isn't innocent or naive , she knows what she is doing and does it everytime. I just dislike her character so much. No point of talking more about her... such a weak personality omg

To be very honest this show is a waste of time and romanticizes cheating , not communicating in a relationship and meaningless sex.
The only one thing I liked about the show is how they are promoting lgbtq+ community by including a lesbian love story.

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It's a Toxic relationship, Nevertheless

This drama sets the example of what not to do in a relationship. If you like toxic relationship, bad choices and merry go round situations then this drama is for you.

In This review I will be only focusing on the two main leads, Nabi and Jae eon.

First, let me just point something out.
Two broken people cannot be together and if they do the relationship will always be/remain rocky. They need therapy, they need to fix themselves first. As along as they don't seek professional help I'm against them being a couple. There's nothing wrong with being single. Be single happy and free rather than be in fear if your partner truly loves you for you and not just lust.

NABI- I believe she is a very sweet girl but has poor choice and makes poor choices when it comes to her love life. From her first toxic relationship, I would salute her for getting away from that relationship bearing in mind it was her first boyfriend and relationship. Although it her some time,still bravo to her.

Now, although she got out of that she jumped right in to another without processing her breakup. To me, if i were in that situation and I went to an art gallery and saw my figure with my name being exibeted I might have had a nervous breakdown and definitely would not be interested in getting into any relationship that quickly. I would say that Jae eon showed up at perfect timing And uttered sweet lyrics to her. Some would say love at first sight, nope i disagree, it was sexual attraction at first sight.

As you will see throughout the drama they both were very sexually compatible. Sexual compatibility doesn't depict love in a relationship. She wanted more in the relationship but her partner was unwilling to commit. She also did not know him as a person, his likes and dislikes and when she ask questions he basically shuts her up by using sex & physical contact.

She want's to claim him as hers, give him the pronoun boyfriend and be happy with him. She went away and wanted out of the relationship, he followed her and yet he still was not being candid with her. Why? I still don't know but somehow he magically changed and wants to be in a real relationship? People change... yes but not that easily. I mean if that's the kind of relationship she wants good for her.

JAE EON- He is a good person, however, he has underlying trauma and issues that needs to be addressed and looked after. His reasons for not wanting to commit to a relationship is quite difficult to understand. He uses sex as a means of coping that's why when perdinal questions are been asked to him he uses physical contact to guard his pain. I believe he could be freed from his toxic tendencies if the writer explored more on the mental issues he has.

Nevertheless, two broken people in a relationship what happiness could they give each other. Nabi is still not heal from her bad breakup and Jae eon has some underlying issues/trauma that's yet to be known. Until they work on themselves individually they shouldn't be in any relationship.

The drama on a whole was not to my liking and as stated at the beginning what it entails no so much my cup of tea. Nevertheless i completed it but won't re watch.

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Sorry but this is just not worth watch

Waste of my time😑 I was enjoying it from ep 2 to ep 8 but then the problem start😑

Ep1 I just don’t understand the story everything was just messy OMG watching this and try to understand this was harder than doing Math exam😑

Ep2-Ep8 was okay for me there some love scenes of the 2 main actors some quarrel between them and there the perfect second start to appear and get along so well with the Na-bi. He I love with Na-Bi and doing lots of good thing to her but u all know girl never fall for a good boy and it go same to Na-Bi. Rather then Chose potato she chose to stay with Jae On. Then there come a girl that have some special relationship with Jae On. After a long talk with that girl Na-Bi disappeared that make Jae On so worry and start looking for her (it too late bro). Then the messy plot start again. I dot. Understand why that team are going to field trip and have to rest at the Do Hyuk house that Na-Bi happen to be at Do hyuk house then she met him again Jae On. But if u just don’t think about that messy plot the scene is good because there come a moment everyone alway looking for. Jae On start to get jealous of Na-Bi being with Do Hyuk. He trying to get near her but she just trying to stay away. Then here come the kiss scene that I make me really pissed of bcz I just can’t understand Na-Bi at all🙄. Then there a scene again after Jae On kiss Na-Bi Do Hyuk is asking Na-Bi to be with him(can say that to be his first love). Then he got rejected. Theremore but just want to stop the ep here then skip to the ending🌚😆

Ep10 final ep my worst nightmare ever😑 if u hope that the ending will the same as webtoon then just drop now if not then that the happy ending for u. My opinion Do Hyuk was lots better then Jae On but she chose Jae On then I change my Rate and decide to right this review😑. I’m so mad that I alway waiting for Sat every week for this drama🌚 waste my time🙄

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Glorified toxicity

Many viewers have written about how this drama endorses toxic, abusive, manipulative relationships. I agree with them, and the main reasons why are because of the way in which the relationship is portrayed, and the audience for which this show is intended.

Film and television is an art form and with it, comes freedom of expression and the ability to capture the worst aspects of humanity. I enjoy my fair share of messed-up characters and stories, something for which Korean cinema is well-known, especially when you consider its long history of great films like Lady Vengeance, Oldboy, Thirst, and more recently, Parasite. These works of art portray terrible aspects of human nature, but do so with the intent to make us understand what is wrong in the world. In the case of Nevertheless, some viewers are trying to defend this work on the premise that it's just a portrayal of harm that the creators should have the freedom to show. Furthermore, they argue there have been many instances of MLs that hurt their partners and still end up with them in happy relationships, and yet viewers let these examples slide.

To counter the artistic license argument, I offer that in most cases including classic K-cinema, harmful relationships are clearly portrayed as negative. The creators do not excuse dangerous behaviour. It is clear from the history of the format and the 40+ years of high quality productions, that a strong moral stance lies at heart of kdramas. Furthermore, the intended audience for kdramas like Nevertheless is youngish females. Many modern dramas take a stance on abusive relationships in light of what we know and understand about their harmful outcomes and the impact of systemic portrayals of unhealthy relationships. I know that as an insecure teen/20-something, I would have absolutely been swept away by a manipulator with charisma who could make me second guess myself and confuse it with excitement and sexual tension, like the FL in this show. Making it seem like the ML suddenly changes with teary eyes when he has just physically hurt the FL the night before, without even an acknowledgement of it, is inexcusable. Seeing no growth as the couple smiles their way into the final scene sends the absolute wrong message, even with the addition of a couple subtle pieces of dialogue and actions that tell us there is still something amiss. At the end of the day, they look like two beautiful people on a postcard in a happy ending with an overlay of romantic, catchy music.

Finally, there are many kdramas that excuse abusive relationships and MLs behaving badly. Some people let this slide, and in kdramas harmful tropes are still pervasive, but this does not make it right. Especially with the rise of Me Too, anti-racism, LGBTQII, and other movements, we must take a stand now. Since the creators of Nevertheless chose to take a progressive stance on other aspects of society by exploring a non-fairytale sex-based relationship and a lesbian couple, there is no excuse for them not to take the same progressive stance on the relationship of the main characters.

On a technical note, as an art piece, I enjoyed the cinematography and production values which were skillful and gave an intimate feel (no pun intended). I thought the music was very well chosen. The subtle and confused dialogue created the feeling of tension and gave us a glimpse of the layers beneath. And unlike some viewers, I liked the acting and performances of the entire cast.

However, the message is all wrong. I hope the creators realize they have endorsed something we should all be fighting against.

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A sophisticated take of what love is - watch without judgement to enjoy!

A lot of the frustration from viewers about this story lies perhaps in their wish to admire characters from the get go and/or expectations of growth. I found it beautifully poetic in its portrayal of the faults of people. People do not live their whole lives watching themselves on screen. They do many things in the moment, with the wisdom (or lack thereof) they possess then. This story breaks down the little moments of rapture and anguish of young lives navigating young love clumsily. More mature (not age! but those with life experiences) audiences will appreciate it and be more understanding (& less judgemental) of Na-bi and Jae-On’s push and pull. One more episode left - will life serve these two (& us) great lessons for (self) love with a side of heartbreak nevertheless?

PS. en pointe music direction. Every track was beautiful in its own right but paired with the scenes… breathtaking.

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