This show started so well. It is cute and ticked all the boxes when it comes to the meet-cute of a rom com. It was tracking well but worrying signs start to appear by mid show.

Let's start with the good bits. From my perspective, the FL is the true star of the show. She is radiant and so sweet. She is born to play a romantic lead. The premise is also nice and promising. It leans heavily into the healing drama trope with a big dose of bad boys come good motif as well. Every fawn (or is it Bambi? deerling?) has a heart of gold and they give the found family trope a good work out. ;)

However, the ML is channelling Marlon Brando a little too hard for my taste. It works sometimes, especially when he is roleplaying The Boss/tough guy. However, even though he is experienced in life and served time in the big house, he has less social skill than a lump of wood. It is jarring to see how he could stare down a mobster in one scene and be totally tongue tied (or worst, catatonic!) in the next just because the FL smiles at him. His characterisation feels too laboured. There are times when he is sweet and swoon worthy but it is more like a caricature.

In fact, most of the characters are done with very broad strokes. Some are there purely as comic relief. Others have more nuance but only fleetingly. You certainly will not be watching this show for character growth nor social commentary.

Is this a simple farce then? Not quite. There are times when the silliness will leave you breathless but there is also a serious dark edge (like many k-dramas). The senseless violence and text book mobster antics made sure of that.

If you think that I’m confused about this show, you are right. I don’t dislike it but there are moments when I question whether I should have dropped it earlier rather than persevere. This is particularly true towards the end when the show race through tropes after tropes just to cover all the bases. It would be farcical if the subject wasn’t so serious. We literally have the ML suffered a near death experience and then within a few scenes two of his bros show up to a blind date and commit social hari-kari in one of the most cringe worthy scene in my drama watching memory.

Here lies the problem with this show. It just doesn’t know when to stop. It has good bones, but bits and pieces are grafted on which doesn’t always make sense nor work as intended. It is a shame because these are good actors, and the basic premise is solid. A “normal” rom com would have worked a treat.