Sweet and inspiring

I adored almost everything about this show. Karan and Achi were adorable, and really cute together. I loved the office and all the characters there. This adaption really focused on themes like hard-work, pursuing your dreams, overcoming challenges, found-family, personal-development... that kinda thing. Very inspiring messages.

I confess, though, I struggled with the Jinta/Min storyline. It was better than the Japanese adaption (IMO) and there was a lot to love about it (the message was very inspiring) but the comedy really, really wasn't to my taste. AT ALL!! But that was also my issue with the Jinta/Min storyline in the Japanese adaption so I think it's a problem I have with the source material not the adaptions (I haven't read the original).

As for what I thought of it as an adaption... I really loved that it was slightly different from the Japanese adaption. I think each version of a story SHOULD be different, otherwise there's no point having different versions, and it's fun seeing how different parts of the story are interpreted or presented.

Overall, I really enjoyed it.

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Heavy themes and important messages.

This series is seriously misunderstood (and I have some thoughts about why, so bear with me).

This series has a cute title, and is presented in an often lighthearted way, but the story is extremely heavy and very complex if you pay attention to the underlying themes and deeper issues. It's unique in many ways, and reflects the chaos of life in such a refreshing way. It's rare to find a bl series about the kinds of problems married/long-established and cohabitating couples face—couples who have been together for a very long time. It's quite 'mature', in that way (and, apparently, can be quite triggering for some people).

Without spoiling too much... essentially, this series starts with established couples who have unintentionally let their personal insecurities and (genuine) hardships, damage their relationships and self-esteem. The series follows them as they try to navigate the many complexities of life, grow as people, and repair their unhealthy relationships. It's heavy stuff. Each couple has their own challenges, so a lot of issues are touched on—equal rights marriage, the nature of marriage, love languages (and love-language clashes), social hierarchies, economic hierarchies, societal judgement and bias, age-gaps, respect, miscommunication, secrets, lies, guilt... and more.

This series is not for everyone. It is very unique, and the issues it addresses are very serious and can be very triggering for some people. From some of the reviews I've read, I think some people go into this show expecting a lighthearted comedy, and are completely caught off-guard by the seriousness of the issues the couples face. People also seem to misunderstand because of the fun tone, and think the issues are being minimized and/or romanticized. I promise you, the issues are not being downplayed. In fact, the whole series is about the couples learning how to love and respect each other properly, and how to love and respect themselves.

Then there are the people who struggle with the age-gap. Personally I think the show does a remarkable job of exploring the complex nature of age-gaps, from many angles. Frankly, if you don't like age-gaps (or tend to over-sympathize with the younger partner and demonize the older one) it's probably best you simply don't watch shows with age-gaps. But to be clear: in this show, all romantic relationships are between consenting adults, and the younger partners are not oppressed by the older ones (that's stupid bias, and not what the show presents at all). I promise if you pay attention, watch ALL characters carefully and consider their point-of-view, you'll understand. As the show tries to say: don't judge!

Honestly, though, I think the beginning actually does a pretty good job of warning the audience that this is not a fairytale. Sure, it's cute on the surface, but it's actually a heavy series about complicated problems and tough struggles. I think it's very true to how chaotic life really is. The couples have to fight really hard to stay together. The characters are very flawed. Their relationships are flawed. But the important thing is that they know what they want, and they put in the work to achieve it. The character growth in this show is seriously impressive. And if you actually pay attention, I think the show handles these sensitive topics very well, and has a very important message (which is ironic, considering how much of its audience judges the show, in the exact ways the show is trying to tell them not to judge).

But, I've rambled enough, so I should stop. I just really loved this story and it breaks my heart a little that so many people seem to misunderstand it.

Before I go, though, I have to say.... the acting in this series is phenomenal (particularly Zee. But everyone else too). The acting is so, so brilliant. The music is amazing. The production quality is fantastic. Honestly, I have no complaints about this series at all. I adored everything.

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Deeper on theme than relationships

There was good stuff here. Some interesting themes and thought-provoking ideas. A pretty good mix of humor and angst. The actors did a good job. And I always adore childhood-friends-to-lovers. Overall, it was pretty good. But I was a little disorientated by some choices. It appeared the show was more invested in exploring the nature of divorce, than going deep on the relationships; the relationships were there to serve the theme, not the other way around. Which isn't wrong. Some people might enjoy it. But I felt some important moments weren't quite given the attention they deserved.

I loved the main couple, individually and as a couple. The start of their relationship was great. I loved that we got hints they'd both been in love forever, but Fu Li Gong became aware of it much, much earlier—which fits their characters. Given Zheng Ze Shou's personality, I'm not surprised he went turbo-fast once he became aware of his own feelings. Li Gong's freak out in the second half also made sense. He hid his feelings for a long time, scared of how their relationship might change; then everything did change, very suddenly, without any warning, and he didn't have the chance to process the changes or the consequences of the changes. A freak out at some point was inevitable, and I probably would've been disappointed if it hadn't come. Even so, I think the show didn't handle that entire conflict as well as it could have. Even though I understand why Li Gong reacted like he did, the show only presented the surface level. They accidentally make his anxieties seem shallow, and like he came to that decision unbelievably easily, given how invested he was in the relationship. The resolution is also a bit too easy, given the big emotions must have been going on. Given how long these two loved each other, and how much they had to lose if things went wrong (which is the entire point of the childhood-friends-to-lovers trope!!) the whole conflict kinda played out like just another disagreement and reconciliation. That being said, I like that Ze Shou eventually called him out (gently) for lying.

I don't really have much to say about the second couple. They were okay to watch, but I didn't get invested in them. Don't know why. They just didn't grab my attention.

In summary, I'm glad I watched it, and I might re-watch it to see how I feel the second time around. If my opinion changes I'll add a note to the end of this review. It's possible I was just thrown off by how unusual the show was in it's approach. Normally, a show that explores a super deep and emotional concept like divorce, will mirror that depth and emotion in the relationships. This show didn't quite match the energy. They went deep on the concept, but didn't mirror that intensity at all in the relationships, so I was left feeling the relationships were surface level and lacking (even though I might not have otherwise felt that way). All that said, I'm not sure that this approach would suit my taste anyway. I can like shows that keep things light. I like shows that take things deep. But if I can only have deep themes or deep relationship, I'd rather a deep relationship with light themes, than heavy themes with relatively surface-level relationship. But that's just me. If I end up re-watching it (which I'm not sure I will) I'll let you know if I change my mind on anything.

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Mixed feelings

This is an absolutely brilliant 10/10 story! But the one thing that bothered me about the show, bothered me a lot. I'm glad I stuck with it though, because the story is profound. In addition to the right-person/wrong-time element, which was deep in and of itself, it got me thinking about the extra layers. Like: if you knew you could have something unbelievably wonderful for a while, but it would end in devastating heartbreak and terrible pain, would you still pursue it or give it up entirely? In reality, this question is often minimized, but the drama takes it seriously and explores how painful and terrifying such a choice would actually be. It also explores how your final decision might change as you get older. When you're young, you may be willing to take potentially devastating risks, because you've never been hurt before; when you're older, you may no longer be willing to take any risks, because you've been hurt too much. Dunno if I'm meant to read the story like that, but I enjoyed thinking about it all the same.

As well as the profound story, there's plenty more to love. The music is great. The production is great. The setting is awesome. The entire cast is super talented. And the actual age and age-gap of the characters isn't a problem (for me).

So... why the mixed feelings?

Because Old-Soon looks way too old, and Young-Ongsa's age is not clarified early enough. Why is this a problem? Well, visually, we have a middle-aged man flirting with a high-schooler.

BUT WAIT!! Didn't I just say I had no problem with the characters' actual ages and age-gap? Yes, that's true. The characters are actually 18 and 28, so they are both adults and only ten years apart. I have no complaints about that. HOWEVER! No amount of telling myself Old-Soon is only 28 could make me believe him younger than 40. And even though it's pretty important to know the younger man is 18, it's not even hinted at until ep4, then not confirmed until ep10. As I've said, the actors are amazingly talented! I really can't stress that enough. But seriously, dramas are a visual media, and when pairing a high-schooler and older man, even in a time-travel, and even if you keep the romance light, it's nice to be considerate of the audience and not make it any more complicated or problematic than necessary. Personally, I think they needed to state Young-Ongsa age earlier, and recast Old-Soon. But that's just my opinion based on my preferences, and I'm sure there are plenty of people that disagree with me.

Again, I stuck with the drama because there is so much to love, and I'm glad I did. And even the bits that bothered me may not both others, so I recommend anyone interested in the premise give it a go and decide for yourself.

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Destroyed me!

I'm such a mess after watching this I can't even write a coherent review. It devastated me. But it was so beautiful and so well done I have to say something, so here I go:

Brilliant soundtrack. I'm still listening to it on repeat. And it wasn't just that the music was amazing (though it was amazing all on its own) but there also seemed to have been a lot of effort put into making it work with the show, and the whole show sounded good altogether... that doesn't make any sense, but I swear the whole show just sounded good. I guess that's part of the production value? Anyway, it was brilliant.

The story... Well. I hate sad stories. I don't like crying, I don't like feeling miserable, I just don't like sad stories. But this story is just so good, so beautiful, so wonderfully told... it won me over and I kinda hate it for that, but I am in awe of this drama. Even if I have a headache from all the crying. It's a love story that is just so big, so beyond this world, I can't not adore it.

The characters were believable and really felt like real people. The acting was amazing. The casting was perfect. I believed what I was watching.

There's probably more to say but I just can't think. It melted my brain.

I hate to put the re-watch value so low, because I feel like that misrepresents how brilliant the show is. It's like a fairytale. But I definitely can't go through this often. It cuts too deep. But it's a brilliant show.

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Clever and heartbreaking metaphor

This show blows my mind and breaks my heart. But is also sweet and heartwarming. (Trust me, you'll understand after you watch it.)

This show tells you pretty early how to interpret it: it's a metaphor; a mystery but not about scary ghosts; a "film" that's using a creative way to tell a deeper story, and every detail has a deeper meaning. Seriously, there are so many layers. Stories within stories (and stories within stories within stories). And every single layer broke my heart more!! Though I loved that the overall message appears to be hopeful.

You might say this show uses a slow-burn approach to storytelling. Whether you're taking the story at a surface level, or reading deeper into it, the story comes together slowly. There are clues all along the way, and the layers gradually weave together as you get more and more details, the relevance of certain scenes or conversations only becoming clear much later. Personally, I adored this method of telling the story and thought it was perfect for the particular story/stories they were telling.

Because of the slow-burn style of this show, I strongly recommend watching it from beginning to end before judging (you need all the pieces before you can make an accurate judgement). But even if you're just looking for a sweet surface-level romance, this is a beautifully original love story and I highly recommend it.

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