Could've been great.

Let's start off with what I liked about the show:

- It looked really good cinematography-wise, I liked the overall atmosphere and aesthetic of it.
- The characters had their charms and sometimes were very comedic.
- They had a bunch of funny moments which I genuinely enjoyed (one being the spoon scene, that was really funny for some reason).
- Yumin and Junghwan were endearing.
- Taejun vs. Junghwan
- Also that golden retriever Yunis junior.

Now, onto what I didn't like about the show: (warning: rant)

- The story was very all over the place. For something that was supposed to be a sports romcom, it was so angsty and Taeyang's and Taejun's growth as athletes weren't even touched on as much. (Honestly, their growth as characters in general wasn't really shown that much).
- The characters' arcs and stories weren't properly showcased. We just suddenly see these developments and I'm always left thinking "when did that happen?" or "where did that come from?" It's like I completely missed the show and I'm just learning about all of these developments secondhand. And because of this, I find myself not caring about their struggles that much and when they get through them, it's like "alright, good for them I guess".
- The conflict was so repetitive and kept going only for it to end just like that? The potential for conflict and resolution could've been really good but it wasn't.
- The show felt like it was focusing on too many stories and conflicts (or too many angles of one conflict? idek) and problems of Taeyang that it couldn't really understand what it wanted to say properly, leading to a very scattered show with no proper growth therefore leaving the characters with so much wasted potential for their arcs (especially Seungwoo's—I would've loved to see him at least want to play before ending his career). Honestly, I wanted to love this because I love sports stuff (2521 and Haikyuu! being some of them) and it started off pretty well! I find it really interesting when the characters have different goals for their athletic careers while also having to balance their personal struggles and how that's interwoven into their stories as athletes. But this was just, too much angst and very all over the place. In the 15th episode, they show flashbacks of Taeyang and Taejun playing badminton together and it's literally only from the first three episodes. That's how little we've seen any of the characters play badminton. Where is their growth as athletes? How is Taejun becoming more passionate about badminton? How is Taeyang coming back from her 3-year break? And why is the Yunis team suddenly accepting her? SHOW MEEEEEEE.
- I genuinely didn't like that Taeyang just kept taking all the bullshit too? It was fine for the first few episodes, but it just kept going to the point that it was annoying. Idk.
- Also why do Taejun and Taeyang hug like that? It feels so stiff, the only exception being the last hug they had during episode 16. Like just HUG! Put your heads together! Nuzzle!!!! Jeez.
- Lastly, I wanted to see more of Taejun's emotional struggles. With his parents practically being very absent when it comes to his badminton career, how he feels being overshadowed by his sister, his relationship with the sport, etc. But nope. I didn't even care when he gave his medal to his mom and said that he was never good enough because they didn't show his struggles. (Also, his mom is the worst).

Anyway, this was disappointing. I really wanted to like this, especially because a lot of people are saying it was good.

Am I missing something? Someone tell me because I would love to love this. Maybe I'll give it another watch during my free time, but for now these are my thoughts.

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