Showing posts with label Love Next Door or Mom's Friend's Son (Kdrama) 3.9 || 4. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Love Next Door or Mom's Friend's Son (Kdrama) 3.9 || 4. Show all posts

19 January 2025

K Drama Review: Love Next Door / Mom's Friend's Son (2024) 3.9 || 4

Yes, this took longer than usual. And I would like to disclose that we might not have finished watching this one had it not been for the lead actors whom Oppa and I both love. The show had its moments but it was most likely Jung Hae In and Jung So Min who helped tide us over to the end. 

Plot

The plot is really simple. Choi Seung Hyo (Jung Hae In) and Bae Seok Ryu (Jung So Min) are neighbors and childhood friends. Their moms are good friends. Seung Hyo and Seok Ryu practically grew up together but as life happened, they parted ways to pursue their own careers. When Seok Ryu who was working in the US and engaged to be married went back home to South Korea with a called off engagement, the two began spending time together again. This helped rekindle whatever old feelings they had for each other in the past. The show then takes us through how Seung Hyo and Seok Ryu's relationship grows deeper, as they also deal with challenges in their careers and families. 

Jung Hae In as Choi Seung Hyo

The most probable number one guy on my Oppa List is showing signs of aging. But he is still so, so very good looking. It was refreshing to see him in a lighter drama like what he had in Tune in for Love, Reply 1988, Guardian, Something in the Rain, and One Spring Night, after seeing him in serious and heavy stuff like 12.12: The Day, Prison Playbook, Snowdrop, and D.P. 1 and 2

However, Seung Hyo won't qualify as one of my favorite Jung Hae In characters. I still prefer him as a sweet boy-next-door type of guy than a rude and arrogant one. Yes, we see depth in his character as the show progresses but it just felt quite weird that he seemed quite different at the start. 

The thing that stood out the most for me about Seung Hyo was his passion for public interest projects and how his integrity can never be compromised - fixing his old school's swimming pool even if it meant having to overcome something traumatic for him, refusing to accept a job from a condescending client to work on a plagiarized design, renovating the old woman's home, etc. 

In the end, there was so much to love about Seung Hyo so I wish the show didn't overdo the parts where he was mean to Seok Ryu. 

Jung So Min as Bae Seok Ryu

What made this show a must-watch for me and Oppa was the fact that both main leads are in our lists. Jung So Min made it to Oppa's List even before we finished watching any of her shows. While we're not exactly fond of her project choices, we still enjoyed seeing her in Monthly Magazine Home and What's Wrong with Secretary Kim.  

We love how she has the right amount of craziness in her to deliver funny stuff. But she's equally great in handling drama too. One of my favorites was her confrontation scene with her mom (Park Ji Young of Moon Lovers) where she complained about being exhausted. 

Seok Ryu is a very relatable character - an eldest Asian daughter who is held to an impossibly high standard by her mom and as a conscientious and diligent girl who's suffering from a burnout who wants to be lazy but is still pressured to create an organized bum plan and who still fears missing out on things as everyone around her advance in their careers. I liked how her high school teacher described her - while she did really well and excelled in school, teachers are often scared of kids like her because they might not know how to handle failure since they rarely experience it but that they will eventually figure things out. 

I loved the civil way she rejected her ex (Han Joon Woo of Extreme Job, 1987: When the Day Comes, and Happiness). While he did a lot for her when she got sick, I totally understand how Seok Ryu cannot accept how he whined and had a meltdown about her "goddamn depression." Being treated like a burden is just not acceptable. 

I still long for a drama where we will love both Jung So Min and the show itself. Might be time to explore her older shows. 

Seung Hyo and Seok Ryu

I love watching relationships that go way back like Seung Hyo and Seok Ryu's. The history is so rich and the foundation is so much deeper. I loved their childhood stories - they were all so cute yet realistic, especially how Seok Ryu always protected the frail Seung Hyo. 

I mentioned earlier that I found it weird that Seung Hyo was nice to others but extra rude to Seok Ryu. But in the end, they proved to be a good match for each other. How Seung Hyo was the practical one, asking Seok Ryu real talk questions about her plans. And how he truly, truly cared for her like how he recreated her old room or how he built a restaurant for her. It goes to show how long he's loved her, probably way before he wrote that letter to himself that he put in that high school time capsule they buried. 

And Seok Ryu was just a huge part of Seung Hyo's life - his failures, his milestones, the mundane days - she was always there. 

The initial stages of their relationship were cute. Like the outrageous and petty jealousy they displayed when they had meals with their exes in a hotel. But I didn't really enjoy the pingpong part when Seung Hyo confessed. The confession was sweet, highlighting their long history and how he always worried about her. But Seok Ryu had to be so harsh in her rejection. I understand where she's coming from but I wished she was more considerate about Seung Hyo's feelings. Then came Seok Ryu's confession where she admitted that life seemed dull without Seung Hyo. One cycle of this would have probably been acceptable. But the fact that the show made us go through this a second time when Seung Hyo proposed marriage is just too much. (And the misfortunes Seung Hyo experienced during the proposal were not exactly funny.)

There were sweet moments like how Seung Hyo said that he loved Seok Ryu in all the different stages of their relationship - as friends, neighbors, and as his girlfriend. But there were just some questionable stuff for me like how he went totally cold and awkward towards her when they started going out. Or how he selfishly overreacted when he learned that Seok Ryu was exploring studying overseas without even bothering to ask her why. And how Seok Ryu had her own overreaction when she told him she needed space. 

Yes, there might have been a bit of red flags in their relationship but I'm hoping that the strong foundation of their relationship would be enough to help them overcome rough patches they may encounter. 

Seung Hyo and Seok Ryu's Moms

The moms of the main leads were sometimes adorable but sometimes not so. While Seok Ryu's mom was often perceived as aggressive and insecure, it's easy to see where she's coming from. She's had a tough life that you can't really blame her for her actions and reactions. And among all the moms in the show, she's probably the most realistic one - she often argues with her kids but she still cares so deeply for them; she pushes them to do their best sometimes in a rough way but you can still see how much she loves them; and she's so selfless letting her husband (Jo Han Chul of Juror 8, The Producers, Romance is a Bonus Book, Vincenzo, Jirisan, Hometown Cha Cha Cha, Reborn Rich, and Gyeongseong Creature) retire when she knew that their restaurant was doing so poorly. 

Seung Hyo's mom (Jang Young Nam of Confidential Assignment, Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo, and Crash Course in Romance) is quite stiff but I like how she can be crazy too when she's around her friends. Their group of friends is funny - they started out as the Sook sisters since they all had Sook in their names but they changed it to Lavender when they grew older. It's crazy how they always bicker but they always got each others' backs. 

Mo Eum and Dan Ho

Usually, I'm not a fan of the love stories of the second leads. I often find them contrived to somehow stretch the show. But Mo Eum (Kim Ji Eun) and Dan Ho (Yoon Ji On of Jirisan, Monthly Magazine Home, and Mr. Sunshine) grew on me. 

I loved Mo Eum's superman vibes and how strong she is both emotionally and physically. I would have ran away had I been rejected the way Dan Ho rejected her when she sweetly asked if she could be Yeon Du's (Shim Ji Yoo) mom. 

With everything Dan Ho went through, I was rooting for him to find his happiness. Life would have been tough in his sanitized version of the story (his wife died in a vehicular accident) but the real story was even tougher (his entire family, including his brother, Yeon Du's dad, died in a vehicular accident, leaving him as the sole guardian of the child). And I loved how things ended well for him and Mo Eum. It was weird that he confessed in front of Mo Eum's mom (Kim Geum Soon of Train to Busan, Vincenzo, Hospital Playlist, and Guardian) but I'm glad that even that ended well. 

I especially loved how Mo Eum and Dan Ho were respectful in revealing their relationship to Yeon Du. They were so considerate of her and they treated her like an adult. I have a feeling that Dan Ho and Mo Eum's relationship could even go smoother than our main leads'. 

Execution

I mentioned earlier that we probably would not have finished watching this had it not been for Jung Hae In and Jung So Min. The show started slow. The moms were always bickering and it was exhausting. Some reactions were overly exaggerated, some punchlines were corny, and the comedy felt a bit contrived. It was nice that things got better as the show progressed. But it was disappointing to see it go back to these problematic stuff in the end - like how the parents overreacted about Seung Hyo and Seok Ryu's relationship, or how their moms were fighting like kids. 

There were relatable themes that made the show okay. Like how parents often pressure their kids to meet their expectations. And when the kids suffer meltdowns and burnouts, the parents refuse to admit that they caused it. How some parents find it unacceptable for kids to prefer to live simple but happy lives and how they don't realize that fame, fortune, glory are not the only things that matter. 

Of course you have the usual attack on toxic work environments and politics in corporations. The show also bravely criticized influencers who exploit small businesses like the little restaurant of Seok Ryu's dad. 

The show touched on cancer through Seok Ryu. I liked how they delved into the emotional baggage that came with it and how a strong support group is needed. 

I understand the show's time limitations but I would have preferred to see more, like a discussion on survival rates. It would have helped if they talked a bit about the recovery rate for those that are diagnosed early. And the treatment costs too, knowing that not everyone would have the capacity to pay for that. Seok Ryu was lucky to be employed by a big corporation that probably had health benefits. 

I like how the show handled the drama surrounding this storyline. It was a tearjerker but it was not overdone. I loved how it showed us that different people have different ways of coping - Seok Ryu's mom played the drums, her dad smoked, Seung Hyo was angry, and Mo Eum just hugged her. 

I was rooting for Seung Hyo's mom and dad (Lee Seung Joon of Misaeng, Descendants of the Sun, Mr. Sunshine, Hotel Del Luna, and Record of Youth) even if admittedly, they had a very odd relationship. I somehow understand where they're all coming from. Dad thought mom had an affair. Seung Hyo felt neglected, admitting that he missed his mom and lamenting that they didn't even have a family photo. And I also understand mom. I'm sure a lot of working moms can relate. She loved her family but she also needed to love herself too and for her, it was through her career. 

The show gave us a very simplistic resolution to the problem. For the couple to actually consider divorce means that they've been through so much. The resentment and the pain are not that easy to heal. But the relief from finding out that mom was actually not sick was probably so huge that they all found it in their hearts to forgive each other and forget about everything. 

The ending was a happy one of course. Although it felt a bit stretched, it was nice to see Seok Ryu's dad and Seung Hyo thoughtfully collaborate on building Seok Ryu's restaurant. I would have wanted to see more - like a wedding of the main characters or an actual reunion between Dan Ho and Mo Eum. But I guess I should just be happy that everything ended well. 

The show's not perfect but it's good enough if you just want something light and easy. And if you love Jung Hae In and Jung So Min like we do. :)

Oppa says...3.9.

Noona says...4.