The Problematic of the Unproblematic

We have reached the end of the road, my friends, and as so often in KDrama, the last episode wraps up each and every storyline nicely and neatly (and in the most uncreative way possible, but never mind). To my big surprise, I find this ending quite satisfactory (though very boring), as it manages to give me the sort of closure I needed. I was even quite touched by certain scenes. There were tears in my eyes. In the end, everybody (almost everybody) is happy! I am happy! Let's be happy together!

We're almost at the end, but before we get there, there's ... you guessed it! More obstacles! This time, it's work that comes between our OTP and the wedding. And that other MIL, at least for about 5 minutes. On the bright side, there is not a lot to recap because this is really a filler episode. Why, why, oh why did you go for twenty episodes?!

We're getting into the wrap-up phase of this drama and it seems everybody will get a nice little ribbon tied neatly around their respective stories. Well, if you can call a really messy and vengeful divorce case neat... Oh, and Ex-husband is back again, and there's potentially more Tae-geuk trouble... Sigh ... Come on, drama, we've had enough now. I liked you for being a drama about real people and their real problems, but recently, you have become all too melo for me.

Oh well, no wedding yet, but some more obstacles. Sigh. This time, it's Jung-wan's insecurity that gets in the way - and Oh Kyung-soo's überfriendliness with every woman he encounters. It's sometimes hard to fill twenty episodes, right? Maybe some aliens will land next week and kidnap her right before the wedding? Or Oh Kyung-soo could hit his head an develop amnesia! That'll fill at least one episode! The other stories are also going sideways and in circles, I'm afriad. Yes, I won't lie ... I am glad this is over soon, because no drama has ever profited from too many episodes. 

Overall, this is a satisfactory episode. People get their power back and important decisions are made. The absolute highlight for me was the exposure of the MILDragon as the monster she actually is - and the whole getting-her-power-back thing for Ji-hyun. I am glad she got the character development she deserved ... we had to wait for it for too long!

This episode is a total winner! Finally, we're over that annoying noble-idiocy vs. bitch-deluxe bit and Oh-boy can steam ahead with his love-bulldozer powers. The cuuuuuute is back!!! Sure, sure, there's a few road blocks left ... mainly in the form of ex-husband Han Joon-mo (I KNEW he wasn't entirely gone, this guy is like an annoying chewing gum that sticks to your shoe), but hey, that weakling? No big deal for Oh kyung-soo aka The Bulldozer of Love. As for the rest ... yeah, some things are moving. Slowly.

Good! Thank you, show, for not dragging this stupid noble idiocy/bitch-deluxe story out any further: it was long enough. Thank you for giving Sun-mi some dignity back, though it's probably too late to redeem her. Thank you for making Oh Kyung-soo say out loud what we have all been thinking: Jung-wan is a silly-billy fool. All that said, this was a rather weak episode - lots of bits and pieces that seem rather fillery. But that's complaining on a high level, really.

Oh my god, I am SO ANGRY. Seriously!!!! This episode broke my heart in the middle (he cries!!!!), and then, just as there seemed some hope for betterment at the end, the greedy bitch made another dirty move. WTF! BUUUUUUUUURN! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! The only one finally getting some kind of (very mild) positive character development is Ji-hyun - a welcome change. For her sake, I'm looking forward to episode 14. For Oh Kyung-soo and Jung-wan's sake, not so much ... that is before I saw episode 14. Haha, well, this is 13, and 13 gave me rage fits. Here we go.

Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, it’s here! The shoe! It’s dropped! And it was THAT shoe! The one we all feared and the one we didn't want. But as much as I HATE it, it’s still fairly well done in terms of dramatic tension. This view might be unpopular, but I’ve always had issues with too much happiness on TV: it tends to bore me after a while. Things are shaken up big time in this episode, and, as I find, in an interesting way. Let's see where the new lies will take us. Not far, I'm sure. I am fairly confident that this drama will continue to deliver what it has delivered so far: human beings who are like you and me. Human beings that struggle with things, but also overcome them.

I'm not sure I've ever seen a man as much in love as Oh Kyung-soo and all the signs point in one direction. He is so giddy with joy when she is near him, and even giddier when she is in his house! I hear some bells ringing! But just when we thought we're safe, we're not ... Let's not talk about the preview just yet, because that's not what's happening in this episode, but since we've all seen it, we also know that happy-time is over soon. Poor Jung-wan ... I hope luck comes her way sooner rather than later. By the way, how many episodes does this drama have?

Some people are getting very, very annoying and I felt the urge to throttle them in this episode, or alternatively, smack them. Hard. The worst is probably her husband, the selfish bastard. Watch me curse him below. Lucky for us, Oh Kyung-soo is not rattled by anything. Whenever a new obstacle presents itself, he analyzes it cool-headed, and then advances to remove it systematically. I am determined to learn from this character and be just like him from here on out.

This show ... it makes me laugh and it makes me cry and it keeps me amazed at how it never does what I expect from it. There are (at least) two very unusual things in the Can We Love universe: one, secrets last a few days at the most; they all come tumbling out. Two, people (at least some of them) deal with their issues by talking to each other. Wow. Ah, of course, there's the third thing: every single male character is nice. Genuinely nice. No skeletons in the closet! Also, at this point in the drama: no dropping shoes for the OTP. Maybe I should stop waiting for them to drop. Maybe they will be no dropping shoes. Is that even possible?

More kisses! More secrets! More adorable Uhmforce! It is so nice to see two people falling in love without the usual KDrama obstacles. And it is very nice to see that Jung-wan is wavering ... wavering a lot. She is still not quite ready to date anyone, but who could resist this force of nature? The love of this man is like a tsunami. But far less destructive, I hope.

Who was worried that Sun-mi would get uri Oh-boy? Well, if you were, it seems it was quite unnecessary (at least for the time being). Oh Kyung-soo is a bulldozer when it comes to love - or a tank! Nothing can stop him as he steadily makes his way towards his goal, which is Jung-wan. Sun-mi seems to shake him about as much as a coughing ant would. In other news, things get a "bit" heated between another couple (yes, that one!) and go completely cold between the third.

Episode 5 made me all giddy. That kiss!! Ahhhhhhh! One of the best KDrama kisses EVER. Simply perfect, all of it! I love it! Love it! Love it! This episode on the other hand ... well, it actually makes me a bit worried for our OTP. The road to True Love is long and stony and we get many such stones in the form of "entanglements". You know that relationship status you can choose on Facebook, the "it's complicated" one? This is what is happening to all our characters: their relationships are becoming more and more complicated.     This is the title song in English, by the way: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIRP50YjMjY

Heart, be still! Or thank goodness for Korean cable TV. These are adults and their feelings are adult and the skinship is adult and ... I AM IN LOVE! I must admit, I have been in a KDrama crisis (aka Kdrama slump) ever since Heartless City ended last year. Nothing grabbed my attention for long or truly warmed my heart, all the countless and ever-same issues with KDrama (mediocre idol acting! unsatisfactory scripts! sudden makjang!) even made me turn away from them completely over the Holiday Season. This drama on the other hand makes me remember why I loved them in the first place: So. Friggin. Good!

In episode 4, the OTPs are getting closer. Well, at least two of them. One probably still doesn't know it is the OTP. But who knows, this show might also do multiple OTPs, since every woman has at least two potential men? Oh well, probably not, but the road til the end is long (though I have no clue how many episode this baby will have) and heartache there will be a lot. much better hair than someone!

The clearest message from this drama so far is that being almost 40 sucks. Let me tell you (as someone who is almost at almost 40): it does not. But it is indeed true that the big 4-0 does something to human beings.  As does the 3-0. But while turning 30 is almost always a GREAT thing because you really come into your prime then and people start taking you seriously as a professional, the 4-0 is a different animal. At 30, there still is so much potential. At 40, most things have become routine. You look at your life and go: huh, that's it? Quite naturally, then, the 4-0 are a time of crisis.  But, here it comes, crisis isn't only bad. A crisis is also always a new beginning, a time for catharsis. From the (disappointed or even shocked) "huh, that's it?" you can venture into new territory, into where you have not yet ventured but really want to go. Self-awareness is a wonderful thing: If this is your life, then decide what aspects of it you like - and which a...

Trust jtbc to deliver another real-life, real-adult-people, real-good drama, and one that is even subbed very quickly (that, unfortunately, didn't happen with Your Neighbor's Wife , its predecessor drama I really wanted to see last year). Of course, I'm talking about Can We Love ! Or Could We Love . Or 우리가 사랑할 수 있을까 (Wooriga Saranghal Soo Iteulka). At this moment in time, I've seen two episodes and I'm all in. I doubt I will have the time to properly SqueeCap this one, but let me at least do a brief summary/review of what we've got so far.