i enjoyed this show beyond words. it's not every day that you watch a show without ever getting bored or disappointed until the end. most of the time, dramas start out strong but go down in quality and writing towards the end. not this show. there are a lot of things i loved about Fight For My Way. it's so honest, straightforward, simple, and heartfelt. it's not gimmicky, tropey, or draggy at all. there are no dumb misunderstanding storylines. it provided me with a certain kind of comfort that i didn't know i even needed. the portrayal of a group of people in their late 20s who have not achieved practically anything that they had dreamed of as kids, who were in jobs they did not necessarily like or enjoy, who weren't anything or anyone was oddly comforting. and this wasn't necessarily a story of them finally achieving their dreams and i think that's what made it so special. this was more of a story of their dreams taking different forms to fit the person they were now. also, you are still young and are allowed to figure things out at 30 years old and i love this show for reminding me of that. it truly dissuaded my aging anxiety for a while.

even though there is a friend group in the show, i was surprised to see how little they actually focused on the friendship aspect since i thought this was going to be one of those youth dramas with the found family trope. this trope describes the relationship of the friend group in this show as well but it is more realistically portrayed and not at all the focus. i would say that this show is more about friendship in romantic relationships as well as just romantic relationships and how they fit into life.

i think i can confidently say that Dong Man is my favorite Park Seo Joon character ever and his pairing with Kim Ji Won is my favorite pairing of his. they had great chemistry, accompanied by great acting, which just made this show even more excellent. i just loved Dong Man and Ae Ra's relationship. i loved their honesty and bluntness. i loved the way they constantly verbalized their feelings for each other. i loved how they easily confessed and expressed their feelings.

i particularly enjoyed the development of the main couple's relationship. it was slow but full of moments, dialogue, and skinship. it was honest and straightforward. it wasn't cringy or timid. i loved how the little things between them were magnified because they've been platonic for 20 years. for example, when they were randomly noticing the attractive features of each other and were confused by their newly-found perspective, it was too cute. also, their skinship moments in the earlier episodes, when they were nowhere near being a couple, were so organic and well done. it was so funny when Ae Ra told Dong Man to not respect her too much because he was being slow to make a move lol. and i liked how even when other people interfered with the main couple's scenes, it really wasn't common. like, the exes had sparse scenes and they really couldn't hurt the main couple. they just provided a healthy amount of jealousy and angst.

overall, they were really everything. even their break-up towards the end is like a non-break-up. they were still them. i'd argue that they were even closer (lol) since they were staying together. they still cared the most about each other. it also matters that they only 'broke up' because Ae Ra was afraid of Dong Man getting hurt and her not being able to handle it. also, since we are on topic, i would like to make a note of how impressed i was by how deeply and tender Ae Ra loved Dong Man. she loved him and took care of him for 23 years. she loved him when he was with other people. she loved him when she was with other people. i felt so bad when they showed us a montage of Ae Ra watching Dong Man kiss Hye Ran again and again over the years while she instinctively turns away. so, through the pain, heartbreak, and fake laughs, she really loved him so deeply.

when it comes to the second couple, i liked the characters individually and i liked that they were showing us a 6-year relationship and the different issues that could come with that as opposed to the main couple. i felt so bad for Seol Hee re: the cheating storyline. even though sometimes it may happen unintentionally, getting emotionally involved with someone else IS cheating your partner. it’s the advances you don’t stop. it’s the remarks you ignore instead of rejecting. and all that leading to something preventable that hurts your partner irrevocably changes the nature of your relationship. Joo Man might not have kissed or had any skinship with his coworker, but as Ae Ra mentioned, cheating doesn't only constitute skinship. he cheated because he lied. he never set boundaries with Ye Jin. they couldn't tell people they were dating but there are a million other ways to set boundaries with someone and he just never did. he just awkwardly accepted her advances and even grew fond of and worried about her. i was so upset when Seol Hee first found out about his lies and involvement with Ye Jin but the first thing she thought to do was not to confront him but go to Ye Jin and ask her not to 'waver' him, which was just so lame and embarrassing. if his heart wavers when he is already in a relationship with you, he was never yours and he is not good to you. the truth is, he never acted like he was afraid to lose her. he was likely too used to her presence that she felt dependable. at that point, i thought they needed to break up but it actually took Seol Hee witnessing him leaving Ye Jin's apartment after a night of not answering calls.

i was happy when they actually broke up even though i knew they'd make them get together again. i also didn't think that Joo Man was actually a good person. even disregarding his lies and sneaky behavior, he was manipulative and believed he was deserving of forgiveness after what he did with no real effort to address what happened and repair what was broken. when Seol Hee stood up for herself for the first time ever, Joo Man said, "why are you being so mean?" and "this isn't like you," which all show that he didn't expect to face consequences for his actions and had the nerve to say ANYTHING about how Seol Hee was reacting to his mistreatment of her.

nevertheless, i liked that they kept them separate for a good while during which Seol Hee was independent and more successful than ever while Joo Man was miserable. i also liked Seol Hee's overall story of not wanting to do anything for the world, succeeding in anything, or adhering to feminist ideals regarding how a woman should live. she just wanted to be happy and at home with her family, which was fine but she was submissive and accepted mistreatment for a good while before she actually stood up for herself.

finally, there were a few things that i didn't necessarily like in the show (but they weren't important and/or didn't bother me too much in the grand scheme of things):

1) Ae Ra getting cheated on is played for jokes. this happens in a lot of kdramas (for example, So I Married an Anti-Fan) where they make a joke out of the main female lead getting cheated on as if cheating isn’t such a huge moral failing, as well as one of the worst and most hurtful things you can do to your partner. i didn't mind it too much because it was clearly setting up the story in the beginning but it did give me a scare as to what the rest of the show was going to look like (as in, if they would make a joke out of other serious topics).

2) some characters don't deserve redemption. i found Hye Ran so repulsive and disgraceful that i was personally offended when they tried to give her 'sort of' a redemption arc at the end. she was awful throughout the whole thing and i could not care about her money problems and her pride getting hurt not even a little bit. her kind of evil was so sinister. she took advantage of Dong Man's naivete and love for her so many times. imagine manipulating a person like that FOR YEARS. she would be with other people and do whatever and go back to Dong Man whenever she wanted, manipulate him using her tears and his soft spot for someone he loves, and get back with him just to dump him whenever she wants again. that is an awful, awful person that did not deserve even the idea of a redemption arc. they could put her in any situation at the end and i still would not feel sympathy for her and i don't think Ae Ra realistically would as well, she just wasn't petty.

3) Dong Man's issues went unexplored. i think the relationship they showcased between Dong Man and Hye Ran was incredibly manipulative and indicative of some sort of attachment issues in Dong Man that i wish were explored further. they did have a 'closure' sort of scene with this couple but they never really explored why Dong Man would be so weak-willed and insecure with Hye Ran and accept her whenever she decided to be with him again. was he desperate for connection? did he just love her too much? did he have abandonment issues? why would he take that kind of abuse?

overall, i loved this show and it's easily one of my favorite shows ever. more little things to comment on:

1) this is a small point (but big for me) but i love it when shows show continuity with the way they handle the scars on a character. like, every time Dong Man got injured, we saw the scar fade naturally over time and over a few episodes. the scars didn't just vanish.

2) like a lot of kdramas, this show had an anti-capitalism plotline. i loved how they explored Ae Ra's career issues and the unfair nature of the standards in the industry she was trying to get into. i remember that one recruiter told her that she had to "prove" her passion through her achievements, which all just require money to put on your CV. if your job criteria involves things that can only be acquired by money and/or being wealthy, then you are purposefully leaving poor people out.

3) i loved the landlord lady because at first, she was that quirky character many kdramas have that secretly helps out and roots for the main characters. when it was revealed that she was Ae Ra's mom, that was expected but i thought it was unnecessary to try to confuse the viewers by showing flashbacks of her with Dong Man and everything since this isn't a mystery drama and those scenes didn't really add anything to the story, you know? other than that, her actual story was really sad. imagine spending your whole life without a mother and being heartbroken about it just because of societal norms. i loved how Ae Ra actually watched the movie that caused all this and she was like, "you were great in it!" lol. i was just happy that they didn't make things too dramatic or angsty.

they deserved their 10s!!