There’s a lot to discuss when it comes to KBS2 and Disney +’s trope-induced series ‘ Crazy Love’. It is intrepidly bold, brash and off-the-wall with its setup and premise and will likely appeal and displease viewers of equal measure. ( Especially dependent on expectations.)

The plot initially introduces viewers to Noh Go-jin (Kim Jae-wook); an elitist mathematics tutor, spearheading one of the most prestigious and private education hubs in the country. However despite his prodigal skills, Go-Jin has a foul temper and personality.

He absolutely terrifies his staff with his short fuse , yet he is still able to somehow earn their respect and admiration through his sheer talent in solving and teaching equations and mathematics problems.

Nobody knows this love-hate relationship with Go-Jin better than his unassuming personal assistant, Lee Shin-a (Krystal Jung). Often being the target of his ire, Shina-a’s reasons for not throwing in the towel are sourced from her own desires to become a personal tutor and help teach and educate others.

However, Shin-a finds her life going on a downwards spiral. Her constant migraines seemingly from stress and fatigue are diagnosed as acute symptoms of glioblastoma, a malignant brain tumour brought on by bouts of long-term stress from Go-Jin.

Enraged, Shin-a’s plans for revenge against Go-Jin are soon backfired as she finds herself in a sticky situation with her boss.

‘ Crazy Love’ was the brainchild of screenwriter Kim Bo-gyeom ( ‘Drama Stage Season 2: All About My Rival in Love’). Although the comic relief is variable at times, the series is surprisingly satirical in parts and self-aware of its own over-the-top setup. In particular, this was shown through the screenplay reimbursing old cliches and tropes ( including amnesia, misunderstandings and fake identities).

In addition to this approach, it was noticeable ‘ Crazy Love’ often approach its satire with a darker edge, often shown through sardonic irony or circumstances. ( This was particularly shown in the series through the gradual snowballing case of crimes that were shown throughout the narrative such as impersonation and attempted murder, often landing female lead Lee Shin-a- directly or indirectly- into hot water or complicated situations .)

However despite its satirical take upon old cliches and tropes, ‘ Crazy Love’ was often subject to the faults of its own shortcomings also. ( Sadly this was evident through the cataclysmic approach taken by the writing and direction of plot within early episodes. )

Before exposing the issue of these problems in the narrative, it is important to acknowledge that the main cast of ‘ Crazy Love’ delivered fairly solid performances as the main leads. Actor Kim Jae-Wook( ‘ Coffee Prince’, ‘ The Guest’ and ‘ Her Private Life’) has often been associated with taking on unconventional or unusual roles throughout his career, and his performance as Noh Go-Jin n certainly was no different. Admittedly, Jae-Wook’s performance could sometimes come across as somewhat overblown at times but this was not necessarily the fault of the actor per say.

As a character, Noh Go-Jin was purposefully presented as “unlikeable and grating” during his introduction. It was evident from his initial portrayal by Bo-gyeom that his ultimate drive as a character would be for viewers to see the undertaking of his “ redemption arc”; a process which can be overly convoluted dependent on the approaches taken by screenwriters.

Go-Jin’s character development was admittedly a mixed-bag to say the least. It was refreshing to see that the male lead was not given an excuse to become overly redeemed by his faults and flaws per say . ( In fact even into later episodes and during particular events of the series , it was shown that some of Go-Jin’s initial personality traits are still displayed.)

On the other hand, it still remains a divisive issue towards the approach taken for Go-Jin’s character arc and development. (This is mainly due to the fact that while there are elements of the main lead developing and becoming aware of his past mistakes, his main source of development and growth comes through his potential feelings and romance with main female lead Lee Shin-a. )

This is certainly not an unusual approach per say in dramas and the “ enemy to lovers” trope has remained a classic staple in storylines over the years. On the other hand, it can often remain a controversial and complex issue to approach a potentially romantic relationship, especially if the individuals in question have displayed abusive or threatening personality traits towards their significant other.

Of course, ‘ Crazy Love’ does attempt to subvert the issues of this setup through Go-Jin’s “softer side” coming to light as well as intensifying the potential romantic chemistry between the leads. However it is fair to say that while Jae-Wook and Krystal’s onscreen chemistry was fairly decent, it certainly raised a lot more issues and questions with regards to Jae-Wook rarely being held accountable for his actions or coming to terms at times with his own mistakes. ( In addition to this, the final part of ‘ Crazy Love’ showed Jae-Wook’s decisions and choices feeling fairly out of character at times without a lot of explanation aside from “ becoming a better person because of Lee Shin-a”.)

This isn’t to say that heroine and main female lead Lee- Shin-a didn’t suffer from writing issues either. Although the actress has respectfully received mixed-reception for her onscreen roles, Krystal’s (‘ My Lovely Girl’, ‘ The Heirs’ and ‘ Prison Playbook’) performance as the main female lead is certainly decent enough.

Lee Shin-a is purposefully presented to viewers as the “ likeable heroine”. Indeed despite some later writing issues, for the most part, Gyeom’s intentions were successful. ( Especially with consideration to her trials and tests over the course of the series with snowballing situations and Go-Jin.) On the other hand, this is naturally where we hit a rut with Shin-a as a written character; her personality and character-arc were often flatlined in order to make way for her romance with Jae-Wook.

Perhaps it is arguable that screenwriter Bo-gyeom wanted to explore Shin-a’s natural passion and empathy through her potential chemistry with the main male lead . However even in the series filled to the brim with sheer absurdity and comic relief , it still seemed an ineffably odd writing decision to allow Shin-a, a fairly level-headed individual despite her conflicted situation, to break into her boss’ home with dark eyeshadow and hand in her resignation aside from attempting to generate a few laughs.

In addition to this, it seemed even stranger that screenwriter dd that Bo-gyeom did not attempt to at least highlight a moment of vulnerability for Shin-a during her initial news in the first episode, or at least help to portray her own internal conflict between attempting to act on reason and emotion beforehand. ( As mentioned previously, specifically with consideration to her character.) Instead although the series sometimes discussed her family relations, the issues surrounding her cancer and personal conflict with her illness and work life, were nearly entirely brushed aside in order to make way for her romance with the main lead.

Again, this isn’t always necessarily a bad writing decision per say in dramas and it did arguably allow some opportunities for Shin-a to come to terms with her own situation as well as personal stigmas. On the other hand despite the drama’s attempts to “cushion ” the relationship between the main leads( especially with regards to their initially problematic setup ) , is still offered a less than resolute reason at times for Shin-a to become attracted to Go-Jin. ( Especially with regards to early episodes having placed heavy emphasis on the characters being complete opposites that completely despise one another with a burning passion. )

Of course, while it isn’t an unusual approach to see “ opposites attract” in dramas, ‘ Crazy Love’ rarely allowed this development to feel completely symbiotic or enthralling, instead often glossing over some more problematic issues of the series ( such as abuse, lies and crimes) without allowing either character truly being held equally accountable for their actions .

Then of course there’s the discussion surrounding the side characters. Actor Ha Jun ( ‘ Black Dog: Being A Teacher’) took on the role as supporting character Oh Se Gi, Go Jin's copartner & friend, as well as one of the few staff members shown in the series to be initially kind to female lead Shin-a. Se Gi had a lot of potential to be an intriguing character with regards to his character- growth but due to the result of attempting to enforce several predictable “ plot twists”, it often left his character arc feeling poorly developed by the latter-half .

In addition to Se Gi, there is also Go-Jin’s first love Baek Soo-young ( Yoo In- Young- ‘ A Man Called God’, ‘ Oh My Venus’ and ‘ Good Casting’) as well as other supporting characters such as Shin-a’s best friend Chu Ok-hee ( Park Han Sol- ‘ A Poem a Day’, ‘ Sell Your Haunted House’ and ‘ Hospital Playlist 2’), the main female lead’s brother Lee Su-ho ( Astro’s Yoon San-ha-‘ To Be Continued’) and the nosy cleaning lady ( Lee Mi-young- ‘ Time Between Dog and Wolf’, ‘ Mr.Back’ and ‘ Our Gap Soon’); all of whom played their necessary roles in the storyline and helping to pad out the narrative, but rarely being given further development as a consequence.

Naturally this brings up the issue of pacing and execution in the series. The first-half of ‘ Crazy Love’ was grating at times due to its overabundance of running gags and tropes and incoherent plot logic . ( As exemplified with the police during the initial few episodes.) Arguably the final-part of ‘ Crazy Love’ did give opportunities to finally get the ball rolling with the main plot but due to poor pacing issues, it often left to certain counterplots and character-arcs feeling somewhat neglected by the finale.

Director Kim Jung Hyun ( ‘ Sassy Go Go’, ‘ After the Rain’ and ‘ My Fellow Citizens!’) certainly took a fairly avant-garde approach during initial scenes of the series. ( Often leading to dream-like and surrealist sequences and moments such as when viewers were transported into the imagination of Shin-a, with the tutors of her workplace being imagined as towering and deity-like figures) . Although later episodes of the series were not as ambitious and could sometimes feel stark in parts, the cinematography was still fairly glossy and professional .

The OST of ‘ Crazy Love’ was mainly composed of upbeat and fast-paced pop tracks . While admittedly some of these songs blended into one another and were certainly dependent on personal tastes , there were still a couple of compositions such as “ Bite!” ( “ 물어 !”) by Baekho, “ Wide Open” by JUNIEL and “Maybe” by DAVII which did surprisingly stand out.

‘ Crazy Love’ is a series which can offer viewers with an off-the-wall setup and a star-studded cast. However despite the potential for ‘ Crazy Love’ to carry forwards a well-executed storyline and narrative, the series was often shaken in parts by inconsistent pacing issues, character-writing and execution. Overall ‘ Crazy Love’ will likely vary for viewers dependent on expectations. For those looking for a quick and disengaging binge-watch then ‘ Crazy Love’ is certainly worth watching. On the other hand for those looking to invest time within a well-executed series throughout, then ‘ Crazy Love’ may not appeal to all.