I feel like this second season was a complete waste of time seeing as nothing changed between the end of season 1 and the end of season 2. The situation remained the same so season 2 might as well not exist. There was no character development whatsoever, unless you count Jojo becoming more and more irritating.

She's honestly the worst female lead I've ever seen in a drama. Are we supposed to feel sorry for her because of what her parents did? In season 1, because of the way Gul-mi and her aunt are treating her, we're led to believe that she did something terrible, but it turns out it wasn't her fault. I thought we'd learn something new in season 2 but nope, so I guess the way they treated her never made sense in the first place. She did nothing wrong, and also they kept saying she was mooching off of them, even though she worked two jobs and paid rent? Also, her aunt suddenly being nicer to her in season 2 was kinda random.

The whole Duk-gu plotline was so dumb. It was really obvious from the beginning that he and Brian were brothers because of the last name and how Jojo's friend says "they could be brothers" when they do the face analysis. Not sure if we were supposed to be shocked? And it looks like Duk-gu is supposed to be the good guy, but to me it just seems like he gave Jojo the shield so Hye-yeong would have a chance with Jojo because he felt sorry for him. So basically, he meddled with Jojo and Sun-oh's relationship? What a great guy.

Then there's Jojo acting like she liked Hye-yeong from the moment she saw him in the nurse's office in season 1, but there was no sign of her liking him at all until halfway through season 2, and all of it felt so forced. It felt like she was just pretending to like him out of pity. Seriously, what a boring character. He's dull and plain-looking and has no redeeming qualities. He's obsessed with Jojo and it's honestly pathetic how he's willing to date her even if she never likes him back just because he wants her by his side.

Jojo clearly liked Sun-oh up until she got the shield, and even after season 2 it's still not clear why she installed it other than "I was scared". Scared of what? Sun-oh helped her through her trauma on Jeju island, and then she just dumps him for no reason? She never does give him a decent explanation. Also, they mention her meeting Sun-oh's mom after the accident, but we never find out what happened or what was said. So many plotholes and things that lead nowhere. What was the point of Hye-yeong's dad being in prison? What was the point of the crazy guy who killed people because of The Ringing World? Why is Jojo suddenly this great artist in season 2? It's never mentioned at any point that she likes to draw, and no one is impressed by her talent when they discover that she's the artist. We know nothing about her other than she works two jobs to pay back her mom's debt and she's a compulsive liar who doesn't care about other people's feelings.

All the characters were awful, except for Sun-oh and, surprisingly, Gul-mi. She was believable as a mean girl (even if her reason to hate Jojo made no sense) and she was passionate about things. First, becoming an idol, then becoming a content creator, and then becoming a member of the Badge Club. She had more character development than all the other characters combined.

Sun-oh came off as a bit creepy in season 1 at first when he brought Jojo in an alley and asked if he could kiss her, but it's later clear that no one in his life has ever liked him and that she's the only one that makes him feel something positive. It's ridiculous that he apologises to Jojo after reading her instagram post as if her non-explanation somehow justifies the way she treated him. And again, season 2 didn't solve or explain anything. Sun-oh is still as hurt and confused in the end as he was at the end of season 1 and he's stuck with a girlfriend he'll probably never like, if we're to believe what Yuk-jo tells Jojo outside the store.

So, what's the moral of the story supposed to be exactly? The very first scene of season 1 makes it seem like the point is that Love Alarm is a terrible invention, which is further reinforced by the fact that it divides the population (What happened to the Anti-Love Alarm people btw?) and causes suicides and crimes, but Duk-gu says it was meant to be invented? Why is he against Love Alarm 2.0 if it helps prevent suicides? Also, how can he be against 2.0 if his goal was for Jojo to consider Hye-yeong as a potential boyfriend? Instead of giving her the shield, wouldn't she have seen Hye-yeong on the list with 2.0 anyway? I think I'm thinking too hard about this poorly-written mess.