Hard to Express my Disappointment with This Cringe Fest.

Since discovering Kdramas I had loved Shin Min ah, her beauty is so natural and gorgeous and her comedic touch in kdramas has been well established from my Girlfriend is Gumiho to Hometwon Cha Cha. Here paired up with a younger and extremely handsome ML the anticipation was high.

Unfortunately what we got was a mish mash of a drama with totally uneven characters, development, character arcs and a script writer who seemed to think that focusing on sexual themes, lifestyles, and engaging in the odd time subtle but mainly the most stupid and crass sexual innuendo was the height of literary achievement.

The flashback scenes of the FL buying a gazillion condoms while shouting around the supermarket that her sex partner better do it more than twice tonight or admonishing some guy for his weak performance in bed were so cringe inducing and pathetic I was actually flabbergasted. I couldn't decide if this was aimed at 14yr olds or idiots or 14yr old idiots or people who hadn't had sex in 14yrs or people who never had sex.

And then the dildos ooh look our sexually liberated FL (okay we get it jesus we get it she has sex) has sex toys and masturbates, a univeral and generally private human activity but here glorified and held up as if ownership of them elevated her to a place of enlightenment and Liberation that sets her apart from the rest of us mere mortals. It reminded me of the innuendo filled British comedy of the 70s and 80s where anything sex related drew gasps and guffaws from the scandalised but knowing audience. The amount of cringey "oh my God I laughed so hard when I saw those dildos" comments I've read is oh whatever 🙄.

Then the more "serious" themes of views on marraige, family infidelity, polyamorous relationships and pregnancy. Again it was like the makers, in their desperate attempt to be edgy modern and join the dreaded race to the bottom of shittiness epitomised by shallow, amoral, sexualised characters in western TV, they just threw in a whole lot of ideas and developed none of them in any meaningful way. The supportive relationship between the three foster siblings was heartwarming but it was overshadowed by the unresolved and unfinished exploration of the nature of the FLs relationship with her mother vs everyone else's. The inherent unfairness of this seemed to be left to the FL right to the end.

The older foster sister having unprotected sex with multiple partners and not knowing or bothering to find out definitively who the real father of her child was, inadvertently highlighted some of the potential pitfalls of polygamy though the writer just seemed to be inserting it for "look at how edgy my script is". It really did not portray a meaningful rmessage apart from her BF being a selfish so and so. Like at least practise safe sex FFS. Again it seemed having the concept in the drama was more important than how it was actually dealt with.

The cheating ex faciltted by the FL the whole way through and the cheating dad of the CEO were just shittiness personified. The fact we are repeatedly shown and reminded that the FL is a morally fair and kind at heart person makes this worse as she loses all credibility here by blatantly betraying her exes wife who was generally kind to and supportive of her. And of course asshole ex gets a pass, ah well we might have that female character, along with the cheated on 2ML wife, portrayed as regressively as an early noughties Kdrama melo but we did have condoms and dildos and a polyamorous couple so it's okay we're edgy.

The infamous second couple were more typical of your Kdrama rom com cute couple but totally distracted from the main couple especialky toward the end, and his initial online attacks were pretty awful along with his weird mamas boy life but at least that plot line didn't seem to take itself too seriously.

Finally the .most irritating take I've repeatedly seen is how the FL is so cool unapologetic and iconic. I just can't get over how crass immature and painfully obviously trying to be cool this script is. It's like the member of your social group who because they're never actually getting any they never stop going on about sex in OTT ways to over compensate. it was pretty cringe tbh.

I don't want to get into the whole westernisation of Kdramas by the Streaming services but if this is anything to go by get ready for a serious decline.

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Infidelity and Love Triangles dressed up as a Gangster Movie

This is a really odd drama but at its heart it is not an action packed noir gangster movie, I mean it is but thats not what its actually about.

Its really about a married couple slowly being driven apart by the demands of ML work and the FLs infidelity with her ex.

The biggest plot is the FLs devotion to and her desire to protect, her undercover cop husband shifting in every way to instead being her devotion to and desire to protect her ex bf first love and oh yes the gangster her hubby is trying to bring down.

Its kinda makjang really.

Of course to make it seem less simple the ML is presented with a love interest of sorts. (He cant really avoid her or he blows his cover).

It is clear though that what this story is about is the FL and the ex rekindling their first love and the FL cheating on the ML basically in front of him and slowly revealing to him and us and herself that she loves the other guy more.

If you enjoy that sort of angsty torture good for you. I certainly do not.

On the plus for this mess of a drama i do admire the ingenious and different than the usual weary disfunctional domestic scenario this tired plot was wrapped in.

The last scene where the ML alone visits the grave and sees his wife has already been there alone and left flowers and the symbol of her love for the 2ML (she waved it in his face throughout) and then leaves his wedding ring tells you exactly what this show was really all about.

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The cute cartoons in her head cant make me like Yumi

I will.keep this relatively short and not focus on the cells because their humour and cuteness just distract from what is a really depressing drama. Yumi is annoying insecure wants the perfect man (they dont exist not even for your cute cells) and as soon as she gets to a point of difficulty in relationship breaks up for selfish and unrealistic reasons. She is annoying. The fact she goes to serial relationship intruder guy in S2 just makes her more unlikeable. The fact she still spends emotion and time on guy1 when in flown blown relationship with guy2 in S2 makes her ...yes even more unlikeable. The fact she breaks up with guy2 mainly because of another woman's interest in him while she has been trotting off to see guy1 througout their relationship makes her again yes...even more unlikeable.
The fact she has to then go to young good looking third guy with no thought for the 2 broken hearts in her wake yes you guessed it makes her even more unlikeable.

People say its not about the romance its all about her and her growth. Well it is totally about the romances through which we clearly see yes it clearly is all about her at least in her mind. As for growth ? All i saw was history repeating itself

Finally why do so many people give this kind of unhappy bad behaviour a pass by assuming it is realistic. None of it is realistic thats why we like dramas, so dramas like this where selfish behaviour is dressed up as realistic slice of life are just a waste IMO. This show turns out to be a pointless story of a woman getting into and ending relationships with nice guys who really like her. Unless you like cartoons and the psychology of a flighty selfish insincere woman who thinks shes always right then there is no real point to it. Sorry it just crystallised that way in my head the more it went on the more the cute funny cartoons couldnt distract from her flawed behaviour. One season would have been more than enough to get the message.

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A nice drama with woefully poor rounding off of character arcs and main story

Firstly liked all 3 leads yes including FL. I thought she was perfect for ML could totally ship them and the writing let them down especially the ending.

The action and general production were good premise was great execution really poor.

My biggest single issue was the story arc of the 2ML and his ex. We are clearly shown they are in love in the past, then suddenly she marries a chaebol. It is not explained but the hint is it was something weird like she had no choice. This feeling is reinforced all throughout she is always looking out for him and he obviously is not over her and was obviously heartbroken when it happened. So what they do with this intriguing plot line. Answer NOTHING. Unbelievably we never find out what happened and why she left him like that.

But there is worse. Her husband is basically a total bastard the villain of the piece. He threatens her is a violent psychopath and controls her by threatening not to let him see her son. He hates that she even indirectly cares about 2ML. She also helps bring him down he is clearly portrayed up to a point as her enemy her captor not lover or husband

But then unbelievably in the endgame she goes to prison with divorce papers and instead of having her triumphant moment of telling him where to go. She tears them up he smiles she nods sympathetically and says we will wait until hes older at least. Total character assassination IMO.

The only comment in the script to explain this even remotely. Is when her friend tells someone she has a complicated relationship with both men but cares for them both in her own way. Eh no not complicated one guy loved you with his whole heart the other guy "took" you and was a psycho.

Her last interaction with the 2ML is pathetic no closure no explanation. He just lets her off the hook and she is as smug and unapologetic as ever.
This epitomised the whole problem with the drama great cast great premise terible execution and poor script. Its like halfway through they backed out of dealing with the 2ML past and just threw in this terrible endgame for him and his ex

That alone was enough to ruin it. This was not a 2ndry couple this was a main lead it made me regret watching it.

That and the MCs incomplete ending as well which was really unsatisfying.

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The Fact this portrayal of abuse of a woman is so popular is actually concerning.

Take a woman who has been orphaned at a young age, but who is tough, has survived, has a career as a stuntwoman. A womn who despite her background has honour compassion and ambition. A woman who has male and female friends who admire love and respect her. Are you impressed? is it refreshing in a (14yr old) Kdrama to have a FL portrayed in this way?

Of course it is, now watch all that being relegated to irrelevance as a rich obnoxious mean spoilt asshole born with a silver spoon in his mouth decides he likes her.

From then on he repeatedly stalks, insults and physically abuses her, insults and manipulates her friends demands she like him, this lasts for the whole drama btw. He DOES NOT CHANGE.

So what of our FL she is too tough to be intimated by this asshole. She is too honorable to allow her friends be treated this way. She is too intelligent to not see his true self. She is too strong to just stand there and take abuse.

NOPE If you thought this was one for the women for girl power you were totally misled. This show basically says no matter how tough and competent and cool a woman is, if a rich handsome guy wants her she should just shut up and do whats shes told and count herself lucky.

Its still the worst most misogynistic boring piece of trash i ever saw in Kdramaland.

The fact its so popular especially amongst women is really disappointing.

Oh yeah and there is soul swap plotdevice which serves no purpose whatsoever. And there is nothing i mean nothing the ML does to remotely suggest the FL would fall for him.

Classic???? Not even close

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The Show that is a realistic slice of life if you equate realism with misery

First off I had no issues with the ending as id already been hugely disappointed well before that. The open ended nature was an achievement given what came before. This IS NOT a realistic slice of life these are not average or ordinary lives. Also not having a happy ending or a show being full of misery does not automatically make a show more realistic than a happy ending rom com.
This story if you want to call it that is not anything. Two peoples lives intersect and one persons actions the FLs have huge impact on the Mls not so much the othwr way. We see so much more of ML life that we could onclude this story is about a man whose life is dominated mostly negatively by his relationship with an incredibly toxic flawed and selfish woman. This may seem unfair as he is a frustrating chatacter at times but the worst of him is usually reacting to his relationship with her and he always wants to maintain it whereas the worst of her is always about her thinking only of herself.
The interactions with her and the Doctor are what realky majez it impossible to see any hope for this story or relationship. She is with ML fully committed but from the time this guy appears she indulges him until she is in fact cheating even if its not physical though she finalky rejects him just!! As bad as that reflects on her whats worse is we are told explicitly that the break up is not because of him but following and judging length of the time skip she marries him and has his kid almost immediately after breaking up. The fact that no time is given to explain this or explore this in the drama is unfirgivabke abd makes everything else meaningless. Once she has the child thats it game over. BIG SPOILER AHEAD

The fact that the writer resorts to the childs death as the device to return her to Korea and reunite is distasteful to say the least. Anythig that happens after this is just not fate or meant to be its just tragic.

True to form the FL meets ML and of course does enough to sgaje him up i to breakimg up with his fiancee but doesnt want anything else.

If a woman like this is supposed to be offered as slice of life realistic its a big disservice to women.

He is just a man who cant get over his first love keeps meeting her and getting himself ruined tbat is the only consistent part more toxic and abusive than realistic IMO.
Aside from this there is not one really likeable secondarycharacter or story in the whole thing. Its uncanny. The FL brother is a selfish Ahole similar to FL. The FL friend is portrayed as pathetic and at a crucial point without any reason we can see compketely slates ML to FL.

Even the blurb above here is compmetely misleading. It is gratitous angst and cruelty with no resolutuon or meaning dont wate your time im sorry.

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Kdrama with a brilliant Start turns Really Really Bad

Ok I m going to try and avoid too many spoilers and in depth time travel explanations.
Firstly the first 6 episodes of this drama just blew me away it felt like so much happened and every minute of each episode was interesting. I was excited. (As with all time travel takes you just get on with it.) BUT THEN he meets his mother in a different timeline so we have moved from (time loop to multiverse type stuff) so apparently not really his mother but it his mother right down to the small mole on her face. What follows is a fucking romance plot between this guy and his mother that persists and persists and is just so stupid gross and out of place that it forebodes the disaster that the time travel and plot of the show develops into. It was so unnneccessary the ML had a grand love interst there waiting if writer needed a bit of romance but unbelievably the 2FL becomes a love rival in the most cliched and stupid cohabiting plot line. I just and i mean this could not believe what I was watching. I actually felt so cheated LOL. Do not waste your time watching it. I stuck with it for way too long and the plot became more ridiculous as we went along.
Also to all those who say "oh well its a differnt time line shes not his mother" my answer is WTF i dont care you should not have to think about stuff like that so hard as your watching them forced into romantic scenes ugh she was his fucking mother. Also when he first meets his mom/not mom and she asks to see a pic of his actual mom as he only has told her she looks really really like his mom. He doesnt show her one as he doesnt have it with him oops. Very convenient because the Writer knows if he has to write that scene its going to be like this : FL "show me a pic of your mom you brought from your timeline" Ml "here" FL "holy shit thats me I am actually your mom oh gross i cant believe i thought you were hot oh ugh this is too weird okay I beleive you let me help you like a mom but I am definitely not going to get all hot and bothered and doe eyed when you stare at me sleeping or i take off your shirt or you lean over me to get a plate or i treat your wounds or i get drunk and you sing a love song cause that would be weird as Fuck hell no im not doing any of that phew im glad we cleared that up early" of course all that stupid stuff happened bye bye Weird Show by weird writer with mom issues.

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2024 REVIEW NO SPOILERS

This Kdrama is lovely thats my first thought. No gratuitous angst inducing love triangle, no horrendous Miscommunication, No terrible Mother in Law, No crazy 2FL. No Juxtaposed melo storyline.

My second thought is that the great thing about this show is that it has a love triangle, it has a MIL who is not that nice, it has a crazy (in the best posdible way) 2FL, it has terrible Miscommunication, it has a melo sidestory, but yet it is consistently and unashamedly cute and fluffy.

It does this by constantly reminding us of its lovely core usually through the interactions of the MCs but also via the wonderful (and totally unrealistic but who cares) character that is Veronica Park.

If your in a slump and need fluff watch this its simply a slump buster.

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Call it Satisfying

When I finished Call it Love I I honestly felt like I was satisfied in a well that was a grand days work kinda way as opposed to oh my god im totally blown away kind of way. But yet i look back at this as time well spent it kind of grows on you and you go through a certain kind of coming to terns with whats happening along with the characters.

At times this drama really had me moved and totally absorbed and at times I was feeling this is getting dull only for it to pull away from the edge and remain engaging and it makes you interested to hear what others thought.

Pros:
Some great chatacters and exploration of same and a sense of understanding them gradually in a satisfying way.

A really good fairly realistic story not OTT and well brought together. I genuinely felt any number of endings would satisfy me no anxiety re a happy vs sad vs open ending a few episodes out as the story was making sense to me (eventually) regardless.

The Secondary characters were all really engaging and not filler material and no really extreme characters (though some might say close to)

For a drama with virtually no comedy it was still not gratituosly depressing.

Some genuinely powerful moments.

The normalised and gentle treatnent of sister struggle with mental health issue, note not a central part of plot but nicely introduced and explored with subtlety and normality.

Cons

The leads at times were too monotonous and almost unable to express any emotions outside of a narrow range of stoic silence and underlying sadness.

The FL in particular some of her scenes were like oh come on say something, its actually getting weird now. Tropes were not rampant in this script apart from the miscommunication/no communication between leads trope which weared just a little at times.

The chemistry between leads lacked i felt I dont know if it was directing acting or both but it was a bit too low key to match where they get too in their relationship. However this may be because this was not just a story about romance it was that and a bit more so even the romance had to be in balance.

To put it simply the acting was anazing to capture a certain tyoe of mood or moment which was then repeated a lot so while many fekt the acting was great i felt it was within a narrow range and not mind blowing sorry.

The use of the split scene then flash back was done really well except maybe a bit too often esoecially where verbal communication was sparse it was at times a long wait to find out what was actually said when.

Overall I feel like this is really really a great watch but maybe not all in one go. I have a fulfulling sense of satisfaction even though at times i was not sure what to make of it. Somehow this drama didnt neccessarily always go they way I wanted and yet i never felt cheated or had an oh i hate this type of story moment. I still havent settled on a no for my rating im curious what people feel.

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Great Premise and Promise not delivered Upon

So you've read the summary it sounds great. You start watching and it is great, its fantastic, the FLs personality combined with her gift is endearing. The ghosts who come to visit have a lovely assortment of poignant and bittersweet tales. The ML is i troduced hes cute the chemistry is great ah thus is just great........but then of course there will be more. What "more" we get is unfortunately a total shift of focus from the FL and her stories to the ML, his tragic past, complete with murder mystery, his relationships and to a lesser extent his relationship with FL. Her story even the ghosts all play 2nd fiddle to the MLs story(s) from here on out and suddenly we have a mish mash of worn out tropes character assination and a draggy contrived resolutions Such a pity. It really lost its way.

One aspect of the story that essentially ruined it for me was the MLs back story with his ex. It was a really poor inresolved plot line that really just made the ML come across as a heartless horrible guy and his lack of any kind of empathy toward her any kind of remorse of how he treated her, he has no sympathy about how their relationship ended. It diminished him and the FL so much I couldnt root for them after that. In Ep 14 or 15 the ex gf initiates a meeting with him where she graciously accepts they are over and attempts to leave on goid terms. He just sits there saying nothing it is pathetic weak and cowardly. That waz the last straw I just dropoed it their and then because after that I could nit care for him or the FL at all. Again such bad writing ran through the drama.

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Lots to like here

This is a review of bith seasons btw.

First of all as evidenced by the relatively low rating this may not be everyone's cup of tea. It drags a little at times especially in S1. The plot shifts into an almost episodic format so at times what you feel will be a long running plot thread ends abruptly. However if you think about the main plot to be resolved, as being, the fate of the ML and FL given the many social, personal, political and legal obstacles to their love it kinda works on that level. Having said that the abrupt resolution of some story arcs was a bit questionable at times.
This drama is, however, wholly enjoyable. It has mysterious cases, adventures, royal court nonsense, intrigue, a wonderful found family, memorable and likeable characters and of course romance.

The acting is top notch and the chemistry between the leads is great. The FL is pitch perfect as the competent, brave, intelligent but shy and chaste young widow. The ML is her male equivalent equally clueless in affairs of the heart but honorable and very affectionate. Their romance is slow but their chemistry is obvious and awesome.

The angst, miscommunication and conflict between them is frequent but generally short lived and there is no dragged out noble idiocy or love triangles which is in itself refreshing. The ending is very well placed and not rushed and quite frankly leaves you feeling warm and cosy.

If you like every now and then to watch a wholesome funny low angst welll made historical with great lead this is well worth it. It may not blow your mind but it will probably put your mind at ease.

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Enjoyable Funny and Wholesome

This is a review of bith seasons btw.

First of all as evidenced by the relatively low rating this may not be everyone's cup of tea. It drags a little at times especially in S1. The plot shifts into an almost episodic format so at times what you feel will be a long running plot thread ends abruptly. However if you think about the main plot to be resolved, as being, the fate of the ML and FL given the many social, personal, political and legal obstacles to their love it kinda works on that level. Having said that the abrupt resolution of some story arcs was a bit questionable at times.
This drama is, however, wholly enjoyable. It has mysterious cases, adventures, royal court nonsense, intrigue, a wonderful found family, memorable and likeable characters and of course romance.

The acting is top notch and the chemistry between the leads is great. The FL is pitch perfect as the competent, brave, intelligent but shy and chaste young widow. The ML is her male equivalent equally clueless in affairs of the heart but honorable and very affectionate. Their romance is slow but their chemistry is obvious and awesome.

The angst, miscommunication and conflict between them is frequent but generally short lived and there is no dragged out noble idiocy or love triangles which is in itself refreshing. The ending is very well placed and not rushed and quite frankly leaves you feeling warm and cosy.

If you like every now and then to watch a wholesome funny low angst welll made historical with great lead this is well worth it. It may not blow your mind but it will probably put your mind at ease.

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Once the I realised the Biggest Lie I had to Drop This Sorry Tale

This story is based on a huge flaw.

I am dropping this At Episode 8 because of a huge gaping plot anomoly or more like character anomoly that renders it totally dissatisfying. It just hit me at end of Ep 8 that the FL is a huge hypocritical liar and the story should not exist.

I feel so bad for the 2ML, the reason they broke up was purely the FL unwillingness to tell him her secret and so get a clear answer off him. Its not how she could trust him if he couldn't tell her this big secret? Its she is literally lying to him by omission every single day of their relationship. So he is just a noble idiot but she is a liar who, rather than sharing her secret to save the relationship, just breaks up with him. Then, she blames him for cutting her off. When he is just trying to get well to go back to her.

So now that she is honest with ML, it's all ah that's nice they trust each other this is why he's better than 2ML no no no she just lied to the 2ML but doesnt to the ML SHE was and is the problem.. It's just too silly. If she gets honest with 2ML 3 yrs ago he obcs gets honest with her and boom their beautiful love continues they get married have babies.

So its actually farcical that when the 2ML hears that she can hear lies, he didn't explode and say WHAT THE HELL!! WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY SO? WHY DIDN'T YOU MAKE ME EXPLAIN? YOU THOUGHT I WAS CHEATING OR SOMETHING WHEN I WAS BREAKING MY HEART TO PROTECT YOU. BUT IT WAS ALL A JOKE CAUSE YOU KNEW I WAS LYING BUT COULDN'T BE BOTHERED TO TELL ME!! AND WHEN WERE YOU GOING TO TELL ME THIS HUGE LIFE AND RELATIONSHIP ALTERING SECRET?? AFTER WE WERE MARRIED WTF YOU ARE THE BIGGEST LIAR OF ANYONE EVER!!!! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS I THOUGHT YOU LOVED ME. Etc etc

So now I feel this whole show and anything that happens now will be tarnished, and I just can't feel happy for the FL for the shitty way she has treated and is treating her ex BF.

She should be married to him. Instead now he and we have to watch her doing with a new guy what she wouldn't do for him be honest!!!!! Specifically at end ep 8 she says you dont have to explain why you apparently lied about killing someone I believe you and trust you so much I dont even want to know why it seems your lying or what it's all about.

She couldn't trust the 2ML the guy she agreed to marry for not telling her why he was going away for a few days!!! We also have to watch 2ML being all nice and understanding about it. At the very least, can't he call her out on her unbelievable hypocrisy. Who writes these glaring plotholes.

Am I making any sense? I think I am.

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Painfully Predictable Horrible depiction of Cheating, Misogony and Women Choose the Mean Guy Trope.

Full disclosure I skipped through a lot of scenes. I didnt feel the need to endure the ML being an asshole and the FL being a dumb passive recipient of abuse.

Plot
Woman who is depicted as ambitious but painfully naive and girly and just dumb enough so as to be paltable in a mans world has a crush on the Alpha male at work.

ML is a complete rude obnoxious asshole who rejects her forcefulky repeatedly treats her really disrespectfully and badly and is basically a bully.

Girls meets MLs Friend who is really nice respectful goudlooking charming wealthy and guess what likes her for who she is. FL falls for the guy and seems to be really happy.

ML sees this and decides now he wants the girl because as a male he cant have another male pissing in his territory.

ML pursues FL who of course wavers because as a girl she cant have the self respect or will to resist the handsome guy even though hes an asshole. So ML shows himself to be a horriblefriend as well as a petty possessive selfish manchild.

Anyway then FL just to really double down on the shittiness cheats on the nice guy with the asshole. Then strings along the poir guy while watching the ML still being an asshole and then chooses ML anyway. Why?? Because he treated her mean to keep her keen.

Cue lots of plot devices and bad writing (ooh male breast cancer so its okay the ML is a horrible guy) designed to

1) illicit sympathy for ML and made excuses for him being a terrible ass and try and justify the FL cheating with him.

2) Make the 2Ml first a doormat than present him as clingy and unreasonable make him less likeable when he is just a victim of the trashy behaviour of the two people he liked and trusted most.

3) to try and explain away the FL being portrayed as a silly, vapid, dithering insincere cheating b;*^"'h.

Girls its time to wise up to these misogynistic portrayals of women. The fact this trash is written by a woman and is loved by women is so frustrating abd disappointing.
Its basicalky the plot of BOF with a different setting and a few tweaks. Why is it women who propogate this patriarchal nonsense.
Grow up Girls.

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