Forecasting Love and Weather – Episode 16 Recap, Review & Ending Explained

13 thoughts on “Forecasting Love and Weather – Episode 16 Recap, Review & Ending Explained”

1. Actually i don’t think you are 100% right about their relationship issues not having a solution. When the whole marriage subject was brought up, Ha-kyung in the end decided that she indeed also does not want to get married, especially after all that the married colleague talked to her about. So i guess that is not that big of an issue for their relationship in the end. I actually welcome a series that does not conform to the social standards aka the couple getting married etc
   I read all your reviews on every episode and there were some errors in them. You might want to reread what you wrote because some phrases might be misleading. Nevertheless, thank you very much for writing the reviews, they helped me follow the plot of series 🙂

2. The show had a good premises, but was crippled by bad writing/characterization, which we can narrow down to a lack of accountability. On one hand, the show had an utterly broken moral compass that wanted to push us to root for a toxic second couple that doubled down on their adultery, and an abusive father that treated his son as an ATM, giving them a happy ending. On the other side, the protagonists unrealistically self flagellate and become chummy with those that horrifically betrayed them, having conversations about very personal issues with people that abused their trust (particularly the initially strong female lead later on abandons all self respect). I found the idea repulsive (as anyone endorsing it). I appreciate the fact that looking at the forums 99.999% of people find this equally unrealistic and intellectually insulting, it restores my faith in humanity. Again, despite the straw man, we are not asking her to put a hit on his ex’s head. Her ex’s whole problem boiled down to her having a career. So she had to attend to some unavoidable tasks for work when they were working on the house or had to meet his classmates. She warned in advance when she knew, and apologized. This would have *clearly* not been a problem for him if the roles were reversed (see above paragraphs). Despite that, they become chummy, praises him (his current wife disagrees with him being a good husband and father, and for objectively good reasons) and self flagellate (really, being a perfectionist earned her the trauma he inflicted on her? As if he didn’t have his defects -see above-, plus the cheating, which kind of overshadows everything: this is like saying that Hannibal Lecter is a good person, except for his tendency to eat your liver, or that a wife beating drunk started out good and fixed the sink… yes, but the physical abuse is kinda of the dominant factor her (emotional in her case): a wife beating drunk with a sob story is still a wife beating drunk. In general, I didn’t like how emotionally traumatic events that had life altering (wrecking) consequences on their lives are suddenly brushed aside and minimized as minor inconveniences, when they had concrete impacts on their successive relationships. Her walking in on her husband having sex with his mistress, his father’s life long abuse… “I am sorry” and it becomes water under the bridge? No, it’s not realistic, it insults the viewer’s intelligence. Furthermore, getting past trauma does not mean lying to yourself about the life altering impact and severity of the emotional wound you suffered. Nor does it does it mean trusting or wanting back in your life the people that victimized you (why would they want them in their lives in the first place?). This is poor writing that did not respect or treat seriously their trauma. In terms of redeeming the irredeemable, the issue with the father should be self evident, so let’s look at the others.

   The thing about the cheating is that it was entirely pointless (even more of an issue since they were planning to have us root for the cheaters later on). They were both ready to split up with their long term partners anyway, they could have literally just waited a bit and parted honestly. The guy had cancelled the wedding. Him having sex with his mistress in the house and bed he shared with his partner of 10 years was wholly unnecessary, as was his mistress cheating with him right before going to split up with her boyfriend. It just seem needlessly cruel and lacking the barest shred of respect for their partners.

   The ex bf betrayed the FL physically, emotionally and financially (appliances and house). He also gaslighted her, after she helped him with his job and paid for most of their stuff, he had the gall to complain about basically her having a career, with obligations she didn’t have any choice but to attend to, and for which she notified in advance and apologized… we know that he would sing a different tune if the roles were reversed, but then again we are speaking of someone that wanted his wife to give up her career because he was jealous to see her work in a place where she could meet her former boyfriend. He was a stalking, violent, drunk, possessive, self entitled creep. Up until almost the end he was whining due to his fragile male ego getting hurt by his wife having lived with another guy and the situation with their exes. He even dared to make compare with his ex this with what she felt when she walked in on him having sex with his lover in their house, on their bed. Plus the other faults during their relationship (the mess he did with the insurance, the way he was unsupportive of her profession, and pressured/resented her about obligations with her career that were outside her control… it was not her fault, she deserved better, a supporting partner).

   The ex gf was at least as bad, in her own way. She didn’t regret, feel guilty or apologize to her ex bf for cheating on him, actually she never even acknowledged it, and was never taken to task for it (contrary to her husband). She mistreated her ex bf, telling him that she regretted living with him and she accepted her husband’s sexist position that “no man could tolerate his wife having lived with another man” (I think he managed to change her mind on this, telling her that it’s nothing to be ashamed of and he told his own gf -showing that he was not a judgmental scumbag like her husband-), while she had sex with her lover in front of his gf of 10 years right before splitting up with her bf. Again, in all this she admits that her ex was a good guy -kind and handsome-, and that her only issue with him was his stance on marriage, that he was always honest about. The worst moment was probably when she self righteously talked to the woman that saw her have sex with her boyfriend of 10 years in her own bed, telling her that she didn’t break up with her boyfriend because of his dad. Well, considering you were willing to cheat on him with someone that was about to marry his gf of 10 years, and didn’t feel any guilt, remorse, or need to apologize either to her ex bf or to her husband’s ex gf, I don’t think it’s unfair to set the bar pretty low when it came to assessing her character.

   Neither her nor her husband ever actually regretted, felt guilty or apologized for sleeping with someone in a long term relationship, hurting and humiliating people that they didn’t know and had no beef with (then again, they didn’t hesitate to hurt their significant others, so what about strangers).

   The ML and FL were also problematic. They started out okay, in particular I appreciated the strong, confident female lead standing her ground on the issue of the house and not accepting moving to Switzerland and compromising her career for the sense of entitlement of someone that had horrifically betrayed her. I also found understandable that she was emotionally scarred and devastated by the experience her ex put her through, and this led to trust issues in her next relationship. A bit surprising that the ML didn’t suffer from similar issues, since he too was cheated on and betrayed. What I didn’t find acceptable was both protagonists, but the FL in particular, starting them to act chummy with the very people that hurt them, for no good reason.

   It is simply not believable or realistic that, for example, the ML would calmly talk in a bar about his current gf with the man that cuckolded him, or that the FL would give someone that betrayed her physically, emotionally, financially, stalked her, behaved in a possessive and self entitled manner, and all the other horrible things he did, advice on his relationship. Or calmly talk about her current relationship with the woman she caught sleeping with her husband. Or congratulate him on his son, which she might have witnessed the conception of, having walked in on him having sex with his lover on their own bed. Again, she was scarred so badly that it affected her next relationship, but by the end (ep 12/23) she was self flagellating, praising him, making this about the relationship as a whole and general incompatibility, rather than about what it really was, which was basically whether she felt she deserved the emotional abuse he put her through. This is like a battered housewife thinking about what she did to displease her wife beating drunk of a husband (and a wife beating drunk with a sob story is still a wife beating drunk).

   Again, it’s perfectly useless to have the token “pregnant career woman” social criticism attempt, and then have the second FL initially “understand” her husband’s ridiculous stance on her previous cohabitation (even hiding it from him, knowing he would react like a sexist, insecure brat, despite them having both cheated on their long term partner and not having any leg to stand on). On having the FL self flagellate about having a career (and helping her ex with his job and paying for most of their stuff, might I add) and therefore not being always available (she was most of the time, and when she had tasks she couldn’t delay she notified in advance and apologized… again, it wouldn’t have been a problem for him in reverse, as we see with his behavior when he misses his mother’s birthday, and the way he casually suggests his wife stop working because having her around her ex bf hurt his fragile male ego).

   In general, them having these deeply personal conversation with people that betrayed their trust, or being chummy with them, helping them wit their relationship, etc. after their horrific betrayal showed a complete lack of self respect, which was disappointed in particular for the FL which initially was portrayed as strong. The same could be said for his father. Sorry, but “sorry” doesn’t cut it: too little and too late (not that they all said or ever felt sorry, see the ex gf that never ever addressed her betrayal).

   I will add that they both chose cheaters to betray their partners with. In particular, the ex gf said she liked him because he was the first/only one that asked her to marry him. Someone in a ten years relationship that was willing to cheat on his long term girlfriend in their own bed. This is simply ridiculous. Couldn’t she have broken up and chosen someone unattached who was also interested in marriage? I don’t pretend a convoluted explanation, but I found “you were the first/only guy that asked me to marry him” to be really ridiculous.

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   It was completely disgusting to see them get a happy ending. It would have been realistic had the actually broken up. They cheated on their long term partners, which was completely pointless, as they wanted to leave them anyway. They didn’t apologize to their lover’s partners, an din the case of the ex gf not even regretted/apologized/acknowledged her cheating. Their victims become chummy with them (and they pretend to care, even after ex bf tried to mess with his gf of 10 years’ finances). They have long conversations with the people that betrayed them.

   The cheating boyfriend’s jealousy and drunken behavior and violent reaction is completely ridiculous and unrealistic. He had sex before his gf in their home and marriage bed. Then he acts as if she owed it to him to go to Switzerland and give him half the house. Then he tries to scam her with the appliances. He dares to compare his jealousy towards his gf living with her bf before her marriage to the pain he inflicted on his ex gf. While his wife accepts the fact that he shames her for living with her boyfriend, and tells the guy that it’s normal for a man to feel that way, and that she regrets having lived with him. While she had sex with her lover in his home right before dumping him.

   On one hand, we have someone that shames his wife for having lived with her boyfriend, wants her to drop her career because he doesn’t want her around her ex, and until the last episodes still cannot put up with the exes situation. He also continuously points out how he betrayed his gf as if he didn’t realize how much of a unreliable scumbag it made him look like. On the other hand, we have someone that liked the guy simply because he was the first to want to marry her. Completely disreganding that he was the kind of person that would cheat on his girlfriend of 10 years in their own home and bed. Unbelievable that she would do that, rather than break things off with her boyfriend and look for someone unattached that wanted to live with her. Also, no evolution: she never acknowledges her betrayal or apologizes. In his case, it would have been better he did not, because contrary to what he said he was a horrible boyfriend *and* a horrible friend, for the same reasons (betraying physically, emotionally, financially, stalking and being a drunken, violent, possessive, self entitled nuisance).

   You cannot understand why they would like each other, and the idea of them reproducing sends shivers down my spine. Their pointlessly hurt and humiliated their long term partners, she never felt any regret over it, he followed it up with further scummy behavior. A “sorry” does not cut it, too little and too late. Them having a happy ending is as ludicrous as the abusive father getting his. Two people that emotionally hurt and betrayed their long term partners, got together in a few months and whose relationship was based on him being the frist guy that wanted to marry her, and him being a jealous scumbag that did not support his former gf in her career (because she needed to spend time on required tasks, some times, and notified him about it and apologized… we know that he would not have had issues if the roles were reversed, and we know how little he cares of his partner’s carer, given the way he wanted to ship his ex to Switzerland and to have his wife quit her job because of his fragile male ego).

   In a realistic context, they would not be together. They would have separated, they would not have kept the baby, he would not be discussing it with a woman he traumatized by basically giving her front row seats at the adulterous conception. When they married they didn’t know each other, and at a personal level, they were people that were willing to break their long term partner’s trust, and started off by lying to each other.

   Actually, as far as the two cheaters are concerned, in a realistic context she would have broken things off and went looking for someone unattached that was interested in marriage. And he would have been dumped by his gf when she realized she deserved better than the unsupportive, incapable scumbag of a dead weight (that couldn’t cope or support her career, despite her paying most of their stuff, and even had to be helped in his job)
   ”’

3. Realism had nothing to do with this fic, particularly about the cheating couple and adoptive father getting chummy with their victims and getting a happy ending. Undeserved and unrealistic. Gotten together because he was the first one that wanted to marry her? You get the impression that she wants a family, full stop, not necessarily a family with him, and that what should be a natuaral consequences becomes a goal in itself. And no, given how it was going, realistically they shouldn’t have worked, and narratively speaking having them reflect on that, on how their relationship begun, on their clear incompatibility (his petty jealousy, her lack of acknowledgment of her betrayal and poor motivations, etc.) No decent person can support this, plus it’s an insult to one’s intelligence.

   I mean, is it really a happy ending if it does not make me happy? Bad pun. But seriously, I could have done without some the adulterous couple being given essentially the imprimatur, despite their cheating being unnecessary and cruel, their reasons to be together particularly ludicrous (not being picky, but even in the context of a romcom, her choosing the first guy that would marry her despite him being in a 10 years relationship and about to marry someone else, rather than, I don’t know, breaking up with her boyfriend and finding someone unattached -possibly not the kind of person that would betray his girlfriend of 10 years in their own house and in their own bed, in other words someone that could quality as a barely decent human being-). Also, don’t get me started with the mess with his dad… never approved of FL trying to excuse his behavior, like ML even less for buying his hogwash, and generally the only thing I liked less was them being chummy with the traitors that emotionally scarred them -trusting someone with intimate and personal life details, when they had just utterly betrayed your unconditional trust-, or, for that matter, having a meeting at the bar and cordial conversations with those that cuckolded them about their current relationship with the other partner the adulterers sc***ed over. Absolutely none of this made sense, and was utterly disappointing given the confident, no bs attitude they had in the beginning, particularly the strong female lead. Not putting up with anyone’s bs, setting down boundaries and expecting people to respect them, knowing what they are worth and pretending nothing less from those around them.

   I was pretty iffy about Um’s story… in some respects, I felt the same way as with the story of the stuntman in Once Again, in that I sympathized, but also felt irritated by seeing them make stupid decisions that needlessly caused their own problems (we are not talking about values, like in the case of ML’s opinions on marriage, but about rather stupid stuff). The mediation he did, and the way the ML and FL’s relationship was leaked… it was pretty pathetic. But I was okay with it. The adulterous couple getting an “imprimatur”, as well as his father, and having a happy ending, instead, made me very unhappy. It was completely unrealistic, and settled in a trend of no accountability, no respect for boundaries, no sense of self worth, no concept of too little, too late… FL insisting ML accepted his father was frankly more disturbing than many other things, and probably the only reason I couldn’t support their relationship 100% (I disliked the way the turned from self assured, no bs types that would set down boundaries and expect people to respect them if they wanted to be in their lives, with a complete sense of self respect and knowledge of what they felt they deserved, to the doormats that would be chummy and talk about intimate, personal stuff with those that emotionally scarred them and betrayed their trust not long ago, even helping them with their relationship and complimenting them, treating life wrecking experiences as if they were suddenly mere inconveniences (nothing more apparent than brushing off the actions of someone that stole all your money and left you destitute, on the brink of not having a place to live).

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   It was completely disgusting to see them get a happy ending. It would have been realistic had the actually broken up. They cheated on their long term partners, which was completely pointless, as they wanted to leave them anyway. They didn’t apologize to their lover’s partners, an din the case of the ex gf not even regretted/apologized/acknowledged her cheating. Their victims become chummy with them (and they pretend to care, even after ex bf tried to mess with his gf of 10 years’ finances). They have long conversations with the people that betrayed them.

   The cheating boyfriend’s jealousy and drunken behavior and violent reaction is completely ridiculous and unrealistic. He had sex before his gf in their home and marriage bed. Then he acts as if she owed it to him to go to Switzerland and give him half the house. Then he tries to scam her with the appliances. He dares to compare his jealousy towards his gf living with her bf before her marriage to the pain he inflicted on his ex gf. While his wife accepts the fact that he shames her for living with her boyfriend, and tells the guy that it’s normal for a man to feel that way, and that she regrets having lived with him. While she had sex with her lover in his home right before dumping him.

   On one hand, we have someone that shames his wife for having lived with her boyfriend, wants her to drop her career because he doesn’t want her around her ex, and until the last episodes still cannot put up with the exes situation. He also continuously points out how he betrayed his gf as if he didn’t realize how much of a unreliable scumbag it made him look like. On the other hand, we have someone that liked the guy simply because he was the first to want to marry her. Completely disreganding that he was the kind of person that would cheat on his girlfriend of 10 years in their own home and bed. Unbelievable that she would do that, rather than break things off with her boyfriend and look for someone unattached that wanted to live with her. Also, no evolution: she never acknowledges her betrayal or apologizes. In his case, it would have been better he did not, because contrary to what he said he was a horrible boyfriend *and* a horrible friend, for the same reasons (betraying physically, emotionally, financially, stalking and being a drunken, violent, possessive, self entitled nuisance).

   You cannot understand why they would like each other, and the idea of them reproducing sends shivers down my spine. Their pointlessly hurt and humiliated their long term partners, she never felt any regret over it, he followed it up with further scummy behavior. A “sorry” does not cut it, too little and too late. Them having a happy ending is as ludicrous as the abusive father getting his. Two people that emotionally hurt and betrayed their long term partners, got together in a few months and whose relationship was based on him being the frist guy that wanted to marry her, and him being a jealous scumbag that did not support his former gf in her career (because she needed to spend time on required tasks, some times, and notified him about it and apologized… we know that he would not have had issues if the roles were reversed, and we know how little he cares of his partner’s carer, given the way he wanted to ship his ex to Switzerland and to have his wife quit her job because of his fragile male ego).

   In a realistic context, they would not be together. They would have separated, they would not have kept the baby, he would not be discussing it with a woman he traumatized by basically giving her front row seats at the adulterous conception. When they married they didn’t know each other, and at a personal level, they were people that were willing to break their long term partner’s trust, and started off by lying to each other.

   Actually, as far as the two cheaters are concerned, in a realistic context she would have broken things off and went looking for someone unattached that was interested in marriage. And he would have been dumped by his gf when she realized she deserved better than the unsupportive, incapable scumbag of a dead weight (that couldn’t cope or support her career, despite her paying most of their stuff, and even had to be helped in his job)

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   The show had a good premises, but was crippled by bad writing/characterization, which we can narrow down to a lack of accountability. On one hand, the show had an utterly broken moral compass that wanted to push us to root for a toxic second couple that doubled down on their adultery, and an abusive father that treated his son as an ATM, giving them a happy ending. On the other side, the protagonists unrealistically self flagellate and become chummy with those that horrifically betrayed them, having conversations about very personal issues with people that abused their trust (particularly the initially strong female lead later on abandons all self respect). I found the idea repulsive (as anyone endorsing it). I appreciate the fact that looking at the forums 99.999% of people find this equally unrealistic and intellectually insulting, it restores my faith in humanity. Again, despite the straw man, we are not asking her to put a hit on his ex’s head. Her ex’s whole problem boiled down to her having a career. So she had to attend to some unavoidable tasks for work when they were working on the house or had to meet his classmates. She warned in advance when she knew, and apologized. This would have *clearly* not been a problem for him if the roles were reversed (see above paragraphs). Despite that, they become chummy, praises him (his current wife disagrees with him being a good husband and father, and for objectively good reasons) and self flagellate (really, being a perfectionist earned her the trauma he inflicted on her? As if he didn’t have his defects -see above-, plus the cheating, which kind of overshadows everything: this is like saying that Hannibal Lecter is a good person, except for his tendency to eat your liver, or that a wife beating drunk started out good and fixed the sink… yes, but the physical abuse is kinda of the dominant factor her (emotional in her case): a wife beating drunk with a sob story is still a wife beating drunk. In general, I didn’t like how emotionally traumatic events that had life altering (wrecking) consequences on their lives are suddenly brushed aside and minimized as minor inconveniences, when they had concrete impacts on their successive relationships. Her walking in on her husband having sex with his mistress, his father’s life long abuse… “I am sorry” and it becomes water under the bridge? No, it’s not realistic, it insults the viewer’s intelligence. Furthermore, getting past trauma does not mean lying to yourself about the life altering impact and severity of the emotional wound you suffered. Nor does it does it mean trusting or wanting back in your life the people that victimized you (why would they want them in their lives in the first place?). This is poor writing that did not respect or treat seriously their trauma. In terms of redeeming the irredeemable, the issue with the father should be self evident, so let’s look at the others.

   The thing about the cheating is that it was entirely pointless (even more of an issue since they were planning to have us root for the cheaters later on). They were both ready to split up with their long term partners anyway, they could have literally just waited a bit and parted honestly. The guy had cancelled the wedding. Him having sex with his mistress in the house and bed he shared with his partner of 10 years was wholly unnecessary, as was his mistress cheating with him right before going to split up with her boyfriend. It just seem needlessly cruel and lacking the barest shred of respect for their partners.

   The ex bf betrayed the FL physically, emotionally and financially (appliances and house). He also gaslighted her, after she helped him with his job and paid for most of their stuff, he had the gall to complain about basically her having a career, with obligations she didn’t have any choice but to attend to, and for which she notified in advance and apologized… we know that he would sing a different tune if the roles were reversed, but then again we are speaking of someone that wanted his wife to give up her career because he was jealous to see her work in a place where she could meet her former boyfriend. He was a stalking, violent, drunk, possessive, self entitled creep. Up until almost the end he was whining due to his fragile male ego getting hurt by his wife having lived with another guy and the situation with their exes. He even dared to make compare with his ex this with what she felt when she walked in on him having sex with his lover in their house, on their bed. Plus the other faults during their relationship (the mess he did with the insurance, the way he was unsupportive of her profession, and pressured/resented her about obligations with her career that were outside her control… it was not her fault, she deserved better, a supporting partner).

   The ex gf was at least as bad, in her own way. She didn’t regret, feel guilty or apologize to her ex bf for cheating on him, actually she never even acknowledged it, and was never taken to task for it (contrary to her husband). She mistreated her ex bf, telling him that she regretted living with him and she accepted her husband’s sexist position that “no man could tolerate his wife having lived with another man” (I think he managed to change her mind on this, telling her that it’s nothing to be ashamed of and he told his own gf -showing that he was not a judgmental scumbag like her husband-), while she had sex with her lover in front of his gf of 10 years right before splitting up with her bf. Again, in all this she admits that her ex was a good guy -kind and handsome-, and that her only issue with him was his stance on marriage, that he was always honest about. The worst moment was probably when she self righteously talked to the woman that saw her have sex with her boyfriend of 10 years in her own bed, telling her that she didn’t break up with her boyfriend because of his dad. Well, considering you were willing to cheat on him with someone that was about to marry his gf of 10 years, and didn’t feel any guilt, remorse, or need to apologize either to her ex bf or to her husband’s ex gf, I don’t think it’s unfair to set the bar pretty low when it came to assessing her character.

   Neither her nor her husband ever actually regretted, felt guilty or apologized for sleeping with someone in a long term relationship, hurting and humiliating people that they didn’t know and had no beef with (then again, they didn’t hesitate to hurt their significant others, so what about strangers).

   The ML and FL were also problematic. They started out okay, in particular I appreciated the strong, confident female lead standing her ground on the issue of the house and not accepting moving to Switzerland and compromising her career for the sense of entitlement of someone that had horrifically betrayed her. I also found understandable that she was emotionally scarred and devastated by the experience her ex put her through, and this led to trust issues in her next relationship. A bit surprising that the ML didn’t suffer from similar issues, since he too was cheated on and betrayed. What I didn’t find acceptable was both protagonists, but the FL in particular, starting them to act chummy with the very people that hurt them, for no good reason.

   It is simply not believable or realistic that, for example, the ML would calmly talk in a bar about his current gf with the man that cuckolded him, or that the FL would give someone that betrayed her physically, emotionally, financially, stalked her, behaved in a possessive and self entitled manner, and all the other horrible things he did, advice on his relationship. Or calmly talk about her current relationship with the woman she caught sleeping with her husband. Or congratulate him on his son, which she might have witnessed the conception of, having walked in on him having sex with his lover on their own bed. Again, she was scarred so badly that it affected her next relationship, but by the end (ep 12/23) she was self flagellating, praising him, making this about the relationship as a whole and general incompatibility, rather than about what it really was, which was basically whether she felt she deserved the emotional abuse he put her through. This is like a battered housewife thinking about what she did to displease her wife beating drunk of a husband (and a wife beating drunk with a sob story is still a wife beating drunk).

   Again, it’s perfectly useless to have the token “pregnant career woman” social criticism attempt, and then have the second FL initially “understand” her husband’s ridiculous stance on her previous cohabitation (even hiding it from him, knowing he would react like a sexist, insecure brat, despite them having both cheated on their long term partner and not having any leg to stand on). On having the FL self flagellate about having a career (and helping her ex with his job and paying for most of their stuff, might I add) and therefore not being always available (she was most of the time, and when she had tasks she couldn’t delay she notified in advance and apologized… again, it wouldn’t have been a problem for him in reverse, as we see with his behavior when he misses his mother’s birthday, and the way he casually suggests his wife stop working because having her around her ex bf hurt his fragile male ego).

   In general, them having these deeply personal conversation with people that betrayed their trust, or being chummy with them, helping them wit their relationship, etc. after their horrific betrayal showed a complete lack of self respect, which was disappointed in particular for the FL which initially was portrayed as strong. The same could be said for his father. Sorry, but “sorry” doesn’t cut it: too little and too late (not that they all said or ever felt sorry, see the ex gf that never ever addressed her betrayal).

   I will add that they both chose cheaters to betray their partners with. In particular, the ex gf said she liked him because he was the first/only one that asked her to marry him. Someone in a ten years relationship that was willing to cheat on his long term girlfriend in their own bed. This is simply ridiculous. Couldn’t she have broken up and chosen someone unattached who was also interested in marriage? I don’t pretend a convoluted explanation, but I found “you were the first/only guy that asked me to marry him” to be really ridiculous.

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   It was completely disgusting to see them get a happy ending. It would have been realistic had the actually broken up. They cheated on their long term partners, which was completely pointless, as they wanted to leave them anyway. They didn’t apologize to their lover’s partners, an din the case of the ex gf not even regretted/apologized/acknowledged her cheating. Their victims become chummy with them (and they pretend to care, even after ex bf tried to mess with his gf of 10 years’ finances). They have long conversations with the people that betrayed them.

   The cheating boyfriend’s jealousy and drunken behavior and violent reaction is completely ridiculous and unrealistic. He had sex before his gf in their home and marriage bed. Then he acts as if she owed it to him to go to Switzerland and give him half the house. Then he tries to scam her with the appliances. He dares to compare his jealousy towards his gf living with her bf before her marriage to the pain he inflicted on his ex gf. While his wife accepts the fact that he shames her for living with her boyfriend, and tells the guy that it’s normal for a man to feel that way, and that she regrets having lived with him. While she had sex with her lover in his home right before dumping him.

   On one hand, we have someone that shames his wife for having lived with her boyfriend, wants her to drop her career because he doesn’t want her around her ex, and until the last episodes still cannot put up with the exes situation. He also continuously points out how he betrayed his gf as if he didn’t realize how much of a unreliable scumbag it made him look like. On the other hand, we have someone that liked the guy simply because he was the first to want to marry her. Completely disreganding that he was the kind of person that would cheat on his girlfriend of 10 years in their own home and bed. Unbelievable that she would do that, rather than break things off with her boyfriend and look for someone unattached that wanted to live with her. Also, no evolution: she never acknowledges her betrayal or apologizes. In his case, it would have been better he did not, because contrary to what he said he was a horrible boyfriend *and* a horrible friend, for the same reasons (betraying physically, emotionally, financially, stalking and being a drunken, violent, possessive, self entitled nuisance).

   You cannot understand why they would like each other, and the idea of them reproducing sends shivers down my spine. Their pointlessly hurt and humiliated their long term partners, she never felt any regret over it, he followed it up with further scummy behavior. A “sorry” does not cut it, too little and too late. Them having a happy ending is as ludicrous as the abusive father getting his. Two people that emotionally hurt and betrayed their long term partners, got together in a few months and whose relationship was based on him being the frist guy that wanted to marry her, and him being a jealous scumbag that did not support his former gf in her career (because she needed to spend time on required tasks, some times, and notified him about it and apologized… we know that he would not have had issues if the roles were reversed, and we know how little he cares of his partner’s carer, given the way he wanted to ship his ex to Switzerland and to have his wife quit her job because of his fragile male ego).

   In a realistic context, they would not be together. They would have separated, they would not have kept the baby, he would not be discussing it with a woman he traumatized by basically giving her front row seats at the adulterous conception. When they married they didn’t know each other, and at a personal level, they were people that were willing to break their long term partner’s trust, and started off by lying to each other.

   Actually, as far as the two cheaters are concerned, in a realistic context she would have broken things off and went looking for someone unattached that was interested in marriage. And he would have been dumped by his gf when she realized she deserved better than the unsupportive, incapable scumbag of a dead weight (that couldn’t cope or support her career, despite her paying most of their stuff, and even had to be helped in his job)
   ”’
   “””
   ”’

4. I mean, is it really a happy ending if it does not make me happy? Bad pun. But seriously, I could have done without some the adulterous couple being given essentially the imprimatur, despite their cheating being unnecessary and cruel, their reasons to be together particularly ludicrous (not being picky, but even in the context of a romcom, her choosing the first guy that would marry her despite him being in a 10 years relationship and about to marry someone else, rather than, I don’t know, breaking up with her boyfriend and finding someone unattached -possibly not the kind of person that would betray his girlfriend of 10 years in their own house and in their own bed, in other words someone that could quality as a barely decent human being-). Also, don’t get me started with the mess with his dad… never approved of FL trying to excuse his behavior, like ML even less for buying his hogwash, and generally the only thing I liked less was them being chummy with the traitors that emotionally scarred them -trusting someone with intimate and personal life details, when they had just utterly betrayed your unconditional trust-, or, for that matter, having a meeting at the bar and cordial conversations with those that cuckolded them about their current relationship with the other partner the adulterers sc***ed over. Absolutely none of this made sense, and was utterly disappointing given the confident, no bs attitude they had in the beginning, particularly the strong female lead. Not putting up with anyone’s bs, setting down boundaries and expecting people to respect them, knowing what they are worth and pretending nothing less from those around them.

5. The only couple I could fully support was the Penguin pair. I liked the ML and FL, particularly in the beginning, and I don’t really have as much of an issue with them as a couple, since I basically think that the marriage issue is something that could be dealt with down the line: they both want a stable, long term relationship. Maybe he will change idea regarding the marriage, maybe she will… I don’t see it as such a huge issue, particularly nowadays. It does not mean you cannot have a family, for example. I am confident that if they feel it’s an issue in the future they will break up with honesty, as they did in this show.

6. I will add that they both chose cheaters to betray their partners with. In particular, the ex gf said she liked him because he was the first/only one that asked her to marry him. Someone in a ten years relationship that was willing to cheat on his long term girlfriend in their own bed. This is simply ridiculous. Couldn’t she have broken up and chosen someone unattached who was also interested in marriage? I don’t pretend a convoluted explanation, but I found “you were the first/only guy that asked me to marry him” to be really ridiculous.

7. The show had a good premises, but was crippled by bad writing/characterization, which we can narrow down to a lack of accountability. On one hand, the show had an utterly broken moral compass that wanted to push us to root for a toxic second couple that doubled down on their adultery, and an abusive father that treated his son as an ATM, giving them a happy ending. On the other side, the protagonists unrealistically self flagellate and become chummy with those that horrifically betrayed them, having conversations about very personal issues with people that abused their trust (particularly the initially strong female lead later on abandons all self respect). I found the idea repulsive (as anyone endorsing it). I appreciate the fact that looking at the forums 99.999% of people find this equally unrealistic and intellectually insulting, it restores my faith in humanity. Again, despite the straw man, we are not asking her to put a hit on his ex’s head. Her ex’s whole problem boiled down to her having a career. So she had to attend to some unavoidable tasks for work when they were working on the house or had to meet his classmates. She warned in advance when she knew, and apologized. This would have *clearly* not been a problem for him if the roles were reversed (see above paragraphs). Despite that, they become chummy, praises him (his current wife disagrees with him being a good husband and father, and for objectively good reasons) and self flagellate (really, being a perfectionist earned her the trauma he inflicted on her? As if he didn’t have his defects -see above-, plus the cheating, which kind of overshadows everything: this is like saying that Hannibal Lecter is a good person, except for his tendency to eat your liver, or that a wife beating drunk started out good and fixed the sink… yes, but the physical abuse is kinda of the dominant factor her (emotional in her case): a wife beating drunk with a sob story is still a wife beating drunk. In general, I didn’t like how emotionally traumatic events that had life altering (wrecking) consequences on their lives are suddenly brushed aside and minimized as minor inconveniences, when they had concrete impacts on their successive relationships. Her walking in on her husband having sex with his mistress, his father’s life long abuse… “I am sorry” and it becomes water under the bridge? No, it’s not realistic, it insults the viewer’s intelligence. Furthermore, getting past trauma does not mean lying to yourself about the life altering impact and severity of the emotional wound you suffered. Nor does it does it mean trusting or wanting back in your life the people that victimized you (why would they want them in their lives in the first place?). This is poor writing that did not respect or treat seriously their trauma. In terms of redeeming the irredeemable, the issue with the father should be self evident, so let’s look at the others.

   The thing about the cheating is that it was entirely pointless (even more of an issue since they were planning to have us root for the cheaters later on). They were both ready to split up with their long term partners anyway, they could have literally just waited a bit and parted honestly. The guy had cancelled the wedding. Him having sex with his mistress in the house and bed he shared with his partner of 10 years was wholly unnecessary, as was his mistress cheating with him right before going to split up with her boyfriend. It just seem needlessly cruel and lacking the barest shred of respect for their partners.

   The ex bf betrayed the FL physically, emotionally and financially (appliances and house). He also gaslighted her, after she helped him with his job and paid for most of their stuff, he had the gall to complain about basically her having a career, with obligations she didn’t have any choice but to attend to, and for which she notified in advance and apologized… we know that he would sing a different tune if the roles were reversed, but then again we are speaking of someone that wanted his wife to give up her career because he was jealous to see her work in a place where she could meet her former boyfriend. He was a stalking, violent, drunk, possessive, self entitled creep. Up until almost the end he was whining due to his fragile male ego getting hurt by his wife having lived with another guy and the situation with their exes. He even dared to make compare with his ex this with what she felt when she walked in on him having sex with his lover in their house, on their bed. Plus the other faults during their relationship (the mess he did with the insurance, the way he was unsupportive of her profession, and pressured/resented her about obligations with her career that were outside her control… it was not her fault, she deserved better, a supporting partner).

   The ex gf was at least as bad, in her own way. She didn’t regret, feel guilty or apologize to her ex bf for cheating on him, actually she never even acknowledged it, and was never taken to task for it (contrary to her husband). She mistreated her ex bf, telling him that she regretted living with him and she accepted her husband’s sexist position that “no man could tolerate his wife having lived with another man” (I think he managed to change her mind on this, telling her that it’s nothing to be ashamed of and he told his own gf -showing that he was not a judgmental scumbag like her husband-), while she had sex with her lover in front of his gf of 10 years right before splitting up with her bf. Again, in all this she admits that her ex was a good guy -kind and handsome-, and that her only issue with him was his stance on marriage, that he was always honest about. The worst moment was probably when she self righteously talked to the woman that saw her have sex with her boyfriend of 10 years in her own bed, telling her that she didn’t break up with her boyfriend because of his dad. Well, considering you were willing to cheat on him with someone that was about to marry his gf of 10 years, and didn’t feel any guilt, remorse, or need to apologize either to her ex bf or to her husband’s ex gf, I don’t think it’s unfair to set the bar pretty low when it came to assessing her character.

   Neither her nor her husband ever actually regretted, felt guilty or apologized for sleeping with someone in a long term relationship, hurting and humiliating people that they didn’t know and had no beef with (then again, they didn’t hesitate to hurt their significant others, so what about strangers).

   The ML and FL were also problematic. They started out okay, in particular I appreciated the strong, confident female lead standing her ground on the issue of the house and not accepting moving to Switzerland and compromising her career for the sense of entitlement of someone that had horrifically betrayed her. I also found understandable that she was emotionally scarred and devastated by the experience her ex put her through, and this led to trust issues in her next relationship. A bit surprising that the ML didn’t suffer from similar issues, since he too was cheated on and betrayed. What I didn’t find acceptable was both protagonists, but the FL in particular, starting them to act chummy with the very people that hurt them, for no good reason.

   It is simply not believable or realistic that, for example, the ML would calmly talk in a bar about his current gf with the man that cuckolded him, or that the FL would give someone that betrayed her physically, emotionally, financially, stalked her, behaved in a possessive and self entitled manner, and all the other horrible things he did, advice on his relationship. Or calmly talk about her current relationship with the woman she caught sleeping with her husband. Or congratulate him on his son, which she might have witnessed the conception of, having walked in on him having sex with his lover on their own bed. Again, she was scarred so badly that it affected her next relationship, but by the end (ep 12/23) she was self flagellating, praising him, making this about the relationship as a whole and general incompatibility, rather than about what it really was, which was basically whether she felt she deserved the emotional abuse he put her through. This is like a battered housewife thinking about what she did to displease her wife beating drunk of a husband (and a wife beating drunk with a sob story is still a wife beating drunk).

   Again, it’s perfectly useless to have the token “pregnant career woman” social criticism attempt, and then have the second FL initially “understand” her husband’s ridiculous stance on her previous cohabitation (even hiding it from him, knowing he would react like a sexist, insecure brat, despite them having both cheated on their long term partner and not having any leg to stand on). On having the FL self flagellate about having a career (and helping her ex with his job and paying for most of their stuff, might I add) and therefore not being always available (she was most of the time, and when she had tasks she couldn’t delay she notified in advance and apologized… again, it wouldn’t have been a problem for him in reverse, as we see with his behavior when he misses his mother’s birthday, and the way he casually suggests his wife stop working because having her around her ex bf hurt his fragile male ego).

   In general, them having these deeply personal conversation with people that betrayed their trust, or being chummy with them, helping them wit their relationship, etc. after their horrific betrayal showed a complete lack of self respect, which was disappointed in particular for the FL which was initially portrayed as strong. The same could be said for his father. Sorry, but “sorry” doesn’t cut it: too little and too late (not that they all said or ever felt sorry, see the ex gf that never ever addressed her betrayal).

8. The show had a good premises, but was crippled by bad writing/characterization, which we can narrow down to a lack of accountability. On one hand, the show had an utterly broken moral compass that wanted to push us to root for a toxic second couple that doubled down on their adultery, and an abusive father that treated his son as an ATM, giving them a happy ending. On the other side, the protagonists unrealistically self flagellate and become chummy with those that horrifically betrayed them, having conversations about very personal issues with people that abused their trust (particularly the initially strong female lead later on abandons all self respect). I found the idea repulsive (as anyone endorsing it). I appreciate the fact that looking at the forums 99.999% of people find this equally unrealistic and intellectually insulting, it restores my faith in humanity. In terms of redeeming the irredeemable, the issue with the father should be self evident, so let’s look at the others.

   The thing about the cheating is that it was entirely pointless (even more of an issue since they were planning to have us root for the cheaters later on). They were both ready to split up with their long term partners anyway, they could have literally just waited a bit and parted honestly. The guy had cancelled the wedding. Him having sex with his mistress in the house and bed he shared with his partner of 10 years was wholly unnecessary, as was his mistress cheating with him right before going to split up with her boyfriend. It just seem needlessly cruel and lacking the barest shred of respect for their partners.

   The ex bf betrayed the FL physically, emotionally and financially (appliances and house). He also gaslighted her, after she helped him with his job and paid for most of their stuff, he had the gall to complain about basically her having a career, with obligations she didn’t have any choice but to attend to, and for which she notified in advance and apologized… we know that he would sing a different tune if the roles were reversed, but then again we are speaking of someone that wanted his wife to give up her career because he was jealous to see her work in a place where she could meet her former boyfriend. He was a stalking, violent, drunk, possessive, self entitled creep. Up until almost the end he was whining due to his fragile male ego getting hurt by his wife having lived with another guy and the situation with their exes. He even dared to make compare with his ex this with what she felt when she walked in on him having sex with his lover in their house, on their bed. Plus the other faults during their relationship (the mess he did with the insurance, the way he was unsupportive of her profession, and pressured/resented her about obligations with her career that were outside her control… it was not her fault, she deserved better, a supporting partner).

   The ex gf was at least as bad, in her own way. She didn’t regret, feel guilty or apologize to her ex bf for cheating on him, actually she never even acknowledged it, and was never taken to task for it (contrary to her husband). She mistreated her ex bf, telling him that she regretted living with him and she accepted her husband’s sexist position that “no man could tolerate his wife having lived with another man” (I think he managed to change her mind on this, telling her that it’s nothing to be ashamed of and he told his own gf -showing that he was not a judgmental scumbag like her husband-), while she had sex with her lover in front of his gf of 10 years right before splitting up with her bf. Again, in all this she admits that her ex was a good guy -kind and handsome-, and that her only issue with him was his stance on marriage, that he was always honest about. The worst moment was probably when she self righteously talked to the woman that saw her have sex with her boyfriend of 10 years in her own bed, telling her that she didn’t break up with her boyfriend because of his dad. Well, considering you were willing to cheat on him with someone that was about to marry his gf of 10 years, and didn’t feel any guilt, remorse, or need to apologize either to her ex bf or to her husband’s ex gf, I don’t think it’s unfair to set the bar pretty low when it came to assessing her character.

   Neither her nor her husband ever actually regretted, felt guilty or apologized for sleeping with someone in a long term relationship, hurting and humiliating people that they didn’t know and had no beef with (then again, they didn’t hesitate to hurt their significant others, so what about strangers).

   The ML and FL were also problematic. They started out okay, in particular I appreciated the strong, confident female lead standing her ground on the issue of the house and not accepting moving to Switzerland and compromising her career for the sense of entitlement of someone that had horrifically betrayed her. I also found understandable that she was emotionally scarred and devastated by the experience her ex put her through, and this led to trust issues in her next relationship. A bit surprising that the ML didn’t suffer from similar issues, since he too was cheated on and betrayed. What I didn’t find acceptable was both protagonists, but the FL in particular, starting them to act chummy with the very people that hurt them, for no good reason.

   It is simply not believable or realistic that, for example, the ML would calmly talk in a bar about his current gf with the man that cuckolded him, or that the FL would give someone that betrayed her physically, emotionally, financially, stalked her, behaved in a possessive and self entitled manner, and all the other horrible things he did, advice on his relationship. Or calmly talk about her current relationship with the woman she caught sleeping with her husband. Or congratulate him on his son, which she might have witnessed the conception of, having walked in on him having sex with his lover on their own bed. Again, she was scarred so badly that it affected her next relationship, but by the end (ep 12/23) she was self flagellating, praising him, making this about the relationship as a whole and general incompatibility, rather than about what it really was, which was basically whether she felt she deserved the emotional abuse he put her through. This is like a battered housewife thinking about what she did to displease her wife beating drunk of a husband (and a wife beating drunk with a sob story is still a wife beating drunk).

   Again, it’s perfectly useless to have the token “pregnant career woman” social criticism attempt, and then have the second FL initially “understand” her husband’s ridiculous stance on her previous cohabitation (even hiding it from him, knowing he would react like a sexist, insecure brat, despite them having both cheated on their long term partner and not having any leg to stand on). On having the FL self flagellate about having a career (and helping her ex with his job and paying for most of their stuff, might I add) and therefore not being always available (she was most of the time, and when she had tasks she couldn’t delay she notified in advance and apologized… again, it wouldn’t have been a problem for him in reverse, as we see with his behavior when he misses his mother’s birthday, and the way he casually suggests his wife stop working because having her around her ex bf hurt his fragile male ego).

   In general, them having these deeply personal conversation with people that betrayed their trust, or being chummy with them, helping them wit their relationship, etc. after their horrific betrayal showed a complete lack of self respect, which was disappointed in particular for the FL which was initially portrayed as strong. The same could be said for his father. Sorry, but “sorry” doesn’t cut it: too little and too late (not that they all said or ever felt sorry, see the ex gf that never ever addressed her betrayal).

9. Let’s be clear: how realistic would it be for her to swoon over the child her betrayer had with the woman he had sex with in front of her, in their own home and bed? Maybe she was present at conception. In what universe is this toxic, sick relationship, or her having the guy still in her life, “realistic”? Not one inhabited by humans, that’s for sure. What about her trauma? Or, for that matter, her self respect as a strong, independent woman, or her sense of self worth? She should have told him clearly that he is a terrible friend for the exact same reason he is a terrible boyfriend.

   More generally, the broken moral compass that should make us root for the adulterous couple doubling down on their relationship built on a field littered with betrayals, and on the broken emotional world of their former partners, is creepy as hell (and I still can’t decide if I am more irked by the female cheater that never apologized or addressed her actions or even seemed to be guilty, or by the male lead that did all that, and betrayed his partner of ten years, and almost-wife, physically, emotionally and financially, stalked her, etc., and still pretends like he is deserves to act as a decent person and show care, instead of feeling too ashamed to face her and say a word to the woman… between the chummy chummy hypocritical and unselfaware a****t and the brutal but honest uncaring truth, maybe I prefer the latter -barely less disgusting, does not own up to her actions but neither pretends to be better than what she is, or care about someone she had no hesitation hurting and humiliating, as evidenced by telling him she regrets living with him and she understands that for her husband it would be too humiliating a fact, while having cheated on her former lover, the man she is speaking to-).

10. The general message here was: no accountability. Not for the abusive father. Not for the adulterous couple (the ex gf never apologized for anything, afaik). That didn’t even really need to be adulterous in the first place (they were planning to split up anyway, so why cheat when it was going to be over soon?).

11. “””At lunch, Ki-Jun sits with Ha-Kyung and excitedly shows off the heartbeat for his baby. She’s happy for him as Ki-Jun urges her not to let Si-Woo go, pointing out while he was a horrible boyfriend, Ki-Jun doesn’t want to be a bad friend as well.”””

    Not sure what’s more unacceptable from the point of view of the female lead’s self respect her. Her having this scumbag still in her life, occupying space. Her thinking so little of herself that she believes he *deserves* to be in her life. Him daring to mention the kid before the partner he had sex in front of.

12. I will just point out how useless it is to make a token attempt at social commentary with the pregnant career woman bit, when you give a happy ending to mr “I had sex in our house and bed in front of my partner of ten years with a woman in a long term relationship of her own, but I cannot accept the latter had lived with her boyfriend because it would hurt my male ego”, and even have the strong female lead (incredible showing in the first chapters) essentially gaslight herself, victim blame herself, morally equivocate and drive the conversation to broader relationship unsuitability, which was not the point.

    The solution to cat calling is not to tell the victim to dress more conservatively. Whether The dress is appropriate is wholly besides the point. Enter FL and the man-child with bruised male ego that betrayed her physically/emotionally/financially, stalked her, pretended she continued to help him with his own job while gaslighting her, etc. (same for ML and his gf or father… they are not the problem, those abusing or betraying them are). Not being perfect != you don’t deserve to be loved. Unhappy != horrific betrayal/abuse != parting amicably. Her (and the ML, for that matter) being cordial and close, confiding in people that betrayed them so horrifically, shows a complete lack of self respect. And it’s sad to see particularly a female character behave as if her ex’s antics (the horrific betrayal and humiliation he heaped upon her, the physical/emotional/financial betrayal, where he tried messing with her money and taking the house from her, his stalking and jealousy and violent temper, and assumption that she help with his job while he gaslighted her -essentially, the complaint was that she worked -and did part of his job and paid for most of their expenses, might I add-, and therefore could not be always available… but then again, we see how much he thinks of his wife’s work when it messes with his fragile male ego). Bye bye strong female lead, in other words. The spineless coward with no self respect that is left in her place is really not the same woman as in the beginning of the series.

13. Exibit one:

    “””At lunch, Ki-Jun sits with Ha-Kyung and excitedly shows off the heartbeat for his baby. She’s happy for him as Ki-Jun urges her not to let Si-Woo go, pointing out while he was a horrible boyfriend, Ki-Jun doesn’t want to be a bad friend as well.”””

    This is hogwash. She saw them having sex in their own home and bed. Maybe he was conceived as she watched? Not sure which universe she would be congratulating him on having a kid with the mistress he had sex with in front of her, breaking her heart and causing her such tremendous issues that she jeopardized her own relationship a few episodes back. But it is surely not a universe inhabited by humans.

    As for him being a “bad friend” in addition to a “bad boyfriend”, I don’t think they are mutually exclusive, and frankly I believe he is a bad friend for the same reasons he is a bad boyfriend. He broke her trust, didn’t show her a shred of respect, hurt and humiliated her, betrayed her physically, emotionally and financially, stalked her, behaved like a violent, jealous p***k. Pretty much makes for a terrible friend, as well. And she should not have him in her life at all, and wouldn’t, if she had any self respect. I still choose to believe that the strong woman in the first episodes wouldn’t. This travesty of a relationship is simply appalling.