Another Break-Up?
I’m not a fan of shows that begin as one genre and suddenly cut to a different one midway through. Unless there’s some foreshadowing or at least a hint of this during earlier episodes it all feels jarring and out of place. Unfortunately Love With Flaws all but abandons its humour this week in favour of a much more poignant and darker drama as we see Seo-Yeon wallowing in self-pity after the issues surrounding the car crash in her past. It also doesn’t help that there’s various subplots playing out here that aren’t really given the time to grow, while Seo-Yeon and Kang-Woo have a distinct lack of chemistry together on-screen. We begin the episodes in the past with Seo-Yeon reliving the harrowing experiencing of the car crash. She’s reassured that her Mum and Dad will be fine and helped out the car. Clutching the iconic bloodied shoe we saw from before, the car slips down the cliff as she stares ahead wide-eyed as the words of her parents echo in her mind “Don’t look back”. This brings us back to the present where Seo-Yeon finally knows the truth about the crash and blames herself for what’s happened. As she goes out for a run to try and put aside the issues she’s feeling, Kang Woo arrives to take her to school. Instead, he takes Seo-Joon after convincing him that he’s dating his sister and still has a job. Inside, Seo-Yeon hugs her brother before heading outside. Only, it’s not Seo-Yeon who gets in the car – it’s actually Min-Hyeok. After berating him, Seo-Yeon messages and tells Kang she’s not meeting him, prompting him to drive away. While Kang heads to talk to Hyun-Soo regarding Seo-Yeon not messaging him back, our lead female protagonist speaks to Mi-Kyung regarding her issues. Eventually he phones and she picks up, but she refuses to go on a date with the Entertainment Manager. Meanwhile, Kang-Woo messages Seo-Yeon and she smiles while reading his concerned messages. Soon after, Min-Hyeok arrives with handfuls of food and they sit together silently eating in her office. While they do, Kang heads in to see Dr Lee and thanks him for his advice and help, going on to tell him he doesn’t need to return again. However, a wad of money sure helps change the Doctor’s mind. Seo-Yeon then heads out for drinks with her brothers where they discuss the past, but unfortunately they get a little too drunk and stumble home singing. Only, they stop short as they notice Kang-Woo waiting for them. He introduces himself to her brothers, bowing, until Seo-Yeon gestures they go inside so she can speak to him privately. They eventually go for drinks together but Seo-Yeon is still torn over her past. She goes on to tell him if she’s mean to him then he should curse her. He hugs her, going on to reassure her and mention how things will be okay between them, before holding her hand and walking home. Inside, Jang-Mi hugs Seo-Yeon and promises to keep her safe. While Won-Jae continues to grow close to Kang-Hee, arranging dinner together, Seo-Yeon is approached by Kang Woo’s aunt at school who tells her to break up with him. While the brothers continue to engage in their romantic pursuits, a police officer arrives looking for Jang-Mi. Only, Mi-Kyung pretends she doesn’t know who she is before contemplating just what he wants with her. Meanwhile, Kang-Woo and Seo-Yeon talk at his house where she officially breaks up with him after revealing that her brothers aren’t her biological siblings and as she’s an orphan; they shouldn’t be together as he’ll only cause her more pain. Only, Kang-Woo’s aunt arrives just as she mentions this, prompting Kang to defy her and defiantly mention that Seo-Yeon is actually her girlfriend where we leave the episode. Whew, what a mess! The more episodes that tick by with this one, the more frustrating it’s becoming to watch. The two lead characters have little to go on and this will they/won’t they angle is becoming very tiresome very quickly. There’s also the problem facing Jang-Mi too who is given around 5 minutes air-time in the hour of content – nowhere near enough time to grow her as a character. Right now the supporting characters are actually more interesting than any of the main leads and the comedy that’s acted as the proverbial glue to keep this one together is severely lacking this week which is a real shame. There’s still time for that to change of course but right now Love With Flaws is gearing up to become one of the worst Korean dramas of 2020. Hopefully it can course correct and get back to the humour but right now, it’s hard to see how or when it’ll do that given the convoluted set of plots playing out here.
