Can We Pick Up The Pace A Bit?
Episode 6 of Nevertheless begins at the gymnasium as Jae-Eon watches from the wings while Na-Bi dances. After, Jae-Eon arrives to greet her, gushing over how impressed he was with her movies. These moments happen to be in the past, and soon pave way for that earth-shattering reveal last episode. This, of course, was followed by Na-Bi acting like a total badass and mentioning how Jae-Eon likes to make love before walking away. This single act sends Na-Bi off in her own direction as Jae-Eon struggles to get through to Na-Bi. As he sits with Seol-A, she admits that she’s broken up with her boyfriend Chris. She looks at Jae-Eon for encouragement but he’s silent and continues to find himself ringing Na-Bi. Na-Bi ignores all this though and heads back to see her Aunt. However, Do-Hyeok also happens to be in town, which she’s teased about. Apparently they used to be really close in the past, with simmering romantic feelings between them. Yoon-Sol soon rings though while she’s with Ji-Wan. The girls want her to hang out but Na-Bi has her reservations. Despite being told Jae-Eon won’t be there, she still tells them she’ll think about it. After hanging up, the girls contemplate going to the movies. Na-Bi heads out for a walk and ends up running into Do-Hyeok while he’s driving by. He suggests they head off to the beach together. There, he woos her with kebabs and a big revelation – he’s never actually dated before. He continues, dropping the bombshell that Na-Bi is actually his first love. When she mentioned to her friend that she had a boyfriend, this dissuaded him from getting involved and happens to be why he didn’t get involved with seeing her off when she left for Seoul. The evening goes well, with Na-Bi eventually passing out and sleeping in the back of his van. Do-Hyeok watches her sleep before shutting the doors and letting her get a good night’s rest. He, on the other hand, sleeps outside. Meanwhile, Kyu-Hyun and Bit-Na continue to spend time together. However, the latter is not happy when he suggests they reveal the truth about their relationship together. While they continue to keep it a secret, the pair do head off for a romantic evening at a hotel. There, Bit-Na receives a call from a random guy and reveals she still hasn’t deleted her dating app. Both of these facts make Kyu-Hyun nervous and self-conscious. Eventually she leaves, calling him a nerd. Jae-Eon continues to struggle too, heading back to the studio and finding the place empty. He decides to wait for Na-Bi but she’s obviously not there. Kyu-Hyun shows up though and the two talk. He mentions how upset and uncertain he is regarding what’s happening with Bit-Na. Jae-Eon can relate to this too, still unable to get through to Na-Bi who ignores his calls and texts. Na-Bi continues to do her sculpting with the face she’s modelling looking a lot like Jae-Eon. Do-Hyeok shows up though and the pair head off taking pictures and discussing his vlog. Seol-A meets back up with Jae-Eon and drops a massive bombshell reveal. What she told Na-Bi was all one big lie. They weren’t dating but she also didn’t expect Na-Bi to race off quite so quickly. When Jae-Eok finds out, he’s completely crushed. He instantly texts Na-Bi and asks to meet so they can talk. As she contemplates what to do, her aunt only confuses things further by mentioning that dating is about meeting someone special to you, not necessarily the one who’s the nicest. Despite this, Na-Bi continues to hang around with Do-Hyeok. The pair head to the market together, shopping, where they meet Do-Yeon, Do-Hyeok’s cousin. It’s a slightly awkward meeting, especially when she leaves with his bike, forcing the pair to share a bike home. However, things take an awkward turn when Jae-Eon suddenly shows up at her Aunt’s place while they’re together. Do-Hyeok stands and stares him down. After stiff greetings, awkwardness ensues.
The Episode Review
Nevertheless returns this week with Na-Bi off spending time with Do-Hyeok and indulging in a simpler life. With the pair actually sharing a past and Na-Bi experiencing true chivalry, the age old adage of the “nice guy finishes last” is inevitably going to rear its head here. It seems obvious that this is the direction the show is going but one can’t help but feel sorry for Do-Hyeok. He seems like the perfect guy on paper and his caring demeanour should be a no-brainer for Na-Bi. Then again, she loves a bad boy that one and will undoubtedly swing back to Jae-Eon again. Aside from that, we get some development for the supporting characters this time, with Bit-Na and Hyu-Kyun dancing around the idea of telling people about their dating. Likewise, Sol and Ji-Wan continue to skirt around their feelings, although hopefully we’ll see these two get together sooner rather than later. Waiting for one episode a week is pure, unadulterated agony with this show! Given how slow the pacing is already, and Na-Bi’s frustrating desire to be with the bad boy despite all these red flags, it’s little wonder that the ratings are struggling to hit above 2%. Despite some initial promise early on and a killer OST, this show feels in desperate need of tightening and picking up the pace. The cracks are starting to form, and if this continues it could undo some of the promising work done early on.
