À Distância, a Primavera é Verde (2021)

Great story to tell, bad execution

⭐⭐⭐
I had quite a few problems with this show while I was watching and I almost dropped it at one point.
(There might be spoilers).
Here are my main points:

THE STORY (4.5⭐)
At the start, everything seemed to be set up perfectly. The first episode was very engaging, a rich kid goes to an university and everybody knows him, takes photos of him and tries to be friends with him for his money, but he only wants to get to know the quiet kid who ignores him and frowns at him for "being the school's ATM". As the story goes on, we learn that the rich kid (Yeojun) is very insecure (due to something that happened to him during his childhood) and doesn't have any real friends, that's why he resorts to buying his way into people's social groups and friend groups. The thought of someone not being interested in his money for once intrigues him and he tries to get the guy(Soohyun)'s attention in every way he can and in the process he meets another candidate for his group of "real friends" - a senior student girl named Sobin. All three's relationships with each other grow supposedly stronger as the episodes go on - but that's the first problem, they just don't "grow".
Apart from Yeojun and Soohyun's slow, but steady progress from hating each other to being each other's only shoulder to lean on, to being inseparable - every other relationship in this kdrama is absolute garbage.
Sobin and Yeojun's romance feels awkward and forced. Maybe it's the actress' sub par performance, but you just don't see much emotion between the two and you really just can't fall for the obvious lie that this relationship is anything but trash.
The love triangle that was attempted between Yeojun, Sobin and the other guy, who was so underdeveloped as a character that I can't even remember his name was a complete waste of time and an utter disappointment.
The romance between Miju and Soohyun felt unreal and more like a little girl crushing on the ice creme guy, just because he gave her an extra napkin. Like... NO. The set up for the relationship was good, but the execution... ohhhh brother.
Another ick I had with the story was the sudden abandonment of the original idea of Yeojun being a weirdo who only knows how to spend money and nothing about being friends with someone to him being a super nice guy who knows exactly how to act in every situaton. I understand that it was supposed to be character development, but it didn't feel real, nor did it feel good to watch. I felt like I wasted my time on a show that seemed to be promising, but got ruined by the writers' bipolar disorder and storyline that changes with the weather. The serious moments were sacrificed in favor of bad "comedic moments".
Miju, Sobin, taekwondo girl and funny guy were horribly developed as characters every time I saw them on screen I just felt like skipping the scene entirely, because I knew it was going to be pointless dialogue that wasn't going to affect any part of the main story. The struggles of the main character were pushed away in favor of these interactions between the irrelevant side characters. A lot of, what was supposed to serious, moments were pushed aside and never spoken of again like they didn't happen. It felt like I was watching Naruto filler.

THE ACTING (6.5⭐)
1. The main character, Yeo Yeojun, played by Park Jihoon.
The main actor was a great pick though, regardless of the story's shortcomings, watching Park Jihoon do his absolute very best throughout the entire show with what he was given was immensely satisfying. The emotion felt raw and unfiltered, the little actions the actor made added so much to the character and I truly believe that he did stunningly on account of the background that is the plot for most of the show ( burning trash). I had deeply touched by his performance in Weak Hero Class 1, which was the reason I watched this particular drama in the first place.

2. The female lead, Kim Sobin, played by Kang Minah.
Maybe it was just the poorly written character, but I found this actress to be very unlikable for no reason. I believe that in contrast to Park Jihoon who added quite a lot to a one dimensional character, Kang Minah couldn't quite add anything to her portrayal of Kim Sobin. The performance felt lack luster and like the actress only did the minimum when it came to acting. The emotion just wasn't there. The character herself is supposed to be quite awkward and shy, but Kang Minah gave more of an impression that Sobin was supposed to be slow and mentally retarded (I don't believe in using euphemisms to soften a word's meaning and I also believe that I am using the correct word to portray my own observation).

3. The other male lead, Nam Soohyun, played by Bae Inhyuk.
The character was one dimensional and just like Kang Minah, it felt like the actor didn't go above the minimum of acting necessary for the role. I really don't have much to say about the actor himself, because... there is just nothing to say, neither good nor bad. The performance was ok, but it was just that - ok. Nothing more, nothing less. It stood out with absolutely nothing.

4. Supporting roles, Kwon Eunbin as Wang Youngran, Choi Jungwoo as Hong Chanki and Woo Davi as Gong Miju.
Starting of with the first actress on the list, Kwon Eunbin, who played the role of Wang Youngran - the character wasn't special at all, although at the end the plot tries to shove her and Gong Miju in your face with a pointless love triangle between them and Nam Soohyun. Her character was used as simply a comedic element for the most part, so I can't really say much about the actress herself. It almost teh exact same for Woo Davi, her character was also quite sidelined for most of the show and I can't really just her that much, but I did like her quite a bit. Hong Chanki was a comic relief character from the start and although he didn't have much screen time, the actor did pretty well with what he was given.

THE MUSIC (7.0 ⭐)
The songs were bangers, I have a particular one stuck in my head right now and I plan on putting it on loop after I write this.

THE REWATCH VALUE AND OVERALL
For me, rewatch value is 2.5 ⭐, because this show just isn't anything special. It's fun to watch if you have nothing else to do, but I just would recommend you watch it again after you watched it all. It will probably be very boring.
Overall, I'd give this kdrama a 5.0/10 ⭐

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