Clima do Amor (2022)

Forecasting Happy Cheating SML and SFL Couple and Struggling ML and FL Relationship

WTF did I just watch?

I watched this only because it was something to watch weekly over the weekend and I did like it at the beginning until I just didn't like it the more it dragged on. I continued to watch it hoping for more "falling-in-love moments" between the ML and the FL but instead, they just fell apart only to get together in the last episode. Even their "happy" moments were overshadowed by the jealous SML.

So major spoilers ahead:

To recap, the FL starts off engaged to the SML. They've been together for 10 years. After the FL's family and herself start finding out that he doesn't go through on putting deposits down for the wedding venue and other bookings, the FL literally catches him in the act in their own bed in their shared apartment with another woman, the SFL. Keep in mind that the FL, SML, and SFL all work in the same building.

Now the SFL was also in a relationship with the ML and she was living with him before abruptly moving out and breaking up with the ML, leaving with no real explanation. Because of course, she cheated on him and left him for another man, the SML.

Later, the SML and SFL, in other words, the two cheating mofos get happily married.

The leftovers, ML and FL, end up meeting and as it turns out, the ML gets transferred to the FL's department. Now all of them work in the same building. So the FL becomes the boss of the ML. Of course, they eventually find out that their cheating exes are the happily married ones. Regardless, they get together after having a drunken one night stand.

Get all that?

Here are some dumb scenes I also hated:

-Okay, so the storyline is basically about FL and ML trying to hide their relationship from work only to get it exposed by the most unlikely character. Another co-worker basically exposes their relationship out loud in a busy cafeteria, which was completely out of character for this co-worker to do something like that. So tactless too. Who does that in a busy, crowded cafeteria? So dumbass. And by the time it's exposed that they're dating, they've actually broken up. So first they hide their relationship and then they hide their break-up.

-The SML and SFL trying to navigate married life. When the SML finds out his ex is dating his new wife's ex, there's all this stupid jealousy that goes on for naught.

-They romanticize the cheating couple who ended up married. Too much focus on their problems and their "happy" ending.

-When they wrote the FL's character becoming friends with her ex, I felt like it downplayed the hurt and betrayal she went through. Wayyyy too soon. Sure she was "strong" about it but that doesn't mean she still had to coddle her ex which she did, writing articles for him and listening to him. Where are her pride and dignity? They make the FL and the SML like best friends in the end. WTF. Whoever wrote this storyline has never been betrayed or dumped so ungraciously as the FL was and it was worse because they all worked in the same building so they ran into each other often. ANDDDD... (major spoiler), no woman in their right mind is going to listen to their ex's new baby's heartbeat so happily. W...T...F...

-At one point, the FL gets accosted by a senior male co-worker in front of everyone. He never apologizes for his blatant assault even though there were multiple witnesses. Blames everyone but himself. Is this a norm in Korean workplaces? Do women often get physically assaulted in their workplace by seniors who have the same position? If so, ugh. So disrespectful.

-The ML's father should've been in jail. But somehow, he doesn't go to jail later. Whatevs. Give the ML a happy relationship with his dad.

-The office gossip is so unprofessional. Nasty actually.

-I didn't care for any of the other characters' stories. Boring.

-What OST? Barely memorable.

Okay, I really had high hopes because I love Park Min Young and SK but I blame the writers. Sorry, but I won't be rewatching this nor do I recommend it. I actually liked the weather stuff in it but that's really all.

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How Song Kang and Park Min Young’s Latest Drama Failed To Break The Ice…

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Unsurprisingly from the suggestions given by its title-name, ‘ Forecasting Love and Weather’ is one of the few K-dramas in recent memory to cover this subject field  of meteorology. With the additional talents of rising star  Song Kang ( Navillera’, ‘ Sweet Home’ and ‘ Love Alarm’) as well as  A-lister actress Park Min Young (  -‘Healer’, ‘ Her Private Life’ and ‘ What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim?’), the sixteen-episode JTBC and Netflix series has gained popular attention for its intriguing plot premise and subject area.

Nevertheless aside from an interesting premise and an impressive cast line-up, it is hard to ignore that ‘Forecasting Love and Weather’ has gained an onslaught of mixed-criticism due to its execution, lukewarm chemistry between potential love interests as well as certain screenwriting inconsistencies also.

The narrative is focused upon two polar opposite main leads; Lee Si-Woo (Song Kang) and Jin Ha-Kyung( Park Min Young). Lee Si Woo is a laidback yet prodigal meteorologist obsessed with weather patterns such as the consistency of air flow and sea fog. However, despite Lee Si-Woo’s dedication to his career, the same cannot be said about his relationship with his disengaged girlfriend Chae Yoo-jin (Girl’s Day’s Yura- ‘Secret Angel’, ‘ To The Beautiful You’ and  ‘ Radio Romance’).

Meanwhile at Seoul’s headquarters for Korean Meteorological Association, prudent and uptight deputy manager Jin Ha-Kyung, finds herself being caught in a maelstrom of anxiety and stress. An oncoming weather front has proven to be just as unpredictable as her approaching wedding day.

After Ha-Kyung discovers that her fiancé Han Ki-jun (Yoon Park- ‘ Introverted Boss’, ‘ Search’ and ‘ You Are My Spring’) has been having an affair behind her back, she is forced to call off the wedding.
Similarly Si-Woo is heartbroken when Yoo-Jin finally breaks up with him after becoming disinterested with their dates.

Yet after the storm, there is always a glimpse of sunshine and hope. As Ha-Kyung and Si-Woo attempt to juggle between their newfound situations and their careers, they soon find themselves growing closer to one another along the way.

The screenwriting for ‘Forecasting Love and Weather’ was arguably one of the most unexpected collaborations in recent years. Kang Eun-kyung  (probably best known for her screenplays for productions such as as ‘ Bread, Love and Dreams’, ‘ Dr. Romantic’  and ‘ Where Stars Land’) worked together alongside lesser-known screenwriter Sun Young(    ‘Drama Special Season 3: Like a Miracle’) in order to write the screenplay for  ‘ Forecasting Love and Weather’; a work which for all intents and purposes felt heavily domineered in style and creativity by Eun-Kyung.

Of course, it isn’t out of the question that a collaborated work can often reflect the style and characteristics of screenwriters. In particular due to the fact that Sun Young’s screenplays are respectfully limited ( and as a consequence it becomes harder to notice specific patterns), it does arguably stand to reason that Eun-Kyung’s writing quirks and traits were more noticeable than Sun Young’s.

On the other hand for those fairly familiar with Eun-Kyung’s style , then it is likely that most will notice that ‘ Forecasting Love and Weather’ possessed similar flaws and strengths of the screenwriter’s previous projects; light-hearted angst filled with romantic bravado and bubbly setups, but heavily reliant upon screenwriting tropes and bombastic character archetypes. Similar to some of her aforementioned works, ‘Forecasting Love and Weather’ felt as though it would often struggle to achieve a successfully consistent and lively tone, often disengaging viewers as a consequence.
 
This was particularly apparent with the narrative’s constantly changing focal points, especially during early episodes of the series. Rather than
focusing on a few concise points and keeping a level of consistency with the established tone and narrative, ‘Forecasting Love and Weather’ often felt uncertain with its main topics.

For example, a drama seemingly established as a heartfelt romance between two mismatched individuals, would suddenly be subverted into a topic-heavy drama surrounding mapping and warning systems, before shifting again in a different scene in order to become a melodrama surrounding heartache, infidelity, breakups and heinous exes.
 
Despite some respectfully mixed responses surrounding the casting choices of Song Kang and Park Min-Young initially, both main leads offered fairly decent performances throughout.

On the other hand , it is hard to ignore that despite the talents of both main leads, Kang and Park’s onscreen chemistry was often lukewarm.

Admittedly this isn’t entirely the fault of the actors per say. As characters, Si-Woo and Ha-Kyung were often resorted to the equivalent of carte blanches; excuses by the screenwriters in order to be shoehorned into romantic setups, misunderstandings and seemingly allow the audience to root for them from beginning to end.


In particular, main female lead Ha-Kyung has often come under scrutiny by viewers for her impassivity. This is mainly due to the fact that despite being a character who is meticulous and flawed by her uptight nature, there were few opportunities to explore Ha-Kyung as an individual in her own right . Ha-Kyung had a lot of potential to grow or at least mature through her experiences. ( Such as her breakup or her tumultuous experiences with her ex-fiancé. )However rather than giving screen time for Ha-Kyung to be explored as a character and learning self-acceptance , Ha-Kyung was resorted to the equivalent of a plot asset; necessary for driving forwards the contrived love story at the heart of the show, but rarely being presented as a sentient heroine in between.

 Admittedly these writing problems were not just applicable to Ha-Kyung. Main male lead Si-Woo was often restricted into a similar role as the “ forlorn male lead”.

Despite Si-Woo being an intelligent individual who struggles to understand empathy at times, the narrative rarely offered opportunities for Si Woo to reflect upon his breakup or actions in the past, or at least attempt to reconciliate and display an element of maturity by trying to understand his ex-girlfriend’s perspectives. ( Even if Chae Yoo-Jin’s motives were often villainous, this would’ve easily presented and allowed opportunities for viewers to comprehend Si-Woo’s struggles and journey as a character.)

Instead although some of Si-Woo’s situations could arguably be justified as being “ caught in the moment”, it seemed out of character and unjustified in a lot of situations for Si Woo to behave in this way or become actively involved in these scenarios without a greater motive. ( Aside from the case of for the “ sake of plot”.)

However this problem was not just limited to our main characters.Park and Yura’s acting was respectfully credible but the same cannot be said about their screen personas.

Indeed one of the main areas of debate with Park and Yura’s onscreen characters came through their “ villainous” roles throughout the duration of the series.

Of course it isn’t always necessarily out of the question to create despicable villains, nor is it always necessary to allow moments of moral redemption either.

However where ‘ Forecasting Love and Weather’ often fell short was how the narrative truly wanted to portray these characters. At times, the series could often lean into presenting Ki-Jun and Yoo-Jin as intrinsically hollow individuals with egocentric goals and motives. ( In particular with Ki-Jun’s megalomaniacal tendencies and Yoo-Jin’s manipulative attempts to climb up the social ladder in the workplace.) However. , the series often seemed to lean into some moments of potential “ sentience ” for these characters which while having the potential to be dynamic and meticulously written, often felt conceited. ( For example Ki-Jun’s “ ambivalent” feelings as well as Yoo-Jin’s workplace drama.)

Of course this isn’t to say that as an audience we didn’t see some moments of error or weaknesses for the characters in this series, this was rarely given more reasoning. When Si-Woo or Ha-Kyung were at fault the series would often find excuses to justify this as “ morally right” without necessarily highlighting the faults or flaws at the heart of their issues. Similarly Ki-Jun and Yoo-Jin’s actions and misdeeds were often labelled as purely diabolical or a cause of disgust and shame, without always necessarily digging deeper into the causes or allowing viewers to see a full-side of the picture .

Nevertheless a shoutout must be given to supporting actor Kwon Hae-Hyo’s  ( ‘ Revenge and Passion’, ‘ Radiant Office’ and ‘ Undercover’) performance as head of the bureau, Ko Bong-Chan. Arguably one of the most underrated performances in the series, Kwon perfectly embodied an oddly authentic cynical charm to his cantankerous onscreen character.
 
 Due to the previously mentioned flaws of ‘Forecasting Love and Weather’, the knock-on effect of these problems evidently dragged down the narrative’s execution and pacing. Admittedly it is inaccurate to claim that the entire trajectory was calamitous. The series often attempted to create a balance between downplaying key events in order to build-up these obstacles for the main leads, as well as offering pacy climatic moments in order to keep viewers intrigued with forlorn hope.

However due to the extent of misunderstandings and conflicts presented with this method of execution, it could often make ‘Forecasting Love and Weather’ feel as though it was tediously slow in parts and tiresomely repetitive as a consequence. This was mainly due also to the format of each episode following a similar pattern; a dilemma would become apparent to the audience (though evidently not to the characters at first), the problem would emerge and then a misunderstanding or conflict would occur before being dragged out, resolved and then repeat.
 
Perhaps this wouldn’t have been so bad if there had been variation or by the latter-half, viewers had seen opportunities for the characters to gradually overcome their misunderstandings from the first-half. Instead, the predominant focus upon dragging out tense conflicts and misunderstandings had a severe impact upon the seemingly main relationship between Ha-Kyung and Si-Woo; lacking screentime together in addition to ironically spending more time interacting with their exes onscreen, rarely allowing opportunities for viewers to see this relationship reach a concise or healthy resolution.
 
Under the directing reigns of Cha Young Hoon ( ‘ When The Camellia Blooms’, ‘ Uncontrollably Fond’ and ‘ Gaksital’), it is undeniable that despite some limited camera angles and pan shots at times,  ‘ Forecasting Love and Weather’ was filled with some sleek and aesthetic shots.

In particular due to the main subject area of the series being upon the field of meteorology and weather, Young Hoon captured some mesmeric moments of weather changes from the rolling tide, to descending fog, dew on the ground and rain.
 
However, this was also used as an effective narrative device also; pathetic fallacy. (For those unfamiliar with the term, pathetic fallacy refers to the usage of weather in order to display the mood, tone or feelings of a narrative and its characters. )

For ‘Forecasting Love and Weather’ this became apparent with the brief yet effective usage of these scenes in order to highlight the emotional conflicts of the characters as well as the main leads’ relationship in different stages over the course of the narrative. (Enforced by particular episode titles helping to hint   such as “Signal” , “Localized Heavy Rain”, “Tropical Night” in order to hint at the literal and metaphorical problems of each episode.)
 
In addition to the filming stylistics of ‘ Forecasting Love and Weather’, there is also the important discussion surrounding the drama’s comprised OST of schmaltzy pop songs and love ballads. There is no beating around the bush that some of these tracks weren’t particularly memorable. However renowned singer CHEEZE’s upbeat track  ‘Melting (사르르쿵)’, and earnest love ballad ‘ Promise You’ performed by  Kyuhyun were arguably some of the best songs found on the soundtrack which remained noteworthy .
 
Overall impressions of ‘Forecasting Love and Weather’ are entirely dependent on expectations. There is a certain unusual attraction to the series’ topic area of meteorology and its visual aesthetics. On the other hand, ‘ Forecasting Love and Weather’ could often be caught up in a storm of its own making; inconsistent tonal shifts,  character-writing and questionable pacing did little to bring out the best sides of ‘ Forecasting Love and Weather’.

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