Fall in Love (2024)

Unbelievable premise, but well done and with great leads.

A vertically filmed micro drama (I rate these on their own sliding scale). Spoilers only at bottom of review.
A non-toxic romance, no extreme violence, and no deranged 3rd wheels. Some things require suspension of disbelief, but there are no overly crazy plot shenanigans. The plot devices used tie into the story well and don't drag out (except for the mistaken identity misunderstanding which lasts almost the entire show).
This might be enjoyable for people who like watching the ML fall first, and fall hard.

The set-up is ridiculous but it makes for a fun story.
Set-up synopsis: In highschool the FL is assaulted by an older neighbor who blames her for seducing him when caught by his wife. The news spreads and the FL is ruthlessly bullied by everyone and kicked out of her family. She goes to live with her grandmother in another city to start over. Some years later, the grandma and her best friend have their beloved grandchildren marry. The leads get their marriage documents without looking at each other properly, the ML immediately travels abroad for work, they don't have any contact whatsoever for a year, then the ML comes back and they never meet directly as they pursue a divorce. The ML was raised by his grandmother and, due to complex family issues, the name he uses publicly is different than his given name. The ML is the new CEO of the company the FL is working at and she becomes his personal assistant. Neither of them realize (despite some clues) that the person they start becoming drawn to is the spouse they are planning to divorce.

I thought the screenplay did a good job with it's messages about female reputation and the long-lasting effects of slander. The messages were obvious, but integrated well into the script and plot so it never felt preachy.

The FL character is awesome, as is the actress. She is smart, fun, sweet, grounded, and with a backbone. She sticks up for herself without resorting to violence (other than a few well deserved slaps) and outhinks people to successfully manage challenges. She doesn't need the ML but it is nice that he so readily sticks up for her, especially since most people in her past have not done so.

The ML does a great job with the wide range of emotions required for his character. His growing admiration into affection then love for the FL is very believable, as is his inner turmoil between what he wants and duty or with what is socially appropriate.

The leads have great chemistry with many romantic and/or sexual tension moments. There's not much direct intimacy as both believe they are married to other people, but there are a couple of heated lip press kisses and a sweet kiss at the end.

General Spoilers:

The only downside this story had, for me, was the rushed ending, which jumped ahead in the lead's relationship at a crucial and interesting point. Talking things out, strengthening trust, and explorong the shift from off-limits to allowed physical affection were things I had been looking forward to, so was disappointed that it was skipped over. Nevertheless, the ending was happy and sweet, if brief, and ended with a kiss.

! More Specific Spoilers below on things I liked:

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Some moments for the ML went against trope norms in a wonderfully unexpected way!:

1) When both he and the FL are drugged, he tears himself away after a few kisses and takes a cold shower. He doesn't allow himself to to fall prey to the aphrodisiac, respects the FL (and that she's married), and doesn't take advantage of her drug-induced sexual encouragement.
2) After he "learns" the FL is pregnant (it's misinformation), he then learns she's actually the woman he's married to. He asks a doctor to check on her for her health saying that it doesn't matter who the father is, he'll let her have the baby and will raise it as his own (he has no qualms about this, he doesn't even have to think hard about it because he loves and respects her so much).

Also unexpected: what happens with the ML's scheming mother was hilarious- I've never see one get a plane ticket to run away in fear of retribution when their plan went awry! I wish more of the annoying antagonists in these stories would do that, lol.

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