It warms your heart in the most clever, hilarious and emotionally heavy way.

As someone who was always put into a difficult and horrible position by my parents, as well as having multiple autistic close relatives and anti-social, narcissistic personality traits, I related to this kdrama a lot. It was slow, electric and captivating. I particularly enjoyed the fresh change of pace in the dynamic between the main characters, as well as the character growth shown across the episodes. Having the FL as she was, but also the actual acceptance of who she was, because I often feel that people demonise those with personality disorders or try to “correct” them, and many shows with “Cold” FL’s, end up turning soft, was poetic and presented a strong-minded butt of heads between the main couple. I really enjoyed the dual complexion between the brothers because it really is tough being a caretaker and I felt so seen just through the ML’s situation. This kdrama was heartfelt, sincere, comical and thrilling at times. The director hit the cinematography like a nail on a hammer with stunning animation, CGI, and use of dark scenery. Every episode carries depth and emotional baggage that is not battered heavily by dialogue but smoothly with clean scene transitions and soft imagery that juxtaposes the dark context of the two main leads' childhood trauma. It tantalises you into a mystery, and while yes, developed slowly, it never feels so. Though the main crux of the drama is dealt with towards the end, across the whole show there is a very strong grasp on chemistry; loveydovey at times but also hilariously stressful at others.

This kdrama is slowpaced like all others, enough so to make you question what the ending really is, largely because the plot is sort of non-existent but in a very good way. However, I am severely disappointed in the execution of the FL’s mother and that storyline. Up until Episode 17, it was perfectly written as a tense, spine-chilling and emotionally devastating mystery that is told in an unreliable narrative by two people’s memories. And then, it is revealed, rather lousily (in my opinion, although there were efforts to make this cohesive by hinting at it across 4 episodes) that the FL’s mother is NOT dead but alive and kicking—she works as the Head Nurse at the very psychiatric hospital where the ML works and the FL’s father is a patient at. It is really such a… Hollywood-esque plot twist that has no substance other than sticking in a tense “life or death” flight to push together two main leads AS IF THEY DON’T ALREADY HAVE CHEMISTRY(?) Chemistry that, mind you, was built up in the most brilliant, emotional and humourous way across 17 episodes.

The flashbacks that the FL has about her mother and the darkness of her past have always alluded to the mother’s death, something that honestly could have worked out as such a poignant allegory for the FL to overcome her past trauma. Not all mothers need to be revived or be “alive” for the trauma to be real, or for people to heal. Personally, having the mother be alive after all those years was a slap in the face to the grief that the FL was processing—it could have been confirmed in some sick way that the FL killed her mother as a child—and that it raises a lot of questions. What was her purpose then? Why, after so many years, would you want to re-enter your family’s life again randomly? Especially since you had so many chances to kill the FL’s father, or even kill the FL. I think it was said that the FL’s mother had memory loss—another sloppy slap in the face, especially since trauma is so vividly and visibily remembered and recounted in this show. I was extremely happy with the ending, but how Episode 17 and 18 were executed, left me a little sour.

It just felt out of place and cheap, and the show’s creators had built up the perfect image of the FL's mother being an unattainable ghost, a figment of the past that the FL must conquer and move on from. It would have been such a perfect allegory, especially given how violent, gorey and ghostlike a lot of the FL’s children books and morals are. Rather, having the mother be alive allows for a physical manifestation that justice can be inflicted on, even though most of the trauma in this show is about having to fight the ghosts of your past. I can't help but wonder if they did this largely because of the subplot that was the ML's mother, who we would never have really known was murdered by the FL's mother if she wasn't alive to allude to it.

Despite my criticisms of how the last bit of the main plot was handled, I say this with the utmost chest that I truly want more of these kdramas in the world. The ending is powerful, empathetic and warm, a happy ending that understands the handling of trauma and the slow but bitter process of moving on.

As for Sang Tae, I have always been hazy on the presentation of autistic characters in media due to the subsequent trivialisation, infantalisation and demonisation that follows. They are treated like children and have their rights and autonomy taken away from them through their actions. However, this kdrama changed that, big time. Sang Tae was written extremely well from my perspective, as a person who understands what it is like to be in his and Kang Tae's position. He's clever, childish but not in a "baby-like" way but rather in a way that can embolden his creativity and skills, and is accurately emotional and hard to socialise with.

I want to thank the actor for the accuracy and dedication to the role of Sang Tae, as well as the accuracy of the actor for the FL because it is extremely difficult to play a character with an anti-social personality disorder without being written off as a robotic, cold-hearted, "tsundere" strong woman. Rather, the FL gorgeously plays the role to a T. She carried this show with her comedy and her brash, reckless behaviour. I was rooting for her all the way.

Anyway, this was so close to being a 10. So close. Of course, it all depends on perspective. Shows can't always please everyone. I thoroughly enjoyed this narrative enough to 100% recommend it. Though heavy and emotionally upsetting, it is powerful and I loved it. I think that in terms of a rewatch, it might vary from person to person because this was the kind of show I would need to sit down and watch again in one sitting when I am looking for a source of comfort or a way to process trauma.

Hope this review helps!

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