Meer dan vrienden (2020)

Being honest with everyone: there isn’t anything amazingly fresh nor outstanding about this show. Whether you will like it or not, depends all on whenever you will like the characters and their interactions.

It’s another show about a confident jerk male lead and a nice and madly in love female lead who is willing to get dumped countless times and still cannot give up on the dude. What is surprising, though: they are both somehow likable (many would disagree, so don't quote me on that). I wanted to slap Soo back to reality more than once, but I also loved all his scenes and found him to be an interesting character. Woo Yeon, even though desperate with her unrequited love, still seemed like a strong character that is slowly gaining more confidence and learning how to put herself first. The flaws were presented in a way that made me curious about the development, rather than annoyed with their current state.

The show is full of cliches, but I was weirdly not mad about them at all. I saw these plotlines in other dramas, I should be bored, but somehow I wasn’t. Why? Because I cared for these characters. I was emotionally attached to them and was genuinely interested in their stories.

I also have to appreciate they at least tried to give a better explanation for Soo being such a selfish jerk. It wasn’t just random, short conversations we usually get in dramas to explain the behavior. His past was mixed well in the overall plot and, even though it did not excuse his actions, it made me understand him more.

They took a similar approach with Woo Yeon. While she was a weak person in terms of her love life and the desperation she presented, she also was strong and striving to achieve her dreams. She wasn’t weak in all areas of her life. She was flawed in one. And that made her an interesting character.

The chemistry between all the characters was amazing. Not only romance felt natural, but also the friendship between the main and supporting cast. Nothing felt forced or unrealistic. Great acting from the cast for sure helped achieve that.

The sub-plots were also interesting, with 2 supporting couples bringing something different to the table. We got comedy and we got melo. Such a striking difference, but even when their scenes were one right after another, it never felt disconnected or like they belonged to different shows. The flow and transitions were just right.

For me it was just a fun romantic comedy that had a good amount of sub plot surrounding the main one. Nothing felt like useless fillers for me (though I am sure many people would disagree).

Do I think this drama could have been shorter? Sure. I honestly believe getting 12 and not 16 episodes would be ideal, but I have exactly the same opinion about ALL romantic comedies. They are just not meant for a longer format. The last 4 episodes were painfully full of cliches. I'm pretty sure I saw my brain a few times when I rolled my eyes so hard. That said, I am unable to name even one rom-com that avoided cliches at the end. I think it's just given and expected in the genre.

Overall, if you cannot get over the over-confident male lead that is extremely selfish most of the time and desperate for his love female lead, this ain’t for you. The characters are far more than the flaws, and I myself found them likable, but if these are your personal pet peeves, you will not like it.

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