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From Promising Beginnings to Disappointing Endings..
I rated this drama 8.5 based on the first 7-8 episodes.. It started of really well with spot on comedy.. Great acting and steady story development.. However after those initial 7 episodes the characters became bland.. And the forced humor felt out of place.. Even thats understandable conisdering this is a romcom.. But Some of the choices the characters made were really nonsense..Constantly being let down by the Korean writers who struggle to deliver satisfying endings.. They Often resort to forced breakups.. Unnecessary time skips.. And last minute reconciliations.. As if thats the only way they know to end a story..
I honestly didnt understand the need for Cha Hui Seong's story.. She is in an open relationship and the couple sleeps around with other people.. Then she gets pregnant but she doesnt know whose baby it is?? What sort of dilemma is that?? What lesson is the writer trying to convey?? Modern relationships have no morals??
The second couple was interesting.. With Lee Sang Yi delivering a solid performance like in his other dramas.. Han Ji Hyun had her moments but her cuteness felt forced at times.. And her acting was all over the place.. She is a good actress but i hope she doesnt follow the ' i need to do smut to get the recognition i deserve ' mantra.. Spice up Our Love was an unnecessary spinoff filled with cringe and cliche romance.. I am looking forward to her next drama with Lee Min Ki..
The main couple's story started off really good.. The first seven episodes were genuinely hilarious.. But unfortunately took a fall afterward.. The ML supported the FL through her struggles and was always there for her.. Yet she broke up with him right after her mother’s funeral.. She clearly lacked empathy there and it was just a dumb thing to do.. He loved her mother as if she were his own and she didn’t allow him the time to grieve.. Son Hae Yeong was a mature character.. But her decisions felt childish and selfish.. Instead of facing the hard times together.. She cruelly cut him off.. Leaving him alone when he needed her most.. How is that love?? Kdrama FLs often take love for granted.. I wished they wouldnt get back together..
The conclusion felt rushed.. With a last minute reconciliation that didnt do any justice to the way the story developed.. The FL didn’t even try to stop the ML AGAIN.. He had to chase after her to make amends..
" I never regretted letting you go " Thats what she said..
In conclusion.. While the drama faltered after the first seven episodes.. It still delivered memorable moments and strong performances..
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NO WATCH, YOUR LOSS!
What a pleasant surprise, one of the best of the year!I would say Im a little bias going in to the show. Shin Min Ah is one of the few Korean actresses that i reallly really adore so I am predetermined to love this just for that reason. Casting the very good looking Kim Young Dae is just an icing to the cake. At first it seems like an off-pairing because of the age gap, but they worked that in the story seemlessly and i didn't think, not even once did the age gap seemed apparent because they jived so well together -it's all thanks to the strong performances of both leads.
The story is a little bit off-putting at the beginning. A seemingly modern liberated woman engaging the services of a man to be her fake husband to survive in a corporate environment. HaeYoung seems to be a big red flag at first that will do everything to move ahead of her career. It was done in the guise of light and fluffy early episodes. As the episodes go by we discovered the layers to the characters, with the last couple of episodes being so emotional, gut wrenching and heart harming at the same time.
What sets it apart from some of the other May-December affair specially the one which aired almost at the same time (Im not saying it's Cinderrella at 2AM) is how each episode of this series seems important. They developed the characters and cliffhangers in a way that you'll keep coming back for more each week. What's more, the second couple and even the third couple, for that matter, were all engaging to watch.
I just hoped they didnt end it at 12 episodes cause i feel like there's still so much more to tell and i would love to see more of Hae Young and Ji-Uk together. I know they are adding 2 special episodes for the Gyu Hun and Ja Yeon fans and will also be first in line to watch it but i still wanna see more of the main couple and the other characters.
For me, one proof of very good writing is when you wanna see and know more of each characters - and that is very evident here even up to the support casts. I would have loved to see more of the male secretary Ha Jun cause he was being initially primed as the 3rd party to GyuHun and Ja Yeon's love story plus his character has very strong personality. Manager Jang and GyuHun's parent's stories also seemed unfinished (and what an underuse of the actor Choi JIn Ho). And should i also dare to mention the non-closure of UJae and I Rin's characters (with I RIn not even showing up at the the last episode).
So will i recommend? Yes, what are you waiting for?! Definitely one of the best K dramas of the year!
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No Gain, No Love had a lot of promise. It had a lot of classic tropes, it had Shin Min Ah, it was very progressive for a kdrama. But I think that the main issue is that this show tried to do way too much with only 12 episodes. There were so many storylines that a lot of them didn’t get resolved at all (with Ji Uk’s parents, or her ex) or were so rushed that they had no impact at all. Even the main relationship didn’t feel developed, so it felt like it had no stakes. Kim Young Dae really didn’t work for me as a lead and he did not have great chemistry with Shin Min Ah.
Ja Yeon was adorable and I really wish she had gotten more screentime. The show tried to do too much with her character in very limited time. I liked her arc as a romance writer and would have liked that to be more of the focus. The whole murderer dad getting out of jail and coming for her was a pretty unnecessary plot line. I wanted to like her romance more than I did. The way they met was very hard to come back from and it kind of dampened their entire arc.
The third friend’s storyline was completely forgettable and uninteresting. They should have just written her out if they were going to do a shorter show. Everything with Hae-young’s ex was also very annoying and took time away from other plot points.
I could see that there were elements of Hae-young’s character arc that I would’ve liked and could’ve connected with but the show just never delved into those parts in any meaningful way. Even her relationship with her mom felt like afterthought.
After a somewhat promising start, the show really fell flat for me in the last couple episodes. I’d still say watch it if you love Shin Min Ah, but overall the drama felt pretty shallow in terms of the characters and story.
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Started with a bang, ended with a fizzle
If there was ever a K-drama that could have used 16 episodes, "No Gain, No Love" might be the one. For all its hilarity and touching moments, there were quite a few plot cracks that a couple of laughs and tears couldn't quite plaster over.This is a long one, but let me start with the positives:
- Son Hae-yeong is definitely making my list of the most memorable female K-drama leads of all time. I loved it every time she was on screen. She was funny, assertive, good at her job, and true to her character from beginning to end. There was so much depth to her, especially when it came to displaying all the hurt from her childhood. Kudos to SMA for bringing this amazing character to life, this is my first time finishing a project of hers and I was really impressed here.
- The rom rommed, and the com commed. I genuinely laughed out loud at so many moments while watching this show, and I enjoyed the chemistry between Hae-yeong and Ji-uk. The second couple was cute too and had great chemistry, but I couldn't fully get into them.
- My girl Han Ji-hyun was soooo good and adorable in this drama. Loved her in Cheer Up despite the disaster that show became, and she shone even brighter here. Can't wait to see more of her in the spin-off.
- Isn't it amazing when adults behave like adults and communicate? It was nice to see the back of the noble idiocy trope in this show and that unnecessary misunderstandings were kept to a minimum or at least quickly addressed. And a lot of interesting themes were addressed too, although not always in a satisfactory way.
- The foster sister trio. There's nothing like an amazing girl squad in a K-drama that stays amazing and uplifting until the end. It reminded me a lot of the trio from King the Land -- they have their differences and squabbles, but they support each other all through. It was heartwarming to see.
Now, onto the negatives:
- The ending was such a letdown, especially coming off the penultimate episode. I figured that it would be a bit rushed, but I was disappointed in just how much was left unresolved, most especially when it comes to emotional closure for our female lead. It was sad to see how much her feelings about her mother were cast aside when it is at the root for her character and personality, and there's simply no resolution for her. For someone who doesn't like to take a loss, she lost quite a lot in this drama. There's so much else to talk about here but that will be too much of a spoiler.
- The second couple's relationship, while cute to see, not only took too much screen time away from the first couple (especially considering that they have their own spin-off), it also seems quite unbelievable at the heart of it and hard to root for. The second male lead, Bok Gyu-hyun, who also happens to be HY's boss, becomes quite the villain, especially towards HY, but also towards the second female lead, who is HY's younger (foster) sister, Nam Ja-yeon. And so it's hard to understand how quickly NJY forgives BGH and falls in love with him despite the gravity of what he's done (and he only apologizes for what he did to her, but not what he does to HY or Ji-uk), especially with how close she is to HY. Poor writing and characterization, imo.
- Too many extraneous characters and plot points to follow, which further made the lack of resolution in the final episode more glaring. I'm not sure why K-dramas are yet to fully figure out how many episodes they need for the plot points they have. 12 episodes was not enough to fully flesh all of these out and still leave room for character development, and it really showed.
- Young-dae's character Ji-uk was seriously shafted for a main lead role, probably worse than HY. So many parts of his story felt underdeveloped, and the other characters overshadowed him.
All in all, "No Gain, No Love" was a fun time but suffered from a weaker second half. There was a lot of material for it to be truly good and iconic, but sadly a lot of it was wasted. Still, the great parts were great, with a lot of laughs and shed tears and cool performances. It will probably not make it into my list of faves, but it was a good watching experience overall. 7/10.
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Hard to Express my Disappointment with This Cringe Fest.
Since discovering Kdramas I had loved Shin Min ah, her beauty is so natural and gorgeous and her comedic touch in kdramas has been well established from my Girlfriend is Gumiho to Hometwon Cha Cha. Here paired up with a younger and extremely handsome ML the anticipation was high.Unfortunately what we got was a mish mash of a drama with totally uneven characters, development, character arcs and a script writer who seemed to think that focusing on sexual themes, lifestyles, and engaging in the odd time subtle but mainly the most stupid and crass sexual innuendo was the height of literary achievement.
The flashback scenes of the FL buying a gazillion condoms while shouting around the supermarket that her sex partner better do it more than twice tonight or admonishing some guy for his weak performance in bed were so cringe inducing and pathetic I was actually flabbergasted. I couldn't decide if this was aimed at 14yr olds or idiots or 14yr old idiots or people who hadn't had sex in 14yrs or people who never had sex.
And then the dildos ooh look our sexually liberated FL (okay we get it jesus we get it she has sex) has sex toys and masturbates, a univeral and generally private human activity but here glorified and held up as if ownership of them elevated her to a place of enlightenment and Liberation that sets her apart from the rest of us mere mortals. It reminded me of the innuendo filled British comedy of the 70s and 80s where anything sex related drew gasps and guffaws from the scandalised but knowing audience. The amount of cringey "oh my God I laughed so hard when I saw those dildos" comments I've read is oh whatever ?.
Then the more "serious" themes of views on marraige, family infidelity, polyamorous relationships and pregnancy. Again it was like the makers, in their desperate attempt to be edgy modern and join the dreaded race to the bottom of shittiness epitomised by shallow, amoral, sexualised characters in western TV, they just threw in a whole lot of ideas and developed none of them in any meaningful way. The supportive relationship between the three foster siblings was heartwarming but it was overshadowed by the unresolved and unfinished exploration of the nature of the FLs relationship with her mother vs everyone else's. The inherent unfairness of this seemed to be left to the FL right to the end.
The older foster sister having unprotected sex with multiple partners and not knowing or bothering to find out definitively who the real father of her child was, inadvertently highlighted some of the potential pitfalls of polygamy though the writer just seemed to be inserting it for "look at how edgy my script is". It really did not portray a meaningful rmessage apart from her BF being a selfish so and so. Like at least practise safe sex FFS. Again it seemed having the concept in the drama was more important than how it was actually dealt with.
The cheating ex faciltted by the FL the whole way through and the cheating dad of the CEO were just shittiness personified. The fact we are repeatedly shown and reminded that the FL is a morally fair and kind at heart person makes this worse as she loses all credibility here by blatantly betraying her exes wife who was generally kind to and supportive of her. And of course asshole ex gets a pass, ah well we might have that female character, along with the cheated on 2ML wife, portrayed as regressively as an early noughties Kdrama melo but we did have condoms and dildos and a polyamorous couple so it's okay we're edgy.
The infamous second couple were more typical of your Kdrama rom com cute couple but totally distracted from the main couple especialky toward the end, and his initial online attacks were pretty awful along with his weird mamas boy life but at least that plot line didn't seem to take itself too seriously.
Finally the .most irritating take I've repeatedly seen is how the FL is so cool unapologetic and iconic. I just can't get over how crass immature and painfully obviously trying to be cool this script is. It's like the member of your social group who because they're never actually getting any they never stop going on about sex in OTT ways to over compensate. it was pretty cringe tbh.
I don't want to get into the whole westernisation of Kdramas by the Streaming services but if this is anything to go by get ready for a serious decline.
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An Extremely Fun Ride.
NOTICE; My review is a bit long, bear with me. What's written below are my thoughts and opinions.To be honest, I only added "No Gain, No Love" to my watchlist because of the FL "Shin Min Ah". I've watched many of her dramas, and each time I do, she always impressed me. Hence, I decided to give this one a try, which I'm glad I did. For a drama I didn't have high expectations for, the premise was really great.
Synopsis;
"No Gain, No Love" tells the story of Son Hae Young, someone who hates loosing money. In other words, she doesn't like what she can't gain from. As a child, she had to share her mother's love with countless kids, which she didn't like. She felt her mother prioritized other people more than she cared about her. Now, Hae Young is an adult who works at a company. She wants to get a promotion and also get back the money she donated at her ex's marriage. But all this comes down to one answer, "Marriage." One of the requirements for her to get a promotion at work is marriage, the former is also marriage. And thus, that's where Kim Ji Uk who works as a cashier at a convenience store comes in. To many Kim Ji Uk is known by two names, "an Angel and Living Buddha". He was given that name because he helps almost everyone. But the only one he didn't quite get along with is Son Hae Young.
Thoughts.
The drama kicked off very nicely. I laughed upon watching the first episode. When Son Hae Young was at a wedding ceremony of one of her colleagues, the way she's thinking of the amount to donate, that scene was so damn funny. Another one is when she said this to Kim Ji Uk, "what about our baby?" I laughed so hard. I almost choked on my food. That said, I've got to say this before I continue this review; Don't eat anything when you're watching this, you might choke on your food.
I loved so many scenes that I can't even begin to describe. There's this scene of Bok Gyu Hyun when he wanted to carry Nam Ja Yeon to the hospital, that scene was damn funny. How can a drama be this good? Another one is when Son Hae Young married Kim Ji Uk, and they had to attend a dinner, Kim Ji Uk drank a bit of alcohol, he's tipsy because of that. Son Hae Young also was drunk, the same goes for Ahn Woo Jae. Strangely, the next day, they met themselves on the same bed, that scene was hilarious. To be honest, I spit my drink on my laptopupon watching that scene. Don't get me wrong, nothing happened between those three, they only slept, but the awkwardness, I just can't seem to forget the way I laughed my heart out upon watching that scene.
There's this scene, I think it happened when I watching Episode 11. Yeah it's that episode. Nam Ja Yeon crazy father broke into the house, and almost killed her, just as he was abusing her, Bok Gyu Hyun arrived. The way he's attacking him with those things (sex toys), those moves, those lights, I laughed, laughed, and laughed again. I was only able to stop laughing when I noticed that my heart was hurting a little. There are emotional moments, but the funny moments outweigh the emotional ones greatly. I love this drama. I'll stop at those funny scenes and leave you to find out the rest when you watch this. Also I've got to add the chemistry Kim Young Dae had with his dad's secretary. I don't know what to say. Their interaction were just so funny. Loved this drama!
I've got to comment on the acting. The acting was superb, phenomenal, excellent, and iconic.
Shin Min Ah portrayal as Son Hae Young was beautiful. Actually, I tunned in mainly for her cause I love most of her works. She always delivers in whatever roles she plays. Whether it's comedy, or not, as long as you see Shin Min Ah as the FL, you shouldn't doubt it. Peradventure, even if the drama turns out to be a disappointment, it's because of the bad script. Her role as Son Hae Young made me love her a whole lot more. Now I can say this, Shin Min Ah is born to act Rom-Coms, she's a natural, a great actress.
Kim Young Dae portrayal as Kim Ji Uk. Honestly, I didn't know I could love his role so. I've watched quite a number of his dramas, dramas like Moon in the Day and The Forbidden Marriage, but I wasn't impressed. His character in those dramas felt repulsive, I didn't like his role in any of those dramas. However, when I was watching No Gain, No Love, I got this feeling I never had while watching his previous dramas, the feeling of excitement. He portrayed his role as Kim Ji Uk excellently. I guess that's why they say, "humans are full of surprises."
The chemistry of the First couple, Shin Min Ah as Son Hae Young and Kim Young Dae as Kim Ji Uk is insane. Forced chemistry, or forced interaction? I didn't see any of those. What I saw were natural, overflowing, and insane chemistry. The way these two look at each other is something else!!!
Lee Sang Yi portrayal as Bok Gyu Hyun, oh I damn love his acting. The way he portrayed a CEO is so damn charming. I've watched him Hometown Cha Cha, and I loved him there. But this one made me love him a whole lot more. Wow, what can I say? His acting was excellent. This my first time seeing him portray a CEO, and I love what I see. Words can't express how satisfied I was with his acting while watching this drama.
Han Ji Hyun portrayal as Nam Ja Yeon. I also loved her so much. She made the journey a whole lot fun. When she writes her adult romance novel, her vivid description, oh, I loved them. I've never seen her in a drama before. Perhaps maybe it's because I haven't watched anything of her yet. Now that I've got to see her acting first hand, I'm getting this feeling to watch her dramas cause I was really impressed. No, I'm impressed.
The Second Couple's, Lee Sang Yi and Han Ji Hyun's chemistry is electrifying. I've watched many Rom-Coms, but I've only come seen very few second couples of a drama have this much chemistry. Their interaction, the way the fell in love, it's crazy!!
I know the Synopsis described Son Hae Young as a very materialistic person, but that's not who she truly is. Yes, she does love money, but she values family more. Besides, who doesn't like money? I think the answer is simple, right? When she got married, on the outside, she did so because of the donation money, but her main reason is because she wanted to let her sick mother who ran a foster home previously meet all her foster children. Her wedding ceremony was like her mother's "first funeral."
In my opinion, Son Hae Young was right to feel neglected. I mean, what child wouldn't feel neglected when their parent put others first before them? It's a natural feeling. Parents are supposed to be there for their children, but Son Hae Young's mother wasn't there most of the time. No matter how you look at it, it's still not right. Yes, her mother loved her, I get that. But that doesn't change the fact that she didn't put her first, she prioritized others before her own child, and that hurt Son Hae Young pretty bad. However, I'm glad she turned out great nonetheless. How she was able to have such great relationship with her foster sisters, Nam Ja Yeon and Cha Hui Seong despite all that really impressed me. I love her character.
I've also got to say this. I love the relationship of Son Hae Young, Nam Ja Yeon, and Cha Hui Seong.Their relationship is closer than that of biological sisters. Even most blood sisters are not that close. But theirs is a relationship, a bond that's stronger than anything.
The reason I'm not giving this a complete 10 is because of the bad parenting. I mean, Kim Ji Uk's father couldn't even defend his son, even when he's the chairman of a conglomerate. It sucks. Anyway, I guess that's how some people are. But I just can't accept that. There's also his mother who neglected him and started a new family abroad, how could she bring abandon her child for so long without even visiting him? I don't understand. Anyway, I didn't allow it to spoil the fun watch, but I just had to retain the 0.5. You could say it's my way of venting.
Above all, I Ioved how the love of the first couple blossomed. Same goes for the Second couple too. I've got to commend all the cast for delivering exceptionally and excellently in their respective roles. The crews too. The director and writer of No Gain, No Love made the whole journey a whole lot fun. It's extremely worth the wait, the time invested into it wasn't a waste. I love that about this drama. I don't really have any complaints about this one, only praises, so I'll be giving this 9.5/10.
Without excluding the beautiful OST of this drama. I loved them.
In essence, No Gain, No Love is an extremely fun drama. A drama you wouldn't want to miss. A one in a million. This is a drama I'd recommend for you to watch without hesitating. Whether you're sad or not, just tune in and you'll forget about life's problem for a while. Enjoy the fun ride....
NOTE; This one is a new one. I mean, this review, I accidentally deleted the previous one when I wanted to edit it, so I had to write a new one.
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Great comedy, lukewarm romance, underdeveloped drama…
which means only 1 of the 3 main genres are truly worth your time. And with how serious the topics that fall under “drama” were, I cannot just move past it and enjoy the funny fluff.For the comedy - they went into it and put all their brain power to make it work, and it truly did. Every episode had at least a couple of jokes that made me laugh and smile. Some were slapstick, some were filly, some were more subtle. I also appreciated at times dry delivery, which was obviously a deliberate choice. The absurdity of some scenes were perfectly used to create comedic moments.
For the romance, that’s just my subjective opinion, but I did not see that much chemistry between Shin Min Ah and Kim Young Dae. With how in love he was and with how open about sex her character was - there were truly no real sparks going on.
At least the second couple had more dynamic and fun to watch relationship. Gyu Hyun and Ja Yeon were the spark of chaotic fluff and I’m extremely happy we are getting (even though short) a sequel for them.
Then we have the true issue of the writing - a mess that was any and all serious scenes, storylines and plot points. For 12 episodes, they truly tried to have it all without putting in the work and it just left a bad taste in my mouth. Hae Yeong and her mother’s relationship was a tragic case of parental neglect of a child's emotional needs, but why at the end did it feel like it was all a “misunderstanding” on FL’s part and her mother “truly loved her”? Why does it feel like the drama is trying to tell me the mother did not really do anything wrong? Why the conclusion to this extremely complex and damaged relationship is the death of the mother? Why was there no real conclusion? The mother was selfish till the end. The mother chose other people over her own child till the end… the mother lied till the end. But now I as a viewer am supposed to forgive and forget because she dies and FL is sad about it? If that’s not it, then what is? Because the drama was not clear what exactly their message here was.
Then we have the issue of Nam Ja Yeon’s abusive father and how they decide to give a close about that story by adding a dildo fight between him and Gyu Hyun… that was just a new level of lows. That was the issue that kept coming back - good comedy, but ill timed comedy.
I also at some point started to see how selfish each and every character was and instead of liking them more with every episode and seeing their growth, they started to annoy me more and more. Some examples: .
For Ji Uk the promise he made as a teenager was more important than being honest to the person he claims to love. With how her whole life something and someone was always more important than Hae Yeong, to now know her partner also chose someone over her… painful.
Hui Seong deciding to not take a DNA test for her child is also selfish. One would assume a child would want to know who their biological father is… I guess it is on brand with overall message of the show: how biological parents don’t give a fuck about their biological kids. Not one good parent in this show… I am honestly impressed.
Overall, I just felt frustrated. They could have had a good pure rom-com with great comedy, but mishandled too many important issues. If you don’t give a clear message of what you want to say, you need to give more details about the circumstances so the viewers can form opinions - it lacks said details. And if you are not willing to put the work and time into developing these stories, don’t make trauma a major motivation and factor for almost all characters…
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What a shame.
First of all let me start by saying that I am a huge fan of Shin Min Ah. I think she is a terrific actress and so naturally pretty. I loved her in "My Venus" . But this role was not a good choice for her. The story line was juvenile and I lost interest quickly. i stayed with it hoping that it would get better but alas, it did not. How disappointing.Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
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Don't like the ending at all!!!
This drama was great at the beginning but in my opinion she was really mean to him, and in the end he always came back to her i think she was really narcissistic and thinks only on her and not on hyuk feelings for my it wasn't fair or gain at all , and she only said that she loves him in the last episode when all he did for her from the beginning was love .They deserve better ending, the secondary leads had better ending than theirs this was a complete disappointment for me because it was a great drama.
For me was more gain than love , for the secondary actors than them .
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good start and total disappointment after few first episodes
honestly, it was promising. I rated it 8,5 at first. But then all this "brothers" twist - it is so unnecessary and pointless. Then other plot moves are also just plain ridiculous. Tell me who would announce in the office lobby in front of everyone that main leads divorced without saying it to FL first? To me it is so stupid that I want to drop it. It is an insult to my sanity.Second leads - why are they needed at all? to fill time in order to get 16 episodes? absolute waste of time. skipped all parts with them
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Fading Sparks in a Promising Romance
"No Gain No Love" started off really well – I binge-watched the first few episodes because they were so engaging. But as the story progressed, things went downhill. The chemistry between the main characters just wasn’t there, which was a big letdown for me. What started as exciting tension turned into boredom, and the plot dragged on. By the end, I was just waiting for it to finish, and the ending itself didn’t deliver. I kept hoping for something to make up for the slow episodes, but it never came. Maybe I’m burned out, or maybe it’s just getting harder to find a romance that really hits the mark.Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
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That darn door keeps chirping!
This is unexpected. It's a ROM-COM supremacy. I'm so glad that I started the series and ignored the naysayers about the show. I was drawn to it mostly because of Han Ji-hyun and thankfully, overall I am fully satisfied that this series is strong and one of the best light rom-com ever.This is the definitive take on there is that one person (at least) out there for everyone. One person that you can rely on and not afraid to be embarrassed to. Yes, you may hate someone for being mean and harsh. Yes, you may say what a loser he is to let his partner have her way. But that is the REAL deal. Nobody is perfect. A person can be unbearable to you, but not to certain someone. Yes, you may hate/disagree with their choice, so decide if you want to be supportive or throw your tantrums on the floor.
The very core of a relationship/ bond to last is having acceptance of each other's flaws (never using them against each other). This series tackles not only from love perspective but between family, friends, sisterhood/ brotherhood and co-workers. It's not going to be a picture-perfect to fit your liking but with RESPECT, UNDERSTANDING and PATIENCE, those bonds are here to stay. This series is by far imho nailing those 'realism' brilliantly, no matter how unserious they can be at times.
Story
This is a not-so-typical marriage-contract setup between a head-strong heroin and a kind-hearted-angelic hero. The vibes in this one are super duper fun and so unserious, making it a joyful ride. It's like a box of chocolates, you'll never guess of what's coming and as of now I'm having a blast with their reality versus expectation scenes. Yes, keep em coming.
The introduction of the main couple is intriguing. Love, love, love with the animated graphics/ titles on certain scenes that help to amplify the antics of each character. What makes it stand out even more is the clash/ contrast of both leads which I find pretty unique on its own. The dynamics of the relationship is unexpectedly natural and exciting. Added with a stellar supporting casts whom I thought were also really appealing but doesn't feel overshadowing the main couple. Each of them was introduced subtly but made an impact, causing me wanted to see more of them.
Big kudos to the writer, I wished that I could get more than just 12 episode. Although the story may seem unserious, the writer manages to highlight heavy issues like cyberbullying, domestic abuse/ neglect, office discrimination, to name a few. It's amazing that the writer is able to take us on cloud 9 with it's romance, whack us with it's humour and educate/remind us at the same time.
But I have to give the highest credit to the director and the visual/sound editing team, for every little detail in every scene coz their effects are totally working and amplifying the storytelling. And not to mention that convenience store's door, it never fails to annoy me every time.
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SPOILER AHEAD
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Cast
Main Couple
Shin Min-ah is brilliant as Son Hae-young, her nature being an ambitious and calculative person were shown quite convincingly but isn't likeable/lovable to begin with. Her biggest flaw is her lack of empathy towards other people. What she understands are purely based on her own observation and life experience, shaped from her parent's lack of attention, thus making her insecure/ incapable of trust to others. She is confident in her own assumption, and sets out her goal as the most beneficial to her; and to other people, regardless of how she makes them feel or how they perceived her. In other words she seems like a selfish person but underneath it all, her 'calculative' decision is made to benefit others as well in her own twisted unique way. Her strength lies in her confidence, as she is willing to go the extra mile in any sort of situation. Unbeknownst to her, such act is actually a mirror to what her mother's deed all along. Although Hae-young might not be as angelic as her mother, they share the same value in life. We can see her bits of warmth and kind nature emerge here and there. Amazingly, SMA is able to make an unlikely likeable character to be relatable and that made me adore her even if she can really get on your nerves sometimes. This is one of her best works, alongside Gumiho.
Kim Young-dae brought his 'A' game as Kim Ji-uk. I'm sold at his portrayal of this awkwardly-angelic-persona as a good samaritan. Ji-uk stands at the very end of Hae-young's calculative nature spectrum. He was raised thinking that his existence is a curse instead of a blessing, and he lived his life as an act of service to the community just to fill his void (his sense of belonging). It was never revealed clearly as to what he was doing that is unknown to others (*my likely guess is he continues to care for his 'foster mom'). So he works at the convenience store nearby to keep in touch. And so happens, Hae-young asks him to be her fake groom. He just couldn't bear the thought of Hae-young getting involved with any stranger under those contract/fake circumstances. So, true to his nature to protect, he agrees, reassuring that at least it's under his control. Little does he know, the heart can play tricks on your mind. It brings me back to what Ji-uk's grandma had said earlier; "Whatever you say, is bound to happen later on". It implies that you'll do whatever your heart desires the most, which in Ji-uk's case, a family. A family which is not perfect; a family which is a HOME, a sense of belonging thus making his existence matter. KYD's portrayal of Ji-uk is highly commendable as his kind-angelic persona shines through just like his spellbinding mesmerizing visuals. I'm his new fan.
The chemistry between the leads are realistically incredible. It gradually climbs off the chart just like the dynamic in their relationship (from enemy to lover). It's insane if you think about the age gap. It's like magic. It's feels natural as both leads initially disliked each other; and each time both of them learn something new about each other, the sense of awe sparks their curiosity and eventually care. So how did they fall in love? Well, opposite does attract. Ji-uk thought he knew everything there was about Hae-young, but as he got closer, he realized that there was more. Hae-young's hidden charms slowly unmasked and grew on him. As for Hae-young, her curiosity about Ji-uk's past made her care about his well-being more than she should, as they share the same feeling of being neglected/ unwanted while growing up.
I just love watching them grow fond and be comfortable around each other. The push and pull effects with this couple is sizzling. SMA being maturely expressive somehow matches up with KYD's shy-aloofness. I'm not saying KYD is super-great but he's not all bad either. It works. I'm all giddy, anxious and excited each time I see them together.
Second Couple
Han Ji-hyun is an amazing actress. A room lights (steams) up whenever she is around. She plays Nam Ja-yeon/ Yeon Bo-ra, a +19 web-novel writer who is positively easy-going persona. She shines like a bright sun that can influence other people naturally. Her demeanor is quirky and often looks as if she is a care-free girl with no issues but underneath she hides a terrible past that shook her entire being. She often acts as the peacemaker if any fight occurs between the other two 'sisters'. Meaning that she is the type of person who doesn't like to hold a grudge for too long, easy to forgive and look for the bright side. Which resonates as to why she is able to accept Gyu-hun's sincere apologies. HJH's strong presence really made Ja-yeon believable as a survivor, given her ability to show her bright side in contrast to her dark-hidden past. The joke about her becoming a serial killer is actually a reminder to us all.
Lee Sang-yi as the insecure CEO Bok Gyu-hun is marvellously funny and charming. His brief intro with his family are amusing as it alternates from seriousness to opposite naturally. And then he pairs up with Yeo Ha-jun, his reluctant secretary play by Lee Yoo-Jin, forming a chaotic dynamic duo that will keep us entertain till the end. Their chemistry and interactions with each other never fail to make me laugh and I look forward to whatever turmoil coming their way. As for Bok Gyu-hun, his flaw is in his lay-back approach in dealing with what his parents expected of him (his mom especially), also by his lack of passion in his career/love. So the arc of half-sibling-rivalry and newfound love may trigger his true ability to shine through. LSY is able to portray such silliness with class. He made Gyu-hun to be likeable and charmed us in rooting for his growth.
As for the 2nd lead, with same trope (enemy to lover), imo their chemistry is good however it suffers a bit, as they came across each other pretty late in the story, resulting in a pretty jarring attraction; as to why would the writer have a soft spot for her hater, BUT it will be explained further in a 2 episode of spin-off (Spice Up Our Love). From it's preview, the 'spin off' took place when Ja-yeon fainted and slept for 20hrs... Haha, that'll explain a lot.
*Note : I'm not so keen on romancing cyberbullying, but I love to see how the storm subsided. So please be kind to each other ^__^
Other Cast (Overall)
Omg where do I start? Coz all of them are amazing.
Ms Cha - Love her deep tone voice and as the third sister, she is the 'normal' one that keeps the other two sisters (Hae-young and Ja-Yeon) on the ground.
Kkulbee Education staffs - Pretty solid, fun and entertaining. Big kudos to Ms Gong, never have I like a nosy co-worker with lovely comical expressions. Even Hae-young's two-timing ex-boyfriend, who I wished to see his downfall. It's never going to be a dull moment in that office.
Gyu-hyun's parents - Intriguingly funny. Their dynamics although was shown briefly, is enough to set the tone of how interesting the progression will be.
Mr Jang - How could I forget about him? Truly an underrated side character. Brief yet memorable.
5 Top Favourite Scenes :
1) All epilogue scenes; especially Episode 1
2) The fake marriage proposal; including the ring.
3) 'Family' dinner and the chaos that follows. (Including the morning after LOL)
4) Rooftop kiss... Insane! (the fluttering kills me) Great editing, hauntingly-beautiful score, the hands, the snowflakes... Ahhh it's so perfect!
5) The night when the power broke (I die again with that song)
5+1) When Ja-yeon realising Hae-young knew about the whole dad thingy. Han Ji-hyun, your acting is SUPERB! Award winning performance.
3 Honourable Mentions :
1) Wedding Night where Ji-uk opens up;
2) When their mom congratulate Hui-seong;
3) Gyu-hun/Ja-yeon's rendezvous in the office;
3+1) The fight between Gyu- Hun and Ja-yeon's dad. Till now I am traumatised.. laughing non-stop that is.
Music
Again. Kudos to the sound director/ editing team. They did an awesome job to match and amplify the effects of a joyful storytelling. As for the OST;
1. Possible Love - Sondia
2. Someday - Kassy (my fav)
3. My Side - Hui (Intro)
4. Falling Into You - Kim Jae-hwan (my top fav)
5. Another Story - Cheeze
6. A New Day - Kei
7. By Your Side - Bang Yedam
8. Only For You - Colde
As usual, should I rewatch it as a whole?
A BIG YES. Even if the show could crash and burn, I still have that annoying door to go back to.
(After finish the series) - Ending explained;
1) Ji-uk's promise to grandma that held him back from visiting his birth-mom;
2) Ji-uk's promise to Hae-young's mom that held his feelings for Hae-young;
So, why the break up is necessary? Understand this from Hae-young's perspective;
- She doesn't want to be the reason for Ji-uk to withhold himself further since he is still young with a bright future. She wants Ji-uk to put himself first, since he always held himself back.
- She knows that if she didn't push him away at that time then she wouldn't be able to let him go, ever.
- She asks him to help her to do the right thing and protect her to stay true to her nature of avoiding any loss, to her and himself (especially him).
- She afraid that she would always have her way, meaning that he will always let her win without thinking about himself. That is too burdensome.
Now from Ji-uk's perspective when Hae-young breaks off with him;
- He grew up having used to bottle up his feelings, unaware that he has been denying his priority all his life and always accepts whatever decision that's being made for him without throwing any fit or tantrum.
- He knew that he has no control of things that happened to him. So he needs to take charge of his life, without having Hae-young as his priority. The only problem is he still loves Hae-young nonetheless.
- He knew in his heart that even if Hae-young had pushed him away, he will always love her, no doubt about it. So, how to win her back?
- Ji-uk needs to be free from all his promises. Since he already broke promise no 2, then he needs to break promise no.1 for him to get a shot of reconciliation with Hae-young.
So when they meet again;
- The Canadian mini-globe marks the broken promise to his grandma, a clear sign that he has put himself first.
- Added with his new unusual act; being carelessly drunk, rambling consistently of how weightless he is. His light tantrum as a protest, a way to slip himself back into her life. (Baby Ji-uk is so cute that Hae-young was unable to resist.)
- She finally sees him in a new light, knowing that he will prioritise himself.
- She then discovers in herself that she could love him without any calculations; doesn't even mind about losing herself. You can see how distraught she was when she thought that he was gone. (She even wore mismatched slippers).
Final thoughts
It's a great ending for both main leads. Both have grown and come along way throughout the course of time they were being together or apart. The only problem for me as a viewer is that I want more of them because I love them so much. It's evident to me just how good the series is and that I am having trouble of letting them go. I need Help.
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