The Trainee (2024)

No Training Needed

The Trainee was marketed as an OffGun drama and, in general, as a BL. It became clear quite early on that this was false advertising and it was actually more of an ensemble rom-com in an office setting. Personally, I loved it, but I also don't solely watch BLs and I didn't really have any expectations of this drama. I think if you go in with that mindset, you'll find there's a lot to enjoy.

While The Trainee is a rom-com and romance does play a role in it's story, what I loved most was the secondary focus on the interns and Jane looking for their paths in life. We're expected to know what we want to do with our lives as soon as we graduate high school and I appreciated the realism that they didn't have everything figured out, particularly with Jane who was even older and was still figuring things out. I think that's something that really needs to be normalized far more than it is. And even those who did know what they wanted to do like Pie quickly found that there was still a lot to learn. There were also elements like the importance of learning from your mistakes and not being too proud to apologize, all little things that just added to the atmosphere and camaraderie of the office setting and that theme of growing up and finding your way in life.

I hate time jumps, I really do. They're lazy and annoying. We suddenly have a much more mature Ryan which is so unsatisfying because we didn't get the journey of how he got to that point. And he and Jane are reunited with the impression that they haven't really had any communication in the last 5 years which makes absolutely no sense because they have phones, they can call, text, Facetime, whatever. Are they both just completely dramatic masochists? On the one hand, I do understand the need for time to have passed. Neither of them was at a good point to pursue a relationship previously and when they meet again, they are both more mature as people and in their careers. There is the hope that they can truly build something solid now. I just hate the way they did it.

I really loved seeing the friendship that developed between the interns from basically ignoring each other at the beginning to besties at the end, they were just adorable and it felt real. I liked that they were friends as a whole, but they also paired off and had their individual friends like Ryan and Pie, Pie and Ba-Mhee, and Pah and Tae. Their support for each other was really beautiful to see and the way they learned from each other.

I do think Jane and Ryan's relationship needed more attention than it got. I liked them as a couple, but Ryan, especially initially was made far too helpless and it made it hard to see what Jane saw in him. There needed to be more time and focus on what exactly drew them together and how and why they clicked. They did get to a point where you could see it, but it was that initial that just seemed glossed over. Their relationship there at the end also felt unsatisfying in the last couple episodes. Jane disappeared with no explanation, popped back up announcing that he was going to get his Masters and that was it? It felt too abrupt. We needed more of the two of them actually sitting down and having adult conversations. In general, I do think there needed to be a little more of a focus on their relationship so we could see all that and they could be more cohesive as a couple.

On the other hand, I would have liked less focus on the mess that was the love triangle of Ba-Mhee, Tae, and Judy. That was a lot. Ba-Mhee was my least favorite of the interns for a myriad of reasons, but the biggest one was how she handled everything with Tae and Judy. Beyond the fact that she cheated on Tae, she lead on Judy when she had to know she was still in love with Tae and in no condition to pursue another relationship and when Judy did things she didn't like, rather than communicate, she just went along with it and then whined to her friends. That's not to say that Judy wasn't at fault. Jane at least was aware of appearances in getting involved with an intern while Judy didn't seem to care and was very blasé about the whole thing so to an extent it felt like she brought it on herself. Tae too really failed in the whole communication department which didn't help matters in the slightest. To be honest, I did like Ba-Mhee and Judy together. They had a lot of chemistry and they just worked. Not a fan of the cheating at all and I'm not justifying it. I think they could have eliminated that, had Ba-Mhee realize that she and Tae weren't compatible and had her get together with Judy and her and Tae just be friends. Honestly, Tae always seemed just kind of mildly irritated by her or unsure of what to do with her; I wasn't feeling romance between them.

This was a very talented cast and it shows. Off and Gun dominated every scene they were in as one would expect of them. I love View and I thought she did a great job with her character's development and gradual softening. Sea is such a talented actor and while I really didn't notice any chemistry between him and Piploy, he was fantastic as Tae otherwise. Kudos to Pompam for an entertaining turn as Baimon and Bobby as the wise and insightful Jo.

The production was great. There was so much attention to detail on the sets and the cinematography was just really beautiful. The after credit scenes were a fun way to explain film terminology and I applaud their creativity with that.

Though not at all what it was marketed as, that does not mean this drama is not worth the watch. It proved to be unexpectedly wholesome and sweet and while romance is certainly in the air and plays its part, it's the friendships that bring it all together. I would highly recommend that you put all preconceived notions aside and just enjoy this drama as it is. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

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