I binge-watched this show in one sitting, which is something I hadn't done in a long while (due to lack of time or engagement with a show/some shows I watched while airing, etc.), so it's needless to say that I loved 'Love to Hate You' to bits and was hooked since the very first ep.

I really liked the whole idea and concept, I'm personally a huge fan of the fake dating & enemies to lovers trope, and I am a feminist who advocates for women's rights and speaks up against gender discrimination, and all topics related to it. So you can definitely say that this show catered to me quite well. I don't really have many issues with it because I think the characters were well-built and the plot, although uncomplicated, advanced smoothly and didn't leave any loose ends.

However, there are some things that bothered me throughout the show and I haven't seen anyone mention them. The whole show is built around feminism, gender discrimination, and misogyny presented in different environments and situations, and I think they did a pretty good job at it, but at some points, it felt like the show was trying to give a "not all men" type of narrative. It's very subtle, so it doesn't surprise me that people haven't mentioned it or even noticed it, but there were some dialogues and actions that felt contradictory considering what the drama is essentially about. An example of this is when Miran tells Naeun not to judge handsome men anymore based on her past experiences because some handsome men are actually alright. I'm not saying this is wrong, but it gives this "not all men" vibe that I don't think matches the theme of the show. Wonjun also said something like that at some point and it rubbed me the wrong way as well.

The other thing that bothered me about this show is that the entire plot is based around the concept of "I'm not like other girls." We have a sexist male lead who was attracted to this very odd and particular woman, which is completely fine and I absolutely loved her character, but even after they got together and were already lovey-dovey, he kept saying things like, "you're not like other women, all the women I knew were like this or that, women are usually this or that," etc, etc. Of course, this was his own personal experience with the women that threw themselves at him, but I thought that would be dropped at some point in the show, or that maybe Miran would say something like, "just because I'm not like that doesn't mean I'm better than them, or that they're bad women," or something along those lines. They made Kangoh a victim of the evil women and after a while, it was very overused. Actually, the only women in the show that aren't evil or airheads or gold-diggers, or similar, are the female lead and the actress. Even Miran's friend was first "too soft for her own good," but this is a trait attributed to "weak" or "dumb" women. That Grace girl was shown as only being Wonjun's friend because she wanted to be something more one day. The ex-girlfriend was, well, the main evil. And I could go on and on about the supporting female characters. I just think that pretending to make a show about feminism and anti-sexism, but adding so many stereotypically flawed female characters is, once again, contradictory to what the show attempts to speak against.

Still, I think this is one of those rare romcoms done right that are very scarce today, unfortunately, even despite my criticism. I really loved it and enjoyed every second of it (I literally watched this all night long back to back and I'm writing this review in the morning at a time when I should've already slept and woken up, but alas).

So if you're a sucker for simple shows that will give you butterflies, and make your heart flutter, this is definitely for you. The characters are good-looking, they have great chemistry, and the plot advances fast and doesn't drag out anything. I personally enjoyed it a lot despite my little complaints.