Boyfriend on Demand
Technically this should be a biased opinion considering the main character is played by Jisoo and I literally love blackpink but I honestly couldn’t get myself to watch her other dramas.
It had nothing to do with her acting the overall storylines and genres were just not something I was particularly interested in. Her first drama, Snowdrop, was good cinematography wise but the plot just kind of bored me especially since I thought there was going to be more romance but instead I went through the five stages of grief and didn’t end up finishing it.
Her second one, Newtopia, looked decent, however when it comes to movies or shows that include zombies I prefer them to be imbedded into media that are focused on the genre of action rather than a comedy based genre. Hence why I didn’t actually bother to start watching it because I knew it wouldn’t be something I’d get emotionally attached to.
Boyfriend on Demand is a drama I really wasn’t expecting to like soley because I didn’t like her other dramas which is stupid because the problem with her other ones was that I just wasn’t interested in the storylines, not because of her, so there was literally no reason for me to give this drama low expectations. Realistically, I should have expected to enjoy this considering I am a sucker for rom-coms and this 100% delivered on that genre. I found myself laughing every single episode and was actually looking forward to clicking onto the next episode.
And there’s no harm in shedding a few tears during a comedy which I most definitely did near the first few episodes, I honestly really enjoy when rom-coms are capable of making me feel sadness because despite it distracting me from my unfortunately loveless life by being unrealistically funny and romantic, it brings a sense of realism knowing that love is bound to make anyone feel upset and disappointed at some point in their life no matter how perfect it may seem.
Like what most rom-coms do to me, I found myself squealing and clutching at my heart like I was a fourteen year old girl again, the main perspective was set on Mi-Rae but deciding to show the perspective of Kyeong-Nam more towards the end was a narrative decision that I greatly appreciated. By giving the point of view of a nonchalant man who kept to himself and was actually presented as Mi-Rae’s rival (it was very clearly a one-sided rivalry created in Mi-Rae’s head), it constructed my interpretation of his character further away from Mi-Rae’s viewpoint on him which ultimately lead to me significantly appreciating each interaction they had with eachother and the continous build up of their chemistry.
My most favourite part of the drama was how well Mi-Rae’s character development was executed. In my opinion, the pacing of her development was perfect. They spent the first few episodes not only introducing her current character but also providing her backstory, enough to emotionally connect to her and understand her thoughts and decisions for the rest of the show but also not too much that it overshadows her overall story and romantic plot. Her fear for the consquences of change really resonated with me and how her trauma stuck with her despite it not being highly visible for most of the show, only being fully shown at the high of her emotions, especially once she realises she is falling in love again. I really enjoyed watching her scenes of emotional turmoil during the start of the development of her romantic feelings for Kyeong-Nam because it just goes to show how meeting someone who treats you in better ways than you can ever imagine doesn’t erase the memories of someone who treated you less than you deserved. At the end when she accepts that change is inevitable, it made my heart feel a little lighter, yes it is a fictional story, but it reminded me on how it is possible for relationships in reality, romantic or platonic, to survive change no matter how big or small. I’ve lost and damaged a fair amount of friendships because of change, leading me to be fearful of growing up but when I look at my parents, sister, friends and random strangers who are simply just together, it makes me hopeful that maybe I’ll find a partner who stays with me through every change that happens.
Long story short, I loved this drama, 10/10, will most likely rewatch it 100 times, bye