[dearmyloveleys]

whc2 used the character that haunts the narrative trope and fucking delivered — a rabid (relatively spoiler free) 4am review

Ending off of S1, albeit (extremely) sad, I wasn’t expecting the S2 script to include much of Suho. The original webtoon had made it clear that Suho would be a passing memory for Sieun. It just so happens that Jihoon and Hyunwook had so much chemistry they rewrote the course of what would have been.

Then again, it’s not only because of the og webtoon characterisations that led me to believe Suho wouldn’t be mentioned a lot in S2. It’s because as much as sieun and suho clearly had a close relationship, what S1 never did was have sieun narrate his inner thoughts and emotions. Hence in fact, all of us viewers, were never privy to Sieun’s feelings apart from the incredible emotive acting on Jihoon’s part — we are never completely sure how deeply Sieun felt for Suho. Which is why I was so pleasantly surprised at how the writers made efforts for Sieun to recall Suho in every episode, and Beomseok, in frequent scenes.

Right off the bat in S2E1, we see Sieun have war flashbacks to S1 with Beomseok and Suho. Both Beomseok and Suho? Fuck yeah. We need to remember that both were close to Sieun and of course, impacted Sieun emotionally.

As the season progresses, it’s made clear that the writers prioritise featuring Suho and Beomseok, rather than have them appear in one off scenes. Beomseok always returning in flashbacks and of course, the dream sequence with Sieun in the boxing ring. We see clearer than ever now what morals and fatalistic viewpoints separate Sieun and Beomseok, even though they are both lonely souls hidden beneath everything.

We don’t even need to talk about Suho — Sieun physically and mentally cannot forget about him. Sieun continuously writes his feelings out on text messages which he then sends to Suho’s number, suffers from insomnia because of Suho, and is endlessly reminded of Suho when he fights.

It’s not easy to write a compelling “ghost that haunts the narrative” trope without it being too sappy, but god, the way WHC2 did it for both Suho and Beomseok was compelling and believable. Because of course, Sieun cannot simply forget about either of them. These two will eternally be locked into his reflexes — which the directing and script cleverly includes and remembers.

[lynnluan]

I only find myself actually happy when i get back into kdrama and kpop

[iluvcinnamonrolls]

love next door ep 12 was the best thing that ever happened to me

[yepuda]

I LOVE THEIR FRIENDSHIP

[jinkibum-smiles]

Just found this from a partial screenshot of a tiktok, so I don't know the account, but this is why I don't hate the moms.

These moms are not the cruel, abusive mothers that some people want to make them out to be.

[hoe4seok]

So many people are mad about the illness plots in current kdramas but I just can't take those takes seriously. Some of us remember when the drama side plots were not illness but serial killers or kidnappers. In strong woman Do Bong Soon the main couple was almost killed by bomb. Secretary Kim had trauma responses resulting from kids being kidnapped. Hell even lovely runner, time traveling wasn't enough so we need a psycho trying to kill the female lead!! And you want me to be mad characters now have cancer or dementia??? And that they get better? Nah I'll take this any day

[luvermore]

I know a lot of people will villainize Mi-Suk and Hye-Suk but I just can't. These two women show us what different stages of motherhood can look like. We have Mi-Suk who is a family woman but not by choice. Her life would look much different if she had the ability to live as she wanted. Still, in the show we see she actually has more in her life than Hye-Suk does. She has two kids and a husband that adore her, they sit at the table and, even angry, eat. They apologize and make-up even when they still don't agree. She may have self esteem issues but it never stopped her from being able to love and support her family. To bring happiness to her kids and bonus son when they needed it. But that doesn't mean Mi-Suk is without fault. Her pride and embarrassment shoved a bridge between her and her daughter. So much so that said daughter had cancer and didn't tell anyone. Then much like many families, she let her son laze around and do basically nothing while chastising her daughter for it. She is exhausted and works everyday so she can't comprehend why Seok-Ryu needs a break. She has never gotten one. In fact, in her life, she has taken on more than taking on less.

Hye-Suk is a character that I can't bring my heart to dislike because I see so much of women in my own family in her. While it is no one else's fault that she and her husband got pregnant but their own, it doesn't make parenting easier. She deserved a career just as much as her husband and it wasn't fair that she was expected to stop while he kept going up the medical ladder. Then, when she ultimately chose herself, she was ostracized for it. Her marriage fell apart and her son turned away from her; both secretly praying one day she would choose them. But instead of seeing that, due to her own guilt, she saw it as their dislike of her because the truth was; she could have took some time off. She didn't have to take every job. But she did, and yes how she treated Choi Seung was wrong. But I just think if society was kinder to women, she wouldn't have had to choose.

Logically, if she did choose to stay, would that have been better? We know she was restless just sitting at home, she couldn't be, "Just Choi Seung's Mom", and that statement is so important. Mother's should be able to be people outside of being mom's. But so often they jump head first into parenting that they forget they are more than that.

Society tells us men can have it all in family and career but we as women have historically been told otherwise. When a child cries we call their mothers, when kids misbehave we call their mothers, when kids are born and someone needs to stay home, we look to mothers. All in all, these two women aren't just toxic mothers. They didn't wake up one day and decide to drive their kids crazy. They are people with issues and that is okay and it's okay for their kids to forgive them. It doesn't always have to be so black and white. You can love someone and support them, while also admitting they are flawed and need to do better.

[littlevillagefish]

seokyru loves seunghyo SO much

because let’s talk about that - seunghyo loves her and this we know, but she loves him ALSO (oh to be loved so much and so fully by someone else and not be aware of it)

they met as kids and she immediately made him an integral part of her life

she went to his meets when his own family couldn’t make it despite never skipping school for herself because she wanted the attendance points

she was heartbroken when he was hurt and his olympic dreams were shattered

she relentlessly stood by him during his recovery and dragged him out of his own angst

she called him at midnight on his birthday to wish him to be the first person to

she remembers all his firsts, and he does too but SO DOES SHE

most importantly imo is that he is the one person she refuses to compromise - he has to be there in her life and no matter how distant they get or angry they are, she never breaks ties with him

[cryingoverfictionalsarcasm]

Love next door is not just a typical romcom drama with a pinch of misunderstanding and the love story on low heat. It’s actual real people and stories and struggles we all go through. Yes it’s dramatic and yes it’s not realistic all the time, but I know we all recognise ourselves in some of those moments.

[hearteyes-wheeler]

Love next door, Ep.10

I know the good is yet to come but this might be my favorite episode in the show. (I have so so may thoughts about seokryu's breakdown my God I shall make a post when I have better words) Grief is a strange thing to process for everyone involved.

It burns you inside out from the guilt - guilt that you could've done more, guilt that you could've paid better attention, guilt that you should've known better, should've done better. And you know, sometimes that's true - but, what ifs are the cause of misery and there's enough misery to go around when your loved one has been hiding cancer.

And seunghyo? Seunghyo is drowning in guilt. For all the signs he missed, all the texts he ignored, all the times he pulled away from her because what if one of those times, she unraveled and leaned on him. Maybe he could've done more? They've seen each other's sickness and arguments and embarrassing moments. They've seen the dark and the ugly, so maybe he should've seen this coming, right? Maybe maybe maybe.

We can stand here and call him petty and brash and immature all damn day but we're viewers, we have all the information. Should've picked up that damn call, seunghyo. Should've texted her back, seunghyo. Shouldn't have walked away from her when u saw her with another man, seunghyo.

But, What did seunghyo have? Besides the old pain of unrequited love and the new realization that he's lost her, again. From the day he realized his feelings for her, every poignant moment going forward between them, we see him lose her a little bit more. The knowledge that it doesn't matter if he hides his feelings or declares it into the wind, she will never see him as anything more (she called him a duckling that imprinted on her, come on now). The feeling of constantly fading from her life bit by bit, only hanging on by the claws of desperation to be near her.

At the end of the day, you can love someone to the moon and back but you can never dig out every important detail of their life if they don't want you to. Seokryu did her very best to shield her secret from everyone, much to her own detriment - seunghyo can't read her mind from halfway round the world and they aren't connected by the red thread of fate.

The first thing he asked her after finding out her diagnosis was if she was okay, or if she was still sick. He knows how to take care of her, the same way she knows how to take care of him. He's more than good at breaking down her walls of hyper independence. They just need to find their way to each other.

[jinkibum-smiles]

the different reactions of everyone around Seokryu goes to show how important it is to have a community around you. It doesn't matter if they are family or friends. Not one person can give you everything you need. Even your main support person cannot be everything for you. And what you need sometimes isn't what you actually need, and it takes someone who loves you to make you realize that.

[jsvausvqbd]

Bae Seok Ryu and Song Hyeon Jun

Truthfully, the circumstances just weren’t in their favor, regardless of how much they loved each other and dreamed of a future together. They were faced with a huge obstacle in the form of stomach cancer, for which Hyeon Jun fully committed to being Seok ryu's caretaker, taking a sick leave from work and even putting his whole life on hold for Seok Ryu, because he loved her and wanted to be there by her side. However, Seok ryu's decision to not tell her family and close friends meant leaving Hyeon Jun- who respected her decision and even after they broke up, kept her illness hidden from her family- as her sole caretaker and support system, which was bound to take a toll on him as well sooner or later.

After her treatment ended, they were yet faced with another huge blow in the form of depression -none of which are Seok ryu's fault by the way. But once again Hyeon Jun was left as her sole source of support. Now, I'm not saying that one's partner isn't supposed to be there (I mean, "in sickness and in health", right?), but it's clear that it was too much for him at this point. This reminded me of a cancer research conference I attended years ago, where one of the discussed topics was caretaker burnout and the importance of respite for them, both the sick person and those around them are greatly affected both physically and mentally, and that's what we saw in the episode; Two exhausted people who, despite loving each other, just couldn't bear with how exhausted they were and Hyeon Jun ended up snapping. Does this mean he's a shitty person? No, we saw him be by Seok ryu's side through thick and thin, but at last he was tired and snapped in a moment of desperation. This sadly just means they just weren't what the other needed at the moment anymore, and this is a very realistic portrayal of relationships where there isn't respite nor a proper support system.

I do think he loves her and feels guilty for being so burnt out, but sadly she's ready to move on and that's all that's left for him to do now. Move on.

This sets up a huge challenge for Seung hyo tho, how do you get through her walls when she’s seen first hand what can happen to a relationship when faced with adversities? She said it herself, she’ll be constantly on the lookout for her cancer possibly coming back or even spreading. How can he convince her that he won’t burn out? How can you convince someone who knows firsthand that sometimes love is not enough? Good luck Charlie!

[renebae-bae]

seokryu was rejecting seunghyo so many times bc she already saw how her sickness affected her relationship with hyunjoon and doesn't want to go through that again so stop shitting on my girl!!!!!!!

[decalcominia]

so her ex didn’t cheat on her but the reason they broke up is actually more complex and shows the reality of relationships and how difficult it is to maintain the same feelings after having experienced such a bad period together oh i’m loving this

[cinna-bin]

In defense of love next door’s plot

There is no extreme-years-long overworking and stress-induced burnout without chronic illness, without your body failing you! Without severe physical and mental side effects!

People saying it’s an unnecessary/cliche/disrespectful/unrealistic plot point, consider this: it’s accurate to what years of a job like that can do to your body, and it’s also valid to discuss in a show about work burnout and the family pressure to succeed no matter the circumstances.

Source: I worked a high-stress corporate job internationally and had to return home when i lost my access to health care & treatment abroad, which I desperately needed. because! when you work 90 hour weeks in a high stress job and never take breaks, you WILL start having organ failure! And you WILL have emergency surgery abroad. and you may return home both sick and feeling like a failure.

You may have “the dream job” on paper, but you may just be working for a company that is going to run you into the ground. You may feel backed into a corner because you don’t have the money or family support to quit. In fact, your achievements might be all you have. But do not dream of labor! Dream of treating your body kindly and spending your days with joy.

[jinkibum-smiles]

I think people have gotten spoiled by loser male leads because Seunghyo being a bit of an asshole when he's frustrated is not as bad as some people make it out to be.

[hearteyes-wheeler]

It must be so exhausting to be seokryu. To always be a wall, to always be the pride of her family and the pinnacle of hyper independence. To be so used to fixing your own problems. To be so used to being okay, so used to pretend being okay.

Her willingness to run herself into the ground if it means she could do it all almost cost her her life. Her willingness to always be the pillar of support for her friends and family, all her damn life made her so emotionally closed off because how can anyone know the light of their life is struggling? Her willingness to always put herself second, to always look out for everyone else just meant that any and all attempts at getting to know her thoughts or emotions were constantly deflected with humour. Always the funny, charming, capable rockstar. Seokryu doesn’t need help! She’s made of the best of all of us, of stars and magic. But magic isn’t real and stars die.

It’s not surprising that the moment her ex got deeply involved with her sickness and helped her out, the moment she let him see her vulnerable and exposed, she felt so strongly connected with him. It must’ve been such a relief for her, to not have to hold up the sky alone anymore, or so she thought. Even less surprising still, is the fact that when she allowed herself to be cared for, for the very first time and saw the way it slowly destroyed her relationship, she closed up again.

To think that there’s finally one person who has seen all of you and still chooses to love you only to be met with the harsh reality that the love wasn’t enough, that the sickness you have no control over has shredded your relationship, that must’ve hurt so much. So much that seokryu felt she could never be authentic about her feelings again. So much that she always had to pretend to be strong, lest she become a burden. So much that she can’t let herself be loved again. So much that she can’t let herself be cared for by the one person she always trusted. So much that she can’t let her desire to be loved ruin the most important relationships in her life.