1. I love that Se Hee asks for permission before kissing her (or even holding her!!). That entire scene in bed was adorable because they respected each other’s boundaries and respected each other first and foremost. Also, that slight smile on Se Hee’s face when he came back and found her snoring was so cute!! The two of them actually!! have!! conversations!! and talk!! about what they think about each other, about their situation, and about their future. They communicate and listen to each other. In that respect, I think the formal tone they use and the caution they approach each other with is actually really charming and helps prevent conflict between them.
2. Ji Ho getting back on her feet and getting back into writing!!!!! She loves it, so I was glad to see her taking another step forward towards doing what she loves. And I’m glad she found a friend in her (female!!) boss. Now I’m fairly certain that Ji Ho’s boss is Se Hee’s ex-girlfriend. BUT I don’t think it’ll blow up into that big of an issue based on how the show has been written so far. This drama has proved time and time again that not all dramas need to have catty female fights, and I’m confident it’s not going to go down that petty route this time either. I’d really like to see this resolved nicely. Because to be honest, Se Hee only has feelings for Ji Ho now, and I hope they’re able to quickly talk about the situation and get over it. Ji Ho’s boss is honestly such a strong woman and she and Ji Ho would be good support for each other.
4. Ho Rang and Won Seok... oh man. We all knew they were going to split up, but I’m curious to see where the show takes them from here. Ho Rang wants to be “normal” and get married. Won Seok wants to make her happy, yes, but he had to give up his own dream for that. I think neither of them are clearly able to tell the other what they expect and what they want, both from their relationship and from themselves, and this lack of communication showed that they really needed a break. I won’t be surprised if they get back together eventually, because since they’ve been with each other for so long, staying with each other is familiar and comfortable (to some extent). Neither of them had a “Room 19″ to themselves, something/place of their own and it burned them out. Once they’ve had some time to think about it alone, they will probably get back together. However, personally I think I’d prefer it if they didn’t get back together. It’ll be bitter because they obviously care for each other and love each other, but their fundamental life goals are very different and the marriage issue will keep coming up, and the whole cycle will start again. As long as Won Seok has resentments/expectations about his dreams and his work, and Ho Rang has expectations about marriage, it won’t work out. And these aspects seem to be really crucial to who they are as people.
5. I’m really conflicted about Su Ji and Sang Goo. He’s trying really hard to understand her perspectives. But he also keeps pushing his “normal love and normal life” expectations on her. I was really shocked when he followed her to her apartment in jealousy because she explicitly stated her boundaries when they agreed to date and the fact that he couldn’t even respect that makes me very frustrated and angry. I also dislike how quickly she forgave him for that, because. But I have to admit that we can’t expect him to be perfect because after all, humans are flawed. It’s also very clear that he’s trying to make up for every time he makes assumptions or does something wrong. The apple “sagwa” apology was really cute and most times he does push his “normal life” expectations on Su Ji and she retaliates, he does take the time to think about it and improve his perspective. When he bought her bras after she complained about hers being uncomfortable, it demonstrated that he was willing to find a middle ground between both of their life perspectives. I think they’re working towards creating a relationship that both of them can be comfortable with, but I’m still slightly uncomfortable with how pushy Sang Goo is with Su Ji when she’s clearly not ready for it.
6. As always, I’m loving the female friendships in this drama. Ji Ho was with Se Hee when Su Ji called her about Ho Rang, and Ji Ho dropped everything and went to go comfort Ho Rang. She’s not choosing her new husband over her long time established friends. The three of them together are really so adorable and I’m so grateful that their friendship has stayed very visible throughout the entire drama. Too many dramas quickly establish that the female leads have friends, and then those friends suddenly disappear and are never seen again for the rest of the drama.
7. I think that the true appeal in this drama lies in it’s complex, well developed characters and their realistic relationships. We see couples with varying levels of communication, and it really impacts how each is able to function. I find it fascinating that the two couples that created contracts about their relationships, who firmly set rules and boundaries, who talk to each other, are the ones that are doing better than the couple that has known each other the longest. The setting boundaries and having those small “Room 19″s really help the Su Ji/Sang Goo and Ji Ho/Se Hee couples function. In contrast, Ho Rang and Won Seok struggle because of their lack of clear communication. It might be because they have developed too many expectations over the years of dating, or because they feel that they may intuitively know how the other feels after so many years of dating, but the truth is that they don’t know what the other is thinking, which leads to their fight and breakup.
