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Lovestruck in the City: Episodes 4-5 Open Thread

Our main pair shared a lot of good memories during their two-month romance, memories that they can’t quite forget. They can deny it all they want, but that shared time together is still affecting them and will probably continue to affect them until they get the answers they’ve been waiting for.

 
EPISODES 4-5 WEECAP

We get into the main couple’s sweetheart phase, after Eun-oh (as Sun-ah) decided to stay with Jae-won. But being together seemed to make Eun-oh more uneasy, especially when Jae-won listed all the reasons he liked her. She jokingly asked if he’d get fired if he stayed on vacation one more month, a tinge of hope in her voice.

In response, he asked if she’d marry him. (Whoa there, partner. She asked for another month, not a wedding.) He reminded her that she didn’t want to hesitate over things anymore, and she happily agreed. Still, she said, she wanted a proper proposal.

Jae-won did as asked, calling Eun-oh from a payphone and singing her a romantic song. Later, they held their wedding on top of Jae-won’s camper, declaring their vows to a camera. It was very fun and lighthearted, but it got real for them when they placed each other’s rings. With that, they were married — unofficial but official to them.

Eun-oh suggested they never remove their rings, and we see that Jae-won is still wearing his in present day (aww). He wonders what Eun-oh did with hers, and she nonchalantly states that she threw it away.

At this point in the docu, the subjects are comfortable with each other, bickering like old friends. However, Jae-won is getting tired of everyone picking apart his love story. They wonder if Eun-oh genuinely loved him, Geon thinking she probably used him to steal something.

Jae-won huffs that Eun-oh did love him, more than anyone ever before. And it’s true — after they had their wedding, Eun-oh went around the beach announcing that they were married. I also think the bit where Eun-oh makes Jae-won fancier ramyeon than her other customers is super cute.

Unfortunately, their love came to an end when Kyung-joon called Jae-won with a work emergency. As the couple had their goodbye at the airport, Eun-oh got teary-eyed. It was all happening so fast, and she probably wanted to tell him the truth. But she just promised to meet him in Seoul later, which of course, we know never happened.

Right now, Jae-won is working for his father’s company, driving Dad crazy with his business decisions. But Jae-won’s clearly a good guy, even visiting his latest project’s construction workers to deliver snacks. On the other hand, Eun-oh is working on getting her own one-person marketing agency together.

After all this time, the couple cross paths on the road. But only Eun-oh sees Jae-won, and she hightails it out of there before getting caught. To the director, she reveals that she has two reasons for ending the relationship. One was because Jae-won was in love with Sun-ah and not Eun-oh. The second reason, we don’t get to hear.

Director-nim asks his subjects what they do with keepsakes after a breakup. In one example, we have a flashback to when Sun-young and Geon broke up on the street. She made him remove most of his clothing (which she bought for him), and he ended up walking to the bus stop jacket-less and shoe-less. Thankfully, he ran into a hoobae from school (random but funny cameo by Shinee’s Minho), who lent him some clothes.

In another example, Rin-yi and Kyung-joon were going through a breakup, but Kyung-joon only returned Rin-yi’s stuff as an excuse to see her. Needless to say, they eventually decided to get back together. This couple is probably the most cheesy to me, but in scenes like this, they’re also the most adorable. I kind of wish their story and the third couple’s story were a bit meatier; so far, their scenes have just been played for comedy.

Eun-oh presses the fact that she threw away everything that had to do with Jae-won. I don’t really believe her, and neither does Jae-won; he mentions that he has a few cameras missing from his collection.

We rejoin our main couple in their vacation flashback, when Jae-won showed Eun-oh how to use his cameras. They went around town taking pictures of each other, aaand I take it back — they’re the most cheesy, hands down.

In present day, it seems like Eun-oh and Geon are either good friends or something more. According to Sun-young, she and Geon broke up because of Eun-oh, and she figures they’ll get married. Seems like a misunderstanding, though.

While Geon is cooking in the kitchen, he finds a box of camera rolls in the fridge and Eun-oh tenses up. Apparently, Jae-won used this storing method too, so the pictures’ colors wouldn’t change. Later, she takes her film to a shop to get them developed. She’s been saying time and time again that her relationship with Jae-won is in the past, but the way she looks at these photos says otherwise.

We then see that Eun-oh does, in fact, have Jae-won’s cameras. She watches the videos he filmed of building their matching surfboards, smiling through her tears. Meanwhile, Jae-won wanders over to the place they were supposed to meet up in Seoul. He reveals the last voicemail he got from her, where she says that they shouldn’t meet again and that all she wanted was his cameras.

Well, Eun-oh’s shown us and Director-nim that she’s a terrible liar. If only Jae-won wasn’t just hearing her interviews but also seeing them, seeing how much she actually misses him. I’m ready for these two to confront each other and their past, and I’m hoping they are too.

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I know some people are probably tired of me saying it, but the main couple in this show sucks. The drama between them is boring and stupid. The main two characters themselves are not interesting, either. I wish they would just go away.

On the other hand, the other characters in this show are delightful. They are fun and interesting. Their dialogues are witty. Their chemistry corruscates. They act well. Heck, even the minor characters like the person Minho plays or the Jae-won's played by Son Jong-hak are fun. The format, with the talking to the camera and the candid discussions, are also interesting, unique, and fun (well, except when Jae-won and Eun-oh are involved; in those cases, my eyes just sort of glaze over).

This show, IMO, is a classic case of not knowing strengths and playing to your weaknesses. It has some great features and has potential, but is ignoring all that's good about it and focusing on things that just aren't working and just wont work. A shame.

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Hmm, ditto on what you find to be the strengths and the weaknesses of the show. Guess the extra focus on a bland couple, that self-imposes conflicts, is because the leading stars brought in their respective fandoms, and the writers don't want to be trolled online for bamboozling them (me, *I'm* the JCW/KJW fan who was watching for them.... but it's doing nothing for me, so far)

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I would agree that they suck, but only in the execution of their story. I find their inner turmoil and motivations quite interesting if only we would take the opportunity to explore that and not be led around like Eun-oh does to Jae-won, or having to suspend our "love belief", that these characters do truly care for one another like Jae-won struggles with. It's all so tiring that I wish the show would let these characters own their neuroticism instead of bending over backwards to make they seem redeemable. It's not working. There's no need to behave like this if you truly care about someone or are ready for a relationship.

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Yeah, I would agree with this.

It would be a more interesting story if all of this weren't portrayed as romantic, as part of a plot that will inevitably end in these two becoming a couple. If it were about these two people being dysfunctional and how they tried to deal with their dysfunctionality, to get over what happened on the island, it would be much better. Heck, they could even stick with the romance but at least allow these people to be unabashed, unadulterated weirdos like Geon and Sun-young -- at least that would make their story palatable, even if it were still trite and tiring.

But nope. They're trying to make this some dumb melo plot. It's not working. Worse, it's barely watch-able. That's how boring I find it.

I would say they need to try something else but the show is already halfway done at this point. I have no hopes for redemption. I just want the show runners to marginalize the main couple as much as possible, give them whatever crapshoot ending they were going to get anyway with as little screen time devoted to them as possible, and give the rest of the show over to the other two couples. That's the best that can be asked of this show at this point, although even this is a pipe dream.

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Story between main couple is quite cliché. Two strangers meet, fall in love. Unfortunately, one has some emergency and they decide to meet later. Other one never shows up due to some guilt.
Come on, it is tried to the death formula straight out of old Hollywood, Bollywood love stories. The best thing about those is that they get over in 90 minutes. (In case of Bollywood movie, it is more than that but there are song and dance to distract you from moping couple)

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The main couple are still clearly the main couple but it felt like the other characters are starting to get a bit more screen time? JCW’s character on the holiday really grates with me - partly because it feels like he’s trying hard to be cute and it comes across to me like he’s trying rather than cute 😅 , and partly because he doesn’t really seem all that interested in Sun Ah as a real life person and not an island fantasy. It came across to me like he didn’t want to say anything about them being married and was kind of embarrassed when she announced it (he got in the spirit after that so who knows).

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I think it's just that JCW is a bad actor tbh. I feel like I can see him acting.

I think Jae-won is in it for the wish-fulfillment tbh. It's a childish relationship. It's why he doesn't really seem to want to know more about her. I think, deep down, he doesn't want to be disabused of his fantasy.

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If you never liked him as an actor, then anything role he played, is playing, and will will be crap.

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Well, I think this might be assuming the arrow of causality goes in the wrong direction? That is, I don't think he's a bad actor because I dislike; I dislike him because I think he's a bad actor. I'm open to changing my opinion of him if he does a better job in this or in future projects. But I am unimpressed with him in this and with most of his previous projects. I will point out, though, that I quite liked him Suspicious Partner. I don't know if that's because he had an opportunity to display all of his talent or if it was just a by-product of the fact that he had a really good co-star, but either way I thought he was good in that.

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Okay, I get you. There's one big name that I used to like but not anymore cos of his lack of acting skills. As for JCW, I don't know if you've watched him in other dramas. I have watched a couple of his dramas and I find him an excellent actor. I say that because he can be acting in the same genre but I don't see much of him as him if you know what I mean. He is just the character. The dramas that I like him in are Empress Ki and Backstreet Rookie. And though he was an action star in both Healer and the K2, he played both roles so differently.

I think many others will agree with me that JCW is a great actor...probably one of the better ones out there.

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I do completely agree with you that JCW is an excellent actor and he was superb in Empress Ki.
It’s true he’s a character in every different drama, like he was so different from being a store manager in Backstreet Rookie to being a fighter in Healer. And I love him in Empress Ki as a weepy, clingy emperor being so in love with this one woman that he was willing to give up his throne for her and JCW was played his role so well. Don’t mind about what “Maq” said of him, JCW is an excellent actor but he can’t please everybody, there will be always be haters no matter how good he is.

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I haven’t seen him in enough other things to know generally but in this (particularly in the flashbacks) you’re right, it’s like you can see him acting. It’s clearly not enough to put me off watching it though 😄

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Though Jae-Won had a serious heartbreak, that is very understandable, he is very needy and whiny. He has a hint of victim mentality as well because he doesn't want to move on. Not really sure if another actor could do any better with this character than what JCW is doing. This isn't really an actor problem as it is a writing problem. That said, I could imagine Kim Won Bin, Suk In Guk, or even a young Ju Ji Hoon in the role.

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I think you hit the nail on the head. His fear of being disillusioned...isn't he the textbook case of *every* ML who fervently wishes for a mpdg? :D
No wonder he doesn't want to get to know her better. Ugh, you're right, his character really irks me, esp his beach-days. It's kind of like:
Eun-oh: 'you know, I'm like X, I like Y, and I dislike Z'.
Jae-won: *yada yada yada* 'You are A, B, and C....end of discussion. Also, did you say something?'
:(

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Totally agree with you.
JaeWon plays the victim that hasn't moved on and wants to know why he's been left aside. I can understand he's hurt, but he's almost obsessed, having the camper replica always present as "I don't want to get over this".
I hate the idea that after learning she lied to him the whole time, they would be together because "they're meant". Meh. And boring.

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I know this is slightly irrelevant, but they are not on an island, Yangyang is a beach town. Thank you, carry on, don't mind me interjecting this obnoxious comment.

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I did actually wonder about that, so thank you!

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I know this show has kinda new format, but, boy, am I getting upset! How long before I know Eun-oh's backstory? I can't understand why she didn't leave Jae-won immediately the moment he asked her to marry him. She chose to be Sun-ah, so why be fickle now that she's living as Eun-oh?

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I need the story of the present day main couple to move quicker cos Eun Oh as a character is getting on my nerves. But yet, it is quite real. People do behave differently in a holiday setting. Many I know personally have done things they wouldn't otherwise do in reality. Logic? Consequences? Don't care.

I really love the topic dealt in ep 5. How you deal with the stuff depicts how you see your r/s with the other. Try to get back the items or insist on returning them? Definitely an excuse to get back. Get back and trash the items? Definitely hating the r/s and wanting to get rid of it. Keeping the items quietly? Definitely lingering feelings. OMG. Brought back so much memories for me!

Of all the couples, I really like Kyung-Joon and Rin-Yi. They're so so cute! The main leads are okay for me because they're JCW and KJW. Maybe I'll hate them if they were played by others.

Personally, I think the production team did well using this interview format for the 30-min slot. I get it that some people don't like it but I find it ingenious cos a topic is discussed, you get to see how couples react to it, and then snippets of their love life. And the story will string out eventually.

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I really like Kyung-joon and RIn-yi, too! They are definitely cuties.

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I really like the interview format bits, I think it’s fun. I feel like they help with fitting a lot into the half hour episodes.

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I think the interview format bits are some of the best parts of the show, especially when they're used for comic effect.

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That's what I like the most about the drama.

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(it's just me) i felt so bored and sleepy while watching the drama. perhaps because of the interview style and pure romance plot.? Dont know whats happening but somethings off with the Main leads acting

But im happy for everyone who genuinely like lovestruck.

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I didn't like ep 1 cos of the format. But once pass that, I love it. I kept wondering if people who don't like the format is due to the fact they can't relate to the topics? I know I definitely love it cos I was drawn in by the topics.

But of course if you prefer the usual storytelling in a drama, then this is not for you.

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plus the story did not pique ny interest to continue watching the drama. anyway, its just me. Not just my cup of tea, i guess.

well, I Will just look forward to future projects of JCW.

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I love the vibe of the show.And JCW and KJW have amazing chemistry. There are few things that bugged me in this this week's episode esp with KJW 'a character. I mean if she wasn't planning on staying with him why did she agreed to marry him?( Although that marriage part was sudden and impulsive , she could have said no.) Or even made him believe that she was planning to stay in touch or even promise to meet in Seoul. No matter whatever her reasons are, she should have atleast ended it on a decent note instead of letting him wonder what he did wrong. Atleast the guy deserves an explanation. Then the first reason she gave for breakup. She acted like a different person and he fell in love and now she worries that whoever's he loves is not the real her?? Does that even make sense?? When she didn't let him know the real her, how can she expect him to like the version that he didnt even know of??? It's so frustrating to know that there are a lot other mature ways of how she could have handled the situation. And then in episode 4 when she saw his car the first thing she said was " his parents might have bought him that. I bought this car with my own money". I mean seriously ??? How can she be so judgemental? Just coz she is not that well off she is judging others who are doing well....
On side note I am watching the series on netflix and I dont know how accurate the translations might be. So my analysis is solely based on it.

I do hope they redeem these things in the future episodes and give us some valid reasons on everything.

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My thoughts exactly. I think the show thought it was dropping a bombshell or showing just cause when they had Eun-oh reveal that she actually wanted to break up with him pretty early on. The bombshell is how psychopathic that comes off. Which is fine, not every person needs to be great, but we are being asked to look past a humongous elephant in the room, and I can't turn off my brain enough to ignore it. I mean, she kicked it up after that moment in the RV, no? Even asked for a proposal the next day. If she is insane? Fine. If she is a selfish hepher, she has every right. If she is horribly misguided and just went too far with a bit, then just tell us that, Show. We need to see some inner workings of her thought process or some repercussions to her actions otherwise she just comes off as an unfeeling, less than smart a-hole. And I still want to like her, but that sucks.

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While others are objectively debating what they like and dislike about this show, I'm the only one thinking 'damn, must be nice to go to a vacation, find and commit to a love, knowing that the two of you would return to the same city'.... ^^
Perks of living in Korea, I guess... you know everybody's headed back to Seoul after the vacay! xD

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It's why I love the movie Finding Mr. Destiny! It started by a great journey, then the reality...

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I love both actors. But the past 3 episodes can be summed up as: clingy boy can't get over the fact that he got played and girl wistfully stares into space and reflects that things just could not be.

I don't know if I can take another week of JCW trying to convince the audience that he loved a girl whom he did not know one thing about.

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To be fair he thought he knew her, from his perspective, he doesn't know she lied to him.

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Even so, I know he believed in her and everything, but she left him with no reason, kept his cameras and never showed up. I know he's hurt, I can understand his heart is broke, but I feel he's being obsessive about her and about their past. It's not that he can erase their past together, I get it, but maybe he could be a little rational about it and the fact that he's obviously been used (we would know that even if we didn't learn about her part of the story).

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This is my issue too! Let's move on to the next thing already. He has been shaking his head in his interviews in every episode.

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Jae-won doesn't know that the person he fell in love with wasn't the real Eun-oh, but a character she chose to play. We still don't know why she did this. The ending of this episode with the black and white scene on a slightly dirty deserted city street vs. the colorful river scene left me curious about whether it's a confirmation of their doomed relationship or just a comment on how they've handled it so far.

I really enjoy Sun-young and fear for her future boyfriends. 😂

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I think my issue with the main couple is that this drama wants to be realistic with serious conversations about couples/love. But the main characters are not common at all : the ML is a guy who fell in love and wanted to marry after 2 months and the FL acted like someone else but didn't assume. So it's hard to believe in their love story and to care about.

But I really like the format.

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Jae Won and Eun Oh are so missmatched....I shake my head in disbelief....I found their island antics cringe....I know first hand it happens to solo Travellers but the magic wears off at the end, you go your separate way, the end. Jae Won comes across as overtly delusional and needy ....Eun Oh is caricature that we've seen way too many times in films, dramas. I still don't think the show gave us viewers compelling enough reasons to root for these basic AF people.

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I really like the show. The main couple are terrible. The ML is incredibly whiny and FL is apparently a liar. I don't like their non-relationship, lol. They are not even together and they are bothersome. I think that is why I like the show, because it is showing the aftermath of a relationship. I love the other "couples." The two who are actual couple are adorable, even when they breakup. The other two seem to have moved on and are living their best lives, I love it.

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I totally agree.
I just hope they won't end up together, because nothing says "happy couple" better than lying about who you are. I do believe they loved each other while they were on the island, but none of them were themselves there.

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I can’t get enough of this drama and JCW/KJW! ❤️ Their chemistry feels perfect and natural. Such amazing actors! With every episode I can’t wait to see what will happen next. The anticipation is almost unbearable!

I found KJW’s acting at the beach setting over-the-top but fitting as she’s taking on a different persona. There are moments when I can see she’s her true self and being more reflective as signified by her changed and more somber expressions.

I’m curious to see what’s in store for Geon and Sun Young, as it seems they were together for a significant amount of time and broke up due to some misunderstanding. I can’t help but wish for a happier ending for both of these couples. Their behavior feels real and relatable for the most part. As for the third couple, I find them quite cringey.

I just hope there will be a happy ending for all the couples.

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I wanted to wait until at least the second week of this show to comment but the main couple just isn't doing it for me in this show. The actors are doing a great job however, their characters, especially Eun Oh are taking too long to develop. She is this mystery that they have yet to explain. JCW character is a guy who falls in love quickly (to say the least) but he has been yelling at the camera in his interviews about Eun Oh for 5 episodes straight lmao. I like the different format of the drama but with the shorter run time, it leaves me wanting more to happen each episode. Most of every episode has been spent in the past and I hope that doesn't continue. I want these characters to be developed more because that will help me understand them more!

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As I said many times before, I love the format and I enjoy the quick conversation with he camera and everyone giving their opinion about other's relations. I really enjoy that.

The main couple is boring. The other two are really interesting and I wish we could spend more time with them.

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I keep watching this show even as I want to strangle the female lead for her silliness. But I have to accept the fact that her decision to separate instead of just telling the truth is what is driving the plot- which is frustrating. We are getting more glimpses of the other characters and that is fun.

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Watched the 1st ep, had no intention of continuing but started seeing some clips in the last few weeks so decided to give it another go. I'm so glad I did. The contrast between ea couple, them being flawed especially the main couple, the interview style honest conversation about love/relationships, the cinematography has all been great. I was introduced to the lead actors earlier last year when I watched their series on Netflix (K2 and arthdal chronicles), so seeing them in these new roles is quite nice.

Jae-won I think is hung up on the relationship bc it was unfinished. As he said, if they had an argument or left on bad terms it would make sense. But they separated happily with plans to meet up in Seoul instead she disappeared without a word. Eun-oh 2 reasons are quite silly to me so I hope there's more to it than just that.

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Just finished episode 7 and I am dropping this. Sorry Ji Chang-wook.

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I think you should at least see episode 8, it is the best so far.

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I had thought I would drop it because of frustration with Eun-Oh character, but I ended up not being able to, because of my love for JCW 😅. So yes, I did watch Ep 8 and it is actually the best so far.

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I've watched the first half dozen or so episodes and what a mess.
Double extra montages with a side of montage.
The writers are just piling on the agony without raising the stakes.
The long term couple is cute but they feel like a direct lift from "This is My First Life".
The other couple. Hoo boy. So many abusive abuser red flags. Run dude run.

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What's the song at the end of ep 5?

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