So it has ended. It was bad and it was good. They really took the bittersweet seriously. But the good parts were really good and memorable. I guess that gives it a “meh” pass in my book, but I will be rewatching.

CCiR episode ranking (for me):
7
8
5
3
16
2
10
6
11
1
9
4
14
12
13 and 15

The first 12 episodes differences are by .000 points and based on my watch history. The 4th week was actually the best tonally (and the ending of ep 10 for its emotional swell). That means “Chi-yeol falling in love” arc is peak writing and acting.

P.S. I know this is petty, shallow, and superficial, but the time skip really showed that Jeon Do-yeon wasn’t the problem, neither was the horrendous styling choice. It was intentional and people were just being vain. Beanies were actually nice about this, but some other forums I followed were very crass and literally age-shamed her not even trying to understand the aesthetics and rationale behind casting her.

4
3

    The moment I noticed that Chi-yeol began addressing Haeng-seon as noona, it made me very sad that the production finally yielded to public opinion and threw me away from the story for a second. Jeon Do-yeon was never the problem.
    I guess they couldn’t for the life of them fathom how someone like with Jung Kyung-ho’s looks will fall for Jeon Do-yeon. This is to all the age brackets that whined and age-shamed Jeon Do-yeon : Deal with your insecurities, fellows.

    4
    1