What Comes after Love (2024) 사랑 후에 오는 것들
Directed by Moon Hyun-sung, starring Lee Se-young as Hong and Kentaro Sakaguchi as Jungo.
Watched 1 - 25 October 2024 — 6 episodes (DRAMACOOL)
*Watched this short melodrama series as it was being aired. It was actually a good thing it was not so compelling, otherwise I would have minded having to wait for new episodes to air. But I found the show disappointing and was glad there were only 6 episodes. I don't know if I could have handled 16 episodes.
*It sounds like I haven't enjoyed the series at all. But I did enjoy parts of it. For example, I like the slow pace and there's some beautiful music and photography. There's also a poetic quality to it that I like. Due to the thin plot, everything hinges on the performances and characters. Well, there's nothing to complain about the acting, but my problem was with the main characters (Lee Se-young as Hong and Kentaro Sakaguchi as Jungo). I just didn't care for them very much and I wasn't rooting for them to end up together. In fact, while watching the final episode, I was actually disappointed they had their happy ending. I think it would have been more realistic if they had acknowledged their relationship was beyond repair and moved on.
*Though Kentaro Sakaguchi is a handsome actor and has a cute smile, there was something about him that I didn't like. Or maybe it was just his weak character whose behaviour is very passive, almost to the point of annoying.
*Lee Se-young's Hong is not an engaging character either. It was understandable that she felt neglected and lonely, having no one but Jungo in a foreign country, and he should have been more considerate towards her. But she was also unreasonable and I didn't like how she wanted Jungo to quit his jobs. The issue here is clearly a lack of communication and I don't see how their relationship could work, 5 years after their break-up. In the last episode they apologise to each other for their lack of understanding the other person and making the other feel lonely. But the way Jungo behaved in the present — being not very communicative, only spoke up so he wouldn't lose her again —, I just didn't see how their apologies would make everything alright and how they would communicate better in the future. Also, the way they made up was filled with suppressed feelings, not even reaching out to hug or kiss. Clearly love is not everything in order to make a relationship work.
*Lee Se-young learnt to speak Japanese fluently and it was nice to hear her speak the language. She took Japanese lessons daily after her previous drama The Story of Park’s Marriage Contract ended in order to prepare for this show. It's funny she had actually more lines in Japanese than her Japanese co-star because his character is not very talkative. I really love Lee Se-young (not so much her character here) and she also looks very beautiful in the present timeline.
*All in all, it's a well-made drama but for me it falls short because of my lack of emotional engagement with the main characters and not really caring about what happens to them.