K, let me tryta start this one off nice, slow and calmly.
As of now, I've seen 2 movies and 4 dramas starring Gong Hyo Jin. Impressive huh?
Crush and Blush had me like "what the fuck?" the whole time. needless to say, it's a pretty weird movie, Love Fiction was AWESOME and I LOVED her character in it, Pasta was mostly bearable with a few redeemable qualities, Greatest Love was super funny and Cha Seung Won was in it so you know I loved it, Master's Sun was really great but a tad bit overrated, and now we have, *dum dum dum*... It's Okay That's Love
FIRST OF ALL,
I would give the OST alone an A+++. I loved the OST to the point where it hurt but felt so good at the same time. very very bittersweet. the songs just resonated with me for some reason. I feel like the OST alone deserves it's own review. So well thought out with so many interesting song choices. Everything about this drama was well thought out. Like, I want to know the MINDS that created this. (oh gawd, I promised to be calm and take things nice and slow but i'm about to go awf a little. Le sigh.)
I need a two hour documentary on how they found the songs for the OSTs, why they chose each and every song, the inspirations for the themes of the drama, the inspirations for the characters, reasons why they choice the actors that got casted, what other themes they'll like to explore in future dramas, if they've already started sculpting a new script. Like when I say I want to know everything I.want.to.know
(**EDIT** I referred to the writer as "they" in my overly-excited rambling but after some extensive research, [*cough* wikipedia *cough*] I found out that "they" is 1 person and HER name is Noh Hee Kyung and she also wrote Padam Padam and she's brilliant and I wanna know more about her soo bad! anyway, back to the review).
This is probably one of the realest Kdramas ever made. The topic of sex was mentioned like so many times in the first 2 episode alone and that kinda took me by surprise a lil bit.
I mean, I watch a lot of American TV shows so its not like i'm uncomfortable with sex (I watch Masters of Sex, for goodness' sake!) but this is a KOREAN DRAMA. most times the highest they'll reach is an allusion (i.e bed scene; nothing explicit, of course) or like one character lightly teasing another character about watching porn but not an honest convo about sex! Anyway, I just found that refreshing so I had to mention it.
The actress that played Hae Soo's mom has been EVERYTHING. I'm pretty sure she was in Master's Sun too.
Damn that woman is hardworking!! she's been everyone's mom, aunt, relative e.t.c its like she doesn't sleep at all.
It's Okay, That's Love, it just... it just a bit of a Coffee prince feeling for me. Ya know, Great OST, super great acting, palpable and authentic chemistry between the two leads e.t.c. There was just so many emotions to experience through these characters. It was like my Kdrama cherry was being re-popped; It felt great but my insides felt uncomfortable at the same time.
There were just too many heartwarming scenes to count. I literally could go on and on if I had the time.
So much understanding and sensitivity when dealing with the theme of mental health and PTSD!!
It felt like I was witnessing something timeless. It really sort of showed how beautiful and complicated human beings are.The words that kept popping into my mind while I was watching this drama are: THOUGHTFUL, TENDER. SENSITIVE, OBSERVANT, TOUCHING, WELL CRAFTED. So it was basically, the perfect boyfriend.
With IOTL I saw something I had never seen in a Kdrama before. In anything, really.
the dimensions of love and intimacy that the writers explored..?! like, they went to places that most Kdrama writers wouldn't dare go.
Nothing felt too forced but it did feel deliberate which I noticed and appreciated.
I know that everything i'm saying sounds rather vague but it's hard to pick one scene and be like "THAT ONE! THAT WAS THE SCENE THAT MADE THIS DRAMA SO FUCKING IMPACTFUL" because everything was just so flipping good!!
All the relationships seemed so organic! Each of their interactions had it's own little quirks and inside jokes and it almost felt like they existed outside the drama.
There was something so...watchable about Jae Yul and Hae Soo. I got that feeling like I could literally watch them interact for hours. That made me happy but sad at the time. This kinda relates to the bittersweet-ness I got from the OST too.
Like, I LOVED the lyrics of the OST songs so much and it felt awesome but at the same time it hurt because it somehow highlighted the feeling of dissatisfaction I have with my love life and friendships.
I really enjoyed Hae Soo as the main character. she was super blunt in an endearing way ( but sometimes she did irritate me when she would obsessively ask him about other women he's dated or pester him about the money he was spending on her but at the same time I understood that she had a hard time trusting men so she got a pass for that).
She is such a modern day woman with her own set of values and belief systems. I found that I could relate to her on certain subjects and it felt pretty good to see that.
It was really nice to see her step outta her shell and open up to the idea of being in love with Jae Yul. You could tell how much of an inner struggle she was having but it was really satisfying when she finally lets go and admits to liking him.
I think this is something that a lot of people deal with, which is finding the courage to love and be loved by others. It may seem like nothing to some, but falling in love is fucking scary. But once you let go and let things happen it becomes much, much easier.
I teared up a bit while i was watching the last couple of scenes but I was alright. then when it was over, I went into my living room and my older sister (who has watched it already) was there and I started singing the opening song (♫ one apple, one palm fruit ♪). and she was like "wait... why are you singing that song?" and then, I, well... I broke down
I started sobbing uncontrollably whilst laughing at the same damn time
and she started laughing and saying "I don't even know how to react to this!"
It was such a hilarious situation but honestly, that has never happened to me before like EVER. I cried ALOT when I was watching Secret but not AFTER. I seriously was not expecting to have that sort of obvious emotional response to finishing this drama. I didn't even know what to expect. I thought I was okay I thought I was alright but now I think that singing that song triggered something in me.
ANYWAYS, I think I've rambled on waaay too much. Long story short, If you haven't watched IOTL, just drop whatever drama you're watching right now. just drop it! and start watching IOTL because the oxford fucking dictionary doesn't have enough words to describe how breathtakingly amazing this drama is.
