Break Up Already

Sometimes k-dramas have all the elements to make a blockbuster series (great actors, cool story line, excellent plot twists, etc.) and even start off with a couple of episodes anyone would call wonderful. Then something happens and they go flat and become repetitious. That's pretty much the whole story with Now, We Are Breaking Up.

I am absolutely going to trot out spoilers, so if you don't want to know stop reading.

To be fair, the story for this series could have been stellar: overworked and underappreciated fashion designer has a one-night stand with a hot guy and then walks away without even knowing his name, because that's how she rolls. She also doesn't know that the guy is the hottest and most unattainable fashion photographer in the business. Or that he's the younger brother of the man whom she believes unceremoniously dumped her ten years ago. Or that she's been blamed by hot guy's family all this time for the death of that brother, as he didn't dump her but died in a car crash on his way to her after drinking a lot with the wealthy fiancee who chased after him and actually caused the accident. Or that as a no-name photographer the hot guy took a bad photo that the fashion designer bought on the street, which made him decide to keep working at his photography and also has been the only thing that gets her through the next ten years of misery.

It's Korean, so all the destiny and coincidences and parents making their kids' lives miserable are pretty much standard. Anyway, after all that, of course hot guy falls completely in love with fashion designer, who takes a little longer to do the same with him.

There's a kissing scene toward the end of Episode 3 that marks the end of the wonderful and the start of the flat and repetitious. From the moment these two characters decide they're falling in love with each other, all they do is walk around and hug and give little speeches about love to each other while literally everyone in their lives tries to break them up. Her boss decides she wants hot guy for herself. The former fiancee of the dead brother tries to sabotage the designer's career. The designer's divorcing parents (whom she's financially supported all this time) go berserk and forbid the relationship; hot guy's step mother (who is a truly genteel monster) even threatens to kill herself if they don't break up.

And then after a couple more walks, hugs and noble love speeches, they break up and go their separate ways. They meet up again two years later and smile at each other. That's it.

Taking thirteen episodes to do what could have been done in one was a genuine shame. The waste of the actors was a horrible shame, too; the two leads are not only beautiful to look at but very good at acting, too. The secondary cast did a fine job with their roles, and most of the time were even more interesting than the leads, which is the only reason I kept watching the series. It showcases lots of interesting conservative clothes, if you're into Asian modern fashion, but otherwise I can't recommend it past episode 3.