The Love to Hate You Season 1 Review – Ingenious Yet Entertaining post appeared first on Ready Steady Cut.
This Netflix K-drama Love to Hate You Season 1 review is spoiler-free.
It’s February, the month of romance and mediocre film and TV, so it’s no surprise that every streaming platform in existence is dropping rom-coms left and right to capitalize on the season. netflix not only is no exception, but arguably leads the charge with such tasty fare as Your place or mine occupying the thumbnails. Even South Korean televisiongenerally the safest possible bet for high-quality drama – just look at how much fuss people made about the latest Korean binge-drop, Glory – gets in on the action with love to hate youa ten-part romantic comedy series that combines the concept of contrived unlikely lovers with a bit of weirdness.
Love to Hate You Season 1 Review and Plot Summary
The show actually starts with punches. Mid-ran (Kim Ok-vin) is no stranger to hitting men for the greater good, one of the first — but far from the only — ways the series deliberately reverses typical gender dynamics. Mi-ran is promiscuous, tends to look at all men less than favorably, doesn’t believe much in genuine emotions, and is incredibly jaded about crossing paths with the man she’s dating when he and she are with other adventures. It is just what it is.
His counterpart in this strange story is Nam Kang-ho (Teo Yoo), one of Korea’s best-known actors, particularly beloved for his work in romantic comedies, despite being – dun, dun, dun – a raging sexist, a personality trait of his former actor-turned-better friend manager/agent Won-jun (Kim Ji-hoon) currently makes a career out of trying to keep it a secret.
Needless to say, these two opposites are meant to attract each other, and once the show conspires to bring them together, it kicks into a slightly higher gear, though not high enough to sustain ten long episodes. Mi-ran is a lawyer who is almost on the verge of being a Daredevil-style vigilante, but if you’re looking for a series about empowering women in a male-dominated workplace, you better look in the direction of something like The exchangeanother recent Netflix Original from Kuwait based on a true story. love to hate you is a very different affair, much lighter and more absurd, even if it also postulates gender roles, perceptions and identities.
Is love to hate you good?
Honestly, I was planning on liking this show a lot less than I did, since I’m not particularly romantic myself, but then again, that’s not the case either. love to hate you. I appreciated his cynicism, his committed performances and his somewhat atypical attitude; Mi-ran is by no means your quintessential k-drama protagonist, and something is definitely earned in her willingness to play men at their own game.
The male side of things seems more obvious and archetypal at first glance, but being driven primarily by the female perspective is by no means a bad thing. It’s a light meal, of course, and it will put some people off with its sometimes odd tone. But for a February release, it does the job well enough, delivering a consistently watchable, sometimes quite amusing experience that’s just a tad too long for its own good.
You can stream K-drama Love to Hate You Season 1 exclusively on Netflix.
Further reading:
- Love to Hate You season 1 ending explained.
- Will there be a season 2 of Love to Hate You?
The Love to Hate You Season 1 Review – Ingenious Yet Entertaining post appeared first on Ready Steady Cut.
