"Nevertheless,..." is the reason why I am single by choice … (a kinda deep analysis)

             Hello lovely readers! I hope that you’re all doing great!

It’s been a very long while. I know… I’ve tried to balance between posting on the blog and the podcast. But at a certain point it was impossible to stay consistent. And now that I look back, it’s been almost more than 8 months since I last logged to the blog and posted something… and since then, a lot of things have changed… like A LOT… I can really say that my life took a 180° shift to either the right or left side but I know it’s now at the opposite side of what it used to be. I am definitely experiencing a lot of things for the first time as a young adult… is it taking a whole toll on me? Yes. It’s actually super difficult to keep up with everything and try to stay present and in the moment. I am trying my best to think and observe all these changes and rebuild my own little safe bubble as before… post graduation is a very special period of one’s life. Transitioning to work directly is really not the healthiest thing after graduation in my opinion. I am glad I’ve had a couple of months off any activity to just sit and reflect on my last year of college that left me really traumatized at certain points and because of certain events and people in particular. I am not telling you this to complain or anything…but to really consider taking some time for yourselves to just let emotions sink in and dash new chapters with good energy.

Anyways, I’ll keep it short lol! Maybe I will write or record something about that specific topic and in details for you guys to benefit from my very random life experiences hehet!

Yo! Today’s post is actually very special! It’s something I’ve never done on this blog for the past 3 years that it existed and I am really excited for it!

Finally ladies and gents, the day has come where I will write a K Drama (Korean Series are called Kdrama/s) review! TMI though: I never write about good things that often, I just love dragging bad shows and telling people why they’re bad in my opinion (or sometimes it’s a matter of fact that they’re a waste of time and energy smh* “shake my head””)! And today’s guest is none other than the 2021 JTBC TV phenomenon: Nevertheless,…

So if you’re ready for the rollercoaster ride, fasten your seat belts and let’s get it going!

DISCLAIMER:

1/ This review might have some major spoilers. So, if you are planning to watch the show, I recommend you read this after watching the show. However, if you watched the show or you’re here for a reading and you’re not really planning on watching the show then keep on reading!

2/ my opinions are MINE. What I think about something is completely my own ideas and perceptions about it. This is by no means intended to be influential in any way. Whether good or bad, it is still me who think it is “good” or “bad” and it is based on my visions and beliefs. So please take everything written here with a grain of salt since all of you guys are free to have your own ideas and thoughts about the show as well!

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Nevertheless, in Korean « 알고있지만 » pronounced: « algoitjiman » Is a JTBC TV + Netflix series/ Web Drama (Web dramas are series that get adapted from webtoons) (Webtoons are comic books) that aired from June 19^th to August 21^st 2021 on Saturdays at 23:00 KST. The drama is will be available on French Netflix starting from August 29^th.

Original writer is Jung Seo and Screen writer is Jung Won. The drama was entirely shot in South Korea and was directed by Kim Ga Ram.

The story overall speaks about how a young man named Park Jae Eon (Song Kang) learned the true meaning of love after meeting Yu Na Bi (Han Seo Hee). That’s basically what some sites claim ( I won’t even bother and give you a references list at this point I’m still not over academic BS) where the Netflix description described their relationship as “friends with benefit”… we’ll see about that…

Basically the setting is 2021 Seoul, South Korea, no pandemic going on apparently (since it was basically without any signs of particular lifestyle going on) Both leads are art majors.

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Storyline: (literally picked what could be considered a build up in this whole show):

The drama kicks off with a snowy night at Seoul where a beautiful lady (Yu Na Bi) goes to an art gallery with some flowers in her hand. We get to know that the artist holding this gallery is her boyfriend who is a college teacher at the same time. We see a shocked Na Bi face when she sees a certain sculpture of a naked woman bending over nothing. To her surprise, the piece was named after her “Na Bi”. Na Bi tears up and leaves the gallery and breaks up with her boyfriend. Then it cuts to her boring empty days after the shock she got from her boyfriend who later tried to justify his deeds in what I think the stupidest way in the world. Anyways, we then meet our male lead, the butterflies’ boy:  Park Jae Eon; who she accidentally bumps into while being at a bar. The two talked for a while and played a game at the bar as well… he then very randomly decides to draw a butterfly on her forearm (very weird right?)  Later, we figure out that Jae Eon goes to the same college Na Bi goes to and they’re actually classmates! And from here many things start happening in the weirdest tempo …. I will stop here and move on to:

I/ What I liked the most about the show:

1-      The music: There is this saying by one of my favourite Youtubers that I have only experienced with this show: if the music is good, 90% the show is terrible.

And let me tell you that the Nevertheless playlist is EXACTLY my style in music. Not only in what I enjoy listening to. It’s literally like, if I could produce music, it would sound like that. It’s good that I can really expect what the melody would sound like after 5 seconds of listening. The music is really heavenly, mostly simple and calm, with a very prominent presence of guitars and very light vocals editing or auto tune or EDM. It’s something I personally mindlessly play in my head as background music to my daily small tasks. I really recommend you go listen to the playlist: it’s available on Spotify as well as Youtube loops. I don’t know if you’d love it or not but I know I won’t update my work playlist in at least three months. I am literally playing it right now as I am writing this and it’s a whole beige mood!

2-      That’s literally it! I wish I were kidding but let’s get to the bad stuff, shall we?

II/ What I disliked about the show:

1-      The cliché art majors thing:

I just don’t think it’s interesting anymore to depict art majors as those careless people who have“beyond normal folks” visions about freedom! Like, why is it always the art majors that allow everything and take risks and portray YOLO the best? I don’t really get it.

 

2-      The “adult” content:

 Most episodes were R rated because of intimacy, cigarettes, alcohol and language. It is fine to a certain extent because there were a lot more than usual kissing scenes/ bed scenes, explicitness, smoking and casual youngsters’ “random” talks. A lot of people consider this good and unlike K drama … I have my thoughts about this to be honest… what I dislike the most in this regard is limiting the lives of college students to being unsure about life, promiscuous, careless and irresponsible. One of the characters literally had one job that was leading boys on and leaving them when the fun was over! She saved their phone numbers with: name, age and a personality trait! Like, what in the objectification is that? I don’t know…

As a former college student, I found this “free” and reckless lifestyle very unrealistic for a drama that was supposed to depict the real college life. Although most college students are lifeless! Not in the literal sense, but they really don’t know what’s going on with their lives! Like it’s just the clothes and the restaurants and that’s the youth fun yay! However, I don’t really know whether the purpose was to generalize this over everybody, or highlight this social slice and putting it under the lens (although we left with 0 morals at the end)… I know how hard college life is and how most people struggle with literally everything just not to go crazy mid way. College is a challenge that can be detrimental at some point if one’s skin isn’t thick enough. So yeah that’s what I guess I have to say about the adulthood thing.

 

3-      Plot holes:

I literally can’t mention how many times I’ve asked myself crucial questions about the plot and now that the series ended I’m so frustrated that they weren’t answered or mentioned at all. I have mentioned above the word: butterflies boy. Park Jae Eon basically has always had this mysterious aura around him for some reason. He never spoke about himself, his family or anything. He probably didn’t have a house (the place he lived at was so weird) I even thought at a certain point that he was homeless that’s why he sleeps around with girls lol! He has a very attractive butterfly tattoo on the back of his neck and it somehow draws everyone’s attention to it. The writers somehow built Jae Eon’s personality around these butterflies. He also had a lighter with a butterfly engraved on it! And he kept ACTUAL butterflies at his place (if we can even call it a place!) I genuinely believe that everyone who watched the series wanted a deep explanation related to these butterflies and why they literally made it sound as if he were some kind of magical man because of them! The drama ended and that mystery sadly, was never solved… another point is the irrelevance of some characters. Jae Eon’s mother and that girl called So Ra were literally the biggest WTF for me this whole time! Like why would you toss a mom character living at a fancy suite for 2 minutes JUST to offer him a freaking car?!!! Or that girl called So Ra? This person literally was doing nothing but hating Na Bi for no absolute reason. She basically had that thing where she asks Na Bi about what kind of relationship she has with Jae Eon and then somehow we are genius-ly expected to understand she’s jealous of her? Because that Jae Eon might actually like her for real? Unlike her (So Ra) who we, without any context, are supposed to understand she was another chick he just had some fun with? HELP.

 

4-      Psychological  manipulation, Toxicity and Paradoxical Behaviour:

I get really sensitive while talking about things like that but when I tell you that there hasn’t been an episode where I didn’t wish I could punch Na Bi for being stupid at this point! Like seriously! The normalisation of toxicity and red flags in this show are alarming. Mentally abusive behaviour is pretty much normal and even very rudely justified. The way characters were gas lighted and manipulated is crazy. Most of the time, some monologues are inserted and as a viewer, you’d genuinely question the speaker’s mind. Like, they act totally differently from what they think. I don’t know why marketing such an unhealthy thing!  The absence of healthy communication between grownups was at some point really made me angry to say the least. It was really annoying that no one seemed to have a sane brain cell to save themselves from stupid occurrences. I swear to God in some scenes, I get the second hand embarrassment and roll my eyes in a way where I internally say: I wish I weren’t actually witnessing any of this bullshit. That whole eye talk thing and tension that was super intense in this drama didn’t cut it for me whatsoever.

 In the very end of the series, and again, without giving any name to this all over the place relationship; Na Bi asks Jae Eon to “stay by her side” when she literally was the one to ask him to stay away… in the lamest monologue in the whole series Na Bi says:” I know I will regret this, but…” and then the events proceeds giving us viewers the illusion that they’re a happy couple trying out Italian food at random restaurants. The very last scene was the funniest for me. hear me out! We see Na Bi holding Jae Eon’s hand and walking very normally. They both pass by a Café in which Na Bi sees her childhood friend Do Yeok (I will tackle him in the next couple of segments) sitting with a girl. She pulls her hand off Jae Eon and makes the weirdest face ever! She almost looked disappointed!! Why though? You have the one you like and you’re happy! Right?!! But then she holds her boyfriend’s hand again and another lame montage plays. The way most characters were acting against their will or saying things just to confuse each other was really duh for me. Like why would you bear all this negativity? For what? I really don’t see the use of it. As a third party, it really gave me nothing but anxiety to be honest.

 

5-      Relationships that aren’t labelled, NEVER work:

        Throughout the series, Na Bi and Jae Eon share a relationship that is built on lust and nothing but sexual attraction. The guy will move to her place, eat with her, sleep with her and act like her boyfriend, get mad if she goes about her life and one day even called 119 who tried to break her door just because he thought she wasn’t doing well because she didn’t pick up the phone! *major eye roll*… All of this happening when they aren’t dating nor related in anything or any kind of relationship with a name. I believe that every relationship any one of us undergoes must have a name. I study with someone? I call them study mates. I go to work with someone? They’re the “on the way to work” company for me. I talk to someone off working hours? They’re my friend. I get with someone to a stage where all basic names don’t fit? I ask them simply: what are we? I really don’t understand how people skip that and just get taken by the wind into the “adventure” that can literally turn into a disaster without them knowing! In the case of Na Bi and Jae Eon, we never see any of this. At an early stage of their relationship, he told her that they didn’t have to date! Still he had to push his nose into everything! I told you this whole thing is super frustrating.

 

6-      The “nice guy” Trope:

This is probably longer than any essay I’ve written in my five years at college word count wise but keep going guys! Keep going!

Now here me out, I have nothing against nice guys or any type of guys lol! But there is a nice guy in the story… How would it be as toxic as it is if we didn’t have a cute little bear in the story? Let’s meet Do Yeok, Na Bi’s childhood friend, a very healthy guy if you ask me! He is a Youtuber; he owns a noodles restaurant and as you might have concluded by now: likes Na Bi so much! He is overall awkward, very respectful and kind. He is all about flowers and bubbles and cute stuff… unlike Jae Eon who sends butterflies to Na Bi’s stomach and make her not know what she’s even doing…

Do Yeok at some point in the series confesses to Na Bi, promises her to wait for her, and shows her nothing but kindness and support. He was literally the man written by a woman type. The best anyone can ever ask for. But he wasn’t fun *Kim Kardashian voice tone* he wasn’t edgy and a relationship with him would not be as risky and YOLO as with Jae Eon who is nothing but a douche bag creep. Can you guess what happens to our little Potato guy? Of course! He will get thrown under the bus because the bad guy has to win! Because he is more fun…. I’m literally about to lose it. Literally EW.

 

7-      The irrelevance of Sol and Ji Wan:

To give you some context, Sol and Ji Wan are Na Bi’s friends. They’re her classmates and they’re best friends. Sol is very charismatic and cool, while Ji Wan is a little childish and super cringy to me. Sol and Ji Wan’s friendship is really toxic. Ji Wan is so obsessed with her best friend. She hates it when Sol goes on dates or interacts with men and often tells her that she can’t do anything before telling her beforehand. In one of the episodes, Ji Wan tells Sol that she only wants her to love her (Ji Wan) and no one else. Ji Wan was drunk but Sol keeps thinking about her words... she even said that it is giving her “hope”. Days go by and Sol confesses her feelings to Ji Wan! Something I personally think killed the aura of Sol for me after everything was hinting that it was Ji Wan that would confess first. This later gets flabbergasted and gives a very weird reaction. She then talks to Na Bi about how she is afraid of losing her best friend if their relationship fails and end up broken up. Na Bi comforts her and tells her that it’s okay to give it a try (this whole show is about people getting involved in things they’re not sure about but hey: it’s fun!)

We end up with Ji Wan and Sol dating but without any appreciation from their friends. We never see them treated as a couple by their friends, nor praised for coming out and going after their feelings. It actually made me angry at some point. I really wanted them to get some attention! I mean why would you literally squeeze a lesbian couple if you’d brush past it as if it’s nothing? I feel like the Sol Wan (I made that up!) story was very poorly written and it’s such a shame.

 

8-      The “love over everything” Trope:

One of the things I seriously hated with this drama is how conflicted the characters were. I believe we were watching some people who are all aged above 23 years old at least, who live alone and do their own bills. Most of them didn’t have any sense of logic if you ask me. The way they were guiding their lives was so random and it majorly lacked foresight. The whole show was not about love; nor there has been a love story to begin with. Literally every relationship in that drama is based on lust. In the final episode, Na Bi participates in a big gallery with a sculpture she worked on with Jae Eon as her assistant. The sculpture very randomly gets ruined because of the ceiling fan falling on it. Na Bi is devastated and all but Jae Eon was the super hero who helped her fix a sculpture she worked on the entire semester in a few days… yeah. That’s after she repeatedly asked him to stay away from her. But she accepts his help. (periods cuz you need to let that sink for a bit).

We see then Na Bi being praised for her piece that was to be honest very good in my opinion. Her teacher advises her to go to this big Art School in Paris to which Na Bi responds: “I want to go to Paris” then goes out to look at the sky disappointedly because Jae Eon did not come to the gallery. She sighs and says: “I miss him” [TF]. To no one’s surprise, and out of the bluest blue, the Paris plan falls from the Niagara falls ( I mean from very high)  and we only see her mindlessly strolling with that Jae Eon with basically 0 future plans allegedly being all happy and lovey dovey.

Like, aren’t we done already with girls giving up their future for boys who aren’t really invested into anything with them? Like are you stupid or what? Life opportunities like a prestigious college scholarship do not fall off trees! It’s literally a life experience that is either invested in or gone forever! The idea of Na Bi giving her everything to someone that would potentially break her heart is super toxic and for me, it is the biggest red flag in this whole story. This can never be love whatsoever. I don’t know what in the fairytales is that; but I deeply believe that people who are in love, will not have to consider such things passively. They would speak them out and discuss them thoroughly. A love relationship is complementary and never based on irrational sacrifices that are to some extent straight up stupid.

III/ Personal Thoughts:

Now listen, I am someone with A LOT of thoughts when it comes to ideologies and cultural aspects that media often tries to vehicle thinking we’re too dumb to understand… by far, K drama is becoming more of a Netflix type of content but in a language that is not English. I believe that we can all agree than Netflix originals are some of the cringiest, dumbest shows on planet Earth. From plot, to cast, to misinformation, Netflix is the biggest place where you literally pay to watch garbage. And now that K drama is apparently a good market for Netflix, folks at this company thought it was good to add some “flavour” to some series. Talking about JTBC specifically, this whole “westernization” thing started with Itaewon Class (2020) where it was literally a cheap version of the great Gatsby if you ask me. A man, who spent his youth in prison, comes out with nothing in his hands and manages to become the CEO of the biggest restaurant chain in South Korea (what in the American dream is that?)… And that’s all thanks to his genius manager who is in fact a sociopath with multiple mental and behavioural issues… In this drama, they thought it was cool to toss a black character to send a message that South Korea is not a racist country and that they’re welcoming and all… when in fact; Koreans are some of the most uneducated populations in the world about racism and black culture. Many shows that aired on national TV and various acts have been repeatedly called out for things like black face and cultural appropriation. And now on the same channel, Nevertheless is basically not like the other k dramas, with all the context-less explicitness and nudity that was at a certain point uncomfortable and overboard a little… A LOT. Recent K dramas did not really have the K drama essence. I am absolutely not the type of people that are all about 2016 dramas as if they’re something out f this world, but I absolutely believe that K drama has its own flavour that is now being taken from it. And it’s all because of Hallyu (Korean Wave) if you ask me. Ever since BTS got famous, every Korean thing started believing that they can have a wider western audience. Just like BTS. But little did they know that this would ruin a lot of things OGs grew up with and rooted for. Now I feel that production companies view viewers as coins. I make more money, to make a cheap toxic drama for a shit hole called Netflix. In short, I just want to say that none of what recent dramas have been depicting REALLY happens in South Korea. This “Utopia” plan is just so unrealistic and for the dumb to hold on to.

Another thing I wanted to talk about that I think contributed to the downfall of Korean drama is the adaptation of webtoons. Literally not every big webtoon deserves to be a TV series like?? Bizarrely, web dramas perform a lot better than the originally “written for screens” dramas. If you go ask anyone, they’d tell you that True Beauty is the best drama evurrrr! When it’s actually cliché, redundant and childish to some extent.  The audience preference shifted to fast writing, fast everything no plot type of content. And anyways, it makes money! So why care about the plot when the revenue of an empty show would be 10 times more?

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Wheeeeew! That was a ride my dudes and here we are at the end of it!

I hope you enjoyed today’s article! It’s something very new to me and I really poured my heart into it!

Tell me what you think about Nevertheless if you watched it! Also feel free to tell me your thoughts about anything I mentioned above! Life is getting a little tougher so stay safe and wear your masks ♥ Drink lots of water and never skip your meals! I hope to see y’all in the next one! *sends hugs*