I'm Breaking Up Now (2021)

Not Good Enough

Korean Drama "Now, We Are Breaking Up" is a drama with not much of a story.

There are some pretty moments when it came to the drama's cinematography, with the Parisian style and some nice scenery and fashion scenes.

Unfortunately, the constant and repetitive flashback scenes, the messy, cheesy, nonexistent story, and the lukewarm outcome were all factors in the drama's disaster. Not even the second couple, which had some cute moments, was enough to keep things interesting and the side characters were only there to fill in the gaps, thus having no stories of their own, or, at least, complete ones.

As for the performances, everyone gave a good performance.

So, overall, two and a half out of ten.

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After a lot of tears and procrastination, I finally ended this deep, painful, but also breathtaking adult drama. If you didn't see my first impressions, go for it here: https://mydramalist.com/profile/8270201/feeds/dKJ6jFB

First of all, I have to say this is not a drama for those who seek a simple and beautiful love story. As I said, this drama has an intense plot that makes you think a lot about expectations, bonds, and what is love indeed. We have the main plot, which is pretty good, but what brought me down was the side stories, which also have the same intent to show love in different ways. I'll emphasize here the plot of Jeon Mi Suk (Park Hyo Joo) and Kwak Soo Ho (Yoon Na Moo), with a story that starts with no pretensions but catch us in the process and was responsible for all my tears in the end. The way how these two interact and grow each episode is just impressive. The parents of Young Eun (Song Hye Kye[o) were also an enormous surprise for me. I could feel the despair of Kang Jung Ja (Nam Ki Ae) and the way how this mixed up with the story of her daughter was very emotional. Seok Do Hoon (Kim Joo Heon) and Hwang Chi Sook (Choi Hee Seo) were a big promise, but their story was pretty affected by the low point that I'll mention in a minute.

The main couple has chemistry, but not so much as I expected. Jang Ki Yong is very expressive and I think this was a big contrast with the limited expressions of Hye Kyo. I said I don't like her acting, and here I could see for sure why. This doesn't ruin the entire connection but is a big problem if you wanna finish the drama soon. I paused because there weren't any new episodes, and this made me discourage a little bit. Another low point was the script. I didn't understand some lines and had the feeling that they wanted so badly to make a poetic and deep script that they lose a hand in the process, making things confusing sometimes. In my opinion, Chi Sook and Do Hoon were the most affected by this. I had to come back in a few scenes to understand the decisions and scenes of these two many times because didn't make sense. Which was a shame because these two were so cute together!

I'll give a "good one" place for it (★★★★★★★) because I really think this is a drama that talks about love with reality and beauty, without limitate choices or absurd deliveries of who you are just because you are in love. Is an adult drama that will teach you a couple of lessons, maybe not with so much fun, but developing a lot of deep thoughts.

See you soon!
XOXO, Mari.

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We are 6 episodes in and I’m pretty sure I’m going to end up crying at the end of this one. Jang Ki-Yong is absolutely adorable and I can’t even with that smile. As a woman attracted to younger Asian men, I always appreciate when the older woman is pursued by the younger man in my dramas, and Song Hye-Kyo is both guarded and beautiful in her role. I’ve already teared up several times due to the storyline, so I’m preparing myself with a supply of Kleenex for the final episodes. *Side note, best wishes and safe travels to Jang Ki-Yong during this time as he completes his military service. I hope to see him return to film quickly.*

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Boring.

What I liked most about the entire drama was Jang Ki Yong’s smile. Unfortunately, the weak storyline overshadowed even the best acting. There were no truly happy or uplifting moments, and after the first three or four episodes, every character seemed lost, struggling with their own challenges.

I understand that life isn’t perfect and that ups and downs are a part of everyone's journey. However, dramas are meant for entertainment, and unless they are based on a true story, there’s no need to make the plot so unnecessarily complicated. To make things worse, they even messed up the ending.

Like many viewers, I had high hopes for the main couple. Despite their story being overly complicated by unnecessary consequences, I still hoped for a better or at least a satisfying ending. Unfortunately, I was left disappointed. I don’t know how others feel, but the ending didn’t work for me, and it left me feeling unsatisfied.

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Starts off with a bang, then limps to an unsatisfying conclusion.

"Now, We Are Breaking Up" starts off a with a bang (pun intended), filled with sizzling chemistry between the leads, but the story soon starts to meander, wobble, then get repetitive. For those wondering "Now, We Are Breaking Up" essentially translates to "Let us both agree that this relationship will end eventually, so during the entire time we're together we will be in the process of breaking up." It's kind of a lame idea that gets played as a "deep thought". The two leads spew similar not so "deep thoughts" in voice overs where they pontificate about living and loving in the here and now. (Honestly, it's a mystery this stuff made it out of the script room.)

Ha Young Eun seems one dimensional, and Song Hye Kyo's acting is flat. Jang Ki Yong's performance is a bit lackluster too. But there are some bright spots. Perhaps the brightest is the delightful relationship between the 2nd leads, dingbat Hwang Chi Sook and lovesick Seok Do Hoon. (If only they'd been given more screen time!) Other relationships explore interesting ground too. When philandering husband Kwak Soo Ho discovers that his wife Jeon Mi Suk is seriously ill, the realization of how much she has sacrificed for him to be where he is becomes a punch in the gut. Ha Young En's self-righteous, tone deaf father comes to a similar realization when her mom demands a divorce, regretting her years of self-sacrifice and longing for roads not taken. Chi Sook's dad, the gruff CEO Hwang, turns out to be surprisingly interesting and insightful, but other characters (Jae Guk's mom) are almost kdrama tropes.

One final note: Song Hye Kyo is absolutely lovely, but she's now a lovely 40 something. She has about reached her expiration date for carrying this kind of romantic melodrama with a leading man 11 years her junior. I for one would like to see her romance more mature leading men in their 40s or 50s, and perhaps even play a mother figure.

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Now, I'm Breaking Up With This Drama!

There was something to be said along the lines of "it's about the journey not the destination" but there was no journey or destination to speak of here. At first, it seemed to be a worse version of Encounter (2018) but it turned out to be much worse than that with a stinky trashy tag engraved to its title. Usually Song Hye Kyo doesn't step this low but this proved to be otherwise, it was undeniably her worst project ever. The genius writer shamelessly adapted the deplorable trope of constant interruptions with any hints of a real conversation or dialogue at sight. I have no respect for creators who pull such moves. The drama was filled with the type of dialogue and cheesy one-liners that you would read in a fanfic, it was even filmed from the point of view of a one. Anyway, the drama was an unwatchable junk from a modern lens.

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Remove the romance from the main character and it will be better

Since the pilot episode is not that great, I already expected that the rest of the episodes will be the same. The truth is, the only reason I binge-watched the show was basically to support Sehun in his first television drama. Unfortunately the show is bland and below average, if not for Sehun I already dropped this one long ago.

The title is about the two protagonists dealing with their uncommon romance. The wall left by his late brother and her ex-boyfriend was so thick that it affected not only them but also the people involved with the three of them. Ha Young Eun is still trying to break up with Yoon Jae Guk's deceased brother, but during that time she doesn't know that her ex-boyfriend died. Then, the same cycle happens when the two main characters push their relationship despite the opposition from their parents. They keep trying to break up with each other. The adverse thing is because of this, it is hard for me to enjoy the show and I ended up feeling bored watching it. I really thought that Song Hye Kyo and Jang Ki Young had a great chemistry together but as I watched their acting performance in this show, I can’t find any sort of romantic affection from them. This is also the point I realized that I get sick seeing the same Song Hye Kyo’s teary and dainty facial expression over and over again. The same case with Jang Ki Young’s awkward smiles all throughout the show. I like both of them but they’re acting from this show was unimpressive. Anyways the one lesson I learned from their romance is that one love story is hard to withered.

Set aside the main characters, the story of the dying friend was tragically beautiful. It is my favorite part of the show, a sorrowful yet impactful part of Mi Sook’s life. The SONO online fashion show made me cry a river, turning her long-awaited dream into reality is heartwarming. Living with the knowledge that she can die any minute is tremendously scary. Her decision to do all the things she wanted to do before she died was something sad and fulfilling to see at the same time. At the end, she died knowing that she happily said her goodbyes to the people around her and that the memories they shared together will always be remembered.

Other parts of the show that was good are:
The duo of the two CEOs from Vision PR and THE ONE. Good combination of comedy and spice because of how unexpected the strict father was.
Fashion as their main concept was conveyed well enough but can be improved.
Hwang Chi Hyung and Jung So Young have a cute love story. They had only short scenes but enough to send me butterflies.
Presenting the process of running a fashion company.

In conclusion, sometimes I feel good but still most of the time I feel extremely unsatisfied with the flow of the main character's story. The side character has a more interesting story than the main.

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Now, I'm Irritated

This could have been a really good drama. The basic outline of the look, feel and backstory were good. However, the delivery was so over the top with the support cast that I had to yell, WHY!!!! Did the writer's promise the 'mothers' in this script that they would get ample screen time? UGH!!! There were so many scenes with them and the ex-fiancé of the dead brother that needed to be left on the cutting room floor. Beautiful ML. He worked with what he was given. The FL, I have seen her in other dramas, but I need for her to understand that starring like a deer in headlights is not a constant emotion.

BIG PROBLEM in the Storyline!
1. It is explained that his brother died 10 years ago and was engaged at the time.; and this deceased brother was in a possible affair with the FL while engaged.
2. It is known that the ex-fiancé' caused the accident that killed the deceased bother.
3. The ML is not the actual son of the mother of the brother that is deceased.
4. The ex-fiancé' runs a high-end mall that houses the fashion of the FL and has had them as a client for years. So, you have already known this woman (FL) since she is head designer. So why now all of a sudden there is a problem with her because she is dating the 'brother' of your deceased ex-fiancé who you accidently killed?
5. Why do we need 6 scenes of the mother in the deceased son's old room. Why did we have about 5 extra scenes of both mothers saying the same thing in different ways to the ML and FL. (overkill and totally took away from the drama)

If the 'mother mayhem' wasn't so obnoxious throughout the rest of the series could have been saved as a solid drama. The secondary couple became more interesting since the first couple's story became a runaway train. The way it ended was off. This is not a book report. You do not have to repeat the title. Both ML and FL previously stated that if they were to cross paths again then they would accept it as fate and be together. So, why did the writers have him lean that way while walking towards her... but she says while walking towards him, 'Now we are breaking up'.

If you were to watch it, watch only one scene with the mothers giving their opinion and fast forward through the rest. It becomes exhausting. The only rewatch would be to catch certain scenes that capture certain actors truthfully. The only reason I give it a 6 is for the styling, OST and actors trying to pull off something more from a script with too many holes to mention.

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Now, we are breaking up. Yes a lot of this.

This TV series is about loss and people not adjusting healthily to it. And poor communication within families and workplace.
I thought the script was ambitious and was weighed down too heavily with bitterness from mother in laws/ex GF etc. But dealing with a child's reaction to cancer was commendable.
All the actors were very good and I liked the direction that was given to the two lead roles. I presume they were trying to act as the offspring of their very selfish, loud and bullying parents.
This is not a bright and breezy watch and I found some episodes easier than others. But I would still recommend 90%.

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Lenta y hay que leer entrelinea a ver si le ves la profundidad

Comencé a ver esta serie solo porque amo a Jang Ki Yong, y realmente no me importa su poker face, puedo vivir con eso, porque generalmente sus ojos lo dicen todo. Ya terminé la serie, y no entiendo porque tan malas evaluaciones, si hay poca química, si, a ella le cuesta mucho su rol. Lo que estoy entendiendo es que el director se paso con la exigencia de seriedad en sus escenas, sobre todo porque ya conocemos a estos actores de otras series.
Al final no es una excelente serie, por ahora la historia es interesante, un poco lenta y repetitiva, igual he visto peores.
No es una serie que recomendaría 100%, solo porque amo a este hombre es que la vi completa. Todas las situaciones que habían en la serie, eran bastante reales, actitudes de los personajes muy posibles en la vida real, en especial con lo que se oponen a la relación, lo entendí perfectamente. Como siempre se ponen poco creativos en el capitulo final, mala costumbre.
No esperen mucho de esta serie, no esperen mucho de las actuaciones de la pareja principal, aunque al final, no es tan mala como las reseñas que leí la quieren hacer ver.

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Deceiving from the start..

At the beginning of the show Yoon Jae Gook says something like "let's love while we are breaking up"...the phrase should have been "let's struggle and suffer by ourselves while breaking up". They had more chemestry in the first episodes while they were not together rather then when they're a couple. They never really face their problems as a team, but they seem to leave one another out of their struggles, like they need to face everything on their own.
And the plot is so frustrating! All the world is against them and their love in a way that is unreasonably fierce. Maybe the cultural gap between Western and Eastern culture makes it hard for me to understand completely why they act like this, but only in Itaewon Class I found a similar harshness. I mean, ok, ok being mean at the beginning, but at a certain point it all becomes unbearable and unjustifiable.
Thank God we had the secondary couple lightening up the scene.
Anyway, despite many reviews stating the contrary, I found the acting of Song Hye Kyo very good and credible most of the time, above all when portraying both the happy and the sad moments of the relationship with her friends and family.

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