Disappointing

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 won't name names, but I will mention spoilers, so if you don't want to know ahead of time how the series plays out, you should stop reading now.

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 she's determined not to fall in love or have relationships. She 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 his 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. This after drinking a lot with the wealthy fiancee who chased after him and actually caused the accident.

Take a breath. There's a little more.

Finally, the hot guy took a bad photo when he was just starting out that the fashion designer bought on the street in Paris. That purchase made him decide to keep working at his photography, and also becomes the only thing that gets the fashion designer through the next ten years of overwork, underappreciation, and associated misery. That's classic destiny.

It's Korean, so all the elements 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, or makes it impossible for them to be together. The designer's wealthy, spoiled boss decides she wants hot guy for herself, and her best friend develops cancer and begins slowly dying. 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. It wouldn't be a Korean series if the parents weren't making their kids' lives miserable, but this part seemed especially unnecessary and kind of tedious.

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. The end.

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. The subplot with the dying friend was particularly poignant, too. The series also showcases lots of interesting conservative clothes, if you're into Asian modern fashion, and takes an inside look at the fashion industry in Korea (I can't say how accurate it is, but it seemed to be.) Otherwise I can't recommend this one.