Intersecting Love Stories (25 July 21)

My thoughts on Nevertheless Ep 6. This was totally a filler episode. But we got blessed with the absolutely beautiful and calming environment of that small town where Nabi's aunt lives. 

I really liked the showcasing of an alternate love story. But I think it's gonna end in vain.

Let's first appreciate potato boy Dohyeok. Such a pure character. But somehow I can't help but feel that he's a misfit in this setup. The show has been sold to us as hyper realism and we've seen grey shades of most characters. That's what makes them intriguing.

I would love to see Dohyeok and Nabi's love story unfold. The entire trope of childhood unrequited love. But with Jae eon and Nabi's story intersecting it seemed like an odd fit in the plot. 

And one thing that most are forgetting to point out is the fact that Nabi is slightly misleading Dohyeok. She wasn't honest to him. I do realise that she came to her aunt's house to get her mind off of Jaeeon. But the denial of the situation is a stab in the back.

Both Nabi and Jae eon are grey characters. And I don't see that as a bad thing. It's relatable. It's raw and refreshing. Yes, Jae eon is a walking talking red flag but he owns it. He's never promised Nabi something he can't deliver.

Nabi came out of a toxic emotionally abusive relationship with a man who was older than her. The power dynamic was lopsided and he groomed her. He was a narcissist. She was exhausted from that relationship and Jae eon seemed like a pretty escape. It started frivolous for both.

Jae eon and Nabi had a friends with benefits agreement. But the lines started slowly blurring. They did things that real couples would do. Jaeeon teaching her to dance, washing her dishes, surprising her for her birthday. They seemed new to him too.

Also, Nabi is not dumb. And let's stop portraying her as that. She is someone who has been scarred by a previous relationship. She seeks affection in all forms. Her family situation also has a role to play in this. 

Nabi is subconsciously aware of every decision and often questions Jae eon and his intentions. But it is her instinct to go with the flow, be frivolous for once and feel the feeling that Jae eon brings out in her. As she said, he makes the pain of her break up dissipate.

Both Nabi and Jae eon started this relationship for what they were getting out of it. It was give and take. But it blurred. And Jae eon is in his early twenties. I understand that problematic behaviours can't be dismissed by age but we can acknowledge the space for reform.

Also, his conversation with his mother was striking. When she talks of regret she talks from experience. I have a feeling that Jae eon is affected by his mother's past. And Seol-A lying to Nabi just when Jae eon wanted to make a change also screwed it for him.

Seol-A seems to be the original butterfly to me. I feel like she is the root of this butterfly obsession of Jae eon's. She's surely an ex. And I may be spinning stories but I feel she broke Jae eon's heart. I feel that in the past she was a player figure who deceived Jae eon.

But maybe because he was attached to her and had feelings for her, he didn't leave his side as she seems to be sick/have some disease. In this case, Jaeeon may be Seol-A's trapped butterfly. And he's playing along in this game because it's something they do together.

Something to address is Jae eon resorting to his old antics in the bar. I see that more as a defence mechanism as he is in a state of denial. Is it the noble thing to do? No. It's realistic. Him feeling attached to Nabi is against his norm. So it's a tough pill to swallow.

I think he does it to feel a sense of normalcy. He surely doesn't feel like himself since he and Nabi started getting closer. This is his way of trying to convince himself that nothing has changed. While everything has. And he has to face that reality.

And as Jae eon's mother perfectly said, he needs to stop pretending he doesn't know how he feels. There seems to be a past. And I hope to see him really put up an authentic fight for Nabi. He deserved the suffering this episode. And I hope that if he gets her, it makes sense.

In the end, I just hope that next episode Nabi and Jae eon are decisive and she doesn't string Dohyeok along for a painful ride. PJE and Nabi clearly like each other. They found something while they were not looking and both are dealing with it uniquely and oddly.

expensivegirll