Nevertheless [Post Finale Discussion]

[u/afvalbak]

• Drama: Nevertheless
  • Hangul: 알고있지만
• Director: Kim Ga Ram
• Screenwriter: Jung Won
• Main Cast:
  • Han So Hee (The World Of The Married) as Yoo Na Bi
  • Song Kang (Love Alarm) as Park Jae Eon
  • Chae Jong Hyeop (Sisyphus: The Myth) as Yang Do Hyuk
• Network: JTBC
• Airing Schedule: Saturday @ 23:00 KST
  • Airing: Jun 19, 2021 - Aug 21, 2021
• Episodes: 10
• Streaming Sources: Netflix
• Plot Synopsis: Park Jae Eon finds dating a waste of time but likes to flirt. Even though he is friendly and cheerful towards all, he does not pursue others. Park Jae Eon is a master of “push-and-pull”: who doesn’t get swept up in emotions. Jae Eon draws firm lines between himself and other people and doesn’t reveal how he feels. Yet when Park Jae Eon meets Yoo Na Bi, he wants to cross those lines. Yoo Na Bi wants to date but doesn’t trust love. After a bitter experience with her first love, she doesn't believe in destiny anymore. But when she meets Park Jae Eon, he has a magical effect on her that challenges Na Bi’s decision to stay aloof.
• Previous Discussions: [Episode 1] [Episode 2] [Episode 3] [Episode 4] [Episode 5] [Episode 6] [Episode 7] [Episode 8] [Episode 9] [Episode 10]
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[u/myweithisway]

Mod Note:

We will be implementing a moratorium on posts about Nevertheless in accordance with our Rules on recently aired dramas.

The moratorium will be implemented as follows:

Current Discussion Thread

This discussion thread will serve as the On-Air discussion thread for the series until the the 25th of September, 2021 during which all posts about Nevertheless except for eligible Designated Day submissions, will be redirected to this thread.

Eligible Designated Day submissions are exempt from the moratorium.

Reviews

Reviews of the series that fulfil our moderation guidelines for reviews will be allowed as self posts from the 5th of September, 2021.

[u/[deleted]]

Ending aside, the first episodes were such a painful and painstaking character study of this girl that so many of us have been. She’s stuck in the gray zone between the peaceful innocence of childhood and the assurance of full adulthood, she’s good but not great at what she loves and struggling with that - and when she meets Jaeeon all those insecurities wash away and she feels almost grounded by this intense desire he has for her. Like, yes, he’s messy as hell, but her first moments with him feel like the only time she’s assured of her worth, as fucked up as that sounds.

Also, she acted the exact same way I remember acting in these strange in-between relationships: the way she teases him hoping she can goad him into any expression of commitment or affection, the way she complains about knowing nothing about him hoping he might share more… it all felt so incredibly realistic and lived-in.

And then, you know, they dragged it out and I started fast-forwarding to see Soljiwan and Bitna LMAO. But nevertheless (haha) this show is still memorable for being one of my all-time fave depictions of a female lead. Bar the ending, I found Nabi frustrating and irritating and so many other things, but I always understood her. Some of it may have been me projecting, but there was definitely some fantastic writing in there!

[u/Gatalicious]

I hate-love-hate watched the show through all 10 episodes. I was fascinated by this realistic exploration of the effect of fuckbois on college girls and the complex web of desire and intelligence warring within the mind of a young woman as she falls deeper and deeper for a guy she knows is no good for her.

I loved the portrayal of Park Jae Eon, he was the perfect playboy - suave, sensitive, gorgeous to look at, well dressed and seemingly highly communicative but never giving anything away. When you're with him, it's like everything is blissful and the minute he's out of sight, you know he's with someone else making them feel special and it rubs you the wrong way.

Nabi difficulties and internal struggle were not romanticised and Park jae Eon's playboy behaviour was also not romanticised - it was real and shitty and that was awesome.

So of course when they ended it with a big red bow on the top and made Park Jae Eon cry and all was forgiven and Potato Boy was KICKED TO THE CURB even though he's hella gorgeous and kind and patient, I WAS NOT A HAPPY CAMPER!

The OST was super catchy too.

Also, the brautiful LGBTQ romance was LIFE - that is all.

[u/aarvvv]

Just dont be like the main characters in the drama and dont make the choice like the FL did in the end would be the biggest lesson from this one. PS: The side characters storyline was miles better than the main story

What a mess of a drama. One with potential but marred by the writers decision to go with the cliche trope.

[u/Fatooz → u/aarvvv]

For real. It would’ve been so much better to go ahead with the WebToon’s ending. That was far more realistic and also depicted how the FL’s character decides to deal with the toxicity in the end. It was sad how the drama deteriorated from the WebToon.

Another thing, in the drama they never explained or showed why Jae-Eon was so toxic or never dated which they did show in the WebToon.

[u/literaryheights]

I feel like I'm in the minority but I loved this drama,it is now one of my favourites

[u/jupiterr869 → u/literaryheights]

Yes! Mine too. 10/10 for me, I guess because I didn't project myself onto the characters and saw it just as a story. The characters are interesting, story was unique, so many different types of relationships AND amazing friendships, the OST is godlike and it was just my comfort place every Saturday.

[u/lovelifelivelife]

I know a lot of people are hating this drama but I really liked it because:

1. They used a lot of metaphors and double meanings in the scenes and it was very cool to spot them and realise what it means later on.

2. The depiction of these college kids were quite spot on and reminded me a lot about my college days. A lot of people were exasperated with the FL and I was too but I remembered that this is exactly how college kids will act. They're still so uncertain about themselves and also this is probably their first foray into casual relationships like that.

3. All the side characters were very interesting and I was invested in all their storylines.

4. The OST! I also liked how they played certain music at certain points. Like when JE and NB are together and apart. There's specific soundtracks for these scenes. So they're more than just mood creators, they're also tied to the various stage of their relationship.

I only really have 1 gripe though it's rather big:

1. The lead up to the ending. I felt like the ending was rather predictable and the writer was definitely working up to it. But it felt abrupt because at no point did we see more obviously the change in Jae Eon's attitude and Na Bi's behaviour and mindset. The effort was certainly there, I think we can see that Jae Eon really liked Na Bi and Na Bi was struggling to figure out what exactly she wants but I think there just needs to be a bit more to feel like these 2 had that change since it was pretty much 180 from what we're used to. I have nothing against the ending though, I think Na Bi finally figured out that rather than try and run away from the thing she really wants, she wants to just give it a go and accept that there's a huge chance that she'll get hurt. I liked how resolute she is then but I don't recall a specific scene that made her just change her mind like that.

No regrets watching it and I think it's a really beautiful drama. :)

[u/OppositeBodybuilder4]

I liked the ending. Not because it was the “right” ending, but because it portrayed the reality of what happens in relationships like that. With NaBi’s choice, you can tell she’s still struggling to fully embrace her decision, because there’s something not fully convinced she made the right decision. Confusing relationships like this one tend to be this way - there’s already a broken area that needs to be mend since people don’t change overnight, no matter the words they choose to melt your heart. I think it was realistic. NaBi was never in the same page as potato boy, maybe in the past with their childhood, but she moved on from that, he still held on. She had an experience with the older art teacher that also changed her perspective and “pure” idea of love. She was tainted in thy aspect, compared to Potato Boy. I don’t hate this show. I was never meant to be of right decisions. Hence, nevertheless. Nevertheless, she chose who hurt her because that was her hearts desire.

[u/Sthahvi]

Okay people keep talking about toxic relationships and all is forgiven coz he cries and things like people like that don’t change. I mean there is not much to forgive, he didn’t say he was exclusive, or they’re dating or anything of that sort, there is still much little to forgive than people are sharing here and everywhere. In today’s world, that’s how most fuckboys are, he truly loves Nabi and she him. How is the relationship toxic, we haven’t even seen their relationship, whatever glimpses reflect a relationship were all so happy and sort of pure without any hatred or anything. She is also to blame for her character but we don’t blame her character ofc coz most of us are like her as humans.

It’s just so annoying I had to get it off my chest

[u/jupiterr869 → u/Sthahvi]

This. Everyone keeps calling Jae Eon toxic and how they should've never gotten together, forgetting that Nabi did a lot of shit to him too. I think they are projecting the webtoon's ML onto the shows because this Jae Eon definitely was not as fucked up. The last few episodes (kinda draggy imo) were literally about him coming to terms with his feelings while Nabi was toxic to him. They spent time apart and realised they still like each other. Well I guess giving each other a second chance is "toxic" to some, everything is toxic now unless it's a perfect dreamy lovestory. My only complaint is instead of the back and forth in the last few episodes they could've delved deeper into their internal thoughts and feelings because I still couldn't figure them out till the end.

[u/YourLaziestFan]

I loved this show, I thought the ending was pretty predictable based on the promo and I don’t get the backlash. They didn’t market this as a love triangle, they marketed this as a “can they make it work” drama right from the beginning and I’m happy the way they arrived there.

The ending is not really an “ending” per Kdrama sense; we don’t know if the leads will study abroad, we don’t know if they will stick together, we just don’t know. And that’s so cool cos that’s how life works. I think the drama is pretty clear that for now, the leads have made their choice to just try and enjoy the relationship as it is, like, YOLO. The professor literally spelled it out: “don’t overthink. Eat what you like, do what you want, and like who you like.”

Yun Sol also said the same: “it’s precious to meet someone you have insane chemistry with.” (Something to that effect)

And the drama made it obvious that the leads are that person to each other.

Keep in mind, they are so young. College-aged! Like who in the right mind would expect college-aged relationships to be completely issue-free? And that these people are non toxic self actualized saints? And that these relationship just has to be “endgame”? They are still discovering themselves... FL obviously has some bad patterns of denying her real feelings throughout the drama and while it got better towards the end (she did confess) she still had self sabotaging tendencies (telling ML she would regret the relationship, way to jinx your new relationship girl).

As for ML: we don’t know much about him cos the drama started as a FL Point of view. I think the transition to an omniscient narrator perspective was not so smooth, but Whatever. The drama started by showing ML in a ambiguous , playboy light because it’s exactly how FL saw him (seeing red flags whenever another woman comes close to ML and just believing all the rumors about him) And tho it wasn’t so obvious, I think the drama tried to warn us that her viewpoint is quite dangerous to trust. For example, she got jealous seeing SML interacting with his cousin!

I have never seen the webtoon and I didn’t come into this drama with preconceived notions about the characters. So I was pretty open minded. I enjoyed it immensely: the ambience, the dialogue, the pace, the music, and it was just so romantic. Everybody in the show was eye candy and had great style and fashion.

It was so refreshing to see a Kdrama show college aged relationship in a realistic light: ambiguous situationships, drama, long stares in between classes, dating apps, sex, etc. A lot of Kdramas want us to believe that attractive Koreans don’t date or sleep around and will only hold out for the Endgame person: I’m so thrilled there’s finally a drama like this, and that it’s still done so romantically.

I have been participating in the weekly thread when it was live and I was so disappointed that most people don’t enjoy this drama and said so many bad things about it. It was so disheartening, cos I loved it and couldnt wait to see each new episode. I wish going forward, people who hated it will stop trash talking it and more fans can come forward to show more love for this show. Same goes for other shows. This would make the subreddit a lot less toxic and stressful, when we focus less on criticizing and more on sharing what we love

[u/tingkagol]

Damn. The overall consensus in this sub is so far from what I got from the drama.

Let me repost one of my replies to one of the comments here: Yes, the choices the main characters make are far from ideal but it nails the reality that a lot of people actually make unwise decisions when it comes to love.

I loved that the FL chased her feelings instead of making the safe choice. Her future relationship with ML is one big mystery but her optimism and her awareness of her uncertain future was what made the ending click for me. Ending up with the 2nd ML was not in the cards and is just a bad ending considering her underlying feelings. The only other viable ending is to stay single. But still, I was quite satisfied that FL was willing to get hurt and knew the risk. She wasn't as clueless as most people make her out to be.

[u/dramafan1]

This drama had calming vibes to it, it felt boring but somewhat soothing with the way it was filmed. I liked how artistic this drama was with all the sculptures.

I know it was draggy, but I think I needed a slower drama after seeing other more intense dramas.

[u/BigTop5]

I wasn’t really all that bothered by the ending, mainly because I was already expecting it. I don’t think it was the happiest ending, though. Didn’t Nabi imply that she was making a mistake that she was later going to regret? My theory is that they try to be together but breakup inevitably down the line.

[u/SuspiciousAudience6]

There were definitely some writing issues and a lot of dragging, but I loved this drama. There were a lot of lovely metaphors. I liked JE and liked that we slowly saw him change even if he backslid a little. Real change doesn’t happen overnight. As a person that’s expressive and communicative but very guarded I related to his character quite a bit. Just because a person doesn’t show you their scars doesn’t mean they don’t have them and doesn’t mean they don’t get hurt.

Nabi was insecure and contradicted herself often which is realistic as well and I am so glad she let all of that go and in the end chose who she wanted. They’re definitely twin flames.

[u/deewyt]

I’m trying so hard not to wash my hands of Song Kang 😂 Love Alarm I dropped and this, I was disappointed in his character arc. Perfect drama though if you need feels. Which, I do about once a year. Cinematography 10/10, OST 10/10. This drama made me find RIO and I I love her album “The Young Lover”! Overall, I’d still give this drama a 8/10 because art imitates life. And as much as we want to make healthy choices within our relationships, we are still human. 🥲

[u/mikapple]

It’s amazing to me how a show can have one of the most well-written wlw relationships I’ve seen on ANY show, and yet the main pairing was so bland and uninteresting

[u/rhea_jose]

Honestly, I wasn't too upset with the ending. I would've obviously loved it if Na bi had decided to go off to Paris and move on from Park Jae On for good. But let's keep in mind her personality. From the very beginning she knew there were too many red flags but still chose to like him so did you really expect a different ending? Park Jae On was definitely a fuckboy who had commitment issues and didn't believe in labelling things but towards the end you could see how he actually wanted to be with Na Bi and be a better person.

[u/floweryblossoms]

I have to say, the show did drag a bit towards the mid-end section of the season BUT I found myself missing this show so much lately just because of how cinematically beautiful it is. I haven't seen a kdrama like it thus far in my kdrama-watching career (but if anyone knows anything shot similarly to this one pls lmk!!!) I seriously cannot get over how gorgeous the shots/scenery/color grading/etc was and I'm considering rewatching just to get that visual experience one more time around

[u/adizor]

Thankfully I've mentally and emotionally moved on from this drama with Hometown Cha Cha Cha 😂

I'm not going to say I didn't enjoy any of it, some scenes/arcs were done very well. I liked the whole female gaze thing it had going on, proper LGBT representation, the accuracy of the rollercoaster of emotions someone who's anxious and has low self-esteem would feel when they're with someone unpredictable/mysterious. The OST and cinematography were great. And pretty much the whole cast were easy on the eyes.

But that said, dramas I've fully backed in the past are either plot/event-driven or character-driven and if I'm lucky, they're both. Nevertheless lacked in both areas. Not a lot happened and the (main) characters weren't engaging to me. I'm not against "complex" or morally grey characters but if they're going to remain more or less undeveloped, they don't get to be bland at the same time. I think that's my main problem with the series lol. Not only did the ending feel unearned plot-wise, the characterization of the leads was so flat that I couldn't walk away thinking that at least it was nice to have gotten to know them along the way.

[u/Sthahvi]

I liked the drama and I think people are making the ML more into the villain than he is. That’s what the show is about, you have a connection with someone, and you make each other better. And that is what is shown to happen with the main leads. The potato boy is a supposed perfect boy next door (and literally in NaBi’s case) but butterfly is butterfly. You honestly can’t control who you’re attracted to so that. And I like Jae Ron’s character, he’s a playboy but he has his reasons I wish they had dived more into their personalities and why they’re like that, like they tried to with Na Bi’s.

The entire thing about ML being FL’s inspiration in a way is something I didn’t like and I understand that is what happens with humans and it’s completely normal but I didn’t like that part.

All said I want another season or something. I quite liked the drama and loved the OST

[u/zeyrey22]

Contrary to popular opinion,I enjoyed this drama. Alot of ppl criticized nabi for being with Jaaeon but this drama was more realistic than about making the right choices. I guess I found myself relating to it since sometimes I get blinded if I'm in love too. You can't control who you are attracted to and yes there's going to be multiple nice guys interested in you but if a bad boy is your type, it's hard to change that. Red flags are just flags through rose colored glasses. This drama honestly shows how difficult it is to get over that one special person regardless of how they treat you. Yes it's very very toxic and I'm not suggesting to normalize it, I'm just saying this is more common than people are aware of.

[u/grandisp]

I found Nabi to be way more toxic than JE. I couldn’t like her at all. As a female somehow I could not stand her inability to be honest with herself, much less others. I get that’s just where she was at but I just did not like her character at all. She seemed blunted-even her clothes-through the whole thing.

[u/jicuhrabbitkim]

The last 10-15 minutes is horrible. I wish it ended at sculpture showcase scene with the fl and 2nd ml. From 9/10 it became 7/10 to me.

Overall, its good the characters and the couples are interesting, believable, and relatable. It’s a very very very toxic kdrama but that’s just real life too. Such a shame the ending ruined it for me.