Netflix series review ‘The love interest’
The question of “will they or won’t they” is stretched too thin in this romantic drama.
Soo-young Ahn and Sang-soo Ha have worked at the same bank for several years. When Sang-soo makes a mistake, they are sent together to apologize to the customer and something seems to blossom between the two. When Sang-soo is late for an appointment, Soo-young has had enough. Both characters form new relationships, Soo-young with security guard-turned-cop Jong-hyun and Sang-soo with new bank employee Mi-kyung. Despite this, the two continue to yearn for each other.
The love interest it needs sixteen long episodes to tell the story, but this amount is totally unnecessary. The story is bathed in sweet pastel colors and boasts a soundtrack as repetitive as the character problems. Romance stories are mostly based on miscommunication and the inability of the characters to honestly say what they feel and want. As a result, the series manages to cause in the viewer not so much compassion as irritation.
The passivity of the characters is reflected in the performances. Although Ga-young Moon manages to convey different emotions as Soo-soung, the direction is disappointing. She too often stares into space or her eyes fill with tears. Over time, this loses the effect of it. Yeon-seok Yoo as Sang-soo, on the other hand, fails to convince at all and loses out to Garam Jung as the most expressive bank guard. The fact that the viewer will tend to support this character more than the one who clearly has to form the center further undermines the series.
Given the relatively long runtime of the episodes, the supporting characters are surprisingly underdeveloped. Especially if you don’t watch all the episodes one after the other, you will occasionally realize who had to deal with what problems. They only come into play when one of the main characters needs help and the plot needs to move forward. That is not very surprising, because due to the lack of repetitive communication there is no other way than to increase external factors to reintroduce some tension.
The series as a whole has the same disappointing depth. In the last episode, set a few years later, there is suddenly a moral message that the characters explain literally. However, this message feels implausible and the creators don’t seem to want to make a decision on the ultimate fate of their characters. This gives the whole series an unpleasant aftertaste. The cynical nature of this begs the question of why you’ve been watching fifteen episodes with everyone.
The series may be lacking as a whole, but that doesn’t mean there are a few moments and plot points that show its potential. For example, the class differences that are discussed are interesting. Soo-young has no college education and although she does a great job, she can’t seem to rise through the ranks. There is also a vast difference in background and wealth between the characters, leading to complex power relationships. If more was done with that than with the other relational schema, the The love interest stand out much more.
If you like drama where everyone gives each other a hard time and the tragedy of miscommunication reigns supreme, then this series might be for you. But if it’s character progression and a little less frustration you’re looking for, click on The love interest better about it. This K-drama has potential, but unfortunately the most interesting stories are secondary to the half-baked romance. As for the ending, the question is whether someone will like this one, whether they empathize with the characters or not, it is up to the previous installments.
The love interest can be seen in Netflix.