This drama is like your mom's tasty chicken noodle soup on a cold winter day, especially when you're feeling a bit under the weather- it gives you a sense of comfort and peace. It's a nice blend of a healing drama with romance and comedy. Anyone struggling in life can relate to these characters who meet at the worse point in their lives. They started out as very competitive rivals in school and that competitive streak stays with them but they find out that they understand each other in ways no one else can. They go from school rivals, to administratively placed together classmates, to friends, to lovers and each transition takes time but seems earned.
They really explore depression and how hard it can be for supportive families to know what to do to help. The FL's mom in particularly goes from denial to cringeworthy encouragement to more nuanced comfort. She is the heart of the show.
Even side characters get their own arc and growth. There is no stalker murder mystery shoehorned in, but there is a medical accident which is the inciting event for the precipitous fall of the ML, but you learn that he was hiding a lot of pain behind a friendly smiling demeanor and letting people walk over him. There is no messy love triangle and the 2nd lead couple who are both divorced with kids have a cute 2nd change at romance story that take a while to bloom.
Fair warning that there is a lot of drinking particularly in the beginning when the OTP are both down and out and struggling/sad/depressed and this couples after they get together tend to act all cutsie when they're alone (but we get to watch them which some viewers may hate).
They really explore depression and how hard it can be for supportive families to know what to do to help. The FL's mom in particularly goes from denial to cringeworthy encouragement to more nuanced comfort. She is the heart of the show.
Even side characters get their own arc and growth. There is no stalker murder mystery shoehorned in, but there is a medical accident which is the inciting event for the precipitous fall of the ML, but you learn that he was hiding a lot of pain behind a friendly smiling demeanor and letting people walk over him. There is no messy love triangle and the 2nd lead couple who are both divorced with kids have a cute 2nd change at romance story that take a while to bloom.
Fair warning that there is a lot of drinking particularly in the beginning when the OTP are both down and out and struggling/sad/depressed and this couples after they get together tend to act all cutsie when they're alone (but we get to watch them which some viewers may hate).
