Dear X Who Doesn’t Love Me (나를 사랑하지 않는 X에게) is a Korean drama series directed by Go Jae-hong and stars Han Ji-hyo, Doyoung, Kwon Ah-reum, Bang Jae-min, Son Hyun-woo and Kim Ji-hoon, alongside other cast members. The episodes of have an average runtime of around 30 minutes.
TVING describes the seires as:
HEE-SU, A COLLEGE STUDENT WITH ZERO SELF-ESTEEM AND ZERO NARCISSISM, DISCOVERS A MYSTERIOUS LYRIC NOTEBOOK THAT MAKES ANYONE FALL IN LOVE WITH HER FOR A MONTH, AND THEN BECOMES ENTANGLED WITH OTHER MEN, INCLUDING HER BEST FRIEND, SI-HO.
– Dear X Who Doesn’t Love Me Episode 4-6 Review Contains Mild Spoilers –
Dear X Who Doesn’t Love Me Episode 4
Dear X Who Doesn’t Love Me episode 4 starts with Hee-soo, Si-ho and their respective partners going out on a double date to Se-jin’s parent’s cabin. The cabin’s visit and aftermath are over in about a minute and almost seem inconsequential thanks to the pace with which we run from that to the next thing.
I am genuinely curious to understand Hee-soo’s thought process throughout her dating spiel – she must know that this isn’t real but seems too desperate to actually think straight and objectively about this. Although she wonders how long her current flame will like her, she seems to delude herself into just being in this moment when everything seems perfect.
On the other hand, Si-ho’s unrequited love is all-consuming and seems to be eating him up from the inside. I think there’s one fundamental difference between Si-ho and Sun-woo from Soundtrack #1 (another show about unrequited love and falling for your best friend) – the latter character is much more in control of his feelings and isn’t sour all the time.
I find Si-ho to be quite annoying, at least until now. Regardless of what is happening around him, he’s always so sour and dislikes everything that Hee-soo is doing. I mean, sure, using a magic diary to date, knowing the consequences of it, can’t be good. However, his motivations are very different and his jealousy, although relatable, sours the mood of the show.
There’s also the trauma that our two protagonists live through that crops up here and there. Both of them try to navigate their lives in the best ways that they can, but when the worst of their lives rear their heads, you feel somewhat bad for them. Their broken pasts manipulate their presents in such weird ways that you want to hug them. These are the moments that almost feel like they are trying to justify these rather awful characters. It almost works because Hee-soo’s backstory is honestly just sad, but it shouldn’t be an excuse and we know that.
It, however, does explain Hee-soo’s anxiety at not being loved and constantly second-guessing herself. These are the moments that stay with you because a variation of something similar has happened to all of us somewhere or the other. Unfortunately, the series doesn’t take its time to really get into it. I don’t know what the future episodes hold, but for now, this seems extremely half-baked.
Also Read: Dear X Who Doesn’t Love Me (Episode 1-3) Review: Magic Notebook and All That
Dear X Who Doesn’t Love Me Episode 5
Hee-soo and her boyfriend take the next step in their relationship in Dear X Who Doesn’t Love Me episode 5, but it seems like she’s having second thoughts afterwards. She was clearly jealous of Si-ho and Se-jin in the last episode, and now that she’s at this stage in her life, she wonders what she is doing with him.
At this stage, I wonder how Si-ho and Hee-soo are even friends, considering the unsaid feelings that they have for each other. It almost feels dysfunctional to see them together. On the other hand, there’s also poor Se-jin, whose character is just there to be a doormat who turns toxic the moment they are said no.
There’s always this character in a show about unrequited love who must have one of the protagonist’s attention even though they don’t like them. Se-jin is that character here, and I just feel generally bad for this trope. Is it necessary to have a character like this? Probably not, but then again, how will the protagonist feel desired otherwise? They are also a convenient plot device to add some problems when there are none.
But, there is another problem for Hee-soo that results in Si-ho and Hee-soo going out drinking in Dear X Who Doesn’t Love Me episode 5. The topic comes up again later, and you almost feel bad for women who go through this crap for wanting to simply live their lives. It’s an unsurprising reality for women, and watching Hee-soo go through something similar is almost heartbreaking.
However, in the above-mentioned drinking scene, it almost felt like these two aren’t even good friends – they are just so passive-aggressive all the time, especially Si-ho. He admonishes Hee-soo for doing what friends do, all because he can’t tell her his feelings. It’s actually pathetic watching him be this way – he almost feels like an incel.
Anyway, another problem crops up for Hee-soo because having a magic notebook wasn’t enough. It’s brief and totally unnecessary and feels like a forceful attempt at adding some drama, even for a minute.
Dear X Who Doesn’t Love Me Episode 6
The last episode for this week, Dear X Who Doesn’t Love Me episode 6, starts with Hee-soo’s past and the fact that literally every adult in her life has consistently failed her miserably. Regardless of her relationship with Si-ho right now, you can’t help but feel bad for her. When it cuts to her present situation, it actually feels worse.
Si-ho puts out for his friend this time around, and it almost feels like they have a shot at being good friends. After a brief look into why these two won’t date each other, you realise it’s the same reason as every time in every show.
So, why do we see a repetition of the same themes we have seen over and over again? I really don’t know.
Anyway, at least there is some redemption in the storyline as Hee-soo and others decide to show some camaraderie. However, Se-jin takes the hit in this episode, as characters like her usually do. This episode is the weakest of the three, with Se-jin taking the jealous lover route and colluding with the bad guys. And although Hee-soo and Si-ho’s relationship is strengthened and moulded, it goes to show that regardless of the many bombastic things you add to your narrative, it will still not be interesting enough if you can’t do it well.
Summing Up
In the end, this week’s episodes of Dear X Who Doesn’t Love Me are a string of difficult circumstances and backstories to keep the story current. The creators seemed to have added a bunch of things that will make audiences gasp with the shocks and twists, but honestly, it’s not very new, and nor is it very interesting.
The storyline seems threadbare, and the characters are unlikeable. Hee-soo is still somewhat decent, but other than her, everyone just seems to flop from here to there. The shocking twists feel forced and unnecessary and aren’t really meshed into the storyline well. It feels rushed because it tries to get so much covered in such short episodes.
All in all, Dear X Who Doesn’t Love Me is uninteresting and uninspiring, and you know exactly where this is going. Will the show be able to pick up in the last 4 episodes? I highly doubt that.
Dear X Who Doesn’t Love Me is streaming on Viki and TVING.
Also Read: All Dear X Who Doesn’t Love Me Reviews