Second Shot at Love Season 1 Review – A wholesome K-drama with a mediocre ending
Season 1
Episode Guide
Episode 1 -| Review Score – 3/5
Episode 2 -| Review Score – 2.5/5
Episode 3 -| Review Score – 3/5
Episode 4 -| Review Score – 3/5
Episode 5 -| Review Score – 3/5
Episode 6 -| Review Score – 3/5
Episode 7 -| Review Score – 3/5
Episode 8 -| Review Score – 3/5
Episode 9 -| Review Score – 2.5/5
Episode 10 -| Review Score – 2.5/5
Episode 11 -| Review Score – 2.5/5
Episode 12 -| Review Score – 2.5/5
Mini slice-of-life K-dramas hit just the right spots and usually crop up right after a barrage of intense, ambitious and melodramatic shows. They are perfect for a quick binge session with light angst that is quickly resolved, lovable ensembles and hilarious antics. We can easily recall several such wholesome shows like Once Upon a Small Town, Summer Strike and Hometown Cha Cha Cha. And the latest to join this genre happens to be Second Shot at Love.
Second Shot at Love is an exciting K-drama from tvN which is known for fun rom-coms like Lovely Runner, What's Wrong with Secretary Kim and True Beauty. Said to be a wholesome rom-com, it has everything from small-town chaos and drunken mistakes to first love and healing.
The cast includes Choi Soo-young, Gong Myung, Jo Yoon-hee, Kang Hyung-suk, Kim Sung-ryung and Kim Sang-ho among others. It is created by writer Myung Soo-hyun who is known for comedies with a message like Monthly Magazine Home and Drinking Solo.
The K-drama follows Han Geum-ju, a genius mechanic and bubbly woman who loves drinking. But after her engagement falls apart, she loses her job and her apartment, her mother, Gwang-ok, tries to get her to stop drinking. As she is forced to move back to her home town, she struggles to come to terms with her alcoholism and the need to get sober. It doesn't help that her sister and father are alcoholics as well and seem to join her in her drunken antics.
On top of that, Geum-ju's former best friend and first love, Dr Seo Ui-joon, hates alcohol and constantly preaches the treatment of alcohol abuse. Despite having a successful practice in Seoul, he moves back to their home town and is more than happy to ignore Geum-ju, much to her annoyance.
Second Shot at Love Season 1 is the perfect mini-healing drama as it is full of minor conflicts which are quickly resolved. Along with it, all the characters grow, heal, find love and acceptance. The light and peppy music, paired with the bright and cheerful town of Bochun, sets up the atmosphere for Geum-ju and her friends to grow and get better.
The physical comedy is hilarious and actually needed to stop the show from getting too heavy, given the tackling of a difficult issue like alcoholism.
But don't worry, the show doesn't take it too lightly either. With alcohol abuse being a rampant issue in South Korea, it seems that the studio has taken it upon itself to churn out a gentle PSA with this show. Without getting too didactic, it explores the different perspectives of those who drink and the bystanders who are affected by it.
It ends up fleshing all the secondary characters and giving them their own, relatable storylines like that of Gwang-ok, Geum-ju's sister and even the town gossip.
The cast also puts on a commendable portrayal of sharing the story of Bochun's alcoholics, clowns and well-wishers. Soo-young plays into Geum-ju's desperation and co-dependency while also keeping it light and funny with all the goofy moments her character finds herself in.
Those who watched Second Shot at Love live will definitely get whiplash from Gong Myung playing a psychopath in Mercy for None and then the lovable dork that is Ui-joon in the same breath. And Kim Sung-ryung deserves a shout-out as her Gwang-ok steals the scene, whether with a hilarious chase sequence or an emotional rant.
Unfortunately, there is a melodramatic plot twist near the end involving damaged livers and transplants. Its purpose is to help the characters empathise with those suffering and to help them grow. The only problem is that the characters have already grown and accepted their mistakes, making the transplant twist unnecessary, except to add some spice to the story.
This seems to be a recurring problem, as the main story is wrapped up in the first 10 episodes. And the final two episodes are reserved for a sudden thriller involving Ui-joon's missing parents. This is the second whiplash of this series, given that it completely changes the tone and is quite unnecessary as well. Had the writers never introduced this thriller subplot in the first place, maybe this wholesome K-drama and Han Geum-ju could have gotten the ending they deserve.
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She adds that "virtual men are different - they have great temperaments, they're just perfect". Dr Mu sees this trend as "indicative of social problems" in China, citing "long work hours, greedy work culture and competitive environment, along with entrenched gender role expectations"."Virtual boyfriends, who can behave better aligned with women's expected ideals, may be a way for them to fulfil their romantic imaginations."Du Feng adds: "The thing universally that's been mentioned is that the women with virtual boyfriends felt men in China are not emotionally stable."Her film digs into the men's backgrounds, including their often fractured relationships with their parents and families."These men are coming from this, and there's so much negative pressure on them - how could you expect them to be stable emotionally?" Reuters reported last year that "long-term single lifestyles are gradually becoming more widespread in China". "I'm worried about how we connect with each other nowadays, especially the younger generation," Du Feng says."Dating is just a device for us to talk about this. But I am really worried."My film is about how we live in this epidemic of loneliness, with all of us trying to find connections with each other."So by the end of the documentary, which has many comical moments, we see it has been something of a realistic journey of self-discovery for all of the men, including Hao. 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