Love Alarm Season 2 (2021)

"What did I expect from this?" is what I'm asking to this day

To start this off, I don't have any personal grudge against the writers, the cast ( who I love ), or anyone involved in making the show. I wanted to make this review to purge my thoughts because I want to let go of the mess that this show was. This has spoilers so don't read it if you haven't seen the show ( if you haven't I respect that in all honesty ).

The plot sounds original, but the so-called love alarm is a device to embed the same clichés found in high school dramas with a submissive female lead bearing a tragic past, who now has two of her classmates fighting over her in a love triangle that is the primary focus of the show - that being, a love triangle that somehow spans over years. This wouldn't be the type of show I normally watch because 1) I respect myself and 2) I knew I'd be in for some intense ship wars. I watched this because of the cast. I am a huge supporter of Kim So Hyun and I discovered Song Kang through this drama so I give the writers that point. But what was this show? I binge-watched season 1 in a day ( back in 2019 ) and there were evident flaws, such as the way the relationships were written. Sudden and poorly developed romantic attraction, backstabbing friends, fights over the main female character for no reason, and mean girls galore. I was a fan of Sun Oh, to be honest, but then I watched other dramas after Love Alarm and I realized, "What the hell was I thinking?". The characters that I once thought were mediocre were now written abysmally as I watched actual good dramas that shifted my perspective and common sense. Sun Oh's actions were selfish to a degree, but also how did he Jojo fall in love to begin with? They kissed once out of him asking her to talk in an alley on the way home from school ( which to be fair, that has happened before in real life, and could very well turn into another Junko Furuta case - may the girl rest in peace ) so why was that romanticized? Aside from the very serious implications, they don't even know each other that well. Moving on, Hye Young was fine, but he didn't act upon his feelings for years. Again, that's fine, but if Jojo were to end up with Hye Young, why make her fall in love with Sun Oh? She broke up with Sun Oh for a dumb reason, and I know the show tried to be realistic with saying that passionate sparks of love don't last... but those were senseless sparks of love. The love triangle was the selling point of the show and it had been dug in deep. Okay, but I did cry my eyes out and feel for the characters. The flaws in the show I dismissed because I believed that Season 2 would resolve all of the loose ends. But did it? No. No it didn't.

Season 2 developed Hye Young and Jojo's relationship more, but did Jojo ever develop? She prioritized herself more, by hurting Sun Oh. Which again, I'm trying to dismiss, but no matter how selfish he was he shouldn't have had to deal with such a messy breakup. Hye Young I didn't hate or love, he was just there. He loves Jojo, but then I thought, what is there to love about her? I genuinely understand her past, but she had minimal character development and whatever "development" she did have it was borderline nonsensical. She hurt the characters through her decisions, which weren't that hard to make. Yook Jo is cute but she and Sun Oh didn't deserve so much heartbreak over one person - which to your surprise, was Jojo. I'm personally relieved that at least there was one decent thing that came out of the show, and it was that it ended. I used to be a huge fan of this drama, but I got so bored in season 2. I look back now and think "what was I on to call this mess good?". The love alarm app that fueled the whole drama was once more, a tacky add-on to a non-original plot with so many clichés that were poorly executed, to where half the show didn't make sense to me. Which, if I may add, the series tried to be progressive by saying that love doesn't depend on technology. Which brings me to say, "then don't make it such a significant plot point/mechanic..." or at least don't bring it into the show at all. This was a typical high school drama with a useless quirk that didn't have any point, and this series gives a bad name to youth dramas, because some of my favorite shows are school dramas. This love triangle was worse than School 2015, good grief. It hurts my brain to go back and think about this show. I'm disappointed that such good actors were put in a burning mess of a drama.

To be honest, I have no hate for the actors. They're the saving point of this, as I discovered my new favorite, Song Kang. Song Kang is the cutest, and I'm excited to watch Navillera with him because he has such range ( after I saw him in Sweet Home ). I could stomach Sun Oh's character ( not really, but I could tolerate it ) because SK gave such a stellar performance. For me, the way he emotionally touched me through his expressions is nice. I'm surprised to say that Song Kang's appearance didn't affect my opinion of him because I thought of that as secondary to his skill. Kim So Hyun is one of my favorite actresses in general, because of her versatility and the amount of comfort I have when just seeing her on screen ( because any drama of hers I watch usually becomes a favorite of mine ). Jung Ga Ram was okay, I didn't see anything particular about his performance that made him memorable but he didn't do so bad. To be fair, Jung Ga Ram and KSH didn't have that much chemistry to me, but that could be because of how much screen time Jojo and Sun Oh had in the first season. Kim Shi Eun ( who plays Yook Jo ) is really adorable though, to unconditionally love Sun Oh. But again, I was searching for something good to come out of the show because I didn't want to call this a waste of my time, so I tried to slap a gold star on the most normal-looking relationship. Also Go Min Si is commendable because I hated Gul Mi so much, so props to her for accurately portraying a terrible character, personality-wise.

I forgot to add in my opinion of the OST. The soundtrack is beautiful, and I listen to some of the songs to this day, mainly “Blooming Story” and “Falling Again”. The OSTs are perfect for what the drama should’ve been, and resonate deeply with me. I don’t know why such well-done songs were put in this drama, as they’re so hauntingly magnificent. I don’t know why I didn’t mention the OST here, but oh my god I have no words, if that makes sense. Love Alarm is basically the Domestic Girlfriend of Korean dramas, as much as I know I shouldn’t compare. This is the one undoubtedly good thing to come out of this drama as even after 2 years I still listen to these songs.

The main point is, do I recommend this to anyone? The friends I have/the people I'd recommend this to have brain cells so no. But if you're the one person who reads this and still wants to watch the show, go ahead ( I know I shouldn't have made a dumb pun/reference to a good drama that didn't deserve to be put into this review about a trashy show I saw ). I think if you're able to have no expectations and go in, regardless of the questionable characters and plot development, frustrating "twists" and the painful love triangle ( not that the outcome was painful, it was how it got to that point ), then go watch it; it may be your new favorite- yeah no I can't compare this to a good drama again because I don't need to drag an innocent show into my venting.

If you're too lazy to read this unintelligible, long review: don't watch it if you have brain cells, if so you'll be in for a ride of how to interpret trash that tries to fool you into thinking it's gold. If you respect yourself, then save yourself from this. I waited 1.5 years for nothing I guess. Oh well I'll bleach my eyes out with Seo Kang Joon or something, that should do the trick.

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A Waste of time

As someone who doesn't like to leave review on a drama,
I just want to say that this is one of the worst drama I've ever watch.
Waited a long time to watch season 2 to only have this, a crappy story,.
I will never watch this drama again.
Ive been waiting for an explanation as to why the FL broke up with Sunoh but up to the end of this drama theres no valid explanation whatsoever.
She let Hyeyeong to be part of of her life again and pushed Sunoh all the time.
Shes a heartless bi** .

I have to remind myself not to watch what ever drama this director and writer is doing in the future.
A total disappointment.

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I hate how Suno was treated

Okay I understand JoJo for being insucure. BUT WHY PLAY WITH SUNOO FEELINGS? WHAT DID HE EVER DO WRONG? I am really disappointed I wanted them together but what made me more upset is that she played with Sunoo feelings even though she knew she didn't like him. Season 1 was better couldn't the writer gave suno a chance to be with her? Why does he have to suffer!? I would appreciate if JoJo was considiring Suno feelings after all he loved her and never forgot her for 4 years. And it doesn't seem fair that JoJo was having a nice time flirting with het bf while Sunoo was suffering. For tjose Hye-heon fans I am sorry if u don't like my review this is just my personal opinion it is not yo offend anyone. I love the acyors they were great it is just the story line I didn't enjoy it.

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Did Not Feel Right and Justified For Me

I was highly anticipating s2 and I'm immensely disappointed. It's really hard for me to express how this 2nd installment failed to meet my expectations without giving a spoiler and I'll try really hard! 😂

Anyways, before I watched s2, I re-watched s1 4x! The emotions invoked from me as a viewer was intense (prolly the same feeling most viewers like me felt- giddy and butterflies all over) and I think I felt so disappointed because it didn't match the same feeling the moment I started watchin' ep 1 of s2.

I skipped most parts. The only thing I enjoyed was the ending between Min-Si and Duk-gu. She was selfish and narcissistic but there are people like that. The most important thing was she recognized her true self. I think the end was just as she deserved.

Prolly, Hye-yeong deserved Kim Jojo because he patiently waited for her to become honest about her true feelings but Sun-Oh gave her true and passionate love if she could have just given him a chance! She was so engrossed with all her insecurities and that's what I hated about her character even from the start. She was loved but she just don't know how to reciprocate it.

It could have a better ending and a twist.

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season two is such a ----

love alarm 2 is such a sad season for us we waited for like 2 years but why its just 6 freakin episode huh ??? why??? not complaining well i think i am :-)) i really am and jojo you good?? why do you need to break up with your 1st boyfriend if you just gonna break with sun oh your so ugh!!! GOSH its just a freakin tv series but its pissing me off .. it makes me wrote such this things well no one gonna read this so its okay not hating the real person just the character OMG !!! i wait ..
1st season : we have a sad hye young
2nd season: we have sad sun. oh
wow this drama is such a pain
ion even know what to do guys .
ANd yook jo you deserve better you a very understandable and strong girl i have ever seen. because even though you know that sun oh still likes jojo you still can smile as you too hye young BUT guys
the one that i complain is why its just freakin 6 episodes..

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Yet another terrible Netflix kdrama (HEAVY SPOILERS)

I disliked the first season but decided to watch the second one hoping it will be slightly better (just like, in my opinion, My First First Love). I honestly don't know what was I thinking.

I will start with an arguably best thing about the drama, namely its setting. I am not exaggerating when I say that the concept behind the drama is fantastic. Social media addiction has entered a new level due to a Love Alarm – an app, which rings every time someone who has a crush on you gets close to your phone. However, soon after its creation, the app becomes troublesome to many. The idea of finding true love is now turning into yet another social media competition for likes. Couples no longer trust each other, and people are overwhelmed with loneliness, which leads to new class divisions, protests and mass suicides. The antiutopian world the drama shows is incredibly thought-provoking. Sadly, as it usually happens, what could have been a great story was ruined by poor screenwriting.

The plot seems a bit complicated, but if you think about it, it's just yet another modern version of Cinderella but with a typical second male lead love story and a slight twist in the end. The ML, Sunoh, is a spoiled child of a politician and an actress who are literal sociopaths. The FL, Jojo, is an orphan who lives with her aunt and cousin, working numerous shifts to pay her dead parents' debt. The main characters attend the same high school, fall in love, and everyone is mad at them for numerous reasons. So, pressured by Sunoh's family, Jojo decides to break up. To do so, she installs a shield for her Love Alarm app, so she can lie that her feelings have changed, yada yada yada.

Now, in season 2, we are in college years. Jojo is now dating a second male lead, Hyeyoung, who was best friends with the ML and had a crush on the FL throughout the first season. By accident, the big trio reconnects, and it turns out that – surprise surprise – Sunoh is still in love with Jojo. But because Jojo's Love Alarm still has a shield on, we don't really know who Jojo loves. So now Jojo not only has to make a choice, but she also has to come clean about this whole lying-about-her-feelings thing. And then she does and chooses Hyeyoung. That's it. That's the story.

I don't even know where to start. First of all, the characters - literally everyone has a personality of a rock. I'm aware that the drama was probably meant to show how the love confessing app would change the way people express their feelings, but for the love of God, not a single one of the characters is able to resolve anything humanely. It's incredible how the FL had not one, not two, but three boyfriends throughout the drama and yet showed no signs of charisma or empathy. Even the tragic backstory doesn't help her case – she is one of the blandest characters I have ever seen in a kdrama. Moreover, she hides the truth from everyone and has literally no good reason to do so? For most of the series, she refuses to explain the ML why she was forced to end their relationship, even though this big secret has no relevance anymore and only causes further problems. Similarly, she has no reason to not tell the SL why her Love Alarm does not ring for him. Jojo is the one full of lies and yet somehow manages to make it all about herself, as she wasn't the most problematic one.

To tell you the truth, the ML and the SL are as unlikeable as the FL. Their only personality trait is being obsessed with Jojo. And let me remind you once again. For Sunoh, Jojo is a high school girlfriend who was with him for a month or two four years ago. And for Hyeyoung, Jojo is a girlfriend who doesn't love him back, cheats on him and basically treats him like a doormat. Besides that, I would maybe have some sympathy for ML and SL if not the fact that they are literal stalkers who do not take "no" for an answer. Out of everyone, the only character I felt bad for was the ML's girlfriend, Yuju (because yes, the ML is so loveable that in season 2 he had a girlfriend he didn't even like). It's ridiculous how the screenwriters attempted to portray her as vain and silly when she was, in fact, the most caring and, in a way, expressive character out of all. I'm sad she had to end up with that jerk.

Secondly, the plot. This story could have been an email. The whole drama it's the good old circle of miscommunication. Almost all of the problems would not have happened or could have been resolved by talking. I hate it how the characters could not talk it out even when given the perfect opportunity. Moreover, the screenwriters ran out of ideas at some point, and it shows. The drama had some really interesting subplots. One of them revolved around Love Alarm's original creator, Dukgoo, who programmed the app in order to confess to his crush, Jojo's cousin Gulmi. Dukgoo's story was quite complicated and linked to many crucial events in the drama. He created the app, sent Jojo mods and even had a link to protests and suicides caused by Love Alarm. As I mentioned before, this futuristic theme was way more interesting than the love story, and thus the subplot had a great potential to develop in the second season. However, it seems like the screenwriters just gave up on it, giving Dukgoo an illogical ending that doesn't explain a thing.

Overall, I would not recommend watching Love Alarm. It's one of the top positions of my "how the hell did I even get through all of the episodes" list. The plot is boring, and the characters are even worse. And if you like the idea of technology messing up with people's feelings, then go watch Black Mirror instead.

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DOesnt make sense at all.

Its too rushed. And also i think the story might not be making sense due to the first season. Sun Oh and Kim JoJo were still in love at the end of season 1. And i thought it might be continueing where the last episode ended. I think the first season was better. Maybe it should have ended like everyone wanted it to be. And why would she be with hye yeong if she still loves Sun Oh, but cant ring his love alarm because of the barrier or "Shield". In other words, I wouldnt recommend the second season of love alarm but the first one. Maybe they should think about doing Love Alarm once again, but with only one Season but 16 Episodes or something like that

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2 YEARS OF WAITING FOR SEASON 2 WAS NOT WORTH IT.

this has been anticipated for two damn years, two damn years. it's different for me because i watched this at the start of quarantine, in march, and here I am, one damn year later, so for me it was one year of anticipation, compared to others.

AND IT WAS NOT WORTH IT.

look, don't watch this, if you loved season one, don't watch this. season 2 literally took every scene, every moment, every smile and every laugh for granted and literally destroyed the value of season 1

and even if you're not team sunho, don't watch this, if i were sunho or hyeong hee, i'd fucking dump her ass. i dont fucking get what is it with her that entices both of them.

side character plot development was TRASH.

season 1, editing, production, aesthetic, scriptwriting and overall feel and vibe was so beautiful and so much more memorable, no matter how cheesy, IT WAS so much more better. this felt over exposed, the music was ringing in my ear and everything from the first 10 minutes turned me off.

i would have rather waited fifty more years, until my fucking death bed and die of curiosity than watch this.

it felt like nothing was happening, nothing was progressing despite the story moving forward,

and personally, the sideplots was honestly dumb, like this show was trying to be so many things at once; thriller, mystery, romance, tragedy, sad, etc.

only thing i liked, the editing is great, everyone's acting was great except the actor for brain cho (piss off mate) and SONG KANG, fuck sunho deserves the world. his character honestly was SO ROBBED. when you thought he was destroyed, he was fucking crushed, and when he was already crushed, he was torn to pieces, AND WHEN HE TRIED TO PICK THEM UP TOGETHER, TO FUCKING HOLD ON, his entire character, his entire being, who he is, what he is, what he believed in snapped.

i honestly don't understand Jojo and heung hee, their relationship didn't satisfy me, it didn't felt... to be yearned for, it didn't feel worth it, it felt like two mismatched pieces trying to piece together, but no matter how many times you try to squish them together, they wouldn't fit

FUCK YOU JOJO, for not only the heartache you caused to sunho, but just... just how you treated heung hee. stupidest heroine i've watched. both of these boys deserved better.

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A DISAPPOINTMENT! Don’t watch it!

I have never wrote a review before but this time I had to because I was BEYOND DISAPPOINTED!!!! THERE’S A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A BAD AND A SAD ENDING! I have always respected sad endings from kdramas but this is very bad. The people behind this drama never respected the fans’ votes and opinions who waited for two years for seasons 2. They were all good actors but Kim So-Hyun(jojo) and Jung Ga-Ram(Hye-young) didn’t have any chemistry at all. Even the shortest screen time of So-Hyun and Song Kang (Sun-O) had better chemistry. I can’t believe I waited for two years for this ending. The story doesn’t even deserve a 0.5.

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Disappointed, bored and angry - Don’t watch season 2

Waited so long for the second season and now i feel cheated. Angry at the character development and the plot. Disappointed that she ended up with HyeYeong and the whole shield and spear thing. The whole season 2 is about SunOh being whiny, forced chemistry between Jojo and HyeYeong and Jojo being a heartless, indecisive b****. The last episode is produced solely to justify Jojo’s behaviour for being a b**** for the whole of season 2. It makes me hate Jojo. The whole feel of season 2 is depressing and unatural (forced). I skipped a bit here and there because it was boring, fed up with the excuses, anticlimactic drama and forced chemistry.. Not too sure if I skipped too much but the only mouth to mouth kiss in season 2 is between Sunoh and Jojo. LIke honestly how can they expect us to root for the newly established couple with that sort of script?? There is no continuity from season 1 to season 2. All of the feels, excitement and chemistry of Sunoh and Jojo was flushed down the toilet and season 2 is drowning in moppy, unnecessary, anticlimactic drama.

Pros:
English Dub
Gulmi’s parts are more interesting.

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Not your typical plot

I kind of liked the story plot, it just wasn’t to my taste. I feel like it’s a very compelling show I guess not the ending or way I would have liked it to go. I was hoping I didn’t wait such a long time to see that ending 😩 in the first season I was in love with how the story went and the love between sun oh and Kim jojo, I hadn’t expect such a big change in plot or to go another way. The plot could have dealt more in this second season with their overall relationship rather than try to sum it all up at once and then move on. Or even that they made a better ending for park before she deserved it. I do think it’s a very reasonable story line and it would make sense, I was just hoping for a fairy tale ending.

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