Naui Haeriege

I am an enormous fan of actress Shim Hye Sun. I've watched her captivating performances in shows like *Mr. Queen*, *Welcome to Samdalri*, *Angel's Last Mission: Love*, and *Hymn of Death*. She has an incredible talent for embodying each character, drawing me into her world with stunning authenticity. Her ability to portray "long-term girlfriend" roles is truly impressive.

The series *Dear Hyeri* stands out for its creativity, with nearly every episode ending on a suspenseful cliffhanger that keeps you on your toes. At first, I was firmly in support of her long-term boyfriend, Jung Hyun Oh; however, as the story unfolded, I found myself overwhelmed by the undeniable chemistry between the second lead, Kang Joo Yeon. I was genuinely torn about who she would ultimately choose.

The emotional depth of this drama is extraordinary, leaving me both touched and heartbroken during certain scenes. One moment that particularly struck me was watching Kang Joo Yeon navigate his life alone, showcasing the painful reality of the second lead.

I can't wait to see what future roles Kang Joo yeon takes on. I absolutely loved this drama, and I urge everyone not to miss out on this hidden gem!

A drama with wasted potential and wasted actors, the first few episodes seemed very promising, a plot that deals with split personalities and childhood traumas, I thought I was going to see something like Hyde Jekyll, Me starring Hyun Bin or It's Okay Not to Be Okay, or Kill Me, Heal Me, which were excellent dramas. As the episodes progressed, the cruelty also arrived, the whole plot went wrong into one big mess, there is no focus in the plot, I love and appreciate the actress Shin Hye Sun very much, and here too she demonstrated her professional and versatile abilities, but her acting alone cannot hold up the messy plot. The music was mediocre and there was a lot of background noise bordering on annoying. All in all, a plot that had tremendous potential and somewhere along the way it was wasted, such a shame.

It had some cute moments, but the ending? Girl, i was furious. Like, why did she end up with the actual main lead? He was so toxic, it didn't even make sense! Meanwhile, the second lead, who was literally there for her, always by her side, doing everything right... and she just ignored him for the wrong guy?

Yes, i get it - she was sick and dealing with dual personality disorder, but that main lead was beyond toxic. He made her feel unwanted and emotionally drained. I'm not even asking her to choose the second guy (though he deserved it, tbh), but she should've never gotten back with the first guy after all that. He treated her horribly, and it was frustrating to watch.

The drama decided to go the predictable route with the toxic lead getting the girl, and i was not having it. Still, i gotta say, kang joon's and shin hye sun's acting was good, and i loved the emotional journey. But that ending? Nope. Not here for it.

I am very conflicted, lost and angry about this series.

I was hooked from the first episode. The story was promising, the characters seemed interesting and complex. We started of with seemingly clingy and annoying FL and capable and loving ML. Throughout the next episodes we come to know more about each character, we let them into our hearts, they become three-dimensional with their traumas and reasonings. Eun Ho with Hye Ri grows on us, we start to like them. At the same time, we begin to see and understand problems with Hyeon O.

However.

Instead of the story focusing and staying on Eun Ho / Hye Ri (the DID, the trauma of loosing everyone she ever loved - parents, sister, grandmother; the problem of not having any friends, any hobbies, etc.), it swerves. It skims through uninteresting, unnecessary side characters, it brazenly shifts and fixes on Hyeon O's story, His history, His reasonings, His trauma. More we learn about him, more despicable he becomes in our eyes, to the point where we start to think - "oh, this is not a Romance romance, Eun Ho will actually overcome her pain and hurdles on her own. Wow, such idea! Such power to the FL! Finally!"

Then comes the 10th episode, then 11th, then 12th.

We are then left wondering, what happened to Eun Ho's mental problems? Where, how did they disappear? Why are we forced to witness a doomed relationship, based on manipulations and codependency? Why make your ML so unlikeable, so despicable and still force your FL to love and stay in a relationship with him?

Does the writer hate women?

Is the writer even human?

Oohhhh.......

This might actually be the beginning of a new era. An era where viewers will be left wondering, whether the script was written by a human, with human emotions or just an AI. When, in the story, the emotions are not emoting, the plot is not plotting and characters are not fully themselves. Everything in the story is dreamlike, and on the other side of their screens teenage viewers are raving about the depth of the story (which is as shallow as a dried puddle); the constipated romantics are hallucinating the romance of the ages (which is as toxic as the site of Chernobyl in May, 1986).

I am angry and sad that I invested my time, my emotions in a story that has gone nowhere, that there were no real healing in a story about traumas and mental problems. I am extremely angry that creators in 2024 are still trying to romanticise and sell abusive, manipulative men just because they have mommy issues.

"Dear Hyeri" did us all dirty, because it had platinum grade potential, extraordinary cinematography, enchanting musical scores, it promised us the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, instead delivering "the holograms of Blade Runner" from TEMU. And yes, I do think that from episode 9 the script, if not fully, then partially was written by an AI.

Women's organizations should consider taking legal action against this movie. As a long-time fan of K-drama, I can confidently say this is the worst one I've ever seen. After watching it, I'm not interested in exploring any more works from this writer. The plots and storylines are subpar, but what really struck me is the way women are portrayed; it feels belittling and dismissive.

I already wasted hours of my life watching this hot pile of mess. The writer should be banned for not healing women, but to please a man. Gross... so gross! TOXIC. So much potential thrown in the trash. My fav actress too. Ending up with the one that treats her like she's disposable.

This is the worst of the worst k-drama.