The tvN Sat-Sun time slot tends to be trendier K-dramas and this one is as old-school as it gets. When My Love Blooms is every way a throwback to one of the most famous K-dramas of all time Winter Sonata, the young love thwarted with a second chance two decades later, except without the amnesia and having the leads in their thirties playing their high school counterparts heh. Starring Yoo Ji Tae and Lee Bo Young, there is nothing wrong with the drama other than it feels disjointed – the adults are fantastic with a quiet and slow burn but the college roles played by Jinyoung and Jeon So Ni bore me endlessly.

It’s hard to get invested in them because they don’t have great chemistry, are very limited at acting, and the drama chooses to keep interspersing their portions through the present day reunion of the leads who are so much more interesting. This would work better if the drama spent the first two episodes on the college lovebirds before switching to their adult versions and having us root for their second chance. Ratings wise the drama started at 5.431% but the latest episode 4 brought in 4.209%. Initial impressions through 4 episodes I’d say this is a pleasantly engaging drama to watch on weekends with prepping dinner.