I missed watching the first season of Love Alarm when it first premiered solely due to timing, and then later heard that a season 2 was coming so decided to marathon the two when it finished. Now I’m not sure why I’ll even start so I would love to hear reviews/reactions/thoughts from fellow drama fans. The general consensus after Love Alarm 2 is disappointment with the characters and the direction of the story mainly with who female lead Kim So Hyun picks in the drama. Is it a case of viewers preferring a certain actor more in real life and therefore not happy that his character didn’t get the girl, or that his character was the better character in the drama and didn’t get the girl. I think complaints are valid if it’s tied strongly to the story and character development and/or acting and chemistry, the former beyond the control of the stars and the latter sometimes also a shot in the direction when it comes to onscreen chemistry. I do think between season 1 and 2 one of the male stars Song Kang went from rising actor to hitting another level of popularity and name recognition in South Korea so this may be a drama that in retrospect would have worked better airing the two seasons in closer proximity.
Pingback: Netflix Drama Love Alarm 2 Premieres to Mixed Reactions from Loyal Fans of Season 1 - Kpopnchill - All About K-pop News
I say watch it, Koala. I think there is a maturity to this story that a lot of younger people wouldn’t get. Nor would it be common for such young characters to make such mature and wise choices. I loved the ending of this. As a middle aged woman who loves her k-drama rom-com…I really liked the message of this a lot.
Completely echo your view on this. I too loved the ending.
Any qualms I have with this drama isn’t to do with her choice in her love interest (with a little deep thinking you can understand why she made the choice she did). My qualm is rather the premise of how obsessed she became on removing her “shield” to ring Jung Ga Rams love alarm. I get that the whole premise of the show was to show the obsessive dark side of people and modern technology, but the fact that it ended with her “need to prove her love through the app” was rather contradicting and not a great message to end on I felt.
Totally agree! I may be a Sun Oh-Jojo shipper, but I still liked it, particularly Jojo coming to terms with her childhood trauma and realizing she has hurt people in the past. In my opinion, both Jojo and Sun Oh had character growth
I honestly wouldn’t recommend it personally. I love the cast and I love my girl astonishing acting in this drama but besides that the story is very poor. There’s barely any character growth. Jojo had some closure with her sad past but that’s the only exception. Having writer and director change from season 1 to season 2 was very jarring. Season 1 although the writing was so so, it still was very entertaining but season 2 felt dry although the cinematography improved by leaps and leaps. There’s so many head scratching moments. In real life I would make the same decision and pick the same person but the story execution how jojo arrived there in this drama made very little sense. I can’t help but think jojo still likes sunoh. Her decision making in season 2 felt like it ignored what happened in season 1. I hope my girl gets the projects she deserves: brilliant writing and impeccable directing.
I’m actually happy with the girl making a mature choice to pick the more suitable one. It will be quite unreasonable for the girl to choose the other one based on the story and characters’ development. This drama brings a deeper message and is not meant to be a typical teenage idol drama like what it seems to be in earlier episodes of season 1. The complaints, I believe, has to do with the popularity of the actor, especially when the actor is given a role with a character that is more preferred by younger audience.
Season 2 is a disappointment for me not because of who she picked at the end though. In fact I did shipped the end game. However, the directing, overall plot as well as the main couple’s chemistry was just so….bland. Season 1 was at least exciting, cute and had an actual plot. Season 2 was just full of wistful staring with emotional music playing in the background, people being emo, and plot is literally only about the female lead being wishy washy about who she really liked. Even at the end when she finally chose someone, it felt rather forced. The development of romance between the endgame was not good at all and I was actually looking forward to how its gonna be explored in season 2. But alas, the writer decided to skip over everything and expect the audience to just accept that they’re dating already. Lol.
Female lead was playing a very dangerous game with other people’s feelings tbh. Firstly she didn’t explain to the guy she ended up with why she couldn’t ring his alarm from the very start and had him wondering and second-guessing himself if she would ever like him back. Secondly, she kept running away and not explaining herself to the other guy who was hurt by her.
If I were to summarize season 2, it would be that its just a super long music video montage. Watch it if you only only pretty visuals and music.
Season 1 was quite alright and the ending cliffhanger made it seem like it has so much potential. But season 2 was such a huge let down with its slow-paced directing and writing.
Yah I dont feel the chemistry between Jojo and Hyeyoung. I find it funny how ‘mature people’ prefer hyeyoung, but I find his ‘love’ for jojo is unrealistic, it more like ‘crush’ not love and I doesnt feel Jojo actually likes him back. While Jojo and SunOh have a lot of dynamic of their relationship in S1, and we can feel that they do like wach other, while Jojo-hyeyoung is flat in comparison,
I found this season very …. boring and long with not much happening
I like it. I love the ending. In S1, Sunoh and Jojo loved each other without loving themselves first. In S2, Jojo did try to find herself while letting Hyeyeong just to be there for her. She forgave herself and made amends to Sunoh, then finally, letting herself love the man she chose to be with. I really like Hyeyeong’s character since S1. I am just bit disappointed [but like it at the same time] that they still need Dukgu, who was more aware of the feelings Hyeyeong and Jojo have for each other, had to explain it to each of them how the other person really feels.
I love that Yukjo is patiently loving Sunoh. Yukjo is someone Sunoh needs. As someone who has toxic personality which is unfortunately a product of a mess family, Sunoh at the end learned how to moved on and tried to be better. I love that at the end, he himself also chose the person he wants to be with.
OMG I cried so much in the last episode?
While S1 is about the cutesy-first love-that makes you feel giddy, S2 is more mature. I like the character development- jojo making peace with herself, sunoh being mature in the end and hyeyeong being he’s consistent patient self.
And jojo choosing HY imo is very realistic, I’d choose someone like him too lol!
For other characters..
Gulmi- I hated her in S1 but I love her in S2, she’s the one who brought the comedy in this season.
Yukjo- sunoh didn’t/ doesn’t deserve her!
Dukgu- I wonder if it’s really Gulmi who’s the muse of LA or HY’s love for JJ.
I may be in the minority, but I liked it. Firstly, the cinematography and music were lovely!
I think both Jojo and Sun Oh had character development/growth, Jojo reconciling with her past and realizing she had hurt people, and Sun Oh finally letting go.
Now for the elephant in the room… I’m a SunJo shipper through and through, but I think both guys deserve Jojo, so I’m not super mad that Jojo chose Sun Oh. Sun Oh-Jojo is simply just my preferred endgame, I think So Hyun and Song Kang had magical chemistry for starters, but again, I won’t be foaming at the mouth about the endgame. My only complain is that So Hyun and Jung Ga Ram don’t have much chemistry, but I’m not sure if that’s because the viewers weren’t shown much scenes to convince as that Jojo really fell in love with Hye Young, or what. Also, I don’t like Sun Oh ending up with Yuk Jo. I don’t buy for a minute that he just randomly realized that he’s in love with her, I skipped that scene when I realized what was happening lol. I think Yuk Jo deserves better than being a rebound, but this is just my opinion.
Park Gul Mi was still annoying as hell, and I don’t like that she got what she wanted in the end, it’s like she never get held accountable for the terrible things she did to Jojo, and instead got rewarded in the end. Because yes, her being a liiiittle less terrible to Jojo is just her doing bare minimum. But I do appreciate the comic relief she brought to this season. I wish Duk Gu won’t continue to pursue her, he deserves better!
So yes, I still liked it despite all the flaws. My girl So Hyun’s acting elevated the character, and made me invested in Jojo’s story. I will definitely miss the trio of So Hyun, Song Kang and Jung Ga Ram! Hope they cross paths again in other projects in the future!
not because of the character, but it’s because of their fav songkang wasn’t the end game. their fav’s characters sunoh was so self centred, but they still want him to be with jojo no matter what. the writer just basically followed the webtoon route. so it’s not because of the story, but it’s because their fav songkang didn’t get the female lead.
I just felt like for someone not going to be chosen, they gave Sun-Oh so much background scenes since season 1, a lot more than Hye Young that it felt strange. They should have introduced and delved into Hye Young’s story earlier on in season 1 rather than always being known as the guy who always had a crush on JoJo in season 1 and then suddenly has a story that’s not about JoJo in season 2. And while Hye Young is the less intense person to love JoJo, as in, he wasn’t on her face all the time (attitude-wise), and though he liked her even if she didn’t like him kind of guy, it just seemed that they made JoJo choose him because he is nice to her when she is still affected by Sun-Oh. I wish they had more background in the first season for Hye Young than Sun-Oh or at least the same amount because I just tend to like the thing I see the most. I don’t know if they wanted a shock factor but it seemed not enough especially when Kim Soo Hyun’s chemistry with Sun-Oh is stronger than her chemistry with Jung Ga Ram. They needed more scenes to make me feel that she actually liked Hye Young more despite the chemistry. It felt reminiscent of her relationship with her first boyfriend where she stayed with him because he was nice to her. How many guys will actually love a girl who just stays with them because they’re nice to her? And how many guys will actually be alright with a girl who has no feelings for them? I think that’s what I liked with Sun-Oh. Unlike Hye Young and the first boyfriend, he actually wanted to be loved back while the other two didn’t care. Hye Young is like a mixture of Yuk-Jo and the first boyfriend.
I also did not enjoy the Yuk-Jo. She’s a really nice person who clearly loves Sun-Oh but that’s about all she is. Her world revolved too much around Sun-Oh. She’s like what Hye Young is to JoJo. Always smiling and being nice to someone who is thinking about someone else. I mean, it felt like there were 2 identical characters who like bulldoze and cling to the person they love. At least Hye Young has a little more background story.
Then there’s JoJo’s need to get rid of her shield to prove her love when she could have just told the truth to Hye Young. She became too obsessed with it that it didn’t seem genuine. It would have been genuine if she told Hye Young instead of going to her secret missions where she coincidentally kept running into the person she doesn’t love anymore. That’s another thing, I know Kdramas love coincidences but JoJo and Sun-Oh kept running into each other way too much like they’re pulled by a string. And why did Sun-Oh and JoJo keep running into each other especially without their significant other around? Why couldn’t Sun-Oh and Hye Young run into each other instead or even meet up since they were best friends? It seemed like their relationship disappeared and only JoJo and Sun-Oh or JoJo and Hye Young were the only ones with a past together.
Another thing, it felt like her anonymous illustrations had no real purpose besides being stalked and let her be invited to VVIP events so that she can keep running into Sun-Oh. The crime part of the drama felt super unnecessary especially since it’s rushed and had no purpose in the main storyline or characters.
My complaint really is that Hye Young felt flat compared to Sun-Oh. I needed more than smiling and always being happy with being next to the person he loved. Same with Yuk Jo. I mean, I liked the first boyfriend a little more since he got mad a JoJo. It feels creepy to me when a person just smiles and says, “ I can wait” or “You don’t have to love me back”. It’s definitely less creepy in Kdramas than in real life but I still can’t. I just don’t know what other emotion that person might have besides loving their beloved. Like what else goes on in their head? And honestly with JoJo’s background with her parents not telling them their plan or feelings of wanting death, it’s a bit weird that she didn’t want more emotions or ask more of what Hye Young is wanting from her.
I love your comments and totally agree. It’s part of the reason why I felt very uncomfortable after watching the second season. These traits of Yukjo and Hyeyoung, while they look ideal on paper will not work in real life relationships. Love is essentially selfish, everyone who loves craves reciprocity, and that is why both Yukjo and Hyeyoung felt dissatisfied with their relationships close to the end of the drama. Hyeyoung needed to be reassured that Jojo really loved him, but the drama chose a funny way of doing it. Getting a third party to explain to Hyeyoung about the inner workings of the shield and spear and the effect on his & Jojo’s relationship just wasn’t convincing enough for me the viewer.
Finally someone said it! Hyeyoung doesnt love jojo, if he loves her, he would fighting for her. I agree ‘you dont have to love me back’ attitude is soooo creepy, if someone said it to me IRL I would block and running away from him lol. And jojo ‘love’ for hyeyoung also feel forced, like since when she likes hyeyoung while she is still thinking of Sun Oh and havent closed her relationship with him?
Another thing I just thought of… I wished Hye Young asked more about JoJo’s feelings. I mean he knows she didn’t love him but I wish that instead of “I will wait” or “It’s ok”, I wish he asked her how she feels. It didn’t really seem like he asked her even just a “ How are you feeling today?” How do I describe it? Like he didn’t care about any of her emotions, not even her loving him as long as he loves her? With Sun-Oh, he saw her at her worst and was there and he asked her how she felt and he still asks what changed with her feelings.
I mean it’s nice when a person is content with loving without having to be loved back but for how long? And how often did Hye Young and JoJo talk about their problems? It felt like he was her safe escape who wouldn’t ask for more from her: not more love nor anger nor any emotion. Like he is a bubble where nothing else matters: not her problems nor solving those problems. And this is even during/after she was obsessed with showing her love for him. So it felt like if she doesn’t show him her love, her safe bubble will pop. That’s why it felt like her relationship with him was so fragile compared to her broken one with Sun-Oh.
Honestly, I didn’t care for the subject matter in season 1 and only watch for the chemistry. Since I was used to the leads, After finding out the ending in season 2, I am completely out. I know for sure I wouldn’t care for the story anyways.
Since I shipped the first couple and heard she ended up with the other guy ; I passed on love alarm 2…
Lol. Me too. Actually just wanna point out something that international fans keep harping on thats not true. Song Kang is a much lesser star than Jung Garam in Korea. JGR is already a rising star in chungmuro and a critics favourite winning a Grand Bell award previously. He’s sought after in Chungmuro and just caught in bad timing with fewer movies being made due to the pandemic. Thats why watching season 1 was a really weird experience as the second lead stole all the important moments and Jung Garam’s arc was reduced to weak supporting. Season 2 does a complete fliparound giving viewers bipolarism as now they have to force a new loveline and create 101 reasons why this is the meant to be and not what was fed to viewers in season 1. It could have been better written and perhaps the script for all 16 eps should have been completed in the beginning rather than this disjoint. I do think its time for kim so hyun to participate in an ensemble cast for a top billing drama instead of being a muse to wannabe producers and directors all looking to be credited as the one to cross her over to superstar status. Hopefully Cultural Depot has a plan and is a good one.
I hear the common view that only mature viewers understand and appreciate Jojo’s choice of picking Hye-young over Sunho, but I disagree that the majority of viewers who prefer Sunho as Jojo’s choice are immature. I am a middle aged ahjumma who thinks that the pairing of Jojo with Hye-young works better on paper than in the drama. Yes, Hye-young provided Jojo with a much needed safety zone which she couldn’t get from anyone else in her life. As a trauma victim, it is impossible to underestimate what stability and safety meant to her. That’s why The Ringing World webtoon played such a huge role in the drama. Her parents tried to kill her, her aunt constantly complained about the debts and financial burdens Jojo’s mother left, her cousin was a major b*tch constantly making Jojo’s life hell, her school friends dumped her as soon as they had issues and her boyfriend, Sunho, temporarily ghosted her when all hell broke loose. Plus Sunho, by personality, lifestyle, career and family background will never live a quiet life which Jojo sincerely craved. It boggles the mind that Sunho can show up in her school to bother her, yet the person being accused and gossiped about was Jojo. That’s another reason why he’s the wrong choice for Jojo although he loves her dearly. The one constant who put Jojo before his own interests and comfort was Hye-young. Never blamed her or raised his voice at her. It’s no wonder she constantly sought him out when life got tough. That being said, Kim So Hyun and Jung Garam have no romantic chemistry. Period. It’s hard to root for a couple when their vibe is more of good friends or siblings than lovers. And it is not because Hyeyoung is a quiet character. I’ve seen intense chemistry from quiet and gentle couples in Kdramas so I can say for certain that it just isn’t there. Secondly, while Hyeyoung and Jojo may be Real Life couple goals – Sunho and Jojo are the Reel Life couple goal. Their scorching chemistry is what made Season 1 so electric, and why do we watch romcoms by the way? Isn’t it to escape into the fantasy of the perfect romance for an hour or two? I can see why there are a lot of complaints about Season 2. While I’m OK with Jojo’s choice, I found Jojo and Sunho’s arc to be most frustrating- Why did it take her four years to explain to Sunho the reason she cut him off? Her inability to explain a lot of things until the very last episode was quite frustrating to the viewer. Sunho’s compromise at the end of the drama didn’t sit well with me either. He settled for a woman he didn’t love with the hope/promise that he will learn to love her later. This is a recipe for disaster. If after 4 years he hadn’t fallen in love with her, I don’t hold out much hope of it ever changing. It would have been a gutsier and more realistic move for him to stay single until he found someone new who he could fall in love with. I have many reasons why I will never watch Season 2 again, and these are just some of them.
Ditto. I am a 35 yrs old woman who have been married for more than 7 years, a lecturer and currently pursuing my pHD, but I am one of those who looked forward to Love Alarm 2, and the moment it was released, i went to look for spoiler of the ending, and decided not to bother watching it.
I watched the first season the week it aired just because i have nothing to watch at that time and when it popped up on my Netflix, i decided to just try it. I did not know Songkang or Jung garam prior that. End up, I actually marathoned all episodes until morning. It was that addicting for me and I believe its mostly due to the chemistry between Song Kang and So Hyun because the story was honestly not something i would recommend for others to watch. So yeah, since thats the only thing that capture my interest of the drama, and the reason I look forward to more, why should i waste my time watching the second season? Its a bit annoying when reading people labeling fans as immature and stuff just because of this. I have other dramas which i love because they give me life lessons and stuff, and imo i dont think thats the intention of Love Alarm. If it is, i must say they have really done it very poorly.
In S2, Jojo definitely fell in love with Hyeyeong. The way she was always anxious when her alarm does not ring even though Hyeyeong is within the perimeter, the times when she was the one initiating the skinship and the one who texted first, that she always remember Hyeyeong and keeps thinking of him, the moment when she got worried when he lied, and when Sunoh went to her school and kissed her, the only thing that mattered to her is Hyeyeong’s feelings, hence, she went to his house and waited for him. There were so many scenes and narrations from Jojo in this season that really transpires that she already loves Hyeyeong. Also her goal to delete the shield for Hyeyeong reflects that she wants to tell Hyeyeong how she really feels.
On the other hand, Hyeyeong never unlove Jojo. He loves her no matter what. He did fight for her when Jojo was already not in a relationship and that’s something respectable and selfless. He always respect Jojo’s feelings. His love is what made Jojo stronger and help her to know more of herself and made Jojo realize that she needed to be stronger for herself in order to also love another person. She was not able to do it with Sunoh because she was broken and still young at that time. But this time, there is someone whom she unconsciously fell in love with and she chose to be with. She got the courage to face her past and did not want to run away anymore because she doesn’t want to lose again the person she loves.
Aside from Dukgu’s muse, it was Hyeyeong’s love for Jojo that really pushed Dukgu to make the app.
I didn’t watch season 2 only because I got spoiled so much. And I got annoyed with immature Sun Oh stans. They went from hating Jojo to hating Kim So Hyun to commenting on her IG post that she shouldn’t have taken the role. Pfffft. Too caught up in a drama huh? And my plan to rewatch Season 1 was cancelled. I’ll just watch So Hyun in her other dramas regardless of inconsistent writing ?
Wait what? Some people said she shouldn’t have taken the role? Why, because Jojo didn’t choose Sun Oh? Don’t they realize that regardless of who’s playing Jojo, the endgame would still be the same and they would still be hating on whoever played Jojo? lmao where’s the logic in that ?
And this is coming from a SunJo shipper lmao
I’m Team Sun Oh too, but still liked the ending and I’m getting tired of all the toxicity of Sun Oh stans ruining LA discussions
@Winterbear Yes they said that so for those users, AUTOBLOCK LOL. I thank them for ruining the mood for me but they won’t take my love for KSH. The girl is innocent for f**k’s sake.
what was worst is.. they even said that, she shouldn’t take the drama, coz due to this, her followers will be dropped. i mean seriously? drop? in their wild dream ?
@Jona Yes, we’ll just have to continue to love and support Sso through all this and ignore the toxics even if it’s not easy lol
@lmao Well, joke’s on them because So Hyun’s followers are even quickly increasing, just last week her IG followers are 10.6 million, now it’s 10.7 million! Her power ???
I watched the second season for the app, I didn’t like the characters in the first one and they didn’t change my mind… But they made a new version of the app instead to get ride of it. Nobody has been happy thanks to this app. It was disapointing to see HS waiting for his alarm to ring when in the first season he didn’t care. He was the only one normal and they made him a fool suffering because of Jojo’s lies… The writting and the actors failed to deliver the love story, they looked so awkward together. It really felt forced. I think Sun-Ho had a good development as character. But why making the poor girl suffering with the app by waiting for him…
I don’t think a second season was necessary, a longer season 1 would have been better.
I haven’t watched season 2 and don’t plan to. Honestly from the beginning I felt the story kacked substance. I couldn’t find myself supporting the relationship between Jojo and Sunoh, whomever she ended up with…meh. it was a waste of talented actors
I loved Love Alarm, but hated what they did to Love Alarm 2. The writer & director never gave Sun Oh a chance in his relationship with JoJo. He was painted as the selfish, moody jerk. How was he to compete with the “perfect boyfriend” HY? In fact HY at times seemed like a stalker.
Maybe that’s why Netflix waited so long to show part 2. The incredible chemistry between JoJo & Sun Oh propelled Love Alarm’s popularity but knowing the final outcome they had to wait and hope the viewers might forget why they loved Love Alarm in the first place. I think the show over compensated with HY’s character and threw Sun Oh to the curb.
I loved the part where Sun Oh told JoJo he didn’t care about ringing the Love Alarm and was going to rely on her eyes…but that still wasn’t enough for JoJo.
Thank goodness Netflix has a thumbs down button.
I also waited for season 2 to binge the series. But after episode 3 of season o1, I decided to drop it. I didn’t like the direction it was going and characters didn’t really make sense to me Like why did Sun-Oh after Jojo in the first place? Really, why? Even if his friend denied it, he obviously knew that he like Jojo. So why go out of his way to go after her? It certainly wasn’t love at first site.
Thank you everyone for the really thoughtful, drama-specific, and relevant opinions and feedback on LA 1 and 2.
I think I’m going to skip still.
Adal’s review would prob be my review, that on paper the nice, sweet, love you forever second male lead would be the one she SHOULD and DID pick, but it’s the hot-tempered, complicated, still needing to grow up male lead that she shoots chemistry with onscreen doesn’t get the girl which breaks the viewers heart.
This is totally Lost You Forever as a modern drama and I just can’t. The right guy for our girl (because of her prickly backstory and trauma) isn’t necessarily her “soulmate” and the one she would have picked if she didn’t come with so much baggage. So I know I’ll likely end up crying happy and sad tears simultaneously and sigh no need for that.
Jung Ga Ram is a very talented young actor, he’s probably better suited for Chungmuro than Yeouido, because drama acting requires not just talent but palpable charisma and chemistry with the female lead and I did not feel anything from him in the previews for LA1 whereas Song Kang was nnnnngggg doing things to my heart already. C’est la vie.
it just an average drama in season 1 and get worse in season 2. I don’t mind who she chooses but the way the story develops, as much as it doesn’t make sense I can tolerate it because love is love but it also doesn’t have any chemistry.
How am I supposed to believe it?
The directing and the brightness is a mess and it just doesn’t make me feel good about watching it. Even if this run back to back, it still not just a good drama overall.
kim so hyun so good in choosinvg her drama. River and love alarm both spectacular
River is the best sageuk this year. lol and love alarm is the best drama on netflix this 2021. lmao.
well well well. this is her year, kim so hyun. lol.
IF THERE IS A SEASON 3 COUNT ME OUT!!!