Letter #8: Mad for Each Other

Good morning, Erin. 

So, I've gone rogue, again, and moved onto something not at all from your list—a little something called Mad for Each Other, which is only 13 thirty-minute episodes and, after the bitter (not really (...but also totally really)) taste the end of Start Up left me with, I wanted to move on to something I could just sort of chug as a palate-cleanser, and the trailer Netflix showed me for this was enough of a temptation to draw my attention. 

Now, I don't know if you've seen it or not and, therefore, don't want to say too much for fear of maybe-ruining something you plan to watch later, so I'll keep this pretty brief—but, at the same time, I don't actually have a lot to say about the show, so I don't know that I could even do my usual ridiculous yammering on about it even if I wanted to. 

…which is not to say I won’t still try:

1. I quite liked this show. I don't think the thirty-minute episodes were always the right way to tell the story, and, looking back, it may have been more structurally beneficial to break it down into fewer but longer episodes. I think that might have made some of the mini-arcs to the story seem a little more cohesive—but that's almost a nitpick, really, because, again, I quite liked this show. It was adorable and intense, and I'd definitely recommend it, if you've never seen it. It's not brilliant, and it could absolutely have been tightened up or punched up (especially early on), but I'd be lying if I said it hadn't hooked me into watching almost the entire thing in one sitting. 

2. The main girl is absolutely the hook for the show. She's got more going on with her character than the main guy does—internally, I mean. (Which is not to undercut him or his performance.) But, in the very earliest parts of the story, it's her character design that wins you over, even if the story itself doesn't quite grab you: she's this perfect mix of weird and precious, fascinating in her strangeness of appearance but also exuding the kind of pathos that demands you, in the parlance of my fellow weebs, "protect that smile." (Granted, she doesn't actually smile, at first, but her bizarre affectations and behavioral compulsions make her seem very much like the quivering little puppy she herself adopts in the first episode.) If the main girl isn't as well-crafted as she ultimately is, the show is almost a non-starter. But they hook you with her look, then with her vibe, and then with her...well, everything. Top marks, there.

3.  Have I yet mentioned that this show is adorable? Because it's adorable. 

4. Ultimately, this is a show about broken people finding other broken people. And I think we've covered my feelings about that.

5. Importantly, though, there were SO MANY HYUNDAIS in this show: cop cars, taxis, commercial vehicles. This is obviously the best k-drama of all time. 

6. Top marks for kissing. (Um...s-spoilers?)

7. The ending is a little bit odd—by which I mean there is literally one part of it that I cannot wrap my head around. I don't think it added anything and, with the exception of a single visual they clearly wanted, I can’t even guess what the point was. But, outside of that, the ending was pretty satisfying. In that, if nothing else, I didn't leave angry about anything. Which...yay!

And...actually, that's about it. Huh. 

Like I said, this was a nice, bingeable palate-cleanser. Straightforward. Interesting. A pleasant detour. And, again, totally worth it, if you want to just fill some time. 

We'll be back to the list with the next one.

...unless we're not. You never can tell, with me. 

--Daryl

P.S. - ...did I show you my phone's lock screen? I fully intended to, but I bet I didn't. Because I forgot. Or, y'know, got all nervous about it and pretended to forget.