Letter #67: Be My Boyfriend

Good morning, Erin.

Even as you were in the middle of recommending this one…y’know, that you would remember my fondness for this wonderful cliche setup…it just…I promised myself I wouldn’t cry—well, anyway, let’s just jump right into Be My Boyfriend:

1. I could not for the life of me figure out why the first episode started with narration from a girl who then (essentially) disappears from the story after that point just so she could tell us the whole thing was going to be about someone else—until I noticed that this show was a spinoff of a different show. So, I’m guessing the girl who started things off was from that show and was passing the narrative baton. Which I’m sure was nice for people who were already familiar with this storytelling universe, but it was confusing enough for me to have notes wondering if the show was ever going to explain why it started that way until maybe a third of the way through the series. I mean, I totally figured it out because I’m the world’s greatest detective, but what about those people who aren’t? 

2. It should go without saying, but I think it’s important to say anyway: I…frikkin’…loved this. I watched the whole thing straight through—which I know doesn’t sound all that impressive, since it’s only, like, three hours long, but I really didn’t want to stop. (If anything, I wish it had been a little bit longer. But we’ll get to that, a bit, later on.) I mean, for essentially a sneaker commercial, it’s pretty darn good. 

3. I really, really liked the three main girls. And I bounced back and forth about which one was my favorite, because the show kept giving me reasons to change my pick. I thought all three were fun, interesting, and compelling—and all in different ways, which was neat. 

3A. …but how could I not pick Ji-na (the main girl) as #BestGirl? She’s a little bit bratty, a little bit tsundere, and a whole lot of cool. And I liked that she didn’t have to swing from being a “mean girl” to being a “nice girl” over the course of the show, in that the change we see is less a change than a shift. Because she’s got all these different facets to her personality from the get-go, it’s just that some are more active than others pre- and post-falling in love. The real difference is that she’s happy, which makes it easier for the brighter side of her to shine through. I thought she was great, and I’m looking forward to seeing her in other things. (She’s got a Miss Intern vibe to her. Which you know I like.)

3B. And then there was Han-na, who had—for me—the most interesting part of the story…until the script decided it didn’t have space for her character to be any more complex that they’d already made her. I loved that she felt not just a rival-friendship with Ji-na, but that she was insecure enough that she instinctively felt like having the Main Guy (sorry, I literally could not remember any of the boys’ names) around was going to truly upset the already-tepid equilibrium and force a conflict between them. I love that she fell for him for the same reasons Ji-na did, ultimately, but with the added negative reasons someone with her level of bitterness or self-loathing would have pulling at her just as hard. I even like her villain turn, but it’s a shame that there wasn’t time/room for it to be anything but a two-dimensional kind of spite. I wasn’t thrilled with the way they determined she was never really friends with Ji-na, which is what allowed her to fully “embrace the dark side,” rather than having her jealousy overtake her fondness (which would have allowed for some measure of redemption). But I also recognize that this would have made her one of those second-leads whose struggle overshadows that of the protagonist, so…it just sucks that there wasn’t time to spend on the complex version of her arc AND still have Ji-na do her thing. But, yeah, I really liked Han-na. 

3C. Min-ji has much less to her and less to do, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t grinning like a bit of a fool, every time the camera swung her way. She’s there to be the overtly nice, cute, innocent part of the friendship trio, and she fully succeeds—to the point where my first note for the show is that I had already sort of fallen in love with her at the 1-minute-and-7-seconds mark, which is three seconds after she’s introduced by name and done nothing more than smile and wave. And, for not having all that much comparative screen time, she does a great job bringing the energy balance to Han-na’s pain and negativity. 

4. Now, the boys were just degrees of who cares: Main Guy was fine, but he wasn’t especially interesting, particularly since he’s set against the much more interesting stories of Ji-na and Han-na; Baseball Guy just f***ing sucked, and I think we could have cut a lot more of him from the story to make room for the Han-na stuff I mentioned above; and TikTok Friend was…from a totally different show and needed to calm down—but I’d take even more over-exaggerated ridiculousness from him if it meant having less of Baseball Guy in the show. 

5. Can we take a second to admire the beauty of the setup for the love contract plotline? Ji-na declares that she never takes anything back, and so, after declaring that she’s absolutely breaking up with Baseball Guy, has no recourse for maybe jumping too quickly (though not incorrectly) to it before talking to him about it. I absolutely love that. She’s too proud to admit she made a rash (though, again, correct) decision, so she has to scramble. It’s exactly as ridiculous as it is believable, and I thought it was perfect. 

5A. The extra bonus part of that whole scene, of course, is that the talk about Main Guy being her new boyfriend is based on neither of them knowing who the heck he is…when they’ve both literally just bumped into him right before having this conversation. 

6. Look, I’ve been poor my whole life, so I know I think Min-ji’s, like, vacation house or whatever is very, very nice…but the kids treat it like it’s an estate or something when it’s just, y’know, a nice house in a pretty good suburban neighborhood. I mean, it’s impressive that it’s property that’s in her name and that her family can afford to own this spare house, don’t get me wrong—but I don’t think that’s what has the kids gawking. Which makes me think they just couldn’t film at a suitably impressive location. 

7. Speaking of filming restrictions: “Let’s skip school and spend the day together on what has turned out to be a gray, rainy day, because that’s when we got permission to film in this park, so…here we go!”

8. And speaking on the day our main couple plays hooky: Main Guy is reading a book that is very clearly a reference to I Want to Eat Your Pancreas, which excited me to no end. I love that movie and the book that it’s adapted from. I think I’ve mentioned it before, but biiiiiiig recommend from me. 

9. Going back to the section of the show at Min-ji’s house: did you catch that, after Ji-na says she’ll take the penalty to hear why Han-na pointed to Main Guy as her answer to a question, as everyone reaches over her to smack her on the back, Main Guy actually puts his hands out to take some of the hits in her stead? It’s quick, but it’s a great little detail. 

10. Similarly, don’t think I didn’t notice that Min-ji and TikTok Friend are wearing matching hoodies in the club room, later on, show. 

11. I was most of the way through the show before I realized there were a couple of post-credit scenes I’d missed. 

11A. It also took me a few episodes to realize that there was (essentially) a title sequence for the show, as well—because they put it after the previews for the next episode. Which…is such a bad place for it.

11B. What’s especially annoying about that is that the titles are really good! They should have been kinda like Start-Up: do the little song and title at the end of the episode, then any bonus scenes, then the previews. I hated having to cover my eyes for the previews just to get to the fun title sequence. 

12. I kind of love that the deadline for the love contract was the palindrome date of 12/22/21…even if, in Korea, it would have been 21/12/22, which is not a palindrome. 

13. Oh, here’s a wonderful cliche scene I absolutely loved: Ji-na and Han-na having their confrontation on the roof of the school—and that there was a crowd of onlookers who had followed them up there was just the cherry on top of the whole thing. 

14. …which is followed by a dollop of sprinkles tossed over the cherries on top of the whole thing, when, as Main Guy used the loudspeaker to admit the truth of the love contract stuff, there is this small clutch of girls who are only hearing about the whole scandal for the first time just then. Apparently, they were the only ones uncool enough to be left off the group chat that had been buzzing about it for hours and hours already. Hilarious. 

15. And, right before this confrontation, we get a brief scene of two background characters talking to Han-na in class (because they come back to be the recognizable faces in the rooftop crowd). I mention them because they are on screen for, like, two seconds and instantly have clear personalities and a defined (if implied) relationship with each other. Really nice piece of writing/acting. It felt like they’d been part of the show the whole time. 

16. I refuse to believe any of Baseball Guy’s teammates would let him run off for any reason shy of a dying family member just moments before they took the field for the championship game. Absurd. 

17. And…what are these fish-shaped pastries, and how can I get them? I’ve seen them in Japanese stuff, too, and I feel compelled to try one.

Which is all I have to say about that. I guess. 

I’m sure you’re not at all surprised to find that I enjoyed the heck out of this show—but I bet you’re gonna be really surprised to hear that this is the show I’ve chosen to mark the end of Phase II. 

I’ve already got a plan for what Phase III is going to be, and I’m kind of excited to get into it…but I’ll save exactly what that plan is for later. Y’know, to build just that slightest smidgeon of suspense. (And, yes, this new phase will include my thoughts on all things BTS you recently recommended, as well. I haven’t abandoned the boys, I promise.)

But what I will reveal to you is what I have lined up for my summer re-watch—or, rather, I’d like to give you the chance to cast the maybe-deciding vote for which of the three shows I’ve whittled the list down to I should pick: A Business Proposal, Start-Up, or Alchemy of Souls. 

As ever, this has been—and continues to be—such great fun. And, again, don't think I won't remember that this started with you.

More soon (as ever). 

—Daryl