This recap of the Netflix K-drama series Nevertheless season 1, episode 4 contains significant spoilers.
Read the recap of the previous chapter.
With Nevertheless season 1, episode 4, we really begin to see more side characters, no matter how minor they may seem. From Bitna to Gyuhyun, Sol, Jiwan and even Dohyeok — this episode revealed a lot more to these characters and dare I say, the side characters are arguably more interesting than Nabi, simply because Nabi doesn’t seem to have much self-awareness. And tl;dr — Nabi and Jaeeon spend a lot of time together in this episode — far too much for my liking. Her house is practically second nature to him. Oh, and the episode might as well be titled return of the ex-partners.
Anyone can guess the beginning of Nevertheless episode 4 — with Jae-eon in Nabi’s house as usual. Depending on how you view it, it appears that Nabi is either embarrassed or just full of regret because she thinks, “at least if I was drunk, I could have used that as an excuse.” But of course, she couldn’t. Instead, whenever Jae-eon comes over (and he does far too many times), she always has drinks ready — probably to use their drunkenness as an excuse.
Unexpectedly, we instantly move to the next scene and see Bitna and Gyuhyun’s situation — the same situation as Nabi. I don’t think anyone anticipated them getting together that quickly but what we did see was how Gyuhyun cared about Bitna. Yet, she ignores it, declines him and gets jealous later down the line. Now, don’t get me wrong — you’re free to decline whoever you want, but it’s an own goal when you get upset after they move on. Either way, they are the only couple that I am rooting for thus far. Sometimes, I root for Nabi and Dohyeok, but I think Nabi still needs to be alone with herself and to cultivate self-esteem, self-worth and self-respect before moving into another relationship.
Waiting for Gyuhyun in a cafe near Nabi’s home, Bitna sees Jae-eon walk past and thinks to herself what on earth happened. Gyuhyun comes in and, as he should, with his chest, mentions to Bitna that “it wasn’t a mistake and things won’t be the same” and that “he can’t pretend things didn’t happen.” From this moment, I feel like I gained a lot of respect for him — though it’s the absolute bare minimum; he made his intentions clear with Bitna (just like Jae-eon did with Nabi, but they’re both delusional). Instead, she proceeded to reject him. I still have optimism for both of them, though — it’s just annoying seeing Bitna jealous after she rejects him.
In another scene, Jae-eon orders pizza for the sculpture students and one of the students notices that Nabi is glowing, questioning whether she is dating, and of course, Jae-eon just stares at Nabi awaiting her response. She replies that she isn’t — at least she knows. The conversation then shifts to Gyuhyun asking if he’s interested in a blind date, and of course, Bitna feels some type of way and shares her unwarranted two cents — as if anybody asked her. Now, Bitna is by far my favourite character, but she irked me throughout Nevertheless season 1, episode 4. In agreement, Gyuhyun agrees to the blind date.
“Do you still have the butterflies?” Seol-a, Jae-eon’s ex, asks whilst walking with him, and it’s still made unclear who the butterflies are or whether they even exist. All we know is that Jae-eon has an infatuation with butterflies. He responds that “we’re getting along.” And at this point, I’m starting to believe that Nabi is the butterfly he is referring to unless the webtoon says otherwise. Next, we see Nabi on the bus, and we finally meet Dohyeok. It’s raining outside, and as she looks outside the window, Dohyeok recognises her and questions “Nabi?” and they both instantly recognise each other. They also mention how they never expected to see each other again, and Dohyeok emphasises that he’s in Seoul to improve his cooking, following his conscription. Through and through, it’s clear that Dohyeok is the perfect person (Jae-eon could never) for Nabi — I’m loud and proud when it comes to the childhood friends trope for some reason, but Nabi’s still not ready and is in a state of confusion when it comes to relationships. Dohyeok kindly asks for her number before she gets off the bus.
As she comes off the bus, the rain intensifies, and Dohyeok is there with an umbrella, keeping her dry. He ends up walking her home, and they reminisce about their childhood experiences — by far, one of my favourite scenes of this episode. The audience sees how much of a gentleman he is — he even gave her the umbrella and left, so she wouldn’t get wet. All I have to say is second lead stans rise.
At her mother’s home, we see the obvious mommy issues. Nabi’s mom is quick to send her out — even on her birthday, for the sake of a man — and Nabi even mentions, “you’re neglecting me again.” Maybe, this is where her issues with relationships stem from as she takes us down memory lane. She sees teenage girls coming back from school and recounts when she only cared about friendships (probably because of her neglect), and when she started dating, she thought love was wrong. I’m no psychologist or anything, but I feel as though the issues with her mom makes her the way she is.
Now, this is where Bitna annoys me. She’s out at night with a guy, then spots Gyuhyun on his date and rudely walks in, right next to him and essentially causes a scene. Out of shock, Gyuhyun chokes on his drink. I mean, she did make it clear that she wasn’t interested in him and is in her feelings when she sees him with another lady. Do better sis.
Nabi finally visits the cafe where Dohyeok works. There, he cooks for her and gives her a slice of cake, remembering that it was her birthday. Again, proving the childhood friends trope right every single time.
On her way home from university, Nabi’s ex — the one from the first episode — mentions that he’s heartbroken hearing about Nabi’s relations with Jae-eon. He mentions that the rumours are horrible — though he’s right, is it really his place after cheating on her? This is further emphasised in another scene where Nabi overhears two male students talking about Jae-eon as a player and uses Nabi for his own pleasure.
Nabi wants to break it off with Jae-eon, emphasising how important school is for her at the moment, and Jae-eon’s response made me want to punch my laptop. Mind you, this is not his response but she anticipates the conversation would happen like this. He mentions, “aren’t you going overboard? We’re not even going out.” Now, that was a punch to the stomach, but she needed to hear that and rid herself of the delusions that he would change for her. Though, this didn’t happen — it’s clear that Nabi knows deep down she needs to end it with him. Like other viewers, I am waiting for this necessary conversation.
Finally, the end scene consists of Nabi and Jae-eon outside, and a man comes out of a white car. This unidentified man comes out and asks if he is Jae-eon, and from there, we see an ounce of chaos when he punches Jae-eon. We don’t know why he gets punched, but I’m for it. Not only does he get punched, the man also pushes Nabi — which could foreshadow Nabi being physically beaten by others because of Jae-eon’s antics. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s due to him messing around with the man’s female relatives but ending on a cliffhanger like this…not fun at all.
I just want Nabi to get some self-esteem and leave the men alone.
What did you think of Nevertheless season 1, episode 4? Comment below!
