Summary
It looks like Nabi and Jaeeon are officially done.
This recap of the Netflix K-Drama series Nevertheless season 1, episode 9, “I Know It’s Over. Nevertheless”, contains spoilers.
The previous episode of Nevertheless made an important effort in showcasing the realities of toxic and manipulative relationships. Although many fans seem to be rooting for Nabi and Jaeeon to be endgame — which is expected as the main leads — surely this drama should speak to the dangers of these types of relationships, so the main leads probably shouldn’t end up together.
Nevertheless season 1, episode 9 recap
With that, the opening scene of Nevertheless season 1, episode 9 mirrors episode 1 — where Nabi and Jaeeon first met in the bar. Except, this time Jaeeon is the one asking the questions and Nabi is dodging them. I can’t help but wonder why Jaeeon isn’t expressing why he is asking her these questions. He asks about why Nabi likes Dohyeok and the first thing she mentions is that he’s a good cook. Wrong answer — that should have not been her first instinct, back in her hometown she mentioned how Dohyeok makes her happy and makes her smile but she couldn’t express it to Jaeeon, instead she mentions that he makes her feel the most comfortable. He then asks why isn’t she dating him — crossing boundaries — because what does it have to do with Jaeeon? It’s sad though because Nabi doesn’t believe she is a good person — she’s a little confused and unsure — but it doesn’t mean she’s a bad person either. That being her justification to not date Dohyeok isn’t enough though, as expressed multiple times, she should focus on herself before getting into a relationship.
Meanwhile, Dohyeok is at the restaurant talking to his friends about how much he likes Nabi and worries that he might mess things up with her. It’s annoying to see how he is feeling because it’s not his fault Nabi feels a certain way or it’s not his fault that Nabi is invested with Jaeeon. In my opinion, Dohyeok should really just move on and stop being taken for a fool when it’s crystal clear that Nabi doesn’t envision a relationship — in a romantic sense. As much as I enjoy the childhood friends to lovers trope, Nabi and Dohyeok represent some of the flaws behind it because the Nabi you knew as a young person isn’t the same Nabi you know now. It’s even more upsetting because you see that his intentions are pure but she’s just not feeling it and that’s perfectly fine on her end, because she was never leading him on.
On his way to meet Nabi, he sees her with Jaeeon near her apartment. In this particular scene, Nabi was giving Jaeeon his belongings back and told him to wait outside. Instead, Jaeeon saw Dohyeok and put up a front, insisting that he help her pack his belongings, just to put on a show in front of Dohyeok but Nabi didn’t know this. It was a sad scene because you want to feel bad for Dohyeok and you see how Jaeeon is deliberately flaunting in front of him. Alas, the game is the game. At her house, Jaeeon keeps trying to woo Nabi but fortunately she was not having it and thus took his belongings and left.
We find out that Nabi didn’t get into her exchange program too, which is upsetting because I, like many other viewers, thought that if she got into her exchange program, she might just leave Korea — which meant leaving Jaeeon. Meanwhile Bitna appears to be confused with her feelings toward Gyuhyun and is upset that she isn’t aware about what’s going on in his life, since they stopped speaking. As Gyuhyun enters the sculpting room, it’s clear that she still has feelings for him but her stubborn attitude pulls through. Gyuhyun speaks to her outside and hands her a package she ordered to his house. The cinematography in this scene places an emphasis on Bitna’s reaction, her eyes lit up once he gave her the package but as he firmly questions why she ordered it to his house, her reaction instantly changed. By concealing her initial reaction, viewers can see that maybe she didn’t want him to see her look excited about him. Since their breakup, she’s been channeling a nonchalant vibe and why would she want to break it for him? I don’t blame her either but I wish she was more clear about her feelings because she is clearly bothered that Gyuhyun wasn’t checking for her.
The most ironic thing about the next scene is when Nabi is advising Jiwan on relationship issues….if only Nabi could take her own advice. Maybe sometimes it is easier said than done, because she mentions that Jiwan should communicate her feelings to her friend but could certainly use the same advice. At the sculpture class, she is on the phone to Dohyeok who emphasises that he is always going to be there for her if she needs anything and he questions to himself, if he went overboard? And yes he did, Dohyeok can sense Nabi’s feelings but still stubbornly pursues her. It doesn’t mean he is a bad person but he isn’t that bright either. It’s nice that Doyeon, Dohyeok’s cousin, keeps bringing him back to reality because he is ‘losing’ to Jaeeon. She emphasises how childhood history doesn’t compete with chemistry and he needed to her that….but he’s still going to pursue Nabi regardless.
Following Nabi’s advice, Jiwan finally speaks to Sol about her feelings in response to Sol’s confession. As annoying as Jiwan is, I think her character was crafted that way deliberately because she constantly needs reassurance that she is wanted or appreciated. Maybe it’s something deeper but it was nice to see Jiwan feel a bit more reassured after speaking with Sol at the playground.
In the next scene, Bitna tries to make Gyuhyun jealous by bringing her personal trainer to the internet cafe Gyuhyun works at and where she loves to play her online games. But does this really work? One thing I appreciate about Gyuhyun’s character is that he knows his worth and value and won’t put up with stress from anyone, hence why they broke up. Instead, Bitna being at the cafe didn’t phase him — he just did his job. Bitna kept ordering food at the cafe and he never put her order through. Fussed by his actions, she calls his phone and walks up to his counter. Gyuhyun’s phone is on the counter and ‘Oh My Sunshine’ (Bitna) is calling, which instantly makes her giddy and hangs up before he sees her calling. All giddy and excited, Bitna contains her excitement and he mentions that he didn’t process her order because he knows the meal would give her indigestion, emphasising that he cares about her health. Hearing that, she fails to contain her excitement and tells him that she saw her contact name and asks him out on a date! One of the highlights of this episode for me — the main highlight is coming soon!
After his shift, Bitna and Gyuhyun are walking in the park and she hands him a heart shaped lock and key keyring — the items she ordered to his house. She mentioned she had intentions of giving them to him prior to breaking up. With that, Gyuhyun emphasises that she needs to communicate her feelings because she didn’t want to express them out loud. In this scene, it’s clear that she wants him back and as she says “do I have to say this out loud?” Handing him one of the keyrings, she asks him to take her back and promises that she will be a good girlfriend to him, she’ll try her best etc. Bitna is one of my favourite characters because she isn’t always so serious but Gyuhyun is and that’s where the chemistry between them stems from. He ends up taking her back and hugs her, mentioning how much he missed her. Finally! It was upsetting that they weren’t together but I loved how Gyuhyun valued himself and made the decision to break up.
The ending
And for the main highlight of Nevertheless season 1, episode 9. It’s raining outside and Dohyeok hands Nabi an umbrella to take home but she didn’t expect to see an angry and jealous Jaeeon at her doorstep. He aggressively knocks the umbrella outside her hand — red flag number 1005! Just because you are jealous of her hanging out with Dohyeok doesn’t justify yanking it out of her hand. He fires questions at her like “am I boring to you since you have someone else now?”, “does he like you even after seeing us together?” Perhaps Jaeeon is jealous and actually likes her! Even if that’s the case, I still don’t want them together. I feel like he let his fears take over him and the rain was a sign for him to express his underlying feelings but not his true feelings.
For enthusiastic viewers like myself, Nabi tells him she regrets him, their relationship and all their encounters with one another but takes accountability. She says she won’t blame him and mentions “I knew there was no happy ending for us but I was an idiot for getting my hopes up and thinking you could be sincere.” At least she was honest! She ends it off by telling him she never wants to see him again — exactly, take the accountability and move on! Instead, she breaks down and cries at home but of course, this was expected — you knew what relationship you had with Jaeeon.
This should have been the final episode — a happy Soljiwan, a happy Byuhyun and Nabi with none of the boys. But instead, there’s a final episode on Saturday and I hope it doesn’t ruin what the writers for this episode perfected. Either way, I’m excited because this is probably one of the most realistic Korean dramas when depicting college relationships. For me, I rate this episode 5/5 simply because Byuhyun (Bitna and Gyuhyun) are together and Nabi’s heart got broken, like I wanted.
What did you think of Nevertheless season 1, episode 9? Comment below.
