Summary
Love Next Door has an intangible quality that’ll likely resonate strongly with many people. It’s not an original or spectacular show, but it’s one that hits you right where you’re vulnerable.
Love Next Door is an interesting show because there’s really very little that’s noteworthy about it, and yet it somehow feels quite momentous in its impact and possible emotional power. It’s hard to describe, I guess. Sometimes certain people watch certain shows at just the right time in their lives. But some shows seem more prone to being that certain show than others. Episode 3 of this K-Drama isn’t spectacular or original; the first two episodes weren’t either. And yet there’s something intangible here nonetheless.
I have no idea if this will sustain throughout the entire run. You never can tell, really, especially not this early. But the signs are positive, and the reception seems to match my theory that there’s some mystical, almost universal relevance underpinning Love Next Door that’ll make it a big hit.
Probably, anyway.
Where Were We?
The first two episodes introduced us to Seung-hyo and Seok-ryu and their longstanding personal connection that is about to become much more complicated because of present-day “adult” feelings that neither of them know how best to navigate. This outing continues to flesh out the backstories of both characters while developing their current burgeoning connection.
For instance, we learn about Seung-hyo’s past and family life, which gives us some insights. He was formerly an Olympic hopeful swimmer whose aquatic career was derailed by injury after a car accident – and Seok-ryu was instrumental in his recovery. See? That’s the kind of foundation that you can build on.
And Seung-hyo has the right personally for building. He’s principled and driven, despite a slightly fractious home environment. He’s a pretty uncomplicatedly good guy. Can’t have enough of those.
Seok-ryu Doesn’t Know What To Do With Herself
Like Doctor Slump, Love Next Door concerns itself strongly with South Korean employment culture and this is mostly expressed through Seok-ryu, who finds herself rather suddenly unemployed and with no idea what to do with herself.
Seok-ryu gets bored pretty much immediately. But since all of her friends are gainfully employed, she can barely spend any time with them. By chance she meets her old high school homeroom teacher and is invited – along with Seung-hyo, who’s too busy – to speak to some of the kids about their hopes and dreams.
It’s important to understand that Seok-ryu has always been successful and has evidently derived a sense of self-worth from that. So, for her, being in this position, forced to essentially lie to kids, is alarming. She doesn’t know who she is without a career to attach herself to. The realization that she is perhaps not as important and special as she has always imagined throws her for a loop and challenges her entire worldview.
Pretty quickly, Seok-ryu is looking at similar employment, doing a similar job for a similar Korea-based company that pays almost as well. But she can’t quite articulate when she’s pressed on it why she wants to do the same thing again and not pursue a passion. It’s an obligation, almost. As I mentioned, she hasn’t quite discovered who she is without career success.
The Ending Of Love Next Door Episode 3 Brings These Themes Together
A time capsule is an interesting concept. It’s a snapshot of a life, a collection of objects that can tell a whole story, or many stories, depending on who unearths it and when. Towards the end of the episode, both Seok-ryu and Seung-hyo go looking for their time capsule, but quietly as a means to unpack the malaise they feel in the present day. For both of them, though for slightly different reasons, the time capsule isn’t a reminder of the past but a rubric for the future.
For instance, Seung-hyo tells Seok-ryu when they meet at the swimming pool that she has lost her sense of youthful eccentricity. That’s the kind of thing that is planed away by a career. To prove otherwise she jumps in the water, despite being unable to swim, and the tranquillity of the floating finally allows some truth to come out.
Seung-hyo seems to be on the right career path. Even if he could go back to swimming, he’d still choose to be an architect. But Seok-ryu would have chosen a different career. And, perhaps more importantly, she wouldn’t have bothered with her fiancé either.
But the one thing Seung-hyo hasn’t addressed are his feelings for Seok-ryu, which the time capsule reveals he was planning to do all those years ago.
There’s no time like the present.
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