Half way through Temperature of Love — verdict?
One of my initial thoughts panned out to be true: this would’ve been better as a 16/32 episode drama (and not the 20/40 episode it’s slated for right now). The story has dragged a lot more than necessary to get to this point. They squeezed out the brooding, quiet character of Jung Woo, dragging his “decision” for sooo long, hahaha.
But even though the overarching story is dragging, all the little story-lines are executed so well. In particular, the main love line between the main characters, Hyun Soo & Jung Sun, has been executed really well. Their love has been developed so well in a slow, loving manner, that I’m really unsure that this mid-way drama can realistically divide them. Usually when the romance works out in the first half of the drama, the mid-way “surprise” will bring them apart. But, it’s just not believable that the love that’s been developed will coming crashing down because of this “surprise”.
So though I bash on the pace of this drama, so much about it is still quite good. The directing and the writing (in the moments) are done so well to portray the moment and also allude to the future.
There were two recent moments that I particularly liked:
- Jung Woo and Hyun Soo finish up their conversation and Jung Woo takes her home, but the director purposely shows how much silence exists between them. It shows a direct contrast to the kind of relationship that Hyun Soo has with Jung Sun. But I would add that it’s not necessarily an awkward silence, but one imbued with confidence…like Jung Woo doesn’t feel the need to fill the silence and neither does she.
- Another moment was a conversation between Jung Woo and Hyun Soo. Jung Woo expressly exercises his power over her, by calling her to his workplace close to midnight. In the closing part of this scene, Hyun Soo asks him, “Go home and sleep. Why are you sleeping in this cold office?” You could view it as a throwaway line that just closes the scene, but that line hit a chord with me. He wants to create a warm, loving home with her…but his reality is that he’s left out in the cold in this love triangle.
There were also moments in that second scene where they were talking about how love and trust affect the concepts of dating & marriage that felt like they were alluding to the themes around which the story may intertwine in the second half.
I’m also really curious about the “guest role” of Park Shin Hye. Cause usually when a drama mentions a small character that’s supposed to be “big star”, they won’t bring in a big star for that. Park Shin Hye isn’t an absolute top class star, but she’s like right below it. I’m wondering if she’s playing a cameo type role or if she’s going to actually play a somewhat significant character in the second half. I feel like it might be a recent addition to help fill the storyline a little bit more, hah. Cause you know that with her standing in the industry, she won’t play a small supporting cast role. It’s either going to be a cameo or a somewhat significant role. And plus, rom-com’s are her territory, hah.
Another favorite one is the assistant writer & potential future director. We know that they’re being pushed together right now and their comedy is welcome…and you kind of want to see them happy, together :).
So, again, my verdict: the main storyline is dragging, but all the individual story lines are still carrying the drama. I’ll still watch it because I’m enjoying all the different scenes and moments, all while being frustrated about the dragging main story :).
OVERALL: 8/10
- STORY: 7.5/10
- DIRECTING: 8.5/10
- LEAD Actors: 9/10
- SUPPORTING Cast: 7.5/10
- CINEMATOGRAPHY: 7.5/10
- MUSIC: creeping into “good” territory
