[Drama 2019-2020/2021] Love Alarm, 좋아하면 울리는 - Season 2 out now

[D27Gjk68]

1 hour ago, bsushib said:

I watched season 1 a few days ago and I watched season 2 last night.  I may the only one, but I'm happy that JJ and HY was endgame.

You aren't the only, I definitely agree with you.  I also wish there had been a little more romance between JJ and HY.

 

My minor complaints are with the overall structure.  I think it would have worked better as one season with 12 episodes.  Some of the side plots didn't interest me given how much time they took (particularly GulMi, I think she is the most annoying character I've seen!)  I also expected more of a repudiation of the entire concept of Love Alarm at the end.  So I enjoyed it but didn't think it was amazing.

[Raynaa]

I binged watch the show both seasons after season 2 was released and i do think too that the format was flawed and it should have been one season with 14 episodes. Agreeing with the comment above by @D27Gjk68.
 

As I wasn’t one of the viewers who waited one and a half years for season 2 so I could see it more objectively and it made more sense. Plus When I saw season 2 I wasn’t on any ship and started watching it without any opinion. 

 

so here’s my view:

 

first of all I like the concept of humans vs machines. I like how the writer wants to put across that how much ever we focus on machine learning there will always be variables that the human mind can feel and sense that a machine cannot.
 

Machines are made by humans and it’s a small fragment of the human mind’s intelligence that sets up a machine first. Yes AI can learn post that but it can’t match all the variables that circumstances, timing, emotions, and things which only the human mind can comprehend bring to a relationship. We take decisions within certain circumstances, with a certain mindset and we get overwhelmed and pressurised too by the simultaneous bombardment of situations we are going through and the emotions they make us feel. It all happens simultaneously and in that one moment, all the factors are variable and fluid. Within this fluid environment each human despite the 7 billion population in the world reacts and takes decisions in a unique way depending on their in-born qualities superimposed by experiences that make their personalities. Then again personalities change because we are humans and can decide to improve and learn or become worse from our past experiences. So there is no constant factor when we make decisions. 

 

So if one purely focuses on the love alarm app it was flawed because it considered attraction and love as the only factor and it assumed that all other factors were constant. That circumstances, emotions, personality traits aside everyone could pursue that relationship if that alarm rang. But as much as it’s a miracle that 2 peoples alarm rang at the same time, It’s a bigger miracle if all other factors which are constantly changing let you pursue and stay happily in that relationship. So the fact that the alarms rang were not enough and that was the limitation of the app that it couldn’t feel everything that the human mind is subject to. 
 

it also couldn’t gauge loyalty like in the case of SunOhs parents. The father rang the mother’s love alarm but he cheated on her. The app also cannot differentiate between true love and attraction. The app thinks that data is supreme and takes precedence over human decisions which is not fair because the greatest privilege that humans have over other living beings is the choice to decide.
 

secondly why does it make sense that JoJo chose Hye Young and not Sun Oh is that:

- yes as @bsushib mentioned HY is a better person

- moreover his love was true love because all his decisions were based on JJ happiness and sincerity. JJ chose to date HY cos he focused on her happiness since the day at the bridge and he proved that everyday since she dated him.

- SO was more fun and bold but he was also immature. He focused on JJ too but when it came to a pressurised situation he couldn’t think of JJ above himself which HY always did. JJ was the centre of HYs universe despite what he was going through on his own.

- The timing with SO was completely wrong. JJ needed to heal and she at that time ran away cause she felt overwhelmed. 

- when she was with HY she was more mature, was closer to completing her journey of healing and was repenting and learning from her past mistakes of running away by giving in to her insecurities and installing the shield. 
- but the defining factor was that though the timing of being with HY was right it was not the only factor it was HY’s sincerity that made her want to change and heal.

- HY brought with him safety, unwavering loyalty and a sense of security that the very damaged child in her needed to heal and that the grown up JJ needed to confront the truth of the tragedy she faced as a child. He made her want to face life, not run away and make her forgive herself and rise above her insecurities. 
- She wanted to be with SO and so did he but she needed to be with HY to be the best version and happiest version of herself. To arrive at that she needed to feel and decide truthfully which was not possible if she just depended on Love alarm app. It was possible only because the shield and spear made it possible for her own decision making to play out.
-She was the happiest version was shown by the photos because in that moment she did not force herself to smile. She was the best Version because her healing was complete as the marathon ended and while hugging HY she did not feel alone.

-Also she loved him back because now all the situations she also thought of HY first and now he too was the centre of her universe. 

- also HY ‘chose’ to pursue JJ again despite the app not confirming while SO eventually gave up. 

- So more than anything their relationship was real and out of free will - they both needed and wanted to be together  - cos in a world ruled by Love Alarm they actually told each other they loved each other and were free of the shackles of the app. 
 

And though we seem to be far away from the fantasy of love alarm and Apps ruling our relationships aren’t dating apps the same as the feature in Love alarm 2? And don’t we see likes on our photos and friend requests and reciprocated reactions as first steps of confirmation that a person may like us?

 

 

[gayyoxx]

I also did not wait for two years to watch LA2, so I am not as invested on this drama as other viewers. I watched LA1 and kind of forgot about it. LA1 was a typical youth romance with a bit of novelty in the form of the Love Alarm but nothing special in my book. So when I watched LA2, it’s more of an independent drama and I appraised it by its own merits (not as the continuation of LA1).

 

I actually found the romance in LA2 is mature and interesting. It shows how supporting HY is toward JJ and how JJ finally able to overcome her trauma, no small feat for her. This is a positive portrayal of love and relationship and, honestly, with marriage and betrayal seem to be the trend in kdrama nowadays, the romance in LA2 is very refreshing!

 

Some viewers might dislike JJ but honestly, she is a victim of not only domestic violence but attempted murder, by her own parents no less! I have met people with less traumatic experience who have more issues compared to JJ. We need to give her a break and a room to breathe.

 

And that is exactly what HY gives her: a room to breathe. HY does not hesitate to show his affection to her but always within limits she feels comfortable with. He also never forces her to love him back. I LOVE how HY teased JJ in the first ep by moving in and out of her radius to ping her love alarm many times, boldly showing to the whole cafetaria that she is loved. BUT when JJ said (rather guiltily in my opinion) that he would be happier if only she could ping his love alarm, he just smiled back and said that he likes building it slow with her.

 

I swooned over that! I want a HY in my life, lol.

 

Seriously, HY’s expression of love is one of the most positive, nurturing and non-invasive loves in kdrama. I love this kind of love expression. Not demanding “you have to be mine, grrr” but instead nurturing, “I want to build it slowly with you.”

 

Another of my favourite: when JJ stayed for the night at HY’s, after she was stalked. At that time, JJ maybe touched by HY and hugged him. She then kissed him on the cheek. As a young, healty man in love, I am sure there was hormonal overcharge and blood pressure elsewhere but HY just stood there and let JJ went back to her bed. He knew that JJ was not ready for something else and he did not push her! Talk about respect.
 

Despite that, HY is a human after all. So he still feels jealous and also disappointed. But overall, he is a great partner to have. 
 

The drama focused on this dynamic and in my opinion managed to capture HY’s understanding and JJ’s struggle well. If the drama is a bit reserved about their romantic interaction, in my opinion it is because that is the accurate portrayal of HY and JJ. Even the last kiss was initiated by JJ. Again, a great show of respect!

 

Our second couple, SO and YJ were also going through some healing phase. I’d love them to have more screen time instead of dealing with some minor plots but what small screen time they have also shows a beautiful growth of their relationship. If there is a LA3, I hope this will explore more on SO and YJ’s relationship with side story of HY and JJ in the future.

 

Overall, LA2 is a great drama to watch! All of the actors and actresses are brilliant. I love Jung Ga Ram’s portrayal of HY. He could deliver the intense love yet not overwhelming JJ with his love perfectly. Anyone who watched (in the dramaverse and in the real world) will understand how head over hell HY is to JJ but without the suffocating possessiveness.

 

Kim Son Hyun also acted wonderfully as Jojo who have to deal with her trauma. She could put a bright face but deep inside, she had been very insecure. SH managed to portray JJ’s complicated feelings toward HY: admiration, relief, the budding love but also guilt for not able to “love” him.

 

Song Kang and Kim Si Eun were also great playing their characters. Again, I wished the show had given them more screen time but crossing fingers for them in LA3. 

 

[annaR]

for me jojo is very realistic. hyeyeong comes from the same background, same burden, and same (not really) past as hers. she used to love sunoh, but grows up to love hyeyeong with her mature side. but still, what she did to sunoh in season 1 was cruel. sunoh doesn't deserve it just because he doesn't have the same burden as hyeyeong and jojo, but in the end they learn how to let go the past and it's the matter. basically i'm happy with the ending. i like how they portrayed more mature characters than previous season and show the problems that a lot of couples often encounter in the real world

 

(((((i mean, if i were jojo and had that kind of past, i would chose hyeyeong, no matter how handsome the other guy is)))))

 

there will be season 3???? i hope they will follow gulmi's love story. she got nice character development in this season

[raky]

annyeong chingus.. 

 

its been a while since I posted and though I came back for a different series that intrigued me.. can't help but post for this lovely, youthful and sweet drama. so here goes my two-cents... beware - long post ahead 

 

I was a fan of Hye-Yeong from the get-go.. and was routing for him all the way thru - second lead syndrome I am always soooo attracted to - well depending on how the second lead runs his way thru the lead female heart that is..

 

for this series, hye-yeong for me was not a secondary lead, rather the trio were all in it together, as eliminating one would not relay the whole of the story itself. 

 

Sun-Oh is the badass rich sweep-me-off my feet kind of guy -that we all kdrama fans are attracted to - but the writers imo painted him as too much of a bratty kid who wants everything he wants and make everyone else miserable if he doesn't get his way. 

at the very start, his intentions were not pure.. he only became interested in JoJo because he saw his best friend so interested in her! and he practically stole her heart while she was in a not-so-happy relationship still... 

And after a few years of their unfortunate breakup - without batting an eye of "where the hell is the love of my life ex-gf" - forgotten and his love for her turned into bitterness and pain - he got himself a famous girlfriend - and THEN.. 

as he learned that Hye-Yeong is seeing JoJo again - he wants to put an end to it and goes to see her because he can't stand the fact that she dumped him .. and then goes after her again -tell her that he still likes her - while having a new girlfriend on the side?? Like c'mon writers - if you want me to route for Sun-ho - why make him into a two-timing guy who screams at everyone and was always saying "you still like me" to Jojo everytime they meet wherever.. without considering the consequences of his actions! 

 

I can't take away the fact that Jojo and Sun-oh's love may be better than Jojo and Hye-Yeong.. but that was the beauty of young first love - everything and all your heart are in it - no reservations whatsoever - and they really looked good together at that period of their time - they were happy and enjoying each other's company - but the foundation was weak... so when Jojo and Sun-oh started seeing their differences in life and feeling the peer pressure and those extra baggage are beginning to weigh them down - it took a toll in their relationship - and everything just went downhill after that.

 

With Jojo and Hye-young - there was a bit more maturity and openness - in that Hye-Yeong was patient and overly kindhearted.. his love for her was pure and just plain - love - unrequited at first of course .. and as long as JoJo was happy - he was just as happy for her.. He did not go after her from the start because she was in a relationship and he waited to pursue her way after she ended her relationship with Sun-Oh.. its overly old-fashioned - yes.. but in the end it paid off. 

 

Jojo at the second season has also matured and was taking it slow - as Hye-yeong did allow her to take her time to grow - not realizing that she has fallen for him because of the fact that she can't prove it thru the app..  but for me.. when she wanted to uninstall the shield - she was already in love with him - because she was willing to risk everything on the line at that point.

 

One thing that stood out for me though..  and one of the saddest part of the second season - I think Hye-Yeong was willing to let her go - if that is what she wanted. If that isn't pure and sincere love - then I don't know what is.. 

 

there is more to say about how the app affected the relationships in this series..

but the main part is - in their world, where everyone is soooo into the "love alarm" - Jojo and Hye-Yeong found their happiness - even with all the complications and life shattering moments - they were there for each other and I am glad that I was a part of that journey with them..

 

I was hoping for more sweet moments and more kisses, but I guess that would have been too much to ask already when the other team is already fuming with hate with whatever ending was given to them.. 

 

anyways.. always love kim so hyun dramas.. and looking forward to seeing all the chingus out here in other series - cheers to taking part in the joys and sadness of watching korean dramas..  thank you for reading...

 

[Raynaa]

I do think that if we see the series more objectively, it’s true to its name. The series is about the app and human communication. I don’t think it was ever meant to be only a pure love triangle.
 

With Sun Oh, JoJo was scared. She stopped communicating, the shield was nothing but a block in communication. Again due to his parents intervention SunOh did not communicate with her when she needed reassurance. So their relationship broke because the communication broke. 

With Hye Yong because of the effort he put in she wanted to get over her communication block. She did not run away even though he walked away from her, she informed him before she left for Jeju island and also told him she wanted him to listen to her, that indicated she was ready to open up. Even after the marathon Hye Yong assured her that he will listen to her. So the success of their relationship was essentially the open channels of communication directly without an app as a mediator. 
 

even in the last scene when Jojo kisses Hye Yong he can see it in her eyes she loves him. He smiles cos he can see it plain as day. But he now believes her completely because hes listened to her now and he knows how she truly feels. It’s very different from the relived sigh and smile of the bridge scene when she rang his love alarm with the help of the spear. 
 

even with Sun Oh he chooses to be with the other female lead because they both chose to think over an above the app and make it work. This was also because they communicated and resolved the situation. He did finally give up on Jojo and make a fresh start. The attachment coming from familiarity and emotion related to his first true love, he recognised and acknowledged that it was not serving his true happiness or Jojo’s. He chose to stay true to his  feelings and circumstances. If they just considered the app they both wouldn’t have given each other a second chance. 
 

so both their stories are about Human Communication 1 and Love Alarm 0 rather than Hyeyong 1 and SunOh 0. It was never a competition between the leads.

[blinkiz]

I haven't commented for so long but felt the urge to do so after reading the comments here. I'm so relieved to read the comments on this page (for example @bsushib  @Raynaa @gayyoxx @annaR@raky) and even those who hated Season 2 were relatively kinder here than some of the comments I have seen elsewhere *shivers*.

 

I purposely resisted watching Love Alarm knowing that there will be a Season 2 and even delayed watching the series when Season 2 was finally released given (1) all the negative comments trashing it and (2) I didn't want it to be really over.  I finally bit the bullet and binge-watched the series over the past few days - cue my panda eyes yet happy state .  

 

Though I knew the ending going in, I thought it was rather obvious that JJ and HY will be the main couple even midway through Season 1. I thought that was what's generally portrayed in the manhwa as well so am not sure why many viewers expected otherwise. 

 

I agree with most of the arguments above on the JJ-HY coupling but thought to just add a few more views.

 

I think one of the main issue is that many people tend to view HY as the second lead and expected their first male lead SO to get the girl. However, even though HY was passive in the beginning, I didn't view him as a second contender. I would say both guys have rather equal footing going in and being more passive does not equate to being a secondary character. HY is in fact everywhere, even when he's in the background watching, and is a strong pillar of support for both SO and JJ. His presence grounds the scene. I totally agree with ?? depicting him as a super, huge, solid and sturdy tree. He was able to shelter JJ with his broad branches and dense foliage, support her and is so firmly rooted in loving her.

 

Don't get me wrong ... I like SO too and am a fan of Song Kang's portrayal. But SO didn't feel right for JJ - she met him at a stage when she doesn't expect that someone like her could be loved by someone like him; he was a strong booster for her fragile esteem and an escape from her circumstances. However, when trouble struck, she didn't think she deserved to be with him nor depend on him and chose to withdraw to protect herself. That kind of strong attraction can quickly fizzle out or as mentioned, be really draining over the long run. They might have been right for each other but they met each other at the wrong time. After a few years, she has grown in a different trajectory from him and is now drawn to the one person who can see her pain and loneliness so clearly.

 

On the same note, I don't think HY and JJ would have lasted if they dated at that age/stage. HY at that stage, though dependable, didn't have the confidence to lead her out of her shell. He only really grew after losing her once.

 

I'm also not condoning the hurtful way in which JJ broke up with SO and how that is possibly the cause of why he remained so hung up on her after all these years, not being able to move on because he didn't know what went wrong in that relationship. He is also someone who didn't think he could truly be loved given his parents dismissive attitude towards him, and then having JJ cut him off so suddenly. Unfortunately, breaking up is not an easy thing to do and those who have watched Lovestruck in the city (in particular that episode on how one should break up with their partners) would know that one can't win either way. Let's all strive to be better persons.

 

Finally, I read a comment elsewhere that in S1, HY kept JJ from SO after the accident and lied to both JJ and SO. I was bewildered and wondered where/when this happened? If it was after the Jeju accident, HY was the one who tried to bring JJ to the house to see SO but the early return of SO's mom prevented this from happening. There was also no indication that SO tried to ask HY to pass on any messages to JJ during this time or vice versa. I mean HY did say he will try to tell SO that JJ is trying to contact him but we don't know if HY is also barred from seeing SO. In fact, SO also acknowledged that he himself could have tried harder to reach out to JJ during that period when he was isolated in his room, and perhaps things would not have ended as abruptly as it did.

 

Sorry for the long post and hope that the author will recover to finish this manhwa eventually.

[mcdc]

Only reason I waited for the 2nd series was to see JoJo & Sun Oh meet up and resolve their problems. But what did I get? NOTHING!.. Only saw endless Hye-Young waiting around for JoJo and doing everything and anything for her.

 

How can any relationship develop when the two original principal characters have no meaningful interaction? The only time Sun Oh had a chance was when he told JoJo that ringing the love alarm was irrelevant to him, that looking into her eyes meant more. But she still ran away and by that time I got fed up.

 

There is no way anyone can persuade me this drama wasn't rigged to throw Sun Oh under the bus. He never had a chance and that's what bugs me the most about this series.

 0

 

 

Ahhh....... no wonder Love Alarm 2 was so different than Love Alarm.  They have different writers as well as a different director.  I think that's unfair to any viewer because the character's continuity is already compromised.

 

Its as if we were watching two different series with opposite points of view and direction.  Love Alarm 2 was all about Hye-Young and Love Alarm was about Sun Oh.  The only consistency was with JoJo's ability to not rely on her heart instead of her head.

[tentennn]

Disappointed that I waited for season 2. I would have rather not and just watched it all in one sitting without expectations. I felt a huge disconnect between season 1 and 2. It felt completely different in how the story was told. I guess this is what happens when the director and writer changes. In season 2, everything was ambiguous and you had to infer what the characters were going through. Whereas season 1, you didn't need to over think every interaction.