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[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Valid Love" Episode 6

Il-ri is desperate for approval. Tempting as it may be to call it love, that's all I can really see when the woman shows up on-screen agonizing over making the right impression on Joon. I don't think it even matters that it's Joon. Il-ri will accept approval from any possible direction. In some ways it's a natural consequence of the woman's general isolation. I think the issue is less sexual as it just loneliness. Il-ri doesn't have any friends.

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Nor, for that matter, does Joon. Which makes the confrontation at the end of the episode all the more comical. While it's nice that Il-ri has come to accept the fact that certain aspects of her life are less than perfect, and possibly making her unhappy, Joon isn't in any better a position. We see him fantasize about Il-ri not because they have any kind of actual emotional connection but more that he really doesn't have anything better to do for most of the day.

It's from this context that we need to consider why it takes these two so long to resolve simple errands that for most people would only require a phone call and a brief meeting. They don't really want to put themselves in such a position that they won't need to meet again. This much is clearly foreshadowed from the beginning- it's obvious that the whole gambit with the cell phone and the beer was a part of something more. But in that case, from the woman's end, his behavior was just obviously annoying.

This leads in to one of the many uncomfortable truths "Valid Love" has regarding matters of the heart- the difference between stalking and romance is entirely one of mutual perception. And what's worse, people can change their minds on that subject. This much can't be blamed on our watching too many romantic comedies. In the real world too, persistence pays off. The only barrier is how much you're willing to act like a jerk to get what you want.

And yet in spite of all this, the characters remain sympathetic. I'm especially not sure what to think of Hee-tae. His voiceover stills shows up every so often to remind us that this is his post-mortem. The weird part is that Hee-tae acts like even a trip to the lumber yard is supposed to provide evidence of...something. But what? Joon's anti-social attitude? His general loneliness? His expert intuition regarding technical matters but not human emotions? That much is difficult to say- even as crisis obviously looms, no clear clues remain as to how or why Il-ri and Joon will consummate their human obsession.

Review by William Schwartz

"Valid Love" is directed by Han Ji-seung, written by Kim Do-woo and features Uhm Tae-woong, Lee Si-young, Lee Soo-hyuk, Choi Yeo-jin, Im Ha-ryong, Lee Young-ran and more.

 

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