[HanCinema's Drama Review] "The Real Has Come!" Episode 1

The premise of "The Real Has Come!" has always made it clear that someway, somehow, the online lecturer Yeon-doo (played by Baek Jin-hee) and the gynecologist Tae-kyeong (played by Ahn Jae-hyun) will enter into a contract marriage to deal with her unplanned pregnancy. Why they would do such a thing remains unclear as of the end of the first episode. So far the main complications aren't about them at all, but rather their existing significant others.

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Se-jin (played by Cha Joo-young) is Tae-kyeong's girlfriend, who he is weirdly hostile about marrying. While Tae-kyeong initially just seems to be a jerk, eventually his attitude is fairly well-justified when we see that his whole extended family is a mess, and that while he's tried to move away from them, Se-jin is embedded in the family business to such an extent that marrying her would drag him back in. Both seem to be denial about the fact that this difference is irreconcilable.

Joon-ha (played by Jung Eui-jae) is Yeon-doo's boyfriend, and his problem isn't an inability to commit so much that he's been trying to commit with the wrong person. Spoiler alert (although it's pretty clearly foreshadowed)- Se-jin is the other woman. Or maybe he's her other man. The point is, Se-jin's being torn between her personal desires and her romantic desires foments the entire conflict. Se-jin wants two different things. Joon-ha wants Se-jin. Yeon-doo wants Joon-ha. Tae-kyeong just wants to be left alone.

The anti-social nature of Tae-kyeong's character is a pretty good fit for Ahn Jae-hyun, who isn't exactly a likeable figure these days having poorly managed his divorce with Koo Hye-sun. Fundamentally the approach isn't that different from "Love With Flaws" which was his last drama, but "The Real Has Come!" works better for Ahn Jae-hyun in general. The ensemble structure puts less pressure on Ahn Jae-hyun specifically to carry the whole project with his limited charisma.

Indeed, "The Real Has Come!" is appealing mainly due to the convoluted nature of its plot rather than any individual performance, not that the acting is bad by any means. Se-jin and Joon-ha are suprisingly sympathetic despite their both being philanderers. But at the moment Yeon-doo and Tae-kyeong feel more like bystanders than protagonists. This does give suggesta means by which Tae-kyeong will likely come up with the contract marriage idea- as a desperate attempt to seize control of his own life. Why Yeon-doo would go along with this idea remains harder to guess.

Written by William Schwartz

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"The Real Has Come!" is directed by Han Joon-seo, written by Jo Jeong-joo, and features Baek Jin-hee, Ahn Jae-hyun, Cha Joo-young, Jung Eui-jae, Kang Bu-ja, Hong Yo-seob. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2023/03/25~Now airing, Sat, Sun 20:05 on KBS.