Episode Guide
The Real Reason – | Review Score – 4/5 His Priority – | Review Score – 3.5/5 Five Degrees of Separation – | Review Score – 3.5/5 Alone, Together – | Review Score – 4/5 Unspeakable Secrets – | Review Score – 4/5 Something Only I Can Do – | Review Score – 3.5/5 Watching Her Watching Him – | Review Score – 4/5 My First First Love – | Review Score – 4/5 Acting as the second part to the first season, My First First Love returns and picks up right where it left off from before. This coming of age drama injects a slightly more mature tone this time around too, although the familiar comedic beats are still here, the same as the first season. With secrets revealed and some surprising twists along the way, My First First Love delivers a season that just about surpasses the first, delivering a good blend of drama, romance and comedy in the process. The story picks up right where it left off from before, with Tae-O conflicted by his feelings regarding Song and Do kissing. Ultimately though this season really tackles the idea of growing up and facing those fears head-on. Unlike the first season, My First First Love tackles these ideas with poignant clarity, delivering some well written relationships and twists along the way. The complex love triangles and various strain on friendships this year really add to that idea of maturing and emotionally growing. All of this messy emotional weight builds to some surprising secrets being revealed regarding some of our characters and their past. Without giving too much away, these are well written but once again the series rests on the familiar question around whether Tae-O and Song will finally get together or not. It’s pretty familiar material to the first season, albeit more complex and mature this time around, but this question ultimately acts as the anchor to which everything else gravitates around. Given that most Korean dramas usually run for between 10-16 episodes, My First First Love’s decision to split its story into two 8-part seasons does work quite well to allow a bit of a breather from the action last time out. It also helps emphasize the style of this second season too, which changes slightly to allow a more thought provoking, coming-of-age drama to seep in. Of course, all the usual beats are here that you’d expect, including the goofy slapstick, the romantic subplots and all the usual Korean drama cliches, just like the first season, but the story also has a little more urgency the nearer it gets to the finale. Once again though it’s the characters that really help this one stand out. The chemistry between the housemates is really good and the various romantic plots and individual character woes really help each of the actors excel in their role. Some of the aforementioned twists this year are well written and help to show off the acting chops of those involved, which does add an extra dimension to the show as well. If you weren’t a fan of the first season, My First First Love is unlikely to change your opinion here. For the most part, the show is virtually unchanged from before although there’s more emphasis on the drama this time instead. The story progresses nicely and the romantic subplots and melodrama is much more of a dominant feature than the comedy. Of course, there are still the usual silly comedic beats included but they feel dialed back in favour of a more concise storyline. It’s not perfect, and there are better Korean dramas out there, but My First First Love does well with its second season to deliver a complex slice of emotionally charged drama.
