[Drama Recap] The Lover: Episode 7

There are exactly four continuous scenes this episode. Even for a drama of below average length, that's really not very many. So for the first time, "The Lover" manages to make a misstep with its creativity. There's some laughs here, but the central joke in every single sketch has to be stretched out for so long that the drama just ends up feeling really awkward. Watching an awkward argument for a long time isn't really any more fun than being involved in an awkward argument for a long time.
The worst of it is that not much of interest is made with the characterization. The first sketch is technically a crossover involving multiple members of three different households. Without their partners, though, these men just feel somewhat out of place. For all intents and purposes they're butting heads with strangers over rather petty interpersonal issues. What's more, the plot twist, while somewhat amusing, only calls attention to the contrived nature of the set-up.
The next sketch is also a crossover of sorts which similarly just brings out the worst of the characters with no particularly compelling comedic edge. The general immaturity of Yeong-joon and Jin-nyeo has up until now been a selling point- but getting a good look at their interior fantasies just makes these two characters look, well, rather childish. I don't expect a huge amount of character growth out of a sketch comedy but "The Lover" is the one that's been trying to up the emotional stakes with the increasingly introspective opening narrations.
The third sketch is another extended awkward argument, this one involving Do-si, Doo-ri, and a guest star. Now, again, the fact that Do-si and Doo-ri have stupid fights is probably their main selling point. But the conflict here could have obviously been predicted to start a fight. Cumulatively Do-si and Doo-ri just look kind of dumb for not seriously considering or discussing the rather obvious awkward implications of having to spend a whole day with this person, no matter the occasion.
Finally, we have Takuya and Joon-jae, whose sketch exists mainly to reaffirm their status as total bros who may or may not be gay. I suppose this sketch is an improvement over the previous three, in that Takuya and Joon-jae still come off as mostly sympathetic by the end. Although here the length stills works to make the sequence fairly boring. Hopefully "The Lover" moves back into snappier territory soon- long jokes only serve to underscore the thin nature of the premise. The more I have to think about "The Lover", the less I like it.

Review by William Schwartz