Let me start off by saying that part of the delight of K-dramas is their use of patterns and tropes. It starts being delightful when you’re just discovering them; then it’s delightful as you watch them play out time and time again, with new twists and inversions.
One such pattern is the arc of the K-drama loveline. You don’t have to watch many before you know the first meeting of the OTP (Episode 1 or 2) will lead way to tension (Episodes 2-8) which will lead way to the first kiss (Episode 8), and so on and so forth, usually with a penultimate episode separation just to keep us on our toes. Of course, not all dramas do this, and that’s part of the fun, too — expecting the Episode 8 kiss only to be pulled along a little while longer (Call It Love is an example of a recent drama that changed the pace here nicely).
But outside of what’s become tropified, it’s actually interesting to think about the pacing of a 16-episode drama, with all of its ebbs and flows. Sometimes the Episode 8 kiss has been perfectly timed. You’re waiting for it, you’re expecting it, but also, it fits perfectly with the drama’s pace, with the characters’ development, and you don’t even care what episode number it is: it’s time! But there are other times that the punctual Episode 8 kiss feels more perfunctory than anything else; it’s there because that’s how it’s done, and that’s that.
In terms of narrative arcs and pacing and Episode 8 kisses, I’m of both minds, I think: I don’t mind the predictability when the pacing of the loveline has been built around it. But what I don’t like is a kiss that feels mandatory; I’d rather wait another episode or two, live with the characters a bit more, and have the kiss feel, well, essential.
What do you think about the pacing of K-drama lovelines?