REVIEW: ‘Crash Course in Romance,’ Episodes 3-4

With the first two episodes of Crash Course in Romance introducing us to our primary cast of characters, Crash Course in Romance Episodes 3-4 waste no time in propelling the plot forward. In execution, the accelerated plot and ground the writers try to cover create an uneven tone to the overall feeling of the episodes. However, this doesn’t stop what we watch unfold from being entertaining.

Left with a teensy cliffhanger at the end of the second episode, Nam Haeng-seon (Jeon Do-yeon) and Choi Chiy-yeol (Jung Kyung-ho) are at the police station to try to figure out who tried to assault them from afar. After the first two episodes established that someone seems to be gunning for Chiy-yeol, it’s nice that they carried this over into the beginning of the third episode. However, upon the two realizing that the police won’t be much help, they try to pivot.

Haeng-seon now has to find money to replace the window, creating further stress as she is hemorrhaging money left and right. Chiy-yeol has to continue to survive the pressure of keeping an entire empire afloat and navigating Haeng-seon’s emotions. Eventually, after further encounters with each other, the two leads come to a reconciliation and part on better terms. As we learn in Episode 4, however, this peace won’t last long. Why? Disparities between the haves and have-nots.

This is shown to us through an intensified focus on the group of affluent mothers that send their kids to school. In Crash Course in Romance Episodes 3 & 4, the leader of the group, Jo Su-hee (Kim Sun-Young), pulls the political strings behind-the-scenes to not only make her child, Su-ah (Kang Na-Eon), happy and successful, but also maintain key alliances with the mothers. When her authority is questioned by lawyer Jang Seo-jin (Jang Young-nam), she explodes. She cannot stand to be disrespected, despite finding those beneath her, like Haeng-seon and her daughter, less worthy of space within top-tier programs.

Her decision to sabotage Nam Hae-yi’s future has a ripple effect, and we see the complicated dance that Chiy-yeol has to do in order to stand by his own moral code while also keeping everyone who relies on him happy. With signs that the academy he works for being corrupt, the internalized stress starts to take its toll, especially after Haeng-seon’s attempts to acquire answers from the academy director lead to Nam Hae-yi’s expulsion.

In both episodes, aside from building up our understanding of Haeng-seon and Chiy-yeol, we also learn more about the dynamics of other characters featured. The pressures lawyer Jang Seo-jin places on everyone in her household, including her son, Lee Seon-jae (Lee Chae-min) are pushing everyone away. Grossly unhappy, you can’t help hoping that Seon-jae escapes his situation. His interactions with Nam Hae-yi are clearly the bright spots of joy for him and, presented with a female presence that is actively kind and playful, you can see the crush from a mile away.

Speaking of crushes, we also see the introduction of a new character that is definitely being framed as a potential love interest for Nam Hae-yi. We’re introduced to returning athlete Seo Geon-hu (Lee Min-jae). He’s been so focused on building his skills that he has forgotten how to study or get back into a more scholarly routine. While not featured too much in Crash Course in Romance Episodes 3 & 4, the stakes are set for potential romantic development at the end of Episode 4.

With so much plot going on (and there is a LOT of plot going on), this doesn’t stop the writers from bringing back the deepening mystery of the BB gun assailant. The fourth episode wraps bringing audiences back to the one super suspicious occurrence featured briefly in the first episode. Someone is gunning for Chiy-yeol’s students, but it’s still unclear as to who. The underlining danger thankfully is starting to be developed and, with fingers crossed, we can find a happy middle ground in balancing that sense of danger with the more high-energy antics of our characters onscreen. That way the overall feeling is more cohesive.

With everything getting thrown at the audience, Crash Course in Romance is likely to overwhelm. Between the lack of balance in tones, ranging from intense drama to quirky comedy to a slow-boiling mystery, the writers are juggling a bit too much. However, the characters (due to the performances delivered) are so endearing that the clumsy tonal juggling act can be forgiven for a couple more episodes.

Crash Course in Romance Episodes 1-4 are now available on Netflix, with new episodes airing on Saturdays and Sundays.