REVIEW: ‘Crash Course in Romance,’ Episodes 13-14

In last week’s Crash Course in Romance episodes, it was revealed that Choi Chiy-yeol (Jung Kyung-ho)’s righthand man, Ji Dong-hee (Shin Jae-ha), is the culprit behind the murders. While some might have been surprised, the writers of this series have not been subtle in their attempts to foreshadow. With that said, Dong-hee’s target is heavily fixated on Nam Haeng-seon (Jeon Do-yeon), which presents us with some tense moments. In Crash Course in Romance Episodes 13-14, his actions have a direct and indirect impact on both Chiy-yeol and Haeng-seon.

Crash Course in Romance Episodes 13-14 are noticeably darker in tone compared to previous episodes. While the tone of the series has been unbalanced, there has always been an aim to balance light comedy with the darker mystery element. This time, there has been an embrace of the darker psychological elements in the series, with more foreshadowing hinting at dark fates to come for some of our favorite characters. This darker tone ultimately renders these latest episodes as a personal favorite, as they enable the writers to dive deep into essential theming that they’ve been growing over the course of the series.

Thematically, Crash Course in Romance has been dealing with a lot. There’s been a lot of emphasis on the societal pressure placed on students to achieve, which springs further into focus in Episodes 13-14. After it was revealed that  Lee Seon-jae (Lee Chae-min) had given Nam Hae-yi (Roh Yoon-seo) the actual answers to the midterms in Episode 12, we see how both students grapple with that truth. Hae-yi has already attracted the suspicion of an envious, spiraling  Su-ah (Kang Na-Eon), who accuses her of cheating on another subject, but Hae-yi has integrity. Even with answers given to her, she’d rather turn in a blank exam than ever be a cheater.

Seon-jae, however, bows under pressure from his mother, Jang Seo-jin (Jang Young-nam), who reaches new lows. As Seon-jae tries to grapple with the best option, she dangles the possibility of her being admitted back into the hospital if he tells the truth. After all, if he admits the truth, he will ruin the future she’s worked so hard to force upon him. Things become too much for Seon-jae once something earth-shattering happens to Hae-yi. Overhearing a conversation insinuating that Hae-yi’s accident might have been self-inflicted and finding out he made top marks in their class, something in him snaps and he tries to take his own life. Luckily, he’s stopped but this has been building for a long time.

Actors Lee Chae-min and Jang Young-nam have worked hard in their scene work to highlight the growing intensity of the familial relationship between them. Young-nam’s Jang Seo-jin has truly been the mother to hate, destroying everything she touches and refusing to take responsibility for how her actions have and continue to ruin her sons. Matching her energy, we’ve spent the course of Crash Course in Romance watching Lee Chae-min slowly break down in his interpretation of Seon-jae as his mother’s pressure gets to him. Both, in particular, definitely deserve the highlight in Episodes 13-14.

Episode 14, in particular, depicts these examples of how this unhealthy pressure from mothers on their children to succeed creates a trauma feedback loop. We see this manifest further with Su-ah, who has been spiraling for a while now as she buckles under the pressure to succeed. Her mother, oblivious to her own child’s suffering, doesn’t realize how her words and actions feed into Su-ah’s need to succeed. It isn’t until Su-ah reacts violently that her mother thinks to focus on her daughter’s mental health.

On a much broader scale, Crash Course in Romance Episodes 13-14 focus on Dong-hee and his attempts to eliminate those he deems inferior or a danger to Chiy-yeol. As part of these episodes, we get much-needed backstory behind Dong-hee which, if you’ve paid attention in previous episodes, inadvertently links with Chiy-yeol’s own past. Dong-hee is a byproduct of a mother who psychologically and physically abused her children to succeed at all costs. This highlights to us the worst-case example scenario of how the pressure can damage these children.

As a result, we as viewers get to see through these latest episodes the horror of this societal pressure. While Crash Course in Romance Episodes 13-14 deal with these heavy topics and sink deep into the murder mystery tone this go-round, one thing cannot be denied. Chiy-yeol and Haeng-seon’s relationship is further solidified as a result of the tragedy surrounding Hae-yi. A subtler theme can be seen here with Dong-hee’s actions towards Chiy-yeol as well as the parents featured in this series. The more they try to control their “loved” ones, the more it backfires.

The more uniform tone in these Episodes 13-14 compared to last week’s episodes gave a cohesive feel that felt necessary. The lack of comedy also helped because to have added it in would have detracted from the seriousness of the scenarios tackled here. In the handling of abuse, suicide, and mental health, the writers did a pretty decent job here but Episode 14, in particular, does feature these subjects heavily. Take that as your trigger warning.

With Chiy-yeol connecting the dots and revealing the truth behind Hae-yi’s accident and no preview leading us into the final two episodes, it’ll be interesting to see how Crash Course in Romance ends.

Crash Course in Romance Episodes 13-14 are now available on Netflix, with new episodes airing on Saturdays and Sundays.