(Some spoilers(?)) & this is a rant

For the past 120 weekdays, I've devoted 30-35 mins of my time to watching every episode of Sungyeol's TV series show "Hate to Love You" or "Love Returns". I always watch my Infinite boys' dramas and webtoons and whatnot to support them, although I'm never a true fan of their acting. I am, however, an avid fan of k-dramas. And often, I find myself very critical of their acting, from Myungsoo to Sungyeol. Especially Sungyeol who went to school for acting. Maybe I have high standards and expectations from their acting, but I always find it hard to compliment their talent in that field. Recently, Myungsoo improved. After years of starring in dramas, he finally improved and was able to snatch the second male lead role alongside Yoo Seungho.

However, for Sungyeol I expected much more because this was his first lead role, and it wasn't just any role but one with 120 episodes. I don't know if it was the writers or Sungyeol's acting that resulted in him/his character getting only 2-8 minutes of screentime per episode for the first 50 or so episodes but it was a major let down. Sungyeol is very handsome (in fact I daresay even more than Myungsoo), he's confident and playful but his acting was so tense for me. I feel, either he or the director were too focused on getting only good shots of him that his character and role no longer matter.

The angles, Sungyeol's storyline, and some of the acting were messy. I wished the producing team have been more careful. If you've seen the drama, one cut, in particular, stood out a lot and it ruined the drama's atmosphere. It destroyed the 'drama' feel of it and reminded you that this was all an act. 

I do, however, want to compliment the producers/director/whoever offered Pyo Yejin to be Sungyeol's counterpart. Before this series, I've seen her with two minor roles and to me, she stands out. But before Sungyeol gets any more major roles, I hope he'd practice his acting. Whether it be changing up the way he walks or letting himself go a bit. I know Yeollie has potential and I wouldn't want anything more if he could get another lead role, but if the other veteran actors/actresses didn't make this series bearable for me, I would have stopped watching at around episode 70.