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[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Dating Agency: Cyrano"

This episode takes a surprisingly direct and pointed attack against the Cyrano Agency's mission. The last episode felt like it was reminding us of everything we'd learned. This one made the argument as to why the Cyrano Agency is, and only ever should be, a fantasy. The contrast with the rest of the series is striking, but rather appropriate. Having the bird's eye view of the audience, it's easy to forget how this can feel for the targets. The very fact that they are best described as targets implies a certain level of contempt for them.

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Take the main manipulation setpiece of this episode. In most ways it's functionally idenical to everything we've seen so far in the series. But the fact that it's taking place between two characters we actually know, who have clearly defined personality and motivation, creates a level of awkwardness to the situation that makes for a bit of a confusing viewer reaction. Do we actually want this plan to succeed? Should it?

The romantic sub-plot with Moo-Jin takes an unusual focal point here, as the drama seems to be stating, quite clearly, that it is perfectly possible for dour, uncommunicative people to engage in romance without having to engage the wackiness of the Cyrano Agency. Moo-Jin's rather unromantic position as the group's tech guy only makes this contrast more clear. He doesn't overthink any of this stuff. Mostly because he can't. But Moo-Jin still has genuine, attractive charms.

The ending to this episode really makes me bristle, though. Heading into the final week, it looks like we'll be facing another tonal shift into a kind of story that I was not expecting to see "Dating Agency: Cyrano". It's not a trope that I like, especially in the context of romances, and it seems horriby inappropriate for this kind of drama, however self-aware it may be about the more problematic implications of romantic narratives.

I still can't count the final episodes of this drama out, however bad it may look now. The script to date has explicitly defined these genre conventions so well so far that the situation may not be what it seems, or that the apparent solution is counterproductive and fundamentally flawed. While the contrivance may feel like a last ditch attempt to get viewers to tune in for the last week, I think "Dating Agency: Cyrano" has been quality programming enough that it deserves that final adjudication.

Review by William Schwartz

"Dating Agency: Cyrano" is directed by Kang Kyeong-hoon, written by Shin Jae-won and features Lee Jong-hyuk, Choi Soo-young, Hong Jong-hyun and Jo Yoon-woo.

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