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[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Dating Agency: Cyrano" Final Episode 16

Well, it turns out that final plot arc was exactly as stupid and discomforting as I was expecting it to be. How and why the writer could have possibly thought a plot involving fistfights, stabbing, and bombs would be an appropriate ending to this drama I have no idea. It's like a character from a completely different show decided to just show up and do all the evil cliches he could think of at once. The nicest thing I can say about this storyline is that it only lasted one-and-a-half episodes.

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Unfortunately these were still one-and-a-half episodes that could have been used to do something much more interesting. I really loved the way episode fourteen took aim at the ethical issues involved with the Cyrano Agency. I'm mystified as to why it was necessary to bring in a hyper-violent antagonist when the problem of emotional fallout was so much more interesting. The drama set up all these interesting questions about whether or not manipulation can really be true love, and then it sidesteps them by giving the characters a conflict so out there that apparently they've totally forgotten the ethical issues they were embroiled with right before the antagonist showed up.

There's a really awkward transition back to normal Cyrano Agency hijinx for the final segment of the drama. The sheer creepiness of Byeong-Hoon's suggestion is never called out, even though it's definitely way worse than anything that had been pinpointed as such a problematic issue in episode fourteen. The weird part is, that if I just pretend all that awful violent plot hadn't happened, it's actually a pretty good closer to the series as a whole. All the right cuteness. Although I hated the balloons. Animals can choke on those, you know!

The problem is that it's completely unearned. No one ever actually worked out their issues. It's basically the same ending I could have predicted from the first episode, with no real hitches or character development to indicate how the Cyrano Agency has actually changed. Min-Yeong is there now. That's really the only difference. In a compelling drama, characters are supposed to learn from their actions- but no one here has actually learned anything.

"Dating Agency: Cyrano" works on an episodic level, so I can't be too annoyed. It's just that all the pieces were there, everything was set-up to deliver a great ending, and then the writer fumbles it and makes a dash for the grab of bag of tired tropes to kill time before the ending that just writes itself. It's a disappointment. Still, I can at least recommend this drama for those who want a romantic comedy and don't want to pin their hopes too high.

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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