I can't get over Age of Youth/Hello, My Twenties and I am suffering

(spoilers for Seasons 1 and 2 ahead!)

I know I am late to the party. Age of Youth started in 2016 and the second and last (but hopefully not last T_T) season ended in 2017. As much as I love Kdramas, it is so hard to find a show that doesn't glorify toxic relationships and men, and it is so hard to find media (Korean or otherwise), that focuses on the friendships and lives of women, that when I started Age of Youth, it quickly claimed a very special place in my heart.

Unfortunately for fans of the show like myself, the franchise has been dry since the end of 2017, which leaves little hope for a continuation of important plot lines (most importantly closure on the Song x Sungmin pairing), that I have spiraled into a post-show sadness with nowhere to vent my frustrations than on an internet blog. My hope is that someone reading this will know that they are not alone in their frustrations, and perhaps they can befriend me so we can vent our frustrations together.

First I would like to provide some information regarding the continuation of the show. The first season was aired from July to August in 2016. The second season from August to October 2017. Considering that the gap seems to be around one year, it doesn't look likely that three years later in 2020, we will be getting the third season. However! I did read one article here that projected at a season three in 2020 or 2021. You can also see in the behind the scenes video here at the very end they all say "last year we had Age of Youth! This year we had of Age of Youth! Next year we will have Age of Youth!" And here we are three years later T_T. I think at least while they were filming and writing for AOY 2, they thought there would be an AOY 3. The question is what changed? Park Yeon-Sun, who was the writer for both seasons, has not worked on any new projects, so what could be the reason?

There is so much energy for a third season, there's even a petition for it (please sign it here), they planned on having it, and yet it didn't happen. Although they did warn that each installation was meant as a stand alone piece, why wouldn't they return a show that ended on such high ratings too? The only explanation I can think of, is Son Seung Won (the actor for the beloved character, Sungmin), got arrested with drunk driving in December of 2018. I still would have the question of why they didn't already come out with a new season in August or even September of 2018, as they had been doing them on a yearly basis, but if production or filming had taken longer than before and they were planning on coming out with Season 3 in 2019, the whole arrest of a major actor in the show would put a stopper on that (does it mean that there's perhaps scenes written out or even footage that we will never get to see T_T). And here's the thing with Son Seung Won--he not only got arrested for drunk driving, but it wasn't his first time drunk driving, and get this, he even pressured his younger actor friend who was in the car with him at the time to take the blame for the incident. How horrible is that! It was also apparently his FOURTH time drunk driving. I don't know the other dates, but at least one time was in August of 2018. Perhaps his drunk driving had been a problem far in enough in advance to discourage the making of the next season?

The point is, someone that has such a reckless disregard for life should not be given the role. As much as I loved his acting and him as Sungmin, I wouldn't even enjoy watching him in Season 3 knowing what he's done. People make mistakes, but making the same, possibly murderous mistake four times? And then using your power dynamic as the older actor to force the other person in the car with him to take the blame and possibly go to prison? And apparently he also tried to flee the scene too.

I think the makers of the show believe that since he was such a key character, and would probably play an even greater role in Season 3 considering how fans wanted to see the Song x Sungmin relationship unfold, therefore without Son Seung Won, the show couldn't be continued. But--and I think I can speak for other fans--it wouldn't matter for me who played the role of Sungmin! I think the makers are wary of switching out actors since the actress for Eunjae was switched between Season 1 and 2 and that decision was met with a lot of backlash. I loved Park Hye Su as Eunjae in Season 1 and to be honest I never got accustomed to the actress in Season 2, but I really think what was strong with Song x Sungmin was not primarily the chemistry, but the amazing writing. Maybe I am biased in retrospect, but I find Park Eun-bin to be close to irreplaceable in her hilarious and skillfull acting as Song, but as much as I loved Son Seung Won as Sungmin, I believe he could be replaced and fans would still be happy.

I am extremely saddened to think that makers won't see the potential and the demand (even without Son Seung Won of course) for a Season 3. Of course I want more stories of sisterhood--I could never get enough of the various friendships and trials of Belle Epoque, but I have to admit (as much as I believe friendship is underrated and romance is overrated in media), that the most unresolved part of the show that I would like to see a Season 3 for, is the Song x Sungmin couple.

Unlike other comments on the show, I actually really liked the pace of their relationship in Season 2. I didn't feel the need for them to kiss or become overtly romantic in Season 2. Song needed to reckon with the scars of her childhood in witnessing a sexual assault, and Sungmin showed he was a true friend by standing with her every step of the investigation and trial. It showed they had a solid friendship as a foundation for any future relationship. I enjoyed watching them work as a team and doing the whole "will they or won't they? do they like each other?" thing. But to build that up all throughout Season 2, to END Season 2 with an implicit admission from Sungmin that he liked Song romantically, and then to not give us a Season 3?! We have been mocked. To give us such a well-written, deftly directed, and carefully crafted couple like Song and Sungmin and then leave us hanging? We have been disrespected!

Song and Sungmin were a revolutionary couple for me because for once, I understood why they liked each other. Usually in Kdramas everything is left up to "fate." Fate throws a good looking man and a good looking woman (there's always the assumption of heteronormativity, which is a whole other conversation), they happen to live together, or they bump into each other everywhere (seriously, the leads always manage to accidentally see each other in extremely big cities like Seoul?), or they get into some awkward situation that leads to romantic tension and bam! They go from hating each other to suddenly risking their lives for each other.

But with Song and Sungmin there was none of that lazy deux ex machina writing. We don't even see how they met each other, and we get to skip the whole destiny meet-cute which I see as a really harmful narrative in society on creating unrealistic expectations. They are friends through working at the same newspaper club at university (a shared interest!). They work well together and always have stuff to talk about. Their personalities compliment each other and they seem to have fun when they spend time together, and not just in the superficial couples montage way that I see in dramas a lot where the couple just goes to an amusement park and they try on silly sunglasses together. I always wonder in those scenes, what are the leads even talking about? They usually don't even have any shared interests? These two genuinely seem to have fun talking and being with the other in a more fundamental way than that. There's also no weird power dynamic at play (boss and secretary/employee which is SO common), they are colleagues and students. Song can confide in him, and he doesn't attempt to lead or aggressively become the knight in shining armor for her, he just supports her when she needs it. The healthiness of their relationship is unparalleled, except perhaps by Miss Hammurabi, my favorite Kdrama of all time.

I think writing this has been my form of therapy in getting my emotions out over this gem of a Kdrama. Even if we don't get a Season 3 of AOT, hopefully the writer will continue writing incredible dramas with healthy relationships and strong women. Until then I'll just continue rewatching fan edits of Song x Sungmin T_T