“Love Next Door” is gradually reaching the most exciting part of the series and is revealing many new plot details. However, the most notable problem is the steady decline in ratings. In particular, episode 7, which aired on the evening of September 7, saw a 2.81% decline in viewers nationwide and a further 3.2% decline in Seoul. This is quite disappointing and raises the question of whether viewers are moving away from the light-hearted and romantic motif of the show. Are they expecting something fresher and more engaging?
Episode 7 of “Love Next Door” introduced some intriguing and anticipated plot developments, including the appearance of Hyeon Jun, Seok Ryu’s ex-boyfriend, which causes her to reminisce about the past and struggle to listen to Seung Hyo’s declarations of affection.
In addition, the highly anticipated meeting involving the “love quadrangle” of Seung Hyo, Seok Ryu, Hyeon Ju, and Tae Hui is a highlight that fans have been eagerly awaiting. It was expected that this unexpected meeting would bring significant changes and surprises. However, this plot point has reached a “dead end” as it was teased, making the audience somewhat predictable about the upcoming content.
Despite its charm, the ratings for this episode are remarkably low, even the lowest in the history of the series. This raises the question of whether the writers failed to fully explore the engaging elements of the plot or whether this is a consequence of spoilers. Spoiling content to keep viewers is a common practice in TV series. However, if the series has left viewers without new twists and has exposed all the twists, it risks falling into a significant decline.
The teaser for episode 8 shows Seok Ryu acknowledging Seung Hyo’s feelings and acknowledging that he liked her first. Hopefully, this scene will lead to more surprising developments in the next episode, making it worth the wait and enjoyment of the viewers.
“Love Next Door” airs Saturday and Sunday nights on tvN.
Source: K14
