Lane Kim, played by Keiko Agena, broke down barriers when it came to the well-behaved Asian best friend trope. She was a character who, despite her upbringing as a Seventh-Day Adventist, loved rock-and-roll, playing drums, and asserted her independence by dyeing her hair purple. The first half of the series showed an unconstrained Lane who fought for love and what she believed in (via Cosmopolitan).

But soon after Dave was written off the show, writers seemed to struggle with what was next for Lane. Although Lane and Zack's characters never seemed to get along prior to Dave's departure, there was a sudden shift. Dave's character seemed to tick many boxes that matched Lane in mutual attraction and maturity, whereas Zack didn't. Zack's character was often insensitive, ill-tempered, and frequently jealous (via BuzzFeed). A far cry from Dave's sensitive and patient depiction. Both Mrs. Kim and Rory take a very long time to warm up to Zack, so it's surprising that Lane and Zack go from fighting to dating to engaged rather quickly (via The Mary Sue).

While there is a glimmer of hope that maybe marrying her bandmate might work out for Lane, it quickly becomes apparent that isn't in the cards. It's revealed to viewers that Lane and Zack's honeymoon wasn't all happily ever after. She waits until after marriage to have sex, and her first time is not only a horrible experience, but it immediately results in an unplanned pregnancy with twins! The once independent Lane, full of hopes and dreams, becomes just another one-dimensional character written for a cheap plotline (via The Mary Sue).