My Lovely Liar (2023)

It was fun and enjoyable!

***DISCLAIMER: These are just my thoughts while watching the show. We don’t have to agree and I’m not here to argue with anyone.***

If you’re like me and you loved "Yul" in Alchemy of souls, Keep watching this drama for the best of Hwang Min Hyun. It keeps getting better and better. I genuinely started this not knowing what to expect and I found the first 2-3 episodes slow but as soon as you’re midway through, the twists will keep you hooked to the show.

Kim So Hyun is really a good actress. In this drama, both her and Hwang Min Hyun show a lot of chemistry and cute moments. The storyline is also pretty decent and they complement each other in this drama. Hwang Min Hyun shows a different side of his acting too… each episode I found his character to be really cute, soft and endearing. He’s like a little puppy who is misunderstood and wrongfully accused. It’s sad because you can see the weight for his past affecting him daily and holding him back from pursuing his musical dreams to the fullest.

At first I found Sol Hui’s ex boyfriend (Kang Min) annoying but I’m glad he actually cared about solving the murder mystery and not just persecuting Do Ha because he wanted Sol Hui back. I respected him when he told her he was no longer able to hang around her and be “just friends” and decided to leave her alone for good. I also enjoyed Sol Hui’s parents’ arc and how they found their way back to each other and rekindled their love/romance. It was sweet how he waltzed in and showed the other guy up for not knowing his ex-wife. I’m glad Sol Hui’s mom came to her senses and chose love instead of money and decided to live simply and happily with the dad in the forest. I liked the supporting actors as well – especially the bickering couple who are totally into each other but keep pretending like they’re not. They are so adorable and deserve to be happy. I also would enjoy a bodyguard romance spinoff with Syaon and Chi Hoon I think they’d be cute and the writers could incorporate some drama into a whole new storyline with Do Ha and Sol Hui as guest stars (maybe?)

Honestly, Ji On is different in this role compared to seeing him as selfless, justice serving “Ryung Goo” in Tomorrow. If you enjoyed his character in Tomorrow, let me just say you’re in for a shock if you decide to watch in My Lovely Liar. I thought the resolution / revelation of Eom Ji’s real killer had us going in circles. I can’t believe Deuk Chan did it, as in I did not suspect his character at all and they almost fooled me with his brother Jae Chan taking the fall. I thought the writers could have expounded more on his relationship with Do Ha / Seung Ju – how he fell for him etc. The also could have wrapped up the story by telling us what happened with his wife / the divorce and his relationship with his daughter especially now that he’s in prison. I feel like they kind of lost the plot with his character in that aspect.

It’s by no means the best rom-com I’ve ever watched but thats not the point! It’s honestly so much better than a lot of higher ranked dramas that aired this year. I personally liked the twist of mystery / drama in it. Not to mention the visuals of the leads and chemistry between them is an added bonus. It’s also so hilarious and will keep you laughing/smiling throughout. Idc it’s a light-hearted little rom-com with mystery, drama and a touch of fantasy to keep viewers engaged & question the true intentions of someone and their heart rather than judging them based on if they’re telling the truth vs a lie.

I gave it a 7.5/10 because it was light hearted and kept me entertained.

Give it a try!

:)

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Let down by a random plot

It seems that quite a number of dramas I’m watching at the moment have a lot going for them but are let down or even ruined by inadequate plot structure and this one is no exception.

So what went right?

Well the first half of the drama worked well for me. The premise for this show was good and could provide plenty of opportunities for tension. It gave a credible necessity for the superpower which featured throughout the unfolding layers of the plot.

The driving force behind the story was well handled, of being wrongfully accused and the resultant lack of trust destroying a life. It created sympathy for the character, Kim Do Ha, played by Hwang Min Hyun, as he struggled to release himself from the hole he had crawled into. I liked his performance but I can imagine that it was just a bit too underplayed for some. However, I wasn’t very enthused by Kim So Hyun’s performance as Kim Sol Hee. I think an opportunity was missed here (either by the actor or the director, or both) to beef up the character a bit. Given her character’s background, she could well have shown more edge. The blandness didn’t help the chemistry between the leads which was tepid rather than fiery. I think the most notable performances came from Yun Ji On as Deuk Chan and Lee Si Woo as Syaon.

There was enough differentiation in the secondary cast to keep me interested but that leads me into a discussion of how the plot was handled, because as far as minor characters went, the cup runneth over…

Nothing is more unsatisfying than loose plotting that requires an army of insignificant characters whose only purpose is to pass on information, overhear conversations or create contrived meetings. Knowing characters are being introduced for these purposes alone really gets annoying. Their fragmented stories float around the central plot like misshapen asteroids.

It smacks of the writer having a problem with the flow of information because of a lack of forward planning, and rather than thinking creatively, just introducing a convenient character to solve the problem. Sol Hee’s parents for instance had little impact on the plot and could have been easily dispensed with. Then there were journalists, gangsters, shopkeepers, composers, security guards and on and on.

Getting rid of most of them could have helped to change the story from an XXXL baggy sweatshirt and trackies into a designer suit. There was a lack of sophistication and it simply wasn’t sleek enough to create and maintain the tension, slobbing around like it had all the room in the world. The plot was fairly predictable from early on but the playing out of it was padded with over-complicated details (such as the rings) which failed to convince and required uncharacteristic motivations.

The flow wasn’t smooth either, with false resolutions splitting the whole story into segments sandwiched together with filler episodes. It felt like a revolving door that was clumsy and repetitive in nature.

So it’s back, yet again, to my favourite saying: Less is more. The real skill in plotting is to weave something close fitting with a few characters. Keeping things tight so that the viewer is wrapped up and has nowhere to turn to escape the tension. Then occasionally loosening a belt to allow them to breathe, before cinching it up again by a couple of notches. OK, I’ll accept that’s a bit OTT, it wasn’t ever supposed to be Through the Darkness. But the principle still holds and it could have been a much better drama with a little more attention and an editor’s blue pencil.

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