The Cost of Love

I normally don’t like love triangles but this one was a little different. This drama shows the cost of love when good friends are involved. You meet a man who captures your imagination only to find out that he’s the fiancée of your good friend. What do you do? The normal response would be to ignore him from that point forward and tell your friend, but love and destiny are unpredictable. One-night changes the lives of three people and a fourth one that is yet to be born. This is not a happy story where everybody rides off into the sunset, but it is an interesting story. The acting is fantastic. The story is gripping and hard to take at times.

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A romance twisted 180 mid script … into a disaster.

I hate to comment negatively about a script or storyline in a drama but I’m going to in this case. The twisted love triangle ending just didn’t work. Lea Kang Jae played by Shin Dong Wook has zero romantic chemistry in my opinion. Raphael, played by Sung Hoon, was a shown as a caring, kind loving man, who looked good with Woori, by the way, until they twisted him in the end. They even ruined the character of Oh Woo Ri, played nicely by Im Soo Hyang, by having her do a romantic 180 mid script. Since the drama was only 14 episodes it reeked of development issues which are usually handled with some sort of forced ending that never works out. The romance was terrible but it might have worked if they didn’t twist the ending. It’s almost laughable that Woori ends up with the guy who did everything he could to keep her from having the baby. I wonder if the actors were even happy with this twisted mixed up story.

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A Great Story

An unusual story of the supernatural combined with a murder mystery. It was entertaining from start to finish. There was a lot of emotion and drama that will keep you immersed in every episode. I liked every side story and every character in this drama. The script is very well written and will make you laugh and cry.

The only thing between a 10 and my rating of 8.5 was the romance. It was sold as a romance so I looked forward to watching that unfold. For me, it never really did. The kisses were awkward. The last kiss, which followed the loving stare of two people, looked like she couldn’t wait for it to be over. I wonder how many takes they had to do to make it look even that good. It looked like he was trying but she was not into it. In fact, she never sold the chemistry between them at all. The words were there but words don’t make chemistry, romantic acting does. This is just one man’s opinion.

So don’t let my opinion of the romance stop you from watching this great drama. It is well worth your time.

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A War of Search Engines

The war between two search engines (Unicon and Barro) is a war of personalities. Two companies were competing against each other and the constant outside pressure of people seeking or rejecting influence. You will find yourself rooting for the underdog. WWW is a drama about the people that make all this happen. A crazy team of dedicated professionals.

The characters are well developed, with each holding a spot in this unique storyline. Each episode adds or subtracts value from these characters, so I advise against fast-forwarding, as so many people like to do. The likability of the characters in this drama is, like always, subjective.

Ga Kyung (Jeon Hye Jin), the managing director of Unicon, was perhaps the most confusing of all the characters. She did nothing in the present-day story to make her seem like anything but a bad person. As a regular activity, she threw people under the bus numerous times and used hurtful language with those supposed to be her friends. But somehow, the story seemed to be trying to convince us that she was a good person, and maybe she was.

Tammy (Im Soo Jung), the female lead, was another confusing character. As the Barro team leader, she directed her team, taking the company to new heights. However, her romantic life was a mess. She didn’t want to get married; her boyfriend did. She carried that attitude and all its ramifications into her everyday life that made her unlikeable at times.

Park Morgan (Jang Ki Yong), the male lead, was not easy to discourage. That much was certain. Putting up with Tammy, his confusing girlfriend, who rarely showed any commitment whatsoever, was a testament to his tenacity. Will they overcome their differences?

Scarlett (Lee Da Hee) was a breath of fresh air. Her character was always exciting and likable. Her movie star boyfriend gave her a chance at romance. At first, she was at odds with Tammy but became close friends as the show went on.

I never felt much chemistry between the two leads. Their relationship was, at best, volatile. I wondered how the story would ever bring the two together. They managed to accomplish this near-impossible feat, but it leaves you wondering why. From Morgan’s viewpoint, the reward didn’t justify the effort, in my opinion.

Be sure to watch every minute so you don’t miss one brick of the story building.

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Nice medical story, awkward romance

I love medical dramas. Throw in some romance, and you have the best of both worlds. I don’t think I’ve watched a medical drama where more people died. There are a lot of operating room scenes and a lot of drama and suspense to go with them. The basic storyline was good, but I’m not sure the scripting did it justice. Romantic relationships are challenging to sell on screen. Romance takes character dedication from beginning to end.

The acting was good for the most part. The characters were well developed but whether you’ll like the characters is subjective. Lee Yo Won did a good job portraying Dr. Bong Dal Hee, a quirky first-year resident. Lee Bum Soo (better known for his movies) also did a decent job portraying Dr. Ahn. He was rude, assertive, arrogant, overbearing, and rarely said anything in a normal voice. Was he scripted that way? The other characters, leading and supporting, were all well done.

There were three romantic relationships with side distractions going on throughout the entire drama. In addition, Dr. Bong and Dr. Kim had a short relationship, if you can call it that. She kissed him once on the cheek, and they had a couple of hugs, but they officially broke up, which felt as strange as their short dating venture. Their relationship seemed to be there only for D. Ahn to watch from the shadows.

The relationship between Dr. Park and Dr. Jo was cute and fit well into one of the side stories of the drama. They were both first-year residents and friends of Dr. Bong.

The secondary couple, Dr. Kim and Dr. Oh overcame a disastrous divorce to find love again. Again, it felt natural, and I could feel the chemistry between the two. Their romantic relationship, on-screen chemistry, and emotional bonding were nice to watch.

The main couple, Dr. Bong and Dr. Ahn, is where it all fell short. Dr. Ahn had very little romantic chemistry. His approach to Dr. Bong was awkward, strange, and frankly creepy at times. Whether it was the character or the actor, I’m not sure. He was so aggressive and robotic, and I couldn’t see him in a romantic setting. Trying to match him with Dr. Bong was a far stretch and came across as awkward. The romance between the two was jammed into the last two episodes. Their idea of romance was to stand on the roof and smile at each other. She was only marginally better in the romance department, but at least she was believable. The story didn’t support their romance. Dr. Ahn lurked in the shadows and watched Dr. Bong interact with another man. Was that supposed to be romantic interest? In their first kiss, Dr. Bong didn’t move a muscle as he kissed her. Is that supposed to be on-screen chemistry? Since this was the main couple, it pulled the quality of the drama down.

As I’ve said, I love medical dramas, so I enjoyed the medical stories. However, I like to see romance unfold, and I was disappointed in that part of this drama.

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A nice drama that was well written until it was modified?

An absorbing drama of school life and the constant pressure on the student elites in an unforgiving society. The stress of high-level students to get into prestigious schools like Harvard (why they would want to, I’ll never understand). This pressure sometimes brings out the worst as they do everything in their power to add just a few more quality points to their resume.

The drama flows well with each episode up to a point, which I will explain later. While it’s not a deeply complicated storyline, it’s entertaining and well-written, up to that same point. The acting is outstanding, and you’ll be drawn into the struggles of young people in school trying to please their parents.

Jung Eun Ji does a fantastic job in her portrayal of Yeon Doo, the 196th place student. She is funny, she has a dramatic flair, and she can be romantic. Chae Soo Bin, my favorite actress, is also great as the student villain. Seeing her in this role shows her versatility as an actress. You will see the emotions of a student under extreme pressure from a parent. There were many young actors/actresses in this drama from six years ago that are doing well today. Overall, this drama is a pleasant change from the typical school bullying, but parental abuse was front and center.

The problem with this otherwise sweet, interesting drama is the changes they made at the last minute. The fact that it’s a 12 episode drama gives you the first hint. The buildup in the storyline felt like it was intended to have 20 or more episodes. The romance between Yeon Doo and Kim Yeol took a turn for the worst when they decided to add a best friend love triangle around episode 10. I think this was intended to be there, but it disappeared as fast as it came. It ended with a creepy gummy bear scene that was almost comical. The rest of the open storyline, like the marriage of the parents’ scenario and others was closed in a rush in the last episode.

Oh well, I still enjoyed this series. The acting was good and it was entertaining until they gave up on it. Let me know what you think.

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Kudos to a great writer who wrote a love story just for me

The danger of this type of storyline is destroying the male lead beyond redemption. If you tear him down you have to build him back up to make the story work. I’ve always said that anything beyond the half way point is the danger zone. So many potentially great dramas have suffered this fate. I could name them but that’s not the point of this review. Let’s just say that this great writer Shang Ming Lu writes as if she’s watching her drama unfold in front of her eyes.

Somewhere around the halfway point the ML looks at the FL, who is sleeping, and says, “I like you”. This was an amazing release of tension that was building up in me. The point of change that you have to look for. It came with emotion and the understanding that things will be different. I wasn’t disappointed because a beautiful romance unfolded like a flower from this point forward.

It’s the kind of romance that makes you feel good and beg for more. A couple that stays together against all odds in total support of each other. It takes a good writer to accomplish this and still have drama filled with suspense and a great villain. It was a perfect romance filled with love and passion.

Yes, I’m a romantic, my MDL name shows that. This is the kind of story that I constantly search for. I’m sad that it’s over but happy that I had the opportunity to watch it.

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Human Emotions and the behavior they cause

I like to watch these kind of shows because they have a romance/relationship foundation. Four broken couples agree to go on a two week trip where they will date other people. This is supposed to repair the damage in their relationships. Am I the only one that thinks this idea is risky at best?

The first thing that happens is you get to meet the commentators. Four people that are openly routing for the original couples to leave holding hands and walking into the sunset. At times I wondered if the commentators were even watching the same show.

Three of the four men were openly aggressive and controlling with there original partners but nice to the women they dated. They loved to demonstrate how they could aggressively talk their significant other into a corner and make them squirm. For example the math professor who treated his woman like a math problem. I found myself routing for all three of these couples to break up. But unfortunately two of the three women usually came crawling back to their aggressive controllers apologizing in humble obedience. The third woman who seemed to stand her ground.

The fourth couple I openly routed for. The only thing holding them back was his pending two year military requirement. Life interjecting itself in between a beautiful couple.

So one person would go on a date and when they returned their partners were presented with pictures of the date which brought on a multitude of responses. You were smiling too much. Were you touching him? We’re you leaning on his shoulder? You look so happy, you were never that happy with me. On and on it went driving me crazy, but I couldn’t stop watching. Trust was stretched to the limit. Patience and tolerance was non-existent. The commentators never called out the three men for their aggressive behavior.

The couple that stood out in my mind was Tae Wan and Hye Yeon. When they drove up in the beginning he quickly demonstrated his controlling behavior. Throughout the two weeks he pressed her with hateful language and a disrespectful attitude. In one case Tae Wan decided to go out and interrupt his partner who was on a date with another man. The show gave him the opportunity to do that for some reason. The commentators thought this was so sweet of him. I’m screaming, “are you kidding me”. As I expected it didn’t go well. He barged in on the date and sat there with his arrogant smile. His significant other wouldn’t even look at him. You could almost see the anger bleeding off her. He acts this way because he knows he can. I was so proud of her for standing her ground. Then at a date between the two of them he poured out his “feelings” and shed a few tears? Much to my surprise that seemed to work. She finally came back declaring that she was the problem in their relationship, although I could clearly see that she wasn’t. I was so disappointed that she came to that conclusion.

They are all peachy now and she is back in his clutches. He pats her on the head like a dog. Then he caught her with a text from a male friend of hers. Not a bad text, just a text from a male friend. He did an immediate 180 and wanted to breakup. He had the leverage he was looking for. She eventually came back to him begging. The creepy smile he had on his face was almost too much to watch. He had her, but did they stay together?

So if you want the see raw human behavior at its finest this one is for you. Jealousy on steroids. Heartaches and emotional ups and downs. I couldn’t stop watching.

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From A Short Romantic Drama into the Penthouse

I hesitated on writing a review on this one because it was like a short romantic novel. However the romantic side of me couldn’t resist. In Young married Yoon Soo to have a place to live, he married her for revenge. Neither of them married for love but both of them found love. That should have been the deciding factor and I was happy to see that love prevailed. I sure didn’t feel sorry for Chan Hee. Some mistakes you can never come back from.

I think Jo Soo Min did an excellent job. You can tell she has plenty of acting experience. She is good at displaying emotions and seems to float through the difficult emotional scenes. When it came to the kissing and touching parts she seemed a little awkward. As I’ve said so many times, romance, aka romantic chemistry, is sealed with a kiss. She needs to learn that it’s ok to move your lips when you kiss. Her future is wide open as she steps into the Penthouse…

This is a cute, easy to watch drama give it a try.

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Drama, Suspense with a Fluffy Romance

I love the storyline concept of chemical memory after a heart transplant. I knew the heart transplant was coming but I didn’t anticipate all the ramifications that came with it. FOI is a compelling drama and it will draw you in right away. The plot seems to drag on a little with a villain that keeps on giving. I will say this, Yoon Hyun Min makes a great villain. His portrayal of Lee Joon Hee will bring all your emotions to the forefront. He is such a good villain that it will be hard for me to see him in any other role.

The twists and turns will keep you guessing. Suspense never ending and a romance you think will never happen with capture all romantic junkies (like me). It wasn’t a smoldering romance, it was just nice.

The FL and the ML were both great in this suspense/drama with a fluffy ending romance. Give it a try.

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Historical life of Iljimae

What starts off as an exciting scene in modern Seoul turns into a historical drama and draws you into this unique story. You spend the entire drama waiting for it to switch back to modern times but it doesn’t, until the last minute of the final episode. I felt tricked into watching something that wasn’t there. The story flows well but the plot is a mixture of eternal loneliness and a macabre tragedy. The characters, some of them strange, are the real makeup of this drama. Some of them are annoying. The beggar who found Iljimae as a baby and claims to have raised him got on my nerves midway through the drama. All he did was whine and complain. He overacted but I think it was supposed to be funny, it fell short. The sideways man was amusing at first but his little squeal soon became fingernails across a chalk board. At times he sounded like Chewbacca from Star Wars.

The lieutenant who fell in love, at first sight with Iljimae’s mother, was a main character that spent the entire drama in a state of morose. He was ultimately responsible for getting Dal executed, although the story kind of left that part out. Something about his character never quite rang well with me. Maybe it was his constant state of depression.

Iljimae, played by Jung Il Woo, was a good fit for the part. However, his character was just not quite the big hero they tried to make him out to be. Although he seemed to be on the side of good, he treated every woman around him with distain. Even Wol Hee, his final girlfriend he treated like a piece of furniture. Why she waited for him I will never understand. It didn’t feel like love, ever.

Iljimae’s mother was a breath of fresh air throughout the entire drama. Jung Hye Young was beautiful as Baek Mae and was the foundation of the entire drama in my opinion.

Yoon Jin Seo was great in her portrayal of Wol Hee. She was charming and giving and strong when she had to be. Her loyalty and dedication to Iljimae was beyond amazing. I didn’t feel a lot of chemistry between them because he never stayed around long enough to form any real kind of relationship. She waited nine years for him the final time. Who does that? Maybe as a single mother in historical times there are few options. Instead of feeling sweet and heart wrenching the long awaited for meeting felt awkward.

The drama kept me watching because it had a lot of exciting parts. Sadly romance wasn’t one of them.

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A Drama you will never forget

I just watched a beautiful drama of monumental proportions. I was immersed from the first episode to the end. I’ve never watched a drama quite like this one. It was thought provoking, emotional and romantic. In total it’s about 22 hours long. I watched it in three days. It was that good.

The cast was fantastic. The story was built around IU’s character Jang Man Wol as the owner of Hotel Del Luna. She was gorgeous and portrayed her character to perfection. The ML, Yeo Jin Goo, was great as the hotel manager, Goo Chan Sung. Together they supported the main flow of the story and found love as the story progressed. It wasn’t a love story of unbridled passion but it was a heart wrenching, emotional romance across generations.

The drama brought in side stories of the other characters that gave purpose to the entire storyline. There was the present and the past in every story. The characters were well constructed and supported. The script and the directing were amazing in my opinion.

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Unique lawyer drama with a slow burning romance

If you like lawyer dramas with some unique court scenes then you will love this one. The acting is fantastic. Yoon Shi Yoon did a great job with a dual role, playing both sides of a set of twins. Lee Yoo Young really surprised me with her portrayal of the law trainee. I’ve only seen her in one other drama and I liked her in both. The slow burning romance between the FL and ML kept you in anticipation and exploded with the first kiss in episode 22.

The side story of the missing sister was heart wrenching and emotional. All the characters were well developed making every episode interesting. The OST was fantastic and I was immersed in this drama the entire time. Only good dramas can hold you like this. Try it, you’ll like it.

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A Classic Romantic Comedy

A cute romantic comedy about a narcissistic boss and his secretary: when I say narcissistic, I mean he doesn’t have an ounce of humility from start to finish. But that’s the charm of this unique character. You will eventually warm up to his unwavering habit of loving himself. The character Lee Young Joon played by Park Seo Joon is one you will either love or hate. The drama was structured around this character, so I learned to like him.

Kim Mi So, better known as Secretary Kim, was played by the gorgeous Park Min Young. She, as usual, was incredible. The concept in this drama is that she understands her boss completely. When Vice Director Lee talks about his good looks, intellect, or abilities, she usually agrees with him. Their relationship eventually becomes a romantic connection prompted by her decision to quit her job as his secretary.

Love will slowly blossom between the two, and you will witness a beautiful romance grow between two adults, both of which are relatively new at dating. Don’t forget this is a romantic comedy, emphasizing romance, and you will enjoy this drama as I did. There was an interesting subplot that’s settled early in the drama bringing the romance to the forefront. You don’t often see that happen. Usually, writers drag the main subplot to the bitter end. I enjoyed this refreshing change in writing style.

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