Fraxer
Chennai, India
That was what I felt watching this drama. Barring the premise which seemed to be interesting, the drama is filled with "Oh, I know what happens next!". Like when the grandma keeps bickering about the exact time of the marriage, you know something's gonna go wrong and they'll be married in some 'unconventional' place. Or the story of Qi Ming's mother.
The actors did a remarkable job, but I never felt one with the story. So many things seem forced just to fill in the episodes. It was enjoyable in bits and pieces, but something was always missing.
Or maybe my expectations were just too high.
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Unlike many other dramas I've seen, the story did carry some sorta message, with the children realizing the plight of parents when they themselves become one. Well, on the other hand, Yeong Guk's parents were a delight to watch. I had serious doubts about an old lady acting like a kid, be she did it without being too annoying. The various romantic threads seem to fit well with the characters.
Don't seem to remember anything about the music though I watched it only yesterday, so that's a low out there.
One serious issue I had with the drama was the annoying pair of Ho Bak and Kkeut Soon. Oh well, even their names sounded pesky to me! So much in contrast with their siblings. At least that girl is a spoiled princess as expected, but the guy behaves like a retard even after coming from humble beginnings. Without them, I would've loved the drama enough to give it even a 9. Kill them off or maroon 'em off to some island in the pacific - and I'll contemplate rewatching this.
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The other stories are mere fillers, all following the time-tested formula of a single mother, a marital affair, an unrequited love and so on. After a while, the director seems to have lost track of the individual threads - with so many episodes focusing on particular characters and forgetting about the rest. There are so many unconvincing scenes, like when Xiao Fei says something like,"After we married, it seems like I make you angry so often", and I had to go back searching if I had missed any scenes, coz the only things I remembered were them quarreling a couple of times about watching TV and throwing socks on the floor. I think most of the actors did a good job, just that I didn't find their characters very interesting. Nothing exceptional about the music, but can listen to it a few times.
Rewatch value: 10 for the Crazy Dog and Yi Wan/Xiao Fei story, 5 for the Lian Qing story, 0 for the Xiao Xi story, 2 for the others.
If you like romantic stories, you must watch this for this one pair (you might like the others as well - I didn't). It has pretty much everything - the interesting first encounter, how they come to regard each other, one mom who tries to force them together, another who's opposed initially but comes around in the end, the interesting sidekicks and finally, no romantic triangle/ jealous lovers (there's a small one, but doesn't last long and had a graceful closure).
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The story was dragged on and on for eternity. This ought to have been a 40 or 50 episode series - 120 was stretching it a bit too far. The pace really needs some getting used to. The main leads look good together - Han Chae Ah is probably the reason I slogged through. Her smile looks magnetic and Sung Hyuk makes a good pair with her, though their acting might seem zombie-ish at times. The script takes as much blame as the actors for the same. Kim Min Kyo lends some freshness with his unconventional dialogues and also some comic relief, though I would have liked more of it. I'd rather avoid mentioning most of the family members - too shady, too many and too irritating!
While watching the series, you get multiple feelings of déjà vu - giving the feel that this really is a not-very-delicate mix of inspirations from other drama, Come! Jang Bori and Rosy Lovers among others. Be ready to hate the majority of the cast in most of the episodes - makes you wonder again just how far people can go for money. Pretty much everything is there - parental opposition to love, the jealous lover who can go to any lengths to get what she wants, the illegitimate child looking for a place he belongs to, the mother who abandons her child for money, etc. In the end, everyone seems to realize their mistakes and redeem their character - and set the scene for complete happy ending. But you are left questioning the 'glass is half full' attitude of the writers and whether the ending was forced.
Watch it if you:
- are looking for a lengthy ride.
- prefer multiple romantic stories.
- are willing to wait for the good parts.
- wish for the perfect happy ending.
Avoid it if:
- negative characters annoy you; you'll be cursing them all the time.
- you're looking for something new in the story.
The music was nothing exceptional, but it was pretty good and suited the main characters. There were some loose ends at the end, but most of the side-stories were resolved. I'm still piqued at how the actual wedding scene of the main couple is skipped in a 120-episode series, while unnecessary time was spent on so many other scenes.
Would I watch it again? Only in bits and pieces for the good scenes - I can't handle 60 more hours, most of which comprises of the evil father, mother or mother-in-law in the process of devious plotting ;)
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