It's an Underrated Watch

So 2022 has been a disappointing year with most kdramas suffice it to say are a resounding 'meh'.

The plots are weak
The execution is poor
And the acting ........ well the actors tried their best with what they were given to work with.

Well what makes May I Help You better than other you ask?
It's not much better to be honest. The writing is pretty weak and the OSTs are okay I guess. So why is this an underrated watch?

Because Hyeri. This is one of her best performances since Reply 1988. The emotional connection that she achieves with her clients tugs on the heart strings causing one to become emotionally invested. Her Co-star also lends a sense of gravity to her purpose which give viewers a cathartic release when dealing with death and mourning.

Adding some leviatity and comedic relief are the uncles. Both the leads' uncles really keep us in check so that we don't delve into sorrow as we sympathize with clients. Their humour is light and well timed and you can't help but enjoy watching them root for the happiness of leads.

The drama has a strong start and progresses well. I even liked the villain plot line but what made this drama cheap was the ending. It was so unnecessary but I guess the writer had no better ideas I suppose (And you can see it coming a mile away because it's that predictable). Episodes 1 - 14 are better than most dramas this year. So If you want a truly heartfelt performance this is drama I'd recommend to you.

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It's very underwhelming performance

Watching this drama there two sets of campers:
The first theological group believe heavily in subtly of this drama which makes it (to them ) an underrated masterpiece.

While the second group believe it's unbelievably boring and too slow paced.

And while it's hard to support and validate the first group, I can't get on board with the second group either.

This being a heavily psychological drama had many flaws with the pacing and the acting but it wasn't all that boring. My issue was the lead actress performance. We all love Suzy don't we but all us Suzy fans know that she's not the strongest actress and has relied heavily on her co-stars to carry her through many of her hit dramas. She also has a talent for picking great scripts - her dramas always have a strong start, the middle might fumble a bit but they bring it home in the end. This drama is first time I've seen Suzy lead from the front which was a risk that did not pay off unfortunately. The weight of having to carry the entire drama herself was probably too much for her to bare. She struggled with portraying the duality of Anna and because of that at key moments the audience could not connect with her and the scenes often come across as flat, boring and dull. This is unfortunate because it really is a great story to be told. The supporting cast weren't of very much help and at times they came off much stronger than the lead, eclipsing her moments and making her seem like a secondary character. I've seen this before and when a Main actor cannot lead, the drama flip flops which is why there are so many opposing views (some people are more forgiving whilst others are not).

The drama is patient watch and you have to look for what the director is trying to say because the performance can barely guide you. It was an ambitious project but unfortunately did not live up to its potential.

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At the time of writing this review the average rating was 8.1 which in itself is surprising because I wasn't getting positive vibes from different social media platforms about this show. I myself wasn't a lover but I can't say I hated it - definitely middle of the road.

I have three judging criteria for dramas & movies: Casting, Writing and Cinematography. If one of them is badly off then it's a no for me. But I can be flexible sometimes but it depends.

What worked for me in this drama was the casting. Their performances weren't award winning but there were moments when they got me (either funny or sentimental). They did a great job with the selection because everyone fit their role so well. And the cinematography, such an underrated appreciation but I love it when a show is done well and I don't have to squint and the camera work.

What didn't work for me - the Writing
Plot wise this show was a dud that really didn't develop to anything. It had an abundance of overused tropes and a lot of dead end scenes that really made no sense. Because of this there was quite an under use of the cast's acting skills.

Now for me going off the rails - Opinion Rant time
Since when has it become a thing to set up a character with skills and attributes in the intro episodes only to forget about said skills and attributes and make that character useless instead for the majority of the drama but then remember at the end and throw in a dog bone scene to use that said skill. I'm seeing this more and more in kdramas and I have beg the question "Why?"!
Why would you do that? In this case the star of the drama is a hacker. We saw him hack in the beginning and the end, the middle not so much. Why wasn't he doing what he was good at? Such a waste and to add further insult they made said character do some unnecessary things.

I also didn't like the black & white morality when it comes to crimes and the law. Maybe I'm too leftist but I see it as ways to punish the weak and keep them down. The tone didn't strike the right note especially when it was repeated that "no matter the reason one shouldn't break the law" - cue eye roll. And then lead trying to punish himself - more eye rolls.

But back on track now.
The drama itself wasn't a bad watch for the comedy. the sentimental scenes were a bit much but to sum up: Veterans would want to take a pass on this but it can be a fun watch for maknaes

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What to watch when viewing this show.

What to watch when viewing this show because this show can be a gem depending on how you view or it can be a regular watch.

Let's start with the negative first because I have a glowing repose later down.

First I had an issue with the casting. I had an issue with Won Jin Ah. She was like a square peg in a round hole and I felt like she struggled the entire drama. At first it felt as though the leads didn't have great chemistry and it was an off pairing but the further the show went the more her interactions with her co-stars felt more strained. I also didn't like the height difference between the main couple except for the part where she stood up on the bench to hug him. That part was pretty cute, I must admit but outside of that, they looked weird which made all the kiss scenes sitting down. This is one of the reasons I believe that I wasn't sold 100% on the romance of this drama. It felt very one-sided. Ro Woon really made me fall in love with him but not so much Won Jin Ah.

Second issue was Lee Hyo Joo character arc. I'm really over the desperate unrequited suicidal love of the rich girl who can't get everything she wants. As much as I loved the writing of this show, I sighed deeply every time she came on the screen.

The Raving part.

What really makes this show shine is writing. I am officially a fan of Chae Yoon and as far as my research shows this is a debut drama for the writer. I think this is great work for a debut because the lines, the soliloquies had me swooning. Imagine if these lines were relayed with an epic couple chemistry. This would have been a romance for the ages.

The storyline and plot was a basic romance with the mandatory break up and make up, time skip, away trip, crazy parents, etc. But I don't mind this in most cases as long as the drama is done well and in this case it was almost a slam dunk.

There were so many scene stealers with Hyun Seung and what I loved about his character the most is that he always allowed Song Ah to make the choice, set the pace and draw the boundaries and he respected all of her rules, even when he doesn't like them. When she said it makes her the bad person to change her mind I went crazy because it acknowledges that although men can be crass, women can take advantage of a situation as well.

Some other favourite moments: Song Ah saying she could never understand her mom because she is so determined not to become like her. Hyun Seung saying that love can burden the refuser (Episode 8 Hyun Seung soliloquy).

There are so many moments when the writing of this show moved me and I felt the talent of the script. I look forward to more from this writer hopefully with a more compatible cast.

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Surprisingly Elegant

The drama is an anthology which follows four women at different points in their lives and their position or viewpoint of love and what it means to them. This review will explore each story and my biased opinion of how great a drama this was.

To preface, I must commend the writing, the casting and the directing for this show which showcased such elegant poise among all four women. There was a hint of melodrama for dramatic effect but it was not overdone.

Love Scene Number 23. As I read the comments I realize that a lot of people view Nam Do Ah as the villain in this first story. But for some reason that was not how I viewed her. To me she was someone who was indirectly hurt who in turn indirectly hurt others. Does that make her bad person? In some ways it does but it just highlights how flawed human beings can be. Even near the end where she is confronted by her amours, they themselves realize that it was never about them but her confused attempt to move past her hurt. This description of Do Ah doesn't do her justice but I hope as a new viewer one would look at her as more than just a liar and cheater but as something more.

Love Scene Number 29. I was pleasantly surprised at how Lee Ha Ram's story caught me off guard. I must admit my expectations for this series was low because I was judgemental about a runaway bride before I saw anything. What i was expecting: Parental pressure to marry the approved suitor with a hidden lover stashed at the side. What I got: A woman who has lived her life for her mother and now doesn't know who she is without her. It's a serious case of unhealthy codependency. Thankfully she realized that there was a serious problem with her life before she made a huge commitment and attempted to figure it out. Lee Ha Ram's story was really a slow burn to self-realization.

Love Scene Number 35. Yoon Ban Ya's character is the one I thought I'd have the greatest connection to but her story turned out to be my least favourite. The melodrama second half really threw me for a loop. I think they were trying to convey a level of desperateness her character was supposed to have but it was a bit overdone.

Love Scene Number 42. I think Jung Chung Kyung's story is my favourite in the anthology. This story was all about the strength and work it takes to keep a marriage strong. And even if you go off the rails that doesn't make it the end sometimes, Sometimes it makes you stronger. Woo Woon Bum was my favourite male protagonist in the series. His presence and role was so complex and reviviting, I couldn't help but cheer for them in the end. What also moved me in this series was Chung Kyung's intensity of her feelings. I really loved how she owed her feelings and refused to let others diminish them or diss them.

Overall the drama was poignant and could be a social commentary and reflect for many women at different points in their lives. It deserves every rave and recommendation it gets.

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The Problem with time travel shows

As a SciFi aficionado I can be both critical or lenient of these works depending on variety of things such as technique, whimsy, execution or even for something as lame as a prop (yes I have bashed scifi shows for bad props and makeup). But ideally what you want out of a good scifi is a solid story. One that makes sense and even if you can poke holes in it, the holes can be papered over and be forgiven.

That said, the problem that scifi shows, specifically time travel shows fall into is the need to be linearly different to every other time travel show ever produced to stand out above the rest, even if the story doesn't make sense because then they can say "At least it was different."
This is a phrase I'm ambivalent towards because on the one hand I appreciate efforts to push beyond the boundaries but on the other hand I need it to still make sense in some logical or scientific way.

Time travel = physics. There is no running away from it but somehow Alice tried to avoid using the discipline whilst still heavily alluding to it. A good analogy is a Chef talking about how great his dish, it looks great, probably tastes great but how did he cook it? Give us the recipe! Alice gave us no recipe. Alice uses the premise of multiple dimension in time travel but that falls apart as the show goes on. A lot of things fall apart in the end because there was no good foundation on which to build the drama world with and a little physics would have helped with that.

But coming away from the science bit was the confusing relationships bonds between the ML and FL and other cast. Before the show started airing it was being promoted as a Scifi/thriller with Romance. The romance tag has since been removed but this confused viewers to no end because we were searching for the love interest. I was looking for romance elsewhere but the way how the show played out it just evaporated. The other problem with SciFi genre is that it's often difficult to do character development with the storyline but Alice felt like it was pulling it off in the beginning then got waylaid by time (forgive the pun). I'd like to say that maybe 4 more episodes would have helped this show but at this point who knows. Just as the show used complicated relationships in the beginning, threw it out in the middle, then brought it back in the end was just plain tacky and made me quite resentful of that ending.

So Alice had some problems but she wasn't a complete mess and I believe this was the screenwriter's debut show. This was a great entrance and I look forward to more of his work. Alice production was really on point and I loved the props. And even though Alice give more questions than answers she was still fun to watch.

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This is will read as a rant

It's going to be brutal.

Let's start with the toxic representation of an Independent Woman.

Without a doubt Noh Ah Jeong character is the worst depiction of feminism I've seen in a while. I can't even call her a Candy girl because it would be disrespectful to the title. Who runs off and has a baby without notifying the father in this day and age? No self respecting woman will do that and there are no circumstances that justify it. Cheating is not a reason!!!!.

So she goes off and has a baby on her own without telling the father then proceeds to lie to both her mother and daughter for 14 years for her own selfish pride. And when given the opportunity (many opportunities) to come clean and confess she continues to lie and allows her daughter to disrespect her father based on false information. How are we supposed to like this character and the fact that they attempted to portray her as a victim was an insult to single mothers everywhere. This character was toxic to everyone around her.

After making her with an awful personality and character, they continue to demean her by making her pathetic. After being a talented and rising star in cinematography in college, all that is thrown away and she has accomplished nothing after 14 years. Apparently becoming a single mother is such a great sin that one can never be successful in life unless the father of your child shows up to shine the spotlight on your talent. The disrespect she was shown was totally unnecessary. What was so wrong in depicting a professional working mother utilizing her talents to support her family successfully. She should have been a notable PD in her field with a some measure of success. That she was scraping by whilst her peers were successful in their own right peeved me to no end because clearly she was less than because she was a WOMAN.

Suffice it to say the writing was abysmal for this show and the Chinese mafia - just No!

On a positive note the acting was well done especially by Uhm Chae Young and So Ho Jun. The cast really tried hard to carry this sad excuse of a script but nothing could save this from being the tragedy that it was. Was not a fan and would not recommend.

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It was bad but not that bad

So I got into this show because of Ji Chang Wook as my mother is a big fan (not sure why). The promo videos looking entertaining so I thought why not give it a shot. I was looking forward to watching Kim Yoo Jung play a modern role as in my mind I have crowned her the princess of sageuks as these are her strengths. I've watched some of her other moderns but they didn't strike the right note.

First Let's just put this out there that the show had some inappropriate moments. The webtoon it was based on is scandalous to say the least and though they tried to water it down it didn't help much. The inappropriate underage romantic scene that portrayed so many problematic issues got reported and flagged. The show literally tried to gloss over sexual harassment, age disparity, bullying, school/gang violence and cultural appropriation/racism that was cringe worthy to watch. Han Dal Shik's character - just no!

Got that out of the way now on to the review.

Ji Wook (family nick name) is such a temperamental actor in my mind because he flops back and forth between hits and misses. I think this is sign of him willing to take risks in his career but unfortunately it didn't work out in this show. His character Choi Dae Hyun was insignificant despite being the star. Jung Saet Byul was the embodiment of strong female lead who's character had the most growth and evolution in the show.

What I enjoyed:
Plot wise it was an interesting take on everyday life people with some splashes of excitement. I liked Jung Saet Byul strength and skill. Did not like her aggressiveness with chasing a man who was in a relationship no matter how bad it might have been. The family ties and support systems were sweet to watch as well and despite the controversy the show was funny (from ep5 it calmed down a bit to being actually funny and not a desperate funny).

What I did not like:
The 'met when they were young and now meant to be' trope. Can we be done with this Please?
The best friends' side story - skip button was my friend

This drama is going to be an acquired taste. You will either love it or hate it

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It was disappointing

It was disappointing.

The synopsis was different - a single woman trying to have a baby on her own in such a conservative society. I was enraptured and I thought this show would break barriers and challenge norms. Throw in Jang Na Ra and what more can one ask for. I was all in and committed. And so it was for the first four episodes and I was standing with Ha Ri's convictions.

Then the biggest catastrophe happened. The show did a complete 360 and dropped every cliche imaginable becoming a regular played out trope. It was as if they had felt they had pushed the limit too far and feared the repercussions. So what did they do? They went back to the original formula. Girl meets boy, they both fall in love, add a love triangle, drunken scenes, away trip, forced break up, get back together and happily ever after.

Sounds familiar right?

Maybe because you've seen it in a dozen other shows.

I felt like I was catfished.

After the show fell into this trap I must admit I sped through, skipped some episodes and landed straight to the end. The forced ever after just cemented my disappointment. They took this wonderful idea that could have represented real life struggles for some women and made it a cliche. I wished they had committed to the original idea and made this a worthwhile drama.

New watchers are welcome to view this show as you will see all these scenes with fresh eyes. As for the veterans - it's the same old with nothing new.

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Just a lovable show

This show was hilarious.

I was very surprised by the ratings as this show was quite entertaining and had a great perspective that was executed well. The premise of the show was so relatable in that it showcased the differences between the traditional workforce and the modern while representing the great pressures of both groups and how they can overcome them together. Truly a wonderful story.

There is no real romance in the story, they just allude to it which I quite enjoyed. I liked that they didn't try to force a romance down our throats in between the real plot line. Lee Man Sic was quite a character and truly the star of the show.

This is one to recommend.

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I'm not sure if it was because the age difference between the characters and I was small, or that their problems and lives were so realistic but this drama moved me in a way I'll try my best to explain.

What was so loveable about this drama was the genuine friendship among the main cast. You could see that life had developed around them but they never let their friendship die. Jo Junk Suk was incredible as the superman single father with a successful career. Even as he struggled he never broke a sweat in stepping up and being the man others needed him to be.

What I also found endearing is how the main cast all dealt with their internal struggles and it shows that no matter what age you are, you're never too old to want to run away from your problems and take the immature way out. Ahn Jung Won and Chae Song Hwa were the biggest cowards of the group but one couldn't hate them for it. For many years their main focus was on their careers and they tried or more likely probably refused to acknowledge what would make them happy. I myself can say I am of guilty of this I mean how do you stop and smell the roses when work became the most important thing because of your passion. It frightening to look down something different when you've already given so much of yourself to your ambition.

There was also the elements of understanding oneself and coming to terms with the kind of person that you are. Jung Kyung Ho's performance was incredible portraying this. He knew who he was and knew what he wanted and he reached that place. I always love it when boyfriends are always supportive and never pressure their partners and let them decide what they want or how they need to move forward. it never feels like a sacrifice when it comes from that place. Kim Dae Myung's character was great at this element as well and in a way he seem like the wise mature guru of the group ready to offer pearls of wisdom that was often ignored by friends.

The connections among the group was unbelievably charming and it's everything you want in a slice of drama. The feelings of belonging and being accepted permeated throughout making it a wonderful coming of middle-age drama because at 40 we still have a lot of life left to live.

And lastly the playlist was awesome!!

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Straight out the gate it has to be highlighted that the best thing about this show was the chemistry between the cast Kim Dong Wook and Moon Ga Young. They were phenomenal and made me want to believe that they were a real couple. They are definitely in my top 5 chemistry couples.

So here we are again with another memory trope scenario so yes the storyline was unoriginal. But it was executed well enough. The male lead had hyper (whatever) and whilst the doctor and everyone was always warning him, there was never any real portrayal of how his condition was problematic to his life. They just inferred and glossed over that condition a lot that I often forgot that he was supposed to be suffering or struggling or something. For the majority of the show the character Lee Jung Hoon seemed like a normal guy.

This show is all about couple chemistry so don't go looking for any real depth. But unfortunately you have there was the unnecessary break up and separation which dragged the show down towards the end. I personally prefer to see couples fight the world than each other in romance melodramas but for whatever reason in kdramas fights must end in a superficial break up.

Overall I enjoyed the show because despite the flaws I was enthralled with the couple's romance.

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For the most part this drama was ok.

I really enjoy slice of life dramas as they usually a commentary or a reflection on life but I felt like it that didn't really happen in this drama.

What was weird about this drama was that it was slow paced and over done at the same time. Weird combo but they did it. Usually with slice of life, the drama is slow paced and progresses naturally with very little or no "action conflict" i.e. fight scenes and whatnot, which is what happened. But then on the flip side the drama had a lot to unpack. Childhood trauma for both Male and Female Leads, the long pining love romance but then betrayal love triangle for the FL, with family secrets, stigma against the ML and many, many, many subplots.

Somewhere along the way I lost the point of the show when the emerging subplots took over. It became all about the secondary characters and not about the leads and with so many people coming to the forefront I lost all relatability with the characters. So I guess that my biggest problem with the show is that I lost the connection I was developing in the beginning with the characters.

I liked the OSTs and the instrumentals as the helped set the tone in the first half of the series. The acting was good, especially with Seo Kang Joon and Moon Jung Hee. Their performances were really outstanding for this drama which was probably the main reason I watched till the end. The end however was unsatisfactory to me.

Not sure if I expressed my point of view well but I think the show is definitely one to watch and I would surely recommend.

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When I first heard about this upcoming drama I hesitant to watch because there was a lot of hype surrounding the cast, mainly the star Park Seo Joon. I've watched a lot of his work so I didn't understand what the fuss was about. The show had not even begun and I thought it's probably overrated.

And it turned out to be true.

I like to highlight all the good points of a drama first least I be accused of bias (which I am half the time) but it's really to acknowledge someone's hard work. A lot of times we dislike dramas and then fall into a rant and I myself am guilty of this on numerous occasions but someone gave their best effort and it might not reach everyone the way they expect but good on them for doing what others could not.

That said what drew me to the show initially was the fact that it was a webtoon turned drama. I'm a big fan of these as they offer more range of expressions for the characters. You get to see them as more. For this drama the acting was top notch, with a special shout out to Kim Da Mi, she gave a phenomenal performance. Park Seo Joon continues to showcase his range and talent.

Another blast is the diversity of the cast. I loved it.

The first 6 episodes were very attention grabbing and I thought maybe I was wrong, the was definitely living up to hype but then it fell into the standard kdrama mold. The storyline was not strong to begin with but if it was told well I wouldn't have minded. It started strong then dragged in the middle then had a sloppy happily ever after ending that made me regret starting the show in the first place.

Park Sae Ro Yi (love the name) character showed almost no growth. He was practically the same from the beginning of the story to the end. The show was a span of fifteen years and it was only after an accident he resolved his feelings about his father and his love interest in a dream. In a show about David fighting goliath, that is how he reached personal growth? Doesn't count in my book.

Next pet peeve was the so called romance. The show wasn't focused on it at all and it should have remained so. It would have been better off without it instead of trying to shove a bunch of intimate scenes in the last three episodes. By this point I didn't care about any of the coupledomes. I was heavily invested in Park Sae Ro Yi's revenge. I wanted him to get his revenge and witness the ensuing fall out but none of that happened.

My Opinion

Sometimes I think the art of storytelling is dying but I know it's just being pressured under the weight of ratings and popularity which is sad. A lot of the dramas today have strong starts or interesting premises but get derailed by trying to win people over and marketing. But i keep patient because every once in a while I strike gold. This wasn't it but it was ok.

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To preface I'm not sure what it was about touch that kept me coming back but objectively I know that the drama was a solid So-So.

The Good
Whilst many complained about the lack of romance within the series, this is what endeared me the most about it. The
"romantic couple" were not wrapped up in each other in the obsessively aggressive way which is norm that is usually portrayed by other dramas. I liked that they had their own lives and problems and being together was not the magic cure that fixed everything. It was a quiet love that they came together to support each other when needed and even give the other a gentle push when needed. During the episodes you can see how they cared for each other. It wasn't a bells and whistle kind of romance but I liked it just the same.

The So-So
The casting was a major problem for me. I tried not to be but I was often bothered by the age difference and I think it largely had to do with watching Kim Bo Ra as a high school student last year in Sky Castle and then switch it up to this. Although they kept saying she was 25 she came across as a 20 year old which I think is why I enjoyed their luke warm romance.

The side stories really didn't help the drama along and it was at these moments where I loudly questioned why I was watching this drama to begin with.

The show also touched on a lot of controversial topics but didn't quite accomplish it the way they had expected. The age gap, domestic abuse, chaebol power struggles where the daughters of the family are mostly considered inferior and the pressure of fame with balancing your personal life with your public image.

I was also not a fan of Lee Tae Hwan character as he didn't seem genuine in the least. His feelings were all but superficial except in the part of the friendship.

My Feelings
As I said in the preface I was weirdly drawn to this drama. In my heart I gave it a solid 7 but my brain was ranting 'why why why?' Being a Joo Sang Wook fan probably had a lot to do with it and maybe he mesmerized me for a time. I'm not even sure I would recommend but I guess I kinda liked it.

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