Simply Sweet

This one gave me Hometown Cha Cha Cha vibes - only it was set in the countryside, not the seaside. There wasn’t too much of a story to it which I felt was kind of expected.

I liked the interactions between the ML and the other guy. The looks that were served were quite amusing. I also liked the Ajummas as they were funny too. The little children were sweet. The animals were cute - I liked that the ML was a vet. I’m curious though as to how much police work got done by the FL as she seemed to be more of a helping hand than a policewoman - although I guess there isn’t much crime to be committed in such a small town.

I don’t get why the FL didn’t just say, “hey, don’t you remember me?” to the ML. Instead she just got grumpy at him for not remembering who she was. I mean, it had been 15 years since they last saw each other.

I’m glad the romance only came about towards the end as otherwise it would have been very rushed for such a short drama. The few short moments we got to see of them together were simply sweet.

The ex-girlfriend business seemed a bit out of place, but as with any drama there had to be a ‘complication.’

-E

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Neither good or bad

I really don’t get the hype with this one. It’s neither good or bad. Or maybe I just really cannot get into historical dramas (but was this even that historical aside from the costumes and set?)

Because it was so short I did not feel invested and the characters weren’t interesting.

The good parts:
-acting
-had ‘some’ funny moments
-cute child
-decent costumes

The not so good parts:
-I did not sense any chemistry between the leads. They felt more like good long lost friends than destined lovers.
-There wasn't much to the plot.
-Girl was shot in the heart with an arrow and survived?
-Man was stabbed, but was he stabbed? The acting showed no fake blood so that was very poor.

-E

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Beautiful romance that is flawless - 10/10 recommend!

My God, I thought I’d seen the nicest man in the last drama I watched but now we have Jiaxu! He literally has no flaws!!

This drama is a 10/10 for me, and I don’t give 10/10 easily! There was nothing wrong with it in my eyes. It’s so rich in chemistry between the leads. Get yourself a man who treats you the way Jiaxu treats Sang Zhi 🥰

I literally couldn’t hold back from smiling the whole way through.

I loved how Jiaxu fell in love with her over time; and when he knew for sure that she liked him 🤗 Ughhh I could gush about it for days!

I will admit that although I knew they would end up together, I couldn’t help but feel a tiny bit weirded out in the beginning. Especially because they had a younger actress playing young Sang Zhi meanwhile it was still the same actor playing Jiaxu. Btw, the young Sang Zhi looked about 10, not 14.

The brother is so funny although it was a dog move to hit Jiaxu.

I loved how Sang Zhi stood up to the crazy girl about it not being Jiaxu’s fault that her dad died.

It was the smoothest sailing romance that progressed in the sweetest way possible. The ending was also perfect! 10/10 - a must watch!

-E

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A comfort watch I could keep on repeat

This was an absolute comfort to watch. The romance between You Nian and Miao Miao was so cute and sweet. You Nian was always so nice to Miao Miao and was boyfriend goals! I can’t remember watching a show where the male lead is so nice all of the time.

I really enjoyed the very beginning when we were just getting to know the characters and Miao Miao was first crushing on You Nian - it was pure innocence! Their time spent at the lighthouse was cute, so it was nice how the show wrapped up with them looking back at the lighthouse because it’s kind of like 'that’s where it all started.'

I loved how we got to see how You Nian’s started to realise his feelings for Miao Miao, and his confession to her was tear worthy. It was no surprise that he wanted to be the one to confess to her first.

Seeing Miao Miao grow into a smart young woman was so nice, and I’m glad she stood her ground and switched to the major she actually wanted to do.

The only thing that really bothered me about the story, apart from the timeline towards the end, was Miao Miao’s reason for breaking up with You Nian - it just seemed very lacklustre. There needs to be a better reason for the breakup. I know all of these stories need to have a complication (or do they?), so the writers should at least make it a good one.

He Xin, my girl, God bless her, but why did they make her want Kaituo so desperately? It was beginning to get quite unbearable to watch. Towards the end when the story was wrapping up it seemed so weird to me that they took yet another year to be together.

Kaituo was a troubled character but you do come around to him in the end, although I do think He Xin should have found someone better.

Another thing that did actually bother me is how they never aged up Miao Miao’s little sister. This show must have spanned what, at least 5 years and that child did not age! I was expecting there to be an actor switch, but nope.

I liked the soundtrack and in particular I liked the song played at the end of each episode.

Although this one had many episodes, they are short so it felt more manageable to watch and it is a great little one if you’re feeling down and just want something comforting.

-E

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Would recommend to any new drama watchers

I was enjoying this one until we got past the main leads getting together. As expected, I got bored and had to fast forward my way to the end. It did wrap up nicely and cute though! We even got a child!

Taking it back to the beginning:

Hye-jin’s reason for lying about her identity is really shallow and she should have been honest. Sung-Joon had already experienced what it’s like to not have ‘the standard’ looks of a Korean man so he of all people should have understood how Hye-jin was feeling. Besides, a ’true’ friend would love and accept them no matter what.

I didn’t really like Sung-Joon in the beginning because of how rudely he treated Hye-jin. If a man is gonna be a good man, they should treat all women the same. I didn’t like they way he fired Hye-jin in haste - he was so aggressive!

Another thing that bugged me was why did Sung-Joon think that Hye-jin was going to be romantically available anyway? That is so presumptuous of him to think that after 15 YEARS he can waltz back into her life and expect something between them that is more than friendship.

I was honestly shipping Hye-jin with the second male lead and to be fair, they would have had a decent shot at being together so really I feel like this drama could have gone either way.

Hye-jin’s transformation really had her looking like a whole another actress!

I don’t understand how Sung-joon could be so upset with Ha-ri but fine with Hye-jin - ike Hye-jin was the root cause of the predicament anyway! I thought he would have been equally mad at the both of them, even more so Hye-jin.

Finally, as we recached the end of episode 14, I literally sighed relief that the second male lead shaved his beard. Damn that should have been done AGES ago!

Overall, this was a decent drama with an okay story. Certainly nothing to rave about. For anyone who is new to kdramas this is one I’d recommend.

-E

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Don't bother

This whole show was mediocre.

What kind of guy goes and kisses his best friend’s crush? Sun-oh went and kissed Jojo when he knew his best friend liked her, and Sun-oh’s best friend just lets him do whatever he pleases!? What has Sun-oh done to earn so much of this man’s respect? This didn’t gain my respect for him as a viewer.

Now, I understand that Jojo and her boyfriend were having problems and not really feeling it anymore, but she shouldn’t have done anything with Sun-oh without breaking up with her boyfriend first. Nevertheless, the chemistry between the leads was definitely there, but aside from face value, it didn’t get any deeper than that which was a letdown. If this show was fun, light-hearted and fluffy, I wouldn’t have been disappointed, but seeing as it’s more serious and has zero comedy, I can’t help but find it lacking in that regard. Each episode was just ‘they rang my alarm,’ ‘they didn’t ring my alarm!’ It just seems very shallow.

I wasn’t okay with how the leads got together in five minutes with Sun-oh basically forcing himself on Jojo WHILST she had a boyfriend!

Jojo is just a heartbreaker - she broke up with Sun-oh, for whatever reason, and then blew off Sun-oh’s best friend.

I’m glad they addressed the issue of ‘those who have never been liked.’ It’s no surprise Duk-gu killed himself but I am still confused how he could be attracted to Jojo’s cousin when she is such a bitch! Side note: what windows don’t have safety latches on them nowadays? That must have been an ancient building to allow the windows to open up all the way.

The biggest issue with this story is how does a phone detect someone’s romantic feelings? I’m guessing this show is pinned as urban fantasy? The vibe I was getting from this show is that it is realistic, but for this made-up app to work, it must be fantasy. I feel like if there was a better explanation as to how the app worked I wouldn’t have been so bothered by it. The characters kept saying ‘someone rang their alarm’ so does this mean they were going into the app and pressing a button, or does "the phone" know when its user has romantic feelings and makes it ring? The latter is what I think the writer’s were trying to portray, but it is just too incomprehensible.

There was plenty of good acting and okay music, but this didn’t make up for the average story. I found myself being moved the most when Jojo’s aunt told her to leave the house after having their fight. I was confused as to why the aunt and cousin hated Jojo so much, like how is it an iddy biddy child’s fault that their parents took their own lives and left debt? AND the parents tried to kill Jojo so she wouldn’t suffer anyway. I can understand the situation her aunt was put in, but couldn’t she have been a little more understanding? Heck, if the child was that much of a burden, could she not have adopted it out?

Needless to say, I have zero intention of watching season 2.

-E

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I think it gets worse...?

I feel like this show started out strong and with a good idea but (imo) it slowly went downhill.

I’m such an empathetic person so watching the first episode was very hard, however I was intrigued enough so I persisted.

All of the flashbacks to Dong-eun’s past made me so sad for her and to hear her cry out in pain and just see the burn marks that remained on her skin for life was truly devastating. How messed up would you be if that actually happened to you!?

I just want to know what the real motive for abusing her was. I get that kids bully others to make up for their own insecurities, but this was horrific violence! And the fact that Dong-eun wasn’t the first victim? Why were these kids torturing innocent classmates? I mean, they displayed psychopathic traits but I don’t believe that’s what they truly were as they did show other emotions.

It’s really sad that Dong-eun’s adult life has been planned around getting revenge, but I guess if she didn’t there wouldn’t be a show about it lol. However, it does seem like an awfully long time to wait around to get ‘revenge.’ Practically 20 years! And then for Dong-eun to suddenly confront and talk openly with her past abusers and they don’t even lay a finger on her? If these four bullies truly hated her (for whatever reason) wouldn’t they have just killed her now? In the present?

I have to add that I feel very mislead by the clip Netflix provides as the trailer. I thought it was going to be about Dong-eun carrying out her revenge on the children of her perpetrators. That would have been far more twisted.

I LOVED the part where Dong-eun got her mother committed! Oof I was like, ‘in your face, bitch!’

That was so sad in episode 14 when we saw So-hee fall from the building whilst she was on fire.

Some anomalies I noticed were:
* In the flashback, Jae-jun and Yeon-jin made Ye-sol, and immediately after Jae-jun said something about Yeon-jin’s upcoming wedding to Do-yeong. In the present, Yeon-jin has been married to Do-yeong for 10 years so are we expected to believe that Ye-sol is 9 or 10? I swear they said she was only 8 at some point, but there is no way she is that old! So yeah, the story doesn’t add up there.
* Can someone tell me why Yeon-jin is in prison yet she has eyeliner on? 😂 it’s very minimal but it is definitely there lmao

Towards the end it became very apparent that the writers were trying to make Dong-eun and Yeo-jung have some kind of love story but… it was non-existent. We arrive at the final episode and they just kiss? Like, what? It just seemed so out of place when this drama is trying to represent a dark and twisted revenge scheme. We did not need that at all. I was simply here for the revenge.

Revenge we got, but it didn’t seem all that powerful to me. Myeong-o got killed so he didn’t suffer. Hye—jeong lost her voice which could come back. Yeon-jin ended up in prison (we don’t even know how many years) and she will be released one day and didn’t experience any physical harm?

I don’t know, I feel like the the revenge should have involved more harm and pain inflicted on the perpetrators, like what was done to Dong-eun. The only revenge I felt satisfied with was Jae-jun and losing his eyesight, but then Do-yeong pushed him into…wet cement…? And he drowned? Honestly, it was unclear to me - maybe I was just losing focus. I guess I am happy that Do-yeong got to play a part in Jae-jun’s downfall but I would have liked to see Jae-jun suffer eternally like Dong-eun had intended.

Because there were so many concurrent storylines, I feel as though it is likely that I missed some information or answers to questions that I had throughout the show.

I think all of the actors did a brilliant job, especially child and adult Yeon-jin. It was quite compelling to watch her character go crazy and then fall apart. It was funny when Sa-ra tore her down with the video of her bullying the other girl when they were in high school.

I thought the music was matched well to the scenes, and I particularly liked the rapid staccato on the violin. That was especially eerie.

I probably wouldn’t bother recommending this to anyone, but I’m glad I gave it a go.

-E

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This couple are like a warm marshmallow

I had a couple issues with the story in the first half of the drama because some things weren’t adding up and I felt like the relationship between Louis and Bok-sil happened way too fast. Not in the sense that them becoming a couple was quick (that wasn’t the case at all), but just them living together and even the whole sauna scene - they already seemed so close! Also, I’m not sure who would actually live with a stray human just because they claim to have lost their memory and are wearing what looks like your brother’s clothes. That seems uncomfortable to me.

Speaking of uncomfortable, whatever was going on with Director Cha liking Bok-sil was (imo) a bit odd. Is it just me, or did he seem like he could have been her dad? He wasn’t super old, but I got the vibe that he was way older than her, and especially in his job role too. It didn’t make sense to me why he liked Bok-sil.

In the first few episodes I got the opinion that Bok-sil was quite poor and I didn’t understand how even her job at Goldline could be making her enough money to then have all of these really nice outfits, let alone all of the shit that Louis bought (I know they returned some stuff, but still…)

The thing that confused me the MOST, until someone realised their mistake, was when everyone thought Louis was dead. Like who did the inspection!? Also, it wasn’t clear that any body had been found in the car so I was sat their thinking, ‘How did they not notice there wasn’t a body in the car?’

I liked Bok-sil straight up! Her character was kind and sweet and the actress is 10/10. Same for Louis! At times I found him very childlike and thought he needed to grow up a bit, but he was just so nice that I can’t complain. These actors honestly had some of the best on-screen chemistry I’ve seen.

I loved all of the side characters - most of them made me laugh and they were actually useful and added more to the story. Once again I cried for the grandma when she died.

Even though it seemed far-fetched that Louis and Bok-sil had already met at the 30th anniversary of the Goldline group as children, it was still cute how they came full circle and Louis gave the music box back to Bok-sil. And THAT’S why it said Go-bo-si on the bottom! That was good planning, and this too made me cry.

I liked the songs for this drama - I thought they fitted well.

Overall, I would watch this again. I ended up really enjoying/liking it and I would look forward to coming home from work and just getting comfy with my shopaholics XD Like I said, I had some issues with some parts of the story so that’s why I wouldn’t rate it a solid 10/10, but apart from that everything else was great!

-E

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Just fluff with a side of drama

Damn this drama was easy to watch! It’s been so long since I’ve gotten to enjoy a fluffy romance!

Before watching this, I had no idea that face blindness was an actual thing so I wasn’t super keen on a make-believe illness. However, by being assured it is a real thing, I was more open-minded whilst watching knowing that Min-ik’s situation could actually happen to someone.

I really liked all of the main characters. Gal-hee - what wouldn’t she do for you!? She was so kind, caring and understanding, and the way she carried around that duffel bag 😭 BUT, I cannot excuse the whole lying to her boss thing. I mean, one time, okay that’s a joke, but to keep it going? That’s just so much effort and makes the let-down so much worse! Obviously this show had to have some ‘drama’ and that was going to be part of it, and the audience is made to question her morals. Thankfully it didn’t take too long for the dust to settle and for Min-ik to trust her again so we got to enjoy some good fluff towards the end.

Having understood the realistic situation of face-blindness, I really felt for Min-ik’s character in the moment when he realised what Gal-hee had done. In the beginning I wasn’t entirely sure if I liked how he treated Gal-hee/Veronica Park. I understand that one was in a working relationship and the other was personal, but something didn’t sit quite right, and it made me question how/why Gal-hee could become attracted to Min-ik knowing just how differently he could treat two women depending on his relationship with them.

Even if Min-ik wasn’t face blind, I could see how he might get confused. At first glance Gal-hee really does look different.

I quite liked Veronica Park’s character - normally I would get annoyed and irritated by a character like hers but she was just so ridiculously funny and also kind of cute in a way. I feel like her relationship with Dae-ju humbled her a bit, and definitely towards the end she did feel humbled exclaiming that she felt like Gal-hee’s minion 🤣

The driver - omg, in the last episode I felt so bad for him! 😭 The whole situation with Eul-wang and her secret organisation she created was so suss, but once brought to light made sense. It’s a controversial topic though - a bit like Robin Hood - stealing from the rich and giving to the poor.

The comedic relief in this drama was far more than I was expecting. There were so many funny moments that made me LOL e.g. when Min-ik was putting on/taking off the compression stockings 🤣

One of my favourite swoon moments was when Min-ik and Gal-hee were on the beach and he got the call that he wasn’t being dismissed and she hugged him, and then HE pulled her back in for a hug - first time I swooned!

There is so much more I could say about this drama!

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who wants to switch off and enjoy some light-hearted fluffiness!

-E

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After episode 26 it was the biggest waste of my time!

Do I really want to waste any more time on this drama? No, but I want to be able to look back and remind myself why I didn’t enjoy it so much. Don’t get me wrong, the first half of this drama I actually did enjoy (except for the parts where Daoming Si was physically and emotionally awful toward Shancai), however once I made it past episode 26 it took me FOR EVER to watch it! I literally started this drama four months ago, and you may think, ‘why did you continue watching it?’ Well, simply put, I had already watched more than half and I am not a quitter so I couldn’t just drop it and not see where it went. But MY GOD, the second half of this show was literally a Chinese soap opera, which is not really what I signed up for. From episode 26 onwards (around that mark) it began focusing on all of these other side characters who I did not care for and they were really uninteresting. Honestly, the leads were uninteresting too, but at the time I started it I didn’t mind just watching a show that didn’t require much focus. I should have known that with 49 episodes would come something other than the main characters, but I just feel like the main characters were forgotten for a bit and then picked up again towards the end.

I can’t fathom the amount of times I watched Daoming Si and Shancai fight or break-up. It was the same thing over and over again. I don’t even know how their love bloomed when Daoming Si was physically abusive towards Shancai and even threw stuff at her face. How does one then follow through a relationship with that kind of person?

In the last two episodes I was confused - I honestly thought for a good minute that Shancai was dreaming all of that wedding stuff. It’s probably because I was so uninvested by that point that I had no clue what was real and what wasn’t.

The acting was questionable and at times didn’t seem believable and felt really fake and ‘put on.’ It almost felt like a stage production with some of the exaggerated looks that were given.

The soundtrack drived me up the wall! If someone is going to make a long ass show, then please put more than 5 of the same songs in! Ugh!

It’s safe to say that I will never be watching this again, and I cannot wait to start a new drama that isn’t as long! (Note to self: don’t ever watch a really long drama again!)

-E

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A good historical fantasy drama

There really isn’t anything to fault with this show. The biggest problem starts with me, as someone who doesn’t really like this genre all that much. However, that is not to say I didn’t mind it. It is a very well put together drama, and it is frustrating for me that I can’t like it more.

I struggle to watch Korean period pieces, especially when there is very little comic relief. I get that this show is very much focused on the serious storyline, and yes there may have been a few comical moments throughout, but would it have hurt to include a few more? I guess the writers used Kang-chi and Yeo-wool’s romantic moments to offset the serious tone of the story at hand.

Each episode was very ‘go go go.’ The story moved along quite quickly and I was beginning to think, ‘how is this going to be stretched out for 24 episodes!?’

There was a lot of time spent on the Gisaeng that if some of that was taken out then maybe I wouldn’t have had to spend a whole 24 hours watching it XD.

Surprisingly, I found myself quite gripped after watching the first two episodes and I actually really liked Wol-ryung and Seo-hwa (Kang-chi’s parents). I made the mistake of watching the third episode straight after and the vibe was just different. Obviously because the show moved 20 years forward, and then we were introduced to Kang-chi’s character who I didn’t warm to in the beginning. Throughout the show I did come around to him and enjoyed seeing him get through the difficulties he was faced with. His chemistry with Yeo-wool also played a positive part in his character development. It was amusing how Kang-chi’s character didn’t notice that Yeo-wool was in fact a girl for some time XD. If the directors wanted this to be convincing then maybe they should have chosen an actress who was less pretty (not saying that men aren’t/cannot be pretty).

Yeo-wool is a very cool female lead who stood by Kang-chi through everything and pretty much risked her life to protect him. It was beautiful how Kang-chi protected her just as much.

In the second last episode when Yeo-wool was underneath that spiky bolder I was shook and thought, ‘there is no way she is getting out of this one,’ and then Kang-chi swooped in and saved her! But THENNNN in the last few seconds Yeo-wool was SHOT!? I believe this is the first drama I’ve seen where the main character dies, but thankfully she was going to be reborn. When they met in her next life I teared up - I got so emotional. My heart goes out to them. I feel so much for Kang-chi who had to wait all of those years to see her again. His final line just got to me - ‘my time that stopped, has started flowing again.’ 😭🥺 Honestly I think that was the perfect ending.

It seemed very ‘star-crossed lovers’ until this point, which in a way made the show all the more poetic.

The time skip did throw me for a sec XD. I was like, ‘roads? Tall buildings? Cars?’

At times I kept thinking, ‘what is the point of this show again?’ I kept forgetting that Kang-chi’s mission was to find the Gu Family Book and become human and live a mortal life. It was only when characters mentioned it that I was reminded that this was the main point of the story XD. Otherwise, I felt like I was simply going along for the ride. With the amount of stuff that happened in this show, it felt like a fantasy/historical slice of life.

I CANNOT forget to mention the OST for this show! Oh my god! It was brilliant - probably one of my favourite things about it. So many of the songs were beautiful.

The acting was great - I don’t have any bones to pick there.

If I wanted to be critical I could talk about the bad special effects, but really I didn’t mind them all too much. The purple orbs up in the mountains were actually quite pretty; which leads me to mention the scene where Kang-chi and Yeo-wool are under the peach blossom (was it peach?) and the crescent moon - it was just gorgeous.

Another good point is the costumes! The wardrobe department did a fantastic job! I was very impressed with all of the Han-bok that the women wore and all of the Gisaeng’s hair pieces and accessories. I thought they were all really pretty. To be honest it was quite boring watching all of the other characters who wore the same thing day in, day out. I guess it was just their uniform? But what about Kang-chi? Needless to say, I much prefer a show that has lots of colour in it. I don’t know what I would have done if I had grown up in a time where colour television didn’t exist XD.

Overall, Gu Family Book is very good and I would definitely recommend to anyone who likes historical fantasy.

-E

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Well-rounded, polished, A-grade drama

I have waited so long to rate another K-drama a 10, and this one is it! I just feel so satisfied with the overall production of this show. I loved the characters, the story was good, and it made me both happy and sad. There were also a lot of comical moments that made it fun and light-hearted when the story was serious.

I was super satisfied with the ending! Usually dramas end and I don’t really feel anything for them, but this one had me! As Dal-mi said to Do-san, ‘do I need a reason to like [something]?’

I really can’t fault it - my only criticism would be around the initial plot. I didn’t like how Dal-mi was being fooled by Ji-pyeong and Do-san, let alone by her grandma! It really sucked for Dal-mi, but then obviously she wouldn’t have had that moment of wavering and the complications that followed with Do-san.

Moments that made me sad:
This show had me cut up from the beginning - I swear I sobbed for a good half hour when Dal-mi’s Dad died on the bus. The scenes from when he went to the investor meeting, to calling Dal-mi, to bringing home the chicken on the bus for them, and then for the man to say he was drunk, it upset me so much. Maybe I watched this when I was feeling too emotional, but it was a very heartbreaking moment.

It made me so sad in the respective scenes where Do-san and Dal-mi found out that Dal-mi’s grandma was going blind. I loved the grandma - she was very cute and a kind soul.

I was SO distraught when the ‘Alex’ dude came in after Dal-mi and Do-san signed the contract, and he said that they wouldn’t all be going to America. This made me SO angry and sad for the characters.

It also tore me apart when Do-san said to Dal-mi that he didn’t want to see her ever again, and I was like, ‘Sir, this cannot be the case!’ XD

Moments that made me happy:
I thought it was so honourable how Do-san decided to work on the recognition app because of Dal-mi’s grandma’s vision loss.

I liked how Sandbox was named after Dal-mi’s idea of spreading the sand to keep her safe after falling off of the swings. This made me tear up more (happy tears XD).

The ending when the camera panned across the photos of everyone and then it’s like HELLO your girl and boy, Do-san and Dal-mi got married! I was hoping this was going to be the case at some point.

I loved the interaction between Sa-ha and Chul-san. They were perfect for each other and their kiss scene was GOLD. Chul-san was honestly so cute ngl.


I didn’t really care for Ji-pyeong at all until maybe halfway through the drama. I guess it was kind of sad because he wrote the letters to Dal-mi, but he did have three years without Do-san around where he could have made his move but didn’t, so… Also, Dal-mi didn’t show any interest in him so I don’t know why viewers ever thought he had a chance. No second male lead syndrome for me XD It was quite obvious Do-san was endgame from the beginning.

Can we get a mention for Red Velvet’s song ‘Future?’ It was the perfect tune and the perfect words!

There are just SO many good points to discuss, but if I did that, I would be here forever!

I will definitely be watching this one again! 10/10!!!

-E

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Good slice of life

I really enjoyed this one. It was unlike any other I have seen, but God I’ve never wanted to strangle anyone more in my life than So-yeong!

I was intrigued by the story, but it did take me a while to settle into it as it was so upsetting/distressing to begin with. All of the bullying was so confronting and I felt so sorry for Eun-bi. I just don’t understand bullies and why they do it.

This drama did a good job of covering a lot of aspects of a teenager’s life; from bullying to parent issues, it portrayed a range of different scenarios that teenagers can find themselves in. Obviously it is a show aimed at teenagers so I think it would do a good job of engaging them as they might be able to relate and empathise with what some of the characters go through.

I felt for Tae-gwang when he got rejected - the poor guy.

Up until it was revealed that Eun-byeol was in fact alive, I was so confused because I felt like I missed something. It was interesting to see how Tae-gwang knew which twin was which straight away.

I particularly liked Tae-gwang’s personal growth - besides the rejection, I felt happy for him in the end.

I liked how it ended which Eun-byeol and I-an. In general it wrapped up well.

I obviously really enjoy a slice-of-life drama and this one lived up to my expectations.

-E

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Far-fetched, but I came around to it

I really couldn’t make up my mind about this drama. I think watching it so disjointedly didn’t do it justice as I kept thinking it was a drag/boring. Initially I was put off by the really long episodes, and I had to watch it at a faster speed anyway just to push through it at times. Alas, once I got back into it and picked it up from episode 11, I was quite engrossed.

A major downfall is derived from the show’s title. I haven’t bothered to read any other reviews but I am sure people have beef with this: the scene that involves Se-ri crash-landing in North Korea and those that follow. Now it’s a drama, so I get the fact that they are ‘dramatic,’ and this would have been acceptable in my eyes if the scenes had have been done right! Oh my gosh! Where do I start!? Imma just copy and paste my thoughts that I wrote straight after witnessing one of the worst moments in filming history!

The beginning when the tornado struck and the tractor and cow? Was floating in the air. Also, the way Se-ri was doing circles in her paraglider - like, it’s not believable at all.

Lmao where did the parachute COME from and WHY/HOW is it perfectly in tact!? Did she WASH her purple jumpsuit? The grip this man has on her while they’re FLOATING down - it’s literally defying physics! If anyone should be clinging on, it should be HIM to HER, not the other way around lmao!! This is SO beyond far fetched! I mean he has one hand RESTING on her head, and the other RESTING on her shoulder!! 😩😭 Like that’s. Not. Going. To. Support. You.

This couple’s composure during all of this - wtf!

Soooo they got back safely and he rocks up at a market??

Honestly, the only people I like in this show at this point are the group of soldiers Se-ri is hanging out with. Edit: this low-key still kinda stands true. Don’t get me wrong, I came around to Se-ri eventually, but in the beginning she was a really hard character to warm to and I’m assuming that was the director’s intention. By the end of the show we grew to love her and obviously this just proves the self-development of her character which is always a good thing to see.

My last rant is about the staring. The amount. Of. Staring. Omg - I hate the really dramatic staring into each others eyes that just goes on and on that I actually have to keep pressing the 10 second button!

Okay, onto the characters - so I liked Jeong-hyeok from the beginning despite that one terrible scene *cries*. I liked how he handled Se-ri and he taught her things that she didn’t appear to know.

As just mentioned, I grew to like Se-ri. Her character was quite funny which made up for the serious tone of the show.

Se-ri and Jeong-hyeok’s relationship had good chemistry (and how could they not seeing as the actors are married now1)

The other couple intrigued me and I grew to like them more and more so it is an understatement to say I was sad when Seung-jun died and Dan showed emotion. It made me cry! I was really rooting for them by the second last episode so was sad to see him go.

The boys/the gang whatever you may call it, were so funny and endearing. I could just watch them on repeat. In the second half of the drama when they were in South Korea, it was so amusing to see their reactions to everything they weren’t quite familiar with or aware of.

Overall I guess I did end up liking it. It’s nowhere near the top of my list, but it also isn’t at the bottom.

-E

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The worst adaptation I’ve ever seen, but still a fun drama

The title of my review really sums up this show. Like it is SO hard to not try and compare the drama to the original Webtoon.

Going into it I had such high expectations and was hoping that so many of the little details from the Webtoon would be carried over. Boy, how I was wrong!

Once we get past the sadness of it not really staying true to the original story, we can enjoy it for the very light-hearted and fun drama that it is.

Don’t get me wrong, the main couple are bomb, but I really REALLY liked the second couple, Sung-hoon and Yeong-suh. My loves. I was so pleased that Yeong-suh’s character had the same energy as that of the Webtoon, and Sung-hoon also remained the sweet adorable lil man that he is!

I saw someone say something along the lines of ‘Tae-mu’s demeanour changes very much throughout the show,’ and I think this is actually very true. We started off with him being a lot like Park Seo-Joon in ‘What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim?’ But unlike that drama, Tae-mu’s character softened a lot and didn’t really remain the same as he did in the beginning. I guess that could just be put down to character development? But if we’re ‘basing’ it off of the Webtoon, I feel like the Tae-mu in that was more or less the same throughout the whole thing.

There were so many things that were missed out that I THOUGHT should have been included, but if we were to talk about that, we’d be here forever so I won’t. The most major bugbear I have is this…

I HATED the ending. My live reaction: What’s the bet amidst all of this scandal business, and not responding to Ha-ri, that Tae-mu’s on the first plane back to Korea - tell me I’m not wrong! We’ve got 5 minutes left and it is literally just going to be a ‘hug and kiss at the airport’ scene. I’m disappointed. Or he just shows up in the taxi she was about to get in to take HER to the airport to go see HIM in New York. God, she literally said ‘hug me’ - this is actually the airport scene just without the airport. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!? I get that it’s called Business ‘Proposal’ but like, you had one job! One job! 😭 Finish it off with their wedding! Come ON! I’m tearing up literally because it didn’t end how I wanted it to.

Basically I was just very frustrated by that ending, like it just seemed poor.

I also didn’t like the unnecessary angst towards the end with Tae-mu’s Grandpa and Yeong-suh’s dad.

The amount of scenes that were CHANGED got me: How Ha-ri got her eye injury, how Tae-mu realises ‘Geum-hi’ is ‘Ha-ri,’ how Yeong-suh and Sung-hoon met, switching the car accident for Tae-mu rather than Sung-hoon, the prize for the sports competition, again, the ENDING! The list goes on… the emphasis on 'MARRIAGE? - That completely lost course - it was more about Ha-ri and Tae-mu dating than getting married, which might seem more realistic, but that was the major plot point for the original story.

Despite all of that, I still gave it a high rating because as it stands in a drama form, I really enjoyed it and would definitely watch again someday. The music was great, the actors were great, it’s just the adaptation that irked me.

-E

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