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Young Lady and Gentleman korean drama review
Completed
Young Lady and Gentleman
25 people found this review helpful
by manicmuse Flower Award1
Apr 3, 2022
52 of 52 episodes seen
Completed 6
Overall 3.5
Story 3.0
Acting/Cast 5.0
Music 4.0
Rewatch Value 1.0

I still can't believe I watched all 52+ episodes of this mess voluntarily.

I gave myself an extra week before finishing this drama because after weeks and weeks of this hot mess of a drama I wasn't quite ready for it to end. Watching this show has been slightly masochistic. The plot is possibly the most ridiculous I've ever committed to watching, the main couple was well past my threshold for cheesiness, and yet I couldn't look away. Every week I volunteered to be irritated by characters and baffled by their actions. The actors committed to some of the worst written characters I've ever seen, so I can respect them for that, but it is so way over the top that I couldn't take a minute of this seriously. If I could rename this drama I would call it "Why can't everyone just mind their own business?!!" since most of the plot ends up being about meddling parents and caring too much about what others have to say. I'm sure culturally this maybe resonates more with a Korean audience but I couldn't relate, and the actions of many of the characters felt insane. I felt insane too because I couldn't stop watching.

The main story is pretty basic. A young tutor/nanny and her widower boss fall in love in the most nonsensical way. There is also an implied HUGE age gap between them which already felt strange because in real life there isn't that same big age gap, and it shows. Their romance also feels extremely childish. The FL was constantly having random mood swings that went from obsessed crush to pouty brat while the ML was usually in robotic and gullible mode. They fought like immature kids, not lovers, for most episodes. Maybe people who like an old-fashioned love story will like how innocent they are but I felt like they traded in chemistry for a more "wholesome" style that was more cringy and corny than exciting and romantic. Still, this didn't stop me from waiting and watching to see what would happen, even when the same tropes kept repeating episode after episode. The silly music often played to remind us when it was supposed to be funny but I don't remember ever laughing... not even once in 52 episodes. I just stared at the screen wondering how something so terrible could put such a spell on me.

The rest of the characters consist of selfish parents throwing tantrums... a Sa Ra who is just as evil and slap inspiring as Se Ra's of dramas past, a lot of random family members in their own relationship messes, and 3 kids... 2 of which are super adorable and the show's highlight by far. All of these characters also constantly talk to themselves aloud which adds another layer to the ridiculousness. Still, I can only blame myself for tuning in each week. I dare say the end didn't disappoint, complete with a cringy musical moment that felt like our big prize for finally finishing this. There were also dramatic moments that left me completely dry-eyed but helped with the closure I need to move on.

Would I watch this again? Bahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaa.

No.

Should you watch it? How do you feel about wasting hours of your life watching parents act like toddlers and the dysfunctional relationships they cause through meddling? Do you think dramas today aren't wholesome enough? Can you just not get enough of Amnesia plots? How about birth secrets and false paternity claims? Do you enjoy yelling "This is so stupid" at the screen? Do you enjoy being frustrated by characters doing things that make so sense at all? Do you love stories that drag out plots and jokes? Then by all means enjoy all 52 episodes of this train wreck of a drama. Scroll through the comments here and commiserate with others who also decided to watch this madness week after week. This is the one time where I feel like watching in real-time was better, and I just can't see binging this show for 52+ hours. The way so many parts of the plot drag on would be more blatant if watched back to back.

And don't forget the special... which could have easily been added to the last episode but maybe they needed more time for product placements and cheesy montages and flashbacks.

I admit that I will miss the "Do-Ba Do-bi-do-bi..." song during the awkward moments, which was a guilty pleasure.
Not to be confused with the more lighthearted "Dodo lehdehdeh..." lol! The music was definitely cued up to set the mood and will probably haunt me for years to come.

Overall, this is definitely a drama for a specific audience, so I don't want to trash it too much because I chose to keep watching. I'm still in shock that I made it to the end. If you dropped it, don't bother trying to watch it again. It doesn't get any "better" If anything it gets worse. Or maybe gather friends and you can heckle it together like "mystery science theater", because I know I wouldn't have made it without the comments here showing me I was not alone.

To all those who also made it to the end, We did it! I don't know why we did it to ourselves, but we did it!

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