(Mild spoiler) Cute but with a pretty heavy dose of trauma and some plot holes/weirdness

Executive Summary
Watch it. It’s really pretty good and has a very nice ending. I don’t agree with the very low ratings, although it is not a “great” series. Fantasy is not my thing, but I did enjoy this series.

There is a mystery running throughout the series and they don’t reveal what is really up until near the end, and it was a bit of a surprise. So they did a good job.

The cast is great, especially the main couple (Nana and Jang Dong-Yoon) and the FL’s roommate (Gong Min-Jung). The main couple is pretty dour most of the time, because of their sad past. And that may be why some folks think the main couple lacks chemistry. But what makes the series work, for me, is that the lighter moments are really cute. When the FL is happy she lights up the room and steals the show! I would love to see her in more of a RomCom role where there is more happy and less sad. I think she would absolutely knock it out of the park in such a role. I’ll cross my fingers :-)

(Spoiler Alert)
And super extra points to the writers for giving us quite a few minutes of happiness at the end, and glimpse into the future of the couple after they are able to reunite. We need more of these types of upbeat and more complete endings. Yay!

Read More

Feel Good, Inspirational Sports Story

This was a fun watch. I really enjoyed the main couple (played by Zhang Xin-Cheng and Janice Wu) and the second couple (played by Qin Tian Yu and He Xuan-Lin). The writers invested the characters with interesting and non-vanilla personalities.

My main point is don't expect something really different or with too big an emotional impact, but just watch it to enjoy the story.

The Good Stuff
- Pleasant story and fun characters
- One of the story’s goals was to be inspirational
- Trauma, but not too heavy IMHO

The Sub-Optimal Stuff
- A bit too long. At the end I was kind of glad it was wrapped up
- Some uncharacteristic choices by the characters, such as a pointless lack of communication leading to a break up. I think what the FL did was wrong (if understandable) and this was never acknowledged.
- End was a nice wrap-up but… a tad weak - like I’ve seen in a lot of dramas recently. I don’t get it. We need a bit more of a splash for an ending!

Read More

Great acting but mostly depressing

This is another KDrama that is hard to rate. It is so well done, but whether you would like it is very dependent on what you are looking for. For example, are you looking to be subjected to hours of sadness? Then watch it. :-)

I usually point out the good before the not so good, but I’ll reverse it this time since the not so good is the determining factor for me.

Sub-Optimal
- Sadness. Hours and hours of sadness. Too much for me, honestly.
- The writers were like, “We gave ‘em a few minutes of happiness, time to kill off someone!” Gads.
- Inexplicable choices by the leads in the last couple of episodes. Even for a KDrama, and their normal tropes, the leads’ choices seemed to not fit the characters as we knew them. So unnecessary and did not add to, but only detracted from, the story.
- What we were all waiting for pretty much came in the last couple of minutes. Too late.

The Good
- Great acting! By absolutely everyone.
- Great cinematography!
- Ha Ji-Won is the reason to watch. So beautiful and so talented. Her small and subtle, cute and comedic scenes made the series. There was just not enough of them.

So, all in all a 7. With less depression and less buffoonery at the end, would have been a 10.

Read More

Incredibly Well Done - But Not a RomCom

I don’t have a lot to add beyond what other reviewers have already said. But I’d thought I’d make a few points to perhaps make it easier for folks to make a decision to watch, or not.

This series is not a RomCom. While there are comedic moments, most of the time this is more of a drama. There is lot of sadness as things don’t go well for the main couple. The picture on the movie's page makes the couple look super happy. This was not the case for many episodes.

Having said that, there are quite a few positives aspects to the story. For example the ML’s family is a very positive storyline (with some backstory, or course).

The storyline is intricate and well crafted. The different threads weave seamlessly together and come together well at the end.

The acting is really good. I think this was a tough assignment for the actors, but they pulled it off so well. I’d also call out the casting as superb.

I think I could point out a few things I would like to have seen come together a bit differently, but that does not at affect my recommendation. Despite the fact I thought this might not be my cup of tea:

If you OK with a story that some might consider a bit “slow” and that is not very happy a lot of time, then by all means watch this series. It is well done, well acted, and quite touching. I give it a 9/10 rating.

Read More

Gifted Acting, Finely Crafted Story, Best of 2023

I write my review below (after the “——“) and then decided I needed to add a bit:

I am truly mystified by some of the reviews of this show. I never want to say anything negative about people on the internet, but I just don’t get it. The negativity is amazing. Pointing out how the writers never spoke to women before, that it made all women look stupid??? Both the men and women were flawed - as are real people. Yeah, the characters could be annoying and frustrating, but have we not encountered these types of people in our lives? Have we not made dumb decisions that we look back on and can’t believe we did that? I sure have. This drama is no worse in that regard than countless other KDramas and CDramas which did not garner such reviews. This series just did a better job than almost off of the others with such flawed characters. :-(

————

When I read that this series was coming, I was truly excited. Touch Your Heart is my all time favorite KDrama. While everything about that show was great, it was Yoo In-Na's acting - her interpretation of her role - that was genius and made the show truly special. Could she pull it off again?

And I was not disappointed! Once again, she was the true driving force behind a series and elevated it to be as good as it possibly could be. She delivered a master class in acting, IMHO. Her ability to communicate emotions. The uniqueness of her expressions and the inflections of her voice... Amazing. Thanks to the those who cast her as Deborah!

I fee a bit like a broken record, because Kdrama acting is often so good, but I just have to say it. Everyone cast in this series was phenomenal.

Yoon In Na... Well, I've said it. She makes this story shine and we feel for her throughout the arc of the story.

Yoon Hun-Min as the male lead was so good. Dang, watching his character was so frustrating! So obviously he nailed the role and made it believable no matter how unbelievable it could have been.

Hwang Chan-Sung's role as the ex. I hated his guts! His acting sparked the feelings we were meant to feel.

Park So-Jin was sooo good in Sh**ting Stars.** And she was fantastic here. Her portrayal of a women in a listless marriage truly had our sympathy. She is just so darn good the I hope to see here as a lead in series to come. I’ll watch anything that features Ms. Park.

Let's hope we see so much more of Kim Ye-Ji. She is so cute and really did well in what I think is a difficult role - both strong and unsure of herself at the same time.

The story: Once again the Koreans' writing craft is so amazing. This was a tightly woven tapestry of multiple couple's evolving relationships. There was not a dull minute for my wife or I and we could not wait for each new episode. As the story was coming to an end I could not believe we had seen 13 episodes already and we were almost done. No feeling of, "This is starting to drag and I need to fast forward" in this series! I know we won't get it, but Season 2 please!

My one complaint is that at key points, the Male Lead did not communicate and it was just hard to believe. I am sure there are people who are, in a sense, broken like that. But he was given so many chances... Yeah, I know it can happen, I was pretty much that screwed up when I was young. But watching it drove me nuts! Then again, the story had me locked in so the writers obviously know what they are doing. :-)

If you want to read a good review of the story itself, check out ameerahcarol's review. So good it reads like a professional review.

Watch it!

Read More

Cute and Mature characters elevate a standard story

I really liked this series! The main couple was just so darn cute, and the secondary couples were also great.

The story is not something really new, but what I really enjoyed was the fact that the characters were really mature in how they interacted with each other. They had flaws, and din’t always make the best choices, but overall this show lacked the many of the silly tropes that most Asian dramas resort to.

When the main couple had a disagreement or misunderstanding, I’d get ready for the big blowup and resulted in a pointless breakup. But NOPE! They communicated, expressed their disappointment, but apologized and moved on. I just think this is a very good role model for how couples should treat each other and we don’t get a lot of this maturity in modern dramas. They feel they need the artificial tension to keep folks interested. (Well, OK, people do dumb stuff in real life, and the series can mimic that, but it gets old…)

So, a good story, with healthy mature characters. So a rating of 10 for me.

My one complaint, although I won’t take a point off for it, is the ending was kinda of weak. I am seeing that a lot these days. The ending wasn’t bad, or dumb, just kind of weak. I wanted a bit more to happen to round things off.

But watch it!

Kudos to all the actors for making this believable and enjoyable.

Read More