This review may contain spoilers
Baby voice and scaredy cat
DISCLAIMER: This is my own opinion. No harm meant to the fans. The drama is bad NOT the actors!If it had not been for the Watch Challenge this drama would have ended on my Not Interested list (where I put dropped dramas!) after the first episode. Since I promised to finish it, I used my time while watching to stop and rant which you can find below.
In short, this drama has not aged well and it is only 8 years old. The story idea is good, the acting is stellar, the production values are correct. And the writing is catastrophic: EVERY single character starts and ends as unlikeable (with the notable exception of three kitchen assistants), the WORST character ever in k dramas being the sous chef, a misogynist and sexist (he does not want to employ a married women with a kid! this was never ok or funny, as they used it here!) harasser. He might be a good cook but he is a despicable person. The main couple has no chemistry and the character development for the FL turns out to be the complete character change as in she takes all the traits of the ghost girl's personality together with the annoying baby cutesy voice!The plot is full of tropes, it is highly predictable (the murderer was obvious in ep 3). and therefore very boring.
I never watch anything in high speed so I only thought about ffw towards the end of ep. 15. Too late!
The music was correct, especially in the first half which was supposed to be a comedy and they used a lot of jazzy tunes.
THE RANT
I am spending more time ranting about this drama than watching it. I wanted to like it so much but, unfortunately, it is so bad. Ghost stories, possessions and romance are the tropes I like but here they completely ruined it with extreme characterization!
First of all, what is with this woke title on viki: Oh My Ghostess? I did not know the word existed!
4 episodes in and I am not really liking the drama: not a single likable character and everything seems to be set up as extremes. I guess they need to show the character growth but seems very predictable and cliché. I hope I am wrong....
One FL is a doormat, the other pushy harasser as a ghost but a cheerful optimistic girl in reality, the ML is arrogant, his mother annoying, the cop obviously a bad guy who killed the girl and no one knows how to say NO when even slightly pushed.
This drama is so full of tropes! I really hope it gets better!
Ep. 5 and the ML goes topless in order to put some skincare on his face! Nice; Good opportunity for the ghost girl to make a lot of lewd sexist remarks we are supposed to find funny and cute. Imagine if it were a man doing the same thing? Not funny at all! I can go with the idea that as a virgin ghost she needs to get rid of her virginity (how does that work, I wonder?) but does she really need to talk lasciviously?
Ep 7 we see the original, super shy, introverted and incompetent FL freed from the possession and the ML liking her more and more. Does she remind him of himself in high school when he was shy and bullied? But he likes the ghost as well because she's fun and extrovert, good cook and quick thinking!
A pet peeve of mine when I watch dramas set in restaurant kitchens is that almost always the female characters cook with their hair freely flying around: so un hygienic! I know, a FL with her hair tied or under a bonnet is not very appealing but still....when I see them like that, all I can think is "hair in my pasta" and not "how romantic, falling in love over a pan!"
I like the jazzy music on end credits: they should play it more!
Ep. 8 the wimpy FL asks for the ghost girl's help in seducing the chef. So many red flags rising! If she cannot muster up the courage to be more relaxed and brave, it is only cheating and this kind of cheating I hate, i.e. having someone else do your work for you and pretend it was you who did it all! NO NO NO & NOOOOOO!
Do writers & directors really think that women talking like babies are cute and seductive? The ghost is just being so utterly annoying with her cutesy voice and aggressive behaviour. This has not aged well! She can perfectly well stand up and walk but he insists on carrying her?!? Why do these men insist on treating the adult women as small, irresponsible and weak children? That ML is starting seriously to get on my nerves: it must be his caveman side - he likes the weak female more than an adult and competent one! He really needs to shed this macho mentality. He had a crush on the women for such a long time but never dared to say anything: now she's giving him strong signals to come and ask her on a date, he does not want to?!? What a cretin! Men are really afraid of independent women: how much low esteem does he have!
Please, can we get a likeable character in here?
And that ghost in ep 9? She is beyond annoying? Could not the writers find a middle ground where the fls are concerned and not make them complete opposites? And the ml falling for this behaviour: blowing hot and cold, shy and pushy? Did he really fall for someone with apparently split personality or is he just an idiot? My two cents worth of psychology would say he is still deeply insecure about his own qualities, he never managed to completely get rid of low self-esteem which made him a bullying target in his teens. He still seems to be that shy teen hiding not very deep inside the successful adult!
The extremely annoying ghost is still trying to get into the ML's pants, "seducing" him with baby voice and buckling his seat belt: this is the first time I've seen this in an asian drama. Usually it is the opposite: the macho man reaches over to take the girl's seatbelt as if she is not capable to do it herself (or it is the ml who tries to show his caring macho side).
I am watching ep 9 in short instalments: it is so hard to watch to the point of being unwatchable. The FL has definitely better chemistry with Cordon than with the ML.
So she goes drinking with the kitchen staff and ends up falling asleep in a motel room around 2AM. He gets all panicky and goes to get her, sobers her up and then they go home together I guess around 4AM. And his mother visits at that moment?!? Really?!? Ridiculous!
Ep 11 so the ghost is dating the chef and realized she is in love with him. He used to refuse her demands for sleeping together but now that he is ready to go further she is refusing. She'd turned from an aggressive female to a shirking violet, jumping as if electrocuted at the slightest touch! This dynamic is reminding me of Doom At Your Service which was the same: the FL stopped being forward once she fell in love! Another annoying trope!
I am only curious now to find out how the writers are going to sort this love triangle mess. Who is he really in love with the shy girl or the ghost? But by the end of the episode, the girl has realized that the one the chef likes is the ghost not her and told him that! Finally, some honesty! This is getting interesting....By the way, what happened to the nice jazzy music? Now that the things are getting serious, we are on to the soppy pop music?
So right at the moment when I thought they could not go any lower, the sleezy, creepy sous chef interviews candidates for a kitchen aid position. This is the pinnacle of sexism: do you have a boyfriend etc. and then he dismisses a candidate who is married with a kid! Not funny or cute just humiliating.
No, this is definitely not getting any better: just the opposite!
Ep 14 and the "pearls of logic"just keep coming: the ghost girl possessed the shaman lady but she is still incapable of turning pages and looking at her own diary? !? What is the point of possession? Just to talk?
Ep 15 Surprise surprise!!! The bad guy became evil because he was not loved by his parents! Boohoo! Give me a break! You are really going down that path, Writers, poor little unloved boy?!?!? His deeply buried resentment made it easy for the evil spirit to possess him?
And of course, the girl cannot tell the chef the news over the phone, that would be too simple! They need to see each other which will of course give the bad guy enough time to kidnap her or whatever so she would not tell anyone and bring out the ghost girl! I want to drop this so much! The last time a drama annoyed me so much was And I Married My Antifan!
And of course, the bad guy seems dead by the end of the episode! Why would he stay alive and face the consequences of his actions? Too complicated, right? How about he survives but with amnesia?
Finally, the last episode i.e. the wrap up or "they lived happily ever after" and the ghost girl is gone but she left most of her character traits with the other girl who is now cheerful, confident and speaking with the baby voice. At least the brilliant jazzy music is back.
The most repulsive and disgusting character is that sous chef: harassing the people working under him all the time. I don't understand why no one says anything? Still the hierarchy in the korean society? A person older than you is allowed to insult you and harass you as much as they want?
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My favorite show of all time is Ghost Whisperer, and this show brought back a lot of feelings for me with that. Especially with Bong-Sun being the way she was in the beginning.
The first time I watched this drama, I quit at the first episode because it made no sense to me whatsoever. Then, going back after watching a lot of kdramas, this became more enjoyable then a lot of others I forced myself through.
To start out with- here is the things I enjoyed the most:
-->Soon Ae towards her brother.
Do I need to say more? As I was pissed on how her brother mistreated everyone, I was taken back by how everyone was affected when someone came into their lives that reminded so much of someone they had lost. I love in KDramas how sisters usually slap the brothers on the head countless times. It is what makes a KDrama a KDrama in my opinion.
---> The drama teaches a very valuable lesson you don't often think about. That if you were killed and didn't know how- would you want to know? Would you have changed it? If you were murdered or raped, would you want to relive that as a ghost? Would you want to see the person who killed you?
Or, say you died in a car accident. If you were upside down in your car and couldn't get out- and your loved one just found out and came to somehow save you with firemen, would you want to perceive your death as no one coming because of a blocked off intersection/ bridge broke down, or possible bad guy ((such as in OMG)). OR would you want to perceive your death as watching your mother/ and or father reaching out to you. A simple act of someone really important in your life there to save you. It is that lesson that is very important in this drama, and something I think about very often from watching this.
==> Now lets apply this to OMG-- When Soon Ae found out how she died, would you yourself want to know what happened? Or would you yourself just want to get rid of whatever grudge (if you are a virgin, etc) and go to heaven. She was curious the entire drama on how she died, but she had hesitation. What if it is something bad? She didn't want to know at first, because she couldn't go back and fix it and live again.
---> Going on with that, this drama also did a good job on the question if people still care after you die. That people still live on with their lives, and Soon Ae took a while with herself to comprehend that everything was the same-- nothing changed. I loved her character in that regard.
-->Less corporate mumbo- jumbo talks that take away from the actual story itself.
-->More talk less showing of mother's wealth. Many dramas show instead tell of wealth. This can be overpowering to watch, because you get (in my opinion) less emotion and personality out of the characters. Poorer characters DO have a hard time, but they are more likely to make the situation brighter in some aspects. (If you have no idea what I mean by this, just look at the characters in Manhole. He's living in his parents house in the beginning and is still happy with the small amount of money and friends he has. Instead of other worries, his only worry is getting his dream girl to like him-- not to move out ((unfortunately lol)) ).
--> loved the shyness of Bong- Sun. Yet, I sometimes couldn't handle Soon Ae's childish persona when she was Bong-Sun. I really don't know.
-->Officer Choi can leave. Greedy, greedy boi. (( In my personal opinion, Im Joo Hwan is an actor I hate mercilessly. he himself must be a sweet person, but his characters just ruin every drama for me for the worse. Uncontrollably Fond was horrible because of him. I loved Suzy, but couldn't stand him. Anyway....))
-->Seobinggo. ?? Never understood her character. Even though she is supposedly a fortune teller, I thought she was someone from up above getting her and didn't realize she was real for a very long time. Her character was always back and forth for me idk.
and lastly
-->I didn't hate the other cooks, but didn't like them either. Some times they were funny- some times they were just annoying. I don't understand how they didn't catch on with Bong-Sun but whatever. Nothing to think too hard about.
All together, the lessons I've gotten out of this drama is really amazing. With the couple flaws it does have- it will remain one of my favorite dramas.
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I'm aware nothing's perfect and, if I'm to rewatch "Oh, my ghost!" I might find its flaws but I'm still going for the straight A score. Why? I was so involved in this drama like I haven't been by any other in a while, the acting was on point everywhere, no one had me looking aside or sighing for their lacking abilities. The chemistry between the leads was so intense it had me thinking Jungsuk was actually in love with Boyoung because those hearts in his eyes seemed way too real. This is also my first time seeing him on screen and I'm so stalking his work from now on. I love his voice, the natural way he speaks and acts, making the character come to life. It's not the typical "cool" guy. He's someone past the loser phase who's now confident of his work as a Chef and knows where he stands, someone who has insecurities, who can do wrong and let pride get in the way but who'll quickly notice he's being a dick and try to make things up. He's trying, he's human, normal for f**k's sake, not those other robots (aka Kim Tan) who are overconfident even tho they're "supposedly" 18 and all ready to jump into eternal romance with the next poor looking girl, ya feel me?
Na Bong was boooooring. Too boring. Sun Ae came to spice up things and had me laughing to tears. The story runs quite smoothly and I could figure things out at an okay pace. It's not draggy (perhaps around the first half of the show, since I had it on hold until recently), quite entertaining and pleasing to watch, funny, the romance is very cute and, unlike most people commenting on DF, I was torn between the two of them, unaware who I should feel sorry for. People tend to pick a side but... it was impossible for me to stand for one or another - they're both precious.
I was completely taken aback around the last few episodes: I was shocked, depressed, I cried terribly and even got the feeling things got a heavy turn - way too dark and scary. I had to take a break and calm down before I could go on but the ending had me melting like butter on a frying pan... they sealed it perfectly if you ask me!!! I'm so touched and warm inside because of this show. Honestly... the lesson is magnificent. This isn't only about the romance, people. Read between the lines, please! And if you fail to do so, Bing Go will make sure you get it right on the end.
P.S.:When my Seo(bang) Inguk made his appearance I yelled and jumped off my seat! I wasn't ready! TAT I suppose they were filming High School King around the same time? Maybe not. But some many cross appearances! I love those! XD
Anyways... this one made it to fave list! Aaaand I would so recommend this drama to everyone! ^-^
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Not only are the main characters lovable, the supporting cast add so much to the story. The drama does an excellent job giving all of them enough air time without taking away from the main storyline. In particular the restaurant boys added non-stop laughs to this drama, keeping this drama extra fun and light! "CON-GRA-TU-LA-TIONS!!"
The story has great balance and pace. It precisely weaves romance, comedy, supernatural, and suspense together. This drama is perfection!!!! I highly recommend this drama! Please watch it!
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Pace was good but a rushed ending in my opinion. I was disappointed why Seon Woo ( who admitted he fell in love with the ghost ) did not bother to look at her picture(Shin Sun Ae) to see her actual face when so much happened between them and Seon Woo told her ( Shin Sun Ae) to be responsible for him since he had chosen her. It would be really nice and realistic if there was a scene of Seon Woo holding Shin Sun Ae's picture in his hands and shedding a tear or two !
Would had wanted more touching moments and scenes between Seon Woo and Shin Sun Ae when she bid him goodbye. Afterall, they did loved each other once.
This is what i find lacking in this drama. Otherwise it would had scored a perfect 10/10 !
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This review may contain spoilers
I started writing up my review of this drama a few episodes or so from the end, because I had a pretty good idea of what my overall feelings were going to be once I finished. I was disappointed with the lack of development in Bong Sun and Seon Woo's relationship compared to Sun Ae and Seon Woo. There was not an even split, and it made the viewing experience frustrating. (I took a couple of hiatuses because of it.) It's not that I didn't love every moment Sun Ae and Seon Woo were together, because I did. I love Kim Seul Gi to bits, so I'm never going to complain about seeing her more often or about her characters getting lots of delicious character development. I also enjoyed watching possessed Bong Sun chasing after Seon Woo, and thus by proxy, Sun Ae developing a relationship with him. Minus the ghost issue, she would have been a strong contender in the fight for his heart. I just wanted there to be an even playing field for our two girls, and there wasn't. Only one of them was ever going to have better than a snowballs chance of being with Seon Woo, and she wasn't the one whose romance the writers chose to focus on most of the drama.Then I watched the next to last episode, and my frustration and disappointment didn't seem to matter anymore. Seeing what happened to Sun Ae, how horrifying it all was, experiencing this flood of gut-wrenching emotions in the pit of my stomach. I was so angry and heartbroken for her, that she had to die so young, and by the hands of someone she cared for and trusted. And then the biggest surprise of all (for me at least), discovering there was still some scrap of humanity left in Sung Jae. The entire drama, we were lead to believe that he was just pure evil, that he had been possessed by an evil spirit for so long that there was nothing good left in him. But in those last moments, what we saw was a broken young man fighting against a destiny that was unfair and recognizing the man he had become and maybe not being so happy about it. He wasn't so far gone that there wasn't still room for redemption.
Of course, then I watched the Last episode, and I was back to being disappointed. Finales are hard for even the best of dramas, and Oh My Ghostess (which I do consider to be one of the best of dramas) is no exception. So much of the last episode felt unnecessary, frustrating, a little confusing. I could have done without much of it, to be honest.
Sun Ae's final day was beautiful and moving, each goodbye a perfect send off to the people she loved, but it seemed a little unfair to me that such an important character should get her send-off at the very beginning of the episode and then be completely forgotten about afterward.
And we have to talk about the forced separation of our main couple. I'm not inherently against main couple separations in dramas. But drama writers always utilize them so poorly or just throw them in for no reason other than it's the finale and they need to fill screen time, and it Really felt unnecessary here. Bong Sun and Seon Woo are only just starting to really get to know each other as people and develop a genuine relationship. Do you really think this is the right moment to separate them? It's just not on.
I think the most confusing writing choice though was what the writer did with Sung Jae. It is hard to be sure just how much was the evil spirit and just how much was him, because the drama never made it fully clear, but at some level, whether conscious or not, Sung Jae was inviting the evil spirit into his life. Even with possession as an excuse, there was at least a part of him that wanted to do some of the things he did. I'm probably in the minority here, but I was willing to forgive him and give him an opportunity to atone for his part in all of the terrible things that were done while the demon was in his body. Just...not that way. That wasn't justice Or redemption. It was just...confusing and weird.
Now that I've finished the drama, I still think my initial feelings were correct, that Seon Woo and Bong Sun deserved more relationship development. And I think the finale did the characters and overall story a disservice in many ways. But I'm also really glad I finally sat down and finished it (and pushed through my frustration during the midway portion.) I think this is a good drama, despite its flaws.
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What I liked?..... chemistry between main leads, OST, funny and sad plots, also, the ghost girl was super funny at the begging, and of course the fact that the drama did not drag for 20 more episodes. Disliked? Story line was fine, but the not the best with some flaws, and a little boredom from time to time.
Honestly, the series would be a total disaster if not for main actors and their great chemistry.
After watching Master's Sun this was not as good, but enjoyable because of paranormal theme.
I would recommend people to watch it. It was entertaining, and really funny at times. I did not cry much, perhaps once towards the last episode. Ending was rushed, but satisfactory.
As for rewatch factor... I would say perhaps in the future, but not now.
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Bias aside, Park Bo Young is excellent here. She managed to deliver two characters in one, and not she only did that, but she made me feel for those two characters. I could easily close my eyes and still know who was who. She's not the only one shining on this drama though, Kim Seul Gi was also very good, like she is most of times, it's so sad that she doesn't have more leading roles, she has more talent than many leading actresses nowadays.
Also I was surprised by Jo Jung Suk, I had only seem him as a guest role in another drama (Legend of The Blue Sea) and saddly his appearence was too small to have a solid impression at all, so I was happy to accompain him from the beginning to end. Made me want to watch Jealousy Incarnate ASAP. And last but not least, I really liked Im Joo Hwa as well. His villain wasn't unforgetable, but it was like his acting could break the fourth wall, you know. People on the drama could feel something odd about him, as well as the viewers.
The story was also pretty original as far I know. Obviously it still has some traits that kdramas can't seem to let go of like the uber talented jerk-ish male lead, the dirty poor yet golden hearted female lead, the nagging mother-in-law and obviously a love triangle. However, unlike many other kdramas, OMG masterfully descontructs and turn into new things these same clichés. Even the love triangle is something completely original and well played.
I don't have that many complains about the show, I guess it's only major flaw was that it sometimes became boring and too slow. Not the good kind of slow, but just plainly slow. Due to this I was slow to finish, that's why I didn't give it a 9 (10 is only for the dramas that manage to touch me deep and only one has done it so far). That and I also felt that some drama on the last episodes could be avoided, also some plot points were a bit loose, and the villains backstory could be more elaborated.
Haha I ended up complaining a lot, but oh well.
The music was good, nothing more or less. I can't even remember it that well if I'm going to be honest.
Overall Oh My Ghostess is an entertaining ride. Not the most fun, not the most heartbreaking, not the most romantic, but good enough to make you like and watch it until the end.
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The suspense? It will keep you going. There is this certain character who'll make you curious, and some mysterious events which the writer skillfully plotted so that these questions won't be answered until you completed the entire drama.
The romance? There is more than enough of it; therefore, those who love romance dramas will definitely fall for this one. As for me, I had a love-hate feeling since episode 7. I realized that I liked Shin Sun Ae so much—and bled for her, too—enough to dislike the real Na Bong Seon. Love is happiness and sadness. :-( Ouch! My throat still hurts.
The casts? Like always, Kim Seul Gi (Shin Sun Ae) is hilarious that I always watch the dramas she's in. She's not pretty as doll but her funny personality is enough to make you like her. Park Bo Young (Na Bong Seon) is surprisingly energetic and cute. I didn't see it coming because she was serious in other dramas and movies. However, her voice is annoyingly loud. Jo Jung Suk (Kang Seon Woo), on the other hand, is a natural actor. I didn't swoon all over him, and I can't see myself doing so in the future, but he truly did a great job here. He earned my respect. Overall, that was a bunch of amazingly brilliant actors!
The OST? Actually, I neither remember how those sounded nor I care.
I won't rewatch this.
Somehow, "49 Days" and "Oh My Ghost" are similar; although, the first one is melodramatic while the latter is more comedic.
Overall Rating: 7.5/10
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This review may contain spoilers
SO GOOD!
It's my favorite kdrama, this is super cute and nice!! Only thing i didn't like is the ghost, pure selfish. I saw someone defending the ghost even though the ghost considered stealing the FL's body and having the chef to herself! I rated the music a 10, even though i don't remember listening to it. I have to wait a few months to watch this for the 3rd time, so i forget what happens and it will be more enjoyable! This is like kitkat, an enjoyable treat you never get tired of! Unlike other chocolates.Was this review helpful to you?
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Mystery > Romance
I rarely find myself preferring the thriller to the romance in a thriller romance, but that was definitely the case here. So it was kind of a shame that this drama only really doubled down on the main mystery plot in the last few episodes, which turned out to be my favorite.I really didn’t connect to the romance for multiple reasons, the first one being that the main female lead was possessed by someone else for much of it. I found myself constantly questioning who the ML was really falling for and when it was all reasoned at the end into “it was her all along,” it didn’t really feel earned. Other than that, the chemistry between the leads wasn’t really there and it felt like there was a large age gap (or at least maturity gap) between the leads.
My main issue with the romance and general plot, though, happens during those moments of possession. The second female lead (the ghost) thinks the reason she can’t pass on is because she died a virgin, and so she spends all of her screen time trying to sleep with the ML by touching him, climbing into his bed, etc. It’s really uncomfortable to watch, especially since all of it is just played off for laughs. I don’t think this aspect added anything to the story either — she could’ve very well thought she had another grudge and still made her personality loud and bubbly so that the ML would notice her acting different.
If they had spent less time with the romance, we could’ve really gotten more time expanding on the mystery, which was the most interesting part. The unearthing of the backstory is satisfying, but I wish we got more reactions from other characters, or some explanation about character motivations and plot developments.
Still, this is pretty light-hearted and fun watch. It feels like another 2010s drama classic, for sure.
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The supernatural and culinary themed story was nice and refreshing (and don't be scared, it's not scary at all), but honestly, it's mostly the acting that kept the story interesting (the plot itself, if there was any... honestly was not that impressive). It's Bo-young and Seung-gi's cuteness and humour separates this show from any other kdrama.
If you wanna see a cute and funny romantic comedy, or just like to see some cooking, or like some ghost and suspense, this is the show to watch!
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