The Third Charm

Out of all the dramas I've seen this one was by far the most furiously debated over. People either loved it or hated, and then there were people on the fence. I found The Third Charm pleasantly fulfilling. Often times dramas shy away from sad endings and pull plot twists, hidden elements, or any other deus ex machina things they could do to avoid a sad ending.

I was hooked by the premise liked many others, but unlike others, I stayed hooked and was not off-put by the sudden dark turn it took. At first glance, it would seem very dark and "edgy," but these are easily thrown around without very much thought. Is the story dark? Yes, but does that means it's automatically "edgy" and "emo?" No.

In regards to the story, I found the ending satisfactory which I could say far more fulfilling than other dramas which seemed to focus on avoiding a sad ending no matter what. In The Third Charm, however, it's one of the few dramas that had me on edge wondering if the ending will be a happy or sad one. Taking into account the whole story, and how OJY LYG progressed throughout the story, the ending was far better than I thought. I could see why some people felt disappointed with the ending, but I didn't mind it's was left open for interpretation what happened afterward. It's different than the bland conflict being resolved and the main characters live happily afterward. In TTC the conflict never really does get resolved, it never was really dealt with and took the form of a figurative scar which would stick with the main characters for the rest of their lives. There's no romantic finale where the male, after a thematic victory over the conflict, kiss, marry or stays with the female. There's just realism here.

The acting was superb. I have to give it to the leads even though I might be a little biased since I'm a fan of Seo Kang Joon, but I can confidently say with the script they were given they did an amazing job. SKJ played the role of the naive, shy and awkward lover, and Lee Som did amazingly with the over realistic, burdened, and tragic female lover. The supporting role also did an amazing job, namely Yang Dong Geun. Was all their acting perfect? No, but that goes for every actor there's always room for improvement.

In conclusion, it's up to personal taste whether this show is gold or dirt. This show doesn't shy away from tragedy, and sad endings, and I think that's where most people's complaints and frustration come from. The ending is even worse and where the arguments peaked since the ending was "controversial" to some. However, I did not mind it at all, I've watched too many dramas with deus ex machina happy endings, and there's nothing wrong with that, but it's good to have something different. If you want a good tragic drama look no further because TTC delivers on that.

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You know the feeling when you buy a new cake, it tastes good and you enjoy every bite of it at the beginning, but then you slowly understand that this cake contains something you are allergic to? That was The Third Charm for me. It was such a funny ride in the beginning, it made my heart flutter many times. But then, I slowly start to realise that the plot was going nowhere but in a way that leads to a toxic relationship.

There were so many things that went wrong. Did the writers forget the messege this drama was supposed to deliver? Or did they decide to change the purpose of that messege?

As I already mentioned, the beginning aka 'the first charm' was great. There was romance, many realistic and complicated at first glance characters, beautiful cinematography - everything you probably expect for such a great cast and promising synopsis. 'The second charm' was less interesting when it comes to the plot, but the chemistry between the two main leads was great.

When 'the second charm' ended, everything went downhill. Not just the fact that the plot became pointless and unbearable to watch, but the romance completely disappeared. I stopped supporting Young Jae and Joon Young relationship, it became too toxic and unhealthy for both of them. I wanted YJ to leave JY's life so they can be both happy.

Wow, surprise, there was no 'third charm'. Or at least I didn't see it. This also shows that the writers just forgot what was the point of this drama. But, if I have to be honest, the second charm was enough. It was already too much.

As for the supporting characters, I couldn't care less for them, Well, maybe Soo Jae, Young Jae's brother, was an exception. I really loved him, but there were some things he said that completely annoyed me. The second couple didn't have much screen time for me to care about them.

I'm closing my eyes, giving this a 6, when it's obvious that it doesn't deserve it. It had some good sayings, the actors and actresses did their jobs, the music was refreshing. But the main reason I'm overrating it a bit is because I feel sad that it had so much potential to become one of my faves this year. It's sad, really, but I don't recommend it.

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There's a lot negative reviews about this drama. A lot of viewers probably dropped it but I cling on and watched it until the very last episode.

The Third Charm started good and funny but eventually the story gets too emotional and was dragged down but I still give a good rate on this drama. Why? Because if you will think outside of the box, you'll realized that every scene they showed to us really do happened in real life relationship. Lovey-dovey on the first phase of relationship then later on when problems arise, fights and break up surface and if you're lucky enough second chances will come.

The writer probably wants to convey a realistic story that was true to life but end up messing the story because they insert a lot of true to life issues in a relationship. It was a rollercoaster ride of emotion while watching this drama but for me the ending was very satisfying and realistic. Not the usual happy ending that we always want on a kdrama but we know that their love will always be there. :)

Seo Kang Joon's acting is superb especially when he cries and acts unique characters but for Esom? I dunno, I'm not a fan of her coz' there's a part in the drama that makes me really hate her or her character. I just hope that Seo Kang Joon's management would picked a drama with a great story and writer on his next projects.

This is a good watch for broken hearted pips, i think. :)
There's a lot of love lessons to be learn on this drama.

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Pathetic romance Depressing story

Didn't know what to make of this. Beginning was interesting. Middle was selfish. End was pathetic.
Definitely not a comedy.
A selfish FL made it very hard to appreciate the sensitive ML who ended up looking like a loser for not being able to love without pity.

As much as I was hoping he would dump her, the open ending was dissatisfactory.
Just hope he never gets back with her the FL - the first time in k drama romance history that I'm wishing this.

For such a feisty female who had extra fine morals, to end up dumping her boyfriend for a rich doctor and then coming back to call the boyfriend whenin need......yikes. And destroying the relationship of that poor cop lady......

I only watch the romance genre and have a lot of tolerance for fluff, but this was not digestable.

Sorry to the full team......your hard work showed through but the story didn't cut it.

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Felt realistic

Just finished watching this drama which lead me on that it was a Romcom but turned to a melodrama towards the end....I also liked that it stars Kang Joon (from Are You Human too...you can't just get enough of him!)

I agree that this is not the best romance Kdrama ever. However, it felt realistic. Like, the FL had a daughter who died so she definitely needs a lot of time to grieve. Like, it may take forever to heal... And it is not fair that she will just jump into a relationship with ML just because she needs comfort. FL first needs to heal herself, find herself and then she can be happy again...

As for the ML, good for him that he is just continuing his life as a chef, and furthering his career in the process, because when he heard the sad story of FL on Ep 15, he thought that he can be the comfort through the rain of FL, but FL decided that she should handle her sorrow by herself, which I feel is very mature of her.

ML is just really this emotionally sensitive guy that easily empathizes with anyone with a sad story. He is really in touch with his feelings, coming from a whole family with full set of parents, unlike with FL, who is an orphan and is just too distant from her own feelings in general. (except when she had her own daughter that she just gave all the love she had not experienced as a child growing up so when the daughter died, FL was literally devastated)

So, in the end, I must admit, it sucks that's its an open ending. But, for me, I feel that, the 2 main leads, needs healing...and probably they will come around. Since they have known each other for so long, there could be a possibility of getting back together....or not...I mean, it doesn't matter really.

As long broken hearts are healed through time...Like what happened to the brother and the FL's bestfriend. Its been so long since they are friends only, and they stopped wanting to be each other's special someone.

But in the end, since they are friends, (the brother of FL and the bestfriend of FL), they finally took the plunge and got married....That is what I see the future of FL and ML later on...since its open...this is only my imagination....only my opinion....

I hope that we view this drama with an open mind, not how other viewers complained about this drama. It definitely has good and bad points. But overall, its fine. Not the best, but its fine.

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This drama started with light drama with funny scenes and then became serious and became heartbreaking. This drama is a roller coaster ride of emotions.
I like how the characters potrayed their roles when they were in high school and became adults.

I recommend this for kdrama lovers who like different plot of story with twist and turns. I like this because many can relate to their love story and a lesson will be taught to you that true love will never forget the love you shared with each other for the first, second and third time you meet. That's all hehe

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Just why!?!?!

To me (and it's just my opinion), this was trying to be some kind of deep art film, full of symbolism, hoping that there would be in-depth discussions about the characters and their lives. I don't want to talk about these characters, and if I can manage, I don't want to ever think about these characters again.

There is slice-of-life, and then there's time-I'll-never-get-back. This fell firmly in the latter. I could have been rearranging my sock drawer, or having a root canal and it would have been time better spent. It was soooo slow! Everyone appeared to be depressed, and they were trying really hard to ensure that I felt the same way.

Positives? Portugal. Lovely, lovely place. Seo Kang Joon - I love him, but even he wasn't reward enough for me to spend my time on this. I did love the geeky younger version of him.

I have to say that I never was able to relate to or feel for the FL. I didn't think she was a very nice person, and boy, she loved to live in her misery. When I FINALLY got to the end of this drama, I was so glad it was over. I liked the secondary couples, but the misery and depression of the years wasted by the leads overshadowed any enjoyment I might have had in the show.

SPOILERS!!
Then, (now I'm on a rant) they met, dated, broke up, dated, multiple times over a 12-year period. She married someone else, and he was engaged to someone else, and after ALL THAT no one ends up with anyone! I never saw why he liked her in the first place, and was their attraction just physical? Because they had absolutely nothing in common, they were constantly disagreeing, constantly breaking up, constantly yearning for the other. At some point in time, some serious counseling would have come in handy. And the way the drama ends, I felt like they were in a continuous spiral and would keep up the same make up/break up routine. So tiring!

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I started this drama when it first aired and I wasn't really impressed. Neither by the scenario nor by the actors so after a couple of episodes I just dropped it out. I recently started it again and I have to say it got much better somewhere on the 8th - 9th episode because the plot started changing dramatically. I don't want to make spoilers BUT the final 3 episodes have no connection to the rest of the drama. For me they were the best part. I cried A LOT and so you will you for sure !

So the drama is in 3 phases : high school , mid 20s , early 30s. Although the first phase is very boring and so is the second , I think it's all because of how immature the main characters still are. Once they reach their 30s and their lives have completely changed the story becomes deeper because they will have to deal with serious problems and face their demons like proper adults. If I would re-watch it , it would be only for the final episodes.

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I started watching this drama after I saw a spoiler when they broke up. Every episode begins to be interesting and fun to watch, until I reach the finales two (episode 15 and episode 16). I wont criticize the actor who play On Joon Young, I’m criticize Joon Young as a character itself.

First I don’t find justified the reason or the way he break up his engagement, it was poor and childish for him to think that if he cares o worries about someone that he used to loved that means he love her again. Love just dosen’t work in that way. People offen are worried and care for other people, besides they love one’s and that dosen't implies that they feel love through them in a romantic (woman and men) way.

He just broke up a 4 years of relationship, again a 4 YEAR OF RELATIONSHIP, base on (and this is my conclusion) nothing. He just made up the triangle movie himself. And I stronger belive that Young Jae didn’t see him o plan to be with him in a romantic way, she was dealing with way to much stuff for even care if he cries or not.

I’m glad the way the writer give an end to her, but for him I saw that so pitiful and lac of maturity. I mean Young Jae just show up after 4 or 5 year later and just from nowhere he says he can’t control his feelings, someone should say to him, “bro you need to get your sh*t together”

I’m glad that they didn’t end up together, I feel relieve about it, but that Oh Joon Young character... sadly he could have a better ending

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The Show that is a realistic slice of life if you equate realism with misery

First off I had no issues with the ending as id already been hugely disappointed well before that. The open ended nature was an achievement given what came before. This IS NOT a realistic slice of life these are not average or ordinary lives. Also not having a happy ending or a show being full of misery does not automatically make a show more realistic than a happy ending rom com.
This story if you want to call it that is not anything. Two peoples lives intersect and one persons actions the FLs have huge impact on the Mls not so much the othwr way. We see so much more of ML life that we could onclude this story is about a man whose life is dominated mostly negatively by his relationship with an incredibly toxic flawed and selfish woman. This may seem unfair as he is a frustrating chatacter at times but the worst of him is usually reacting to his relationship with her and he always wants to maintain it whereas the worst of her is always about her thinking only of herself.
The interactions with her and the Doctor are what realky majez it impossible to see any hope for this story or relationship. She is with ML fully committed but from the time this guy appears she indulges him until she is in fact cheating even if its not physical though she finalky rejects him just!! As bad as that reflects on her whats worse is we are told explicitly that the break up is not because of him but following and judging length of the time skip she marries him and has his kid almost immediately after breaking up. The fact that no time is given to explain this or explore this in the drama is unfirgivabke abd makes everything else meaningless. Once she has the child thats it game over. BIG SPOILER AHEAD

The fact that the writer resorts to the childs death as the device to return her to Korea and reunite is distasteful to say the least. Anythig that happens after this is just not fate or meant to be its just tragic.

True to form the FL meets ML and of course does enough to sgaje him up i to breakimg up with his fiancee but doesnt want anything else.

If a woman like this is supposed to be offered as slice of life realistic its a big disservice to women.

He is just a man who cant get over his first love keeps meeting her and getting himself ruined tbat is the only consistent part more toxic and abusive than realistic IMO.
Aside from this there is not one really likeable secondarycharacter or story in the whole thing. Its uncanny. The FL brother is a selfish Ahole similar to FL. The FL friend is portrayed as pathetic and at a crucial point without any reason we can see compketely slates ML to FL.

Even the blurb above here is compmetely misleading. It is gratitous angst and cruelty with no resolutuon or meaning dont wate your time im sorry.

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