The story of this drama shows how the life of a normal family really is. You'll learn many things by watching this and it'll make you understand each situation of an individual in the family.
The actors really did a great job because they had shown their versatility as actors and actresses. This sitcom is long but you'll love every part of it because it'll really make you laugh and cry.
This drama is excellent and you'll never regret watching it.
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There are many characters in this drama and tons of different story lines. Although there is a lot going on the story never really drags like some 16-20 episode dramas do. It's always interesting and something is always happening to hold your attention.
The acting was great from the whole cast. If I had to pick a favorite from the entire drama it would be Lee Hee Joon as Chun Jae Yong. He was amazing in this and stood out among the talented cast. He made me laugh and cry, not to mention his fantastic chemistry with Jo Yoon Hee.
The music was good and fit the drama nicely. I really liked the use of American pop when the scene took place in a restaurant or coffee house.
I loved this drama but due to the number of episodes and the monster that is my plan to watch list, I don't see myself re-watching it anytime soon.
Overall this is a great drama and definitely worth watching.
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Finding out that your next-door neighbors are your biological parents is the kind of coincidence we hear about on the news, the kind of thing that we wonder if it truly exists. I started watching this show because I wanted to see this unusual situation unfold.
The first couple of episodes, I’ve been holding my breath for the moment everyone finds out the truth, but the drama keeps teasing us (although it does make up for it with the comedy and the suspense).
Maybe it’s because I haven’t watched that many +20 episode dramas, but I felt too impatient and annoyed at the beginning. I could totally imagine many people dropping this drama somewhere around the first ten episodes. Even I –crazy about it as I am now that I’ve finished it- have thought about dropping it before Gwi-Nam found his real parents.
This is why I wanted to tell you guys to stick it through and you won’t regret it. At least, I haven’t.
I truly loved the social commentary that was subtly going on in this drama—South Korea is still a country deep-rooted in traditions although it has become so advanced. ‘Unexpected You’ makes its viewers question some of Korea’s firmly standing traditions, and comments on the nature of the relationship between in-laws in Korea. I thought the writer handled these sensitive matters very well, in that she gave us the two sides of the issue fairly.
The characters are flawed and feel real, even Gwi-Nam who I thought was too perfect at first (turns out, he has his own share of faults). One thing I found funny was how Gwi-Nam was like the closest thing to perfect a man could get, to the annoyance of men in the show.
It was like the drama was telling us that this is how a man should be, but in a completely comical way. I couldn’t stop laughing when the men in the drama grumbled about Gwi-Nam setting the standards so high and ruining things for them (a little meta that I enjoyed).
I hope more people would discover this gem for what it is.
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For those who find and have concern for more meaningful, realistic and love between family I recommend you to watch this :) This drama definitely have all you're searching for.
To tell the truth actually I watch this drama because I start to like Lee Hee Joon after watching him in Jeonwoochi and Joo Yoon Hee after watching her in Nine.They're such a cute couple in this drama. Wish they date for real.Hihii :D
At first I like to watch their scene more than the main couple and eager to wait for their next scene to appear. But as the episodes goes, I love every character in this drama. All the actors did a very very good job in their acting and you can feel as they are family for real.Chemistry of every couple in this drama nomu nomu jangg! :D
Watch this! Trust me you would never regret using 58 hours of your time for Unexpected You :)
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After they found the son the drama then became amazing in my view. I watched it in two days. The story and the acting was great and I was really glad that I did not stop watching the drama.
The acting was really good, I mean it was just wow. I fell in love with Gwi Nam (Yoo JS). I really just thought his acting was brilliant, especially when he was jealous, he made me laugh out loud. I also thought Yoon Hee (Kim NJ) was good, although she annoyed me a bit towards the end but then made up for it again. Overall all the actors did a great job to portray their characters. Also loved the Yi-sook and Jae yong couple. Lee HJ (Cha JY)really surprised me as he was hilarriousssss. I mean just really funny and I don't think I have ever seen him act so laid back.
Well I just want to say that overall it was a really really really good drama. Although it may be long it is definitely worth it. I wasn't hooked on the drama till episode 10 or 11 then it got really great for me. I think you should give it a go, it will definitely brighten up your day. Happy watching.
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First a brief introduction because the one here on MDL doesn't really sum up the show well enough:
Unexpected You is about driven career woman Cha Yoon-hee, who is newly married to the dashing Korean-born, American-bred doctor, Bang Gwi-nam. Because Gwi-nam was raised in the US he’s presented as prime husband material. He's willing to follow his wife's lead & capitulate to her every wish. Yoon-hee's pleased with herself for having landed such a "perfect" man, and best of all? NO worrisome in-laws to fuss and fight with since his adoptive parents are back in the States. Life’s sweet for our Yoon-hee. With a cute, somewhat neutered husband & no pesky children running afoot she can focus on her work AND rule her roost the way she sees fit. As fate would have it, however, Yoon-hee's blissful existence comes to a screeching halt when they unknowingly move in across the hall from Gwi-nam's biological parents.
Sounds like fun to me. So I used my one week Easter break to watch this drama. I jumped right in hoping for a hilarious, heartwarming family drama.
Let me now explain to you why these hopes were dashed.
What I Liked:
1) The fact that we had an established couple who were happy & affectionate toward each other for the entire drama. I haven’t seen that many dramas, but this is a first for me.
2) In the long run I didn't care for the character she played, but I do like lead actress Kim Nam Joo. Mature actresses tend to get a raw deal whether they're in Hollywood or Korea. However, KNJ proves that dramaland is better off with older artists whose life experience adds layers to their performances. I think in a better role, where she's not trying too hard to push an agenda & prove a point, she'd be great.
3) Lee Hee Joon as the witty, smart talking, smooth operator, Chun Jæ Yong. He turned into a lovesick fool toward the end, but for the majority of the show he was absolutely hilarious. I thought he was very well cast in this role. Just the way he spoke, his mannerisms, provided some really good comic relief.
4) The youngest Bang son & his family. My mom always tells me to look at a man's heart, not his face. Jung-bæ and his family are like a visual reference of this lesson. The guy isn't much to look at by any means & his wife is a complete ditz who a lesser man would have come to belittle & ridicule over time. But in Jung-bæ she couldn't have found a more devoted and loving husband.
5) This drama broke away from the usual clichés. Not completely, but for the most part. And whilst the story itself never quite took off for me, most secrets & lies were revealed within a 10 episode interval which was nice. I hate it when they drag things out until the very last minute before everything’s out in the open.
What I Disliked:
1) The script - it had a few great moments. I thought the overarching story of the lost boy who reunited with his real parents was pretty okay. But the individual stories of the Bang women were underwhelming & frustrating. There were a few twists & turns in the plot that made you go WTF? The script felt constructed, rather than fluid. As a result, characters, both old & new, appeared out of nowhere at the most inopportune times in the most inopportune of places & caused the story to go off on a tangent that was better left unexplored.
2) This drama had an agenda & it got very, very preachy - Now don't get me wrong, there's absolutely nothing wrong with the show's attempt to challenge gender stereotypes and the sexism Korean women face in their society. I'm all for female empowerment and bettering the status of women, but beating your audience over the head with all this stuff defeats its purpose. Every woman has her own definition of "empowerment" so a tad more subtlety would have engendered more of my support for the women’s situation. There was too much righteous grand standing. Characters literally preaching at each other -- and thus the audience -- about gender equality, what they should think & believe. Too much. It got very annoying. Furthermore, it's funny that this drama is about empowering women, and yet most of the conflict arose from pitting women against each other.
3) This drama was dripping wet in cheese & not the good kind - Those who know me here on MDL know that I'm a romance junkie. I love love. I do. I love when my heart is touched by a good love story, but please don't go overboard. I get that, in Gwi-nam, the writers wanted to present a man that’s more sensitive & supportive of his wife’s needs as opposed to the old-fashioned, insensitive, uncommunicative Korean man. But it was too much, especially for a couple who, though newly married, has been together for a while. Instead of making me sigh, I was gritting my teeth while skipping that sh**. All the grand romantic gestures came off very inauthentic and felt too much like wish-fulfillment rather than a realistic portrayal of love between two grown people who've long since left the playground.
4) The women - This drama was very popular in Korea & if I had to take a guess maybe it's because the drama was an outlet for frustrated Korean housewives who harbour grudges against their in-laws & husbands. For me, as an outsider who doesn't live the same reality, this show was somewhat burdensome to watch as it was a complete & utter whine fest.
That's also probably why I couldn’t identify with any of the women. At the start I liked Yoon-hee a great deal. She was put on this pedestal as the ultimate woman's woman, and at first she did project an aura of strength that I liked. I also sympathized with her struggles in a very sexist work environment. But as the series progressed she slowly took on a cloak of victimhood & wore it like a trophy, especially when it came to dealing with her in-laws.
I really have a problem with shows in which women wallow in victimhood. If Korean women want to be the only queen in their hen house, make a drama that encourages them to break with tradition & live on their own with their families. To me it's a better solution than pitting woman against woman the way this drama does, albeit unintentionally.
By the end of the show my perception of Yoon-hee was that she had turned into a shrill, selfish, entitled and conceited woman. Pretty much everything had to go her way ALL THE TIME. She bullied her husband with emotional & sexual blackmail. And ironically, instead of sympathizing with Yoon-hee, I ended up feeling like the mom-in-law was the real underdog.
The other women weren't any better. One, a self-centered, spoiled, bratty gold digger; another a clueless, childish virgin who was sooo hot & cold it's a wonder any guy was able to put up with her; the mother who was filled with covetousness and resentment toward her husband and children; the older daughter who cast herself in the shadow of a man even though she says she wants to be an independent woman. They were all very human characters, but given that I encounter these people every day in real life, I'd rather not spend time with them in my entertainment too.
5) Last but not least Bang Gwi-nam, the female lead's husband - At first I liked him, but he seemed to lose his manhood as the show went on. He’s incapable of standing up to Yoon-hee, even when she’s out of line. To me Gwi-nam was not an ideal partner. Sure, he's a gentleman, but he was also a complete wuss. I fear most men in real life will never be able to live up to his lofty ideal, not for long anyway. So I'm not sure planting such unrealistic expectations in women's minds is a good idea. Moreover, guys like Gwi-nam end up like the desperate housewives who capitulate and sacrifice too much until the day they cheat, walk out or both.
This is a drama for women, but not a woman like me. That said, I wouldn't encourage people NOT to watch this because there’s a chance this drama was made for a woman just like you.
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Unexpected, like its literal title 'You Who Rolled Unexpectedly'
This drama unexpectedly (like its literal name 'You Who Rolled Unexpectedly') gave me many laughs, some sincere tears, lots of love, and really really lovely romances.I watched and enjoyed many family dramas. Yet this one sits somewhere near the top.
From the writer of many popular dramas: Crash Landing on You, My Love From Another Star, The Legend of the Blue Sea (yes these), I prefer this, My Husband Got a Family, way more.
And from the director of My Golden Life, a drama that grabbed my heart.
The main couple Kang Terry and Cha Yoon hee, who had the most screen time , did not make me sick once because they did the cheesy stuff a comic justice and entertained me the whole time. I guess their sincerity paid off. Beautiful Kim Nam Joo really did well, and the husband was amazing.
The in-laws were the typical Korean in-laws from dramas, AND MORE. Because once I thought I've seen something like this before, they take a sincere twist that either makes me laugh hard, or feel so touched.
No matter how mean, or senseless they were, there was an earnest explanation behind it. So I couldn't hate anyone.
Even those people whom I thought presented a useless presence like in other family dramas, were ones who touched me the most. The uncle's family that looked like leeches at first, Jang Goon made me laugh the most in the drama, and Go-Ok touched me the most unexpectedly.
I don't remember things being dragged for too long, it was always eventful, and most importantly: fun.
The romances are too beautiful to describe.
The way I described it when I watched the first half, there were lyrics of an Ost song that played, it went like: "when you look at the empty sky", that's how it felt. With that feeling, I just giggled silently and sank back further into my pillow.
But things (or feelings) don't end the way it started. In the second half I was able to feel things differently. Something like, 'I can feel how much they mean to each other fervently', should I say...? Which made me fall head over heals again.
Both (Yi-sook and Mal-sook) couples chemistry was notable and it was hard to root for one more than the other. I just went back and forth.
Speaking of going back and forth, there were scenes were I laughed for one second, had butterflies in my stomach the next, then laughed the next second, and felt the butterflies again, and went back and forth, back and forth like this, it was just emotionally overwhelming in a fun way. My nerves were so confused. 🥺💘
When I thought this was just like one of the other family dramas I guess I did not understand this sincerity it had. Coming back to it again made me realize what was different about it.
The story, characters and ACTING were so sincere.
And this genuineness made me so happy and caused me to cry at every trifle, because it was honest.
There were a few acts and flaws that I wished would change with time, but I guess there were not enough episodes to show it. (Did I mention that the drama is long? Ironic).
I guess I have to be content with the characters' development it had.
I want to talk about everyone, but I don't want to make it longer.
Just keep in mind...
Behind this old-fashioned-looking front, there is a lot to feel. And a lot that I did not reveal 😉
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