A ''product life cycle graph" drama -_-
So basically this kind of graph picks up a lil low but suddenly rises up, goes on stably for a lil while and then again suddenly declines to it's lowest point just to keep up at the same level until the data is over.The first and foremost reason I came to ONE THE WOMAN was Lee Ha Nee. I have loved her acting for a long time and the plot saying the drama is a female centric got me even more excited. I don't watch anything ongoing so what got my attention later was the overwhelming response to this show in Korea for an internationally less talked Kdrama. But I came here to only be disappointed and frustrated.
Lee Ha Nee got a double role character in here playing both Prosecutor Cho Yeon Ju and a conglomerate DIL Kang Mi Na of Hanju, who are lookalikes. Mi Na suddenly disappears from an event on an usual day but in her stead Yeon Ju was found severely injured at the same venue. She loses her memory due to amnesia and everyone takes her as Mi Na. Confused by everything happening around her, Yeon Ju tries to adjust into the completely new environment but unable to control her rough & outspoken behaviour. Han Seung Wook (Lee Sang Yoon), Mi Na's in-law cousin and heir to the largest share at Yumin, comes forward to Mina and tries to protect her bcs she was her first love. Together, they try to resolve the issues in both Yumin & Hanju and also dig into the mysteries of both past & present while unveiling astonishing truths about themselves.
There are in fact many familiar faces in here which is another reason to look forward to this drama though it failed to a great extent. Kim Chang Wan ahjussi as Noh Hak Tae, Hanju's legal head yet great supporters of lead couple, Kim Won Hae as Ryu Seung Duk, the chief prosecutor at Seoul Central District Prosecution, Jun Gook Hwan as Han Young Sik, Hanju's chairman and Mina's FIL, Ye Soo Jung as Dir. Kim, the house manager for Han family, Lee Won Keun as Ahn Yu Jun, Yeon Ju's only friend at prosecution and Mina's older SIL are some major roles. Sorry couldn't help but mention all these names bcs in fact they're good actors.
In other minor characters were, Jung In Ki as Kang Myung Guk, Yeon Ju's father ,Na Young Hee as Seo Young Won, Mina's annoying MIL, Song Won Suk as Han Seung Woon, Mina's husband, Jin Seo Yun as Han Sung Hye, Song Seung Ha as Han Sung Mi, Mina's younger SIL. The 1st 2 are very good but are minor roles here. I am particularly disappointed with Song Won Suk's acting though his outfits were all aesthetically beautiful.
It's visible that the writer is a rookie. I mean there are few jakka who at least deliver a good piece without much to complain about but there are some others who fail from many angels, that's the case here. Even for the most major character of Lee Ha Nee turns one dimensional after first few episodes and started exaggerating her role . She would have been doing more while bearing 2 identities at the same time but rather she sticked to one thing and absurdly ignored the other in an entire sense tsk tsk tsk. I will never complain about the ML's passive character because I always think both ML and FL should have the same essence in a story, but I don't think Lee Sang Yoon's character wasn't at all futile. They made fun of neuroscience in many ways and not to forget, of psychiatric and psychological treatment methods. The middle portion was infact full of illogical elements which can be laughed upon.
The basic plotline isn't anything new; it felt like the writer took inspiration from 80s-2010s Indian movies bcs the storyline is exactly the same as many Indian movies with a taste of Kdramas to it. The plot development is extremely awful in the 2nd half of the show. The first 2 introductory episodes were a bit uninteresting tbh but I hoped they'll do better, which actually happened. The show picked up the perfect acceleration from ep3 and made me look forward to the next. However, it again became slow & boring from the 2nd half of the 7th episode. I was hoping that'd be temporary but it stayed the same till the very end. Now read my first paragraph and you'll realize what I wanted to explain. Well, I got very bored from 8th episode but forced myself into it till 11th and then fast forwarded it at 2x till the end.
There's no consistency in setting up the scenarios in the drama either; the director did a poor job in that regard despite their experience. For first 7 episode it was full of family drama (not on the makjang level tho) then till 11th it was an investigative melo and for last 5 episodes it became a power trip between the chaebols. I would have been a lil more pleased if it were evenly distributed throughout.
The best thing about this drama was the comedy elements and 1st-7th episode is full of that only; may be that's why I wanted to continue with the drama despite the 'not at all new' storyline. Especially, it was Ha Nee and her responses & expressions, my goodness; I enjoyed it so so much, like she could carry the entire drama on her own. I wish it could last till the very end, but alas. In fact Kim Chang Wan ahjussi and his annoyed self was soooo cute plus funny. The family melodrama scenes had me laughing crazy, I swear.
The romance storyline for the drama started off really well. It was interesting and the revelations, tho cliché, were well executed. The gradual development ended somewhere around the interval and I as expecting something nice but it wasn't of any use, other than momentary tease party and kisses. Somehow, it can be an unique way if you see but for a drama meant for entertainment I couldn't find anything out of it.
One thing I can't deny is that the last part issue of revealing all the truth behind the 14yo incident involving all the major characters, were quite well written though the execution could have been better.
Overally, One The Woman can be either a n one time watch with fast forwarding the 2nd half or used for trash watch. I wonder why it was breaking records in Korea but it's not even anywhere near the average ratings for cable dramas, i.e. 7-8% (?). Thankfully there isn't much hype among the international fans and I am not gonna recommend this to anyone. I didn't have much expectation or whatever but given that the possible potential was wasted collectively by thw cast & crew, I have to express my utter disappointment.
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Great start, weak finish.
Female lead is something else, quite different from usual. The female lead is a joy and a treat to watch. She is funny, captivating, witty and actually clever. Quite a badass as well. I find it intriging especially the mystery element in it. I like how the female lead negaivgates everything, she is not a push over. She tries to get to the bottom of what happened. Then all that changed, she just became weak, like why???The other characters are also interesting to watch, there are layers to them. The dynamics of everyone is quite good. The comedic timing is great the chemistry between the cast was good.
I thought this was going to be a show that I will use to pass time but every mintue of the first half was worth it. And then it just started to fall apart. I felt so let down, the first 8-10 eps were so good and then all just became boring. Waste of actors, poorly written towards the end.
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I'll just go unconventionally.. and talk about the points I mentioned above.
Mild makjang- Yes it's over the top... in many ways, unbelievable things happening here and there. But why mild, coz it's not frustrating or blood boiling, though having many annoying, hatable characters I wasn't desperate to slap or punch anyone. It's more like, 'Oh I hate this character, he/she's just so insane.' but that's it no overflowing emotions.
Intense comedy- The worth only thing is a comedy, though it doesn't offer the peak comedy moments, a good laugh, and quality humor. It's not consistent till the end... as you know how 'revenge' dramas turn in the last episodes, even if it's comedy.
Slight romance- Honestly the most boring part of the show and unnecessary, firstly I don't feel the romantic chemistry between leads, they are good as friends but nothing more than that. She has more chemistry with Yoo Jun. Romance feels forced and out of context... and some part is just sooo cliche.
Slight action- I just love when FLs can fight... and here she definitely can, as I said it's slight action so there aren't many action scenes but I did enjoy little action, and seeing FL kicking the ass of everyone.
Coincidences: Why I felt to make a different section of it... This is just too much. Coincidences start from the very first episode till the end... as if everything is in the circle. 1,2,3,4,5... okay fine I can endure that but when it's way beyond it's annoying.
Lee Ha Nee was just awesome, she did a splendid job... But I would have loved it if Cho Yeon Joo's character was consistent till the end, Cho Yeon Joo kinda lost her charm later. Han Seung Wook is bland.. he's lead but I just can't see him as ML maybe I end up comparing him with Yeon Joo which ends up Seung Wook having no spice, is Lee Sang Yoon aging backward? he looks so young than last time I saw him. Yoo Jun I love this guy yes more than Seung Wook... he's just so adorable and such a sweetheart. Though it's not SLS as I wasn't rooting for any romance. Our Ahjusshi aka HG's legal head.. has his charm, he comes 2nd after Ha Nee of whom I enjoyed screentime most. Villains are just so stereotyped... even their motives are the same.
Being revenge drama.. it revolves around comedy more, it's not surprising at all... as all the 'twists' I saw coming miles away, so nothing gonna blow up your mind. And it's forgettable... I even forget I was even watching this... I stumbled upon a review and learned oh it ended, I've to catch up with the last episodes lol.
'One the Woman' is watchable but not out of the box just have... watch it for entertainment and Lee He Nee.
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THIS AIN'T NO JOSEON ERA KIND OF SHOW
(Update Added)So far, so good. It's refreshing to see a different kind of female lead!
This series plays a joke on the usual K-dramas that somewhat seem "behind-the-times". This ain't no "is-this-a-shouting-competition-are-we-still-in-the-Joseon-era" kind of show. Honey Lee plays her characters, Mi Na/Yeon Ju, brilliantly with quiet strength, confusion, and no-nonsense kick ass. Yeon Ju is mistaken as Mi Na, landing squarely in the enemy territory of her in-laws. She unexpectedly finds herself in verbally abusive situations, and yet dodges or handles it expertly with a "no-holds-barred" kind of attitude and won't tolerate any form of physical abuse. (I mean isn't it time to start writing those kinds of abuse unacceptable in any form anyways?) Her sassy temper and sharp mind pull out the stops against the schemes of her terrible in-laws and even her own remaining family.
As Yeon Ju takes the place of Mi Na, she is comedic, innocent yet downright scary. Although she suffers from amnesia, her heart, intelligence, and toughness all shine through as the core of who she really is. Her chameleon character changes effortlessly like the different languages she unwittingly and surprisingly speaks. As the story unfolds, it's interesting and entertaining to watch Yeon Ju "swimming with the sharks" so to speak as she works to save Mi Na's place as a rightful heiress while navigating the schemes of the terrible in-laws.
I'm enjoying this show immensely and I commend the cast, the writers, and those behind-the-scenes for a job well done so far. As of writing, I've finished EP 7 and will update my review when the show concludes. Make sure to watch the endings with the epilogue after each episode!
"One The Woman" is definitely "One To Watch"!!
(Update)
Because of my original heading and reference in the show about this not being a "Joseon era kind of show", I had to laugh when the "Joseon Era" scene was added later in the show! Hilarious!! I literally laughed out loud!
So to update my review, I lowered it from a 9.5 to an 8.0 rating. For me, I think that as soon as the FL found out she wasn't Kang Mi Na, the story changed and we didn't see as many "stand your ground" moments from the FL anymore. In my opinion, that's what made the FL so interesting and endearing. I had really enjoyed her as Mi Na when she went up against anyone who stood in her way but the story shifted more to her being Prosecutor Yeon Ju; I felt that the writers could've given the character Yeon Ju a bit more "valiant" moments just like they had done for Mi Na's character previously. I think that's where the show lost its lustre for me personally. The second half dragged a bit. I also didn't feel as much chemistry between the two leads so the romance storyline wasn't enough to keep me interested or invested in them as a couple. I did, however, love the chemistry of Yoo Jun, (played by Lee Won Keun), and Yeon Ju, (Lee Ha Nee). (On a side note: Put these two together in another k-drama romantic comedy where a younger man unintentionally falls in love with an older woman and I'm all for it! I could totally see these two in a rom-com where Ha Nee plays a sassy older lady who acts younger and carefree and Won Keun is the calm and more mature one who's so serious all the time and neither of them wants to admit they're falling for each other. I ship them in that kind of story... Yup, I said it... so someone better get on that stat!)
Okay back to the review... the Han family. They didn't contribute much to the storyline in the second half of the show and felt they were just added on as fillers. It would've been better to see Alex/ Seung Wook unseat Chairman Han personally. The Chairman, Seong Hye, and Chief Prosecutor Seung Deok's endings could've been more punishing. However, I do commend all the actors and I love watching Kim Won Hae, Kim Chang Wan, and Ye Soo Jung in any roles they play!
Overall the show had a great start and mild pace in the middle but didn't finish as strong in the end as I had hoped.
On another personal side note, a lot of the time, we often see a strong FL but as soon as a man comes along, her character becomes unrecognizable. (*cringe) I'm still glad however that we got to see a different kind of female lead in this show and look forward to seeing more of these stronger women types in future k-dramas!
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Chaotic, extra, and wacky comedy about doppelgangers and taking down a conglomerate
This show really reminded me of the Fiery Priest when I started watching it. It has a few of the same actors / actresses, including Honey Lee, and the plot is also wacky and outrageous.This show is a bit chaotic, super extra and because of all the comedy it gets away with unrealistic scenarios. I had so many questions at the beginning and then throughout the show they get answered.
I did find the last few episodes to be not as good. One of the big questions throughout the show is what happened to the real Kang Mi Na? When they finally revealed it, I found it a bit disappointing / hard to believe, even with all the unrealistic scenarios that had already happened.
But I did enjoy watching the show and I think it's a good show to watch it you're looking for something easy and light. Despite the comedy, there are also touching moments and some romance, although I wasn't super invested in them.
7-7.5/10
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It's fun and funny!
Was a really cute show with a super funny crazy & sassy fl (Fl is one of my fav ever!) and a really cute and supportive ml! They both have a cute and funny chemistry going on, which is adorable! ❤️Story though is kinda on a predictable mystery side but scenes are shot well and has a really satisfying ending!
Plus there are some really funny epilogue scenes in the end of most episodes, don't miss that! :D
The actors are fab and handle humour really well.
Overall a light watch to cheer you up on a dull day.
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Is it an extraordinary show NO! Is it worth watching YES!!
I was really excited for this one and it was really good and was as expected. The show is hilarios and is the drama that you would live to watch while you are kinda stressed and need fun moments in your life. It doesnt feel heavy at all and the story is really good. I am so excited for the next episode(s).The main leads don't have many problems between them and that is something that i really look for while watching a drama. Even if they have problems here and there they sort it out and don't drag it. I really like the whole cheabol thing going in this drama. Its nothing new but it doesn't feel like ' oh we've seen this before and it's just always like this. So boring '. It doesnt feel like this and is really enjoyable.
Now as I am done with the series I can say that this series also had some down points. For me the middle part of the series mainly episode 11 and 13 were a total let down. I thought in which way the show was going on before these episodes were on a higher level. I dont know what happened to those episodes.
Another thing that was hard for me to believe was the real Kang Mi Na coming back after doing surgery to her face. I just could not get myself to see her as Kang Mi Na. I would have rather appreciated of her and Cho Yung Ju to be realted in any way rather than a dramatic surgery plan.
The ending epilogue was kind of confusing as a new Ha Nee appears. If they have another season then I would definately like to see more.
Anyways the show is fun to watch. The cast does an amazing job and their acting is solid. The ending is good and everything goes back to it's place. For me the show has more up points than down points. And I really enjoyed watching it.
P.S the dance at the end was fun.
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Light Comedy
It's not a well written drama, but I enjoyed it. I like how most of the actors put a lot of effort in their character. Especially the chief prosecutor, even in his saddest moments, he is still really funny without having to act funny. I think he is the best actor in the drama. I enjoyed each character played, except for the ML, it's the only character that's disappoint me. It's a light comedy drama, and that's how i enjoyed it. Give it a try, don't think too much about the storyline, just have a good laugh.Was this review helpful to you?
Slow
One The Woman is a drama that has an extremely slow place, doesn't always make sense, and can also be difficult to follow at certain points. However, there were a few glimpses spread scarcely around that showed its' true potential, an interesting, fun and easy-to-follow drama... but then these scenes/moments were followed by an either an extremely cringe scene or the forced romance. This story did not need any romance whatsoever, and most of the comedy either (it reminds me of the drama 'Vincenzo' in this way, i.e. if they had made this more serious, scrapped the romance and comedy, this would have been much better - the difference however is that the romance and comedy in Vincenzo was at least tolerable, whereas here it was hard to watch).I did quite like the majority of characters, and I did like the majority of acting, but again, there were a certain few main characters (I won't name specific names as they are human beings after all) who really did hamper the enjoyment of this drama and their skills, for whatever reason... well.
Few definite positives are from the decent OST, editing team, theme song and opening, and the action from the stunt crew/characters and its' choreography was really nice, too.
Also to note, the final 4 episodes are probably the strongest out of all the episodes, and I did consider dropping this at points. Am I glad I didn't drop this? In a way, because the final 4 episodes were a definite improvement, and I did actually enjoy these episodes from start to end without being bored.
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Gosh, I loved Cho Yeon Joo. The way she ranted to herself when she got upset - and she got upset a lot. The way she could turn so angry so fast and explode like nobody's business, after which fisticuffs usually followed. The way she didn't let anyone walk all over her...And, gosh, how much I loved Han Seung Wook. He was the softest. So kind and sweet and loving, despite everything that happened to him. For 14 years he'd been in love with a girl he's met exactly once and on the night his father died, too. And when he found her again, he was heart-eyes all the way. Patient, loyal, supporting, loving...
And Mr. Noh! He loved and supported Han Seung Wook as if Seung Wook was his own child. And Cho Yeon Joo then too. He looked after her and gave her his loyalty and... it was wonderful!
And I also loved Kang Mi Na, who was so very brave and smart and cunning!
This was a fantastic drama. Though I must admit that it suffered from the usual second-half slump. I think it would've benefited from having just ten or twelve episodes and not sixteen. When everybody started figuring out what was going on, it started to get a bit... well, convoluted.
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Great start but lost its momentum and ended flat.
1/ STORY:A young rogue not so upright prosecutor is taken for a young heiress and ends living her life while trying to sort out her real identity and the secrets of her new family. The synopsis is a chance for a lot of fun and an interesting story. The fun was there but the story was rather tasteless after the mysteries are set up and things are explained one after the other. Because of the way the events are presented. Too much chit chatting and telling to each other the facts from the past just defuse the suspense. Also towards the end, all these flash backs 14 years agos or a few hours ago did not help. Same with all these USB flash drive arriving as if by chance... The romance was so so. It is credible enough for people their age and status but it is nothing great. Less sparkling than the story of their younger counterparts which is not even a romance.
2/ CHARACTERS:
- The drama is based on the FL and everything depended on the quality of her character. She was fun and endearing with a weird crazy but funny personality. But sometime it was kind of always the same thing and it made her look a bit "not realistic".
- ML is fun in the beginning but he soon becomes a bland sidekick. I kind of found him boring.
- Other key character: the main villain. Very smart and scheming in the beginning, the character turns reckless and grotesque always taunting people by running its mouth but doing mistakes after mistakes. The way the character is taken down is too easy and predictable.
- Some characters do not have a proper development: coward husband, younger sister, kid of the daughter in law.
- Other characters have an unexpected and convoluted development for me: the young prosecutor, Bad uncle CEO of Hanju, Ms Kim, Main villain's sidekick, real Kang Mi Na.
3/ OST: Good enough
4/ REWATCH VALUE:
Some fun scenes of the early episodes are good for rewatch but the way the story unfold after the set up of the plot spoiled the quality to the point it is not rewatchable for me.
5/OVERAL: 8/10. Not a bad drama but not a memorable one either. The romance is lacklustre and the main plot is bland because of wrong development of the characters. Not enough snappy writting for the story to be really entertaining.
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