Spooky in Love

What a bummer!

Spooky in love started out so strong in the first half with the electrifying chemistry between the leads but dipped in the second half... full of clichés that were poorly done and unnecessary!

I enjoyed watching Yeori and Ganguk's chemistry! Their bickering and petty jealousy moments were so adorable to watch. Plus, loved the whole crime-solving dynamic that actually worked so well as Yeori uses her ghost-seeing abilities to get the truth while Ganguk using his legal power as a prosecutor to lock up the bad guys. That little boy's case is still one of my absolute favorites of the whole show!

Kang Minhwan gave me mixed feelings...
I’m so conflicted about him because on one hand, I was actually impressed by how well he masked his evil side early on under that "charming childhood friend" persona but on the other hand, his character just completely degenerated. He went from being protective to this coward villain driven by insecurities about being adopted. Watching him go behind Yeori's back to buy up shares, trash her reputation and team up with the likes of Hari was kinda pathetic ngl… he was no longer strategic. His arc became sloppy like the writer wanted him to now get caught.

Now on to what I disliked...
First of all, Hari. She makes zero sense as a character. Why is she even fighting over the CEO position with Yeori? Yeori is clearly accomplished, highly educated (their grandma literally wouldn't stop bragging about it), and she actually kept the hotel stable. Meanwhile, what does Hari have? A mother who embezzles money. We never see a single qualification to explain why Hari is a threat, making this whole corporate business arc a total waste of screen time. They could’ve used those episodes to give us more fluff between the leads instead!

The ghost investigations vanished almost halfway through the drama to make room for the business succession tussle which was boring due to Hari and her family obviously.

And don't get me started on Ganguk's grandma....geez! Meddling in her grandson’s love life and convincing Yeori to break up just because she's a "jinx" was infuriating and don't get me wrong, I get that she cares, but Yeori pulling the classic self-sacrificing "noble idiocy" act and actually going through with the breakup was a deal breaker and the biggest "wtf" moment. There are literally only 2 episodes left, why are we doing a breakup arc now?! If the writers can magically let Prosecutor Ma survive flatlining after getting hit by a car, despite him having a 10-year-old heart transplant, (all that in the same day, get dressed and discharged) surely they can magically let them beat the odds and stay together? The double standard is wild.

In the end, the leads' chemistry was the only thing that kept me watching. All that forcing generic, boring chaebol succession drama into a supernatural show was such a chore to sit through. I wish they had just stuck to the spooky investigative vibes all the way to the end. Honestly, I wouldn't recommend this show, which is such a shame because the leads were perfect... if only I could edit out all the jarring parts myself. What a waste of potential!

Read More

《Spooky in Love》: Proof that Less is More in K-dramas

I have said this before and I will say it again, this is how K-dramas were a decade ago: focus on one genre. Over the last five or so years, we have witnessed how K-dramas become chaotic, even fans cannot agree on what the story was about.

One of the basic rules of writing, especially in fiction, is to focus on one story and one genre. The moment the side plots or plot devices take on an equal status to the main plot, you get lost and drag your audience down with you. 

《Spooky in Love》 focused on one genre: romantic-comedy, period. The result? They were able to execute some of the best scenes in global TV history. The side plot remained a plot device and did exactly the purpose it was meant for. 

I fully enjoyed this. Truly deserving of a 10 out of 10 from me, YourOnly.One.

Read More

Set up like a 3-act play

Let's get this out of the way - I enjoyed it, but I had a difficult time suspending disbelief in many areas (and it was NOT the ghosts). The acting was excellent. Eun Bin and Se Jong were so cute together. Shout out to Ong Seong Wu as Min Hwan - he played a very nuanced character. The first time he appeared, he gave me feeling of distrust that was just amplified each time he appeared. The smile with the cold eyes...chilling. Supporting cast was also good.

Great costume design. I loved the closed Eun Bin wore - except for the boxy, square, oversized men's suit that she wore at the shareholder meeting.

Here's where my issues came in - did this have three different writers? This seemed to be broken up into three distinct acts.
Episodes 1-5 focused on ghosts. This section was so entertaining, especially with Gang Uk's fear.
-Gang Uk flatlined and they had to shock him, but just a few minutes later his wound was dressed, he was back in street clothes and standing in front of Yeo Ri. Suspend disbelief.

Episodes 6-9 focused on their relationship. They were a very sweet couple. Gang Uk was a walking green flag. I did enjoy watching Yeo Ri go from cold and distant to warming up and smiling. We got a cute engagement ceremony.
-How was he always able to find her when she didn't answer his calls? Did he have a tracker on her?
-Her hands were the only thing that were a problem. The reasoning for him wearing gloves as well? Double protection?

Episodes 10-12 Corporate intrigues. I felt like this whole thing was very convoluted.
-Breakup because of superstition. Suspend disbelief.
-why was Yeo Ri holding the murder weapon?
-the biggest problem for me was when Gang Uk went to the murder scene and found the cufflink. Did Min Hwan's lackey have the White Truck of Doom on speed dial? How did he even know Gang Uk was there? THEN, Yeo Ri pushed Gang Uk out of the way but proceeds to stand there for the truck to hit her. Why didn't she just do a flying tackle? I couldn't suspend belief this far.
-Was the final scene, where they were walking together, the first scene they filmed? The writing was so forced and both actors looked like they were acting. The whole thing felt wrong.

The product placement throughout this whole show was so obvious and poorly executed.

Bottom line? I would still recommend it. Turn your brain off and enjoy the ride.

Read More

From Promising to Disappointing

It started off with such good chemistry and a really interesting storyline. The drama had so much potential to explore a range of themes—from solving crime cases together and dealing with ghosts to the progress of their romance. Instead, the last four episodes focused way too much on the hotel and JiHwan storyline, which honestly felt like a missed opportunity.

It was so intriguing to watch Yeo Ri solve ghost mysteries and I wanted to see more mysteries solved by Yeo Ri and Gang Uk together. I really wish we had gotten more episodes like that, because the whole ghost-mystery-solving aspect was so much more engaging. There was so much potential to explore different cases while naturally building their relationship and romance.

And a special mention to the defibrillator scene, the unnecessary breakup which added nothing to the plot—and the truck scene, which honestly made the story even more frustrating and unlikable for me. The drama started with so much promise, but the further it went, the more potential it seemed to waste. It genuinely had enough potential to carry a full 16 episodes, but unfortunately, it felt like that potential was never fully explored even in 12 eps

Read More

Contest for how many tropes can be used in 12 ep

This series was very mixed for me. If you’re someone who can ignore plot holes and not think too hard about the overarching story, there’s plenty to enjoy. But if sloppy writing bothers you, prepare to be bothered.

Park Eun‑bin is one of my favorite actors, so I’ll watch anything she’s in. Unfortunately, this series didn’t live up to her abilities. It genuinely felt like the writer was competing in a contest to see how many drama tropes could be shoehorned into a single 12‑episode run. I made a list—and I’m sure I still missed a few:

Corrupt politician
Corrupt prosecutor
Corrupt chaebols
Family fight for corporate control
Love triangle
Fake engagement turning into real love
Opposites attract
Crime‑solving romance
“Only you understand me” emotional bond
Trauma‑driven powers
Heart transplant from former love
Miraculous recovery from near‑fatal accidents
Shamans
Prophecy
Break‑up‑to‑save‑them (removing partner’s agency)
Family‑pressured breakup
White Truck of Doom
Wrongly blamed for murder due to own stupidity
Omniscient/omnipotent villain
Lying to partner leading to danger

Using many tropes isn’t inherently a problem, but here most of them were half‑hearted and never fleshed out. They felt included simply for the sake of inclusion.

That said, I did enjoy the series overall. The acting was excellent, and Park Eun‑bin and Yang Se‑jong had great chemistry. Their romance was the strongest part of the show. How they met, became involved, and grew into a couple was plausible (supernatural elements aside) and well paced. Ma Gang‑uk was definitely a green‑flag suitor.

The ghost plotline started strong, supported the romance well, and gave the series a solid foundation—but it fizzled out midway through. Maybe the writers wanted to avoid comparisons to Phantom Lawyer, but they could have kept the ghosts more involved in the second half. Thankfully, the supernatural thread returned for the coma‑dream sequence, which was easily the best part of the finale.

Ong Seong‑wu made an excellent villain. His romantic‑rival storyline was weak and deeply flawed, but his transformation into a full antagonist was performed extremely well.

The fashion was fantastic. Park Eun‑bin’s wardrobe was gorgeous, and she looked beautiful throughout. Her hair color was also perfect for her.

The romance wrap‑up was fine—not great, but not the worst I’ve seen. The final scene was the standard “together with a hint of future family,” but the epilogue blooper reel was a delight.

Now for the negatives. Going through all the issues would turn this review into a novel, so here are just a few examples of the sloppy writing/production that irritated me:

Gang‑uk is a heart‑transplant recipient, yet when being treated after the car collision he is shown with a pristine chest. Open‑heart surgery leaves a very large scar.

Seung‑jae blackmails his politician father to get out of jail, but the next time he’s arrested, the lawyer claims his father has cut ties—even though all the blackmail material still exists and should still matter.

Most of Episode 11.
We start with the “break up to save them” trope due to family pressure, ignoring Gang‑uk’s feelings. My least favorite uses of one of my least favorite tropes.

Then the prosecution office politically targets Yeo‑ri with false accusations—despite her being heiress to the 5th‑largest corporation in Korea (making it a stupid move to antagonize her for no gain). They compound this by transferring her fiancé to a penalty posting for whistleblowing.

Yeo‑ri then goes alone, at night, to meet a murderer (Seung‑jae) in a secluded location. She finds him dead, picks up the obvious murder weapon, and is immediately discovered by police. She’s released that night despite being the prime suspect with solid evidence against her.

The finale of the episode crams in even more nonsense: Gang‑uk revisits the crime scene just as the real killer realizes he lost a cufflink. The killer somehow arranges for a thug to have a White Truck of Doom ready to run over whoever leaves the crime scene—despite not knowing whether the cufflink was actually found.

The massively powerful yet somehow extremely quiet truck accelerates from 0 to 50+ kph in 20 meters that separate them. Obviously, Gang‑uk doesn’t hear it because he’s must be deaf. Fortunately, Yeo‑ri arrives just in time to see the truck coming, hop out of her car, run 20 feet to push him out of the way with just enough time to stand upright with a deer-in-headlight look before getting hit herself. Too bad she didn't think to tackle him out of the way so both of them would have been safe.

The cherry on top: the police accept the driver’s excuse that he “fell asleep”—in late morning, in an industrial alley, after just starting the truck.

But aside from Episode 11, I did enjoy the series. It starred Park Eun‑bin, after all.

Read More

lukewarm and forgettable...

I was interested at first, but as the episodes went on, the show started skipping important details and sometimes just didn’t make sense. There wasn’t much depth, and the excessive flashbacks and OSTs became noticeable. It was funny at times, but the story had potential that wasn’t properly delivered.

The romance was probably the weakest part for me. The chemistry was practically nonexistent, and the fake-dating trope is starting to feel like a new K-drama cliché. I’ve now seen the leads give different versions of their fake relationship in The Apartment Job, Would You Marry Me?, and this one. It’s getting repetitive.

The show also had strong competition with dramas like Phantom Lawyer, Sell Your Haunted House, and Hotel del Luna. Compared to them, this felt very lukewarm and stale. I watched the last two episodes at 1.5x just to finish. mid at best. Like room-temperature flat water: not bad enough to hate, but not interesting enough to love.

Read More

a borderline guilty pleasure type of show

borderline bc while there's an obvious sizzling chemistry between the leads, the show doesn't really go all in on it. instead, it focuses on occultism in the first few eps, then suddenly family drama, then whatever that is you call a plot. expect many plot conveniences towards the ending. it ends well tho, happily. everyone is redeemed — or dead.

my only complaint is their major plot convenience: park seungjae. the way they keep reminding us that he exists and using him for critical points but don't bother giving him more layers. he's showing up so much but remains one-dimensional. it's just sad bc the actor is so great.

but all in all, this is very watchable and enjoyable if you're focusing on the acting and just want something with a happy ending. i really like the fl and ml, and their romance moves pretty fast, which i actually enjoyed. i'd definitely come back just to watch their romance again. i actually discovered yang sejong through this drama too, so that's another win for me.

the ost is also great, and i'm thinking that'll contribute to a high rewatch value. i didn't feel bad after watching the finale. it's just that the moment i randomly turned on my brain, it was kinda sad. every hole was tied up at the end, conveniently, but i'd argue that casual drama viewers would still love it.

Read More

A dash of Spellbound, a sprinkle of CLOY...

To start with the positives- I love the main couple. ML is a green forest and their relationship progressing with mutual respect was very sweet. I adored the proposal scene. The side characters are great and impactful. I loved the entire prosecution office as much as they love Ma Gang-wook. And I loved Yeo-ri's subordinates. The cousin sis was extremely annoying and I was waiting for her to get haunted but her fam had a cute side by the end. OST was a tad light. The blooper reels with the final credits and the cards were a nice touch. I also liked the official website they built- it's cute.

ML's Granny left me wondering- on the one hand this world has entities that most people can't see but Yeo-ri and so we know the supernatural exists. And then granny's premonitions really did come true 99% so her superstitions... I was excpecting her to secretly be a great seer of some sort who'd explain the ghost issue or was related to Ji-hwan's sppiritual necklace.

The negatives- I couldn't put my finger on what but something gets lost by the end, it was hard to stay interested. And it wasn't ghosts coz I never even noticed they were gone till the last episode gave that beautiful emotional scene. I was not expecting this drama to be Spellbound but at the same time- like, there being a tent in the room but no iconic tent scene!? We needed more dates. Overall, the drama felt like a nod to Son Ye-jin with a lot of Crash Landing on You elements as well, but, which didn't always translate that well. And Park Eun-bin too, sometimes it felt like she is trying to channel her inner Son Ye-jin rather than Seo-ri. The last few episodes were lacking in direction or editing, maybe but it just didn't have the same spark as the first half. Ong Seong-wu acted really well(considering a previous series I didn't like him in at all) and was super hot...but... I felt the SML's character became somewhat conflicting(?). Like, two ghost cases had foreshadowed exactly what direction he would take but I was confused with how to reconcile.... Also, there was something confusing about the boat accident's story shifting perspectives.

I was glad no grandmothers were harmed by the end of the drama but wished we had ended on a wedding scene.

Read More

I was expecting more

I wanted to give it a 7.8 but couldn't so I gave it 7.5


I feel they dropped the ball on the spooky part after they became a couple.

I think that should have been a consistent part.

Min Hwan was doing too much and I wasn't sold on his reasoning.

it's sad they killed the most handsome character in the beginning

and maybe I missed it but I wasn't quite clear on the necklace.

Why did he need it?
we couldn't tell if it would have stopped her from seeing ghosts because she stopped after becoming a couple.

but I loved the ending. for me it was the most notable.

taking Min Hwan down with the heart of his brother was everything for me. and him thinking he got away then everything being revealed to the hole network.

if he ever gets out he will have to emigrate for peace.

the Aunt.

BAY BAY she wins the role for best faint EVER.

😂 WHOEVER WROTE THAT FAINT SCENE - KUDOS.

if anyone has ever fainted that's how it happens a little nauseous or blurry vision because your faculties are gone and to the floor it is.

Read More