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Peephole
I want to go through that feeling again and again and again.
I feel like this drama numbed me from the world. Yes, that’s the expression. My head, my brain, all become numb, and time stops when I watch it.One of a kind. I can’t believe it’s over. I am crying because I will miss them. I am the fangirl Baek Da Hye is here.
This show is recommended for non-diabetics. It may contain too much sugar sometimes.
Some may consider the story plain. But the execution was very good. Something that was consistent in the drama: Warmth.
The drama is so pretty and lovely!! ㅠㅠ
All pairings looked good together. Everyone’s chemistry is so good, couples and non-couples. Amazing cast. Very nice drama. I loved every moment. I never liked any ‘famous stars’ portrayals in drama but Tae Sung is the best (can’t believe it is the same too flowery, cheesy Oh Nam Joo from Extraordinary You). Jung Yeol-i is the cutest. And “Yuuuuuuuu Naaaa -yaaa” is one of my favourite lines. Ki-ppeum was a great friend. Han Byeol was the loveliest. Every single character is something amazing. The noteworthy lovely cute moments are uncountable.
Every scene ensured me of how good the directing is. Watching it felt soft.
The story is precious. The meaning behind it is beautiful. It is very informative. I laughed out loud so many times. And I sympathized so much with them. The writing was really clever at times. It was alive.
I don’t deny that the first 7 episodes were a 🌟☆ starry ☆ 🦋 butterfly dream ‿︵εϊз . Those 7 episodes pulled me hard. And after that it because closer to regular kdrama. The drama became more about events and less about characters, but it was still lovely and meaningful. I was expecting more angst in the beginning; that was my only complain. But then it picked up again. The end episodes made up for it. It swiped me off me feet again. Finally, it closed with the vibe it started off with; the best way. What a perfect way to end the drama.
I forget how good this drama manages to make me feel. Then I start an episode, the numbing starts. It makes me feel something new every time.
The music was just good enough to give you drama feels. The ost slowly infiltrated me. One song sounded noisy at first, but it took its effect on me. And in another song the singers' voices resonated. When the drama ended, I cried listening to it because I didn’t want to leave.
Honestly, I was hesitant about the cast when it was announced, but I was sold for their visuals in the promo photoshoot. That manicure picture. It screamed chemistry. They were visually perfect for each other.
And beginning from the first episode, I could feel the not-yet-tangible, in-the-drama-air chemistry. It was already amazing and very entertaining! The directing was so good at showing invisible things. I had a feeling I would love their dynamics. By the second episode I was already in love (with their relationship).
Watching it, I experienced so many sweet feelings. Warmth took over my body from head to toe. After binging a few episodes my face was burning hot and felt red from the feelings simmering in my stomach, and from the pumps of blood my heart fired. I wanted to stop but I couldn’t allow the feeling to go. I woke up with music pieces playing, and their voices talking in my head. Their energy took an effect on me. I was becoming light and bubbly like Tae Sung and Han Byeol. They are holding my heart currently
I JUST LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT IT. And I love how it feels like romance dramas from around 2017. I guess that’s even more why I was pulled.
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So good for GREAT laughs. Something you won't regret.
I don’t know how I decided to start it ...what I know is that it was the best impulsive decision!I was bewitched by the drama.
It started perfect. With pure comedy, zero drama. episodes that are mostly unrelated to each other, and good enough to keep me entertained.
Very slowly, it evolved into something different (beautiful) but still amazing. It started incorporating some drama, they did it so slowly and lightly that it didn’t bother me, then it was shifting towards some romance ever so subtly and I was so excited!!
As the weather was actually getting colder, I felt warm inside.
The cast was everything...
Na Moon Hee is a shining star. A breath of clean air. A child like light vibe
Lee Soon Jae the cutest grandfather
Lee Min Yong is a soft bear
Lee Joon Ha is wild bear
Park Hae Mi hits 100 points on the charm scale
Seo seonsaeng is sooo cuuute!!...well everyone was amazing
At some point I felt a bit cheated. This full-on comedy started including something a little different. It started feeling so warm and fuzzy inside my heart. My weak heart couldn’t handle it, because watching this light drama, it wasn’t expecting to go through that warmth.
I loved everything. It made me go crazy. This show is the best “최고!”("Choigo!")
Sitcoms are out of my comfort zone, but I would have gone into a slump otherwise.
It was the definition of ignoring the huge PTW list
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Every time I think of the soundtrack, a calmness washes over me
I’m not being poetic, that’s how I feel about the dramaIt felt calm, healing, and warm.
I loooove them I love them. And I cannot take my eyes off when I see the way they look at each other. Both leads are so beautiful, and more dazzling when they smile.
And I rooted for them with all my heart.
It was a very enjoyable drama.
I can never hate the mother in law; I adore the actress and she’s so cute and funny.
I have respect for all the elder actors, they were amazing.
The way the main couple look at each other with warm eyes...
Ah my heart. The smile is so beautiful. It is all just so beautiful.
I loved the maturity of the leads
they are so healing, reliable to each other and a like a safe place to put your head on
I felt so happy and giddy watching it.
The main song feels smooth and soothing… I see loving eyes when I think of it
I almost gave it 8.5 because I skipped some parts of the side stories,
but the main story was SO heartfelt, and I couldn't .
It doesn’t mean the side stories were bad, most were fun, and I was too impatient to know what happens next with the main story.
Almost everything about the drama is amazing.
I loved it more because it was a beautifully narrated story.
The drama kept its pacing till the end, but I feel (like many said) that the highlight of the show was very brief and cut short. It needed more drama and more lingering shown. Many times dramas need to be shorter, but I wish this was a few episodes longer. That’s why I tried convincing myself to not give it a higher score. But no drama is perfect. It is special in its own way.
(I actually zipped my way to the end because I was too impatient, I am planning to go back and watch the side parts that I missed later)
Me and this drama were love at first sight. I loved the beautiful poster, but it was still airing. I finally watched it! And it wasn’t a disappointment.
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When I almost stopped watching it, I saw thumbnails of some of the late episodes; a new face looking sad with love in his eyes, and I decided to hold on until that character is introduced.
Once the character came on, I started skipping everything else and binging one story. And the story was beautiful. Every new thing gets revealed was even more beautiful and made me fall deeper. The story took me through a roller-coaster of emotions.
That was the only couple I fell for. I loved how they were understanding each other. Even though they might have disagreements but they deal with it thoroughly like they both want to make it work and they take each other’s side even if they don’t make sense.
My rating could be a little inflated because of this part of the drama.
I still went back to watch the scenes I skipped because the other side characters were funny and meaningful. It grew on me.
All the characters go through a hateful phase, especially the very annoying mothers, but they can be very funny.
The only part I truly hated and never batted an eye to was the DJ. I couldn’t stand it from the beginning.
It is too long to rewatch, I don't think I'll think of doing that.
The instrumental OST was amazing. Sadly, I couldn’t find it anywhere. And the OST songs were lovely.
At the end everything wrapped up nicely. Thanks to this drama in many aspects, I feel revived.
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The drama is intense, but it's relaxing
When every episode ends, it feels like a gentle wind is hitting my face.Revenge is not my favorite trope, but I loved this story that kept going till the end. It was so good and entertaining.
Everyone stood out in their performance. Kang Baek San - This guy is an expert at playing a villain, it’s so funny now XD It’s ridiculous! .. Nam In Soon, Kang Bada, Grandma, I cried saying goodbye to them all in the final episode. I almost forgot Ma Daegeun XD
The lads Taepoong and Sandeul have the most amazing unbreakable friendship-- not even the love triangle got in between it.
I can't stop singing any of the OSTs. I haven't stopped since I started.
*****Now for my favourite part [TAEPOONG and BARAM]*****
Their love makes me smile ... Their soft gazes ... You'll not find a love story like this one, it's an unusual route
As I watched them, they crawled into the picture softly and beautifully, with small smiles, and comforting faces.
They broke my heart and put it back together. They were meant to be.
His love is so strong I am lost for words. The way he looks at her, it’s crazy, he’s so in love.
And the way he is hurting .. he is the most pitiful (ToT)
Where have you been this whole time Kang Ji Sub (taepoong)
How could Baram not fall for him when he does all that for her.
Park Ha Na nailed her emotions
the lines... the lines... THE LINES... they are so romantic! Don’t get me started
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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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Mi Hye’s story was my personal favorite!!
I would give at least a 9, if I was to rate the drama only on that part.They used to call her a genius at the work she did, but she had big trouble concentrating. When she was all over the place, in a slump, hopeless at doing a good job, she met her savior who eventually becomes her sweetheart. And the rest is very lovely.
They made my heart flutter till the end. The way they smile and look at each other.
They had their differences, but they made it up by holding each other.
The two were very sincere. I felt how much they loved even when they were fighting. They are for each other, even when against each other.
Kim Woojin 'pyeonjibjangnim' and Kang Mihye, I can't get enough of them.
And Bang Jae Bum was the best jealous second lead. SO Funny all the time. I loved his pairing with the mom too. Doldam and Peter were cute. I went through the rest of the drama only for those in Mi Hye’s story.
The other stories were not that good. But the mothers and daughters emotions were there..
Mi Ri story started off well but then became uninteresting for me.
Mi Sun’s husband and in-laws served as some comedy, especially the old grandpa and his wife being at home.
And I liked the OST a lot
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Happy Time indeed
It’s not in my nature to write as much as a review about a movie because they feel like a passing wind. This movie made itself an exception.I though it was only a bit sad, then… I was suddenly sobbing, and then… fell in love with the smile, then it continued being a happy time (no pun intended), but also consisted of constant crying. It was meaningful and beautiful.
It was raining on my cheeks, I swam rivers in my tears. It became more and more innocent and pitiful.
I like that they didn’t build a big false happiness, but kept it realistic, so I was able to (not necessarily accept it, but) move forward, but I still got hurt just as much.
I was drowning in those endless buckets of tears that were coming out of everywhere.
By the time the Epilogue came, my head was pulsing with the stifled sobbing.
I wanted to crawl down, bellow the window, instead of her, so that I cant see anything.
Because I would never want to see that regretful innocent fragile body in that shape.
I am glad this was a movie and not longer, or else I could end up in an infinity deep pit, because even though I have never been in a similar situation, I was able to empathize so badly.
My eyes are probably so puffy right now.
I won’t describe more because it hurts.
Yet, I feel like I wanna go through it again and read the book.
Their acting makes me wanna line up all of their works and watch them, but I’m skeptical about finding something as good as this.
The music was so subtle, in the right place.
Now weeks have passed and the images are still vivid in my head from watching it once.
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Yeah, I almost didn't watch the drama because of the not-so-interesting poster. But I decided to give it a go for the cast. Imagine the mistake I could have made. And good thing I did not read the synopsis.
By the way, this is my first completed 10/10.
Before finishing the drama (after 9 episodes)...
It is unexpectedly so so good.I cannot describe how much affection I unintentionally have for this drama. I usually avoid this genre and type of drama as it is not my cup of tea. But from the simplest things as the sound effects quality to the overall feel of the story, everything is amazing.
I love everyone in this drama and I love everyone’s relationship as much as I hate it as well. I love what has come and what is to come. The sadness of the story makes me smile. Plus, Jung Kyung Ho knows how to play a miserable character in so many different ways (see Life on Mars, etc…).
After finishing the drama…
The acting is so so so heart-wrenching. Everyone’s!
Not a single boring moment.
I forgot how much I liked dark sad twisted dramas.
I made a mistake. I stayed up all night watching it all. It was because I seriously couldn’t let go of it. I don’t know how it could have turned out if i didn’t do it, if I was a little more patient and paced myself. I can’t say that I don’t regret it or that I do. But what I know is that I ruined my standards of ALL upcoming dramas.
The biggest fault and disadvantage from binge watching it was not that I could not grasp enough feelings, quite the opposite; it was TOO much for me to handle, really overwhelming. I don’t know how to deal with the grief and grievance.
It is probably the saddest, most miserable and most sour and frustrated a drama has ever left me. The heart ache is no joke. It has been a while since I genuinely last cared for the fate of characters. I think I need another heart-full noir to get over this. ( months have passed since I finished it)
The thing that makes it superior to other similar dramas is not the romance; the romance is usually much better in some good similar dramas (but also good in here), but it is the friendship that everyone had, the relationships they managed to build, It makes my heart even more sour and hurt. It is so maddening; that fate of theirs and how things turned out. It is the only reason I wasn't going to give it a 10. I keep clenching my fists in anger. It is serious. The state I was in was not normal, after finishing it.
It was so simple; it could have gone well. Anyways, I retreated to self therapy and I am going to believe a lie that I am going to repeat to my self. I'll believe that it is the truth.
But, there will always remain this questions in my mind:
Will there ever be a drama of the same quality as this one??
My heart feels sour once again as I remember that it was released in 2013. I guess it was when drama industry realized the deficits of prior ones and fixed them, by removing unrealistic drama, but keeping enough necessary drama, the quality of picture and sound, the nature of the environment, ignoring few details that are okay to ignore in order to shed light on other important details.
And also, it is was before dramas lost their original touch and were revolutionized into something that is supposed to be modern. I agree that some new dramas are so well done, but scarcely it is that you find something that has the essence of old dramas; that dramatic effect, though slightly, but bearably unrealistic. They focus too much on visuals. It is overdone nowadays that it is distracting from the essence of the story.
By the way, I kinda sensed it beforehand the stuff that happen to Kyung Mi . I consider it one of Cruel City's charms, that I was able to put things together before events occurred. It happened few times. I realized so many things before they happened or they told us about it.
Call it sixth sense but they were really good at hinting with emotions.
The directing is fantastic. The music is so fitting. The cast is irreplaceable. The writing... is from a different world.
This is no ordinary drama. It is one timeless drama!
This drama has my favorite characters that I like the most. Jung Kyung Ho slayed it. And I really really liked Jin Sook, Safari (Sapari), Soo, even Scale, and everyone.
I’ve changed my mind after I watched episodes 18, 19 & 20 again, and the last ever second of the last episode plus a statement that I read, supposedly made by the production crew about the ‘open ending’ made me change my mind. I decided make this my first 10 out of 10 completed drama.
This concludes the longest review I have written in my life so far.
P.S. I watched the 1990s movie 'Leon: The Professional' for the first time, and the instrumental OST 'The Man' in Cruel City sounds so similar to Leon’s popular soundtrack 'Shape of My Heart'. I am not sure how this relates but...
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Wow! this drama is so my type. A beautiful and melodramatic friendship and life story. Plus, an artistically portrayed cinematography. Every episode is shot like a movie. It has music that you think ‘this is not wow’ but it greatly grows on you. I really cried so much for this drama both when it felt sad and happy. really so many hot tears. And smiled so wide so many times. I’ve grown to understand and empathize with everyone so deeply. My heart feels so full when I watch it. And though the main character’s personality and actions may not be understandable by many, I can personally relate to them. This drama is all about the feelings it gives.
The story is short, simple and have some holes, but the honest emotions and the way the story was told makes up for it that I didn’t mind it very much. It is something that I would have loved to watch when I was in school but I don’t think I would have understood and appreciated it as well as I do now.
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The story goes so fast then slows down a lot, but it is the best slow-down I have ever seen.
It is like stealing your heart quickly and then torturing it after gaining control of it. It is packed with emotions, it made me feel connected, got me butterflies, and made me cry.I fell for it, I cried a lot, and I smiled along. It is something that you should enjoy and appreciate no matter how slow it goes. It is so full of charm that I managed to watch it so quickly, in a very short time, like it was a 16-episode drama WITHOUT skipping anything, while appreciating every second. That’s how good it is.. Every episode gets you more emotionally invested than the one before.
I came to appreciate everyone like I have never done before and I felt sorry and sad for everyone in the drama. As frustrating as the actions of some people in the drama may seem, they are actually very understandable if you look at things from their perspectives. Mothers acted like emotional mothers, fathers acted like caring fathers and everyone played their role very well. I was able to sympathize with them.
The music and the directing is amazing. .The instrumental soundtracks are beautiful, emotional and sad, and so are the songs.
Nothing is wrong about the whole drama. Directing is really really great, but the acting is from a different world; Shin Hye Sun is something and I don’t think I can praise her acting enough.
A week later, my appreciation for how that drama made me feel like is still there. I also discovered that it's very re-watchable. It is definitely underrated.
About the the slow pace of the drama, I think it was very important for the build-up of everything. Therefore it was WELL-paced.
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Sooooo pretty.
I don’t know whether I hadn't paid attention before, but the hanboks in this drama are the prettiest.The story is compelling, and not to mention the great music and directing. And the emotions are well tuned. I cried, felt goosebumps and excitement from cliff hangers and events. The romance is good too.
The drama empathizes so well with the feeling of those women who had to live as every man’s woman for the rest of their lives as their fate.
Again, the story is nice, and Ha Ji Won is as beautiful as always.
I appreciate the art in this drama.
I love how this drama shows the process of hard work and talent.
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I haven’t seen a drama this thoroughly perfect in every aspect since a long time
Heartwarming, so funny, lovely, relatable, etc.It was really great; I haven’t skipped, or fast forwarded anything. I learned about business. It inspired me to work hard.
I related to so many things in it on a very personal level.
I laughed hard. I enjoyed the cinematography a lot. It was thoroughly perfect. It got me, but not that deep, and that’s the only missing thing. Every character was good, events were exciting
I was touched by the pang of sadness and confession of truth.
Not to mention the realistic and beautiful romance.
And something very important about the drama is that I couldn’t predict it… the storytelling and drama both were new of their kind and refreshing.
It is the modernity I am looking for; the proper use of technology; adequate and not exaggerated.
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Pasta is one of the reasons older dramas have a very special regard to me.
After all the dramas that I have seen, I became worried about finding an excellent drama, but then I watched Pasta in 2020.One of those dramas you wish would never end.
It revolves around a small world which makes it light and simple. What a comforting drama!
It is a drama well-written. The dialogues were interesting, sincere, realistic, true, funny, and hilarious. The focus on pasta and food was given a good amount of attention and it was very interesting.
The drama is captivating from start to finish. Not a moment worthy of skipping, and so many moments worth cherishing. There are many scenes that I wanna go back to. All the episodes were equally good and not an episode felt like a filler just to get thing going on. All events were equally important. The story is very engaging. The writer did a phenomenal job.
Characters are very well written and the performance is top-notch. Their development was rather unique. No matter how hateful or flawed they seemed, they were human. And they acted naturally.
The chef’s character had many colors and it was really well acted out. I never imagined enjoying Lee Sun Kyun in a rom-com, but he nailed it; especially the expressions. I could have really hated his character if it was played by someone else, but he was capable of showing many sides of his character fairly. He pulled off the ‘arrogant ML’ really well which is not easy to do. Gong Hyo Jin was the perfect person for her character. Yoo Kyung shined through her. The leads had wonderful chemistry. The supporting chefs, the waiting staff, and the management, they all shined through their roles. and the moments of their interactions were golden. The vibe of La Sfera was charming and really cute.
And for those who are concerned, although light and funny, it is not a childish love story; the characters are pretty mature.
The music blended very well with every scene.
I am way more attached to this drama than I expected to be. The drama is something you can relate to as well, sometimes.
I was hesitant to watch it at first, but sticking to the first episode sealed me in.
My heart cannot handle the loveliness of this drama!
The only reason I didn’t give it a ten is that it wasn’t extraordinarily overwhelming me with feelings. And I don’t easily give 10s. I might though after finishing it.
I am going crazy smiling like Yoo Kyung. "ye shep!"
Super re-watchable. And I am presented with another worry; how can I (am I supposed to) get over this drama and enjoy the next one?
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I started it not expecting much but got so much. It shows beautiful friendships and hardships. Even though people fight, they make up like old friends make up with each other.
It is a drama with beautiful people; everyone is lovely and friendly.
The second couple is the Best!
And the music is lovely too.
It is a slice of life drama that doesn't feel like a slice of life drama but still something to relate to and gives a feel of a slice of life drama...
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