This review may contain spoilers
A regurgitated story with wasted chemistry
Let me start off this review by saying that I really wanted to like this drama. I really did. This drama was Yoon Eun Hye`s first project after massively popular and rightfully heralded "Coffee Prince", a drama that will forever stay as a classic and my second favorite show ever. On the other hand, this was my first experience with Yoon Sang-Hyun`s acting, given that I dropped "Secret Garden" fairly quickly, so I only got a proper glimpse of him as the famous Oska. I found that his portrayal, while not perfect by any means, is rather earnest and despite everything else, the chemistry between him and Eun Hye is definitely palpable. Which is why I`m disappointed. And I knew what I was getting into. While MDL ratings don`t reflect the quality of a drama in most cases, they still serve as pointers for what a watcher should expect in terms of originality and thinking outside of the box. And this box was too narrow to get out of.
Unlike most people on this site, I actually prefer unrelatable and bratty characters most of the time, since my life is too damn flat to go out of my way and watch those kind of characters for fun too. And, with that being said, with a few exceptions, I didn`t find anything wrong with Yoon Eun Hye`s acting. I found those flaws in directing, however. Actors would often deliver their lines and then obviously pretend to do something in order to fulfill the scene. Only they do it in such a way where it`s obvious that the hammy acting isn`t their fault, but the fault of director`s vision and disability to, well, direct. Shots are generally uninspiring, while some amateurish mistakes make their way into the final cut. The script...is a script. It`s cliché, written by numbers type of script. The worst part of this whole drama for me, however, is the waste of actual chemistry here. Not one of these relationships feel genuine. There`s lack of affection, decisions made without any kind of credible backing and I hate it. Tae-Yun asks Hae Na to marry him without them even kissing, only meeting in passing like you would do with an old friend. Hae Na and Dong Chan`s relationship progresses so quickly in the last few episodes from two unexciting kisses to making love without anything in between, it`s so weird. It`s jarring too so all this sexual tension that is there evaporates because of the writers` inability to show intimacy progression well. The last few episodes I had on as background noise, because they were quite clearly filler. By the end, I didn`t care about anyone at all. The President`s death didn't move me, the second couple`s chemistry is entirely nonexistent and the over-the-top presentation becomes an ugly crutch.
While I can`t agree with reviewers saying that the main couple had no chemistry(their connection was the actual highlight for me and that`s what ultimately kept me watching), I agree on almost everything else. This drama is uninspiring slug of good ideas and bad executions, so it was a bust on more levels than I`d like to admit.
Unlike most people on this site, I actually prefer unrelatable and bratty characters most of the time, since my life is too damn flat to go out of my way and watch those kind of characters for fun too. And, with that being said, with a few exceptions, I didn`t find anything wrong with Yoon Eun Hye`s acting. I found those flaws in directing, however. Actors would often deliver their lines and then obviously pretend to do something in order to fulfill the scene. Only they do it in such a way where it`s obvious that the hammy acting isn`t their fault, but the fault of director`s vision and disability to, well, direct. Shots are generally uninspiring, while some amateurish mistakes make their way into the final cut. The script...is a script. It`s cliché, written by numbers type of script. The worst part of this whole drama for me, however, is the waste of actual chemistry here. Not one of these relationships feel genuine. There`s lack of affection, decisions made without any kind of credible backing and I hate it. Tae-Yun asks Hae Na to marry him without them even kissing, only meeting in passing like you would do with an old friend. Hae Na and Dong Chan`s relationship progresses so quickly in the last few episodes from two unexciting kisses to making love without anything in between, it`s so weird. It`s jarring too so all this sexual tension that is there evaporates because of the writers` inability to show intimacy progression well. The last few episodes I had on as background noise, because they were quite clearly filler. By the end, I didn`t care about anyone at all. The President`s death didn't move me, the second couple`s chemistry is entirely nonexistent and the over-the-top presentation becomes an ugly crutch.
While I can`t agree with reviewers saying that the main couple had no chemistry(their connection was the actual highlight for me and that`s what ultimately kept me watching), I agree on almost everything else. This drama is uninspiring slug of good ideas and bad executions, so it was a bust on more levels than I`d like to admit.
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