yeongjinchae
Singapore
This review may contain spoilers
Not your typical romance K-drama
Cheese in the Trap appears to be a light-hearted, simplistic college-life romantic drama at the first glance. The true essence (and vision) of this series explores the complexity of human relationships and how each person's inner motivations and past life experiences influence their emotions, state of mind and finally, actions and choices in life. This exploration is done through the lens of the protagonists.
The male lead was written as someone who has sociopathic tendencies. Sure, but honestly, I don't think it's fair to say that he's the sole individual who is "problematic". Each character has his or her idiosyncrasies and personality flaws, which drive them to make ambiguous life decisions. What I found weak in the drama. perhaps, is that instead of SHOWING us the growth or inner conflict of each character after a traumatic experience, oftentimes, they were TOLD to us by the characters verbalising those experiences. This left me somewhat unconvinced of the message the drama was aiming to convey.
In my view, I thought the one with the true psychological issue might just be Baek In Ha. I mean, seriously, who acts like that on a day-to-day basis? Her persona seems to fit the criteria of someone diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (I've worked in psychiatry before), and even in the flashbacks of their childhood, the kid actress also portrayed that eccentricity. I don't know how Yoo Jung was able to tolerate her for so long. She needed the most professional help in my opinion. She was actually also my most disliked character in the series.
Cute stuff in the drama included the supporting characters' love arc, and the friendship of the Hong Seol and Baek In Ho. After this drama, I am a new fan of Seo Kang Joon! Park Hae Jin was also great in his portrayal of Yoo Jung; there was a lot of subtle emotions that he was able to convey very well.
I think it is good to go into the drama knowing that it is more than meets the eye. Good for those who want a drama that requires some reading between the lines. So, if you're looking for your typical feel-good K-drama, this is not it.
The male lead was written as someone who has sociopathic tendencies. Sure, but honestly, I don't think it's fair to say that he's the sole individual who is "problematic". Each character has his or her idiosyncrasies and personality flaws, which drive them to make ambiguous life decisions. What I found weak in the drama. perhaps, is that instead of SHOWING us the growth or inner conflict of each character after a traumatic experience, oftentimes, they were TOLD to us by the characters verbalising those experiences. This left me somewhat unconvinced of the message the drama was aiming to convey.
In my view, I thought the one with the true psychological issue might just be Baek In Ha. I mean, seriously, who acts like that on a day-to-day basis? Her persona seems to fit the criteria of someone diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (I've worked in psychiatry before), and even in the flashbacks of their childhood, the kid actress also portrayed that eccentricity. I don't know how Yoo Jung was able to tolerate her for so long. She needed the most professional help in my opinion. She was actually also my most disliked character in the series.
Cute stuff in the drama included the supporting characters' love arc, and the friendship of the Hong Seol and Baek In Ho. After this drama, I am a new fan of Seo Kang Joon! Park Hae Jin was also great in his portrayal of Yoo Jung; there was a lot of subtle emotions that he was able to convey very well.
I think it is good to go into the drama knowing that it is more than meets the eye. Good for those who want a drama that requires some reading between the lines. So, if you're looking for your typical feel-good K-drama, this is not it.
Was this review helpful to you?
