Finished. A solid office rom-com that does right by its characters, even if the overall plot isn't super strong. Lots of good laughs here and a really cute pair of couples! 8.5/10
Dropped. For anyone who cares about this sort of thing, this drama is absolutely loaded with profanity, so just know that going in this isn't one you're gonna wanna watch with younger kids.
Because the original isn't very good and this Korean remake is one of the best kdramas ever made and nobody needs to suffer through the original to be able to enjoy this masterpiece.
Finished. I haven't FFed this much of a drama since Voice. What an absolute failure of a drama... or rather, it WOULD be, if it weren't for the superlative cuteness of the two leads. Since we all come to Korean romcoms to watch two pretty people fall in love, this one is actually a success, somehow, and it kept me watching all the way to the end, unlike some other big names in 2017 romcom *coughTemperatureOfLovecough*. Honestly, Park Bo Young and Park Hyung Shik make two of the most beautiful-looking drama leads I have ever seen. They're both absurdly easy on the eyes, almost too much so.
The love story itself would be a solid 9/10. Everything else in the show is... maybe a 2? I mean, really, Strong Woman Do Bong Soon has almost nothing else to offer besides the lead romance. There's a few decent moments with Bong Soon's parents, but even that had to be retconned in the last episode to try to make it less terrible. Bong Soon's friend, Kyung Shim, was promising and had some nice moments, but she was very underutilized. And of course Ji Soo's character was lovably pathetic. You just wanted to give him a big hug and comfort him all the time. Beyond that, literally the entirety of the rest of the show and cast was completely wasted and could have been done away with completely.
How....? How? HOW is this sitting at 8.8?? This is one of the WORST dramas I have ever seen! 8.8 is .1 lower than HEALER for crying out loud! And this show is AWFUL! Remove all of the Bong Soon/Min Hyuk stuff and you have like a 3/10 show, if even that. I'm only on episode 12, though, so maybe it gets better? I somehow doubt it, though.
Of course, it must be said that all of the Bong Soon/Min Hyuk stuff would be 10/10. Way too cute.
I appreciate that it's different/unexpected for Pil Joo and Mo Hyun to not necessarily be together at the end.…
No worries, I feel the same!
I think the key part of this entire discussion is this one line from your essay: "You don’t need to know ... It will make you satisfied but it neither furthers or changes the plot." Since my original complaint was that the ending, and therefore ultimately the show itself, was not satisfying, then I think we understand each other. In my opinion, a good plot is there to serve the characters, not the other way around. If I don't care about the characters, why would I care about the plot? If I'm not invested in Pil Joo and his feelings and happiness, why do I care at all about his revenge?
In Money Flower, I *did* care about the characters. So to have them completely brushed aside at the end because "They don't matter, it's not the plot" is absurd.
I appreciate that it's different/unexpected for Pil Joo and Mo Hyun to not necessarily be together at the end.…
Pil Joo: how does he feel now? "You did well, Pil Joo" was nice, but we get nothing for his future or his post revenge dreams. He interviews for the CEO position, but even that is unclear whether he really wanted it or not. It also contrasts strangely with his having moved out to that remote house from his childhood. So does he want isolation? Or involvement? Peace? Or work? Audience left in the dark.
Mo Hyun: is she happy? She's successful, but will she be able to trust anyone? How is her family? We just know she works for Cheong A. No idea of anything beyond that. Audience left in the dark.
Boo Cheon: he's a dad, so where's his son? Is he part of his son's life at all? Does he get a job with Cheong A or no? Is he back with Seo Won, and if so, how could she ever have taken him back? If not, what *is* he doing? Audience left in the dark.
Mal Ran: The "bad guy goes crazy after getting caught" trope. Horrible, lazy writing for the second most important character. She literally doesn't get a resolution at all.
Old Chairman Jang: Is he dead yet??? :P
That's all the major characters, and none of them get wrapped up. A true "open ending" is still an ending. What we got was... a termination. There's only so much you can leave up to the audience to fill in and still claim artistic license.
I appreciate that it's different/unexpected for Pil Joo and Mo Hyun to not necessarily be together at the end.…
Sure, but the problem is that it was neither happy *nor* good.
I liked that he accomplished his main goals: revenge and corporate reform. But that's it. 24 episodes and tons of great characters and it ends with "Welp.... I did it, I guess..."
So much wasted time in the last episode, too. So many cop out endings and dangling character threads. When literally theonly good thing I can say about an ending is "At least it wasn't cliché", you know something went terribly wrong.
A solid office rom-com that does right by its characters, even if the overall plot isn't super strong. Lots of good laughs here and a really cute pair of couples! 8.5/10
The love story itself would be a solid 9/10. Everything else in the show is... maybe a 2? I mean, really, Strong Woman Do Bong Soon has almost nothing else to offer besides the lead romance. There's a few decent moments with Bong Soon's parents, but even that had to be retconned in the last episode to try to make it less terrible. Bong Soon's friend, Kyung Shim, was promising and had some nice moments, but she was very underutilized. And of course Ji Soo's character was lovably pathetic. You just wanted to give him a big hug and comfort him all the time. Beyond that, literally the entirety of the rest of the show and cast was completely wasted and could have been done away with completely.
6.5/10, can only be enjoyed with liberal FFing.
Of course, it must be said that all of the Bong Soon/Min Hyuk stuff would be 10/10. Way too cute.
I think the key part of this entire discussion is this one line from your essay: "You don’t need to know ... It will make you satisfied but it neither furthers or changes the plot."
Since my original complaint was that the ending, and therefore ultimately the show itself, was not satisfying, then I think we understand each other. In my opinion, a good plot is there to serve the characters, not the other way around. If I don't care about the characters, why would I care about the plot? If I'm not invested in Pil Joo and his feelings and happiness, why do I care at all about his revenge?
In Money Flower, I *did* care about the characters. So to have them completely brushed aside at the end because "They don't matter, it's not the plot" is absurd.
Mo Hyun: is she happy? She's successful, but will she be able to trust anyone? How is her family? We just know she works for Cheong A. No idea of anything beyond that. Audience left in the dark.
Boo Cheon: he's a dad, so where's his son? Is he part of his son's life at all? Does he get a job with Cheong A or no? Is he back with Seo Won, and if so, how could she ever have taken him back? If not, what *is* he doing? Audience left in the dark.
Mal Ran: The "bad guy goes crazy after getting caught" trope. Horrible, lazy writing for the second most important character. She literally doesn't get a resolution at all.
Old Chairman Jang: Is he dead yet??? :P
That's all the major characters, and none of them get wrapped up. A true "open ending" is still an ending. What we got was... a termination. There's only so much you can leave up to the audience to fill in and still claim artistic license.
I liked that he accomplished his main goals: revenge and corporate reform. But that's it. 24 episodes and tons of great characters and it ends with "Welp.... I did it, I guess..."
So much wasted time in the last episode, too. So many cop out endings and dangling character threads. When literally theonly good thing I can say about an ending is "At least it wasn't cliché", you know something went terribly wrong.