BWMDL

OK, I just finished it. I liked it. Yes, it was slow, but I enjoyed the slow pace. Everyone had the ending I predicted. The lovers were not kept apart too long at the end (cause I hate that "lovers move away for a year" trope).

And I still want to live in that bookstore.

I just started watching this show and I'm on episode 3.

Question: If he gives her his phone, how is she supposed to call him? I just didn't get that.

I want to live in that bookstore and go to the story time meetings.

Also, someone please tell me they do NOT do that stupid "break the lovers up for a year because one of them moves away" thing? I really hate that trope.

I'm really enjoying this show. I love slice of life Asian shows, because it gives me a chance to see different cultures. I love the characters. There are no bad guys, and I like that.

BUT. I wish Netflix had given it a different title in English. "The Full-time Wife Escapist" is a stupid title. The Japanese translates as "It's a shame to run away but it's useful" and that's a great title, because the leads even discuss that phrase in the first or second episode, and the characters often run away from each other.

BUT. As cute as the setup is, it would be gross in real life. "Because This Is My First Life" used the same plot. Hire your roommate to clean your house and fake marry her so that nobody thinks anything kinky is going on. In real life, if you read that some guy fake married a younger woman, but was really paying her to clean his house, you'd be totally grossed out.

I'd love to see a gender switched version, where Yuri fake marries a younger guy just to have him clean and cook for her. How would viewers feel if he tried to kiss her or visa versa, when they are employer and employee? Somehow, I think viewers wouldn't go for that.

BUT. Yeah, the bad hugs are cute, but I don't know anyone who could keep pulling off bad hugs for as long as they did.

Is this really happening? Or is it just wishful thinking on our part?

It's not heavy. The political stuff is just the backdrop for shenanigans. It's mostly about the male Chef having to deal with suddenly being a married woman.

I LOVED IT! This is the first K-drama I've watched in the past few months that I didn't drop. It starts off strong and never drags, and it has an actual good conclusion.

I noticed that it uses Chekov's Gun to good effect. If a person or thing is shown, it's important and gets used later in the show. I love when that happens. I kept wondering why certain characters or things were introduced, and there was definitely a payoff later. And the jokes were great. The acting was great.

I noticed that viewers seem to be split on the ending, but I thought it was perfect. I was surprised that the Queen was in her own body the whole time, and not swapped into the Chef's body, like he thought. She seemed to know everything that had happened in Joseon. That's good for the King, but I do understand that the King now felt something was missing. However, it's not like the Queen was completely someone else. She still retained memories of what the Chef was like. However, the comment at the very end with the King asking why the Queen was using honorifics made me realise that the English subtitles definitely lost something in the translation, because that change in the way the Queen spoke did not come across in English.

If I had one quibble, it would be that the Chef was not going to be bounding out of the hospital after 2 months in a coma. But since I'd already accepted the idea that he went back in time to a Joseon era Queen, I couldn't really complain about it not being realistic.

OK, I have a second quibble. I had no idea what was going on with all the government shenanigans, but I rarely do with political shows, so I just let that part flow over me.

OK, I have a third quibble. I thought the Queen's cousin and the King's brother were both weak characters. They were supposed to be strong warriors, but they both looked like they were always going to cry at any second.

But I loved, loved, loved the Queen and her henchwomen, I mean ladies in waiting. What a fun trio.

Well Netflix did another 3 seasons called Midnight Diner Tokyo Stories, and they wrapped up everyones storyline. Except we never really find out anything about the owner of the diner.

Yes, I got confused on the two men, too.

Thank you. I thought that exchange meant something, but I didn't know the actors.

It does make the father's concern pretty legit.

I also felt like there were so many characters whose stories were not developed. I'd love another season.

Although I wish some of the side characters had more story lines. I felt like so many of the actors were underused. I kept waiting for more. Still, very sweet, enjoyable story.

What was his role? Was he the "actor" on the poster in the elder mother's room?

Yes.

Ah, now this is more like it. I'm tired of dysfunctional, dystopian societies and murder. Give me food and gorgeous clothes, and low stakes stories, and no rivalries. This is like an all girls Midnight Diner. I love it.

Unfortunately, being American, I think I'm missing a lot of the cultural references. Why did the dad cry when he ate the eggplant?

Well, I was wondering about this one. Sounds like I'll skip it, too.

Thank you all for your comments. I guess I'll skip this one.

Because it sucked in the middle.

I'm not serious. I like light and fluff, but this show is not satisfying me.

I quit watching when the ex girlfriend showed up. I decided to try episode 11, since you all said it was cute. It was cringe. I couldn't believe the things they were saying to each other. Or the way they were acting. And driving 4 hours to Seoul for a date? And not feeding her until 1 a.m? And then driving 4 hours back? I'm surprised they didn't get in an accident on the road.