Zhang Qiling
This review may contain spoilers
One of the best dramas to watch when you mostly want to chill and have some laughs.
It's been long since I watched an adult rom com Kdrama that is this wholesome, chill, realistic, straightforward, and funny. The FL was awfully likeable and sweet (Yeah she does start as kinda stuck up and whiny, but changes greatly pretty quick. Besides I related to her about being impatient and caring a lot about honesty in relationships), I loved all of her outfits too, especially that pink one, the white dress, and green & red dress in eps 12 and 13, they fit her perfectly. Everyone's style overall was nice.
Both the main and second male leads were a 10/10 boyfriend materials, I would be okay if FL chose to be with 2nd male lead too which is rare (Only other Kdrama were I also loved both the male leads along with the FL was True Beauty), since most of time only one of the male leads will be super likeable while the other will be a total jerk, or the FL will be annoying as heck and unworthy of both of the male leads' attention.
The main leads here had very strong and natural chemistry so it felt like watching an actual couple goofing around and being grossly lovey dovey, I did feel jealous not gonna lie. Their way of behaving mostly after they became a couple luckily wasn't painfully cringe for their ages, just moderate level, FL did get quite childish at times, but it wasn't irksome, just amusing. I think I will add them to my top 10 straight couples list. I just dig healthy adult couples <3 the marriage proposal scene killed me, love it when for a change the girl propose first, but his reaction was hilarious.
They all handled their feelings in a very healthy and mature way, confessed straightforwardly and simply. The upbeat friendship between male leads was adorable to see (I highly admired how Director Ji decided to stay friends with ML and treated him normally even after knowing him and FL are into each other instead of turning into a bitter prick), also I liked how that FL decided to reject him instantly after ML told her he liked her back, instead of letting him have false hopes for days and gave the luck charm back. At least 2nd ML still had another woman who cared for him.
The town people were also pretty funny and likeable (Maybe except that Chinese restaurant lady whom I wished would go completely mute at some point lol, but apart from her everyone else were cool). The FL had a very cute and strong friendship with her bestie which was also great to see since in many dramas female relationships gets ruined and they stab each other in the back all the time by them fighting over guys and crap of the sort. I even enjoyed the romance between the awkward police dude and FL's friend. The OSTs were pretty good.
The FL's parents were sweet as well (Glad her father approved of ML and regretted the crap he said about him, he was a decent father and her step mother was decent as well, even though lots of times they like to make step parents evil as hell). The town looks beautiful, wouldn't mind living there myself honestly, and the overall cast were great, the main leads are really good looking (Especially ML, not gonna lie I have a crush on this actor now since I'm really weak to hot guys with gorgeous smiles and sexy manly voices).
Of course there were some typical clichés like:
1- The main leads meeting each other before as kids, teens, and even back when ML wanted to commit suicide she saw him (The whole fate bullshit).
2- Them having tragic past stories is also a huge cliché. Like why are Asians obsessed with making everyone orphans??! Even in anime 80% of MCs have both/one of their parents dead or have messed up/abusive/neglectful parents and cursed family tree. ML here had everyone he cared about die, his parents, his grandfather, Ms. Gam Ri, the man whom he viewed as an older brother (Who happened to be the director's cousin husband to add salt to the wound), there was also the whole thing about that dude's paralyzed father, I was expecting the FL to die as well to complete the cycle lmao that was just overly dramatic and depressing!
Loved how everyone freaking said all that shit was Du Sik's fault, like that dude's father made the choice to risk his money without talking to him first and paid the price for it, Du Sik tried his best to help them financially too. The director's brother in law made the choice to drive the car that day, and yet ML had to handle all the burden for years and even got blamed for everything...yeah they were heartbroken so they lashed out on him and basically made up with him later, but it's still unfair. That whole part just pissed me off.
3- The town people being a bit retarded and weird at first (In this type of shows the town people always start as backwarded and judgmental assholes for some reason then turn into very likeable people afterwards).
4- Also I didn't give two fucks about the love triangle between the Zone chief, Village chief, and that teacher.
5- The ML getting hurt while protecting the FL from some criminal maniac or perverted bastard, male leads always have to play the hero role and save the damsel in distress.
6- That childbirth scene...love how that woman easily gave birth without filling the whole bed, her own clothes, and the FL clothes with blood and sometimes even poop...etc they make childbirth seem like you just pull the baby out of the damn vagina cleanly and that's it, in reality the dentist's bedroom would look like a homicide scene, with blood and horrifying sights everywhere, especially since she gave birth in a house and in a rushed manner instead of a hospital so it will be more messy.
7- The main leads hiding their relationship for a while, I mean I get that yes the town people would tease them to death, but still like ML said they will end up knowing anyways so what's the point of them acting as if they are having an affair and then FL ends up hitting/slapping the ML whenever someone sees them being romantic by accident, that was a bit too cringe and rude for my liking and I felt sorry for him.
Finding out that everyone already knew yet they all decided to punish them by separating them for some time till they admit it themselves was golden though. But all said clichés weren't much of a big deal in the end, and I forgot about them later due to how good the drama was.
8- The ads were so in your face lol, I get they are important and all, but they always get me a bit out of the mood.
Another thing, Bo Ra...why is that kid's hair dyed?! I mean I do dig hair dye and all, and would love to try many colors myself, but a child that awfully young having her hair dyed was just odd, first time seeing a child like that in an Asian drama for me especially since that in Asia they seem to mostly hate dyed/bright unnaturally colored hair, even adults would get judged sometimes for it (Unless they are celebrities) and they ban it in many schools there. I think it makes sense to at least wait till someone is a teenager then try such things, hair dye is toxic and can lead to the ruin of someone's hair if used too much, so kids need to stay away from chemicals as long as possible be it dye or beauty cosmetics/creams to give their bodies a chance to grow properly. No need to rush lol
The revelation about that teacher being a lesbian was surprising, never guessed the reason she never bothered with relationships was due to her being gay, that was a bit depressing since her family didn't approve of it and treated her like a maniac, even forcing her to leave the town to stay away from the girl she liked. Then she gets confessed to by the guy who got married to her first love, that all was just choatic as heck! I didn't care about the love triangle, but still felt sad about the teacher being that miserable, at least the zone chief didn't discriminate against her.
Anyways this drama was a 10/10 for me, I binged it in like four days, it's highly rewatchable (Although I rarely rewatch stuff), and a great way to cheer up my mood and relax (As long as you forget about the awfully sad two last episodes, the ending is happy for everyone though).
Both the main and second male leads were a 10/10 boyfriend materials, I would be okay if FL chose to be with 2nd male lead too which is rare (Only other Kdrama were I also loved both the male leads along with the FL was True Beauty), since most of time only one of the male leads will be super likeable while the other will be a total jerk, or the FL will be annoying as heck and unworthy of both of the male leads' attention.
The main leads here had very strong and natural chemistry so it felt like watching an actual couple goofing around and being grossly lovey dovey, I did feel jealous not gonna lie. Their way of behaving mostly after they became a couple luckily wasn't painfully cringe for their ages, just moderate level, FL did get quite childish at times, but it wasn't irksome, just amusing. I think I will add them to my top 10 straight couples list. I just dig healthy adult couples <3 the marriage proposal scene killed me, love it when for a change the girl propose first, but his reaction was hilarious.
They all handled their feelings in a very healthy and mature way, confessed straightforwardly and simply. The upbeat friendship between male leads was adorable to see (I highly admired how Director Ji decided to stay friends with ML and treated him normally even after knowing him and FL are into each other instead of turning into a bitter prick), also I liked how that FL decided to reject him instantly after ML told her he liked her back, instead of letting him have false hopes for days and gave the luck charm back. At least 2nd ML still had another woman who cared for him.
The town people were also pretty funny and likeable (Maybe except that Chinese restaurant lady whom I wished would go completely mute at some point lol, but apart from her everyone else were cool). The FL had a very cute and strong friendship with her bestie which was also great to see since in many dramas female relationships gets ruined and they stab each other in the back all the time by them fighting over guys and crap of the sort. I even enjoyed the romance between the awkward police dude and FL's friend. The OSTs were pretty good.
The FL's parents were sweet as well (Glad her father approved of ML and regretted the crap he said about him, he was a decent father and her step mother was decent as well, even though lots of times they like to make step parents evil as hell). The town looks beautiful, wouldn't mind living there myself honestly, and the overall cast were great, the main leads are really good looking (Especially ML, not gonna lie I have a crush on this actor now since I'm really weak to hot guys with gorgeous smiles and sexy manly voices).
Of course there were some typical clichés like:
1- The main leads meeting each other before as kids, teens, and even back when ML wanted to commit suicide she saw him (The whole fate bullshit).
2- Them having tragic past stories is also a huge cliché. Like why are Asians obsessed with making everyone orphans??! Even in anime 80% of MCs have both/one of their parents dead or have messed up/abusive/neglectful parents and cursed family tree. ML here had everyone he cared about die, his parents, his grandfather, Ms. Gam Ri, the man whom he viewed as an older brother (Who happened to be the director's cousin husband to add salt to the wound), there was also the whole thing about that dude's paralyzed father, I was expecting the FL to die as well to complete the cycle lmao that was just overly dramatic and depressing!
Loved how everyone freaking said all that shit was Du Sik's fault, like that dude's father made the choice to risk his money without talking to him first and paid the price for it, Du Sik tried his best to help them financially too. The director's brother in law made the choice to drive the car that day, and yet ML had to handle all the burden for years and even got blamed for everything...yeah they were heartbroken so they lashed out on him and basically made up with him later, but it's still unfair. That whole part just pissed me off.
3- The town people being a bit retarded and weird at first (In this type of shows the town people always start as backwarded and judgmental assholes for some reason then turn into very likeable people afterwards).
4- Also I didn't give two fucks about the love triangle between the Zone chief, Village chief, and that teacher.
5- The ML getting hurt while protecting the FL from some criminal maniac or perverted bastard, male leads always have to play the hero role and save the damsel in distress.
6- That childbirth scene...love how that woman easily gave birth without filling the whole bed, her own clothes, and the FL clothes with blood and sometimes even poop...etc they make childbirth seem like you just pull the baby out of the damn vagina cleanly and that's it, in reality the dentist's bedroom would look like a homicide scene, with blood and horrifying sights everywhere, especially since she gave birth in a house and in a rushed manner instead of a hospital so it will be more messy.
7- The main leads hiding their relationship for a while, I mean I get that yes the town people would tease them to death, but still like ML said they will end up knowing anyways so what's the point of them acting as if they are having an affair and then FL ends up hitting/slapping the ML whenever someone sees them being romantic by accident, that was a bit too cringe and rude for my liking and I felt sorry for him.
Finding out that everyone already knew yet they all decided to punish them by separating them for some time till they admit it themselves was golden though. But all said clichés weren't much of a big deal in the end, and I forgot about them later due to how good the drama was.
8- The ads were so in your face lol, I get they are important and all, but they always get me a bit out of the mood.
Another thing, Bo Ra...why is that kid's hair dyed?! I mean I do dig hair dye and all, and would love to try many colors myself, but a child that awfully young having her hair dyed was just odd, first time seeing a child like that in an Asian drama for me especially since that in Asia they seem to mostly hate dyed/bright unnaturally colored hair, even adults would get judged sometimes for it (Unless they are celebrities) and they ban it in many schools there. I think it makes sense to at least wait till someone is a teenager then try such things, hair dye is toxic and can lead to the ruin of someone's hair if used too much, so kids need to stay away from chemicals as long as possible be it dye or beauty cosmetics/creams to give their bodies a chance to grow properly. No need to rush lol
The revelation about that teacher being a lesbian was surprising, never guessed the reason she never bothered with relationships was due to her being gay, that was a bit depressing since her family didn't approve of it and treated her like a maniac, even forcing her to leave the town to stay away from the girl she liked. Then she gets confessed to by the guy who got married to her first love, that all was just choatic as heck! I didn't care about the love triangle, but still felt sad about the teacher being that miserable, at least the zone chief didn't discriminate against her.
Anyways this drama was a 10/10 for me, I binged it in like four days, it's highly rewatchable (Although I rarely rewatch stuff), and a great way to cheer up my mood and relax (As long as you forget about the awfully sad two last episodes, the ending is happy for everyone though).
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