SunsetChill

Good show for trying times

First I'm an average american white male, mostly watch sports but have a wide taste for shows both american & other countries. I value a good story, acting to invest in a show.

I have not watched many Kdramas but with Netflix putting many out they fill a gap when I'm in the mood for something new. Last year I enjoyed Mystic Pop Up Bar. So Hello Me! Had a interesting concept.

I know much of the world has been isolated & dealing with COVID so I tend to look for TV shows to detach from the pandemic.

Without discussing the plot as part of the joy of this show is seeing where it goes, the week between episodes is hard as you are left wanting to see what happens.

Likes:

- funny and many laugh out loud moments, even with major culture difference this show has humor which in a way helps offset the more serious moments

- at its heart outside of the two versions of the same person is a core of how people deal with family, friends, loss and finding happiness. Sometimes its just in a snack and others finding a friend lost.

- enjoy the multi-connected plot & characters, kind of shows the 6 degrees of seperation. Also the aspect of how people make impacts on other peoples lives, which often may seem minor

Dislikes:

- some of the events are the same old ones you see elsewhere, the romance side of this show is pretty weak with the two leads being there to prop up the two main leads (or one)

I look forward to how the show wraps up and update what I thought. I hope they have a season 2 if Kdramas even do that.

Give the show a chance, if anything it will make you smile.

Update 4/11

Well the series wrapped and came back to update. Overall my rating and like for the did not change. I do agree the aunt / anthony subplots did suck time away from the core story but it was nice to have most of the main storylines wrapped up.

I guess this final two episodes were more bittersweet than outright sad. Overall series kept its touching nature and it does make you pause to evaluate your life & relationships.

While I know K Dramas don't do seasons like the US, however there are story lines that could be explored in each time period.

Past - Ba Ha Ni dealing with her life knowing what she does. Maybe the college years.

Present - Obviously seeing current Ba Ha Ni and making the most of her new (restarted) life. I felt there was more meat between her & the HS BFF. The baby, adult friendship etc. I'd also like to see the Aunt return and be given a sub-company to run so she does not live her life with so much hate. She gave up her whole family, future grandchild due to her envy & greed.

If you are unsure, try the show. It was a pleasant watch.

~chill

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Had promise and lost step

First I must comment the soundtrack for OG is better than the series. The songs are catchy and the main two are played many times thus they stick in your head.

This series started with good intentions and then fizzled and then picked back up. It spend way too much time on the ML going 'missing' that I don't know why the FL bothered. Everyone has challeneges in life and the ML seemed to feel he had to suffer on his own to 'protect' those he loved yet wound up hurting them more. I think of all the WASTED years that went by where a simple, 'Hope you are well, thinking about you' would have went a long way.

The start of the series the parents were shown having key roles in their childrens lives and then at High School and beyond faded to the background, which I guess is how life goes. I wish the ML found closure with the parents who are gone in the second half of the series.

This series also wasted the friends relationships and played minor roles. the FL best friends (girl) and (boy) clearly have for each other and never took the step to at least tell each other. Again wasted years loving someone. Maybe they decide to just stay platonic. The other cirlce of friends are never explored other than cameos at times.

Overall it is worth a watch, just know the middle episodes are frustrating as it doesn't connect to the start and the (happy) ending episodes, the wrap up seemed rushed considering the time spent on the 'apart' portions.

I guess the series does show the years of growth as you enter adulthood and have real ife to deal with. ML took responsibility for his family and put his own happiness (and education) on hold. Many people deal with similar situations.

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Had potential but Typhoon broke into a drizzle

First I thought overall the cast were all fine. For most of the main employees you had some side story / subplot.

Overall the story was just not strong. It was like endless setbacks and incidents to make any sane person quit. The ML went from a club kid to running his Father's business with zero business knowledge but has a good heart and wants to do the right thing for the company and his father's employee's.

There is limited romance as the ML / FL are just starting to explore their feelings for each other, while FL sister after a few weeks of dating on & off is planning marriage??! (FL sister is super cute).

I also felt there was going to be more to the FL Grandmother and the ML Mother. They touch on things but it doesn't really shape into much. It's mostly one business fire after another and getting endless bad luck.

All said it's a decent show just was expecting something bigger for the payoff / ending.

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Dash of Alternate time, Retro Nostolgia

I'm a sucker for any retro or time travel type series and this was a big series to undertake, I'd watch 3-4 episodes at a time. Overall it was a good series well acted, major plot lines resolved and most of the characters had good events happen to them so all in all a positive happy show.

LIke another series I watched Kdrama (Typhoon Family) the plot become stuck repeating the same crisis, resoiution which often did little to move the overall story line.

The FL & ML lead made a good match, but they at times felt more like brother & sister so not much sparks fly as FL is focused on success.

There are a couple songs featured throughout the series, they are upbeat, catchy and fits the 80s vibe. I didn't feel the series was homage to the 80s as outside of some technology items it wasn't a big focus, the dress, styles & cars were true to era.

Couple comments for those that have yet to watch series / finish.

- I didn't get the whole FL in the girl from past body, were they similar in appearence or to everyone in that time the girl looked the same as before, just started acted differently?? It touched early on how people say she is acting different and wouldn't her mother pick up on changes? What happened when the FL went back to 2020's? did the girl resume living in her body? Wouldn't her lack of knowledge impact her business(s)?? Where did the original girl go the whole time (years) the FL was using her body?

- Felt the marriage between FL & ML took a long time to occur, was almost the end of the series and they didn't act any different after being married. Was hoping the FL friend and ML friend would also get married to wrap that all up, but all signs point to they will have happy life.

- The end of the series wrapped up really quick, considering it was a 36 episode show. Likely could have added 1-2 episodes to expand on when FL left and how it was as well after FL & ML cross paths in current time.

Thanks for reading!

~Chill

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Late to view but a worthwhile viewing

Currently the two K-dramas I'm watching are still being updated so I had time between weekly episodes to catch up on old shows and this one kept popping up on Netflix as 'My next watch'

The story is really not anything new or amazing, The rich, the beautiful daughter, the over acheiving son, revenge, heart break etc. but the presentation, filming are all top notch so its a very polished show. The FL is pretty and always has stylish clothes.

One thing to note, that I liked is each episode is 1.5 hours long and with 16 episodes , this is a lengthy undertaking.

You'd think with such a long run time and a host of side characters (each with some story to unfold) would have a wealth of story telling but the core is frustrating same themes. The ML loving, waiting for the FL and events occur to prevent them being together. I don't understand why they did not go to marriage counseling when their marriage was in ruins and prompting the actions the ML took. The same with the FL and her Mother with the blame around the 'accident' and how her Mother treated her for years.

I was disappointed how they handled the baby misscarage as IMO this was the core wedge between the ML & FL. Did she not connect his staying in the old nursery as his ongoing grief for their lost child? The 'tumor' later the FL suffers is symbolic of her lack of coming to terms about the loss of her baby and how it impacted their marriage. I think her 'cold' nature was still there, but it likely became more after this event in their life and ML was lost how to help his wife.

I also didn't like how the grandfather / father character was handled, if he was such a big business man, he made really poor decisions about his family, business and did not have his radar on when the evil mistress came into his life. They didn't elaborate why the Grandfather and oldest son were fighting,

Overall its a nice watch if you have the time, try the first few episides if the story appeals, if not drop it.

I need to look up the songs played, there were a couple that played often that had good impact to pull at your emotions.

Thanks for reading!

~Chill

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Feels half finsihed

This show needed another 2 episodes or a longer flash forward as so many of the ongoing subplots were not really addressed or wrapped up.

- What happened with Older Brother / Sister battle?
- Did parents stay married or not?
- the Mistress new life

Then you had mention or characters that basically did nothing for the overall story. The middle sister, the ML father, the 2nd ML Father mentioned but never had a scene not his other brother?!?

For all the 2nd ML drama with his Mother & FL 2 they did not show much beyond the flash forward, showing them living together, wedding would've been nice ending for them. Kinda let down the FL 1 and ML 1 only took the next step a year later, so what happened in that year?!??

Outside of these gaps, the acting was decent, the family dynamics were interesting andf the FL 1 had nice business clothes in the later half.

It just didn't feel complete at the end.

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Real life situations make blah K drama

First the cast is good, everyone acted their part, had good emotional range and acted like an everyday person.

The ML (Mr. Kim) while you want to feel bad for him and root for him to achieve the success he strives for the story lines fizzle out. Outside the later episodes where his family helps he only cares about himself, what he does & its impact him being promoted. He doesn't show any feelings for his wife, son, fellow workers. Sure there are bits here & there where he does something 'good' but its not before its the last option.

The bulk of the main story lines and sub plots have little to no resolution. The series could've used another episode or two to wrap up things.

Overall its an enjoyable watch and the key messages are a nice reminder to note & care for those close to you.

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Everyone Has an inner Struggle

Finished watching this show last night and while I felt the last 2 episodes were a bit rushed, everything was wrapped up.

The two young leads were excellent, with Mi-Ji having a more meaty role. All the supporting cast did a great job and added their own parts to the story.

Basically no one is perfect, every person & family have their own struggles. What may appear on the outside as perfect once seen from inside shows the fractures.

I also enjoyed seeing when anyone was too down, a friend or family member would support them. You also re-evaluate what is 'family'. Is it only by blood, time together etc.

Things I didn't like were obvious gaps in the story, like why would the daughter (Mi-Ji) not introduce her mother to the woman she spent multiple episodes helping (Rosa Restaurant). There was also the mother having preference for Mi-Rae as she was 'successful' yet didn't know her struggles and how unhappy she was.

I also was hoping Ho Su's mother would have some re-connection to her family. That was pretty harsh and I admire her will to be a 'mother' to a young boy she barely knew. In a way this relationship showed no matter how broken a relationship is (mother - son) the will of love can overcome.

Overall this was a solid show and I enjoyed it.

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