Well, I guess it was entertaining... for a bit
So, whats to say about it? The FL carried the show. Oh, and the scenes with the topless ML. And maybe the 2nd FL a little. And the cameos helped too. But surely there's more.
Visuals. It looks good enough. Normal colour palette. The cinematography is good I guess. Some interesting shots and angles. Lots of good shots when its about emotions going on. I don't know if it was added in post or not, and though it was not a close-up, I even noticed a person sweating, its not something easily notable, but because of the angle and the lighting etc. Yes, I pick on the stupidest of details (like I saw about the portraits in the art class)... So, most of the times: good stuff.
**Personal point. I hate the scenes where the Sun is involved. Episode 6 (?). sunset, they are walking, she sees something, she runs, he "hey, where are you going?", runs after her, next second full dark. Thats like 3 hours in the span of 2 seconds. From the cinematography standpoint, it looks better this way, sure, but that means the writing is at fault. Same for the sunrise scene in episode 8(?). Thats not how the sunrise works! Two hours timeline crammed in 2 minutes of screen time. I'm saying 2 minutes to be nice. More exactly, she is walking, the sky looks like at least 1h (I'm being generous) before sunrise, she stops, she turns around, the sky looks like 30 min before sunrise, in the next second we get a wide-shot and the Sun is already up, it looks like 30 min after sunrise... I know why it was needed and done like that, but it was bad. Another one is about a couple of portraits in the art class having the wrong orientation (one even smiling). And a few other scenes (like an elevator, or football game) where some characters move faster than possible, on or off screen, to catch up to someone. Nitpicks, not problems, I know, but I had to say it. Also also, the thing with her first day of work. I wont spoil it. Knowing what we know later, how the fk did it all happened? Does it involve teleportation? If not, thats a plot hole. And a major one... But I digress.**
Audio. The sound design is ok. Meh OP and ED, nothing special, but on par with the theme, I guess. The rest is better, nice selection for tracks. Also, nice balance mixing, no track will blow your ears off with some loud volume right after a quiet dialogue, or something.
High production value. World building? No, not really. The usual pacing. You wont get a sense of how much time is passing, coupled with a lot of boring (slice-of-life like) scenes. No, really. Horrible pacing and horrible editing, some scenes just keep dragging on.
Now, the good parts. The story is meh. I get that it must have drama, but it kinda goes over the top. Everyone cheating on everyone, all the time, all around and they gotta deal with it. Something usual irl Korea. Ok, fine, sure. Lets pretend its an interesting concept. The execution of that idea on paper is bad. Ok, maybe not bad, just boring. It is all saved by the acting. Good casting. The main FL stole the show. Apart from some scenes, where she is supposed to be sad/desperate/whatever but she can't really do it, everything else is done great. Body language, mannerism, speech, even her face. Any other actress wouldn't have been this geat for this specific role. There are a few other good actors here, sure, but its like having Anthony Hopkins and some random, normal people around. Especially in the first episodes. Her sarcasm, body language, the way she changes her demeanor in one second, all of that will make you love her and want to keep watching the show. That and the other eye candies. Plus, as I've mentioned earlier, the cameos. Talented actors that bring their own fans. But like I said, the script is meh. A couple of plot contrivances here and there. Stuff like that. You'll enjoy it for the actors and for the feeling of "they got what they deserved" payoff in regards of some of the cheaters. Oh, also, expect lots of red herring. Not a bad thing per se, but it gets predictable.
Character development. There are a few of decent ones. Also, a lot of really lousy ones. One-dimension kind of bad. The best of it is the fact that you shouldn't think you know how someone is. There were a few surprises. Both good and bad. And as the story progresses, it changes to worse... A lot of character assassination, one of them culminating in dumb stuff, even saying something cringe like "I realised I wasn't as bad a person as I thought". Like I said, sometimes the writing is horrible, with lots of exposition dump, pathetic dialogue and forced events occurring.
Comedy. Anything decent mostly involves the FL. The other bits are the typical cringy kdrama stuff. Honorable mention, his sisters. Really funny.
Romance. Well, the chemistry is there. Some nice dialogue at key moments, nice acting and it feels like it has a natural progression. Also, even the stuff thats less than romance, involving other cast, is nicely done.
To sum it all up. Uninteresting premise, ok-ish execution, with some plot contrivances and plot holes. All supported mainly by the FL, a few other cast and the cameo ones. Thats it. Apart from episode 8. That was pure nonsense, as writing, pacing, execution. Time has no meaning, stuff happens or it is shown without explaining what that was. Nothing works. Plot holes, manipulative editing, who knows? And it leaks over to the next episode (for example, I checked for two scenes.38 seconds for: ending the call, going back inside or not, paying up or not, convincing the colleagues to leave, getting their coats on, going outside all the way up to the street to find a cab. 38 seconds... Then 33 more until leaving the last 2 people. Exactly what we're to infer how long it takes in a different setting for a person to go from answering the door, inviting some one in, taking his shoes off, walking inside living room. Then, 103 seconds for: leaving the group (already happening), arriving before the building, going up stairs/elevator (because 2508-2509 it usually means 25 floor, right? Also seeing that she is an executive something in a respectable company, something we see in other kdramas, they all try to live somewhere high up. Also also, the view from her window), entering... How tf is that possible? But hey, "drama is needed, lets force it", right? Right). And the next episode, and the next. *sigh* Basically, the second half its not the same drama. The same teleportation plot devices, character assassination, a lot more contrivances and plot holes. But at least its not the kind of drama that has the "fake marriage contract comes to light & creates problems" trope, right? * wink wink* A better writing would've been if the plot was that he had a colder personality and a more "data" approach in his investigations, learning from her how to "understand" people more. And maybe the 2nd FL to have a better role/dialogue, because from the few scenes where she was playful, it looked like she could do it. Anyway....
It gets a rating of 6. Barely. It should be even lower thanks to its progression. Enjoyable for the first half, cringe and full of tropes in the second one. Maybe you'll rewatch it once more, mostly for the FL. Maybe.
I should mention that there's a difference between enjoyment and quality when talking about media. You can also enjoy bad media (my guilty pleasure), and there's nothing wrong with that. This review is about its quality (as all reviews should be), so keep that in mind.
Have a lovely day.
Visuals. It looks good enough. Normal colour palette. The cinematography is good I guess. Some interesting shots and angles. Lots of good shots when its about emotions going on. I don't know if it was added in post or not, and though it was not a close-up, I even noticed a person sweating, its not something easily notable, but because of the angle and the lighting etc. Yes, I pick on the stupidest of details (like I saw about the portraits in the art class)... So, most of the times: good stuff.
**Personal point. I hate the scenes where the Sun is involved. Episode 6 (?). sunset, they are walking, she sees something, she runs, he "hey, where are you going?", runs after her, next second full dark. Thats like 3 hours in the span of 2 seconds. From the cinematography standpoint, it looks better this way, sure, but that means the writing is at fault. Same for the sunrise scene in episode 8(?). Thats not how the sunrise works! Two hours timeline crammed in 2 minutes of screen time. I'm saying 2 minutes to be nice. More exactly, she is walking, the sky looks like at least 1h (I'm being generous) before sunrise, she stops, she turns around, the sky looks like 30 min before sunrise, in the next second we get a wide-shot and the Sun is already up, it looks like 30 min after sunrise... I know why it was needed and done like that, but it was bad. Another one is about a couple of portraits in the art class having the wrong orientation (one even smiling). And a few other scenes (like an elevator, or football game) where some characters move faster than possible, on or off screen, to catch up to someone. Nitpicks, not problems, I know, but I had to say it. Also also, the thing with her first day of work. I wont spoil it. Knowing what we know later, how the fk did it all happened? Does it involve teleportation? If not, thats a plot hole. And a major one... But I digress.**
Audio. The sound design is ok. Meh OP and ED, nothing special, but on par with the theme, I guess. The rest is better, nice selection for tracks. Also, nice balance mixing, no track will blow your ears off with some loud volume right after a quiet dialogue, or something.
High production value. World building? No, not really. The usual pacing. You wont get a sense of how much time is passing, coupled with a lot of boring (slice-of-life like) scenes. No, really. Horrible pacing and horrible editing, some scenes just keep dragging on.
Now, the good parts. The story is meh. I get that it must have drama, but it kinda goes over the top. Everyone cheating on everyone, all the time, all around and they gotta deal with it. Something usual irl Korea. Ok, fine, sure. Lets pretend its an interesting concept. The execution of that idea on paper is bad. Ok, maybe not bad, just boring. It is all saved by the acting. Good casting. The main FL stole the show. Apart from some scenes, where she is supposed to be sad/desperate/whatever but she can't really do it, everything else is done great. Body language, mannerism, speech, even her face. Any other actress wouldn't have been this geat for this specific role. There are a few other good actors here, sure, but its like having Anthony Hopkins and some random, normal people around. Especially in the first episodes. Her sarcasm, body language, the way she changes her demeanor in one second, all of that will make you love her and want to keep watching the show. That and the other eye candies. Plus, as I've mentioned earlier, the cameos. Talented actors that bring their own fans. But like I said, the script is meh. A couple of plot contrivances here and there. Stuff like that. You'll enjoy it for the actors and for the feeling of "they got what they deserved" payoff in regards of some of the cheaters. Oh, also, expect lots of red herring. Not a bad thing per se, but it gets predictable.
Character development. There are a few of decent ones. Also, a lot of really lousy ones. One-dimension kind of bad. The best of it is the fact that you shouldn't think you know how someone is. There were a few surprises. Both good and bad. And as the story progresses, it changes to worse... A lot of character assassination, one of them culminating in dumb stuff, even saying something cringe like "I realised I wasn't as bad a person as I thought". Like I said, sometimes the writing is horrible, with lots of exposition dump, pathetic dialogue and forced events occurring.
Comedy. Anything decent mostly involves the FL. The other bits are the typical cringy kdrama stuff. Honorable mention, his sisters. Really funny.
Romance. Well, the chemistry is there. Some nice dialogue at key moments, nice acting and it feels like it has a natural progression. Also, even the stuff thats less than romance, involving other cast, is nicely done.
To sum it all up. Uninteresting premise, ok-ish execution, with some plot contrivances and plot holes. All supported mainly by the FL, a few other cast and the cameo ones. Thats it. Apart from episode 8. That was pure nonsense, as writing, pacing, execution. Time has no meaning, stuff happens or it is shown without explaining what that was. Nothing works. Plot holes, manipulative editing, who knows? And it leaks over to the next episode (for example, I checked for two scenes.38 seconds for: ending the call, going back inside or not, paying up or not, convincing the colleagues to leave, getting their coats on, going outside all the way up to the street to find a cab. 38 seconds... Then 33 more until leaving the last 2 people. Exactly what we're to infer how long it takes in a different setting for a person to go from answering the door, inviting some one in, taking his shoes off, walking inside living room. Then, 103 seconds for: leaving the group (already happening), arriving before the building, going up stairs/elevator (because 2508-2509 it usually means 25 floor, right? Also seeing that she is an executive something in a respectable company, something we see in other kdramas, they all try to live somewhere high up. Also also, the view from her window), entering... How tf is that possible? But hey, "drama is needed, lets force it", right? Right). And the next episode, and the next. *sigh* Basically, the second half its not the same drama. The same teleportation plot devices, character assassination, a lot more contrivances and plot holes. But at least its not the kind of drama that has the "fake marriage contract comes to light & creates problems" trope, right? * wink wink* A better writing would've been if the plot was that he had a colder personality and a more "data" approach in his investigations, learning from her how to "understand" people more. And maybe the 2nd FL to have a better role/dialogue, because from the few scenes where she was playful, it looked like she could do it. Anyway....
It gets a rating of 6. Barely. It should be even lower thanks to its progression. Enjoyable for the first half, cringe and full of tropes in the second one. Maybe you'll rewatch it once more, mostly for the FL. Maybe.
I should mention that there's a difference between enjoyment and quality when talking about media. You can also enjoy bad media (my guilty pleasure), and there's nothing wrong with that. This review is about its quality (as all reviews should be), so keep that in mind.
Have a lovely day.
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