This review may contain spoilers
A friend of mine recently said that sometimes a drama can just creep up on you. Never has that been more true than with The Vineyard Man. I struggled so much trying to watch this drama, I dropped it twice without being able to get through the first episode. I honestly couldn't imagine that I would ever enjoy it, even as I was watching it. But as with Secret Garden, I am so glad I was willing to give this show a third chance.
This show is far from perfect, some episodes drag, and they definitely took their sweet time advancing the romantic story line. They spent way WAY too much time on the love triangle aspect of the show. As you get into the second half, it's like they just can't stop beating the dead horse as they tried too hard to extract every bit of drama and frustration that a love triangle can bring.
The characters were all pretty phenomenal, especially Jang Taek Gi. Seriously, he may have taken the spot as my number one drama hero fantasy boyfriend :p He was so incredibly sweet and caring, even if he could be dense at times. Lee Ji Hyun was so stinking irritating in the first 8 or 9 episodes, she is what made this drama so hard to get through! She was just a spoiled brat, and I hated listening to her whine. I know that that was the point, she is supposed to undergo a transformation, but she was just so unlikable in the beginning, it was grating. The secondary characters were a joy to watch, too. The villagers were all funny, I especially loved Taek Gi's best friend. His voice cracked me up. The only character I wasn't too fond of was the granduncle, which is weird because I have loved that actor in everything else I have seen him in.
I, of course, don't want to get too spoilery, but I will say the last episode was the best of the whole series, hands down. There wasn't too much romance by way of kissing or any other kind of PDA, but there was plenty of sweet scenes to keep you going :)
Bottom line, there are some things I would have changed, but all in all this was well worth the effort of slogging through the parts that dragged on. If you find yourself getting bored in the first few episodes, I would really recommend reading some recaps to get you through them. If you are looking for something fun, sweet, and pretty funny then this is what you are looking for! If you can make it through the boring, you will definitely be rewarded by the sweet and irresistible!
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