6
1
The Devil wears sensible shoes
I'm going to be honest with you. The first couple of eps did not vibe with me. I was confused about the direction of the series. Is it business satire? Slapstick comedy? Office romance? It seems to dip its toes in many puddles.
What caught me off guard is the calibre of the cast. I'm not aware any of them being certified comedians, but hat off to the FL. Her timing is excellent and she is ably assisted by others. After just completed her The Art of Sarah starrer, this is a 180° change.
Even with that in mind, this show just doesn't give off that type of vibe. While they did lean heavily into broad stroke comedy early on, it didn't feel organic.
Sure enough, the show changed tack and became darker and more serious well before the half way mark. Playing dirty is the one true way in a chaebol family.
This doesn't make it a bad series. It is very watchable, but I am disappointed. This drama passed up a golden opportunity to be more than a same-same office romance.
That lack of focus translated into a stream of random worker's right stories, swoon-y office romance, unrequited love, woman scorned, business shenanigans and the good old chaebol succession bum fight. Our plate overfloweth with tropes.
As if to emphasise this, it is not the A-plot that is the throughline but the FL's character. It is her acting and the OTP's romance that kept me watching. When the OTP's romance is firing, it is piping hot. The rest are a lot more hit and miss.
For instance, the 2ML is old school handsome. I still remember him playing opposite PMY in Her Private Life. They had smoking chemistry in that show. Now, he is a sad and broken second lead who can't win a trick. Of course, he has his redemption arc later on and so does the 2FL who shafted everyone because of spite.
That is a shame as it has a superior ensemble cast and solid production value. It could have been more. As it stands, it added little to the dramaverse.
In the end, I was perplexed when the A-plot largely ended in the opening minutes of EP.12. What now? We still have almost an hour to fill.
We are presented with a grab bag of relationship issues and office hijinks plus bonus time skip. It is a bit sappy and draggy. The momentum has largely dissipated by then. The show must go on, damnit!
All's well that ends well. One-time watch for me. Peace.
What caught me off guard is the calibre of the cast. I'm not aware any of them being certified comedians, but hat off to the FL. Her timing is excellent and she is ably assisted by others. After just completed her The Art of Sarah starrer, this is a 180° change.
Even with that in mind, this show just doesn't give off that type of vibe. While they did lean heavily into broad stroke comedy early on, it didn't feel organic.
Sure enough, the show changed tack and became darker and more serious well before the half way mark. Playing dirty is the one true way in a chaebol family.
This doesn't make it a bad series. It is very watchable, but I am disappointed. This drama passed up a golden opportunity to be more than a same-same office romance.
That lack of focus translated into a stream of random worker's right stories, swoon-y office romance, unrequited love, woman scorned, business shenanigans and the good old chaebol succession bum fight. Our plate overfloweth with tropes.
As if to emphasise this, it is not the A-plot that is the throughline but the FL's character. It is her acting and the OTP's romance that kept me watching. When the OTP's romance is firing, it is piping hot. The rest are a lot more hit and miss.
For instance, the 2ML is old school handsome. I still remember him playing opposite PMY in Her Private Life. They had smoking chemistry in that show. Now, he is a sad and broken second lead who can't win a trick. Of course, he has his redemption arc later on and so does the 2FL who shafted everyone because of spite.
That is a shame as it has a superior ensemble cast and solid production value. It could have been more. As it stands, it added little to the dramaverse.
In the end, I was perplexed when the A-plot largely ended in the opening minutes of EP.12. What now? We still have almost an hour to fill.
We are presented with a grab bag of relationship issues and office hijinks plus bonus time skip. It is a bit sappy and draggy. The momentum has largely dissipated by then. The show must go on, damnit!
All's well that ends well. One-time watch for me. Peace.
Was this review helpful to you?
