Lol you didn't like him? I could've sworn that you did and you mentioned it earlier!
I'm on episode 61 and I gotta say the drama definitely takes off once Hwakyung gets kicked out. The first third of the drama felt slow to me (Myungjoon and Joowon 😴) outside of the MBS scenes but now that it's turned into Hwakyung actively fighting her way back into the house I like it way better lol I hate the grandfather so I'm rooting for her 😭
Jini's panic attack at the end of episode 4 :( I actually like that Jini is troubled and not a "bright personality" FL.
The drama needs to either stick to current year or handle the flashbacks and get them out the way. It's so fragmented. I AM interested in this drama but I think I might come back in 2-3 weeks and binge watch the episodes...
As for the three main characters, jini is definitely my favorite. Youngju does not give "cheerful" in any capacity, her throwing salt and standing by while Seungwoo (I believe he's the brother with the longer hair) was mouthing off and saying horrible things to Jini. Seri (daily dramas love naming their antagonists Seri lol) is clearly supposed to be the villain but I don't see it outside of her having the affair ~30 years ago. With Seri the drama is TELLING us not SHOWING us. I guess the one thing I do like about this story is that Youngju and Seri aren't black and white meaning Youngju isn't all nice and Seri isn't all evil.
Side characters I don't really care for the acupuncture doctor or his brother, but that's probably because they feel divorced from the main storyline. I like Seungwoo a bit better than his brother. Mai is probably my favorite character so far just because she's not living in Angst City and I find her backstory interesting - she's a heiress from Vietnam who got into kdramas during the hallyu wave, study abroad in Korea to marry a postman. It would've been cool to actually see a Vietnamese actress casted but realistically MBC probably couldn't afford to cast one lol
Minki will probably be dying in today's episode (5) and I gotta say I'll be glad to see him go. Zero accountability for his role in the affair. Since we don't have linear flashbacks it's hard to tell who approached who first but the point is it takes two. Ngl it got ridiculous seeing him blame Youngju and Seri and being upset that neither of them got cancer (wtf lmao)
Do Dohee ... could this be the final boss of the drama? Horrible person but for the sake of the story and my entertainment I am enjoying her walk over Jini... Because it'll make Jini standing up to her even more satisfying . Also... Seri doesn't seem like like she did/does a good job at protecting Jini from the things she went through. Minki at least accompanied Jini to the hospital during her suicide attempt and they seem closer.
I really wonder what the main "plot" is going to be tbh - Minki is dying and that is not going to take 120 episodes, as is Oreum needing a donor. Dohee is sabotaging Jini, and Jini will eventually fall in love with Jihu. Idk why but it feels like something is missing! KOCOWA has this tagged as "revenge", but this does not feel like a revenge drama; Youngju seems like she accepts her life and Jini has no real reason for revenge (yet) and to me her character just doesn't seem capable (?) of getting revenge... idk.
For how much I dislike it when dailies spend the first 2-3 weeks on flashbacks, this would be a drama that would greatly benefit.... to me it feels like the story is jumping around a lot. I am reminded of Meant to Be, which had like a 40 episode flashback. That's what I was expecting with this drama tbh lol
Deadass??? Myung-Jun is one of the roots of all evil here! 😭
No I don't like juwon... I stopped liking her during the first part of the story ... She could've stopped the missing memories broadcast if she wanted to lol. And now I think she overstepped big time by telling the grandfather that Hwakyung was a fake. I'm on woojung's "struggle arc" now but even then she's just so bland it's hard to say anything about her lol
Yeonhee annoys me a little but I like her for now because she's currently gunning for Hwakyung to come back to the house. Like you I don't know what her endgame is
The grandfather is the worst lmaoooo he likes to bait the other members of the household into doing certain things but then shames the family members into doing doing that (ie when he kicked out Myungjoon and shamed Hwakyung the next day ... after telling Hwakyung to compete with Myungjoon for Miseong smh)
i'm liking it so far... will be tuning in for tomorrow's episode
My only "issue" with it so far is that the story is told in a way that I want to binge watch it lol it's very... fragmented? But today's episode seems like it'll answer some of the questions
first episode was okay. Mostly focused on Jini but I'm sure we'll see the rest of the characters as the week progresses. I liked how the ml and fl met each other (I liked how oddly chill it was lol) tomorrow's episode we start with the flashbacks relating to Do Dohee and Na Jini and Minki and Youngju.
Seems like Jini has some kind of ptsd from the school violence that she went through so those flashbacks are going to help to explain a lot....
FINALLY!!!! Got sick of watching it on YouTube lol
Damn. Seriously??? Thats more than 20 years ago! If Jang Seohee pulls this off she will have truly become the queen of daily dramas. The cast and storyline seems interesting enough so I hope she wins too
Cultural differences are interesting because Bada's stunt (attempting suicide because of Sandeul wanting to marry Seoyeon) would've landed way differently if this were an American show lmao she would've gotten called out for being a manipulator who is suicide baiting. The "solution" wouldn't be for sandeul to ditch seoyeon like it's portrayed here.
But it is - Seoyeon is now sad over Bada potentially dying ... Even tho Bada has always treated Seoyeon/Baram like shit LOL. I DO like how both Seoyeon and Bada call back to Insoon's attempt and the trauma from that, and how both girls were affected by it differently... Baram correctly identifying it as manipulative behavior and Bada doing the same because Insoon normalized that behavior.
That being said I liked Taepoong telling Insoon to fall back and telling Sandeul to go and see Seoyeon. Insoon was pissing me off during that scene! "You can't leave the hospital until Bada says so!" LMFAOOOO??? It was said Bada and Sandeul were in a "relationship" but they clearly weren't. That's why this "sandeul is cheating" shit is so dumb
I stand with Jung Moyeon (also interesting this is the first time in a while I've seen Ji Suwon play a good character lol) but I do wonder about the mystery of Joyi. I am 99% sure that moyeon is yoonhee. While I disliked Joyi's unrequited crush on Taepoong, I actually like her friendship with Seoyeon because Joyi's sunniess balances out Seoyeon's angst.
I said I didn't like seeing Insoon get bullied by the other rich housewives (you expect me to feel bad for a character who's a piece of shit?) but I like those scenes now that Moyeon is standing on business.
As far as toxic chaebol families go, the family from Secret House takes the crown when it comes to secrets and dysfunction followed by the chaebol family from Secrets and Lies. I think the Kangs might be coming up close. Like literally the only people within the family who have a friendly relationship with each other are Baeksan and his mom lol
Echoing others - this drama was actually passable until the extension was announced. I don't remember the exact point but just know that when you get to the Eunhye subplot that is when the story starts going off the rails and plot lines get dropped out of nowhere ie Hwayoung poisoning the grandfather or Baekho's ear touching habit / family secret
IMO the only good things about this drama are that it shows Eunjung's skills as an actress, she did a very good job at portraying twins - Seorin and Jangmi felt like two different people. I also liked Taepyung, my personal dark horse. I wasn't expecting to like him as much but he became one of my favorites once he dropped the trot shit. I am a fan of Oh Hyunkyung and Eunjung so it was low-key hilarious seeing them be mortal enemies (when they were last casted as long lost mother and daughter in Suji & Uri lol)
Now the bad aka what I didn't like: - the extension!! ruined this drama imo - Sukhee having the mental age of 5 for like 110 episodes. - Junho going from cold city man to complete obsessive psycho got old real quick (at one point I actually liked Junho better than Baekho but that was before the writer went off the rails) - Sukhee being Eunhye was a stupid twist - Hongju and her mom were completely shafted. You'd think they would have more of a role per the summary and official promo materials but instead of getting the villains we were promised we got gag characters. - this is exclusive to Seo Hyunjoo's dramas but after watching this, the third marriage and pink lipstick I can safely say that she doesn't know how to write revenge. (Apparently the revenge in the second husband was good) The female leads in her dramas either rely heavily on the male leads (there was a point of the drama where Taepyung and Baekho were the only ones getting shit done) and when they do choose to act on their own, they do childish shit like powertrip over water or dress up as an Arabian heiress. OR they do nothing at all and the villains end up taking themselves out... The only way the FL gets "revenge" in SHJ's dramas is often by marrying someone who is powerful... (and not the ML, so not marrying for love) then not actually doing anything. What does happen is this triggers angst and a love triangle with the ML... which completely overtakes and overshadows the revenge plot... Until the last week or so then the characters suddenly remember and shit gets rushed in the end.
Now what Seo Hyunjoo is great for is writing these intense "I'm going to get revenge" monologues that are excellent but not actually making the characters ACT on these feelings outside of the childish antics I detailed above. so the viewer is left with the feeling of wanting more but being served a bare plate.
Meanwhile the villains are disproportionately more successful, ruthless, and cause more damage than the leads ever could. They feel more like the lead character than the actual FL/ML. I think if I ever attempt to watch this again (so basically, when it's a cold day in hell) I will go in with the mindset that Hwayoung is the main character because she kinda is. Just like whenever I try to rewatch the third marriage (I'm a completionist) I'm going in with the mindset that Seran is the main character
I also find her dramas to be very dated when it comes to romance ... Feels like I'm watching a daily from the early 2010s from the way the FL and ML meet to the stupid brother vs brother love triangle over a Mary Sue FL. I feel like this would've been way stronger of a drama if Jangmi and the brothers teamed up to take down Hwayoung, or if junho had to be evil, have him team up with hongju and hwayoung... have jangmi and baekho team up to stop hongju and junho from taking over dream and Seorin acting as a wildcard or SOMETHING.
Don't get me started on the ending and making Seorin endgame in the afterlife with a character who openly disrespected her and even played a part in her death. IMO I hate when drama writers try to involve the afterlife in their endings it seems like a cop out.
Fun fact: I've yet to finish a drama by Seo Hyunjoo and I probably never will. I'm sure she's getting to work on "The Fourth ________" as we speak lol
MBCs daily drama department desperately needs a quality audit. I'm excited for Family Register on Monday however my expectations are going to be super low. On the flip side, The Woman Who Swallowed the Sun and The First Man were so bad that the bar for Family Register is currently in hell. At this point it would take effort for Family Register to be worse than the latter two
5.5/10. And 4 of those stars are only due to Eunjung's portrayal of the twins. The .5 comes from the fact that I was invested in the story at one time. Funny thing is, if this crap never got extended, my final rating would've been in the 7-7.5 range.
see you in the comment section for Family Register!
Chanbin is an insufferable brat as an adult ... Looking forward to when he stops acting like an entitled jerk
The A-plot is interesting... makjang AF. In terms of other dramas it's like a mix of Pearl in Red with Game of Witches. Par the course, gag characters/scenes are not funny and are actually kinda annoying but hopefully they show up less frequently as the A plot advances lol because right now the "comedy" takes away from the drama
Dalrae and Jjilrae are complete chickenheads and I don't like Hongdo (Ohwol) or her family as they are obnoxious lol Minho's mom is also super annoying. I don't actually mind Mari (I feel like Kim Heejung is in everything lol but I respect it)
I DO like Deukye and Sejoon. Sawol is good as a main character and I have a feeling that Hyesang is going to turn into a great villain lol
taking a break for now, I'll pop back in around episode 30 or so...
The drama needs to either stick to current year or handle the flashbacks and get them out the way. It's so fragmented. I AM interested in this drama but I think I might come back in 2-3 weeks and binge watch the episodes...
As for the three main characters, jini is definitely my favorite. Youngju does not give "cheerful" in any capacity, her throwing salt and standing by while Seungwoo (I believe he's the brother with the longer hair) was mouthing off and saying horrible things to Jini.
Seri (daily dramas love naming their antagonists Seri lol) is clearly supposed to be the villain but I don't see it outside of her having the affair ~30 years ago. With Seri the drama is TELLING us not SHOWING us. I guess the one thing I do like about this story is that Youngju and Seri aren't black and white meaning Youngju isn't all nice and Seri isn't all evil.
Side characters I don't really care for the acupuncture doctor or his brother, but that's probably because they feel divorced from the main storyline. I like Seungwoo a bit better than his brother. Mai is probably my favorite character so far just because she's not living in Angst City and I find her backstory interesting - she's a heiress from Vietnam who got into kdramas during the hallyu wave, study abroad in Korea to marry a postman. It would've been cool to actually see a Vietnamese actress casted but realistically MBC probably couldn't afford to cast one lol
Minki will probably be dying in today's episode (5) and I gotta say I'll be glad to see him go. Zero accountability for his role in the affair. Since we don't have linear flashbacks it's hard to tell who approached who first but the point is it takes two. Ngl it got ridiculous seeing him blame Youngju and Seri and being upset that neither of them got cancer (wtf lmao)
Do Dohee ... could this be the final boss of the drama? Horrible person but for the sake of the story and my entertainment I am enjoying her walk over Jini... Because it'll make Jini standing up to her even more satisfying . Also... Seri doesn't seem like like she did/does a good job at protecting Jini from the things she went through. Minki at least accompanied Jini to the hospital during her suicide attempt and they seem closer.
For how much I dislike it when dailies spend the first 2-3 weeks on flashbacks, this would be a drama that would greatly benefit.... to me it feels like the story is jumping around a lot. I am reminded of Meant to Be, which had like a 40 episode flashback. That's what I was expecting with this drama tbh lol
Yeonhee annoys me a little but I like her for now because she's currently gunning for Hwakyung to come back to the house. Like you I don't know what her endgame is
The grandfather is the worst lmaoooo he likes to bait the other members of the household into doing certain things but then shames the family members into doing doing that (ie when he kicked out Myungjoon and shamed Hwakyung the next day ... after telling Hwakyung to compete with Myungjoon for Miseong smh)
Seems like Jini has some kind of ptsd from the school violence that she went through so those flashbacks are going to help to explain a lot....
I'm going to give this a month or so (by then trap of desire would have started lol)
But it is - Seoyeon is now sad over Bada potentially dying ... Even tho Bada has always treated Seoyeon/Baram like shit LOL. I DO like how both Seoyeon and Bada call back to Insoon's attempt and the trauma from that, and how both girls were affected by it differently... Baram correctly identifying it as manipulative behavior and Bada doing the same because Insoon normalized that behavior.
That being said I liked Taepoong telling Insoon to fall back and telling Sandeul to go and see Seoyeon. Insoon was pissing me off during that scene! "You can't leave the hospital until Bada says so!" LMFAOOOO??? It was said Bada and Sandeul were in a "relationship" but they clearly weren't. That's why this "sandeul is cheating" shit is so dumb
I stand with Jung Moyeon (also interesting this is the first time in a while I've seen Ji Suwon play a good character lol) but I do wonder about the mystery of Joyi. I am 99% sure that moyeon is yoonhee. While I disliked Joyi's unrequited crush on Taepoong, I actually like her friendship with Seoyeon because Joyi's sunniess balances out Seoyeon's angst.
I said I didn't like seeing Insoon get bullied by the other rich housewives (you expect me to feel bad for a character who's a piece of shit?) but I like those scenes now that Moyeon is standing on business.
As far as toxic chaebol families go, the family from Secret House takes the crown when it comes to secrets and dysfunction followed by the chaebol family from Secrets and Lies. I think the Kangs might be coming up close. Like literally the only people within the family who have a friendly relationship with each other are Baeksan and his mom lol
IMO the only good things about this drama are that it shows Eunjung's skills as an actress, she did a very good job at portraying twins - Seorin and Jangmi felt like two different people.
I also liked Taepyung, my personal dark horse. I wasn't expecting to like him as much but he became one of my favorites once he dropped the trot shit. I am a fan of Oh Hyunkyung and Eunjung so it was low-key hilarious seeing them be mortal enemies (when they were last casted as long lost mother and daughter in Suji & Uri lol)
Now the bad aka what I didn't like:
- the extension!! ruined this drama imo
- Sukhee having the mental age of 5 for like 110 episodes.
- Junho going from cold city man to complete obsessive psycho got old real quick (at one point I actually liked Junho better than Baekho but that was before the writer went off the rails)
- Sukhee being Eunhye was a stupid twist
- Hongju and her mom were completely shafted. You'd think they would have more of a role per the summary and official promo materials but instead of getting the villains we were promised we got gag characters.
- this is exclusive to Seo Hyunjoo's dramas but after watching this, the third marriage and pink lipstick I can safely say that she doesn't know how to write revenge. (Apparently the revenge in the second husband was good) The female leads in her dramas either rely heavily on the male leads (there was a point of the drama where Taepyung and Baekho were the only ones getting shit done) and when they do choose to act on their own, they do childish shit like powertrip over water or dress up as an Arabian heiress. OR they do nothing at all and the villains end up taking themselves out... The only way the FL gets "revenge" in SHJ's dramas is often by marrying someone who is powerful... (and not the ML, so not marrying for love) then not actually doing anything. What does happen is this triggers angst and a love triangle with the ML... which completely overtakes and overshadows the revenge plot... Until the last week or so then the characters suddenly remember and shit gets rushed in the end.
Now what Seo Hyunjoo is great for is writing these intense "I'm going to get revenge" monologues that are excellent but not actually making the characters ACT on these feelings outside of the childish antics I detailed above. so the viewer is left with the feeling of wanting more but being served a bare plate.
Meanwhile the villains are disproportionately more successful, ruthless, and cause more damage than the leads ever could. They feel more like the lead character than the actual FL/ML. I think if I ever attempt to watch this again (so basically, when it's a cold day in hell) I will go in with the mindset that Hwayoung is the main character because she kinda is. Just like whenever I try to rewatch the third marriage (I'm a completionist) I'm going in with the mindset that Seran is the main character
I also find her dramas to be very dated when it comes to romance ... Feels like I'm watching a daily from the early 2010s from the way the FL and ML meet to the stupid brother vs brother love triangle over a Mary Sue FL. I feel like this would've been way stronger of a drama if Jangmi and the brothers teamed up to take down Hwayoung, or if junho had to be evil, have him team up with hongju and hwayoung... have jangmi and baekho team up to stop hongju and junho from taking over dream and Seorin acting as a wildcard or SOMETHING.
Don't get me started on the ending and making Seorin endgame in the afterlife with a character who openly disrespected her and even played a part in her death. IMO I hate when drama writers try to involve the afterlife in their endings it seems like a cop out.
Fun fact: I've yet to finish a drama by Seo Hyunjoo and I probably never will. I'm sure she's getting to work on "The Fourth ________" as we speak lol
MBCs daily drama department desperately needs a quality audit. I'm excited for Family Register on Monday however my expectations are going to be super low. On the flip side, The Woman Who Swallowed the Sun and The First Man were so bad that the bar for Family Register is currently in hell. At this point it would take effort for Family Register to be worse than the latter two
5.5/10. And 4 of those stars are only due to Eunjung's portrayal of the twins. The .5 comes from the fact that I was invested in the story at one time. Funny thing is, if this crap never got extended, my final rating would've been in the 7-7.5 range.
see you in the comment section for Family Register!
The A-plot is interesting... makjang AF. In terms of other dramas it's like a mix of Pearl in Red with Game of Witches. Par the course, gag characters/scenes are not funny and are actually kinda annoying but hopefully they show up less frequently as the A plot advances lol because right now the "comedy" takes away from the drama
Dalrae and Jjilrae are complete chickenheads and I don't like Hongdo (Ohwol) or her family as they are obnoxious lol Minho's mom is also super annoying. I don't actually mind Mari (I feel like Kim Heejung is in everything lol but I respect it)
I DO like Deukye and Sejoon. Sawol is good as a main character and I have a feeling that Hyesang is going to turn into a great villain lol