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dramadisciple

Texas USA

dramadisciple

Texas USA
Secret Garden korean drama review
Completed
Secret Garden
1 people found this review helpful
by dramadisciple
Mar 15, 2020
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 9.0

Original storyline, great romance, & terrific comedy

I didn’t watch this drama until 2020 because I didn’t like the storyline. But after seeing Hyun Bin in “Crash Landing On You” I wanted to see more dramas with him in it. He’s such an amazing actor with great visuals. I was worried that everything would look old and outdated or the cinematography and special effects would be really bad. I have to say that the clothes, cars, and scenery looked very modern and fresh. And the cinematography was great. If someone told me it was a 10 year old drama I wouldn’t have believed them. Don’t let the age of the drama hold you back.

At first glance it looks like a typical rich CEO falls for a poor working girl type of drama that we’ve all seen tons of times. But the soul swapping along with great action scenes from the female lead as a stuntwoman gives it a nice twist to the usual story. And then finding out that there’s a deep underlying meaning to the soul swapping makes it even more interesting. I also like that the female lead is a badass instead of some weak woman that always needs to be saved. The male lead is strong and never waivers in his determination to be with the female lead. I’m always a sucker for a guy that knows what he wants. And the comedy was really good. When they soul swap it was absolutely hilarious. Seeing him try to figure out a bra just killed me.

Some people might be turned off by the male leads behavior towards the female lead in the beginning. He would say rude condescending things towards the female lead about her being poor or living in a shabby place. But then he would say she was even prettier when she was angry. Or he would tell her how cool she was because she was a badass. The male lead is trying to understand why he is so obsessed with her so he waivers between insulting her and then treating her really nice. And every time something bad happens he moves heaven and earth to fix things for her. I enjoyed watching him come to terms with his feelings for her. The romance moved at a normal pace and was very believable.

Overall this drama takes a cliche storyline and breathes new life into it with original ideas like the female lead being a badass stuntwoman. Or like having them swap souls or having the secret garden where mysterious things happen. It’s a really good drama all kdrama lovers should watch. There’s a great romance with real kisses, cute side couples, lots of eye candy (did I mention Lee Jong Suk cameo’s in it?), great comedy, family drama, office politics, and a great bromance. There’s angst and melodrama and sadness but not of it goes too far. I hate dramas that stretch the sad or angsty parts out for several episodes or has over the top evil characters. None of these characters are overly evil (as in trying to kill someone or ruin them) though the male leads mom is awful the whole time but she’s not evil. There’s sad touching parts but they aren’t sad for too long. I really like how balanced this drama is. It has a little bit of everything in a very balanced way and the acting is top notch. Stop reading reviews and just watch it. You won’t regret it!
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