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Secret Garden korean drama review
Completed
Secret Garden
20 people found this review helpful
by keumi
Feb 10, 2015
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 6.5
Story 6.0
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 5.0
Let's start off by saying that this dramas strengths lie not with its story, but with its other areas. The basic story trope has been done before. Rich and selfish boy gets enchanted by poor and humble girl. We've seen it before. This drama attempts something fresh though, namely body swapping. Now, body swapping as a plot device isn't anything new in itself, but it has in this drama a condition for occurring. The story's biggest weakness is its characters. Characters make or break a story, and Kim Joo Won just isn't as romantic as he is made out to be. Repeatedly seeking out a girl that has made it clear that there is no mutual interest isn't the way to go. Invading personal space and not laying off her when she is obviously extremely uncomfortable isn't the way to go, either. I do dig his sparkly tracksuit, though. Not only aesthetically, but as a recurring gag. I'm not saying that all characters are 100% trash, because that's not it. There are several good characters, like Ah Young, Han Tae Sung and Oska, to name a few. The acting and the cast, on the other hand, is great. No complaints. Hyun Bin especially did a great job with the body swapping, and Ha Ji Won's emotional performance was up there, but there's only so much you can do with shallow characters. The story did drag on for half an eternity during the middle episodes 8-12. I would have dropped it if it had dragged on for one more episode. After that, the pace is quickly picked up again and sustained throughout the rest of the series, though. So be warned. There are a few snooze-episodes that are about as fun as watching paint dry. Or something. The comedy during the body swapping is great. There are several scenes that had me laughing out loud. The music wasn't anything special. It wasn't bad, it definitively wasn't, it just wasn't great either. It did its job well, and that's what's important. I just won't add it to my iPod, is all. I personally won't watch it again, because I suspect I might become so frustrated that I'll do something I regret, like eating 15 tangerines, again. I shall avoid that if possible. But if I were stranded on a deserted island, or snowed in or something, and could watch only this to pass the time, of course I would. Just not as a first choice. And who knows, maybe it would enchant me on a second go? Like Kim Joo Won? I won't take the risk. Did I just completely waste 20+ hours? No. I'd say this drama is worth a watch, even if it's just to be able to say you've seen it. Final score: 6.5 / 10
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