kat797

Definitely! If you check the reply that I just posted above I added more details why this is not as popular. To make it short though, I think the complains are not objectively looking at the plot. Just like My Liberation Notes, these characters are very flawed which turns off a lot of those who are complaining. I think they are looking for the almost perfect male lead just like in Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha. I don't know about you, but I prefer that my favorite genre, slice-of-life, has flawed but relatable characters.

I definitely agree with that. I can't even remember if I dropped Hometown or not since I was struggling to finish it.

It is preference, but also, as someone who has watched hundreds of slice-of-life dramas, I think it's about how Hometown is the first of its kind to drop on a huge platform like Netflix. So it garnered a lot of international audience who has mostly likely never seen anything like it. Therefore, some people think their "first experience" is the best and will not even give this drama or other slice-of-life dramas a chance, which is pretty sad.

Episode 8 definitely made me question more why people are hating this drama because the episode cemented the good plot and amazing performance all around. Someone made a comment about how those people were expecting a Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha drama, and this turned out to be more like, My Liberation Notes. I agree with that to some degree since the latter had a lot of skeptics as well at first just like this one, but it turned out to be an award-winning drama. It also had a much better plot.

However, this had a more balanced tone since My Liberation Notes was mostly melancholic. I also liked how it had childhood friendships just like the Reply series, yet, it managed to highlight life in the countryside. That was actually the opposite of the Reply series since the characters there left to live in the city instead. I would actually like to see these characters fulfilling their dreams in the island.

It's because no subs were available when it was ongoing, so nobody knew about it. I look forward to the subs almost every week though. It's just I do miss having discussions with fellow fans when a drama is ongoing.

What about the pacifier though? I can't take him seriously after seeing the trailer lol.

If you compare it to the other ongoing dramas on Fridays and Saturdays, yes.

It has a tighter plot, more interesting characters, and better execution than majority of its competitors. There's a reason why it's doing so well domestically. Afterall, Koreans are harsh critics.

This is how I would rank the Friday-Saturday dramas this season:

1. Boyhood (not for everybody, but the plot and characters definitely sets it apart from majority of current Kdramas -- just check out Im Siwan's phenomenonal performance)
2. The Story of Park's Marriage Contract
3 My Boy is Cupid (this could've been a fresh concept with great leads, but the execution is quite lacking)
4. Like Flowers in the Sand (this has the potential to be the top drama but too early to tell since it just started yesterday)
5. My Demon (easy fluff mindless watch, maybe watch for the eye candy?) -- I mean there's a reason why despite Like Flowers in the Sand only aired 2 episodes so far, it's ranked above it. I learned more about the characters there than I did for the past 9 episodes of My Demon lol.

Special mention since this is considered a Saturday-Sunday drama, Welcome to Samdal-ri. That's my favorite Kdrama this season, but I like slice-of-life and quite picky with plots and characters.

*Jdoramas enter the chat*

Yeah, we'll always have a couple of that type of drama every year, and this is just one of them. Well, at least it promotes Kdramas to international audience.

Nothing, really. It's just about the leads becoming closer, and the other stuff going on is just filler.

I already came to terms during the earlier episodes that this is simply just an aesthetically pleasing entertainment. Well, one with a quite big budget, and that's what sets it apart from other mainstream dramas. It's a show that allows me to multitask (just like how I'm watching episode 9 while typing this) since it's highly unlikely that I'll miss an important scene that will make me confused. I think I mostly stayed since the eye candy can make me feel good at times (especially that my town is heavily lacking in that aspect right now lol).

Edited it!

Episode 7's bed scene killed me. The roles were reversed, and I loved how calm and soothing the female lead is lol.

Love the twist at the end. You'll never guess who's the descendant of who lol. I was already a fan of Eita before this, but his role here made me fall in love with him haha.

Why do we have the same favorite writers and dramas!?!? Tarachanzu~ Lol.

Every part of this drama makes me want to watch it more. It's been a while since I stumbled upon a good plot like this. The story flow is just too smooth -- the transition between the past and the present is so nicely done.

They give you bits and pieces of info, but it was done in a way where they have the perfect timing to reveal them one by one instead of frustrating the viewers by keeping everything under wraps.

I have to say that his best role yet is Save Me. I started becoming his fan there, but he hasn't really found a good role like that. Mad Dog and My Country would be the closest, but he definitely shines in the average joe or complex type of roles.

*Gyeongtae shows up in front of Seon Hwa*

Me: *sings* I'm gonna be a bad boy. I'm gonna be a bad bad boy.

Byeong Tae: *does the "Rainism" dance*

You beat me to it. I posted the same thing shortly after lol.

I figured what's lacking here. It's background music.

Thank you! I was thinking the same thing. Their performance is never based on the genre of the show but the character they play. The last thing a serious actor or actress would want is to be typecast anyway.

It's more than alright, especially if you're comparing it to the other shows airing on the weekends. Why? This one has an actualy plot and relatable characters.