leiluska
I came for the romance and stayed for the ghost.
In summary: I think this was a 10 stars series until around the middle and a 6.5 stars series for its second half, so I tried to balance it out on my final score.
Now, an some focused points...
First, the good:
1 - Soon-Ae. She was an amazing character and I got involved in her story and her feelings completely. I loved seeing her journey and it was great the way that both actresses were able to create a cohesive character.
2 – Chef’s and Soon-Ae’s (meaning possessed Bong-Sun) relationship pre-falling in love. Their dynamics was just the best. The relationship was a balanced, they complemented each other and didn’t take crap from one another. They had qualities that complemented the other personality and everyone was bringing something to the table.
3 – I cared for the majority of the supporting characters. Granted, they were not the most developed people in the world but, they did have a distinct personality and they works very well for the plot. I especially liked the Seobinggo, Soon-Ae’s father and Seo Joon.
Good with a ‘but’:
1 – Pacing and the whole plot about Soon-Ae’s death. Ok, I won’t be able to say anything here without giving spoilers so, all I will say is that I was curious about what was going to happen and I thought that the drama executed this part well. Yes, there was some weird decisions some characters made and some things that were a bit farfetched, but I was all the way emotionally involved and I think this is the most important part.
2 - Soon-Ae and Bong-Sun. I really liked their dynamics and how they became friends throughout the story. However, I think their relationship was the biggest miss opportunity of the series. They could have such a more complex and interesting story if they talked about anything other than Chef... Like, even thoughboth of them were into the culinary world, they never talked about that or interacted on that manner... Bong-Sun never really talked about herself with Soon-Ae (just about her love for Chef). The two actress and characters had such an amazing chemistry and so many elements in common - the best scenes of them together were the ones that revolved around their conversations about Soon-Ae's family - that it was worth exploring more....
2 – Bong-Sun. I actually liked her character in the beginning and I also liked some changes the character went through in the story. But, I am not so sure if they were convincing (again, I think if hers and Soon-Ae’s relationship revolved around other themes, her evolution would be much more believable).
The downside:
1 – Ok, maybe is just me, but I really don’t get Korean sense of humour… This was not the first time that I absolutely detested the comic relief… I bumped a whole point out of Strong Woman Do Bong-Soon just because of that annoying and ridiculous ‘comic’ subplot. Here the problem was not nearly as bad, still every time Heo Min-Soo appeared on the screen I had to roll my eyes… He was not funny. He was just extremely inconvenient, rude and unprofessional. I couldn't really understand why anyone on that restaurant could like him in the slightest.
2- And finally, the major problem: the representation of love or Chef’s and the real Bong-Sun relationship. Honestly, the way he was suddenly ‘realises’ he has always been in love with her did not help this at all (he was an ass with her in the beginning because he secretly care for her, really? ¬¬)… And I am soooooo sick of jealousy being represented as cute that I won’t even elaborate on that (or this will become a rant). Also, why Korean series need to always say ‘hey, the girl is great but she can’t be ever as great as the guy… he needs to be better than her, so she can admire him (or whatever)’… Why did chef treat Bong-Sun as if she was a child? Why did he feel that he has to make decisions for her? Honestly, I just hated their relationship… I feel that that this last point should have bumped my ranting down a lot more (since this was the main focus of the story) but I am trying to remember how much I enjoyed the beginning of this series...
In summary: I think this was a 10 stars series until around the middle and a 6.5 stars series for its second half, so I tried to balance it out on my final score.
Now, an some focused points...
First, the good:
1 - Soon-Ae. She was an amazing character and I got involved in her story and her feelings completely. I loved seeing her journey and it was great the way that both actresses were able to create a cohesive character.
2 – Chef’s and Soon-Ae’s (meaning possessed Bong-Sun) relationship pre-falling in love. Their dynamics was just the best. The relationship was a balanced, they complemented each other and didn’t take crap from one another. They had qualities that complemented the other personality and everyone was bringing something to the table.
3 – I cared for the majority of the supporting characters. Granted, they were not the most developed people in the world but, they did have a distinct personality and they works very well for the plot. I especially liked the Seobinggo, Soon-Ae’s father and Seo Joon.
Good with a ‘but’:
1 – Pacing and the whole plot about Soon-Ae’s death. Ok, I won’t be able to say anything here without giving spoilers so, all I will say is that I was curious about what was going to happen and I thought that the drama executed this part well. Yes, there was some weird decisions some characters made and some things that were a bit farfetched, but I was all the way emotionally involved and I think this is the most important part.
2 - Soon-Ae and Bong-Sun. I really liked their dynamics and how they became friends throughout the story. However, I think their relationship was the biggest miss opportunity of the series. They could have such a more complex and interesting story if they talked about anything other than Chef... Like, even thoughboth of them were into the culinary world, they never talked about that or interacted on that manner... Bong-Sun never really talked about herself with Soon-Ae (just about her love for Chef). The two actress and characters had such an amazing chemistry and so many elements in common - the best scenes of them together were the ones that revolved around their conversations about Soon-Ae's family - that it was worth exploring more....
2 – Bong-Sun. I actually liked her character in the beginning and I also liked some changes the character went through in the story. But, I am not so sure if they were convincing (again, I think if hers and Soon-Ae’s relationship revolved around other themes, her evolution would be much more believable).
The downside:
1 – Ok, maybe is just me, but I really don’t get Korean sense of humour… This was not the first time that I absolutely detested the comic relief… I bumped a whole point out of Strong Woman Do Bong-Soon just because of that annoying and ridiculous ‘comic’ subplot. Here the problem was not nearly as bad, still every time Heo Min-Soo appeared on the screen I had to roll my eyes… He was not funny. He was just extremely inconvenient, rude and unprofessional. I couldn't really understand why anyone on that restaurant could like him in the slightest.
2- And finally, the major problem: the representation of love or Chef’s and the real Bong-Sun relationship. Honestly, the way he was suddenly ‘realises’ he has always been in love with her did not help this at all (he was an ass with her in the beginning because he secretly care for her, really? ¬¬)… And I am soooooo sick of jealousy being represented as cute that I won’t even elaborate on that (or this will become a rant). Also, why Korean series need to always say ‘hey, the girl is great but she can’t be ever as great as the guy… he needs to be better than her, so she can admire him (or whatever)’… Why did chef treat Bong-Sun as if she was a child? Why did he feel that he has to make decisions for her? Honestly, I just hated their relationship… I feel that that this last point should have bumped my ranting down a lot more (since this was the main focus of the story) but I am trying to remember how much I enjoyed the beginning of this series...
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