18 vs. 29

18 vs. 29

2.5/10

18 vs. 29

Genre:                    Episodes: 16                          Year: 2005

Romance

Comedy

Family

Synopsis:

On the way to file for a divorce, Yoo Hye Chan is involved in a serious car accident. After waking at the hospital, it becomes apparent that 29 year-old Hye Chan has lost all her memories after the age of 18, and still believes herself to be a high school student. Hye Chan is shocked when she is told that she has married her high school nemesis Kang Bong Man, who has gone on to become an extremely successful actor. While Hye Chan worries over Bong Man’s close relationship with his co-star, Shin Ji Young, she grows closer to an 18 year-old boy she met while still believing she was 18 herself.

Cast:

Park Sun Young (Yoo Hye Chan)

Ryu Soo Young (Kang Bong Man)

Park Eun Hye (Shin Ji Young)

Lee Joong Moon (Kim Noon)

Jo Eun Ji (Yoo Hye Won)

Lee Sang Woo (Kang Bong Kyu)

Park Min Ji (Yoo Hye Chan)

Choi Siwon (Kang Bong Man)

General Thoughts:

I did it guys. I made it through. Not completely unscathed, however I did finish the drama. Why? Because apparently I don’t know when to quit. If ever there was a drama worth dropping, it was this one. But I persevered in order to deliver this review to you, along with a firm warning. I strongly believe that it is in your best interests to not watch this drama.

Don't do it guys- DON'T WATCH IT

Sure, there were parts of the series that weren’t all bad. Namely Kim Noon and young Choi Siwon. If you were curious- yes. Yes, Choi Siwon has been adorable and insanely charismatic his whole life. Waffling and fan-girling aside, the drama- it’s not good. The premise is interesting enough- married woman wakes up believing she is still 18. It basically opened a whole door for cute, hilarious shenanigans. But did we get cute, hilarious shenanigans? Of course not. We got ‘Full House’.

Let the madness begin. 

But worse. Because rather than lying about being married and being forced to be cute in front of others, we have two leads that are actually married, but it appears they kind of don’t want to be. Cue the unrelenting bickering. Kang Bong Man didn’t get a great start, with the show making out like he cheated on his wife, then it’s all good because she can’t remember. However, as we become aware that this is not actually the case, and that Hye Chan’s really just a complete over-reacting psycho- Bong Man does gain some points. His complete devotion to his wife and tireless efforts to save their marriage do a lot to elevate Bong Man’s character. However, just when you think you can start to like him and cheer for him, he does something stupid or insensitive. Sure, the cute was there in his thoughts, but we need to see him actually caring about Hye Chan while she’s in front of him. Instead, we get him quietly worrying about her and trying to care for her from the sidelines, while getting angry and yelling at her when she doesn’t understand what he’s done for her. Number 1 way to not get a lady to fall for you- yell at her all the time when she doesn’t know what she’s done wrong. On the flip side of that is Hye Chan. And what a total mess she becomes. At first it’s easy to forgive her mistakes, because she’s scared, confused, and honestly believes that she’s 18. But as the drama goes on and her actions continue to be based firmly in the realm of selfish and idiotic, it becomes hard to support (or even like) her character.

Behold this K-Drama mess and weep

She becomes increasingly more selfish as the drama progresses, pulling Bong Man close or pushing him away on a total whim. She never understands her own shortcomings or how her actions have such a negative impact on her husband. Number 1 way to not gain love from your audience- have a self-centred asshat for a heroine. It also didn’t help that Hye Chan acted like she was 12 not 18. The music was forgettable, the plot was slow and uninteresting, and the characters were irritating. The acting was all pretty good- but when your characters are that sucky, sadly the acting doesn’t count for much.

What Was Great:

The Young Boys:

Choi Siwon and Lee Joong Moon are some much needed eye-candy in the series. Not only were they the cutest (by far) actors in the whole show, but their characters were also easily the least irritating.

In case there was any doubt- Siwon was always dazzling

The same traits that were annoying in Kang Bong Man were acceptable, if not adorable, when acted out by Choi Siwon. Because, you know, he’s an adolescent. And has no idea how to express his emotions. In a young boy- cute. In a grown man- not so much. And then there’s Lee Joong Moon as Kim Noon. Ahhhhhh Noon-ah! Literally the only reason I didn’t drop this drama. He carried the Noona Romance torch bravely and sweetly, and did everything right. He provided some pretty hefty Second Male Lead Syndrome when you consider he’s 11 years younger than our heroine. Noon did everything right to gain the love of our viewer hearts. I loved this character so much that I actually didn’t even want the heroine to fall of him because I truly believe that she didn’t deserve what a thoughtful, wonderful man this 18 year-old boy was. Of course this means that the bratty, selfish 18 year-old classmate didn’t deserve him either- but in a drama full of disappointments of course the most likeable character is going to get paired of with a snotty little sh*t.

Sibling Romance:

Lee Sang Woo is always all kinds of amazing in whatever he’s in. At least the drama didn’t manage to kill how wonderful Lee Sang Woo is. His character was excitingly different with his inability to speak, and while the drama made no effort to capitalise on this difference it was still interesting to have this kind of character grace my screen. Yay to Lee Sang Woo knowing sign language- it was awesome.

But first- Imma take a selfie

I also tend to enjoy Jo Eun Ji’s performances, and she provided another down-to-Earth, logical, and simply nice character in this series. The relationship between Jo Eun Ji and Lee Sang Woo’s characters was enjoyable and cute, and a wonderful distraction from our main pairing. While the romantic relationship between the siblings of our hero and heroine was not without its difficulties, the two managed to work through their problems together. Not only were they able to sort out their own issues, but these two characters also played a great role in assisting our main characters and their highly dysfunctional relationship.

The Ending (I Suppose):

Considering that K-Dramas are notorious for notoriously average finishes, it was nice surprise for the wrap up of ’18 vs. 29’ to not completely suck. I wouldn’t go as far as saying it was a good ending (as to have a good ending you require a good drama) but it was definitely a step up from the rest of our series.

In one word- insufferable

We had the better relationship (Hye Won and Bong Kyu) get a sweetly satisfying conclusion with their marriage, and even our main pairing were able to pull their sh*t together enough to start acting like believable adults. While I never honestly believed that the characters in the main pairing truly loved each other, at least by the end I was convinced that they could stay together. And not threaten to move out or get divorced every five minutes. Maybe. The clear up for Hye Chan’s amnesia was pretty well done. As her memories returned she became more like the adult she was before her accident, but with the added knowledge of the misunderstandings that had been cleared up during the time she had believed she was 18. It also provided an acceptable out for Noon’s feelings- because she wasn’t the girl Noon had fallen for. He had loved the adult who held a childlike innocence and found joy in simple, uncomplicated things- just as an 18 year-old would. When Hye Chan regained her memories, experiences and maturity, she was no longer the same person Noon had fallen for. I really appreciate the time the drama took to express this issue when it could have quite easily left Noon out in the cold while wrapping up Hye Chan with Bong Man under the excuse that they had loved each other all along for 11 years.

Weirdly satisfying relationship wrap-up

What Wasn’t:

Pretty Much Everything Else:

Our two leads were pretty sucky. All their fights and misunderstandings were sucky. The jealous co-worker was sucky. The complete inability of our characters to think of someone else’s perspective and feelings was SO sucky. And last but definitely not least: the plot was sucky. The whole drama basically circles around the fact that Hye Chan doesn’t know if she wants to be with Kang Bong Man or not. And that gets old pretty darn fast.

We're married- now let's fight for 16 hours

The drama may have held more interest if the writers had chosen to focus on rebuilding the love that was shaken between these two individuals, but instead it chooses to centre around 18 year-old Hye Chan having to deal with 29 year-old Hye Chan’s problems. And that’s not all that fun. Due to her immaturity and unwillingness to cooperate with Bong Man, rather than Bong Man attempting to assist her and romance her again, he just becomes frustrated and angry with her- as do we all. It was also a mistake to have the audience doubt Bong Man’s sincerity and loyalty to his wife.

I feel like I've seen this character before. Because I have. In every K-Drama ever.

Had we known all along that he had always been faithful to Hye Chan and had never even considered Ji Young in a romantic light, at least the audience would have been completely supportive of him from the start. As it was, we were led to believe that Bong Man had cheated on or been unfaithful to his wife in some way, so our opinions of him were lowered right from the start and we sympathised more with Hye Chan. But as it became clear that Hye Chan was selfish and crazy and that Bong Man had done nothing wrong, Hye Chan quickly lost our sympathies. Which unfortunately meant that viewers were feeling no connection or warm feelings towards any of our main characters. Except Noon. Because he was perfect. The supposed ‘love rival’ was just purely dislikable. She had no redeeming qualities and couldn’t even play the pity card- it’s no one’s fault but your own if you let yourself fall for a married guy. As Bong Man only saw Ji Young as a colleague and had always made his feelings clear, Ji Young’s role was basically redundant. Even if Bong Man and Hye Chan broke up (with or without Ji Young’s meddling), Bong Man would never have made the switch to Ji Young. Irritating and stupid as many of the characters were (Hye Chan, Ji Young, Grandfather, and at times Bong Man), my biggest issue with this drama is that there was no overarching plot.

0 effort to re-romance his wife

Sure, Bong Man and Hye Chan were rediscovering their feelings, but they were doing so in a slow, round-about way made up of many smaller happenings. The drama didn’t even have Bong Man trying to romance his wife again the way he had when they were 18. Like, c’mon dude- you’ve done this once before, you know what worked when she was 18, at least try and do that again.

Really? This is who Kim Noon ends up getting?

But no, instead Bong Man simply tries to jog Hye Chan’s memory so that she remembers falling for him the first time around. While Bong Man did make an effort to relate and connect to Hye Chan, it never felt like he was making much of an effort romantically. And Hye Chan just plain never made an effort. Except for that one time she made him dinner. But then she had a complete hissy and left before he even got home, so that’s kind of a moot point. Sadly, this also meant that there wasn’t a whole lot of cute going on between our main pairing because they were always awkward or angry with each other. There were a couple of cute scenes, but in a drama with nothing else happening but the relationship development between the leads I was expecting (and wanting) a whole heap more cute. At least Noon delivered. I suppose you could say that the triangle between Bong Man, Hye Chan, and Noon was the main plot development- but did anyone actually believe Noon had a shot? I didn’t. Hye Chan only ever saw him as an adorable 18 year-old friend who she could connect to intellectually. Supposedly. I still argue that Noon was more emotionally and intellectually advanced than either of our leads.

Re-watch?

Never.

I still don't understand why I watched it the first time

She Was Pretty

She Was Pretty

6/10

She Was Pretty 

Genre:                                   Episodes: 16                                   Year: 2015

Romance

Comedy

Synopsis:

Kim Hye Jin and Ji Sung Joon were first loves when they were children, but after Sung Joon’s family moves away the two lose contact. Hye Jin was a popular, pretty young girl while Sung Joon was chubby and bullied. Many years later the two meet again as adults. Hye Jin is jobless and has lost her childhood beauty, so is embarrassed to face Sung Joon who has become handsome and successful. She asks her beautiful friend Min Ha Ri to pretend to be her for one day and end all ties with Sung Joon. 

Cast:

Hwang Jung Eum (Kim Hye Jin)

Park Seo Joon (Ji Sung Joon)

Choi Siwon (Kim Shin Hyuk)

Go Joon Hee (Min Ha Ri)

General Thoughts:

‘She Was Pretty’ is to ‘Kill Me, Heal Me’ what ‘Heartstrings’ was to ‘You’re Beautiful’. It takes the lead actress from a very successful drama and pairs her with the second male lead of said drama, with less plot and less chemistry. Personally it took me a long time to begin to root for any of our characters, and even then the characters flip-flopped around so much that I was pretty emotionally uninvested with all of them.

Oh, can't you just feel the love?

The pure saving grace of this drama is Choi Siwon. Sure, Park Seo Joon was handsome and delivered his cute scenes well, but his character, Ji Sung Joon, was rather bland and a tad lacking. We were a significant way through the drama before poor Sung Joon even had scenes that weren’t just him yelling or looking disdainfully at our heroine.

Because verbal abuse is sooooo sexy

Whereas Kim Shin Hyuk (Choi Siwon) was vibrant and hilarious from the get-go. He was always sweet towards our leading lady (which does more to endear a character than when he tells her she’s retarded) and gave the impression that he was deeply fond of her for who she was- not what she did or what she looked like. Now our leading lady…was…loud. Generally speaking, I like Hwang Jung Eum as an actress- she can be very, very good. But she can also come across as a little overacted and shrieky. Which is unfortunately how she appeared for a good portion of this drama. What only increased this irritation at her loudness was the fact that she turned so soft and refused to defend herself in front of Sung Joon’s harsh, and often uncalled for, criticism. This did tone down as the drama progressed on, and by the time our leads started falling for each other, Hye Jin was acting like a normal human being. Sadly, the volume did pick up a little again in the last few episodes. The supporting cast were acceptable enough, but did fade into the background quite a lot. Except for our four main characters no one else got much screen time or development. But we did have that office couple development which was adorable.

Cutely random interlude

In regards to the plot, there’s basically none to speak of. In regards to the soundtrack, I remember nothing except for ‘Close To You’ by the Carpenters- and you can hardly credit the drama for that.

What Was Great:

American Prince Choi Siwon:

What a show carrier. Initially, I cared nothing for our leading man- I was all for Siwon. Sometimes I forget what all the fuss is about (I know- blasphemy!), but then I watch him in something, anything, and I completely remember why the world is filled with so much Siwon love.

Prince Choi Siwon- the pinnacle of sophistication

Choi Siwon has previously displayed that he is a capable actor, but in this drama he fits so comfortably into his character that it was pure magic. I can’t even imagine any other actor as goofy, childish Kim Shin Hyuk. Much of the beauty of the character was Siwon’s natural charm and adorable dorkiness. You can’t deny it- the man just oozes charisma (no matter how goofy he's being).

I really like you as a human, Choi Siwon

However, Siwon was able to alter these personal traits and present them in a way that was distinctly ‘Un-Siwon-ish’. You never thought you were watching Siwon in a drama-world (as you do with some other idol-actors) because he was completely able to throw himself into character and become an entirely different person. He nailed all the smaller parts of acting his character too- it was easy to tell when Shin Hyuk was childishly happy and when he was pretending to be childishly happy, all by minute movements in Choi Siwon’s expressions. To go along with the Prince of Idol-Actors, we had Kim Shin Hyuk- who was just an amazing character. He was delightfully goofy and funny, but had a whole lot of depth going on beneath the surface. Sure, we weren’t exactly made privy to what that depth was, but you could tell it was there. He always appreciated and looked out for our heroine, and found her perfect the way she was- unlike the rest of the world that wanted to change her. He also appeared to love her for who she was presently, as he didn’t have a romanticised view of her due to past love the way Sung Joon did. Shin Hyuk always seemed to be one step ahead of everyone else- knowing exactly what was going on and urging other characters, in a gentle yet convincing way, to face their issues and tell the truth. Thank God. Because all that hiding and lying just gets old after a while.

It's Choi Siwon- of course he gets shirtless at least once

Combining this gorgeous character with gorgeous Siwon was just a recipe for Mass Second Lead Syndrome (sorry Park Seo Joon). If the fans needed ‘She Was Pretty’ to satisfy their couple-craving after ‘Kill Me, Heal Me’, I think we’re going to need another drama now starring Hwang Jang Eum and Choi Siwon. We promise we can wait the five million years (21 months) it takes for Siwon to get out of military service.

Girlfriends:

It’s painfully rare for K-Dramas to showcase two close female friends. There’s an abundance of bromances in the dramas, however girl friends don’t seem to happen often. Instead, we usually only get b*tchy, competitive love rivals as our second female leads, with the heroine’s friends being relegated to much smaller support roles.

Yay for quality female friendships

However, here we have a delightful example of how sweet and touching friendship can be between women in K-Drama land. It’s not just the boy love rivals who can be buddies- girls can to it too! All in all, I really enjoyed the character of Ha Ri. Right from the start we see that she is not nearly as superficial as her stunning appearance would lead you to believe, as she promptly kicks out a male friend for commenting negatively about Hye Jin’s looks.

Seriously, I can't stress enough how rare these friendships are in K-Drama

 From the brginning Ha Ri had some pretty big character development, and we were all made aware just how lonely and isolated she was in her family, and that beyond Hye Jin she didn’t have any quality friends. The two girls did a great job at supporting each other throughout whatever was going on in their lives, and while there was a brief patch in the middle of non-communication, they also showed what an impact communication has on a functioning relationship. There were a couple of times the writers seemed to be grasping at straws conflict-wise, and unfortunately Ha Ri copped a couple of blows where she became irritating and distant purely for creating tension in the story. Sadly, this did lessen my love towards her character and as a result, Hye Jin also came off a tad selfish for only wanting to talk about Sung Joon when she wanted too, leaving Ha Ri in a bit of a pickle. Thankfully they managed to wrap up the drama with the repairing of the girls’ relationship and we got to close on cute, happy chick friends.

Makeover Execution:

We all knew that at some point our heroine would get a makeover. There was no way in hell the drama was going to continue Kim Hye Jin’s ‘ugly’ (yeah, whatever) appearance for the whole stretch.

Because she was soooo hideous before

The execution of the makeover, however, really had the potential to ruin the whole series. Had Hye Jin become ‘pretty’ to appease her co-workers or to woo her man-interest the whole drama would have been wrecked, as the general point seemed to be to criticise how society bases a person’s worth on their outward appearance. However, I actually quite enjoyed Hye Jin’s transformation as she did it for herself. She had reached a stage in her life where she wanted a fresh start- she wanted to focus more fully on her career and do the best she could at her job. And when you work for a fashion magazine, well…your looks do kind of matter.

She got the guy so she doesn't have to put effort in her appearance now, right?

It marked a turning point in the series where Hye Jin chose to take care of herself a little better, and stand up for herself a little more. While she appeared confident and comfortable in herself from the start, her makeover was a clear turning point when our heroine started to demand respect and acceptance from not only herself, but those around her. However, I was a little disappointed to see that after our time skip Hye Jin had become ‘de-makeovered’. While it can be viewed as her returning to herself and losing the need to demand respect from peers- because they already respected her for her writing ability, I couldn’t help but feel a tad disappointed. It sort of undid all the good that the makeover had done in the first place, and felt a little as though she prettied herself up to get the guy, and once she had him she could let herself go again. In my mind, Hye Jin’s makeover was her deciding to put a bit more effort into herself- because she was pretty, she just didn’t treat herself like she was, so undoing that fell flat for me. I know a lot of people appreciated her appearance going back to the way it was at the start, but personally I would have preferred her to either remain her ‘pretty’ self, or not get makeovered in the first place.

What Wasn’t:

Chemistry is MIA:

Firstly, I will apologise for the vast amount of comparisions I will make to ‘Kill Me, Heal Me’. Now to begin. After seeing the sparks fly between Hwang Jung Eum and Park Seo Joon in ‘Kill Me, Heal Me’ I was expecting to be absolutely blown away by the chemistry, and subsequent explosion, of these two actors reuniting as the main love-line.

I know which pairing I prefer

But then…they didn’t…sizzle. Why? Why?! I know you can so WHY DIDN’T YOU?! There was believable chemistry between the two child actors, but the sparks fell flat in the adult world. Sure there were cute moments, but they felt a little forced. In ‘KMHM’ we had a vast amount of scenes where these two actors played like children, yet you felt their connection and feeling for each other as adults.

There was cute, but no real 'wow'

It seems the writers of ‘She Was Pretty’ tried to channel this same energy in many of the scenes, but were unable to grab onto the same dynamic. Rather than appearing comfortable and at ease, whenever Hye Jin acted a bit childlike, it felt more like she was trying to cover up her embarrassment or awkwardness. Whenever Sung Joon acted in this way, it came across more as him trying to connect with the Hye Jin in his memories rather than the Hye Jin in front of him. While there was some believable romance between the two, it lacked that addictive quality the two were able to exude in ‘KMHM’, which was a little (a lot) disappointing.

Two Dimensional Characters:

No one was developed. Not one person. Ha Ri and Shin Hyuk came close, but didn’t quite make it there. Once the drama finished, I sat there for a while as it gradually dawned on me that I knew almost nothing about any of our characters.

Hye Jin getting jealous of all Ha Ri's development- wait, is that not what this screenshot is?

Sure, I had a basic understanding of who our characters were right then in that moment, but I had no real idea why they would react in the way they did- I just knew it was consistent with the character profile I’d created in my head. Out of all the characters, Min Ha Ri was probably given the most backstory and was the most developed of the lot. We saw glimpses of her isolation and extreme loneliness and were even given a few snippets of how she got there- crazy step-mum and less-than-helpful father. It explained her love for Hye Jin- who was always looking out for her, and her desire to hold on to Sung Joon- who treated her as a person and not an object (y’know, before he found out she’s not actually his first love and he completely dropped her). Coming in close second was Kim Shin Hyuk. Right from the get-go we knew he had more going on than just the loveable goofball, but sadly most of his development was crammed in right near the end. In a video recording. That played after he vanished. Yup.

Here, have some more Siwon

Our two leads are just…nothing. This wouldn’t have mattered so much if they had been virtually the same as their childhood selves, but they were SO DIFFERENT. Hye Jin went from pretty, popular, well-spoken, well-mannered delight into shrieky, unkempt almost-an-ajumma. Sung Joon went from shy, introverted fat kid to harsh, demanding, short-tempered workaholic. Which is all well and good. After all, the whole drama was about how two first loves change and are unable to recognise each other as adults. But then we should have been given some insight into how and why these changes occurred. But we weren’t. We got nothing, we just had to accept that these people were what our main characters had become and roll with it. Boo to that.

We all saw everything coming

Painfully Predictable:

We all know what’s going to happen. We all know the magazine won’t be discontinued. We all know that the cute, friendly work-mate won’t get the girl. We all know that the guy won’t fall for the beautiful friend. We all know that Hye Jin will get her dream job, and we all know that Sung Joon will get his first love. Seeing as there’s basically no plot, there are basically no surprises. And I’m not arguing that a drama needs surprises to be interesting. I’m just saying that this drama was neither surprising nor interesting. But on the plus side, it also wasn’t downright irritating.

Re-watch?

Not a chance. I came for the romance, I stayed for Siwon, and I nearly left with the hasty departure of Siwon’s character. Park Seo Joon did have his cute moments (boy is he a cutie), but he’s also cute in other shows.

There was just no magic for me

Oh! My Lady

Oh! My Lady

3.5/10

Oh! My Lady

Genre:                                   Episodes: 16                                   Year: 2010

Romance                                                             

Comedy

Family

Synopsis:

A divorced housewife, Yoon Gae Hwa, becomes the housecleaner for a popular, arrogant celebrity, Sung Min Woo. After discovering he has an illegitimate daughter, Min Woo moves Gae Hwa into his apartment and pays her to be the child’s ‘substitute mother’. Together the two must work together to keep any scandals from ruining Min Woo’s career.

Cast:

Chae Rim (Yoon Gae Hwa)

Choi Siwon (Sung Min Woo)

Kim Yoo Bin (Ye Eun)

Park Han Byul (Hong Yu Ra)

Lee Hyun Woo (Yu Si Joon)

Moon Jeong Hee (Han Jung Ah)

General Thoughts:

It’s not a good drama. I mean, when your whole show is carried by a singer and a 5 year old girl, you’ve got a problem. Siwon completely steals the show (what little of it there is to steal) as the stroppy actor unprepared for fatherhood- the mass amounts of fan-service don’t hurt either.

That's basically all you need to know right there

Kim Yoo Bin is just delightful any time she’s on screen. She’s basically perfect- whose heart wouldn’t melt looking at her adorable little face? I didn’t care much for our main lady, Yoon Gae Hwa. I get the feeling that she was supposed to be endearing- but a lot of the time I just found her naggy and annoying.

Aimed for charming- achieved irritating

There was also less than no chemistry between her and Sung Min Woo- Siwon’s character. I can appreciate that the writers were aiming for a relationship that wasn’t simply built out of attraction- but at least a little attraction is needed. The rest of the characters are so shallow and underdeveloped that it doesn’t even matter what they do because no one actually cares. Similarly, no one actually cares about the plot. The drama fails to capitalise on interesting plot-points, and never properly explores any of the plot-points it does go into. For a drama that touches on some heavy issues (single parenting, adultery, divorce, loss of personal freedoms) it’s extremely light on actual story developments.  If we’re all honest, the only reason anyone watched this drama is because of the gradual, but always adorable, relationship development between Min Woo and his daughter. And Siwon gets shirtless.

What Was Great:

Fan-service:

Mmmmm hmmmm

Before we even get any look in at the plot or any of our other characters we have Choi Siwon. A good way to start any drama. His acting is pretty consistent throughout, and he’s definitely got all the charms of a ridiculously handsome celebrity. Oh wait, that’s because he is one. Adding to this, for at least the first three, maybe four episodes, there’s always a scene with no top on. Fantastic, great, yes.

You're Welcome

Daddy-Daughter Relationship:

Unbearably adorable

By far the shining beacon of hope in this drama. While other storylines and relationships fell short, the relationship between Min Woo and Ye Eun is always pleasing. Min Woo’s slow progression from complete indifference to doting father is completely believable. Even in the early stages we are given little hints that the actor cares more for his illegitimate child than he is letting on, and his occasional, awkward displays of affection for her are to die for. It’s adorable to watch Ye Eun vie for her father’s attention, and her disappointment when she fails and excitement when she succeeds are perfectly acted. The gradual closure of distance between these two individuals is definitely the most enthralling part of the whole drama. I think it’s pretty safe to assume that without Kim Yoo Bin, this series would have been a total flop.

What Wasn’t:

Ajumma:

I just didn't find myself rooting for her

I get that Yoon Gae Hwa was a divorced mother. I get that she was older than Sung Min Woo, but boy did they hammer that point home. From her permed hair to her demanding attitude, Gae Hwa had ‘ajumma’ written all over her. Which in itself isn’t a bad thing, but the concept got tired pretty quickly. While we did have moments of development from our leading lady, she was never able to quite break away from her ‘ajumma’ stereotype. The hair, clothes and actions of Gae Hwa lead me to believe that she was far older than what the writers were aiming for, and killed any chance of a believable noona romance. Because she’s not a noona. She’s an ajumma.

Zero Romance:

There were no sparks flying between Gae Hwa and Min Woo. None. Nada. Zip. Sure, there were some cute moments- but they were never cute romantic moments. Many of these cute moments could happen between an 80 year old woman and a stroppy teenage boy, or between two straight men living with the world’s cutest 5 year old.

Anyone could act cute around Kim Yoo Bin

Any hint of romance between our two leads felt hideously forced and unnatural. While I’ll admit it was clear that Min Woo was developing affection for Gae Hwa, it felt more as though he was searching for a motherly figure in her- both for Ye Eun and himself.

It's weird. Just stop it.

I felt more of a mother-son vibe going on than a lover vibe. The fact is, our leading lady had far more chemistry (and couple scenes) with Yu Si Joon than Min Woo. The whole ending totally fell flat for me as well, as I never believed that Min Woo felt anything more for Gae Hwa except gratitude that she was a good mother to his daughter. His confession just felt like a desperate, and slightly confused, attempt to keep Gae Hwa as a mother for Ye Eun.

Second-Rate Secondary Characters:

So basically no one else gets much development. Si Joon is a wooden office-man with a failing marriage that he may or may not care about. It’s hard to tell. Han Jung Ah is a straight-faced choreographer who’s cheating on her husband, who she may or may not care about. Also hard to tell. Hong Yu Ra is the irritating first-love who hates the idea of anyone not falling at her feet, yet has the most round-about ways of trying to woo someone ever displayed in any drama ever. And there’s the annoying reporter. Oh, and Gae Hwa’s ex, but he’s actually so redundant it’s not even funny. None of these characters get any real development, and it’s hard to connect with them on an emotional level.

Just look at all these people I don't care about

Re-watch?

Never. I can look up Choi Si Won’s abbs and Kim Yoo Bin’s face on Google and get just as much enjoyment as I got out of this drama.

In the nicest way possible: Never again.