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.