W- Two Worlds

W- Two Worlds

8.5/10

W- Two Worlds

Genre:                                    Episodes: 16                            Year: 2016

Romance

Mystery

Fantasy

Synopsis:

Oh Yeon Joo is the daughter of a famous manhwa author. When her father suddenly decides to kill the main character of his comic, Kang Chul, Yeon Joo is transported into the world of the manhwa and saves Chul’s life. However, Yeon Joo’s involvement in the fictional world changes events, and the story begins to take on a life of its own.

Cast:

Lee Jong Suk (Kang Chul)

Han Hyo Joo (Oh Yeon Joo)

Jeong Eu Gene (Yoon So Hee)

Kim Ui Sung (Oh Sung Moo)

Lee Shi Un (Park Soo Bong)

Lee Tae Hwan (Seo Do Yoon)

 

Park Won Sang (Han Chul Ho)

General Thoughts:

This drama is crazy. It’s been a while since I’ve been so completely sucked into a drama by both its plot and its characters- the two rarely come together, but ‘W’ is a wonderful combination of excellent storytelling and beautifully developed characters.

The leads are all kinds of excellent

The twists and brain-f*ck moments came hard and fast, and gave the series a cracking pace. The whole idea behind the drama was just excellent- a manhwa character being created with too much brainpower and initiative sets out to gain his own self-awareness and just generally creates a bit of a sh*tstorm.

I should learn how to draw, ya know...just in case...

The idea is fresh and interesting, and the writer is clearly a magician, because she takes drama ideas that have been insanely overused and often come across cliche and irritating and makes them into impactful, emotional scenes. This drama is one of the few times that I’ve been genuinely moved by the separation of the leads and not just frustrated by it. The writer also really nails the fantasy aspect of the drama. She wasn’t afraid to really use the fantasy element to her advantage by placing the characters in dangerous situations that they just realistically wouldn’t be able to escape from in a non-fantasy, reality-based series. But add in the fantasy element and suddenly the writer has a lot more room to play. The characters can be placed in broader, more intense circumstances with a multitude of ways to move the plot forward while still making sense. One of the drama's better points was that the rules were mostly explained to us (even if they did change every two episodes), so that while the fantasy element added an air of magic and mystery, it was never used as an easy-fix. Every situation and every resolution was clearly thought through, and that understanding from the writer translates to the viewer even if we don’t 100% understand it ourselves.

Super creepy

The momentum did slow a bit as we approached the second half of the series, but still had a quicker pace than most other dramas. Lee Jong Suk smashed it as our cartoon hero. It doesn’t hurt that he’s pretty enough to look like a fictional being, but his phenomenal acting really boosted the series.

Why does Lee Jong Suk look so attractive covered in blood?

Even though Chul’s problems were very different to that of the viewers (I don’t think a single viewer has ever had to battle discovering they’re a cartoon), Lee Jong Suk was still able to make Chul understandable- and most importantly likeable. His delivery of Chul’s emotions was picture perfect, and he was simply the embodiment of the wounded hero searching for his life’s meaning. The obvious difference between creator and creation were interesting to see explored, and offers a bit of insight into why artists love creating hero-like characters. Chul was everything that Sung Moo wasn’t- brave, determined, and willing to do anything for his family. The scenes of Chul having to face the weakness of his creater, and Sung Moo having to face his own weaknesses were pretty heavy and added a huge amount of depth to the series. The character of Kang Chul was easy to cheer for (he’s basically the perfect man), and his struggles brought about bigger questions that everyone could relate to, cartoon character or no. How much free will do we have? What is predetermined, and how much control do we have over changing our fate?

Creator vs. Creation 

In Chul’s case all it took was his self-awareness to allow him to begin to change the world around him- and that’s a heavy, complex idea that the drama is bringing into play. Wrapped in all the pretty packaging the drama is suggesting that all it takes is your own awareness that you can change things around you, and then can. Yes. Mindf*ck. The drama was good at that.

Took the story into her own hands (literally)

It was excellent that Chul was able to step outside the character set-up that Sung Moo had created for him and grasp his own free will, yet he never had to compromise who he was as a person (or a character- I don’t even know anymore). Next to Lee Jong Suk was Han Hyo Joo, and she was just as brilliant. She made Yeon Joo into an incredibly endearing and understandable heroine- and you cared just as much about Yeon Joo’s happy ending as you did about Chul’s. Unlike many K-drama heroines, Yeon Joo was a character that always made sense. She was our way of viewing the new cartoon world, and was our insight into the difficulties and emotions that occurred as a result of constantly slipping between the two worlds. Dad (Sung Moo) was a good (but not great) villain to have opposite our leads. I found the villain to be more threatening when it was the unidentified shadow man with no face, as it added a sense of paranoia to the series that giving the villain a face kind of took away. While the villain was a faceless, poorly constructed character it was hard to predict his movements- because Dad had just written him as a plot device, not an actual character.

Only purpose is to kill Chul and his family, which is kinda sucky for Chul

His movements were often erratic and simply not having an identity was a threat in itself, because how is Chul supposed to defeat an enemy with no identity whose sole purpose has been (and still is) to kill people Chul considers family as a way to build Chul as a hero and drive Chul’s motivation.

Why were you so worried about Chul when you'd created this lunatic?

He still remained pretty frightening after he took Dad’s face as he still held a rather unhinged attitude, particularly after he became self-aware like Chul and started identifying as Dad himself- not just as a character Dad couldn’t be assed creating properly. It was interesting to see how the killer wanted Dad to give him an identity just as much as Chul did- because his self realisation was basically rendered meaningless once he learned that he wasn’t a proper character and had only been created for the sole purpose of the one scene where Chul’s family is murdered. The killer ends up being the complete opposite of Chul. Chul is so well thought-through and so detailed that everyone who has read the manhwa has a thorough understanding of who he is. On the other hand, the killer has no identity, no purpose, and no set-up that provides him with any limitations or guidelines. The conclusion for the killer was action-packed and pretty satisfying, though I do think that it could have been ramped up into a bigger showdown considering that he was the main villain. If Chul was just going to shoot him, why didn’t he just do it before? Y’know- before he shot and killed Chul’s wife.

Why yes. At one point our heroine actually dies.

I was pretty underwhelmed with Chul Ho as far as villains go. He was a fairly underdeveloped character- like, why did he even hate Chul do much? He didn’t really do much to get in the way of Chul, and he really did nothing after gaining information about the two worlds, which makes me wonder why the writer bothered having him find out.

You need to up your game buddy- the last guy didn't even have a face

He’s not the worst villain to ever grace my screen, but it was a smidge disappointing to have him as our last villain and our final hurdle for Chul when the previous hurdles seemed so much bigger and so much more dangerous. Beyond the main characters and the villains that fought them, none of the other characters really mattered much. None of the characters from Chul’s manhwa world were developed that much (which is weird considering that So Hee was supposed to be the heroine of the comic before Yeon Joo showed up). I suppose they just didn’t really matter all that much considering that Chul would eventually come into the real world and leave the comic and all its characters behind. The side characters in the real world were a little more interesting and given a little more screen time. Soo Bong was a bit of a scene stealer as his reactions to everything were so spot on and basically mirrored how I was feeling as a viewer. I wish Kang Ki Young had a bit more to do in the series, as he can be such a dynamic side character. I wanted to know more about him and his relationship with Yeon Joo (and Chul’s jealousy that might result)- but alas he was a character that fell by the wayside. Visually the drama was spectacular. The directing in regards to the seamless transitions from comic panel to live-action were flawless and added a huge sense of amazement to the drama- not too mention it just looked plain awesome.

It was so magical- it was like Harry Potter for adults (not that Harry Potter isn't for adults)

The soundtrack was also quietly wonderful. It was in the background not demanding too much attention, but spot on when you did pay attention to it- particularly towards the end of an episode when we reached those cliffhanger moments.

What Was Great:

Our Leads:

Lee Jong Suk and Han Hyo Joo were spectacular and they were insanely good together. You know when two leads start to spark rumours that they’re dating in real life then the chemistry’s bound to be good. And it was. Lee Jong Suk and Han Hyo Joo matched each other perfectly and had wonderful on screen chemistry that was addictive to watch.

And the snogging gets better as the series goes along

Their casual flirtation is always fun, but never forgets to hint at the stronger relationship developing underneath. It was such a must-have to have great chemistry in a series like this considering it’s all about a comic book hero coming to life and jumping worlds so he can stay with the woman he loves, and the two lead actors nailed the do-or-die dynamic of their relationship. The relationship between the two characters was so enjoyable to watch develop- particularly after the manhwa world resets and Chul loses his memory of Yeon Joo, as it shows that no matter what, if Chul ever meets Yeon Joo, no matter how short their meeting or how many times he forgets her, he will always be curious about her and that will always lead to his becoming self-aware.

I so desperately want them to be happy forever

It’s a nice bit of fate, but isn’t so in your face that it seems ridiculous or against all odds. I particularly loved the way Yeon Joo always brought about Chul’s awareness that he was in a cartoon because, despite what was written for his character,

I love them as much as they love each other

he chooses to go after Yeon Joo every time- which is his first ever real choice as an independent being. Which kind of brings on the warm fuzzies. It was wonderful that Yeon Joo and Chul had equal footing in the relationship. Chul was the badass action hero of the manhwa who could do anything and everything, but Yeon Joo is his original creator who knows almost every aspect of his life. While Yeon Joo is left shouldering all the burden and hurt after the comic world resets, it's evened out by Chul waiting for her for years as time in the two worlds flows differently. It was a great move for both of them to have a period of wanting an waiting for the other (even though I usually hate that), as it showed that it wasn’t just Yeon Joo suffering and waiting on her own- Chul was just as invested and just as in love as she was, and was willing to go through hurt, loneliness and heartbreak in order to achieve their happy ending. 

The Tease:

The drama was far from predictable, and that’s always a good thing. It wasn’t unpredictable because the writer was just doing whatever she wanted- but continued to have clear movements and momentum.

Please don't kill Chul, please don't kill Chul

And one of the upsides about this unpredictability is that it made me fear for the characters lives. Not many K-Dramas can pull that off because there’s just no way in hell that the writers would leave us with a dead hero on our hands- but I honestly wouldn’t have put it past this writer to give us a sad ending to the story. Fearing for the lives of the characters adds a huge amount of tension to the drama and makes for one hell of an addictive watch. Because unlike other dramas, you’re not waiting to see how the happy ending comes about- you’re waiting to see if there is a happy ending, or if everyone dies and the comic world combusts and the plot reaches a satisfying conclusion but all the characters are miserable anyway. There were lots of hints that the drama might be heading towards a not-so-happy ending, so it only served to increase the excitement in the last episode, and made the eventual happy ending feel so much more earned than in most other dramas. Technically the ending wasn't completely happy- although Chul got what he wanted, he spent two years in prison (which still seems a little unnecessary, but whatever) and Yeon Joo’s Dad died which was a bit of a bummer (for her, not us). 

How I was watching this drama

Correct Use of Amnesia:

I have never ever, not once in a K-Drama enjoyed the use of amnesia or even the forced separation of our leads. Because it’s cliche, often frustrating, and just generally sucks.

I was actually sad for her instead of just ridiculously annoyed

Until now. I was on every emotional beat of Kang Chul’s amnesia and the effect it had on Yeon Joo. It was sad. It was heart-breaking. It was basically soul destroying. I’m not exactly sure what it was that made this amnesia work when so many others have failed- but good job drama. Maybe it was the fact that the separation wasn’t for an extended period of time, and that Yeon Joo is just such a top heroine. Rather than shrinking into herself and just wandering around with sad-face on, she helps out at the hospital and actually responds when Chul talks to her (no matter how sad it is that he doesn’t remember her), and it actually produced some pretty funny moments. So the couple of episodes were sad and emotional, but they had some humour in there that stopped it from becoming a total angst-fest. Also, it does help that both of our leads went into this situation with the knowledge and agreement on what was going to happen. Yeon Joo could have written the dream and reset the manhwa world without telling Chul- but she didn’t. Chul could have done a huge Noble Idiot and just pretended he didn’t actually love Yeon Joo in order to keep her safe from the killer- but he didn’t.

Just remember her already!

The two had a rational, level-headed discussion and came to a mutual decision. Isn’t that nice to see! It’s just another part of what made these leads such a wonderful couple- they communicated, made plans together, and were basically not self-centred knob-heads. 

What Wasn’t:

Villain Switch-Up:

The one thing I think sapped a bit of tension and drama from the series was that it didn’t have one continuous villain throughout. We had three. Well, maybe two and a half. The first villain, the original killer, was my favourite of the villains. He was so unhinged that he was hard to predict, and his knowledge of the manhwa world and the real world made him very dangerous, but also made a lot of sense.

And he was by far the scariest of the lot

He wants to know who he is and what his purpose is. These desires are realised when Dad gives the killer his own face and things kind of snowball into one big clusterf*ck. It’s riveting to watch, and the killer poses a real sense of danger to Chul, to Yeon Joo, and also to Dad whose face he (literally) stole.

And that's what you get for being a lazy ass writer

Which was super creepy- but also a bit of a plot hole. While the idea behind Dad accidentally giving the killer the exact same face as the one he had is an interesting concept, the logic of it fell a bit short. Dad’s face didn’t disappear when the killer got his face, which leads me to think that the killer somehow stole Dad’s face. Which is cool and creepy, but doesn’t make much sense. The killer gaining control of Dad when he’s faceless is also a great plot twist in the story and creates a huge sense of urgency for Yeon Joo and Chul as they are now living in a world that is completely controlled by the killer via puppet Dad the artist. The how factor of the killer's control over Dad is also left a bit too under explained for my taste. Then the killer is dealt with a fair few episodes before the drama concludes and suddenly, oh no, we don’t have anyone for the heroes to fight. So then Dad goes kind of crazy, not sure if he’s the killer or not due to him actually recalling the killers memories as if they were his own. Which is again an interesting point as it begs the question of just how connected Dad was to the killer, and how similar they were that Dad himself is confusing the two of them.

Pretty easy to keep him under control

But he wasn’t really all that threatening. They just tied him up until he was sane enough to come and save the day. So that leaves us with Chul Ho as our main villain for the last few episodes, and he wasn’t really all that great. He didn’t seem all that smart, and didn’t do anything even with the knowledge of the two different worlds. Frankly I’m surprised he even managed to shoot Chul as Chul is way too much of a clever badass to walk into a situation like that, but I guess they just needed something to actually happen in the last episode.

I don't think Chul would be that dumb, but we'll let it slide for dramatic tension

What’s most frustrating about Chul Ho is his apparent lack of motivation. He was pretty much ignored for the most part, not really being a character of actual importance until the last few episodes, so it did leave us wondering what his actual problem was. Why all the Chul hate? The drama hinted that if Chul found the real killer that Chul Ho’s popularity would drop, but I don’t really see that being a reason for Chul Ho to try and kill Chul and his bodyguard friend.

But...but...he's self-aware...

Chul Ho seemed to accept pretty easily that he was a manhwa villain and didn’t seem too motivated to change that, so I did wonder a bit about his obsession with the other world. It came out sounding like he wanted to go there and conquer that world, but that makes little sense considering that he knows nothing about that world, and hasn’t even conquered the world he actually lives in. His death was short and sweet and brought on pretty easily- but it also kind of defies logic. We’d never before seen scenes of characters doing things they didn’t want to do once they became self-aware. All drama long we’ve been told that once the characters become aware that they are characters in a cartoon they can start to control their own fate, and not be guided by the will of the writer. Yet I’m pretty sue Chul Ho doesn’t want to shoot himself, but Dad ends up making him do just that. The scene itself is pretty cool and pretty dark- but it does open a few plotholes that the series didn’t have before the final episode. Chul Ho’s time in the spotlight was pretty short, and I’m a little disappointed that this amazing, heart-racing drama didn’t finish with big confrontation with a well thought out, fear inducing villain.

Where are My Snoodles?:

I wanted way more of this than we got

I was kind of hoping that we’d have time for a lot of kisses and cuddles at the end of this drama. All series long the different plot-points tended to wrap themselves up pretty quickly without becoming too drawn out, and that left me thinking (and hoping) that we’d get at least half an episode of seeing Yeon Joo and Chul being cute and happy together in the real world.

Where all my cuddles at?

Or even a whole episode on Chul having to adjust to the real world and the big issue of him not actually having a real identity there. But instead we had Chul sit in prison for two years while Yeon Joo was sad for a week and then they kissed on a bench- that’s it, the end. WHERE WAS THE CUTENESS?! WHERE WAS THE HAPPY-FUN-TIME FOR THESE WONDERFUL CHARACTERS?! The first half of the series had a lot more cute and a lot more romance than the second half did. While I’m not upset that the show decided to go for a darker, more villain-focused route, I do wish it had returned to it’s lighthearted spooning and snogging a bit earlier than it did.

Re-watch?

Maybe not the whole thing- but probably the first half. Because I love these leads together.

I don't really care how they got their happy ending as long as they got one 

Jealousy Incarnate

Jealousy Incarnate

6.5/10

Jealousy Incarnate

Genre:                               Episodes: 24                           Year: 2016

Romance

Comedy

Synopsis:

Pyo Na Ri is a weather caster at SBC. She has had a one-sided love for announcer-reporter Lee Hwa Shin for three years, but he has always found her irritating. Na Ri decides to give up on her crush as she meets Hwa Shin’s friend, Go Jung Won, sparking Hwa Shin’s jealousy.

Cast:

Gong Hyo Jin (Pyo Na Ri)

Jo Jung Seok (Lee Hwa Shin)

Go Kyung Pyo (Go Jung Won)

Lee Mi Sook (Gye Sung Sook)

Park Ji Young (Bang Ja Young)

Lee Sung Jae (Kim Rak)

Moon Ka Young (Lee Pal Gang)

Kim Jung Hyun (Pyo Chi Yeol)

Seo Ji Hye (Hong Hye Won)

General Thoughts:

I must admit, though I enjoyed many episodes of ‘Jealousy’, I walked away from the series feeling rather uninspired. I’m just not really sure what sort of story the writers wanted to tell or what they wanted to achieve.

So much happened, and yet...so little

A large part of these feelings of confusion are probably due to the unnecessary amount of episodes, along with not focusing on one main point. You’d think it would be about jealousy and a big ol’ love triangle (what with the title and all), but if we're all honest it was a one man show- and that man was Hwa Shin.

Hwa Shin > Jung Won

I don’t think there’s anyone anywhere who actually thought Jung Won was in with a shot because he was one of the blandest second male leads I’ve ever seen. He’s basically just typical nice-guy plus butt-loads of money- but no personality to speak of. Go Kyung Pyo was kind of completely out-acted by our two leads who both fit so well with this kind of bickering, confused comedy. Rather than appearing funny in his jealousy (as Hwa Shin did), Jung Won often came across as forceful, and didn’t really seem to ever listen to what Na Ri was saying. Because of the rather lacklustre second lead, the whole triangle situation didn’t really have any tension. Sure, it was fun to see Hwa Shin spewing with jealousy for a while and not knowing what to do with himself, but that got old surprisingly fast because it was just so plainly obvious to everyone (except maybe Jung Won) that Hwa Shin would get the girl. Even our heroine, Na Ri, was actually a pretty bland character. Once you take away Gong Hyo Jin’s delightful performance you realise that we know nothing about our heroine outside of her love for Hwa Shin.

Sweet yet tasteless all at once

She got confused and dated two guys for a while there- but a lot of what we saw about Na Ri was very situational and not so personal. I know that she loves Hwa Shin and loves her little brother…and that’s pretty much it. We never really get a feeling of what drives Na Ri as a person beyond her feelings for Hwa Shin, which leaves Pyo Na Ri feeling extremely similar to Gong Hyo Jin’s previous characters- because beyond Gong Hyo Jin’s take on the character, there’s really nothing there.

The many faces of Jo Jung Seok Show

So while our heroine’s character might have been boring, Gong Hyo Jin’s wonderful and often funny performance did quite a lot to distract from all Na Ri’s developmental flaws. Hwa Shin was really the only character that was explored in depth- with his cancer, his job, his family and his feelings. All these situations and the way Hwa Shin reacted to them gave a sense of realism to his character, and let us feel his emotional moments alongside him and understand him. Jo Jung Seok delivered an absolutely excellent performance, and was really the comedic heart of the show. And quite often the emotional-heart too. He brought his A-game to set and made Hwa Shin a hilarious, yet loveable idiot with all his deflated pride and stubborn floundering. I appreciate that it was his time in the hospital that really opened his eyes to Na Ri, and not just that his friend started to like her. I do wish the whole jealousy situation had played out a little differently. A part of me wanted the relationship between Jung Won and Na Ri to come to its own conclusion before Hwa Shin stepped in, because it really appeared that the only reason Na Ri dumped Jung Won was because she liked Hwa Shin that 1% more- which I suppose is fine, but I still kind of wanted a solid, justifiable reason why Na Ri and Jung Won wouldn’t work well together (beyond Jung Won being so darn plain). Actually, you know what. I wouldn’t have even cared if Na Ri did dump Jung Won because he’s plain- at least it’s a reason.

Sure he was nice...but he was just so booooringggg

I don’t know about others, but I much preferred watching Hwa Shin have a hilariously hard time holding in his crush and jealousy than watching him and Jung Won fight over Na Ri like a piece of meat. Having Na Ri be oblivious to Hwa Shin’s feelings added a lot of comedy to the series. When she realised he liked her, she kind of became a little unlikable. Because if she honestly liked Jung Won, would she really have kissed Hwa Shin? I guess my fundamental issue with this segment of the series (because there were a lot of different segments in its 24 episodes) was that no part of me believes you can romantically like two people exactly the same- particularly when doing so becomes detrimental to everyone involved.

Funny is fine- unnecessary angst is not

I felt more like Na Ri was stalling for time with dumping Jung Won rather than actually liking him, because it was obvious to every man and his dog that she liked Hwa Shin way more. The drama tried to make use of its many, many episodes to introduce lots of different ideas between our main three characters.

It was no secret that this is where we were headed

However, having so many smaller segments kind of prevented the drama from having a lot of depth- because most of the situations didn’t get milked to their full potential. I wish the drama had chosen one way to handle its triangle, stuck with it, and really developed the situation- because as it is, it feels more like the writers were aiming for cheap laughs rather than an in-depth, constantly developed trio of characters. Because in all these situations, Jung Won was pushed to the side in order to enforce that NA RI AND HWA SHIN ARE THE ENDGAME SO DON’T GET TOO ATTACHED TO JUNG WON. We had Hwa Shin be quietly jealous while Na Ri dated Jung Won, be vocally jealous about it, have Na Ri try and dump them both, have Na Ri try to date them both, have Na Ri live with them both (for like maybe two episodes), all while Na Ri helps Hwa Shin through his cancer treatment. Frankly, all the best parts of the drama didn’t actually have Jung Won in them, and Hwa Shin and Na Ri had a far more entertaining and amusing relationship when it was just the two of them. Because the breast cancer storyline was excellent.

So much fun, so much cute, so much absent Jung Won

It added a huge amount of depth to Hwa Shin’s character, and gave him room to grow and develop as a character, all with Na Ri’s assistance. His infertility was another great extension of this, and I felt far more invested in Hwa Shin’s medical woes than the woes of the so-called love-triangle. Smaller things in the drama made the series highly amusing, such as its quirky editing. Playing back past scenes on screens around our characters was hilarious and often provided a great deal of information on how our characters were feeling and what they were reacting to. There were lots of small moments that played in the background that are easy to overlook, but add quite a lot to the series. The music choices were always excellent- properly enforcing the romantic or (more often) awkward atmosphere. And of course any scene Bum was in was delightfully funny.

The unsung hero

What Was Great:

Emasculation:

One of the more interesting plot points of the series was definitely the way Hwa Shin had to deal with his illnesses that made him think less of himself as a man. Watching him struggle with how to perceive himself over the location of his cancer was interesting and thought provoking- because we don’t often think that men can get breast cancer. Hence the pinkness of everything breast cancer related.

Breast cancer bits were the best bits

Hwa Shin’s time spent in the hospital with Na Ri had a nice balance of humour and heart, and was a great way for the two to grow closer. Nothing speeds along a relationship quite like a shared secret. Hwa Shin’s infertility was another great conflict for him, as it made him question not only his own manhood (again), but also what he could provide for Na Ri.

He just wasn't having a good time

No matter how much she loves him, she wouldn’t be able to cure his breast cancer or his infertility- problems that most other men don’t have to deal with at all. The conclusions for both conflicts were drawn in a satisfactory manner. All series long we watched Hwa Shin worry about how other people would perceive him after finding out about his breast cancer. It’s rewarding and a great display of character growth when he owns up to his illness in order to prevent Na Ri from receiving those same judgements- even if it is more common for a woman to have breast cancer than a man. As for his infertility, I adored how it was clear that Na Ri knew how he dealt with things, and knew that she just had to wait for him to accept this new reality. Hwa Shin’s fears were totally justifiable- he couldn’t give Na Ri something he knew she wanted, and failed to see how that would end with her being happy. With Na Ri’s constant support and encouragement, he comes to realise that it’s not the end of the world, and just because he can’t have kids, it doesn’t mean that Na Ri wants to go off and have kids with someone else. Not only that, but it was wonderful to see how Hwa Shin (who seems to have little confidence in his ability to care for Na Ri despite all his arrogance and pride) learns that he himself can be a source of happiness for Na Ri, no matter what he can and cannot offer her. So we'll just ignore that the end seems to forget that Hwa Shin's infertile when he and Na Ri have two kids after the time-skip- that felt like a cop-out.

Those snow-children are gonna be the only children

General Cuteness:

Gong Hyo Jin and Jo Jung Seok are super adorable and super funny so that’s always going to be an upside (thank goodness because the whole drama was basically just them).

When it was cute it was very, very cute

Their whole relationship was always pretty fun to watch, and these two actors do some of the best bickering love ever. Throw in Bum who’s always cute and adds a bunch of funny to whatever scene he’s in and you’ve got a good combo. Na Ri’s younger brother was also pretty darn cute, and I do wish we’d got to see a little bit more of him. A whole different realm of cute was the relationship between the two mums. At first I didn’t give a toss about either of these characters, and to be honest I still don’t really care about their relationships with anyone else- but I’m so onboard the sweet friendship the two mums got going while trying to decide who would live with Pal Gang. Even though it was super obvious that they’d all end up living together, the begrudging friendship between the mums was still fun to watch- particularly when they were bonding over things they had in common- like their love for Pal Gang, or how hard it would be dating an asexual man. 

What Wasn’t:

No Side Character Use:

Despite the millions of side characters this show had at its disposal and the millions of episodes it had to develop them- none of them get much screen time at all. The show is dominated by Na Ri and Hwa Shin with a lot of Jung Won thrown in, but it did seem a little unnecessary to have all these characters who seemed like they would have small arcs of their own only to then go ahead and not develop them.

Were these kids supposed to matter?

Na Ri’s brother and his two friends seemed to drop of the face of the earth- despite Pal Gang being set up as a character that seemed to matter a great deal- with her mums, Hwa Shin being her uncle, and the triangle between her and the two young boys. Only none of these concepts really got more than 5 minutes of screen-time, even though it could have been used to add a great deal of good emotion into the series. Similarly, we didn’t really get to know anyone at the broadcast station that well either. We saw some of the weather-girls and some other reporters- but none of them had story-arcs or were really essential to the show in any way.

A huge wedding where I care about none of the guests

The final episode seemed to want to be a cute big farewell to the series with all its characters coming together at the wedding- only I didn’t really care about anyone apart from Bum, Hwa Shin and Na Ri. 

Go Home Jung Won:

Fighting losing battle. And everyone knows.

We always knew Hwa Shin would win. Seeing Jung Won become so bloody whiney after Na Ri chose Hwa Shin was just plain unenjoyable to watch. I barely even found him tolerable when Na Ri was sort of considering him, so after she made her choice and Jung Won was still moping around her, he was just annoying. His insistence on Na Ri being with him felt misguided and frankly delusional- particularly when he was adamant that she would come back and marry him despite her being happy with Hwa Shin. Hwa Shin’s insistence that Na Ri would be happier with him can be given a pass because…well…she is. But when Jung Won says those same things it just feels as though he’s completely disregarding Na Ri’s feelings. Boo, Jung Won you sore loser.

Re-watch?

No. While I remember enjoying much of this drama, when I think back I can only really recall negative things. Weird.

Pretty okay though, I guess