49 Days

49 Days

6.5/10

49 Days

Genre:                                   Episodes: 20                         Year: 2011

Romance

Melodrama

Supernatural

Synopsis:

When a woman tries to commit suicide by jumping in front of a truck, there is a large accident on the road. The accident causes Shin Ji Hyun to enter a coma, though her spirit lives on outside her body. A Scheduler, a man who transports souls to the afterlife, gives Ji Hyun a chance to return to her body as she wasn’t supposed to die in the accident. Ji Hyun will live if she can find three people who will cry genuine tears of sadness over her. Ji Hyun is allowed to use Song Yi Kyung’s body, as she is the woman who attempted suicide and caused Ji Hyun’s unscheduled death.

Cast:

Lee Yo Won (Song Yi Kyung/ Shin Ji Hyun)

Nam Gyu Ri (Shin Ji Hyun)

Jo Hyun Jae (Han Kang)

Bae Soo Bin (Kang Min Ho)

Jung Il Woo (Scheduler)

Seo Ji Hye (Shin In Jung)

General Thoughts:

This is a drama that really shows how bad acting is much more bearable than bad writing. I was fully engaged in most of the plot for the entire 20 episodes, despite the less that satisfactory standard of acting coming from some (most) of our cast members.

This drama is the answer to Bad Acting vs. Bad Writing

The premise was an interesting one- and had a similar sort of take on death that ‘Goblin’ (which I just finished) had- that there are some deaths that can't be predicted. It was mapped out nicely that the reason Ji Hyun could use Yi Kyung’s body was because she was he one that caused Ji Hyun to die early by attempting to jump in from of traffic and commit suicide.

Who doesn't love a bit of ghost possession?

It was a nice way to connect our two female characters and quickly expose their characters and their differences- Ji Hyun happy, in love, and desperate for life, and Yi Kyung miserable, lonely, and wishing for death. It also introduced us to the best scene stealer I’ve ever seen. Jung Il Woo was fantastic as the Scheduler of Death and held a lot of my interest. A vast reason why I kept coming back to the series was for Il Woo’s steadily growing humanity (paired with his hilarious sarcasm), and the gradual reveal of the life he couldn’t remember. While I found it fairly obvious that he and Yi Kyung were connected, the show revealed it in a nice, natural way, and Jung Il Woo acted it to perfection. His emotions and expressions just seemed even more dynamic as he was acting next to a bunch of people who weren’t very good- but at least it made Jung Il Woo look awesome. On the other hand, I just couldn’t connect with Yi Kyung. I’m not sure what it is exactly, but I had no burning desire to see her happy (I was much more invested in Ji Hyun) and didn’t quite see her as a fully fleshed out human being.

The only thing I care about in this situation is the Scheduler

She was supposed to be a sad, melancholy character that caused our hearts to ache for her and her pitiful situation, but I found her a bit exasperating to be honest. Mostly because she didn’t try to do anything. She made no attempt to move on with her life, and that really gave me the sh*ts. Perhaps I would have been a little more invested had we seen just how alone and awful Yi Kyung had felt before she met Yi Kyung, but in flashbacks we were only shown how happy they were together.

What a cute lil meanie weeny

Then they broke up. So it kind of annoyed me that this girl was pinning her life away for some man who she suspected had been cheating on her before his death. I guess, perhaps if a decent actress had been given the role I would be feeling a whole different set of emotions. Despite the set-up of the 3 tears scenario, we actually spent more time dealing with the company take-over than anything else. It wasn’t too bad, in that it helped open Ji Hyun’s eyes to how oblivious and naive she had been before, but I seriously don’t think we needed to spend as much time on it as we did. Considering that we virtually had no information on the company or how Min Ho was going to bankrupt it, there wasn’t a lot of tension. I didn’t believe for one second that Min Ho would actually succeed in seizing control of the company, so a lot of the interest came from how Ji Hyun was using him to her advantage. I wish the show had been just a teensy bit clearer in what her objectives actually were, because it felt like she was just sort of hanging around Min Ho in the hopes that something would happen. I think it would have added an extra layer of interest if Ji Hyun actually went out of her way to seduce Min Ho while in Yi Kyung’s body in order to get the information she needed, rather than just having him fall for her all on his own. Ah well, it was still interesting enough.

The amount of wrist/arm grabbing in this drama is unbelievably high. Haven't you Koreans heard of holding hands?

Visually the drama didn’t have a lot going for it- there weren’t a heap of expressions going around and there were only about 3 or 4 locations- none all that exciting. Much of the visual enjoyment came from seeing what ridiculous wardrobe choices Jung Il Woo would make, and seeing how weirdly well he pulled them off. The soundtrack wasn’t bad exactly, but it did feel like just your typical melodrama soundtrack- a female ballad with orchestral music where all the songs sound kind of the same. The editing felt pretty ridiculous at times and very dated. There were four cases in the first episode alone where characters walked past each other and we saw the moment they passed each other three times- each shot in slower slo-mo than the last. It was unnecessary and not very subtle. There were odd editing choices throughout the series that really did nothing to enhance it, and just made the drama feel very old- older than 2011.

I only saw this moment from 5 different angles- are you sure it's important?

What Was Great:

Tears and Death:

What let me sit through 20 episodes of awkward editing and sloppy acting was the story. I was invested from the start, and really liked Ji Hyun despite her lack of worldly knowledge.

You dead sucka

The idea of needing genuine tears and that there were different types of tears was an interesting one, and I wish it had come into play a little bit more (it felt like a bit of a rush to have 2 of the 3 tears come in the final moments). All in all, Ji Hyun did seem fairly clueless on all things tear-related. The drama also expressed interesting views on death. Most K-Dramas tend to lean towards there being another world after death or reincarnation, but I liked that this series took a different approach. In ‘49 Days’ death was nothing but a separation and a final goodbye. It’s a sadder approach, but does add a dose of desperation to the story, as well as good reasoning for Ji Hyun’s intense desire to live. You know, beyond not wanting to be dead.

Characterisations:

There characters were all brilliant. Ji Hyun had a nice little path of development throughout the series. She starts as a pretty dim-witted girl who’s too easily trusting, but as each conflict arises Ji Hyun’s learns to face it with confidence and determination. By the end Ji Hyun’s optimistic outlook and love for those around her are seen as an asset not a weakness, as she possesses those characteristics not from just being sheltered and fortunate, but from actively choosing to trust and love those around her despite the risks.

You for you learning how to adult (sort of)

Her relationship with Kang was just too cute and came about in a nice, natural way. Kang was always hard-on-the-outside-squishy-in-the-middle, but it was nice to see him learn to express his feelings to Ji Hyun- her impending death being a major factor in loosening his lips. Ji Hyun also had a really interesting relationship with Yi Kyung.

Cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater

It was enjoyable how Yi Kyung started being able to see Ji Hyun, and how Ji Hyun’s affection for her started to change her life. Due to Ji Hyun caring about Yi Kyung’s wellbeing, Yi Kyung started caring as well. The two developed a nice little friendship that had great dynamics and perfectly showed how the two girls were helping each other live. Our two main villains were also endlessly fascinating. Their conflicting emotions and internal quarrels kept the main company takeover plot interesting, as it added a heap of context to what was going on. Min Ho taking over the company point blank is pretty boring, so it was interesting to see that In Jung was the one who set him up for it, even though she’s the one who gets cold feet. It was a lovely exploration of how love means different things to different people- Ji Hyun loved Min Ho who she’s never really known, In Jung loved Min Ho who she could never meet openly, and Min Ho apparently loved everyone in a weird twisted way. Though I will admit that neither Min Ho or In Jung had any decent reasoning to try and bankrupt the company. Their excuses for there actions were all super, super lame. 

What Wasn’t:

Almost All the Acting:

It was hard to sit through at times, really it was. I nearly ditched this series after Episode 1 because I honestly didn’t think that I could make it through 20 episodes of Nam Gyu Ri’s acting- but then the story snagged me and I kept on going.

Jung Il Woo's face says about as much as you need to know

On the bright side, at least it’s not that our heroine was terrible and seemed even more terrible because everyone else was good- the whole cast was pretty much on the same level. Except Jung Il Woo who was a total standout and acted the pants off everyone else. Bae Soo Bin and Seo Ji Hye were pretty okay- they were mostly mediocre but then had some scenes where they really nailed it and did some great acting.

Completely expressionless isn't the casting choice I'd make, but what would I know?

The rest…well, yeah. At first I didn’t think anything could be a cringe-worthy as Nam Gyu Ri’s acting, and I was actually quite looking forward to when it would be Lee Yo Won as our heroine. But as time went on, I actually found myself preferring Nam Gyu Ri. While her acting was really not that good, it was at least consistent, and I gradually got used to her performance as she settled into the character and didn’t try and do anything too over the top (most of her crying scenes were pretty unbelievable). But rather than getting used to Lee Yo Won’s performance, it actually started to annoy me more. I liked Nam Gyu Ri’s take on Ji Hyun better, and started to find myself wanting her to wake up just so I wouldn’t have to face Lee Yo Won acting her anymore- her idea of innocent brightness was just not as cute nor as convincing. Granted, she did have the challenge of acting two characters, but still. It seemed like Lee Yo Won really didn’t know how to distinguish Yi Kyung and Ji Hyun. While Ji Hyun was bubbly and emotional, Yi Kyung was just…nothing. And it’s not that she was written that way either. She was a character carrying deep guilt and sadness, but I didn’t really feel that from Lee Yo Won at all (see Park Bo Young for a highly successful performance in a similar situation).

There was alarmingly little talent to share between our two female leads

Yi Kyung just became a big blur who was super boring and super nothing-y unless she was being possessed. Jo Hyun Jae was okay as Han Kang- he didn’t have to do anything too taxing. I didn’t love him as much as might have if Kang was played by a man who could do killer I-love-you-but-I’m-holding-it-in face, but I liked him enough.

Basically the Whole End:

Yeah, so Ji Hyun dies. Not what I was wanting. I’m not against having the heroine die (I liked it in ‘Goblin’ and in ‘Mirror of the Witch’), but you have to give me some sort of heads up that it’s a possibility.

Congratulations, you're alive! For like 5 more days.

Narratively it did make sense, but on an emotional level it wasn’t what I was wanting- and if I have to convince myself that I’m okay with the ending, then really, I’m not okay with the ending and you’ve done something wrong. Like, the whole point of this series hasn’t just been about Ji Hyun learning things through experience and whatnot- it’s about her actually getting back alive in her own body. And being cute with Han Kang in her own body. Because really, the suckiest part about that whole ending is that Han Kang gets nothing. He never gets to properly love the girl, he never gets to hug her her in her own body or anything. What kind of ganky-ass romance is that? And I’m almost certain that Ji Hyun was supposed to get her original lifespan back- and I’m not sure that that’s how it played out. The cause of her death is a complication arising from her injuries of that very same accident. Like, what the hell? If she’s going to be brought back to life shouldn’t everything be healed? It’s like telling someone that they won’t die from being hit by a car and later specifying that they technically didn’t die from getting hit by a car, they died from blood loss or whatever. The worst part about Ji Hyun’s death is that it was absolutely unnecessary. All the emotions that we get from Ji Hyun’s death, and all the points the show is trying to make about living on once a loved one has died we’ve already seen in Yi Kyung and Scheduler’s relationship- we didn’t need to see that same scenario play out twice.

I don't think we really needed the two romances to have the exact same ending

Our main characters totally could have been happy, but the writers were just going for shock value. Ji Hyun’s death also impacted how happy I felt about the two girls being sisters. It could have been a cute extra tidbit at the end to find out that they’re actually related, but it all feels twisted after Ji Hyun’s death. Like, oops sorry one kid’s dead, but here have a consolation daughter. Come on show, you’re better than that. At least you should have been.

Re-watch?

Nope. 20 Episodes of that acting was quite enough, thank you.

49 days and three genuine tears later she's...still dead

The Greatest Love

The Greatest Love

8/10

The Greatest Love

Genre:                                 Episodes: 16                            Year: 2011

Romance

Comedy

Synopsis:

Gu Ae Jung was once the popular leader of a famous girl group, but after the group disbanded her image was ruined. Meanwhile, Dokgo Jin is a popular actor at the hight of his career. Ae Jung continues to meet Dokgo Jin in a series of chance encounters, and their relationship turns from general dislike into a begrudging friendship.

Cast:

Cha Seung Won (Dokgo Jin)

Gong Hyo Jin (Gu Ae Jung)

Yoon Kye Sang (Yoon Pil Joo)

Yoo In Na (Kang Se Ri)

Lee Hee Jin (Jenny)

Im Ji Kyu (Kim Jae Suk)

General Thoughts:

I see now why the Hong Sisters have such a good reputation. The writing for this drama was fun, witty, and the dialogue really made the relationship between our two leads much more enjoyable. Two thumbs up.

Fun and funny

Having one of our leads being a famous celebrity is nothing new, but I must say that I enjoyed this scenario much more than I have enjoyed the celebrity aspect of K-Dramas previously. For starters, the Entertainment Industry wasn’t treated as the greatest thing ever, nor was it treated as this horribly dark place with a shiny exterior- it was just a business with a lot of employees, each trying to get ahead in their careers. Like any other workplace there were nasty people in it, but there were also good, likeable people in it. One of the better aspects is that the President of Dokgo’s company wasn’t an evil, money-hungry woman- she was a business woman, and even when she was slightly meddlesome, it was clear she was intervening out of a desire to do what was best for both Dokgo and Ae Jung- which is always nice to see.

And boy, 'fans' can get pretty darn nasty

A large part of this drama’s conflict is the idea of image, which is an interesting idea to explore. Despite being a wonderful, lovely person you can have a bad image, and good image is what you really need to be successful. It was interesting that the drama treated the celebrities images as a tangible thing, rather than an abstract concept. It was something to be traded and given away- but also something that could be taken from you.

Ahh...the things you'll do for a good image

The biggest conflict was definitely how the relationship between our leads would impact their images. Other dramas I’ve seen haven’t really managed to snag what is so important about image, but ‘Greatest Love’ did an excellent job. It was always understandable why the two didn’t want to run headfirst into this relationship, because without image neither of them have a way to make money and support themselves- because their image is their career. It was much more interesting to have the conflict between our two leads as something internal rather than external. While the problem itself was purely external (how will the public respond), it was the way Dokgo and Ae Jung handled that problem that sparked much of the interest. It wasn’t as though they were two people deeply in love separated by some great external force- they were just two people who liked each other but weren’t sure how to go about it, as the relationship would have a negative impact on not only themselves, but the other person as well. The entertainment and investment came not from if they would move forward together but how they were going to move forward. The push-and-pull paired with witty dialogue was wonderful to watch and drew us in as an audience.

The pull made all the push worth it

Despite not having a lot of showy plot (there were no huge fights, or dangerous villains or mysteries to uncover), the show was extremely entertaining from beginning to end, and much of that credit has to go to our leads. Cha Seung Won and Gong Hyo Jin were just superb.

Half the fun is just waiting to see what ridiculousness he'll do next

They perfectly sold the relationship between the two characters and made it feel real- despite the occasional absurdities of their characters. I mean, what man that age can’t differentiate between his heart beating and liking a woman? But Cha Seung Won sold the character and his slight ridiculousness, and the humour that resulted from his confusion made it easy to overlook the over-simplified reasonings of Dokgo Jin. He was just hilarious. He never gave a half-hearted performance and really dived into the comedy. Gong Hyo Jin played a nice stable character for his silliness to bounce off of, and actually made the humour seem more real. Alone, Dokgo Jin seems ridiculous, but paired with the world the Hong Sisters created and Ae Jung, it becomes quite plausible that he’s a man that turns into a bit of a weirdo when he’s alone or around people he’s comfortable with. The show gave us a very understandable world filled with likeable, funny characters that really dazzled, and the whole thing was just an extremely enjoyable, fun ride.

What Was Great:

The Cast:

Cha Seung Won and Gong Hyo Jin are just perfect. Usually one of the leads tends to sparkle a little bit brighter than the other, but the two here were so perfectly matched. Not only did they have a heap of romantic chemistry going on, but their comedic chemistry was also firing on all cylinders.

They suit each other like it's nobody's business

The two really bounced of each other’s energy in the comedic scenes (of which there were so many), and so the humour just seemed to build and build as the drama went on. Not only that, but they were both able to so perfectly undercut a comedic scene with a moment of real sincerity, which gave the show a lot more heart than your standard rom-com.

Pretty sure he pinched this move off Kim Jong Kook

Yoon Kye Sung did an amazing job as the second male lead. Despite Pil Joo not being that exciting on paper (he’s your typical nice guy second lead), Yoon Kye Sung gave him a whole heap of personality that a different actor probably wouldn’t have been able to generate. He gave Pil Joo a bit of a dorky, nerdy air about him, so he wasn’t just a dreamy doctor- he was a dreamy doctor who was a bit too in love with his job and seemed just a tad detached from the world around him. He was also never simplistically nice- Yoon Kye Sung clearly showed Pil Joo’s pain and heartache, but also his dislike for Dokgo. A couple of times he teetered on the edge of doing something douchey to discredit Dokgo or make himself seem better to Ae Jung, but after some quiet deliberation he always made the nice guy choice. He might not have ended up with the girl, but man he made one hell of an adorable, endearing character. If I didn’t find Dokgo so amusing yet sincere, I probably would have ended up on the Pil-line. These three leads were really the heart and soul of the show, and it was the interactions between these characters that held a lot of the show’s entertainment- be it comedy or conflict.

A Multitude of Metaphors:

I probably didn’t even grasp the meaning of half the banter that floated around in this drama, but what I did catch on to was so, so, so funny.

Never before has a potato held so much meaning

Generally speaking, I’m not a huge fan of push-and-pull relationships as I tend to find them a bit tedious- ‘I love you but I won’t go to you blah blah blah’. But pairing the push-and-pull dynamic with a bunch of hidden meanings becomes far more interesting. When characters straight-up say what they mean and the relationship still doesn’t move forward it can be a little exasperating, but when they communicate their feelings through metaphors it somehow becomes much more enjoyable. Sure, if handled badly the metaphors would probably still be exasperating, but here it was all handled in a funny, witty way, and there was always forward movement on one end of the relationship.

Because you for sure need a heart monitor to make sure you're in love

There were potatoes and flowers and heart-beats and cartoon characters and Pororo and cars and broken machinery and superheroes, and I don’t even think the writers could keep track of how many metaphors they put in there.

What Wasn’t:

Some Small Plot Weaknesses:

The strength of the show was really its characters and cast- not so much the plot. With so much going on between the two leads, and even the second leads, it didn’t really matter that there wasn’t a heap of other external stuff going on. However, there were a couple of times it was a bit obvious that the plot was really only being held up by the greatness of its characters.

I so prefer angst-ing together to separation angst though

The whole National Treasure Girls plot seemed pretty thin to me. I was expecting something huge to have happened to explain why Ae Jung’s old manager hated her so much, but there wasn’t a lot of substance to it. While the situation behind the girl group’s breakup was sufficient, the manager seemed a bit too obsessive and butt-hurt about something that didn’t seem to impact him all that much. It was also pretty weak how we didn’t get to be a part of Doggo’s surgery. A lot of the series had Dokgo protecting and supporting Ae Jung, and I really wanted her to be with him during his surgery- or at least during his recovery. The idea of Dokgo dying played a pretty important role in getting the two together and admitting their feelings for each other, so it did seem a little weird that we went from the middle of Dokgo’s heart surgery to two months later with not a lot of dramatic tension behind it. We’d been building up to this moment for several episodes, so even if we didn’t really think our main man would die, it felt odd not to have a big recovery moment.

Re-watch?

Potentially. These days I rarely watch things twice as K-Dramaland keeps churning out so many new things I want to watch. Even if I don’t watch the whole thing again, I might come back for an episode or two.

When potatoes and flowers don't work, a snog always gets the message across

Protect the Boss

Protect the Boss

4.5/10

Protect the Boss

Genre:                        Episodes: 18                             Year: 2011

Romance

Comedy

Synopsis:

Cha Ji Heon is an immature heir to a large company. His father, the Chairman, is constantly trying to force Ji Heon to contend seriously for the line of succession, but Ji Heon is unwilling to work hard. If Ji Heon doesn’t succeed his father, the company would then pass to Cha Moo Won, son of the Chairman’s deceased brother and his brother’s wife, Shin Sook Hee, who always tries to bring her Brother-in-Law down in order to secure Moo Won’s place as next CEO of the company. After Ji Heon’s secretary quits, No Eun Seol is hired. She is an ordinary girl with no qualifications, but due to her thug past, others believe she is capable of controlling Cha Ji Heon.

Cast:

Ji Sung (Cha Ji Heon)

Choi Kang Hee (No Eun Seol)

Kim Jae Joong (Cha Moo Won)

Wang Ji Hye (Seo Na Yoon)

Park Young Kyu (Chairman Cha)

Cha Hwa Yeon (Shin Sook Hee)

General Thoughts:

It’s a Chaebol rom-com. Imagine any other Chaebol rom-com you’ve ever seen, then imagine the characters are slightly nicer to each other, and BOOM- you’ve got this drama. Not all of it was bad, but it definitely started to drag. I don’t know how the hell the writer thought they were going to stretch the plot out over 20 episodes- but thank the Good Lord that didn’t have to happen. The series ended up getting cut back to 18 episodes, which is just as well. It barely had enough content to spread (very thinly) over 16 episodes, let alone 18. 20 is just completely unthinkable.

Yes, yes...another rich guy - poor girl romance

But that’s not to say the drama was always bad- the beginning was quite enjoyable, but similarly to many standard rom-coms, it fell away at the halfway point. Initially we had a group of characters that were fairly original (bar the childish, reluctant future CEO). Having a heroine with a slightly gangster past put a nice spin on the worn-out Chaebol-Cinderella story. It added a nice little twist on the situation that our leading lady often held the power in the relationship due to her violent tendencies and fast reactions. It meant that she was more than just a cardboard cut-out (haha) getting grabbed by the wrist and dragged around by rich men. It was No Eun Seol who was telling both Ji Heon and Moo Won how to act, how interact with her, and when to back off.

Waiting for a man to fix the mess she made- typical K-Drama heroine

It was beyond nice to have a female character that had a little bit of backbone. But that only made the sting so much worse when she reverted back into typical rom-com heroine. Suddenly Eun Seol isn’t a kick-ass secretary with a determined attitude. She’s bland, boring and does a lot of crying and moaning about how hard it is to have two super rich, super handsome men fighting each other for her affections. Sigh, where’d all that backbone go? Thankfully, the rest of our characters managed to maintain their characteristics throughout the show, and stayed firmly in the realm of likeable and mildly interesting. However, as Eun Soel was getting by far the largest amount of screen-time, her character flop was enough to damage the show. Ji Sung was able to provide a consistently entertaining hero for the series- but if we’re all honest, most of that comes from Ji Sung’s own excellence. Ji Heon as a character was not complex, and was definitely not an original character. How many indifferent Chaebol sons have we seen in our time? However, Ji Sung was able to breathe a little bit of fresh air into the over-used situation by truly emphasising Ji Heon’s childishness. His expressions and movements really sold Ji Heon as a character and his pettiness kept him entertaining to watch. Ji Sung has a beautiful ability to switch from immature and child-like to serious, mature man in a completely believable moment. Our second male lead also did a fairly good job in character delivery. Kim Jae Joong gave us an endearing, hardworking rival to our stroppy future CEO.

The casting prevented this drama from becoming poop

He might have been in contention for starting some serious Second Male Lead Syndrome if Ji Sung’s face hadn’t been slapped on the other character. Sorry, but there’s really no competition for that. Our second female lead was also a breath of fresh air. She was so different to our usual love-rivals- not only in Chaebol romances, but in any romances. While she was demanding and quick to cry, she had an inherently good nature, and wasn’t afraid to stand up to her power-hungry mother. Wang Ji Hye gave us a sweet, likeable second female character that ended up being a satisfying tie-off to our second male lead. 

What Was Great:

Everyone Was Friends:

An interesting take on the Chaebol situation was that our characters actually seemed to deeply care for each other. You go into a drama that's set in the world of the wealthy and elite and expect all the characters to be clawing at each other to grasp more wealth and power. It was a nice change to have a bunch of characters that clearly cared for each other, but also needed to protect their family’s finances.

How nice, how nice

It’s a different (and much more appreciated) version of the Chaebol’s fight for power. It becomes an entirely different ballgame when you can’t screw people over left, right and centre, but actually have to be slightly tactful about your power-plays. It was a new and interesting moral dilemma to have our characters wondering what was worth more- the added power, or protecting an important relationship.

Good girl friends are a sad rarity in K-Drama Land

A good bromance is always appreciated, so the camaraderie between the cousins fighting for the CEO position was always enjoyable. Particularly when the boys try and cover up their feelings with fights and ego-battles. It was the bromance version of pigtail pulling. And it was hilarious. Similarly, the slowly developed friendship between Eun Seol and Na Yoon was fantastic to watch. Not a lot of dramas have girl friendships in them- apparently audiences are supposed to be satisfied when our heroine captures the heart of the wondrous hero and then spends the rest of her life completely dedicated to him, and him alone. It’s always delightful to see a solid female friendship develop, and this drama was no exception. Na Yoon’s small jealousies that were eventually drowned in her affections for Eun Seol were adorable to watch, and Wang Ji Hye played the part to perfection. The exception to the buddy-buddy rule would have to be Na Yoon and Moo Won’s typical rich mothers, but seeing as that was played for more of a comic relief, it was much more bearable than your usual overbearing parent. 

What Wasn’t:

Plot’s Death:

By far the most interesting aspect of this drama was the tangled web of relationships and the interactions of our characters. The series managed to plod along quite steadily with the romance conflicts driving the plot for the first half of the series. However, once the writer opted to focus more on the company inheritance, illegal funding and backdoor dealing, a lot of the interest just evaporates.

The conflict was...actually kind of boring. Yikes.

None of our characters are constructed in a way where they’re seen as huge threats to the company, as the only two that could conceivably be threats are played for comic relief. There’s far too much love between cousins Moo Won and Ji Heon to really entertain the possibility that Moo Won would undercut Ji Heon and his father to claim the company for himself. And quite frankly, the traitor who switches from Ji Heon’s father to Moo Won’s mother to Na Yoon’s mother is just massively under explained and his intentions are unclear. With weak characters carrying out the bulk of the conflict, it just becomes uninteresting to watch.

I think we all knew where this was headed

This feeling of dissatisfaction only increases as Eun Seol’s character takes a dive and starts making stupid decisions. Rather than a fearless fighter, we were given an insecure, indecisive heroine. While the issue of illegal succession being reported was spun to be a big deal, it’s hard to see it as an actual threat when it could be sorted out by everyone having a chat and making rational decisions. But no. Why would intelligent businessmen do that? Instead, Chairman Cha ignores the fact that he has a well-known traitor in his midst and chooses to blame everything on Eun Seol. Who instead of standing up for herself or brainstorming with Ji Heon, chooses to stay silent and flounder in a situation she has no control over. Every time she had the opportunity to tell Ji Heon what was happening in his own company, she chose not to. And then turned into a weepy, blubbering mess. I really can't stand heroines who create messy situations due to their own inability to communicate, and then cry when no one helps them out. It’s beyond irritating. I think I actually cheered when Ji Heon broke up with her, because by then I was well and truly sick of her myself. Lord knows why she thought having a sudden search-and-seize warrant for his office would hurt Ji Heon less than giving him a heads up that his father may be doing some illegal money shenanigans.

No matter how badly the plot was doing, Ji Sung always looked like magic

That being said, Ji Heon’s decision to go on a break and not contact Eun Soel for months on end under the pretext of becoming a son his father respected was just piss-poor. It’s like our leads were having a competition on who could make the stupidest decisions. Due to mass miscommunication and countless inexplicable decisions, I found myself no longer caring if our leads got together or not. I was quite happy to watch Moo Won and Na Yoon be happy together. Because they worked together, communicated, and earned their happy ending.

It's a tad sad when you care more about the secondary pairing that the first- but they were just so super cute

The end of the series only became that much more irritating when the final conclusion was the one I’d guessed at right from the start. Ji Heon steps down and voluntarily lets Moo Won become successor, while still maintaining his shares, dignity and wealth. Was that a surprise to anyone? Adding to that, plot points that the series could have gone deeper into (such as Ji Heon's panic attacks, Ji Heon's brother's death, and Ji Heon's past relationship with Na Yoon) were sadly left unexplored.

Dad’s a D*ck:

Chairman Cha was a fairly interesting character for the most part. While his character wasn’t new or innovative by any stretch, it was a different enough situation to have a demanding, yet loving, father as the CEO, rather than the cold, emotionless CEO’s we’re all used to.

Sigh. Run out of plot-points, did we?

His easy acceptance of Eun Seol at the start of the series had me happily believing that we’d avoided the trope of the rich boy’s parent being disapproving of his son’s choice of woman. But no, I’d just been lulled into a false sense of security. As the rest of the drama headed into over-used cliches, so did Chairman Cha. He became the over-controlling parent who would do anything to give himself and his son more power, and stand in the way of his son’s happy relationship. We’ve all seen that before, and I guarantee that no one wanted to see it again. Chairman Cha’s character may have managed to remain likeable had he not ignored Eun Seol’s attempts (no matter how weak they were) to explain herself and the situation. By the end, he was just downright dislikable as his character had been used purely as a wedge to drive our main couple apart. 

Re-watch?

Absolutely never. Even when the drama was doing well, it was enjoyable fluff at best. At worst it was boring, irritating and far too drawn out. I actually found myself wishing the series would hurry up and end. No mater how fantastic Ji Sung was.

Wasn't substantial enough to be a good drama. Was too long to be a cute fluff drama.