Ping Pong Ball

Ping Pong Ball

7/10

Ping Pong Ball

Genre:                                                      Episodes: 2                                     Year: 2018

Mystery

Melodrama

Synopsis:

Kim Young Joon is a university student who is having trouble with the girl he is interested in. Despite the heat of summer, Young Joon jogs to keep his mind off his issues. After fainting from heatstroke, Young Joon is rescued by Kim Deuk Hwan, a homeless man who lives under a bridge by Young Joon’s apartment complex.

Cast:

Ji Soo (Kim Young Joon)

Yoo Jae Myung (Kim Deuk Hwan)

Na Hae Ryung (In Ha)

Choi Klang Il (Pub Boss)

General Thoughts:

I’m just going to start this off by saying that this is definitely not going to be a drama for everyone. I wouldn’t describe a lot of Korean dramas as being ‘arthouse’ but I can’t really think of a better word for ‘Ping Pong Ball’.

Very pretty, and pretty moody

It’s 100% not a show that aims to please the vast majority of viewers, but that’s okay. As a small show with a short runtime, this is the perfect sort of drama for writers and actors to take part in a story with unique themes that they find personally interesting. Shows like this are always nice to have around, because it seems like everyone who participated in it really wanted to be here for the story it had to tell-

I feel like I missed a lot of what was going on in this drama

not for fame (because this drama was never going to be a smash hit), and not for money (because I doubt they got paid much for it). As a result, the drama itself felt very high in quality, as everyone who was involved was putting their whole into creating something that they enjoyed and could take pride in. My biggest issue with short K-Dramas is that they usually feel like they are low-budget due to the less than stellar quality of the shows, but that’s not something that can be said about ‘Ping Pong Ball’. A lot of effort went into making the atmosphere moody and mysterious, and into making the characters veiled and intriguing. PD Kim Sang Ho who was behind this drama is no rookie, having directed some big shows (such as ‘Arang and the Magistrate’), and you could really feel his experience come through. The atmosphere set up was one of the best parts about this show, drawing you in and piquing your interest about all the characters that inhabited this strange part of the city.

I want to know all the secrets (Spoiler Alert: you do not get to learn all the secrets)

The PD was great at giving you just enough information for viewers to start drawing their own conclusions and try and piece together what was going on, but never actually gave any concrete evidence- so there was never any clear right or wrong answers, it was pretty much all down to interpretation.

There was a lot going on even when there wasn't a lot going on

The acting was all phenomenal. I’ve been a huge fan of Ji Soo ever since seeing him in ‘Angry Mom’, and I have seen every single drama he’s been in since (exceeeeeept ‘Bad Guys 2’). And have not once been disappointed in his acting. Ji Soo has taken on a variety of roles, but his role here in ‘Ping Pong Ball’ fit him much more than any of his previous roles. He slipped right into the role of Young Joon, this awkward, isolated kid who was a bit lost in life. K-Dramas tend to have a lot of dialogue going on (both internal and external) to let us know what’s going on and how our characters are feeling, but ‘Ping Pong Ball’ was rather light on dialogue, leaving us to infer a lot of what was going on in our characters’ minds through expression alone. Both Ji Soo and Yoo Jae Myung did this very well, particularly Yoo Jae Myung, who was somehow able to express only tiny snippets of his character at a time, while still keeping his history in the dark. All the elements of this drama were of a very high quality and pulled together to form an interesting and professional little show.

What Was Great:

Intelligent:

This show never assumed its audience was dumb. It never went out of its way to explain its themes and ideas, and even when it did explain them it did so in a smooth an natural way- usually as a conversation between Deuk Hwan and Young Joon as the two men swapped and shared ideologies.

This show low-key made me want to read up on some philosophy 

Regardless of whether you agreed with the philosophies and ideas that were being discussed, it was still an enjoyable experience to partake in the intelligent conversation between these two characters. Not that there’s anything wrong with dramas that have a simple approach, or characters with simple goals and ideas, it’s just nice for a change to have some discussion on a deeper level.

What Wasn’t:

What Happened?:

While I understand that this drama is all introspective and its primary function is to comment of the ambiguity of life and relationships, I do maybe wish that the show had given us a few more solid answers (I'm usually not a fan of open endings, though it did make sense here).

All these mysteries we'll never solve

I was satisfied enough with the ending between Deuk Hwan and Young Joon, with the homeless man disappearing from Young Joon’s life as suddenly as he’s appeared in it. I even liked the way his wife missed that last chance to reconnect with Deuk Hwan after lying to Young Joon that she didn’t know him. I appreciated the nuanced moments and the subtleties in the story. But I still kinda want to know what the deal was with the dead guys. Perhaps I’m missing something, or perhaps this was further continuation on the drama’s commentary that we never have the full picture and can never answer all the questions in life. But I can’t deny that I kind of what to know why the seemingly quiet, calm barman (at least I assume it was the barman) was killing people.  

Recommend?

It’s only two episodes so it’s probably worth a go. You’ll either like it which is nice, or you won’t, in which case it was only two hours.

Ah, the meaning and meaninglessness of life

Sassy Go Go

Sassy Go Go

8.5/10

Sassy Go Go

Genre: Episodes: 12 Year: 2015

School

Romance

Synopsis:

After their street dance club is abolished, the bottom ranked students at Sevit High School are forced into a cheerleading club in order to create better credentials for the top students.

Cast:

Jung Eun Ji (Kang Yeon Doo)

Lee Won Geun (Kim Yeol)

Chae Soo Bin (Kwon Soo Ah)

Ji Soo (Seo Ha Joon)

Kim Ji Suk (Yang Tae Bum)

N (Ha Dong Jae)

Kim Min Ho (Min Hyo Shik)

Park Hae Mi (Choi Gyung Ran)

In Gyo Jin (Im Soo Yong)

Lee Mi Do (Nam Jung Ah)

General Thoughts:

This was such a fun little drama. I feel that advertising it as a cheerleading show is a bit of a lie though- I think they had about two scenes of it in the whole drama.

Fun, but definitely not the main draw of the show

I was in the mood for a drama that was light and happy, and while I thoroughly enjoyed his one, it is a tad meatier and a bit darker than it would lead you to believe. I always find that I enjoy dramas that are character focused rather than purely plot driven-

I love Jang Eun Ji playing high school heroines

as it’s easier to overlook lulls in momentum or small plot holes when you’re so invested in the characters, their reactions and their relationships. ‘Sassy’ was definitely a drama that was character driven, and it had a whole world of beautifully developed characters to hold our attention while the story was unveiled. I honestly thought that this was one of the most perfectly cast dramas I’ve seen in a good long while. Good casting isn’t just about who the better actor is (as I’d argue that the second leads were probably the better actors in this equation), but it’s about how well the characters match the actor, and the actors’ chemistry with each other. Despite not being as objectively good at acting as Chae Soo Bin, I absolutely adored Jung Eun Ji as our heroine. She has a beautifully innocent energy that makes her perfect for high school roles. She played a similar character here to her character in ‘Reply 1997’ and it suit her to a tee. Jung Eun Ji has such a magical draw to her that makes you want to know her, which suited the character Yeon Doo perfectly. Her innocence and mischievousness mixed together to give us a character that was flirtatious but unprovocative.

She's so bubbly and fun- I just adore her

 I feel like I’ve been stalking Lee Won Geun with my drama watching lately (‘Mystery Queen’, ‘Jugglers’), and I’m not mad about it at all.

Oh my Geun

That boy is delightful. Again, he suited his character excellently. His sweet face and playful nature downplayed his character’s arrogance and made him seem up himself, but not unapproachable. And boy did he have good chemistry with Jung Eun Ji. The two had a lighthearted, flirty chemistry that matched well with their teenage characters. Ji Soo was an obvious choice for the marshmallow with a tough exterior. Why would you go for anyone else? While his character’s story was heartbreaking all on its own, Ji Soo has a way of really making viewers’ hearts bleed. Especially when he’s playing a high school kid. Chae Soo Bin has only come on my radar quite recently despite being in quite a few big name dramas. ‘Sassy’ was one of her earlier works, but boy she is just as good here as she has been in her newer dramas. Soo Ah was one of the most hateful characters I’ve ever come across in K-Dramaland, and yet Chae Soo Bin was able to maintain a level of pitifulness that made Soo Ah seem like an unfortunate character rather than a horrible one. Though she could be pretty horrible. 

She was fun to hate

While there were times (quite a few times) that I found myself wanting this nasty girl’s brutal downfall, towards the end Chae Soo Bin was able to pull me back from those feelings, and generated sympathy for her character.

This show's casting was just so spot on

Vixx’s N is someone I’m not sure of as an actor (I’ve only seen him in ‘Tunnel’ and his character was mostly just dead there), but he pulled a pretty respectable performance here. While nothing dynamic, he gave Dong Jae a cute naiveness when the character could have very easily come across as stupid. While there was a lot more in the character that could have been explored, the story tended to delegate Dong Jae to the sidelines. I do think it’s a pity that Dong Jae’s character didn’t get explored as much as he could have been, but I was also glad that N wasn't pushed out of his comfort zone. We got a sweet and happy character that was a nice break from some of the heavier moments in the drama. I always appreciate high school dramas that include one or two teachers as main characters, as I find it tends to elevate the show as a whole to a more mature level, and makes the drama more accessible to adults rather than simply catering to teens. Teacher Yang was a character that I really enjoyed watching, and was a character that really warmed your heart.

I am mildly in love with Teacher Yang. And by mildly I mean definitely.

His unwavering dedication to do what was best for the students was admirable and endearing, and he was the type of teacher that everyone wishes they had in school. Kim Ji Suk was delightful in character and he gave off a tremendous amount of warmth. Even before we knew just how invested he was in protecting his students and giving them a safe environment to grow in,

I am also in love with Kim Ji Suk

it was obvious that this was a man who truly cared for his students. Kim Ji Suk played the character with a great gentleness that never undermined his authority, and even in moments when his character was downtrodden he could always maintain a wonderful tenderness in his expressions that conveyed his love and dedication to the kids. It was a many layered character, and Kim Ji Suk did a marvellous job at peeling those layers back to expose more of what motivated Teacher Yang and the lengths he was willing to go to. One thing I noticed in particular is that he was very good at having warm and loving chemistry with the students without it coming across as creepy or inappropriate. Even throughout the sexual harassment scandal, Kim Ji Suk (and Jung Eun Ji also) showed a clear understanding of the boundaries of the teacher-student relationship. It was a relationship that was very close and extremely loving, but was very obviously parental, which was an important distinction to make.

Like happy parents watching over their kids

Teacher Yang’s arc to me is something that made ‘Sassy’ go from a entertaining school drama, to an entertaining drama without the school limitation. The drama didn’t downplay the importance of adults in children’s lives, and showed how important it is for kids to have at least one adult they can admire.

Instructor Nam don't take sh*t from no one

Instructor Nam had a similar role to Teacher Yang, but was less pronounced. Her addition in the story was refreshing due to her willingness to stand up to the controlling parents and teachers. While Teacher Yang was there to be a source of comfort, protection and love for the students, Instructor Nam was there to be a support to Teacher Yang and show that not everyone can be intimidated by money and power. One downside of this character is that the initial jokes made about her facial appearance were a bit distasteful- especially when Lee Mi Do isn’t exactly an unattractive woman. The writing of this drama was pretty brilliant, knowing exactly how to build situations and relationships. When you look back on the earlier episodes of the drama the issues faced were problematic, but not all that extreme. Our kids started with their club being unjustly disbanded, but as the story progressed, far deeper issues started to unfold such as bribery, parental pressure, and child abuse. Much more intense than kids struggling to get their dance club back. The way the relationships developed was also an extremely satisfying thing to watch.

These kids had the perfect level of flirty chemistry

Yeon Doo and Yeol had chemistry fairly early, but it was fun to see that chemistry go from antagonistic to flirtatious. Obviously Yeon Doo had a big effect on both Yeol and Ha Joon, as she showed them the benefits of loyal and loving friendship.

Cute lil' twinsies

I usually find characters like Yeon Doo a bit too perfectly good, but what made Yeon Doo stand out from other classically too-good-to-be-real heroines is that it was shown where Yeon Doo drew her strengths from. A heroine with a horrible family and terrible situation who is sugar and sunshine is always a bit unbelievable, but Yeon Doo’s loving and warm relationship with her Mum showed where Yeon Doo learned to be loyal, kind, compassionate, and also stand up against injustice. I always appreciated when the show commented on how Yeon Doo was similar to her Mum, as it gave cause for her to be the way she was. She wasn’t just an unbelievably sweet girl- these were values she had learned from her mother the same way Jin Ah learned that success was everything from hers. Due to her mother’s warm and loving upbringing, Yeon Doo was able to be a warm and loving presence in the more troubled kids’ lives, and it was wonderful to see that warmth spread from student to student, as each of them impacted each other. 

What Was Great:

The Kids:

The characters are definitely the draw in this drama. There was something just so inherently entertaining about two groups of kids from opposite walks of life learning to trust and love each other.

High school dramas done well can be so rewarding and satisfying

The problems these kids faced never felt blown out of proportion, and it was always enjoyable to watch how they worked together to solve their issues- especially when their teamwork was originally so begrudging.

This friendship is so precious

Yeon Doo and Yeol are definitely the stars of the show- they’re both so cute and delightful, but have enough substance that they make the show more intellectually engaging rather than just pure, fluffy fun. Ha Joon was also a character that you couldn’t help but love, and I was endlessly glad that the love-triangle didn’t destroy the boys’ friendship the way it usually does. When the end of the drama came around, I was glad to see that Yeon Doo, Yeol and Ha Joon were all still close friends, and that they were able to laugh about the past situation. Ha Joon’s simple ‘if he cheats on you come to me' line made the ending completely satisfying as it showed that he was able to express his love and gratitude to Yeon Doo, but also move past his romantic feelings so that he could remain friends without any awkwardness. I liked that his friendship with Yeon Doo existed outside of his friendship with Yeol, as it made it plausible that he could return to just being friends. It made Ha Joon’s relationship with Yeon Doo that much more believable (and a little bit more heartbreaking) when the writers gave him a few scenes that are typically given to the lead- such as Ha Joon being the first to find and comfort Yeon Doo when she was lost.

Two years later and we're still waiting for Ji Soo to star in his own romance drama

All the different relationships between the kids were unique and entertaining, and made for a very addictive show. Even the characters with smaller roles felt like very fleshed out characters with their own insecurities and issues, and no one felt like one-dimensional classmate characters that most high school dramas tend to have. 

What Wasn’t:

Saving Soo Ah:

Look it’s not like I totally hated the idea of Soo Ah getting a redemption arc (people’s lives aren’t decided in high school after all), but I wasn’t completely sold on it.

All those sympathetic scenes defiantly means redemption

What softened the blow a bit was that it was insanely obvious that Soo Ah was getting a redemption- it didn’t come as a smack out of the blue. Although I was a little miffed to think that this horrible girl was going to get forgiven, the show did give me a long time to come to terms with it. Yeon Doo’s complete and utter unwillingness to cut Soo Ah out of her life (annoying as that could be) was a big redemption arc flag. The occasional shows of sympathy or pity coming from other students pretty much guaranteed that our final plot move would be to bring Soo Ah into the circle of friends. The biggest alert that this was coming was how frequently we were shown the pressures coming from Soo Ah’s Mum, and her totally twisted ideology that she was passing onto her child. What I didn’t love about this redemption is that I’m not quite sure Soo Ah deserved it. Yeah, yeah, I know that forgiveness isn’t something you earn or deserve, I just didn’t buy Soo Ah’s switch up. All drama long Soo Ah has been doing horrible, horrible things. I mean, she used Ha Joon’s self-harm as blackmail in order to get her own way.

This is not a situation you try and use for your own benefit

Even when she knew that revealing this fact would put Ha Joon in a precarious situation with his physically abusive father. Like, dog move man. There was really no saving her in my books after that. And all series long Soo Ah felt no remorse for her actions.

I'd be more on board if she'd sown a bit more remorse

The only time we see her freaking out and cracking under the pressure, it’s because she’s scared she’s going to get caught. In the moment, Soo Ah has no qualms with pushing someone under the bus, and she’s completely unfazed in the aftermath until it looks like someone is catching on to her. In my mind, Soo Ah never really regretted her awful and destructive (and often potentially dangerous) actions, she only regretted getting found out. Which for me made her sudden remorse and love for her classmates feel…well…a tad unbelievable. It wasn’t the redemption as a whole I was against- I liked the idea of Soo Ah getting a second chance and learning what friendship is about- and I certainly didn’t want her to be driven to suicide, I just wished the show had presented her as a bit more conflicted about her actions- not just freaking out over the consequences of those actions. One thing I am glad of is that Soo Ah’s mother didn’t get a redemption. Her daughter’s attempt at suicide changed nothing in her, and that matched pretty well with how her character had been constructed. 

Your Mum is a Grade A psycho, but that still doesn't excuse your actions

Parent Love-Line:

Interesting side story as it was, it was still one I think this drama could have done with out. While I appreciated the extra screen time for Yeon Doo’s Mum (as it also helped us get a better understanding of the environment that shaped Yeon Doo), I just didn’t think this particular plot point added much to the story.

Interesting plot point, but at this point all I'm interested in is seeing Yeol and Yeon Doo be happy together

It’s an interesting problem to look at for sure- what do you do when the man you want to marry turns out to be your daughter’s high school sweetheart’s father? It’s just that the timing didn’t exactly work here.

That's better

While the show was presenting this issue, it was also in the middle of Soo Ah’s redemption arc. Which took up way more screen time, thus delegating the parental love line to a rather small corner. The conclusion is also brushed under the rug while both couples continue dating. It’s casually thrown out that Yeol is trying to get his name switched to his Mum’s registry (which coming from a country without legal family registers means little to me anyway), and apparently that makes the whole situation a lot less weird. Apparently. To be honest, if they weren’t going to put in the time and effort to resolve an issue such as this one, I think I would have preferred if the show just didn’t even go there to begin with.

Recommend?

If you’re a fan of high school or youth dramas this is definitely one of the better ones around. I’d also recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good slice-of-life story with beautifully flawed characters.

Go go watch this drama

Strong Woman Do Bong Soon

Strong Woman Do Bong Soon

6.5/10

Strong Woman Do Bong Soon

Genre:                                   Episodes: 16                           Year: 2017

Comedy

Romance

Thriller

Synopsis:

Do Bong Soon comes from a family where the females are gifted with superhuman strength. After witnessing her strength, Ahn Min Hyuk, CEO of a famous gaming company hires her as his personal bodyguard. Bong Soon has a longtime crush on her childhood friend In Gook Doo, a policeman, and after a misunderstanding she believes Min Hyuk also has feeling for Gook Doo.

Cast:

Park Bo Young (Do Bong Soon)

Park Hyung Shik (Ahn Min Hyuk)

Ji Soo (In Gook Doo)

Jang Mi Kwan (Kim Jang Hyun)

Ahn Woo Yeon (Do Bong Ki)

Park Bo Mi (Na Kyung Shim)

Seul In Ah (Jo Hee Ji)

Lim Won Hee (Baek Tak)

General Thoughts:

It’s a cute little watch for sure, but it definitely had some tonal issues. The leading couple were all kinds of cuteness (and the reason I stuck with the show), but the whacky side characters and the extremely dark thriller-mystery murderer made me feel a bit like I was watching two shows smooshed into one.

What genre even is this?

It gave a good dose of tonal whiplash where I wasn’t quite sure if I should be squeeing with excitement from how adorable our hero was or screaming in terror because that villain was pretty dark for a rom-com drama that wasn’t taking itself too seriously.

I can sit through an episode of silliness just for this

I personally like mystery-thrillers so I loved the dark vibes the kidnapper threw into the mix, and kind of wish that the show had focused on him a little bit more, as the only character that was a part of he kidnapper’s story was Gook Doo. Bong Soon eventually came in to bring the bad guy down, and I adored the impact and the conflicts that arose from that- such as Bong Soon wanting her powers for seemingly the first time, and how we got a heroine being the one to do the saving. Not so much a fan of the way it caused Bong Soon to push Min Hyuk away and try and do everything herself, but whatever. Acting-wise Jang Mi Kwan did an excellent job with the role of the kidnapper. He was truly scary and had just the right amount of crazy. He stood out even more considering that almost all of the side characters were ridiculous and extremely overacted. Silver lining. The three leads were all delightful, as were their interactions with each other. The best parts of the show definitely involved one of the main three, otherwise I found it a tad boring.

An issue we all wish we had

The writing was pretty all over the place if we’re all bing honest, and it was for sure the actors that made the characters shine, and not the way they were written.

You guys are so ridiculously irrelevant

In addition to the odd tonal mashup, the story-lines just weren’t that good. A lot of story felt quite unfinished (like anything to do with twin brother Bong Ki), and some solutions just seemed to come too easily (like Bong Soon getting her strength back). The story seemed to rely heavily on the soundtrack to set the mood of a scene rather then using good storytelling to get us there- this also wasn’t helped by the quick switches from humour to suspense. I found the drama tended to rely heavily on its soundtrack during its mystery parts as if to say ‘a’ight guys, we’re being serious now’. It might work for some people, but I found it a bit obvious and intrusive. But that’s not to say that the soundtrack was all bad! During the cutesy moments the soundtrack was quite lovely, and I did enjoy ‘Superpower Girl’ whenever it came on. 

What Was Great:

OTP:

Pretty much all 6.5 points of this drama came from how wonderful the leads were. Park Bo Young is always delightful, so it’s no surprise that she was able to make Bong Soon a sweet and endearing character. She definitely has the right look for the visual comedy of the show (super tiny girl with super strength), and put a lot of emotion behind our heroine.

Bong Bong saves the day

Park Bo Young is such an excellent actress that I forgot for large chunks of this series that we don’t actually know all that much about Bong Soon that went deeper than her character profile.

Oh my gaawwddd you're cute

At times that did lead to some confusion (like why was she so intent on pushing Min Hyuk away that one time?), but it was mostly easy to overlook as while the writing didn’t necessarily make me believe that Bong Soon was a whole, complete, complex person, Park Bo Young did. This drama was really Park Hyung Shik’s drama to shine. I wasn’t blown away by him in ‘Hwarang’, but my goodness he was swoony in this drama. He nailed the loneliness and wackiness of the eccentric rich-boy character, and made deeply cheesy lines feel real and genuine. He acted with just enough silliness in the comedic scenes and had huge amounts of emotion in others. While I wouldn’t say that acting like Park Bo Young is cute is a particularly hard job (I mean just look at her), Park Hyung Shik sold it so believably. Watching the two together was just pure joy, and while I did feel a bit like I wanted them to hurry up and get together already, I didn’t mind the slow baby steps either.

Oh, you guys ♥

I also wouldn't have minded a bit more skinship between the two either, but it just goes to show how great the chemistry between these leads was- you could get happy and giddy just from watching them look at each other. I practically died every time Min Hyuk fanboyed and spazzed out about how adorable Bong Soon was because it was just so cute. It’s also usually the girls that spaz out over the heroes, so it was nice to see it the other way around. I adore Ji Soo, but this time I wasn’t even bummed that he didn’t get the girl, because Min Hyuk was just so sweet and loveable and so in love with Bong Soon. 

You know it's a good romance when we pick the hero over puppy Ji Soo

What Wasn’t:

It's just not my style

Tad Too Weird:

Overacting and over-the-top comedy just isn’t my style, and boy did this drama have it in droves. I thought (and hoped) that the ridiculous side characters would die down after the first few episodes, but unfortunately they didn’t. An alarming amount of time was spent on these stupid side characters and their stories, and they just weren’t that enjoyable to watch. I’m positive that the silly gang boss got more screen time than Bong Soon’s brother, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d actually snagged more screen time than Ji Soo too. That’s how much time we wasted on stupid characters that weren’t important to the plot. A lot of it felt like forced humour and filler. At least half of every episode was dedicated to the side characters, and that made the episodes feel long and unimportant. 

Tad Too Little Development:

This drama was a lot of fluff and not much meat. There wasn’t a lot of substance, and I wish that everything got more developed than it did. Although Bong Soon got some development (what with realising she wants her powers to help people and all that), Min Hyuk kinda got shafted in that department.

His development peaked at like Episode 6

I adored the way Park Hyun Shik acted the devastation after the betrayal of his most loved brother, but after that his development kind of screamed to halt. Not to mention that whole plot point was totally disregarded after that- after a stern ‘hyung don’t do that again’ from Min Hyuk there’s not another peep about his family issues, the inheritance, or most importantly Min Hyuk’s loneliness.

It always felt like Min Min cared just a wee bit more

A fallout of this meant that it seemed like Min Hyuk spent much more time chasing after, caring for, and supporting Bong Soon than Bong Soon did for him. So as adorable as the relationship was, it did feel pretty one-sided (or at least like Min Hyuk was more invested) for a good long stretch there. While Min Hyuk was a marvellous character, he didn’t really change from the beginning of the series to the end. He was always sweet and thoughtful and never took anyone for granted. He also always liked Bong Soon and saw her as a woman despite her strength- which was super charming, but admittedly left nowhere for his character to go. Because he was already perfect. Gook Doo was pretty absent from a lot of the drama when you consider that he’s he second male lead, and when he was onscreen he tended to be alone rather than interacting with Bong Soon or Min Hyuk. While the revelation that he’d always liked Bong Soon was super sweet, I would have liked it more if that had been revealed slowly through the show rather than dumped on us at the end. It didn’t give Gook Doo and Bong Soon enough time to work out their feelings and move past them. Rather than having a comfortable friendship at the end, it still felt like Gook Doo was pining for Bong Soon, as all the development came all too late. 

More badass scenes of Team Supergirl would have been aces

While the darker kidnapping plot was interesting, we did get slapped with your stock-standard bad guy. Sure, he was super creepy, but their was no clear motive behind his crimes.

Just your typical K-Drama crazy

Only that he was crazy. And I mean, wanting to kidnap seven wives seems like a weirdly specific crime for someone who was just your run-of-the-mill K-Drama psycho. I also lament what could have been with Bong Ki- he was such an interesting character. There was loads of heart and comedy to mine out of his character that the writers just…didn’t. I mean, he’s a man who’s grown up with a super strong sister, and that’s bound to change the family dynamics and the way this guy views women in general…but we didn’t get much of that at all. And Bong Ki’s relationship with Hee Ji was just weird. She was dislikable from the start as she was a girlfriend with roaming eyes (she was cracking on to Bong Ki while still dating Dook Goo), but there was potential there to use her to strengthen the relationship between Bong Ki and Dook Goo. But again the writers chose not to. Also I won’t lie, I was totally wanting Bong Ki and Kyung Shin to get together. Perhaps the lack of development in the support cast wouldn’t have bothered me as much if the drama was chock full of plot and just didn’t have time, but it spent episodes worth of screen time on the silly thugs, school kids, and office sunbae that it was a bit like salt in the wound. We had all this time for characters to grow and be explored and they just weren’t. 

An alarming proportion of this drama was devoted to the ridiculous thugs

Recommend?

I would recommend this drama purely because of how much everyone else seemed to enjoy it- it’s a drama that got a lot of love. So while it’s not my favourite rom-com, you can’t ignore what other viewers say, and apparently other viewers really enjoyed it. Though if you hate overplayed comedy and overacting I’d probably advise you give this one a miss.

Great chemistry, less great comedy