Love in Contract

 Love in Contract

4/10

Love in Contract

Genre:                                   Episodes: 16                           Year: 2022

Romance

Comedy

Synopsis:

Choi Sang Eun is a charismatic woman who works as a contract wife. Her job is to help her clients in situations where a wife is required- such as looking good for school reunions, climbing the social ladder at work, or avoiding pressure from family to settle down. Sang Eun has a long term client, Jung Ji Ho, who she sees on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. A new client, Kang Hae Jin, is a popular actor who has hired her for Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Cast:

Park Min Young (Choi Sang Eun)

Go Kyung Pyo (Jung Ji Ho)

Kim Jae Young (Kang Hae Jin)

Kang Hyung Suk (Woo Gwang Nam)

Jin Kyung (Yoo Mi Ho)

Lee Joo Bin (Jung Ji Eun)

General Thoughts:

I picked up this drama because I am a big fan of Park Min Young. Even though there was a lot of negativity floating around about this show, I honestly thought to myself “How bad can it be? Park Min Young chose to be in it,”. I wish I had listened to all those online posts saying that ‘Love in Contract’ was bad. Because sadly it is. And not even the good kind of bad where everything is so whacky that it’s almost fun to watch what a complete mess the show becomes. This show didn’t become a mess. It was just horribly, horrifically, mind-numbingly boring.

Big yawn

Most poor dramas tend to at least make it a good 5 or 6 episodes in before falling apart, but by episode 3 of ‘Love in Contract’ I was already pretty darn bored. There’s just no plot really. The whole set up of Sang Eun being a wife for hire was basically a lie, because after a short montage in the first episode, she retires. I kid you not. The whole THING of this show was that you could pay Sang Eun to be in a contract relationship and that was supposedly where all our story and tension would come from.

The contract expired before this drama even began

But then she retires except for two ‘clients’. Which pretty quickly takes it out of the professional realm and goes into personal. All the tropes you expect to get with a contract relationship (which is what people who like stories about contract relationships are looking for) just weren’t there. By the time the drama started it was pretty clear and obvious that Sang Eun had feelings for Ji Ho and Ji Ho had feelings for Sang Eun. There was no back and forth or awkwardness of getting around a predetermined relationship set up, and there was no proper confusion about whether the other persons’ feelings were genuine or if they were just playing a role. All the good parts about a scenario like this just weren’t in the show. And if they were in the show, they weren’t developed or explored fully. Even the supposed love-triangle was done poorly. By establishing Sang Eun’s feelings so early on in the show’s run, there was no real opportunity for Hae Jin to have a good chance. Which was a shame because he was probably the only character that didn’t bore me. I don’t think there was anyone watching this who honestly thought that Hae Jin had any hope of ending up with the girl. Beyond these two watered down scenarios, the only other storyline really happening was whatever the hell was going on between Sang Eun and Madam Yoo. And not only was that boring, but it was confusing too.

Why would you even offer to live with someone you actively dislike?

I actually didn’t mind where we ended up, with Madam Yoo being Sang Eun’s Mum and them both having known for a long time but just never broaching the subject. I just don’t like how it played out. Without knowing about the unique relationship between them it was completely baffling as to why Madam Yoo would go so out of her way to meddle in Sang Eun’s life, and why Sang Eun would go so far out of her way to make sure Madam Yoo had money and a place to live. For most of this drama’s run these two characters were making decisions that were virtually impossible for the viewers to understand as we had a big chunk of information missing that would only be revealed in the last few moments.

A lot of this drama would have made a lot more sense if we always knew they were related

I don’t think the relationship needed to be a big twist at the end- I think the drama would have benefitted more from giving insight into the life experiences and thought processes of the characters so that they could be understandable rather than holding back information to try and do a shock reveal- because by the time that reveal came, I really didn’t care anymore. It took too long to get there, and I had already mentally checked out. And then that bring us to the other main relationship Sang Eun had going on in her life- Ji Ho. I quite liked Ji Ho’s character at the start of the show- he seemed sweet but with a uniquely introverted and withdrawn nature.

Ain't no spice in this dish

For a while it was fun to see the differences between Ji Ho’s mindset of minding his own business to the extreme and Sang Eun’s mindset of caring way too much about everyone else's perception (which was kinda just her job). But then it rather quickly became obvious that the writer had absolutely no idea what to do with Ji Ho’s character. He was developed so poorly as the drama progressed that he stopped making any sense at all. Supposedly his divorce was so traumatic that it caused him to completely turn inwards and just start ignoring everyone else around him. Only we then find out that his divorce was due to…miscommunication. You know, the same reason 90% of divorces happen. Why this was so traumatic and why he blamed himself so much for it was left mainly up to the viewers’ imaginations. So it was never really explained why Ji Ho started to shun being social so much. I mean, he has to have been normal and social enough before to date and get married, right? So what happened? Similarly, he then starts to get along with Sang Eun and all his coworkers pretty easily once he decides to date her. Just because that’s what's convenient. This relationship is supposedly so amazing and so life-altering that it changes his outlook on the world completely, and changes how everyone he knows views him. But a major problem here is that there was NO CHEMISTRY. I have never seen Park Min Young not have chemistry with someone, but there you go. There was no spark between the leads and it just felt kind of awkward. The whole relationship felt very immature and high-schooly considering that they were both adults and one of them had been married before.

The show totally glossed over how and why they fell for each other too...

When so much of a drama is riding on nothing more than a romance, it’s super disappointing when that romance is lacklustre. While the characters were all fairly cr*p, I will say that the acting was good. There was nothing amazing (as with such a boring storyline the actors weren’t asked to deliver much), but at least I can say that the actors did a good enough job with the complete amount of nothing they were given.

I didn't really ship her with anyone to be honest

I’m not a huge fan of Go Kyung Pyo- not for any particular reason, he just lacks that sort of sparkle that really makes you love a leading actor. But he did do a good enough job of giving a bit of emotion to a very quiet character which can be a tricky ask. Did I completely love him? No. But did I find him annoying and terrible? Also no. So I mean, that’s a win I guess. On the other hand, Kim Jae Young felt much more male-leady. He had a more engaging character so that was probably a contributing factor. Hae Jin was also a much more emotional character than any of the others in this show, so he expressed himself often and had a larger range of emotions to portray. Not only did this give us insight into exactly how Hae Jin was feeling as a character, but it made Kim Jae Young feel like he was doing a really great job at bringing Hae Jin to life. There was an energy he provided to Hae Jin that just made him likeable as a character and made him stand out a tad more that Go Kyung Pyo. Poor Go Kyung Pyo- there’s only so much you can do when your character’s description is literally just be blank.

What Was Great:

Low Toxicity:

Do I have to put something in this section? I do? Fine, I'll try. While many of the characters were annoying or a little unlikeable, I will say that none of them were outright toxic or completely horrible. When Ji Ho’s ex, Ji Eun, came on the scene I honestly thought they were going to have her be a super b*tchy, horrible character whose only agenda was to break up the leading couple in some deluded attempt to get her ex back.

Though admittedly this drama did need some better conflict

But I was pretty thankful when that didn’t happen- I’ve seen enough spiteful exes on my screen for a lifetime. Similarly, Madam Yoo had a redemption arc towards the end as her character was explored more, and even the two Chaebol families weren’t that bad. They were stubborn and didn’t listen, but they weren’t outright hostile. Except for maybe Sun Jin, but to be honest he was around so sporadically and I really didn’t have any clue what his nefarious schemes were or why they mattered, so he was pretty easy to overlook and forget.

What Wasn’t:

The Leading Lady:

She was just so annoying guys. I couldn’t cope with how much I didn’t like Sang Eun. Even with Park Min Young acting her, there was just no way to save this character for me. I’m sure the writers thought they were giving us a bubbly, perky, somewhat sassy heroine, but that is just not what ended up happening.

Like, could she BE any more self-obsessed?

Sang Eun was so self-absorbed. It’s like the show thought they were giving us a heroine that was extremely selfless because her job was about ‘helping’ people who were needing ways out of certain situations. But that’s just not the case! Sure, Sang Eun focused on her clients when she was with them- else she wouldn’t get paid and she wouldn’t have a job! But when she was on her own time all she seemed to care about was herself- how she was feeling, what she was going through, what she was doing. I cannot count the amount of times Kwang Nam (who was DELIGHTFUL by the way) was trying to tell Sang Eun something or have a serious conversation with her about something he was going through just for her to brush him off or minimise his feelings. This is supposed to be her best friend and she cannot give him even five minutes of her d*mn time to hear him out. Even with Ji Ho she seemed to always be forcing what she wanted onto him. A stand-out in my mind is the hospital scene. Ji Ho didn’t want a fuss and just wanted to go home but Sang Eun completely ignored him and dismissed his feelings and took it upon herself to get him a private room and do it up like a mini house. Not only did Ji Ho not ask for this- he specifically said he didn’t want it. He had to come up with some bullsh*t lie in order to get Sang Eun to finally stop and let him go home. Was this behaviour supposed to be cute? It’s not! It’s controlling and annoying and not a sign of a healthy relationship! To be honest, I actually think I liked Sang Eun better when she was being a chaebol.

Also what the f*ck was with her ghosting Ji Ho in that last episode? He should have dumped her for that alone

In one of the last episodes where she strolls into Hae Jin’s company and utterly destroys Hae Jin’s brother, she was pretty cool. The icy, I’m-the-greatest-thing-ever concept really worked in this sort of Chaebol scenario. I don’t think I’ve ever said this before, but I think I would have preferred if the heroine had just been a Chaebol. It would have made her b*tchy, self-centred character a lot more tolerable.

Recommend?

No. I ignored all the bad things I’d heard about this drama, but please don’t ignore me. You will regret it.

Yay- it's over!

Extraordinary Attorney Woo

 Extraordinary Attorney Woo

6.5/10

Extraordinary Attorney Woo

Genre:                                 Episodes: 16                                  Year: 2022

Romance

Comedy

Synopsis:

Woo Young Woo is a lawyer who has recently landed a job at a prestigious law firm. While she is incredibly intelligent, she has autism and struggles with her social skills. While working she faces discrimination and hardship, but is also able to use her unique skills and perspective when it comes to managing her cases. 

Cast:

Park Eun Bin (Woo Young Woo)

Kang Tae Oh (Lee Joon Ho)

Ha Yoon Kyung (Choi Soo Yeon)

Joo Jong Hyuk (Kwon Min Woo)

Kang Ki Young (Jung Myung Suk)

Jeon Bae Soo (Woo Hwang Ho)

Joo Hyun Young (Dong Geu Rami)

Jin Kyung (Tae Soo Mi)

General Thoughts:

I feel like I’m on the outs with this one. So, so, so, so, SO many people seem to love this show and I just…don’t. I was pulled into watching it as I saw a bunch of cute clips on Instagram and it made the show seem like a fun little romcom. Unfortunately for me all of those clips came from the same episode and a half, and that was about as much lovey dovey cuteness as we ever got.

I mean, it's really my own fault- I know I don't like law dramas

This show was a lot more law-y and work focused that I was really expecting it be. And honestly if there’s one thing that turns me off wanting to watch a drama it’s law. Lawyer, prosecutor, judge- these are all key-words that make me go ‘no thanks’ when reading a K-Drama synopsis. But the cute Instagram scenes. They lured me in. It’s not like it was all bad, I liked the show more than I disliked it and was quite on board for the first few episodes. But after a while all the episodes started to feel a bit the same and it just didn’t feel like the plot was going anywhere. I wasn’t getting the romcom vibes I was expecting and it left me feeling very unenthusiastic to watch the next episode. Of course I must commend the writers and the show as a whole for giving us such a unique heroine that is a part of a group of people who are not usually represented in a positive light in media.

I just wanted more cuteness guys, that's all

Having the main character be autistic was a bold choice, and one that I do think paid of well. Young Woo is a memorable character, and you can’t help but be happy thinking about all the people watching who have never seen a character like themselves on screen before.  I think they handled Young Woo’s autism in a tasteful and well balanced way- it didn’t entirely gloss over the challenges of autism or developmental delays, but it certainly didn’t demonise it either which is what we are all much more used to seeing in media. Unfortunately all the thought and consideration and development that went into Young Woo’s character didn’t make it into the other characters. There wasn’t a huge range of characters that were that integral to the story, and it was mainly just those that worked at Hanbada with Young Woo. Joon Ho had all the making of a sweet and charming leading man, and Kang Tae Oh certainly gave the character a lot of charisma and made him easy to like. But all we ever really learned about his character is that he’s a really nice guy. He’s just a good dude. Which is fine, but it doesn’t make the character super memorable, and meant Joon Ho never really had a sense of individuality- he was just kind of there being nice. And niceness alone isn’t really enough to make me route for a loveline. Similarly, Young Woo’s direct colleagues, Soo Yeon and Min Woo, weren’t developed much either.

Some more girl bonding moments wouldn't have gone astray either

Oh they tried to develop Min Woo but it was not done well at all. And like Joon Ho, Soo Yeon’s main quality was that she was, you guessed it, nice! Not that there’s anything wrong with having a drama full of nice people, I just need a bit more to really be able to fall in love with the characters. Everyone in this show (apart from Woo Young) just seemed to have been given one word personalities- Soo Yeon and Joon Ho were ‘nice’, Min Woo and Woo Young’s Mum were ‘ambitious’ and Geu Rami and Min Shik were ‘quirky’. The only character that seems to escape this vague characterisation was Myung Seok, and that’s really only because he had an entire plot line dedicated to his illness and resulting epiphany. But that let Kang Ki Young have more screen time so I am certainly not complaining- I think he’s a fabulous actor who is able to make side characters endearing and memorable, as is showcased here.

I will always have time for Kang Ki Young

As I mentioned before, the storyline of this show was really focused on the law firm and the cases that they were handling. It felt quite episodic with Woo Young’s team handling a new case each episode with each issue usually being introduced, explored and resolved within the hour. On the plus side this means that we have a revolving door of new characters to get to know and all the cases were examining different issues and ideas. There was also usually also a link between the case being worked on and Woo Young’s life- such as Woo Young contemplating her own ability to love and be loved after the case involving a mentally delayed woman and her ‘gigolo’ boyfriend. On the down side, it meant that all the episodes felt very samey. They all followed the same kind of formula, and there wasn’t really anything unexpected happening. With so many smaller issues being the sole focus of the show, it felt like it took away from the show as a whole- the pacing of the entire series felt very laboured and slow, and apart from the budding relationship between Woo Young and Joon Ho there wasn’t really an ongoing plotline. The final episode with the tension between Woo Young, her Mum and her half-brother was actually quite interesting and I kind of wish that there was some way that this plot point could have been an ongoing one throughout more of the episodes.

So much potential...

I felt like the potential jealousy (or lack thereof) of Tae Su Mi raising her son when she had abandoned Woo Young could have been a really interesting concept to explore, and I think I would have enjoyed watching the relationship develop between Woo Young and her half-brother. All in all, there were parts of ‘Attorney Woo’ that were quite good, but I just feel like there didn’t need to be 16 episodes of it. Honestly, I think the whole thing could have been super condensed down into a really fun movie of just over two hours. 

What Was Great:

Extraordinary Actor Park:

This was basically the Park Eun Bin show. Every character took a backseat to Young Woo, and likewise all other actors took a backseat to Park Eun Bin. She was phenomenal in this role. I think she approached the role of Young Woo with a seriousness and open-mindedness that really allowed the character to bloom into one that has undoubtably become one of the most well loved in 2022.

She was wonderful in every way

Of course a lot of credit must go to the writers for creating such a fabulous depiction of autism for Park Eun Bin to bring to life, but Park Eun Bin herself just really put the magical finishing touches on the character. Her mannerisms, movements, speech and even eye contact did a fabulous job at reflecting Young Woo's neurodiversity. I loved how Park Eun Bin was still able to show that Young Woo was thoughtful and considerate in her own way, even if the way she portrayed that and how she related to others was different to most people. It was obvious that Park Eun Bin approached the character with a sense of respect and fully embraced every aspect of Young Woo-the quirks and traits that made Young Woo unique and that were cues to her autism were realistic and consistent. Neither the writers nor Park Eun Bin would bring in a trait or a behaviour once before abandoning it just to wave a flag that said ‘autism’ in the face of the viewers- all Young Woo’s behaviours felt very well thought through and were evident from the first episode until the last. Throughout the whole show it just really felt like Park Eun Bin had  embodied the character of Young Woo, and she really did give an extraordinary performance in every episode.  

What Wasn’t:

Slow Development:

The pacing of this show was just really slow. Not necessarily the pacing of the episodes- the episodes themselves had a really good pace and balance. But the overall story. There wasn’t much overall story to begin with, and unfortunately there also just wasn’t a lot of character and relationship development to pad that out.

The whale obsession was fun though

Geu Rami and Min Shik are already established as Young Woo’s friends at the start of the show and they don’t really change that much throughout the drama’s duration. Similarly, Soo Yeon and Min Woo don’t really go through that much development either (until the last two episodes and then I hated the way that development went). So really what we are left with is the relationship between Young Woo and Joon Ho. It’s just. So slow.

He just...he looks like he hates this

And I know that a part of that is to represent just how much time and how careful Young Woo and Joon Ho have to be as they navigate this new territory, but I’m sure there was a better way to get that across than just throwing in a few doe eyed looks and forced skinship in a couple of episodes. I really wish the show had dedicated more time to the good parts of Young Woo and Joon Ho’s relationship. We saw their struggles with Joon Ho’s family not being accepting and with Joon Ho feeling unimportant due to Young Woo’s fixation on her cases, so I feel like there really needed to be some super cute and happy moments to balance that out. And there just wasn’t. We got a few cute scenes early on when they decided to date and that was pretty much it. From that point onwards we really never got to see them being happy together. We sure heard about it- they told other people and each other how much they liked each other and wanted to be together but I just didn’t see it. During young Woo’s date ideas, such as dolphin protests, Joon Ho looked bored and embarrassed. And touch was an important part of the relationship for Joon Ho, but anytime they kissed or held hands Young Woo looked massively uncomfortable and that left Joon Ho feeling bad. I wanted to see their relationship succeed and it felt like the writers really wanted to make their relationship succeed but they just weren’t exactly sure how.

I just wasn't buying what they were selling

The drama took so long to get Young Woo and Joon Ho to the point that they were dating that their breakup and reconciliation at the end felt completely rushed and I was left feeling unsatisfied with the conclusion. I didn’t feel like enough of the relationship was developed and explored and so by the end I felt like Joon Ho would always be sacrificing what he wanted and compromising for Young Woo, and Young Woo would always be left wondering why he was frustrated and upset. And I wanted more than that for them.

Lame Lawyer Kwon:

I’m going to level with you. I hate Min Woo. I just really do. He embodies absolutely everything that I dislike in a person and in a character. He’s arrogant, hypocritical, selfish, petulant and has a whacky inferiority complex while at the same time acting so darn superior to everyone around him.

100% *sshat

The fact that he could even look at Young Woo, see (and then ignore) the challenges she has faced, and still have the gall to say she receives special treatment was just so frustrating. And I get it. That was the point. His character was supposed to evoke these sorts of feeling in the viewers because Min Woo’s attitude is not rare. It’s all around us. But because we aren’t directly involved, it doesn’t have much impact on us. But it does have an impact seeing that attitude directed towards a character that we are given understanding and insight to, and that we have come to love and care for. Which fine. I get it. But then the drama tries to…give him…a redemption arc?

Excuse me, drama- what the f*ck is this? Hard pass.

Yes, what the f*ck is the correct response to that, and it is also the response I had when the drama starting trying that sh*t on. Min Woo is the closest thing we have to an ongoing antagonist in this show and we’re just supposed to forgive him? For all his backstabbing and rudeness and entitlement? No thanks. What made this all worse was having Geu Rami have a crush on him and Soo Yeon eventually start to fall for him. Like, maybe Geu Rami can have a pass because I can just go ahead and assume that maybe Young Woo never told her about Min Woo’s attempts to sabotage her at work. But Soo Yeon has no excuse. I really liked Soo Yeon as a character, so for her to be just lumped in with Min Woo was incredibly aggravating. Soo Yeon has been shown to be a good friend and colleague to Young Woo, and was often shown as defending her. She was highly critical of not only the way Min Woo acted toward Woo Young, but the way he perceived her. It was literally the way Min Woo’s brain worked that made Soo Yeon dislike him. But then he buys some flowers and opens her beer while in Jeju (which is just totally unbelievable based off of what we have seen of his character right up until that point) and then she just likes him. Yup. Just like that. Lame lame lame. And then magically because Soo Yeon likes him, Min Woo just stops being a d*ck. The man who has been shown to care about nothing but advancing his own career suddenly develops a conscience thanks to the power of friendship.  

Recommend?

No, I don’t think so. There were parts to this show that were really great, but overall I just really don’t think it’s that impressive. People who are interested in law dramas (ie. not me) would probably like this one though.

I'm sorry to say that I just didn't find this show that extraordinary

Uncontrollably Fond

Uncontrollably Fond

6/10

Uncontrollably Fond

Genre:                                     Episodes: 20                         Year: 2016

Romance

Melodrama

Synopsis:

Shin Joon Young and No Eul have known each other since high school. Now in adulthood, the two meet each other once more. Joon Young has become a famous celebrity while Eul has become a PD. Needing work to pay off her debts, Eul convinces Joon Young to let her be the PD in charge of shooting a documentary about his life. 

Cast:

Kim Woo Bin (Shin Joon Young)

Bae Suzy (No Eul)

Lim Ju Hwan (Choi Ji Tae)

Lim Ju Eun (Yoon Jung Eun)

Yoo Oh Sung (Choi Hyun Joon)

Jin Kyung (Shin Young Ok)

Lee Seo Won (No Jik)

General Thoughts:

I really wanted to like this drama more than I actually ended up liking it. While watching it I found myself constantly making excuses for the situations and the characters because I so badly wanted this to be a series that I loved.

Uncontrollably Attractive 

But as the show sloooooowly unveiled (and I mean slowly), it became more and more apparent that this drama just wasn’t quite up to scratch. There were aspects of the drama that were amazing, but also aspects that were infuriating. The general idea is fantastic- a man has only a few months to live and wants to spend that time with the woman he loves. Awesome. There’s more than enough in that situation alone to make a sweet, swoony, yet heart-breaking story. Throw in a birth-secret (because it’s a melo, of course there’s a birth secret) and things get a little more heated when our hero’s father turns out to be a man involved in the death of our heroine’s father. It sounds wounderful, and on paper it looks like a drama that should work beautifully- but it doesn’t. And the reason it doesn’t is because the writer just plain didn’t know how to tell the story. It’s a typical 20 episode series where the writer aims for more episodes than the story can actually cover, so things started getting spread pretty thin in the middle there. I think I watched about 5 episodes of Joon Young quietly acting like an ass while Eul quietly stood outside his house looking sad, and not much else happened. Yeah, yawn.

Nobody in this drama makes any sense

The story just collapsed under it’s own melodramatic weight, try as Woo Bin and Suzy may to keep the whole thing from crumbling around them. Which is really such a shame as they both put in pretty fantastic performances (despite what people say about Suzy).

I'll have him in my family if you don't want him

I found all the acting to be believable- from our stars to our support cast, and the actors did a great job at keeping me invested in the story when I actually came to not really giving a poo about the plot- because they acted their characters with such sincerity and depth that they always had an underlying likableness about them. Some characters did drive me a bit batty though (namely Joon Young’s mum- because who doesn’t want Woo Bin as their son?). I found both the mothers in this drama to be pretty incomprehensible at times. Joon Young’s mum basically disowned Joon Young because he quit studying to become a prosecutor and instead became super rich and super famous. Yeah, don’t really see the problem there, but whatever. Her character did come around as she started to care for Eul, and Joon Young through Eul, but unfortunately she returns to the realm of the incomprehensible once she decides to avoid her dying son rather than actually spending any time with him. Because what’s better than being ignored by your mother in your final dying days? And Ji Tae’s mum was just straight up evil. I mean she hits her own son with a truck in order to maintain her own status and power- need I say more? 

What Was Great:

The Acting:

Everyone was fab. Yes, even Suzy. Sadly, I feel as though Suzy copped a lot of the criticism for the drama being such a flop as she was such an easy target, but she actually did a great job.

I thought Suzy was pretty fab personally

Eul wasn’t the easiest character to act as she was a character who mostly kept her feelings hidden- which doesn’t give the actress a lot to work with. Frankly, while there were some moments when I thought Suzy’s acting could have been a tad better they were few and far between, and I’ve seen worse acing from actual actresses.

The chemistry was pretty solid too

I thought Suzy did a brilliant job, and really brought Eul to life in a warm, likeable way. Woo Bin was just phenomenal. He gave Joon Young a depth I’m almost positive wasn’t there on paper. He shredded my heart in the best melo way, and I was blown away at what an incredible actor he was in this series. Even in the long middle portion, Woo Bin was able to keep Joon Young from being a dislikable character. Sure, he was frustrating and I kinda waned to slap him a bit, but I never hated him and could always tell that there was a reason behind his actions. Even though I didn’t know what that reason was. And even though it turned out to be a pretty crummy reason. Lim Ju Hwan was awesome as our second male lead- he never really outshone Woo Bin (which is what you want in a second lead), but was likeable enough in his own right. Yoo Oh Seung was wonderful as Ji Tae’s father, as you were never quite sure how far along the villainy scale he really was. Yoo Oh Seung perfectly displayed Hyun Joon’s conflicted feelings, and his gradual awakening to what a monster he was becoming. He made it seem totally plausible that Hyun Joon would have a change of heart, and presented it to us in a natural, believable way.

Though I would have just shown the video my dying boyfriend spent a month of his life on to get myself

And Lee Seo Won was adorable as Eul’s baby brother. Jin wasn’t the most complex character to act as he mostly just had cute scenes, but it was a great way for Lee Seo Won to get his face out there and I look forward to seeing him in more dramas.

The Pretty:

Everything was pretty. Kim Woo Bin- pretty. Bae Suzy- pretty. The cinematography- very pretty. The whole show was shot in a very melancholy, broody way that reflected the sadness in the plot. Throw in an amazing soundtrack and you have the makings for a very appealing drama.

Snow makes everything better looking

The Death:

What would have killed this drama (even more so that the writing) would have been if Joon Young had somehow made it out alive. I did have a fear of this happening as they seemed to stress a little that our hero was avoiding treatment, so I thought they might swing for him deciding to get treatment at the end and somehow having a miraculous recovery.

I was a tad surprised when our dying hero actually died

Thankfully that did not happen. Sad as it was, Joon Young needed to die. We’ve known right from the get-go that the whole point of this drama is that this beautiful man is having an unfair, early demise. The wrap-up for Joon Young’s illness was handled extremely well- his symptoms became increasingly worse as the drama went on, and the last two episodes were a heart-tuggingly sad look in on the final stages of this man’s life- his gradual memory-loss was particularly emotional. It was a nice, clean finish for the star after he got the justice for Eul he so desperately wanted. He worked hard in his last months to reveal the cover-up of her father’s death, then moved himself away to live out his last days with the woman he loved (and only occasionally remembered). The start and the finish were truly wonderful highlights of the drama, and I don’t think they could have handled Joon Young’s death any better than they did. 

What Wasn’t:

The Drag:

While the start and the end were brilliant, the middle section of the drama was basically its death. Nothing happened. Joon Young was sad. Eul was sad. I was sad. For five hours. The great part about the set-up of this drama was that it had all the angst it needed- our hero is dying. That’s all that's necessary.

What the f*ck is goin' on here?

It made every aspect of the series have an underlying sadness, because even if our main couple were being very cute and very in love, we knew it couldn’t last because our hero’s days were numbered. It’s all you need. But then the writer threw in all these unnecessary complications with Joon Young hatching plan to woo the woman who ran over Eul’s dad, but fails to tell Eul anything about it.

So snoodly- but so terminal

So Eul is sad because she doesn’t know why Joon Young is acting all aloof. And Joon Young is sad because he can’t be with Eul. Only he could be with Eul if he wanted- he’s just never given her a heads up that he’s running a scam mission to get a confession. I wouldn’t have minded the whole wooing thy enemy thing if there’d been some cute couple cahoots on the side- you know, like how Jung Eun thought there was anyway. The worst kind of angst is angst that is brought on by our leads being idiots- and that’s all this was. We had wonderful, heart-wrenching melodrama in the form of finding ways to tell people that Joon Young is dying and how to cope with the fact- but it was all overshadowed by the never-changing, unentertaining miscommunication and self-destruct antics of our hero. The worst part is that it took SO LONG for his stupid plan to come to fruition. He’s just assing about being mean to Eul and pushing her away (which drastically decreases Eul agency- what’s she supposed to do when she has no information on what’s going on?). There’s also the plot line of Ji Tae standing up to his parents, but that also moves at a snail’s pace and in all honesty- do we really care?

♫ Aaaaaallllll the evil ladies, all the evil ladies ♫

I would have much preferred we spend that time going into the past relationship between Eul and Joon Young (because I feel like there was room for more exploration there) and that we have flashback episodes like episode 2 that would help explain the current personalities of our leads. Alas, that flashback episode only really seemed to be setting up the whole Eul’s-dad’s-death-cover-up plot line thing. Or better yet- they should have just axed five or so episodes. Having 20 was just overkill.

Re-watch?

No. It was uncontrollably long, uncontrollably frustrating, and uncontrollably slow. 

But Woo Bin and Suzy rocked it