Marriage Contract

Marriage Contract

7.5/10

Marriage Contract

Genre:                               Episodes: 16                          Year: 2016

Romance

Melodrama

Synopsis:

Once Han Ji Hoon learns that his mother has a liver disease, he is determined to get her a transplant, but he himself is not a medical match. Kang Hye Soo is a single mother with a young daughter, who discovers that she has a brain tumour and does not have long to live. Hye Soo decides to do the surgery for Ji Hoon if he gives her enough money to provide for her daughter until she becomes an adult. As selling organs is illegal, the hospital only accepts transplants from family members, so Ji Hoon and Hye Soo write a contract and get married in order for the surgery to go ahead.

Cast:

Lee Seo Jin (Han Ji Hoon)

UEE (Kang Hye Soo)

Shin Rin Ah (Cha Eun Sung)

Kim Yong Gun (Han Sung Kook)

Lee Hwi Hyang (Oh Mi Ran)

Kim Young Pil (Han Jung Hoon)

Kim So Jin (Hwang Joo Yeon)

Kim Kwang Kyu (Park Ho Joon)

Kim Yoo Ri (Seo Na Yoon)

General Thoughts:

Although the drama presented nothing new plot-wise (neither contract relationships nor cancer are rarities in K-Dramaland), the characters had a feeling of uniqueness that gave the drama a fresh feeling, despite not presenting much new information. The three main characters were a loveable lot, and all I really wanted out the drama was to see them all become one big, happy family.

Just love each other already

Shin Rin Ah was adorable and perfect as the sassy little girl who stole hearts and made a family all her own- because while I don’t doubt that Ji Hoon loved Hye Soo, we all know that Eun Sung was the number 1 lady in his heart.

This kid is just plain delightful

And that actually added a fair bit of tension to the series, because no matter how much Ji Hoon loved Eun Sung, the only way he could have a relationship with her was through Hye Soo. Ji Hoon himself was a pretty fabulous character. It’s no secret that hard-ass men with squishy, emotional hearts are well loved by viewers, so watching Ji Hoon fall head over heels for the sweetness that was Eun Sung was just the most adorable thing. I don’t think I’ll ever stop finding men at the beck and call of a child fun to watch. Considering that it was the relationships that were the best parts of the drama, there weren’t very many of them. Besides the main three, no one else really got all that developed. We had some nice moments with Ji Hoon’s mum and Hye Soo’s step-mum but that was about it. Kim Kwang Kyu and Kim So Jin were entertaining as the best friends of our two leads, but never really developed much themselves. Joo Yeon was a great support for our heroine and their friendship was enjoyable to watch, but I started to dislike our heroine a bit when she didn’t tell anyone that she was sick- not even Joo Yeon who she’s wanting to look after her daughter when she dies.

'I want to prepare for my kid's future when I'm dead, so I won't tell anyone I'm dying or find a suitable guardian.'

In fact, I found the dragged out way Hye Soo dealt with her illness to be a tad exasperating. The issue was really pushed to the side and ignored a lot in order for Ji Hoon’s family plot-line to play out, but it meant that there was a significant portion of the series where no one but Hye Soo knew she was ill. While Hye Soo’s original break-down then picking herself up was done well, I did find myself getting more and more annoyed with her character when she refused to tell anyone that she was dying.

Just look at all that figurative and literal distance between them

I’m glad she ended up telling Joo Yeon, and wished she’d had the balls to tell Ji Hoon herself, because I do find it to be a bit of a betrayal when one side of the couple withholds information that huge. I can’t really stand Noble Idioting, so I would have preferred if Hye Soo had just outright said she was sick and that Ji Hoon could take or leave it, rather than having him find out from a third party- cuz that’s pretty sh*t.

UEE sure has become a pretty decent actor

Noble Idiotng aside, Hye Soo was quite a nice heroine. She was a bit of a Candy character, but not in the annoyingly useless way, but more of the loving, tries-her-best way. I’ve liked UEE in other dramas as she’s a competent actress, but she played Hye Soo with a depth and maturity she’s not displayed before. She embodied Hye Soo's struggles and it was easy to connect to her without the use of dialogue. The drama was very good at being quietly compulsive, and a lot of it’s powerful, quiet moments were Hye Soo’s, meaning UEE really had to step up her acting and deliver- which she did. She never seemed like a child or a teenager, and turned out to be a perfect fit for the character. Lee Seo Jin was wonderful as the man beside her, and could do cold chaebol who learns to love splendidly. The chemistry between the two was surprisingly good- able to capture the more mature feel of an adult relationship, but also the happy, giddy feel of a new relationship. The gradual softening of Ji Hoon’s heart towards Hye Soo and Eun Sung was done perfectly, and was just too cute. Kim Yoo Ri was supposed to be our second female lead, but really, she was hardly in the drama, and the bits she was in you could easily ignore and it wouldn’t make a difference.

Excuse me while I stop caring- oh wait, I never started

She’s so textbook second female lead, with her unexplained, unwanted love for the hero that leads to her desire to posses him rather than be in a mutual relationship. Any scene with Na Yoon was pretty boring to watch, as she mostly interacted with CEO Asshole and all they did was stand around and swap pretty talk about how Ji Hoon will eventually calm down and marry Na Yoon. Yeah, whatever, let’s go back to the child and the kittens please. The whole chaebol story was really not all that interesting.

Asshole is as asshole does

The two antagonists were pretty unreasonably unlikeable. Like, they seemed to be heartless wankers just because it’s easy for the story if they are, and it’s an easy cop-out because chaebols are usually always heartless wankers (except for when they're the heroes). I didn’t really care about Ji Hoon’s father, brother or company, and honestly it baffled me why Ji Hoon didn’t just walk away from the company a lot sooner (except that it would have sucked all the conflict out of the series). There wasn’t really any benefit to Ji Hoon’s father and brother’s meddling, unless they really hated seeing Ji Hoon happy that much. Their actions had no motivations and they were pretty weak villains. The momentum of the plot did start to drag on the far side of the halfway point. It was never exactly a drama that raced along, so at this point the drama slowed to crawl. Thankfully, it was able to pick itself up again to finish on a good few episodes. Normally I find it a bit of a cop-out when a main character has a terminal illness and then doesn’t die, but in this case I’m glad Hye Soo survived the duration of the drama. There wasn’t some magical cure and money didn’t somehow find a brilliant doctor who could make her live. It was plainly obvious that at some point Hye Soo would die- but the drama made a very quiet point of saying that everyone will. It finished on a nice note with our two leads accepting Hye Soo’s mortality, and just living normal lives together (with the addition of a few complications from Hye Soo’s tumour).

A Cancer Drama without too much cancer drama

The drama didn’t go full on into the issues with Hye Soo’s sickness, but nor were her symptoms ignored. The effects of radiation and pressure on her brain were touched on enough for the audience to have an understanding of what was happening, but it never really became a ‘Cancer’ drama- which is fine, that’s not what I was expecting (or wanting) it to be. It was a sweet love story about family and two people who found each other for necessity and stayed together for love. And Eun Sung.

What Was Great:

Happy Family:

The greatest parts of this drama were always the parts about Eun Sung, Ji Hoon and Hye Soo becoming a family.

It's pretty darn adorable

It was wonderful to see the way Ji Hoon fought to earn Eun Sung’s love, and the way he treasured it once he had received it. The two made an adorable, inseparable pair and they were always enjoyable to watch. The relationship between Ji Hoon and Hye Soo developed much slower, but was just as enjoyable. The love they ended up receiving from each other felt so well earned- Hye Soo because she always saw the best in everyone and loved unconditionally, and Ji Hoon for the love and support he poured into Eun Sung and Hye Soo. It was sweet and felt totally natural the way Ji Hoon’s mother eventually became a part of the make-shift family- Eun Sung’s charm is hard to resist. The drama was really a quiet look in on how this man built his own family from scratch- and it was an adorable, sweet watch.

Marshmallow Man:

Ji Hoon was a great hero for our drama. He was so sweet and squishy on the inside, and it was lovely to watch how what was inside was brought out. Firstly by Eun Sung, and eventually by Hye Soo. Ji Hoon was the type of character who gives 100% to everything he does, and it’s so hard to fault heroes that do that, because it’s so clearly obvious that they’re doing their best. All things being said, Ji Hoon was just a marvellous character that you couldn’t help cheering for- and you really wanted him to get the girl. And her mum.

Our grumpy prince charming tries so hard

What Wasn’t:

CEO Asshole and Co.:

Sometimes K-Drama leads me to believe that 90% of Korean fathers give zero f*cks about their children. I mean really, there can’t be that many horrible old men in one country can there? Ji Hoon’s father was your typical K-Drama chaebol old man who doesn’t care about anything except his company.

Generic bad father character

The problem here is that the CEO isn’t really given any characterisation that went beyond ‘I’m an asshat just cuz’. The main point of the drama was the contract relationship- not the cancer, and not the chaebol-ness. Which means the the plot-lines around the CEO are pretty thin, and basically just there because I suppose we can’t really have 16 episodes of one happy family.

Is it wrong for me to wish he'd get cancer and cark it? Probably...

But because it isn’t a chaebol drama, the company goings-on are given no stress. So while the Asshole CEO is very present and gets a lot of screen-time, his company doesn’t. Which kind of makes you wonder if anything Ji Hoon does actually has any effect on the company at all- because we never actually see any company backlash to Ji Hoon’s actions. Ever. So while every other drama I’ve ever watched is telling me the CEO does what he does to protect the company, I didn’t really feel it in this one. It just kind of seemed like CEO Asshole got off on making everyone else miserable and telling them to just go off and die quietly. Which he did frequently. I honestly don’t believe how he was ever likeable enough to have two women think he was decent and have children with them both. I’ll admit I was pretty chuffed to see him all alone and lonely at the end there though. The eldest son didn’t really make a lot of sense either. He had a bit more motivation than his father in that it appeared (to him) that Ji Hoon was given everything and he got nothing. So for an immature man-child it made sense for him to want to ruin his smarter, more successful, better looking sibling. The problem with the brother is that he’s really just thick.

He just bumbled around drunk half the time

There were no lights on upstairs. He was honestly one of the dumbest antagonists I’ve watched in a long time. He couldn’t hatch a deliciously despicable plan even if he were sitting on a deliciously diabolical egg. It didn’t help that I found neither of them acted all that well.

Re-watch?

Mmmmmm…probably not. I did enjoy the characters a lot, but the momentum of the series was probably a touch slow for watching a second time.

So cute

Master's Sun

Master’s Sun

7/10

Master's Sun

Genre:                          Episodes: 17                      Year: 2013

Romance

Comedy

Supernatural 

Synopsis:

Tae Gong Shil has the ability to see spirits and ghosts. The ghosts do whatever they can to get her attention so that she can fulfil their requests, and often resort to terrifying her until she obliges. Due to her fear of ghosts, Gong Shil stays away from crowded places and struggles to live a normal life. By coincidence she runs into the CEO of a shopping mall, Joo Joong Won. Gong Shil soon discovers that when she touches Joong Won, she looses her ability to see the dead and decides to stay by him at all costs.

Cast:

Gong Hyo Jin (Tae Gong Shil/Tae Yang)

So Ji Sub (Joo Joong Won)

Seo In Guk (Kang Woo)

Kim Yoo Ri (Tae Yi Ryung)

Choi Jung Woo (Kim Gwi Do)

Han Bo Reum (Cha Hee Joo/Han Na Brown)

Hwang Sun Hee (Han Na Brown)

L (Joon Joong Won)

General Thoughts:

It’s generally a sweet drama that zips along quite nicely. There are definitely some plot points that aren’t quite A-Grade material, but the ridiculous amounts of cute from our leading couple does a pretty great job at covering any other weaknesses that the series develops. Also this set-up is the best excuse for skinship I’ve ever seen. Yes. Wonderful.

More Please

That being said, the downside of the leading couple carrying most of the interest meant that any time they weren’t together (and this is a Hong Sisters drama- so there’s going to be a time they’re not together) the drama was stripped of most of its entertainment. A lot of credit for this drama has to go to its leading actors- they really sold the romance, and the romance was at the heart of the show. Gong Hyo Jin is delightful (of course).

Everyone loves Gong Hyo Jin. Everyone loves So Ji Sub

I wouldn’t go as far as saying she’s the best actress out there, but there’s just something about her that draws you in and makes you love her, and whatever character she’s playing. So Ji Sub was wonderful as CEO Joo Joong Won- which is a huge feat in a world so full of K-Dramas staring abrasive CEOs. What I loved most about the character of Joong Won is that he wasn’t a hard-exterior-soft-interior type of CEO lead. He was kind of an ass…all the time. Meeting this ghost-seeing heroine didn’t magically melt away his prickly personality- he simply liked her in spite of his prickly personality. Which is adorable and hilarious, and So Ji Sub could deliver it so, so well. Unfortunately there’s not a lot to say about the other cast members as the leading couple definitely dominated, and thus reduced the screen time, plot time and interest levels of the other characters. Seo In Guk has a similar quality to Gong Hyo Jin- you just adore him in whatever role he’s playing, and he was cute as the bodyguard with a fear of ghosts. Even if his character did get little development and was booted out of the love-triangle pretty darn quick. Which is a shame, I would have liked to see Kang Candy get a little more development- he was too interesting a character to have fall by the wayside.

Plus their dates getting crashed by ghosts was always hilarious

Kang Candy’s final love interest almost bored me to tears. I’m not a huge fan of stroppy, entitled female characters- so Tae Yi Ryung didn’t do a lot for me. Sure, there were times when I thought she was a little bit cute, and the ending between her and Kang Woo was super adorable (that red carpet walk), but all in all I thought Kang Woo could do a lot better. Again, a little character development probably would have done that pairing the world of good. Plot-wise the drama was well played out.

More kissing, less conflict

Small ghost conflicts helped out our main couple development until our characters were at the point that they could handle the main ghost conflict. Which actually turned out to be a little lacking. I pegged the twin bait-and-switch pretty early on (and I know a lot of other viewers did too). Predictability isn’t necessarily a huge problem if you’ve got the substance to pull of the story believably. However, the drama seemed to be relying on no one clicking on to the fact that the girls were twins, or that it was the good twin that died. Which is unfortunate, because that twist isn’t even that huge- the only real difference it made was how our hero viewed his dead first love- is she the sweet angel he initially thought, or the bad b*tch he came to know her as? Once again, I wish just a tad more effort had been spent developing the twin characters in order to give the final reveal a bit more of an emotional blow. Even better, I wish that both twins had perhaps been a little bit dark and Han Na actually wanted to take over Tae Yang’s body- at least then the stakes would have been higher. As it was, the two girls were rather flat, two-dimensional characters with not a lot going on under the surface. If indeed we had one evil twin and one good twin (egghhh the cliche), why didn’t the good dead twin just tell Tae Yang what the deal was? You’re telling me she actually placed the sister she’d known very briefly (who then killed her) over the man she completely loved? Yeaaaahhh…not buying that.

And in case you needed help, the twins were conveniently colour-coded. White = Good. Dark = Bad.

It did feel a little like the writers were grasping at whatever they could think of to explain why Joong Won saw his first love at his kidnapping, and then why her ghost stuck around. Ah well- it wasn't great, but it didn't suck either. Also, I won’t lie- I remember nothing from the soundtrack, so I think it’s safe to say it was pretty unexceptional. 

What Was Great:

Ghost of the Hour:

The ghosts were scary as f*ck. No joke. They were terrifying. Which was awesome. Having the ghosts be as scary as they were actually did an excellent job of highlighting our heroine’s main conflict. She sees dead people. They’re scary.

NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE

She doesn’t like seeing dead people. It made her instantaneous clinging to Joong Won so much more understandable than if the ghosts had simply been slightly translucent people with pale faces. I would cling to whatever man came my way if I saw stuff like that and he could make it disappear. Freakiness aside, the ghost stories that ran over one or two episodes did a great job at not only keeping interest while the main conflict was building, but also impacted on our main characters and their relationship. Unlike in some other supernatural dramas (cough, ‘Who Are You’, cough), the small ghost plots helped to shape the way our characters viewed each other, and were a nice way to bring them closer- rather than simply providing filler episodes. Each ghost story caused something new to be revealed about either Tae Yang or Joong Won, which of course furthered the romance. And we love it when the romance is furthered. 

This is okay though, I can deal with this

Is He Dead?:

I give full props to the show for making me believe that there was the possibility of them killing off the male lead 3/4 of the way in. In most rom-coms this is an inconceivable event- but with the whole ghost premise, it’s actually fairly plausible in this setting. Sure, it was only left as a cliffhanger for one episode- BUT I WAS HANGING OFF THAT CLIFF. There were various upsides and downsides to killing of the hero midway through- all which would have been consistent with the rules the show set up. Which is another thing this drama did rather brilliantly. It followed its own rules in regards to the supernatural elements. We’d seen previously that Tae Yang could see the spirits of ghosts in comas, so it wasn’t a bolt out of the blue or an easy pass that the writers used when Joong Won was just in a coma, or had died momentarily, or whatever nightmare that was.

Scarier than ghosts- nearly having Joong Won killed off

It would have just been seen as a get-out-of-jail-free card if the idea hadn’t been explored previously (again- cough, ‘Who Are You’, cough). Don’t get me wrong- I’m super stoked that Joong Won didn’t cark it before the completion of this drama. Because I love him. But it was a nice to change to actually genuinely worry about the safety of our hero. Because in a drama all about a ghost-whisperer- your hero is far from immortal. 

Happy characters, happy viewers

Conclusion:

Everything was tied in a nice pretty bow, which is exactly what I want in a rom-com. People got hitched, babies got conceived, and everyone earned their happily ever after. Yay! Some of the happy ever afters were a bit random as we’d had very little to do with some of the characters, so we didn’t actually know what their deal was- but it was still nice. I’m so glad the show ultimately decided to go with Tae Yang keeping her ability to see ghosts, as that was kind of the whole point. It would have felt like too much of a cop-out to have her magically ‘cured’ of her ailment in the last episode. That being said, I do wish we’d been taken on Tae Yang’s journey of self discovery rather than hearing about it as she was telling Joong Won. Because it was a really nice tie-up for where her ability came from and how she could now live on with it. 

What Wasn’t:

Support Character Immobility:

Our support characters kind of became a bit of a waste. Kang Candy fell away pretty swiftly after he was exiled from the love-triangle, and you never really saw him fall hard for that second chick. His end tie-up with her was nice, but we didn’t really get a sense of how he got there.

So not on board for this love-line. Go get a different fish for your aquarium, Kang Candy

Joong Won’s father seemed to be a big plot-point that we sort of darted around completely- so much so that I wonder why they bothered including him in the drama at all. Lee Chun Hee was brought in far too late to really matter- which is a shame, as his presence would have added a whole heap more conflict to the series. The idea of staying comfortable with someone from your own world (Lee Chun Hee) or stepping out for someone different (Joong Won) was an interesting dilemma. But it became far less interesting as Tae Yang had already fallen for Joong Won. Hard. I really wish Lee Chun Hee’s role had a bigger part to play in the series. I don’t even know what his character was supposed to be called- he was just Lee Chun Hee for the two or three episodes he was in.

Unexpected (but far from unwanted) bromance

All in all, the characters that weren’t our main leads seemed to fall into two distinct, two-dimensional categories: Cheering for Main Couple, and Trying to Split Up Main Couple. Except for maybe Secretary Kim. Who was delightful and surprisingly substantial. Who else was glad that he didn’t turn out to be a bad guy? I sure was. 

Push and Pull:

My least liked type of romances are push-and-pull romances. Thankfully this drama did have very little, but the episodes where this type of romance came into play were downright irritating. I prefer when our characters both try and pull away from each other, both try to pull closer to each other, or one pulls closer while the other stays stationary.

Looks like it's time for all that unnecessary angst to kick in

It becomes a tad too angsty for my taste when for every step our hero makes forward, our heroine is taking a step back. Particularly when they’ve both expressed their interest. Not to mention that characters born from the Hong Sisters’ creation tend to stand around and talk about their feelings a lot. Which is okay if it were pure and honest- but half the time it’s the characters trying to convince each other (and sometimes themselves) that they don’t need each other and they’ll be fine on their own. Hoo boy. I’d much rather see them acting on their feelings rather than chitty-chatting about them, especially when the chitty-chat doesn’t actually result in anything. With the lack of action and all the not-quite-true statements, it can get a little confusing with subtitles and things getting left out in translation. Granted, most of the talk was logical, and at least it was easy to see where the characters were coming from. But at the end of the day, if you’re sad with them but miserable without them, isn’t sadness the slightly better option? I don’t know, I feel like they were trying so hard to make Tae Yang different from a Candy Girl- but that’s kind of how she ended up anyway. Sure, her reasoning for disappearing off was for herself and not some sort of misguided sense of ‘he’s better off without me’- but she still ended up disappearing off.

Classic Hong Sisters Finale Wind-Up (Or Wind-Down):

Of course, of course, the Hong Sisters have to chuck in some of my most hates K-Drama tropes. Right at the end too. Amnesia- check. Separation of leads- check. Time skip- check. Oof. Not what I was wanting in a drama that was managing to balance its momentum quite nicely.

Who are you? Who am I? Where'd my girlfriend go?

Okay, Joong Won’s amnesia wasn’t the worst case of memory loss I’ve ever seen (who could forget the Hong Sister’s last fiasco?), but it still felt like it was simply trying to draaaaaaw out the last couple of episodes. I’ve already seen him fall for our heroine despite her creepy ghost vision, do I really have to watch him figure all that out again? Then the time skip where our main leads are separated. Seriously, does anyone actually enjoy this?

Please. Just make out and be done with it.

Why do K-Dramas insist on doing this in attempts to add dramatic tension in the final hour? IT’S JUST ANNOYING GUYS, STOP IT. While I’ll admit there was some reasoning behind the separation of our characters, I still didn’t love the idea. If perhaps we’d journeyed with Tae Yang on her brilliant self-discovery trip I’d be singing a different tune- but no. I was back here watching Joong Won be sad and lonely while Tae Yang went and ‘found herself’. And then we get some bull about her wanting to appear like a normal girl before telling him that, yes- she can in fact still see ghosts. Sorry, I’m firmly in Joong Won’s camp for this one. If the result is the same, why does the order matter? Not to mention we’ve just spent the last 16 episodes watching how he loves her in spite of her ability. If not more so because of it, as he sees how warm and caring she is through it. 

Re-watch?

Probably not. While I did enjoy the drama overall, much of this enjoyment came from the chemistry between our two leads. The main plot was a tad weak, and our support characters were a little flat. Gong Hyo Jin and So Ji Sub were dynamic- but not enough to warrant a re-watch.

♫ Can you feel my heartbeat? It's beating for you ♫

Kill Me, Heal Me

Kill Me, Heal Me

9/10

Kill Me, Heal Me

Genre:                                   Episodes: 20                                   Year: 2015

Romance

Comedy

Mystery

Synopsis:

Cha Do Hyun is a third-generation chaebol, son of the deceased eldest son and his mistress. After a traumatic incident in his childhood, Do Hyun’s mental state is fractured into several pieces as a defence mechanism, and each of these pieces takes on its own distinct personality- otherwise known as multiple personality disorder. Do Hyun’s most violent personality, Shin Se Gi, takes interest in a particular woman, Oh Ri Jin, who happens to be a psychiatrist. Do Hyun hires Ri Jin as his private doctor, so that she can control his many personalities while he works to inherit his family’s company.

Cast:

Ji Sung (Cha Do Hyun/Personalities)

Hwang Jung Eum (Oh Ri Jin)

Park Seo Joon (Oh Ri On)

Kim Young Ae (Se Tae Im)

Kim Yoo Ri (Han Chae Yeon)

Oh Min Seok (Cha Ki Joon)

Shim Hye Jin (Shin Hwa Ran)

General Thoughts:

Oh, the feelings. I love this drama. Let’s be honest, it’s worth watching for Ji Sung’s stellar performance alone, but the plot is absolutely brilliant. There are so many parts of me that want to do comparisons with ‘Hyde, Jekyll, Me’, but I will restrain myself.

How I felt when this drama ended

The cast was brilliant, no faults there- congratulations everyone on a spectacular performance. The script was brilliant, the music was brilliant, it was all brilliant. The slow unveiling of the past connections between our two main leads was both heartbreaking and heart-warming at the same time. It was devastating to watch the brutal effects of these traumatic events start to both break and develop our characters. The drama wasn’t afraid to go into the darker aspects of its plot at all, but still managed to maintain its humour, which saved it from becoming horrendously depressing- a fine line to walk, but executed well. Both our main leads were acted excellently, and had continual development throughout the whole drama.

It's cute and funny and sad and my poor emotions

Oh Ri Jin has a sweet, mildly whacky, character, and is easily likeable without being too bland or unrealistic. Cha Do Hyun is also interesting and likeable enough- at first he does seem a tad boring and vague due to the eccentricities of his other personalities, but as the show goes on, his character develops nicely and he becomes more than just the ‘main personality struggling for control’. None of the other personalities were developed, but this itself was a brilliant move. The fact is, they aren’t separate characters- they are simply parts of Do Hyun’s mind. Their consistent quirky traits and obsessions made them interesting and enjoyable to watch, but prevented the personalities from having a real sense of ‘self’- because in reality they didn’t have one, they were just mirages that Do Hyun created out of simple memories and desires. It was a wise move to continually throw in similarities between Do Hyun and his other personalities to further emphasise this point.

How could you only choose one?

What Was Great:

Ji Sung:

Ten out of ten

So basically Ji Sung is the greatest thing ever. Oh my goodness, that man can act. It was phenomenal. He was 100% believable as all the different personalities- right down to the details. He was never ‘Do Hyun acting like Se Gi’, he simply became Se Gi. His voice, actions, and even tiny movements- the way he walked, the way he held his mouth, the way he turned his head- all were totally different with each personality. Plus he’s handsome. His crackling chemistry with the female lead was also a bonus. The kid actor who played young Cha Do Hyun was fantastic as well.

The Whole Point:

The story, the story, the story. You can have the greatest actors in the world, but without a solid plot you have nothing. Standing behind the radiating wonder that is Ji Sung, we have a thrilling, compelling story. We were always given just the right amount of information with each new episode. The plot was never easy to predict, and never had any lags.

Wasn't afraid to visit some darker scenes

We had an unfortunate episode or two towards the end where our main couple were separated even though they wanted to be together (typical bloody K-Drama), but apart from that the series managed to avoid any irritating or nonsensical plotlines. The issues involving the company were always present, but not in your face- quite often taking a welcome backseat to the much more interesting personality problems. The gradual reveal of the past kept the mystery going strong, while also developing our three main characters nicely. On that point, Oh Ri On was a fantastic character.

Yo Na + Ri On = hilarious

At first, I thought Park Seo Joon was doing a poor job acting the character out, as I kept thinking he was looking at Ri Jin like he was keen on her- not like a brother. And then it was like- OH! That’s the whole point! Good job Park Seo Joon, good job scriptwriters.

Towards the end of the drama when we had the farewells to all the different personalities- well, I won’t lie. It was cheesy. Superb, delicious cheese.

Ain't nothing wrong with a bit of cheese

The way they send off the personalities is predictable, but it’s the way we all wanted it to go. After all the struggle and hurt and suffering, it was nice to sit back and watch our main couple reap the rewards. It was also nice that the reasons why each personality was formed were explained. We were able to guess most of it anyway, but it was still enjoyable to have our different theories confirmed. The science wasn’t close to realistic- it’s not an accurate representation of DID, but who’s watching for the science? The writers kept the rules of personality switching, creation and disappearance consistant, so that’s all that really matters.

The Music:

I don’t know what it was exactly, but I loved the soundtrack. The main song was lovely and catchy, and never felt overused. Most of the music was gorgeous, and just lurked in the background, enhancing the drama and not begging for attention. Well, the main song- Auditory Hallucination grabbed a bit of attention, but it was fantastic so who cares. 

What Wasn’t:

Bad Boy:

Shin Se Gi is great. Characters like Se Gi are why women have relationship issues. Because as much as we wish they did, nice bad boys like Se Gi just don’t exist. I loved everything about Se Gi- his reason for creation, his role as the protector, his holding of the memories.

Exact depiction of why girls like bad boys (the secret is in the guyliner)

But I didn’t like the way Ri Jin interacted with him. Several times she herself admitted that Se Gi was the most hurt and damaged of all Do Hyun’s personalities, and that he needed the most love and comfort. Yet does she ever really love or comfort him? Not really. Most of her interactions with the beloved bad boy were just keeping him from wrecking Do Hyun’s reputation, or trying to call Do Hyun back out. It felt too much like the writers were far too worried about how to logically make Ri Jin fall for Do Hyun over Se Gi, that they just never let any real connection develop between them. Not once in this drama did I honestly believe that Ri Jin cared for Se Gi as a person, or a man.

But...but...how can you NOT love him?!

Re-watch?

Definitely. This is a drama that really pulls at your heartstrings. The fantastic plot paired with a fantastic cast make it in excellent watch. Even though there won’t be any mystery the second time around, it’s worth watching again just for Ji Sung’s incredible performance.

It's actually amazing