If you search for the drama's plot, you'll find that "it's about the delicate relationship between a female university student Hong Seol and her senior Yoo Jung." But it's actually more than that.
This drama is about life. It's about my life, your life... It's more than a drama or webtoon. It's realistic and really makes you think about everything.
It's about friendship, classmates, lovers. I'm happy that we could see different types of problematic relationships in families.
It teaches you that communication is the most important thing in one relationship.
It teaches that you can't always be good to people because they're going to use you.
It teaches you that revenge isn't always the right answer.
It teaches not to give up on your dreams or laugh at someone else's dream.
It teaches so many things and I'm sure that everyone will find an answer of personal questions because I found so many answers in this drama.
The cast was perfect for this drama, every actor had their own way to represent their character and they did a good job. The chemistry between Park Hae Jin and Kim Go Eun was just right but everyone was talking about the second lead Seo Kang Joon... and I can't judge! You'll fall in his trap so fast and you'll feel the pain.
The OST is really beautiful, fits perfectly. If I could choose a foreign song to describe this drama or Seol and Jung's relationship I would pick - A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera - Say Something.
What I like about this drama:
- the second lead - Good job, Seo Kang Joon! You stole my heart!
- mystery - I liked all the mystery around the main characters, it keeps you awake.
- the chemistry between Park Hae Jin and Kim Go Eun
- rich guy - poor girl - I really liked that they didn't even focus on this or make it a main problem of the drama.
- university environment
What I don't like about this drama:
- love triangle
I don't know why many people didn't like the ending, it was a very beautiful way to say "I still love you."
PS: I know 9/10 is really high but the drama was just what I wanted to see and feel the past months.
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Watch it for yourself, and you will quickly see that this is a gem among many other dramas. Yes, ill be the first to say (while i would not have predicted this when watching the series in the beginning) it was imperfect (but really, only in the last few episodes), HOWEVER, as i am the first to drop a show as soon as i think ill be disappointed with the end, I can say that I don't regret watching this show at all and that's primarily because of how strong the series as a whole was.
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My biggest issue was probably the male lead, Yoo Jung. With regards to the actor playing him, he did a really good job. But he does look a lot older than he should. Yoo Jung is just an unlikable character throughout the show. I'm not sure if the few glimpses of his past was supposed to make me feel sympathy for him, but it only strengthened my disdain for him. He has no redeeming qualities and frustrated me to no end. The Yoo Jung storyline was tiring and disappointing
The relationship between Yoo Jung and the female lead, Hong Seol, made no sense. They have absolutely no chemistry as a couple, it's uncomfortable to watch. It felt unnatural and forced. The way Hong Seol continuously rationalised and accepted Yoo Jung's actions because he did those things for her was upsetting as well, especially towards the end.
Baek In Ha and Baek In Ho were wonderful, I loved them. Honestly, I wish there was more focus on them. Also, Baek In Ho and Hong Seol had such a great relationship / friendship, you could see and feel their natural and effortless connection. They should have been together.
My disdain for Yoo Jung himself and his relationship with Hong Seol aside, this is a good drama. Phenomenal acting, and an okay storyline with compelling supporting characters. The ending wasn't as conclusive as I would have liked, but it wasn't too bad. I wont rewatch this though, I might just die from frustration.
I wouldn't recommend this to you if you're looking for something romantic and lighthearted, because this show is not it. It's also not exactly a dark or sinister show. If you're curious about it, watch a few episodes and see how you feel. And if you want to stop watching it, I won't blame you. You could even skip right to the last episode, you won't have missed out on too much, seeing as the storyline is very predictable.
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This review may contain spoilers
I liked it as a drama, but...
Yoo Jung was an abusive, manipulative, toxic character. I found it quite uncomfortable that whatever he did Hong Seol accepted it and rationalized it. There were also bullying classmates, and she continually found herself in extremely dangerous situations that she treated as perfectly normal. For example: why would she not block the phone number of an extremely creepy stalker? Even Baek In Ho often had a tendency to immediately resort to violence in any situation.Even so, this was an unusual gem of a drama. The acting was quite impressive all around, but Kim Go Eun and Lee Sung Kyung were both phenomenal. Park Hae Jin managed to portray a sociopath with skill, and his moment of realization was masterful. Seo Kang Joon absolutely shined as Baek In Ho - both his performance and the character were stellar.
The story was well written, even while being disturbing, but I felt the ending was rushed, and it made me sad Seol was still pining for Jung three years later - he realized how harmful he was to her, but she seemingly never did.
I find it a bit odd that Viki tagged this show as a romantic comedy - the genre is more akin to a slow-paced psychological thriller or straight drama.
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IS IT A MESS YES BUT IT'S MY MESS
Alot of people call out this drama beacuse of the toxic male lead but i for one think this drama was REFRESHING i had been in an endless slump watching the same type of man plastered across every single k drama the perfect understanding charismatic rich sensitive basically perfect boyfriend who is basically a god compared to u i think for me it was refreshing to see a k drama with a different type of male lead not just a photocopy put in a different body type format although i agreee he was extremely toxic and any girl should run away if they meet someone like him irl nobody can deny it was amazing to see a change a pace in the k drama world another honourable mention are the twins because they carried the backbone of which this drama was built on they completely devoured their roles i would say anyone should at least try and watch this drama with an unpredejuiced mindsetWas this review helpful to you?
A different drama, not everyone's cup of tea I guess
I'm writing a review because I really believe the average score is too low - this drama doesn't deserve such a low score, is not fair. I do understand is not everyone's cup of tea, however, it's refreshing and nice to see a different "not so typical" plot. But OMG, what I honestly really loved about this drama is the evolution of each single character. I like the fact that each character, even the supporting ones, have been developed - you will eventually see the reason behind their behaving. In dramas I've barely seen the behind of the characters. If you enjoy (psychological?) dramas where there's a clear evolution of the characters, in which you can actually see and understand why they do certain things, this is definitely THE DRAMA for you.This drama's real plot is not the storyline, but the characters of the drama (the way the behave and the reason behind it - they are human. I really felt a connection with every single character due to their development during the drama (maybe I'm too empathic?). In fact, I would even say that in the end, there are no "evil" characters at all - just people with their own issues, and way of perceiving the world because of their personal circumstances. You will notice that some of them are sociopath or actually have a mental disorder, it's important to address these things as they are, not just as "crazy evil characters". Each of them will have their flawless like all human beings (the ML and FL as well - he does many wrong things but she does as well during their relationship, however they are much more "subtle").
I want to start saying that I didn't give a 10 score because of the last episode. The ending could have been better in many ways - the overall plot is fine, but the ending of the drama... It's too rushed, to abrupt. There are too many things left in the air or that could have been developed more. You can see that during the whole drama they really worked hard on each episode, and suddenly because the n.16 marked the end, they tried to wrap everything up as quick as possible and they rushed all without too much explanations just because it had to end there. I appreciate the fact that there's no "big crazy drama". And if you do see anything over-exaggerated, don't worry, you will have the explanation of such dramatic/exaggerated situation eventually, and everything will make sense (unless you are already in the episode n. 15 or 16 lol).
The acting and cast amazing - I really like the FL, she's very natural. The ML at first I wasn't sure, but he did a great job and to be honest, now I don't picture anyone else playing Jung. Maybe the only bit is that he looked too old for a university student? But to be honest, I couldn't care less! The support actors were amazing as well, specially Inho and Inha and the FL's friends.
The music is fantastic, really cute and easygoing, it goes with the uni environment of the drama.
I would probably rewatch this if bored, and as it's the second time watching it, it would be like an easy thing to watch, just to relax, enjoy and have fun.
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This review may contain spoilers
Suspiciously addictive
I watch this without knowing about anything; whether the webtoon or any controversial issues. I was pleasantly surprised that I was hooked by the first episode. For me it's like a breath of fresh air. I've never met an antihero male lead in a kdrama that I couldn't help but to fall in love with. I root for him even though I know he is different. It's unusual for me to drawn to a character that screams as suspicious, cold, manipulative and conniving. His indifferent persona is really addictive.Story
YJ is simply a textbook sociopath with good-looks-rich-cold-but-nice that everybody wants to be associates with. While Seul is the next-door-girl-hardworking-student that is doing her best to graduate and just want a secure future. Love is the last thing on her mind. The story started pretty strong, as being told from Seul's point of view. How a senior starting to act differently towards her. From him being indifferent to suddenly show some care and interest. And as it progressed, it somehow fails to bring the depth of what YJ character really is. We get to know him through Seul's eyes, and sadly sometimes its not being explored fully.
YJ and In-ho dynamics was a great potential arc but gone amiss by the usual-boring-pointless love triangle trope. Again because it was told from Seul's point of view, I guess the writer can't help but to go down the unnecessary cliche. If only they explored on how both men can mend back their broken relationship. It would have been better in my book. But no.. the show just want to divide and conquer us. It's team YJ versus team In-ho. I hated that the writer butchered such a great potential outcome from these two characters.
Then the story revolved more on Seul's surrounding rather than focus more on her relationship with YJ. It's confusing at times; When a tiny issue like a lost keychain could be blown up into a highly-tensed-pulling-each-other's-hair drama, or when stealing other people's notes/belonging could be tolerable and forgiveable. I find its hard to relate as some of these actions did not resonates to me back when I was a student. It's fictional yes but it's too far fetched if you ask me.
The ending although somehow can be considered as a happy one, is a bit letdown. Again, as being told from Seul's point of view and her surrounding, the growth of YJ as a character was being neglected and treated as less important (He was the main lead for goodness sake). I wish that Seul could play a role in his growth to be a better person instead of just being the catalyst.
Cast
Park Hae-jin as YJ is brilliant. He really brings out the cold and suspicious vibe as the senior who can be manipulative but charming at the same time. His little devilish smile really gets me everytime. What a performance. I became his avid fan ever since.
Kim Go-eun as Seul is good but a bit annoying at times. She did brings out Seul's insecurities and curiosity but her immature-clueless demeanor sometimes puzzles me. I wish the character could be more consistent. If she can be so sensitive about YJ's behaviour shouldn't she be more sensitive about her surrounding and pull herself together.
In-ho is annoying to me. I didn't find him to be that interesting as a character or a better love prospect for Seul. I refused to be sucked into a pointless-unnecessary love triangle trope when his real issues with YJ were being ignored entirely by the writer. Same goes with In-ha. The manic and bizzare acting by her didn't connect to me at all. I am struggling to skip the scene each time I see her.
The overall cast are commendable and convicing enough whether as students, professors, parents and office workers.
Music
It's pretty good and the musical score really helps to bring the right mood of each scenes.
As always : Would I watch it all again?
Yes to YJ parts and skip the rest.
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Shining because unconventional
A little lightful gem. Definitely unconventional, thus this is the main reason why I liked the idea behind this show and the show itself. A show which probably will be disliked by the majority who looks for the typical love story that a k-drama usually offers. And that I liked because of this being so atypical. But that was not the only reason.Talking about the plot. Since this is not the classical love story we usually watch in a k-drama, things were definitely not going how is expectable in a standard love story. I found the writing true and intense, and I found the main leads appropriately suited for the characters they played. Even if the story can be liked or not, the characters can be liked or not. But as said, the key point of this story is the fact that it's not the typical love story, but something more adherent to actual feelings and personalities, even when disturbing. And this explains what can be found apparently bizarre or weird, mainly in what Seol does when dealing with Jung and In-ho.
Despite the story is well written, I actually felt disappointed by the ending. I found everyone getting their happy/bad ending or their redemptions, to include Seol. All but Jung: unknown. And that last second's (literally) happy ending disappointed me twice. Like if the story was eventually forced to show a potential happy ending (even if who's not Korean would find hard understanding who actually was the addressee of the messages: no sub no translation provided).
About the leads: I actually disliked Jung's character because I found him disturbing, creepy, and extremely toxic for his way to deal with wrong things and people doing wrong, manipulating the last ones till their humilation and destruction. I liked more In-ho, who is also a hothead (also a d1ckhead tbh): he uses his fists to solve problems, the violence is part of his way to express himself... But still: he looks more clear and genuine, and paradoxically less dangerous. To be honest: what can hurt more? A fist or a deep humiliation? Easy answer... So, again, both Jung and In-ho are truly in love for Seol, they try to did their best with her, but they both show toxic personalities, and despite the good intentions the outcome is (to be fine) questionable. Still, I found more and more dangerous and hurting Jung's personality, who's actually a sociopath. Simply, I prefer who is able to overreact showing his actual feelings, respect to whom overreacts wearing a mask, and manipulating and scheming. Both the actors were great, talented, and brilliant, personfying roles not easy to manage.
That said about male leads, talking about the shiny female leads, I adored Seol: Kim Go Eun was simply adorable in playing her controverse character. She has not a linear personality, she has a strong sense of duty and rationality as well as her approach to matters is unusual and sometimes harmful for herself: still I did not decide at the end if truly toxic as well, I mean toxic toward herself. Her tendence to justify and interiorize the actions of Jung is disturbing. Because his being toxic and manipulative trying to protect Seol, ends being harmful firstly to her. And what happened to her during the finale is a strong confirmation. Her ending is the only one not happy or redeeming: her life is sad, empty, she's clearly depressed, she keeps trying to keep in contact with Jung, despite he himself was the first admitting how harmful could be to her. And his having read the message at the end, honestly, I don't see it as an actual happy ending. As said above, Jung is the only one character for who's unclear if eventually able to redeem or not: will he hurt her again because he keeps being manipulative and toxic? Lee Sung Kyung, fantastic: she greatly played an In-ha who's a manipulative and a nihilist toxic (again) personality. Apart the beautifulness, she is really talented in characterizing, even when her character has an actual tragic nature masked by an apparent strenghtful temper.
I remained disappointed by the ending. I found everyone getting their happy/bad ending or their redemptions, to include Seol. All but Jung: unknown. And that last second's (literally) happy ending disappointed me twice. Like if the story was eventually forced to show a potential happy ending (even if who's not Korean would find hard understanding who actually was the addressee of the messages: no sub no translation provided).
In any case a show which deserves to be watched. Definitely.
P.S. The OST is beautiful
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This review may contain spoilers
"Cheese In The Trap" is a drama about Hong Seol, an introverted girl, and Yoo Jung, the most popular guy in college. Unlike everyone else, Seol wasn't fooled by Yoo Jung's fake smile and he noticed that in her. At first, Yoo Jung decided to make her life hell, making everything difficult for her, until Seol decides to drop out of school for a while. When she returns, it's as if Yoo Jung is a different person and he's determined to make her fall in love with him.Yoo Jung is manipulative, cold and calculating, he has all the characteristics of a psychopath and that was one of the things that caught my attention the most about this drama, seeing a person like that trying to change for someone he fell in love with. It also has to do with the way people treated Yoo Jung, no one was sincere with him, everyone wanted something from him, friendship, closeness, it was never something real and pure, so he reciprocated in the same way.
The whole situation with Young Gon, Seol's stalker, was the worst thing Yoo Jung did during the drama. It was when he didn't like Seol and maybe he didn't imagine that Young Gon was that crazy, but Yoo Jung's white lie was what created all this and then In Ha pretending to be him, since she stole his phone, saying that Seol was playing hard to get, that if he kept insisting, eventually she would give in. I know Yoo Jung didn't care much when he did this, because the rest was all In Ha, but when Seol finds out the truth, that it was all his plan, he finally realized that his actions hurt.
The second lead syndrome was heavy in this drama, In Ho is very charming, how can you not fall in love with him? Only he could make the nickname "dog fur" something cute. HAHAHA'
But at the same time, I couldn't root for him, since Yoo Jung was much more lonely, he had no one by his side, while In Ho had In Ha, even though she was completely crazy.
Speaking of In Ha, she is a very intriguing character, because she is complex. At first you don't think so, she seems like a spoiled rich girl, but she is full of insecurities, traumas and problems that she simply ignored. That's what ended up culminating in the end where she freaked out, threw Seol in front of a car and almost killed her on an impulse.
The only mistake in this drama is the ending. The audience deserved more than that simple email implying that Yoo Jung was still there, after what Seol went through because of him, him leaving seemed like a very cowardly attitude to me and him not showing up until the end made it even more so. I know he went because he was punishing himself, thinking that Seol's accident was like karma for everything he did to other people, but I wanted to see a redemption of the character, him coming back and saying that now it would be different. The ending is quite disappointing and ends up ruining the drama a bit.
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The drama started off so well leaving us so very confused about Yoo Jung's true nature and shined in the moments where we would see a glimmer of the true Yoo Jung with his scenes with Hong Seol. Again Seol was also another interesting character- to be frank she was just a pushover, someone who needed to learn to stand up for herself and say no to others. This is where the drama's real charm comes into place, all the characters are like people we encounter in real life whether that be pushover's, imitators, people misunderstood by society or those who are plain lazy, we as viewers can relate to what hong seol feels when she has to deal with these people.
Regarding the controversies and disappointments with the end episodes, as a self-diagnosed Baek In Ho (Seo Kang Joon) fangirl I had no problem with his increased screen time and focus on his problems. In all honestly there was never going to be an ending the writers could come up with which would make everyone happy for this drama especially considering the manhwa is still ongoing so I do think they did a great job. Instead the ending lets us viewers fill in the gaps the way we want to which I very much appreciated.
To anyone looking for a funny, relatable story that also tackles some of the most annoying types of people you could have ever met don't even hesitate to watch this drama it's amazing. Even better is that now that its over you van binge watch it without the pain of having to wait every week!
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This drama made me so addicted, although there are no daebbak moments for me I still love it. This drama will make u say, aaaaw I wish I had a friend like that (bora and eun taek are awesome).
I'll recommend this to to you if you're into romance, the story is good, one thing's for sure it made me smile.
cast? all of them are great, *thumbs up* the characters? it's either you'll love them, hate them or feel nothing at all. Each character has a story and its interesting. look forward to baek in ha! baek in ho okay good too! kekekek
rewatched value. lol. I watch it the second time around, like I said its addicting.
I love the music.
answers left undone. half way it did gave me some little bit of disappointment but if I look back in their story, their friendship, their conflicts and their love story and the addiction that they gave me I realized it is incomparable that's why I gave an overall score of 10.
ending? is it good, bad, awesome or horrible? secret I'll keep it to myself! hahahha!
this drama will give you two options: it's either you'll watch it until the end or drop it. I wonder which group are you. looking forward to your answer!^^
advice?
Don't watch it if you can't handle the disappointment, but there's a chance that u might not be disappointed at all, well it's still depends on you after all. :))
This drama is definitely my one great love, yoo jung and seol, jang!!
Although it's difficult watch it until the end.
-Park Hae Jin
ps: If there's one thing I wanna kill in here its the PD-nim
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Now that we've got that out of the way: Despite unevenness, Cheese in the Trap is a narrative success in my books, for many of the same reasons I've also defended that other 2016 YA drama with a bad reputation, Scarlet Heart: Ryeo. (Speaking of, MLSHR is one of the recs under CITT because it, too, has a "questionably crazy male lead." Hilarity.)
Anyway, k-drama romances tend to fall under two trends:
(1) Zany Disney-esque romcoms where love lifts everyone up where they belong (see: My Girlfriend is a Gumiho, To the Beautiful You, You Who Came From the Stars, etc. etc. etc. etc.).
(2) Toxic and imbalanced relationships that are glorified with undeserved happily-ever-afters (see: Boys Over Flowers, The Heirs, and so on and so forth).
Cheese in the Trap isn't either of those stories. Much like MLSHR, CITT is concerned with one overarching question: Can a person change another person? (Alternatively: Do people change *for* other people?) The show doesn't give a pat answer, and that's to its credit.
In short, this is a slice-of-life that isn't afraid to go dark (and not in an incongruous after-school special way — unlike Age of Youth, the darkness in CITT is fully fleshed out). If you're looking for light, escapist fun that delivers a straightforward message, there are literally hundreds of other dramas for you. If, otoh, you want a complex story about young adults that doesn't idealise its characters — but also, importantly, doesn't descend into nihilism — you might want to give Cheese in the Trap a shot.
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