This review may contain spoilers
I honestly don't even know how I made it through this show. I despised this drama so much that I thought about dropping it after every single episode I watched. The major disappointment was definitely the storyline. I appreciated the fact that it tried to stand out from the romance genre with it's "dark" and "weird" characters, but it just didn't do the job for me. I was so confused and frustrated with them. Yoo Jung was a mix between a cold, dark and soft (but only towards Hong Seol) character. Hong Seol was simply not convincing when it came to the relationship with both her and Yoo Jung. I think it was mainly because of the fact that not many episodes went by for them to "fall in love". They went too fast in the beginning which is fine if there is a good development for the rest of the drama but that was not the case with this one. After every episode I doubted whether they were going to either continue with their relationship or breakup. They tried to explain Yoo Jung's cold and dark character with flashbacks about his high school days which I suppose were meant to make you fond of him but it was the total opposite for me. It just didn't justify his behaviour. It made me even more frustrated. I could go on about what else I didn't like about both these characters in particular but simply put, I felt like there was just no character development.
I do have to say that what made me reach the end of this drama was Baek In Ho and the relationship between Eun Taek and Bo Ra. I just fell in love with In Ho's character. After every episode I thought: "I want to know what happens to him". But at the same time, it confused the story even more. It was like a war between Yoo Jung and In Ho which made me wonder why Hong Seol wasn't convinced enough to go with the latter. I honestly appreciated the decision of putting Eun Taek and Bo Ra together. I thought there was at least some hope for love in this drama.
At the end of it, I was just so uninteresed that I didn't even care about Yoo Jung and Hong Seol's relationship.
Overall I wouldn't watching it again.
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What a strange, strange drama. Cheese in the trap started off with such a different, eary and chilly feel, which indicates brilliant acting from the leads and supporting siblings. However, you soon start to feel that the brilliant acting from the leads is downplayed because of the lack of character development. It made me really appreciate the importance of Baek InHo and Baek InHa's predicament which ended up in happiness and self-fulfilment.
They go from having growing pains to finally being able to detach themselves and start new lives in the final episode, the leads however, had an unsatisfactory ending. I usually like to be objective and don't really mind how the ending is, as long as the characters THEMSELVES find self-fulfilment at the end. This leads me to wonder what the entire point of the past 15 episodes was while watching episode 16.
So for all those complaining that the supporting Baek In Ho as a supporting character got way to much screen time, I am very satisfied with the outcome at least. My time watching his dilemmas was not wasted, because he eventually found his passion again, even his sister had a new beginning.
I've watched enough K-Dramas to figure out all the genres and what is most enjoyable or appealing to me and what genres I need to give more of a chance to because I surprisingly end up enjoying things I thought I would drop. I really wanted to get into more eary and chilly dramas, but this one just couldn't do it for me.
Shout out to everyone who liked it though, everyone is entitled to their own favorite shows!
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Over all disappointed
I had high expectations for this drama, but i was let down with a watered down story from the original and a lack luster ending.The story: theres really nothing wrong with the story, I quite like the story because im a big fan of the webcomic, but the execution was just bad, so many unnecessary scenes and plot points that weren't in the webtoon, they changed the structure of the whole story in a way that makes it flow awkwardly and prevents any character development from happening.
The characters: The FM is just so annoying, shes a total push over all she does is cry and stare blankly into space shes honestly so annoying to watch, a far cry from the spunky, capable, witty and intellegint Sul from the webtoon who knows how to stand up for herself. Then we have the male leads who are just completely different from how they were in the webtoon, Inho is now this sad boy with no spunk to him just more like a sad kicked puppy, nothing like in the webtoon he has an explosive temper and a "dont care" attitude. And Jung, oh Jung, hes now just a weirdo whos actions dont make sense and does just a number of stupid things, he loses his sense of humor, his youthfulness, his intelligence and over all presence. The side characters are fine, except Inha who is just 10 times more annoying in this, I honestly cant stand her, but the casting for the rest of the side characters was pretty spot on.
The only thing that I truly like about this drama is the ost, ive listened to it so many times, and I specially like to listen to it when I study, I recommend you give it a listen.
I only watched this because the webtoon its based on (its actually my fav webtoon tbh), but it just watered down the story and the characters. This is just my opinion as a fan of the webtoon, so im pretty biased, but if you enjoyed it more power to you, its just not for me, if youre a fan of the webtoon I dont recommend this, but if youre not you might like it, idk.
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I never read the webtoon so this review is for the show only. Very strong beginning and set up of the show but frankly very limited character development and limited relationship development. While the characters did grow a lot of times I'm found thinking about just how average these characters are in their personality. Hardly anything about the characters themselves made it worth watching other than how pretty the overall cast was.
The side plots are very cliche if you've ever read shoujo manga, but then again this was based on a webtoon.
The show had potential. Worth a watch if you like college setting and rich boy/poor girl tropes.
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I hated it
Without a doubt the worst drama I've ever watched. First of all, the male lead, Yu Jeong, doesn't have any sense of empathy towards anyone but the girl he "loves", and if he's had a good development, I would've changed my ratings, but he's just like a plain paper. Outraged me how he did that terrible thing to In Ho and has never shown anything but rancor against him. I got so angry at the way Jeong does whatever he wants and end up as a poor guy who was trying to do his best for the one he loves (I'm not defending what some characters did, but it annoys me how Jeong thinks he is an angel when he is doing the same — if not worse). The female lead, Hong Soul, plays dumbs and ignores a thousand things Yu does it's ridiculous. Anyways I'm not going to extend myself on this because I hated it and I don't want to get angry again.Was this review helpful to you?
I get it, Baek In Ho has stunning eyes… At least in the drama.
The drama sounds like a generic, typical drama but the plot is different from a lot of dramas I’ve watched. It’s definitely the characters that control the plot, I’ll say that, anything that the characters do takes the storyline to a different direction. Bottom line is that you would watch Cheese In the Trap for the characters, not the story. I don’t think that is a bad thing as long as you are invested in the characters. I also find that Cheese In the Trap teaches you life lessons about working with people if it’s school, a job, or any type of working environment.
I’m going to talk a little bit about Hong Seol the female lead; I had mixed feelings about her at the beginning, she didn’t exactly grab my attention, I didn’t find her that interesting, she also has a Bella Swan pout which was annoying to me, that’s a complete personal preference though. I grew to like her character as the show went on, and when she was taken advantaged by her classmates for a group project, having to do all the work I really understood her because I went through that, I think a lot of people do as well. I also knew where she was coming from for all the decisions she made.
My favourite character has to be Oh Young Gon, Hong Seol’s misunderstood stalker, he’s not exactly a good guy but doesn’t intend to be a bad one either, I just found him really funny every time he was on screen, his humour was dark since he was a bit off and I liked that about him.
Baek In Ho, who’s the second male lead was interesting to me initially, I was really into his character actually, but I lost interest in him by the middle of the drama because his story did not latch onto me, what I really like like was his conflict with Yoo Jung, those two completely clashed due to their past with each other.
We get to know Yoo Jung, the male lead toward the end as the plot unveils his past, just like Hong Seol, we see a different outlook on him and understand his character.
Now the ending for Cheese In the Trap has raised some controversy due to the producers no longer following the webtoon, it was rushed and some characters just disappear with no explanation, it was incoherent, you might be left with questions and confusion, I honestly blame the fact that they produced this drama before the webtoon ended, the ending probably would’ve been smoother if they had done it when the webtoon wrapped up. I will not spoil this part of the drama, but Baek In Ha, Baek In Ho’s sister has a meltdown and many fans were angry with that direction of the story but I found it very fascinating and was very invested on what was going to happen next when it occurred, and I don’t think that it happened just out of nowhere since Baek In Ha is evidently not a stable person and she did have some mental problems.
Cheese In the Trap is a decent drama, I cannot say it’s for everyone because I was not hyped about it but I know many others who were, you will just have to go into it and see for yourself if you like it or not. It did have some great acting by Seo Kang Joon who played Baek In Ho and I actually find that some of the supporting characters had excellent acting such as Yoon Ji Won who played Son Min Soo, Hong Seol’s follower (not to be confused with her stalker) and Ji Yoon Ho who played Oh Young Gon. I think Kim Go Eun who played Hong Seol was promising too. Cheese In the Trap is worth checking out, watch an episode or two to see if you like it because it may (or may not) appeal to you more than others.
I give Cheese In the Trap a 7/10 stars for it’s promising acting, diverse set of characters, but weaker plot, and unsatisfying conclusion.
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This review may contain spoilers
This is my first review here on MDL. I purposely didn't watch this while it aired, but that didn't stop me from seeing spoilers from many of my Facebook groups, so much so I had to leave them. So needless to say I had an idea of the ending before I watched it. I hate knowing what's going to happen in a show because I keep picturing it in my head and it takes away from my enjoyment.Enough of that, on to the review...
I loved most the actors, they each brought their own slice of life character to the show. Some did a better job than others in their acting, some went too over the top and became borderline annoying. (In Ha and the stalker)
I wish I could say I enjoyed it, but I didn't. I could relate to many of the characters from my college days and now on my job. So my lack of enjoyment may have been due more to it being too close to home. Some parts did, however, seem forced to make the impact needed.
As this appears to be based on an ongoing webtoon I accepted that fact as I watched, more out of a morbid curiosity than anything else. I couldn't get into it as I wanted to, with regards to Seol and Jung's relationship, but that's just my response. Sorry, I didn't see what all the hype was about. Too many parts and characters, just seem to appear for the effect then disappear into thin air.
It's definitely a second lead syndrome drama. I liked In Ho from Roomates and here he did a great job. Jung played his role to perfection, and was one of the main reasons I continued to watch it. For the most part I couldn't even like him, and kept thinking WTH?
Seol was not likeable to me either, and even mean at times, silly at times, and simple at times.
Loved most of the ost will add to my favs.
As for the drama, once was more than enough for me. I'm left feeling a bunch of nothing after a few sparks. I could feel hurt when I should have felt hurt. Just a few laughs that were short and resulted from some silliness.
In the end it seemed like lots of characters that overlapped but just for effect, nothing else.
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I mean I watched it because I saw the cast, there was like Seo Kang-joon, Nam Joo-hyuk & Lee Sung-Kyung which were all really good actors and characters were really funny to watch how different they could be.
But I think I didn't really like how the story of the two main actors Kim Go-eun & Park Hae-joon ended up like, I don't know, I think it was a little confusing and I just didn't like how it ended. I finished watching the whole thing just to see how it would have ended up but, I don't think I liked it very much.
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This review may contain spoilers
Most say it's bad, but I loved it. It didn't become one of my favs because it didn't have a 100% closed ending. Shippei right as always. And I didn't think Jung was crazy and psychopath. I do think he had a certain problem because he got irritated easily and for anything, and that even though it was a small thing, he felt the need to get revenge and want to pay back. However, in certain situations, I fully agree with Jung to want revenge because I don't see a problem in getting revenge, as long as it's not for insignificant things (as he did many times) but for something that had an absurd impact on his life. (I am scorpio girl. Revenge is a characteristic of my sign). I defend him because I'm someone who loves revenge stories and not because he's a man, standard, handsome, as many say.About the couple's ending: it was an open but not vague ending. That's because as Jung finally read Seol's email, it means he was finally confident and ready to love her. And we know and we can clearly see that even after 3 years, love for each other still existed. After all, it was a very intense love. Don't say he was crazy, psycho, just because you wanted her with In-ho. It wasn't Jung's fault that he became that way. It was the events since his childhood that made him that way. And thanks to Seol and all the things that happened from their relationship, they served to make Jung realize that he had something wrong and so go after improving for himself and especially for her.
I absolutely loved In-ho too, but he didn't and would never have the possibility of Seol choosing him because Jung was always undoubted for her.
Another secondary couple calling attention as if they were the protagonists too. Bo-ra and Eun-taek were too perfect. A pure, light and funny relationship.
In-ha was just so insufferable. I have nothing to say about her except that she is a freak and that her expressions, speeches and actions as if she were a child, irritated me absurdly. I hated her from start to finish.
I loved this drama and all the lessons, conflicts and revenge. But mostly I loved the two couples and Baek In-ho.
And by the way, a lot reminded me of True Beauty. And True Beauty is one of my favs ever. This also had an influence on me.
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Loved it!
This show wasn't what I was expecting at all. I really don't understand the low rating! I suspect it's from people who are (understandably) turned off by the sociopathic traits. Yeah it's in pretty bad taste to give a ML sociopathic traits, but the entire theme of the show is about misunderstandings, and he's majorly misunderstood - and while we shouldn't expect someone like him to be "misunderstood" in real life, it's just a drama people. I feel this show in general is misunderstood. It's about young characters in a high school setting, and comes across as something lighthearted at surface level, yet is all about very mature and complex subjects. I can see how some audiences could be put off. I absolutely LOVED it. Each episode kept me hooked from scene to scene. I'm already a huge fan of SKJ and I went into it expecting major second lead syndrome. That didn't disappoint...but I also totally felt the chemistry with the ML who was actually very sweet. A must see, just don't go into it expecting a fluffy high school drama.Was this review helpful to you?
white sheep in a flock of black ones..
Slightly wrong description of the drama..” Yoochun has some kind of secret” .. he doesn't have any secret! The whole joke is that he had a strong sense of justice that so interfered with the others (who used the position of his father ) that they called Yoochun "strange" thereby spoiling his life .. and those close to him ..Actually Yoochun is the most adequate character in this drama!!! He is just not strange, but fair, with character and his opinion, who knows how to stand up for himself and for people close to him!
And strange here, his father, who wanted and tried to raise an obedient doll / vegetable from his son and did not allow him to show emotions (anger), thereby himself is to blame, and Inho's sister, Park Inha. Those are really weird! Inhuman to the point of impossibility, trying to convince anyone that Yoochun is strange just because he refuses to be their toy and rag and behaves as he sees fit and also takes revenge on everyone who offended or used him at any time.
I don’t understand a little the idea of the screenwriter (I don’t like this idea at all, he unhealthily hyped it throughout the drama) who promoted the idea to the masses “Yochun is strange Yoochun is strange ..” ( the idea of people which respect themselves and don’t give others play with them ) where almost all the people around him thought of him that way ..
Where is he weird? All his actions here are so clear and transparent that there is no trace of strangeness! Everything is logical and consistent .. probably the scriptwriter was trying to show how difficult it is for people to survive in a society of idiots (in this case, this is the society where Yoochun was) such as Yoochun who differ from the herd by having a brain, thinking and a sense of justice and self-respect!
And if Yoochun also set everyone up or crap everyone, or okay, didn’t betray those who set him / anyone up or allowed him to sit on his neck, then he would not automatically be strange because he would not resist and would not take revenge .. they want such people see everything? Not able to stand up for themselves..?!
It was a pity for Yoochun, he suffered the most ..
The topic with Yoochun and Park Inho is not fully revealed
It is not clear who actually betrayed the guys, what club they will be in when InHo then broke his arm ..
Maybe it was the pianist who wanted to be closer to Yoochun so that Inho couldn't perform..
It was also very pitiful for Yoochun when Sol went to the hospital and he chewed for the only person who understood him a little and was on his side .. he was afraid of losing her.
In general, this topic is still relevant now, there are very few intelligent adequate people who do not give themselves offense .. and very few who stand on the side of such people. Most of them are like Sangchul, Mina, Ingun...
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This review may contain spoilers
Most say it's bad, but I loved it. It didn't become one of my favs because it didn't have a 100% closed ending. Shippei right as always. And I didn't think Jung was crazy and psychopath. I do think he had a certain problem because he got irritated easily and for anything, and that even though it was a small thing, he felt the need to get revenge and want to pay back. However, in certain situations, I fully agree with Jung to want revenge because I don't see a problem in getting revenge, as long as it's not for insignificant things (as he did many times) but for something that had an absurd impact on his life. (I am scorpio girl. Revenge is a characteristic of my sign). I defend him because I'm someone who loves revenge stories and not because he's a man, standard, handsome, as many say.About the couple's ending: it was an open but not vague ending. That's because as Jung finally read Seol's email, it means he was finally confident and ready to love her. And we know and we can clearly see that even after 3 years, love for each other still existed. After all, it was a very intense love. Don't say he was crazy, psycho, just because you wanted her with In-ho. It wasn't Jung's fault that he became that way. It was the events since his childhood that made him that way. And thanks to Seol and all the things that happened from their relationship, they served to make Jung realize that he had something wrong and so go after improving for himself and especially for her.
I absolutely loved In-ho too, but he didn't and would never have the possibility of Seol choosing him because Jung was always undoubted for her.
Another secondary couple calling attention as if they were the protagonists too. Bo-ra and Eun-taek were too perfect. A pure, light and funny relationship.
In-ha was just so insufferable. I have nothing to say about her except that she is a freak and that her expressions, speeches and actions as if she were a child, irritated me absurdly. I hated her from start to finish.
I loved this drama and all the lessons, conflicts and revenge. But mostly I loved the two couples and Baek In-ho.
And by the way, a lot reminded me of True Beauty. And True Beauty is one of my favs ever. This also had an influence on me.
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