Don't Dare to Dream

The name of the show should have TRIANGLES

I have very mixed feeling about this drama...
First of all the synopsis is completely wrong both of the leads were never COMPETETERS!!!

Every one in the review section loved the love triangles and that is what frustrated me!! Though as said it was unique.
The SML and FL had soooooo many good moments and unique bonding that it was very odd that he lost in the end

It was almost like FL toyed with both of their feelings...I mean how could she live with both of them and look at them with that gaze..

The show rarely had peaceful moments when one comes the other runs away..I didn't get it at all..and it happened more than four times!!!!

There were also few characters whose existence was just a prop...for example step mother of FL and FL brothers friend..

The show is full of triangles(two people fighting for one..aaahhhhhh!!!)
FL ,ML and SML
FL, ML and SFL
Papl gam, FL brother and his friend
Two sister in laws of ML and chef
Two sister-in-law of ML and papl gam
Two sister in law and brother of ML
SML, his fiance and FL
And I don't know if there are more but this is more than asked

I just hated the part where both were fighting for FL...it was made in such way

You won't hate it you would love it but would find it problematic in few ways
It was filmed great
SML is what you ll pity the most..he looked on the verge of crying on their wedding day
You could always tell he loved her more and the chemistry was better...

I guess ML won cause he had been her crush for three years..it was deep rooted or else there was no chance!!

Even after all this you would like it root for both ML and SML
It was never boring
It talked really well on prejudice about males having breast cancer
It also has very much detail about journalism
The kisses are best
And all the characters are somehow related to each other in a very genius way
I felt bad for SML as he remained lonely as always

But give it a watch...

Read More

Hwa Sin is a tad aggressive at times but it was refreshing to see a more complex character than in other kdramas. I like to think he saw Na Ri as an equal in his workplace and treated her as such but it depends on your perspective. Jo Jung Suk's acting saved the character with his microexpressions really. Did get boring around episodes 15-17 but hang in there it's an excellent lighthearted comedy from start to finish. Jung Won was pretty bland and poker face all the time so no second lead syndrome for me here. Also absolutely loved the soundtrack! I have it on repeat.

Read More

Yes to more dramas like this. Yes to realistic and relatable characters, yes to engaging and well thought out plots, and yes to tackling real-life issues. Taking on male breast cancer was massive, and I appreciate the drama writers willingness to go there. Pyo Na Ri was this fascinating combination of confident, vulnerable, honest, bold, and self-aware. Hwa Shin and Jung Won were two fascinating love interests with a heartwarming, sometimes heartbreaking, friendship. The make-up of this drama is almost flawless.

I only have 3 complaints.

1) The three-way cohabitation nonsense that comes a little past the halfway mark (three-way not to be confused with the sexual term).

2) The kiss at the hospital between Na Ri and Hwa Shin when Na Ri and Jung Won are tentatively dating.

3) That silly song/dance at the wedding in the finale.

The first two are important. The last one isn't a big deal. (I just thought the scene was hilariously stupid.)

The cohabitation is never really justified by the writers and lasts waaaay longer than necessary, but the kiss is addressed as being a very poor and inappropriate decision that has consequences. Unfortunately, the character's responses to the kiss is to create said, weird, three-way cohabitation arrangement that is just awkward and uncomfortable and annoying to watch. (I recommend finding a unique way to watch those episodes to ensure you don't go nuts.)

Even in these frustrating moments when you don't really understand what exactly the writers think they are doing though, they found a way to make these characters feel real and believable, like people you want to root for.

I recommend this drama, and I might even rewatch it some day.

Read More

I hate long rom coms. They tend to drag out within the last few episodes in a long list of misunderstandings / "will they won't they"s. So when I saw this was 24 episodes, I was quite hesitant. The title wasn't that appealing either, since we all know what jealousy brings into a drama... right?
WRONG.

Thanks to the top review here about this drama being messy in a good way, I decided to give this a shot. And I'm so glad I did or I would have missed out on this wonderful piece of work.

Yes, you have the typical tropes of someone getting cancer, a rich chaebol's mother playing dirty to ruin her son's middle class girlfriend, rich mother offering a girl money to leave her son, a female lead being caught between two men, etc. But instead of these being the source of draggy-ness, what the scriptwriters gave us was this whole feels trip of "oh, typical trope appears, sigh" and "holy crap did this really just solve the problem?!?!" within 1-2 episodes of each other. The drama is filled with unexpected (and hilarious) resolutions to things, and the fact that all the lead characters are mature adults who make reasonable choices makes it so much better than your typical rom com.

The flashback way of presenting new information also fits perfectly in terms of helping the audience understand what happened that led to the characters making these decisions (without being confusing or repetitive). The emotions also flow very well because of this style.

Let's talk about the two male leads. Second male lead is pretty much a perfect man, but second male lead syndrome didn't happen for me. We see very clearly how *despite the second male lead is, on paper, so much better than the first male lead,* the female lead struggles in between them. We see very early on how the first male lead is flawed -- but he is flawed not in the jerk-y manner, but instead in a way that we can't help but love. So by midway I was rooting 100% for the first male lead (and this says a lot because I'm a chronic warm/nice second male lead syndrome patient). The scriptwriter gave all our lead characters -- as well as the supporting characters -- multidimensional personalities and growth lines. Character development in this drama was superb -- both romantically and professionally. The 24-episode format, and the fact that the script doesn't waste time on unnecessary trope-dwelling, gave the writers time to do that.

The word "jealousy" makes a beautiful appearance in the drama, over and over again. It underlies the answer to one of the biggest questions in the drama. Also, you will not only see one love triangle, but (at least) three -- and a lot of the characters' choices are indeed made based on jealousy. However, the relationships aren't really messy in a bad way (again, 24-episode format helped give things more time to develop) and how things get resolved is also super worth looking forward to.

Now to comment on the acting-- both Jo Jung-suk and Gong Hyo-jin are extremely seasoned actors in the industry, and they really brought the lead characters to life. Second male lead Go Kyung-pyo may be young compared to the two leads, but his mature acting gave perfect chemistry to his relationship with the female lead (11 years older) as well as his bromance with the male lead (10 years older). The casting of other characters is also perfect -- Park Jin-joo (Nurse Oh) is legit best supporting cast in all the dramas she's in! I also especially love Seo Ji-hye (announcer Hong Hye-won). This is my third drama of hers (Crash Landing On You, Dinner Mate, now this), and every time I see her on the screen she is a completely different character. Her character here is super cool -- I thought she'd be a typical second female lead who plays dirty (again, typical rom com expectation), but the way she handled things is so lovable. It's just a shame how she never got any screen time with our Kim Jung-hyun (who plays female lead's younger brother) -- Crash Landing On You fans would understand why this is sad.

Kind reminder to stay for the epilogues in ep 16 and 22 -- you won't regret it :) The high rewatch value is for the comedic scenes and for the epilogues omg I can't get over ep 22~~

Read More

Where to begin? When I discovered this drama almost 2 yrs ago, I wasn't expecting how much I would grow to love this drama. I fell in love with it and still in love with it. I've watched this more than 5x and I never get tired of it. It just has all the feels. The love triangle here was the best. Hands-down best love triangle out of all the dramas I've watched. It's just so hard to choose between these 2 oh so different male leads. Lee Hwa Shin (Jo Jung Suk) was the stubborn/cocky hard-hitting reporter but do everything-for-love type from picking up Pyo Na Ri using the station's chopper to admitting to the entire nation about his illness. Then Ko Jung Won was the sweet, sexy and uber-considerate guy who chose to pursue an ordinary girl despite the huge difference in their social status. The way they express love is so different but they're both intense and sincere. Pyo Na Ri is the unassuming girl who had a three-year crush on Hwa Shin but kept getting rejected and just when she was ready to give up on Hwa Shin and fall in love with his best friend, that's when Hwa Shin realized his feelings for her. I love the internal struggles that the 3 characters went thru. It reminds me how messy love is and how strong the feelings usually are when u first fall in love. I love how the writers was able to seamlessly incorporate their work life into the love story. I love how the two male leads competed with each other but still cared for each others as best friends at the same time. I love how Pyo Na Ri who had no one who loved her in the beginning suddenlu had two men fighting over her. I can't imagine a better cast, the actors have surpassed my expectations. Plus that kissing scene between Jo Jung Suk and Gong Hyo Jin. Just WOW. Jo Jung Suk, what can I say, he's a damn good kisser and the tv screen doesn't lie. I also love the ost! I've lost count how much I've listened to Lovesome. The other characters and storylines are also quite enjoyable. I also love the symbolism with the slippers. I will never get tired of this drama and will always be one of my top favorites.

Read More

you will have a love - hate relationship with this the drama

Good points about the story/ plot/ drama
1-Very light , easy going, full of crazy fun drama, without villains, controlling parents etc
2-Throw light on a very unusual but deadly diseas
3-Shows the competitiveness and drama from behind the camera in the broadcasting industry, also in a very entertaining & engaging, non boring way
4-Deals with mature Issues related to mostly mature people like health, work problems, two timing ,asexuality etc.
5- A drama that is funny but if it were not a rom- com, it could have been easily a very intense Melo drama so writer did a good job by keeping an otherwise heavy story immensely funny
6- All the characters except for 2nd male lead was very realistic, the 2nd male lead was too perfect to be true.
7- One of the most hottest, sensual, sensational kisses from JJS , Gong Hyo Jin is one lucky woman.
8- The best of the best chemistry between main leads,and among all the characters.
9- Absolutely amazing OSTs, step step, would you to come to me, bye autumn are to name a few that leaves in my heart rent free.
10- Amazing bgm. Also very befitting according to the scene requirements.

Negative points about story/ plot:
1- Uninteresting side stories
2- Not everyone's cup of tea, very controversial for some .
3- One of the most annoying, unbearable lead female role
4- The biggest flaws
* The story and role of 2nd lead is very unnecessarily prolonged that makes at least half of the audience to root for him not for the main lead.
* The writer failed to bring out clearly, the reasons why male lead was a tusendear. she was unable to make a good no of the viewers like the male lead. She should not have made 2nd lead seemingly so perfect that many of the viewers could not connect to 1st male lead.

This drama is not everyone's cup of tea , like I said before especially for them who have over active brains, analyse dramas so critically, do not enjoy the drama for its face value, and don't take a drama as just a drama. And mainly for these reasons many dislike the main lead ,

But there are very few who dislikes female lead and I am one of them. The female lead almost through out the drama acts as a cringy ,puny woman who have no self respect, dignity, has no idea of someone's personal space,has no idea to let go and move on, wish-washy, indecisive on top of that is immature, naive. For me she only redeemed in the last 4-5 episodes and forother 20 episodes a little bit here and there. Even then she has the sympathies of all the viewers because she gets the benefit of being a woman and the portion of woman in the total no of viewers is always in majority.

On the other hand I absolutely loved the male lead who is a loveable jerk, little tusendear, a lot of arrogant ,have inner insecurities,think highly of himself but he cares in his own ways for his loved ones, actually do care for female lead when poses that he doesn't not care for her for various reasons for, he is charming, adorable, sincere, straight forward, all out honesty,sets the same bars for himself that he sets for others, and I was rooting for him because I understand why he acted the way he did. A major credit for it goes to Jo Jung Suk for his phenomenal, extraordinary acting. It was a fun ride to watch Hwashin's character growth.

A lot of viewers got the 2nd lead syndrome but I barely noticed him in my first watch, because for me personally he was very boring and bland. Again he is not a flawless character , he becomes clingy, not ready to move on from the female lead, was so rich but very weak in handling his personal matters, badmouthed his friend all the time in front of female lead to woe her back. But again just because he was good to the female lead and super duper rich so he was a perfect guy who gave some viewers 2nd lead syndrome.

I enjoyed every bit of the main story related to three main characters,it never got draggy, even though I had concerns with female lead but I was overcome with those concerns because female lead character is very realistic and such people like her exist. So the drama never got bored for me, I binged watched it in 3 days, I have rewatched it multiple times, I have saved it and come back to it time and again. I love it for it's crazy light theme, for its realistic characters, it's intense love triangles, it's flow, and for every good point that I mentioned above in the beginning of the review.
I hate it for making less efforts to make some people understand the main lead character and invest in him.

But I would say that this is one and only drama where it makes us to raise questions so very often on the behaviour of different characters but this never fails to stop us from watching it, from enjoying it, from craving for the next episodes.

Acting of every one was top notch except the 2nd male lead,he was good but not as good as others, but the one actor who totally shone , stole the show had to be Jo Jung Seok. I have fallen head over heels for him. He has made a seemingly unpleasant character , a totally loveable character, he made me believe in all of his happiness, insecurities, pain, sufferings, regrets, loneliness. I felt physical pain in my chest whenever he suffered. He made me laugh. He made me understand seemingly hidden reasons for his those actions that were considered unpleasant. This drama was my first time watching him. And If it was not for him, I think I would not be able to love this drama as much as I do now, without him this drama would not be as much interesting for me as it is now. Hwashin is a difficult role to play where he is an ordinary guy with an unlikable personality on paper, so the actor had the daunting task of making him as an endearing, adorable one, also actor had to show his grief and pain but not going full emotional & Melo but with a touch of humour, that is again not easy to act BUT JJS has done a DIVINE job with microexpressions and emotive eyes to fulfill all the needs of the role. I can go & on in praising him but I would like to leave a link here that would prove you how much of a good actor he is and how much of a phenomenal actor he was in Jealousy Incarnate as Lee Hwashin. Don't forget to read the comments down there in the last part of the article.
http://netizenbuzz.blogspot.com/2016/10/kim-soo-hyun-polls-in-as-1-romcom-king.html?m=1
Also, apart from his outstanding acting as Lee Hwashin , I would like to appreciate him for taking on such a difficult role where he actually had to wear a bra. A role that is actually as embarrassing to play as an actor as embarrassing it was shown in the drama for the same reasons, for all the same stigma .

Read More

HOLLLLYYY COWWW...
I was turned away by the low ratings but I'm so so so glad I finished this drama because it turned out to be one of my all-time favorites!!! The first episode didn't pull me in right away but as I watched on I grew to fall in love with the cast more and more!!! Literally this is the cutest and funniest drama I've ever watched!! Every episode had me on my toes but at the end of the day they would wrap it up in a heartwarming and light, funny way. If you're into heavy suspense maybe this isn't for you but if you're a sucker for romantic comedies then this is the one!!
I literally can't over that I finished this drama so fast. Best chemistry and best music! Jo jung suk is also suuuuuuper cute and I'm just so in love with him after this drama. Don't be turned off by the ratings, try it yourself!!

Read More

NOT YOUR TYPICAL K-DRAMA

I just finished Oh My Ghost and, like many, I was utterly captivated by Jo Jung-suk's award-winning performance. Naturally, I needed more of him! So, without even a quick detour to another drama, I dove headfirst into Jealousy Incarnate, where he's the main lead. I briefly considered Hospital Playlist, but since he's not the main man there, I decided to save it for later.

I actually wanted to let this review marinate for a few days, but then it hit me – I might forget how absolutely phenomenal the OST is. Seriously, I think this is the first drama where I’ve genuinely wanted to download the entire soundtrack! It’s just that good: not repetitive, a fantastic mix of Korean and English, emotional when it needs to be, and hilariously on point with tunes that perfectly underscore every comedic line and action.

So, what do you get when you throw Jo Jung-suk, Gong Hyo-jin, and Go Kyung-pyo into one project? You get arguably the best love triangle in drama history – and yes, I mean that in a good way! This drama’s plot is literally built around this triangle, so if you’re usually not a fan, don’t let that deter you. You’d be missing out on something truly great. It’ll keep you on your toes and might even give you a serious case of second male lead syndrome, but trust me, everything ties up beautifully. It’s a classic love-hate dynamic, and by the end, you’ll likely find yourself rooting for the character you least expected to love.

The writers truly pulled off something I haven't seen in many dramas. They completely flipped typical relationship tropes on their head. Everything went against societal expectations, breaking barriers and taboos – especially with a male character dealing with an illness often associated with women. Plus, it’s a packed slice-of-life drama that happens to be set in a television newsroom. Getting a behind-the-scenes look at news production was an added bonus!

All in all, I absolutely adored Jealousy Incarnate, and honestly, I was thrilled it was 24 episodes long. More time to soak it all in!

Read More

Definitely of it’s time

**POSSIBLE SPOILERS, Read at your own discretion.**
I look back on 2016 K-dramas with so much love in my heart, as 2015 and 2016 were the years I really started watching, loving, and enjoying them. Most of my favourite titles come from these years, and the clichés that have since been mostly wiped away from dramas are what initially drew me to this one. Not to mention the two leads, Jo Jung Suk and Gong Hyo Jin, who are some of my favourite talents Korea has to offer, which was a huge bonus.

I went into this expecting only a couple of things that I remembered being common for dramas of this period: an overly macho male lead who eventually turns soft as a plush, a pushover female lead who may or may not grow a backbone, and a second lead who would make me root for him, only to end up as a great friend to the female lead when she ultimately chose the first male lead.

Little to say, I was incredibly surprised by some of what I expected, and some of what I did not. I was NOT expecting the male lead in this drama to have breast cancer, and for it to be introduced so early on came as such a pleasant shock. I think the cancer portion of this drama was incredibly well done, witty, and featured some of the best scenes, especially during the hospital visits. Most of my favourite moments throughout the drama came from the cancer and hospital arc.

That said, this drama definitely suffered from too many issues in my eyes. It relied heavily on the leads’ silly moments and made light of serious topics, which truly made me feel like the drama expected to be carried by its comedy and outright ridiculousness. This was especially true with the worn-out and incredibly tiresome love triangle. God, that love triangle made me hate Jeongwon so much, and somehow I hated him even more toward the end. I know this is an incredibly unpopular take, but it is mine nonetheless.

I saw Jeongwon as a creep, almost borderline stalker. Why did he always know where Nari was, and why did he constantly push his way in? I felt he was using his “love”, which felt more like obsession, to fill some kind of attachment void left by his mother, or to use Nari as a form of rebellion against his suffocating, luxurious life. He was very much in character the entire time with the rich boy gets whatever he wants attitude, and he often robbed Nari of her agency by forcing himself into her choices. It felt like their entire relationship consisted of him shoving himself into her life, constantly forcing himself into her orbit, and never letting her think for herself for even a second. He was overbearing, rude, and overall an unenjoyable character for me. Personality of wet cardboard, much? The only thing he knew how to do was yell and act entitled, no matter how much the drama tried to paint him as a good guy.

Not to mention how inconsiderate he was toward Ms. Geum, essentially his ex-fiancée. She was a surprisingly enjoyable character to me, and I felt she was just as wronged as he was, in a way he was unwilling to perceive or understand. As a woman, she had a duty and role to fulfill in securing a suitable arranged marriage, and she was more than willing to make it work. She genuinely seemed to admire Jeongwon for who he was and was willing to go the distance to get to know him.

As much as the drama tried to portray Ms. Geum as a wacko who was obsessed and a pathetic pick-me who could not let go, the more I saw her as a woman who simply wanted to be given a chance by the man she truly liked. She was willing to do what she had to do, and even wanted to know Jeongwon more deeply. I applaud her character and would root for her any day.

Furthermore, I can hardly begin to articulate how I feel about Hwashin and Nari, let alone them as a couple. Hwashin was very rude, narcissistic, and overly masculine. He was toxic to everyone around him, including himself. He is one of those characters I dislike but can unfortunately understand, though never validate. He is an asshole, plain and simple, with no excuses. He needed to learn respect for women, his friends, and himself. For much of the first half of the drama, he let his ego rule him, only for his cancer diagnosis to humble him at times.

I genuinely think being diagnosed with a disease most commonly associated with women was a major turning point for him. It forced him to step back and truly evaluate who he was. While I do not think he showed an insane amount of growth, especially during the far too long love triangle arc where he often became toxic and unrelenting, I did enjoy seeing the changes in how he approached Nari toward the end. He softened considerably, developed those “honey eyes”, and learned to address her more kindly and gently as he fell in love. I just hate that it took so long for such a jaded man to become enjoyable, especially around episodes 18 to 20. I really liked him then, and it felt like such a shame that so much potential was wasted.

I wish the drama had developed him more, especially with all the background they gave him early on. A clearer and more relatable explanation of how and why he became the asshole we met at the beginning would have gone a long way. It was incredibly obvious that his arrogance was a cover for a man deeply wounded by how his life had gone so far.

For example, there was so much potential in the storyline about him ruining his brother Joongshin’s life with that exposé. Was he forced to do that story, or did he do it purely for personal gain? He looked pained while delivering it, but even more hurt and disgusted with himself afterward. There was too little context for me to judge his actions, so it slipped through the cracks. With more depth, it could have made for a perfect character arc for Hwashin and added more weight to his brother’s death. Because so little was done with Joongshin’s character, I ultimately felt nothing toward him, either before or after his passing. He was just kind of there, and his death felt like a failed plot device meant to bring everyone together.

I also would have loved it if they worked harder to show that Hwashin was not popular with higher-ups at work and was consistently given demeaning assignments. I will never forget the remark where someone said Hwashin was overlooked as a reporter and never taken seriously, something along the lines of, “Why else would they have sent him to Thailand?” or “Why else do you think he accepted that position and stayed away for three years?” It is a small detail, but again, it was a missed opportunity.

It is such a letdown how much complexity slipped past Hwashin and his disgruntled family. The family was indeed a mess, but they could have been so much more. A mess with layered conflicts that eventually came together for reasons beyond just Ppalgang. Using a single teenager and a pointless character death to reunite everyone after years of resentment felt like the smallest and laziest writing choice.

Finally, Nari also felt like a massive missed opportunity. I fear that her hopes, dreams, and ambitions were completely squashed in favor of making her nothing more than a pawn of love. She was treated as an object and allowed herself to be handled whichever way others chose, all while insisting she was acting out of greed or self-interest. In reality, she was constantly pushed and pulled, rarely making decisions for herself or ever standing up for herself.

They could have expanded her character by portraying her as a dutiful older sister trying her best to make life work for herself, her siblings, and her abandoned stepmother, who seemed closer to her in age than a parent. It would have been incredibly heartwarming to see the two women bond and openly resent Nari’s father for abandoning his children, his eldest daughter, and his young wife. Instead, we saw little to none of her stepmother, very little of her brother Pyobum, and only some of Chiyeol when it conveniently served the plot.

Her family was honestly the most enjoyable part of the drama for me, and I would have loved to see more of them, especially her stepmother. Seriously, what did she do? Did she own the snack shop? How did she even meet Nari’s dad and marry him? Questions and stories like these could have easily replaced the countless wasted episodes spent on that stupid love triangle. Thinking about it genuinely makes me angry.

While I definitely have my qualms with this drama and could say much more, this is where I will leave it. As of writing this, I am on episode 20 and plan to finish the drama. I do not think I will edit this review afterward, as I doubt my issues will be resolved in just four episodes.

I will say that while I disliked many aspects of this drama, there were things I genuinely enjoyed as well. I will not rewatch it often, but if I ever do, it will be with a sense of nostalgic fondness.

I hope you enjoyed the read, and feel free to share if you had similar issues.

Read More