Clean with Passion for Now (2018)

An excellent drama that suffers from excessive length

I was truly captivated by the early episodes of the drama, to the point where I would have given it a solid 8.5 out of 10. However, as I progressed, my rating decreased due to the quality of the last five episodes.

I felt a sense of guilt when I resorted to watching the final episodes at 1.5x speed.

STORY

Initially (episodes 1 to 8), the story was remarkably well-paced, narrated, and executed. It immersed me in this whimsical universe through a good balance of narration, humor, and light-heartedness. The narrative alternation encouraged me to invest in the drama and follow the adventures of the main characters.

However (episodes 9 to 12), the pacing became confusing. There were long moments of repetitive dialogues that added nothing to the story. Nevertheless, I held on due to the excellence of the first eight episodes.

Then (episodes 12 to 16), it was a disaster. The episodes lacked a solid narrative structure, the dialogues dragged unnecessarily, and the camera shots were excessively long to fill an episode. Definitely something to avoid.

ACTING

Undoubtedly, the strength of this drama lies in the acting performances, as all the actors are excellent. Honestly, Kim Yoo Jung's acting skills are so impressive that she compels us to follow her character's journey despite the weak moments in the script. Thanks to her, I managed to complete the drama. She effortlessly conveys a range of emotions, and we understand everything she feels. She is an impressive actress, and I will make sure to watch the dramas she has been a part of.

MUSIC

Nothing exceptional, but the main song is effective and complements the key moments well. It's satisfying.

REWATCH VALUE

I would say yes to rewatching the first eight episodes, but a definite no to the latter ones, which were truly disappointing and off-topic.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, I would have liked to say much more about this drama, but the second half was a letdown. Still worth watching for the enjoyment factor!

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It was good until it wasn't

I have nothing new to say. I was enjoying it up until Episode 14, and then I put in on pause for about two months. I went back to watch the last two and a half episodes so that I could remove it from my Netflix watch list. I then cried for 2 1/2 episodes. The original soundtrack from this series is the best gift you will receive. It will yank your heart strings. I don't think I will ever re-watch but I have wasted my time on worse dramas.

I may be in the minority, but I loved the ML lead. He is so fricking cute and he is a solid actor. I have never seen him in a drama before. I loved his size. He is a tall dude compared to the actress being so small. I thought their chemistry was so heartwarming. I felt the love the characters had for each other.

I liked it. I didn't love it. But I liked it.

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I Can’t Help But Compare

As someone who has watched the Chinese adaptation(Use for my Talent) first, it took me a very VERY long time to watch this Korean adaptation despite the fact that I prefer Korean romseries over Chinese, because of the simple fact of how moving ‘Use for my Talent’ is, a masterpiece imo. Now that I’ve built the courage to start this series I now know that I was right to put it off for so long. They do not compare as far as quality. Use for my Talent had all the ingredients and I feel like clean with passion for now just has the toppings. First off, the 2ndML syndrome is real and prevalent when it comes to this adaptation unlike the Chinese version. I personally feel like the ML and 2ndML should have been swapped. The way I am just annoyed all around with this ML is something I rarely experience, he is a true thorn in the side. Not even the try hard “ cutesy” scenes saved his character imo. 2nd, The chemistry between the ML and FL is lacking. If I were to be put in the FL’s shoes the show would have ended as soon as the 2ML confessed, the next episode would of been a marriage finale honestly lol. 3rd, for some odd reason it seems like the FL in this adaptation is waaay more disgusting and unclean as compared to the FL in Use for my talent, which wasn’t a huge deal because she improved as the episodes progressed but it was just a turn off in the first few episodes. 4th, I personally feel like the relationship between the ML and FL gives forced vibes just to move the story along. The fact that she just all of a sudden started liking him off of nothing is weird, she had no reason to have feelings for him whatsoever, he did nothing special besides randomly kiss her and catch her when she fell off the letter, he was very rude to her in most of their encounters. There was little to no build up. In closing, If you have watched the Chinese adaptation first, I would say be prepared and don’t go in expecting much from this one in comparison, If you are going into this adaptation first, it is a good drama to pass time. It’s lighthearted with a little comedy and a spoon of ridiculous. As a stand alone drama I give it a 7.5/10 kinda recommend. If compared to Use for my Talent I give it a 5/10 heck no I don’t recommend but watch at your own risk if you wanna.

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Mysophobia should be a subplot, not the whole plot!

Am I the only feeling like there are gigantic black holes in the plot?

It's like the writers have decided to go on a cooking spree and mix wasabi with chocolate. These 2 ingredients are potent in each of their own rights, but Wasabi Kit Kat? Thanks, but no thanks. From mysophobia to chaebol to love triangle, you name the cliché they've got it. The show even started with the whole stylised apartment and walk-in closet thing.

Everything is unbearably unbelievable and predictable. We've got the female protagonist, who is supposed to be "dirty", looking still pretty and neat as ever with just a few a hair out of place. And the lead male keeps having way too many "accidents" where he would overexaggerate to the same degree every single time, enough to make the couple seems as polar opposite as possible. Then, somewhere in between, there are bits and pieces of flashbacks that are recalled rather awkwardly and forcibly which don't really add much to the depth of the storyline.

Maybe my expectations were a little too high as I anticipated for Yoo Jung's comeback and Gyun Sang's rom-com debut. Either way, it's not my cup of tea at the moment.

On the other hand, where is my Untouchable adaptation, JTBC?

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Do you want a stale story with uncomfortable chemistry? This is for you.

Lets start with what I like: Kim Yoo-jung as the female lead was endearing and grounded. Though this series is unrealistic she offers a rather humanising performance which puts many of the actors in this serious to shame. Her acting was the only thing keeping me going for as many episodes as I did.
Further helping this was the family element which was by far the best part of this drama, both the relations amongst the family members and the further interactions they have with the people they bring into their lives.
However, none of this could get me to continue to watch this.
This drama fails at its very foundation and that is the romance with the male lead. His character was insufferable, he spends most of the early episodes falling in the pit falls of his own ego, all whilst negging the female lead, or giving the viewer emotional whiplash as he switches between doing half decent things for the FL and being a general arsehole.
Now I went into this drama unaware of the significant age gap between the 2 main actors but it does explain a lot of the uncomfortable tension in many of the 'romantic' scenes. As a rule I'm not against all age gaps, however when the FL actress age is still in the teens and is being partnered with a man in his 30s in a workplace romance which already brings with it a power imbalance there is a level of ick that should not be overlooked. This could have been done well but it shows a lack of forethought and brings a disgustingly uncomfortable element to a drama that does not have the emotional or story strength to pull it off gracefully.

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I'm glad I never drop a K-Drama, because the last five episodes SAVED this show!! For me, the first roughly seven episodes were cringeworthy, boring and bad, with a few good scenes interspersed. Dr. Choi (I believe that is how it is spelled) is the most underrated character perhaps ever in television? I know some may not like his character but I thought it was perfectly played.

From episodes 8-11 the show started to pick up it's pace a little, and by the end five I was finally gripped by the show. I not only suggest everyone to be patient with this how but to be patient with all television shows. Always watch a series until the end, no matter how bored you believe the first half to be. Because you may find out, just like in this case, that being patient will reward you in a story that gives you fulfilment.

Out of all the shows I have reviewed so far, yes it's the lowest rated. It doesn't mean it's a bad show though. Watch it!

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Odie el principio y ame las actuaciones

No iba a escribir una reseña de esto, pero me puse a leer las otras reseñas y me di cuenta que tenia que dar mi opinión, ya que pienso completamente diferente a muchos y me gustaría explicarlo.
Desde el principio sabia que este drama, no iba a ser muy bueno, algo light para ver.
Que me engancho: la historia de él, su actuación era tan real, una persona con un trastorno asi es tan desagradable, puede llegar a ser detestable. Me llene de curiosidad de ver como lo solucionaban.
Que odie: Todo el principio es tan cliché, tan cliché al extremo, que estuve a punto de parar de verla. Todas las escenas, los encuentros, exagerados sin sentido. En las comedias románticas esta bien usar cliches, pero aquí eran exageradante ridículo. La ridiculización de la protagonista me pareció sin sentido, la escena de la cabeza de caballo, no tenia nada de lógica. Hablo del tipo de lógica en un guión que hay escenas para lograr algo. Las veces que la emborracharon para que fuera extremadamente torpe. Todo era innecesario. Una persona con misogenia no se enamoraría de alguien así nunca, jajajaja.
La segunda parte de la historia, no es para nada perfecta, pero tiene mucho más lógica, en especial el tema familiar.
Que el abuelo sea un desgraciado haciendo lo que le da la gana, por puro orgullo, digamos que es normal para tener un villano. La secretaria apoyándolo, creyendo que ayudaba, tambien es normal para tener un chivo expiatorio.
Que la familia que fue jodida por una gran empresa, odie todo lo que tenga que ver con la muerte de tu familiar, es totalmente entendible y que te tengas que alejar de ellos es básicamente solidaridad familiar. 2 años de espera para sanar eso me parecio bien, para perdonar y seguir, fue decente.
El tema del hermano que por hacer taekwondo no pueda defenderse es primera vez que lo veo, no se cuan exagerado es con respecto a la realidad, si es asi, muy interesante dilema que mostraron.
El papa de ella y la mama de él, son actores que adoro, sus actuaciones son expectaculares.
Conclusión:
Si puedes pasar los miles de clichés exagerados del principio, este drama es disfrutable, entretenido. Ver como un chico con un trastorno psicológico cambia por enamorarse, me pareció muy interesante historia.

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