Chocolate

this drama is mediocre at best. with so much focus in the synopsis on the main couple, you'd assume we'd be presented with some development by the main leads that would make you feel warmth when they eventually ended up together; the side stories became a focal point, so much so that i had lost interest in the main couple by the time they were together, and found myself bored by their constant teetering, and moon cha young's apparent inability to speak.

starting off strong in the first episode, i was intrigued and saw potential in the story. by episode two, i was confused and questioning whether i should even continue. with kang nearly dying in libya to min sung and cha young becoming a couple, only for her to leave and for min sung to becoming ill, i didn't know what to focus on when it came to the plot. too much happened, with unnoticeable time skips that made me wonder what exactly was going on.

i continued on...

the drama was filled with heartwarming and heartbreaking stories about lives within a hospice and i could appreciate the characters and tales of each patient, and we saw some sweet moments between main and side characters that caused my eyes to well up (though i found that i probably only cried twice, to my surprise considering how much others had been mentioning a box of tissues should be ready before watching this drama). eventually, this became tiresome and i found myself skipping through the scenes of other characters, hoping for some development with the main characters. the stories took away from my focus on the leads which eventually caused me to lose interest in them completely and led me to become more interested in lee joon's character as a whole (which fell short, as we can only assume he goes back to the hospital, but no satisfactory finale).

by the end of it, the relationship between kang and cha young felt unnatural, and what could have been sweet romance felt awkward, as they had lost the spark they had at the beginning. i found myself just waiting for it to end, i had watched so much of it, i couldn't just drop it at the last few episodes. the ultimate episode ended with them once again meeting in greece after she had run away but left me with no satisfaction nor a warm feeling inside.

a positive is that i paid much more attention to the OST of this drama than any other drama i've watched, i'd say, and found myself enjoying the sweet melodies of the show.

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You know how we all hold out hope for that last episode? I am there. I have had some very clear realizations while watching the final 16th episode. It starts out terribly in my opinion, with the ML lying, which has been a problem with the FL the entire season. This drama has been full of secrecy in the name of protecting other people or denying their own feelings from the get go. It has also been full of false guilt, followed by apologies for things that were not actually their fault. I know that in some Asian cultures this is considered a virtue, but I despise it. Clearly it is the writer's theme for this drama. I appreciate when a cast gets to be adults and actually discuss their emotions, deal with facts and work things out. No one in this entire drama does that. It has been frustrating for me, but the main story line has been compelling enough to hold my attention. The recently (like 2 episodes ago) paired main couple did not build a truly romantic relationship early enough to support their intimacy in this last episode in my opinion as well. The ML lead feels more like a friend or a pal than a boyfriend honestly. The side stories took up a lot of air time and were well developed, but that actually took away from the core romantic aspect of the drama. The backstory and flashbacks were well done and intriguing leading the viewer to believe that the final result would be emotionally comparable, but the ML has hardly cracked a smile the entire drama, so now that he is relaxed and smiling at the end it seems contrite and unnatural honestly, out of character. In this entire last episode, his denial that his mother was the person who gave the FL chocolate when a mall collapsed trapping them both, loomed over the joy of their relationship in my mind. He surely can not keep that a secret forever and when the FL finds out he lied what then? But, that was not revealed before the drama ended. I haven't mentioned that the drama was set in a hospice and patients do die in every single episode, which was ok emotionally, since that was the theme, and it was never overly dramatized. The ending was understated and sweet, and did get more believable in the last few minutes. I would still recommend this to be watched, but it is not one I personally will re-watch later. I enjoyed Kim Won-Hae's role in this as he is an eternal treat for me anytime he is in a drama, but even his character speaks of death and has false guilt. I give this an 8 which is low for me. I believe the true moral of this story is, do not take life for granted and appreciate what life you do have. A worthy message.

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The situations you’ll encounter within the series are really eye openers. It will have you thinking about what important in life. I will admit that this is a burner for sure. I warn you all, this is not a romantic drama. This is a drama with tragedy and sad stuff with a hint of love. Don’t be fooled. It’s not bad but it’s not sweet either. This drama surrounds a man that went through hardship as a child and a women who suffered as well. You will also see a lot of their families and the role they played in how they are today. It’s a very sentimental series with a hint of warmth. This was not a great love story. It was so sad. Very few if any upbeat moments.

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I started watching this drama because I was bored and I saw Ha Ji Won as the main actress. I honestly did not expect anything from this drama; however, it was one of the most heart-warming dramas ever! This was a drama that I needed in my life at the moment. It will always have a special place in my heart.

I think I cried in every single episode and this is a first. Kudos to the writer, director, the whole production team, the actors and actresses that produced such an amazing, well-written drama. A MASTERPIECE!

Story: This is not your typical medical/food drama, but the writer somehow combined both genres so well. I don't want to spoil too much about the storyline, although it's very obvious that you can predict what is next with the main characters. However, what really had me crying every episode was the stories behind every patient at the hospice. The writer was able to incorporate food with each story and give meanings behind every dish was brilliant.

Character: All the characters had developed throughout the drama, but my favorite gotta be Lee Jun. He changed so much from the beginning until the end. His relationship with Kang had me crying the most. I'm so glad the writer & director did not turn him into a bad character. Although his mother was my least favorite because she ruined Jun, but I guessed the second to last episode explained why she wanted the hospital so bad. Still disliked her though because she used Jun for her own greed. Each character has their own sad story behind it, which is why I also loved this drama so much. It did not focus on the main characters too much, but it also gave the support characters a lot more screen time. I think that was why this drama was so heart-warming.

Acting/Cast: HANDS DOWN EVERYONE ACTED SO WELL!!! Even the children made me cried...

Music: AILEE sang their main OST, ofc it should be good! Overall, the OST did set the mood for the whole drama.

Overall: This is a must-watch if you are looking for something that is super heartwarming and you are in the mood to cry every episode. I'm glad that I watched this drama while it was airing because at least I could take a break from crying lol. Honestly, this will be one of my top dramas and I would rewatch it later on. Do not expect too much romance from this drama, it will teach you valuable lessons though. Every moment in this drama was meaningful. Also, the cinematography is so beautiful!

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A melodrama done right.

The weakest point of Chocolate is the first few episodes which make the show seem like the run-of-the-mill melodrama, with plenty of classic sibling rivalry and serendipitous meeting between the romantic leads. The quick transition of time and space, in addition to the contrived missed opportunity of the romance, is a drag to get through.
The show takes off towards the middle when the story transitions from the hectic ER drama to the calming environment of a hospice. The slice-of-life quality of middle episodes gives the world and characters room to breathe. Each side characters fulfill their arcs as the main characters grow with them. The sibling rivalry also transforms as the brothers become more introspective about their place in the world.
The show reaches a crescendo when the romantic leads tie up their intertwined history together towards the later episode. While predictable, the chemistry between the leads blossoms into a rewarding experience.
To conclude, while this is a melodrama with no regards to realistic plot, the characters really find a place they belong in a power-hungry world that reflects the one we live in.

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I have always been a fan of Ha Ji Won and it seemed like she and Yoon Kye Sang was an unlikely pair. Plus this was also a melodrama. I kinda had qualms with most of Korean melodramas because they tend to drag the second lead storyline way too much but I was surprised with this story. First of all, the OST is so good that I had to buy the physical copy. HJW and YKS even had a special duet song included. This is one of those legit slice of life melodramas where there is no unnecessary love triangle conflict. It was a legit story where their only hurdle is life's situations and circumstances. I also liked the fact that the story not only focuses on them but also with the people around them.

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"O dia que você desperdiçou hoje é o amanhã que alguém que morreu ontem tanto desejava."

Os pacientes da unidade de cuidados paliativos não só mudaram a vida dos protagonistas, como fizeram eu refletir sobre mim mesma do início ao fim. Chocolate é um melodrama único por colocar as memórias afetivas associadas a comida.

Fiquei pensando tanto nisso, que muitos dos nossos desejos, do momentos sejam eles solitários ou compartilhados, envolviam algum tipo de comida. Às vezes parece algo bobo e passa despercebido, mas por trás de uma refeição está uma memória da qual nunca poderemos viver de novo.

A trama muito bem construída, mostrando o contexto do passado dos protagonistas que foi complexo, carregado de traumas e dramas familiares. A Chay-young sem dúvidas foi a minha personagem preferida. Ela teve uma vida muito difícil mas tentou ao máximo ajudar as pessoas ao seu redor, e a forma como ela fazia isso era espalhando amor a cada prato feito.

Todas as cenas que a chayoung cozinhava me deixavam tranquila, eu amava ver ela cozinhando. E todas as histórias naquele hospital envolvendo alguma refeição especial, deixaram meu coração quentinho e ao mesmo tempo me levaram as lágrimas. Mas acredito que o choro seja bom para lavar a alma, né?

Senti falta no final de saber sobre alguns detalhes que foram sofridos pelos personagens mas ficaram com um final aberto. No entanto, a história me emocionou bastante e a forma como abordaram a culinária em torno de todo o peso dramático da trama, foi lindo demais.

A fotografia, as OSTS, até o romance que não teve foco geral, porém a história do casal principal é linda e tem o seu valor, foram bem executados.

Se você está com o emocional em dia e ama o gênero de melodrama, Chocolate vale muito a pena. Envolvente, com inúmeras lições de vida e desperta todas as emoções possíveis.

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Slow poison!

Should you? Would you? Could you?

You should watch this one (MAYBE! )
You would recommend this to others. (MAYBE!)
You could watch this again. (NO!)

Ending: Happy

It is like slow poison - it seeps into your veins and slowly consumes you with its intensity. This is not a drama for everyone. This is not a drama for the weak hearted because believe me you will end up crying a lot thanks to it’s setting which is in a hospice.
This is a drama that you will start enjoying only after the third or the fourth episode. There is something that pulls you into this but I repeat it is not everyone’s cup of tea. It is slow and it is intense. It has a lot of sad moments which will make you shed a tear but it is worth a watch definitely.

The creators have very cleverly drawn parallels between two emotions: happiness and sadness. Happiness always comes from eating good food and sadness always arises out of weakness, sickness and death. So they have taken these two emotions and exposed the audience to doses of both in equal proportion. They take you where you know that you are going to meet terminally ill patients and there you are exposed to this amazing array of food which is given to these amazing people and then you slowly watch them die that leads to intense sadness on our part.

The romance is gradual and that’s perfect for this story line. I didn’t really find too much chemistry between the lead pair but that also didn’t seem to take away from the effectiveness of the story.

The cast: the lead pair are good in their respective roles. Not much chemistry between them. But Jang Seung Jo ( lead actor’s cousin brother),Min Jin Woong (lead actresses brother), Kim Won Hae (director of hospice) & Kim Ho Jung ( director’s ex wife) deserve a special mention as they have brought their roles alive with fabulous performances.

Watch it if you have the patience. It’s meant for those who are willing to shed a tear and not expect a fast paced drama.

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A Sweet Romance with a Tasty Adventure.

Just a warning, there's discussion of sad themes such as death and trauma around this drama series.

I was excited to watch this drama because of Ha Ji Won, which seems to be a common occurrence. Her performance in this drama was excellent. This matched the main mc Yoon Key Sang. I think the chemistry between these two are amazing. I think the little downside was the "sad" mood this drama had, which in return had more of a weight between them then a comfy feeling.

In general, I loved the casting for this drama. Everyone seemed to fit the role of the characters they had. I also heavily enjoyed the OST for this drama.

The only thing I slightly disliked was the romance and relationship in this drama. The two mc's romance for each other felt very "cheesy" .

Overall, if you want to watch it, I will say go for it!

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