Sexless Tea Party
You'd think there was room for this deep dive into human desires and the messiness of relationships, but the drama just stumbled into this predictable mess of melodrama and characters you could barely see through. The characters were supposedly torn apart by the whole moral dilemma of their sneaky affairs but they did the bare minimum in that regard. Even the romantic tension felt somewhat forced and lacking. The drama would've benefited from only focusing on the main infidelity but here everyone was cheating on one another. Too much noise. In comparison, all the previous points also applied to the JP version except that they were even more drastic and detached in that one.Was this review helpful to you?
interesting story that falls apart towards the end...
Overall, I enjoyed the complexity of relationships in this drama. Like the FL realising how unhappy she is in her marriage and finding her happiness in another man. Situation is shitty from all sides so we have this love hate relationship with the leads and their special relationship.For me, the most interesting character was the SFL. In the beginning she's presented as this perfect woman and then later on this image of hers just falls apart. Being constantly neglected by her husband, her sleeping with various men to compensate for this emptiness... At one point she just seems like an bad sad woman. Nonetheless, towards the end, she figures out her own place and finds happiness in that.
However, as the series went on it was clear that it was being stretched out with unnecessary drama. The whole thing where the FL and the ML needed to sign a contract to never see eachother again or sth (I skipped quite a bit there). Or even right before that, when the husband and wife of the main couple broke into their house to separate them. wtf was that? The wife of the ML who just became psychotic... the Husband of the FL also became awful. Like u havent paid any attention to her and now u cant live without her ? 🤔 Anyways, in the end the victims of the affair became incredibly unlikable because their actions were just so awful....
Also, I don't understand why divorce is like the worst thing that could happen to anyone in this series ? I get that some people really think like that but to make all characters obsessed with marriage to the point where they would rather ruin themselves and people around them just to stay married ???
And again, what's up with the time skip? What is it for? Clearly, this should have been a 12 ep drama, maybe 14 at most. 16 is just too much....
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
im not into heavy drama, i prefer light drama or romcoms. but this is one of the few exceptions that is really re-watchable and again and again.the plot. not your typical drama it is realistic. the pacing of story is really great its not to fast nor too slow...this is where you will find how when where they fell in love. you could actually see and feel how the lead actors fell in love and how they chose to fool thier partners.
the actors. i think the female lead is way too timid and naive at first you slowly she unfolds to become more of a fighter...
the lead actor what can i say? this is the first time i appreciated lee sang yeob. usually he is the villain or the 3rd wheel in the story but this time he nailed his character. i didnt realize his eyes were really expressive. oh yes i am.asking for more.lee sang yeob to lead drama. he made my heart flutter and my eyes cry.
the finale.didnt left me hanging..and thats the most important part!
Was this review helpful to you?
This drama rings hollow through its messy and uncomfortable premise.
Starting from promotional materials, the creators are clear about the direction of Love Affairs in the Afternoon; Affairs are going to disrupt the lives and relationships of each character, and we’ll be there to witness it all. To keep this spoiler-free, I can’t tell you if the drama ends with a sweet happy ending or sweet justice p*rn. I can say that it is uncomfortable, infuriating at points, and barely enticing enough for me to watch all 16 episodes. My recommendation is to judge this drama by its cover (and premise), and if you don’t think you’ll enjoy it, don’t bother watching.Story:
I generally avoid remakes, but a dearth of romance dramas that started in July left me watching LAITA. I did try to drop it at some point after the August drama debuts, but I held on like some completionist maniac. Back to the point - I did not watch the original Japanese drama.
My biggest question throughout was whether the original show was so clear cut about what will happen and how characters will react. The characters in LAITA are surprisingly shallow, and their predictable behaviors took away from the entwined premise. There are twists and turns, but lean back in your chair and think about what happened for three minutes. Then, the story looks plain as vanilla (no offence to vanilla - a true classic flavor).
Acting:
The acting is almost the perfect example of hit and miss acting. I’ll start with the hits. The actors behind the most frustrating characters leave the most memorable memories, making me want to toss my laptop at certain scenes. Shout out to Kim Mi-kyung who went from goofy mother in Her Private Life to the most insufferable mother-in-law in LAITA. The female leads also performed admirably. Park Ha-sun nails that uncomfortable, awkward look throughout the drama, and Ye Ji-won portrays strength through her weakness, though she does suffer from typecasting.
I’ll mention two misses, the first big and the second small. First, the chemistry between the main leads, especially Lee Sang-yeob and Park Ha-sun, is lacking. It may have been enough for a fluffy romcom, but the chemistry is evidently lacking in a drama with supposed gravity, making it hard to relate to their situation. Second, two of the “kids” in the drama are played by a 27 year old and a 14 year old. Shin Won-ho (27) has a fair amount of lines for a support role, and I understand why it may have been difficult to cast an actual teenager. Still, I laughed seeing a grown man acting like a child and interacting with Shin Soo-yun’s (14) character, just another small example of how LAITA interrupts viewer immersion.
Music:
The music, thankfully, was not so forthcoming like the plot and acting. Although, it would be funny to hear a song about kissing a married man, ala I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus except Santa is actually not the dad… LAITA only tiptoes the makjang line and the OST does a passing job of setting the scene and conveying emotion (minus the one “dramatic” soundtrack that becomes borderline bothersome by the end).
Rewatch Value:
The one thing that bumps up this rewatch value is that this is a Japanese remake. Does a vague interest in watching the original count towards the rewatch value of LAITA? I think it counts, so don’t let the score lead you to believe I’ll be watching the Korean version twice.
Was this review helpful to you?
Pls hear me out. ( i didnt like the second leads story only the main lead I'm talking about)
At first i started this drama just thinking that it would be a normal romance. But as i progressed through i must say i fell in love. This drama is beautifully written and acted by both the leads. The female is a perfect epitome of a house wife who is in desperate need of love from her husband which she doesn't get. She needed to feel her heart flutter, her stomach filled with butterflies. She never knew these feeling until she saw the male lead who happens to be a teacher. He also feels the same way as the female lead did. Although cheating is wrong i wouldn't say what the leads did in this drama was wrong but it's not right too. The only mistake that they did was marrying someone they don't love but that too they didn't know what love is and how it feels to be in love. This show gave me a lingering feeling which will never allow me to get over this drama. The way i felt while watching this drama as if I'm in love is a kind of feeling i never got with any other series. I have watched numerous dramas but this one always have a special place in my heart. Lee sang yeob did an awesome job and so park ha sun too. They exactly portrayed what they had to. I loved the male leads role and how he silently watches his love in every episode. The drama is in the female's pov and i loved every inch of it. thank you for making this drama. I'll always cherish this drama for my entire life.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
The Price for Heaven, is the fury that can be Hell
This was an interesting drama about cheating. The neglected cheater , the bored cheater and the indifferent cheater. All can be callous with their actions but the reasons for those actions can at times be understood.This series took a realistic view at how easy it is to slip into cheating as well as how deliberate it can be. Though I don’t condone cheating I could understand why Ji-eun cheated. She was resolved to living the rest of her life miserable with her husband - Chang-gook until Jung-woo walked into her life and stirred an awakening within her. And how could he have not? He was young (her age) good looking and the first person I’m guess in ages who actually showed genuine concern for her. Considering the neglect she’d endured from her husband for three years in him refusing sex with her, showing what seemed like no consideration for her feelings at all and his over the top obsession with their pet birds, no wonder she instantly became intrigued with Jung-woo.
Chang-gook was an awful husband. Severely neglectful and completely inconsiderate of her feelings. I found him extremely annoying . His obsession with those birds made him insufferable, along with his intrusive mother who was more concerned about Ji-eun catering to her son, than them having a balanced marriage. Jung woo’s reason’s for cheating were less understandable, but it was easy to see how he got caught up. He had a savior mentality as evidenced by why he became involved with his wife, but with Ji-eun it went way beyond being her savior. He truly felt a deep connection with her which grew into love.
The chemistry between the leads was perfect. It started sweet and gentle, then evolved into this intense love affair. I enjoyed the push pull of their relationship and the progression of their connection, which became more soulful, deeper over time.
Though I could understand Ji eun’s decision to cheat , I had a harder time understanding Soo Ah’s reasoning. It wasn’t just that she was cheating with one man, she was cheating with multiple men until she found her “true wuv”. And in addition to this she was proud of her cheating and didn’t mind sharing her cheating ways with new women “friends”. Her callousness made it difficult to sympathize with her considering it wasn’t just her husband she needed to consider if she got caught but her children. When her infidelity was discovered her horror and realization at what she’d done was well done and realistic of someone who did care about their family but was selfish and reckless in their actions. However, I never completely bought her relationship with the artist and never thought it would work as they were at different places in their lives.
The focus of the series was on the leads cheating, but their spouses weren’t saints, save for Jung woo’s wife. Ji eun’s husband was behaving inappropriately with the intern and Soo Ah’s husband seemed to be on the verge of cheating with the rising female artist who worked for the gallery. So in turn everyone had wandering eyes and it begs the question what level of intimate activity with someone other than your spouse is considered cheating?
The love and the angst in this was well done as well as the fall out from the cheating. However, I thought the series became overly dramatic in the last few episodes and lost its way. It seemed like one of Soo Ah’s kids went missing almost every episode. Then after neglecting Ji eun for three years Chang-gook refused to allow the marriage to end and just like he’d always selfishly done, wanted to force her to bend to his will, what he wanted without any consideration for her feelings. That had been easy in the past as she was resolved to being miserable so she complied with whatever he demanded of her but in this situation she refused which angered and baffled him.
His ongoing fight to save their marriage was down right ridiculous. Same with Min-Young, Jung Woo’s wife. It was blatantly obvious that he did not love her, had no desire to be with her whatsoever and wished to end the marriage. He told her this flat out. But she was hell bent on forcing him to be miserable with her. The spouses initially attempting to fight for their marriages may have been understood but to dig their heels in and try and force someone to stay with you who absolutely doesn’t want to be with you made no sense. And seemed like drama for dramas sake.
The ending was predictable. I knew Soo Ah and the artist would never work out. I was glad that Ji-eun went off and found herself. She was happy living her life on her terms, which was significant growth from when we first saw her. Though she and Jung Soo didn’t runoff into the sunset, at least their ending implied that this was a
strong possibly.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
I've been watching drama for a long time, and while I usually love classic romcoms, I needed something different. I randomly started this drama, and it really surprised me. It's a forbidden love story, but typically, forbidden love stories focus a lot on passion. In this drama, though, the situation is a bit different. This drama tells the story of two people who feel trapped in their lives with their spouses. Both are married, have accepted the lives they’re living, and misunderstand love in a big way. One day, they bump into each other, and boom. I don’t believe in love at first sight, so the fact that they become close so quickly didn’t interest me at first. That’s why I wasn’t really engaged with the drama initially. However, after watching two episodes, my feelings changed positively. First, I want to say that I don’t think it’s right to accept everything for love. I also don’t believe it’s the most sacred emotion in the world. But in this story, I saw two people who were willing to risk everything for their love. The emotions were portrayed really well. I could intensely feel the sadness and helplessness they experienced together. Still, I would say they came off as a boring couple to me.
I have no words for the female lead. I genuinely felt sorry for her. Her husband hasn’t touched her in three years; he’s more interested in the two budgies he keeps at home than in his wife. What’s worse is that he calls her “Mom.” What could be more terrifying than that?
The woman has gotten used to her situation and continues to live a routine life without making a fuss. Then one day, she falls in love with another man who shows her a little bit of interest at the store where she works. It completely shakes her. There was a scene in the show that beautifully captured this moment—the fire that takes over her body and soul… it pushes her to make the biggest mistake of her life.
As for the male character, I think he’s the one I struggled to understand the most in this drama. He’s married to a woman he doesn’t love, simply out of pity. There’s no reason for him to stay married. Yes, his wife is manipulative, controlling, and persistent, but he always remains calm around her. She left him to live in America for three years, and there’s no emotional or physical connection in their marriage. So, why is he still married? It seems totally normal for him to fall for someone else since he lives like a single man. I just can’t understand it at all.
In classic betrayal stories, the lovers' passionate relationships often unravel dramatically, turning their lives upside down. However, in this drama, I see the love lives of these two people as small spaces for them to breathe, given that their lives were already in chaos. From the very beginning, they accepted that they could never be truly happy together or stay together. Throughout the series, we never see them completely happy or completely unhappy. They know what they’re doing is wrong; guilt and regret are very much a part of their relationship.
To me, no matter how bad a marriage might be, betrayal is unacceptable. But this is a drama, and everything can be a subject for a drama. There are billions of people with millions of stories, and this is just one of them. So I didn’t think it was right to watch the show with a specific preconception.
I found it quite realistic, and I absolutely loved it from that perspective. As for the betrayed spouses, I ended up disliking both of them. I felt sorry for them, but it wasn’t because they were cheated on. Both were pitiful in their own ways. The female character’s husband is a selfish person who has turned his wife into a ghost, ignoring her emotional and physical needs. Even after learning about the betrayal, he acted childishly.
The male character’s wife is one of the worst people you can imagine. She has so many issues that I barely wanted to feel sorry for her because of her husband’s infidelity. She forces herself onto him, even though she knows he doesn’t love her, and tries to make him live his own life. When she finds out about the betrayal, she reacts in one of the worst ways possible. Her greed has made her a person without pride, and I felt sorry for her.
I was almost uninterested in the love between the side characters. To me, it felt quite far from romance. I had to skip through a lot of their story. I didn’t see any chemistry between them, and the emotional intensity of their betrayal story was really lacking. Their reasons for falling in love with each other were unclear to me.
Anyway, this show definitely made me feel some intense emotions. The acting and the music were really good. I probably won’t watch it again, but I’m glad I did. It might not be a story that will get your blood boiling, but if you're looking for something that will keep you engaged, I recommend it.
Was this review helpful to you?
Because if I remember one thing, it's that the Japanese one didn't have a good end at all, not the show nor the movie xD and I dare say, as should be!!
I can understand how they went with the story, even the cheating characters and the reason behind it, but I can't for the life of me understand Jung Woo's wife "Min young".
Honey, if someone marries you to get your ass out of a messy infidelity relationship, and you leave this guy for 3 years alone to achieve your dreams in a another country then he asks you for a divorce! You give him one!! Because the whole "good wife" character isn't you!! You did the same before so if your husband cheated, you should not dare to act hurt or confront him and force him into a relationship with you!! You reap what you sow !!
Now for other characters
FL: coward 1 ... Because I don't think your husband being a nice guy is a reason enough to not ask for a divorce if you can't breathe without the ML... Just divorce him, because after all this mess, you will end up divorced anyway, and even if we put cheating aside, girl!! The way he treated you Vs the birds?? FFS why are you with him?? Because Nice isn't a quality enough to keep you married to him, so he treated you badly, didn't notice when you are sick or even care about you, moreover you have a sexless marriage for 3 years??? 3 FREAKIN YEARS, MATE!!! And not to mention his intrusive mother who keep stressing you about kids while it's her son's fault!! What exactly were you waiting for to leave?? What made me more furious is the fact that by the end of the series, he is now married with a child! C'mon! If you don't like your wife enough to sleep with her or she can't make you"get it up", then leave her don't push her into a marriage that is useless for both of you ~
ML: coward 2, what's keeping you in this marriage? Give me one reason to stay in it? You have never loved her, never cared about her, she belittles you and low-key ashamed of you, she leaves you behind for 3 years and come back after learning with your money to look down on you... Tell me again why are you in this relationship???
SFL: now here I kinda see a reason to stay in this damned marriage, 2 kids one of them is practically a baby, still the husband is terrible, I don't understand one thing, you were this open brave woman who cheated repeatedly with literally everyone and you were so out and about, telling people you don't even know about your rendezvous openly, then oh my god my kids!! My husband caught me!! And I can't live without them, you suddenly remember that you are a mother? Oh please!! You are a great mother for sure, but you saw that coming ~
SML: Mr. Enigma... I just don't understand him, so I'll just leave him be~
One thing I didn't like generally about this show is so many intrusive characters, like the high schooler kid? Wtf is wrong with you!! If you have a family situation just focus on your family, don't go and snoop around other people's affairs!! And the hoobae in FL's husband's office, girl get a grip!! You have this long confrontation with the FL about her husband while you practically did the same, you kissed a married guy and keep popping up everywhere he is!! So how dare you, bitch!!!
Lastly, I think this one was more sugar coated version, and slightly stretched, I don't think this needed 16 episodes it could be 12 and that would definitely be more than enough ~
Was this review helpful to you?
Clearly this was enjoyed by those who watched it, the story topic is controversial, which is what caught my attention. I hadn't seen the Japanese version but from what I hear, this in comparison is more hopeful and brighter tone than its previous remakes. The two leads are convincing in their roles: the innocent girl meets cute dorky guy. There is a easy chemistry between them, a lightheartness that complements the music choices, and the cinematography. Her friend, the elegant, more daring older lady serves a great purpose to catalyse the story into action. There isn't over the topness, or over-sentimentality in the love story - instead those sweet moments are peppered along as the story develops, and the pacing is just right: the story telling leaves enough room for surprises that makes you keep watching. The story is satisfying and not too cliche, it never underserves or overserves, it explores the theme of adultery carefully and thoughtfully, not dogmatically. It is clever in setting the right mood, and through each character, we see their struggles, their choices, we see them be slaves into their emotions and face the consequences of life before picking themselves up again.
TLDR: Highly recommend it! The drama is good for a weekly drama dose, it is not too heavy, the directing, cast, story is good and the topic in itself is interesting. I might watch the Japanese one in the not so distant future.
Was this review helpful to you?
Worth watching,
At first I hesitated because I don't like drama which glorify cheating. But I'm glad this drama doesn't do that. It really shows an affair as what it is. Both the main leads affair has reasons fair enough on made them to cheat on their spouses (fair as in sense you can understand why they cheated, but it is up to us whether we think it is right or wrong) and what led to the moment of having an affair. Even though the drama was MELODRAMA, it didn't feel too gloomy at all. Although it is an affair, my heart really rooted for the main leads.THE BEST PART of this drama which I loved the most is how the women, especially became independent without relying on men or love to survive, but only on themselves,
The only thing if I have to complain about the drama is how I wished in the last two episodes the writers shouldn't have given upper hand to the bad guys, but what resulted out of that writing turned out to be good. So even though I didn't like it, I was oddly satisfied.
The second leads affair story was good, but somehow at certain times it didn't feel too entertaining for me, it was just ok.
If not for the two above reasons I would have given the drama a 10/10.
Was this review helpful to you?
Came in being hesitant because of the affair aspect but I'm glad I watched it. The acting, story, music everything was so splendid. The constant push and pull can make you feel tired out at one point but realising that this is how it actually is will really make your eyes swell.
I have so much respect for all characters. Seriously learned so much.
Was this review helpful to you?
cheating story which could happen in real life
Love Affairs in the Afternoon -8/10 -kdramadrama about unsuccessful marriages and cheating
This drama can be split into few parts:
1part - shows boring, repetitive and kind of repressing life of few married couples + their potential affair partners
2part - shows eating of sweet forbidden fruit and discovering further relations between all leads.
3part - bloody and messy fight of spouses... once whole things out.
4part - after bloody war always comes some kind of treaty and life with consequences
even though whole drama is quite :original: and quite true to reality + actors acting was really good. I see whole drama to be quite average mainly cause it was quite chore for me to watch... just not mine type of drama.
plot -Son Ji Eun is a housewife who works part-time at a mart. She is quiet and sincere, even as she feels trapped in her unhappy life and lonely marriage. One day, she meets biology teacher Yoon Jung Woo and her heart starts beating again. They both know that only ruin will await them, yet they cannot seem to stay away from each other.
(Source: xyLaar at kisskh)
genre- romance, cheating
Was this review helpful to you?
