Little Women

Money , Rich vs Poor & Blue Orchid

At the first time I didn't know what's going on after two three episodes only I try to understand this story . First I thought Won Sang A was not a villain But the end of the some episodes she makes me somewhat angrier . While watching this drama I was afraid that Oh In Hye will die due to the heart disease , Thankfully She was saved I was very happy for that . And the another fear was I while watching this drama that Choi Do Il was cheating towards Oh In Joo , But Thankfully It was not . Hwa Young's Entry was such a awesome thing Loved the ending of this drama .Bcoz of the second leads ( Oh In Kyung &Jong ho ) and the sisters got a happy life also. 😊💜 But not satisfied with the mainleads reuniting (Choi Do Il & Oh In Joo) . 😢 Want these couples ( Wi Ha Joon & Kim Go Eun) In a new drama

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loved this drama... full of twist and turns... every ep. is mind blowing...

Every actor is suitable according to their roles... plotting and story is very attractive and amazing... my fav. roles are choi do il and In joo... their chemistry hits differently... the role of In kyung is very strong... overall i really loved this drama.. now it is one of my fav. dramas... the ost are amazing... everything seems to be perfect.... i wanted choi do il and In joo to be together but they can't.... each ep. contain lots of secrets you can't skip 1 second of this drama... i watched this while airing and i sometimes feel like my heart was going to be explode while waiting for the next episode... i got anxious when i can't watch ep. on the same day of airing... i hope you can understand my state at that time...😩

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Enjoyable but leaves some important things hanging

I am giving this is a high rating simply because I enjoyed every minute of it more than I thought I would, since I do not usually enjoy Korean suspense/mystery dramas. It was all quite compelling to me from the very beginning. I thought it would be woke, given the title, and full of aggressive feminist propaganda, which I don't normally like in my dramas. (I don't like any sort of heavy political propaganda in stories I consume purely for entertainment), but surprisingly, it's not. The women characters are not perfect Mary Sues portraying women as the better gender and as strong, independent, and perfect. They are flawed and very real and quite relatable. I've never been a fan of Kim Go-Eun (didn't like her in Goblin, but that was probably because I didn't like the way that character was written), but I thought she did a stellar job here portraying the slightly naive, slightly ditzy Oh In-Joo. In-Joo's story is super relatable, especially for those of us who have had to struggle financially. Her choices and her reactions are perfectly understandable, given the circumstances. I thought this character was what carried the whole story for me -- she is a very good depiction of a perfectly real human, not an idealized "woman power" version.

As for the story itself, the twists and turns, even though some a bit sketchy, especially in hindsight, were good enough to keep me glued to my seat and wanting more. Sadly, as with many Kdramas, the ending, although generally okay, felt a bit rushed. There are two particular story elements that I feel were not resolved satisfactorily and/or were problematic:

1. In Joo and Do-Il. This connection goes beyond a superficial attraction. They both help each other grow as the story progressed. In-Joo makes Do-Il care for someone again other than money and vengeance. Do-il helps In-joo navigate through the chaos that she had to go through and come out sane. I would have been okay with them remaining perfectly platonic all throughout the show, but the writers had to go beyond that. They obviously implied that there was something there, a mutual attraction. You can see it in the way Do-il looks at In Joo, the way he smiles when he sees her face, the decisions he made to keep her safe. Setting this connection and attraction up in this way makes the audience expect a resolution, but none were given in the end. They need not necessarily have ended up together, but they could have progressed to more than just a "see you around." I was expecting a progression to at least more closeness and openness about the way they feel. I understand In-joo might not be ready for a relationship after what she'd been through, and probably needs some self-reflection, but that could have been handled with a trusty old time jump, which might be cliche but, if done right, could have give us a more satisfactory ending for this particular story arc.

2. I find it strange that In-Hye and Hyo-Rin, two self-involved minors -- children, for all intents and purposes -- are allowed to roam the world with buttloads of cash and zero adult supervision. I am all for freedom and escaping oppressive situations, but teenagers, especially, need guidance. In-hye, despite her little diatribe at the end trying to justify her actions, is, for me, unforgivable. She is narcissistic, self-involved, and almost psychopathic in her lack of empathy for her loving sisters. Teenagers often go through this phase where they feel stifled by their family's love, but that is just a phase and part of growing up. The fact that she allowed her sisters to feel humiliated, rejected, hurt, just to fulfill her fantasies and desires is extremely self-indulgent, selfish, and cruel. Her lack of empathy is disturbing. Anyway, the teenage fantasy of escaping your family to explore the world is something everybody at some point has probably had, but there are ways to accomplish this while still being considerate. In-hye has no reason to escape her loving sisters. Her life situation is not ideal, but her sisters obviously love her. Instead of indulging in her selfish fantasy and escaping from her family, she should have learned to appreciate what she had and escaped her narcissistic worldview -- I'm going to get what I want and I don't care how you feel or what you think about it. Real progression for her would have been getting past her self-obsession and being there for at least In-Joo, who is left alone in the end. Hyo-rin's case is altogether different, but she still needs guidance, especially after everything that happened. I just find it incredibly irresponsible of the adults, including Do-il, to allow these kids to do what they want with no supervision whatsoever. Teenagers are notoriously liable to making wrong decisions that could affect the rest of their lives at this particularly volatile period of growth, so they do need someone mature to at least guide them. Are the writers campaigning for children to be able to do what they want and to turn away from their families?

There are other loose threads, but these two are the ones that made me unhappy with the ending. Overall, it was a fun ride and definitely worth watching despite the above-mentioned flaws.

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Brilliant Writing

This show deserves a great amount of love for its many things, but primarily for its innovative, suspenseful and beautifully crafted plot line. Very few kdramas pull of the intricacy of such a complex story (especially in a mere 12 episodes). There’s too much to praise so I’m just going to list my top 5 favourite things about the show:
1. Completely original, women-centric story which is mainly concerned with socio-economic issues and the desire to be wealthy. It is an age-old tale of poor people wanting more, but because of the female perspective, you can see it in an entirely new light
2. The flawed characters: Some people might dislike the 3 FL’s but that’s kind of the point. How many people in the real world read every contract thoroughly, or wouldn’t take a chance to drastically better their lives?! The sisters are relatable in their imperfections and most people irl aren’t very different. We all have our individual set of values, they can be realistic like In-Joo’s or selfish like In-Hye, and sometimes stupidly brave like In-Kyung’s. The beauty here is that they represent real women, who should be allowed to make mistakes and grow cause that’s only natural
3. The ML’s: Opposite to the FL’s with obvious issues, the ML’s are perfect and won’t ever disappoint you which creates a really nice balance between the characters
4. The villains get applause of their own, of course! I wanted to constantly murder all of them, especially the main antagonist. And that really speaks to her acting skills and how amazingly she portrayed a character so completely evil. Great work from all the negative characters
5. The eerie sound-track and the flower symbolism gets an honourable mention cause it truly tied the direction with the script and enhanced the final product very well.
(Bonus: This needs a sismance tag for all the lasting and heartfelt friendships they portrayed. Female characters supporting and truly ‘loving’ each other is a big part of the show and that’s a nice change from the stereotypes).
Lastly, this show is criminally underrated, I’m guessing because of its lack of cheesy romance and the lesser role of ML’s. People looking for that stuff will undoubtedly be disappointed. But, if someone is looking for a more adult suspense/thriller with very prominent class struggle themes, then this show is certainly worth a watch!

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Psychological thriller with a hell lot of money problems...

Little Women (by Louisa May Alcott) is by far one of my favourite classic literary novels and although this cannot be considered an "adaptation" or "remake" of any sort because of the vast differential cleft between the two plotlines, but I very much enjoyed the constant thrill I engaged with, while watching this concise yet fulfilling drama

The story in itself was portrayed beautifully, in my opinion by showing the very evident discrepancy between the two different money classes, statuses and families. It was interesting how they showed that while poor people dream of becoming rich, rich people dream of becoming richer and going even higher in the hierarchy of society. The innocence of the 'kids' (hyorin and inhye), and how only the people with wealth (Mr. Park and his wife) would have been able to fabricate their way towards their goals.. along with how every single scene in the drama happened for a purpose/ was a part of someone's VERY meticulous plan (will not be spoiling so do go watch it!) Every single episode left me on the edge of my seat and every shocking revelation had me pausing the episode and either screaming or gasping really loud LMFAO!! You can also literally not trust ANYONE in the show, it's traumatic.

Let's talk about how throughout the drama, Injoo thinks that other people favour her and "toy" with her because she believes she's slow-witted but she's actually undeniably one of the smartest people in the drama. Being an older sister AND without any support from her parents, she's handled her sisters and herself throughout and her decision making skills are top-notch and she really doesn't need to be book-smart for that. The chemistry with Choi Do Il was OVERFLOWING though and I was really sad because I thought they liked each other (I still think they do LOL considering he still wants to see her again but that's for our interpretation). Inkyung's character is super brash but overall, it was definitely for the better holistic cause for the plot.

The funniest thing was though.. how did Injoo take out and put in 2 WHOLE BILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF BILLS IN THE LOCKER WITHOUT ANYONE SEEING? Like literally did no one suspect her? I was SO glad that Inhye and Hyorin (I actually didn't like her at the start but I sympathised with her towards the end) left the horrible corrupted mess left by the adults and I'm happy they're living a happy life together! So satisfactory that I even shed a tear towards the end! I did despise Inhye a lot because her actions always came off as rude and ungrateful towards her sisters' love towards her though.

I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys a bit of a psychological-crime-thriller rollercoaster ride!! The casting was absolutely PERFECT and they played their roles better than I thought they would!!

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Perhaps the only significant misstep is in the title

There's scant overlap between the source material of "Little Women" and the Korean drama that bears its name. Louisa May Alcott's novel has three sisters that struggle in a family afflicted by poverty, but there's only scattered other parallels between the present drama and either the novel or previous adaptations. And perhaps the most jarring twist in an almost endless string of them is the one that hits quite early on - that this is not at all what a viewer would expect from something called "Little Women".

Kim Go Eun, Nami Ji Hyun and Park Ji Hoo play the sisters In Joo, In Kyung and In Hye respectively. In Joo is a bookkeeper in a corporate office but an outcast among the staff. In Kyung is a reporter at a news station where she seems to get the worst possible assignments like covering a typhoon from the middle of the typhoon. In Hye is a prodigy at oil painting but resents that her older sisters sacrifice for her to pursue her art.

The narrative kicks off with In Joo's only friend at work nonchalantly asking her to help with a side business project she's been working on. And then bad things start happening and it's not clear who's behind them, but there's little question that the Won family and Uhm Ki Joon's Park Jae Sang who has married in to the family are involved. Before long, each of the In sisters entangles herself with this clan and it very likely will not be a healthy relationship.

Kim Hee Won directs and does so masterfully. The production value across the board is flawless. It is exceptionally well shot. The sound editing and score are sublime. The wardrobe, hair and makeup crews killed it. Each episode is a compelling watch in isolation and as the tension builds quite quickly early on, it only ratchets tighter as the series progresses.

The cast is led by some big names like Kim Go Eun and Nam Ji Hyun and Wi Ha Joon. Of those three, Nam Ji Hyun stands out, although all are very good. There's some terrific performances by supporting cast too. Gong Min Jung is a viciously combative colleague of In Kyung. Kim Mye Sook plays a distant, wealthy relative of the In sisters and is terrific. Park Bo Kyung is a frightening operative working for Park Jae Sang.

But the most captivating work is by Uhm Ji Won. Her Won Sang A is definitely not a mentally well person. Is she simply a spoiled princess of the powerful Won family? There's a lot more than that (A WHOLE LOT MORE) and while plenty of mystery surrounds the character, when she's on screen, everything else shrinks. It is hands down the best supporting performance in the genre this year.

If there are flaws, it's that the screenplay gets a little too tricksy at times to feint this way and that. Most often, things are adequately explained, but not always. And there's some inconsistencies in how much control a powerful group holds over courts and judges and prosecutors and the media. At times, it is unlimited and a moment later, they are no more powerful than a corner convenience store.

Highly recommended for the above reasons as well as what is unquestionably the cameo appearance of 2022. "Little Women" is almost certainly the best drama of 2022.

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Thrilling and Chilling All The Way Through

At first I expected this drama to follow closely to the American Little Women. At least it would be that kind of a drama. This turn out to have very little resemblance to the American version, except that there are four sisters.

But while I love the American version, I dare say this Korean version is very gripping and makes me want to see more. While the previous is all about warm hearted sibling love and some romance, the later is fully crime thriller with the romance as a small part only. Well I'm still currently in ep 9 and I still have no idea if the first sister's suitor is actually a good guy or a bad guy!! But I love all those uncertainties.

If any, I feel that the second sister often does things without thinking of the consequences. But again, she's an alcoholic so it's part of the character written for her I suppose. Also, the first sister carrying that bag with 2billion won on the street 😂. So I won't say there are no silly bits here and there. Just saying the storyline is so good I am willing to let those random silliness go.

As usual, Kim Go Eun doesn't disappoint.

I highly recommend this drama. Gripping all the way through.

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watched weekly as it aired

WOW!.. i have a lot to say but this drama was genuinely such a thrill and a ROLLERCOASTER from the start. i was so excited when it was announced that there was going to be a Korean drama loosely based on the original western little women because i loved the movie, tho i was not expecting much because i don't like to get my hopes up and then get disappointed later on :) but i was mostly anticipated to watch because of the main lead i mean there's so many good recognizable actors and a talented director and writer! i was happy to see them together and see more women working in these big projects !
onto the storyline: from the very first episode, i will say it started a bit slow, not too much but i did slightly feel the same when i watched Vincenzo (a drama with the same director) but i knew the pacing would pick up later on and it did. the oh sisters were all such unique character until the end and i loved that each had their own storyline, though i wish we could have seen a bit more of in hye (the youngest). throughout the show i did notice some similarities between certain characters and storylines with both little women adaptations but i also loved the thriller twist they made with this one, though i would not recommend someone to watch this expecting it to be the same, but there are huge differences! onto the characters: i think every single characters honestly gave it their all and you can tell especially kim go-eun, i mean she really deserves all awards because the endings she gives us is just amazing and i became a fan of her after the drama since this is the first time i fully watch a drama with her in it!
- there were many annoying characters who are obviously the villians but i gotta say won sang-ah absolutely slayed this as a villian and i was not expecting her to become the "final boss" instead of park jaesang. there was so many twists in this show that just left me gasping for air and it reminded me so much of Vincenzo and i looooved it so it made me happy (ALSO THAT SONG JOONG-KI CAMEO?!?) . i do wish oh in-joo and do-il would have at least kissed ONCE or said i love your or SOMETHING more than just a simple goodbye at the airport that reminded all of us of vincenzo and cha-young
sometimes the storyline would get confusing for me especially with the orchid history and the history distortion was just not it, they should have fixed that from the beginning and there were things i wish they would have added.

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Sisterhood caught up in a conspiracy

Likes:
1) Kim Go Eun and Nam Ji Hyun being in the same drama - When I heard that 2 of my favorite actresses were going to star in the same kdrama, I was elated with excitement because that rarely ever happens. I absolutely loved watching the sisterhood or womance between them and their natural acting continues to shine in my eyes.
2) Wi Ha Joon - this guy is so hot! Not only is he great at acting, but he's also so versatile and he's good at action. I thought he perfectly portrayed his character. You never knew which side he was on. I look forward to seeing him showcase more of his abilities in the future (Maybe a bigger role in Squid games 2?)
3) The interactions between In Joo and Choi Do Il. Although the romance is light as this is a conspiracy mystery, I was completely hooked on the question of will they or won't they.
4) All the twists. I really enjoyed not knowing where the story would end up...that is until I found out who the villain was which brings me to:

Dislikes:
1) Once the Villain is revealed in the latter half, the story becomes a bit too over the top. You will def have to suspend your belief and overlook some ridiculous loopholes at the very end.
2) Having the title Little Women, you would expect more similarities to Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, but I didn't find that to be the case, but it has been awhile since I've read that book.
3) The character development could have been better. There were a handful of times where the character was doing something that seemed "out of" character. We weren't shown enough to understand why they were acting a certain way.

But overall, I enjoyed 75% of this drama. I liked all the twists and cliffhangers leading up to the villain reveal, but especially loved seeing 3 of my fav people in a drama together.

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Entertaining story with unrealistic plot lines

Little women is a series full of drama and plot twists that explore the greediness for money and the wealth difference between the rich and the poor. The first half of this series is definitely better than the second one. In this one we can see how the three sisters all get wrapped up in the murder of Hwa Young and with the Won Family. It was interesting to see In joo's slowly becoming greedy for her new found money while at the same time trying to give her deceased friend justice. The murder case and the mystery behind the blue orchid really left me at the edge of seat. I also really enjoyed In hye's weird dynamic in the Won house. But then the writers kept dragging both of the mysteries, adding more information without wrapping up stuff. And then the unrealistic stuff came and never left until the ending. By this I mean stuff like In joo walking while badly hurt to her hotel after the car crash, Wong Sang A creating that hotel scheme of the other In Joo, In Hye leaving with Hyo rin and the sisters just being okay with it. It just doesn't make sense. The second half relied too much on plot twists. Im neither satisfied or mad about the ending, it was just okay. Overall, it was still a really entertaining series with it's flaws and the cast did an amazing job.

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Moral and Money

It is very good show and very good plot. Very dynamic and interesting story. Wherever, it is true that it is hard to follow all characters, because it happens so much just in 12 episodes. I highly recommend to watch it with your native language audio, because it will be easy to concentrate on the story line. The three sisters personify the clash between morality and conscience and the pursuit of happiness and the good life through money.
Wi Haa Joon as Choi Do II is great actor and I really missed at least 1-2 romantic scenes with him and Kim Go Eun as Oh In Joo. If there were just a little bit touch of romantic, the show will be a masterpiece. Great cinematography. 8/10

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Good show, interesting story, but hopes too much you like its characters

First off, Oh In-Hye is insufferable. I hated each second I had to watch her.
Second, while Oh In-Ju wasn't nearly as bad, in the last few episodes her character became, honestly, very dumb.
While I can understand why the characters acted the way they did, I don't agree that it was well executed.
And the OST kinda sucked.
Otherwise, Oh In-Kyung was a delight and her partner in crime had really nice chemistry with her so their segments were very fun.
I had a bit more hope about the last twists but they were still nice and I liked most character endings (except In-Hye but it might be personal lol).

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