The Clickbait
Little Women is a Korean Thriller Drama adapted from the novel "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott, until it wasn’t.Before reviewing the drama itself, I will try to define this matter without spoiling anything from the novel and the drama.
~Novel & Drama Comparison~
The novel revolves around the life of 4 sisters from a poor family. Each of them has her own personality, flaws, charms, worries and dreams, creating her own path in life. All of them together create a chaotic & dynamic companionship filled with many happy, sad, comforting but above all, sisterhood moments. The novel is set in the 1860s, but the core of its story is timeless. Thus, whatever changes plot wise, as long as the adaptation stays true to the original story’s vibes, it will successfully deliver the original message.
But this particular adaptation, despite having Little Women’s family tree (kind of), has nothing else in common with the novel. It’s a pure Makjang with a completely independent story, which is not even slightly inspired from the novel as its conflict between poor and rich is the most common theme in Makjang. It looks like the writers had a story already planned in mind and used the novel as a reference in order to promote it.
The Drama production should have mentioned the novel only for copyright purposes and of course, they should have used a different title. The fact that they didn’t, was a foul move which makes the drama a clickbait, something I personally can’t ignore.
I’d advise you to not start the drama thinking it is a modern retelling of Little Women. Think of the drama as another Makjang and don’t get scammed by the drama’s sly marketing. This way, you will enjoy the drama, or not, but at least the reason of deciding to watch Little Women will be sincere.
~The Story~
So where to start and where to finish with that chaotic mess which is called "story"? Ι have many issues with it and to set the record straight, the drama not being actually a modern adaptation of Little Women didn’t affect the story’s rating more than 1 point in my books.
~Main theme & escalation
Little Women consists of 12 episodes and its story is actually very fast paced as a lot of things are happening in a very short amount of time. The first 2 episodes gave the drama a very promising start while they set a thrillery and mysterious aura around the main characters. Also, the sisters were presented having different personalities and problems, that could be explored through the story. But unfortunately all these didn't last long.
As the story escalated, it turned into a vendetta between the poor sisters and the wealthiest family in the nation. And that’s all folks, nothing else is going to happen except from a series of unfortunate plot twists alongside stupid actions (and some plot holes, because why not?).
In the name of suspense and uprediction the writer made a story with more ups and downs than a harmonic oscillation diagram. The result of it was two, 1) to make an unfocused story with an unclear goal from the writer's perspective which couldn't lead to any conclusion 2) to make the story complicated and confusing without any specific reason. In addition, the story consisted of some fiction elements which made it even more unrealistic and far-fetched.
The climax of the above was the final act, the last 2 episodes. As the story was processing it got messier and messier to the point that there wasn't any way for the story to reach an epilogue. So, what happened? A plot twist coming straight from the Neverland worked as Deus ex machina and saved the day with the most simple and canceling way possible.
~The Characters
Even though at first it seemed that the Sisters were well written characters, they weren't. Generally, the drama was very plot driven (not that it had a certain plot as I said but anyway) so actually none of the characters had any space to grow and develop. Oh In Joo, the main character from the sisters, was bound to be naive girl who loves money, her sisters and making stupid decitions. Oh In Kyung was supposed to be the cleverest sister but oh well, at least she tried. The little sister Oh In Hye could draw, that's it, she was a moving puppet during the whole drama.
The flatness of the main heroines didn't bother me so much though. What frustrated me most was the poor reference to the phenomenon of alcoholism which is a very serious matter that can't be portrayed in a drama as lightly as it was portrayed in Little Women. The story had the easiest solution to alcohol addiction: just to forget that it was ever mentioned in the previous episodes. This just proves how much the writer cared about giving the drama a decent story and an ending that would respect the time which viewers had spent on it.
~The Production~
Production wise, Little Women is masterfully made. From visuals to music, to styling, to framing and directing, Little Women is one of the most exceptional Korean productions I have ever witnessed till now. Thus the drama was very captivating and putting aside the plot, very enjoyable to watch. But if you care the slightest about the plot, the drama felt like a present with extraordinarily beautiful wrapping which was empty inside.
~Conclusion~
Well, Little Women is not a drama that I would recommend in general as I believe the story doesn't have anything to offer. I tend to ignore things that bother me in the stories, trying to find the meaning behind everything the writer wanted to do and tell through their story, but Little Women hit me under the belt countless times, so in the end, I couldn't ignore any of these triggers.
On the other hand, if you are willing to turn off your brain and enjoy the view, maybe Little Women can be an enjoyable and visually beautiful ride for you, as it was from the eyes of many other people who watched it.
Was this review helpful to you?
Now this is what you call suspense
I am a sucker for dramas that center around women. A 9/10.I will start my review with the eldest child, Oh Injoo (Kim Goeun). The girl who will do anything and everything for her family to get out of poverty. She portrays the burden of being the eldest child really well. I am a little bit annoyed with her character since, out of them 3, she's not the brightest, so she does a lot of questionable things in this show, but you can understand why she does it. Goeun is one of my favorite actresses, and she did not disappoint here.
The second is Nam Jihyun (Oh Inkyung). At first, I thought that the actress's look was too soft for this kind of drama, but as the show goes on, you can see how she perfectly fits the character. The smartest and fearless one, but has a heart of marshmallow. I personally believe that she is one of the strongest characters, but this drama failed to show that side of hers. Nevertheless, you can see her dedication to being a reporter and fighting for justice. The flow of romance with Jihyun and Kang Hoon (Ha Jong Ho) is so adorable and just perfect—not too fast and not forced.
And the last sibling, Oh In Hye (Park Jihu), She had the least screen time, but she left me with the most impact. I saw other reviews that said they hated her character since she doesn't listen to her older sisters, but I understand her. In a poor family, she receives the most of everything, and she can see how her sisters do their best to get what she wants, and she feels burdened by it, so to not feel bad, she does her best to not depend on them, which results in her looking like a rebel. She might look like a brat for not listening to her sisters, but you can see how mature and smart she is when handling situations that involve the future of her and Hyorin (Jeon Chaeun).
I agree with everybody that some of them find it boring, since I find it also boring from the start due to lengthy episodes, but it gets better as the episodes go on. A lot of plot twists and big events happen in each episode, and I can't even imagine how this drama will end. Not only the main leads are interesting, but also the other women, like Kanghoon, their aunt Hyeseok, and one of the most evil characters I've seen, Jiwon.
Out of all the scenes, the one that I like the most is when Injoo gets her dream house, but the first thing she does is stay there and cry. That scene makes me shed a tear. You can see how happy she is, but she also feels empty.
If you have time and want a show that will stress you out and doesn't have a predictable ending, then I recommend this drama.
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
i like all flawed sister and other character this drama showcases
All three sister are very different from each other which doesn't mean one is right or other is wrongall have there pro and cons
Gong Min Jung role was what impressed me the most....
Jang Ma Ri
A shameless corrupt reporter which you can't prove corrupt because she believes in her own lies very honestly.
That story was my version of the truth, you have your own version of the truth and I have my Own,
Your truth was pitted against mine, and mine ended up winning today, I love that scene ( ep 11) when our Lead protagonist left speechless by a side character because, not always you win everywhere, some people will out match you, no matter what
Oh In Joo( Kim Go Eun )
she shows hidden desires of every Average working person, they all want to become rich and live a comfortable life but are not able to, when get opportunity most of them will act just like Oh In Joo did. but viewer wanted to call her greedy, are you one who will give up 2Million USD when you found it, NO if you say yes, your Lier.
Oh In Kyung ( Nam Ji Hyun )
she has her own principle and think they are above other but she is no better then anyone else when it come to her own family her younger sister she will abandoned her own principle and will do anything to protect what she love most just like all others, but she like to blame others for there selfishness while she give her self a privilege
she believe herself of something that is one and only pure journalist but she isn't , she is same as all others.
Oh In Hye
Most of people disliked her but i don't dislike her neither i like her fondly, she is there to make people see that not all rich are bad and all poor are victim which she said
that is just poor mentality to blame rich people for all there problems,
she was not great as sister, she doesn't care about those sister who she never choose, but she was loyal to her only friend she choose herself, she was rude to her sister but there was love even in her, which she was not able to show toward her sisters but was able to love her only friend,
i hated Oh In Kyung and Ha Jong Ho couple it was really wrong of them to make those two ending up together and leave
Oh In joo and choi do Il just at flirting, at least a kiss to conform there feelings toward each other
Choi Do Il ( Wi Ha Joon )
Good this man was so nice here and the unspoken chemistry between him and In Jo was amazing to watch
sub-- flirting between those two between that tens situation was a reliving wind
at airport i was waiting for them to KISS but no director did not have budget to include kissing scene.......
Was this review helpful to you?
An American Classic with a Korean twist
Maybe the thought of reading a story about three sisters living in poverty bored me. I never bothered reading the novel. To be completely honest, I never even knew the the basic plot of the novel. I just thought it would be about women, like the title suggested.When the news came out that there would be a Korean remake, it didn’t interest me. I just thought it would be another boring kdrama.
Then I saw the casting, i was taken aback. "such great actors" I thought. But that wasn't enough to get me started on this show. Then I tried reading the reviews here on Mdl and most of them were positive, saying it was a 10/10. So I decided to give this a try.
And I loved it....Its one of my favourite shows now. The plot, the casting, all the crazy plot twists that I never expected. Thanks to this show I've discovered that I love thrillers and even tho I haven't finished it yet (if the ending is bad I'll come back and edit this review) but I have great expectations for this show. Its just so so so so good.
If you haven't tried it yet, please do.
Edit:
okay so I JUST finished the show and WOW. I thought that they might end up ruining it but they ending was so well wrapped!
One of the best shows of 22 without a doubt!
Was this review helpful to you?
Dragging suspense
Personally, one thing about kdrama they do right is they want us to keep guessing, but there is also a downside to that because how long do you drag on the suspense to make the audiences want more? I am so glad I watched this with friends because I would have never finished it. I stayed because of the amazing cast, I love their acting and their characters but the way how the story unfolded, the dragging suspense, and adding unnecessary problems one after another was a typical kdrama move that I absolutely find dull and boring. Nothing made sense and some of the issues just didn't seem real enough to convince me.I recommend it for the cast and if this is your type of suspense but forget about it if you're there for the storyline.
Was this review helpful to you?
The cast is expensive
Only 2 ep are left. EP 9 and 10 was Roller coster. If your thriller movie fan u can watch it. Wath it drama without spoiler is very good idea.You Won't regret after watching it. The story of three sister is so good. First sister want money for living,second one wants dignity and third one is strict about her dream. Tbh,I Don't like the third sister,she is kinda disturbing, I thought there will be character development of sister three, But It doesn’t. And last ep 2 can't bring any character development. Okay, now It's about sister two, she is kinda messy but she is kind towards her 2 sister not like the third one. And she has dream of becoming a great Reporter though there is lot of hardship for her, bcz she is poor.THIS poverty problem same goes to 1 st sister, she is really a nice and her mind is clear. But in her office nobody likes her.Although there parents dont live with them. They always have problem.And what will happen when 1st sister find 70 billion won and 2nd one stand up against a Mayor candidate by writing article and 3 rd one becomes frnd with that mayor's daughter, and Mayor 's wife financially help 3rd sister. And what will happen when 1st sister only one frnd died by suicide, but she believes it a murder.Was this review helpful to you?
Little Women- Drama, Action, Mystery, Thriller
This drama is one of the best dramas I have ever watched. Mysterious and thrilling, this drama had me on the edge of my seat the whole time I was watching it. The plot was amazing and the plot twists were epic. I felt so stressed watching this show though ?, because you'd never know what was going to happen next, (who betrayed who, who stole what, who was lying, who died next...). I loved the different relationships between characters and how each character developed throughout the show. The show had really good actors as well as an awesome OST. I really enjoyed watching this show and I HIGHLY recommend it.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Dirt wrapped in facy bow
there are 2 categories that's missing from the above rating system, cinematography which was a 100/10 and plot development which was a meh 5.so like, the shots were so extravagant, so beautiful, so well though tout, so well balanced, but the story? the backstory for the evil organization was trash. the "twists" eventhough they were shocking were stupid, basically the villains were so smart yet gave away their own lives and worse make a stupid revenge scheme that compromised herself more than her victims..
like sure, sangah was a psychopath, but an elaborate acid water scheme, that obviously put herself at more risk? and the tree bottom becoming an acid pool and boom one push and it's over?
here's how I'd have done it differently. poisoned gas, and she wears a protective mask but it gets cut off by accident and boom we see her suffering chocking on her own plans. (don't judge me, I'm writing this with a writer mindset xD)
her whole persona was "conducting plays", a puppet master if you like, she planned and played everyone, we as viewers needed to see her plans fail and her seeing the wires cut off, that was the real suffering, she had no real power
and suddenly everyone was rich, when her friend got 12 years in prison.. so it was that simple? there was no death mystery cuz she never died. they didn't need to piss sangah off when they could've laundered the money that easily?
some people would look at this as a fancy metaphor for "the top 1% and people exposing their true colors infront of money" or whatever else one likes and they are not wrong
but to me it wasn't that deep. it was just 1 psychopath that married another, and her father conveniently had an organization of psychos that liked to kill to reach their goal, for what? petty angst, why? cuz that's how shallow the writer is
squid games is not a metaphor of rich and poor, it's entertainment. you can ofc see any metaphor you like, it's not wrong. we can all look at the ink on the page and see a flower, a monster, or just a splash of ink.
one and two aren't crazy, and 3 isn't a cynic that lacks creativity. I can look at a literature piece like little women the book, and say it wasn't a rich vs poor, it was just a love story. or personally I think it was more about a woman's position in society, regardless of background, women are forced with 2 options, marry rich or marry love, and the 3rd variable is the rebel's "if I don't want to be either I'll be neither"
I did not compare little womens cuz besides the basic, 3 sisters, poor, artist, material world, nothing is similar. others can see more similarities but no one is wrong
sooo, long story short, as an entertainment piece, ep8 was the best. the psycho's Truman Show was a great touch, the manipulation, the step by step puppet show and everything just being for sangah's enjoyment watching injoo's reaction was a better story choice than the veitnam, sad mommy issues, money, Vietnam and 99% of the show thinking Do Il would betray her. or being over involved in his feelings for injoo when like literally 7m is a great reason for someone to help cuz 70b is way too much to want to escape with
the songs were great, Uhm Ji Won as a calm psychopath is a great addition to makjangs and their recent love for screaming women. Kim Go Eun also rocks heavily emotinal scenes. for me, her meltdown in prison, and sangah's scheme in ep8 deserve to be in the "acting" hall of fame
going to compare this to eve, both are makjang, both wanted to go crazy, and tbh I'm sick of romance dramas breaking up the best couples and say "sad endings are realistic", it's not sad to beautiful people didn't end up together, real sad endings come from death, and the ones that need a sad ending are makjangs, a happily ever after makjang isn't worth all the pain and angst
killing the villain is not a satisfying ending. they get caught? they kill themselves. they go crazier? they fall and accidentally die
real suffering comes from detaching the villain from their power. let their world crumble. and thus, in Eve the ML saw the amount of destruction they caused and what did he do? suicide but with murder. and that's they point, muurrrrder (again don't judge I'm a writer xD) but how to make murder worse? one dies and one lives but loses everything, her memory, her sanity, her personality, her life, and she lives in a state she doesn't know what's real or not, she's just a shell
but I guess Eve got there 1st so this couldn't copy it. and psych ward is the 3rd option for villains anyway
Was this review helpful to you?
not gonna hold my breath
Without comparing this to the novel Little Women, here is my apparently unpopular opinion:T꙯H꙯E꙯ G꙯O꙯O꙯D꙯:
• Wi Ha Joon character was written to perfection! Now if this drama gets rewritten from his point of view as the main lead, this whole circus would’ve taken a turn towards something I would be invested in. Uncovering his story and the way he kept making me question his intentions is the sole reason that kept me watching.
T꙯H꙯E꙯ B꙯A꙯D꙯:
• The writer adapted the 3 main characters from a book and focused on ONE FREAKING personality trait for each sister and ran the whole show with it.
> InJoo: naive and money driven.
> InKyung: righteous and stubborn.
> InHye: ungrateful little brat.
Me: “Ever heard of character development?”
Writer: “Yes! I’ll just add some changes in the end and you interpret it as growth ;)”
Me: “Clever..”
• The mystery about the secret flower society was interesting but the investigation process lacked excitement & the progression was slowww. 2 sisters were too busy with their lives and our reporter was not good at being discreet or discovering shit, which made me pull my hair out and use it as a rope to hang myself. Did anyone else sleep during the majority of ep11, or was it only me? & for anyone who watched this, did the blue flower have hallucination effect or that wasn’t explained?
T꙯H꙯E꙯ M꙯E꙯H꙯:
• Unoriginal to the core. The writer binged Series of Unfortunate Events, Penthouse and then read Little Women & Cinderella.
Writer: *lightbulb* *writes script*
Producer: “You came up with all that! Let me contact typecasted actors (Uhm Ki Joon) with popular kids and we are all set! Just add some spicy scenes & substance with suicide, cause we are aiming for Netflix.”
• ACTING! Or the lack of it. Easily forgettable performances by ALL (except HaJoon).
> I love Nam Ji Hyun but I have never seen her deliver lines so flat and emotionless like her portrayal of this role. It was painful to watch her suck the life out of everything around here in this drama.
> Kim Go Eun plays the same character in everything I’ve watched so far. I dunno if I’m biased against her but she never impressed me since GoBlin days.
R꙯A꙯T꙯I꙯N꙯G꙯:
1/10. Woot! The only joy from this experience is rating this low :p
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
bloody
WOW. A wonderful series with ups and downs, but excellent. The ending left me with a smile on my face, although I would have liked Choi Do-il and Oh In-joo to be together and have a happier ending for them. I would have liked In-joo to have more trust in Do-il, only that if I had put myself in her place, I would have done the same. I liked the way Do-il and Jong-ho looked at In-joo and In-kyung the most. HYPNOTISING.The ending of the other two sisters was one that I really liked. The series was very good, the story and the acting excellent. Series rated 10. The death of some of the characters seemed well-deserved. All in all, it was a really cool series. From now on, I will see red shoes and blue flowers differently.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Outrageous but interesting plot led by three unlikable sisters.
My final review after the series completion. I’ll just list some questions and comments and end it.1. Deep down, I knew they were going to bring back Hwa Yong. I was so hoping not but they did it. And the explanation about another woman who was suicidal she met happened to be at her place to be killed? Maybe I missed some details but major sigh.
2. So everyone saw Sang A murdering someone. I get that it was a video they couldn’t verify but at least, she’d get detained for investigation? She just walked out of the courthouse and business as usual. This enabled her to go on (almost) a murder spree.
3. Speaking of Sang A, how is she so powerful and rich? I get that her dad set up some stuff and his people infiltrated the society at different levels for a long time but I’m not sure if that explains the influence and wealth. Does she own Samsung? Hyundai or both?
4. If she’s so powerful, why did they try so hard to be the mayor and then the president? Apparently, it wasn’t that important at the end because she casually “killed” her husband.
5. Is the Orchid Society a cult? How do they control the members so that they would just give their lives? What were they promised? Eternal life? Maybe some members may feel like they owe a lot to the general but really?
6. If Sang A owns the police and the media and whatever else, why didn’t she own the judicial system?
7. When Haw Young entered the courtroom, she was given the most underwhelming response to her being alive by other characters, especially by Sang A. I would’ve fallen off the chair and screamed at the least.
8. I think, ultimately, the writer and director just fell in love with their crazy ideas and kept adding more and more shocking/convoluted stuff and things got away from there. I wish they actually thought about how all these ideas would work together or were even remotely feasible in that fictional world before they kept adding.
9. Maybe Kim Go Eun’s movie career is winding down? I think she’s great and she’s acted well here but this show feels like it’s beneath her?
10. So Sang A was so nuts that her father’s people didn’t choose her as the successor. But they left her to do her crazy stuff and risked ruining everything? Which she did. Hmm.
Review after Ep. 10
So I came to realize that this is a soap opera rather than a drama. Soap operas often sacrifice logic and realism for the sake of sensationalism. Storyline has gotten more and more convoluted and extreme with constant bait and switch. Rating lowered to 5.
Review after Ep. 8
This show just became one of the dumbest show ever.
The main character is literally the dumbest person ever. She thought her friend was alive after seeing her dead. She walks in to her dead friend’s apartment and drinks an iced drink without asking why or who made it. OMG.
And, of course, it’s the wife of the bad guy…. I knew it. This is nuts. I see the rating dropping but we’ll see.
Initial review after Ep. 5
For whatever reason, I thought this was a comedy. So I was a bit dumbfounded after the first two episodes. I’m looking forward to how the storyline unfolds. I do think it’s a bit coincidence heavy with every sister being involved with the villain’s (?) family but it is K-drama’s favorite way to advance the plot so…
I hope the villains don’t turn out to be the usual bad people. I hope they try a bit harder to be creative this time. But so far, the shadowy villain seems all powerful so most likely not.
Kim Go-Eun is such a great actress. She’s so natural but I feel like she’s overacting here, especially, when she’s in trouble. The way her face contorts basically shows she’s guilty. Also, the character she plays isn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer. She can’t put two and two together and can’t act cool if her life depended on it and it literally depends on her trying to hide the fact that she’s got the money. And the way she just brought a pile of cash to a strange woman right after being told to be careful with money! Wow. It’s like she wants everyone to know she has a pile of cash.
And by all means, let’s talk about the secret ledger in the middle of a freaking cafeteria loudly! But the plot must advance, I guess.
I can’t figure out the middle sister. She seems like the smart one but we’ll see what role she plays here. The youngest one seems to be there just to play the impressionable kid acting like a pawn. Not interesting at all.
The biggest flaw of this show, so far, is that none of three sister is likable. The oldest is dumb and clueless, the second is a drunk, pseudo-activist hothead and the youngest one lives in an alternate reality. It’s like she’s not affected by the way her friend’s parents act. She’d rather live with violent rich people rather than her poor sisters. They want us to sympathize with them but failed miserably.
Where are they going with the orchid? Is it super natural? Drug induced hallucinations? They keep digging deeper and deeper to make everyone suspicious but I hope they know what they’re doing and tie all this up in a satisfying way.
Hope it goes well. It’s promising that it’s a 12 episode show so hoping for a tight storyline without much fluff.
Was this review helpful to you?
