Wedding Impossible

I had this marked on my calendar from the moment I heard about it & not disappointed.

I'm a fan of the contract marriage trope mostly coz majority of them go from hate to love, which is my cup of tea. So, when I first heard about this drama, I immediately added it to my "plan to watch" list.

Read a few people's comments that the actress is not that good or the drama is not that good. In my opinion, the 2 episodes I have watched were good. Right now, they are more interesting than "Dr Slump" or "Flex X Cop" for me. The first episode starts out a bit slow but halfway through it and I was hooked. The 2nd episode is real deal. It kept me interested for the entire duration of the episode and now I can't wait to watch what more unfolds.

3rd and 4th Episode: How adorable can the ML be? Both episodes were so fun to watch, from him saying "I'll steal you from my brother, make you fall in love with me, and dump you" to him going "I like you" in period of 2 episodes was so funny. He was also so bothered when he decided to change his approach and set her up on a blind date. She wasn't really that bothered about the blind date, wouldn't have been if the guy hadn't turned out to be pervert.

5th Episode was pretty much the ML saying horrible things about FL. I get the enemies to lovers trope needs some of that in the beginning but the descriptions he uses for FL are not tasteful at all. The FL was pretty hurt when she overheard stuff he said about her but had to pretend that everything was okay. She didn't even receive an apology from him.

6th Episode was ML going out of his way to ignore FL because he finally accepted that he liked the FL. He tries so many different ways to get over her, but remain unsuccessful. While I didn't much like the ML in 5th episode, I couldn't help but laugh some of their shenanigans.

7th Episode was so short. I wanted more of it. Everything was good, I'm on tenterhooks, waiting for the moment when ML finds out why the FL is marrying his brother. I hope he is accepting, but from the promo's it doesn't seem like it. Just finished 8th Episode, wow, now there's only two weeks worth of episode left. I feel like why is this one so short? And yet I can't wait to reach the end. Ai yo, I see the the current dynamics between the two, but the ML still thinks that the FL doesn't know the truth about his brother. He doesn't even know that she is in it for the her personal reasons. Waiting to see how he is going to react once he finds out.

9th ep: As expected, the ML was bound to find out that FL knew about his brother and the fake marriage thing. She should have told him, but the situation is overall shitty. This is the reason, I wasn't excited about them dating each other, at least clear things up first.

10th ep: This was such a good opportunity to have everything out in the open and make things somewhat right for everyone, but no, according to the Kdramaland cliche, the leads need to separate for some amount of time before they can have their happy ending, otherwise the world would fall apart.

11th & 12th: I'm so sad that its over. They break up in 11th, we have a 1 year gap and they get together back in 12th. 12th episode was so damn good. It didn't feel rushed, the ending was a bit weird but acceptable. I do love the scene where he both FL and 2ndFL keep throwing him at each other, you take him, no you take him.

Everyone kept talking about Kim Bum cameo, but I can't get over how gorgeous Lee Soo Hyuk looks as a groom.

Coming to the actors, like many viewers I do think that Moong Sang Min can do better as an actor. He is a treat to watch, but many of scenes seemed a bit awkward and not as emotional as the character deserved. But I just can't see any other actor in the role. Hoping to see more of him in romcoms. Jeon Jong Seo was a perfect fit for her role. I wouldn't mind seeing these two work together again.

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In defense of Dohan

Moon sangmin has successfully played the most annoying male lead character I've watched in any kdrama this year. Jihan is annoying to me. The fact that he actively was pursuing his brother's girlfriend when he was under the illusion that they were sincerely dating, is a massive ick to me. They toned down a lot of jihan's annoying traits from the webtoon, but him micro managing aspects of his brother's personal life is odd, even if his backstory is that he's trying hard to be accepted. It doesn't justify living through his brother, when he has expressed time and time again to him that he has no interest in taking over the company, or marrying a girl he's trying to set him up with. Jihan called Dohan selfish, but he's the most selfish in this show, to me.

How could Dohan notice he likes ahjung when he's been, from Dohan's perspective acting like a premium crackhead towards her. Dohan isn't with them when they have personal conversations, and all he's seeing is him being hostile towards her. Maybe if they were children he could interpret his hot/cold attitude towards her as possible immature display of affection, but they're adults and Ahjung has been presented as his fiancee. Which logical and sane brother falls in love with his future sister-in-law?

And for Dohan is he selfish? To an extent yes. But is his selfishness justified? To an extent yes. He came back from the US, and everyone just expects him to be someone he's not. His obsessive brother is trying to manipulate him into dating someone he doesn't want to, his grandfather wants to put a whole-ass company on his shoulders even if he doesn't want it. Which is very valid. Him not wanting it is valid. Someone is stalking him, and is threatening to expose his sexuality to the public, even sending intimate pictures of him and his partner to his family. There's pressure queerness puts on you that Jihan/a non queer viewer will never be able to understand. And the most important part is that Dohan had the decency to not blindly trick a woman into believing he's in love with her. He laid out the terms of the contractual relationship, and didn't force ahjung to accept his offer. Jihan was the actual reason ahjung accepted it because he was acting extremely childish and she accepted to be in a 3 year contract, just to spite him.

Now you could bring up the point that 3 years is such a long time for ahjung to commit to this extent, and Dohan wasn't considerate of the emotions and possible feelings she'd have in that situation, but she's an adult, and she accepted the contract. It's not even for free. He's paying her approximately 2m dollars to pretend for three years.

And I'm just not feeling the chemistry between Jihan and Ahjung. He keep inserting himself into her personal business without any context. You initially irritated the girl so much that she made an irrational, in hindsight bad decision on the spot, and now you're pestering her because you like her and want to protect her feelings?

The gay brother has reaffirmed that he would do his best to make the three years of their contract a good experience for ahjung, and let her do whatever she likes, having a love life most likely possibly included. Ahjung knew she was marrying a gay man. She never expected him to be attracted to her. She didn't even like him in the first place, for that presumed expectation to be there.

But Jihan cornering her repeatedly to end the engagement makes no sense to me, when he was the main reason she made that call to accept the proposal in the first place. He just keeps doing serious things without context.

In summary Jihan feeling like an outsider in his home will never justify his chain of actions. Putting pressure on both parties for your own personal gain, putting pressure on your own brother to the extent he couldn't even confide in you, his only brother, that he was gay. It's one thing to have a flawed character, but It's another thing to be an immature, selfish, and hypocritical character. You can't be doing things for someone's benefit when they never asked you to. He keeps saying Dohan never experienced what he experienced growing up, so his solution is to treat Dohan like a build a bear, all through his life and impose a life he doesn't want on him? They both lack proper communication skills, and Jihan doesn't know how to take a hint. Dohan might be perceived as cowardly, but Jihan is extremely immature.

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Noting Bad, Nothing Exceptional, Just OK

Was "Wedding Impossible" enjoyable? Yes.
Was it an easy watch? Yes.

But that’s about it. The script was not developed well enough, and things happened because they had to happen. I still don’t know when, how, or why the two leads fell for each other, but at some point, we were supposed to believe that they were madly in love. In my eyes, nothing justified the heartbreak they felt in the penultimate episode. This could work or they could manage to cheat the viewers if the two leads had sizzling chemistry, which the leads did not have. It wasn’t the worst, but nothing exceptional. I mean, it’s not great when a cameo appearance from Kim Bum as a love interest for the 2nd FL steals the show, and their interactions, in less than 5 minutes, make you more giddy and excited than 12 episodes of the main leads. I mean where is their k-drama!! I need to watch that!

Another issue that didn't help with me believing their relationship is that they did not really look good together, which brings me to one of the weakest parts of the drama: the Male Lead. His acting left a lot to be desired, with some brief moments of good acting. I don’t think he was ready for a lead role, or at least this type of role. The other problem with him lies more with the casting director, but he looked too young. Every time they did a close-up, it just took me out of the drama, he barely could pass as 18! This made the Female Lead (both of them actually) look old in comparison, something that they are not.

But it’s not just the leads. All the characters felt underdeveloped, underutilized. They just did things without any motivation or reasons, and then suddenly they didn’t because... plot?

All in all, I would suggest watching it if you want a mindless easy watch.

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First half was charming. the second half lost interest. dropped it by episode 10

Things I loved:
The FL. refreshing, charming, natural looking (not overly made up). She's relaxed, confident. Has a conscience. Doesn't make stupid mistakes. Is honest with herself and the characters around her. So different from all the other longsuffering, overly optimistic or taking it on the chin without defending herself FLs. I'm not detracted by her voice or mannerisms.
The 2FL. Not a cardboard jealous backstabber!! Lovely young woman who secretly likes ML. Not a doormat. Love love love her. 2FL and ML interactions are very sweet, and you can see her realizing, "Oops. I like this guy", while ML is oblivious. And once we get into later chapters she states her motivation and doesn't back down. She's not a jerk about it. Just assertive. She wants what she wants and is not afraid to fight for it.

A lot of people online are utterly trashing the FL actress for being unattractive. Small spoiler for them: her looks remain the same throughout the show, so if you can't stand looking at her in the first episode, she won't get any more good looking to you throughout the drama. To those people, I beg you to save yourself, and the rest of us, the pain of your complaints, and watch something else with a conventionally "beautiful" actress. If you can find one we all agree with, I'll eat my hat.

Things that grew on me:
ML. Until episode 4 could not get into his personality. Found him flat. But now starting to see the charm. The first three episodes of his pouty "look off camera into the distance to convey remembering sorrowful memory" got old. By the time episode 7 rolled around, he got good.

Sadly, that's where it ended for me.

I do not like the acting of the older brother actor. He uses three expressions if you count his awkward smile . Someone had said he is miscast, and I think that's exactly it. He doesn't bring the character of older brother to life. It's disappointing because it could be so much more. He stands. doesn't use his body to emote. It's disappointing. I think he might have clinched his fist once in anger.

The ML and FL - once they get together it deflates and gets boring. FL angst and torture comes through very well. and the The kiss scene was ok but in the next scene they're just walking down the street like pals. Chemistry ends. Rather than watching episode 10 when it came out, I began watching other dramas and enjoying them more.

Finally skipped the last three episodes entirely and watched the last 5 minutes of episode 12. That was enough for me. I don't miss it.

Gave it a 6 instead of a 5 because of the well-written FL, 2FL and the hopeful beginning.

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Wasted potential , but still an entertaining drama to kill time

A Really interesting plot premise if written and executed better would have been a gem , but this was such a miss.Eventhough , I thought the plot and some elements were refreshing and interesting , i didn't have High expectations for the drama and didn't think too much about the plot while watching , so it was an entertaining timekill drama to watch on air .But while writing the review , When I think about the drama , it had many misses.
I did enjoy the bickering chemistry of the leads .At the surface level I do think they have chemistry but if you look into how well written and executed it was definitely not great.I think this was moon Sangmin's first lead role.Eventhough he didn't gave like the greatest performance, he did bring a charm to the character which I really enjoyed . Looking forward to his future projects .This was the heroine 's first rom com , it was a role different from her previous roles .So ,I don't think was her best performance but she did a good job for her first time.The gay brother plot had a great potential but another wasted opportunity.
This drama has a lot of logical mistakes and morally also .Like I can't fully justify the gay brother's actions but could understand him.As for the male lead , I really couldn't understand him .Like his over obsessive behaviour over his brother .Like if he really figured out something like his brother and the lead's relationship seems so fishy or even misunderstood the female lead as a person not worthy of her brother and tried to separate them , I could empathize with him .But his actions were morally wrong if he tried to pursue the female lead thinking that he and her brother were really in love.And what's with their mother like she had an affair and left her own children like didn't really liked that character.That grandfather really got on my nerves , In order to reduce his guilt he made jihan's life miserable and also till the end couldn't understand why he wanted to han to inherit that company .On sidenote ,I really enjoyed the cameos.As for the osts , I liked them and my favourite is date or meet by meenoi.In conclusion not a great script , but still an entertaining timekill drama.

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Pure emotions with a nice plot.

I was really excited for this drama to begin. I loved the cast, the synopsis and had a feeling it would be great.
I was not wrong.
The cast did quite a good job and Jihan was one great male lead. Showstealer Dohan, loved his acting here after loving him in My Roomate Is A Gumiho (2021).
The plot went smoothly and liked it. Not too dragged on and I could really emphasize with the characters.
The character development was present and loved too see everyone's growth after a year apart in the last episode.
The last episode was especially beautiful. Things wrapped up nicely and I am glad I gave this drama a try. ( I also loved the cameos in the last episode. ;) )
What I would have liked... well, a better wedding scene for Jihan and Ajeong. In rest, no big complaints.

If you're thinking to start this drama... Do it. You might like it. Not too long and quite captivating. ;)

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Could have been better

The trailer promised a feel-good story -
A rich heir asks his struggling actress best friend to marry him so that his grandfather cannot have things in his way. Enters the good-looking, bit childish younger brother who falls head over heels for his to-be sister-in-law.

Enemies to lovers ...check
Good-looking hero, good-looking heroine...check
Girl in rags and a rich hero....check

It is like watching a Lee Min Ho drama served in a new bowl. The plot is the narrative of Korean dramas released this year are losing the plotline with the seventh episode. The narrative is going haywire and the director is forcefully dragging the story. Adapted from the webtoon of the same name, the story had a promising premise, but a loose adaptation format.
It is again fairy tale coincidences, excessive hardship running to a smooth life, and an impossible love enveloped with denial.
After historical fiction, Under the Queen's Umbrella, and the zombie story After School Duty, Moon Sang Min is back with a romantic comedy. His portrayal of Ji Han is careless and would have been better if he had been more focused. Jeon Jong Seo as Na Ah Jeong is an unnecessary flower girl. Her struggle is real as she is entangled in a triangle where the third angle does not exist. Kim Do Wan gave a warm performance in last year's Doona. His Lee Do Han is the only logical in the entire mess. His subtle yet confident delivery put sense into this fiasco. Park Ah In, Kwan Hae Hyo, and Bae Yoon Kyung add the needed motion to this story. The director could have used them better to make the storyline strong and entertaining.
The cameos in every alternate episode are only fun. You can not miss that out.

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Not impossible but they need to try harder

The FL has a breakout role in the film Burning. I jumped at the chance to see her in a proper drama series.

The initial set up of her character was encouraging. Her character is hard working, resourceful and has a laser focus on her career. She might be down on her luck, but she has a backbone of steel. The potential for growth is writ large. So much so that I can overlook the tropey contract marriage/cohabitation plot if she is allowed to play to her strengths. Unfortunately, it is where the engine kinda stalled.

To wit, once the show simple premise is lay out for us, the FL's role actually diminished. She has flashes of brilliance but soon her role is overshadowed by the male lead aka Moon Sang-min. For half the series, she is the "meek" fiancée of the 2ML. At one stage, her character was forced to go into hiding and lay low. Not exactly the ideal setting for scene stealing performances.

To be fair, I don't have a problem with the acting of Moon. He is handsome and charismatic as ever. The show is pretty much his starrer. Our leads do have good chemistry and their on/off romance is what sustained my interest. However, the paper-thin plot needs more to make it work. So far, it is not much more than a cavalcade of tired tropes.

Alas, that memo didn't land on the right desk. Most characters are straight out of central casting. Side plots are tropey and boring. Antagonists are more meddling than evil. It is all so samey and predictable. Even the writer-nim recognised this. There are multiple references to "trashy drama” plots in dialogues. Self awareness . . I get it! Ha ha . . indeed.

Even when we are served a sugar hit just after the 3/4 mark. It was immediately followed by the ubiquitous breakup with not 1, not 2 but 3 lots of Noble Idiocy. Predictably, that send our leads straight to purgatory but served little other purpose.

This is further confirmed in the last EP when after a mandatory 1-year time skip, our leads threw themselves at each other within hours of a chance meeting. What is the point of the breakup? This leads to 15 mins of decent fan service and HEA endings for all concerned whether they are good, bad or just silly.

I am not saying the show is bad. It is quite watchable and entertaining at times but the wasted potentials just irks me.

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