The Matchmakers

I am not a fan of period kdramas but i was craving a drama with similar vibe as Mr. Queen. And the matchmakers did not disappoint. Binged watched in 4 days. It’s not on the same level but good enough to watch. It was entertaining enough with equal amounts of funny and cute moments. It was extremely hilarious at times so i will not be pointing out the flaws much.
The1st half of the show was more funny than the 2nd half. The bickering between the main leads was cute and the story of 3 sisters was also hilarious meanwhile 2nd half was bit slow and had more political elements in it.

Rowoon did a good job as Lord shim. Y’all I wasn’t expecting much from him but he was soo hilarious in this drama. I died laughing watching his expressions and gestures. The female characters in the drama are strong and blunt .A special shout out to the mother in law, she was fierce.. The three sisters were progressive and way ahead of time. i absolutely loved the portrayal of strong women in the drama. Female lead was a widow but she did not sacrifice her love for sake of the society and dignity . Bow 🙇🏻‍♀️
I have zero regrets and will definitely rewatch.

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A love letter to love in all its forms

This is the first drama I completed in 2024 and what a beautiful way to start the new year. Above all else, this is a story about love, romantic love, yes, but also the love between friends, the love you have for your country, the love you have for your family (the one you're born into, the one you marry into, and the one you make for yourself), and above all else, the love and respect you have for yourself. Cho Yi Hyun and Rowoon absolutely shine as the titular matchmakers who have each known love and loss, who are each seeking their place in the world, and who end up finding solace in each other. Park Ji Young is mesmerizing as one of the best-written antagonists I've ever seen, balancing her character's calm dignity as the firm but fair mother-in-law with her quietly terrifying ferocity as the cunning puppet master pulling all the strings behind the scenes. The secondary characters are just as compelling and memorable, from the sweet but stubborn sister-in-law Ye Jin to the young and noble Crown Prince to the steadfast bookseller to the actually competent King to the real Yeojudaek to the old bachelors, and of course, the unforgettable Maeng sisters, who each got a love story that allowed them to stay true to themselves. It's evident that every aspect of this drama was produced with love and care, from the beautiful cinematography to the excellent writing and character development and I especially enjoyed modern style choices like the giant location headers and the mockumentary format at the beginning of each episode that made the show feel fresh and fun. The last episode became a bit too melodramatic for me but all in all, this was a gem of a drama that I can't wait to rewatch.

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i love this drama

A great drama, funny, witty, but at the same time it has a degree of seriousness (it's about a marriage of convenience, revenge, murder, and control). The historical/modern production reminds a bit of a reality show (a break between the scenes and the actors looking directly at the camera, something more like a drama, "Lovestruck in the City"). A plot that has female empowerment, love, friendship, strict rules that were accepted at that time and you can say unconditional love. The characters develop gradually. Especially the character of Shim Jung Woo who plays rowoom in a wonderful way, rowoon succeeds with his wonderful acting and his facial expressions (mimicry) to transfer the character in a wonderful way, (from a person who reluctantly submits to strict rules to a sensitive, loving and uncompromising person) as well as Cho Yi Hyun who plays Jung Sun Deok and the rest of the actors who did a wonderful job...a drama that I personally recommend.

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Adorable and satisfying

This is an adorable show. The lead characters are so cute. ML lack of emotional maturity in the beginning is hilarious. His growth is really good. FL is super cute but I will say that she wasn't always as convincing with feelings as Rowoon.

The supporting cast is great! The side stories of the matches with the "old" maidens was well done, especially the youngest one. The wondering how it will turn out, was well done also. It didn't get boring.

There were a few frustrating minutes here and there but they were resolved. If you like a good story that answers all the questions, this is a great one to watch.

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So cute and fun drama

You should definitely watch this if love cute fun or comedy historical dramas. The ml and fl are so cute together. I love ittttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttittttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttittttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttitttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt ittttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttittttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttittttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttitttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt ittttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttittttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttittttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttitttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt

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Comic relationship adventure with odd editing, conflicting themes

Shim Jung Woo was the highest & youngest scorer civil service exam, highly reluctant prince consort, and naive straight shooter. "Those who marry matchmakers are destined to live short lives" is a saying taken to extremes as SJW's princess bride to be drops dead during the wedding ceremony, foretelling his own unrealized true destiny. Rowoon is very good at comic roles & hilariously portrays SJW as haplessly innocent in spite of his high intelligence & strong sense of justice.

Cho Yi Hyun plays Jung Soon Deok, a widowed noblewoman who moonlights as matchmaker under the pseudonym of Yeo Joo Daek, unafraid of any challenge, & is as free spirited as Jung Woo is rigid. Her talents are so natural it leads SJW to believe she is the incarnation of a matchmaking god.

No period drama is complete without palace intrigue as the Joseon king fights resistance from his own court to appointing the sickly 14 yr old crown prince's marriage and thus, by inference, his ascension. To lift a rumoured curse on the prince's future marriage (and political) prospects, the king orders SJW to marry off 3 "old maidens" whose unmarried status threatens the prosperity of the kingdom. SJW teams up with JSD in a funny and raucous ride to find the perfect bachelors for the maiden sisters. However, the journey gets rather dizzying with sudden flashbacks for mutliple characters, new characters introduced at different times, and complicated backstories with hidden identities. And there's one significant character, the king's second grandson & chief political threat to the crown prince, who's mentioned frequently but never shown during the entire show which is very odd.

Therefore it took me almost a 1/3 of the show to get into the story because of the mish-mash of flashbacks & jumping storyline, but eventually as the matchmaking for the maidens gets going I could just enjoy the comic moments & follow the development of the relationship between the leads. Then their matchmaking efforts fall apart as the politics heat up and past crimes come to light, turning the leads into detectives. There is also the prospect of a child marriage with a 10 yr age gap, presented as a fated true love match, which cannot be portrayed positively or realistically even if it was acceptable centuries ago. It's uncomfortable, actually, to see this in the storyline as no big deal & it conflicted with my enjoyment of the show. Finally comes the age old question of do you follow your heart or your fate? In the end, the good people are happy & the bad people get their due. The romance is light & funny, the politics heavy & perhaps unnecessarily tragic, but an entertaining watch overall.

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Such an underrated show. Definitely deserves more hype

I’ve just finished the drama and it’s hilarious. Why is this drama soo underrated!!! It’s not the best out there but good enough.
I’ve watched all kdramas of Rowoon and the matchmakers is my favourite drama of him after Tomorrow. Rowoon rocked his character as Shim jung woo. He is an amusing and hysterically funny character. The more we get to know him the more appealing he becomes. His character development from being a man of principle to being agent of love added more to his charms hehe. Female lead was cute. She was bubbly yet mature at the same time.

The whole matchmaking plot was hilarious, from teaching the sisters the art of eye contact to the chaotic wedding day, i laughed like crazy. Among all the chaos, the sweet moments between the couples were heartwarming. Jung woo and princess encounter story was soo adorable, kinda made me sad for them. Everything adds up episode by episode. The shows gets political and serious in some episodes but that’s alright since I laughed a lot too. Some moments made me emotional too. That’s the beauty of a good drama.

The review won’t be complete without mentioning what bothered me. Yes! the odd pairing of crown prince and lady ha na!! This pairing made no sense till the end. But as they were one of many couples and not the main lead couple soo I can overlook it. Also only if the writer had maintained the same humorous vibe till the end of the story, it would’ve been better as the story got quite tense towards the end. But because I enjoyed the 1st half of the show more I will let it slide.

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Hidden gem

I went into this drama not expecting much but I was blown away by the plot and theme behind it. The matchmakers is a light romantic comedy with a social message.
The story takes place in joseon dynasty but even in today’s time, matchmaking practice exists in some cultures. Hence I was able to relate to this drama.

The main lead couple’s romance builds up slowly. Since they both are widowed and their circumstances are complicated so it makes sense for the romance to be slow paced. Yet their story is unique and free from all k-drama cliches. i was skeptic of their chemistry in the beginning but the chemistry gets better as the story progresses. The other couples were cute too except for the older sister and the crown prince. Hana was pretty and smart so i was expecting a good match for her but she was paired with a kid.🥲. Awkward..

Our hero, Jung woo aka “the man of anger” is adorable. The writer did an amazing job here by making us think that Jong woo’s chest pain signifies envy towards couples and is symbolic to his loneliness but it turns out that’s bcz he is the agent of love. This made his character look even more significant to the story. As for the FL, Oh how i love a strong female lead who is not a damsel in distress. Soon deok although a widow but is cheerful and ambitious women. I enjoyed to see a female lead like her. I enjoyed their teamwork and awkward interactions. They were sweet and hilarious at the same time.

Loved the drama, it was fresh and I am glad i watched it.

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Started out great

I'm not a big fan of historical dramas, but the trailers made this look like it would be more comedy than melodrama, so I thought I'd give it a try. I liked it a lot...until I didn't. Unfortunately, they took a show that was really working as a comedy and switched it to palace intrigue/kill the crown prince/don't trust anyone in power/melodrama about halfway through, and it became a different show. Did they switch writers halfway through or something?

What I liked:
-the comedy in the first part of the show.
-Rowoon's (as Jung Woo) comedic timing, goofy facial expressions
-Jun Woo's servant. He was excellent and so much fun to watch!
-a good king
-beautifully filmed. The sets were beautiful. The camera work was interesting. I especially liked the filming of the wedding of the multiple couples. Filmed from overhead so it reminded me of a game board, which was appropriate with all that was going on.
-The costuming was good as well, other than the front of almost every dress the FL wore. The top layer of her dresses were gathered and shorter than the rest, probably so you can see the layer underneath. But it just looked like she got part of her dress stuck in her belt and she needed to pull it down.

What I didn't like:
-the whole melodrama aspect. Does every historical have the storyline of trying to kill the king or prince? The murder plots were messy and took up too much of the show.
-Rowoon's constant throat clearing. Give the man a lozenge!
-no chemistry between leads. I mean, seriously, no chemistry.
-one REALLY bad kiss in episode 12. I couldn't get over how bad it was. Their lips weren't even aligned correctly, no movement, no feeling, no chemistry.
-There's a lot said about the fact that no one recognizes the FL without makeup, even her brother. That was so unrealistic, because they didn't recognize her voice either?! There was virtually no difference between how she looked with and without makeup. Gorgeous either way.
-Did I mention no chemistry?
-A few of the bachelors looked alike, as well as some of the potential brides. It was hard to track who was who.
-Too many storylines to do any of them justice.
-A 14-year-old marrying the oldest of three daughters. This was just all kinds of no.
-Each episode had either the ML or the FL talking about why they couldn't be together. One episode it was him, the next episode it was her. Due to their lack of chemistry (have I mentioned that already?), I didn't think they should be together anyway, so this just made the show more drawn out.
-The evil mother-in-law. Excellent acting. But everyone knew that she had not only been part of the planning to kill the crown prince, but she actually murdered her husband and her brother, and the only thing that happened to her was she lived alone at the end of the drama!?!?!? And she told her daughter-in-law to kill herself? This woman was obviously a burger short of a happy meal and shouldn't have been allowed to roam free.
-The whole multiple people, convoluted mess of a wedding.
-The FL going on and on about how much she had loved her husband. It was talked about so much, but the FL's actions didn't line up with what she was saying, and I felt that this really diminished the feelings that the ML and FL were supposed to have for one another. But since they had no chemistry anyway... (sorry, I digress.)
-The whole storyline with her supposedly being dead. I didn't feel the emotion of loss from him, she just shows up out of the blue, and his non-emotion continues.
-The ending. Lackluster is the only word I can come up with. He almost died, he thought she was dead, we've spent 16 episodes watching them try to get together, and they stand there talking about whether they should get married or just date?! As I watched the ending scene, all I could think was that the actors actually hated each other and were agreeing to the ending as long as there was no emotion, and they didn't have to touch each other.

If you are a fan of historical dramas, you might have the patience for this one. As for myself, if I'd known my feelings were going to change so dramatically by the end, I would have dropped it halfway and given it a higher rating.

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Great props and fresh take on a saguek drama

Love the props and the sceneries. The colours are rich and vibrant for the entire production. Also... Rowoon Rowoon... How could anyone miss his dramas? He is such a great actor. A chameleon who can change his DNA from serious to funny in such a short time. He didn't have time to prepare for this role because he jumped into it right after destined with you. And my my, the guy had me rolling in my seats with his portrayal of Shim JUNG Woo. Totally hilarious. Now that the romance is bidding, I hope we will see butterflies soon. The storyline is intriguing as it is deeper than we assumed with the palace plots. Great acting from all casts. 👌

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