When the Phone Rings (2024)

Intriguing cliche ft. ridiculous plot at the end ?

This show came out of nowhere and took majority of us down the memory lane of swooning over wattpad romances.

I only want to talk about the MLs because honestly they are only whom I was fully invested in.... The main leads are typical: Seemingly cold, rich, and no-nonsense ML and a simple, softie FL. This is so wattpad-coded: Saeon showing redflag signs (thankfully he changed) and Heejo being a damsel in distress. I've seen a lot of this dynamic yet this one just hits different. Why? I believe that the actors played their roles so well and the show really tried to flesh out their characters, their personality.

Again, the usual trope of rich family, orphan, revenge, childhood connection... Nonetheless, the way the story unfolded was definitely gripping. The pacing of every episode was perfect - enough to feed my curiosity and enough to keep me wanting for more.

With all that, I really wanted to rate this higher but fell short all because of the last episode. The plot all throughout was pretty well-explained and the turn of events are fairly sensible except the last episode.
* Their relationship was already established. They expressed their feelings which made them stronger together. So, how can Saeon suddenly went MIA? They were opening up and trusting each other. A heartfelt conversation would've helped them.
* And out of all the places he could've gone to.....A warzone.....that Heejo went to....Argan.....also with the stereotypical color filter as soon as she stepped to that country...and they made love.....in a warzone...(will just pretend that that happened at their home, on Heejo's bed)
Yes, they followed the web novel but I wish they did not with that one. Yes, this is fictional but I wish a teeny bit of logic was still considered. I'm sorry but no matter how much someone will defend this plot, I will never change my mind that this is just straight up ridiculous, the worst.

I also want to list my nitpicks here.
1. When we first heard Heejo speak, when she was with the kidnapper, I wish she stuttered first. She was on a life-threatening situation + with someone who is dangerous + has selective mutism. I would've felt more if she struggled a bit with finding her voice and words then after few tries, had the courage to speak up. Also when she was on the police car. Similar case. I'd just imagine Saeon feeling and looking even more conflicted if he heard her struggle speaking first and then she screamed...
2. I honestly did not like how Saeon made Heejo go to the amusement park. (Lol just overthinking this) I mean Saeon was so protective and concerned with Heejo's rest after the cliff fall, and then he suddenly asked her to come out of the hospital alone on a cold night to go to the park??
3. Did the selective mutism trope just vanish? How did others take that she can actually speak? I wish they also included how Heejo able to overcome it, how she was gradually able to communicate with others and build confidence to voice out herself....


Overall, I greatly enjoyed this mainly because of their chemistry. I will never forget how intense the first few episodes were as much as I will never forget the crappy Argan plot.

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It started strong but got weak towards the end

When I started this drama I was completely hooked and invested. I absolutely loved their chemistry, the acting and the plot, at least for the first 8 episodes. During these episodes I was smiling the whole time because they were so cute. After these eight episodes it became kinda boring and the plot got weaker in my opinion. Episodes 9 to 11 were okay but could have been better. Then I began to watch episode 12 and I just really didn't like it. First, I was confused why he would just disappear and leave her alone after he has been in love with her for so many years and just as they finally became a real married couple. Then I found out that he went to a war zone because he wanted to punish himself for the fact that his father killed Hong Hee-Jos brother?? That's were I was absolutely confused and needed to laugh because for me that was like so random and didn't make sense. Why would he punish himself for something his father did??
After that Hong Hee-Jo decided to travel to this war zone and then she was kidnapped by rebels and later saved by Baek Sa-eon?? I don't know why but that was just too unrealistic and random for me.
Another thing which I didn't like was the fact that the second female lead and the second male lead (I think that's who they were) suddenly announced that they were getting married without us seeing them as a couple or even sharing their first kiss.
I was happy that they got a happy ending but I couldn't really enjoy this ending because I was so confused by what was going on.

All in all I liked the kdrama. The chemistry was there, the acting was really good and the plot was amazing, at least for the first 8 episodes. The last few episodes and especially the last episode ruined this kdrama for me a little bit.

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