When the Phone Rings

A slow burn shonen that overstayed it's welcome … then sprinted to the worst possible ending.

✨ THE GOOD (IT HAD US… FOR A WHILE):
The setup is genuinely intriguing , mystery, tension, that something’s wrong energy.
The slow burn at the start? Kinda Works. Builds mood, hooks you in, makes you trust the process.

🙄 THE “WHY IS THIS TAKING SO LONG?” PACKAGE:
Midway through especially at the start of the second half , it just refuses to fu**ing move.
Scenes drag, tension stalls, and you start wondering if the damn phone will ever ring again.

🤦 THE “NOW WHY ARE WE RUNNING?” ENERGY:
Then suddenly " boom " hyperspeed mode from thin fuc**ing air .
Character arcs, revelations, consequences? Thrown at you like a true shōnen final boss montage.
and btw the damn unticlaimactic ending feels less “earned” and more “we ran out of episodes.”

💔 THE “WHAT WAS THAT ENDING?” DEPARTMENT:
That finale? Straight-up shōnen-ass ending slapped onto a grounded thriller , cuz f**k you! that's why .
Power of will, rushed closure and zero emotional digestion with the damn female mc so fuc**ing
obnoxious with motion sickness triping from minute 1 till the last damn second on anything and everything
A Completely fumbled drama.

🎯 FINAL VERDICT:
A drama that burns too slow, then explodes too fast feamale lead with motion sickness and male lead that just exist to thew every single idea we thought of at .

✔ Watch if: You enjoy moody mysteries and can forgive bad .
❌ Skip if: You hate pacing whiplash and endings that betray their own tone.

📞 Best paired with: Lowered expectations and the urge to yell “WHY NOW??” at the screen.

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Ooo it's so good

You think you know what the story is going to be - but it's the complete opposite! From episode 1 it has you on the edge of your seat. Damn annoying when you have to wait a week to find out what's going to happen. If you want a seriously good heightened suspense, thrill, mystery, between a husband and wife this is one to watch.

It definitely deserves the hype it got. The delivery, script and acting are great. The team really rode the suspense and mystery thread and got the audience rooting for the couple, which really helped keep everyone captivated week after week. Want to learn how to captive an audience this is one drama to learn from.

You won't be skipping any scenes. However for me the last two episodes could have been written differently, after all that adrenaline and heightened suspense it felt it dropped a bit. They managed to tie the ending together in a manageable way, it was lovely and sweet though I was looking for a more high peak at this point especially from what this drama had delivered and managed to produce so far. I did feel the last episode dragged only compared to the rest of the series for the sake of completing 12 episodes. I think if they cut an episode that would of be fine as long as the story held strongly. The rewatch rating could be higher. But this is small compared to what the drama delivered and is without a doubt worth watching. Congrats to the story writers and directors for creating this.

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First of all, the show was a lot more romance than I thought it was going to be based off of the synopsis. I really liked some of the choices they made when presenting certain things like flashbacks and I did originally like the way they presented information when they would show a scene, skip ahead a bit, and then go back to the scene to show what they left out; however, they did it so much that it did kind of get a little old for me eventually. I was originally going to give it an 8.5 but the last episode kind of threw me off a little bit with her going to a war zone and getting kidnapped, especially since it was only for a brief moment. I also only had one question: when did the sister actually start talking and why was the mom confused? Whenever the mom and sister met up, the mom had asked her when she started talking, which she never answered, but three years ago in the show, she was talking to Yu-yeon on the phone; so did she just not speak to the mom at all even three years ago or however long ago it was when she got the surgery?

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Amazing drama and a rollercoaster of plots & emotions

I will keep it short, I have really enjoyed watching When the phone rings: the characters perfectly well acted and I got attached to them quite easily.
Talking about the scenario…AMAZING ! the rhythm was perfect I thought, th e plot was giving us rollercoaster plot and the result was greatly entertaining.

The only downside is that I was really surprised by the last 1-2 episodes… it broke the pace and felt like an addition to meet the necessary episode count. it didn't really add the same value to the scenario/character development than any other episodes and honestly felt out of place. that's why my rating doesn't go over 8.

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A Great Romance Thriller Turned Overwhelming Due To Its Finale

This drama started absolutely brilliantly. There was everything in it from mystery, thrill, romance, and proper relationship development between the ML & FL for me to love this drama. I thoroughly enjoyed the drama until the 11th episode and was utterly disappointed after I watched the last episode. The Argan track felt completely unnecessary to me. The leads had a great understanding between them, so the Argan track did not make any sense (at least not to me). Also, I would have loved to see their proposal and wedding track instead. Though they got a happy ending, I felt something was missing in the last episode. Overall, it was a very nice drama that I loved watching.

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That last episode ...

Story and Themes
The story is really great. Not only the plot is interesting, but is also well managed and it's not the classic CEO and girl trope. I couldn’t guess the complete enigma, but trying to find it with the characters was fun for me and well planned by the authors.

The relationship of the main couple is focused on building trust and being each other’s solid ground (the only thing that doesn’t make sense is the amusement park scene – I believe he was following her but why expose her like this?). The slow burn is pleasant, the communication slowly improves and so does the confidence of the female lead, who starts to show her real self to other people. The correct balance of cute couple’s moments and serious things is crucial to grant the viewer an enjoyable watch. I consider this series is a big path to ‘coming out and clean’ of her, the marriage and all the family’s secrets.
The whole blackmailing plot is challenging, but in a good way. It makes sense. One of the feelings I have towards this is disgust for the parents and the grandfather. They made tons of wrong choices, starting with not relying on therapy regarding the child’s matter. And why? I suppose it would be seen as a dishonour or similar. All they cared about was their own image, not the well-being of the boy, in particular the grandfather who had no shame. One key theme here is the influence the environment you are in has on your own actions and thoughts, one example is Paek Sa-Eon’s mother, who loved her son but couldn’t save him, who ended up committing a crime.

Unfortunately, the last episode is a big no. This is a first: the main plot ends and there is a whole episode left. Wasted. Completely wasted. What happen doesn’t make sense at all, nothing that couldn’t be solved with e ten-minutes talk and a catharsis crying together. That time could have been used to say more about the side couple (they don’t kiss even once but they announce a wedding - the propose isn’t shown. I get they are support characters but, on mydramalist, they’re in the main cast), Park Do-Jae’s relationship with the male lead, simply the main couple rebuilding their lives together, in a better way. I briefly read that this is the novel’s ending; the episode could have been structured differently at least.

Acting and characters
Amazing casting choices and fabulous acting. Everyone does a great job, but I particularly appreciate Park Jae-Yun’s performance: terrific! His character is, in my opinion, the most emotionally and physically demanding; best actor of the show (he should have been listed as main character, not support). Chae Soo-Bin and Yoo Yeon-Seok’s portrayal is also awesome. They are true to their feelings, the chemistry is there: the kisses are great, their tears feel natural. Furthermore, their appearances fit aesthetically: I love seeing them together (also, Yoo Yeon-Seok’s back in the last episode is really something, it’s so big I just want to be held by him).
My favourite character is Park Do-Jae. I loved him since the beginning and I cried for him. He’s cool, even cooler in the second half, sentimental and hot. He totally got me. His relationship with the main lead is another one that follows the trust path I mentioned before (or maybe I’m just into bromance). As I said above, I believe there’s a missing conversation between them.

Music and production
Tear-jerking music that matches the atmosphere, good job. Attention to details: nice blood, two-coloured eyes appreciated. The direction isn’t bad, just not my favourite. Few scenes and takes caught my interest. Good lighting and tones; my favourite locations are the orphanage and the fishing house near the lake (or was it the sea?).

Rewatch
I don’t think I’m going to watch this series again but I definitely recommend it. One hundred percent worth watching. I've been thinking about giving 8.5 and not 9 (due to the last episode) but I can't. The actual final rating is 8.8 according to my calculations.

Thank you for reading,
kisses <3

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Not worth the 8.9

When I look at other shows rated around a 9 like Crashlanding On You and Hometown Cha Cha Cha, for example, it becomes clear that this one has been overrated.

My main issue is that I don’t think their love story has been build up properly. They didn’t communicate at all during their marriage as she didn’t speak and he didn’t bother to learn sign language. Before that they vaguely knew each other as kids, so what do they love about each other when they barely know each other? And “he’s always loved her” is not an answer. ML did a 180 from cold to washing her hair within like 2 episodes lol. I just don’t see their romance as being realistic. She should’ve just taken revenge with the burner phone instead of the couple’s counseling we got. Every love scene feels so corny to me, like, you guys don’t even know each other be for real. If it was build up properly and slowly before they went in for the big love confession it would’ve been much better. Now I’m left thinking why and when did you fall in love?

The thriller part of it is okay, better than the romance anyway. I don’t think the doctor and news anchor really add anything to the story though. This would’ve worked better as an 8 episode series I think. ML could’ve realised several times that the FL was behind the calls before he finally did in like episode 8. There’s too much romance filler and angst in between.

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A Tale of Two Families

Somewhere inside this melodrama is an excellent story about two people who have trouble communicating with each other and their journey to overcome all and finally open up to each other honestly. The use of the phone calls, sign language and other motifs help to tell this story in a creative away.

What is more difficult to achieve in this drama, and where I feel things fall apart a bit especially towards the end, are the more classic drama storylines involving two powerful families with dark secrets and the triller/kidnapper psychotic son. The story simultaneously feels over-bloated and too simplistic - something about the story just does not work by episode 12. However, this is primarily a romance tale, and the superb performances of the cast, particularly Yoo Yeon Seok and Chae Soo Bin as the leads carries the drama to a solid ending.

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wtf?

Liked: unique concept, acting

Disliked: writing, wtf ending?

Throughout this show, I just was so frustrated. The original plot line of the show is unique and I imagine that's why other viewers started the show as well. I think they just wasn't sure of the genre of this show and tried doing too many things at once. I felt compelled to finish the series after the first half -- they developed the intrigue of the family mystery and main leads' relationship quite nicely, but I think that fell off in the second half. The second lead's story investigating the missing orphans was interesting, and I wish they had done more to develop their relationship.

They were halfway there with the writing. Such a shame of an interesting plot at the beginning.

Beware of episode 11 and 12! The show just shoved unnecessary plot lines that don't make sense by the end.

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