When the Phone Rings

hear me out

first of all, the ending was not good but it wasnt THAT bad for me atleast. this drama was really good up until the 11th episode so naturally i was expecting a much better ending compared to what went down. way too many disappearances in one drama that made the story repetitive. the story couldve wrapped up much better if only he didnt ran away at the end. they shouldve just talked, talked about how they will work their relationship out despite their extremely complicated pasts which would've been simpler and some hard to please people wouldve called it boring but for me that wouldve been much better compared to the whole punishing myself so im gonna go to a war stricken country or whatever that was. the chemistry of the leads was amazing, even their behind the scenes moments had me giggling which is probably the reason why i cant find it in me to wholeheartedly say that this is a bad drama.

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Got me hooked, but also let me go.

Note: This is solely my opinion, and yes, I'm not that good at writing. Sorry if it's kinda redundant or doesn't make sense at all.

STORY:
Okay, starting with the story/plot of the series. Nowadays, cliches are quite common (this sounds funny tbh). But I can say for this drama— it has quite a fresh approach in some parts of the plot, it got me hooked with the first episodes after all.
Starting with the romance side; the chemistry was good, the cold vibe to warm between them was typical of course, but the thing is the way they "got to the warm era" was a little fast and subtle (but for me tho, I think I would prefer the cold vibe hehehe).
On the thriller and mystery side, it was nice, it was what kept me watching. It had a bunch of mini plot twists, the first twists were good, but the coming to an end twists weren't: like the fact that it was his father (real real father: the chairman) was the one who arranged the accident was something you can just guess and the fact that he was in Argan😭, I think it would have been better if they put more characters so that the audience can take more hunches of who's behind it— just like how I had my own theories wether Ji Sang-Woo (Hee-joo's sunbae) and the guy (the real Sa eon) were twins, or the two of them and Park Do jae were working together (Sang woo was kinda sus, yeah), it's usually in dramas where they put characters to make your brain work for hunches and theories. And I can say WTPR executed that part well, also the contract between their father and the chairman, and the best ones were: she's not mute, and it was him who requested for Hee-joo to be his wife— the worst was the accident part. If there was a greater twist than just using the same when the guy whispered to Sa-Eon it would've been better (but sometimes too much can be too much indeed, unless with great execution). But they did well and much better on the mysterious side of the plot rather than romance. I also don't like the part where Sa-Eon was at "Argan," although they mentioned why, it still feels far from the plot, it felt as if they just created it clumsily to find a reason why (but I know it was also part of building the romance and more tension), it would have been better for me if the plot just killed him or somebody at least hehehehh (but I guess, either way would've disappointed me).
At In-ah's arrival, I thought at first that she would be that mean, jealous sister, but glad she isn't.
Right. One thing I don't like about the deal/contract of the chairman and her father was that the agreement/content was quite weak.

CAST& ACTING:
The casts we're great with acting. Sa-eon is a great character executed well by the actor, and Hee-jo as well, although she was good at it, I think I would also love to see other actresses try her role, it's like she fitted into Cinderella's shoes but had a little more space left.
The in-laws were good too, their characters' personality were delivered clearly.
Their friends and colleagues, too. But I think Kang yeong-u and the spokesperson needed a deeper chemistry.
Park Do-jae was a good character, but I think he just needs a little more work.

CINEMATOGRAPHY&SCENE IMPACT:
The cinematography was great, the scenes as well, it really brought the mysterious and thriller vibes. Romantic vibe as well, but kinda failed a little, for me.

OST:
The OST's greattttt. See the Light nananantantananneunnnn. (Especially since it's BTOB's Eunsik!!!

FURTHER COMMENT:
To be honest, I fell off the drama. I couldn't help watching the first two episodes, so I ended up waiting for DAYSS AND WEEKS which was sad. That's why you should binge this kind of drama. So that the thrill doesn't get cut off. Each episodes ending were a cliff hanger which is good for attracting viewers into finishing it.
The ending was nice and warm, but what happened before it doesn't really fit the plot well, I mean it was actually so random that Hee-joo goes to a war zone to find him, and there he is rescuing hostages. I also think that the plot just needed a deeper relationship with each twists and scenes, and the execution can be better.

OVERALL:
It's a good drama for beginners, since I think I kinda dislike it because I've watched a whole lot of kdrama and is looking for a good one, but my definition of "good" is kinda hard to fulfill. Yeah overall, it just needs a little work and some changes. But good enough to please viewers that doesn't really think deeper about dramas, or just looking for something to use their time with.

P.S: This type of drama is the one that kinda fails a little when reaching the end. In other words, it's going on a descending order in terms of interest.

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HANDS DOWN RN FOR THE BEST OF 2024

I mean, for me it's a big surprise to still exists a well written and well made K-drama in 2024, since most of them were boring and I couldn't even finish the 1 episode, now I come across this one and I found a new top 10 favorite forever.
It's an absolute 10/10 for me.
ost is perfect.
actores were perfect
story was perfect.
ending was perfect.
I have nothing bad to say about this show, the only thing sad about it is that I came to a ending 😭
hahaha
anyway, I liked the story a lot, it wasn't full of light romance with nothing interesting at all, beside seeing the couple falling for each other, the story was good alone! The past of the family and the past of the characters all of them, it was so interesting to watch, I kept wanting to know more. I also liked the way the main "villain" was created, it wasn't a lazy excuse for me, like some drama out there that they put a random serial killer that doesn't have meaning at all, in this show the "bad guy" actually did have a reason besides being crazy. Also, I like how the show suddenly show us random enemies all of sudden, like, anyone in this show can be a potential threat. I love it!
Now let's talk about the FL. I loved her! She was so cool, not the kind of "damsel in distress" even in dangerous situations she nailed it! If you like cool and strong FL you'll surely like this one, she isn't a hero or the strongest, but she def won my heart here

Anyway! I love stories with mystery, action, secrets, romance, enemies to Lovers, and stuff like that, so this drama def got my heart. Totally recommend it to anyone!

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A near perfect drama

If there was any big plot holes or things that did not make sense it was Senior Mr. and Mrs. Hong, what did Chairman Hong really gain from supporting the family that murdered his son (if it was all about money/power this did not come across well) and worst is Mrs Hong this woman had no redeeming qualities yet they tried to gaslight us into thinking noooooo she does love her daughter, lets call FUBAR on this.
Paik Sa Eon is an excellently written character, everything he did/said was in line with the psychology of this character that was well developed and presented with nuance. The final action of fleeing does make sense if you understood his trauma. YYS gets full marks on his performance.
Hong Hee Joo had a tough challenge to hold her own against a very charismatic ML and give full credit to CSB for able to portray HHJ with silent strength. She was not just a romantic tool, or a mere plot device, she was her own interesting person and her character had a fully evolving journey in the plot.
Final acknowledgement of excellence to the entire production team director/editor/writer, especially the screen writer for this superior adaptation.

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The ending ruined it all!!

What was supposed to be a super cool drama was spoiled by that totally unnecessary ending!! ... the characters were so well written but the ending was such a rushed one .. don't know why the writers did that to the characters and the story!! ... it was going so well .... ending was totally unsatisfactory ... started off with great power suspense drama and all but lost it's charm gradually till the end and the ending totally ruined what would've been a great drama worth rewatching!!!!! the characters were cool though it was something diffrent than most of the dramas we're getting now a days

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*sigh* Okay, the plot was good.

*my opinion* This is the most overrated drama I've watched.
• So, here's the story that no one asked for:
- When I saw this on my Netflix, I thought "Hey, this looks interesting. I'll watch it!"
I binged the first three episodes. Then, at episode eight, I just stopped. I was like "No... This is not gonna get better, I'll just drop it".
A few weeks or months later my YouTube shorts fyp WAS FILLED with edits/clips of When the phone rings. So I thought that if so many people liked it so much, I'll like it too. Well, when I finished it I disliked it even more and found out I just wasted my time. To be honest in the end I even went to get water without pausing it because I just did not care about the characters anymore.
• What I liked:
- The plot is indeed very good! I even saw a girl recommending you only watch ep 1 to see the plot, which in my opinion is a good idea.
- The actors were very good.
• What I didn't like:
- The confusing parts in the story. Basically, to understand this more, just imagine 100 paths in front of you and you don't know which to take. The worst thing about the drama is this, because it throws many things at you and you don't really know how to deal with them. First, he wasn't really who he was pretending to be, then, he runs away, a million other things happen. LIKE WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO PROCESS?!
- I personally didn't feel sad (even though some scenes did have the point to make you cry.)
P.S The OST See the light is amazing and I still listen to it to this day.

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Highly underrated and thrilling kdrama that makes you feel all the feels

Overall: I haven’t watched such a complete and perfect kdrama in a while. I feel like WTPR had, like everyone else said, all the elements people love in a kdrama. What I really felt made WTPR stand out from other kdramas I’ve watched recently was its dark storyline. The insane chemistry of the actors also surprised me, because I was not expecting their love to be that raw and real. I think overall this drama was actually very satisfying and enjoyable to watch.

Story: The story really surprised me. I initially watched WTPR because I saw edits of it on my feed and I thought it looked cute. Boy was I not expecting the many plot twists in the kdrama. I feel like so much was packed into 12 episodes but the director did a really good job of making it clear for the most part. I think there were some plot holes regarding Baek Sa Eon’s father, but it’s not that big of a deal. I was really pleasantly surprised by the depth and darkness of the story. Aside from that, I know there was also controversy around the last few episodes, but I didn’t see much of an issue with it. Also, I wanted to note that this kdrama was the first in a long time where I felt the ending was literally perfect. I didn't really want more because I was happy with how it ended. It was a good place to cutoff.

Acting/cast: I only have two words to describe Yoo Yeok Seok and Chae Soo Bin: HOLY CHEMISTRY. I was not expecting their acting to be this good. The way they convey their love for each other in the story tugged at my heartstrings SO MUCH. Their feelings are just so intense in WTPR I was literally obsessed. I was literally screaming in the last episode. I think initially the actors’ kind of turned me away from WTPR because I didn’t know either of them, but I’m glad I decided to watch because my life has been changed by their story. I will never forget Sa Eon and Hee Joo.

Other comments: I think the music wasn’t too notable, just your average kdrama music you get you in the feels. For rewatch, I definitely wouldn’t watch it again because there’s so many plot twists. I might watch some cute scenes again just to feel fluffy inside because boy were there a lot. Also, I really liked the story of the second couple. I wish they got more screen time and more for their story.

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