Typhoon Family

THIS IS NOT A TYPHOON, ITS NOT EVEN A DRIZZLE

A show trying too hard at becoming a heartwarming series that falls short on tugging your emotions.

Lee Jun Ho has proven himself as an actor, here he does so much of the heavy lifting. Unfortunately, he can only do so much as this show is just lacking. I didnt feel any empathy for his character, i didnt even feel his chemistry with the FL. Definitely not his best work.

Its pretty obvious that the show relied so heavily with LJH. In fact, there were parts when the series wanted to s how how charming he is and you'll notice the cinematography changes and the screen is filled with this glowy sunshine-y filter common with Korean romcoms - the difference in tone is so jarring and just doesnt work with the 90's vibe.

Episodes are long, and sad to say, boring. They want you to feel sorry and relate to the plights of the characters but almost everyone is just so bland and unlikeable. There is no real character development and no transformation for everyone except maybe for Tae Pung's mother. The story arcs and the challenges are so staged and are mostly resolved so conveniently and unrealistically.

To create depth and layers to a family drama there are 2 ways a series can go - First is the no-villain route (a la the Reply Series), create "natural" , emotional, interesting scenarios for the characters to go through and overcome, and the second route is to create a villain so strong, disgusting, scary and/or powerful that youd be afraid for the protagonist. The problem with this series is the annoying villains totally ruined this show. I didnt say effective, i said annoying. Probably one of the worst written villains in a Korean drama. Pyo Hyeon Jun's endless obsession with Tae Pung, his character was a joke and is shallow, repetitive and so uverused during the entire series, -he is not scary, not even entertaining, just annoying.

Will i recommend? Im honestly not sure, maybe if you are a LJH fan. Will i rewatch? Are you kidding me, big NO.

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One of Jun Ho's Best!

This is definitely Jun Ho like you've never seen before ...
Some reviews were so brutal here, I'm not sure we were watching the same series. I found this drama to be so fantastic in every way. Jun Ho is masterful as always. For anyone who lost a parent and had to pick up the pieces of their lives and go on, this series shows us exactly that. In the beginning, you can't imagine Tae Pung taking over the family business for his recently departed dad, but not only does he transform himself, but everyone around him changes for the better as we get deeper into each episode.
Watching the two lead protagonists fight the evil and dishonest practices of the main antagonists, Hyeon Jun & Bak Ho (Pyo's Owners), it's exhausting to say the least. At times it gets a bit too overwhelming, watching the evil father and son get the best of Tae Jung over and over again ... but you know eventually things will change. It does take forever for this to happen, but don't give up hope. It really does happen!
Early on I couldn't see or feel the magic of Tae Jung & Mi Seon becoming a couple, but somehow it happens and becomes quite believable about halfway through the drama. They become perfectly matched, making for a one two punch tag team to keep Typhoon Trading alive. I think episode 8, the Thailand trip, is when it begins to show us anything is possible, especially seeing Jun Ho sing in English. That was definitely the pinnacle episode of the series. That's where everything started to gel with all the characters, and you could see and feel an unofficial family starting to bond.
Toward the end, I must admit I was hoping for a better demise of the wicked Hyeon Jun. Even though he gets what he deserves, it would have been nice to see the full retribution that was coming his way. The writers seem to leave that up to our imagination.
Throughout each episode, as things kept appearing to be so bleak for Typhoon Trading, one line used earlier on, seems to apply many times over... ... "stars still exist even when they can't be seen"
Don't give up hope!
Extremely enjoyable series with great performances to match!!

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