Take Charge of My Heart

A Chaebol Trope Romance where Big Frizzy Hair plays the Third Main Lead

It is the stereotypical rom com drama with the wealthy chaebol heir as the male lead who meets a wacky, unconventional female lead. They can't stand each other at first, but he needs her for his physical health so they enter into a contract for a 3-month period. Trying to keep this arrangement a secret from all, leads to all sorts of awkward situations, and of course throughout it all, they fall in love.

So why did I binge this 10-episode rom com? What made it so untypical amongst all of the typical Kdrama memes and cringey moments. A couple of things that really made it good.

1. The chemistry, especially the comedy, of the lead duo was outstanding. Both actors were made for slapstick, comic writing and they excelled at it. I stated in the headline that frizzy hair plays a third main lead. The FL's hair was such a frizzy mess, and added to the comedic element woven throughout the story. I laughed so many times at the absurdness of her hair.
2. The writing was outstanding. It was a rom com Kdrama that also poked fun of rom com Kdramas which was seen in funny moments throughout the show. Here is one example.
* Choi Minho popping up as the love interest when Bo Bae was writing and imagining the scene. Hilarious and so perfect to put him as the romantic lead!! And then, when he begins to lean in to kiss the FL, she stops, stating "Ugh, the slow motion kiss scene." How many times have I said that to the screen? It was a Kdrama making fun of Kdrama cliches, and I find this very entertaining and clever.
3. The cast was really good. I feel like they got the right actors in the right parts. Is Cha Woo Min destined to always play the third wheel? I just finished watching him in My Bias, My Boss. I enjoyed both of his performances.
4. The soundtrack was really good, but what really stood out was the laughtrack sounds. Whether is was a waah-waah sound, or a Zoinks moment, it made the scene even funnier. This drama really brought the funny, and it was enjoyable to watch and laugh along with it.

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In Defence of Ridiculous Romcoms

I love the ridiculous premise. I love the title even more. Take Charge of My Heart is cheesy, tropey, and absolutely ridiculous, but honestly? I’m past the point of complaining. Kdramas have been starving us of good romcoms for so long that I’ve started treating every halfway-decent one like a blessing. Give me an absurd premise, a handsome chaebol, a few unnecessary misunderstandings, and a couple with chemistry, and apparently, I’m sold. Have my standards dropped? Perhaps. Am I complaining? Not particularly.

Kim Young Kwang and Chae Soo Bin are well cast and play their roles convincingly. These are the kinds of characters they do well, so the casting feels spot-on. The problem, if there is one, is that they’ve starred in superior romcoms before, setting a rather high bar for themselves. This one feels mediocre in comparison. I kept thinking about Young Kwang’s character in The Secret Life of My Secretary and Soo Bin’s in I’m Not a Robot, and I couldn’t help comparing their performances. IMO, they were better in those roles. There was a certain youthful innocence and naivety in their portrayals back then that feels somewhat absent here. They still work well in these roles, but the magic isn’t quite the same.

The similarities to their previous dramas were hard to ignore, too. The press conference scene brought back memories of the shareholders’ meeting in The Secret Life of My Secretary, while the male lead’s backstory felt reminiscent of I’m Not a Robot. Perhaps that’s part of why this drama felt less exciting than it could have been. It’s difficult not to compare when you’ve seen these actors inhabit such similar characters before, especially when their earlier performances left a stronger impression.

That said, I absolutely loved the couple. They had great chemistry, and I was thoroughly sold on their dynamic. I loved the bickering, how naturally they seemed to fit together, and, of course, the height difference. Everything about their pairing just worked for me. And can we talk about their hugs? Because those had me swooning even more than the kisses. There’s something about the way these two fit together that made me ridiculously happy.

I also love that the show occasionally pokes fun at its own chaebol tropes. It knows exactly how clichéd these storylines are. It knows we’ve seen them a million times before, and yet it serves them up anyway, fully aware that there’s still an audience willing to eat them up. And honestly? Fair enough. Because I was eating it all up.

Now, can we please do something about second male leads who spend years orbiting the female lead without ever actually confessing their feelings? They deserve belt treatment. I wish kdramas would do better with second male leads and love triangles in general. I prefer my male leads straightforward and a little aggressive about what they want, rather than these background-yearning specialists. At some point, the pining stops being romantic and starts being a personal failure.

The second female lead was a disappointment, too. Her character was just... there. There wasn’t enough depth to make her compelling, and she felt more like a plot device than a fully realised character. But she looked gorgeous. She carried the visual department on her shoulders.

For all its ridiculousness and fluffiness, the show was doing a decent job of being the kind of romcom that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Which makes it all the more frustrating that it still resorted to the dreaded breakup in the final two episodes. I will never understand the need for this trope. Outside of a handful of dramas that genuinely manage to make it work, most romcoms could do without the last-minute separation, unnecessary angst, and manufactured conflict. It’s especially annoying when the couple is already working so well together. Why interrupt a perfectly enjoyable dynamic just to put the leads through a predictable round of misery?

But here’s the thing: I can extend a ridiculous amount of grace to romcoms. They don’t have to be realistic, believable, or remotely plausible. I don’t need to believe that any of this could happen in real life. I just need to have a good time watching it. Give me a couple I can root for, some clichés I can happily indulge in, hugs that make me swoon, and enough fluff to make me forget that I have a functioning brain. And Take Charge of My Heart gave me exactly that.

Sometimes, I don't need a drama to be exceptional. I just need it to remind me why I fell in love with romcoms in the first place. And sometimes, that's more than enough.

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a nice one for a change...

aw, yes, all of us who have watched K-dramas for a considerable amount of time know all the chliques and scenes, and yes they were all in here, but for once in a longer while, the writers managed to make it a pleasant, classic rom-com- K-drama and I enjoyed watching it until the end.
Even though it was a fantasy storyline, it was thought through nicely and the story in that fantasy universe did make sense for a change.

I did enjoy the dynamics between the two leads, but I am biased of course as I like anything with Kim Young Kwang in it. I think he is a brillaint actor and one of the most versatile. And while I do think the dark roles suit him even better, he is able to pll off rom-com (like this here) or real drama (like 'call it love') easily as well.
I also liked the FL (whom I did not know before) and enjoyed her acting abilities.

The storyline is funny, cute, uplifting altogether, with that a slight pinch of drama and tragedy added, just the classical recipe which at least I enjoy when it's done properly.

It's not spectacular, it's not deep and prfound or aynthing, but it's a nice watch to get out of your daily routine.

If you like this classic rom-com style, give it a try.

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cliche done right

yess it give the same cliche as the old kdramas but all in the right way possible.
the narcissistic ml who is a workaholic maniac and the fl full of life and light. both are struggling with their own problems and stumbled a upon each other like it's all destined to happen.
situation arises when one absolutely need the other and the story continues.
however in this drama, the spark between the two is not something one should take it lightly 'cause it's literally important. the fl had spark with everyone else except the ml.
and the absolute BEST part? no toxic angst. no 15-year-old childhood trauma secret tearing them apart in episode 8. no annoying miscommunications. it’s just pure, unadulterated fluff, romance, and comedy that has me smiling ear to ear like an absolute idiot at my screen at 3 AM.
the drama is so self-aware too?? it knows exactly what it is. it looks at every overused rom-com trope, and executes it so flawlessly that you can't even be mad. it’s a 2016 throwback delivered in the best way possible.

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My Personal Power Bank

Take Charge of My Heart — a little review ♡

Honestly, awalnya aku tertarik nonton drama ini karena premis ceritanya yang cukup unik, apalagi dibintangi Kim Young Kwang dan Chae Soo Bin. Fun fact, mereka pernah membintangi drama dengan konsep yang lumayan similar, di mana karakternya punya kondisi atau sesuatu yang agak out of the ordinary. Chae Soo Bin di I'm Not a Robot dan Kim Young Kwang di The Secret Life of My Secretary. Kebetulan I'm Not a Robot juga masih masuk watchlist-ku, so yeah, I was curious.

Terus sempat kena spoiler juga, which somehow malah bikin makin penasaran. Apalagi ada kiss scene yang katanya sosweet itu. HELLO??? Obviously I had to see it for myself HAHAHA.

Anyway, ceritanya berpusat pada Na Bo Bae, seorang penulis drama yang punya kekuatan listrik gara-gara tersambar petir waktu kecil. Bayangin, mau skinship sama orang aja susah karena bisa bikin mereka kesetrum, bahkan keluarganya sendiri. Terus ada Baek Ho Rang, cowok dengan masalah jantung yang menggunakan jantung buatan. Their circumstances are literally so different, tapi justru dari situ ceritanya mulai menarik.

Plot mulai berkembang ketika mereka nggak sengaja berciuman dan Na Bo Bae menyadari kalau Baek Ho Rang ternyata nggak kesetrum saat bersentuhan dengannya. Things get even more interesting ketika kondisi jantung buatan Baek Ho Rang ternyata berkaitan dengan keberadaan Na Bo Bae. And that's basically how these two end up getting involved with each other.

One thing I genuinely like about this drama is the concept. It's giving fantasy, rom-com, and a little bit of absurdity in the same package. Premisnya memang nggak biasa, tapi justru itu yang bikin aku tertarik buat ngikutin ceritanya. Belum lagi interaksi mereka yang lucu, chemistry yang manis, dan the way they slowly get closer to each other. I'm not even gonna lie, mereka bikin baper HAHAHA.

For a drama with only 10 episodes, menurutku pacing-nya pas banget. Nggak bertele-tele, nggak terasa rushed either. Alurnya dikemas dengan baik dan setiap konflik punya ruang yang cukup buat berkembang. There's also a deeper process in their relationship, karena mereka nggak cuma sekadar jatuh cinta, tapi juga harus melewati berbagai hal sebelum akhirnya bisa stay together and survive together. And honestly, I like that.

So far, drama ini berhasil memenuhi ekspektasiku. Aku enjoy ceritanya, suka dinamika kedua karakternya, dan puas sama perjalanan hubungan mereka. Nggak semua drama harus punya plot yang super complicated buat bisa entertaining, sometimes a fun and well-paced story is more than enough.

Would I recommend it? Definitely, especially buat kalian yang suka rom-com dengan sentuhan fantasy dan konsep cerita yang agak out of pocket. It's fun, it's sweet, and honestly, a pretty enjoyable watch.

Final verdict: worth watching, apalagi kalau lagi pengin tontonan yang seru dengan romance yang bikin senyum-senyum sendiri. No regrets watching this one.

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No sparks?

I genuinely don’t understand how this has an 8.3 rating, guys. 😭 Don’t get me wrong, it’s not bad, but isn’t that a little generous? It was cute, and I appreciate that the plot felt fresh and different from the usual K-drama formula. Ten episodes were more than enough, though…My biggest issue was the lack of chemistry between the leads. The male lead eventually turns into a lovesick puppy, which, let’s face it, is classic K-drama territory. But I wanted some FIRE between them! Some tension, some butterflies, SOMETHING. For a drama with this premise, I expected a few more sparks. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel any. No sparks whatsoever (pun absolutely intended).

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Nice Distraction, Pretty People. Great for Romance Addicts.

For me it often comes down to the romance, and being a dude that is usually based on the FL. What a burden it must be to be an amateur or professional critic! The first page of reviews was full of 6.0s and plenty of reasons why this was just a cliche blah blah blah. Maybe it takes getting to an advanced age to appreciate how fleeting the type of romance that shows up in these series turns out to be. The relationship might last but it's almost impossible to keep that dopamine-fueled flame alive past the courtship and settling into real life. Which is why it is so satisfying to have it replayed on the screen. Did the actors sell the romance well enough for me to enjoy it? Yes. Were there plenty of eyerolling logic busting moments? Yes. But if the goal is to enjoy a fairy tale for its short lived romantic adventure then one puts up with the other stuff, which is what I did with this one. And just 10 episodes helps avoid the unwanted subplots dragging it out through episodes 11-15. I was happy when the FL was happy. Well acted infectious joy. Who wouldn't want to be around that person? The ML did his part but the FL did the heavy lifting.

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