Nat

Would You Marry Me? is a simple, classic vibe K-drama that you might like or might not, depending on your mood.

Let’s be real: there is absolutely nothing original about the plot. Two people getting dragged into a fake relationship situation just to secure a lucrative real estate is a certified K-drama trope staple at this point. When it's done right, it’s golden. Did Would You Marry Me? completely nail it? Eh, it had promise. I can’t fully map out my feelings, but it was mostly enjoyable. It’s predictable, it's not over-the-top, and it spares us from too much exhausting, crazy drama of the secondary couple because there is none here. Thank God. Instead, you get a decent mix of funny moments and genuinely nice, romantic situations between Yoo Me-ri and Kim Woo-joo. And it still feels like something is lacking and I can’t put my finger on it.

Some things definitely could have been tweaked. The main leads, Yoo Me-ri and Kim Woo-joo, desperately needed more interesting and romantic situations. The potential was right there! But it feels like some more creative moments with high stakes would have improved the romance storyline greatly not that it’s bad or anything. I think mostly it’s just boring. Honestly, we could have easily stripped some screen time away from the bloated roster of supporting characters to give it to our main couple instead—even if a couple of those side characters had decent arcs.

Speaking of the writing, there were a few dangling storylines at the end that just... evaporated. For one, it felt like there was a much bigger story behind Yoo Me-ri's father’s death, but the drama never bothered to actually explain it. Then there was Me-ri’s sister babysitting the hidden, illegitimate son of the main antagonist. I fully expected a massive fallout or plot twist from that, but it ended up being a whole lot of nothing.

Character-wise, the chemistry was fine, though I wouldn’t call the characters themselves particularly interesting. They did have compelling back stories and good arcs. But it just feels like it’s been done so many times that both characters themselves ended up being very boring just like their romance. It’s the kind of show you put on to pass the time when you want something light, easy, and romantic.

I do have to talk about my ultimate pet peeve: the separation arc. I was extremely irritated when it started brewing. There is nothing I hate more than when characters split up because one person decides to ghost the other for "noble reasons." Thankfully, the drama didn't drag it out for too long, and I did appreciate that they actually worked through their biggest hurdles together. It's just a shame the final episode felt so boring and anti-climactic. The romance kind of fizzled out at the finish line with not much happening.

Who is this for?
If you want a high-stakes K drama that ends up being low-stakes because of how simplistic everything is, then Would You Marry Me? is for you. It’s an okay romantic drama—it really just depends on your mood.
My personal opinion about Jung So-min’s acting here: it was OK and the character was boring and I didn’t particularly felt for her. I think I understood her on some level, but Yoo Me-ri just wasn’t interesting enough for me to root for her.

Choi Woo-shik did so much better in A Killer Paradox. He is very dreamy in a romantic drama, but for some reason, he doesn’t really get the good romantic roles other popular K-drama actors get if he stars in rom coms.