Brogana Sunfrog

Casting, poorly written characters & heavy handed comedy ruin it

I wanted to like this but here was so much I just didn't like. Last things first; There is a 2 year time skip near the end with an unexplained miracle cure & a complete 180 of the male lead's personality. Then there is a bland ending where the main couple just hug. That's because they've already had an excessive amount of kissing beforehand, some of which created warm fuzzies, ( but they just kept at it & the spark just fizzled out. ) Then there is the matter of the casting. Yoon Kyun Sang was miscast. He is 6'4 and towered above his 5' costar. side views of him look like he is ominously lurking above her like a vulture! He was portraying a character whose medical condition would lend itself towards being on the slim side, but Yoon Kyun Sang is more lumberingly large. next problem I had was with the writing. Yoon Kyun Sang's character was written such that he was buffoonish with over the top comedic expressions & was repelling, not funny. He also spent the entire series being needy, with either a blank face or a hopeful desperate look, both of which were unendearing. Meanwhile, Kim Yoo Jung was perfectly cast & very appealing but was written to be too simple & incapable. It made it hard to be sympathetic to her. Her brother was also written badly & was a very flat unlikeable character. over all I'd say that it was poor writing or directing/interpretation of the character that was at fault. The real problem for this series is that there is a better rendition out there.NO, the real problem is that I watched the Chinese version (Touch Your Heart) before watching this & it was much much better. & randomly : Jasper Liu, the lead in the Chinese version (Touch Your Heart) looks like Song Jeu Rim's twin bother ! Clean with a passion for now was cringy & I couldn't wait to get done with it. Touch your heart I will definitely rewatch

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Masochist male lead's visuals don't counter balance female lead character's caustic personality.

The male lead is So very attractive, & yet the female lead is SO very unpleasant. I t's absurd that the male lead falls for her. She has a sad back story but mistreats everyone, never evolving into anything remotely kind or nice. I found myself actually not want the leads to have a love connection. It says alot about how repulsive I find the female lead when rather than watch this, I find myself browsing for dramas that aren't even the genres I like ! The female lead's BFF is hyper focused on intimate things & everything that comes out of her mouth is crude. The humor falls flat and the warm fuzzies get trampled on . I want to like this & I tried, but I think, at 9 episodes I can honestly say that I've given it enough time to win me over.
Whatever is endearing about this is just vapor -exhale & it's gone.

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Starts out Quirky & evolves into convoluted confusion I did not find likeable

So despite all the negative things I will say about this drama, I did find it entertaining until 3/4 way through episode 6-where it stopped being novel & cute & interesting. here's why:
The female lead is not only needy, but can't restrain herself from constantly doing cringy, obsessive things. She won't accept rejection but then sabotages herself when she finally gets positive reactions to her efforts . The guys are supposedly attracted to her sunny disposition, but "sunny" does not really showing up all that often.
The male lead's default face is "bemused" & the rest of the time his expressions seem out of sync with what's going on.
By the middle of episode 6 I got annoyed & disgusted with the story line as the lead's feelings for each other get sabotaged by themselves .

Up to this point we have a guy who likes his calm well ordered life and keeps trying to keep the looney chaos bringer out by communicating clearly that he does not want her in his life.
The writers want us to see this as a "screwball comedy" as they give us a female lead who fluctuates between selfish demanding persistent to damsel in distress "cuckoo for cocoa puffs" debby downer.
So despite all the negative things I will say about this drama, I did find it entertaining until 3/4 way through episode 6-where it stopped being novel & cute & interesting. here's why:

The male lead's default face is "bemused" & the rest of the time his expressions seem out of sync with what's going on.
By the middle of episode 6 I got annoyed & disgusted with the story line as the lead's feelings for each other get sabotaged by themselves (?) It seems the explanation for why this happened & keeps happening is convoluted & confusing.
So into the middle of Episode 7, things even out, (which didn't make sense ) but then suddenly we are given yet another detour ,So frustrating ! Really a whole lot of drama zig zags around spastically
with build up to what could be meaningful moments that just get ice water dumped on them. My interest is strained it's just not satisfying .Whatever charm kept me watching has has worn off. I know there is a happy ending, but there is so much about the plot & a good many characters that I don't like, that I don't think it's worth it.


The plot jerking me around is super annoying.....
SO I do the thing I feel driven to; skim through the next episode trying to find an indication that this feeling of discontent won't last, & then I find myself skimming through the next two episodes because what little I've seen is even less appealing & disappointing.
so spoilers as to why I'm dropping this, & hacking my once rating of 6/10 to a 3/10
Female lead is schizophrenic- due to some trauma she had as a child-which might be interesting, but she's playing around with the male lead & second male lead's hearts & they are rightly confused. It's not all that amusing. Her kissing two men does not "sell" you on her sincerity for one man in the end.(I mean ,if her subconscious prefers another guy, or she simply likes being promiscuous, then how much do we trust what she thinks are true feelings ?).
That both male lead & 2nd male lead find her fascinating is inconceivable, it certainly didn't convince me & it's sad & pathetic watching them care about her.(anyone who ends up with her will be miserable & that's on them!)
Female lead's manager has some heart fluttering moments with his girlfriend, but she's yet another woman not worth the time, but at least HE knows how to deal with things (grab & kiss solves things every time !)
It doesn't seem fair that the second male lead gets strung along only to open his heart to being rejected. It also feels sad knowing that the male lead will end up choosing a girl that will be a pain in the butt for as long as they are together...are we supposed to be happy for them ? These are bad romances & not worth the time

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Quickly resolved tropes, but male lead seems like he's the only one in love

Well let's start with the good : The plot does a good job of keeping you guessing through out.
Kim Jae wook does an especially good job in this series, but Unfortunately, he seems to be the only one projecting any heart signals . He's projecting & smoldering but the female lead just seems perpetually bemused . While there are some steamy kisses, the female lead seems like she has "checked out". The male lead is vulnerable and requires a ridiculous number of hugs, but the female lead ,whether scripted or directed that way, is just a bit too prosaic to sell that she's head over heels in love. The imbalance was disappointing.
What keeps me from loving this ?
Firstly, I am not big on revenge plots. Secondly, Hate to love relationships with yelling & hitting don't equate to romance for me and so give me zero warm fuzzies. And while everyone's loose ends are tidied up, I prefer that the side characters don't encroach on the Main lead's storyline too much. I do love a good happy ending, but somehow an all inclusive happy ending sidetracks you from the main couple. putting a damper on the whole thing.

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slow burn turns into a freezer burn

slow burn turns into a freezer burn around ep 10 as it started getting boring. The story seemd to just stall. "a slice of life" and " first crush" are accurate themes but "bland" should be added to the description. "sweet" is nice, but every character seems overly sensitive. I've seen a few anime series, [which also had slow paces] & enjoyed them, but in general, anime is not all that interesting to me . when I started drifting off at the beginning of ep. 10, I knew it was probably time to find something else. To finish or not to finish ? I probably will next time I need something soporific before bedtime.

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starts out riveting but leads have no chemistry. Violence & traumatizing deaths

I felt like this drama was was written very badly.
Here's a list of things that made this rather "meh"

1) The Female lead every so often would suddenly start to act really cringy presenting the girly side of her character & it was not only embarrassing but unbelievable.

2) Lead Male was presented as bad boy/womanizer but you never see anything to back it up.

3) American soldier being named Colonel Sanders -seriously !? It's a well known persona who represents an American chicken franchise !

The started out riveting but

4) the leads had no romantic chemistry

5) The bad guys were too scary.
6) The death scenes were traumatizing.
7)A beloved character dies later in the series & though it's handled well, it was too much.
8) Things are winding down [with the bad guys] Then, they bring them back for another round trouble. UGH! So much tension.

By episode 18 It was tedious & I was really, really tired of it .

9) I was disappointed with the writing of the female lead that was so tough and capable in the first part of the series but who was easily overwhelmed in the 2nd part. She had so many skills and training but a bullet wound to the arm just takes her out...really ?!

10) There was so much of the series that was violent & unpleasant

I liked the leads but they had zero chemistry and the romance was written badly.

Random notes:
Though it is never shown - a couple sleep together which ends up being important, but it caught me by surprise [could they not have mentioned it!?]

Weirdly, the queen mother wore the same earrings in every single shot & they were really plain and cheap looking.

a brief happy ending and then a 4 year time skip! {death to time skips !!!}

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Dropped at episode 6 because female lead is dead weight to the drama

I got to episode 6 & was totally done with the female lead. her "problem" is not her biggest handicap, her personality & insecurity is. I cannot stand a female lead who pushes men away because they are afraid. Especially when the male lead has given them no reason. Add to that it's an older woman younger man with the ridiculous trope of the man being attracted to a grumpy women. They must be brain damaged or had an abusive mother if they think a combative brash talking woman is "cute" & having a hard shell means she's soft on the inside. Male lead will be dealing with this abrasive insecure woman his whole life & has no one but himself to blame.

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Disappointing & miscast. Even Doh Kyung Soo's visuals can't save it

Initially, even though it has Doh Kyung Soo in it, I was not interested, because another reviewer said : " the final scene hints at Happily Ever After but falls short of satisfying with the final scene leaving you wanting more + There were a couple of unresolved plot arcs and character threads"
I relented to watching when I couldn't find anything that seemed better. After all, it Does have Doh Kyung Soo in it !
As of ep 5, D.O. had yet to impress me with anything other than the action sequences . His stoicism- (yeah, he's got amnesia), but still, it lasts too long & his dead pan expression does not improve upon by being so frequent. And here lies the main problem; this is not the right drama for D.O. Also, the female lead feels miscast & her character written badly. Between the 2 of them, I did not like nor was I interested in either one of them. For some reason, the romance between them was uninteresting as well. The second male lead meshed better as an actor & as a character with the female lead & her character. A big problem being that Kim Seon HO oozes charisma & emotes well, while, D.O. 's talents & charm are better suited to a different part than what he played here.
I wanted to love it, but I felt it was too much dependent on & geared toward long close of ups of D.O's lovely face while he was dead pan/stoic .

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Alot of food & alot of violence with last minute unexplained happy ending

The male lead is pretty loathful for a good bit & then his deranged broken bad boy charm slowly (slowly) settles in. This is fiction/fantasy, so it's best to avoid seeing his character as real boyfriend material, but you have to admire his loyalty & "all in" attitude. (well Let's try to say so anyway) . Kudos to male lead Lee Chae Min for pulling off the nuances of deranged, unhinged , smolderingly charming & heartbreakingly distraught.
A nod to Choi Gwi Hwa as well for making his villain so maniacal.
The Female lead works really hard to sell her character & though the actress is not my favorite (SO I say ,as I realize just how many drama's I've watched with her in them!) she jumps into every scene with "gusto" and makes it work for her. Male lead's character ,(a demonic form of Austen's Mr. Darcy ), & is angry at everyone & bent on revenge -though he's not sure (or particular about) who the target is. The cooking & the killing being equal parts in this drama, are an odd mix. The cooking segments are wonderful (even if you aren't a foodie) The bite size mysteries that pop up every once in awhile concerning sabotage , trading out new world ingredients for Joseon dynasty ones is surprisingly interesting. Figuring out who (all) the bad guys are is difficult as there are alot of people who'd like to see the leads dead.
In order to enjoy this drama : suspend disbelief a good bit and take it for the violent yet somewhat fluffy drama it is. Set your expectations at that bar & don't get caught up in the few plot holes ( might be more than a few). Overall I enjoyed the drama, though Ep. 11 was brutal & hard to get through, but as you go you see it's necessary. The first half of Ep. 12 is unpleasantly bloody & gut wrenchingly emotional (pun intended). Both Ep 11 & 12 have recollection montages (which I hate) , but the warm fuzzy in them set you up to be emotionally invested in the final struggle & then to fully enjoy the happy conclusion . (Though be warned; the happy ending is both nonsensical & satisfying). If given another episode they might have gone into explanations, but really, why bother ? They have already given clues for us to fill in the blanks ourselves & why does it matter anyway ?

I took off points in my rating for what I felt was too much time spend on drawing out killing scenes . ( A quick stab -camera pans away & move on is the way I like my drama deaths!)

I will rewatch this.
I didn't notice the OST at all, which fits this drama well.

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Tsundere /Mr. Darcy archetype male lead & heavy Second Lead Syndrome

simply:
1) male lead is written too cold
2) female lead actress is annoying as is her character
3) 2nd male lead- the only reason you are watching this & he is the one you want to "win"
4)2nd female lead character is a selfish shrew & not romance material
5) they throw in a time skip at the end that actually fixes nothing but proves that the male lead is superior to the female lead in how he acts.
6) yes, happy endings all around, but the only character you care about gets stuck with the worst partner, & with the time skip (& everything that has to do with it- it felt like a very damp unmomentous ending
The long explanation:
The female lead is one of my least favorite actresses. Her character here is unappealing- she's super needy in a cringingly whiney way . Then at the end she's suddenly cold & independent which doesn't match what we're supposed to believe about her. Honestly, neither lead sells the romance & you find yourself crushing hard on the second male lead (who is being chased by a harpy of a woman that you wouldn't wish on any man). SO, there is no satisfying romance in this drama, though there are happy endings for all 4 major characters as well as some side characters, but really, the romances were lacking all around. The ghosts in the first half are scarier than the ones in the second half. The male lead & the second male lead really are endearing. Sadly the female characters are not.
i liked how the male leads had character evolvement .
I think I probably rated this higher than it deserves (in light of how many things I didn't like about it!) though there were some very cute tropes and some lovely touching moments. As I finished it I felt like I would watch it again, but I probably won't when I could just rewatch something I like better
Music: on song plays way too often

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Familiar faces ,engrossing story unexpected villains, out of body experience

I'm not a fan of the format of this drama as it jumps around from the present to the past & back again throughout the whole drama. (2018,2019,2020). It made the flow of the story a choppy ride, [even if it cleverly keeps you from solving the mystery prematurely], still, it was disorienting . There were too many familiar faces that just didn't mesh well with the genre. [Jo Han Chul, Kim Young Ok, Um Hyo Sup, Sung Dong Il]
However , Oh Jung Se's acting swung from being basically wallpaper to full on oscar nomination. Emotions run really high in most episodes, with rangers in emergency mode launching themselves onto the mountain in thier obsession to save people. The Town at the base of the mountain is full of rebellious, secretive people with a disdain for rules. It was hard to care about them as they blatantly thought they are a law unto themselves & even in tragedy rail loudly against the rangers while refusing to take responsibility for thier own actions.
Female lead is prickly & lacks charm. Male lead has a special relationship with the mountain. They both have emotional scars. They form a bond, but keep your expectations in check because though there is a slight romance in this drama, it's not with the leads [& it's heart rending.]
I was both relieved & annoyed at the ending. I felt it was contrived & forced. But really, since the drama puts the viewer through so much action, suspense & alot of death- I'd say they did right to pander to our need for a happy conclusion so we could end with a sigh of relief [& a spectacular view].

The cinematography was stunning, the scenery captivating ,the weather whimsical & often deadly.

I had this drama in DVD form sitting on my shelf for 2 years as I was pretty sure it was going to be too dark, too depressing & too unsatisfying . I'm glad I finally gave it a try as it exceeded my expectations & was good entertainment.
Final note: I rarely mention the music, unless it's noteworthy & it is worth giving credit here as the OST had a good variety & Kim Seok Jin's song "Yours" was well placed, giving it a charm it doesn't have without a context.
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I deducted points for:
1)Actors who are over used-& didn't feel right for the drama. gave wrong vibes
2)Towns people were loudly annoying & dimwitted deviants
3)Time waffling-the back & forth made it hard to track the story properly
4) Unpleasant female lead
5) Mountain is a deathtrap !

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