Uneven but worth a watch
As an English speaker, trying to follow the plot through subtitles–I was confused. Why? The series features a set of identical twins with similar names who decide to temporarily switch places and take over each other’s lives. One actress plays both girls as adults. A different actress plays both girls as teens. In addition, there are the male leads who are interested in the two girls.
That wouldn’t be so much of a problem if it weren’t for the fact that a lot of back story has to be filled in for ALL of these characters. And the focus jumps back and forth in time and place without clear indication when a switch happens.
It helps that one of the twins has long hair and the other has short hair. The first twin (long hair) has a corporate job in Seoul, while the other one (short hair) works on a strawberry farm. This would work if they both stayed put. But, no, Ms. Office Worker comes home now and then and Ms. Strawberry Farm finds time to visit Seoul. Mi-ji, the twin with the bubbly personality, is likable but immature–she pouts, shrieks, sulks, and throws temper tantrums. It gets tiresome after awhile.
Each girl–when I say girl we’re mostly talking about these two as 30-year-old women–has to fake it when the people around them mention incidents that occurred before the identity switch took place. Viewers have to keep the timeline remember the date of the switch–and also whether or not the short-haired girl is wearing extensions in order to pass for her sister.
Let me add that everyone in this series has psychological issues, including the parents, the grandmother, and another older woman who, it turns out, has also switched identities with someone else. Aaargh!
While the actors do a skillful job with the script they’ve been given, the plot was just too convoluted for me. I could follow it, but it made my brain tired. And in some places, things just weren’t believable. For example, each of the male leads has to convince the viewers that he’s only interested in ONE of the two girls–and that he can not only tell them apart (although their mother can’t)–but loves his chosen girl’s unique characteristics.
Maybe it could be true in the case of the dude who loves the girl who has some verve and personality, but the other twin is despondent, poker-faced, and impassive–and she seldom responds or reacts to her admirer in any way whatsoever. Also, there’s a sexual abuse situation that’s so minimal that if you blink, you’ll miss it. But all the characters talk about it endlessly. I loved the older characters, especially the mothers, played by two amazing veteran actors.
That wouldn’t be so much of a problem if it weren’t for the fact that a lot of back story has to be filled in for ALL of these characters. And the focus jumps back and forth in time and place without clear indication when a switch happens.
It helps that one of the twins has long hair and the other has short hair. The first twin (long hair) has a corporate job in Seoul, while the other one (short hair) works on a strawberry farm. This would work if they both stayed put. But, no, Ms. Office Worker comes home now and then and Ms. Strawberry Farm finds time to visit Seoul. Mi-ji, the twin with the bubbly personality, is likable but immature–she pouts, shrieks, sulks, and throws temper tantrums. It gets tiresome after awhile.
Each girl–when I say girl we’re mostly talking about these two as 30-year-old women–has to fake it when the people around them mention incidents that occurred before the identity switch took place. Viewers have to keep the timeline remember the date of the switch–and also whether or not the short-haired girl is wearing extensions in order to pass for her sister.
Let me add that everyone in this series has psychological issues, including the parents, the grandmother, and another older woman who, it turns out, has also switched identities with someone else. Aaargh!
While the actors do a skillful job with the script they’ve been given, the plot was just too convoluted for me. I could follow it, but it made my brain tired. And in some places, things just weren’t believable. For example, each of the male leads has to convince the viewers that he’s only interested in ONE of the two girls–and that he can not only tell them apart (although their mother can’t)–but loves his chosen girl’s unique characteristics.
Maybe it could be true in the case of the dude who loves the girl who has some verve and personality, but the other twin is despondent, poker-faced, and impassive–and she seldom responds or reacts to her admirer in any way whatsoever. Also, there’s a sexual abuse situation that’s so minimal that if you blink, you’ll miss it. But all the characters talk about it endlessly. I loved the older characters, especially the mothers, played by two amazing veteran actors.
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