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This review may contain spoilers
Plot driven characters
This drama is not very good. And not because of the supposed cheating. It’s failure is inconsistent characters that do things only to drive the plot forward in the desired direction. By the later half of the drama almost all key characters were acting in very weird ways that made no sense and were far form realistic. I saw little to no growth. Just change, probably for the worse.
Lots of deus ex machina moments, too, where characters succeed or fail only because the plot demands so. And lots of very long stares into the distance to melancholic music. Cut all those and 16 episodes would have sufficed. The music is pretty good, though, albeit has a certain feel of the 90s or even 80s.
The business dealings were also weird with dramatic announcements and declarations to spice things up, I suppose. Looked more like comedy, though.
My least favourite character is Hong Joo. Right from the start she was whining and her decision to off herself for insurance money was what sealed the deal for me. Because how can you help your loved one in a difficult situation? Of course by adding another blow to injury, to paraphrase the saying. And yes, she started the chain of events and was the main contributor to making the situation worse. I cringed every time someone described her as a nice person. Not sure if it’s the writing, the acting, or both, but she looked a hypocrite through and through: submissive to those she did not like, her rich mother-in-law in particular, and defiant to those she supposedly loved or cared about. Her supposedly noble acts close to the end of the drama were so out of character that were laughable. Though, I assume, the screenwriters intended this as a sign of her growth.
Se Young isn’t very likable either. And a noble idiot, to boot. I sort of understood her motivations and was at least neutral towards her but her decision to hire Hong Joo as her caretaker relegated her to shady characters immediately. And I’m not sure if Choi Ji Woo was asked to act this way or it was her choice, but her constant soft sort of smirk with a squint got irritating pretty soon. Look at an enemy: a soft smirk with a squint. Look at a loved one: a soft smirk with a squint in an I’m-a-sophisticated-woman-that-cares-about-nothing way.
Seok Hoon is probably the most human of all characters. The best thing he could have done for himself would have been to run away from both toxic females. To stay in Brazil perhaps. And take Hong Joo’s brother and Se Young’s sister with him. And Han Soo, too.
So overall, I don’t think the story is very well writen. Interesting premise, mediocre execution.
Lots of deus ex machina moments, too, where characters succeed or fail only because the plot demands so. And lots of very long stares into the distance to melancholic music. Cut all those and 16 episodes would have sufficed. The music is pretty good, though, albeit has a certain feel of the 90s or even 80s.
The business dealings were also weird with dramatic announcements and declarations to spice things up, I suppose. Looked more like comedy, though.
My least favourite character is Hong Joo. Right from the start she was whining and her decision to off herself for insurance money was what sealed the deal for me. Because how can you help your loved one in a difficult situation? Of course by adding another blow to injury, to paraphrase the saying. And yes, she started the chain of events and was the main contributor to making the situation worse. I cringed every time someone described her as a nice person. Not sure if it’s the writing, the acting, or both, but she looked a hypocrite through and through: submissive to those she did not like, her rich mother-in-law in particular, and defiant to those she supposedly loved or cared about. Her supposedly noble acts close to the end of the drama were so out of character that were laughable. Though, I assume, the screenwriters intended this as a sign of her growth.
Se Young isn’t very likable either. And a noble idiot, to boot. I sort of understood her motivations and was at least neutral towards her but her decision to hire Hong Joo as her caretaker relegated her to shady characters immediately. And I’m not sure if Choi Ji Woo was asked to act this way or it was her choice, but her constant soft sort of smirk with a squint got irritating pretty soon. Look at an enemy: a soft smirk with a squint. Look at a loved one: a soft smirk with a squint in an I’m-a-sophisticated-woman-that-cares-about-nothing way.
Seok Hoon is probably the most human of all characters. The best thing he could have done for himself would have been to run away from both toxic females. To stay in Brazil perhaps. And take Hong Joo’s brother and Se Young’s sister with him. And Han Soo, too.
So overall, I don’t think the story is very well writen. Interesting premise, mediocre execution.
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