Eleison

CJH's character in this is similar to his character in Castaway Diva, but I think in Castaway Diva he refined his portrayal of a cold/aloof-looking but actually earnest person in a way he didn't quite capture as well here. In this he just alternates between apathetic (when around anyone but Hong Joo) and one of two demeanors around Hong Joo: stoic and cute/smiley. It actually kind of bothered me that he was never very warm with anyone BUT Hong Joo. He always seemed somewhat checked out when with his uncle, or mom, or Sang Pil.

Overall, CJH did a fine job, but I feel like he did a more cohesive performance in Castaway Diva and was a bit more subtle. I think this was filmed earlier than Castaway Diva so it makes sense he was able to make improvements since filming this!

Nothing spectacular, but sweet and enjoyable. The leads' chemistry and cuteness were the best in Episode 8. :)

He literally let his hair down more, too. 😂 It was originally slicked back. 😎

It features the same cafe/coffee shop as in Soundtrack #1! 😂

True, a lot of people take issue with aspects of Kdramas that are embedded into the formula of all Kdramas. I just laugh and think, "Dude, you do realize that by complaining that MLs are almost always innocent in the way of love (and most likely portrayed as a virgin *gasp* 🫢) and devoted to one girl, that you're complaining about a stock FEATURE of the romance Kdrama. If that drives you nuts because you think it's fantastical, dumb or unrealistic, then realize like a sensible person would that you don't like romance Kdramas." It's on par with complaining that horror movies are scary. That IS the expectation of the genre, my friend. 🤯

Some dramas do get draggy in the second half, though, and I would say that's a pretty common pitfall that many dramas fall into. This one, I agree, is not as bad as some!

Fellow MDLers, "feed" the contrarians and they will keep coming...

Anyone know how to get the block feature to work on the app? 🤔 When I block someone they can't read my posts, but I can still read theirs, which in large part defeats the purpose of the block feature, no? 🤦‍♀️

My Perfect Marriage Revenge (more of a makjang, but still accessible to non-makjang lovers) and F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers (if you want to see an updated BoFs, though there is still some bullying violence and such, but it inproves on the toxicity of the Korean, Japanese and Chinese versions (in my opinion)).

Racket Boys doesn't have a ton of romance, but it does have a sweet family/friend vibe to it like Castaway Diva. It was a 10/10 for me like While You Were Sleeping or Castaway Diva or Under The Queen's Umbrella.

I will try to think of some more good ones that are recent, but two great sageuks that have a bit of romance in them are Knight Flower and Under The Queen's Umbrella (my favorite sageuk of any I've watched).

My Sweet Monster has cringey/cheesy humor for some, but the romance is darling and the characters in it are all precious with fantastic chemistry. Two Cdramas: Hidden Love was a very good romance (with super good chemistry, like in Lovely Runner but a more mature romance, I'd say (Zhao Lusi is super cute, but the humor is not cutesy or cheesy, if that makes sense; I started really liking it once she wasn't a high schooler)) and When I Fly Towards You (WIFTY) was pretty good, too; slice of life plus romance.

I will try to think of others from the time frame you sent that Ibwould recommend!

I hope you do! :)

I know! I think the synopsis, trailer and tags were poorly constructed because most people who dislike it say they were expecting it to be different. They want more singing or less singing, or an actual story about her coming back from being on an island detailed and addressed more realistically, etc. I love this screenwriter's works, so I knew exactly what to expect, but it bothers me how many people this is a miss for, because it's so well done! Such a bummer!

Yes, Episode 1 was fabulous.

I think you should try to push past 4. Episode 5 is where things picked back up for me, and I liked Episode 7 as a close 2nd on Episode 1. Episode 11 was also so, so beautiful. There's a lovely song that Ran Joo singa in that episode that was so lovely. The later episodes tie up all the themes started in Episode 1 regarding fatherhood (and found family), friendship, love and selflessness over hate and possessiveness. It's really a beautiful drama if you can finish it!

Also, this screenwriter is known for her stellar pilot episodes. I loved While You Were Sleeping by her and I Can Hear Your Voice. Both are in my top 10! I would say both are more universally liked than this drama, as WYWS still has an 8.7 despite having 120,000+ watchers on MDL rating it. Highly recommend!

Other Kdramas by this screenwriter are some of my all-time faves. While You Were Sleeping and I Can Hear Your Voice, in particular!

If you like other Kdrama rom-coms and don't mind a fantasy/time-travelling component, chances are you'll like this! Some of the nit-picks people make are valid, but I think they blow the faults WAY out of proportion. I agree with a lot of them, to some extent, but they didn't keep me from enjoying the drama because all the main characters are so good-hearted and adorable that I was just caught up in the sweetness of their stories. I hope you enjoy it!

Um, but there are no idols in this drama... why are you calling it an "idol drama"?

My hunch is they didn't have the King and Queen consummate their marriage because this means that while they are "married" ceremonially they have not made their marriage valid through consummation (that's my impression from the way dramas portray marriage in sageuks--I could be wrong!). This is to make the "clown's" closeness to the Queen feel less like they're cheating behind the king's back since the King and Queen are "married" in name only. Also, the real King being insane further complicates his claim on his "wife," and I think is all done to make the MC's romance something you can root for since most people can't root for adultery in their entertainment.

Yes, this is one of my favorite sageuk scores!

The have good chemistry and he is very sweet and devoted to her. As a character, it's hard to find a sweeter ML, and while there's not a lot of that closeness shown through kissing and such, you feel it in other ways. It reminds me of an older Kdrama in this sense. I think the romance was still very sweet overall!

I agree that this is a perennial issue with Kdramas, but I don't think this drama was one of the worst offenders as far as this faulty trend goes. It does seem crazy to greenlight a drama that doesn't have an ending written yet, right? 🤷‍♀️

I personally thought the last 1/3 was just fine! It seems many people thought it got boring but I actually liked Ji Hwan doing what he did in Episode 15, and it engaged me all the way to the end.

The poster is a good hint for the tone, I'd say. :)

They made it clear he had never dated before. Most people aren't immediately good at things they've never done before or good at things they've never practiced. 😉

Not sure if it was written into the script, or if the actors couldn't sell it. Either way, I thought it was convincing based on what we know about Ji Hwan and the lack of romance in his life.

Darn, the rating went down again. 😔 Are the ones who are rating it low finding the humor cringey? It's really not a bad drama, and has such great chemistry among the cast (I've rarely seen such chemistry) with great character arcs and backstories, not to mention great acting and lovable characters. It's too bad!