EllisDream

Maybe my more positive outlook is due to the fact that I started the drama after it had finished airing and I had read quite a few negative comments. I was actually prepared to drop it after a couple of episodes. The start was somewhat interesting, but the drama indeed started going downhill more and more after the midpoint.

Regarding the villagers, this is purely compared to other shows I've seen in a rural village setting (the first two that comes to mind are My Husband Oh Jak Doo and Top Star Yoo Baek). These stories often portray the villagers as extremely farsical characters, so I was expecting them to really be quite bad in this drama as well. I'm not saying they are particularly 'good' and layered characters either, but I just found them not as annoying.

I really like Hwang Jung Eum as well, even if I do admit that her voice can be sort of shrilly sometimes :P

I have a lot of hope for this drama!
I could see myself happy with any route the writers will decide for this plot, whether more romance/melodrama or thriller/suspense oriented. As long as it's done well, of course.

I'm only at episode 11, so I'm still not entirely sure.
In any case, it's not a bad show, but I wouldn't consider a 'must watch' unless you're a fan of any of the leads.
I'm still probably going to finish it because I'm really liking the acting and I'm curious to see how the whole revenge plot (as unnecessarily exaggerated as it is) is going to unfold.

I'm quite excited about this show! It looks fun and different!

The thing is that the drama has also displayed how she can be strong as well.

Her pursuit of Jae Hyun; her standing in the protests with him; how she choose jail over apologizing for something she didn't think she had to and also when she stood up to Jae Hyun's wife at the reception...these are all instances were she does show some strenght of character.
She did seem like a sweet but also headstrong woman. She had a certain stubborness that I found quite endearing.
But then, she also seems to bend to others' wishes and threaths with inexplicable facility, especially for someone who's over 45 years old now.
That to me speaks of incoherence.

As I said, I'm not ready yet to condemn the character (or the writer) since we might get a clearer picture in the next episodes, but at the moment I can't help but feeling that she simply acts as the plot dictates and that her turning weak or strong is more to make the plot go a certain way or the other more than any inherent feature of the character.

First of all, I haven't laughed at a review this hard in a good while xD
I have dropped this drama ages ago and I had rated it a 5, but I do agree with your view in a way.
My Secret Romance is definitely what it aims to be, nothing more and nothing less. In that sense it indeed is perfect 10 :P

Fix You was in my list of dramas to keep an eye on. I'll definitely check it out!

Ji Soo seems to alternate moments of strong determination with ones of complete passiveness, but I'm holding my judgement since it feels like we don't have a clear picture yet.
I'm still quite curious to see where the story will lead us, but everything feels exaggerated right now. The unrelenting love story after 25 years, the clingy (yet cheating) ex-husband/wife, the plotting chairman, the seemingly self-serving FL's father, the best friend who's been in an unrequited love for 25 freaking years...it's just feels a bit too much.

I really liked the first couple episodes, but right now I'm getting a bit tired of it.
The acting is good and I like the parallels between past and present that are constantly being created, but the plot is getting 'overdone'.
I don't know exactly how to explain it, but everything just feels just 'too much' to be believable.

I almost completely agree ;)
I felt a tiny bit disappointed in the drama giving such a big preference to Yi Sang compared to the other two MLs during the first two episodes, but I hope there will be a course correction and more screentime will be given to both Eu Tteum and Jae Young.
I wouldn't mind Ha Ri going for any of the three MLs (or none of them) as I'm currently finding all of them to be flawed, but fundamentally nice people. I could see myself rooting for any (or none) of them.
As a watcher, their "clumsyness" (as you masterly put it) is endearing and a much needed reprieve from the usual dashing, charming and super smooth MLs!

Okay, sold! :P *adds to PTW*
I'll definitely watch it. Right now I have quite a few dramas I need to go through first, but I'll give it a try sooner rather than later ;)

Uhm, we might have different tastes.
We've seen too little of Jung Gun Joo in these first two episodes for me to judge (and he's way too young for me anyway), but I'm finding Go Joon definitely magnetic and Park Byung Eun potentially attractive in his own way once his character gets out of his divorce slump.
After all, I'm also of the opinion that some more conventionally pretty actors might not have been fit for these roles.

First episode was good. Not amazing, but interesting enough to keep me invested in wanting to watch more.
Ha Ri is a relatable FL and I'm finding Jang Na Ra a really good fit for the role.
All 3 MLs are quite un-charming right now, but that seems to be the whole point and I'm personally quite happy about it.

I wasn't aware Antonio Vivaldi was nicknamed the "Red Priest", but checking online that seemed to be due purely for the colour of his hair.
While I seriously doubt this has anything to do with the K-drama, what this premise reminded me at first was a series of Italian/French movies from the 1950s-60s inspired by stories written by Giovannino Guareschi and titled "Don Camillo".
These stories/movies are set in a small town in post-WWII Italy and have as protagonists a hot-headed priest who's not afraid to use his fists and is often at odds with the communist mayor.

sure! ;)

A bit late to the party, but here I am :P

It is left sort of open (no wedding, declarations or epilogue), but I dare say yes.
The very last scene is of the two of them walking hand in hand.

If I'm not mistaken a couple of episodes back it was said that they had been divorced for 4 years even if now it has been revealed that he had an affair more than 12 years ago (since their child is 13-14). Maybe he had an affair for years and kept it hidden?
We'll probably find out how it all went in the next few episodes.
One of the best aspects of this drama is the fact that the story is revealed bit by bit, after all.

I just completed episode 3 and I completely agree with your comment.
The story itself is filled with tropes and there are also some very clichee scenes, but it all still works to me and I feel quite emotionally invested in the show for now.