This review may contain spoilers
Fine, Not Fantastic
Spooky In Love is like an everyday meal. Simple. It's not a lavish spread of a 7 course meal.
The show has a simple premise. FL (Cheon Yeo Ri) can see ghosts, whom she helps move on by uncovering their killers. She belongs to the 1%, while ML (Ma Gang Uk) is a fiery public prosecutor, more of a “salt of the earth” person. Spooky In Love is their journey through love, spooks, and succession drama.
To be honest, I went in expecting something like The Master's Sun. My expectations weren't met, but that doesn't mean I was disappointed. I enjoyed the show, and yet it will never be a favourite.
What I liked: ദ്ദി ˉ͈̀꒳ˉ͈́ )✧
Characters and Performances: I'm a Park Eun Bin fan, and she has never disappointed me. Even here, I enjoyed her spooky encounters. She’s a queen of micro expressions. Her ghostly encounters and the walls she kept around herself, were beautifully done.
I simply loved Yang Se Jong's public prosecutor. His energy matched the principled, fiery, mad in love character perfectly. I haven't watched his Doona. The last time I remember seeing him was in Still 17, and he's come a long way from there. Ma Gang Uk was the one I looked forward to in every scene.
Everybody else did a good job too.
Romance: It's a gentle romance. Read that as not a blazing chemistry. Adjust your expectations and you'll enjoy it. It didn't have me kicking my feet under the blankets, but it did have me smiling at my screen.
Ghosts: What can I say.. I'm all for the spooks. ᕙ( •̀ ᗜ •́ )ᕗ
ML's team: Fun and sweet.
What felt a bit meh: ┐( ˘_˘)┌
The forced connection between Gang Uk and Ji Hwan. The whole heart transplant track came out of nowhere and had no real impact on the story. Unnecessary add-on.
Yeo Ri's Chaebolness:
For some reason, I had a hard time seeing her as a third generation chaebol heiress. Part of it was her wardrobe. It didn't shout class to me. Part of it was the lack of a certain snootiness from her. Her Yeo Ri didn't have the attitude you'd expect from a CEO born with a silver spoon. I don't mean a hateful attitude, but the one that comes with the station she must have occupied from birth.
I had the same problem with Ong Seong Wu's Kang Min Hwan. It was hard to see him as a ruthless CEO. He looked more like a Manager than a CEO, and his angst didn't invoke much sympathy from me. Not saying he did a bad job, but he didn't stand out.
Ha Ri and her brother: her character was simply a foil for Yeo Ri, with no purpose beyond smirking and dropping mean girl comments. The two of them felt like filler. Their mother alone would have made a stronger antagonist.
Too much chaebol drama that didn't even feel high stakes, topped off with in-your-face promotion of Singapore tourism that felt very tacky. Damn Netflix.
Overall,
It's not a bad drama. It could have been better. Watch it as low stakes, lazy weekend entertainment without high expectations, and you'll be fine.
The show has a simple premise. FL (Cheon Yeo Ri) can see ghosts, whom she helps move on by uncovering their killers. She belongs to the 1%, while ML (Ma Gang Uk) is a fiery public prosecutor, more of a “salt of the earth” person. Spooky In Love is their journey through love, spooks, and succession drama.
To be honest, I went in expecting something like The Master's Sun. My expectations weren't met, but that doesn't mean I was disappointed. I enjoyed the show, and yet it will never be a favourite.
What I liked: ദ്ദി ˉ͈̀꒳ˉ͈́ )✧
Characters and Performances: I'm a Park Eun Bin fan, and she has never disappointed me. Even here, I enjoyed her spooky encounters. She’s a queen of micro expressions. Her ghostly encounters and the walls she kept around herself, were beautifully done.
I simply loved Yang Se Jong's public prosecutor. His energy matched the principled, fiery, mad in love character perfectly. I haven't watched his Doona. The last time I remember seeing him was in Still 17, and he's come a long way from there. Ma Gang Uk was the one I looked forward to in every scene.
Everybody else did a good job too.
Romance: It's a gentle romance. Read that as not a blazing chemistry. Adjust your expectations and you'll enjoy it. It didn't have me kicking my feet under the blankets, but it did have me smiling at my screen.
Ghosts: What can I say.. I'm all for the spooks. ᕙ( •̀ ᗜ •́ )ᕗ
ML's team: Fun and sweet.
What felt a bit meh: ┐( ˘_˘)┌
The forced connection between Gang Uk and Ji Hwan. The whole heart transplant track came out of nowhere and had no real impact on the story. Unnecessary add-on.
Yeo Ri's Chaebolness:
For some reason, I had a hard time seeing her as a third generation chaebol heiress. Part of it was her wardrobe. It didn't shout class to me. Part of it was the lack of a certain snootiness from her. Her Yeo Ri didn't have the attitude you'd expect from a CEO born with a silver spoon. I don't mean a hateful attitude, but the one that comes with the station she must have occupied from birth.
I had the same problem with Ong Seong Wu's Kang Min Hwan. It was hard to see him as a ruthless CEO. He looked more like a Manager than a CEO, and his angst didn't invoke much sympathy from me. Not saying he did a bad job, but he didn't stand out.
Ha Ri and her brother: her character was simply a foil for Yeo Ri, with no purpose beyond smirking and dropping mean girl comments. The two of them felt like filler. Their mother alone would have made a stronger antagonist.
Too much chaebol drama that didn't even feel high stakes, topped off with in-your-face promotion of Singapore tourism that felt very tacky. Damn Netflix.
Overall,
It's not a bad drama. It could have been better. Watch it as low stakes, lazy weekend entertainment without high expectations, and you'll be fine.
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