JSainte

Super Sweet, Super Funny Drama

This is the first drama in a long while that I have absolutely sailed through because I was enjoying it so much.

The cast is phenomenal, and I mean all of them. I will say that ML's mom from the past, Cheong-Ah (Shin Eun-Soo) did really start getting on my nerves. I understand she had a horrible childhood, but even when the boy she likes finally starts to do nice things for her, rescue her, etc., she storms off grumpy. She stormed off on Se Kyung (Seol In Ah) when they were all at that cabin and I was like, "Wow I don't even know what she's mad about this time!" Legitimately. I still have no idea even after I played it back. That got old quickly.

My only real complaint about this show is that it got incredibly difficult to follow the story near the beginning. and even more difficult to figure out who is who and when we're in the past vs the future. It made things very confusing for a good awhile. Not to mention, I suppose it's a key part of the explanation of the plot, but the fact that Se Kyung and her daughter were both played by the same actress (Seol In Ah), made it even worse in the beginning since I was already struggling with so many people and never being sure what year it was. lol

One more very minor complaint is that some of the plot lines, certain scenes, etc., just drag on too long for no reason. I found myself skipping forward in 10 second increments quite a bit. They had some of those moments where they're meant to sit quietly for dramatic effect, but there were too many and they went on for too long at times. Felt like lazy filler.

Oh, I also wish Eun Gyeol (Ryeoun) and Se Kyung (Seol In Ah) had pieced together that they were both from the future, must sooner than they did. I mean Squid Games? And not even a question from him. Could've been really cool if Ha Yi Chan (Choi Hyun Wook) actually did believe Eun Gyeol about being from the future. Obviously it ruins part of the magic and story, but I feel like that would've been fun.

The ending did seem a bit rushed. Considering how many times I hit the skip ahead 10 seconds button, I feel like they definitely could have used their time better. I wasn't sure how it would work with Cheong Ah not being told by her father what happened to Yi Chan, and being whisked off to America, but I am happy with the ending. Especially that dad got to live the life he wanted, at least to some degree.

I had high hopes for this as it had a 9.2 rating when I started it, and I've noticed people on here are not as generous as I am with my ratings, and I was right. It was a phenomenal drama.

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Soooo Pleasantly Surprised!!

So most of the dramas I watch are romcoms, and for this one, I let my co-worker choose from my "plan to watch" list as I have such a hard time deciding what to watch next. I was unsure for the first 1-2 episodes, but I find I feel like that with almost all dramas just because it's new at the time and I'm still not over whatever drama I just finished. lol

So for this review I actually made notes on this site as I watched it so I wouldn't forget things so some of this will be written as if I'm currently watching it. I'm going to make bullet points.

* So far the sister is irritating because she is VERY "woe is me". I get he's where he is because of her (at least in her mind), but it's enough already. He's the one in prison, then he's the one forced to retire from the job he loves, and she's over here sobbing away feeling sorry for herself. To make it worse, she won't even visit him. She's really pissing me off.

* I feel ZERO chemistry between ML and his girlfriend. Maybe it's his dry personality in the beginning, but I don't care about them as a couple at all. He has more chemistry with his best friend and other prisoners than he does her.

* I was SO happy that Crony turned out the way he did. That was a great direction to take that storyline. I also (at the time) loved the college girl visiting and writing a paper on Min Chul. Little did I know!!! ML's girlfriend being "too busy" to visit was just as annoying as the sister doing the same thing to him.

* He just can't figure out how to pitch straight, and 'ex-gf' comes up with the idea to put an X in the glove and suddenly that solves it and she's a genius who knows him better than anyone and no one else could have pulled that off. Really? Like it hadn't occurred to him to aim at the glove before the X? *eye roll*

* I do NOT want to do another villain arc where someone tries to kill him but here we are with the wood shop guy scheming in the greenhouse.

* NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO Please tell me this was a fever dream and he did not do ALL that hard work, for a year, quitting drugs, only to immediately do them again the moment he left. I swear to god, I will riot.

* Stating the obvious here, but Lt. Na is an insufferable grunt.

* His POS sister has still not visited. On top of that she's dating his best friend, who is also a guard there. What a shitty sister.

* I'm so happy that Lt. Paeng went to his daughter's career day. Crony being left behind made me sad, even though he did some heinous shit, and he'll obviously have the company of Captain Yoo for awhile. Also, would've liked to see him get out as well, maybe even Crony, so they could all meet up like they talked about.

* I love that Min-Chul had a daughter and that she reached out.

* The entire story is amazing and the friendships and chemistry is unmatched with this cast. I could've done without the girlfriend as there's no chemistry there. I also could've done without the sister because she was insufferable and selfish. They could've just had him saving any random chick.

I wanted to give this a 10/10 but I cannot forgive Loony's ending. It doesn't make any sense for his character. NONE. Also, I hated that we didn't get to see them all out of prison living their lives, or at least meeting up. Even if they just did a flash forward like they did with ML.

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Cute Like Strong Woman

I watched this right after Strong Woman Do Bong Soon because I saw they were similarly related and I'm really glad I did. I was hesitant at first because I felt like nothing so similar could be as good but I really enjoyed this. This was my first time watching a drama with both Nam Joo Hyuk and Lee Sung Kyung but I loved the story and thought their chemistry was amazing.

I also really adored her friends and their whole dynamic. Same for him and his friend. I like how the friend slowly started to really like her friends as well.

Also, who doesn't love a good Lee Jong Suk cameo!?

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Silly But Fun

This drama was my first time seeing Yoo Seung Ho and Chae Soo Bin in any drama so I had nothing to gauge their performances against, but I really loved both of them.

The premise is wild but it's unique and fun, albeit a little creepy. lol Getting to see her go from very robotic "robot" to realistic "robot" was really fun. The situations she got herself into were very sitcom-like but they pulled them off well.

I also really liked seeing the progression of Kim Min Kyu (Yoo Seung Ho) from anal, uptight, weirdo introvert to a more relaxed version of himself that can entertain guests without absolutely losing it.

The romance is cute too. It's sort of a unique twist on the enemies to lovers trope that we see so often, but it really works well.

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Good Old Fashioned K Drama

This drama was my first introduction to Lee Sung Kyung, although I definitely confused her and Suzy in the past. lol I really liked the actress and her character. This was also my first intro to Kim Young Dae and I found him and his character really charming despite being a little obnoxious at times.

I will say this drama really became a favorite after the introduction of the bumbling assistant Byun Jung Yeol (Jin Ho Eun) and especially after he and Gong Tae Sun (Kim Young Dae) develop that sweet friendship/work relationship. The shoe-tying montage being a favorite. lol

I'd definitely watch it again.

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Surprisingly Good

I read quite a few reviews about this show being good but for some reason I didn't have high expectations. Something about those bright colored track suits seemed silly to me. lol

I really enjoyed this story line as it's different from what I usually watch. It is still technically a romcom but it's not solely focused on that. I also really liked that they didn't dwell on the whole, she thinks they're insane and must've escaped an asylum or something. lol I mean it does take her a bit, but they didn't let that drag on too long.

These guys suffered the same fate as Lee Jong Suk in Pinocchio, which is falling victim to the very interesting hairstyles that dominated the early 2010's for male stars in Korea. lmao I get it, I do, but I'd rather they kept their historical hairstyles because they looked a little wild especially when combined with those bright track suits. haha

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Started for Lee Jong Suk, Stayed for the Drama

It's been awhile since I've watched this, but if I'm not mistaken I think this was my first drama with Suzy, and I always hear people raving about her so I had high hopes.

As the title states, I started it because Lee Jong Suk is one of those actors I like so much I will watch anything they're in. I don't even think I read the synopsis before starting this drama, which is rare for me.

I did wind up really loving the story because I hadn't seen any other drama with this type of story line. I also like how the story connected the characters and their storylines and their purpose in the show. I usually opt for romcoms as it's my guilty pleasure but this is one of those thriller type romance shows that is also funny at times and it turns out I REALLY enjoy those!

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Cute Little RomCom

I've been very lazy about writing actual reviews of the dramas I watch and instead just inserting the notes I take as I watch as a "review" (which is really just a play by play of random things that upset me. lol

I'm going to put my scattered notes at the end but I will say this was a cute drama. Anytime I start a new drama I have a bit of a hard time getting into the first and second episodes but this one really wasn't an issue for me.

I don't have much to say because yet again I didn't write this review immediately after finishing the show but I will say, looking back, it is very What's Wrong With Secretary Kim, and that is an absolute classic. Same type of dynamic between ML's role at work and FL's role at work. However, he's obviously far less grouchy than the ML in WWWSK. lol

Very cute drama. Could definitely see myself putting it back on down the road as a fun, uplifting watch.

NOTES:

I already love this. Him sticking up for the other guy and taking him with him. Amazing. Although I spun my "to watch" kdrama wheel and when it landed on this I was thinking it was the one with Lee Min Ho (King Eternal Monarch). I only realized it wasn't when he took the skydiving helmet off. lol

Oh wow. The boat guy runs a scheme with his mom right? Where there is "something wrong with the boat" and they're forced to go to his mom's crappy little hotel. Oh well there it is. lol

I really got lazy with keeping notes. Probably because thing's were going shockingly well for a k-drama. Every time I thought the issues were gonna kick off, there he was to fix it.

Now I'm on episode 13 and his sister has gone super b*tch and we're doing the bs lack of communication thing. She has to serve the meeting where his dad and Yu-Ri's dad discuss their marriage and he asks why she's there. Instead of saying that she was told he requested her there, of course she says some dumb stuff like, "I wonder that myself.". He clearly didn't request you.

Man am I glad he clocked her a** about the articles and fired her. However, I KNOW they are not about to try and make me feel bad for her. lmao That isn't gonna happen.

Why is grandma not losing her mind about him being the CEO's son? Wouldn't the article be the first time she learned that? Why is she not mentioning it? That's odd. I definitely would have imagined her hitting him and asking why he lied. But here we are with the townspeople being mental and grandma not really addressing it.

Him and his parents suck but I too would be enjoying them giving him hell for a change.

If she doesn't tell him what his dad said I'm gonna lose it. They've been so good about not doing the typical lack of communication non-sense.

Well, not a terrible drama in the end.

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Surprisingly Into It

I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this drama but I wound up really liking it. It had some of the excitement and drama of the first show I ever saw with Lee Jong Suk (W) which is one of my favorite dramas ever. The FL was really annoying for a significant part of the beginning but it eventually gets better.

I even found myself feeling for the bad guy in the end, which is something I definitely did not see coming. The acting in this was really good and I'm a big fan of anything Lee Jong Suk is in. I do think they dragged some parts out a little too long. This definitely could've been a 16 episode series. All in all pretty good though.

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Cute Little Drama - Easy Casual Watch

Out the gate I'm a fan of FL Do Do Hee (Kim You Jung) because I thought she was cute and funny in Backstreet Rookie. I think the ML Jung Koo Won (Song Kang) is surprisingly likeable for the devil. I definitely feel like the guy from Doom would be better suited. Although I didn't like Doom and found their chemistry to be 0% which is weird because Park Bo Young has chemistry with everyone!)

Oh, and I recognized Joo Chun Sook's actress (Kim Hae Sook) from Room No. 9! Also, Do Do Hee's lawyer, Shin Da Jeong (Seo Jung Yeon) and Jung Koo Won's assistant, Park Bok Kyu (Heo Jung Do) were super adorable, too.

As for the story, I think it's alright. Sadly I didn't have much 2 lead syndrome for Joo Seok Hoon (Lee Sang Yi). His heart just didn't seem in it (not as an actor but his character with hers.) I don't think they gave him much to work with. Also I'm sorry but Jin Ga Young (Jo Hye Joo) was pointless. Her character simply didn't need to exist. They didn't sell their background enough for her to need to be a part of this. She's just there to fill the 2nd lead syndrome on the female cast.

Overall it's an okay little drama. Noh Suk Min (Kim Tae Hoon) and Noh Do Kyung (Kang Seung Ho) did an amazing job at being so convincingly evil that it actually made my blood pressure rise. lol

I set out to find a sort of dramatic, sort of funny, middle of the road drama that wasn't too involved and I think this one nailed it.

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Almost Forgot About This Show

I can't believe I forgot to write a review right when I was done watching it. I'm now on the last episode of another show so I don't have much of a review.

I recall FL being super annoying because she just has NO backbone and 2FL being super annoying because she's just selfish. In retrospect, she's still a child. She's a child who died a child and just wanted to live again. Which makes it sad and less annoying.

The chemistry wasn't amazing between ML and FL but such is the characters they were written. Overall it's an alright little drama. I'm not sure I'd rewatch it. Maybe if years passed and I was looking for something familiar.

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Great Little Zombie Movie

I usually take notes on the shows/movies I watch as I go but I flew through this one so quickly I didn't have time. I thought this was a great movie. It was definitely a nice break from the 16 episode, hour long dramas.

I thought Yoo Ah In (Oh Joon Woo) was great in this movie. I was a little disappointed that Park Shin Hye (Kim Yoo Bin) was in it. My first time seeing her was in Pinocchio and she drove me nuts. Even when you hit the part of the show where she's supposed to be a better person, she just wasn't. She didn't really redeem herself in Heirs either, but this one went much better. I was actually rooting for her character which has been hard to do in past dramas. lol

I wish they had made it a bit more clear if his family made it. I'm guessing since the calls came through in the chopper all that time later that they must have after that voicemail but I wished they'd maybe showed them being with their family.

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Pretty Cute.. Only Mildly Annoying lol

These are the small amount of notes I took as I watched the series. No full review here, sorry.

The first episode or two of any new drama is always the worst. lol Especially if the last drama before that was really good. So far it's okay, but he keeps following her to check up on her but they've not really given him any real motivation to care that much other than him claiming he "won't be able to sleep" and he feel some type of way about sick/injured people.

What on Earth is with her pants? Is there a flood? I get she's supposed to look dumpy but the pants are mid-calf! And it's every pair! Also, this old "friend" or whoever is the worst. Is she meant to be attractive because she looks like the chunky end of an iPad pen with that terrible haircut.

My god she falls to the ground A LOT.

Why is EVERY single pair of work pants she owns the same horrible length? Why do they all come to halfway down her calf!? It's driving me nuts.

Okay, so this show was cute. I was very confused about how they were going to drag it out 16 episodes when they fell in love so quickly, but the pacing didn't wind up too bad. Overall good.

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Cuter Than Expected

At first I had a hard time getting into this story, and I was instantly annoyed by the over done lack of communication trope. Nobody can just be honest because god forbid we don't cause unnecessary drama. lol

Based on the title, description, and main art, it's clear this is meant to be a cute little drama, but it's much cuter than I thought it would be. During the times where I struggled with this show, it was the mobster friend group that really saved it for me.

I'm a sucker for outsiders taking in someone new as well as someone liking and hanging out with someone others would not, so it was nice to have both.

I liked seeing them warm up to her over time because they saw how different he was with her around. The 2ML and 2FL are adorable, but that whole thing where she was insistent on not wanting him was drawn out. Just get together and call it a day.

Also, I was hella surprised to see even the implication of s*x in a kdrama, let alone pregnancy outside of marriage. I mean, I'm used to kicking my feet when they hold hands for the first time 12 episodes in. lol It wasn't the worst, it was super minimal, however, if I wanted hookups and unwed pregnancies I'd watch crappy western shows. lol

Overall super cute and I love that they had the two oldest go on that blind date and didn't force that to work, but instead made it so she supported them still living there. Initially I thought they were going to force Dong Hee and Ye Na on us and I didn't like it at first because she had not redeemed herself. By the end of the show I would've been more okay with it, although I like that he stuck around with the group.

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You Have To Stick With It

I went the first half of this show fast-forwarding through a lot of stuff that I felt was getting boring or was overkill. Towards the end it actually picked up and got interesting. I don't have a whole lot to say about it. It was decent, but I feel like it would've been a great 8 episode series and instead it's an okay 16 episode series. Below are just my notes that I took while watching.

I knew I recognized him, but I had to look it up to place him. I wish I hadn't because I've only ever seen him in Vincenzo and now when I see him I'm like, "Ughhhh this douche bag." lol

This guy started coughing/choking while he was at that funeral, and now he's here with his friend... who sees ghosts. Please tell me this man didn't die.

I have been fast-forwarding like mad through this show. Like, it's okay, but it's getting boring.

However, they just went to exorcize the brother who's going nuts who they thought was being tortured by his dead ex-girlfriend, and I just feel the need to comment.

I don't want to say he's to blame because she ran into traffic but I also sort of want to blame him. You specifically didn't tell her you were going to have brain surgery, then at the last minute, call her and tell her you're sorry and how you might not be back, which OF COURSE throws her into a panic, which caused her to not pay attention. Like why do that at the last minute if you wanted to keep it from her!?

Really? This guy is dead? That was such a ridiculously minor accident. He hit plastic barricades going about 25mph.

LMAO
In Rang: "Hey... Bong Pal, is Hyeon Ji with you?"
Bong Pal: * silence *
Cheon Sang: *little wave to this empty chair, little wave to that empty chair *

Omg her flashback to her accident is ridiculous. It's not raining and no one is around. Suddenly it is raining, and not only do like 6 people come out of nowhere, but they all have open umbrellas. lol

Wow and it gets worse. The people showed up with umbrellas right away, yet he got out and was talking to her solo first. Make up your mind show. Just a little bit of continuity.

Is Hyeon Ji's mom the one that seems to be getting used by Hye Seong via fear?

Man Korean hospitals have ZERO security. The amount of times I've seen bad guys trying to murder people on hospital floors and hospital roofs in Korean dramas is off the charts. lol

You see him and you just hug him and cry instead of being like, "Yo, I'm in a coma upstairs!" Like, this is the important info. I hate when they do that.

"Doctor, why can't she remember anything!?" Damn, she just woke up from a five year coma like 10 seconds ago. Give her a break.

Man, the irony of the mother is unmatched. Doesn't like Bong Pal because "You can't just go around trusting anyone in this world." but instantly trusts the man who tried to kill her daughter TWICE and probably will try again a few more times.

Okay, so the series picked up, the ending is pretty much exactly what you expect. It would've been a great 8 episode series but instead it's just an okay 16 episode series.

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