Kiummy

Problematic approach and dragged-out pacing: Oh My Venus hasn’t aged well

While the premise tries to talk about health, the execution is quite problematic.

The way the female lead's weight is treated is exaggerated and borders on the ridiculous. For example, there is a scene where she struggles to buckle her seatbelt as if she were huge, when in reality she just had a bit of a belly and didn't even fill the car seat. They treat a body with some extra weight as if it were physically incapacitating in a totally unrealistic way.

The pacing is extremely slow and dragged out. I had to watch it at 1.5x speed to get through it, and sometimes I even left it playing in the corner of my screen while doing other things because the story was just crawling along. The male lead (ML) didn't help much either. Besides his stiff acting and having the same facial expression all the time (always with one arched eyebrow), he has this frustrating habit of "suffering in silence." Whether he was in physical pain or after a serious accident, he hid away and wouldn't let his partner support him. It felt more like fragile masculinity than a "romantic sacrifice".

Another thing that bothered me was the subplot involving the FL's ex-best friend and her ex-boyfriend of 15 years. They cheated on her and then the drama tried to force some character development and even romanticize their relationship later on. It felt very wrong and uncomfortable to try and make the audience root for or even care about a couple built on adultery and betrayal.

As for the female lead, while her character is somewhat neutral, her acting is much more superior compared to the ML. She serves as a good anchor for the story.

Despite the flaws, the drama has its heartwarming moments, mostly thanks to the supporting cast. Kim Ji-woong (Henry Lau) is the heart of the show, bringing much-needed energy. I also loved the brotherhood between the three men living together. The ML acts as a father figure and protective older brother, providing essential support. This bond allowed Jang Jun Seong or "Korean Snake" to grow and eventually find the strength to restore his relationship with his mother. These interactions, along with the loyalty of Min Byung-wook (Choi Jin-ho), were what truly kept me going. If it weren't for them and the fact that I hate dropping dramas, I would have stopped halfway through.

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