MadelineMaureen

I remember watching this as it was airing and looking up TaecYeon and realizing that he grew up in America. Ended up watching Dream High after seeing him in this and did a deep dive into kpop. Figured out a lot of the people I had been watching were connected to the music industry as well as acting world.
Also if you've never seen this, look up Taec Yeon's scenes. This was his first ever drama and he has a southern accent(dialect) which was honestly really cute.
As another viewer mentioned the 2nd FL was...ummm hard to watch. Sadly she suffered the "I'm lying about my age so let me get enough tweakment that I'll look younger" and the Botox was ummm extra fresh...to put it kindly. And even saying that I feel like an asshole. To each their own, but if you are being paid to emote on screen...your face needs to be able to move.

I really need to know what the heck was happening in the mid 00s to make every screenwriter pull out the Romeo and Juliette plots. I'm not kidding when I say that from 2003-2009ish there was an extremely heavy focus on sad ending romances. There was either a suicide or accidental death(saving the other lead) or straight murder in every show I watched during that time. Unless it was booked as an "idol" drama for teens your fav wasn't making it to the final credits. I think at some point people voiced their distaste for dramas(that are in and of themselves a fantasy world of fiction)that had such pessimistic endings/plots. And because some of them were being aired while finishing up the shooting sometimes the plots would change week to week depending on audience reception. It was a wild wild time.

To this day I call Lee Ki Woo Lamppost. I only really remember loving the OST for this show...bop after sad bop. I remember thinking none of the characters should be anywhere near one another as they were all so toxic and depressed about everything. This was a very heavy on the MELO...drama. Sad, and pointless ending a la Romeo and Juliette. The reader can see how stupid the problems are, but the characters can't get over what they think is "epic/tragic love". Mental health awareness who? They don't know her.

Yes. He dies holding her in the mountains during the dead of winter. It's not 100% confirmed whether she survives or not. Her eyes are shown opening and a tear falling then closing again as the sun rises on a winter morning. The mid-00s were rife with sad ending kdramas...either both dying at the end or one dying in place of the other. You have been warned.

Even her more "damsel in distress" characters were immortal beings or a ghost. I think the only time her character was extremely flawed was in 'A Love to Kill' and I say this with love EVERY character in that show was extremely flawed, but the OST still slaps.

I think the scenes with the second lead couple give enough context to their relationships to the others in the show that their story can be separated. I think that this show actually balances the 2nd leads with the mains really well. The mains have more screen time, but honestly not much more than the 2nd couple in some episodes. You'll get to skip most of the office stuff. So yeah, I say skip around to the scenes with either one of them in it & you'll be fine.

Did we ever even see the other guy she was dating? Where is he in all of this, if that is his kid doesn't he also have a right to know what she decides? Not have a say it what she chooses to do, but like if she gives birth I would want to know if I gave life to another human. (I'm a woman, but you understand what i mean)

What I enjoy about this particular slow burn, which not everyone will like, is that you are seeing them interact with one another without them being aware of any extra romantic feelings for each other. It's a love that crept in without them realizing, and by the time they noticed they were already under.
The dipping the toes in to test the waters might be too extended for most, but I like that we are clearly getting an idea of their dynamics as friends and what their love languages are. They both give something to the other with acts of service and words of affirmation, gift giving and quality time. It's not just THEIR relationship(friendship) that they are worried about ruining. Their mothers are best friends, he no longer has a father and hers has kind of taken on that role for him. Her best friend is his cousin and married to his business partner. Starting anything that could end badly is scary and has a lot of pressure on them. Both of their support systems are so interconnected it would be irresponsible to just jump in without looking and making sure the water(romantic feelings) is deep enough to not get hurt in the fall.

Not an ex, i don't think. Just someone that his friend thinks he had a crush on...but that friend is wrong about a lot of things when it comes to the two leads so I'm going to take that with a large grain of salt.

I just really like the lead actors(4 mains) and wanted to watch something they were in, but the side characters aren't it and the overall production as of episode 3 just isn't giving TvN/Netflix level production that I'm used to. When normally the first 4 episodes of a show are the best produced and written...I just don't think this one is for me. I'm just going to have to catch the edits.

Most of the shows I watch are slow burn. I understand what building chemistry that pays off later looks like. What we have are excessively long scenes with side characters that have the emotional range of a peanut and a brain roughly the same size. I can understand that in the back half of a show....but episode 3...and I'm already struggling to get past the bs side plots that have nothing to do with their families or bestie...that's just a straight up pacing issue. I was very much looking forward to the show for the four leads because I like their work and I know they can do the subtle looks necessary for a slow burn romance. If I could have solid assurance that his business partner and secretary aren't actually in any other scenes longer than 3 minutes I might be able to actually enjoy the show more.

Well, for me, I've been getting long blinks every time his business partner/worker come on screen & very much want to skip/fast forward their scenes to get to the story that actually matters/that I'm enjoying.
The two leads' families and the second couple are great....but by episode 3 there was already a LOT of filler. I'm so sorry, but you honestly can't say that this show doesn't have a lot of filler for early episodes. The elevator bgm doesn't help and well...the only scenes that have any kind of dynamic camera work/editing are with the lead couple atm(I've been actively trying NOT to skip things and have only just finished episode 3.) I'm in the comments trying to find the light at the end of the tunnel because I'm struggling to stay interested even though I love all of the main actors in the show. I'm just not sure I'm vibing with the production.

I would put this comment in a review, but I haven't finished at it wants a score...so comment that will eventually get buried it is.
I can't put my finger on exactly why, but I'm having a much harder time getting into this show than other's I've been watching at the same time. There is one that is also a friends to lovers storyline that I'm eating up. So this is me trying to work out why I'm having trouble while I watch it in the bg.

I just keep getting the long blinks whenever the leads or the second couple aren't on screen together. I've seen the actor who plays his business partner in other things and I'm just...annoyed by his character's presence as he doesn't seem to know how to do anything(the character not the actor). It feels like the ML character is parenting everyone around him including the FL.

There will be moments that I love and enjoy, but the build to get to those moments is so slow...And I'm a slow-burn girly, so something just isn't connecting for me. It took me about 3-4 weeks to finish episode 3 because I just wanted to fast forward through a lot of it and remembered that I have a dozen other shows I can watch instead. Maybe it's because some plot points got spoiled and I have a thing about introducing an illness out of the blue.

I want the cute and fun with some heartfelt family connections, but the pace is just all over the place for me. The cinematography is very surface level with nothing really dynamic to keep me engaged. And half of the soundtrack/score is elevator music the other is a sample of 'This Will Be' which reminds me of the The Parent Trap and While You Were Sleeping. (My brain literally starts to play scenes from those movies in my head when the song starts playing, which is why original OSTs are so important imo. Because music evokes memories.)

The chemistry is there, but it's about 20mins of a 80 minute episode. I feel like I might enjoy the story more once a youtuber gets ahold of it and edits one of those "their story" edits. I'm currently attempting to catch up this week as the last two episodes are about to air, but I just don't know if I'll be able to. I feel like the biggest struggle I'm having with Korean shows these days are how long the run time is. The episodes are 80 to 90 minutes a piece which over bloats what sometimes is just a simple story. I feel the runtime, when before I'm not sure I did...? I need to go back into my archive of shows and see what the runtimes for each episode were. I'm truly not trying to be a "hater" but the amount of shows I watch I just notice a lot more technical flaws in this one. Maybe because I was looking forward to it so much and thus had higher expectations...?

Also...the yelling...why is there so much yelling? I didn't realize that I was so sensitive to sound volume until I was leaping for the remote every time the yelling starts.

I just can't understand how the married couple who went from friends to lovers can't see the same dynamic happening right in their face with their cousin and friend? CH his the only one who noticed early on followed by SNN who knew them for like a blink, but she clocked it after seeing them together once or twice. All I can say is if best men and maid/matron of honor are a thing in Chinese weddings his cousin and business partner shouldn't be on that list.

It's the 3rd couple for a lot of shows that just hits different, imo.(the ones who are just starting aka not an established couple but the start of the show) And I like the connection they aren't even fully aware they have yet. Unless he knows that's her in the chatroom, which he might. I like his little weird self, and how down to Earth she is when her management lets her breath a bit. Even though they don't have a lot of screentime the acting and directing does an amazing job of conveying their personalities and characters.

Seems realistic to me. He doesn't want to impose his feelings on her when she withdrew from him. He is trying to sort out his own feelings and feels like he's messing up. He's trying to decide whether to truly confess or to "get over" his feelings for her, because at the end of the day he doesn't want to lose her completely, but that doesn't take away the hurt he feels at the perceived rejection.

I'm really enjoying it, but I also really like slow burn dramas.
After checking your page...You gave Amidst a Snowstorm of Love 10/10, but you didn't rate Love Me, Love My Voice but that's the level of slow burn this one is, but with a friends to lovers. Just based off of you lists and ratings I think you'll love this one. Depending on how fast you watch I think you could easily catch up to the current release day within a day. So, personally, I would recommend it.

guys...I was not expecting to need to run to the bathroom I was laughing so hard at 53 minutes in on episode 11 🤣🤣🤣💀 yall are not ready. I swear you are not ready when the "star wars" music comes in. 😊

I've never watch one of Miles' period shows, is it normal to dub him in them? I know some actors just don't have the right accent or sound down for period shows so they end up dubbed. I've only ever seen his modern shows where he is definitely not dubbed. Also thanks for your thoughts on the show, very helpful for me to decide whether to start or hold off until it's finished airing.

The Double was the only 5/5 star Cdrama that I watched so far this year. There were a lot that started strong and then took a turn in the mid to last quarter. The only other one that got close was 'Are You the One' because of how well done the acting was for the ML as he struggled to balance his different goals. (but for me there were parts in the storyline/writing that was leaning too far into the "girl boss" trope that seems to have become popular in period dramas, loved the actress, I just think some of the writing fell short at the end.)
'Your Are My Secret' and 'As Beautiful as You' ended up being a 4/5 for one reason or another. When the business romances lean a little too far into the business.
Also the ending of 'In Blossom' was frustrating as all heck so dropping it was probably a good call until they announce a second season.