This review may contain spoilers
Lost in the Sauce (So much potential, so little focus)
As most of the audience of this show can agree, it was far from the premise we were initially told. Honestly when I watched the trailer I couldn't imagine how they were planning to make an entire show about an actress/translator and expected it to be chock full of stupid misunderstandings that dragged the plot and insane love triange drama. Ironically, instead of keeping things simple, the writers threw in every possible curveball they could think of.Contrary to a lot of people in this review section, I actually really liked Ho Jin’s character. The nuances of his personality set him apart from the usual blunt, boring K-drama male lead stereotypes. His relationship with his family, his personal boundaries around love, and his rigid principles all made him genuinely interesting to watch. Kim Seonho executed this extreme T type personality extremely well.
Cha Muhee as a character was incredibly confused, but I think it was that confusion that gave her relatability. e. Her constant awkward rambling and very real pining for her translator man were portrayed in a cute rom-com way that still felt believable. That said, if we start talking about how both her and Ho Jin were completely nonchalant about her having multiple personality disorder and an active alter ego roaming around the world, we’ll be here all day, so let’s just ignore that.
The chemistry between the leads was also fantastic in the first half of the show. The back-and-forth, Ho Jin not outwardly admitting his feelings, and Muhee just sending it and declaring her intentions were all very entertaining to watch. That is… until it wasn’t.
What even was the point of all that angst? I get that they wanted to drag out the couple-getting-together phase like most K-dramas, but this was entirely unnecessary and way too confusing. In the span of one episode, they almost explicitly confess their feelings, decide to get together, and then she stands him up and that’s suddenly the final straw? Or earlier in Canada, when they’re basically confessing to each other but then he gets mad that she’s pushing him away. Like… what? This is your girl, man. You know this about her. What are you so surprised by?
The writers clearly grasped at any available straws to come up with dumb reasons for them not to just get together and be done with it. Unlike most K-dramas, the leads realized their feelings for each other pretty early on, so having them get together around episode 7 or 8 and then working through the remaining plotlines together would have been so much better.
Speaking of those plotlines- I mean what was the deal with her parents? Why drop such an insane reveal in the last 30 mins of the show and have her resolve it by herself off screen?? That was highkey the only part I was interested in man. The whole vibe of the Do Rami and flashbacks and creepy-fun music was very reminiscent of It's Okay not to be Okay, and similar to that show they could have leaned more into Cha Muhee's childhood by showing us scenes of her upbringing in that fairy tale-esque way. The whole show we are told to feel bad for Cha Muhee because of her childhood but we do not see any of it so it makes it hard to actually understand why.
And yet, despite the confused writing, the set designers and costume designers absolutely outdid themselves. The wonderful cinematography in combination with the amazing sets and costumes was such a visual treat and I might recommend the show just for that. All of Do Rami's movie scenes, the childhood house set and all spanning travel shots were so beautiful.
The second leads however, had no purpose to me. Like what even was going on there. Jisun's character was so freaking confusing?? Like who is she as a person? We don't even know what her relationship with Hojin's brother was and we barely even get the full flashback of her time in in Japan with Hojin, so we can't even understand his years long crush on her. And then out of nowhere she decides to get a divorce and embrace her sexuality (good for her). but if that was the direction they wanted to go in, they should have committed to it. If what she needed was a physical release after her engagement fell apart, the tone of that relationship could have stayed fast-paced and heavy instead of turning into yet another random K-drama romance where the guy develops a savior complex.
I loved Hiro's character from start to finish though. What an absolutely funny guy. And the actor playing him gave exactly what was needed to portray a slightly narcisstic A-List celebrity with just enough humanity to make him likeable.
In conclusion instead of unnecessarily keeping the main leads from getting together until the very last moment they should have spent more time fleshing out the other characters (Jisun, Hojin's brother, Cha Muhee's parents and adoptive parents) and giving more screen time to other plots (Cha Muhee's childhood).
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