This review may contain spoilers
Funnier than expected
Summary: This drama was funnier than expected and left very little loose ends (side notes below), which I appreciate. The storyline got deep in the middle of the series about their past and the plot twists were interesting. The one thing that threw me off was the unnatural facial expressions the female lead made toward the male lead which took away from the romance in certain scenes. The cinematography was well done with different angles of perspectives or blending of locations/times. The last episode dragged on a little but the ending was really sweet. ^_^ Certainly worth a re-watch.
Details: At first, I was hesitant to watch this show because the beginning just seemed like every other hero-in-disguise male lead and doormat female lead scenario I’ve seen previously. However, the series had me rolling at stuff like the thunder/lightning scene or situations warranting matching sweatsuits. Lol. Yoon Ji Won’s reaction to seeing Seok Ji for the first time after 18 years is the best (not expected at all), including the scene of them flipping each other off covered by cartoons! XD
Another thing that was amusing was that the writers parodied typical romance formulas in which one lead falls into the other’s arms as they stare passionately into each other’s eyes. “Writers should think deeply!... They don’t look at each other [in real life], they just get hurt,” then a hilarious martial arts spin to embrace, followed by a surprised gaze. XD
I love that they added a backstory to the leads (and their families) that explains how they ended up where they were and felt like the younger versions of the leads could have been a whole drama by itself. It also explained why Yoon Ji Won became a shell of herself later, always getting picked on to organize events, run errands, stay late to talk with parent, etc. I like that Seok Ji Won’s mom was so supportive when needed.
Some things I found annoying were the plot twist with the 2nd female lead (but I suppose was necessary to explain what kept the leads apart for so long); how Mr. Byeon couldn’t just stay out of people’s business and embarrassed the crap out of the leads; and Yoon Ji Won’s weird deer-in-the headlights look along with some unnatural facial expressions (eye popping, eyebrow raising, heading teetering, etc.) that made scenes unromantic to me. I do wish one of the villains (a student’s parent) got more than just a smacking but you can’t have everything be perfect on every show.
Overall, I really enjoyed this unique drama.
Side Notes:
- If Seok Ji Won was always there watching and protecting, why didn’t he ever go up to Yoon JI Won? Why didn’t he just go to her house if he wasn’t getting responses through text, or send a snail mail letter? And when Yoon Ji Won later found out the truth about the phone situation, why didn’t she talk to him about it?
- There’s not much explanation as to what exactly happened with Seok Ji Won AFTER the hospital incident. Supposedly, his dad sent him out of the country but that’s never really elaborated on. I wish there was more backstory on that part.
- Knowing how intrusive Mr. Byeon was, why would Seok Ji Won willingly give away his address to him? Is that standard etiquette in Korea, to give out personal information readily to a near stranger like that?
- Can people really pass out from one drink, and have selective tolerance to different types of alcohols?
Details: At first, I was hesitant to watch this show because the beginning just seemed like every other hero-in-disguise male lead and doormat female lead scenario I’ve seen previously. However, the series had me rolling at stuff like the thunder/lightning scene or situations warranting matching sweatsuits. Lol. Yoon Ji Won’s reaction to seeing Seok Ji for the first time after 18 years is the best (not expected at all), including the scene of them flipping each other off covered by cartoons! XD
Another thing that was amusing was that the writers parodied typical romance formulas in which one lead falls into the other’s arms as they stare passionately into each other’s eyes. “Writers should think deeply!... They don’t look at each other [in real life], they just get hurt,” then a hilarious martial arts spin to embrace, followed by a surprised gaze. XD
I love that they added a backstory to the leads (and their families) that explains how they ended up where they were and felt like the younger versions of the leads could have been a whole drama by itself. It also explained why Yoon Ji Won became a shell of herself later, always getting picked on to organize events, run errands, stay late to talk with parent, etc. I like that Seok Ji Won’s mom was so supportive when needed.
Some things I found annoying were the plot twist with the 2nd female lead (but I suppose was necessary to explain what kept the leads apart for so long); how Mr. Byeon couldn’t just stay out of people’s business and embarrassed the crap out of the leads; and Yoon Ji Won’s weird deer-in-the headlights look along with some unnatural facial expressions (eye popping, eyebrow raising, heading teetering, etc.) that made scenes unromantic to me. I do wish one of the villains (a student’s parent) got more than just a smacking but you can’t have everything be perfect on every show.
Overall, I really enjoyed this unique drama.
Side Notes:
- If Seok Ji Won was always there watching and protecting, why didn’t he ever go up to Yoon JI Won? Why didn’t he just go to her house if he wasn’t getting responses through text, or send a snail mail letter? And when Yoon Ji Won later found out the truth about the phone situation, why didn’t she talk to him about it?
- There’s not much explanation as to what exactly happened with Seok Ji Won AFTER the hospital incident. Supposedly, his dad sent him out of the country but that’s never really elaborated on. I wish there was more backstory on that part.
- Knowing how intrusive Mr. Byeon was, why would Seok Ji Won willingly give away his address to him? Is that standard etiquette in Korea, to give out personal information readily to a near stranger like that?
- Can people really pass out from one drink, and have selective tolerance to different types of alcohols?
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