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Great Abs Make You Impervious to Knife Wounds

A little cringe-y and the misunderstandings went on too long. FL did have cause to be upset with the ML, but she pushed him away instead of communicating. A sentence or two from either of them would have cleared things up. How hard is it to say, "I ghosted you because I was in a coma. I didn't come back into your life then because I was afraid I'd endanger you."

The ML was stabbed, bled profusely, got wet from the rain, spent the night outdoors, got chilled, rode a wagon 3 hours (?) into town, then attended his girlfriend's play because he wanted to support her career, AND THEN WENT TO THE HOSPITAL AFTER HE COLLAPSED. What kind of idiocy is that? And what girlfriend would allow it?

ML had great abs and was an enthusiastic kisser, so I've awarded an extra half star. Hard work and enthusiasm should be rewarded.

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Redemption of Kang Tae Ju

I avoid melodramas, and I hate angst, plus the low rating was enough to deter me until I saw Viki was going to remove the drama soon. I clicked play on impulse and was treated to a fresh (though older), realistic drama revolving around an opportunistic playboy; a naive, sweet girl; a cold, repressed man; and a spoiled, rich woman. The sweet girl, Han Eun Su, navigated the murky waters of the betrayal of her true love, sabotage from a jealous woman, and a controlling spouse. Unlike so many dramas today, I had no idea who would end up with whom, or who, potentially, would be destroyed. Out of the quartet, three were self-centered and manipulative. Eun Su did her best to deal with them all fairly and with decency.

For someone who shies away from angst, this drama was saturated in it with little let up until the last 30 seconds! Normally, I'd despise such a drama, but the actors did such a good job with their roles. I hated all the characters at various times in the show (except Eun Su, although I wanted to give her a good shaking from time to time); then, I'd feel compassion and understanding and wish for their happiness! There were no perfect characters—they were all gloriously flawed and alternately wonderful and terrible.

I appreciated the dilemmas presented: horrible secrets of the past don't dissipate and can destroy the future; mistrust is a killer of relationships; getting everything you think you want won't necessarily make you happy; and holding on to toxic relationships won't make them better.

I love how raw and original this production is compared to current dramas. There weren't the usual tired tropes, or, when they were present, they were given new life. The music was of its time and added to the feel. Eric Mun did an amazing job as Kang Tae Ju, a disgusting, immoral reprobate who was respectful of his elders and had his own finely tuned sense of morality (it was okay to have an affair with an engaged girl, but married women were off limits; it was okay to accept an expensive watch as a gift from one of his admirers, but a car was too much).

I appreciated that the writer respected his characters and his audience. When Tae Ju talked about wanting lots of children and a house with a yard for them all to play in, the viewer knew he wasn't thinking of sharing that with his fiancée. When he gave up his idea of a house with a yard for a city apartment to defer to his fiancée, the viewer knew he'd given up on the happy life he'd envisioned for the security of a wealthy one. I love that the writer and actor didn't have to spell it out for the viewer.

And, now, I've got to watch something fluffy, because I've suffered. It was worth it, though.

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Don't Trust Grandma to Take You to Eat Pork Cutlets

I'm not the best reviewer for comedies, as I don't watch many, and my taste usually runs to very dry or dark humor. This has neither, but it has a wonderful cast of familiar faces: Jung Sang Hoon as the ML; Lee Joong Ok, the reliable supporting character; and Kim Young Ok, everyone's favorite grandmother in K-dramas. What hasn't Young Ok been in? I've watched her in 21 dramas, some of them my favorites. She has a knack for choosing good projects, or she elevates them.

The Pork Cutlets is about a village chief with three small sons and a pregnant wife expecting twin sons. She is insistent he gets a vasectomy. At the same time, the village is upset with a Jindo dog who keeps impregnating the villagers' dogs, and the two neuterings become intertwined as a topic of conversation amongst the townspeople.

This is a comedy, but it's also about community and family: sweet, supportive, and a bit too nosy, but that's small town life in a nutshell.

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Cuteness Overload

The ML was puppy dog cute and worth watching the drama for; the actor owned the role of a narcissist who dealt with the world relying on his looks. When ML was confronted with his future, ugly self, he was first horrified and in denial. As time went on, and he began a romantic relationship based on caring rather than looks, he began to change. I love character growth in dramas; it gives me hope for some people I know.

I was wishing for a better ending, but it fell flat, just like old beer. Who wants a rom-com to end with a stiff, off-putting romance? Who wants the adorable ML to become an ugly, old man? It's a downer ending to a cute drama. I waffled on how many stars to rate after my disappointment. I considered 6.5, but the lead was engaging. I decided to award 7 stars, but I gave another half star because of the lead's cuteness factor. I'm allowed; don't judge me.

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Love Solves Most Ills

This drama introduced me to the concept of NEET: individuals who are not in education, employment, or training. In Japan, this comprises people aged 15-34 who are not employed, not engaged in housework, not enrolled in school or work-related training, and not seeking work. In the drama, a young girl, abandoned by her parents, had taken care of her ailing grandparents and dropped out of school. She was a homebound person through poverty, depression, and lack of emotional support after her grandparents' deaths.

Fictionally, in the drama, the Japanese government started a program to marry NEETs to government employees in order to help them, promote childbirth to alleviate Japan's troublesome declining rates, and help society. This is how the ML, a government employee, ended up married to the FL, a NEET. Their relationship was on paper, but, as often happens in dramaland and in real life, close proximity brings feelings, and life becomes complicated.

The drama was a quiet, sweet affair, and I was pleased to learn something from it.

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Put Away Your Critical Eye and Just Enjoy

Why would you want to watch horrible people and politicians (but I repeat myself, snicker). Because Ji Chang Wook and Song Yoon Ah's performances are worth viewing. I'm not a fan of extended fight scenes, but I could watch Ji Chang Wook skip rope on loop. That move of a knee in the face mid-air before landing, impressive! The fight scenes were pure fiction: the human body cannot sustain that much damage. I'll register my complaint here, but I still enjoyed the action scenes because of Ji Chang Wook. He excels at action, but he can play innocent, vulnerable, and sweet well. Easy on the eyes, too.

The most compelling reason to watch is for Song Yoon Ah's performance as a scheming psychopath. She is evil to the core. She wouldn't bat an eye to kill someone who MIGHT be problematic to her, and it wouldn't even be worth her time to find out if they were clueless or innocent before snuffing them out. And, yet. I was mesmerized by her. Song Yoon Ah played her part with such nuance that the viewer understood her and felt her vulnerability. I've got to admit I was rooting for her in a perverse way.

I've rated it higher than most would, but Ji Chang Wook, Song Yoon Ah, and that inventive OST made this a pleasure.

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