displacedmoon

it felt like during episode 16, the writer suddenly realized it was the last one, and frantically scrambled to cram everything into the last 20 minutes. imo, 16 episodes was plenty to get its point across. the drama just needed a tighter script and better pacing to avoid the rushed ending.

that's a good theory too. this drama can go down so many ways at this point. lol. but that makes it fun to watch and for some interesting speculating as to how it will end.

the siblings are definitely mean...and that grandmother is no joke. but to play devil's advocate -- jung hee, as sweet as he is, still does and says things that could be construed as thoughtless. he's getting better, but it's going to take some time (i guess that's why we have 50 episodes lol!) for him to fit into a family dynamic that has been 35 years in the making. i bet the grandmother will be his greatest advocate by the end of the drama. :)

i think mi yeong may be upset with jung hee because of the conversation they had when they were drunk, when he said he would get revenge on his father by going to live with him and his family, and also use it to get experience for his drama. she may see the situation as him using her family. hopefully now that the yoo joo issue has been addressed, the writer will move onto resolving things between jung hee and mi yeong. i hope so, bc those two are cute together even without any romance.

and the brother, as useless as he comes off, i've noticed is at least one thing -- extremely caring towards his sisters -- especially mi yeong. he seems to get especially resentful when the father asks him to do things for jung hee when he's already busy doing something else, and jung hee isn't. for example, that scene in the bathroom where the father asks him to make jung hee tea when he was already helping him install the bidet, and jung hee was just standing there. the father is just trying to make jung hee feel welcome, but he needs to have him do more for himself around the house, instead of asking his other kids to do it for him. hopefully this will change the more time jung hee lives there.

i wonder what the dynamic will be once yoo joo moves in? i'll be angry if the brother turns her against jung hee. :(

so it looks like han se joo and jeon seol from the 1930s develop feelings for each other, which causes the friendship between the three to unravel. it's possible yoo jin oh out of jealousy betrays han se joo, which sets in motion the events that cause jeon seol to kill the person she hadn't meant to kill -- whom i think is han se joo (since he didn't get to finish his novel in the 30s).

the three seem to have a pretty solid relationship in the 30s, so i think if there is any betrayal, that yoo jin oh will try to stop it, but will be too late. and it wouldn't surprise me if evil tae min is also a part of their lives in the 30s.

so all three are stuck until they resolve their past life -- yoo jin oh in the typewriter without memories of his final days; jeon seol with memories of killing someone; and han se joo with trust issues as even in the present, he continues to be betrayed.

imo i find the bromance outshines the romance -- even if it's getting less screen time. for me anyway, it's more entertaining and has better comedic flow, than the romance. even the scenes between seol woo and the "undercover" prosecutor are more interesting to watch at the moment.

not sure how i'm feeling about the romance. i know that opposites attract and make for good comedy, but i see nothing funny or cute about the interactions between seol woo and do ha so far. once again, another drama where the bromance is already outshining the romance. i just hope the writer doesn't sacrifice hilarious screen time between seol woo and woon gwang, in lieu of showing more lackluster scenes between seol woo and do ha.

Talk about beating a dead horse. Was ANOTHER one really necessary after the slew of remakes in the past few years? To be honest this version wasn't that bad, but for viewers who have watched most of the other versions, it's repetitive, and the actors contribute little to making this stand out above the others. I wish writers would be more creative and consider adaptations -- ie, using the basic bones of the story, but putting a different spin on the events, rather than remaking near exact copies of the original story. I had to fast forward through a bit of the movie because I was bored to tears knowing what was going to happen next. Is China the only country who hasn't jumped on the band wagon yet?

i think most folks knew it was the coroner -- could the guy get any creepier? it's disappointing the writers didn't throw in a few more plausible red herrings, or made him less off-putting to begin with, so that it wouldn't have been so obvious he was the killer. usually i have some doubt who the killer is in other dramas, even if i have a good idea, but with this one i had the guy made by around the 3rd episode. absolutely no surprise there. very anti-climatic.

i agree. right around ep 7, it started to feel like i was watching two dramas. as the series unfolded i got used to it, but it still irked me, among many other things. i think that for many, the OTP and their relationship was so adorable and unique, that this overshadowed the flaws, if they felt there were any to begin with. unfortunately, even though i loved the OTP as well, they weren't enough to make me love the drama.

respectfully, this post should have been made on the forum or group chat, which allows more freedom to expand on subject matter. as an MDL user, i typically expect to see posts about dramas and movies here, not personal frustration with another user. like you mentioned, MDL is a favorite forum for many of us. it's a platform that allows us to debate over and openly express our opinions about a drama. let's not turn this into a gossip board.

secret romance falls into the category of the typical no frills rom-com -- the plot is one big cliche and the writing isn't overly creative, but you'll still get a few chuckles out of it, and more importantly, you'll root for the OTP's happy ending. it's not bad, it's just basic. the better ones, like weight lifting fairy kim bok joo, still feature alot of the same typical rom-com cliche's, they're just more creative about hiding it, through better writing, interesting story lines, weaving other genre's into the story, and maximizing the use of cleverly placed plot devices to keep the viewer engaged. but that doesn't make secret romance less of an interesting watch. so far it seems to fit the bill if you're just in the mood for something really light, fun, cliche, and cheesy.

i don't think it's jung ho young either, but i'd be disappointed at the lack of creative plot twist if it's the coroner. since the beginning, his character has been creepy af -- so it would be no surprise if he's the serial killer. but if he is, it's going to feel like a re-run of I Remember You. been there, done that.

i get where you're coming from regarding the actress who plays jae yi. we all understand jae yi is supposed to be stiff and somewhat emotionless, but i sometimes wonder if another actress would have been able to express and infuse other elements and emotions into jae yi, that would have given us a more intricately nuanced and well-rounded character, while still keeping the integrity of the writer's original vision. as it stands now, i'm having a hard time connecting with jae yi. and don't get me started on the scenes with her and seon jae -- they are so awkward together. that's probably the point, but it still makes me cringe.

i think the reason i like this drama so much is that it reminds me of some of the outlandish latin telenovelas i grew up watching -- very little is realistic, crazy nonsensical plots suck you in but go absolutely nowhere, everyone is out for their own necks, and the backstabbing is vindictive as hell. lol. this drama is definitely not for everyone.

nicely done scene at the end when kosei is playing in the east japan competition, and they show the moment kaori passes away, by having her "play" violin one last time with him.

another drama folks seem to enjoy, that i think is just so-so. the beginning was fantastic -- light and funny, with some serious undertones. then it took this dark, twisted turn down a rabbit hole, while still trying to keep it's cute, fluffy, comedic air. that strange marrying of genre's didn't work for me. that and some of the later scenes with the mob bosses and high school kids, which often felt like fillers.
i kept watching for two reasons -- 1). since the writer decided to throw a suspense-thriller aspect into an otherwise action rom-com drama, i wanted to see if the psychopath had a backstory that would plausibly tie him into the story 2). as many have also stated, the adorable antics of dbs and amh were pure gold. they were silly, yes, but too cute for words. and park hyung shik was a showstopper.

it's only 4 episodes in, so it's hard to say whether it's a must watch or a drama you can pass on. personally i'm finding the marrying of crime, comedy and choi kang hee's quirkiness a great combination, and certainly worth a watch. but it's really up to you. if you like the genre's, the story, and the actors -- give it a try. if you don't like it after a few episodes, drop it.

what i'm enjoying about this drama is that everyone is constantly one-upping each other. noone ever has the upper-hand for too long. so far this seems to be one of those dramas you just have to roll with. and if you can keep up with the devious plotting (i've had to playback a few times), you'll probably enjoy it even more. i'm getting a kick out of whisper, but i'm wondering what evilness the writers have in store for us, and if my heart can take another 12 episodes of manipulation, schemes and corruption. lol.

i could probably deal with the gangsters, highschoolers and overbearing mother, if the rom-com slapstick story line had been kept, and their roles had developed and grown over the course of the drama (which it hasn't). but what i especially can't stand, like you mentioned, is the coupling of rom-com with crime-suspense. it leaves me wondering wtf is happening most of the time. i'm not going to lie, i still love watching the lovey dovey scenes btwn DBS and AMH. those two love birds and ji soo are the only reasons i'm still watching this mess.

It's like I'm watching two dramas. A cutesty rom-com with a fantastical spin. And a dark suspense thriller. I'm unsure why the writer thought it was a good idea to stuff every genre possible into this story! Yeesh. Every time I start getting into the crime-thriller aspect, it switches back to rom-com. It's jarring and distracting. Each on their own would have been good stories to further explore and develop. I really liked the way SWDBS started...it's a shame they didn't keep the integrity of the story and the initial fantasy rom-com genre. I'll finish this, but the anticipation of the next episode is completely gone. :(

One thing I wish would have been written better -- I know Chief Jun Sung Shik is now 30 years older, but it's rare that people are unrecognizable just three decades later (aside from the drama using a different actor). So how the heck does Park Gwang Ho, who is supposedly a detective and trained in noticing minute details (like dots on heels), not recognize someone he worked with just a day ago?