hananiarashi

The first two episodes of this drama infuriated me. I was convinced the writer was pushing another girl-boss and subverted masculinity narrative. The females were so unlikable and unrelatable, and the men were fighting by pulling each other's hairs out. LOL. And then starting in episode 3, I realized this might be going in a different direction than I thought.

This was the first kdrama I've watched after a long hiatus. I was convinced there was no more value left in kdramaland for me. The new dramas were following a new formula that seemed to be a hit with newer, younger kdrama viewers but just didn't do anything for veterans like me. I love conflict in my dramas, and by that I mean conflict in the relationship. I really enjoy going through the pain with the protagonist and feeling that sweet catharsis in the end. New drama watchers don't seem to get this. All they want is fluff and they are allergic to any form of third party or any sign of trouble in the relationship. They want a perfect relationship and then a parade of fluff from the happy couple. And then a forced serial killer comes in at the end to serve as the "conflict." That's perfectly fine as long as the happy couple stays happy from start to finish. This formula does not sit well with me. I HATE it to the core.

I was pleasantly surprised that this drama did not follow that formula. Instead, it seems to be going back to the old tried and true method of just writing a good story with normal conflicts and character progression. I was happy to find out this drama:

- has no unnecessary and totally cringe childhood connections
- has no forced serial killer twist in the end
- does not turn the main leads into a fluffy happy couple at episode 5
- has real conflicts that actually involve the relationship
- actually does a relatively good enough job of establishing connection between the leads

Most importantly, even though it was a bit too rushed and felt a bit inorganic, almost all the characters go through what I thought were good character arcs, especially the ML. He goes from the typical arrogant chaebol and bad boy to a real person who cared about the people around him. This takes me to the second half of my review.

While I liked this drama generally, it is not perfect. First off, the narrative felt rushed, and this includes the story of the ML. His transition from arrogant to kitten was too sudden. It just felt unrealistic.

Also, I am not sure if it was the way the actress portrayed her but I never got to a point where I really liked the FL. She IS sort of a girl boss (which is different from just a regular strong female character. Whereas the latter is human, has vulnerabilities and imperfections, the girl-boss is often superior and perfect in every way). Later in the story, they do show her cracks and we get to see her as a real person with struggles of her own but for most of the story she is just this badass chick who is the perfect chef and can throw men around like they're cardboard even though she looks so frail.

And while I liked the way they portrayed how the main couple established a connection, it lacked enough development. It was also too rushed. And while the lead actors did have some chemistry, it was not enough to really make my heart race.

Also, while I like the fact that the romance was somewhat of a slower burn than in the other new dramas, it was not slow or meaty enough for me.

To conclude, this drama lacks depth and detail. I loved the character arcs but they were a bit too rushed. While I enjoyed this more than I have any new drama in a long while, I feel like I would soon forget the story. There is nothing in it that is memorable, really. That being said, I really think this is a step (back) in the right direction.