lopka

Yes, they gambled and chose her beauty and popularity over acting skills. She also looks a bit young for the part...
Yet I was saying she was inexperienced, but looking at her profile, she was cast as the main actress in many dramas, she's not inexperienced at all😂

It's indeed a pity. Most of the other actors are acting superbly.

IMO, a lot of what people are dissatisfied about has to do with the FL's inexperience or acting skills... Her character, I think, was supposed to be of this seemingly carefree woman who only got dead serious when it came to her cooking and its flavour. The Japanese arc would serve to reveal a surprising side to this otherwise stoic/ one-goal-oriented female, one in which she had once belonged in a very sophisticated environment, had fully trusted and respected someone (both her ex and chef Tatsuo) but had been betrayed and fallen from grace. She is offered the opportunity to relive everything again, but chooses to go back with the ML to "their" simpler life.
And then comes the part where she will have to deal with a potential second betrayal...

The focus should have been on the weight of this decision, a potential turning point in her life. The ex was supposed to be someone who knew her well and was there to remind her it was a a world she had fun in and not all was horrible (their getting back together as a couple was all just in ML's head), but alas, his presence was too overwhelming, haha.

However, I don't think the actress was quite able to portray this dual side of her character and, besides the part where she was seen playing with the kids and laughing away despite just having unfairly lost the food competition, she comes off as stiff, too serious and lacking a sense of humour. In turn making the ML seem like a real doofus, instead of it being a playful treatment between them.

Yes, that was the initial skit. She kept shouting at Beom U to get her some good recipes, like it was the recipe's fault and not her own lack of talent. So it's ironic it's now a success. 🙄

IMHO, she's not perfect at all. Her character comes off as stiff and more serious than it should be due to her acting skills.

Recently, many kdramas seem to try and incorporate some comedy slices into an otherwise too serious plot. Here, it's like they're trying to insert some serious episodes into what is really a Looney Tunes cartoon.

I think chef Jung and her sidekick (the secretary) were supposed to be a more comical duo, like a villain in some animation series.
"Just watch me when I find a good recipe, I'll conquer the world and earn some respect!".
So she spends more time trying to go the easy route instead of polishing the skills she already has. Will it ended up blowing up on their faces spectacularly? It should.

Surely she must have had some suspicion. She knows the industry, who he was, and still had him work at her restaurant.

I don't really agree that the ML is a fool. He has been pushed by his mother to live a sort of life he never really wished for, but that's because he wanted to please her. He didn't know anything else nor had any reason to break away.
He ended up meeting the FL with that mindset, not caring who he trampled upon on the way to his goals, but he was put in a situation where he started seeing things from a simpler point of view, meeting up people who ended up helping him due to friendship... Actually, he's most often been able to meet his goals, even if he's completely out of his environment. Those are the "magic skills" his brother so envies.

But ML's secret will be in the open soon enough. I may be way off base, but I think she won't make a huge deal out of it... She isn't that stupid.
However, his family and background are a bigger issue. Though they treat him like a peasant, they don't really want him gone or leave him alone. That would leave like half an episode to the actual "romance" and 2 episodes to sort that meddling and what kind of life will they be leading from now on.

At the same time, I think she's supposedly already in love with the ML, which is why she can act as if it's all in the past with the ex. Because she's over him, but I agree it's sort of bitter.
Perhaps the ML is suffering now, so when the time comes he'll beg for forgiveness or whatever, she will act like it's nothing. Maybe she has known about it all along.

Even the chef, who was very harsh with 'Sophie' back in the day, forgave the ex pretty easily, considering everything he had done. It somehow conveys the message that he was, after all, a good person, but that's not the case, is it?
Also hard to believe he never messed up in the kitchen again, haha.

Good to know it wasn't just me, haha

Haha, how many women would headbutt a man who just confessed and was kissing them? But nothing was even mentioned about that, he just keeps going for more.

I would be surprised if she didn't have at least some suspicion, but so far I guess we're supposed to believe she didn't quite understand what he was talking about on the phone.

He'll get there... Hopefully next week!

I don’t get most of the comments on here, is like I watched a different show, haha.
To me, the ML actor was super well cast for his eyes alone. They convey so much without actually speaking, not to mention the “foxy” look. The FL was great most of the times, though I feel the scene where she was crying and ended up confessing her feelings could have been done way better.

As for the other characters, honestly I think Sun Woo got way too much screen time. Didn’t care for his sister. On the fence about Jae Jin and Hye Sun…
Would actually like to have seen more of Soo Kyung and her new crush.

I agree that she’s already sold on Beom Woo. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised she already guessed the whole plot about stealing her recipes, and that she just doesn’t care because she will continue evolving and creating new ones. She learned that from her past mistake. She knows he’s a good man at heart.

Perhaps some more juice will come out from there? It seems rather random that she would just jump in and take the blame, knowing in advance that it was a huge mistake. And what does that say about the ex’s skills? Pretty weird.

I guess I understand where the story is going to… with the ex now seemingly also involved with Hansang and the eldest brother, the ML will be forced to reveal his initial intentions and family feud?
However, judging by the ratings, that’s not what people expected or wanted to watch. Seems a bit too dramatic for a series that advertised the couple would “grow together and fall in love while running a small restaurant in Jeonju.” How little time they’ve actually spent at the restaurant T___T

If anything, it seems to be dwindling? That kiss was much too tepid, IMHO, but let's see if it will florish, 😂