lowra

Okay, quick reply after realizing I'm talking to two separate people.

Associations come whether a show released first or not. It doesn't matter. If I had watched "Mr Queen" after this one, then I'll be reminded of this one. It's not a bad thing for the show, to say "oh it reminds me of".

As I already said (and deleted cause apparently I can't discern neither usernames nor avatars ffs) comparisons, associations don't come solely on how characters behave. Atmosphere, themes, sets, production in general, they all remind us of other shows.

And here proves useful what I said to the other user, A chef for Nobunaga came out early 2010s. Yet it wouldn't be the first that came to my mind when I watched this show. It doesn't matter that this one is based on a webtoon and that one is based on a manga, so they have one more similarity compared to Mr Queen. As I first said, it's a feeling rather than a ... scientific observation, you know.

Btw, while I wouldn't call this FL dumb, I wouldn't call her very bright either, but I think that's because the script was written that way so that the story would progress very quickly. I think her characterization is very surface level.

Oh damn, you're right, I thought you were the same user. I'm sorry, wtf. Lol, time to edit, I can't believe this. Uuuugh.

Truly fascinating. A case for the textbooks, or perhaps too pedestrian for them.

You know, every single one of your questions borders on a baseless accusation and gets progressively more delusional. It's fascinating.

Granted they're not the same, that's why I refered to this one as "lite": less episodes, less characters, less plotlines, quicker progression of everything and limited characterization to tie everything in by the end, a more modest premise, it's very obviously a different series in many ways.
However, the similarities are definetely not limited to "chef time-slip", it shares other themes too. My first association wouldn't be "A chef for Nobunaga" even though it shares "chef time-travels" with both "bon appetit" and "mr queen".

After 4 episodes I couldn't help but feel like this is a lite version of "Mr. Queen". I find the FL in Bon Appetit kinda flavorless and formulaic. I expect she'll widen her eyes a thousand times more till the end of the series. It doesn't help that the only thing that sets her character apart from the rest is that she's an "exceptional modern chef"; maybe that will get better in the next episodes. I think the ML is giving more with his perfomance and his character is better written. It's been a fun way to pass the time.

Wow some of you can't bear the thought of a different opinion on a drama review site of all things. Pathetic.

If nothing else, it ended up being fun. I went in blind and ended up finishing it in one go. It's a bit of a "sugar coated reality" drama: it touches on important issues that deserve our attention, all the while those are encased in drama, comedy and fiction which are prioritized over the social commentary. The actors I think did a good job. I find the review by Dg457 fair.
The one thing I certaily hated was the introductory scene. There's a continuation mishap there, that does Hui Ran dirty and made me roll my eyes. I would have tossed the series as netflix trash but, as i said, it ended up entertaining.

Thank you, latteholic, but what you missed is that I obviously liked MinHye better than that man's drama, hence why I was disappointed and your little summary doesn't change that.
Also, if MinHye isn't dead then why is she shown succumbing to her injuries? Wait, so that they can subvert our expectations in a lame way?!

not very confusing but 2 more episodes would be great to tie it all together; it could be because they've only attained distribution for the first book and not the second.

Right?! My first thought was: MinHye died for this shit?

Y'all need to learn how to use spoilers, it's just ticking a box

Also, @AP, relax, they're not insulting your family, they're pointing out an obvious loophole. Bale got shot in the eye by Minhye's sloppy headshot he was perfectly coherent, if Jinman wanted to make sure (which even then he wasn't) he would have just snapped Bale's neck with his boot. Also, JinMan isn't a victim lmao, he's a mercenary, he's paying for his stupid choices, he's partly a psychopath himself. His brother, wife and niece are the victims.

I finished the series and just like you, while I really enjoyed it (darker themes can truly shine in korean series/movies), your point about Seoha stands true. You truly expressed my gripe with this series.

"Why not just torture him"

I think it's because even that seems too little to ML. And that's kinda the point. SooHyun finds that just torturing/killing GyungChul isn't particularly satisfying nor punishment enough but only in the end he realises that's the best he's gonna get. Though I do think there are ways to go (and surely have been shown in other movies/books etc) giving the killer a false hope without others getting killed. Soohyun seemed to do things very on the fly lol.

I found the premise intersting as well as the execution. It is directed in a very matter-of-fact manner and I enjoyed the themes of hybris/punishment showed by the ML's character. This isn't a "justice served" type of film.
I think the script could have been tighter, the middle part was a bit drawn out and a few plotholes could have been easily tidied over. I found the nudity and gore being factual rather than overbearing. The ending was fitting and sort of poetic.

lol yeah, pretty much, the wrap up was good for me, yet you really had to suspend your disbelief by throwing it out the window.

Although I agree some episodes can be cut off -it is the case in most korean dramas- this series isn't off-putting. Besides the romance, there is also adulting going on.
The FL's mother can unfortunately be a reality even nowadays meddling with her children's lifes. In the last episode, when the FL and her mother hug, their difficulties are not resolved. They are simply acknowledged by both and they will continue living accordingly if a bit more peacefully. She cannot change who her mother is.
I think that FL not following ML off to America also made sense. You can't run from your problems, they can find you on another country, continent, job. Workplace harassment isn't limited to one company.
On the other hand, them not trying a long distance relationship is the most baffling if we're looking for faults in the script.
Anyways, I enjoyed the last episode. They do find themselves after realising what they were missing.

hmmmm, I quite liked this. I think it was a more truthful representation of romance in real life compared to other shows in the same genre (flavoured with melodrama of course, it is a kdrama). A few spoilers on the next comment...

I tried to get into this one mainly because I m interested to see Lee soo hyuk playing more parts but after 5 episodes I was left totally uninspired. It has a catchy premise, yet they seem to have no idea what to do with it while they insist pushing style over substance -well, screenwriting. It comes off as a bad copy of Goblin. I'll probably leave it at dropped.

umm I am just replying to point out that south korea has definitely made great looking dramas before. I mean, your statement is a bit overdramatic.