The rumoured cast sounds great as well. SHS, Kim Seohyung and Kim Junhan -- they're going for a veteran lineup which is a good sign. I would love to see SHS and KSH go head to head with each other.
I thought the ending couldn't have been more perfect. The characters stayed true to themselves, they still had their flaws but showed personal growth; Inah came out of her shell and learned how to navigate a healthy relationship, and Kijoon learned to compromise and grew professionally.
My favorite moment was how she decided on a whim while having pasta alone, that she would be happier doing it with him. It was very refreshing to see a female lead communicate that she isn't ready for marriage but acknowledge that she wants to try moving towards that. And it was equally sweet how he happily accepted to move the relationship at the pace she wanted -- which showed that he wasn't upset at her not considering marriage, he simply wanted her to think of their future together.
Overall a really solid show with some interesting themes and fun chemistry between the characters. The company politics were unfortunately weak and not very engaging, and Ahjeong wasn't the best written character, which did bring the show down -- but thankfully not too much. After all, the main romance was very well done imo and the leads probably my favorite couple of the year so far. 8/10
It's upsetting to watch the 2FL, who started out as a morally greyer but somewhat decent character, eventually self-destruct and give in to her unfounded feelings of jealousy and inferiority. But at the same time, I don't hate her or think she's a flat out villain -- at least not as much as the power-hungry chaebols, workplace bullies or mindless bootlickers in this show. And to some degree, we did see the FL and 2ML have such self-destructive tendencies in the past, they just didn't reflect it in their professional lives. I'm hoping for a reversal in the next episode for her character where she somewhat redeems herself, but the chances are unfortunately slim.
On the other hand, I'm not surprised that the show eventually went down this route. While the chaebol drama is just typical kdrama stuff, the office politics part where enemies seize the chance to badmouth and get rid of you aren't really far-fetched from reality. We all knew Joo Inah's cover-up would eventually come back to bite her, and she would have to pay the consequences in some way or another. I wonder how they will give this arc a satisfactory conclusion.
The way she was momentarily shocked at the convenience store part-timer knowing all about her night plans, then simply accepted it and went "so where's your toothbrush and razor" lmao. And how she bounced on the couch and bed for quality testing 😂 On a side note, is no one else bothered by how her bed is literally facing a gazillion windows? I thought that it would be fine once they close the curtains when they were actually doing *it*, but they didn't!!
Actually, the seaweed soup was tasty according to her, but the sad part was she didn't get to serve it because…
Yeah, but she only had a spoonful of it herself before she threw it out lol. For me it's a natural progression for rom coms to become more melodramatic near the halfway mark. Even wacky comedies need to have emotional payoff. It's how it's executed that matters.
I don't see the overwhelming chemistry everyone is seeing with the FL and the SML....they look good together but…
They did have great chemistry in their 10 minutes of backstory, but everything they had after that was just ice cold tension. Regarding his feelings, it looks like more of a desperation to return to happier times than actual love to me.
I think the last two episodes were an interesting dive into the flaws of the characters. We see more of the true colours of the second leads and they're not exactly pretty, especially his. For Kijoon, he could afford to be less reckless and more mature. I think the most surprising revelation was Inah's, whom we all thought was the strict, perfect professional. Frankly, I was expecting whatever she was hiding to be her doing "the right thing" under wraps -- which wasn't the case.
As the show shifts from Kijoon's perspective to Inah's, it's becoming more of a human drama. This is because Kijoon is a very simple man, while Inah is a more complex character. Kijoon suspects that whatever she's doing is because of her past relationship, but Inah clearly harboured no more romantic feelings towards Jaeyeol since episode 1. And yet, she is in a dilemma since to her, Jaeyeol is someone with no one on his side and he was the closest person she had to "family" for years after all. Of course, she probably had to consider the interests of the company as well. And I think that is very human and realistic. She needed something to push her to finally cut off whatever was left of their relationship. And it was Kijoon's outburst that did that.
Ignoring the whole chaebol drama, Inah and Jaeyeol simply wouldn't have worked out as a couple as their personalities are too similar and avoidant. Meanwhile, we see how Kijoon is able to find joy in the smallest things in everyday life, whether it's buying silly hairclips or catching teddy bears. For her, it is a constant struggle. Even cooking seaweed soup for the first time doesn't end well for her. Interacting with Kijoon felt like she remembered how to enjoy life. The end of episode 8 where she walked out of the hotel by the sea, looked to me as if she was finally leaving some of her baggage behind.
Seems like an unpopular opinion, but I preferred these episodes to the initial comedic ones about catching affairs.
I thought the claw machine scene was thoughtfully done and perfectly depicted Inah's point of view on their relationship. And she was very reasonable, apart from the risk that comes with it, there's simply a very low success rate for such workplace relationships. And then we see very soon later that it actually comes from personal experience of dating a superior -- the consequences of which she has suffered till today.
I think the relationship was very well done so far -- he manages to see part of who she is under her exterior, and for her it's probably the first time someone looked at her in a non-judgmental way and respected her choices.
I think a major part of this drama is going to touch on the leads separating their professional and private lives. You can see in ep 4 that their dynamics at work will start to become slightly awkward especially since she needs to maintain the same professional front.
On the other hand, it seems that the scene is getting some negativity from koreans on twitter, saying they're…
Yeah, it actually got a hot post on theqoo with over 600 mostly negative comments... And skimming through them, I found some of the comments there contradictory. In fact, most of the negativity stems from the viewers' own prejudices imo.
This is worth a whole separate discussion in itself though.
My favorite moment was how she decided on a whim while having pasta alone, that she would be happier doing it with him. It was very refreshing to see a female lead communicate that she isn't ready for marriage but acknowledge that she wants to try moving towards that. And it was equally sweet how he happily accepted to move the relationship at the pace she wanted -- which showed that he wasn't upset at her not considering marriage, he simply wanted her to think of their future together.
Overall a really solid show with some interesting themes and fun chemistry between the characters. The company politics were unfortunately weak and not very engaging, and Ahjeong wasn't the best written character, which did bring the show down -- but thankfully not too much. After all, the main romance was very well done imo and the leads probably my favorite couple of the year so far. 8/10
On the other hand, I'm not surprised that the show eventually went down this route. While the chaebol drama is just typical kdrama stuff, the office politics part where enemies seize the chance to badmouth and get rid of you aren't really far-fetched from reality. We all knew Joo Inah's cover-up would eventually come back to bite her, and she would have to pay the consequences in some way or another. I wonder how they will give this arc a satisfactory conclusion.
As the show shifts from Kijoon's perspective to Inah's, it's becoming more of a human drama. This is because Kijoon is a very simple man, while Inah is a more complex character. Kijoon suspects that whatever she's doing is because of her past relationship, but Inah clearly harboured no more romantic feelings towards Jaeyeol since episode 1. And yet, she is in a dilemma since to her, Jaeyeol is someone with no one on his side and he was the closest person she had to "family" for years after all. Of course, she probably had to consider the interests of the company as well. And I think that is very human and realistic. She needed something to push her to finally cut off whatever was left of their relationship. And it was Kijoon's outburst that did that.
Ignoring the whole chaebol drama, Inah and Jaeyeol simply wouldn't have worked out as a couple as their personalities are too similar and avoidant. Meanwhile, we see how Kijoon is able to find joy in the smallest things in everyday life, whether it's buying silly hairclips or catching teddy bears. For her, it is a constant struggle. Even cooking seaweed soup for the first time doesn't end well for her. Interacting with Kijoon felt like she remembered how to enjoy life. The end of episode 8 where she walked out of the hotel by the sea, looked to me as if she was finally leaving some of her baggage behind.
Seems like an unpopular opinion, but I preferred these episodes to the initial comedic ones about catching affairs.
I think a major part of this drama is going to touch on the leads separating their professional and private lives. You can see in ep 4 that their dynamics at work will start to become slightly awkward especially since she needs to maintain the same professional front.
This is worth a whole separate discussion in itself though.