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Part cute part dramatic
This was a typical all-in-one romcom that unfortunately didn’t just give us cute and fluffy but also added in heavy drama and the usual amnesia and linked childhood tropes as well.The cute parts were what I enjoyed most and seeing the FL as a fangirl made me smile. Her romance with the ML was more mature than most romcoms although there was some misunderstandings in the beginning to build a little bit of tension. Kissing was passionate and even led to the bedroom with sweet morning after scenes.
I would have been happier without all the darker elements in this story as I was in the mood for something light and fluffy. After having watched my fair share of modern Korean dramas, it is getting hard to find one that surprises me in a nice way. This drama used common elements to spice it up and I could predict what was coming next quite easily. A better watch if you’re new to Korean drama.
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Touching on so many levels
The way the relationship changed and grew between the ML and FL tugged at my heartstrings and so much was conveyed with just the way they looked at each other. Superb acting and brilliant writing!!Some of the side stories were interesting particularly the one with Jeong Hui and the one with the loan shark. Unfortunately, I didn’t connect much with the one involving the actress and found myself skipping those scenes. Without that side story, my rating would have been higher.
Cinematography and music suited the sentimental mood of this slice of life drama. I could understand the struggles of the ML and his wife and I am glad to see the story showed the wife’s view as well and how she tried to make amends with it. Realistically painful especially when they talked honestly with each other. I appreciated how the story refrained from going down the usual drama route of dragging on misunderstandings by lying or hiding the truth.
This was truly a case of melodrama done right.
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Sad Slice of Life
If you’ve lost someone to cancer…If someone dear to you is living with cancer…
This drama will be that much more painful to watch.
The friendship dynamics of the 3 friends were reminiscent of Sex in the City especially the way they had each other’s back and their honesty with each other. All 3 FLs excelled in displaying a myriad of emotions and expressions and while this drama focused on one of the FLs more than the other two, it didn’t detract from me being immersed in the way they lived their lives. The MLs had a tough act to follow and some of the couple moments lacked chemistry.
The drama was on the way to being great but unfortunately decided to overuse some typical drama tricks. A few coincidences that makes sense is ok but one that stuck out like a sore thumb was the doctor ML being friends with the other 2 MLs even though he grew up overseas. And these 3 MLs pair up nicely with the 3 FLs…
I was also annoyed at one scene which juxtapositioned one character suffering in pain while another character was enjoying a romantic moment.
Less is clearly more in this case. As it stands, this drama stopped short of being great and just settled at being good.
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Intriguing story with a touch of romance & passionate kisses!
I liked this unique storyline where the FL goes back in time and tries to undo all her previous mistakes. And for some events, no matter how much she tries to change it, it still happens anyway. But with perseverance, she continues to work against fate and changes the outcome of the people she cares about.Towards the end, it was no longer about her undoing her past misdeeds so the story fell flat for me. And when the ML and FL started to acknowledge their feelings for each other, it was very stingy on the romance but instead gives us some passionate kisses and even a bedroom scene before marriage.
Overall, it was entertaining if you don’t expect too much. Thankfully, the ending was an happy one.
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Zhao Lusi shines again
I’ve loved her ever since I saw her in Romance of Tiger & Rose. She gives us a diverse range of emotions but sadly, they made her too ladylike when she was Su Muzhe which seemed like too much of a departure from her original character.Another character who also suffered from this was the lady who dressed like a man - she was tough and tomboy-ish but when she dressed as a lady, her make up was like that of a courtesan and the way she walked and held herself was like a totally different person.
And it was yet another story of a lady who beat all odds becoming a super business person and holding her own in a world ruled by men, so many twists and turns that it got a bit tiring for me. It would have been better to simplify the story and have some focus on having a proper build of to show how the leads fall in love. Instead it happened too suddenly and conveniently in time for them to have a major misunderstanding to split up in the next episode.
Thankfully, they didn’t use a magical last minute cure so you were left hoping and wondering if there would be a happily ever after. So, a more realistic bittersweet happy ending is what you are left with.
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Lovely romance for more than half the drama!
The most captivating part of this drama is the romance. Seeing their hate & resentment grow to love & understanding was beautiful. A little bit of jealousy and backstabbing provided some necessary hurdles for them to overcome but thankfully not drawn out. It was really nice to see the FL understanding the ML so well but at the same time also have some flaws so as to not paint her as an unrealistic angel.With a backdrop of gorgeous sets, lavish costumes and some kind hearted family members, I was hoping for a strong finish to this drama. Unfortunately, the last few episodes fell into some common troupes and you could see who was going to die next all too easily. With the main couple already established in a loving relationship, the romance theme gave way to a more absurd storyline where the evil lady managed to do so much and got herself another love - how did that happen?
Everything happened so fast - betrayal, insanity, unexplained devotion, deaths then it was all wrapped up just as quickly to give us a happy ending.
It’s hard to find a drama these days that can have a strong end but at least I enjoyed more than half of the drama for the romance.
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Got better towards the end
This drama took a long time to warm up and I could only sit through the first 15 episodes while multitasking on my iPad.The first 5 episodes left me unsatisfied:
Night and day.
After finishing a K period drama that was on point with the story telling, dialogue, cinematography and acting (despite the usual unbelievable storyline), I am struggling to connect with this drama that is lacking in all this aspects.
While both the K drama and this drama have far fetched storylines, the K drama wrote convincing plots with smart dialogue and actions. This drama is lacking so much logic and common sense that even switching off part of my brain doesn’t enough.
Flighting sequences so far are only so so. Acting is also a bit lacking and stiff - perhaps due to direction and camera work? I’ve seen the actors perform better in other dramas. Thankfully, it improved towards the last few episodes.
I enjoyed the episodes after the SML managed to convince the FL to go with him to cure the villian. The chemistry between them picked up faster than when the FL was with the ML in the beginning episodes. The storyline then was a bit more entertaining and I enjoyed how the villian was dealt with. This pulled up my rating from 5.5 to 7.
If you need a sweet closure between the ML and FL, make sure you watch the end credits as there is a short sweet scene right at the end. I am thankful there wasn’t an unrealistic miracle cure. Though sad, it was fitting.
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What is going on??
I thought these type of totally senseless dramas only happened in the past and on less prominent platforms.Episode 1 started off very shaky but I persevered thinking the story might improve but it becomes more and more absurd as I reached Episode 3. The ministers are behaving like children demanding for the execution of the FL just because their daughters’ faces were injured using water from the the FL’s basin. (The basins of water was by the palace servants and each maiden had their own basin of water but a funny wind blew leaves into the other basins and only the FL’s water basin was unaffected and she kindly offered the other maidens the use of her water) Even common sense dictates an investigation but nope, this drama paints the ministers as imbeciles who need immediate action without any concrete proof.
This requirement for the maidens to wash their faces in the courtyard just before meeting the Prince in itself is very odd as I have never seen this in any other drama. Not to mention that the Prince is old around 50 and looking for a concubine just because he cannot forget his wife who died 30 years ago after giving birth to his heir. He didn’t look for a concubine earlier? Then where did his younger sons come from? Another possible plot loophole as it looks like he has remained single after the death of his wife… if this doesn’t get explained, it will be totally ridiculous.
Can it get better? I’ll try it out for a bit longer… one good thing about this drama is I am not sleeping late as I have no desire to binge watch!
Update: For the next episodes, the story moved on to the harem and becomes the typical so-so drama with lots of back stabbing and plotting. Thankfully not as senseless as Episode 2 & 3, but the story is choppy and I am not feeling it with the ML, FL or SML even after 5 more episodes so it’s time to drop it.
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