sachapz

POV = point of view :)

I watched KTL first so i had the exact same experience while watching Bon Appetit. So I didn't really get caught to the hype behind BA. The story is cute but nothing new. It's actually based on a webtoon that's been out for a while so not sure if it was inspired by KTL. But yeah, even with webtoons, it's the same "recipe" that gets recycled. This was also the reason why First Night with the Duke didn't work for me. Same premise, slightly edited characters.🙈

I guess it's the same with most global entertainment sources though. I got bored with Western tv serieses years ago because they just kept trying to sell the same story with a more fake woke format for instance.


Da Rim can see the real JH beyond the shiny, shallw, competitive guy he appears at first (i.e. what the SFL said she liked about him for instance) and he likes how kind, smart, and quick witted"Jeju" Da Rim was. So I have a feeling that once they truly shed all the pretenses they might have a chance. I mean they seem to click. Even with the honeytrap for the Ex, JH actually failed to get his attention at first but it was Da Rim's wit that managed to catch the ex's parners interest, which in turn forced the ex to give them a chance. In a strange way she can read him well when it comes to work but at the same time her insecurities keep screwing her so she keeps messing up when it comes to his personal intensions?

I really have no idea how JH would react next week honestly. EP 1's version of him would have taunted her abit at least by using the SFl to make Da Rim jealous. But ep 8's version of JH is hard to predict. He's been through so much and even accepted letting go of her. He's no longer confidant.
Realistically he should end things like he originally planned and give her a chance to fight for their relationship so she can prove that she knows she is worthy of being with him (i.e. overcome her insecurities as well while assuring that JH wouldn't have to go through hell again). I'm not sure if we have enough episodes to do this though🤔

Fringed seaside Ji Hyeouk is definitely a mood 🤭

You never know what he'll do next while looking fine as hell at the same time🙈

SML definitely needs to wake up soon before there's nothing left to redeam🙃

I watched Bon Appetit but it was too close to King The Land for me (I enjoyed the drama and like the MC but the deja vu factor was a little too strong for me).

"Don't call me Ma'am" is on my watch list- planning to wait till more episodes are out so I am glad to hear that you are anjoying it. Is "Haunted Palace" the drama with the sister/ brother misunderstanding?

"First Night with the Duke" didn't really work for me because around that time i read/ watched several other similar dramas so it was a little too predictable. Might try again later. It has a happy ending right?

Da Rim's situation is contraversial. For some she is a failure and for others, the reason why she is a failure helps to understand her POV better. Specially since instead of squandering the chance she finally got at Bebe, she is actively working to make the most out of it. It's a bit of a "Marmite" situation i guess?🙊

DK is fun/ interesting to me so far and I like the actors' previous work so it isn't difficult to like it unlike with WYMM. WYMM made the mistake of cramming many thropes within ep 1 itself. K romcoms are usually predictable but you have to pace the thropes properly 😅. It also didn't help that the cast wasn't tempting enough either like you said to stick around.

I need to see how they will handle the final revelation in DK though. They did a great job with JH's pov so we need to get more from DR's side now. The subtle nods were in character but now that she has nowhere to hide, they have to make her pain more visceral to justify JH's torture- she can't surpress it anymore.🙃

The user is not supporting the SML. If you are going to help your friend lie, you need to know the whole story. The main reason why the lie went out of hand was because SU pretended to be a VERY devoted husband when JH was under the impression that DR went to Jeju and even tried to have a fling because she had marrital issues.

If he hadn't pretended to be too devoted, even the "affair" wouldn't have escalated this badly. I mean the affair is still bad but it makes a difference when you know that the wife already knows that her husband is sleezy and she has no expectations as opposed to a clueless happy wife (specially one who already had a "meltdown" in Jeju over marrital issue).

If SU knew about Jeju, regardless of his territorial issues with DR, he would have at least tried to be more careful for her sake
(not sympathizing with SML but if he was willing to look like a shitty husband for the SFL in ep 8, he definitely would do more for DR).

This i completely agree. If you really think about it, when SU tried to annoy JH by telling him that Da Rim can't sleep without him, if JH had mentioned something snide about Jeju, the lie would have unravelled immediately.

For co-conspirators, DR and SU are terrible at hatching plots seeing as neither party is willing to keep the other in the loop😅

Haha I agree I might be a bit skewed and find your analysis a little too surgical. Since it's a drama I guess I choose to look at things from am emotional context. Not saying that being surgical is bad btw. I've tried it in the past but then it ruined most dramas for me😅

To me, what helps me rationalize Da Rim's situation is that she isn't blind to her situation and even if life has been hard she isn't inherently selfish because she enjoys it. From ep 1 onwards, it's shown several times how she is willing to help others even when she's late/ has her own issues. And like you said, she knows whats wrong with her so while she isn't great, at least she isn't intentionally harming anyone.

I don't agree that her behaviour is too entitled / "bum-like" though. She gave up trying to enter the corporate world but she did try in her own way to move forward. She cannot afford a higher tiered university so she's aiming for the civil examination. But because of her trauma with interviews, she can't pass it eventhough she excels with the written exam. Despite failing at least 4 times, she is still tryin her best (with her own funds too unlike some who would have gotten assistence from the family). Her trauma cannot be downplayed since she contemplated suicide even at one poin. It would have been interesting to know if she tried to get professional help to overcome this but I'm guessing it wasn't the case since she barely was able to cover her course fees with her part time jobs.

The mum could have pushed her further but what we don't really know is how visible was Da Rim's depression to her family. Her Ex's harsh rejection pushed her further (not saying that he is wrong for breakup with her but breaking up on your 1 year anniversary in such a harsh manner can mess with someone who is already hurt).


I agree that kdramas should do better with their cliche plots. What I like about this drama is that most of Mother TF's successful projects were inspired by Da Rim and her team. Unlike most CEO thropes, JH doesn't do everything on his own, all he does is present his team's hard work. The mothers were specifically selected because the sister thought they would fail but so far they have shown that they are all capable despite their limitations. As for the many accidents? I'm choosing to ignore them since they are not worth stressing over😅

I actually skipped "Would You Marry Me" because I couldn't get past episode 1. I think it helps me that I had low expectations for Dynamite Kiss becausee WYMM and majority of this year's K-romcoms were disappointing. The concept is old but I liked how the characters are all grey in this.

The MC actors definitely sell the drama. My only gripe so far is the assasination of the SML's character with the unnecessary love triangle. I mean how can you even think about rooting for the second couple when the SML is crazy for the FL and the SFL keeps ognoring the SML's obvious signs of rejection even when he's under duress? You shouldn't have to command somebody to comfort you😅

She told him in adrunk stupor that she doesn't want to be swayed. To him that's enough confirmation that she isn't actively trying to recreate Jeju 😅

When he finally accepted the fact that he was close to crossing the line, he cut their personal ties again (until the marketing manager pushed them into his trap again)😅

💯 agree with your analysis 🙈

What she did is wrong but understandable AND MORE IMPORTANTLY she is suffering because she knows she is wrong. It's difficult to demonize somebody in that kind of situation.

Exactly!!! They are both struggling but aren't completely aware about the other's situation.

JH is somewhat closer since he has a soft spot for mothers and knows about 80% of her situation (no wonder he is sympathetic towards her despite all his efforts to restrain himself). In Da Rim's case, she has no idea about his family situation. Their time in Jeju showed him as a hard working cocky guy. Being the chairman's son (and publicly favoured too based on her limited interactions with the board) also suggest he has a pretty cushy private life with his parents). Someone like that falling head over heels for a subpar girl like herself is inconceivable in her pov. The moment she realizes his trauma, she'd definitely try to clear things 🥲

A kind reminder as to why Da Rim lied (and even now is so hesitant to tell the truth).

https://x.com/ftohan1708/status/1993001200808313013?s=20

PS: I find it interesting how we all glossed over the fact that she almost committed suicide at one point just because she felt she failed in life. She isn't lying because she wants to work for a fancy company. This literally was her only option given the urgency of her circumstances.

You are referring to ep 9's preview right? It's probably a misdirection. The outfit suggests it's HY. My guess is he might be confronting Hy to tell the truth by invading her space (not to kiss but to threatenher) and DR just witnesses it in the wrong angle.

Alternatively, it could be just JH trying to test DR by faking the kiss because he noticed that she was staring at them.

Even I saw the post. Who are they? I haven't seen ODL.

Besides, HY was the one who wanted to get married first (even rather forcefully one might add). She's essentially having a taste of her own medicine.

Even if JH wanted to stop the engagement, it's obvious the parents will force them anyway. JH's mum was smart to fake(guessing based on the preview) an episode during the ceremony since that's the only thing that would distract him.

I like how they tried to keep it realistic. It would have been irresponsible to have any scenes where JH meets Jun in a professional setting. Asking your very young and impressionable kid to call someone else his mum to save a job is just wrong.

Overhearing it makes the revelation feel more organic.

She knows it's wrong to lie and hates her old life which is why she is trying to change it with the little resources she has. Her crashout feom her past is kind of valid though based on the interview flashbacks we saw. She has potential and like you said even worthy of considering giving her a different position but nobody gave her a chance. Instead most interviewers focussed on belittling her for her mother's marrital status and the fact that she was from a mediocre school. She's tangled in a vicious job hunting circle that keeps setting her up for failure (specially since as she grows older, things become more worse).

I called her a hermit since her reason to become a shut in doesn't stem from being lazy. She did still work part time and tried to do certain exams that could help her. But her trauma held her back. She tried but it just wasn't enough. We've also seen she has a tendancy of getting caught in the moment which keeps backfiring on her.

The problem with Da Rim is she doesn't think she is worthy of love. With JH specially it's shown. She keeps gaslighting herself into translating all his actions as a "caring boss". When SU forced her to see that JH's actions had romantic intensions (+JH's delirious confession of being swayed), she was beginning to believe it but once she found out about the engagement, she gaslit herself into thinking that he no longer has feelings for her and has moved on with the fiancee (it was briefly hinted in ep 8 after he yelled at her for visiting him while she was sick.)
I agree that Da Rim should be more aware of her actions.

With SU, she still doesn't get that her friend has a one sided love for her. The way she talks to him is very "bro" like. Not in the same way she talks to any of the other men in her life. They've known eachother since they were kids so it kind of makes sense. It would be nice to know when SU fell for her. I mean was it while she was dating the other guy or did SU realize his feelings only after JH's appearance. If it's the latter, it's understandable why DR didn't notice the signals since it's been only a month since SU became aware of JH.

About my comment about asian culture, I'm not saying I am an expert but it's a very real thing you see in many C/ K/ J/ T/ TH dramas and I've also seen it happen in day to day life.

I agree 6 episodes might be challenging to tranform the characters completely. On the bright side, it looks like ep 9 will be an episode filled with revelations for JH and Da Rim will be on the receiving end of mental torture. The umbrella scene might be at the end of the episode and would be the point where they finally reveal everything to eachother. They can't drag it beyond ep 9.

Ep 10 will probably cover the calm before the storm with the two finally confessing before JH's sister reaks havoc. HY's brother is also upto no good and also JH's mum has to save herself to protect JH. We'll probably also have the usual rich parents vs poor s/o thrope coming in. That should cover about 3 episodes (11-13) right? Leaving ep 14 for their "happily ever after".

I'm still not sure if I really want HY to get together with SU since both need to grow up but perhaps they can have a scene towards the end of ep 14 implying that they will try again (hopefully after a mini timeskip). What do you think?

Exactly. I like her but she really should stop selling herself short. First she tried to force JH into marrying her and now she's doing the same with the SMl. I get that this pattern probably started with her 💩 parents but still🙈

Let things happen naturally🥲

One of the main points of the drama is how devoted both the FL and ML are to their mothers. If she had the mental capacity to gush about her romantic escapes in ep 2 before she applied to the job, it would be going against her character’s expectations (and in most Asian cultures like in South Korea, it would be seen as insensitive). I’m not saying it’s a bad thing to think about something positive during hard times, but we need to be mindful about the drama’s key target audience.

And if you really think about it, even if it was a magical romance, the ending was so abrupt and embarrassing to her (she even said “JH probably thinks I’m a wierdo (for ditching him)”. So no matter how amazing the beginning was, it’s a humiliating experience to recall so it’s understandable why she didn’t talk about it *before* posting the falsified job application - she definitely should have told SU after dragging him into the lie.

She is indeed selfish and a liar BUT she isn’t doing it out of spite/ for her personal gain. The loans shouldn’t have been her responsibility. She could have continued her hermit life and just accepted SU’s help when he kept insisting, but she didn’t. She even was willing to quit initially since she understood why JH wanted her to get out of his life but she couldn’t because this job was her only option to help her mum. So while what she did was definitely bad at least we know that Darim too isn’t happy about her decision.

JH is important to her (she literally called him her lucky charm and said that she didn’t deserve him), but her mother is more important to her. The worst thing about her is accidentally sending mixed signals and not believing in herself enough to understand that the reason why JH is so angry is because his feelings back in Jeju were serious.

With SU, she definitely shouldn’t have taken advantage of their friendship and instead should have discussed everything with him before dragging him into the charade. As for his crush. She has explicitly friend zoned him so hard, he’s like a sister to Da Rim. SU’s delusions are on him.

Ah I see- I misunderstood the Jeju comment.

Da Rim is a liar but not telling the SML about Jeju immediately makes sense. She even didn't realize she abandonedJH back in Jeju until after a few days passed since she was occupied with her mum and sister's issues. It would also sound insensitive to mention about her whirlwind romance to SU when her mother nearly died 😅

That being said, I agree that she should have told SU the whole story so at the very least their lie would be on the same page. If JH had directly confronted SU about his wife leaving him for Jeju, their whole lie would have unravelled.

PS: I'm not saying I support Da Rim's lies, I just can see why she did it (if anything the drama is a good example of the consequences of lying)🙈

JH found out she was "married" after Jeju. The fake marriage/ loan disaster happened after she returned from Jeju.

SML doesn't know about Jeju because the ML specifically asked Da Rim to not to tell anybody about Jeju because he felt humiliated by his faux pas.

He tried to get her to resign just so he could forget her/ because he thought she was deceitful and manipulative...he’s not exactly cheating material