The male lead reminds me of the male lead from Ugly Alert (2013), both competing in being the ultimate pacifist and masochist. Despite being introduced to a big cast with multiple stories and couples, the drama hard lock its focus on the main couples. However, the story ended early and the last 20-25 episodes were all dedicated to the side cast, going through them one by one in rotation. These episodes became the most bothersome since the drama didn't bother investing in the other couples early. They were always brushed off and now asking the viewers to care about them? Nonetheless, there were worse things to consider such as poor antagonists, weak conflicts and underwhelming climax. You can't compare it to Ugly Alert, that one is just infinitely better.
The best thing about this drama is that it wasn't from the student perspective but from the teachers' perspective. It does a lot right and delivers a decent package. However, it is worth noting that, given its lengthy runtime of over 20 hours, there are moments where the narrative can become monotonous or lose its momentum. Additionally, a minor thing that irked me a bit is how certain students looked a bit too old to be a teenager.
It's a really sloppy and poorly made sci-fi. The lack of attention to details was embarrassing. The prevalence of heavy-handed stereotyping within the narrative was beyond cringe. It also included the cringest portrayal of a Korean physicists. There was no incest, there was no romance, there was no intimacy. Everyone is blowing it out of proportions. Even then, this was the least of its problems.
The key here is to approach this drama with tempered expectations. Its primary driving forces lie within a heavy love triangle and a big play on "memories from past lives". If you can't tolerate either elements then maybe you should skip it.
However, what stood out the most to me is who wrote this drama. I noticed that, this writer, across her other previous projects, she harbors a discernible aversion towards the institution of marriage, a sentiment that seems to have a deeply personal resonance for her. This notion was amplified even further in this particular drama. She took it even further by carrying her agenda across all of the side couples blatantly. Speaking of agendas and taking things personal, this writer really likes to shove her owns while disregarding its effect on the coherency. Another example, the whole ordeal with both male leads at the beginning. There were other examples as well.
While any writer is entitled to hold any opinions or take a stance on social matters they want, it can become a headache and burdensome when these viewpoints are overtly thrust upon the audience without contributing anything substantial to the broader conversation. They just end up shouting into an echo chamber eventually.
The final episode, unfortunately, proved to be an insufferably superficial culmination of the drama.
The amount of inconsistencies and plot holes was unbelievably grand. Rendering it exceedingly challenging and distracting to keep watching. Any semblance of suspense that the drama attempted to create was overshadowed by how easily predictable it was. However, Lee Yoo Ri pulling through as usual. Overall, it still passes for a sleepy watch.
Cheap melodrama, its narrative shortcomings are somewhat forgivable due to the inept writer's apparent limitations in using other means to occupy its duration. However, the same can't be said for its conclusion, which regrettably left the viewers with a palpable sense of disappointment. The only thing you'll be getting is a stinging sour aftertaste.
Super juiced with a ridiculous endless ride of never ending twists. It definitely started to feel overwhelming in the second half. At some point, I just wanted it to end already because there was nothing new or innovative about these twists anymore. I wish some characters had a bigger role in the story, like the detective's wife and the ex in-law detective.
I liked the wide camera angle shots but this is where the long list of things I liked about the drama ends. The drama tried to juggle too many genres at once that each one ended up lacking in one regard or another. I didn't find the loud aggressive comedy to be appealing in this particular case. The romance being carried solely by a few kissing scenes didn't hold its own weight. That's just physical affection. The same can be said about gen-z playing politics.
Decent family drama with a big cast and a handful of varied stories, or that's what we were promised from watching the first few episodes! It started off great but it ended up over promising and under delivering. Almost every single story was neglected or ended up being under developed after 10-15 episodes, except two stories. Sa Ya's story and the eldest son Dong Jin's story, the latter one was terrible and boring. If you are excited to see Lee Min Jung then don't, she got ripped off of screen-time and was barely seen later on. From a first glance, there was a lot to like about the drama but it really ended up being disappointing.
It started off great, the likable characters were likable and the unlikable ones were unlikable. However, that didn't last very long before the drama started showing its cracks. Once we got a few scenes in the bread company I knew where things were going and what to expect. The usual cyclical corporate hell, love to hate them. The story wasn't eventful enough to fill its runtime, more often than not the writer ran into a corner and had to throw something random to stir the pot. An example of that is the end of ep69, completely random and unprompted. This also resulted into some strange pacing issues. All of the four leads got into a relationship and reached the "I love you" stage illogically fast despite them having a very recent ex-partner. Meanwhile, the next stage took a millennial to get to. How does the writer expect us to care about the couples if they don't let their relationship develop initially? The pacing issues continue when the main conflict of the drama concluded almost halfway through!
Some characters were so damn worthless and redundant, such as Chae Won's friend (Bang Sook) who served no purpose other than being a feedback loop (literally) and then she was never seen again in the second half! Speaking of characters, Jin Woo's father had the worst plotline. During which, the drama hit rock bottom and the female antagonist was almost never seen. Therefore, there wasn't much tension after that and things got really stale. The lack of tension also resulted into a weak climax, or kinda no climax? I would rather watch Gyung Joo being a trashy menace and a headache over the cringy father. Most people would stick around just for the main couple Chae Won & Jin Woo being cute.
It's a great sitcom! Its strongest aspect is being consistent despite having a very long run which is hard to do especially with comedy. There are four groups in the cast: the ladies, the lads, the grandmas and the 2 older men, all of which were on a rotation giving each their turn to slowly build their character. However, the main stars were the three ladies, each one of them had a unique character that kept the sitcom lively and fresh. I think this is my favorite role I've seen from Ye Ji Won & Oh Yoon Ah & Kim Ji Young, and I've seen almost all of their other projects. One particular thing that stood out to me was how unbelievable massive the wardrobe was! Almost every character changes the outfit multiple times every episode for 232 episodes! Even the hairstyles were changing every 20-30 episodes. Despite being a sitcom there's also a story for the main characters that is very slowly and subtly progressing until the end. I really really appreciate that there was no younger/teen/kids cast involved, because including any would almost always lead to uncreative, uninteresting and cringy jokes. This sitcom gets a big plus from me just for that. However, it's not perfect, there are a handful of nitpicks here and there but I had a great time and I will be missing this chaotic trio.
6 
However, what stood out the most to me is who wrote this drama. I noticed that, this writer, across her other previous projects, she harbors a discernible aversion towards the institution of marriage, a sentiment that seems to have a deeply personal resonance for her. This notion was amplified even further in this particular drama. She took it even further by carrying her agenda across all of the side couples blatantly. Speaking of agendas and taking things personal, this writer really likes to shove her owns while disregarding its effect on the coherency. Another example, the whole ordeal with both male leads at the beginning. There were other examples as well.
While any writer is entitled to hold any opinions or take a stance on social matters they want, it can become a headache and burdensome when these viewpoints are overtly thrust upon the audience without contributing anything substantial to the broader conversation. They just end up shouting into an echo chamber eventually.
The final episode, unfortunately, proved to be an insufferably superficial culmination of the drama.
Some characters were so damn worthless and redundant, such as Chae Won's friend (Bang Sook) who served no purpose other than being a feedback loop (literally) and then she was never seen again in the second half! Speaking of characters, Jin Woo's father had the worst plotline. During which, the drama hit rock bottom and the female antagonist was almost never seen. Therefore, there wasn't much tension after that and things got really stale. The lack of tension also resulted into a weak climax, or kinda no climax? I would rather watch Gyung Joo being a trashy menace and a headache over the cringy father. Most people would stick around just for the main couple Chae Won & Jin Woo being cute.