This review may contain spoilers
Wonderfully Lighthearted, Non Complicated Romance
I don't know why many reviewers are hating on this drama. Does it have tropes - yeah but what drama doesn't? People loved 'A Business Proposal', and there were tropes all over the place. I personally hated 'A Business Proposal' because it was nothing like the webtoon. Netflix took a hatchet job to it and packed it full of ridiculous tropes yet people loved it. Go figure, eh? Once Upon a Small Town was just a lighthearted, non-complicated romance, which is more realistic than Cinderella marrying a chaebol CEO.
The plot: you have a city vet meeting a small village cop, a girl he met as a child but forgot her. I honestly don't know how you forget an entire summer playing with a little girl but apparently, he did, the dope. This plot could happen to anyone, which makes it more relatable. Yes, we have a love triangle. I loved the peach farmer (SML) - he's so no-nonsense and blunt, never have to guess what he's thinking - but SML is very mature about it and accepts it. Maybe that's why people hated this drama - SML was just as good as ML, maybe better since he never forgot anything and didn't have an ex-girlfriend. Sometimes I wish when they have an equally likeable SML, the drama would provide two endings so the viewers can chose which ML they prefer. We also have ML's ex-girlfriend show up, thinking she's going to pick up where she left off with the guy she dumped when she left for the US. The arrogance of this girl is something else - she just thinks ML is waiting around for her to come back like he's hers to pick up or throw away, like a worn out sock or something - but she gives up graciously and departs. That's pretty much the plot - summer friends meet again and love blossoms. I found the town people likeable, especially the little boy and the old guy with the old bull. I especially like how ML ends up taking over his grandfather's vet practice rather than remain in Seoul. I, personally, would much rather live in the countryside than the city.
I also don't know why there's people that hated FL. I didn't find her annoying at all. Other FLs that people complain about, I can understand once I start watching, but this one, I don't get it. Maybe it's because she's a K-pop singer. I don't have a clue.
Just two negatives - they didn't show us the ending for ML's vet friend and the vet nurse and couldn't they have splurged and paid an actor to play the role of Grandpa Vet???
So, overall, I loved it. Maybe I'm just not a connoisseur of dramas. Not every drama I watch needs to be complicated with a bunch of twists and turns. Most of the time, I'm just looking for a lighthearted, non-complicated romance, which is what this is. If that's your style of drama or you're looking for something to help you unwind, please watch and don't listen to the naysayers.
The plot: you have a city vet meeting a small village cop, a girl he met as a child but forgot her. I honestly don't know how you forget an entire summer playing with a little girl but apparently, he did, the dope. This plot could happen to anyone, which makes it more relatable. Yes, we have a love triangle. I loved the peach farmer (SML) - he's so no-nonsense and blunt, never have to guess what he's thinking - but SML is very mature about it and accepts it. Maybe that's why people hated this drama - SML was just as good as ML, maybe better since he never forgot anything and didn't have an ex-girlfriend. Sometimes I wish when they have an equally likeable SML, the drama would provide two endings so the viewers can chose which ML they prefer. We also have ML's ex-girlfriend show up, thinking she's going to pick up where she left off with the guy she dumped when she left for the US. The arrogance of this girl is something else - she just thinks ML is waiting around for her to come back like he's hers to pick up or throw away, like a worn out sock or something - but she gives up graciously and departs. That's pretty much the plot - summer friends meet again and love blossoms. I found the town people likeable, especially the little boy and the old guy with the old bull. I especially like how ML ends up taking over his grandfather's vet practice rather than remain in Seoul. I, personally, would much rather live in the countryside than the city.
I also don't know why there's people that hated FL. I didn't find her annoying at all. Other FLs that people complain about, I can understand once I start watching, but this one, I don't get it. Maybe it's because she's a K-pop singer. I don't have a clue.
Just two negatives - they didn't show us the ending for ML's vet friend and the vet nurse and couldn't they have splurged and paid an actor to play the role of Grandpa Vet???
So, overall, I loved it. Maybe I'm just not a connoisseur of dramas. Not every drama I watch needs to be complicated with a bunch of twists and turns. Most of the time, I'm just looking for a lighthearted, non-complicated romance, which is what this is. If that's your style of drama or you're looking for something to help you unwind, please watch and don't listen to the naysayers.
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