summerfancy

There's more things I dislike about this drama than like

As my heading hints, I wasn't impressed with this drama. Honestly, the only reason I kept watching was to find out who the murderer was. Unlike the romance, the murder mystery was interesting...when they got back to it. I was not interested in ML/FL's romance AT ALL. Here's what I didn't like:

1) I loved this actor as Nokdu, but in this drama, he was an absolute sad sack, and I don't care for downer MLs. I couldn't get behind this century old love affair because ML obviously didn't want to be in love. He was forced into it by his own arrow. When ML is resisting for nearly the entire drama, how can you cheer for this couple when they finally get together? There was no chemistry because ML was constantly pushing FL away yet not giving her a firm 'NO'. Stop giving her hope, ok? Stop coming to see her at the vet, stopping protecting her from the killer, and for gosh sakes, stop kissing her! And ML was kind of dumb when he couldn't figure out that FL was his lost love until the hypnotist guy confirmed it. Then I guess he's okay with it since he hightailed it up the mountain and said silently to himself 'you're my woman'. Bleh. I really don't know how other reviewers can say their chemistry is amazing. It was tepid at best. I mean how can you build chemistry when we had to watch him mooning over two other women (yeah, they were supposed to be FL, but they had different faces so no, you can't build chemistry when you're kissing on Soo Hee and crying over the polka dot girl.

2) I hated how FL followed ML around like a puppy. I don't like dramas where FL is obsessed with ML, falls first or hero worships him because it immediately puts her at a disadvantage. I honestly don't know what she liked about this guy...other than he can't be hurt like her previous love interests. Also, the woman is dumb, ok? You don't go to an abandon warehouse by yourself because you get a text from the dead woman. You know there's a killer out there killing witnesses, you're the primary witness and yet you go ALONE to supposedly meet up with the dead woman. She deserved to have to crap beat out of her, ok? That's just plain stupid. I just would have liked her better if she wasn't so desperate to 'be loved'. It's pathetic. I understand that this is her first 'real' love affair, but she acts like a ten year old.

3) I 100% wanted FL with SML (the cop) but he did almost nothing to pursue her (it certainly wasn't much of a love triangle when one of the participants doesn't bother showing up) and ML wouldn't shoot that damn arrow to make her fall in love with him...even though I was screaming at him to shoot that arrow! If you can't hit her with the arrow, get the damn gun out, ok? And try more than once! Heck, the disapproving fairy/cupid could have shot her and saved himself the angst over ML's love life. Disapproving fairy was nearly as depressing as ML. It would have been more interesting if ML had shot her with the arrow & then regretted what he'd done.

4) Why in the world did they use a different actress for the two previous lives of FL? It made it seem like ML fell in love with multiple women when, in fact, it was technically the same woman. It just pissed me off to see him mooning over these other women. Sorry, I don't like seeing ML kissing other women. And, tell me, what was a grown man doing messing around with a school girl (1st reincarnation)? Ok, I suppose they had to do it so he wouldn't immediately recognize her, however, I think there was a better way to write this other than using different women. It killed the chemistry.

5) Falling in love by arrow. Yeah, I know that's what Cupid does, but it seems like a forced love rather than letting people fall in love with the person because they find something interesting about them (like the unattractive fairy & Do-Ra). The arrow love just seems shallow and superficial. I mean the only reason ML is hung up on FL is because he shot himself with his own arrow. Stupid. It doesn't seem like a real love at all so I couldn't really get behind ML/FL's love story.

6) The whole flow of the story seemed disjointed. It didn't have a smooth flow because it jumped around and introduced characters that weren't explained until later on (like the little kid).

7) The music was completely uninspiring and forgettable.

So, what's makes this drama worth watching?

1) Dong-Gu & Do-Ra's romance. Least two, at least, weren't hit by arrows. Dong-Gu was able to attract cynical Do-Ra's attention all on his own, which makes it all seem more sincere and authentic.

2) Dog fairy when he was in dog form. I mean, who doesn't love a dog, right? But, I didn't like the dog abuse in episode 14. Yeah, you don't see it, but it's implied. Use a cat instead or did FL only work on dogs?

3) I would have liked the cop/prince better if he'd actually made this a real love triangle, but he was too busy trying to discover ML's secret than capture FL's love. I felt sympathy for the Prince because Soo Hee was meant for him until that damn kid god & cupid got in their way. It's My Roommate is a Gumiho all over again. Her red string was attached to SML until that damn fox got in the way. BTW, I really like the red string of fate concept. It's so romantic; unlike those arrows.

4) The murder mystery, which was written a lot better than the romance. Unfortunately, it was overshadowed by all this reincarnation/cupid's love affair gobbledygook.

Overall, the drama wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great either. It was certainly nowhere near 'Strong Woman Do Bong Soon', 'What's Wrong with Secretary Kim', 'W', 'The Healer' or other dramas from the 'Golden Era' of Korean drama. It's just a drama that you watch and then forget.

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Was going great until...

Just to warn you, I'm a big fan of keeping a screenplay as close to possible as the original novel/webtoon. This drama was going great until they introduced a fiancée for ML who NEVER EXISTED in the webtoon. I could tolerate the other changes - ML committed suicide in the webtoon. He didn't die in a car accident. FL didn't know about ML being reborn until much later in the webtoon. That was a nice twist that was surprising to even the reader. Grandpa was not your typical chaebol patriarch who made arranged business marriages. He was a cool dude - he even had a ponytail. I seriously don't know why these screenwriters have to follow the 'old' Asian template of business marriages & fiancées showing up and ruining ML/FL's romance. Not only did ML have to play the noble idiot (my 2nd most hated drama device) but now there's a fiancée that never existed in the webtoon (my most hated drama device). That's when I had enough and stopped watching, picking it back up at the end. I literally had a short-lived temper tantrum because once again, a screenwriter ruined a perfectly good drama. It's bad enough that Netflix did a hatchet job on my favorite all time webtoon, A Business Proposal; now the screenwriter had to add the MOST ANNOYING drama device out there to Marry My Husband - a fiancée for ML.

To top it off, I honestly don't think the director understood the characters in this drama at all. Both Ms. Yang and ML moped around the entire time - they were perpetual rainclouds. I didn't get that in the webtoon from Ms. Yang at all and ML was reserved but not depressed. He blushed a lot in the toon. Grandpa was not your typical meddling rich chaebol - honestly, ML's entire family was wonderful. I think the only ones who nailed their character was ML's sister (my favorite character in the toon besides the leads), possibly FL & Sumin (although she wasn't as fluffy and feminine as she was in the webtoon). As for the husband, the actor playing him is just too likeable for me to hate him. He came across as just a lazy dope who thought with his man part rather than the despicable character he was in the toon.

When the screenwriter changed the plot elements, he/she introduced some questions like - FL knows ML was reborn so why doesn't she ask him how he died and get to the bottom as to why he's so depressed all the time? And why is ML depressed? If FL can change her fate, why can't he? Besides, if FL doesn't die, then he won't be in the 'death car' coming back from her funeral. His depression and gloom doesn't make sense. Why doesn't he try to change his fate like FL????

Despite these changes, the drama was good (and amusing at times - Panties Park) until ML's so-called fiancée showed up. It wasn't necessary and was a completely made up element. I would rather the episodes get cut down to 14 if they didn't have enough material rather than add this old, annoying, worn out drama device. K-Dramas have evolved beyond the arranged marriage trope, screenwriter!

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Don't waste your time unless you like stupid

Stupidest ML ever. Enough said. But, since this website is insisting that I make my review at least 500 character long, I'll try to elaborate. It's clear that ML loves FL, however, he's one of those stupid C-drama MLs whose easily influenced by family ties and buckles under emotional blackmail. Long story short, he allows a psycho chick (and she's definitely a psycho - she ought to be in a straight jacket and padded cell) emotionally blackmail him into marrying her. How anybody thinks this is a good idea is beyond me. Everybody knows she's psycho yet they say 'ok, let's allow ML to marry her and live in misery for the rest of his life.' Sorry - it's never a good idea to marry someone out of pity and especially not someone who's a lunatic, ok? Which makes me question ML's sanity. Dude, are you crazy yourself? No pressure by family, no pity, no emotional blackmail on earth ought to convince you to do such a crazy thing unless you're flat out stupid. Why sacrifice your own happiness for this lunatic? Why can't C-dramas get these chicks psychological help instead of pandering to them and pretending they're normal? Her family ought to be locked up in a padded cell next to her for allowing this travesty of a wedding to take place. This is taking 'spoiling your child' to a whole new level. Fortunately, the psycho dude who's in love with her (birds of a feather flock together, I guess) arrives just in the nick of time and spills his guts, saving the idiot ML. But, hey, it's a happy ending because psycho chick manages to accidentally kill herself as well, ridding the world of this bat crap crazy female. YAY!

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Good but frustrating

Although I think the FL blew it in terms of choosing the best boyfriend, this was a pretty good C-drama. I stayed engaged throughout and was interested in most of the characters. However, the constant quarrelling of the MC did get tedious – make up, break up, make up, break up - it was sort of like the table tennis they were playing, and maybe that was the intent of the director/scriptwriter, but after 36 episodes, I was yelling at her to ‘dump him already!’ I felt about as exhausted as she looked when she broke up with him for the last time.

FL (Yan Xiaoxi) was a likeable FL; she just had poor taste in men, in my opinion. She wasn’t the typical ‘cutesy’ C-drama heroine, which apparently was the problem if you listened to ML’s friend, Yun Gaoyang, who felt every girl should be a coquette like his girlfriend, Nana, or syrupy sweet like the female villain, Bai Wei (a.k.a. the Biscuit B**** – my pet name for her). FL was just an ordinary girl with good table tennis skills and a tremendous amount of patience since she stoically put up with ML’s childish behavior and the cat fights between DongDong (her tomboy friend) and the campus Belle, Tong Jiayue. Her biggest faults were 1) her choice of boyfriend; and 2) taking it upon herself to deliver justice for her adoptive dad. As far as I know, dad never asked her to - she just assumed that if she were him, he’d want justice - and this quest of hers got her into a lot of trouble.

ML (Qi Jinghao) – we are told by Bai Wei and others that Jinghao is the ‘perfect boyfriend’. In what universe?! He’s a terrible boyfriend, mostly due to his immaturity. Although he certainly had his cute moments and was convincingly anguished over their numerous break-ups, his immature responses to any perceived slight by Xiaoxi or disobedience to his orders was the #1 reason they quarreled so much. One of his problems was he listened too much to his funny but stupid friend, Yun Gaoyang, whose ideal woman was a simpering coquette, which was the opposite of Xiaoxi’s personality. She wasn’t the type to stroke a guy’s ego or blindly obey. His second problem was that he craved attention and affection, a result of growing up without his mother’s love so he was always upset when Xiaoxi didn’t show him the attention he wanted. My biggest issue with ML was he was way too immature for a relationship, which led to constant quarrelling and climaxing in his abandonment of FL when she needed him most. So, why the heck would she stay with this guy, especially when she had a perfect boyfriend waiting in the wings? Stockholm Syndrome apparently.

Which brings us to the guy FL should have chosen, Li Sheng. I admit at times that I struggle with SML syndrome just like everyone else, but in the end, I usually lean towards ML. Not in this case. I’m 100% a member of Team Li Sheng. His only fault was not finding FL before she fell under the spell of Jinghao. Now, this guy WAS the perfect boyfriend. Not only should he have been leading the table tennis club due to his athletic skill and calm, mature nature but he should have gotten the girl as well. He was always there for Xiaoxi, and even scooped her off the road like a drowned rat after Jinghao’s abandonment, carried her home and took care of her. This boy was long-suffering and deserved her devotion yet she continually returned to the man child. I didn’t get it. I guess the only explanation is – good guy finish last. I wish Xiaoxi had been as smart of Hou Jianbei when he discovered the Biscuit B**** had used him to get close to Jinghao. He dumped her and ended up with the girl who’d liked him from the beginning (Jiayue). If only FL had come to her senses and went to the guy who’d demonstrated his love over and over again in actions, not a bunch of tears and anguished expressions. In my imagination, she did since the drama didn’t explicitly say that she cancelled the final break-up with Jinghao. Besides, with their relationship, just wait a little longer, Li Sheng. They’ll break up again. Someday she's got to get tired of this guy!

The side characters – Gaoyang could be humorous as well as annoying. I felt so sorry for Hou Jianbai being played by the Biscuit B**** so she could get Jinghao. He was too soft and gentle to be used like that. I’m glad he finally realized who had loved him from the beginning. Tong Jiayue was a b**** at first, but she became more likeable. At least, she didn’t pretend to be your friend like the Biscuit B****, Bai Wei, while plotting against you.

The mystery of dad’s expulsion took a back seat for several episodes as the drama focused on MC’s make ups and break ups, etc., but it was the source of all the trouble that FL experienced, and although justice was met in the end, I can’t help but think that it would have been better to just leave this past incident alone. Dad was living fine and wasn’t demanding justice so why open a can of worms that brought a lot of people further pain and suffering?

I would recommend this drama if you can put up with an immature ML, constant breakups and a stupid FL who doesn’t know a good man when she sees him. This is the first time the supporting cast kept me watching when the constant breakups of the MC became tedious.

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What a Rom-Com should be!

I LOVED this drama! I think it's rating of 7.9 is far too low. It was a heart-warming, satisfying romance with plenty of amusement and very little of the things we hate about C-drama Rom-Coms. Here's my take on the characters:

ML - I absolutely loved him! He shot into my ML Hall of Fame, coming in at third place behind Min-Min of 'Strong Woman Bong Soon' and the Grand Tutor of 'Be My Princess'. He shares the spot with Gu Yanzhen of 'Arsenal Military Academy'. This is my favorite role that this particular actor has played (I wasn't crazy about him in 'Fall in Love' or 'The Starry Love'). He plays the bad-tempered, aloof/arrogant yet inwardly warm-hearted and emotionally bumbling ML to perfection. I think it's the best I've seen this actor look too - his hair style fit him perfectly. All he needed was glasses (which he got at the very, very end). He does an excellent job of switching from the aloof, scolding boss to the sweet, tender, smiling boyfriend. And gosh, what a boyfriend! He supports and believes in FL unconditionally and immediately gets justice for her when the obsessed chick frames her. Just an FYI - his heart has only and always belonged to FL. There's no ex-girlfriends, no childhood sweethearts, no fiancées. He's never been in love before until he meets FL so he clueless about what to do with his feelings. Once he finally confesses, his heart belongs 100% to FL - no wavering. He shows no mercy to the obsessed chick despite their past university acquaintance. Some might says he's controlling, but I see it as his desire to help FL achieve her dreams and potential.

FL - she's cute without being that annoyingly cutesy character that C-dramas tend to love (and I hate). A warning to the faint-hearted, FL goes through a lot of character development so if she seems far to apologetic and ditsy at first, hang in there! Remember that she's young and inexperienced and had a terrible boss prior to her coming to ML's law firm. She does mature as both a woman and a lawyer. Her influence in ML's life causes him to soften his hard-nose lawyer demeanor and philosophy. However, my goodwill toward her did cool when she sort of breaks up with ML following the obsessed chick's little framing trick. She has an inferiority complex throughout the drama - feeling that she's useless except as a sleep aid to ML, feeling she's not worthy of him loving her, etc. So, in the latter episodes, she's hell-bent to 'prove herself' and she's hypersensitive to everything ML says. I honestly don't know what her problem is. Should they work at different law firms? Yes, I think so, but she puts distance between them and ML doesn't have a clue why bc she doesn't really explain it. In my opinion, ML is wonderful and does everything he can to please her yet he's in the doghouse. It's like the writer suddenly decides their relationship is too perfect so she has to toss in some angst. What was all this angst about? Gaining ML's respect? I feel he already respected her - he's always praising her abilities. To change ML's view of marriage? I don't know how what she put him through did that, but his perspective did change. FL's behavior after the obsessed chick was sort of crazy and my warm feelings towards her cooled. My only other complaints about her was - 1) her hair when she had it down, it looked like she was wearing a fuzzy fur stole; and 2) sometimes she'd widen her eyes, making her look a little psycho.

FL's three co-workers - Absolutely loved them! Finally, Chinese supporting characters that are just as memorable and loveable as the Koreans! They were had good chemistry together and they didn't take over the scene. They were great supporting characters that added humor. I loved the glasses guy (Brother Bao) - he was amusing with his belief that ML's favored him and his constant chatter and drama. He was my favorite supporting character along with ML's mom. The other two coworkers formed the 'third couple' of this drama, and seriously, I liked them better than Wu Jun & FL's sister. Their romance was there without taking attention away from ML/FL (just like a Korean drama). Loved how the group protected FL from ML's scolding. So refreshing after watching so many drams with workplace bullying.

Parents - LOVED ML's mom! So glad that his parents weren't demanding he marry some rich girl or some childhood sweetheart. Mom was just happy that he liked someone, and she tried to help their romance along...although it backfired on her. We didn't see as much as FL's parents as ML's mom, but they were likeable as well. They only disapproved when FL made up lies about ML's profession, etc. So that tyrannical parent factor was not part of this drama. The writers/director used the parents to add humor instead of angst. Bravo! These are the type of parents I like!

Wu Jun & FL's sister - I liked Wu Jun's personality (and that adorable dimple & cool sunglasses), but he was kind of dumb. He recruited the scheming chick into their firm bc he thought ML liked her. Really? As far as I could tell, ML hadn't had any contact with this woman since university and SML thinks he likes her???? For someone who supposedly had people skills, he was pretty dumb when it came to discerning who ML liked. He thought the 'friend' ML talked about was this chick while most people know that when someone refers to a 'friend's problem', they're usually referring to themselves. If Wu Jun hadn't been such a dope and ML so clueless, we wouldn't have had to watch the scheming chick in the final half of this drama. That entire story arc was all Wu Jun's fault yet ML suffered the consequences. As for the sister, I liked her hair style, but as for her character, my reaction is - blah. I fast forwarded through Wu Jun & her scenes as well as her scenes with the ex.

Finally, the scheming chick. She wasn't able to interest ML all those years ago in university yet somehow she thinks he's hers and destroying FL will secure him. Because of her arrival, the pleasant workplace became toxic with a head b** and her gang of little b**. Didn't anyone notice that their formerly harmonious workplace was suddenly filled with nasty rumors and was directly related to this woman's arrival? Wu Jun knew what was going on and did nothing to prevent what happened except give the skank a weak warning. Fortunately, ML returned and obliterated the b**. He only relented from annihilating her completely bc of SML's pleading. I can't understand C-drama obsessed chick logic - just because you're stupid enough to like a guy for years, he's supposedly yours? And they always ask - why her and not me? Maybe because you're a vindictive, delusional, self-centered b**? Could that be the reason?

This drama was a great watch, and I highly recommend it. The angst is at the minimum and the romance at the maximum. It's took Asian dramas a while to understand that principle. Rom-Com stands to Romance | Comedy, and so few Asian drama focus on the comedy aspect. instead they fill it with angst. This drama, however, is what a Rom-Com should be!

P.S. the OST was good too, especially their love theme 'Loving You'. I liked the lullaby about the lazy cat too. It reminded me of Sheldon's Soft Kitty song.

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Typical

Nothing new here. Same ole C-drama template filled with 'popular' Chinese actors/actresses. When will the Chinese realize that having a popular star doesn't make a drama good? Don't let the fans dictate your agenda! I'd rather have an original and interesting plot than a 'top' cast because an actor/actress, like a NFL quarterback, can't win the game when the playbook stinks and the coach doesn't give good direction. I'm beyond the stage in my life where I just want to see my favorite pretty boy (or girl); I want sustenance, I want creativity, I want originality. If that means reducing the number of episodes, so be it! I've always preferred movies to soap operas anyway. Ok, enough of a rant. I'm really starting to feel sorry (and embarrassed) for the Chinese when all they can produce is the same ole template filled with the latest and hottest stars. Just because an actor/actress has a hit drama doesn't mean they're right for every drama that shows up in their agency inbox. Yep, I'm talking to Dylan. Please, boy, get yourself a more selective agent before you ruin your career again. Or maybe you need a better director who can speak the language that brings out what we saw in LBFD. Pairing him with a popular actress doesn't guarantee success, and frankly, I was disappointed with Bai Lu's character as well so she didn't help him much. Well, anyway, that's all I'm saying. Please, I'm begging you, get rid of the C-drama Rom-Com template and write a new playbook.

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