mari

mdl keeping my delusionalities booked and busy YUP

SDSJDGJ I WAS TRYING SO HARD TO AVOID ANY MAJOR SPOILERS!! IF I HAD TO SUFFER THROUGH THE WRITING/ENDING EVERYONE DOES TOO!!!<3

not too much on Myungsoo bestie... as a fellow Haesun simp you know better!

HAHAHAH I LITERALLY FEEL SO VALIDATEDD!! Honestly 9/10 is most likely what it deserved though, so as you should! I just gaslit myself into believing that my score would reflect on the characters more than the writing when I rated. The Hong sisters are literally my mortal enemies.....

and for SURE, like the main issue this drama has is just the lack of resolve in general, and how the few resolutions they did have were anticlimactic as HELL. It's actually crazy because later, when I was thinking about it, I realized literally all the girlies got the worst resolutions (literally every single one except for maybe our queen Secretary Ma) while all the men got the glory/good resolutions/whatever. Trying not to go into detail here bc spoilers, but my blood boils at the treatment Seonmi and Richie got from the writers, ESPECIALLY when compared to MaWang (I ALSO LIKED HIM, BUT I SWEAR HE WAS THE WRITER'S FAVORITE!!) who's loose ends all got tied up nicely by the end.

I literally relate soo bad to wanting more from them

edited this 10 times and still messed up *Sunghyuk

Alright y'all.... I just finished this and I have a LOT to say. Like had to pull my phone out in a RAGE and type this essay on here seconds after finishing the last ep. levels of having a lot to say.

Right off the bat, I'll say the important stuff - HORRIBLE writing. Like honestly? God awful. The Hong sisters need to start reconsidering how they write their dramas - because time and time again I've noticed that, while they start off with an inspired idea, their direction is just jumbled, sloppy, and all in all, nonsensical. Every drama of theirs I've watched, I always get the exact same thought when watching their climaxes - "y'all really thought you did something". What they see as powerful scenes are always so clearly underdeveloped, and quite obviously written as they go. Their writing is filled with plot holes, endless plot devices, and plot devices created to resolve prior plot devices. They desperately need to stop starting dramas before they have fleshed out a viable, NOT half-baked plot. It is both a disservice to themselves, and the actors, and honestly unfair to how intriguing their ideas seem at first. HOWEVER (big however), this is why I'm so mad that I can't give this drama lower than a 10/10 - but it is in NO way related to or an accolade for their plot/writing/whatever. This comes entirely down to Lee Seunggi, Oh Yeonseo, Lee El, and Seyoung. They managed to turn this hot mess of a plot into a viable watch for me - which is to say, my rating is ENTIRELY due to my love for this couple, and their portrayals of certain characters.

Based on what I can see from the comments, Seunggi's stellar performance as Ogong is anything but understated. He brought amazing levels of charm and quirk to his character, and severely elevated what would have been a horribly redundant character into much more. Seriously, I don't think I've heard a character repeat the same lines with the exact same meanings as many times as I did with this character. Even still, I credit how likeable Ogong comes off to the audience (despite his bullshittery) entirely to Seunggi. I will also say that, for the most part, he defo got the long end of the stick in terms of characterization writing-wise. His scenes all allowed him to extend his acting muscles to varying degrees, and his choices, thoughts, and actions make sense for the most part. I genuinely loved his character, and his chemistry with Yeonseo was chefs KISSSSS (so let me get into this slander I'm seeing for our girl in all the reviews/comments/whateva).

Now for Yeonseo/Seonmi. A character that had SO much potential, yet was SEVEEEEERELY limited by the writing layed out for her. Y'all need to understand that characterization is NOT entirely up to the actors - an actor can only be so amazing, and can only do so much when the script calls for a certain action. I believe Yeonseo did everything she could with what she had - the writing quite literally NEVER gave Seonmi the capabilities, opportunities, or even the autonomy to shine. Which brings me to the main issue with the Hong sister's creation of her character, and the plot in general - it literally revolved around them putting Seonmi in positions for Ogong to save her. Evidently, they saw no ways of writing scenes that would build upon their bond/love/trust other than by having her be saved by him. I can't stand how her characters existence is based on having Ogong shine - be the hero - save the damsel. The Hong sisters set Yeonseo up from the very beginning; she was only a consistent, elaborate plot device that would serve to build HIS character. What was crazy to me was that, even in scenes in which we were learning about Seonmi/her origins, we learned of them through Ogong........ make it make sense. For a character to have survived 25 years in a world in which she saw and vanished evil spirits, I just don't see how the Hong sisters thought they could get away with progressing her character as a person who had only now begun to deal with them. They DID attempt to write the excuse that attention was not brought upon her (for reasons I'm trying so hard to avoid just saying even though its in the first few eps LMAO) until the time the show starts, though this makes no sense as we see her attacked numerous times by evil spirits in the first ep before she ever meets Ogong. Not to mention she literally builds an entire business out of vanishing spirits in her own way. Other than that, I despised how, through the entire plot, Seonmi is left clueless and in the dark about literally EVERY situation. Her character is meant to be the center of the plot - WHEN SHE'S NOT EVEN IN IT!!! Seonmi was cursed to spend 90% of the show trying to find out what was going on. I wouldn't be surprised that if it were up to the Hong sisters alone, our girl wouldn't even know her name. This is why every time I see these reviews dunking on Yeonseo for her performance, I cringe badly. This was my first time seeing her onscreen, and I thoroughly believe she did what she could with the absolute WORST written character on the entire show, and maybe on any show the Hong sisters have ever written. Yeonseo was devolved into a plot device for the growth of another character, her accomplishments were literally NEVER her own, and her scenes devolved to the other characters present constantly doing the talking, explaining, expositioning TO her. Yeonseo was given subpar material, and null character development, so I can confidently say the stagnant writing just fell absolutely short when compared to Ogong's in general ((which again, still had issues)). What annoyed me the most is that Seonmi's character, to me, was still probably my favorite even though she was tossed aside time and time and time and TIME again by a plot she was never meant to be a part of, or meant to help progress. I just enjoyed seeing the development of her feelings, and found that the struggle of her helplessness made her oddly captivating. Her character attempts to stand on her own numerous times, though it all ends in her caving to the saving arms of one Great Sage. From beginning to end, it was evident that the star of the show was meant to be Ogong and not Seonmi. It's bc of this that these takes on Yeonseo's acting make no sense to me; you are quite literally acknowledging how the writing never allowed her to find her footing outside of being someone who's feelings and actions all relied on Ogong's own. I see a lot of comments saying she came off as whiny, and others that she had the same stagnant expression throughout the entire show - make it make sense like y'all are contradicting each other... the scenes called for what they called for and Yeonseo provided what she could. Perhaps why I enjoyed her as a character so much could be explained by my understanding that the writing did her dirty, and her potential WAS there, waiting to be grasped and utilized. ANYWAY SHE STILL HAD A FEW BAD BITCH MOMENTS! Except I can count them on one hand w a couple fingers. The obsession Korea has on devolving women leads like Seonmi to characters meant to be saved by their big strong man is just weird and needs to be studied. Esp disappointing considered the Hong sisters are behind it............ NUFF SAID SEONMI JUSTICE AND ITS FUCK THE HONG SISTERS (kiddingg)

Anyway y'all I was gonna get into how Seyoung and El slayed but I know none of you guys are gonna read through allat.... all I can say is Seyoung is another STANDOUT and I'M STILL A LEE EL SIMP ITS TRUE!! The pure slayage Sanghyuk brought with the Fairy of the Summer is just.... MUAH. I havent ever been a fan of the fantasy genre (pls dont kill me.... but Goblin and Hotel Del Luna are just.....) so I lowkey came into it wanting to hate. But I loved it. I'm just really mad at how badly the Hong sisters and every writer that contributed fumbled Seonmi's character, and the ending in general. They thought they did something. But I just really loved the couple and the characters. I'm just sad and really mad at/with everything else.

tl/dr: writing bad, plot bad, characters/couples/ACTORS amazing and that alone makes it 10/10!!!! (edit: thought of a better way to word this,, enjoyment was 10/10 and writing was 0/10!) SORRY BESTIES

now hold on yall i'm back to switch my 9/10 to a 10/10 now that our babies had a whole BABY

MESSY MESSY MESSY YALL (IN THE BEST WAY).... i felt like i was getting throat punched with every twist. The plot was just filled with one twist after the next - just when you think it can't get MUCH worse.... it does!! Soohyang was so so good in this. Weirdly enough, I felt like Seokhee was underused? Which makes no sense because she was the mc.... but that just speaks towards how much more of her slayage we DESERVEDDD.

Now romance 100% is not the focus in this drama, but the subtle chemistry/relationship between the leads is just too good (which we also deserved more of!). I do think a bit too much time was spent on certain characters (the reporters......... HAD TO BE SAID, WE ONLY SUPPORT JANGMI HERE) and not enough on others (I can count the amount of lines some of the TOP team leaders have on one hand... our technology leader queen was done wrong!!), but it all comes down to personal pref. I also felt like the last ep was a bit rushed and tried to deal with many things all at once - which is the real issue - not the ending itself which so many comments here keep trying to villanize. Lowkey feel like 20 eps wouldve been just right but I see some ppl already struggled to keep up w/ 16 LMFAO

ANYWAYS. Soohyang, Jangwoo, and all the cast did amazing work. the OST is PURE chefs kiss. Veryyyy much worth the watch just for Seokhee alone... it's a 10/10 YUPPP

okay so this was really cute! i think the last ep REALLY brings the story together in an unexpectedly good way. up until ep 10, to me the writing of seojoon/jiwoo honestly made them almost annoying. it felt like the writers radicalized small quirks in both characters and made them WAYYY too much of one thing (ex. jiwoo being painfully awk, seojoon being extra always).

i also lowkey didn't like how it felt like jiwoo was sort of villanized while seojoon was put on a pedestal (wouldve liked to see more of a mutual responsibility). I do think it was ambitious to add as many new characters as they did, and it did at times feel like there were just too many - but i did like the additions for the most part! i do wish we got to see more of yoonseul!! thats my girl & demoting her from side to SIDE side character felt like a mistake.

ANYWAY the plot was infinitely less rushed and more intricately written & you could defo tell! it also helps that the filmography is breathtaking... 10/10 would sacrifice sleep for again

it was defo cute! watched for the loml Kangmin & he never disappoints. honestly all the complaints i have really come down to how short it was (what with every theme kinda feeling rushed, insufficiently unexplored, etc.) but that's just the nature of web dramas! I will say it was kinda weird that they didn't really go into the origins of Seojoon's sound trauma at all. regardless it was pretty heartwarming ++ Kangmin so idk y'all.... 9/10 for me

honestly just mid. both men in this drama are literally staler than unseasoned chicken. lord. the girlies were cute, i wish we got to see more of our good sister Minchae yall..

cute little web drama! the friendship between the girls makes it worth a watch as it is. yall telling me kim chaeeun isn't park gyuyoung's twin tho?

this was literally the best short/web-drama i've seen.... hani and seungeon were TEWWW good yall. saw someone say seungeon's performance wasn't great.... and let me just say opinion INVALID

Suchh a beautiful tale that doesn't attempt to wow the audience by doing anything else other than displaying pure emotion - and healing!

Something I really appreciated about this drama is how every protagonist was well thought out and developed - even down to the less important side characters. Gangdu and Munsu are a pair that will be nothing short of unforgettable for me. Their story is filled with so much pure, unadulterated sorrow - which gives room for so much love. This k-drama does something amazingly well that most dramas fall short at - showing the realistic, slow progression of increasing affection between two adult individuals. Usually, i'm not a big fan of leads with a past; i always feel like this just gives them an "edge" when it comes to developing their relationship. However, while this past connection holds a deep importance between the two (it's kindaa.... the whole plot) it does NOT drive their feelings towards each other. Rather than being the focal point of their relationship, it becomes much more of a one-of-a-million reasons why they fell for each other.

Besides them, like I said, the side characters show just as much, if not MORE, character development - which surprised me! One character in particular, Yujin, was such a refreshing take on a character stereotype(?) that usually feels super one-dimensional (the perfect rich girl w/ just 1 thing she can't ever have) - out of all the side characters, she felt like she had the most (surprising) growth. Kang Hanna (queen!) did an amazing job in portraying her, just as Junho, Jinah, and the rest of the cast respectively. - side note, seeing Gyuyoungs beginnings here as Somi was so cute! I absolutely loved her character and the way in which Gyuyoung went about putting her personality in Somi.
Anyway!! This drama WILL be paying for my therapy bill and all the emotional distress it caused me. it's so beautiful. and the chemistry is just so perfect. and the plot really is so beautifully simplistic - it never tries to do anything crazy - it's just broken humans trying to pick up their pieces. 100/10!!!

I feel like you can't expect more from this movie than the plot allows. and what it attempts to do, it does well! i found it to be very cute and entertaining; when i watched it, i was really just looking for a mind-numbing kinda experience, and it got the job done! needless to say, i did cringe a bit at certain scenes... but as the movie progresses you kind of learn to EMBRACE the cringe.
The acting is absolutely sublime - especially on (queen) Seohyun's part (expected) - and the chemistry was definitely palpable. i do have to agree that the ending was a bit rushed, it definitely had potential to just do... more! but it's by no means unsatisfying, considering the movie's premise/genre not really allowing for much more, i guess!

definite ~8,8.5ish/10! totally would recommend as a little light view when you're feeling a bit overwhelmed by the melo you're watching..

HAHAH i'm glad you think so! honestly i recognize that its much more of a thought-dump than a review so it's probably better off lost in the comments anyway!

This drama is the perfect example of an idea done JUST right. The plot (like literally everyone has said) sounds just a tad bit crazy, and will have you judging it prematurely, but it most definitely deserves a shot. (Amy's review puts this into words perfectly)

I really don't think there's anything I disliked about this drama. It was one of those dramas that started giving me anxiety once I got to the later half of it - i LITERALLY got anxious whenever I started an episode just because I knew that meant it was coming to an end! Obviously, the plot isn't exactly realistic - but the drama beautifully plays upon that, and uses it to it's advantage, even. I can really appreciate how this drama is so drastically different from what one would expect when reading the synopsis. I find it so beautiful how the writers and Seungho were able to portray the idea of a man falling in love with a robot. Every action, word, and sentiment from Mingyu is just so believable.

Which brings me to the cast! There's not enough words in the dictionary. Or the world FOR THAT MATTER. Chae Soobin really outdid herself with her performance in this drama. She brought the realism with Jia (raw emotion, unpredictability, human error) and managed to keep it wholly separate from her performance as Aji. I think the most commendable thing is that I literally couldn't see them both as the same person - SOMETHING THAT I STRUUUGGLE WITH A LOT IN DRAMAS (in that I just see the actor, not the character?). Anyway. Seungho. MY BELOVED. His smile alone would have made this drama even if it wasn't amazing. You can absolutely tell he doesn't necessarily have a past in romantic-comedies (this was his first) and he uses that to his ADVANTAGE (emphasis). The emotional development of Mingyu (not even talking as a character, just raw emotions) was so palpable. His slow descent into love for a "robot". His struggle into accepting it. His struggle into living with it. His struggle with trying to let it go. It was just so good. Everytime he cried, I'm 90% sure a part of my heart died (not to be dramatic). Also, I think it's worth mentioning this drama has one of (if not my favorite) emotional release of a scene ever. With dramas, I often find that my biggest issue is that the climax ("The Big Fight") never releases enough OOMPH. But my god. Seungho brought the OOMPH and more honey. You'll have to see it for yourself, but let's just sayyy.... I replayed that shit at least 10 times. ALSO JUST REALIZED I DIDNT MENTION THE ROMANCE BUT IT WAS SO FLUFFY, LOVELY, CUTE, AND THE CHEMISTRY WAS AMAZING. pls don't think I'm sleeping on them i loved them but this comment is sooo long LMFAO.

...Yeah this def got too long! Just gonna say that this is one of my favorite dramas ever now. Sorry for the long rant, but please give it a try! It deserves it - my only regret is ever hesitating to pick it up.
100/10 for me! :)

Alright. So things I did/didn't like - (HEAVY SPOILERS PLS CLICK AWAY OR WATCH)

Wooil was most definitely pretty responsible for Jihye. Isoo by NO means was in the right, but I found her actions absolutely understandable and really don't think she was anywhere near as responsible as Woo. This especially changed for me once they revealed in ep 15ish that Jihye never fell for him in the first place - which just tells us Wooil practically threw himself at her and lowkey harassed her unnecessarily. He most definitely has the biggest fault here, considering HE messed with Isoo, and HE threw himself onto Jihye. That said, I wasn't a fan of said ep 15 plot twist that she liked Hwangi. I feel like that really undermined her reasonings behind jumping off the roof - I really believe it was more believable that she liked Wooil and died because of what happened that night, considering he basically threw her away, in front of her boss and his sister, who he was to marry (and she didn't know), and who cut herself in front of her. All in all, I think all that was more impactful if she had genuine feelings for Wooil as we are led to believe.

Liking Hwangi and dying because she felt guilty for hurting his family DOES make sense - don't get me wrong - it's just a tad bit more... eh. I didn't mind the twist all too much, as the drawing kinda hinted at it, so I'm satisfied at least with the knowledge that it wasn't just a last minute change for the sake of drama/causing another obstacle. I was also curious about why the drawing depicted something Wooil never saw, so it was also satisfying to find out!

As I said in my comment above, I honestly loved Isoo. I felt so bad for her, and felt like her actions were just an accumulation of mistreatment by both Wooil and her parents. I don't think it's fair that she took on just as much - if not MORE - responsibility than WOOIL. LIKE WHAT? WHY IS IT THAT ROWOON KINDA SAID IN THAT BATHTUB THAT GETTING CLOSE TO ISOO WAS HARD BUT WOOIL WASNT - LIKE - anyway. At least they left the door open with the whole backscrub.

I never mentioned in my original comment that I could heavily relate to Hwangi which only exacerbated how much I liked him. so. mentioning that now! I did find certain things exaggerated, how like in the first fewish episodes the dumbest, most harmless actions by him were seen as him "being angry". But it was relatable! Just overblown a BIT. Gyori kinda was the one to think he was angry the most, BUT.. obligatory I-Love-Gyori-With-All-My-Heart mention. Because she rejected both Sejong and Sunbong like that. QUEEN BEHAVIOR. anyway so we forgive that.

Thank you to anyone that reads these vent-y thoughts!

alrightt, so I just finished this! first of all... what is with this 7.9 score y'all! is this who we are?! is this who we represent!! I really wish MDL took less into consideration "Drop" scores.. it's so important (as this drama proves) that you watch the ENTIRE (or at least... most. like c'mon!) drama before you rate it high/low.

As for the drama itself! (no spoilers!)
I really really disliked almost ALL of the male characters - EXCEPT Hwangi (in love with him)! Sejong felt like a really useless character all throughout. Sunbong was annoying to me for most of the drama. Wooil is guilty of raising my blood pressure to fatal levels... and so on. Hwangi made up for it though - his adorable, awkward yet charming personality had me absoluteeely dying. Yeon Woojin is so painfully underrated (& hot, but we're not talking about that rn.) and was a definite standout among the male cast. I did end up liking most of them by the end though! Sunbong grew on me just a biiiit.
Funnily enough, it was the EXACT opposite when it came to the drama girlies. I don't think there's a single female character I disliked - I genuinely loved all of them.
I see Hyesoo/Rowoon getting the most flack in the comments, but I'll just be quick and say that her "pushiness" is quite literally a point of the character (aka, is addressed), and her obnoxious-ness (which i recognize!) levels out.
Gyori genuinely has my whole heart, I think her plot-line was one of my favs. She's such a cute little bean, and deserves the whole world. Pretty sure I'd die for her..
Yuhee was adorable. Yeonjeong was my QUEEN. I haven't seen many people talk about Isoo (so I'm not sure about the general consensus) but I honestly felt so much for her, and genuinely loved her (and Seungyeon's performance!). (<- all of this applies to Jihye too, who broke my heart)

I hate writing long comments like this but there's honestly a lot to talk about! I'll just leave the rest as spoilers below this comment. Anyway, I'll try and wrap things up here by saying that it deserves a chance. And by that I mean most definitely more than watching "1,2, or 3 episodes" - we can do better than that! If you're looking for a fluffy drama, with a TRAGIC backstory, give it a shot. It does NOT deserve a 7.9 - I gave it a 10/10 bc to hell w MDL ratings!

(*side note, still stand by my comment below about a certain slapping scene. but that's more of a problem with Korean culture in general, so didn't mention it here)

only on Ep. 3 and going to keep watching, but miss girl just got slapped and called a bitch??!? and just took it???!? and no one cared LMFAO naw naw NAW bc what...