Not a hater but this show literally had a 8.8 with 3 episodes out, is it really good or just overhyped because…
It's good & is deserving of the hype. Kdramas that have a heartwarming and meaningful storyline with woven life lessons in them as you are being fed with realistic characters that might have share similar life experiences with you and plot that dives into real life struggles, these don't come by often. In addition, this is one of the few dramas where a survivor of cancer and their struggles are being showcased realisitically. The usual trope most kdramas always pull is cancer = death but never about being a cancer survivor and their constant struggles and impact such illness had done to them, so in short, this is one of the rare dramas that perfectly executed such plot device in a realistic and unique way. Slice of Life, Melo & Romcom are the feels to it. Storyline pace is cooked just right for the slow burn romance trope. It is worth the watch for me, I could care less about ratings as there are other great and decent dramas out there that aren't rated at 8.8 but still foretold a better story compared to those rated in range 8.8-9.0
What is worse than being pitied? Pitying yourself. That is why Mi Suk is having a hard time throughout the series. At the end of the day, other people pitying you will have no meaning if you are secure in yourself. But the fact stands that she is in no way secure in herself or her life. She loves her husband and she loves her children but she is still unfulfilled. She saw Hye Suk’s appreciation for raising her son as pity because she believes that people who are above her will only pity her. But as we have seen, Hye Suk loved her son and would never leave him with anyone she did not think was capable of taking care of him. Everyone knows that, regardless if Mi Suk raised Choi Seung when she still had money to raise her own family. She did not need the extra income from raising him. So saying all of that about only raising him because she was being paid was just to spite Hye Suk.
We know that she loves and adores Choi Seung because if she just did it for the money, she would not continue to have him constantly around. The problem she still has is that she has not come to terms with the life she saw for herself versus the life she currently has. It’s not that she doesn’t love her family or she wishes them away, but she has not gotten into a place where she is secure in where she is at in life. She can’t accept her friends kindness because she sees them as superior to her. Maybe they are, maybe the whole lavender group are more successful than her. But that does not mean that they think less of her. If Hye Suk really did feel some type of way about her. She would not constantly want to be friends with her. I think Hye Suk just genuinely wants to make up for a lot of what she has done in the past. She does owe a lot to her friend. But until Mi Suk can get to a place where she is not constantly haunted by the ghost of Christmas past, she will never be happy, and there will always be a divide between her friends and family.
This drama raises the standard more than it should The way this drama has many healthy things.
1. Healthy friendships (Moeum and Seokryu, Seunghyo and Danho, Seunghyo and Danho, and all 4 of them combined)
2. Healthy exes (Seokryu's ex and Seunghyo's ex were green flags), it showed that relationships sometimes just doesn't work, not because the other party was bad but simply because they weren't meant for each other.
3. Healthy crush : I liked the scene between Seunghyo and Nayun in recent episode, she provided advice and when she realized she wasn't the one for him, she just pulled away
4. Healthy workplace mainly seunghyo's company
Therefore, perfectly balancing with the unhealthy family dynamics.
The first few episodes was interesting, I thought they were gonna focus with FL trying to stabilize her career but sadly they didn't. Fake marriage plot was bearable but they seem to have ran out of ideas and decided to throw the usual Chaebol ML. The SFL should have ended up with the Secretary instead, their story is more interesting. I felt no chemistry with SFL and SML. Also disliked how there is a none girl's girl code here, ruined it for me honestly. Furthermore, ML acting started falling flat for me. There were quite a lot of scenes where he looked so stiff. Shi Min Ah is a well known and very talented actress, wish Youngdae could have been at par with her acting but NO. I can't feel the chemistry between them because of this. Lastly, some so called comedic scenes weren't actually funny to me, it felt forced and over the top.
We know that she loves and adores Choi Seung because if she just did it for the money, she would not continue to have him constantly around. The problem she still has is that she has not come to terms with the life she saw for herself versus the life she currently has. It’s not that she doesn’t love her family or she wishes them away, but she has not gotten into a place where she is secure in where she is at in life. She can’t accept her friends kindness because she sees them as superior to her. Maybe they are, maybe the whole lavender group are more successful than her. But that does not mean that they think less of her. If Hye Suk really did feel some type of way about her. She would not constantly want to be friends with her. I think Hye Suk just genuinely wants to make up for a lot of what she has done in the past. She does owe a lot to her friend. But until Mi Suk can get to a place where she is not constantly haunted by the ghost of Christmas past, she will never be happy, and there will always be a divide between her friends and family.
The way this drama has many healthy things.
1. Healthy friendships (Moeum and Seokryu, Seunghyo and Danho, Seunghyo and Danho, and all 4 of them combined)
2. Healthy exes (Seokryu's ex and Seunghyo's ex were green flags), it showed that relationships sometimes just doesn't work, not because the other party was bad but simply because they weren't meant for each other.
3. Healthy crush : I liked the scene between Seunghyo and Nayun in recent episode, she provided advice and when she realized she wasn't the one for him, she just pulled away
4. Healthy workplace mainly seunghyo's company
Therefore, perfectly balancing with the unhealthy family dynamics.