Reviews

My Lovely Girl is one of those dramas that is mostly enjoyable to watch, but a few problems make it fall a little flat.

Story:
The story is nothing special. It is quite "safe" - a basic love story with predictable high and low notes. My biggest qualm was the attempt to boost the melodrama in the latter part of the drama by the characters making illogical decisions.

Acting/Cast:
Krystal and Rain were an okay couple, but their chemistry was lacking. Also probably due to their huge age gap the drama kept their skinship to a minimum and this further made their chemistry and romance lukewarm. Krystal is extremely young and although she did portray most of the emotions well, I still felt her character was less real compared to Rain´s. All in all the cast was okay, but most of the characters seemed hollow and not very interesting.

Music:
This drama is mostly about music so you would think they would pull out all the stops to push the music, but I only liked one of the songs in the drama. The worst song in the drama was unfortunately the one they played every time something romantic was going on. Of course music is very personal and someone else might enjoy the songs in the drama, but they just weren't for me.

Rewatch Value:
I don´t think I will be watching this drama again. There were no epic love scenes in the drama, nothing especially memorable or exciting.

Review Summary:
I gave this drama 7.5, because it was okay, but it didn't offer anything new. I would recommend this drama to anyone who really watches a LOT of dramas and enjoys either Krystal or Rain. This drama is also a good newbie drama, because it has most of the drama clichés, but it isn't too over the top and it doesn't delve into Korean culture as it feels very global and generic.

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Warm family time

The excerpt truly summarizes this drama perfectly. It is the exact plot of the drama. Nothing extra happens.

This drama is a multi-starrer. I'm sure, every once in while watching those thrilling leads give their all of their love stories, we wonder what happened to the people around them, their friends and family? Like a running joke of where the parents are in all those young adult save the world novels. If you are one of those people, you would love this series. It is centered around romance, but with the context of marriage. There are 5 (and some extra) romance plot lines.
Every parent worries about what would happen to their children when they eventually pass away. Who would accompany them, care about them with sincerity when they are no longer around? Mrs. Li also has the same worries. Truly a tigress raising her children, while single handedly fending off packs of wolves. All of her precious 5 girls are domineering, far from the delicate traditionally feminine, 'demure' behavior that is generally deemed as acceptable then (even now). They're famously called the "The 6 Fierce Li Ladies from Louyang". The drama, essentially follows the Li family's daughters as they find a suitable partner, a perfect match to peacefully live life well.

Each Li lady as her own personality, her own attitude and quirks, and the story follows how they find a groom, marry, and then get settled into family life. There were some concerns about the ML being red flags, and while they arent unfounded, The story gives each one of them a redemption arc of sorts. The drama's idea of a perfect match is that ML and FL have complimentary personalities, so even the borderline red flag behaviors of the ML is kind of directed towards only outsiders, to protect the family (their + Lis). There is an element of FL 'taming' the ML. The FL are written to be extra fierce to make up for the naturally unbalanced misogynistic power gradient due to the nature of the historic setting. An important feature to note, almost all ML have a close female family member influence - a single mother, a dear sister, a grandmother. It was very lowkey tho, idk if it was intentional or to send a message to audience.

Watch this drama if:
1. You like Multi starrer, family drama
2. The brides family doesnt abandon her in any way. As long as their daughter is alive, she is welcome at home. Even if she comes sobbing on her wedding night. Even when shes a widow. Li family doesnt abandon their daughters.
3. Ladies making it big (living well) in a mans world. Fighting against the general ridicule and malicious attacks of people who deem them as a weak spot. They're able to fend them off by themselves, and later with more ease by help of the MLs.
4. Dutiful ML- The MLs stand for and are concerned about their wives family. They willingly actively participate in family meetings and help in major decisions. Its shown that its to get brownie points for their wives, but thats not the whole reason, they are really sincere.
5. Hilarious Li family Husband alliance - little bit of bromance (tiny bit). A support group of sorts.
6. Matraich family
7. Monogamy- MLs swear that in case of death of wife, shall mourn for atleast 3 years before marrying again, (or in one case, even follow to die). Shall not take any other woman while married to wife.
8. Crash course on how not to get bullied and preventing your daughter/ sister from getting bullied/ harassed after marriage.
9. All marriage problems and discord are solved by the interference of the Li family (not unwelcome - only when asked). Li daughters arent spoiled, they are scolded also, for being to harsh on their husband (in one case). All FL, and other ML give advice on how to solve situation without compromising on self's dignity.

Dont watch this drama if:
1. I seriously cant think of a reason.
2. All the usual c drama trigger warnings apply, but no cannon fodder. No side character dies.
3. I may have forgotten since i was watching this while airing.
4. Maybe if you dont like imperfect, borderline red flag (pre - redemption arc) ML. (Every ML becomes better except the 2nd)
5. If you watched this drama for Wang Xing Yue his role is quite little (cameo like) since this is a multi-starrer. I think it was strategically placed to seemed like he is solo ML, so that by the time 3rd couple is settled, we are grasped by Li Family and no longer care about Chai An (played by Wang Xing Yue).

Possible spoilers below. Recommended read at own risk if ur concerned about red flag MLs:





I'll briefly summarise the themes around romance of each Li daughter (by order of birth):
1. Age gap, substitution marriage, poor grounded ML, mature gentle FL. Mature romance. FL 2nd marriage. Older FL. Distant to close bond transformation.
2. this was the most bland and bleh. Ig fool- naive ML (sorry). But he means well at least. (He doesnt grow up)
3. Scheming ML and FL, battle of the wits, scheming to marry each other by tricks, misunderstandings - chemistry, rich- poor gradient.
4. Upright gentle stern (green forest) ML, gentle cute yet quietish FL. Flash Marriage. Aiding other through injury- strengthening bond. Older ML. Distant to close bond transformation.
5. Rich bratty ML (very bratty - red flag, but surprisingly has a turnaround with story arc), Domineering FL (red flag - beats everyone- husband beater). Out of all, has the most 'taming' element. Bride Kidnapping. ML supporting FL against in-laws. FL standing upto in-laws. FL beating up in-laws. FL straightening out ML to inspire him to become better person. ML becoming decent man for FL.

Idk if i missed out on anything 'cause i was watching this while it aired.

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Very perilous for the ML...

This love is indeed very perilous... but only for the ML. This guy gets stabbed and poisoned so many times that I gave up counting. The way this character is written is a collection of the worst clichés surrounding male leads in historical and xianxia dramas. He is indestructible, will do everything for the FL, except maybe talking to her honestly or confessing his love.
The FL on the other hand is a mixed package. Sometimes she comes across as this gutsy lady who wants to avenge her family, sometimes she is the clever doctor and sometimes she is a meek as a flower and as dumb as a brick.
All the antagonists had at least some decent motivation which sadly isn't a given in C-drama.
The plot of this drama could have been interesting, but the writing was just so-so which on many occasions made the story seem repetitive and indecisive. The acting was pretty good though, which is the reason why I watched it to the end.
In terms of romance this drama offers more than most of the recent high profile dramas as it has quite a few kisses and scenes of intimacy. The chemistry between the couple is really good and at least on the romance side the writers spared us a lot of the usual cliches.
Overall, it is a pleasant short drama to watch as a filler or doing some chores.

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The juice wasn't worth the squeeze

This show infuriated me by the end. Snowdrop came in with a bunch of promise halted by waves of controversy — if you avoided this show because of that, congrats, nothing about it should tempt you to watch it after all.

To be honest, this show started with a bunch of potential. I loved the nostalgic vibes and shiny wide-eyed jaunt towards first love. Snowdrop started to lose momentum once they got into the hostage situation. It dragged on way too long. I understood the point it was trying to make about politics and corruption, but we got the point after just a couple episodes. Someone joked that they blew their whole production budget on the dorm, and honestly, that sounds like the most plausible answer (considering they had to pay an all-star cast too... but we'll get to that in a second). Moreover, the last couple episodes were tropey and infuriating beyond belief. I didn't care enough about the romance to feel anything for Youngro or Sooho; the show didn't do enough early on to make us cheer for them. And then before we knew it, we were being bombarded by noble idiocy and regular idiocy galore. So many situations toward the end could've EASILY been preventable. Trust these competent agents; don't insert yourself into situations unnecessarily (this is directed at BOTH of our leads).

Jisoo especially frustrated me. All of the actors were incredible EXCEPT for her. And I swear, I enjoy Blackpink music! But she was so clearly out-acted throughout the whole show. She was tolerable for a couple of episodes, but once the hostage situation kicked in, she was clearly out of her depth. She gasped so much throughout the rest of the drama that I'm surprised she didn't pass out from the hyperventilation. She was the most useless person in the whole drama — you could arguably consider her a "candy" (not in the classic kdrama definition of the trope, but by effectively serving as bait for the ANSP and Sooho). Worse than a candy girl though, I'd argue that she was a straight-up liability. She was unwilling to compromise or sacrifice anything for the greater good of others. This was exemplified in a situation at the end that involved saving a random side character and harming four other main characters in the process (even leading to the demise of the one she cared about the most!). She blindly ran into situations without a plan and without being equipped to do anything, thus putting other people at even greater risk as they sought to protect her and achieve whatever random agenda she cooked up. I hate that she faced no consequences for this behaviour either; it wasn't even acknowledged as problematic. Jisoo's acting was awful too — I always knew I was watching JISOO, not some character named Youngro. This character could've had so much nuance and depth: idealistic, innocent, and in love, sure, but she could've also been defiant, emboldened, and thoughtful. If her actions were clearly borne of some strategic thought, I would've sympathized with Youngro. Instead, she was stubborn without seemingly any rationale, which made all her actions seem rash and ultimately stupid.

Then let's talk about the romance: it was cute at first, but based on where the story went, it really should've been relegated to a side-plot that took up less air time. Leave it as "Not meant to be" and move on. We lost so much closure and momentum towards the end of the drama by unnecessarily focusing on the romance. Think of all the moments Sooho and Youngro spend gripping each other, asking the other to go, and staring into each others' eyes without any interruption. You know what they could've done in that time? THEY COULD'VE ESCAPED INTO SAFETY TOGETHER. Of course, the more realistic situation would've been if there were constant pressure and action instead, with no time to shoehorn their longing for one another. Because of those moments, especially towards the end, it made their entire tragic situation seem completely avoidable. I found myself shouting at the TV during each of these moments, yelling at them to just GO already instead of standing there (in the basement).

Aside from Jisoo and the romance, the other actors did a wonderful job. I never cared for the moms' machinations (although I suppose they added some levity) or the political squabbles (how silly they turned out to be, although perhaps that was the point?), and I felt too many people were overly motivated by love (Jang Hanna, Kang Cheong Ya, and Lim Sooho especially), but some of the acting was truly superb. To me, there were four standouts: Jung Hae-In excellently blew past his archetype as only playing the boy-next-door in noona dramas. Kim Hye Yoon (Bun Ok), you somehow make me sympathetic towards you while truly giving us the least to cheer for. My only qualm was your choice to help Youngro save Ms. Oh towards the end — how was that choice in any way aligned with Bun Ok's motivations to SAVE HER OWN HIDE above all else? Yoon Se Ah (Ms Pi), I CANNOT believe you are the same person that portrayed Noh Seung Hye in SKY Castle — un-freaking-BELIEVABLE how incredibly she embodied that role as the headmistress. I would seriously watch a movie based on Ms. Pi's life alone. Yoo In Na (Kang Cheong Ya), who knew you had this role in you? I honestly wished Sooho spared her a single glance (or even wound up escaping with her as a way to avoid putting Youngro in harm's way). The rest of the cast did their job too; shout-out to students like Jung Shin Hye (who I liked to think of as "Madonna" for her stylish 80s fashion) and Kim Mi Soo, may she rest in peace.

This drama got my blood pressure up from the suspense; very much shades of SKY Castle. Unfortunately, it didn't critique current issues or hit the zeitgeist the way SKY Castle did, and it also didn't have the cathartic payoff due to its lacklustre, romance-oriented finale. Save yourself the pain of finishing this one!

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baek ahjin and her 3 sidekicks...

Maybe before I go into the details let me begin by saying the ending is terrible not satisfying at all.

I have not read the webtoon so this review is purely based on what was shown to me in the drama. Our FL is the villain and that itself is very interesting. But different from other villains who are fierce on the outside soft on the inside this character is just pure evil. Since she is the lead, for the drama to move forward all her wrong doings in the end has to be covered up (cause if shes caught then there is no drama). So the episodes are just a continuous cycle of her taking advantage of guys and making them fall into traps.

Honestly, the story of the part time boss made the most sense all the others were just blinded by the thought that "oh maybe she likes me"...Because of this I couldnt relate to any of the characters cause I didnt understand why they are so devoted to her. At least for junseo he has something to feel guilty about but the rest...they are just blindly being her accomplice.

Then her school bully just randomly one day decided to start living together with her???

The entire marriage with MDH just felt like a plot to increase the number of episodes cause it brought nothing to the drama. The last few episodes felt extremely rushed.

While they were revealing all her issues it finally felt like the drama was getting somewhere until the ending where it just messed everything up....

I read comments saying we need to really understand the characters and stuff but to be honest...the writing and development is just bad. It just feels like multiple plots being layered one after another.

For Kim YooJung definitely this drama is really something new and she managed to show the audience her acting range. Her acting was amazing and you could tell how much effort she put in to get the sociopath vibes out.

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Disappointed by the evolution of the FL

Three Chapters – HUGE SPOILERS

Chapter 1 : the birth of a psychopath

The origin of the FL as a psychopath who grew up being self-centered. After witnessing the attempted murder of her mother, she let her die because it was advantageous for her. Then she kept manipulating people, good ones, bad ones, anyone she can to obtain the results she wants. Very well told. I enjoyed this part where she is savage and has no empathy. Especially how she schemed and achieved the assassination of her own father and still walked freely after twists and turns.

Chapter 2 : The romance of a psychopath girl and a lost boy

FL is harassed by a female colleague. She manipulates people and gets rid of her. She decides to date her rival’s ex-bf lost in drinks and drugs. Another great load of cold manipulation. She is so good at that. She sneakily approaches him using someone dear to him of course. She clears his guilty conscience, makes him fall in love with her, gives him nice moments then tosses him aside like an old sock. She refuses to tell him the whole truth of her lies. Feeling guilty and desperate, lost boy meets his demise. She finds him and tells him “you were weak” and she lets him to rot. Her move on him was a bit nonsense and out of character for me. Plus at times, writers wanted to make her look like a nice person. Like she is the poor victim of bad people.

Chapter 3: Psycho wife VS Psycho husband

FL weds a rich handsome perfect man just to be trapped and tortured until minion 2 sacrifices himself to give her a solution but minion 1 is pissed off so he decides to reveal everything and put an end to a situation that he himself contributed to. For me that part had plot holes. Especially regarding the origin of the husband, the reasons of his actions against her and how he blends in her story. FL's new rise and downfall is rushed too.

Overall, it starts good and violent then quality drops because the characterization of the FL weakens. The end is questionable as the writer chooses an immoral ending. I do not mind revenge plots where grey characters wins but when it is a cold scheming manipulative murderer who wins… It’s not so nice. 7/10.

Thanks to the actors and crew for this drama.

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There's a certain phenomenon that happens to everyone that makes them want to buy or have a brand name product, only to find out that it's not all that cracked up to be and end up with buyer's remorse. The same can be applied to Korean dramas. Sometimes dramas are labeled as "the-best-drama-you-will-ever-see-in-your-lifetime" that people are blinded by how flawed the plot is because they can't look past the pretty-pretty faces of our lovely actors/actresses and don't notice the cheesiness of it all, when a ever-so-mushy kiss scene comes across.


People often think that because something is popular, means that it's good. Lots of people don't understand that something being popular doesn't necessarily correlate to the quality of it! Quality is what makes something popular, not the other way around. People are often get sucked into peer-pressure from talks and gossip and buy into the fact that something bad is actually good because people keep saying that it is.


Well, Descendant of the Suns is no exception here. One of the co-writers, Kim Eun-Sook, is revered as a popular screen writer who has written a slew of popular dramas in the past, but most of her dramas are not written very well (IMO). In the early 2000's, her writing style was a hitting trend in the drama business. Writing dramas with the happy-go-lucky damsel in distress with the misfortune of having to put up with a pompous rich and handsome chaebol who has a heart of ice that can only be melted by her cheerful attitude. But these days, the trend of dramas demands a little more realism and a deeper understanding and display of human emotions, instead of superficial dramatics scenes and fleeting emotions driven by the moment. Her characters lack depth, her plots are horrendous (and that's putting it nicely) and her pacing is erratic, if not, very inconsistent. I admit, I find two of her dramas, mildly entertaining, Lovers and Secret Garden. But Descendants of the Sun was just a complete and utter mess.


I don't know what this writer wanted to do with the army and soldier part of it all, because it just seemed like an excuse to somehow squeeze in some action into it, but the relationship development between the two leads were hard to watch. It was like a child pushing a naked Barbie and Ken doll together, and see if they'd make a baby. Kim Eun-sook literally did just this with our two leads, and created no real connection with the two aside from the super cliche bump into each other, hate each other, share a memory or two and (BAM!) fall in love. The feelings that Yoo Shi-jun had for Dr. Kang Mo Yeon felt like it just suddenly appeared out of nowhere when he met her. There was no real gradually (realistic) feelings of romance, it was just WAM, hes sees her across the hall and he thinks to himself "I love this woman!" deal.


I didn't know what this drama wanted to be! A rom-com, a melo-drama, an action movie?! It is possible to combine so many kinds of genres into a drama, but it needs good timing, wit and creativeness to pull it all off. This drama tried to do that, but it all felt very rushed as if it couldn't wait to get to the next drama-filled scene.


Cliches are sometimes a guilty pleasure for South Koreans, and we love a typical love triangle and angst (myself included), and that's fine, but it would be appreciated if you at least TRIED to develop your writing more to grow your talents and maybe realize, "Writing fun dramas is fine, but I think I can do better!". Most of Kim Eun-sook's dramas are very typical, and really boring! REALLY BORING! The Heirs was like nails on a chalkboard. If you're going to ask me, then why watch them? Because of the wonderful and talented actors that are involved. T-T It makes me wonder why they chose her dramas. Because they thought it was a good drama, or because they thought the press involvement would be good for their career. To be honest, I'm hoping it's the latter. After Descendants of the Sun, Kim Eun-Sook is a drama writer that any actor/actress wants to be involved with because lately, by being a part of her dramas has helped dramatically in furthering their exposure and acting career. It's a career move, and we can't blame an actor/actress for wanting to take advantage of that. After all, actors/actresses make a living off our consistent admiration and interest in them.


To be honest, I'm really scared of what she's going to do with Goblin, because it's got some of my favorite actors/actresses in it, and I'd hate to see their talents diminished by such horrible plot writing and lack of character development. I know this review has been mostly centralized around Kim Eun-Sook's writing, but it's been frustrating to see how her dramas, that involve great and amazing actors/actresses, fall so short and end up being a very long and boring 16 or 20 episode thing. I'm willing to give Goblin a chance because of the cast, but we'll see if maybe Kim Eun-sook can bring something new to her repertoire of boring-and-typical-drama, product line.

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Mediocre male characters that still somehow made the fans fight.

For a drama that on the surface, on paper seems to present many interesting issues, fun plotlines, entertaining characters - this was a massive fail. With all that was technically going on in the drama, the fact that “which male character should the female lead end up with” was the hottest topic among the viewers shows how unengaging everything was.

Here’s the thing, I actually enjoyed it at first. Do Hae Yi was refreshingly bubbly and shameless about her love for money. Her enthusiasm and energy seemed realistic and fun. Loved her interactions with all the characters and was curious about a potential character development and possible change of priorities in her life (or at least some adjustments). For the most part her character was painfully stagnant, just to start hiding things and being less straightforward in the later episodes. They tried to fix that in last few episodes, but it was too little too late.

Characters wise, it felt like a huge waste of initial set up. More or less none of the characters got any development. They started and finished on the same note. We got some small changes of personalities in some side characters, but the mains were completely forgotten. The writers suddenly remembered they should do something about the main cast in the last two episodes, so everything felt rushed.

I knew we would get a typical love triangle, but with the addition of the mystery, I thought this would actually be an interesting watch. How wrong I was. The love triangle was painful to watch, since none of the male leads was that good or interesting. One, while interesting as a character and having quite a well built story around him, had an unhealthy obsession over Hae Yi. The other had the personality of a white wall and no depth, which made him simply uninteresting. Can believe we all had arguments about these basic boys in the comment section. It did have a great set of supporting characters though.

I honestly don’t want to even talk about the mystery aspect. It went from tense unknown, to barely existing, to murder thriller levels of ridiculousness. The culprit was a clown and their reveal made most of the audience question the writers’ choices. I never felt less interested in the “bad guy” reveal and the fact we had to wait so long to get any answers about the motive added to the issue.

An aspect I actually truly loved about the show were female friendships and support. There were no unnecessary catfights, no random jealousy - far more support, understanding and encouraging each other. Especially from Hae Yi and Sun Ja, and Choon Yang and Jin Hee. Honestly, I would not mind if they put more focus and gave more screen time for the mothers.

On a completely subjective note, one of my side ships failed and it made me sad. The potential behind that couple was amazing, and it was dropped for the more obvious and less complex one.

I did enjoy Han Ji Hyun’s performance. She was the only memorable part of the show. Making such an exciting, hype and enthusiastic character still feel realistic and not cartoonish couldn’t be an easy job, but she was able to achieve a believable result. Yes, the character was annoying in the second half, but that’s on the writing not the acting.

Another performance that caught my attention was Baek Ji Won as Hwang Jin Hee - Sun Ho’s mom. Her comedic addition had an underlying sadness and desperation to it, and I loved that this complexity was shown even in the limited screen time.

As for Bae In Hyuk - oh boy. I feel bad for him. He is not a bad actor, but anyone who watched Cheer Up would probably assume he is. I honestly believe the issue was the writing of Jungwoo and not the acting itself. Portraying a character that is so poorly written is just extremely hard.

Production value was high, but what’s the point when the story was not?

Overall, the show did not really deliver the cheers, nor the romance, nor the mystery. The friendship between Do Hae Yi and Joo Sun Ja was amazing and one of the limited saving graces of the show.

The show just left me frustrated. It had great potential to be a fun, light teen drama about coming of age, building friendship, learning how to give and receive help. How to believe in yourself, but also believe in people around you. And yet they wasted a good 80% of the time on useless, boring love triangles and mess of a bullshit mystery.

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How do I put this?

You know the feeling when you buy a new toothbrush?

It's the perfect color, has the right amount of bristle strength, fits comfortably in your hand.

You use this tooth brush all week with the small joy that it brings and makes you chuckle over being happy with such a small thing.

And then, your roommate asks if you've been using that perfect toothbrush.

Because another person has been using it all week too.

That's the feeling.

Don't be seduced by the first episodes. Don't fall for it's charm. Don't do it.

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BUT SERIOUSLY, WHAT IS WITH THAT ENDING???

Dont get me wrong. I loved the whole series. I even understand why they chose that path. It was titled Twenty Five Twenty One so naturally i expected the story to peak when they were at that age.

But come on!!! Why end it like that? For the better part of the whole series we are being teased to guess who will end up together in a mystery-solving setup - a la the Reply series. And then when it ended it wasnt even hinted who the father or the husband is. The kid is Kim Min Chae, after all so i kinda accepted early on that the father wasnt YiJin but to not answer it rendered the whole present timeline useless. They could have removed the present Hee Do and her daughter and it wont change a thing, because they literally said its not important.

The good:
1. I loved the fencing (sports) main theme.
2. Nam Joo Hyuk. Boy has improved so much, i may be inclined to think his handlers are doing everything to make him a multi awarded drama actor. It almost worked in Start Up, hopefully this is it.
3. Choi Hyun Wook. What a breath of fresh air. I loved him in RB, but he just shined here.
4. Kim Tae Ri and Bo Na as Hee Do and Yu Rim, respectively . Beautiful and capable. Let me get back to this later.
5. The coach, and the mother. I am inloved with Kim Hye Eun, makes me wanna see her past dramas.
6. I liked the fact that it wasnt a fairy tale ending.

The so-so.
1. Kim Tae Ri. She is amazing in this role, but I get it, readers will hate me for saying this. There were some flak for the portrayal of a college student to a high school student love affair, it wasnt May December, but it was enough to make people think that high school HeeDo is way too young for an adult Yi Jin and at moments the idea is kinda cringy. I guess the producers thought, well Tae Ri is older than Joo Hyuk in real life so it shouldnt be an issue. My question however is, will the producers think differently if an early 20-year old actress was playing HeeDo? Also, like i said she did great here, but is there no actress who is younger than Nam Joo Hyuk who can portray Hee Do's emotions?

2. The pacing and length of episodes. 16 episodes of almost 90 minutes each. Sometimes i feel like episodes are a little too long and the last 2 episodes in particular crammed too many issues a little too late. I guess thats how the format is for most asian drama - make the leads break up in the penultimate episode and then cram and jampack the finale to solve all the issues. But goodness i counted a few scenes that were a little too long that could have been used for some other things like how many times HeeDo and YiJin broke up and madeup. I guess they thought extending the drama and the crying scenes will make people cry. My short attention span went a little haywire.


The bad
1. The older Hee Do. The actress portraying the older Hee Do is beautiful and i love the subtle acting that connects both the past and present HeeDo. BUT, is she really needed. Did the story changed by adding her character? Again, the non-reveal of the husband made her character useless, and i felt like that was done to trick the viewers into keep guessing who the husband is going to be. Another thing, Hee Do's mother acted the older character. Why cant Tae Ri do the same?
2. Hee Do's daughter Kim Min Chae. By the name alone, we know she is not Back Yi Jin's daughter. But still, her presence teased us with the possibility of Hee Do and Yi Jin endgame. But alas they thought it wasnt important enough to be discussed. So why do we need the whiny kid.
3. Now back to the ending. The whole series was great overall, but my heart needs closure.

Would i reccommend? Definitely, just prepare to spend some time with it. Am i going to rewatch? Sorry, its just too long, and theres just too many drama nowadays i dont think i can.

Kudos to Netflix for giving Asian dramas chance to shine in a much bigger stage, makes my subscription very worthwhile.

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A Bumpy and Underwhelming Fantasy Ride

K (Seo Hyun) escapes into her favorite fictional world as Cha Seon Chaek, a supporting character who crafts modern cocktails, lives her dream life, and even shares a one-night stand with Prince Gyeong Seong (Ok Taec Yeon). The premise is fun, whimsical, and full of charm—at first.

But very soon, things start to unravel. Gyeong Seong's constant proposals and overplayed rivalries get repetitive, and the story takes a hard left into heavy political intrigue, abandoning the playful tone that made the beginning enjoyable. The sudden tonal shift, combined with increasingly frustrating character decisions, makes some later episodes feel like a slog. Let’s be real—fast-forwarding feels tempting.

And then there’s the subplot of the real Cha Seon Chaek swapping lives with K. It’s barely touched on, leaving us wondering why it’s even there. If you’re not going to explain how she survives in the modern world, why include it at all?

Seo Hyun and Ok Taec Yeon have solid chemistry and bring life to their roles, though Seo Hyun’s character sometimes leans too much into “cute” territory, which can feel out of place compared to the more grounded supporting cast. That said, the series shines brightest when Cha Seon Chaek interacts with her fictional family, delivering humor and heart that balance out the heavier plotlines.

Overall, the show starts strong but struggles to keep the magic alive. Fans of time travel and romantic fantasy might still enjoy it, but don’t expect a perfectly smooth ride..

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