This review may contain spoilers
Shaking my head
Started watching Korean dramas on Netflix during the COVID pandemic. Some were pretty decent but most shows ranged from ‘meh’ to ‘um...what?’ But this show topped them all as far as ‘what the ?!?! is going on?’ department. So much so that I’m actually writing a drama review for the first time. For your info, I’ve watched up to Ep. 15 or 16.I’ll just write down a list of my comments/thoughts/questions I had while watching the show to keep things simple.
1. I’ve never not liked both female and male leads but wow! They assigned the FL to be sheepish and the ML to be hotheaded and goofy. Ok, I’m ok with that but they turned up the unrealism dial all the way to 100. It’s so hard to like them and root for them because they’re cartoon characters.
2. So basically people act crazy and ignorant because they’re all just country bumpkins. Very convenient. I see why they chose a podunk town.
3. The ML can’t control his mouth and fists? He’s on live TV and starts beating up a suspect? He’s a cop? He got reassigned but still can’t control himself?
4. Is this a Rom-com, drama or murder mystery? Every couple of episodes, they shake things up.
5. I still can’t get over the fact that they introduced a serial killer and s/he is after the FL? What?
6. Side characters like the landlord and the kid’s dad are absolutely unnecessary. Could have cut at least 6-7 episodes easy. Also, the girl that blackmails.
7. It doesn’t matter who it is, the FL has time for them all. She’ll eat/drink with male characters no matter how badly they treat her. She tells them to leave but still ends up eating/drinking right after. I guess that’s because she’s sheepish.
8. So the serial killer resurfaces but only the country bumpkin cops are investigating. No Feds getting involved?
9. The serial killer breaks into FL’s business multiple times but everyone seems to forget that he’s around. Nothing major gets done. Very nonchalant about it. Episodes come and go but it’s like they’re investigating a missing dog case. If someone’s after my life, that would be my #1 priority and I would get everyone and everything involved but not the FL.
10. I don’t think the writers bothered to do any research on dementia at all. When you first meet FL’s long lost mom, she urinated on herself. Then she seems pretty normal except that she’s a bit crazy.
11. I’m getting a sense that whenever they run out of drama, they bring up the serial killer.
12. My wife just asked “so how big is this small town?”
13. A famous pro baseball player keeps coming around in his Audi but I guess nobody notices this
14. Now everyone’s suspected of killing the blackmail girl. Ridiculous.
15. The town bullies are nice to the FL all of a sudden because she wore a red dress?
16. Oh, now we’re supposed to feel bad for the Instagram wife.
17. FL keeps doing stupid stuff and asks why her fate is so mean to her or something like that. It’s called bad decisions. Not fate.
18. This show has something against men. Men are portrayed as idiotic, weak, greedy, insecure, spineless and/or hotheaded.
19. Would you hide your dad if you thought he was either an arsonist or serial killer?
20. So now the FL’s mom doesn’t have dementia. Her idiot daughters the only one who fell for it. So hard to like this woman.
21. They keep introducing new side characters that are irrelevant. Trying so hard to drag the story along. Sigh.
22. The FL just walked into an abandoned shopping mall with the entrance chained shut. She knows she has a serial killer after her. These people are cartoon characters.
23. The FL’s way of dealing with her bratty son is to just appease him. She breaks up with the FL because her son is turning into her? What??? Maybe the writers never had kids of their own or they have bratty kids themselves?
24. Show runner: Ok, now we found the serial killer but we still need a couple more episodes... I know, let’s have the FL dump the ML after all he’s done! Brilliant!
25. Er... so now the bratty son is the narrator of the show? He’s all grown up? What?
26. It’s like this show had 3 different writers taking turns to write different episodes without reading what the others wrote.
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An ode to motherhood; with brilliant acting !
It is genre bending because the main premise of the story is how a police officer, protects his love interest, Dongbaek, from a serial killer. But really, the story is about Dongbaek (or Camellia in Korean).Dongbaek is a beautifully written character who is beaten down by life and ostracised as an unmarried mother, but can be fiercely protective. And Kong Hyo-jin wears this ultra-complex character like a glove, with demureness even while she's threatening. There are episodes dedicated to motherhood, particularly one about three single mothers that tugs at your heart. (In fact, there's only one father character in the show and he's shown in poor light.)
Set in a small town, the tight-knit community is inherently heart-warming with a solid supporting cast: Lee Jung-eun (of Parasite fame), Oh Jung-se and Kim Sun-young to name a few.
Among all the stellar performances, Kang Ha-neul shines through. While most Kdramas feature successful and suave male leads, Kang Ha-neul plays an average small-town guy, awkward and simple, and very straightforward, who cries just as easily as he laughs.
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This review may contain spoilers
I watched this drama without reading or researching anything about it. If you're planning to watch this too, it's a good mix of different genres (romcom, melo, thriller, family)I really really liked the rom com side of this drama. It was refreshing to see Kang Haneul as a lead in romcom. He portrayed his character perfectly. I laugh every time he has that "gaze" in his eyes, you know, that look he has when you know his game is on. I don't know much also about the sattori (dialects) in korean but it suited him very well. Love his subtle bromance as well with his chief and Noh Gyutae.
The casting was made perfectly. All the actors did an excellent job in playing their characters especially Kim Kanghoon who played Kang Pilgu. His acting was on point. Heck, even the younger version of Kwak Deoksun (mother of Yangshik) was really good, she took notice of the way how Ko Dushim (Older version of Deoksun) talks and her mannerisms. I was impressed.
However, a few things that really didn't sit well with me regarding this drama is the thriller side of it. Ever since the first episode, it was about finding out the true identity of Joker and why he killed people. However, the way they caught Heungshik who was the real Joker was so anti-climactic. I understand that they needed to show that Dongbaek is not someone weak, but they made it so comical that I really didn't understand how someone who can be caught that easily was able to hide for 6 whole years. I don't also understand why he decided to let Dongbaek go after everything he has done. I mean, it was the perfect set up. Yangshik, who was the only one suspecting him was not there, even if he killed Dongbaek right then and there in the bar he would be able to walk off and go in hiding as nobody else suspected him. That part I really didn't understand.
During the last episodes, after they caught Joker, it seemed like everything was back to normal. Like the world was on reset. I didn't see that much repercussions of the incidents that happened from the early episodes. Personally, I think no matter how strong of a person you are, once you've been targeted by a serial killer/ psychopath it will somehow have a huge impact on your life/ well being.
Lastly, I know this is still a romcom but the way everyone got their happy ending was so surreal. It somehow felt fake (well I know this is a drama but still) and that the writer was really really trying hard to act like cupid or a god and just close the books for everyone. The ending was too good to be true that it felt like it was forced. I personally think that this drama was too long and 16 episodes could've sufficed. Maybe, if it wasn't as long, maybe, just maybe, the ending could've been better.
But nevertheless, I'm not regretting that I watched the drama. It still is good. And it was refreshing to see a story about single moms. Single parents rock!
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One of my all time favorites
This is my favorite drama. I love everything about it. The setting, the ost, the characters, everything.I like how it was set in a small town where everyone knows each other so they are all friendly with ech other (except for with the fl) and help each other out. As time goes on though they become friends with the fl and help her out when she most needs it. The music they play during the romantic scenes is cute and honestly we all need a yong sik in our lives. I love how he gave dongbaek confidence and love, something that she always need it. He always treated her with respect and absolutely adored her. Not just her but also her kid. He loved him like his own. My mom is a single mom so I have seen the struggle for providing for a child and the rent and stuff from my mom. It was nice seeing though how even with the struggles of being a single mom she was still happy. She had friends around her and that did not stop her from dating. I have not watched many shows with single moms so it was a nice change. The characters were all fun and quirky. I liked seeing dongbaek little by little become stronger and confident. She never backed down when she found out she was in danger but defended herself. I have watched this drama 4 times and I still can't stop myself from crying during the last episode, both tears of joy and sadness. Being able to make me cry just gives a show or book bonus points.
So I definitely recommend this to anyone who is not sure if to watch it or not. Its a cute romance and its a nice change from other dramas.
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While this drama embraces many unnecessary tropes at times, and piles on difficulties in the female lead's life to an excessive extent, it has a great cast, and overall feels more realistic than it arguably has the right to.
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Almost gave up but overall a good drama
I almost gave up on this drama. I loved it at first but I lost interest more than halfway through. However, I’m glad I pushed through. I think this is a drama you should watch slowly instead of binge watching it. I wish I watched it while it was airing. I think I would be able to appreciate it more.To be honest, I thought this was a romantic comedy after watching the trailer. But this drama is actually about mothers and family. The last episode really made me cry. I love the relationships of the characters. The neighborhood is like one big family and it was really heartwarming.
I think this might not be everyone’s cup of tea. Dongbaek’s life stressed me out and it was really infuriating that so many people didn’t treat her well. I also didn’t like how she was very meek but she did have character development towards the end. On the other hand, I really adored Yong Shik’s character although he also has his flaws. This drama made me fall in love with Kang Ha Neul. Honestly, I didn’t feel a lot of chemistry between the main leads but they are really good actors. I went into this expecting romance but I stayed for the other stories.
Overall, I think this is worth watching although I wish it was shorter.
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This drama doesn't just focus on the love story of the main leads, or the problem that surrounds Dong Baek. It also talks about the length or measures that the parents, especially the mother will take just to protect their child. I love how ALL the female character here in this drama are portrayed as a strong woman and not those typical drama where they are weak and childish. I also love that all the male character here don't treat females as a fragile or weak type. The fact that their place, Ongsan, is known to be lead and controlled by woman really amazes me. This drama really screams ✨ WOMAN POWER✨.
Even the coloring, and OSTs are wonderful and admirable. 100% worth it to watch and won't waste your time ;)
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It's a crime thriller with heart warming romance with family mellow and struggle of single mothers in society.
Story begins with a women named Dongbake who came to small town ongsan with her one year old boy and open a bar to make her living. She became center of attraction of that neighborhood as she is pretty and other restaurant owner being jealous of her as her business was going well and she is able to run her business about six years and raise her child well in that town. At that time she met Young-sik who is a police officer, transferred to his hometown Ongsan. Young-sik fall in love at first sight with Dongbake and gradually became a good friend of her in her lonely life. At this time he came to know that five years back Dongbake was a witness of murder scene and that serial kill came back to take his revenge from her.
It's a complete pack where you can have a thriller, romance, story of orphan and single mother(Which will make you cry). Unlike other T.V dramas it's realistic where struggle of real world is portrayed along with humor. I personally like Kang Ha-neul's acting and Chemistry between leads is awesome .Ajumma's of Ongsan and Lawyer and her husband's humor is another level????. As a child artist Kang-hoon played very well.
Indeed!! this drama deserve to win awards. It's a must watch drama ♥️♥️
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“Can a person become a miracle for another?”
Originally written on Nov 06, 2022One of my biggest gripes with K-Dramas is how the story often gets dragged out because people aren’t talking about their feelings. It’s always something like having to choose between a career and a person, and instead of trying to make it work, they just give up on one of the two, even when it’s not what they really want. When the Camellia Blooms is the exact opposite, with Hwang Yong-sik declaring his love for Dongbaek in the very first episode, leading to her thinking he’s a big weirdo, which immediately sets the tone for the rest of the show.
At first, I was quite happy with this, until I started to notice that it’s literally the same thing, but instead of the story being dragged out because people aren’t honest to each other, it’s being dragged out because they are too honest. This results in When the Camellia Blooms being a ~12-episode story spread out over 20 hour-long episodes. The pacing, especially towards the middle, is really bad, and it feels like characters are just running in circles to meet the network’s 20-episode quota.
The plot revolves around Yong-sik, a police officer who falls head over heels in love with Dongbaek, a single mother who runs a café at the outskirts of town. While this is happening, a serial killer is on the loose and starts to threaten Dongbaek. It’s super obvious near the start of the show who this murderer is, making it incredibly frustrating to see a team of cops needing an additional 10+ episodes to figure it all out. What could’ve been one big, fantastic, interconnected story turns out to be two separate storylines that only intertwine when the love story starts to stagnate. The number of times the same thing happens multiple times throughout the story is insane. It’s like I’m watching Dragon Ball Z. There’s no character development at all, except for in the first and last couple of episodes. I really wish this was done better.
What I liked was the lead characters' groundedness. Yong-sik is a goofball who tries to cheer up Dongbaek every chance he gets, whereas Dongbaek is a very insecure but pure-hearted soul who just wants to be a good mom for her kid and keeps getting thrown into awful situations. They balance each other out almost perfectly. I just wish the writers made better use of this. The supporting cast was nice as well, although they felt a bit too much like caricatures for me to really like them. There’s the biological father who wants to get the mother of his son back even though they’ve been out of each other's lives for years and he’s married. There’s the mother who doesn’t want her son to be happy with the female lead for no reason at all, which goes on for like 18 episodes. There’s the shitty kid who doesn’t like his mom’s boyfriend one scene, while they’re best buds in the next, etcetera. You know exactly where this is going a couple episodes in, but it’s still fun to watch.
And that’s the strength of When the Camellia Blooms. It’s not that well written, and it drags out way too much, but it’s incredibly wholesome and heartfelt when it needs to be, which makes this show a great comfort watch. My last couple of nights have been spent hanging out with my homies at the Camellia café, watching them try to catch a serial killer. And even though I didn’t love it, I’m sad that it’s over. It was a fun time.
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WATCH IT !
loved it!It's been a while since I binge-watched a show because I'm not enjoying it as much as I used to. but this brought the k-drama magic back for me.
I have loved the actress Gong Hyo Jin since watching Jalousy incarnate (don't dare to dream), and again, her performance was amazing!
Something I loved the most about this drama was the character, Hwang Yong Shik's personality. I would be so lucky if I get a man who would act and show me his love for me, like Hwang Yong Shik.
If you haven't watched it yet, you definitely should!and my concern before watching was that I had a bad ending or that it was too dark. But no, it has a happy ending, and there is crime, but the episodes are still not dark and have a good vibe.
My only complaint is that the ending wasn't rushed, but I just would have loved to see them more because I really liked it.
A funny thing is that it took me two days to finish the last episodes because I was procrastinating them because I didn't want them to end.It took me 2 days to watch 18 episodes, but 2 days for only the last 2 haha.
But again, go watch it if you haven't!
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When the Camellia Blooms Korean
I was pretty hesitant going into When the Camellia Blooms. I knew it was a hit with fans both in South Korea and internationally, but I’m so picky with more simple dramas like this. But thankfully, I loved it!And I can totally see why they chose Gong Hyo Jin for this role. She seems so natural as she plays these realistic and slightly awkward characters. Her mannerisms are just so spot on.
The town is then filled with so many great supporting characters including the gossiping women, the man vying for Dong Baek’s attention, that man’s wife who is onto his games, the woman always looking to get money, Yong Sik’s mother, as well as Dong Baek’s son and mother. Talk about a wonderful group!
ways with its focus on the characters and their relationships. Yes, it had the mystery surrounding the serial killer, but that felt like more of a subplot for the bulk of the drama. And this is a prime example of how a simple story like this can be just exciting as any more complex series or an action drama.
The show is written incredibly well, and it handled everything so beautifully. It peeled back the layers of the characters and their stories in just the right manner for maximum impact. It also dropped small hints at a variety of things early on and then tied everything together later in very satisfying ways. It pulled on all kinds of heartstrings!
I was thoroughly invested in these characters and their lives, so their experiences captivated me. This drama held my attention and charmed me from start to finish. What a lovely surprise it was!
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