Happy Merry Ending (2023)

A drama to forget.

I wasn't going to write a review because there's nothing to say but since I dislike one of the main leads and only write reviews in that case, here I am. Spoilers because I will most likely rant about him.

The story follows Seungjun who has severe anxiety and a trauma caused by his first love, which results in him pushing people away. His best friend, Hoyeon, is the only person he's close to. Enters Jaehyun who is interested in Seungjun and starts to pursue him, Quite literally. He shows up at his work place whenever he doesn't reply to his texts. Shows up at his house... Surprised he didn't put a tracker on his phone and kidnapped him. Oh wait, he did kidnap him once :)

Anyway, I don't like Jaehyun, he's really just a stalker who constantly ignores the fact that he makes Seungjun uncomfortable, so I just couldn't get into the romance side of the plot. I just can't root for someone who doesn't respect the boundaries of someone he's supposed to love.

I was interested to see how SJ would deal with his "first love" and overcome his anxiety but I guess I'll have to keep wondering since all that happens off screen. That actually makes me mad more than the love interest being a creep because it's just disrespectful to the viewers. Whatever happens after the time skip (...) doesn't feel earned since we don't actually see SJ deal with his issues.

I liked the best friend though. I do wonder why this wasn't explored more since he was the only one who actually respected SJ. He's also the one who is by his side while he works through his issues (off screen) so that was definitely a more interesting relationship.

The acting was a bit flat but not bad, just lacking in my opinion. The actor who plays Hoyeon was better but also didn't have much to do, unfortunately.

The music was alright, which is good since this was made obviously to promote the ML's singing... Not really my kind of music but he has a beautiful voice.

Overall, I don't think much happened, and what could have been interesting (the ML's anxiety, the idol being threatened by creep number 2, the relationship between SJ and HY) was barely explored in the end. We also don't know anything about JH, he's kind of just there to be the love interest and him being a creep definitely made it impossible to enjoy for me. 4/10.

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I really understand that the drama has short episodes and there are few of them, which makes it impossible to do a very extensive plot, but it definitely could have been done better. Why is there a toxic and stalking ex-boyfriend in the drama, who caused the main character to be traumatized, if this topic is not developed at all? We don't get a chance to see how Seung Jun handles the situation because all the explanations take place off-screen. And then we suddenly get a happy ending. It's obvious that the story was mentioned only to make Jae Hyun a hero. Instead, everything was happening too fast, making him a stalker. Also in the drama, there were far too many additional characters who contributed absolutely nothing to the story.

If you decide to watch this drama, keep in mind that it's just a time filler and you'll quickly forget about it.

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A movie format would have been better

TW: Predatory CEO of entertainment company, trauma, panic disorder

Pros:
- Great acting from the leads, esp. Lee Dong Won as Seung Jun
- Incredible singing from the leads
- Good chemistry between MLs
- No dead fish kisses. Big Yay!

Cons:
- Nice storyline but not enough time to execute
- Some time skips but not sure how much time passed.
- Resolution of CEO issue

Overall, a worthwhile drama that shows a realistic relationship arc when one has mental health issues. Because of all the Pros, I still found it very enjoyable even though it didn't delve more into the nitty gritty of Seung Jun's issues. We just know that Jae Hyun was start of his healing.

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TYPICAL ROMANCE BL

Is it just me ? but why do the characters of KBL always looks good in the ending part? i almost wanna give this drama a 10 !
okay, so the only things that is special in this drama is the cast and the romance the leads have and nothing more.
I kind of find the story too cliche' that why does it always have to be like the leads have a past lover that affect them so much emotionally? wouldn't it be better if there are no rival or no third party but the love story alone ?
this couple should've had more chance in elaborating their story.
i don't like the 1 year have past part, it is not realistic to me, like so many things can happen in a year , I thing they should've made it like after 6 or 7 months , I think that is enough for the lead to be successful and meet again,
but anyways it is not about the beginning nor in the half but it is about the ending , and they got me there ! the episode 8 suddenly became so romantic that I really felt the love story, that is why I have mentioned in the beginning that the leads romance is special in this drama, It is indeed a Happy Merry Ending and a romantic one.
Ps. the Pianist guy looks really good, he should star in more drama in the future !

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At least the ending is happy

I’m not sure if this is good or bad, so I will settle for average. I wasn’t hooked during its earlier episodes but suddenly felt okay after watching the last few episodes. The story isn’t as great as it could be. I feel like they can offer more but for any reason, they choose to play safe as a form of their production-satisfaction.

Byun Sung Tae is the one who brought me to the show. At first glance at the promotional poster, I noticed the familiarity of this man and realized that he also participated in Produce X 101 which I supported during its airing period. Seeing him as the main character of a BL show is actually pretty good since his beautiful face fits the standard visuals of K-BLs. An additional benefit is that he can act and sing in a neutral tone, and I actually liked it.

I guess the biggest downfall of the story is the messy characterization of the Casanova ex-boyfriend (who isn’t handsome at all) and the unrequited love of the male best friend. These two characters offer mixed emotions and unnecessary drama at some point.

For some reason, the drama itself managed to survive by uplifting and focusing on the romantic progress of the main couple without having the supporting characters create walls between their relationship and solely focusing on the emotions of the two main characters.

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Fatally Boring.

Negatives:

-they took the suspense too far
-they threw in every trope under the sun (to list them all would require the spoiler tag)
-they rushed the last episode, no in fact they rushed every episode
- there was not enough time to tell the story in a fluid way
- the main leads did not have chemistry at all - it was uncomfortable to watch.

Positives:
-the ending song was beautiful a k-ballad sang and produced really well
-the visuals were on point
- I also enjoyed the height difference
- FINALLY and VERY GOOD - no dead fish KISS!!

I do not recommend unless if you are dead bored with absolutely nothing else to watch.

Watch at own risk!

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Breaking Walls

I was deeply moved by this series. The portrayal of panic disorder was complex and realistic, and it was inspiring to see the protagonist overcome it with the support of two important people in his life. It was a risky decision for him to push someone away, but a year later, their feelings remained unchanged.

What I found most commendable was the protagonist's personal growth in facing his illness. He learned to believe in himself and recognize that not everyone around him wanted to take advantage of or harm him.

The friend who harbored feelings for him demonstrated exceptional selflessness by not acting on those feelings and allowing the person they cared about to be with someone else they truly loved.

The ending was the perfect conclusion to the series, earning it a well-deserved 10/10 rating.

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So sweet but why so short

Come on, what are we supposed to think of all these potentially amazing stories that get cut into 15 minute eps when it could have been a nice movie or a longer more elaborate and captivating story?

Add a build up, a back story or 2 and some more sweet scenes and it's a hit.

Don't get me wrong, I didnt rate this series an 8 for nothing, there's true gold to be found in this. The acting is good, the music is amazing and the story is very sweet. The last scene brought tears to my eyes, the sincerity and chemistry was fantastic. It's just that I'm a bit done with these series that are wasted as fillers. They could be so much more.

It will get a nice place on my re-watch list.

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Leaves a lot to be desired

Simple BL with some attractive actors, actually the most handsome one is the evil ex in my opion. This BL is about a traumatized guy with a suprisingly super supportive friend (also very handsome). the trauma guy falls for another person and he is fearful it will end up like his previous love and is hesitant, but the new guy has good intentions. That is the entire story. The whole thing is not bad, but it's very short and so the viewer feels like there's just a lot happening in a short amount of time. I would have liked more focus on the best friend character and their connection, that was the most interesting part of the drama for me. Overall, another simple BL you can watch if you have nothing to watch, but I would rather rewatch a great one like Blueming or Unintentional Love Story.

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