But too bad you can't rate a drama off it's beginning even if it's a special.
The ending was not what I expected. After I stared at my computer screen dumbfounded for several moments I realized that this would be the ending for the this drama. I almost thought that they might have added another episode and started to look around but I then realized that the ending I saw was the closing of the drama.
It completely ruined it for me because it was too rushed. So rushed that it's hard to make sense of what's happening. The writers obviously didn't have enough time to make a good ending but I think they could have done better than that.
Besides that I think that the cast did a great job. BoA did great too. I believe this is her first time starring in something and she's a singer so I was kind of worried that she wouldn't be good but I think she did a really great job. Choi Daniel was of course excellent as well.
The story line is good. I liked the overall idea and take they had on relationships. It's a extremely funny and sweet. I found myself laughing the whole way through and smiling so hard because of the adorable moments.
Since it's so short and the ending ruined everything for me I probably won't rewatch it but overall I still feel that if you really enjoy it you will probably watch it again.
Overall, the drama is hilarious and is something cute to watch when you have time on your hands. It had a lot of funny moments and really cute adorable moments too. You can also take some tips if you want relationship advice. I still think this drama is quite enjoyable and if the last five minutes wasn't so bad I would have gave it an 8.
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This review may contain spoilers
WARNING: This review contains a lot of spoilers. I have a lot of nagging to do regarding this drama and I really don't want to be vague about it. Might even have some cuss words.Firstly I want to talk about this drama's plot. PLOT. I just started college a month back and according to my professor a PLOT is a series of cause and effect. A poor plot means a poor chain of cause and effect.
Well what I just watched ought to be the worst chain of cause and effect I ever watched! Seriously, who the hell came up with this plot? A woman gets ditched by her boyfriend and ends up taking dating counseling. Finds herself the cheesiest guy on this planet who is actually a total jerk. I mean, who the hell gives a woman a ring to have sex with her?? And when the first attempt fails he invites her to his place when his parents are on a holiday. And just when they return HE PRACTICALLY THROWS HER FROM THE BACKDOOR!! All this AFTER giving her a ring?
Of course that doesn't matter because the girl is already in love with her counselor who she's never even met and talks more to him than her boyfriend while on a date/vacation.
Don't even get me started on the counselor. Why the hell would someone put up with the girlfriend LIKE HIS?? I mean, even when he proposed putting his heart out there, she made him redo it just because it didn't match her STANDARDS! And bought her own ring freaking herself.
But of course he's fallen for the Octopus girl too, but just won't admit it. And finally, he mans up and leaves the selfish bitch and goes to the good girl and then WTF happens? Something that just makes a S**t plot S**ttier THAT'S WHAT.
And guess what - the main couple NEVER MEETS. That's right, they text and sometimes talk but they don't meet until the last 5 seconds of the show!
The plot just sucks! It makes me cringe with fury in the deepest fibers of my core (if that made sense).
Coming to the acting, Boa's first debut and I must say that acting-wise I wasn't disappointed at all. She really pulled it off and she was probably the reason I continued to watch. I hope she does more acting because I would really like to see her in dramas with good stories. Choi Daniel was his usual best. In fact, everyone justified their roles well. The music was pretty decent too. Chirpy and it went well with the whole theme of the drama.
I'm never rewatching this drama again. EVER. Period.
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Story: The premise sounded like a light, breezy rom-com, so that's what I expected. On one hand you have the girl who's bad at dating and a "dating master" who's really bad at following his own advice- or at least, that's what this drama was touted as. In reality, it's a little different. BoA's character wasn't clueless or "bad" at dating- she was bad at *love*, and I think that's a pretty important thing to know the difference between. Her story was so endearing because it was so realistic, and the same goes for Daniel's character. I loved their scenes "together" and I loved their scenes apart. I loved how this drama didn't define it's characters by their relationships and let them stand by themselves, and I especially loved the little ways "Expect Dating" showed the audience if two people were able to be in a long-lasting relationship. The ending itself was bittersweet, but it made sense and the show managed to stay true to it's original message.
Acting: BoA's debut was surprisingly refreshing. Even though her acting came across as a little forced sometimes, it was pretty obvious she had put a lot of hard work into her performance. I'm not quite sure if she'll be back in dramaland any time soon, but if she does I'll definitely check it out. Daniel Choi played his character well, adding his own charm to the role. The supporting cast of Siwan and Kim Ji Won also did well. I'm not sure if everyone did their best, or if everyone worked hard, but they did good all the same.
Music: Because this was a drama special, there was very little music involved. However, I do remember that it was well used to highlight the emotions of the scenes. I wouldn't exactly say that the music was amazing, or that it was used to the best of it's ability.
Rewatch Value: Definitely. Considering the length, it isn't unreasonable for me to rewatch it in it's entirety. It helps that "Expect Dating" was an enjoyable watch, as well.
Overall: I'm not really sure if you'll like this as much as I did, but I don't think you'll hate it either. "Expect Dating" hit all my sweet spots- a cute, organic romance, an imperfect second male lead, awesome leads and a realistic story.
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BoA reminds me a lot of Jang Nara in her early career in this--a little unpolished, but full of fire. She carries her role well despite her short filmography, and I totally believed her performance every step of the way. Choi Daniel, with a much longer resume, was adorable as always, with a hint of angst-ridden layers underneath that really complemented BoA's performance.
The two spend most of the two episodes of the drama talking solely over text message, but the way the special weaves their interactions together is very visual. For example, Yoon Ae becomes scared of riding the subway after her octopus video goes viral, but when she's talking with Gi Dae she forgets her fear and ends up on a subway car out of habit. When she's about to have a panic attack, Gi Dae calms her by suggesting that she was able to get on the car in the first place because she didn't feel like she was alone. He sends her the link to a song, and the drama makes it seem like they're sharing one set of headphones, enjoying the melody together.
Thankfully because it is such a short show it doesn't need any of the angst or random plotlines of longer kdrama, so it never veers quite into the melodrama. Instead the whole tone of it feels very slice-of-life with a little bit of rom-com sprinkled throughout. It's easy, breezy, and frankly just plain fun to watch.
I will say I was a tad disappointed by the ending's execution, but the story itself is perfect. Definitely works for me. I was glued to the screen waiting to see what was going to happen because I was totally invested in the characters themselves. If you're looking to see strangers grow to best friends and to maybe more in only 2 hours, this is definitely the drama for you. And trust me--you'll believe it.
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It's wasn't at all boring to watch (okay, maybe the 1st episode was a little boring) but the story is absolutely shitty. The acting wasn't bad but what's the point in that if the story is an absolutely meaningless piece-of-crap? -.- All the relationship advice is rubbish, plus whatever that Philip guy was muttering in his stupid lecture was also crap.
Also the counsellor guy giving the female lead relationship advice is an absolute joke! His girlfriend treats him like crap and he can't even understand what she wants, but he goes around giving advice to another woman. Stupid!
And all that cheating.. uggh so annoying!
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If you don't like emotional cheating,get away from this drama. The plot was very choppy and didn't really flow well. It felt like i went for a drive but instead of going forward i went in circles for 2 hours (do i make any sense?).
This looked pretty promising in the beginning but instead the plot dragged until the last second. And that ending...no comment lol but it was pathetic.
Also the acting was half hearted at best.
Overall,disappointed but not surprised. I'm just glad it was short and i watched it when i didn't have any wifi.
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The Good:
The way the instant messages and animations are done is amazing. It is really refreshing to be able to see the texts on screen in a way that doesn't mean showing the phone screen over someones shoulder. The two mains manage to have good chemistry without even meeting, which is impressive. Kim Jiwon's character is amazing too, she does the rich family's daughter act really well.
The Bad:
The ending is the one of the two things that put a dampener on it for me. It didn't feel complete. We saw the four years later shot but it still didn't feel well rounded. If they could add a third episode with the conclusion of the story then it'd be a 10/10 drama. I'm not really sure where I stand with the morals of this story either. I mean both people are cheating on their significant others and we're just supposed to be fine with it?
Conclusion:
Watch it if you've got a spare two hours! It's definitely worth it. Just be careful if you don't like incomplete endings.
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Kudos to BoA, anyway, in her first big role on screen. Her acting was good, considering she's mainly a singer.
All of the main characters appeared to be somewhat lacking in one way or another, but at least some of them managed to improve themselves.
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