When the Phone Rings (2024)

It was good until it wasn't!

I was very excited to watch this series, and honestly speaking it delivered until it didn't. Everything was going smoothly and it kept me on the edge of my seat. Everytime an episode ended, I couldn't wait to watch another one, waiting was absolute toucher like pin in the eye toucher... 😑 but the last 2 episodes was lacking a lot, it felt like watching a derailed train.. When the phone rings could have been a 10 star series. They just had to ruin the last two episodes. The last episodes was supposed to be a wrap up, but i felt like they just opened a can of worms that was really unnecessary. At least the last 15 minutes of the show was bearable, hence i gave the overall 8.5...

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A drama where classic and modern danced eternally in a beautiful and intriguing way

*THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*
I ALWAYS LOVE marriage contract & stand-in bride's trope
First of all, i started this without any expectation, i watched the trailer in early November and thought "hmm this is interesting", i mean it's so rare (or maybe none) to have a young presidential spokesman as the main character and a girl who's suffering from selective mutism who works as a sign language interpreter. Both also comes from a prestigious & prominent family (which is again, quite rare). Also, both MC looks so gorgeous, stunning and handsome/beautiful in that trailer so it quickly gets my attention. I wasn't familiar with the ML, apparently he's well known but not as popular other popular actors. I watched Chae Soobin's dramas before (i am not a robot, a piece of your mind & rookie cops) and i quite like her but not much, just enough. I came to know later after watched the trailer that Yoo Yeonseok was in Hospital Playlist (and i haven't watch hosplay at that time yet). Teaser by teaser, trailer by trailer made me excited even more. I can sense a dark romance, wattpad-coded vibes from this drama. And i love it! It's been so long for kdrama to have this kind of vibes (i don't even remember the last kdrama who had this similar vibes).
When episode 1 & 2 aired, i knew my guesses were right. IT'S SOOOO WATTPAD-CODED & HAS A VERY FANFICT FEELS. From the character visualization, the way the director shoots a scene, the chemistry, the sexual tension between the main leads, etc. What makes this drama leaning towards wattpad-coded more is they way YYS & CSB portrayed the characters. See i'm a fool of an arrogant, alpha, dominant, cold, demanding, charismatic, bad boy-kind of male lead, but mostly from what i've read from novel, webnovel, comics, or even some short dramas, made me cringe, not only what the ML said but also the way they acted it's so random and out of place i can't feel the emotion. But here YYS successfully portrayed Baek Sa Eon, just like a live action ver of a character that's coming out straight from webtoon/wattpad without getting cringe. I also shocked by CSB, i always knew she's pretty but here she's elegantly beautiful, fragile yet strong-willed ver of FL that you usually read in webtoon/manga/novel. Both are so suitable for each other, they're sooo good together.
The story itself maybe not new/fresh but since i never watched this kind of romance thriller story, i still find it interesting and arguably very good. I like how it is so fast-paced and has no filler scene, with decent/good character development, and slow burn romance. Some plotholes and mistakes did happen, but i can overlook that as i enjoy how the drama's going and how both the MC took my attention fully. It always has plus minus from a makjang soap opera kind of drama, the writers are trying to sell you something unrealistic that's supposed to be fun and like a guilty pleasure, and i like how the story execution and brilliant performances of the lead actors that elevated the quality of this drama that is filled with cliche and common tropes. I also loved how the romance progression makes perfect sense within the genre we're in and the characters were dealing with and what makes it better is that YYS and CSB have given so much life to our trashy romantic fantasy plots and made it fun. It's like watching the stories you read come to life and in a non-cringey way.
The ending (especially the war part) felt quite random & silly (at least explain why BSE needs to go there TT) but i understand they wanted to make the ending closely like in the novel and they gave us so many sweet moments of BSE HHJ so i forgive the scriptwriter
Overall i'm very satisfied with this drama and this easily in my top 3 favourites drama of all time (i'm a kdrama sucker, i followed kdrama since autumn in my heart era and up until yesterday i'm only obsessed with 4 kdrama : boys before flowers, princess hours, moon lovers scarlet heart ryeo, alchemy of souls, but right now i can easily add when the phone rings as my new obsession)

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From Kidnappings to Kisses Why This Kdrama is Unmissable

This kdrama is a fast-paced rollercoaster filled with suspense, romance, and mystery, balanced perfectly with moments of lightheartedness to keep it grounded. From the very first episode, you’re thrown into a gripping kidnapping tied to an intense international political crisis—a thrilling entry point that keeps you on the edge of your seat while introducing the characters.

As the story unfolds, expect twists galore—ransom calls, child-swapping, and missing orphans—all woven together in fresh and unpredictable ways. Adapted from a K-webnovel, the drama makes some changes, like adding new characters, toning down adult content, and refining the plot for smoother storytelling. Despite these tweaks, it stays true to the core narrative, with the sizzling chemistry between the leads taking center stage.

What sets this drama apart is the depth it brings to its characters and their relationships. Yoo Yeon Seok shines as Baek Sa-eon, transitioning from a composed presidential spokesman to a vulnerable, lovestruck man in a way that’s raw and emotionally gripping. Chae Soo Bin is equally incredible as Hong Hee-joo, a mute character whose powerful performance relies entirely on sign language. Together, their chemistry is electric and genuine, delivering one of the most passionate and unforgettable kissing scenes in kdrama history—brimming with emotion and intensity.

Adding to the charm is Im Chul Soo as Kang Yeong U, Sa-eon’s hilarious and down-to-earth colleague. His humor and heart bring warmth to the story, making him a standout supporting character.

While the drama uses familiar tropes like arranged marriages, political intrigue, and childhood connections, it reinvents them with clever twists and well-developed characters—even the villains are layered, with motives that go beyond basic clichés. Every moment feels purposeful, and the tightly woven storyline leaves no room for dull moments, demanding the viewer's attention throughout.

Suspend your disbelief, settle in, and let this kdrama take you on an emotional, thrilling ride. From the captivating romance and unexpected twists to the unforgettable characters, this is a drama you won’t want to miss.

The final episode might not be as strong as the rest, but it stays faithful to the novel, wrapping up the story in a way that honors its original source material.

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I thought this was gonna be part of my top dramas in 2024….

Summary: Happy ending, high on angst, cliche moments, not medically logical

My advice watch until ep 9 and just pretend the rest dont exist. For the first time I feel like I need to divide this review into 2 parts…

Review for first half:
I really clicked in without expecting much cause I just saw it one day on Netflix that a new drama has started. Initially I didn’t want to start it so early cause I prefer to binge watch it but that one clip from the first call made me give in.

I was actually so shocked by the plot and execution. Usually after a few episodes the intensity dies down and we start to predict what happens but wow for this one every call they made every dialogue they had was amazing. Eps 6 contained my most favorite calls. The execution was insane…

YYS and CSB initially I thought their chemistry will be a bit off but omg they are so good. Im so glad the role was given to them because I don’t think we would feel the same way if the acting was not executed to this level. However, I did feel CSB just looked much younger than him but I valued the chemistry and acting more so it was fine.

The second main leads were so cute as well. They tried to steer us away for one episode but the writers brought it back haha…

Review for second half:
Now with all this expectations set from the starting few episodes around ep 9 is where is started to go downhill…

The reveal of the “Teacher” aka mastermind behind all this was really very underwhelming…really barely any impact at all. I expected him to be a smart psychotic villain…in the end he was just fooled chasing after the wrong target all this while.

Now, the kidnapper always acted as if he was under the mastermind’s control. But suddenly once the mastermind was out of the story he became so ambitious and had so many plans to continue the revenge…

Ok all this I can close my eyes and just leave it to my imagination to develop but that ENDING literally what was that. It felt like all the effort put into the front few episodes were just wasted. I really hoped so much that it won’t be a lame ending where there is no justice served and they just kill off the villain…but that’s exactly what we got…another unsatisfactory ending for the villain…the last eps was just so bad it made no sense. Him disappearing okay I give it to him cause he needs to get a new identity. Why did he suddenly go rejoin the forces out of nowhere in a war zone state?? And why did the writers make HHJ go to that state alone in the middle of all the machine guns thinking she can just walk freely in the woods…like seriously I was just so disappointed!!

Basically towards the end that’s when it truly became a wattpad drama. Initially at the start it was still okay but the end really just purely for their romance with no sense in plot.

Really it was such a good opportunity for a clean closure but wasted….

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My new addiction

This drama just makes me stay excited for every ep. the acting is great and the cast is my fav actors and actresses. the story and the tension is top tier. we got one of the best chemistry in 2024 series here. love the ost and I keep listening to it on repeat, it is amazing. love everything till now and I hope it remains great till the last. I wish I had waited for all the eps to start watching because now I have to wait every week and it's tourturing I can't wait to see the next eps. really this year is full of amazing drama and this one might top them if it goes as great as now till the end

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No Drama, Just Thriller (with Makjang Ending)

The overall storyline is good. The pace of the story is quite fast, you can enjoy it since the very first episode. The pace picked up a bit after the phone stops ringing, but you may not notice it since it does not have much difference. You will enjoy more thriller in this show. At first I thought we will get a lot of heartbreaks since Sa-Eon statement about "Call me when there is corpse". I was wrong then. The romance is pretty straightforward, no need any painful flavor of faded or unexpressed love (at least until last episode). The thriller itself does a great job, since I saw a lot of theories appeared prior the airing of each episodes. The return of In-A successfully misleads a lot of audience, since she becomes the first person to side with the main leads. Both lead actors have a quite exceptional performance in this show. Soo-Bin does an excellent job potraying a fragile and vulnerable Hui-Ju, while Yeon-Seok potrays a stiff and strict bureaucrat who doesn't know anything about love and how to love.

Good storyline does not mean it is flawless. Na Yu-Ri does not get a good purpose for second lead, only to complete a second lead love puzzle. On the other hand, it is a bit weird that Sa-Eon keeps allowing Hui-Ju to use the burner phone, even after knowing that it is her behind the blackmails. Sa-Eon is a government negotiatior after all, he must have experience dealing with some threats against the country. However, he somehow fails to notice that the phone maybe hacked or tracked (which is logically, highly possible). On the other hand, I also feel that the killer does not have a really good motive to carry out all of his actions. When Sa-Eon confronts him regarding what he wants, he does not have a clear answer but "I want you to feel the same pain". This makes the killer sounds like a maniac psychopath. However if he is really a psychopath, why it takes so long for him to do this? I get it that he has tried to threaten Sa-Eon earlier, but why suddenly his threats become more successful (even off Do-Jae's plan)? Also the severity of threats those are addressed directly to Hui-Ju is somewhat more dangerous than his threats against his "other enemies", which makes him looks like just crazy about Hui-Ju. There are a lot of bloopers too (shoes, clothes altered, etc). But the biggest one is during the crash scene, Il-Gyeong arrives with her wife and In-A in a car. How is this possible because her wife doesn't follow him to the Memorial Park? AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, PLEASE EXPLAIN HOW SA-EON SURVIVES THE SHOT! IT IS A DAMN SHOTGUN FIRED FROM A VERY CLOSE RANGE!!! The last two episodes look like a spectacular show from the main leads with extreme pace and a bit confusing timeline, and more likely just a fanservice. To me, the last two episodes are total chaos.

I learned from Tiktok that this show reproduces a lot of scenes from Queen of Tears. I was on Episode 6 when I know it, and I did not notice it initially. As I was progressing throughout the new episodes, I began to see it, and I feel they take too much similar scenes (Sa-Eon searching for Hee-Ju in the woods, car chase scene with Sang-U, Sa-Eon first lines when he wakes up at the hospital, and some other scenes that I may have forgotten). This drama also makes QoT ending doesn't look very bad. Unfortunately, they don't mimic the strategy of soundtrack placement from QoT.

I still recommend this show. It has an enjoyable thriller, with additional sufficient romance. Yes the story quality has dropped a bit after Episode 10, maybe they actually deserve more episodes to explain everything. But hey, at least there isn't any super-uneccessary conflicts towards the end of the show. I would like to give a solid 9 previously, but the messed up final two episodes and excessive number of bloopers make me rethink about it.

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Enjoyable but disconcerting.

There's a lot to enjoy about this drama - so far only half the episodes have been released on Netflix. Both leads play their roles well, especially ML is compelling. FL is less compelling, especially in beginning episodes she just didn't look that terrified at being kidnapped - but playing the quietly submissive person who pleases everyone to survive - that was convincing - having large doe eyes helps, and there is a warmth to her role that draws you in. The chemistry between the pair is great, of course, it helps they're both good to look at. The age gap between the leads is a little distracting, as they are supposed to be similar in age, but they're both too cute together for me to be bothered that much. It kind of suits the drama that he looks quite a bit older as he is quite dominating and paternalistic.

There are quite a few times where we have to suspend judgement - especially around the FL being a sign language interpreter. As a person who cannot speak, she can only interpret one way - and yet there are many situations when two way interpreting is required, so another interpreter is bought along to support her. It's also odd that she signs to the British ambassador's wife in Korean sign language as the two sign languages are not mutually intelligible. Kudos to the actress though, she did look comfortable signing and learning those sequences would not have been easy. I use sign as a second language, so it's comforting for me to see sign language taking a central role in a drama.

As in many Korean dramas, the inequality of the sexes in terms of influence and power stands out starkly to an outside observer. Often older women are portrayed as malicious and vain, and you wonder if that's because it's the only way they ever get to exert any influence. This particular dynamic is on clear display in this drama, and although it's there to add tension and not to make any kind of social commentary, it's such a force in this show that it's hard to ignore.

I am often struck too by how often the male lead tells the female lead to stand up for herself and in the next breath he orders her around under the guise that she doesn't know how to take care of herself. It seems like this is all the usual romantic trope of the powerful and commanding male lead and on screen it works a charm, but in real life it would be regarded as toxic masculinity.

So I find myself regularly suspending judgement and going a long for the ride. It's an enjoyable ride, as long as you don't think about it too much.

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Disappointed in the end

I thought this would be the best drama of 2024 but for the last two episodes I'm just soooo frickin disappointed.
The story went from exciting to unreasonable and pointless. It was like some 9 year old girl stole the pen from the writer.
The Argan plotline... It was a useless angst, they needed something little more to separate the couple. And they did a terrible uncreative job.
I feel angry because I really hoped this show is something more. Well it was not.

However the leads deserve applaude. Yeonsuk and Sobin both were amazing. I appreciated the mature marriage moments.

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Cliche melodrama

It was good from the start i must say. I waited for every episodes everyweek till episode 6. It was interesting to watch the relationship between both fl and ml. I thought there would be some depth in the story. Cause i watched dramas like this more than 10 years ago. So it was normal for me to expect something new and different. I agree ir was kinda different from the start. The episodes cliffhanger made me curious too. After 6th episode it was so hard to watch i just skipped all the parts . I still dont why it has so much hype. Like there's nothing other than the cast.

It's totally my point of view. But if you're an old kdrama watcher i doubt that you will like this. Eventually new kdrama watchers won't like this too ig. I had hopes with this drama but umm this disappointed me specially the ending too.

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