When the Phone Rings (2024)

WATTPAD MEETS K-DRAMA

This k-drama is only two episodes in and I am already HOOKED!! It has all my favorite tropes: arranged marriage, she fell first he fell harder, cold male lead who secretly cares for the female lead, etc. The acting and the chemistry between Yoo Yeon Seok and Chae Soo Bin is so good! I am living for the tension and Baek Sa Eon's possessiveness/protectiveness! AND THE PLOT TWISTS!? SO GOOD!! It is also a plot that I have never seen before, especially in a k-drama. Overall, such a good k-drama that has me hooked since episode one!

Review update now that I have finished:

First off I want to thank this drama for giving me something to look forward to every weekend! It is one of my new favorites and will always hold a special place in my heart! Now onto the review!

I did take off .5 stars from my initial 10/10 rating since the imagination/dream bit was a bit repetitive and some things were rushed in the final episodes (In my opinion, it needed at least 16 episodes so a lot of the plot wasn’t so rushed towards the end). However, they still did a great job in executing everything with the limited episodes that they had!

This drama had ALL THE TROPES. Arranged marriage, enemies to lovers, etc. and all the tropes, in my humble opinion, were done tastefully! War trope was also thrown in last minute, but Yoo Yeon Seok and Chae Soo Bin actually executed it so well and not going to lie I ate it up!!

Speaking of Yoo Yeon Seok and Chae Soo Bin, their chemistry and acting was so good in this drama!! All the emotional scenes (especially the cliff scene) were done so well and the yearning and the tension was carried out so good! Cannot give them enough praise for the acting they did for WTPR!

They also used a lot of symbolism in this drama and a lot of the details were done with intention which I loved and appreciated!

Overall, this drama was a really good one and a plot I have never seen before in another k-drama! It’s interesting from beginning to end and one I would highly recommend for people to try and watch!

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OH MY GWAD!!! HEAR ME OUT!

GUYS I'm just so behind bcz of my exams but i can't stop myself from yapping about this anymore, i have watched only 5 episodes and the spoilers, acting, story, ost and EVERYTHING IS PERFECT and i have probably never got excited about a kdrama THIS MUCH before, every minute of this kdrama is amazing till now and I'm not dropping it. If a kdrama is getting me into only first few episodes like this... it's really A HIT. ALSO, I GOT AN UNHEALTHY OBSESSION. This is the best kdrama of this year for me!!! If you still haven't watched it or think it's not worth it, what are you doing with your life man?? JUST GO AHEAD AND WATCH IT BRUH 🎀😭😭✋🏻

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right person. right writer. right casting. right chemistry.

The drama is a captivating blend of exceptional acting and innovative storytelling. Yoo Yeon Seok masterfully embodies the character of Baek Sa Eo, a man who projects an aura of coldness and indifference, his body language perfectly mirroring this persona. In contrast, Chae Soo Bin portrays Hong Hui Ju, a woman who appears soft and lacking in confidence, yet harbors a hidden strength and determination. She skillfully plays the part expected of her, all the while maintaining a calculated control beneath the surface, revealing a resilience as she navigates her circumstances.

The drama's unique artistry lies in its unconventional approach, employing a mobile phone as the catalyst for action. This inventive use of technology serves as a constant reminder of the characters' communication dynamics, or rather, the lack thereof. They engage in endless exchanges through their phones, yet remain emotionally distant, revealing their innermost selves to strangers rather than to each other, creating a poignant contrast between constant connectivity and profound disconnection.

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No Drama, Just Thriller (But with Messed Up 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). 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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Best drama I've seen in 5 years!

When I read the caption of this drama I thought the story sounded intrestning and I started to watch it casually. As I watched episode by episode the story evolved, there's so much more story than the caption says and I was blown away. Completely hooked and I had to pause whatever I was doing to watch the drama properly. This drama is a true gem, this is the first time I would say the story is 10/11! This is definitly the best drama I've seen in 5 years! I'm giving the drama overall a 9,5 because sometimes (maybe due to language barrier) it was hard to understand, because the story was a bit complicated. You will regret it if you don't watch this masterpiece.

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amazing kdrama not so amazing final episode

we dont talk about that last episode😶
other than that a 10/10
the suspense was great. it kept you at the top of your seat the whole time and the ending of every episode left you wanting more. but i think what really stands out and makes this a great kdrama is the leads. they had phenomenal chemistry and just amazing acting overall. honestly they had some of the best kissing scenes in kdrama. loved yoo yeon seok since dr. romantic so i was already aware of his game but chae soo bin impressed me very much. BUT the last episode (and more importantly the whole argan thing) were really unnecessary and distasteful for me. following the source material so closely really was not it. i think that kdramas can really make a great show out of a not so amazing source material and honestly it was like that until episode 12. but atleast they were happy. 🤷‍♀️overall the other 11 were so good i can forget it. will definitely rewatch it (maybe skip a certain 10 minutes in ep12😗). but yeah really great kdrama exited to see whats next for both yoo yeon seok and chae soo bin🫰🎀

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An entertaining drama with good visuals and acting

You can say whatever you want, criticize the story, age difference, loopholes, etc
But you can't deny that this drama appeals to the general public and garners high reviews because it's an entertaining story: NO it isn't realistic, it's a typical drama, and has a Netflix stamp on it, etc ...

BUT the characters are likable, with redeeming quality. The violence is not excessive.
The acting and chemistry were good. Yes, there were some cringy moments.

Ep 12 was unnecessary/nonsensical drama. But hey, let them add some fillers as the actor/actress really deserve some more screen time together! :-) I'll watch 13 for their kids' story too!

I didn't feel as if it was wasting my time. I felt entertained.
I am still giving a 10 despite all the loopholes and incredible scenarios. It's like comic story but it's entertaining.

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