Infested with unlikable characters
The female lead was doing an unbelievable amount of heavy lifting to not let this drama sink under. Both the actress and the character. The romance failed even at its climax, mainly because of the male lead. He failed to redeem himself from the jerk-ass status he established earlier on. Their love always felt one sided from the FL while the ML was there to give a reaction. However, the worst part has to be the fairy tale and its association with the older cast. One more thing, the incestuous brother was a bad addition to the drama.Was this review helpful to you?
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A fun watch
This was overall a really good and enjoyable drama, and everything wrapped up nicely!I love a strong, outspoken female lead, and for the most part, she stayed that way. There were some moments where the dialogue and actions for her devolved completely into nonsense and the drama went into overdrive on the angst. I also thought the acting for Yikyung started out really great, but after Doorim was introduced I couldn't unsee Yikyung as Doorim.
We also got really good plot development where misunderstandings and secrets weren’t dragged out, and people were brought into the loop quickly.
While I wish the sageuk part was distributed more evenly throughout the drama, I honestly loved the intensity of that part, even as its own story.
I would have rated this a 7.5 but honestly, the last few episodes took me out. I can’t help but feel like a lot of the last three episodes were unnecessary. I thought we’d already gone through the noble idiocy but they really doubled down on it and added a time skip for it, and I kind of hate that. The way it played out — sort of resolved with just rainbows and butterflies — just did not make logical sense and it felt written that way because they had to wrap up the drama. Some of the resolution with the antagonists felt that way as well.
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One of my frustrations with this drama, however, is that they spend a not insignificant amount of time in the first two episodes establishing that Doo Rim is not only plucky - as any poor girl must be if she's to meet and win an arrogant chaebol - but also that she's competent at fighting and taking care of herself and anyone else. Therefore, it's especially disappointing when, later in the series, there are multiple instances of her life being in danger and all she does is flail uselessly and gasp and scream and otherwise act ineffectually in her own defense. Another frustration is how comically deplorable the bad guys end up being. They hit a point where they are so bad that it borders on tedious.
All that said, I still very much enjoy the show. The pacing is good and keeps you moving, even through the frustrating bits. And really, I could listen to Lee Honk Ki speak forever.
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I Liked It
Why - It kept my interest despite what I was currently watching - just finished in 4 days “Time Flies and You Are Here”, rewatching “Ni Chang” and “The Blooms at Ruyi Pavilion”, dropped “ I Am the Years You Are the Stars” after 24 episodes, closing in on the last four episodes of Boss & Me”, finished “Dating in the Kitchen”, started “Eternal Love” and “A Business Proposal”. I was sick so the TV held me captive without bail. I kept coming back to take chunks out of the series.The Plot - a bit convoluted because you were getting glimpses of what happened 2 to 3 generations in the past that led to the current situation, the vengeful spirit, a curse that may not be real curse, the mystery of why the FL characters look alike, murder, almost murder, run away bride, stand in fiancée, and the plain bad luck of the first born sons. The key, for me
, was paying attention to see that the plot holes were by-products of the less than seamless connecting of past and present.
The Romance - more drama than romance but still love stories abound.
The Actors - liked them, found the portrayals believable. I thought that Yang Jin Sung did a great job in separating her characters so they was never any mix up of who she was playing even when you had the amoral “twin” pretending to the nice twin who was pretending to be the other “twin”. My favorite character was Kang Joo’s aunt played by Kim Young Ok. I laughed and was touched at the same time.
Recommendation - definitely for those that like suspenseful romances that tease out the what is happening, when are we talking about, and the big WHY.
A note - I don’t normally write reviews because I really suck at it and I ramble. As I write this I am still under the weather, so forgive the poor quality of my writing. I just wanted to share that I enjoyed watching this series.
Question - why does MDL only have the episode count at 16 when there are 20 episodes when watching on Viki?
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This review may contain spoilers
Interesting
A lot of this was about greed and obsessive love which led to many years of heartache and grief for quite a few of the main characters.Our ML's family has grappled with rumors of a hundred yr old curse that afflicts the bride of the firstborn son and with him about to enter an arranged marriage, the bride's family decides on a hare-brained scheme to circumvent said curse.
XOXOXOXOOXXOOXOOXOXOOXOXOOXOXOXOOXOX
XOXOXOXOOXXOOXOOXOXOOXOXOOXOXOXOOXOX
XOXOXOXOOXXOOXOOXOXOOXOXOOXOXOXOOXOX
XOXOXOXOOXXOOXOOXOXOOXOXOOXOXOXOOXOX
XOXOXOXOOXXOOXOOXOXOOXOXOOXOXOXOOXOX
XOXOXOXOOXXOOXOOXOXOOXOXOOXOXOXOOXOX
XOXOXOXOOXXOOXOOXOXOOXOXOOXOXOXOOXOX
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This is a classic case of rich boy falls in love with poor girl (but think she's a rich girl).
If they tightened the storyline and made it 12 episodes instead of 16, the story would be even better. Last few episodes could be scrapped altogether as they didn't add much to the storyline. Otherwise, the plot moved forward at a reasonable pace.
Acting between the leads was serviceable. Yang Jin Sung's acting as the doppelganger is decent. A lot of times what happens with an actor playing two roles is that one role often is more fleshed out than the other, while the other one is often more serious and emotionless. The same thing happens here so I wasn't blown away by her acting. I don't know what the ages for the actors were supposed to depict in the drama but both leads acted as if they were in their early 20s. Made me believe there is a romance, albeit more of an innocent first love kind of love rather than one that is worth risking your all for.
Use of the music was effective for this drama.
Overall, not bad for a rewatch, as it was one for me!
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Ghostly melodrama with some romance thrown in
There was so much to like about this show:1) Yang Jin Sung playing dual roles of Jang Yi Kyung and Na Noo Rim. She was wonderful, especially since the characters were TOTALLY different. Her coldness as Yi Kyung could actually give a person frostbite! Then she was so bubbly as Noo Rim.
2) Lee Hong Ki as Choi Kang Joo. I don't think this role was a serious stretch to his acting chops, but he did well going from the uptight, cold chaebol to the sweet man he was with Noo Rim.
3) The romance between the leads was fun to watch. I liked their initial aversion to each other and how it slowly changed.
4) I love Park Kin Joo in everything I've seen her in. Here, she played Noo Rim's friend Jin Joo and she's just got that precious, elfin look about her that draws you to her.
5) Overall, I thought the actors did a great job.
6) The storyline, with the added ghost story twist, was well thought out, with lots of twists and turns to keep you interested.
7) The music was lovely. I was also impressed that Lee Hong Ki did one of the songs. It was a heartfelt song that really grabs you emotionally.
What I didn't care for:
1) Noo Rim changed from someone that believes in herself and stands up for what she believes in to a scared, runaway woman.
2) Too many bad guys! Each person was more evil than the last. Plus, though there were natural consequences for their actions, none of those consequences helped the couple at all, that's for sure! Also, they had information on things that these bad people had done and didn't go to the police?
3) Not enough time of seeing the couple together. They were actually together for just a brief period of time, which made their breakup doubly irritating. First, do you love each other or not? Are you not willing to fight for your relationship? Plus, I didn't think their breakup was realistic because breaking up just so no one else will be unhappy is a cop out.
4) The ghost story aspect was woven through the episodes and then resolved in a very rushed fashion. It felt like the writers realized they were getting to the end of the show and had to squeeze it in.
5) The ending was so unsatisfying for me. I loved how he continued to look for her. I felt that her keeping herself from him was unfair to him (not going to say more due to spoiler). But, after them being apart for so much of the entire show, when we got to the end and they are walking in a garden and talking about a tree? I wanted/expected more romance.
So, I'd say it's a good show to watch for the acting/writing/music as long as you are okay with a lot of angst and not very much romance.
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This review may contain spoilers
Ok, so I went into this drama with quite low expectations, why? you might ask; because even though it has an overall rating of 8, I had read some reviews and comments beforehand and they kind of put me off. Moral of the story: try not to read reviews before watching a show because it will definitely colour your experience.I'm so glad I went ahead and watched this anyway. This drama's plot has the potential to be a complete disaster, what with the fantasy and supernatural elements, the arranged marriage, a family curse, a ghost, reincarnation, people literally losing their mind, attempted murder, attempted suicide, secrets, you name the trope, it is probably there.
This drama does something unique with this mixed bag of themes, it weaves them into this wonderful story about finding love, fated love, good overcoming evil, good being rewarded and evil being punished, past mistakes and sins being addressed in the present day, and true, genuine love being the overriding key to peace and real happiness.
The story also has a strong female perspective as all the plot drivers good or evil are female.
I have a small criticism about the ending of the drama, I don't like the way they handled the baby issue; while Doo Rim is away, it is implied that she and Kang Ju are still 'together' spiritually and emotionally if not physically, so why then would she not tell him that she's having his baby? ( this is a game and life changing event for goodness sake!!!) and then for him to have no visible reaction to the discovery that he has a baby? this was weird and unrealistic.
The cast is very good and well placed, special mention must go to Yang Jin Sung who plays the roles of Na Doo Rim and Jang Yi Kyung to perfection, she is super believable as both characters.
Lee Hong Ki also does a most credible job, at first I thought his baby face wouldn't work with the character but he managed to pull it off very well. The two of them make a cute and very grounded OTP, I was very impressed.
The supporting cast is excellent, the two scheming mothers were initially teeth grindingly annoying, but later on there is sufficient character evolution characterised by remorse and mental anguish.
The second male lead is a bit meh, but is necessary to the plot.
Ghost lady is very entertaining and serves a narrative and guiding purpose in the whole story.
I must also mention that this is the first time I've seen such a good relationship between a chaebol prince and his father, Kang Ju's dad is simply adorable.
The music is good, there are some catchy songs, which do a great job of setting the right mood.
I'm not one for rewatching dramas like this one simply because it was rather suspenseful, so once I know the answers to the mystery I don't really need to watch again.
Overall score is 8.5
It is a good, solid and unique drama which is skilfully directed.
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I thoroughly enjoyed watching this drama. This had the feels and chemistry between the actors.
Adorable, cute and fluffy. I did a dramathon - completed this drama in 3 days.
Like many others are saying - the cast were superb. The main actress was amazing, I truly adore her...and what can I say about Hong Kii? He was amazing, he's grown as an actor, and I look forward to seeing more of his dramas!!
Extremely sweet....
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