Autumn Kaeul
Adorable, lighthearted, funny, and heartwarming drama~
(This review is based off of my impression after watching the first 8 (half-hour) episodes or 4 (hour-long) episodes. I will update my review once the drama has finished airing.)
OVERVIEW: This drama is perfect for drama-viewers who like to watch lighthearted/heartwarming dramas and/or rom-com dramas. "Welcome" is like a breath of fresh air during a time when both reality and dramaland seem to be focused on heavy/dark topics and happenings. It is filled with adorable and funny characters, catchy songs, and is guaranteed to make you laugh out loud, cry, squeal, and grin from ear to ear. This drama was advertised as being a cute, funny, lighthearted/heartwarming drama that will heal your soul, and so far it has delivered on that promise--with flying colors, in my opinion.
I'm honestly surprised that this drama isn't getting more (positive) attention, and that there are some people who are taking major issue with the premise of the drama. Being that it's a *fantasy* (emphasis on the "fantasy" part) rom-com, I don't think it's fair to judge it like one would for a "slice of life" drama or dramas that have more realistic premises/plots from the get-go. That obviously wasn't going to be the case with this drama. The premise is about a cat that can turn into a human, which IS "silly" and "ridiculous" and "unrealistic." However, last time I checked, the main reason most drama-viewers watch dramas isn't for the realism (seeing as dramas are rarely realistic), and there are definitely plots/premises that are way more ridiculous than this one that have been made into dramas that haven't gotten nearly as much negativity and scrutiny as this one is getting for some reason.
The whole point of this drama is just to show something that's cute and funny and uplifting, and to give viewers a mental break from all of the heaviness and negativity that surrounds us everyday. It's not the kind of drama that invites viewers to dig deeper or to over-analyze it, so I don't really understand why some viewers are doing so and then spreading negativity around it and trying to dissuade others from watching a drama that's actually really good and that other people might like just because they can't wrap their minds around the fact that it's--again--a FANTASY drama that isn't meant to be taken seriously or meant to be realistic. The whole premise is impossible to begin with, so over-analyzing it or comparing it to reality is redundant and a waste of time.
STORY: That being said, though, I do agree that the writing could (and should) be tweaked a bit. There are some minor plot-holes in the story so far that I really, really hope the writer addresses and comes up with at least semi-acceptable/logical reasons or explanations for before the end of the drama. And, also, some of the writing for this drama does feel kind of lazy. The fact that Jae Sun has said "you don't like cats" to Sol Ah (in the same exact way too, might I add) at least twice in every single episode that has aired so far is not only redundant, it's just straight-up lazy writing, and also annoying to viewers. The repetitive flashbacks also detract from the story, I feel like, rather than add to it, and take up time that could have been used to insert even more cute and funny moments into the episodes.
I also felt like Sol Ah's character was kind of immature and a tiny bit annoying in the first 3 (or 6) episodes (I still like her alright, but still), but the writer DOES address this and point it out explicitly in the drama (that she's immature and so on), and I feel like her character felt more realistic and relatable in the 4th episode (or, 7th & 8th episodes), so I feel like she was maybe intentionally written that way and I'm hoping we'll see some good character development and a good character arc for her as the story progresses. Jae Sun's character also isn't fully believable to me--he seems kind of two-dimensional--but I'm hoping he'll become more interesting and nuanced (and less stupid, hopefully, too) as the drama progresses as well.
ACTING/CAST: Overall I feel like the acting for this drama is pretty good. There are some teeny-tiny, minor weak acting moments here and there from various cast members (though I feel like the writing/directing for this drama is more to blame for that than the actors since this drama has such a strong cast), but I feel like that's the case for most dramas anyways. It doesn't detract from the drama hardly at all though, in my opinion. There are no actors so far who I feel are annoying or doing badly or bringing the drama down--everyone is doing a good job for the most part.
As someone who has seen Kim Myungsoo (L) act in previous dramas, I feel like he is well-suited for a role like this. In a way, I feel like his character as Hong Jo kind of takes the best sides of his previous characters, specifically Kim Dan and Im Ba Reun. He's blunt and somewhat aloof, but secretly caring and does good deeds behind the scenes (just like Ba Reun), and he's also goofy and animated and naive and childlike (like Kim Dan). Kim Myungsoo is good at acting out these kinds of roles, and you can tell he enjoys his role as Hong Jo a lot too, which makes his performance fun to watch. You get the sense that the whole cast gets along with one another really well, which creates a good synergy for this drama.
MUSIC: The music for this drama is also pretty good, and I'm hoping they'll continue to release even better songs than the ones they've already made for it.
OVERALL: I think this drama is pretty good. It has some minor flaws, but those flaws are easy to look past in my opinion because the story and characters are just so damn cute. This drama has made me laugh and cry and smile A LOT, and it has given me a much-needed break from the heavy, depressing atmosphere we are currently living in. Also, the visuals in this drama (the cinematography, concepts/colors, as well as the cast) are exceptional, and Myungsoo and Ye Eun are absolutely ADORABLE. If anything, it's worth it just to watch it for them, but chances are, if you do watch it, you'll love it for even more reasons than that.
OVERVIEW: This drama is perfect for drama-viewers who like to watch lighthearted/heartwarming dramas and/or rom-com dramas. "Welcome" is like a breath of fresh air during a time when both reality and dramaland seem to be focused on heavy/dark topics and happenings. It is filled with adorable and funny characters, catchy songs, and is guaranteed to make you laugh out loud, cry, squeal, and grin from ear to ear. This drama was advertised as being a cute, funny, lighthearted/heartwarming drama that will heal your soul, and so far it has delivered on that promise--with flying colors, in my opinion.
I'm honestly surprised that this drama isn't getting more (positive) attention, and that there are some people who are taking major issue with the premise of the drama. Being that it's a *fantasy* (emphasis on the "fantasy" part) rom-com, I don't think it's fair to judge it like one would for a "slice of life" drama or dramas that have more realistic premises/plots from the get-go. That obviously wasn't going to be the case with this drama. The premise is about a cat that can turn into a human, which IS "silly" and "ridiculous" and "unrealistic." However, last time I checked, the main reason most drama-viewers watch dramas isn't for the realism (seeing as dramas are rarely realistic), and there are definitely plots/premises that are way more ridiculous than this one that have been made into dramas that haven't gotten nearly as much negativity and scrutiny as this one is getting for some reason.
The whole point of this drama is just to show something that's cute and funny and uplifting, and to give viewers a mental break from all of the heaviness and negativity that surrounds us everyday. It's not the kind of drama that invites viewers to dig deeper or to over-analyze it, so I don't really understand why some viewers are doing so and then spreading negativity around it and trying to dissuade others from watching a drama that's actually really good and that other people might like just because they can't wrap their minds around the fact that it's--again--a FANTASY drama that isn't meant to be taken seriously or meant to be realistic. The whole premise is impossible to begin with, so over-analyzing it or comparing it to reality is redundant and a waste of time.
STORY: That being said, though, I do agree that the writing could (and should) be tweaked a bit. There are some minor plot-holes in the story so far that I really, really hope the writer addresses and comes up with at least semi-acceptable/logical reasons or explanations for before the end of the drama. And, also, some of the writing for this drama does feel kind of lazy. The fact that Jae Sun has said "you don't like cats" to Sol Ah (in the same exact way too, might I add) at least twice in every single episode that has aired so far is not only redundant, it's just straight-up lazy writing, and also annoying to viewers. The repetitive flashbacks also detract from the story, I feel like, rather than add to it, and take up time that could have been used to insert even more cute and funny moments into the episodes.
I also felt like Sol Ah's character was kind of immature and a tiny bit annoying in the first 3 (or 6) episodes (I still like her alright, but still), but the writer DOES address this and point it out explicitly in the drama (that she's immature and so on), and I feel like her character felt more realistic and relatable in the 4th episode (or, 7th & 8th episodes), so I feel like she was maybe intentionally written that way and I'm hoping we'll see some good character development and a good character arc for her as the story progresses. Jae Sun's character also isn't fully believable to me--he seems kind of two-dimensional--but I'm hoping he'll become more interesting and nuanced (and less stupid, hopefully, too) as the drama progresses as well.
ACTING/CAST: Overall I feel like the acting for this drama is pretty good. There are some teeny-tiny, minor weak acting moments here and there from various cast members (though I feel like the writing/directing for this drama is more to blame for that than the actors since this drama has such a strong cast), but I feel like that's the case for most dramas anyways. It doesn't detract from the drama hardly at all though, in my opinion. There are no actors so far who I feel are annoying or doing badly or bringing the drama down--everyone is doing a good job for the most part.
As someone who has seen Kim Myungsoo (L) act in previous dramas, I feel like he is well-suited for a role like this. In a way, I feel like his character as Hong Jo kind of takes the best sides of his previous characters, specifically Kim Dan and Im Ba Reun. He's blunt and somewhat aloof, but secretly caring and does good deeds behind the scenes (just like Ba Reun), and he's also goofy and animated and naive and childlike (like Kim Dan). Kim Myungsoo is good at acting out these kinds of roles, and you can tell he enjoys his role as Hong Jo a lot too, which makes his performance fun to watch. You get the sense that the whole cast gets along with one another really well, which creates a good synergy for this drama.
MUSIC: The music for this drama is also pretty good, and I'm hoping they'll continue to release even better songs than the ones they've already made for it.
OVERALL: I think this drama is pretty good. It has some minor flaws, but those flaws are easy to look past in my opinion because the story and characters are just so damn cute. This drama has made me laugh and cry and smile A LOT, and it has given me a much-needed break from the heavy, depressing atmosphere we are currently living in. Also, the visuals in this drama (the cinematography, concepts/colors, as well as the cast) are exceptional, and Myungsoo and Ye Eun are absolutely ADORABLE. If anything, it's worth it just to watch it for them, but chances are, if you do watch it, you'll love it for even more reasons than that.
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