This review may contain spoilers
Pleasantly Surprised. Should you watch it? Yes.
I don't know why I suddenly decided to watch this drama considering it's been 10 years and I have a lot of other dramas to watch too. Maybe it had to do with the fact Gong Hyo Jin is the female lead or the fact that I was curious who Yunseo was imitating, but either way I do not regret watching this. Definitely had some iconic scenes.
I read the comments on MDL before watching the drama so I was slightly concerned the male lead would frustrate me, but it wasn't as bad as I thought and really not that bad at all. Maybe it was because I had expected Chef to be a lot worse, especially considering this was made in 2010, but he wasn't the worst guy in the world. I was also worried about the second female lead being super rude to the female lead, but I was extremely shocked the female lead remained good til the end. I know some people hate how the female lead seemed "weak" and how she just accepted the Chef despite his rudeness, but honestly I didn't see her being weak at all. The girl was desperate to learn how to make pasta and I thought she was admirable giving up her pride to continue doing what she wanted to do. I think that's something difficult to do and didn't see her as a "weak female" whatsoever. I think people are biased about feminine female characters, in this drama I saw patience and obedience as her strength (especially considering this was her workplace). So yes, Chef isn't the nicest guy, but he isn't awful either like it was pretty impressive that he expressed his feelings for the female lead constantly, something we rarely see in K-dramas. He wasn't perfect, making him a realistic character which made me like him more. Life is kinda like that. One day you say "no romance in the kitchen" and then you end up doing the exact thing you said you won't. I felt he was a really mature character whether it be helping his ex girlfriend get over her guilt or taking responsibility for being a hypocrite. I enjoyed their relationship wasn't everything about their existence There was no huge obstacle if anything just minor inconveniences prolonging the time it took for them to get together. I really enjoyed seeing the two main characters interact, it was just simple and happy.
Despite my praises of the show it remains a 8.5 for a couple reasons. The biggest issue (that is also its strength) is it was so simple that nothing stood out. This kind of has to do with my personal preference. There was no scene that was extremely power that I would go back and rewatch, although the drama as a whole is pretty good. I also had this at a 9 until the last episode. I was very annoyed with the fact that he tried to take the female lead's chance to go to Italy without telling her. It was very random and annoying, but even without that I thought the ending could have been better.
Pasta wasn't a perfect drama, but it was definitely a good one.
I read the comments on MDL before watching the drama so I was slightly concerned the male lead would frustrate me, but it wasn't as bad as I thought and really not that bad at all. Maybe it was because I had expected Chef to be a lot worse, especially considering this was made in 2010, but he wasn't the worst guy in the world. I was also worried about the second female lead being super rude to the female lead, but I was extremely shocked the female lead remained good til the end. I know some people hate how the female lead seemed "weak" and how she just accepted the Chef despite his rudeness, but honestly I didn't see her being weak at all. The girl was desperate to learn how to make pasta and I thought she was admirable giving up her pride to continue doing what she wanted to do. I think that's something difficult to do and didn't see her as a "weak female" whatsoever. I think people are biased about feminine female characters, in this drama I saw patience and obedience as her strength (especially considering this was her workplace). So yes, Chef isn't the nicest guy, but he isn't awful either like it was pretty impressive that he expressed his feelings for the female lead constantly, something we rarely see in K-dramas. He wasn't perfect, making him a realistic character which made me like him more. Life is kinda like that. One day you say "no romance in the kitchen" and then you end up doing the exact thing you said you won't. I felt he was a really mature character whether it be helping his ex girlfriend get over her guilt or taking responsibility for being a hypocrite. I enjoyed their relationship wasn't everything about their existence There was no huge obstacle if anything just minor inconveniences prolonging the time it took for them to get together. I really enjoyed seeing the two main characters interact, it was just simple and happy.
Despite my praises of the show it remains a 8.5 for a couple reasons. The biggest issue (that is also its strength) is it was so simple that nothing stood out. This kind of has to do with my personal preference. There was no scene that was extremely power that I would go back and rewatch, although the drama as a whole is pretty good. I also had this at a 9 until the last episode. I was very annoyed with the fact that he tried to take the female lead's chance to go to Italy without telling her. It was very random and annoying, but even without that I thought the ending could have been better.
Pasta wasn't a perfect drama, but it was definitely a good one.
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