This review may contain spoilers
This is a very refreshing drama. It's not only different in it's approach, but also in how it's story unfolds. It's smartly written. It doesn't get itself wrapped up in drama cliches, or at least none that I found frustrating or ridiculous. I mean, there is the whole thing with how dense Gong Hyo Jin's character is and that is a frustrating character in any drama, but instead of treating that dense character as normal like most dramas do, this drama makes fun of her for it. So they certainly save themselves on that.
The hard part about this drama is that I am so used to the typical K-drama format, that I expected the same outcome here. The thing is, I didn't want that same typical outcome, so it made it frustrating to watch. But since it didn't end that way, it's kind of an all is forgiven situation.
The most compelling part of this drama for me was Cindy. With the other characters it was simply just the typical K-drama relationship problems, or the trouble of getting better ratings, but with Cindy, I just felt completely sad for her. She had nothing in her life except for fame and it was heartbreaking. Honestly the fact that she was still stuck up and self centered at times further strengthened her character because it showed how it was part of her barrier that she would put on herself as well as just being so alone that it made sense with her. The fact that she goes through what she does and still ends a strong individual at the end showed she was the strongest character in this drama. IU does such a great job at fleshing out her character. She was fantastic.
From a pure acting standpoint, Kim Soo Hyun is easily the strongest. In My Love From the Stars, he was super suave, and he's a guy at the top of his game. But this show is why he is a top actor. I completely forgot that previous image and completely bought him as a bumbling dork here. Everything from his demeanor to the times he pulls off an impression, he owns it. Can't say I fully liked his character at all times, but he does a great job with it regardless.
Gong Hyo Jin and Cha Tae Hyun are both great as usual. I've always enjoyed them, and they continue to show why they are top class actors.
Kim Jong Kook was certainly a revelation. For being his first role, he provided some great comic relief and he does a much better job than I expected him too. All the way around the cast was great.
I know, don't post spoilers, but I'm not one to engage in comment sections or converse with my fellow drama fans, so this is basically my one outlet to get whatever I want to talk about out. So don't read this next paragraph if you haven't watched the show.
Our four leads are all big stars, but if you had to narrow the show down to two leads, most would probably say it's Kim Soo Hyun and Gong Hyo Jin. The drama seems to focus on their blossoming relationship the most. So, if this were any other drama, the two of them would end up together. I was expecting that, because that's the typical outcome. So because of that, the show was a bit frustrating to watch because I didn't want them to. They had great chemistry as a senior producer and her junior colleague, but never in a romantic fashion. So I just want to thank the writers of this drama for being brave in doing something that at least to me felt out of the norm by not having them end up together. So many dramas are about one character having feelings for another, and then that person ends up liking them back, but the truth is most one sided loves don't end that way. So while I was shipping Seung Chan and Cindy, I'm still glad they didn't end up together romantically either. Maybe you could of said the same thing about Ye Jin and Jun Mo, but that never felt like a one sided love, but always that he was just holding back.
I hope to see more dramas like this in the future. While I don't really watch American dramas, I at least feel they are constantly trying to break the mold and be different. K-dramas on the other hand are a lot slower in that regard. So many of them follow the same mold, and it's probably why so many of us get hooked on them, maybe because we like that about them. But at the same time we need to have those that progress more too. Not just in how a drama might have a different unexpected outcome for it's story, but also in it's format. The way they tried something new here by having the characters talk to the camera. It made it unique and something different for a K-drama, and I liked it.
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