Well I did it...I managed to finish it! It did take me a couple months...
Story: Even though it has familiar themes such as hotel setting, rivalry for power, baking, birth secret, jealous ex gf you want to punch etc. the writer did a great job of keeping each episode well paced, which made me want to keep watching. The ending is wrapped in a nicely neat bow for those who care;)The last 20 episodes felt dragged out though, that's pretty much the only critique for the story.
Acting/Characters: The acting was spot on for all the characters. Well except Lee Jang Woo who I can't seem to like in anything. It doesn't help that his character is a spoiled whiny chaebol who blames everyone else for all his "problems." The actress who played Saewa was really great with her character because I cringed every time her character came on, probably the most annoying character I've seen in a drama ever (and I've seen a lot!). My favorite characters were Sae Young & Tae Hoon Oppa(Alex). They were too funny and cute! As for the lead couple most of the time I felt like they had more of a cute chemistry meant for friends. I really like the lead actress though (saw her in King of Dramas first, really different characters). I forgot to mention the actress who played the mentally handicapped mother Anna. Excellent acting although her character got annoying towards the end as well...
Music: Not a lot of it, and not memorable either. It's to be expected though cause most daily dramas don't incorporate music.
Rewatch: It's rewatchable but I don't know when I'll have the time to sit through all those episodes again. I also don't care to watch all the annoying characters again so there's that...
Overall Smile, Dong Hae is worth a watch if you like family themed shows with a happy ending. It is possible to finish...if you dare!
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