How to NOT do a daily drama

Don't bother.
At one point I was going to suggest watching the first 20 episodes then skipping to about 70 and picking up from there. But the series fell apart in the last few weeks and it's not worth bothering.

I can't believe that a writing team that HAS done a 120 ep daily before did not plan out the plot better. They could have easily fit in all the plot lines they wanted to, but instead wasted 50+ episodes with nothing happening and then tried to cram everything in at the last 3 weeks. CRAZY!!! They left plot-holes galore, undeveloped characters, no chemistry, ridiculous premises, unpunished villains, and the list goes on.

The could have saved it (Kinda) if they had the guts to make the ending sad or even bittersweet. It would at least have given the series a point. But instead they pulled a monkey out of a hat (not the metaphor I wanted to use) and came up with A HAPPY ENDING. Good Grief.

All this in addition to the worst ML character I've ever seen. I feel sorry for the actor playing this loser and I hope that he does not get typecast in the future.

The only redeeming thing in this mess was the acting of the daughter by Kim SiEun. Her growth as an actress thru this was amazing and if she doesn't get Young Actress of the year at the KBS Awards in December, it will be a crime. She could easily compete for Best Actress, period. As much as I disliked her character, it was her performance that stole the show.

So again, don't bother watching this. It's not worth it. And a curse on the writers and producers for wasting an interesting concept with undisciplined writing and poor oversight. And toss the Director in the Fiery Pit as well...

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What Could Have Been, but wasn't

I want you to imagine a situation where Writer A gets his concept for a series green-lighted by KBS. Except he learns the network wants to stretch his 16-episode concept to a 50 episode weekender. UGH! He can’t handle that! So he reaches out to his college buddy, Writer B. “Bro, I can’t handle 50 eps! How about I do the first half and you take over the 2nd? I’ll pay you as long as we keep my name on the credits?” “Sure, dude, can do! I can use the cash! Just let me know when I should start, bud.”.

And we’re off and running….
Writer A’s first part of the series is fun, clever, and sweet. And so fast-paced that it was praised by all! We watch our leads progress quickly from enemies to friends to almost-lovers. Our leading man is doing great in his comeback role. Even those bitchy fans on MDL are cheering them on! We’ve got co-parenting while bringing in potential love interests, one couple trying to get back to their glory days of youth, and a growing love plot between 2 unlikely characters! The 2FL's plots to break them up all fail hilariously! And a Shaman giving us crazy scenes of the future!

Except the problem is Writer B isn’t paying that much attention to the first half (Writer A’s work) and has his OWN ideas for the 2nd half. So he begins writing his scripts to fit the show's loose outline he’s been given. He follows his own agenda, anyways, plus, he notices some things in the show so far, that need to be addressed:
• KJH actor is a really good-looking guy with high approval rate among women. Need to emphasize him!
• The lead couple has poor chemistry. Need to reduce situations that exacerbate this.
• The lead actress seems increasingly distracted and cold. Need to minimize her lines.
• There are too many secondary couples. Need to minimize some of these characters.

So writer A taps out…either voluntarily or under pressure from KBS seeking a re-vamp; take your pick of conspiracy theories. And here comes Writer B. He looks at the arcs for the characters he's left with and says, “NAH! This doesn’t fit my vision, so I’ll just write out some of these characters, or simply pretend meaningful events in the first half didn’t happen.” This is HIS show now and he’s going to appeal to the fans by making the 2ML a prime character and bringing some DRAMA to this series, because ratings will spike for sure!!! And he’s got about 20 episodes left to go, so he can take his time, and stop all this fast-paced stuff.

And this, my friends is what we are left with. Two completely different shows featuring the same(ish) characters which are grafted onto each other. The first half is GOLD: A bright new series that promised to make us forget the previous 2 weekenders that ended up failing. And it’s a comeback vehicle for both ML & FL. For 30-ish episodes we bask in the fun we’re having here. The second half unfortunately is MANURE. Slow-paced, filled with a conveyor-belt of angst for the leads, who grow increasingly awkward and characters who suddenly disappear. And the new series revolves around the 2ML – he is the catalyst that moves the script.

It’s almost as if the 2nd half was a spinoff of the first half, which would have been OK, if they had actually made it a separate show that we’d have the option to ignore. Also, if the first half had been given a logical conclusion. But no, we got this hodgepodge.

In prior k-dramas, I’ve loved to go back and watch old episodes and relive some past meaningful scenes. We’ve all done it….it’s FUN. But I can’t do that here. Because every time I try to watch something in Episodes 1-30 I get sad and think ‘what could have been”.

That’s the theme of this show: “What could have been”. This could have been a great series that lived up to its hype of resurrecting the weekend family drama. That could have made the most of its strong cast. That could have held us through 50 episodes, from the beginning of Spring thru the end of Summer. That could have kept us laughing and cheering on our leads as they try to keep up their farce of a fake marriage and the pitfalls of continuously lying to their parents.

So, for the new viewers asking if this show is worth watching, be forewarned. You can approach it as a limited edition series and watch from 1-32. But you’ll have to accept the fact that the show is essentially unfinished. 33-49 is basically No Mans Land: DO NOT WATCH. If you wish, you can watch Ep 50 for the finale. But be warned that the FL does not act as you expected her to from the first 20 episodes or so. And that some characters are missing.

But really, there are better options for you. If you’re looking for a romantic series, this ain’t it. And it loses it on the comedy front at Ep 33. Sure, there are some funny moments, but they are awkwardly placed amongst the angst prevalent in the balance of each episode. There really isn’t a niche the entire series fits into, because it’s 2 series back to back.

Finally, there is a reason there are over 17,000 comments here. YLAG, one of the most polarizing weekenders that REALLY pissed off its audience generated 8,800 comments. Think about that for TRHC: Seventeen THOUSAND! Since a high comment counts equals an aggrieved audience, this series 17K can give you an idea of what’s going on with the fans here.

When you clicked on this page, you saw the comment count. It stands as a silent warning: BEWARE TO ALL WHO WATCH THIS.

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Definition of Chemistry will never be the same

I have not one complaint about this show. I can't even believe I'm saying that.

Look, it's not Dr. Zhivago, Gone with the Wind, or the Godfather. It's a rom-com that hits every point for me. Sometimes you don't want a full, heavy meal. You just want something light to eat and relax. Is the plot thin? Well, KTL is a magazine, not a novel. And magazines have their place too. KTL is light, funny, sexy, romantic and sweet, with two stars that know how to play off each other. It's perfect escapism. And it avoids all the Kdrama tropes: No birth secrets, no secret adoptions, no amnesia, no White Truck of Doom, no relative killing another's family member, etc.

Product placement? In spades. Find me a Kdrama (especially on KBS) that doesn't. But it's beautifully lit, staged, filmed, and the locations are surreal - think how beautiful the Thailand and England scenes were. And Yoona & Junho have re-written the concept of chemistry. We know their history IRL, which makes it even more special. Their scenes are so electric at times it could power Downtown Seoul. For me, nothing will ever come close to them as a couple. They are the new Gold Standard.

There's just enough villain to go around, but, and this is something that the current KBS series could learn from (I'm looking at you, TRHC & AOME writers) the biggest point to me is how well our leads COMMUNICATE. No deep secrets held for long, they talk out their problems, and nothing is held back.

This series is my Happy Place I've run to during the angst of TRHC. I can't even count how many times I've seen the last 2 episodes. It's ENTERTAINMENT, folks. That's all. And it's 10/10 on that aspect for me.

Count me in on those wanting a Season 2. I want to see how these 2 and their supporting cast tackle the challenges ahead (her running Hotel Amor while balancing being his wife, future family life, etc). I think they can come up with one more season of things for all of them to do. Hell, I could watch them playing Monopoly, frankly, and be pleased.

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WATCH THIS LITTLE GEM!!!

Stop what you're doin'
Cuz I'm about to ruin
The kind of Asian Drama that you're used to....
(RIP, Shock-G)

This little series is the sweetest, funniest, silliest thing I've ever seen. At only 15 mins per episode, it's like someone placed a bowl of candy in front of me and said, "Eat all you want...."

Seriously, make the time (only 3 hours total) to watch this. Binge it, or whatever, it won't take that much of your life, and you'll be happier for it. Just don't think about how silly the concept is, and go with the wild ride that the cast and crew give us: Great ML and FL with terrific chemistry, no secondary couples to confuse things, great acting (the ML is terrific in his disposition in the scenes where he's a pig), and we know that the whole team is winking at us while they are filming it. Photography, sound, background music is all on point. Great visuals of the skylines.

I stumbled on it by accident, and my first thought was "You've GOT to be kidding me", but after the first episode, I was hooked. And be sure to watch until the last minute! The ending had me in stitches. Wake up KBS: remake this show as a full-length drama and give us a break from the garbage series you've been pushing at us lately.

That's it. A short, sweet little gift from China. Watch it, you'll thank me later.

Oh, and don't believe the low ratings here for it. This is an 8.5+ show.

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Who do you love more? Me or your company?

I found this series as it was being heavily pushed on my YouTube timeline. Which is funny as I really don't watch C-dramas that much. I was intrigued by the clips they showed and Ms. Song is quite striking.

After 36 episodes, these are the things I thought were interesting/odd:
I agree with those saying that ShaSha seems to have had a cloistered upbringing, especially considering her Mom's personality. However, she studied abroad for years, so how did THAT work out? Seems inconsistent? It was nice to see her grow up and stand up to her Mom prior to her leaving for Africa.

The fact that Huasheng agreed to help Yuyi to do its IPO was interesting. Huasheng had to realize that Yuyi's stated purpose was to create a product to directly compete with and ultimately replace Huasheng. Other than being a lucrative contract, what incentive would there have been for Huasheng to assist Yuyi? And letting one of your lead staff (FL) date and have a relationship with this rival's CEO is a headache I'd kick over to HR to figure out. Xixi was right to complain to her boss that she needed to be out of the loop to avoid conflict-of-interest.

I think they really dropped the ball with the last episode: After all this, Ms. Tong misses the wedding ceremony? And XiXi's mom bails on it too? When I first saw that, I thought, "Oh sheesh, they're back with the sisters dissing each other?" The excuse of her not attending due to a class trip was lame. Just pay the actress and write her in for that one last ep, for gosh sakes! And the end scene: Where were they? The UK? European continent? The fact that they did not marry was odd, and definitely against the cliche-mode for the rest of the show.

Did the ML love the FL? I think so, very much so. But he's the typical techie: arrogant, smart, and clueless all at the same time. So he loves his company and the possibility of AI too. I would have rather they forced the ML have to choose between his company and her. They both are trying to have it both ways. And the FL does love him, but she has too much baggage in her life that she's only started to deal with. Her loyalty to her company is undeserved in this day and age (at least here in the US) especially considering they demoted her TWICE. She should have bolted and went to Yuyi as a consultant in translation services.

It was gratifying to see them have the ML eat humble pie at the end of the expo: that machines cannot replace the human touch, AI be damned. He just couldn't seem to grasp the difference between 'translation' and 'interpretation'. The former can be done by a device. The latter? Not so much.

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It may not be perfect, but it was perfect for me

I don't get the negative reviews here, but to each their own.

This show was recommended to me after I watched King the Land, which I absolutely adore. I've come to need good rom-coms in my life; I've had it with hackneyed dramas with their manufactured angst and cliche story-lines. This show, for me, filled in all the blanks. ALL OF THEM.

I came to fall in love with the cast, their stories, the direction, photography, locations, etc. The OST was not quite as good as KtL, but it's background score was better, especially her theme (available on YouTube). The show correctly and perfectly developed not only the leads, but the supporting cast as well and included them in the leads story so well and logically. We came to care about them TOO.

I don't feel the story let down after the background mystery was resolved - in fact, how it was finally resolved and confessed brought tears to my eyes. And the lead's journey after that, was no less compelling. His love for her, that had been so long in coming, that he dare not reveal, was at time heart-rending for him. Her confusion about the past and her deep feelings for him kept us coming back for more and more.

Everybody talks about "chemistry". Not only did the leads have great chemistry, but this extended to the supporting cast as well. The scenes between the VC & President were not only funny, but touching and realistic. Everyone played off each other so well; I've never seen a show like this before. Kudos to the casting director!

Their fumbling and stumbling thru their relationship (the first one for each, despite their ages) was relatable. Was he a "toxic" person? No, he's just a dork. He's a clueless rich guy, whose intelligence is matched by his social awkwardness. And he was traumatized by events in his past that would have shattered lesser personalities. Is she a cold-hearted, selfish woman? Seriously? She is trying to deal with her long-time boss being someone who is more than he seems and trying to balance her affection for him with her sense of duty and uncertainty in falling in love for the first time.

The webtoon goes well past their marriage, and tells us their story in the future. I still hope that maybe, someone, will pick up on this and give us a Season 2.

I only wish KBS would give us something more like this instead of what passes for K-dramas on their network these days. I eagerly await the Filipino Version!

PS - I liked it so much I bought the DVD (tip: the translations on the DVD are OK, but not as good as those on the online streaming sites).

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One of KBS's Best Weekend Family Dramas

Wow. What an amazing series.

Given the inconsistent quality of the last 2 years of KBS Weekenders, it's fair to say "They don't make them like this anymore".

And although I didn't like the 'fake aunt' story arc, this show managed to keep the story-line fun and entertaining thru all 50 hour-long episodes. Which nowadays is a lost art. And they did this DESPITE it being made during the pandemic (which I had completely forgotten about until it was mentioned in the closing credits!).

Other notable achievements:
Having multiple couples. Instead of the usual KBS primary/secondary couples, this show had several with their own theme:
The Doctors (lead couple?) - NH & GJ had to learn how much they loved each other by getting divorced.
The Sadoons - DH & JS proved to us that Love Conquers All.
The First Borns - SJ & HG to never give up on the person you love.
The Age Gap - GH & HS made us think outside the box and that friends can make the best lovers if we are bold enough

And yet, there are MORE couples:
Butcher/Sister in Law - They overcame their bickering past to wind up together (although exactly HOW this happened is somewhat strained, vis-a-vis ChoYeon's appearance.)
Kimbap Lady/Producer - sometimes marriage ISN'T the answer for an older couple.
The "upstairs boys"/Unnie's Girls - window dressing, but still nice to see them paired up.

That's a LOT of couples to keep track of and yet, it worked. Which is pretty AMAZING given you have only 50 hours of airtime.

Oddly, the thing that stood out to me the most was how satisfying and correct the kimbap/producer arc played out. Marriage wasn't necessary and she was happy being with him; a believable decision given her character and past. BRAVO to the writer for this.

What would I have liked to have changed? 2 things:
1. I wanted better closure for GH/HS. He got his Olympic Medal and I would have liked them to announce their relationship to her parents. I think THAT would have made a funny epilogue - one last look of shock on her mom & dad's faces.
2. I found the character of HyunGung to be most interesting. I wish we'd seen more of her development...I'm assuming her parents had passed away, given how she spoke of them as a protective fence. Her counsel was sought after twice by NH, so it seems they were very close...but she wasn't with the other sisters? She was never included in any of the sisterly gatherings, which I felt was odd. I felt that she & GH should have had a very close relationship as well.

Otherwise, this was a thoroughly enjoyable show. I'm glad I watched it and you will be too! I think the 8.6 rating here is too low. I'd give it a solid 9.

Thanks for reading!

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Came pretty close to being great.

I've needed a few months to think about this series before writing a review. I feel that, with some fixing of the script, this show deserves a shot at being re-done. It came so close to being great, but the script let down the cast. As in "It's Beautiful Now", the show tended to divide the fan base here along the lines of the 3 couples (disclaimer, I liked the Son and the older woman...I thought they were a great couple, but I like Bit Na anyways, so I'm biased).

The show started off "OK" and started to gather steam, but the lack of chemistry among the leads as a couple held the show back. Then odd things started to happen: The middle couple (younger daughter/older CEO) took off like crazy, with a weird chemistry between them that really worked, in spite of their differences. I think this spiraled out of control for the production team and things got away from them. Realizing that the second couple was waaay more popular than the leads, they directed the story towards them instead. KBS even ran a special episode dedicated to their romance! All this, without a single kiss between them!

In the mean time, the leads were sort of reduced to a husband/wife team of detectives, almost. And oddly enough....THAT worked for them. The 3rd couple, that I liked had their challenges as well and I looked forward to the friction between them. The second couple stole the show all the way to the KBS awards where they got Couple of the Year award. (If you get a chance to see their red-carpet talk after the awards, it's hilarious - I think it may still be on YouTube. Their difference in ages was a factor in real-life for them - especially him).

Unfortunately, there were a lot of stumbling blocks in the plot, which could have been addressed by the aforementioned re-write above: a useless amnesia arc (which essentially was used to hide the leads lackluster chemistry). The other problem was an endless loop of paternity tests that became laughable by the end of the series. The 'bones' of a great series are there - with a revised cast that DOES have the chemistry needed and cleaned-up script, this series, which actually is about how love progresses between age-gaped couples, could have lived up to its potential.

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The tyrannical nutcase we've come to know and love

Instead of the "different version of Bangwon" touted back in the hype leading up to the series (mentioned in the intro thread here, and teased in the opening scene), I saw the Bangwon I've come to know via KHDs. The cold-hearted ruthless killer and "tyrant" (IMO) that has ruled the KBS dramas I've seen. I was glad to see his Queen call out his hypocrisy for claiming that was how a King was supposed to rule. It was good to see that, because this Bangwon really seemed full of it to me. He spent a lot of time making sure that the tools he used to ascend to power (powerful clans & private armies) couldn't be used against him, all while claiming that it was for the good of the Country. Yeah, right. Paranoid much?

I got the impression that there was a change in the writing of the characters after the6 week series suspension. It seemed to create a colder Bangwon than we'd seen to date, and the pace of the scenes picked up. The last 2 episodes could have been 4 easily, and they wouldn't have been so rushed.

The lead actor got better as the series went on, and once crowned King, he seemed to be more comfortable in his role. As usual, KBS's has an excellent supporting cast. I've lost count how many times I've said that in the past to seemingly mediocre series' leads. Of note: the actor playing Sejong did bear a resemblance to Kim Sang-Kyung from Great King Sejong (GKS); the performances given by Kim Yung-Choul, Im Ho (what a treat to see him included), Kim Myung-Soo, and Sun Dong-Hyuk were very enjoyable and solid as ever.

KUDOS to the director of photography. And although I didn't mind the background music, it needed to be padded down...the levels were too high.

A demerit to the translation team: they forgot to include translations of captions, especially the names of characters introduced for the first time.

And I'm disappointed in the omission of Jo Mal-Seng from this series. He was the living embodiment of Bangwon's mistrust of Sejong: LBW's plant inside the ministerial cabinet who was both an informant to Bangwon who then became the Minister of Military after Bangwon released his own hold on the position. This character was so unforgettable in GKS that it's omission here is odd. If you're going to include Hwang Hee, then Mal-seng should have been written in too (again, they needed at least another episode).

And finally, if this isn't TLDR enough for you: The opening scene. After watching the last episode, I went back and saw Ep 1 again. I think the scene still deserved to be included at the end, as the show was actually still written in that direction. Omitting it was wrong, although the Bangwon as-written towards the end couldn't fully confront the guilt for his actions, I think it would have fit in as a warning to Sejong, maybe it could have been a nightmare sequence right after Bangwon announces his abdication - to let Sejong realize the horrors the throne is capable of. I think the writers should have at least tried. It seemed high-handed to simply dismiss it the way they did, leaving us with a truly unrepentant LBW, despite his few minor "I've sinned" scenes here and there.

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The G.O.A.T of all TV series.

The best Television show from any country, at any time , in any genre. Amazingly written and directed, superbly acted by a terrific cast (1 exception) and done in a way that makes 86 episodes fly by. I was saddened when the series ended.

You won't regret watching it, and will learn a lot of history as well. The one casting error (actor playing Young-Sil was a bit wooden and seemed out of place) would be corrected in the follow-on "Jang Young-Sil" series, featuring some of the original cast of GKS.

I only wish they would have made something as worthy since.

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Nearly Perfect Series about a Very Un-Perfect Couple

This will take a while. There’s a lot to unpack here.

I admit that this is a very polarizing series. And it’s really a shame, as this series has so much going for it: A fantastic cast, great OST & Background music, clever photography and a strong novel to base the screenplay on. But I guess it’s understandable, given how unusual this series is and that it requires the viewer to appreciate it from a different perspective. I find this kind of ironic, as the one constant here on MDL is how members are quick to criticize rom-com’s for being ‘tropey’ or meme-like or, the ultimate insult: a cliché. So along comes this series, closely adapted from the novel, which is anything but a cliché. Sometimes you can’t win though, and sure enough a lot of the negative comments here revolve around how ‘weird’ the leads are and all the familiar plot elements the viewers are expecting…. don’t happen. This series is the typical “Damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situation.

I’ll take a step back here, now that I’ve mentioned the novel. If you get a chance, and you want to understand this series better, read it – it’s readily available on-line. The series borrows HEAVILY from the book and entire scenes are completely lifted from it. The book omits all the corporate stuff and much of the Three Musketeers angle. It focuses on our leads and especially her. FWIW, I feel that Bai Lu did an excellent job of putting a human face to ShuYi: in the book, she is not that likeable of a character. And the same can be said for Dylan, who actually makes him an even worse character because we can see how bad a person he sometimes is. So, essentially she made her better, and he made him worse: both because they both humanized the book’s characters.

Anyways, back to the series. Instead of the idealized and beat-to-death “Cinderella Rescued by the Rich Guy” story, with at least one nearly-perfect “green-flag” character, we get Zheng ShuYi and ShiYan, both of whom are very realistically flawed people.

On one hand, we have the young, intelligent, beautiful and award-winning journalist, a ‘career-girl’ who is totally focused on her professional life, to the point of only having one friend outside of work. At 25, she resists efforts by her parents to socialize with other men, as she feels she’s not ready for a committed relationship. Recently dumped by her boyfriend (I doubt there was that much going on there, given her dedication to her craft) she’s not ready for dealing with ANY man in the near future. And she has a deep character flaw: her inability to tell the truth in settings either mundane or important, no matter who she’s talking to: her parents, co-workers, boyfriend, etc. Despite being self-confident in her professional life, she is extremely insecure, so she keeps much of her personal life secret from everyone she knows. I’ve known women like ShuYi, they ARE real and no one bases rom-coms on them. And yes, they are VERY difficult to have a relationship with.

On the other hand, we have the equally intelligent young CEO, who broke away from his father’s company to make his own mark on the world. He is as insecure as she is; but with him, it comes in the manner of being self-centered and very introverted. This behavior, especially manifested in his lack of communicative skills, has hindered him in both his personal and professional growth. His reputation suffers because of it, as common wisdom says he deserted his father’s firm when it was going thru hard times, when in fact, he made sure his brother-in-law was competent enough to run that company before he left. He too is self-confident in his professional life; too much so, as this comes back to bite him as his lack of communication skills can’t back up his actions, which alienates the public, his investors, and the elders on his board who are gradually losing confidence in him. He too is coming off a relationship (with an actress) that fizzled out because he was unable to keep up with her needs on a personal level – his personality simply can’t handle such things. And he has a dark side: We will see how intensely jealous he is and he also has a cruel streak. He even acknowledges this near the end of the series to the main female antagonist when he warns her in Ep 32 that he is “not a very good person”. Shi Yan is anything but the typical ‘green-flag’ young, rich CEO boyfriend. He is a force to be reckoned with and must be treated with extreme caution.

So, we have a romantic comedy bringing together two very different, flawed, realistic people. Who have neither time nor interest for romance in their lives. Both of whom are consumed with furthering their careers and have little to no life outside of work. This has brought them success in that aspect of their lives and emptiness otherwise.

And because they are realistic people, they make mistakes in dealing with each other; LOTS of mistakes, the worst of which are committed by her. In fact, their relationship begins for the wrong reason: her desire for revenge on her ex-boyfriend by dating and marrying the man she thought was the uncle of his new girlfriend (all this based on a confused premise on her part). While the TV series soft-plays this aspect leading up to the breakup, it is more dominant in the novel. The fact that she is continually dishonest as to why she was attracted to him creates doubt in his mind and mounting guilt for her. This eventually dooms their relationship, much as she feared.

Another common criticism of this series is that it’s a ‘slow-burn’ but I argue that it needs to be – it’s about 2 people who accidentally fell in love despite their differences and inability to be open with each other as True Love requires. (In fact, “Accidental Love” was supposed to be the series title [as the book was named] and not the more generic “Only for Love”). Although he falls for her first, he correctly mistrusts her because of her inability to be honest, and she is so full of doubts about everything that she can’t open herself to him, even though she knows she should.

So we see two people who probably shouldn’t have anything to do with each other, becoming attracted to each other and trying to form a relationship with a lot of bumps along the way, thanks to their insecurity, mistrust, and inability to effectively communicate with each other. They make mistakes, stupid decisions, and listen to bad advice. Their love affair sometimes resembles ‘blind-man’s-bluff’ as they feel out each other and their mutual feelings. And this is why this series is so special and different. Because this is how life is and how people in the real world behave and try to find a mate to love and live with. It’s devoid of all the fantasy-people that populate most rom-coms who gloss thru life and go from meeting to marriage in 16 episodes. Our leads need time to tell their story.

Whether or not they should have been together is up to the viewer – there’s no right answer here. More to the point is the question of if they deserve a “happy ending” to their story. And I’ll be honest, I do love a ‘happy ever after’ ending in my rom-coms. But those stories and characters are not like this one. We’re constantly told that communication is the key to the leads in any love story, and that is certainly NOT the case here. Frankly, I don’t think they deserve a Happy Ending. They’ve done nothing to deserve it and both are too immature or just-plain screwed up to make a functional relationship that would last. Given how much richer the series is vs. the book, I would have written the series differently and made their breakup in Episode 27 long-term. They would have parted ways and lived their own lives, although he would still carry a torch for her and keep tabs on her career, despite knowing he shouldn’t. I would time skip and move 15 years into the future, on the eve of her 40th birthday. We see them now, somewhat older and presumably wiser too. While in the intervening years she would go on to marry and eventually divorce Jackson Yi, she would be left with nothing to show for their marriage. While her career would continue to flourish and she advances up the ladder at Financial Weekly, her personal life would wind up as empty as it was after she broke up with ShiYan 15 years prior. He would concentrate on growing Yuanchang, until his Brother-in-Law retires and he then merges Yuanchang back into his Dad’s company and becomes the CEO of Mingu Bank. His personal life would be non-existent, much to the distress of his family.

That evening, at a Shi Family dinner, his niece, who still works at FW and maintains contact with ShuYi (and suspects her Uncle’s continued feelings for her former mentor) mentions that ShuYi’s birthday is the following day. She tells him they are having a big party at the office and wouldn’t it be nice if he sent flowers and a card wishing her the best? “Hmmph” he replies and we see the wheels turning in his head as his niece looks on. And that’s where Part 2 of the series would take off. Would they be able to reconcile after all these years? Can she overcome her insecurity and be able to open her heart to him and love him fearlessly? Can he forgive and forget and try to reset everything while becoming a more patient and less-jealous boyfriend? That’s where the story should go, I think. Can they really learn from their mistakes, or are they doomed to repeat them again?

Well, given the reaction so far to this series, that would probably be down-voted too. As I said at the beginning of this review, “sometimes you just can’t win”.

And FWIW, I’m not saying this series is perfect. The editing leaves a lot to be desired and a lot of material was left on the cutting-room floor. Obvious scenes are missing, and they had to create a 15 minute special epilog to cover the wedding. Instead, they should have recovered the lost footage, and just gone for a 37-episode series with their wedding at the end. It’s the only negative thing I have to say about this show.

Thanks for reading.

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It was OK

This was such an odd series. I struggled to get past the first 4 episodes, when they are either getting beaten, robbed, scammed, etc. In fact, I think I skipped Ep 3 as it was getting to be too much. But once it hit its stride around Ep 5/6 it was cute and worth watching. Has one of the most eclectic OSTs ever, whoever curated the music was either crazy or a genius or both. I didn't care much for the ML or his character, but to each his own. And the FL character seemed forced and unrealistic. But the supporting cast was great with many familiar faces: Kim Gyu Chul is a standard in Historical Dramas and delivers another standout performance as the greedy Mr. Baek. "National Grandma" Kim Young Ok does her thing with aplomb (seeing her in heels was odd, to me, though). And the utter shock of seeing Chae Soo Bin in a cameo role at the end was wonderful (one of my fave actresses). What's funny is I'm also watching "Once Again" and many of these actors are in that show too, LOL. When they tied up all the loose ends (oddly in Ep 15 and not the finale) I wish they had addressed MaRi & InSung. The lead's ending was not unsatisfying without a wedding and seemed fitting. Rewatchability? I dont' think so, but I don't regret watching it.

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Not Perfect, but Fun Anyways

This was a nice diversion from a cold & windy day. Some of it was a bit "inside" and I wish it wasn't so frantic - it seemed like they were rushed to fit it into the 2 Hr time window. I'd like to have added at least 15 mins to it - so we can see what happens when she regains HER memory. That would be the telling part of their future together as she seemed much angrier with him, hence her excessive drinking. A nice twist would have been for her to tell him at the airport that she never lost her memories, and was pretending to see what happened. (The thing with the earbuds was funny but so frustrating!)

I too would like to see them cast together in something where they can develop a relationship in a more coherent way.

I'd give it about 8.8? It was fun and enjoyable. I'd watch it again.

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36 out of 50 ain't bad

This review is a little late in coming. In retrospect, this was better than any of the follow-on weekenders on KBS, so there's that. The show seemed to divide the fans along the lines of who shipped which couple: There was the youngest couple camp, the middle, and the oldest ("the dolts"). I was in the latter. SDM & OMS had terrific chemistry in this series and really played well off each other. She was center of the series for a good portion of it, as we heard her thoughts and fears in voice-over. Each of the couples had their time in the sun, and had their share of obstacles to overcome. I won't spoil it, there are some really terriific scenes for each, and as a whole family too, of the Lees with Mom, Dad and their three sons. The actors were great: Kim HyeOk seems to touch gold wherever she goes and is one of my favorite 'Mom' characters. YSY did his usual great job, his character didn't get much of a stretch until the latter part of the show. For me, the show stopped being interesting once they refocused the show on Park JiYoung, and it became essentially a star-vehicle for her. I think this was per-ordained as why would such an accomplished actress be in this family drama, especially as a background character in the first 2/3rds? Oh well, once that arc began, around Ep 37, the show falls apart. The final episode couldn't even give us a full wind-down because the first half of it was STILL about her. So, the wrap-up was hastily done and poorly so.

This could have been a GREAT series, had they stuck to the original story arcs and used the last 10 or so episodes on bringing each couple to a logical conclusion. But, unfortunately not. Watch up to 36, and if you're curious, skip to 50, but really, you don't need to as it doesn't give much closure. At one time, I wished for a follow-up (season 2) to the series, or even a spinoff of how the oldest couple's life turned out, focusing on the challenges an older couple face. But I'm not sure if the writers could pull it off. Better to leave this one be, and just appreciate the first 2/3s.

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Make the time to watch it - it's worth it

My only regret with HCCC is that I didn't see it when it was broadcast live. It's healing theme, especially during the pandemic would have been more therapeutic than any medication offered.

This show has everything a viewer could want - Terrific cast; Great chemistry between all characters; Well-developed supporting cast characters who blend into the story seamlessly; great visuals; believable story-line, etc...
Our leads really play well off each other and their wariness of their feelings was so realistic and well depicted. She is a handful, and quite the opposite of him, something they both acknowledged. And his issues and baggage did not bring the story down but created the challenges for her to respond to.
I'm sure this theme has been done before, and will be in the future (Welcome to Samdal-ri?) but I can't imagine another show doing it better.

Rewatchable? HELL, YES!

Thanks TvN & Netflix for giving us such a beautiful and funny story.

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