This drama is a little deceptive, in that it starts out seeming that it’s going to just be a funny romp, but turns into an emotional ride with a lot going on. At the beginning it was a little too slapstick for me, and I pondered giving it up, but decided to stick with it, and I’m glad I did. I went from possibly quitting to “just let me watch one more episode before I go to bed”.
The writing: the writers did a good job with the comedy, but really shone with the emotional scenes. You really get a feel for what each of the characters is going through. This didn’t seem so much about fat shaming, but more about the consequences of the person that gets shamed for being fat. It also speaks a lot to living your dreams and not letting anyone stand in your way. I’ll tackle the actors/characters to address this more fully.
Actors: I felt that all of the actors were good in their parts. I’m only going to address the ones that stood out to me. Shin Sung Rok as Seo Yi Do was brilliant in this part. Here is a man that has the world at his feet, who made his dreams come true because of his first love; however, he was a complete mess. He had a list of phobias and allergies longer than your arm. He was arrogant, cocky, immature, rude and completely emotionally closed off. It doesn’t take long for the viewer to see slow but sure changes in his behavior. The first time he attempts a smile, it looks like he’s afraid his face will crack. As he begins to develop feelings for Ye Rin, Sung Rok does an excellent job of showing that wall around him starting to crack. Sung Rok is gifted with the ability to do physical comedy, and that comes in a lot in this show. But I was really impressed with the emotional scenes. My heart just about broke watching that one tear fall from the corner of his eye. Go Won Hee as Min Ye Rin was very good. She was terrific at acting like a 40-year-old, giving advice to her juniors (which always confused them!). Some of the things she did and said didn’t quite make sense sometimes, until you remember that she’s supposed to be 40 years old. In some ways, it was watching a caterpillar turn into a butterfly – her self-esteem was so non-existent and she just wanted to be invisible. Her body language was good in that respect. STANDOUT PERFORMANCE for me was Ha Jae Sook as Min Jae Hee. She played this part perfectly. Even in the scenes that were supposed to be funny, she was able to convey her overwhelming heartache, just with her facial expressions. The character of Jae Hee was one that was totally beaten down by life – cheated on by her husband, emotional abuse, giving up all her dreams, mean daughter, just to name a few of her issues. My heart went out to her in any scene that she was in – her feelings of defeat and her vulnerability were almost palpable. A brief shout out to Kim Ki Doo, who played Yi Do’s secretary – he normally plays kind of goofy characters. In this he was very likeable and I really appreciated the way the writers wrote his character and how he got the inside track on what was happening before everyone else. Another shout out to Jo Han Chul, who played Jae Hee’s husband – this is another actor that normally played kind of loud, quirky characters. In this show he was chilling. He progressed from just a self-absorbed man to a psycho. It was scary to watch.
The OST was lovely and the music really lended itself to increasing the emotional impact of the scenes.
Chemistry between the leads was lovely and there were a few really nice kisses.
I have to admit I was a little confused by the ending, and disappointed that it was so abrupt, but watching Yi Do living his life in faith, believing that he’d see Jae Hee again, was lovely.