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The female lead is annoying to a point where I stopped feeling any empathy around her at all. A lot of people hate loud and excessive FLs and while that is a thing of taste (not mine, because I love screaming FLs, I even like most of Hwang Jung-eum characters), this is not the reason why the FL here is so annoying. Is mostly because the writing makes her unlikeable, the reasoning behind her every move is motivated by selfish reasons only. She is supposed to be this empowering and admirable woman but in fact she's a lying, unreasonable woman who is never hold responsible for her own mess.
Now, about the (various) male leads... This is tricky, because is more of a "the best of the worst" type of situation. The ML is probably the lesser evil from the three (there's a fourth one, but he's not exactly a candidate and if he were, he would be the best one easily). He is a bit creepy and annoying, but relatable at times and you can feel some empathy towards him considering he really does suffer a lot in this. The other two candidates, one is pure evil and the fact that he does terrible things in the name of "I SAW HER FIRST SO I SHOULD GET HER!!!" is villain-like and yet it's never portrayed as That Bad. The other one is not exactly evil, just a bit bland, and ironically the writers seem to have forgotten about him by the end.
The only joy I found in this came from the two kids and the bar owner and the mom. But that's like 7% of this mess. It's really not worth it.
If you're looking for romance, AVOID THIS ONE.
(It doesn't have even two whole episodes of that)
If you're looking for a strong lead character who is a single hard working mom, AVOID THIS ONE.
(She is really the worst)
If you're looking for a great story about the korean movie industry, AVOID THIS ONE.
(They forget about the movie by episode 6 or something and unfortunately this topic is never touched in any substantial form)
If you're looking for comedy, for the love of GOD, AVOID THIS ONE.
(I don't remember laughing at all in this, there isn't a single hint of comedy)
If you're looking for a frustrating show with frustracting people and poorly written characters and situations, THIS IS YOUR DRAMA.
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(And before I start this review properly let me address that I do like slow-burn, slice-of-life, nothing-ever-happens dramas and it's really not the case here because some things do happen here, they are just poorly executed.)
Now, ROY.
The first episodes are actually quite alright, I would say. They do make a good job of introducing the world and the characters and the way everything is connected. But here is the catch: It doesn't go far from that. Specially considering, like I said, things do happen a lot in this drama, but in the most frustrating way possible: OFF-SCREEN. In a similar note, time in this drama is used in the most bizarre way possible too, whenever something big happens they will just jump a few days, weeks, months, years without going into any trouble of revealing that to you, the viewer. You'll sometimes realize things like “So that couple is dating for over a year? But it seems like two weeks has passed at most??? How and when did that happen??” and the answer will always be flashbacks.
Not your usual, logical, quick flashbacks but the craziest and longest flashbacks you could ever imagine. Every episode ends in a cliffhanger but the next one starts in a few [days, weeks, years, who knows] before the scene where the previous episode has ended. It even has flashbacks... inside... flashbacks. It's insane.
And..... chemistry. It doesn't have much. And I'm not talking about the main couple, I'm talking about pretty much everyone. This is maybe too personal, but to me, it really felt like there's a lack of warmness between the characters that made me feel so distant from the whole thing.
Acting-wise, this is alright, they're mostly good/great actors, the OSTs were great too, but the story is frustrating and awful to be honest. Every episode feels like a car getting ready to take off in the morning and then randomly stopping before you can take out of the garage because the battery has died. Can't recommend at all.
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But the writing... I don't even know how to begin. There are a lot of gross behavior from most of the characters and it's never addressed in a proper way. ML seems like two different persons throughout the drama, the way his character is built doesn't actually showcases any changes towards his rude behavior, at least not in a believable way. He didn't have to be as unpleasant as he is, even if we consider the 'reason' behind his actions. Then out of nowhere he is a loving and caring person, and we are supposed to accept the mistreatment he delivered towards everyone as something okay??? And of course, the problematic behind the FL being considered 'ugly' just by having frizzy hair and freckles is indeed terrible, and the way things go is as predictable as you may expect.
Overall, 1/3 of this drama is kind of unbearable and annoying, 2/3 is kinda cute and sad and 3/3 is beautiful but a little boring. I don't think I'll re-watch this ever and I don't exactly recommend either.
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Direction in K-Dramas can be tricky considering it can vary from genre to genre and it's the one who should be one of the most valued (as it usually goes with movies for instance) because it sets the tone and the rhythm for the whole thing. A drama like What's Wrong With Secretary Kim for instance, the script in there isn't exactly the most groundbreaking and interesting (and I like that drama a lot) but what really makes it that watchable and fun is the (no, I'm not going to say the Park Seo-Joon shower scenes!!) directing work and, of course, the great actors who portray the main couple with that amazing chemistry. In here the direction really helps to maintain the sarcastic and sharp tone that political comedies usually go for in movies, but is not heavily handed like let's say Something in The Rain, where the director in that probably wanted to make a 16-hour long art house movie and it was hard to go through the whole thing without feeling bored or frustrated.
Everything in this drama is well-balanced to the maximum of its own strengths, which don't exactly make it a perfect drama, but a very solid watch that you can be sold to the idea by moment one or confused and annoyed right-away too. As for script and acting, Nana really nailed it, her character is fascinating cause it goes against the 'screaming quirky female lead' towards something more of a 'chaotic good and loud female lead'. She is really charismatic and even if she is supposed to be this annoying lady, it's so hard to be annoyed by her (at least for me). I'm not familiar with the male lead actor, but he made a good job too and their chemistry was really matched, specially with clever changes in dynamics. The reverse 'male boss — female secretary' was so fun to watch and now I want a whole show of that, please a reverse Secretary Kim please please Korea.
Now concerning Romance X Political Plots. If you're in for romance and romance only, you may find yourself a bit frustrated considering the show isn't 100% focused on that aspect (it's more or less 50/50) even tho the couple smooch each other a lot in the kissing scenes. And yeah, there is a bunch of political plots and sub-plots. Not that Serious Political stuff, because they deliver most of the comedy tone in those, so it's a lightweight watch with a few low points and a frenetic rhythm. Give it a try, if you're still not feeling it by episode 2 or 3 you can drop it without guilt.
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Yeah, you can't talk about this drama without mentioning the acting, specially Lee Dohyun. That boy makes wonder with his role, making an already good story become so much more because of how incredible his performance as the main role was. And the rest of the cast is not that far from him in terms of competence, Kim Haneul shines through her captivating and charismatic female lead; it's probably impossible not to root for her at every chance possible. Yoon Sang Hyun gets fewer parts than LDH (which may seem a bit weird since he is listed as main role but very understandable considering how the story needs to be developed) and he's for sure a veteran, a very skilled actor who deliver some great acting whenever he can.
Now, the story itself. It's basically the 17 Again movie for the first two episodes, which may lead you to think this is going to be just a shy remake of another story. But oh boy, by episode 3 they just leave everything behind and the drama really begins. And it's a journey, a very weird and spectatular one. It's almost impossible to get bored or frustrated because the problems are solved in a quick, effective way and it doesn't affect at all the overall flow. And it's very refreshing too, without being too preachy about it. They touch on some delicated matters; like divorce, sexual harassment, bullying and never in a "in-your-face" type of approach. It's all very subtle, very light-hearted and the most emotional scenes are usually connected to the main leads itself, and the struggles they need to face.
Still wondering about it? Just try the three first episodes. If by the end of episode three you're still not immersed, it may not be for you. But if you're into heart-warming and funny stories, please give this one a go.
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