Jealousy Incarnate (2016)

To me, Jealousy Incarnate is a messy drama. But it is messy in the most perfect sense possible. The kind of drama that reminds you about the joys of love, friendship, life and sorrow. I went looking for a typical Gong Hyo Jin romantic comedy drama that I crave once in a while. But this is so much more than a romantic comedy.

Of course, the romantic comedy elements are all there. The love triangle is killer. You will definitely have a second lead syndrome, even if it's only for a few fleeting seconds. But at the same time, you will never stop loving the male lead. The story also makes you laugh plenty. I haven't laughed like this while watching a drama in a long time. The writers didn't take even a minute for granted and the whole thing is an absolute joyride.

Another awesome thing about the story is how they covered a whole range of issues in a lighthearted and optimistic manner. We have the issues of male breast cancer, asexuality, live-in, two-timing, workforce rat-race, not-so-typical families explored beautifully in a way that only a Korean drama can pull off. The romance is top-notch. I love the chemistry between the two leads and between all characters in general. The comic timing is great.

Among the characters, I was absolutely invested in Hwa Shin's character. He is not perfect but the kind of growth the character showed from the very first episode all the way till the end, and the way Jo Jung Suk portrayed Hwa Shin's struggle in love and life, it was amazing. He absolutely killed it! I have watched everything Jo Jung Suk has starred in and this is my favorite of his works (so far). Gong Hyo Jin was her usual best. I love her in these naive roles that she plays. Both second leads were great. Jung Won was more perfect but Hwa Shin was more interesting.

Pal Gang's moms were hilarious and their interactions were something I always looked forward to. The company had an interesting setting. I loved Pinocchio and this time, it was nice to see a drama from an anchor's perspective instead of reporters. Pyo Na Ri's struggle to switch from a forecaster to an anchor was inspiring and something that was relate-able.

I am definitely rewatching this. Some scenes are so memorable and the chemistry is unforgettable. The music is great. My favorite song from the OST is "Yes! Love". I waited for it to release for a long time. Overall, it is going down as one of my favorites. And Jo Jung Suk has almost made it to my favorite actors list. Highly highly recommended for all kinds of moods!

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I love Gong Hyo Jin, and the trailers for this show are what drew me to it. I like the two male leads as well, and this looked to be a fairly fun romance story.

The first half of this show, I was utterly in love with it. I re-watched episodes as I waited for new ones to air. But I made the fatal mistake of falling for the second male lead, knowing that the writers would break my heart and his. The show starts off by throwing a huge cast of characters at us, and their relations seem a little confusing at first. But, eventually, all is sorted, and we have ourselves with 3 main love triangles. Pyo Na Ri, who has been in a 3 year one-sided love with Lee Hwa Shin, and then meets and falls for his best friend and ultimate chaebol gentleman, Go Jung Won. This is our main triangle and love story. The others are played up at first but slowly get pushed to the background....just like our 2nd lead. I blame the writers for making Jung Won such a perfect catch (and Go Kyung Pyo for making Jung Won seriously swoony) that he was hard to get over. Whereas, in contrast Hwa Shin could be a perfect donkey's behind...yet somehow you couldn't hate him because he also showed that he cared about everyone in his life as well. He was definitely tortured by his own inner self.

The story had some serious moments that the writers cut with humorous moments, so the weightier matters didn't drag the show into melodrama territory. There were strong characters and great chemistry with ALL the cast members. The writers did a fantastic job with the casting, and it could not have been more perfect. Up until around episode 14, I was sure that this might be the best drama I had ever watched and I fully expected to see it on my list of favorites. But the writers started to make some missteps in the story from my point of view. And I know that the majority of viewers may disagree with me. I did not feel that way simply because my 2nd lead wasn't getting the girl. Hwa Shin was not a bad choice for Pyo Na Ri. They did have some great chemistry together and I could see where the Hwa Shin "shippers" could be all on board with him. But I wasn't as swayed as I could have been and the actions of the characters didn't seem honorable to me in that mid-point. It dampened my love for the show somewhat, and that never fully recovered. Jealousy Incarnate was still a good show and I looked forward to it every week. I think they wrapped up the story well and completely for our main couple. However, they left a lot of loose ends when they backburnered the side characters that were prominent in the first several episodes.

My favorite side characters may have been the doctor and her nurse. Nurse Oh stole every scene she was in, and the doctor was both funny and full of heart.
The music was great - seriously stand out. I'm not normally into the music so much, but there were several songs that I had to hunt down and play for my own enjoyment of them.

Please, do give this show a chance (and push through past the first couple of episodes if it's hard - it's worth it!). You'll have lots of laughter and emotions.

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