For the most part I am not a sporty girl. I do not go for watching many sports dramas, movies and television shows. I do not watch sports on television and the only time I EVER turn on Golf is for the gentle and quietly soothing vocal tones of the announcers that will surely lull me to sleep during my Sunday afternoon naps. That being said...I actually ended up liking Birdie Buddy...until the last 2 episodes. (insert annoyed growl here)
The writing was pretty solid all throughout. The story started out nicely. The acting was solid. The characters were engaging and as time went on you got to watch the stages of Mi Soo's development; her successes and pitfalls were entertaining. Her family life and orbiting friendships were interesting and sweet. Her meet/cute with her future coach was kind of delightful actually and her introduction and further learning by Teach was kind of cool. Then the story started ramping up with an unexpected plot element thrown in that picked up the pace of the drama and I sat back thinking...Oh! Here we go!
And it did go! That plot element was played out nicely right up until episode 22. And I was on board the Birdie Buddy train. No! I was on the 17th hole with a 3 under par! (I just made that up, but I think it's very good) But then, something happened...That twisty plot element ended at episode 22. It landed in the metaphorical sandpit and the writer just couldn't seem hit it back on the green.
I wish I could describe to you here why this ending failed for me. I felt as if somehow the story ended but they just had to keep filming so they threw in a scenario that wasn't necessary and it really made the ending fall flat for me. I'm still going to recommend this drama. I know it sounds strange but this is a darn good show and maybe the ending that I didn't like, others won't mind. It just simply didn't work for me.
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Story- UNPREDICTABLE. The story starts off slow (not to the point of being bored) and is too focused on the character of Hae Ryung (not UEE's character)but by episode 10 things start to pick up and become super interesting because it focuses on UEE's character. The last episode made me want to rip my hair out. The ending kept in line with the unpredictable theme. Its probably the worst ending Ive ever seen in my life! Seriously if it werent for the first 23 eps having solid writing i would have rated the story lower just because of the sorry ending.
Acting- UEE can act her butt off! She changed my opinion of her (hated her in YB). The rest of the cast all made thier characters believable. I really despised the character of Hae Ryung though (very pathetic and no character development until the last ep.)
Music- Nice enough music that was memorable but nothing that i would be obsessed with.
Rewatch- If it werent for the ending Id probably would have rewatched it in 2 yrs or so but i have no wish to rewatch this drama, although it is at least rewatchable.
Overall this drama had huge potential but the lack of a believable romance and the nonsensical ending really ruined the good feelings i had about this show throughout its run. I'd still recommend this drama though because the writing is good and the acting is very good.
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What's in a Subtitle?
The title doesn’t do justice to this moving story about golf and family. I passed it up many times because of the title. Please don’t do the same; it’s worth the watch. Perhaps Golf Odyssey would have been a better title. But it doesn’t matter; the story supports itself. It had drama, suspense, great golfing scenes, and a romance you will love or hate. The romance blindsided me, so the ending was a little shaky for me. Am I the only one that felt that way? Who knows, watch it and decide for yourself.Let me tell you why the romance blindsided me. The subtitles, which are usually right on point, were misleading in this series. Since I don’t speak the language, I am reliant on subtitles. When Mi Soo was walking through the woods with John Lee, she asked him why he was helping her. He replied, “because I’ve fallen for you.” It was a pivotal moment. Later, when that scene reappeared as a memory, he replied, “because I’m into you.” These have two entirely different meanings in English. I’ve fallen for you means you are in love. I’m into you, which is a little flippant, means something similar but is not the commitment I’ve fallen for you is. Either way, neither of these responses was appropriate. Since I saw the fallen for you first, I watched the whole show thinking he was in love with her. When it didn’t turn out that way, it left me wondering what I missed. Perhaps “I care about you” would have been a better response when a person cares about the welfare of another. Why do they change the words in memories and between episodes? Why do they use the word “why?” instead of “what?” What do they say ‘get off the car’ instead of ‘get out of the car’? I’ve gotten used to these translation differences. However, in this case, it changed the flow of the entire series.
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Surprisingly Great!
The overall rating for Birdie Buddy on MyDramaList is definitely a mis indicator, because while it isn't world-class, it still has a very nice and meaningful story that will make you feel many genuine emotions towards the characters. I honestly have no idea why it has such a low overall rating in the first place considering the reviews made beforehand too, perhaps because it was made in 2011 perhaps, nearly a decade ago when this review is being made? Honestly the only thing I didn't like in this sports drama was the acting skills of one of the main characters (wont point out any names as I don't want to be too harsh).If you like sports dramas I definitely recommend Birdie Buddy, and if you are not a fan of sports dramas I still think there is enough non-sport story for you to like it, but bear in mind this is still a sports drama, if you know what I mean! I liked the OST too and it did give me some nice nostalgic vibes somehow - even though this is my first time watching!
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A promising drama with a refreshing feel
Stories of poor folks rising and becoming successful in their life appeals to me a lot, and it's one of the main reasons why I watched Birdie Buddy. It may not be the typical rags to riches story, but I like how the main character Mi Soo, became successful in the field of sports. The pacing was just right. Although there were parts where I find dragging, it was compensated immediately by succeeding episodes. There were also scenes that I find unnecessary, but still okay to show for the viewers to understand the other characters' backstories.I am a little disappointed with the antagonist's character and storyline. It felt weak; I was expecting that he has a grand scheme to hurt the protagonists. I never expected that his downfall would be that way, it was unsatisfactory. Hae Ryeong's character reminded me of Wang Bit Na's character Gyeong Hye in the drama 'Mysterious Personal Shopper'. They grew up rich and pampered, both have personal struggles which I thought were resolved during the mid part of the drama, but then towards their end they became hateful, but had their beautiful redemption at the last episode.
Finally, Mi Soo showed that the love she has for her coach was unconditional. Some folks who watched the drama were disappointed that Mi Soo and John didn't end up together, but honestly, there were moments/scenes in the entire drama that tells the viewers they won't get the happy ending they want. Yet, our heroine Mi Soo still got her happy ending in terms of her career.
The production team did a good job of selecting the actors for this drama. The surprising moment was when the gorgeous Julien Kang appeared in one episode as Mi Soo's golf rival. This drama was produced in 2010 and aired in 2011 because of several postponements. Also, since it was made a decade ago, I was not really expecting much in terms of technicals, but still, the majority of it was beautifully shot and edited. Most likely because the production team had enough time to edit the drama (more than a year).
This is also the second Yoon Sang Ho drama I have watched, the other one being 'Different Dreams'. I am looking to watch his other works in the future.
Birdie Buddy is based on the comic of the same title but focuses on one of the female protagonists rather than the coach. It is a promising drama with a refreshing feel to viewers who'd like to reel aways from the usual rom-com drama themes. It talks about family, friendship, first love, and passion. And to be honest, watching this drama also helped me learn more about the sport.
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