I honestly wish I could give this show a higher rating than I did because at 28 episodes this show is no small feat, especially with it being a makjang. At one point or another practically every character got on my nerves with the exception of Eun Woo and Mr. Pyo.
Also let me get this out of the way at the top: never have I ever suffered so much from second male lead syndrome. Honestly if I could find me a Jun se I'd be one happy girl. It was so refreshing to see a male character that did not have to change to be acceptable for the girl. You knew he wasn't gonna win out, but as he said in one scene, it wasn't because Eun Sung didn't like him, she just allowed someone else into her heart. So classy all through out to be honest. Even when he was hurt by Eun Sung he didn't cling to her or try to persuade her, he didn't bad mouth Hwan, he didn't say some ridiculous line about it being OK that she didn't return his affections because he can love her enough for the both of them (makes my blood boil). He expressed his disappoint in a non malicious way (and he definitely had a right to because Eun Sung definitely lead him on even after her feelings for Hwan started. She knew how he felt and waited so long to shut down any expectations he had about their relationship) and still stayed by her side even after it, with no intention of winning her affections.
Now when it comes to Hwan I have to say that I wasn't charmed by him or really all that impressed. That's not to say that he was a horrible guy or anything, but this drama did such a disservice to his character by having him act like a petulant child for 9 straight episodes. I was incredibly bored and over his attitude that by the time he started to "change" it was a little too late for me to actually start investing in his character. Now had this show been a seasonal show and they could actually take time to flesh his character out more, then maybe I could've rooted for his character more (individually, not as a subset of his relationship with Eun Sung). But 9 of 28 episodes with absolutely no change (and actually getting progressively worse)? Wasn't here for it. It also didn't help that his change was so superficial in that all that happened was him doing what he should've been doing in the first place. You're 27 and you don't wanna work? You're 27 and you treat people like crap? You're 27 and you throw tantrums worse than a child? There was nothing hard about his grandmothers' conditions and yet you would've believed she was asking for the world. And yet I'm supposed to be impressed that he became a decent human being? No, everybody should have a level of decency in them unless they're a sociopath. Now having said that, I didn't hate him. He didn't really illicit any reaction from me save for a few eye-rolls and some rare smiles (yes I smiled a couple of times because as I said he wasn't horrible).
Now 2 characters who did illicit reactions from me where Seung Mi and Seung Hee! OMGosh did they ever. I started out absolutely loathing Seung Hee because never had I ever come across such a vile character before who wasn't a sociopath. However that loathing quickly turned into respect because as much as a snake as she was, she knew she was a snake and didn't mind slithering. Her daughter on the other hand drove me up an effing wall with all her self-righteousness. She wanted to pretend she wasn't in the grass slithering right along with her mother. Truthfully Seung Mi needed psychological help because no one should be as dependent on another human being as much as she was with Hwan. Shit is unhealthy as hell.
Eun Woo was adorable as ever and the actor that portrayed him was fantastic. I thoroughly enjoyed each and every time he was on the screen.
Eun Sung was OK. She was like a strong weak girl. I could tell how much she wanted to be strong and how determined she was, but there were far too many times where she was so naive and gullible that I found myself yelling at my computer screen. Her ability to smile through most situations though was really admirable.
As far as the relationship between Eun Sung and Hwan, it wasn't my cup of tea. There was banter, but very weak imo. I like playful relationships and theirs was more childish. It was a whole lot of meh to me tbh.
I definitely could've gotten behind a Hyeri/Jun Se pairing though. That girl was such a Jun Se fangirl. May I join the club Hyeri?
As far as recommendations go it's definitely not something that hasn't been done before and probably better and at 28 episodes it is a bit long and quite frankly could've been shorter, but if you don't mind getting frustrated and a few non-sensical things here and there, you could definitely do worse.
Was this review helpful to you?