This review may contain spoilers
So much potential, so much waste.
I'm going to keep this review short but also spoil some of the stuff, so please beware.
This isn't a completely bad show, it's just horribly written and many of the scenarios make very little sense. Let me say this, the FL has a future. She is destined for stardom, maybe not on the big screen, but she's got what it takes to be a memorable tv actress. Love Alarm is by far the most horrendous k-drama of the past decade, but the actress continues to impress, no matter how horribly written her character is or the plot itself.
My problems with Lovely Liar lie within the plot itself and the chemistry of the characters. The ML is new. If you have ever watched alchemy of souls, you'll notice that he looks at the floor a lot in a gaze or glance. This is not by design, but probably just something he was told to do. He's a singer, so acting is not his forte. He does the same thing in Souls, and he had very little lines. In Lovely Liar, he's also a quiet and an almost introverted character. So, I'll cut him some slack, but there are so many plot holes. Why didn't he realize that his ex was being abused by her father? They were dating for two years in high school, and he never once met her father? He never knew she was dirt poor? So much of that makes no sense given how close they were, or at least how close they appeared to be. I can understand why her brother made her believe that the ML was her only dream and perhaps her ticket out of the hell she was in, but for the ML to be completely oblivious is just incredibly questionable. Next, why did he tell his mother that he killed his ex? I can understand that he was traumatized, but if you follow the story, he's a very bad liar. So why would he confess to something he didn't do and completely ruin his mother's life by forcing her to make a deal with a police chief? Yes, what she did was wrong, but she was trying to protect her son. But why did he confess to something that wasn't true and completely throw his life along with hers under the bus? It makes absolutely no sense. And was the perp gay? If so, why did he marry and have kids? How did he become a CEO in his 20s??? LOL, you can see how silly this gets. Also, his ex's brother is a complete psychopath, and it is understandable to some extent, given that his sister was actually murdered. But the guy legit almost killed another person and stabbed him. Yet somehow, he was able to walk out of jail, get release and be at his sister's funeral after her body was recovered. I cannot make this stuff up. And while these issues are some of the biggest, these are just the tip of the iceberg. One final straw for me was that the FL somehow managed to avoid an explosion while standing 5 feet from it and also lose her powers of lie detection. Again, I cannot make this stuff up.
Granted, I'm not expecting the writing and the plotlines to be perfect. But please, do not belittle the intelligence of your audience. It's 2023, you cannot create characters with distinct personalities and just have them do 180's to make suspense. You cannot bypass realism for comic book plot armor. You cannot ditch logic and expect the audience to be captivated by inconsequential drama.
Anyhoo... I'll leave it at that. But don't say I didn't warn you. If you still want to see this drama, by all means. If there's one thing I can say again, is that the FL is a pure delight to watch. Her character here is flawed and she has very little to work with, but she is far and away the best reason to watch.
This isn't a completely bad show, it's just horribly written and many of the scenarios make very little sense. Let me say this, the FL has a future. She is destined for stardom, maybe not on the big screen, but she's got what it takes to be a memorable tv actress. Love Alarm is by far the most horrendous k-drama of the past decade, but the actress continues to impress, no matter how horribly written her character is or the plot itself.
My problems with Lovely Liar lie within the plot itself and the chemistry of the characters. The ML is new. If you have ever watched alchemy of souls, you'll notice that he looks at the floor a lot in a gaze or glance. This is not by design, but probably just something he was told to do. He's a singer, so acting is not his forte. He does the same thing in Souls, and he had very little lines. In Lovely Liar, he's also a quiet and an almost introverted character. So, I'll cut him some slack, but there are so many plot holes. Why didn't he realize that his ex was being abused by her father? They were dating for two years in high school, and he never once met her father? He never knew she was dirt poor? So much of that makes no sense given how close they were, or at least how close they appeared to be. I can understand why her brother made her believe that the ML was her only dream and perhaps her ticket out of the hell she was in, but for the ML to be completely oblivious is just incredibly questionable. Next, why did he tell his mother that he killed his ex? I can understand that he was traumatized, but if you follow the story, he's a very bad liar. So why would he confess to something he didn't do and completely ruin his mother's life by forcing her to make a deal with a police chief? Yes, what she did was wrong, but she was trying to protect her son. But why did he confess to something that wasn't true and completely throw his life along with hers under the bus? It makes absolutely no sense. And was the perp gay? If so, why did he marry and have kids? How did he become a CEO in his 20s??? LOL, you can see how silly this gets. Also, his ex's brother is a complete psychopath, and it is understandable to some extent, given that his sister was actually murdered. But the guy legit almost killed another person and stabbed him. Yet somehow, he was able to walk out of jail, get release and be at his sister's funeral after her body was recovered. I cannot make this stuff up. And while these issues are some of the biggest, these are just the tip of the iceberg. One final straw for me was that the FL somehow managed to avoid an explosion while standing 5 feet from it and also lose her powers of lie detection. Again, I cannot make this stuff up.
Granted, I'm not expecting the writing and the plotlines to be perfect. But please, do not belittle the intelligence of your audience. It's 2023, you cannot create characters with distinct personalities and just have them do 180's to make suspense. You cannot bypass realism for comic book plot armor. You cannot ditch logic and expect the audience to be captivated by inconsequential drama.
Anyhoo... I'll leave it at that. But don't say I didn't warn you. If you still want to see this drama, by all means. If there's one thing I can say again, is that the FL is a pure delight to watch. Her character here is flawed and she has very little to work with, but she is far and away the best reason to watch.
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