Strong and original in the beginning, predictable and cliché ending
So, here's the thing. For me, this drama started out strong. It was refreshing, had a good positive message and had me laughing out loud at times, while being super heartfelt at other times.
The actors did a fantastic job in my opinion. Hwang In Yeop (Seo Jun) is obviously a very skilled and versatile actor, and he definetely stole the show. He stood out to me as a second male lead, even though the second male lead arc has been (over)used time and time again in kdramas. I am not the biggest fan of Cha Eunwoo's (Suho) acting, but he definetely improved from his acting in My ID is Gangnam Beauty. Instead of his usual tsundere/stoic character, he got to show more range and he was pretty convincing in this drama. Don't get me wrong, he still has the tsundere feel, but he had some touching and sincere acting moments where I almost felt the emotions along with his character.
It was pretty good, and then, somethings changed and more and more clichés piled up. I started feeling less connected to the story around the 13th episode, but I really felt disconnected by the time I reached the 15th episode. In the last two episodes, too many things with the story felt wrong for me to keep enjoying the story fully. Borderline creepy behaviour was played off as a romantic gesture, there were a lot of filler scenes, and all trace of originality in the storyline seemed to have vanished. At that point, I didn't care much about the romance, or even the plot as a whole. The only scenes I looked forward to were the ones where I got to see Hwang In-Yeop. He was so so wonderful in his role, dealing with both a really sentimental and comical sense to his character.
I think the main problem with this drama is that it is too romance focused rather than dealing with its actual subject. Had it dealt more with their subject of "true beauty" and the actual challenges the main character lives because of her appearance, things would have felt way better in my opinion. It feels like they pretty much forgot what they were trying to say by the end and only focused on the romance aspect. They resolved her worries too quickly. It's a shame, because I think this drama could have had a good message, but it was drowned out under the weight of the romance.
To be fair, I didn't HATE the ending. I just wished it was a bit more original, as it felt like I had seen this "perfect" ending 100 times prior. However, I have to say I do like open endings or bittersweet endings, so it may only be my taste that didn't suit this ending.
Quick note on the OST: it was great. I litterally have nothing to say. The song written by Suho and SeYeon is so so so beautiful.
So, I'm definetely not saying "do not watch this". I think it's a pretty good drama. But I think keep your mind open to the fact that the ending is pretty predictable and things don't make sense sometimes (like the fact that we are meant to believe that Ju Yeong (Moon Ga Young) looks unrecognisable with makeup, when she just looks like herself with bad skin). That's probably okay too, after all, kdrama endings are usually predictable.
Overall, I would recommend it, if it's your style. I probably won't be rewatching this though (maybe just compilations of Seo Jun's scenes...)
The actors did a fantastic job in my opinion. Hwang In Yeop (Seo Jun) is obviously a very skilled and versatile actor, and he definetely stole the show. He stood out to me as a second male lead, even though the second male lead arc has been (over)used time and time again in kdramas. I am not the biggest fan of Cha Eunwoo's (Suho) acting, but he definetely improved from his acting in My ID is Gangnam Beauty. Instead of his usual tsundere/stoic character, he got to show more range and he was pretty convincing in this drama. Don't get me wrong, he still has the tsundere feel, but he had some touching and sincere acting moments where I almost felt the emotions along with his character.
It was pretty good, and then, somethings changed and more and more clichés piled up. I started feeling less connected to the story around the 13th episode, but I really felt disconnected by the time I reached the 15th episode. In the last two episodes, too many things with the story felt wrong for me to keep enjoying the story fully. Borderline creepy behaviour was played off as a romantic gesture, there were a lot of filler scenes, and all trace of originality in the storyline seemed to have vanished. At that point, I didn't care much about the romance, or even the plot as a whole. The only scenes I looked forward to were the ones where I got to see Hwang In-Yeop. He was so so wonderful in his role, dealing with both a really sentimental and comical sense to his character.
I think the main problem with this drama is that it is too romance focused rather than dealing with its actual subject. Had it dealt more with their subject of "true beauty" and the actual challenges the main character lives because of her appearance, things would have felt way better in my opinion. It feels like they pretty much forgot what they were trying to say by the end and only focused on the romance aspect. They resolved her worries too quickly. It's a shame, because I think this drama could have had a good message, but it was drowned out under the weight of the romance.
To be fair, I didn't HATE the ending. I just wished it was a bit more original, as it felt like I had seen this "perfect" ending 100 times prior. However, I have to say I do like open endings or bittersweet endings, so it may only be my taste that didn't suit this ending.
Quick note on the OST: it was great. I litterally have nothing to say. The song written by Suho and SeYeon is so so so beautiful.
So, I'm definetely not saying "do not watch this". I think it's a pretty good drama. But I think keep your mind open to the fact that the ending is pretty predictable and things don't make sense sometimes (like the fact that we are meant to believe that Ju Yeong (Moon Ga Young) looks unrecognisable with makeup, when she just looks like herself with bad skin). That's probably okay too, after all, kdrama endings are usually predictable.
Overall, I would recommend it, if it's your style. I probably won't be rewatching this though (maybe just compilations of Seo Jun's scenes...)
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