Cheese in the Trap (2016)

I'd like to start off by saying that regardless of what you read about this drama, you should watch it. It is incredibly frustrating at times, but also amazing at others. I guarantee you won't be bored.

Story:
The story is honestly what made me finish this drama in two days. At face value, it seems like the typical shoujo anime, but there are a lot of complexities to it. I think what really fascinates me is how much is hidden about the characters, and as the story unfolds, we learn more about their traits. Moreover, there's a sense of development and growth that takes place. At the same time, there are several minor storylines that take place that are honestly just as interesting as the main plot, so it's just very entertaining to watch it all play out. I wish I could say more, but honestly I really don't want to spoil it lol.

Cast:
Love them. Even the ones I hate, I love. The cast is the highlight of this drama, for me. Each and every one of them plays their role perfectly. But at the same time, they aren't one-dimensional. The protagonist isn't always the goody-goody who you can't help but adore, sometimes you want to punch her in the face (or at least I did hehe). The antagonists (and oh my there are many) are people you eventually begin to understand (probably not like, but at least understand their point of view). My point is, there are so many emotions these characters make you feel, I felt so drained after finishing the drama. Like I'd lived multiple lives in a day. PLUS, major bonus points for Seo Kang Joon. I mean, he's gorgeous, and his character was impossible not to fall in love with.

Music:
I mean, do people really remember drama OSTs? The only track I can remember is that short, cute one they play at the start of every episode. That's not even a song though haha. Idk, don't remember any particular song standing out throughout.

Overall:
I rated the re-watch value low because I think it's the kind of drama that's more enjoyable when you don't know what's going to happen next. I would def recommend watching it asap. It'll make you cry a lot. Or at least, I did. I suppose it depends on how you feel about the characters. But most importantly, it's definitely not boring. INCREDIBLY FRUSTRATING, oh yes, very often. But boring? Nope, have fun.

Lire davantage

AIGOOOOOO!

This drama was such a roller coaster of emotions from start to finish! The cast was perfect and I could not imagine any other actors playing the characters. Park Hae Jin and Kim Go Eun had so much chemistry going on that I thought I was going to go nuts! The push-pull that Jung and Seol were just killing me! In Ha reminded me so much of Cheon Song Yi from MLFTS but crazier. In Ho was someone that I loved and hated at the same time. Bo Ra and Eun Taek were such cuties and I felt like they were really good for Seol.

I really like the fact that this is so realistic in terms of portraying college students! Being a university student myself, I couldn't help relating so much to the characters and their experiences in school.

I loved the OST of this drama. Every song fit the mood and helped the emotions come through to the audience.

My initial reaction to the finale was "meh". I didn't like it nor despise it. I guess because I have read a lot of reviews before watching this drama, I was prepared to be disappointed big time. It wasn't that bad, for me though.

So would I watch it again?

Y E S!

I loved this drama and I would recommend everyone to watch it themselves to find out! It may not be as disappointing as you think!

Lire davantage

it's not great drama, but it's interesting, caches you (it's rare for me not to skip), also there are interesting main and side characters.
before watching, from what I heard I thought ML was dark but likable, I like that kind anti heroes, but he is just bad person who never even understand it or apologized (especially to In Ho, he ruined his life). ML is just cruel jealous sociopath and it's unrealistic why FL tries so hard to understand/like him, when from the beginning she even didn't liked/wanted him, it was like she didn't liked him but made herself to fall for him.
Often anti heroes change/understand what they did bad, but in this case I couldn't see it, he is unredeemable though drama doesnt treats him that way, like it's normal (but he really does many unnormal and cruel things, which aren't cool at all)

on the other hand In Ho (Seo Kang Joon) was so great, so lovable person, FL was way more happy every time with him. he was more like ML, his character and story was more layered and reach, except of relationships to main characters he had more his own story line then ML (orphan, talanted pianist, sister issues, broken hand and carrier, criminals chasing after him, so warm relationships with many people, funny and also rude/tough when it's needed, back to playing piano, friendship/love to FL and many things), he had so complex life and problems...

I know many people think the end was disappointing and sad, but I think it was normal, how could she stay with that sociopath, I didn't liked that she wanted it and cried, why this drama romantizes really bad person???

Lire davantage

I liked it as a drama, but...

Yoo Jung was an abusive, manipulative, toxic character. I found it quite uncomfortable that whatever he did Hong Seol accepted it and rationalized it. There were also bullying classmates, and she continually found herself in extremely dangerous situations that she treated as perfectly normal. For example: why would she not block the phone number of an extremely creepy stalker? Even Baek In Ho often had a tendency to immediately resort to violence in any situation.

Even so, this was an unusual gem of a drama. The acting was quite impressive all around, but Kim Go Eun and Lee Sung Kyung were both phenomenal. Park Hae Jin managed to portray a sociopath with skill, and his moment of realization was masterful. Seo Kang Joon absolutely shined as Baek In Ho - both his performance and the character were stellar.

The story was well written, even while being disturbing, but I felt the ending was rushed, and it made me sad Seol was still pining for Jung three years later - he realized how harmful he was to her, but she seemingly never did.

I find it a bit odd that Viki tagged this show as a romantic comedy - the genre is more akin to a slow-paced psychological thriller or straight drama.

Lire davantage

Not your typical romance K-drama

Cheese in the Trap appears to be a light-hearted, simplistic college-life romantic drama at the first glance. The true essence (and vision) of this series explores the complexity of human relationships and how each person's inner motivations and past life experiences influence their emotions, state of mind and finally, actions and choices in life. This exploration is done through the lens of the protagonists.

The male lead was written as someone who has sociopathic tendencies. Sure, but honestly, I don't think it's fair to say that he's the sole individual who is "problematic". Each character has his or her idiosyncrasies and personality flaws, which drive them to make ambiguous life decisions. What I found weak in the drama. perhaps, is that instead of SHOWING us the growth or inner conflict of each character after a traumatic experience, oftentimes, they were TOLD to us by the characters verbalising those experiences. This left me somewhat unconvinced of the message the drama was aiming to convey.

In my view, I thought the one with the true psychological issue might just be Baek In Ha. I mean, seriously, who acts like that on a day-to-day basis? Her persona seems to fit the criteria of someone diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (I've worked in psychiatry before), and even in the flashbacks of their childhood, the kid actress also portrayed that eccentricity. I don't know how Yoo Jung was able to tolerate her for so long. She needed the most professional help in my opinion. She was actually also my most disliked character in the series.

Cute stuff in the drama included the supporting characters' love arc, and the friendship of the Hong Seol and Baek In Ho. After this drama, I am a new fan of Seo Kang Joon! Park Hae Jin was also great in his portrayal of Yoo Jung; there was a lot of subtle emotions that he was able to convey very well.

I think it is good to go into the drama knowing that it is more than meets the eye. Good for those who want a drama that requires some reading between the lines. So, if you're looking for your typical feel-good K-drama, this is not it.

Lire davantage

the fact that it made me furious is a sign of how well-made it was

I wanted to write this review because so many people adore this drama but it has a pretty bad rating.

Ok so I've never seen a pack of annoying characters huddled in one story like this in one go and that's really saying something. The character arcs were very realistic and well portrayed as in I've met people like this before. Which was why it was infuriating to see the male lead get ultimately chosen. All those annoying characters at uni and In ha, they're shown as people trying their best to get better, which I loved seeing. But I couldn't help but group them together with the male lead. Let's face it, realisitcally speaking, these are the type of guys that end up hurting girls the most, even the girls they love and care about. The fact that he was offered redemption again and again was not great to watch. I get it, he's actually a good guy, but to what extent? The fact that this drama made me feel all these emotions and think all these thoughts is the reason I gave it such a high rating. Because Kdramas with a good prodction value usually always connnect with the audience we take it for granted. This drama really did do a very good job of keeping me engaged even though I was extremely annoyed with the plot points. Kudos to them for a good production and most of the actors for a great performance, honestly.

Now If I actually get into what else there is to bite into besides the great production value - eh not much. It's a romance genre so there some sweet moments between but nothing that particularly illicited a response from me ( in comparison to other dramas in the genre which realltymake me FEEL you know). I'm not one to go on about the second lead usually but I have to say, the second lead and the female really did give me more feels than her with the ML. As much we love second leads, we have to admit the director always makes sure to make the ML shine more. But somehow that's not the vibe I got from this as an audience. I don't if it's because the ML's character but the SL and the FL gave a lot more romance and feels. So that was a bit awkward. But like I said, becausethe production was so good, the romance is notable and worth watching if not a little mediocre.

Obviously it's not a comedy, but the uni friendship dynamics did have some light, fun elements to it. As always, Kim Go Eun's great acting and expression kept me amused enough that I didn't feel like it was missing comedy. As a uni student, I quite enjoyed the uni life portrayal. I wouldn't watch it again though and unless someone asked me to reccommend them a drama which'll make them angry and annoyed, I wouldn't reccommend this to my friends either.

Lire davantage

A favorite of mine

I watched this drama years ago and I still rewatch it often to this day, Hong Seol is a very relatable and endearing character and Jung Yoo is mysterious, and dark. Seeing their story unfold was very entertaining and unique since all these character's in this show are all different from one another. I definitely rooted for Baek InHo and Hong Seol all throughout this drama, his character was my favorite and he was just so full of warmth despite his life struggles. This story is full of friendship, personal growth, family growth, and yes unrequited love. This review honestly does not wrap up at all how unique this story is, I definitely recommend this drama.

Lire davantage

Expectations were low and I finished within days

I'm a huge KGE fan so I *had* to watch this to see her first drama, and based on other reviews, I went in with super low expectations, thinking I'm going to hate this...and I absolutely loved this. I had no idea how the love triangle was going to end, and I loved both couples chemistry and story. I would have liked more of the history between the boys, but still...super enjoyable story with some novel twists and turns I hadn't seen in a k drama before. Wonderful acting from Park Hae-jin playing a romantic lead with a sinister twist and Seo Kang Joon as a bad boy you want to root for. and I loved Nam Joo hyuk and Park Min ji as adorable side characters who were never unwelcome distractions from the enemies to lovers story here.

Lire davantage

IS IT A MESS YES BUT IT'S MY MESS

Alot of people call out this drama beacuse of the toxic male lead but i for one think this drama was REFRESHING i had been in an endless slump watching the same type of man plastered across every single k drama the perfect understanding charismatic rich sensitive basically perfect boyfriend who is basically a god compared to u i think for me it was refreshing to see a k drama with a different type of male lead not just a photocopy put in a different body type format although i agreee he was extremely toxic and any girl should run away if they meet someone like him irl nobody can deny it was amazing to see a change a pace in the k drama world another honourable mention are the twins because they carried the backbone of which this drama was built on they completely devoured their roles i would say anyone should at least try and watch this drama with an unpredejuiced mindset

Lire davantage

Is this show horrible? Yes, but not horrible "Ugh,", but horrible "Weird".

Before I watched this drama, I'd seen it on different platforms as one of the worst and most ugly shows they had seen, so I did not expect too much from it. But surprisingly, this is much better than the worst dramas that I have watched.

I'll start with what I like about this show. First are the characters; all of them are good when it comes to acting, though I find the character of the male lead (Jung Yoo) lacking, but I guess that is really how he should portray his character given his background. I like the mystery that is happening about whether you really know the male lead or not. And the growing relationship between the two main leads.

Now let's tackle what I find weird. First, everybody in this drama is just obsessed with anyone. And second, the male lead. He is interesting at first, but as the episodes go by, his weirdness is just scary weird, not cute weird anymore. I do find Hong Seol and Jung Yoo adorable, especially that they understand each other, but their relationship is just so fast and didn't get a proper buildup. The male lead looks 10 times older than the female lead, too.

I'll just give this a 7/10. It is not unpleasant; I actually had fun watching this "horrible" drama. It is just that it is weird, there are a lot of annoying characters, and the ending is rushed and a disaster.

(I hope this review made sense.)

Lire davantage

Most say it's bad, but I loved it. It didn't become one of my favs because it didn't have a 100% closed ending. Shippei right as always. And I didn't think Jung was crazy and psychopath. I do think he had a certain problem because he got irritated easily and for anything, and that even though it was a small thing, he felt the need to get revenge and want to pay back. However, in certain situations, I fully agree with Jung to want revenge because I don't see a problem in getting revenge, as long as it's not for insignificant things (as he did many times) but for something that had an absurd impact on his life. (I am scorpio girl. Revenge is a characteristic of my sign). I defend him because I'm someone who loves revenge stories and not because he's a man, standard, handsome, as many say.
About the couple's ending: it was an open but not vague ending. That's because as Jung finally read Seol's email, it means he was finally confident and ready to love her. And we know and we can clearly see that even after 3 years, love for each other still existed. After all, it was a very intense love. Don't say he was crazy, psycho, just because you wanted her with In-ho. It wasn't Jung's fault that he became that way. It was the events since his childhood that made him that way. And thanks to Seol and all the things that happened from their relationship, they served to make Jung realize that he had something wrong and so go after improving for himself and especially for her.
I absolutely loved In-ho too, but he didn't and would never have the possibility of Seol choosing him because Jung was always undoubted for her.
Another secondary couple calling attention as if they were the protagonists too. Bo-ra and Eun-taek were too perfect. A pure, light and funny relationship.
In-ha was just so insufferable. I have nothing to say about her except that she is a freak and that her expressions, speeches and actions as if she were a child, irritated me absurdly. I hated her from start to finish.

I loved this drama and all the lessons, conflicts and revenge. But mostly I loved the two couples and Baek In-ho.

And by the way, a lot reminded me of True Beauty. And True Beauty is one of my favs ever. This also had an influence on me.

Lire davantage