Touch Your Heart (2019)

Cute but a real cliche

This review will be the most objective i can do. English is not my first langage, so please excuse my errors.

I was really excited at first to watch this drama, for the cast. I really loved this couple in Goblin and to watch them in a drama as a main couple. I wasn't really deceived by this drama but I can't say i was pleased either.

Roles and cast:
The cast and the different roles in this drama were very interesting. I'd say all the actors portrayed their roles well, their wasn't a thing of bad acting.
But one thing that kind of put me off is the caricatural roles that were portrayed. From the popular and pure, cute actress to the cold outside but warm hearted man. It was really cliche. Other than that I can understand that the other roles were exaggerated since their purpose were to be funny. The second couple was dull at first but cute after.


The plot:
Another thing that bothered me was the plot. The story was at the very beginning logical, there was a plot but past the fifth episode, the plot was gone. It was all focused on the romance and not on the actual danger that was suposed to disturb them. The same "huge" danger that was solved in 2 episodes. The second lead couples were supposed to have a "story" behind their 7 years together and their breakup but it was evoked in one line in only one episode and their were done talking about it.

The Romance:
Between the two main lead it was cute. Very cute, maybe too cute. I feel like their couple was nothing more than sweetness. It was just too much at some point, they were too sweet it was unrealistic and kinda annoying in the last episodes.

The length:
Due to the lack of plot, the episodes were filled with unecessary praises and compliments and they were no obtacles to their couple and the episodes became sweet but dull due to the lack of twists and turns. The supporting roles were the only rebounds of the show.

If you are looking for an overly sweet drama with a couple with a great chemestry, and if the lack of plot and exaggerated roles doesn't bother you, then this drama is for you.

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A primer on how to be hot but boring.

Man...I had such high hopes for this drama because these two were so good together in Goblin. There's a major theme in Kdramas though where the lead actress has to be pretty but not tooooo pretty. This female lead plays a lot of supporting roles because she easily rules the "too pretty" category of Kdrama actresses. Most of the dramas I've seen her in she plays the ditzy not-to-bright but super pretty side characters. This drama took that exact same type-cast side character and made a drama around her. The problem is that it's basically still a side-character's story. It's like you're watching two supporting cast members in every scene and you never get to meet the actual main cast. I wasn't a fan.

The actors do very well playing their respective parts, but the story and the script are so bland what's even the point. There needed to be SOMETHING, some additional plot device, to make this more interesting than a side-story. It's disappointing because, let's be honest, it's fun to watch hot people do hot people things on your tv screen. But without any substance you might as well just turn the volume/subtitles off and watch the pretty moving pictures. I mean...come on...spoiled bratty actress and aloof dickish lawyer. It's like every trope got tossed into one drama and you've got a trope salad without dressing for your troubles.

I still liked it well enough to watch the whole thing...but mostly because Lee Dong Wook is hot....kind of like in a weird frozen faced too much botox way, but he's still super hot. I just wish they'd given him something to actually act instead of having to exclusively and constantly play off the counterpart bimbo character. I wish they'd given her some depth so she wouldn't have to just be a total bimbo with no personality the entire drama.

Definitely would not rewatch, once was difficult enough thanks.

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Not what I expected

I’m probably the only person in the world that hasn’t watched goblin, but I knew from the start that the two leads of this show were also in goblin, so I was hesitant to watch it since it really did seem like fan service.
After watching the first episode, I didn’t really feel optimistic for the rest of the series since I didn’t like the first episode.
But I continued watching and I don’t regret a thing. The story is charming and quite funny at times, mostly thanks to the editing. The two leads have amazing chemistry and it was my first time seeing Lee Dong Wook in a rom-com and I was not disappointed. The soundtrack is phenomenal, especially when it’s lead by Chen’s beautiful voice.
Definitely recommend checking this drama out.

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Pra quem assistiu goblin isso aqui é um jantar. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Healthiest romance ever hands down

Gosh, the leads' romance is so freaking adorable. I couldn't stop smiling every episode that I saw them together. Besides the romance between the leads, there are also a couple other romances that can be seen blooming around in the workplace and made for really adorable side stories. I've never watched a lawyer drama up until this point, despite how popular they are these days, but I was totally shocked at how easy it was to watch this one in spite of the complexity of some of the crimes that were investigated. This makes for a pretty interesting casual watch because it still requires some effort to keep up with the cases, though not so much that it drains you of your energy when you watch it. There is plenty of really well-done comedy that mostly revolves around Oh Yoon Seo's tendency to jump to conclusions and daydream at the wrong times. This created some awkward, toe curling situations that were really hard, but ultimately entertaining to watch. I totally recommend this drama for anyone who loves law firm dramas (and even if you don't, watch it anyway ;)) and romance. This was a great use of my time ? I still think about this drama from time to time…

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Enjoyably sugary sweet . . . if you can suspend your disbelief.

The key to this drama is it's not the real world. It occurs in a world where everyone gets their happy ending, a good lawyer never loses in court, and you can sort out long held trauma and pain with a bit of a chat.

The drama I really wanted was between Kwon Jung Rok (Mr. Lawyer's) two law school friends -their romance was super interesting to me and hinted at real family obstacles, professional conflicts etc.

Instead the drama you get is between the sugary, sweet but somehow endearing and well-acted Oh Yoon Seo. Who has no family, no friends (besides her manager) and is basically a blank slate 'Mary Sue' and Mr. Lawyer who is grumpy but is but also sugary sweet at heart.

The cast looks like its having a lot of fun and will break character and burst out laughing at any moment.

Music is fine - can't think of a rewatch moment.

I have other criteria I score by:

Complex Themes - 6
(What holds all the characters together is a kindness and generosity of spirit even if they are completely different on the surface - and if you talk things out - all relationship problems can be overcome)
Character Growth - 6
(Oh Yoon Seo regains confidence after a bunch of hard knocks and becomes a bit more steelier and resilient than one would expect. Mr. Lawyer reveals that he actually is a big softy at heart in the first few episodes and then stalls as a character).
Nuanced Women -6
(There are a fair amount of women characters but they don't get a ton of screentime. Pluses are Oh Yoon Seo being a bit more multi-faceted than one would expect, and to the general camaraderie between female employees at the law office. Major minus points around the Lawyer Dan who I found completely unappealing).
Cinematography/Production Values - 6
(It's competent. But costuming is pretty lackluster, most scenes are shot in a few interior sets (the law office, one courtroom, and both the main character's flats.)

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For those non-Goblin fans, Touch Your Heart is your typical sweet funny k-drama with many standard tropes (although no amnesia nor childhood memories - yeah!). The music doesn’t suck but I can’t remember a single song from the show so it also wasn’t overly repetitive. The story was cute and engaging enough not to bore the watcher, however, it does take until episode 3 before it really comes alive and interesting so stick with it if you can.

The secondary couples are kind of strange. The couple made up of the two prosecutors (played by Lee Sang Woo & Son Sung Yoon) seems almost forced but isn’t annoying. I love the long term friendship between the three lawyers and I actually think this adds to the story. Its at least half way through the episodes before you find out why Kim Se Won and Yoo Yeo Reum broke up in the first place. Se Won & Yeo Reum don’t detract from the story but don’t really add anything except the only marriage proposal in the show and most of us do like a neat ending with a marriage proposal.

The second couple (and more humorous one) is the two lawyers from the law firm Lawyer Choi (Shim Hyung Tak) and Lawyer Dan (Park Kyung Hye). These two are extremely fun to watch and I didn’t see their relationship on the horizon until it almost happened. I loved Park Kyung Hye from Goblin and she knocks it out of the park with the fickle Lawyer Dan. They have some killer scenes and I loved each and every single one they are in.

Other characters like CEO Yeon and Office Manager Lee were well fleshed out characters that were NOT 2 dimensional (loved that angsty part between Lawyer Kwon and CEO Yeon around episode 13).

For those Goblin Fans, WOW WOW WOW WOW. The chemistry between Lee Dong Wook who plays Lawyer Kwon and Yoo In Na does NOT disappoint. Holy cow, it was just as good - if not better because we see them so much. I don’t know if these two are friends in real life like Gong Yoo and Lee dong Wook but if they aren’t, these two get my award for the best actress and actor in all of Asia. Both convey such emotion towards each other that I just can't help but sigh....just thinking about it. Keep in mind the characters are NOT the same as in Goblin but what they are is headed for romance…..and isn’t that what we wanted after Goblin?

I liked Yoo In Na in My Love from Another Star and I LOVED her in Goblin. She does not disappoint…..however, her character is written to be annoying the first two episodes so please do not give up just because her character is annoying…..she changes and for the better. Goblin was the first I had ever seen Lee Dong Wook and I’ve loved him in everything since. There is no getting over that these two can play off each other EXTREMELY WELL.

So to recap….if you are a Goblin fan, you will like this show because it will give you what you missed from Lee Dong Wook & Yoo In Na in Goblin…..a LOT of screen time. If you are not a Goblin fan (go watch the show), then know the leads are out of this world good at telling a story through their portrayal of fun characters, and the side characters are fun and not ONE of them was annoying (even CEO Yeon). While this won’t get a 10 because of music and the usual draggy 1st three episodes, I highly recommend it.

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Is it worth the watch?

I think I went into this drama with high expectations, and I don't think it lived up to them.

Having seen the leads in Goblin together, I really wanted to enjoy watching a drama just about them. In this case, the show included a lot more than just a plot surrounding them. I'm not saying this is a bad thing; it just wasn't what I expected nor what I wanted.

Touch Your Heart focuses heavily on legal cases and even devotes a whole episode or two to the unravelling of a court case. If you're into that sort of thing then it is definitely worth the watch.

The show also delved into the other characters lives which could be seen as interesting to some, but for me it was a little boring and I wanted to focus on the main leads. In saying this, I was glad in the end when Lawyer Dan and Lawyer Choi became a couple. I think they ended up being well suited. Also, their parts were quite funny, particularly Lawyer Dan.

This is my third time seeing Lee Dong-Wook in a drama, and honestly, can he get cast with a different role? He appears to portray a lot of the same traits throughout each of the characters every drama he's been in!

His character in Touch Your Heart is very similar to that of Goblin I feel. I think I preferred him in Goblin than this as his character just seems so awkward and stilted.

On the other hand we have Oh Yoon Seo. I actually liked her character; and I did laugh out loud a couple of times during the first few episodes. I found it especially funny when she came to work on the first day dressed in a mini dress and fur jacket. It was so ridiculous that it was funny.

I can't help but compare these characters to Goblin, but I much preferred her outfits in that rather than Touch Your Heart. I guess because she was a celebrity she had to portray someone who wears more out-there outfits.

Every time the receptionist girl was shown, I kept thinking how pretty she was and was like, 'why are they making such a fuss of this 'celebrity?'

I don't think I was really all that taken with the plot of this show. I mean, a washed-up celebrity that works 3 months as a lawyer secretary to gain experience for an acting role? Really? I know method acting is a thing but would she have really picked up on the behaviour of lawyers when she actually had secretarial work to do? Also, towards the end when she is shooting a court scene, the lawyer tells her she isn't acting it right. Was all that 3 months for nothing?

As for the overall, I gave it a 7/10 as I just wasn't really feeling it and I know that other shows will do better.

-E

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