2023

I really liked how they strung together the mystery and it felt like they gave the audience enough clues without relying too much on red herrings or making things too obvious. I loved the unique setting! I've been to Incheon airport many a-times, so to get a glimpse into what happens in the background and how things are run (even if overdramatized) was a treat.

I felt the two leads did a good job in their parts, though it did that thing that I don't always like in dramas where at the beginning it seems like the FL and ML will get equal story plot and attention, only for the FL's character to fizzle out towards the middle and plateau, leaving the ML with all the interesting development in the second half. I also felt like the ending left much to be desired, and I didn't really like how they wrapped things up in the last episode. In addition, they didn't answer all my questions! I was disappointed in that, too.

This was an interesting watch, tho not the strongest by this writer for sure. I liked how it examined Expectations vs. Reality in relationships, and sometimes the “perfect partner “ we think we’re looking for isn’t actually the relationship we need in order to be successful and feel supported in life. This was best portrayed in one of the side couples (the bank director and farmer), but also in examining why Yan Fei’s previous relationship fell apart despite being “the good match” on paper.

 I kinda dislike how infatuated the ML was with the FL lead (it just wasn’t realistic imo for someone to hang onto a one sided crush for that long), and I hated the mid-arch with the ML and his current girlfriend, but other than those two points, I had a good time watching this drama. It's at least well produced and has a pretty good pace for the various couples and how they get together.

This was a pretty fun watch, light and breezy for the most part, which was both a positive and negative. It’s a positive because the plot was very cohesive and didn’t drag, but I feel like the messages the drama was trying to get across didn’t get conveyed as well as they could have, especially for the final conflict. It has a very accurate portrayal of Korean society and its imbalances, but it didn’t do quite as much as it could (and seemed to want) to subvert those expectations.

Other than that, it was a fine watch. The acting itself was really top notch, and I like how well the main leads expressed subtle emotions through their facial expressions. There were some parts I was confused with the background cast about who’s who, but the main characters were well formed and had believable personalities and reactions to events, for the most part.

 (Gotta say tho, those Netflix translations were terrible, I’ve never seen such a loose interpretation of words and sentences before! There’s such a thing as too heavy handed localization)

It had a lot of loose ends left untied by the end, but I loved the characters and the depiction of the hagwon grind. Solid performances all around.

I've also watched the movie, so this was a bit of a repeat, but I do love this enemies to lovers story. (Though the manhwa/novel are 200% better imo).

Thoroughly enjoyed this one, from the perfectly paced and balanced story to the cute and supportive romance the two leads developed. I love that their relationship clearly went beyond “lust” to a place that truly showed their trust and devotion to each other. The intrigue behind Dowon’s true identity was also really well done. All the characters were very nuanced, and I like how there weren’t any really one-dimensional “baddies” in the show - just people guided by different principles pursuing their end goals in very different ways. It got a toooouch overly patriotic near the end, but I can forgive it for having such small detriments in the overall scheme of things. I also actually felt the drama could’ve been a tad longer to add some more oomph to those climatic moments they kinda had to gloss over at the end, but overall I was very satisfied with the ending.

This drama is a beautiful tale of grief and redemption, compassion and forgiveness.

The best part of this drama hands down is Kong Woo Jin. He is not perfect. He has instances where he acts like a complete ass and should have apologized but didn't. He can be selfish and is extremely self-focused, not caring about how his actions affect others in the slightest. And that is what makes his growth so rewarding and heart-wrenching to watch. More than anything, I love how his trajectory is not a straight line -- because that's what healing is like, unfortunately. You can see the errors of your ways, and recognize the need for change... and still fall right back into old familiar patterns and habits that just take chokehold of your life once more. Healing is not a one-and-done experience, and I love how well this drama portrayed that process.

And that brings me to the other pillar of this drama, the wonder that is Woo Seo Ri. It always gets iffy when the female lead has to rely on the male lead for her basic needs -- food, house, safety, etc. There's just such a huge power imbalance there that it can get gross real quick. But I think this drama did a good job of not crossing that fine line. Seo Ri depends on the Kong family's generosity, but the way it comes about and how they interact with each other felt really natural imo. She may live in the little room under the stairs, but she isn't confined to that space or identity. Seo Ri's growth and moment of intermission after losing such an enormous part of her life is a thing of beauty to watch, and I love how she stays true to her personality and values even as she navigates this uncharted territory. Kong Woo Jin may be my favorite part of the drama, but I fully acknowledge it would be nowhere near the delight it is without the ever-optimistic Woo Seo Ri.

This is hands down one of the best, most well-executed family dramas I've personally seen to date.  What first got me to see this drama as more than another run-of-the-mill family one was how a simple "sorry" was not the catch-all band-aid it is often presented as. Sometimes, the actions you take incur such reverberating consequences that can never be retracted, and you must face the consequences of those actions no matter how well-justified you felt when doing them. Some actions leave scars too deep to ever fully be healed, and no matter how "sorry" someone is, no matter how well-meaning their reflection afterward, what's done is done, and the people it has affected must learn to exist under these new conditions.

 Adding on top of that was the discussion of family dynamics and how sometimes we can get so caught up in how something "was" for a time that we lose sight of how it has changed now, and our inability to alter and adjust to this new normal, especially if it is seen as lesser than the previous one, has the potential to crack and fissure the family relations from within, slowly, piece by piece.

The biggest thing that held this drama back was unfortunately the romance. As well executed as the family stuff was, the romance kept coming seemingly out of left field, and it was very hard as a viewer to decipher exactly when these feelings began and what was the turning point that made these feelings run so deep. I particularly had a lot of issues with how Jitae and Sua's relationship was handled, especially towards the middle portion.