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3GGG
Mexico
PLOT: Ambitious but unfocused
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This isn't an original plot. You have two girls from different families & backgrounds who coincidentally look exactly the same. Then something happens that forces one of the girls to take over the life of the other. So far so good, right?
Unfortunately, the two girls seem to have such a similar personality that none of the other characters notice or even question the change. Thereby diminishing the impact of the "switched" ploy. And sure, for the first few episodes, we are given a "medical" reason why that may be so... but that doesn't apply to the latter half of the series.
The other problem lies in how unfocused the narrative became as the episodes went by. At its core, this was a revenge story with the switching of the girls becoming a means to an end. Eventually, Byun Ji Suk (the female lead) enters in direct conflict with Min Seok Hoon (the main antagonist) because the former wants to protect her lover and his family, while the latter wants to destroy them for "reasons".
The problem rests in that this type of story relies on how well explained, executed and developed are the antagonist's motivations. But for most of the series, Min Seok's motivations were vaguely addressed. By the time we fill in the blanks, the story had run out of steam and the impact was lost in the wake of its dust.
MAIN CHARACTERS: A mixed bag
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Before I dive into each lead, I'll address some general issues that apply to all the characters. First and foremost, there's a lot of ambiguity. Perhaps the writer didn't take enough time to build each character's personality, because not only were there a lot of inconsistencies, but the characters even started to act the same at some point. It was like they all became one core character with little variation. This extended to the way they spoke and solved problems. Ultimately, it made their acting fall flat and somewhat boring.
Byun Ji Suk | Seo Eun Ha (female lead, played by Soo Ae): The actress plays two different characters... sort of. It has less to do with her acting and more to do with what I mentioned before, which is that neither character had a strong enough personality to tell them apart. Now, this is CRAZY considering how different the two characters' backgrounds are.
So by the time Byun Ji Suk took over Seo Eun Ha's life... there was no learning curve. She was never caught by anyone, despite knowing very little about her counterpart. Whatsmore, even when she applied herself to study Seo Eun Ha's life so she could stand up against Min Seok, her personality didn't change. She just "knew" people now and used them... so why didn't any of the people who supposedly knew Seo Eun Ha thought that she was different?
There were also some inconsistencies with her character. Byun Ji Suk --who had been working as a store vendor-- was put in charge of assignments that should've been out of her league unless she was a genius. And yet she does them with ease and with little help.
The inconsistency and lack of personality aside, Byun Ji Suk had her good points. One of them is that she was given tremendous character growth, which is always appreciated. From a weak woman who had things happen to her, she grew into her power and became a woman who made things happen. It's also worth noting how refreshing it was that she remained a protagonist throughout the series, rather than fall into a supporting role to the male lead (which usually happens).
Choi Min Woo (male lead played by Joo Ji Hoon): Like with Byun Ji Suk, he lost his personality (alongside the quirks that identified him) as the story progressed. He was a sympathetic character, someone who had been broken down by living in a house full of enemies. However, the transition from withdrawn and antisocial to normal functioning and sweet came out of nowhere. He was also later sidelined into a support role (the fate of many female leads) and, therefore, wasn't an active participant of a good chunk of the story.
ANTAGONIST: Malicious but not fleshed out
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Min Seok Hoon (played by Yeon Jung Hoon): He started out as an intriguing antagonist, but the lack of depth crippled his growth. We didn't get the full story behind his motivations until the last chapter, by which time there wasn't any impact to be had. Out of everyone's acting, Yeon Jung Hoon did stand out. But that's not saying a lot considering there weren't really any powerful moments...
Choi Mi Yeon (played by Yoo In Young): She was a character who became more and more unlikable as the episodes rolled by. Though they did try to give her something of a good side, it was inevitably squashed by her malicious actions. Whenever Mi Yeon tried to change for the better, she would quickly (as in the same episode) return to her devious and unhinged ways. If anything, I give props for realistically depicting her character as being unable to change her base nature.
SUPPORT CHARACTERS: Okay
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I'm not going to say a lot about the support characters because there's not much to say. They contributed little to the story. Some of them were used to further the plot with one or two actions, others were used as motivations for the main characters and quite a few others were there just to fill the gap. Nothing extraordinary or hateful, really.
PORTRAYAL OF ROMANCE: Like a negotiation
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The romance was okay. It did start out rocky and toxic, but it soon moved to a more mellow relationship. If I'm honest, the transition was a bit abrupt but not overly so. The romance is consistent if a bit plain. Their relationship felt like a negotiation (which is realistic), with some sweet moments accompanied by short conversations to set their rules of engagement. Though there weren't any moments that stood out, it was still an overall "cute" romance.
OVERALL: Not memorable, but watchable
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This is a watchable series. It's nothing out of the ordinary and it can get a bit heavy if you're not in the right mood, but it's not the worst series you'll ever watch.
The thing I can highlight is the fact that the female lead is the true protagonist of the story and isn't sidelined as the plot progresses. She's the one who goes toe to toe against our main antagonist. Despite the inconsistencies, she's overall a strong protagonist, even if the story did lack focus and diminished her impact.
If you have time to kill and want to see what an active female protagonist, you can always give this a shot. If you like cute romances and aren't too serious about plot consistencies, this might also be something you'd be interested in watching.
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This isn't an original plot. You have two girls from different families & backgrounds who coincidentally look exactly the same. Then something happens that forces one of the girls to take over the life of the other. So far so good, right?
Unfortunately, the two girls seem to have such a similar personality that none of the other characters notice or even question the change. Thereby diminishing the impact of the "switched" ploy. And sure, for the first few episodes, we are given a "medical" reason why that may be so... but that doesn't apply to the latter half of the series.
The other problem lies in how unfocused the narrative became as the episodes went by. At its core, this was a revenge story with the switching of the girls becoming a means to an end. Eventually, Byun Ji Suk (the female lead) enters in direct conflict with Min Seok Hoon (the main antagonist) because the former wants to protect her lover and his family, while the latter wants to destroy them for "reasons".
The problem rests in that this type of story relies on how well explained, executed and developed are the antagonist's motivations. But for most of the series, Min Seok's motivations were vaguely addressed. By the time we fill in the blanks, the story had run out of steam and the impact was lost in the wake of its dust.
MAIN CHARACTERS: A mixed bag
--------------------------------------------------------------
Before I dive into each lead, I'll address some general issues that apply to all the characters. First and foremost, there's a lot of ambiguity. Perhaps the writer didn't take enough time to build each character's personality, because not only were there a lot of inconsistencies, but the characters even started to act the same at some point. It was like they all became one core character with little variation. This extended to the way they spoke and solved problems. Ultimately, it made their acting fall flat and somewhat boring.
Byun Ji Suk | Seo Eun Ha (female lead, played by Soo Ae): The actress plays two different characters... sort of. It has less to do with her acting and more to do with what I mentioned before, which is that neither character had a strong enough personality to tell them apart. Now, this is CRAZY considering how different the two characters' backgrounds are.
So by the time Byun Ji Suk took over Seo Eun Ha's life... there was no learning curve. She was never caught by anyone, despite knowing very little about her counterpart. Whatsmore, even when she applied herself to study Seo Eun Ha's life so she could stand up against Min Seok, her personality didn't change. She just "knew" people now and used them... so why didn't any of the people who supposedly knew Seo Eun Ha thought that she was different?
There were also some inconsistencies with her character. Byun Ji Suk --who had been working as a store vendor-- was put in charge of assignments that should've been out of her league unless she was a genius. And yet she does them with ease and with little help.
The inconsistency and lack of personality aside, Byun Ji Suk had her good points. One of them is that she was given tremendous character growth, which is always appreciated. From a weak woman who had things happen to her, she grew into her power and became a woman who made things happen. It's also worth noting how refreshing it was that she remained a protagonist throughout the series, rather than fall into a supporting role to the male lead (which usually happens).
Choi Min Woo (male lead played by Joo Ji Hoon): Like with Byun Ji Suk, he lost his personality (alongside the quirks that identified him) as the story progressed. He was a sympathetic character, someone who had been broken down by living in a house full of enemies. However, the transition from withdrawn and antisocial to normal functioning and sweet came out of nowhere. He was also later sidelined into a support role (the fate of many female leads) and, therefore, wasn't an active participant of a good chunk of the story.
ANTAGONIST: Malicious but not fleshed out
--------------------------------------------------------------
Min Seok Hoon (played by Yeon Jung Hoon): He started out as an intriguing antagonist, but the lack of depth crippled his growth. We didn't get the full story behind his motivations until the last chapter, by which time there wasn't any impact to be had. Out of everyone's acting, Yeon Jung Hoon did stand out. But that's not saying a lot considering there weren't really any powerful moments...
Choi Mi Yeon (played by Yoo In Young): She was a character who became more and more unlikable as the episodes rolled by. Though they did try to give her something of a good side, it was inevitably squashed by her malicious actions. Whenever Mi Yeon tried to change for the better, she would quickly (as in the same episode) return to her devious and unhinged ways. If anything, I give props for realistically depicting her character as being unable to change her base nature.
SUPPORT CHARACTERS: Okay
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I'm not going to say a lot about the support characters because there's not much to say. They contributed little to the story. Some of them were used to further the plot with one or two actions, others were used as motivations for the main characters and quite a few others were there just to fill the gap. Nothing extraordinary or hateful, really.
PORTRAYAL OF ROMANCE: Like a negotiation
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The romance was okay. It did start out rocky and toxic, but it soon moved to a more mellow relationship. If I'm honest, the transition was a bit abrupt but not overly so. The romance is consistent if a bit plain. Their relationship felt like a negotiation (which is realistic), with some sweet moments accompanied by short conversations to set their rules of engagement. Though there weren't any moments that stood out, it was still an overall "cute" romance.
OVERALL: Not memorable, but watchable
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This is a watchable series. It's nothing out of the ordinary and it can get a bit heavy if you're not in the right mood, but it's not the worst series you'll ever watch.
The thing I can highlight is the fact that the female lead is the true protagonist of the story and isn't sidelined as the plot progresses. She's the one who goes toe to toe against our main antagonist. Despite the inconsistencies, she's overall a strong protagonist, even if the story did lack focus and diminished her impact.
If you have time to kill and want to see what an active female protagonist, you can always give this a shot. If you like cute romances and aren't too serious about plot consistencies, this might also be something you'd be interested in watching.
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