This remake didn’t get the memo.

First off, yes, I’m going to compare this to the original. Why? Because it’s a remake. Comparisons come with the territory—it’s like covering a hit song. If you can’t hit the high notes, people will notice.

The Korean version tried to capture the heart of the original but ended up feeling underwhelming and, frankly, unnecessary. The original Chinese version delivered on every level, which allowed its more frustrating plot points to be forgiven. This remake? It didn’t earn that grace.

What I Liked

The acting. Bae Hyeon Seong absolutely nailed his role, bringing nuance and charm to a character that could have easily felt flat. The rest of the cast did their best, but even strong performances couldn’t save a series that lacked emotional punch and coherence.

What I Didn’t Like

Sanha’s Mom: Overpowering the Whole Series
In the original, she was cruel and manipulative, but her role served a purpose. Here? She’s like an invasive species, taking over the entire show, making everyone miserable, and facing zero consequences. No remorse, no punishment, nothing. She just packs her bags, skips the country, and is probably off to destroy her daughter next (no way that poor girl grows up without serious mental health issues).

And the best part? Sanha never even gets to confront her! Instead, he spends his last scene on his knees, begging at her slammed door. What’s next—a thank-you card?

Dad of the Year (or Decade?)
How does a dad let his son rot in a toxic hellhole for 10 years? They live a few hours apart! What’s the excuse—bad traffic? His indifference is baffling, and it makes his character entirely useless. Sanha’s dad is like furniture in this show—he’s there, but no one knows why.

Forgiveness on Fast-Forward
Then there’s Hea Joon’s “forgiveness” scene. His mom abandons him for 20 years, and after a single chat, he’s ready to let it all go? That’s not an emotional breakthrough—it’s just lazy writing.

Romance? What Romance?
Most of the romantic subplots felt like someone flipped a switch and said, “Okay, you two are in love now.” No build-up, no chemistry, no explanation. Dal’s affection was the only one that felt remotely believable, while the rest were as random as strangers in an elevator deciding to get married.

Juwon: What Happened to Her?
Young Juwon was vibrant and full of personality, but her adult version? A shadow of her former self. She had one great moment confronting Sanha’s mom, but the writers snatched it away before it could mean anything.

Pacing and Storytelling
The pacing had two speeds: snail and chaos. Either nothing happened, or everything happened all at once. The narrative felt unbalanced and disjointed, as if the writers had no idea how to structure the story.

Missing the Heart of the Original
The worst offense? This remake forgot to be about family. The original had warmth, heart, and a genuine “found family” vibe. Here, that emotional core was nowhere to be found.

Family by Choice is a watered-down remake that lacks the bittersweet realism of the original. It felt like the writers forgot what made the original so compelling in the first place.

If you loved the original, skip this. If you didn’t watch the original, skip this anyway.

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12 episodes of cliff falls and regrets

I finished watching When the Phone Rings out of sheer stubbornness.

There is 12 episodes of this nonsense. It becomes an unintentional parody of every bad K-drama trope, taken to such ridiculous extremes that it feels like the writers were trolling their own audience.

The brooding male lead isn’t mysterious; he’s just exhausting. The female protagonist is passive and poorly written. The show is held together by implausible coincidences and a complete lack of credibility. People survive falls from cliffs and car accidents like they’re invincible, only to emerge unscathed and somehow still not learn a single thing.

Every time the story builds tension like it's preparing for grand explosion, it fizzles out before the characters finally confront the big issue. So, once there’s a big confrontation it’s ruined because we already know all the secrets—so it’s just people yelling things we’ve known for episodes.

The setup had potential—cryptic phone calls, mystery, suspense. At first, I thought, “Hey, this might go somewhere.” But then the female lead escapes a kidnapping and immediately steals a phone from her captors. Brilliant move. Phones can’t be tracked, right?

Meanwhile, the male lead’s “hidden love” is even worse. He treats his wife like trash for 3 years because he’s secretly in love with her but “didn’t want to get attached.” Yeah, that makes total sense. Also, I swear there is a slow motion walk in every episode. I don’t know if the editors decided that every single step he takes must be slowed down to showcase his “raw intensity", but the only thing it achieves is that it takes him forever to reach anywhere. Also, let’s pause to appreciate the British Embassy scene. The male lead walks in, and everyone stops to gush about how handsome he looks in a suit. Are you kidding me? He’s not on a runway, and no one in real life reacts like this. Anywhere. Ever.

And don’t get me started on his elite FBI/NYPD training. Is there some magical belief in K-dramas that taking a six-month seminar in the U.S. turns you into a super-genius? I don’t care how tragic his backstory is—unless he’s a CIA operative with a clearance level so high it’s classified even to him, there’s no chance he casually got FBI training as a non-citizen.

The good news is that this show pulls itself together in the end and makes you love it all.... I'm f***ing kidding. The final episode wraps this shit up in such a ridiculous way that you feel logic becoming a distant memory.

It starts with the male lead deciding that the best way to atone for something his father did is to leave his wife and wander into a war zone, as a self-punishment apparently. This happens right after he himself was devastated when she was missing. Naturally, she follows him to the war zone, declaring “I don’t care if I die waiting for him, or get shot in a war zone—it’s all the same to me.” She’s essentially equating heartbreak with surviving war horrors. But okay. You may wonder how does she find him? Well, apparently, he loves sunsets so she’ll go to a sunset spot (I'm not kidding). No mention of navigating logistics of a war-torn country or how she's planning to locate him among millions of people in a literal conflict zone. Then what happens? Even though she’s warned that place is overrun by rebels, she still goes. And then, yes, you guessed it, she gets kidnapped by rebels. Most likely to hammer home a damsel-in-distress scene, I think. And who swoops in for the perfectly timed rescue, may I add, coincidentally? Of course her husband single-handedly stops a car full of armed rebels and rescues her, freeing and then ignoring the other kidnapped people (literally leaving them behind in the dark forest) because they’re not important to the plot. Just when I thought this show couldn’t get any dumber, it outdoes itself in a spectacular fashion. Rebels are hunting them, but do they hide quietly? Of course not. They start yelling at each other in the middle of the forest. This is when male lead delivers personally my favorite line in the entire show: “I’m being punished because you’re standing in front of me, and all I want is to hug you, but I’m holding back.” FFS. You'll be fine. After all the yelling and self-pity they make up and go back home.

This show fails to deliver a cohesive and compelling narrative. It tries to be deep and meaningful but instead ends up being unintentionally hilarious. Watching it feels like the writers bet they could get away with every cliché, plot hole, and nonsensical twist in existence, and by some miracle, they did.

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