K-Drama Hits or Misses: August 2018 Watch List

Absolutely love everything about this show. Unlike my First Impressions where I assumed things would get really melancholic and messy, the drama has done a great job of making sure things remain light while keeping excessive melancholy and tragedy at bay. There is emotion and when delivered, Shin Hye-Sun and Yang Se-Jong leave a lasting impression. Their chemistry is also unparalleled, creating memorable characters and a romance we’ll all be talking about even after the drama has ended. I’ll be a complete wreck by then, I just know it but my adorable Mr. Gong and Ahjumma pair are simply one of my favourites of the year!

This has turned out to be quite the show that handles its subject matter with the right amount of sensitivity. Discussing cosmetic surgery and having such young characters that are vulnerable and facing growing pains gives this show a great sense of depth without it having to try too hard to connect to viewers. At times, I do find myself becoming frustrated with the timid Mi-Rae or the stoic Kyung-Seok but these flaws make the characters more realistic and the drama balances out their need for growth with moments that make them shine, and has me rooting for these 20 year-old kids. What I didn’t except however, was to fall in love with the OST and I rarely mention those, so take my word for it. Musicality at its finest.

As much as people complain about vulgarity and violence I think the show is doing a great job, and I also think these viewers haven’t seen Bad Guys or other more gory OCN dramas. I like the shaky relationship between our leads and the lack of trust and suspicion they have because its far more believable in a crime thriller than a romance drama for instance, but their teamwork and dependence on each other when solving crimes is mesmerizing to see onscreen. 

Kang-Woo also seems to psychoanalyze criminals easily and there’s an undercurrent of bad blood that might possibly run in him, he even thinks he’s a bad guy whose restrained himself and this new arch to the story is extremely intriguing. I’m a little sad that they’ve revealed our twisted villain already but since one of our protagonists has hungry inner demons, the show is compensating its viewers nicely.

Now that the show is over, I have a lot to say about it. First off, why so much seafood? I mean I get it, it’s healthy and fish is a lean meat but there wasn’t enough food porn variety in this season as the last two but that’s a minor flaw for my personal tastes. My other complaint has to be in regards to the plot and Seo-Yeon; the drama was steady with a solid if not typical story but it somehow managed to be led astray and became stodgy. Seo-Yeon on the other hand, was a character that was unbelievably aggravating with hardly any character growth whatsoever. 

I kept questioning the Writer’s logic in trying to sell us a stuck-up brat as a 30 something year-old career woman. It’s a good thing I like Yoon Doo-Joon but even he couldn’t prevent the disappointment I felt once the drama concluded. The show was better off portraying college days of nostalgia instead of the mediocre present. There was so much potential that somehow fell flat, making this a case of good beginnings and bad ends.