Great in the first episodes but becomes draggy after
I've just finishes watching this drama today . In my opinion, the first half was pretty good while the second half was really dragged. The premise of the story was great. The first few episodes were funny, interesting, mysterious, everything. After these, the next ones were kind of boring, I may say. The acting was great, again. Each character played the role so good and transmitted a lot of things. The OST sang by Suran was amazing and it is honestly a beautiful song. Would I rewatch it ? Persoanlly, no. But, as you know, people opinions varies so maybe you should give it a try.Was this review helpful to you?
Good Enough
Korean Drama " Cheat on me, if you can " had many twists, a slow built mystery and strong characters. Actually, the characters were many, some times way too many, and they all created a puzzle of intriguing events, that, in the end, were presented in an unsatisfying way that even left the ending ambiguous.The themes that the drama dealt with, moreover, were a bit ambiguous themselves. A cheating husband, a wife with murderous intents, a spy, and a pretty carefree student who, in fact, hides dark secrets, are the main characters of the drama and that itself says a lot about what the drama was all about. In fact, those characters were what pushed the story forward more than once and kept the action going. It must be noted here that the first episodes were boring and not that thrilling, but the drama did pick up quickly after them, especially when you get to know the characters and the mystery becomes more than just a murder case that involves the main couple.
Other than that, the performances were really good by everyone and the soundtrack suited the whole story well and it was enjoyable.
So, overall, 6.5 out of 10.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Kang Yeo Jo is the babiest baby who ever babied and we deserve a season two with her and Soo Ho.
Unedited review posted on Unbothered Unnies.This drama was nicely done and very entertaining. I am still reeling off of the last two episodes because I am sitting here but wait! I think the charm of this drama is that it asks you to believe in the improbability of certain things happening or not happening and is filled with red herrings. I can understand for a lot of viewers how this can be frustrating especially when it moves at a slow pace in a circular movement. However, as someone who enjoys these type of shows, I didn't find it frustrating at all. Once we got to episode three, I was basically like anything that happened where it seemed like she found out her husband cheated or is the killer is not true. I also did not expect them to reveal who the killer was until the end. There are complaints that the ending was rushed but I really don't see it as such. Another complaint is that they didn't understand the various side characters and the points they served to the story, but it is quite clear that everyone served to tell Kang Yeo Joo's story. It made sense to me that the entire premise of this show wasn't her finding out her husband cheated on her and trying to exact revenge. One of the things about the story that I had a hard time understanding was why with all of Kang Yeo Joo's intelligence did she never pick up on him cheating on her. However, I think that the final episode really honed in on her temperament. She really loves her husband and was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. After all she spent more than half their marriage telling him what would happen if he did cheat on her. Also it could also be interpreted in an entirely different way, but either he way he got stabbed and I stan that. KANG YEO JO HAS NEVER DONE ANYTHING WRONG EVER IN HER LIFE.
Naturally the standout acting was done by Cho Yeong Jeong. She was able to deliver the unique charm of Yeo Joo and tapped into the nuances of her character. Sometimes it was just the little ways that she tilted her head or squinted her eyes which delivered that strong emotion behind it. I would say that the weakest was Yeonwoo and I am not saying this because she is an idol or was one, but rather the kind of unnatural way her delivery was. I understand that Go Mi Rae was supposed to be a timid character, but even her transformation into the "bolder" version still wasn't really much of anything. I felt a disconnect to her story because of that.
As for the music well needless to say I stand by my belief that all of Suran's OSTs are better than any of her original stuff since Walkin' Ep. I really enjoyed the three songs and their composition/lyrics. I thought it fit aptly with our story at hand. I also enjoyed the way the director shot various scenes even with the terribly obvious product placement.
Overall, I enjoyed this drama. It is not one without flaws, but it kept me entertained and guessing all the way through and honestly what more could I ask for? Well besides, more shirtless scenes of Kim Young Dae! I would definitely recommend!
Was this review helpful to you?
The ending is really very questionable for me, but it's quite okay for an open ending. I think I got confused with the ending since the pacing seems a lot faster compared to the first part of the drama. The first parts is really detailed and was shown bit by bit and I had my expectations with the ending. I was really confused with who the killer is, I don't have any pinpoint person as well.
An okay drama overall.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Good, but could have been better
I'm not going to lie, the first episode had me instantly hooked and intrigued and at first, the steady build up of intrigue and mystery surrounding the main character, Kang Yeo Joo, was veeery interesting.By episode 5-6, my interest began to wane but I stuck it out, because to be honest the characters were entertaining enough and I was curious to see what this was building up to and the inevitable fallout that would follow. And to be fair... the final 3-4 episodes of the series delivers, and by the final episode I felt like I was in a jet plane compared to how fast the story was moving previously.
But... I wasn't satisfied. The final episode "attempts" to tie up (some) loose ends and wrap the story into a bow, but at the same time, so many plotlines are just dropped, glossed over and leave you wondering why they were ever introduced in the first place.
I think "pacing" is the biggest issue this story has. Don't get me wrong, the groundwork they lay before slowly peeling away the layers is fantastically done, but 80% of the show shouldn't be set up with the final episode making a mad dash for the ending. I almost felt like they were setting up for a season 2, but I don't know if that's something K-Dramas are generally known for.
I felt like more things could have been fleshed out. I felt like Yeo Joo's backstory left a lot to be desired. They basically just give lip service to the fact that her father cheated. Also, I don't understand why the Special Force Unit or whatever, was in her dad's pocket? Because he helped the president get elected? They kind of explained it away in another throw away line and thought we'd just move on with our lives.
I'm probably about to get a little nitpicky but I feel like I have to. What the fuck were those Special Forces guys doing with their lives ? Like, imagine if Bill Gates or something had the head of FBI using a large chunk of their resources to follow his children around. Like... huh? Why are these highly trained officers literally being treated like common security guards? And speaking of this special unit, I didn't understand the dad's (and by extension the Burn Guy's) motivation at all. He was going to kill his daughter but then decided not to? What the heck? There was just a lot of stuff like this going on. Plotlines that were presented but never really went anywhere.
Onto my next biggest gripe: the husband, Han Woo Sung. What the heck were the writers trying to do here? At first I thought it was going to be a sort of redemption story, like how even though he had cheated (multiple times), he still loved his wife and he would somehow come out on the other side a better person. I also thought they maybe they were gonna 180 twist and have it so, no, he never cheated at all! But.. no. It's established very early that hes a cheater. HWS and KYJ relationship was never put to the test even once. They were never in danger of having an argument, much less being pushed to the verge of breaking up. In fact, the way they string the audience along with the idea of KYJ finding out about the infidelity is criminal. I'm not even kidding but 80% of the cast knows shes being cheated on before she does.
And the thing that KILLS me is that... she can't find out on her own. This could have been explained away by her being blinded by her love for her husband, but she DOES suspect him of cheating and regularly investigates his goings on, so... huh? How did this total idiot out maneuver her for years and she not find out?
While I'm on the subject, what does he see in her? She treats him like an ugly stray cat that she occasionally decides to show interest in. I can count on one hand the amount of times she seemed to genuinely love her husband. I know she's a cold person by nature but, c'mon, no one wants to actually marry a block of ice.
Honestly, the story would have been SOOO much better if the cheating was revealed in the first half of the show. The husband added nothing to the plot to be honestly, and every plotline connected to him fizzled out, went nowhere and had me wondering why it was even in the story at all.
I would have much rather watched a SINGLE Kang Yeo Joo romance the officer who was posing as her assistant, with the rest of the plot happening exactly the same. And NOTHING would change. The husband's involvement in the plot is literally NOTHING.
Phew. This was more of a rant than a review but I feel it needed to be said. I could go on and on but those are my BIGGEST gripes and everything after this would just be my personal nitpicks.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Thrilling
I loved watching this story unfold. I made a lot of guesses, some of them were correct and others were incorrect. It was a fun adventure. Although, I did not like the ending to be honest. I wish it was less of an open ending and I also wish she went on the 'trip'.My only other comment is that I wish that there was more screen time between him and her ... 2nd ML? The chemistry between them was good.
Was this review helpful to you?
A Slow Burn Mystery that Makes you Questioning Everyone
Cheat on me if you can was a show that I was super excited for initially because of many reasons. The main lead played by Cho Yeo Jeong was definitely a defining reason, but the main source came from the mystery. There are sadly not a lot of good mystery kdramas out there, so I was excited to watch one that involved some great actors. This drama was one that made you question everyone and everything, leaving you the viewer always a few steps behind. The dark humor is one reason I enjoyed the show, as I am a sucker for it. While there were many that found certain aspects of the show boring; especially with it being pretty slow burn, I felt that you can't avoid a pace like this when watching a mystery. This show revolved mainly around one mystery, so of course it would take a little while to get to the solution.A summarized version of my review is as follows; the story was interesting, but there were parts that felt heavily unneeded and a lot of things left unanswered (no I am not talking about the end). The actors were absolutely amazing, and definitely played all of their characters well; even when *cough* she was boring as hell and heavily useless. as it further cemented the status of the characters. Music wise, I was pretty happy with what was played. I tend not to pay too much attention to the music, but they always found the right soundtrack for the right scene. Finally, rewatch value might not be that amazing as it is a mystery and relies on the viewer not knowing the ending or what will happen next.
Story - The mystery portion of this show was pretty good. I am someone who loves true crime and reads mystery novels as a pass time (yes I just said that), so I can usually pick out a good mystery when I see one. Like I said before, this show never really lets you understand what is going on and you are constantly left on your toes. In the end, you are left reeling with the results of everyone's actions. The story for me was something I often times disagreed with other viewers on. As the show was running, there was a wide variety of people who stopped watching for its pacing. While I understand why that can be a hindrance, as I have definitely experienced that, I felt that the pacing was actually pretty ok. From my point of view, I realized that it was a mystery, and one that revolved around one major case to be solved. For this reason, I understood that they were not going to solve it in the first eight episodes. Besides that, there are some other drawbacks that I can agree with. The main one being how useless some of the characters are. This will feel like slight spoiler so feel free to move onto the character portion if you have not yet watched it. (Sorry, I don't want to leave this as having spoilers because this next section is going to be as vague as possible). There are certain characters who I felt had storylines that were prolonged for far too long, or completely unnecessary *cough* female lawyer... Their subsequent storylines only hindered the overall show as it took time away from the people who viewers probably wanted to see. While I understand why some people had to have the storyline they did, there are others who I found so frustrating. I also realize that side characters will always be needed, but this show just found weird ways of emphasizing them.
Acting/Cast - I will only be doing thorough reviews for four characters, and a short one for two of them. I was glad that there was a mix of very "seasoned" and "rookie" actors, as it better added to the status each character held.
Kang Yeo Joo: Oh my gosh, what can I say? I absolutely loved this character, and found Cho Yeo Jung's portrayal of her incredible. She managed to show Yeo Joo's intelligence and confidence in a way that made you admire the character; not hate her. She was also able to show her character's more emotional side really well, while also portraying to borderline psychopath perfectly. It is very interesting to see how this character compares to her character from "Parasite," and I'm so glad she was chosen for this role. I could go on and on about her performance, but this post is already long.
Kim Young Dae: For a "rookie", Cha Soon Ho played his character really well. He played the perfect "pawn" trying to break out from his confines by using his intelligence to figure out what the hell is going on. I felt that he really became his character, and now I really only see him as Young Dae... haha. I say this mainly because I started "Extraordinary You," recently and didn't even realize he was the one acting in that; but like in the way that the characters were so different.
Han Woo Sung: While I absolutely hate the character, I will say the actor Go Joon did a good job making me feel this much hatred. He played the sly but also aloof husband really well, and really did the scenes where Woo Sung was being stupid well. Woo Sung's scenes where he's uneasy about his wife were really well done, and I'm glad he was played by Go Joon; cheating bastard or not.
Go Mi Rae: Now this will be a slight spoiler so uhm skip? She was utterly useless, but I commend Yeonwoo for portraying her so well despite this. The character was written flawed, so I can't blame her for how utterly boring Mi Rae was. The character lacked depth and really did nothing for the show, except finally make Yeo Joo realize that her husband is not as virtuous as he claims.
The cops: I really liked the actors who played the two investigators, as they did a really good job. Kim Ye Won and Lee Si Eon showed a really fun but interesting duo. Both did really well at playing their respective characters.
Music - Like I said before, I tend not to pay attention the music so my review might not be the best for that area. While that is the case, I can admit that they were amazing at always choosing the right song for the scene and mood.
Rewatch Value - Because this is a mystery, I find it hard to imagine anyone finding good rewatch value. The only reason I would probably rewatch is to see if there were clues I missed after finding out what really happened.
Overall, this drama was pretty good despite its pacing and character development (or lack thereof). If you love funny and dark humor, definitely watch as there is lots. The actors are amazing, and the mystery is quite interesting.
Was this review helpful to you?
A MUST-WATCH MYSTERY DRAMA
This drama is so underrated! I know a lot of people didn't like it because of how different it is from their expectations. But that was what I loved about this. Everything was so unpredictable! It was filled with questions the whole time and when we thought we already know the answer, they suddenly burst the bubble. Ta-da you're wrong! I love the mystery and suspense. It was really focused on Yeo Joo's character and it's okay with me. They focused on what women can do and the strength women possess.Honestly, I only watched it at first for youngdae. But as I watched the first few episodes, I got hooked with the story. Even their acting was so perfect. From extras to supporting to lead actors, I felt everything. It didn't feel fake at all.
So yes, please don't sleep on this drama! This deserves to be praised and watched! Give it a try guys :)
Was this review helpful to you?
Amazing with a capital A
One word to describe this whole drama and it’s amazing, just amazing.It had Drama , Suspense, Plot and just amazing
First of the female lead was well chosen, the director knew who would fit this role and she killed it. I know the FL can be hate-able, but that what made you love her. She literally made the whole show. And she was so smart, just uhhhhhhh
The ML ( husband), he was a piece of work. His affairs just made be angry and how committed he was in hiding it, was just horrible.
The Assistant ( Kim young dae) , he was everything. I loved and hated him on the Penthouse, but here I just loved him all a round. He protected and cared for the FL , more than the husband and I just wished they would have ended up together in the end
Another surprising character i loved was the NIS director Mr Ma, I hated him majority of the series, but towards the end, you can’t help but just love him and what he did. I wouldn’t have minded if he ended up with the FL.
If your looking for something with suspense, drama , romance and something that would make you laugh, I definitely this one.
It has a murder plot in it, but unlike other dramas it’s not just about the murder plot , it’s has hidden things that makes you just want to continue watching and to see what really has been happening
Just amazing
Was this review helpful to you?
An unrealistic drama that will feed your curiosity and laughter but ended with disappointment
Story: It is funny kind of mystery but no sense. Maybe this is better with just a few episodes. They put a lot of unnecessary characters, story and scenes.Acting and casting are all good except with Ko Mi Rae character.. I like how Cho Yeo Jeong (Kang Yeo Joo) consistently have poker face. She deserved her award for this drama.
Music: Though it is not my type of music but they also made a melody that will really suit this drama.
Rewatch Value: I won't rewatch this again. Not worth of my time.
But overall this drama made me laugh somehow.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Confusing ASF ending
So I just finished watching cheat on me if you can. It was a 16 episode drama which literally just finished the same as it began. A lot happened but nothing happened. It was very interesting and i loved the actual plot and the acting but the wtf happened with the ending?? Did they run out of time or smth? The questions still burning in my brain- and there are a good few- are as follows: She said she would kill him but did she? What happened with the guys politics? What happened with the college girl? Does she still go to college? Does she still have to move? What happened with secret agent guy? Is there any potential romance between him and Yeo Joo? Is Yeo Joo going to jail? Has she gotten her revenge? If Yeo Joo grows all those plants and all that poison why is her chosen murder weapon a knife? What happened with the detectives- are they getting along now? How did everyone find the new book? Does anyone know what the secret prayer room actually was about? Who the heck is her father besides a congressman?All questions that should have been answered but were not (and may have been but I could have missed them).
So, should you watch this? No. Definitely not
Do I understand what I just sat through? No. Definitely not
Was this review helpful to you?
Is all about the journey,not the destination.
Alternative title:a hot mess that i loved!Yes sometimes the story was all over the place.But please don't be discouraged and continue reading!The basics.
Production/direction:Nothing bad to say here.I think that in a Kdrama no matter how high or low the budget is,the final outcome most of the times is at top level just because of Korean's professionalism.And no,this is not a low budget.
Direction and cinematography follows the basic rules to give a pleasant outcome.No funny and awkward camera use.Nothing extraordinary either!
Cast/acting: I loved Go Jun in The Fiery Priest and he didn't disappointed me here too.
I always like Jung Sang Hoon & Lee Si Eon's acting so i guess i played safe.
As for Cho Yeo Jung,this is my first time see her acting and she did a great job!
Music:Playful and funny.Suspenseful and dramatic.Just on spot when needed.The music carpet was such a delight in my ears.From the second i heard the main OST i got addicted.I paused the episode and searched it in youtube.Since then O.V.E.R-i'm never gonna love again-is my latest obsession!
Story/plot:I chose this drama because the first tag was Thriller and the 2nd Mystery.I had no idea what to expect though.The story although is sprinkled all over with the comedy element and i was surprised.Usually i do not like the mixed genres so much.When i want to watch a crime thriler i want this and nothing else.But here those genres combined so beautifully,it was delightful.And to be honest i found myself looking forward for the funny moments instead of the serious mystery parts.Normally i would have been upseted,lol,but i enjoyed this, way more than i expected.Story itself is about a murder and an affair.Is definetely a very slow-burn mystery drama without this meaning the pace was slow.Don't expect clues,investigation,suspects and all the things a good crime has, to be unfolded and revealed here easily and fast.No.For me the story focuses on characters mostly rather than the storyline.And that is the reason i gave story an 8.Its not complicated nor deep.Is a common and not so intriguing story but yet i had so much fun waching it.The reason we watch dramas is mostly to entertain ourselves and yes those 16 hours i spent worth it from the begining til the end.Dive into this withought having high hopes about the plot.There are holes as some boring parts too.I told you.Is all about the journey not the destination.
Characters:
The Wife: As an old joke goes "there is Father in-law.Mother in-law.Son in-law.But there is no wife in-law.Why?Because wife IS THE LAW!"
She is:Manipulative.Genius.Psychotic.Jealous.Scary.Crazy.Suspicious.Cold-hearted.
All of the above.None of the above.Judge by yourself!
Kang Yeo Joo is like an onion.She has so many layers.She can easily make you cry and shit your pants too because most of the time she is scary!The scenes that she is searching her husband's briefcase,smelling his clothes and his stuff was funny-as visual-annoying-as morals-and essential to understand and go deeper to her personality and her life experiences.
I was laughing every time she could sense every smell and give a precise description.I have a sensitive nose too so i could relate.Her char is not as superficial as it may seems.Just a jealous wife searching her cheater husband.No is more than this at the end.Most of all i loved her poker face!She smiles for a split of a second and then she freezes!And she is a woman inlove!
Wife's Assistant:Well to be honest even now after finishing the drama still i do not fully comprehend his part in the development of the story..But he is sooooooo yummy and hot so definetely iam not complaining here.Even if his role was a muted gardener i wouldn't mind!(and that umbrella scene!Oh!!!)
The Husband:He is a cheater.That is a given.He is the most adorable cheater ever.I wanted to hate him but i couldn't.A piece of advice.Don't judge him too soon.
Cheating is a bad bad thing.And this character will always be remembered as a cheater.
But he is always thinking about his wife.All day every day.Out of fear?Out of love?Anyhow for any reason still he doesn't want to hurt her.Unfortunately we don't get to know any other aspect of him.I loved his inner monologues.Were hilarious!He is sweet and funny and totally under his wife's manipulation.He is like a scared puppy,his reactions are priceless!Poor him he is living in a constant fear.Every day she threatens him that if he cheats on her she will poison shoot stab and murder him with so many different methods!And all these in a funny yet serious tone!He laughs at her threats but deep down he is scared to death!
Husband's Assistant:Ok he is my total Bias here.He is hilarious.His facial expressions,the way he talks,how he covers all up for his friend!Precious!He carries the half fun of this show.
The uni student.The most annoying and unnecessary character in this drama(to me at least).Yes she has a troubled and dark past.She has some character development too.But i guess she was the writer's niece so he wrote a role for her(bad joke,sorry!)
The dedective Duo:Great chemistry and funny moments when both were on screen.Played their role for the story to go on.Loved both.
The fact that iam writing and analyzing almost every character i guess means a lot.So after finishing this drama iam telling you if you decide to watch it go open-minded.Do not stick to the crime/mystery genre.Dive in thinking is a good comedy with a twist of mystery and enjoy it for as it is!
Was this review helpful to you?
