I got Bored. Little chemistry and a slow moving story.

6/10 is my rating. This is a 2023 South Korean supernatural mystery romance with 12, 60 minute episodes.

First I provide a Unique Synopsis then Review.

Synopsis

Taxi driver Seon Young min (Yoon Chan young) just wants to make a good living driving the taxi his mother bequeathed him. Last thing he wanted or needed was a ghost, Kang Ji hyun (Bang Min ah) attached to his taxi. Especially a ghost that drives off his paying customers. When he discovers a way the ghosts can be paying customers and he can grant thenpm some final wishes, a new business concept us born and who better to help him in his endeavors than the ghost who is attached to his taxi. Having lost her memory, Ji hyun cannot tell Young min how she came to have his deceased mother’s bracelet or why their are pictures of her on his mother’s phone. So they have mysteries to solve around Young min’s mother and Ji hyun’s deaths as well as mysteries around the last moments for their clients.

Review

I very rarely quit watching a series. I made it through episode 5 on this and just could not watch it any more. I was bored. I like the premise. But the focus was not as heavily in doing cool things for ghosts as it was on their mystery and their relationship. I did not puck up on much chemistry between the keads so I was not super interested in their interactions. I would not watch it again nor recommend it.

Spoilers

Ji hyun is way dressed down, possibly to give a more ghostly appearance, but it makes handsome Young min’s almost immediate attraction for her less believable. She is also a bit annoying and has no empathy for Young min’s plight and need to earn money to provide for himself and his grandmother. So with her being slightly annoying, devoid of understanding, and not very attractive, it is hard to understand what he would see in her from a romantic perspective. She also is mean to hm by not understanding him needing to make money and guilting him into helping herself and other ghosts instead. She also makes fun of him for never having dated, and ridicules his desire to hang a lock on the fence.

I found the case where the con artist was trying to scam the young widow out of a settlement interesting. But those interesting cases were too few to hold my interest.

#DeliveryMan #BangMinAh #YoonChanYoung

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If you can overlook the silly slapstick elements it is season 2 enhanced

10 is my rating. This is a 2023 South Korean Supernatural Action Drama with 12, 61-74 minute episodes.

First I provide a Unique Synopsis then Review

Synopsis

This is everything season one was but with more intensity. While they defeated the evil spirits in season one as was sinisterly predicted by the level three they extracted, evil is back but even stronger. Ga Mo tak (Yoo Jun-sang) returns and is now back on the police force so arresting the host after the evil spirit is removed is easier. Do Ha na’s (Kim Se-jeong) ability to to sense the evil spirits is no longer as useful as the evil spirits have learned to see the territory and avoid it. Choo Maeok’s (Yeom Hye-ran) ability to heal makes her an emphasized target for the evil spirits who have also absorbed the ability to heal and understand the importance. So Mun’s (Jo Byung Gyu) abilities have now far surpassed that of any other counter. There is a new counter Na ro bong (Yoo In Soo) who is clumsy and oafish but has the ability to “sniff out” evil spirits. The evil spirits in the second season have the ability to absorb counter’s special abilities especially Hwang Pi kwang (Kang Ki young) who has psychokineses on par with Mun and absorbs the abilities of those counters he consumes. Gelli Choi (Kim Hieora) is his right hand evil henchwoman who is a third level with a spike globe that enhances her physical damage by causing britally deep gouges and cuts in her victims. Like Ha na, Gelli can read and erase memories. Their third evil spirit team member is Wong Li Qiang (Kim Hyun Wook) who absorbed the ability to heal but takes psychotic delight in brutalizing his victims.

A third-level evil spirit specializing in speed who scratches, stabs, cuts, and kills. She can also read and erase memories. Mun struggles with concepts of good and evil when someone he greatly admires, Ma Joo seok (Jin Seon kyu) turns evil after his wife and unborn child are murdered. With evil spirits more powerful than ever, and the lines between good and evil blurred, can the counters prevail against seemingly insurmountable odds?

Review

Could you skip two and just watch season one? About the only thing you might miss is Mun becomng even more amazing. But they are fighting new evil so it is a little bit stand alone. In my opinion it is better than season one just in terms of how much stronger and more powerful both sides have beocome. But, the silly slapstick elements incorporated in season two were a huge detractor made some determine they could do without it. It ends well and everything is resolved yet there are onvious openings for additional season(s).

Spoilers*.

I like Yoo In Soo and was happy to know he was going to be in the 2nd season.That is until they introduced Na Ro bong and his character was ridiculous. The whole dung and potty humour was too much. Ok we get it you worked with cows. And his ability to smell evil? That could have been interesting I am thinking of “The Girl Who Sees Smells” but they made it so he would put his head out the window like a dog. And he wasn’t even that great at it. He would lose track and misdirect. He was useless in the physical fights and, if anything, put the others in danger. He had the mentality of a young child. If they had left that character out the show would have been better.

They put way too much slapstick comedy style throughout the series. Reapers are a serious thing in all the other South Korean shows I have watched. The “counters” were serious bad asses in the first season. This season they trivialized their role by making it over the top silly. I mean, the main counters were still serious, but they interacted with Na Ro bong, and he was so silly that it made everything silly.

Once again Netflix deviated from the elements of South Korean drama that most fans love. Repeat after us Netflix kdramas should be one season with 16 episodes. Supernatural beings are serious characters.

One well written plot twist was when Gelli Choi discovered she could see by reading their minds when and how the counters first got their abilities. I thought “big deal what can she do with that?” Then she was fighting with Mun and realized the only way to defeat him was to steal his memory of gaining his power. She did that and it took Mun out for a significant portion of time. I did not see that coming.

From season one I really wanted to see Mun and Ha na become a couple. If anything in season two they mive farther from that. Ha na even has a side romance. The romantic in me still hopes for a season three and they finally get together.

#UncannyCounter2 #YooJungSang #KimJeSeong #SungJiRoo #JoByungGyu

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Unpopular opinion here but I prefer heart warming romance and happy endings over harsh reality

This is a 2019 South Korean romantic comedy drama with 16, 60-73 minute episodes. Also known as Mellow is My Nature.

6/10 is my rating. First I provide a unique synopsis then review

Synopsis

This is a story centered around three female friend who are roommates and one of their brothers.

Lim Jin joo (Chun Woo hee) is fresh out of a tumultuous seven year relationship when a script she is writing finally catches the attention of an up and coming director. Finding intrigue in his particular brand of sarcasm, Jin joo falls for the Director, Son Beom soo (Ahn Jae hong). Relatively fresh out of a failed 7 year relationship, her feelings for Beom soo ignite while reworking the script for a 16 episodes drama. Having met his match, Beom soo reciprocates her feelings. Since fate has a sense of humor, it turns out her ex boyfriend, Kim Hwan dong (Lee You jin), is the assistant director and she has to work with him in order to get her big break.

Lee Eun jung (Jeon Yeo been) is still grieving the sudden loss of her fiancé, Hong dae (Han joon woo) to cancer. Her grief is so severe that she suffers persistent complex grief disorder and sees and talks to her departed fiancé as if he were still there. Her younger brother, Lee Hyo bong (Yoon Ji on) has continued living with Eun jung after she attempted suicide and her two friends form part of the team that live together and watch over Eun jung. Hong dae invested in a documentary Eun jung directed and she achieved wealth and success as a result of that project.

Hwang Han joo (Han Ji eun) was the school beauty who was conned in love by a man who was not good at committing to anything. She married him after an unexpected pregnancy but they quickly divorced, Now her three close friends and roommates are helping her raise her young son, Hwang In-kook (Seol Woo Hyung). Her role with the marketing and production department is to ensure the production meets the product placement advertisements that were agreed to. She later is promoted to a producer position.

Review

Based on other reviews, some people really liked this or at least enjoyed it. For me it’s one where I’m trying to figure out what people might’ve liked about it. I guess if you really like pure dramas with very little comedy and you want it to be reality based, then you might enjoy this one. I watch dramas to escape reality so I don’t want or need things to happen exactly as they might in reality. Give me the well-developed happy endings that’s what I want. I was interested in the story throughout most of it although there was nothing super exciting or any huge plot twist or anything like that. The characters were interesting and it was a slice of film industry life. Where I really lost interest in it was towards the ending when it became obvious things were not going to end the way I hoped they would. Sort of a soft ending in that things were wrapped up just not completely or well. In my opinion I would not watch it again nor would I highly recommend somebody else watch it. However, if you particularly like any of the actors, they did very well and the script was written well for what it was

Spoilers

Lim Jin joo (Cho Woo hee) was not a very likable character. In the relationship with Kim Hwan dong (Lee You jin) I thought she was wrong in the arguments a majority of the time. It appeared she picked fights with him for no apparent reason. She really wasn’t different with Son Beom soo (Ahn Jae hong) but he didn’t fight back. He more joked her out of it. I think they were trying for her just being a unique personality who could not match well with just anyone. They tried to portray that some some of the roughervaspects of her personality were due to being that element that made her an edgy writer. This was supposed to lead tona determination that the only one that could handle her was another quirky person such as the somewhat edgy Director. I got where the writers were going with it but I just found her very abrasive and not very likable. I still rooted for the romance a little bit which was why the way they never really fully got together was annoying. They were dating, although still having frequent fights, but nothing much else like a solid long term commitment which was not a very satisfying ending.

Lee Eun jung (Jeon Yeo been) was just a sad case the entire time. I hoped the drama would take the turn that she found new love in Kim Ah-rang (Ryu Abell) a fellow director but that never fully happened. There were some hints they might meet up abroad but nothing definite. She was working on her complex grief but was still imagining Hong dae (Han joon woo) enough it was clear she had not fully let go. So there was no resolution to her grief and we did not get to see her happy in a new relationship.

Hwang Han joo (Han ji eun) says she is ready for a romance and there is all this build up between her and her subordinate, Chu Jae hoon (Gong Myung) and it seems headed for romance. But nope. Instead he seems to get back with his crazy ex, Ha yoon (Mi ram) who they portray as the victim in their very tumultuous relationship when everything I saw it looked like she was the aggressor. But that was an overall trend in this film that no matter how wrong the female appeared, she was in the right, and the man was the wrong one. Then, in the end, she is dating some guy she met at a club who we barely knew anything about. Why did I care she had some random romance? I wanted her with her cute assistant who seemed like her other half. Instead he is back with his personality disorder ex and she is with some rando.

Jung Hye-Jung (Baek Ji won), who was Jin joo’s former boss turned rival script writer has this whole flirtation going with Sung In-Jong (Jung Seung gil) and there is even a bit of a love triangle for awhile. So this leads you to expect she will quit being such a horror with her work and get with In jong who seems to mellow her sharp personality. But we do not know what happens as tge writers just drop that story and there is no outcome with all that build up.

There were a couple of side romances that got very little screen time that were cute but not central enough to carry the story. Eun jung’s younger brother, Lee Hyo bong (Yoon Ji on), marries his partner and moves out because his sister is finally well enough he no longer has to be on suicide watch. Probably the cutest romance of the show was between Lee So min (Lee joo bin) and her manager Lee Min joon (Kim Myung joon) as they had been friends and it was obvious he felt more for her. So them realizing their feelings and getting together was heart warming,good friendships can stand in for love,

Overall it felt like the writers wanted to convey a proposal is not necessary for a happy ending, good friendships can stand in for love, and strong independent women do not need a man. A disappointing surprise for me to find in a Korean drama.

#BeMelodramatic #MellowIsMyNature #HanJiEun #JeonYeoBeen #AhnJaeHong #ChunWooHee #HanJoonWoo #YoonJiOn #SeolWooHyung

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Quick cute light fluff

8/10 is my rating. This is a 2023 Japanese romance mini series with 6, 24 minute episodes.it is an adaptation from the manga series “Batsuichi ga Moteru nante Kitemasen”.

First I provide a Unique Synopsis then review.

Synopsis

As a star editor for a fashion magazine, Kazuha Ono (Takanashi Rin) seems to have a perfect life. At 35 she has a great career and a happy marriage. Or at least she thought so. Things crash down when her husband announces he has been having an affair and is in love with a younger woman. She figures she might as well rip the band aid and announces her divorce at work before her colleagues hear it elsewhere. That day just happens to be the day, Ayato Mitsui (Tsuna Kieto) started with her company. Fresh oit of college and 12 years her junior, Ayoto starts to admire Kazuha. But things are awkwars because Ayoto is nit only older and a divorcée but she is qlso his superior whipo is supposed to mentor him. .But Ayoto is not the only one interested in the kind and beautiful Kazuha, turns out Rensuke Hayami (Shiono Akihisa) a popular actor, has known Kazuha for awhile and even liked her when she was married. He sees her divorce as his opportunity. In the unusual position if having two handsome eligible bachelors interested in her, who will Kazuha choose. Being a subordinate whi is younger is fraught with problems but coupling with a famois actor has its own issues. Who will Kazuha’s heart pick?

Review

If you are looking for a lighthearted, uncomplicated yet predictable romance this would be a good choice. I would recommend it to fans of either actor, Japanese drama fans, or as a filler drama or quick watch. Maybe you watched something heavy or sad and just need a reset. Well this would fit the bill to offer some quick fluff to reset your emotions. There is not enough substance for me to watch again but I would not avoid it if someone had it on.

Spoilers

I am not usually one for large age gaps but these two characters fit each other so well that it did not seem as big a deal. With short mini series I often feel they would have been better if they were longer.There were ao many possibilities the ex husband could have tried to get her back, she could have tried dating the actor who was closer to her age, and there could have been a side romance. But mostly we could have gotten to know the characters better and had more time with them dating and getting to know each other.

I seriously loved her mom sticking up for her and getting in a social media battle with the ex. That was great and made up for Kazuha effusively apologizing when he and Ayoto got in a fight. Her ex was so in the wrong and I disliked her apologizing to him like that. Her mom telling him off made up for it.

#MyHappyDivorcedLife #TakahashiRin #TsunaKieto. #ShionoAkihisa

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If you can look past the slapstick comedy elements it is a hidden gem rom com

9.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2024 Thai Dystopian Romantic Comedy Series with 6, 63-7 minute episodes.

First I provide a unique synopsis then review

Synopsis

The show is set in a dystopian parallel universe where a virus has resulted in males representing only 1% of the population. The rarity of males has lead to the government raising them from birth in a controlled, secure, and luxurious environment (a gilded cage) called The Farm. Every Four Years a contest is held in the form of an elimination dating game where ladies are able to choose to marry an individual from a group of the young bachelors. In previous games, the contestants were chosen from elite families only but, for the first time, they hold a lottery to choose an average femalecitizen to compete. Darika Chokwithee or “Day” (Belle Kemisara Paladesh) is a hardworking young lady whose life centers around making sure her sister, May (Neen Neennara Boonnithipaisit) who has cancer, gets the best care. Her sister May though has always fan girled over the boys on the farm particularly Son (Blue Pongtiwat Tangwancharoen) who she particularly admires. While Day is busy working a variety of jobs, May focuses on getting as many entries as possible to the lottery. When a miracle happens and May’s entry is chosen, she talks Day into going in her place. Day could care less aboit some frivilous show until she discovers if she wins, and marries one of the men from “The Farm”, she can secure the future for herself and her sister including top quality medical care. But, things are not as they are portrayed and the game has been rigged for the top elite to have their choice of the men. Day’s friend, Valentine (Jane Jaytiya Naiwattanakul) is working with a counter group, and goes to work for the show as the spy inside. Can true love overcome odds so heavily weighed against it?

Review

If ypu can see past some of the siily slapstick aspects around the game show, it is a hidden gem. It can be hard to find a truely feel good romantic comedy like this one. This is cute, not super complex, and ends happily with all major plot elememts neatly resolved. It is short but the number of episodes were enough to tell the story well. I would rewatch it in the future and recommend it as a heartwarming romantic comedy. I could habe done without the boy love and girl love elements but it was not hyper sexualized content in general so it was not a big deal.

Spoilers

The only very slight detractor for me was some of the three stooges level comedy. But it did make me giggle a couple of times as it was so incredibly silly.

Despite the relative light fluff of the main story, there are some deeper messages. What is health and safety without freedom? The men on the Farm are living in the highest level of safety with every luxury but they are not free.

If there was ever a situation like that we can all envision where the elite would likely control it. Natural selection and genetic diversity is what keeps a population strong and healthy. So their “selection” system would be horrible from that perspective. But if you think of inbreeding among royal lines in the past, and the genetic issues that caused, it is not surprising.

Almond’s (Man Trisanu Soranun) fear and decision to stay behind makes sense considering the psychology of a situation like that. It is like opening a cage and the bird or whatever either does not leave or uses it as a home base.

#ReadySetLove #BelleKemisaraPaladesh #NeenNeennaraBoonnithipaisit #BluePongtiwatTangwancharoen #JaneJaytiyaNaiwattanakul #ManTrisanuSoranun

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Disappointing. One of the few where I feel like my time was wasted. Sad.

3/10 is my rating. This is a 2019 South Korean coming of age romance drama. Based on a webtoon of the same name. There are 8, 42-55 minute episodes in Season 1 and 6, 43-71 minute episodes in the 2nd season.

First I will provide a Unique Synopsis then Review
Synopsis

A brilliant student app developer, Cheon Duk-gu (Lee Jae eung) releases an app called Love Alarm that is a huge sensation in South Korea. A heart signal is displayed omn the user’s phone app if the app is active and someone feeling the love is within 10 meters. Kim Jojo (Kim So hyun) is more focused on earning money and attending school than she is in worrying about some app. Besides she already has a boyfriend, Jang Il sik (Shin Seung-ho) and does not want to reveql to him that she does not see him romantically. But things get complicated when she stumbles upon a phone with the app and finds herself caught in a love triangle with the unapproachable god of campus, Hwang Sun oh (Song kang) and his best friend Lee Hee Young (Jung Ga Ram). All the girls hope Hwang sun will set off their love alarm but Jojo and he develop interest in each other at first sight and he only sets off Jojo’s love alarm.

How do things change when technology reveals things that might be best hidden? And what if only one side is hidden?
Review

To say this series was disappointing just barely skims the surface of how awful it turns out to be. It does not end happily in my opinion and what could have been a good story takes a surprising and horrible turn. It made me sad. I would not rewatch it nor would I recommend it. I am baffled how anyone thinks this was a good romance. It portrayed such a twisted sense of what love should be I am still annoyed at the mere thought of this terrible series.
Spoilers


I seriously dislke sad movies and series. Some sad content is okay as long as it is brief and it turns around and winds up happy. With this series, it started with a heartwarming romance between Jojo and Sun Oh and, just when things are going well, they get into an accident and she decides to brutally end it with him. Lie and say she doesn’t care about him at all. It was a pointless break up for very selfish reasons. I thought they made a great couple he was lonely and sad from always being treated like an object by his parents and she was lonely and sad because she was an orphan, whose parents tried to murder her, and her aunt and cousin treated her like a lesser human being. They were able to comfort and provide solace to each other and they were all laughter and smiles when they were together. Their love made sense and was happy. If the show had kept that trajectory and even if they did that stupid break up but they got back together and made up later I would still have liked it. But the writers decided that would be the end of it for them as a couple even though they teased us with the possibility they would get back together. The scene where the Sun Oh’s mom, Jeong Mi-mi (Song Seon mi) talks about Jojo and pretty much points out she is still the one in his heart is pointless because they never get back together.

Another pointless story line was the whole conflict with Jojo’s best friend, Kim Jang go as they never reconciled and she just disappeared from the story line with no resolution on her crush nor the rift in their friendship. No big point to having either the best friend or ex boyfriend characters. Unless the point of thise two characters was other oeople thought Jojo could be a jerk, because later I wound up thinking so too. The way she ended her relationship badly with her boyfriend, Jang Il-sik (Shin Seung Ho) was a good indicator of the way she did things, If she decided it was over she did not care who got hurt.

Many commented that Sun Oh betrayed his friend when he went after the girl he had been crushing on for a long time. Hee young had been around Jojo because he liked her and would deliberately do things to bring himself into her presence. But that was it. He never acted on any of that and it made his admiration for her seem very shallow. Sun Oh asked him multiple times if he liked Jojo so he gave him ample opportunity to say he did and act on his feelings. So I wasn’t bothered by that because I felt Hee young had his chance and never took it. Just liking someone does not put your mark of ownership on them in my opinion. Those feeings have to be expressed and reciprocated.. So, I did not fault Sun Oh for liking Jojo and following through with his feelings. I found it incredibly sad that such an unlikable female lead became the one to create a large rift in the brotherly like friendship the two men had. Once again how lonely for Sun oh to lose his friend who eased his loneliness.

That whole “shield” so the other person cannot see how you feel about them thing just ticked me off. It was an incredibly selfish thing to know how the other person felt but have that shield deceive the other person into thinking you had no feelings for them. The fact that Jojo used that showed how selfish in love she was. She was perfectly fine with them exhibiting their feelings for her. Even reveled in it. But she was okay with never showing her feelings and being dishonest with them about why. Okay you cannot get the shield off your phone but how about you tell the other people you have the shield? It was selfish, narcissistic and made me not like her character at all. Oh I am so damaged I cannot show love even if I feel it? Find a shrink lady and quit using people to make yourself feel better.

One reviewer said all the relationships were very superficial. I have to agree. The software developer, Cheon Duk gu (Lee Jae-eung) liked Jojo’s cousin, Park Gul-mi, (Go Min Si) because she was pretty. And really that could be the only reason because she was an awful person. Hee young liked Jojo from afar, until they got deep in their relationship he only ever liked what he saw of her and it didn’t seem like he really knew her. The influencer that loved Sun oh, his new girlfriend, Lee Yuk-jo (Kim Si eun) did not need him to reciprocate which means she was with him for other reasons. Maybe the optics?

The one sided love thing portrayed as romantic was annoying. It was not romantic that Hee young loved Jojo from afar and was willing to be with her even though she said she may never ring his love alarm. That’s okay babe I will just continually stroke your ego by ringing your love alarm all the time. I found that disgusting and selfish of her. Sun oh found the love of his life in Jojo and you had the sense he would never love anyone else that deeply. He seemed sad and unhappy in the “fake” life he was living with hus new girlfriend. All of that being in the spotlight and objectified was exactly what he hated and found lonely in his childhood. But now we are supposed to believe that he will grow to love someone where he did not have those feelings in the beginning, when you are most likely to feel romantic love? So I did not find it romantic that eveyone woud up in these one sided love relationships and we were expected to believe the love would grow and everyone would wind up happy. That so rarely happens you can say it doesn’t happen. The person who loves more winds up hurt and emotionally starved all the time. The person that does not have that romantic love feeling feels guilty for being unable to feel that way about the other person. Love is not something that can be manufactured or forced. So I seriously disliked that this series tried to romanticize such a deeply painful and harmul relationship dynamic.

I could go on and on about how horrible this series was. But, to sum up my discontent, they Netflixed it, the female lead character was unlikable, everyone winds up in superficial substandard relationship and they lied about love. It made me sad for Sun oh that he ended up with someone he was not deeply in love with (they would have made awesome friends, Jojo is taking advantage of Hee young in a relationship where the love balance is so horribly off just to gratify herself and feel safe in the relationship. The horrible cousin winds up with a chance to be with the software developer who she treated like dirt early on and she never changed to become a better person. I strongly disliked every outcome. I never thought there would be a situation where I would be unhappy the second guy got the girl but they made it happen. Those two being together just made it so everyone would wind up miserable.

#KimSohyun #JungGaram #HwangSunoh #GoMinsi #LeeJaeeung #SongKang #KimSohyun #JungGaram #LoveAlarm #GoMinSi #LoveAlarm2 #SongSeonmi #JeongMimi

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Unlikable female lead, boring cases, missing chemistry and plot is full of holes

7/10 is my rating. This is a 2024 South Korean Legal Romance drama with 12, 61-68 minute episodes.

First I provide a unique synopsis then review.

Synopsis

Kim Sa ra (Lee Ji ah) was leading a good life as the wife of a chaebol son, Noh Yul seong (Oh Min suk) and head of a legal empire. The mother-in-law, and matriarch of the legal empire, Cha Hee won (Na Young Hee) decides Sara is not the woman she wanted for her son as she has too much of a mind of her own so they frame her for illegal emission of her son and he divorces her. She starts a law firm centered around gaining justice for women in unjust circumstances. With a talented former prosecutor, Dong Ki joon (Kang Ki young) as a partner will they be able to bring down Sara’s exes legal empire and help others along the way?

Review

This was a mediocre, at best, legal romance. I found many of the legal cases boring and was very distracted as some of the cases were very mundane. So I wouldn’t rewatch it to see compelling legal drama. I also did not see a lot of chemistry or romance between Ki joon and the Sa ra. So much of the series was spent with her in various stages of interaction with her husband then ex husband then husband that there was little time for anything to be developed between the Sa ra and Ki joon. It was disappointing as the potential for a really great romance was there but the writers took it in other directions. I would not say this is unwatchable but it is not even close to a top choice. I cannot see myself rewatching it and would likely not stay around to watch it if someone else was.

 

Spoilers

The Sa ra was a bad ass martial artist in the beginning and there were several opportunities for her to show her stuff.  In the later episodes, she did not show that side as much and, in fact, was taken down physically several times. I would have enjoyed it more if there had been more opportunity for her to kick butt on the bad guys and if she had done it through the series. The martial arts scenes were one of the only things that kept it flowing in terms of excitement and interest.

 

There was a huge back story I don’t think we ever got fully told about her marrying Yul seong It seemed like she was going out with Ki joon and then somehow got pregnant with Yul song’s child and that was the reason for her breaking it off so abruptly with Ki joon.  Or it could be I was so bored I missed something. But that was my impression. I was like, but wait, that is not common in that culture for someone to be essentially having two physical relationships with two men so that she was with one guy but pregnant by another. Some reviewers said she came across as a gold digger, only interested in Yul seong’s money. But I only recall the part where she had a positive pregnancy test. More back story on her relationship and how she came to marry someone like him would have helped in understanding why she put up with him early on like she did.

 

There was not any chemistry between Sa ra and Ki joon primarily because she spent the better part of the show giving him the cold shoulder and trampling his feelings. I felt sorry for him. Sa ra was just straight up cruel to Ki joon in her coldness and indifference. She knew he had feelings for her but she never gave any consideration to his thoughts or opinions. If she wanted to do something a certain way she did it. In fact she didn’t care who thought otherwise. I thought that was a serious character flaw. That she didn’t listen to anybody in the way she approached “solutions.” When she decided to remarry her husband to take him down from the inside, I was super disappointed in her character. It was hurtful to Ki joon to have her remarry her husband when it seemed she was finally going to accept him.  But she didn’t care what anyone thought.  Her solution was her solution.  They could have played up the fact she wanted her child more, that might have been a better justification, but they really made it seem about revenge for her mother.  It made her an unlikable character to not care about the thoughts and feelings if thise around her. To add insult to injury, her decisions rarely bore the best results. It would be different if she went her own way and that turned out to be the best way but so often things did not go well. 

I wasn’t a fan of the wardrobe.  She had all kinds of weird drab outfits that seemed to carry over to her son.  Those big weird collars, I am not a fan. But her clothes were unappealing a lot of times.

So her husband and mother in law falsely frame her for a fraudulent application, she gets sent to prison, loses her child, he divorces her and she loses her law license but she is ok with that? In all the evidence she gathered and confessions she had them make she had no interest in clearing up that false crime? Will she ever get her license back?: That seemed like an important plot point to resolve. And just, nothing?

And what about the mother in law? She just gets to falsely imprison her, keep her son from her and then find out her iwn son was a compoete tool amd that is just it? She disappears from the story line and just nothing?

 

Ki joon’s efforts to befriend Sa ra’s son were just weird. If my parents new partner was over the top fakey trying to be my friend I would withdraw. I mean his dad did a lot of bad things but he still had a dad. Most children would not buddy up to someone seemingly trying to replace their oarent. Children are better approached slowly and genuinely.  Someone didn’t know how to write a good step parent relationship.  Those exchanges were just weird.  Almost creepy.

 

I don’t know what this having the second couple marry but not the first one trend is but I don’t like it.  It’s okay if they marry and we see it but that is only if the main couple is married.  Otherwise why do I care about the 2nd couples’ wedding?  Several I have watched recently have ended like that.  I don’t get why they are doing that but it is a trend I am not a fan of. 

 

The ending was “happy” I guess. The second couple get married. But that just turned out to be odd. While you could see them slowly getting more and more interested in each other and together, it did not feel like they had reached the marriage stage. Sa ra’s speech at the 2nd couples wedding was awkward and I experienced a lot of second hand embarrassment. Way to kill the mood.  And then the lead couple doesn’t get married.  They kind of sort of get engaged with her having some weird we will be together in five year increments requirement. Because she is a divorce lawyer? Well, she didn’t have that issue when marrying her 1st husband. And she seemed to divorce him easily enough. Her stating that meant she had no confidence in their relationship and since there wasn’t a lot to make the viewer confident in Ki joon and Sa ra’s relationship I thought that was a very odd way to have them come together.  It seemed hurtful, yet again, for the Ki joon that she did not care about him enough to properly accept his proposal.

 

I wasn’t a fan of the wardrobe.  She had all kinds of weird drab outfits that seemed to carry over to her son.  Those big weird collars, I am not a fan. But her clothes were unappealing a lot of times.

 

Ki joon’s efforts to befriend Sa ra’s son were just weird. If my parents new partner was over the top fakey trying to be my friend I would withdraw. I mean his dad did a lot of bad things but he still had a dad. Most children would not buddy up to someone seemingly trying to replace their oarent. Children are better approached slowly and genuinely.  Someone didn’t know how to write a good step parent relationship.  Those exchanges were just weird.  Almost creepy.

 

I don’t know what this having the second couple marry but not the first one trend is but I don’t like it.  It’s okay if they marry and we see it but that is only if the main couple is married.  Otherwise why do I care about the 2nd couples’ wedding?  Several I have watched recently have ended like that.  I don’t get why they are doing that but it is a trend I am not a fan of. 

#QueenofDivorce #LeeJiAh #KangKiYoung #OhMinSuk #NaYoungHee #NaYoungHee

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Less sexualized than the American version, couples more serious

8/10 is my rating. This is a 2022 Japanese reality dating show. It is patterned after the American show of the same name. It ran for 11, 47-71 minute

First I provide a Unique synopsis then review

Synopsis

Eleven women and thirteen men live on a compound where the genders are kept separate at first, site unseen. During the first ten days members take part in speed dates where they seek to find out as much as they can about each other with marriage in mind. Following the speed dates, they can then choose to participate in longer dates with partners of their choice by going into adjacent pods where they are unable to see each other but can clearly hear each other’s voices. The intent is to fall for each other enough to propose marriage. Once the couples are engaged (and many will leave at this level never having found that level of connection) they are allowed to meet face to face where they see the other physically and the ring is presented. Affianced couples depart for a one week resort vacation Other couples that have taken part in the “experiment” are at the resort so the participants get to see others they may have “dated”. After spending their time at the resort, the affianced couples move into apartments for the remainder of the show. The couples are encouraged to spend their time introducing their fiancé to friends and family. While planning their weddings they go about their daily lives and learn how the person they chose goes about their days. All of the women go shopping for wedding dresses together and offer opinions on cut and style. Likewise the men shop for suits and offer each other opinions on the look of those suits they select. Each couple gets a day at the alter where they decide whether, after having real world time together, they want to say “I Do” or they regret their decision and say “I Don’t”.

HOSTS

Takashi Fujii Born in 1972. Would have been about 5O years old when the show aired. He is an actor, comedian, singer, presenter and music producer.

Yuka Itaya born in 1975. She would have been about 47 when the show aired. She is an actress, model and presenter.

SINGLES

Women

Priyanka Yoshikawa (Priya) (28) Mixed ethnicity with a Japanese and Indian ((India) parent. She is an interpreter, model and kick boxer. She was crowned Miss Japan world in 2016. Born in 1994. She would have been about 28 when the show aired.

Toshie (39) Aromatherapy instructor

Midori (30) Business planner

Motomi (27) Advertising salesperson

Minami (26) Architecture firm

Eri (32) Fitness trainer

Ayano (30) Corporate worker

Maki (34) Yoga instructor

Nana (31) Online marketing

Priya (27) Entrepreneur

Kaoru (31) Singer-songwriter

Nanako (35) Ex-ballet instructor

Men

Takumi (23) Ex-Maritime Self-Defense Force officer

Jinya (26) Hair and makeup stylist

Yudai (23) Men’s hairstylist

Mori (37) Cosmetic dermatologist

Shuntaro (56) Consultant

Odacchi (31) Comedian

Atsushi (42) Business owner

Sho (28) Design firm owner

Misaki (31) Baseball coach in Kenya

Ryotaro (32) Hairstylist

Ryoga (30) Real estate

Mizuki (29) Restaurateur

Wataru (38) Executive

Review

This is such a popular reality dating show that it started in the US and several other countries have done their versions. As expected the Japanese series was less sexualized than the US and if the couples were intimate it did not show it. The singles also seemed to consider marriage a lot more seriously than the US version. Is Love Blind? I think in watching the US version, this Japanese version and now starting the Swedish version I would say it depends. It goes back to how much importance the individual and the culture places in physical appearance. With a major in psychology it is fascinating to me they can do what they even call an experiment. It most likely would not pass an ethics panel if it were an actual psychological experiment.

Spoilers

What is clear to me is women, cross culturally can be very harsh with men. Some of the critical comments were hard to take. If you have seen the show you would know who I am referencing but I will leave names out of it.

One male was a little heavier than the woman preferred so she decided to put him on an intense training schedule. Wanting someone you care about to be physically healthier is understandable but all of her comments pointed to her being worried about appearance, she said a lot of things indicating that she thought she was more attractive than him. Her mom was funny as she took a liking to the future son-in-law and told her daughter to quit being arrogant. Basically he is a catch and you should realize that.

Then there was the beauty queen who saw herself as a leading expert on how to do business. The guy she selected told her he was a partner in a business he owned. She found out that the partner had put the money up so she said he was the owner and you are just an employ. Even though both men said they were partners, and it was a case where one is “the talent” and the other was the investor, she still insisted he was not an owner. That is a common business arrangement so I thought it was both rude and short sighted of her to characterize his business according to her standards alone. She also pressed him so hard on what he thought a good income would be that he said a high figure. Then she belittled him for saying so high saying that he didn’t have goals that were realistic. He said that he had inflated it because he was nervous and basically thought that that was what she would expect so she was responsible for making him feel that nervous to disappoint her. But rather than self reflecting, and realizing that she had made him feel that way, she harshly criticized for not stating a realistic amount. I thought he was way better off without her but could tell her opinion impacted him deeply and he was hurt their relationship ended.

Then there was Kenya guy. He had an innocent sweetness about him. The woman he selected made continual comments about him being an air head (which, from anime, can be considered cute) but not in a complimentary way. She was snippy and sarcastic when they met with her friends about various aspects of Kenya guy. I understood she did not feel they were a good match but a lot of her comments were personal attacks. And to bring him to her friends and make mean comments was not a good look for her.

To have two couples remain together is surprising because these type of shows rarely form couples with any longevity. Ryotaro and Motomi were refreshing. They liked each other from the beginning and never wavered. I think it was proof of concept because he was not someone, based on appearance alone, she would have interacted with. It was clear how much they enjoyed being together and their mutually supportive and caring relationship was so infectious it quickly won their families over. They are a lovely couple and I hope they have a future full of the love and happiness they conveyed so well. All signs on the internet pointed to them still being a couple.

Wataru and Midori also had a very nice relationship. I do not think she fully realized how happy he made her. Her mom could see how well suited they were and was an advocate for their relationship. They remained together based on social media posts.

#LoveIsBlindJapan

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If you don’t mind sad content and are fond of the separation trope…

7.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2023 South Korean Historical romance drama with 21, 60-90 minute episodes. It was originally divided into two parts: Part 1 with ten episodes and Part 2 with eleven episodes. So some say there are two seasons but there is only one season sometimes divided in two parts..

First I provide a Unique Synopsis then review.

Synopsis

Lee Jang hyun (Namkoong Min) is not the type of serious, respectful and honorable noble Yoo Gil chae (Ahn Eun jin) is used to encountering. He is a bit of what we would call these days, a lady’s man but also a “player.” He falls hard for the spirited Gil chae who, as the prettiest girl in her small community, has her pick of suitors. Of course the only guy she is interested in, Nam Yeon joon (Lee hak joo), is in love with her best friend. Kyung Eun ae (Lee da in), Gil chae’s best friend would do about anything for her friend except give up the guy they both love. Eun ae knows Gil chae really just wants Yeon joon because he is not interested and that the roguish Jang hyun is actually a better match for her friend. Eun ae both kind and wise and knows that Jang hyun is actually a very kind and capable man who deeply cares for Gil chae. But Gil chae is slow to recognize her own feelings and does not believe Jang hyun’s feelings are sincere. He has also clearly stated he is against marriage something any noble lady would scorn. Through war and the aftermath the two suffer many missed opportunities and Gil chae weds another man. Despite this, they both have each other firmly in their heart. Korea is suffering as the defeated party under a faction of China and the people are suffering by being impoverished, persecuted, killed and enslaved. Is there any hope for these two who seemed destined to be together?

Review

I do not like sad shows. If you like sad then you would definitely like this more than I did. I actually looked up the ending and it said it ended happy enough so I went with that. But what I didn’t understand is, it may end fairly happy, but it is sad all over the place throughout. Why? Well it is loosely based on true events where there was this Josean king who became paranoid and did a lot of horrible things as a result. And the royals were always trying to poison each other. That is why food tasters were common in many countries among the royalty. It was good for what it was. Wonderfully acted, the filming was amazing, and it was interesting throughout. So, understand that my ranking is based mostly on the fact that it had sad threaded all through it. I would not watch it again because it made me too down. I would recommend it to people that like historical and do not at all mind sad content.

Spoilers

I read that it ends with him losing his memory but that he remembers events around her. But they are together. That is true and that is the way it is nearly to the very end. But, in the last few minutes, he fully remembers her it shows his gaze becoming more steady and he says her name and looks her right in the eyes. So he does fully remember her. But two things about that. I personally hate the amnesia trope in general. And he has not one but two separate periods of amnesia. And, since it ended that way, we don’t know if he remembered any of the other people in his life.

Yeon joon was just an annoying character to me. I guess that wanted you to think Gil chae’s love for him in the beginning was completely juvenile and ridiculous. He was never a character I admired as he was so sanctimonious and it shadowed and influenced everything he did. He was never as thankful to Jang hyun for protecting him during the war as he should have been. If he told Gil chae about that in a “he is my life safer” type way she might have admitted her feelings for Jang hyum sooner. But I think there was a part of Yeon joon that liked having Gil chae romantically interested in him.

Gil chae was really annoying in the beginning. It had a real “Gone with the Wind” sort of vibe as she started as a noble that was very princess like as she was the beauty of the community. Then war breaks out and she goes through serious hardship and has to suffer horribly at the hands of the Barbarians. And it did humble and change her. But then she scorns Jang Hyun and marries the man who lied on the path on the island to basically use her as Barbarian bait. I get that it was Jang hyun’s fault a bit because, even at that point, he did not offer marriage but still you don’t turn your back on someone that has done so much for you and you obviously have feelings for.

Eun au, on the other hand, was such a sweet, humble and loyal person from the beginning, I did not feel like Yeon joon deserved her. The way he treated her when she was asking about being “defiled” by Barbarians made me like him even less. And then when he was a traitor to Jang hyun by leading the soldiers that nearly killed him, I liked him even less. There were just a few moments in the end when he asked Eun au to go with her and if he was still her husband where I think they were trying to show he had come around, but it wasn’t enough. So that wasn’t a sweet side romance.

I thought the Crown Prince and Princess dying was just tragic and unnecessary. Yes that may have been what happened, or close to it, historically but they could have departed and had him live. And then to make the Princess a traitor and even kill the royal heir, just made it Greek tragedy level.

The royal concubine was the evil doer behind most of the tragic events and we did not get the benefit of seeing her taken down. Evil essentially won. And that may have been what happened in the historical event it was drawn from but stories have the opportunity to improve and depart from such things. I suspect the king in the end was the concubines’ son. That was her goal to have her son put on the throne, but that was not very clear.

A large portion of the show was told with the main characters parted by war and other circumstance. I really dislike the separation trope so that being so prevalent and repetitive throughout the series was a serious negative to me. They were apart way more than they were together. Then, they would just get together briefly and either they would have a misunderstanding and go their separate ways, or a tragedy would strike and drive them apart. It was so frequent that the majority of the live commenters were complaining about them mostly being apart.

I guess the ending was supposed to be happy in the house he created to her specifications. But they were always surrounded by so many others throughout that them two alone just seemed very lonely. And it seemed they just planned to live as if dead so that he would not be hunted. But that was sad too. If it weren’t for the mad king and the evil concubine he should have lived out a heroes’ life.

#NamkoongMin #AhnEunJin #MyDearest#LeeDaIn #LeeHakJoo

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If you can accept an episode that was useless to the series it is likable

7.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2024 South Korean romantic comedy series with 12, ~70 minute episodes. It is based on a popular Webtoon of the same name.

First I provide a unique synopsis then review.

Synopsis

Na A jeong (Jeon Jong seo) and Lee Do han (Kim Do wan)were best friends since high school. When Do han asks A jeong to help him avoid an arranged marriage by entering into a contract marriage, A jeong agrees because, as an aspiring actress, pretending to be romantically in love with her best friend is just another role to play. She is used to playing parts for people (such as rent a friend) to make money to continue to pursue her dream of becoming a lead actress. Do han has hidden his homosexuality from his family to this point and the contractual relationship with his friend will allow him to continue to keep his secret. Lee Ji han (Moon Sang min) Do han’s younger brother, is not aware of his brother’s feelings on romance, and wants to thwart the relationship between Do han and A jeong. He wants Do han to folllow through with the arranged marriage with Yoon chae won (Bae Yoon kyung) to secure their grandfather’s approval and inherit control of the conglomerate.

Review

This is a slightly predictable but overall good romantic drama. It has a small comedic element but I wouldn’t characterize it too deeply as comedy. It deals with some deep issues like sexual identity and social stigmas. The slice of life is in the chaebol/conglomerate world and a lot of the social tension is viewed from that, upper echelon, lens. The first half was very good, the premise was not unique but not completely overdone and the story had great flow. But, the last episodes there was a lot of unnecessary drifting and I think some even stopped watching because of that. If you can get through an episode or so and just stick with it, it all wraps up well. The ending is generally happy and mostly tied up. I would not rewatch it any time soon as there are so many better options available. I would recommend it to those that like this genre, are interested in contract marriage tropes or social stigma around falling in love with the “wrong” person. It is not a hard watch and mostly enjoyable except for an episode or so where they seemed t have lost the way.

Spoilers

There was a lot of conflict around the grandfather choosing his “illegitimate” grandson as his main choice of heir even with all the problems Do han had. Nothing was ever explicitly explained but I understood he wanted him out of a sense of guilt toward his daughter and because he felt that powerful position would protect Do han from the social stigma around being an “illegitimate” child as well as his sexual orientation. But, it made no logical sense that a business man would choose his Grandson for those reasons alone. If they had made Do han some brilliant business person, a managerial or economic genius then him choosing him for the other reasons would have made more sense. They also did not clearly indicate why he was so opposed to his other grandchildren taking that seat. It does come out later that their father effectively caused their mother’s death and that might be why he was opposed to them inheriting the business, the whole sins of the father angle, but that is also not super clear. I wanted a huge take down and for those evil relatives to get some of their due. I guess their punishment was the fact that their father had done something so horrible. But that wasn’t completely satisfying given how cruel they had been to their half brothers. I thought it would have been a great twist if they had turned out “illegitimate” since there was so much snobbery around that.

The chemistry between the two main leads was just weird. Sometimes they had great chemistry and other times it just wasn’t there. When they did the beaten past recognition trope of “I’m going to leave you for the good” they acted like being apart did not bother them much. It was hard enough to believe they had some deep connection prior to that and I was just getting it when that separation happened. Then it was like, just kidding, we didn’t love each other that deeply after all. They were trying for the angle that they were just acting like they didn’t care but you can’t achieve that level of detachment with someone you love deeply. And why? At the point they took the year apart Do han had come out and confessed everything and the public had already moved on from labeling her with the scarlet letter. So, there was no compelling reason for them to separate and it just seemed very dramatic at that point. Immature. Ji han’s press conference where he emphasized that he was the one to pursue her and seduce her was pointless. First, there were pictures of them having a passionate kiss and she was obviously just as involved with him as he was with her. And second, Do han confessing resolved the entire situation. All he had to do was have a real conversation with his brother and her and that press conference would have been completely unnecessary.

I am still trying to reconcile how a child could be held responsible, at all, for the death of their parent simply because they were the first one saved, and the car exploded in fire. The mother specifically requested he be saved first. The grandfather basically said he treated him the way he did not because he blamed him but because seeing him made the grandfather feel guilty and remorseful. Selfish much? And they never explained why the mom was in the car, why was he in the car, and who was the man driving that car. Did she really have a scandalous affair that produced the two boys. Was she just a trash person or was her husband always a violent maniac? That was such a key aspect but we really got nothing in the way of explaining the situation around the mother.

The ending was not fully satisfying because she was in a wedding dress but it turns out that was for a role she was playing and not that they were getting married. I don’t always need to see the leads get married. Often just the confession and them indicating they stay together is enough to feel fully wrapped up. In this case though the leads were so wishy washy with their relationship I would have liked to see them actually marry. It shows them running away together in the end but you aren’t tricking me a bit he grabbed her and they ran away when she was in a wedding dress before and they still split up.

There is the weird stalker level ex Jung Dae Hyun (ShinYongBum) who apologizes and is “redeemed” at least in Do han’s eyes. I could nit figure out why they made Do han’s ex such a creepy character. They could have gave him a happy ending with a great life partner. It could have been a sweet bonus romance. But that character was so creepy I did nit want to see Do han even forgive him.

I really debated what level of liking I had for this because it had so much potential. If it weren’t for that episode or so of them breaking up and pretending like they had moved on I would have liked it far more. So like 75% of it was really good, would have rated as one of my top favorites, but that 25% really did have an impact on how much I enjoyed the series. I wonder if the surprising cameos of some of the top talent was due to poor viewer response to the episodes that they broke up and the script drifted. I really liked Yon Chae Won (Bae Yoon Kyoung) character where she played the Chaebol of an adjacent conglomerate who was originally affianced to Do han but wound up in love with Ji han. She remained nice even when she was jealous and did not let others speak badly of or mistreat others without cause.

So it was nice that they had Kim Bum step in as a romantic potential for Chae Won. Lee Soo Hyuk also appeared at the end of the series playing the role of an onscreen bridegroom. And they had Ryu Kyung Soo in for a cameo appearance as well playing the onscreen lover of Ajeong’s drama character. In addition there was Lee Chung Hyun who played the role of a director for Ajeong’s current drama and he was/is her real life boyfriend. So it was a lot of cameos thrown in at the end and thought the characters played key roles in reigniting the leads relationship, it was very noticeable because it was so many in a short span.

#JeonJongSeo #WeddingImpossible #KimDoWan #MoonSangMin #BaeYoonKyung
#KimBum #LeeChungHyun #LeeSooHyuk #ShinYongBum

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If you are looking for a longer, family oriented, love story this would fit the bill

8/10 is my rating. This is a 2012/2013 Taiwanese romantic drama with 72, 47 minute episodes.

First I provide a Unique Synopsis then review.

Synopsis

Yang Yi Ru’s (Annie Chen) family convinces her she has terminal cancer to get her to take a break from work. Their plan to notify her that she is not really dying fails when she doesn’t check in to her pre assigned hotel room. As fate would have it, she runs across a former college class mate who fell in love, almost at first sight, with her. Lan Shi di (George Hu) lost track of the girl of his dreams before he could pursue his interest. On the island, Yi Ru accepts Shidi’s proposal and they get married but do not register so the marriage is not official. He is happy to have the chance with the girl he could not forget and she thinks she is fulfilling her dream of being married before she dies. When Yi Ru’s family is finally able to get in touch with her to tell her the truth, her and Shidi have already spent a night together. Yiru rushes back home to Taiwan without a word thinking they will never see each other again so she will never have to tell Shidi about the deception, Their fates are even more twisted when the company Yiru co-found lands a contract with Shidi’s company. At first Shidi is happy to see the wife that ran off without a word but happiness quickly turns to anger when Shidi believes Yiru tricked him to get him to drop a lawsuit against her company. Will they be able to sort out their misunderstandings and realize a lasting love with each other?

Review

If you take this for exactly what it is, a romance with all the social norms that are a decade and counting aged, you would like it. It’s very predictable but that can be a good thing if you want something that proceeds as expected. It ends happy with most major plot points resolved. I would recommend it to anyone who is fans of either of these actors. As a straight forward love story, slice of family life, love triangle romance it is a solid addition to all those types of series. It is on the longer side and there are some slow parts and even parts where the characters are shown from many angles just thinking about something. So watch it when you are in the mood for something you want to be engaged with for some time. Sort of like you might watch a daily soap opera. It was good for one watch to me. With so many option s out there, I do not think I will rewatch it. I would recommend it for those looking for a longer, family centered, romantic drama.

Spoilers

I thought the beginning, where they both thought she was terminally ill and he married her as a last wish, would carry and they would be in a contract type relationship. But that really only lasted through a few episodes then she found out she had been lied to about her illness and he was angry with her for deceiving him. I found his anger at her over all that really annoying. She was his dream girl, the one he wanted to find so bad he kept her picture around and then he is just going to act like that over what was obviously a misunderstanding? I was annoyed enough by that I almost quit watching. He was really being unkind to her and I thought it was a bit excessive.

Shi de’s grandmother (Shen Hai jung) was almost creepy in her desire to have him get married and start making babies. It seemed like she just saw him and his partners strictly as a baby conduit. I felt irritated by her over the top attitude on him getting married and having children. I know that was probably something that older women did back in the day but I have never seen anything where it was that extreme. And Shi de’s mother, Fang Xiu qing (Yang Chieh mei) spent her time only pleasing her mother in law. I know it wasn’t the way back in the older days but I wanted to see her assert herself at least a little. Part of the grandmother’s behavior was fed, unintentionally by Xiu qing. I loved her character she was so sweet and positive and just such a great support for her family. But I thought she had her hands to full with a mother in law that behaved like a grown child. The grandmother did change a little after Yi Ru moved in and she got close to her, but I still felt like she was overbearing. I thought one of the most abuse of power things the grandmother did was have the young couple get married in the jail just so she could have the date and time that made her comfortable. If it was really important to marry on an auspicious day, they could have delayed it for another time. It was her stubbornness that had them getting married in such a rush in such a horrible location.

I really liked the bromance between Shi de and Qi ming and wish they would have shown that more. They were very good for each other and their interactions made for a lot of humorous scenes. They could have filled some of those dragged out scenes of this one or that one just remembering or gazing around sadly, and filled that with more of the friendship between the two men

Yi Ru’s father, Yang Hao (Shen Meng sheng) was one of my favorite characters in the way he took Sun Qi Ming (Bobby Dou) in as a son even though he and his daughter were exes. It was very heart warming that he saw that need in a young man and was willing to take on that role of father. I was disappointed in him later on though when he continued the ice wall against Shi de’s aunt, Lan Yi ping (Yen Chia le) because she was so sweet to him all the time and they would have made a good couple. I felt they let that story line drop without good reason.

Yang Hao played a character that was like everyone’s favorite aunt. She was bubbly and always there for her family and friends.

I thought Shi de’s sister, Lan Shi yun (Vivi Lee) was a bit full of herself in the beginning for only having a semi successful self help author type career. As a person that wrote about relationships, she did not seem uniquely qualified to offer such advice. There was never an explanation of how she came to pick that topic. Had she been a successful psychologist or therapist who did that on the side it would have made more sense. Her wardrobe choice with the really long skirts was confusing and I wish they would have explained why she wore a fashion more fitting for a much older person.

He Tsai jung (Mandy wei) was a favorite character early on when she was a play no games hottie on the scene. She was even sweet when she decided she liked Qi ming. But she went through this period where she wanted to punish him and I thought she was just being mean spirited. Qi ming was still recovering from some major heart break with Yu ri and had all the emotional damage, which she was well aware, from his mom. Stringing him along and playing cat and mouse with him I thought was unjust as I thought she was a more understanding person.

I thought the cancer trope and the accident that leads to coma tropes were both unnecessary. It felt like that was added to appease those that don’t think you can have a slice of life, or family centered drama, without sad moments. I watch dramas to escape the sadness of modern life so I am never a fan of the sad story lines. It was tricky too because I look up how things end because I will skip a drama if it has a sad ending but this was buried in the middle and toward the end. I thought the family was very unfair to Yu ri expecting her to abort her baby to get treatment. Even Shi de was being harsh to her. Many women would understand how it would feel to end your babies’ life just to give yourself a better chance. Most mother’s would put themselves in front of a bullet for their child. Just because the child is not yet born doesn’t mean a woman does not feel responsible for the precious fragile life she has developing in her womb. I was glad Shi de finally came around. If the show had followed the trajectory of either her aborting or being seriously ill or dying for her choice to protect her baby, I would have been likely to have quit watching. The “live comments” were super surprising to me. A lot of the commenters were saying how selfish she was not to get the abortion because it delayed her treatment. They said how selfish of her to make her family worry. I guess, having had children myself, I understand how she felt about that little life she was carrying. To me her decision to delay was the opposite of selfish. I have read where a baby has actually cured a mother or improved conditions because of the presence of all the T cells in fetal development. And, even in the show they indicated the cancer had not spread. She actually learned of the cancer at such an early stage because she was pregnant. As that child grows I would think everyone would feel a little guilt for trying to pressure Yu ri to give up the baby.

The music became really annoying. It just wasn’t my favorite song and had a very repetitive beat.

#LoveNow #AnnieChen #GeorgeHu #BobbieDou #Harry Chang #ViviLee #EstherYang #ShenMengSheng #YenChiaLe #ShenHaiJung #YangChiehMei #MandyWei #KaoChengPeng #LiuHsiangChun #TieKe #HankWu #HuangChienHao #AlbeeLiu #WuRuiZhen #ShaunChen#HongChenYing #KellyKo

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Strong female character who is a super hero level martial artist

10/10 is my rating. This is a 2024 South Korean period costume comedy romance drama with 12, 64-72 minute episodes. Based on a webtoon.

First I provide a unique synopsis then review

Synopsis

Cho Yeo Hwa (Lee ha nee) was widowed after never even seeing her husband on her wedding day. As the daughter-in-law of of the most prestigious noble family, her mother-in-law forces her to follow the most strict rules that applied to widows of the era she must spend many hours at the shrine honoring her husband and cover herself modestly in public. She cannot wear anything but the drab mourning attire and must always conduct herself in such a way to be beyond reproach. That is the day time version of Yeo Hwa, At night she dons ninja like attire and rights injustices. After 15 years of keeping her night persona a secret, she runs across Park Soo ho (Lee Jong won) a by the book military officer who does not appreciate Yeo Hwa’s vigilante ways. At first he is determined to bring that masked menace to justice until he discovers the man is actually a woman and a very attractive and intriguing one at that. The more Soo ho learns about the mysterious martial artist and that her actions are actually noble, the more he finds himself helping her. They also share commonalities around events in the tragedies of the past. Intrigue turns to like then possibly something more.

Review

This is one of the best historical dramas I have seen because the focus isn’t on the politics, even though the politics are a part of the plot there’s so many other interesting things going on that it isn’t central. If you like action dramas with strong central characters and leads that are very interesting in their back stories, this would be a good one for you. The romance element is there but it’s certainly not highlighted and that could be a plus or a minus depending on how strong you want the romantic element to be. The series ends well and happy with all major plot points resolved.

I highly recommend this series and will likely watch it again.

Spoilers

The only critique I have of this, as somebody who likes romance, is they never fully kiss. That disappointed the romantic in me. I like displays of affection, to see chemistry, or lack there of. In the end they’re together, but it’s not like any level of commitment is made. She just reappears and it’s pretty obvious they’re going to be together from that point forward, but you only get to see just a few seconds of that reunion. After waiting through all of the episodes for them to be together, only getting a few seconds at the end of the final episode, just wasn’t enough to satisfy my desire for strong romance. Honestly, the show was so good though I couldn’t decrease how I rated it based on that small aspect. It was just something that would’ve made it even better if they had given a little more time for the satisfying union of the two main characters.


I felt so sorry for the widows in this and I was curious how real the severity of the social restrictions were. I’m sure some of it was accurate but I’m not sure how overblown the sacrifices they had to make in this series were. I have the sense that it could be individuals’ families deciding how the widow could behave. I was glad Yeo Hwa helped the other widow escape with the man she loved. I also liked that she broke free if that miserable existence.

Personally, I really like characters that are strong physically and I enjoy complex martial art scenes were the good guy defeat the bad guys believably and repeatedly. Yeo Hwa was super hero status in her martial arts ability and it was fun to watch.

#KnightFlower

#LeeHanee

#LeeJongWon

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If you can accept this is almost a decade old then you will appreciate it more

8/10 is my rating. This is a 2015 South Korean Romantic Comedy Legal drama with 18, 70 Minute episodes.

First I provide a unique synopsis then review

Synopsis

Go Cheok hee (Cho Yeo jeong) was a take no prisoners divorce lawyer at the height of her career when she crossed paths with a legal rival with the power to take her down. Her much beleaguered office manager, So Jung woo (Yeon Woo jin) are not exactly sorry when Cheok heo has her law license suspended as she was a tyrant as a boss. Years go by and Jung woo is now a lawyer determined to do law from a more ethical perspective than he felt Cheok hee operated from. Most of her staff including Jung woo are working for a chaebol who opened a law office to rival hus father’s. Out of friendship and perhaps more he hires Cheok hee to be the office manager. Sparks fly between Cheok hee and Jung woo when they discover they will be working together in reversed roles.

Review

If you know what to expect from the time period then this is, on surface, a fairly simple and straight forward romantic comedy. Male to female relationships were still a little unequal and filial behavior was carried out to a fault. Depending on where you stand in your thoughts on those social relationships, you may either find this refreshing or irritating. It was good not great and I think some of that had to do with things have just changed a lot socially in a relatively short span of time. I would recommend it to those that can appreciate it as something that existed during that timeframe. In terms of rewatching, wouldn’t turn off of it if it was on, but I wouldn’t seek it out to watch it again.

Spoilers

While I thought having the divorce cases be part of the show was interesting, I certainly did not agree with the outcome and resolution of some of them. Like there is one where the wife is making the husband an abusive number of meals and side dishes per day. The compromise that kept them married was make less but we thought “free the elf”. She was sill his house maid and chef. If all he based his love on was how much food she made him, what a horrible relationship for her. Divorce would have been better on that one.

Cheok hee’s sister was a completely unlikable character. The sister acted like a spoiled, petulant child with anger issues the entire show. At the end, she admits that the mother probably would’ve died anyway, and that she was somewhat using her sister as a scapegoat, but then said she was just gonna continue, hating her her whole life. Which made her a pointless character.

Cheok hee was a complete bully when she had her own practice in the beginning. Completely horrible to the male lead and all the staff, and there was no good reason for her to have ever been that way. If she had changed or apologized in any meaningful way. Her character may have been redeemable, but all the changes that happened were by a very small degree . She became a little more humble and generally nicer, but simply changing like that much when you haven’t gone back and apologize to those you injured. Even after her transformation, she was still bullying her one male subordinate. They had the mail we join in, as if that somehow just made it funny or not still bullying behavior. It made no sense for him to do that because they had always been on friendly terms.

A big barrier to the relationship was what the mother thought of the female lead. No one ever effectively explained to her that Cheok hee thought he had told on her and gotten her suspended. Even if they had revealed that fact, it still would not have completely excused her behavior, but it still would’ve been better than she was like that towards him for no reason. he never fully stood up to his mother and said he wasn’t OK with her acting towards someone he chose that way. it was 100% about changing her mind and there was nothing about changing her bad behavior. I found the male lead character’s mother to be a completely unlikable character, because she was mean to her son about his romantic choices and acted like she liked the second female lead better than her own son. I also thought it was completely wrong for the mother to accepted loan. When her son didn’t even know about it, she made him oh, the second female lead. Then for her to later, use that, as a reason why he should be with the second girl was even more abusive.

Their break up was stupid I thought perhaps it would’ve been an opportunity for him to stand up to his mom and tell her that even if the main girl wasn’t around, he was not gonna just marry somebody because she wanted him to.

Not all plot lines were completely closed either. The main protagonist was taken down, but we never fully saw what happened to him. He went iff in hadcuffs but that could have been short lived.

With the second male lead we saw where his father was punishing him by taking all of his assets away and then it seemed like he was redeeming some of that but it left us with him still walking to work and living with less than what he had previously. I thought perhaps he would wind up together with the second female lead and that would’ve made sense. It did show the 2nd leads interact with each other in away that may have been leading to more than friends but that was it. The second male lead was such a likable character it would have been nice for him to have a happy outcome.

They made the being a divorce lawyer such a huge part of who these characters were but there was no backstory on why they chose their professions. FLs impressions on marriage were weird even for a divorce lawyer and it felt like they needed some sort of trauma to explain why she was so passionate about divorce. Everything revealed about the FL’s parents’ relationship was her parents loved each other. They only separated because the FL’s mom tragically died. Divorce law is a very specific niche and it needed clear indication of why they chose it.

The big reveal, the big backstory centered around the subway accident and the “magical” peppermint candy. The whole peppermint candy thing was just weird. It’s not a medical device. I tried stretching my thought to view it a little like smelling salt. But they did not even spin it that way. It was silly and not credible. They also did not explain why the FL didn’t have subway trauma when ML did? I mean she had it but very minimal.

I think the cherry on top of my mountain of discontent was the completely unromantic way the FL acted toward their wedding. I get not everyone wants an elaborate ceremony but FL’s complete disregard for ML and their family and friends’ desire for a ceremony was selfish and disappointing. This was further highlighted when her office was congratulating her and she was being a difficult and wanting to leave. FL was frugal to an annoying degree.It killed the romance.

It was hard to buy off on two men being so into the lead girl when she really had nothing spectacular going for her. That was a bit mystifying. And with the second guy, it wasn’t clear why he was originally giving her a place and a job, and supporting her other than he was just her Sunbae.

#ChoYeoJeong

#YeonWooJin

DivorceLawyerinLove

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Fairly formulaic and good but why oh why the separating for your own good trope

8.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2024 South Korean romantic comedy medical drama with 16, 60 minute episodes.

First I provide a unique synopsis then review

Synopsis

Nam Ha neul (Park Shin hye) is an intern on the path to being a professor and practitioner at a major medical university. The problem is her supervisory professor steals her work which keeps her from advancing. When she complains about her professor’s unethical behavior he becomes physically and emotionally abusive. After a period of putting up with him, she finally reaches a breaking point and has a screaming argument and resigns. Not seeing what went on behind closed doors, everyone blames her for the incident sending her career into a downward spiral. The abuse and her dying career prospects put her into a state of depression and anxiety. At the same time, Yeo Jeong-woo (Park Hyung-sik) was a successful, near celebrity, plastic surgeon until a tragic medical accident causes his career and his life to fall apart. Needing to live more modestly, he moves into a roof top apartment not knowing his high school academic rival, Ha neul, lives with her family in the building which they own. Once frenemies can these two doctors, who have hit a slump, recover their careers? Can both overcome their mental issues that developed from their highly stressful careers? Will rivalry turn to friendship then something more??

Review

It was a feel good romantic comedy. In some of the reviews I read others felt there was no chemistry with the leads. I thought they had chemistry, it wasn’t over the top burning chemistry but, given the show is a friends turned lovers premise that level of chemistry makes sense.  The plot was well developed, the characters were interesting, and the premise had some unique twists to it.  It ended well and happy with all major plot points wrapped up.  I might watch it again if it was on and I would recommend it to others that are fans of the actors or that like this genre.

 

Spoilers

The pace for me was a bit off. I have to admit I am a bit Goldilocks in my determination of when the couple should get together.  If the main couple gets together too early the rest of the series can feel somewhat pointless.  On the other hand, if they get together too late it feels rushed.  So there is a happy medium and many are able to find that balance.  In this one it felt like they got together a little early and the only thing that saved it was there was enough story about the medical accident that it kept the plot moving.  They may have gotten them together to build another plot point where she breaks up with him because the guy he sees as a great friend almost brother is the same person that mentally tortured her.  It completely devastated her when she found out he did all that to her, kept her from becoming a professor, only so he could build his resume to do something else.  I get that would be devastating. I had research stolen from me and it basically made someone else’s career so I know, all too well, how that feels.  But, her being so devastated that she breaks it off with him made no sense and was unnecessary. I know it would have been hard at that point to tell him the person he thought so much of was not the person thought he was.  I get she might have been afraid if she told him he would be conflicted and she did not want to add to his burden.  But breaking it off?  She just broke his heart at a time when it was hard for his heart to take it. I was disappointed they developed that point as I do not view that as something someone would do to someone they really loved.

 

The South Korean view on depression is interesting. The way it was portrayed in this show you would think she had some horrible, terminal disease. Her brain was “broken” she said in so many words. Depression is horrible.  Anxiety is even more so. But it is not a fatal disease. With the right counseling, most people can recover from depression well. At times it is looking at what is going on with the person’s life and balancing nutrition. Some of the recent findings on medication indicate that may not be the end all.  But there are things that can be done. I think her slump was completely driven by very real events as was her depression. But I did like they showed her recovery.  It was just an interesting way to look at depression. His Post Traumatic Stress Disorder was well portrayed and completely valid for what he went through. The way she helped him was actually perfect. They both would be dealing with forms of PTSD for the rest of their lives.  Depression, anxiety and PTSD are all things that don’t go away but you can learn to manage them.  Part of the battle is how you view yourself and how you view those conditions and I thought the show talked about that very well at the end.  It ended on a message of hope for those suffering from those conditions.  I liked that.

 

The second couple was so cute!  I loved their story.  The way they started noticing each other just by helping out with single parenthood is such a solid foundation.  It also showed something I strongly believe, that kids benefit the most from having each gender influence.  The little boy needed and craved a father figure and the young girl needed that female influence. I loved how it showed us pictures of the four and how they had formed a family. The personalities of the two characters were such a perfect fit for each other.  He was such a nice guy.  And I liked that the female character specifically mentioned that about him. The fact that he and main guy patched up their broken friendship was a super bonus. I think love and friendship are such wonderful and unique human conditions that it is heartwarming to me to see those friendships and relationships restored.  And main guy needed that friend.

 

They seemed to like the “we need to separate” trope because first they did the unnecessary separation early in the series and then they were threatening another one later when she was going to take the overseas assignment. I guess they wanted us to be happy that her assignment was cancelled and they were able to stay together.  I would have preferred that she chose not to go.  Careers are important but I do not think anything like that is more important than the person you love. Life is too short and precious to waste a second doing something that is not essential.  Doing that tour was something nice to do and may have helped her career minimally but you can never get those six months back.  If something happened to the person you love or even at the end are you really going to look back and think man I am so glad I spent that six months away.  Nope.  Very few people would think that way.  I want to see the best romance and to me the best is where those in love realize how precious that is. They protect it and they do not do unnecessary things like separating just to build their career.  Especially when the relationship is new. That initial period when they are first in love and you are presenting the very best of yourself to the other person is fleeting. That period of newness and romance does not last, for many people, beyond the first year. 

 

I loved main girl’s family. They were just eccentric enough to keep it interesting. I loved the way they embraced him and treated him like a son. He needed a real families’ support and they provided it.  

So often they either show someone wronged either being completely vengeful or totally forgiving. In this one they struck a balance. And that was the advice mom gave him. You don’t owe anyone forgiveness and you don’t have to forgive now. If not forgiving helps to heal you, then be angry about it. If forgiving is what you need to heal then do that. Maybe you forgive some things someone did but not others, that is something that can be done as well. The show did a good way of depicting that forgiving or not forgiving is up to the individual and there is no right way or right mix of forgiveness and anger or resentment.

 

I was worried when it was approaching the ending, that it would be one of those endings where they were together but hadn’t actually did a solid commitment. In their case that would not have been a satisfying ending because she had a tendency to be on a solid path and then just break up or change course. So I was happy when it said they had the wedding shoot and the epilogue showed wedding shoot photos.  I wanted to know with them that their relationship was solid after all they went through.  That made it a happy ending for me. If they ended it with them just going out that would not have been very satisfying. 

#DrSlump
#ParkShinHye
I’m #ParkHyungSik

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Another great additional to the reality dating genre

8.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2023 South Korean reality dating show with 11, 56-85 minute episodes

First I provide a unique synopsis then Review.

Synopsis
A group of single men and women live on an island called Inferno which has the basic necessities for survival. The set up is a base level glamping environment and very minimal foods are provided. Through a combination of competition rewards and matching during selections couples are able to go to another island called Paradise. On Paradise couples are able to reveal their ages and occupations and get to know each other in luxury accommodations and with a feast of food items. Singles can also interact on Inferno but are not allowed to reveal their ages or occupations. Friends form in the cabin style dorms and singles interact as friend and potential romantic partners while cooking and going about daily living. During the final episode, the single women are stationed around the island and the men are able to go to the single women if their choice. The single woman then selects by grabbing the hand of the man she chooses to leave the island with.

CELEBRITY HOSTS
Hong Jin kyung Born in 1977. She would have been 46 when the show aired. She is an entrepreneur, model, host, comedian and actress.
Lee Da-hee Born in 1985 she would have been 39 when the show aired. She is a model and actress.
Cho Kyu Hyun (Kyuhyun) Born in 1988 he would have been 35 when the show aired. He is a multi talented musical theater actor, television show host and member of Kpop band Super Junior
Jung Han hae (Hanhae) Born in 1990 he would have been 33 when the show aired. He was a singer and rapper. A Former member of the South Korean hip hop boy band Phantom.
Kim Jin Young (Dex) Born in 1985 he would have been 38 when the show aired. He was a single during season 2 but is returning to join the host panel. He was a member of the Korean Underwater Demolition Team (UDT) soldier has also appeared in South Korean reality shows Game of Blood and Zombieverse. He may soon be taking roles in South Korean dramas.

SINGLES

WOMEN

Kim Gyu ri Born in 1996 would have been about 28 at the time the show aired. Fashion and beauty model Gyu-ri was a runner-up for Miss Korea 2022.
Choi Hye seon Born in 1998 would have been about 26 at the time. A bioinformatics major at the Life Sciences department of Ewha Women’s University,
An Min young . A Pilates instructor who owns her own studio. She also competed in Miss Busan Jinhae 2023 and influencer with over 40k followers prior to the show.
Yun Ha jeong, Born in 1998 would have been about 26 at the time. She is an office worker at a medical clothing company. She is also an aspiring actress and model signed to an agency. A former beauty pageant contestant where she was runner-up in Miss Chunhyang 2021.
Cho Min ji Born in 1998. She would have been about 26 at the time. She was a college student studying to be an anchor. Attended Ewha Womans University. She was a Miss Korea 2021 runner up.
Yu Si eun Born in 1997. She would have been about 27 when the show aired.Freelance model in beauty and fashion. She is an influencer and was the first runner up for Miss Korea in 2022. 

MEN

Choi Min woo, Born in 2000. He was about 23 at the time. He is a model who has worked for several fashion brands and walked in Seoul Fashion week.
Lee Gwan hee Born in 1988 he was about 36 at the time. He is a professional basketball player. He appeared on variety shows such as Running Man. He also does a personal youtube channel.
Son Won ik Born in 1993 he would have been about 31 at the time. He is a licensed realtor and avid marathon runner. Like several of the others, he also has his own youtube channel.
Yun Ha bin Born in 1993 he was about 31 at the time. He is an actor who mostly does independent films, He had a brief appearance in Episode 2 of the recent South Korean drama, My Demon.
Park Min kyu, Born in 1989 he would have been about 34. He is a police officer and rescue diver on the Korean Coast Guard's Sea Special Rescue Team. He was a competitive swimmer in his school years but had to drop out of competition after a shoulder injury.
Lee Jin-seok Born in 1993 he would have been about 31 when the show aired. He is an entrepreneur who owns several bakery cafés in Daegu and Seoul, South Korea.

Review

I liked the first part of the show a lot.  The getting to know each other phase was very interesting. The latter episodes had a lot more conflict that wasn’t about I have genuine feelings but more I feel strongly about this person in a competitive sense.  I find myself disillusioned a bit the more I watch reality dating as I want to observe the progression of a relationship leading to a more permanent relationship or at least dating and I don’t think that is what many of these shows wind up being about.  It is more Mr. and Mrs. Right now and within the game. I think the perfect example of this is one single will become the most desired of that gender and everyone goes for them in a competitive way. Then it seems more like competing than having any genuine compatibility or long term interest. 
 It is good, worth watching, and I would recommend it to others with similar interest. I will not rewatch it but I don’t tend to rewatch any reality shows. Is it sad? Depends on how much you feel for those that exhibit heartbreak or get rejected. I don’t find it sad just because I don’t believe any deep attachments can be formed in such a short time period. Does it end happy? Well, that depends on whether or not you can be happy even if the person does not decide on the one you think is a good match for them.  There are no guarantees that your favorite couple will wind up together. But that is just reality dating shows for you. People, in regular life also often pick based on attraction rather than true compatibility.  Not saying that is what happened but it is definitely a thing that does happen with some of the singles.

Spoilers
 Kim Gyu ri became one of my favorite singles. She was not stuck up. Actually quite the opposite. Her actions proved her to be quite genuine and down to Earth.  And I think that is why her interaction with Choi Min Woo was misinterpreted. When they confessed the start of feelings for each other she was very honest. And she asked him to “stay put” which I thought was clear she was asking him to wait for her.  But after he decided, for no apparent reason, that he was suddenly very attracted to Yu Si eun. I did not think they had enough interaction to warrant that sudden inseparable fated love union the two of them formed.  I could see how Gyu ri would have been surprised and hurt after having come back from Paradise, where she kept her word and wasn’t showing any romantic interest, to find that Min Woo was suddenly all in for Si eun. Min Woo knew what he said to Gyu ri and I thought Gyu Ri’s comment to him that he was being like player Lee Gwan hee was warranted. I thought Si eun knew the situation but didn’t care because she decided she wanted him.  I was disappointed in both of them.  If Min Woo changed his mind that is totally okay in the context but there are ways to let the other person down gently and ways where you are just being hurtful.  I was really glad Gyu ri told Min Woo his behavior was hurtful and wrong because it was.  I was also disappointed in the panel who concluded Gyu ri was too harsh and wrong to scold Min Woo.  She was nice about it really. 
Si eun gave a negative impression from the beginning when she stated she thought she was better than others.  If she had depth of character and a nice personality that certainly did not come through. She was cold to Son Won ik when he expressed his feelings and back stabbed Gyu ri by emotionally manipulating Min Woo late in the show.  Her tears when she couldn’t see him and pouty behavior was extremely emotionally manipulative and juvenile.   I also lost a lot of respect for Si eun when she want and interrupted when Gyu ri and Min Woo were talking. If you think you need to interrupt then you obviously think the two might have some feelings and, since you are the one that stepped in late, it would have been classier to give them their moment.  She was the one that stepped in after those two already had something going. Gyu ri was hurt and yes she was venting and scolding Min Woo a bit but it was the least he could do for going about things the way he did.  Being rejected hurts and being rejected so publicly would hurt even worse.  I didn’t think Si eun and Min Woo’s interactions were cute or romantic at all.  Si eun should have not have essentially rubbed it in. It was a mean girl thing to do.
Lee Gwan Hee’s behavior toward the women was awful.
Lee Jin seok surprised me and wound up being a favorite. Min Young made a series of comments about how she didn’t like that the other singles already considered them a pair and how she didn’t like those decisions being made for her.  He backed off and actually changed his mind.  I respected that.  What she said was hurtful and I am a person that thinks people mean what they say.  He was also very kind, mature and thoughtful in all of his interactions with the other participants. So my first impression of Jin seok was totally off base and he was one of the males on the island I found the most personable and genuine. 
Choi Min ji ‘sbehavior where she was trying to get Gwan hee’s attention on the flight to Paradise was uncomfortable and I thought it was insensitive of her. 
#SinglesInferno3, #SinglesInfernoSeason3, #ChoMinWoo, #LeeGwanHee,#SonWonIk
,#YunHaBin,#ParkMinKyu,#KimGyuRi,#ChoiHyeSeon,#AnMinYoung,#YunaHaJeong
,#ChoiMinJi,#KyuHyun,#Hanhae,#KimJinYoung ,#Dex,#HongJinKyung,#LeeDaHee
,#ChiKyuHyun,#JungHanHae

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