The Number You Have Dialed (2024)

Another drama that a serial killer killed

They should’ve scrapped the unnecessary sociopathic serial killer mess and made the story about him, her and the phone.

Two people living together in silence and apathy until the phone rings. What starts off as threatening phone calls grows into a shared connection. They spend their nights talking and sharing everything with each other on the phone. He falls for her without realizing and she falls for him but has to pretend to be indifferent.

And the mystery (for him) is who is the caller?

Wouldn’t have minded a whole drama with him running around trying to find the caller and pretending not to know it’s her once he does to keep the calls coming.

It also would’ve fixed the issue of him “having feelings for her for 20 years” and never learning sign language🤷🏾‍♀️ because in my version, there was no childhood connection or secret feelings and they really were strangers in a contract marriage.

The side plot would’ve focused on the abuse she faced in her family.

But as it stands, with the story we got…I’m gonna give it a 7/10

And that’s me being kind cause the last 2 episodes were absolute shit from a butt (and the mystery was nonsensical trash)

Citeste mai mult

Why the phone calls turn into marriage counseling? i wanted a psychotic wife!! weird ending

There's not really any spoilers in this review but the last two episodes were weird just so you know. This drama has been a rollercoaster. I think a 7 is fair. Previously, I gave it a 6.5 but maybe I was too harsh. Despite the plot issues, I did find it decently entertaining to watch weekly.

The first few episodes had me extremely interested. I generally like all the set pieces it has, like the enemies to lovers and the mysterious background. But it fell apart halfway through for me because I was personally expecting the FL to do some crazy stuff.
So here's the summary: Due to a childhood accident, FL became selectively mute.
FL gets kidnapped because she's the wife of the CEO ML and some guy really hates him. She steals the kidnapper's cell phone and starts threatening her husband with it that she wants a divorce. Then she didn't want a divorce. Then he found out she did it, and they talked on the phone, even though she was mute. But she's only occasionally mute and she thinks he doesn't know it's her on the kidnapper's cell phone. xD

Side characters: I felt like 2nd ML Ji sang U's(the YouTube investigator) storyline was implemented randomly throughout the show. You don't really see why he cares so much about the missing children until the end.
Glad the FL's sister wasn't annoying.

The actual romance: The leads' relationship was fake in the beginning. So, I found it hard to care about them actually wanting to reciprocate feelings. I continued watching it because it felt funny.

The acting is what made me keep watching. The male lead & the villain are really the soul of this drama (I totally didn't realize ML's the one who played Gu dong mae in Mr. Sunshine). This has got to be the most lighthearted role Choi Soo-bin has ever played. Just to repeat, the kidnapper was the best villain i've seen in a long time.

Episode 8- the mystery of ML's past /and what their parents have done has made the plot interesting again. I still can't get over how traumatized FL is that she thinks the situation is ok and his love makes it all better now. Lol.

Music- nothing memorable to me.

I still don't think this drama is worth 8.9 points. ml just runs away at the end to join a war in another country lol ???

Citeste mai mult

drama x webtoon

no webtoon ele some porque ele forja a morte em uma armadilha pra capturar o sequestrador (se não estou equivocada). e aí ele vai pra esse outro país porque ele diz que é muito bom em negociação de reféns, etc, numa tentativa de se reinventar.
amei cada um dos episódios, mesmo com os furos de roteiro ( como ela cair de um despenhadeiro e não fraturar nada, ou ele passar por uma cirurgia de 2horas e no mesmo episódio está dirigindo).
mas achei que ficou muita coisa a ser explicada no último episódio. podiam ter feito o ultimo episódio um pouco maior, tipo 1h30...
digo isso porque o ponto alto da série foi o casal central, e eles só puderam ser felizes nos últimos 20 minutos?!?! mas no geral gostei muito e com certeza recomendo.

Citeste mai mult

A near perfect drama

If there was any big plot holes or things that did not make sense it was Senior Mr. and Mrs. Hong, what did Chairman Hong really gain from supporting the family that murdered his son (if it was all about money/power this did not come across well) and worst is Mrs Hong this woman had no redeeming qualities yet they tried to gaslight us into thinking noooooo she does love her daughter, lets call FUBAR on this.
Paik Sa Eon is an excellently written character, everything he did/said was in line with the psychology of this character that was well developed and presented with nuance. The final action of fleeing does make sense if you understood his trauma. YYS gets full marks on his performance.
Hong Hee Joo had a tough challenge to hold her own against a very charismatic ML and give full credit to CSB for able to portray HHJ with silent strength. She was not just a romantic tool, or a mere plot device, she was her own interesting person and her character had a fully evolving journey in the plot.
Final acknowledgement of excellence to the entire production team director/editor/writer, especially the screen writer for this superior adaptation.

Citeste mai mult

Addicting first half that manages to flounder in the middle just to drown right at the finish line

When the Phone Rings hooked us with its trailer and the expectation of a suspenseful thriller that appeared to boast of intense chemistry and exciting action. And those first 6 episodes? The did deliver a good portion of that. The chemistry between the main cast, the riveting characters and their secrets, the well paced and engaging movement of the plot. It was all there and kept me as a viewer addicted to the screen waiting for the next episodes to appear. But then the show pivots from the thriller we were enjoying into a romance that morphed the characters, slowed the plot, and threw logic out the window. Ultimately leaving a bad taste in your mouth by the end of the finale.

We begin with Baek Sa Eon, a high profile political figure from a prestigious family, marrying the youngest daughter of another prestigious family. For the selectively mute youngest daughter, Hong Hui Ju, the marriage is but a cage where she is the replacement for her sister and used to connect the families for political reasons. She is told never to reveal that she is married to him and he treats her with a cold indifference while living in the same home for 3 years. But someone becomes aware of her existence and attempts to use her to threaten Baek Sa Eon by kidnapping her. This is where the plot really begins. While Hui Ju manages to get away from the kidnapper she also takes with her the phone that he used to call Sa Eon and ends up using it to try to escape her marriage thus unknowingly beginning to unravel Sa Eon's true nature and intentions. Now caught between learning more about her husband and being used by the kidnapper threatening him Hui Ju and Sa Eon race to find answers and undo misunderstandings.

Beautifully shot, well styled, well acted, and with a great OST this drama had the beginnings to become a really great drama. Then the second half began and this is where you see both characters fall in love and we lose the interesting, intelligent, and cold Baek Sa Eon to the fool for love version of himself and the strong, independent, snarky, and determined Hui Ju to the stereotypical damsel in distress. The reveals are predictable at this point and the plot dissolves into a bit of nonsense. The antagonists aren't given enough development to make their movements and motivations completely believable and the last two episodes fail to bring any excitement and instead deliver more annoyance than anything. The final episode was the last straw as the first 40minutes offer only ridiculous choices made through motivations that make no sense and could have been completely removed to only see the last 20minutes.

While I did really enjoy the first half of this show the second half managed to remove all the original good things about the show and ultimately delivered a disappointing, nonsensical mess.

Citeste mai mult

When the Phone rongs, anything can happen

This is one of those dramas that is more or less guaranteed to keep you on your toes, give you butterflies in your stomach and make your head spin from all the theories about who, is who, why and what will happen next.

Or at least for the first 11 episodes or so, the last episode however kind of flopped and failed to live up to my expectations, offering a bit to much cringe and unnecessary stuff.

A bit of a mix of John MclCain in Die Hard 3 meets all that we love in k-dramas. Suits, great chemistry, corruption, mistery, murder, contract marriage... ohand sign language.

A great binge, just make sure to take small breaks to work on your theories between episodes. While some of the twist caught me by surprise others did not...

A strong 8,5 that could have been a 9 or a 10 for the first half but started ruling a bit down hill towards the end.

P.s I watched it with my husband, he loved it too.

Citeste mai mult

No me emocionó

Historia
Creo que lo que más me gustó de la historia fue el lenguaje de señas. Lo destacable, lo encantador fue eso. Pero lo demás...
No sé si fue porque tenía expectativas muy altas. Pero no me emocionó el romance, tampoco ayudaba que varias situaciones lo sentí exagerado como reaccionaban. (Lo del celular y el "engaño") Tampoco todo lo que se sintió grave o momentos que podía "llorar" senti que se terminaba muy rápido. Pasaba algo y se resolvía inmediatamente sin una grave consecuencia. (Los dientes, lo del acantilado) Todo eso, hizo que al final no me interesaba lo que sucediera con ellos.
Y ni hablar del villano. Demasiado estereotipado con sus características físicas.
Llegado al final se siente largo, (ya quería que terminara) tiene 12 capítulos pero siento que se necesitan menos. Y eso me quedo claro en los capítulos finales...
¿Pero que necesidad de seguir con el drama cuando la trama del asesino culminó?
El final me saco de onda totalmente, es verdad que el amor te hace hacer locuras. Las protagonista lo demostró al caminar en zona invadida de rebeldes como si fuera un paseo por el parque y tener una discusión de pareja. (Grita más fuerte, dale, el guión te respalda) Y luego... ¿realmente hacerlo ahí es el mejor lugar?
Me agrada el suspenso, pero al final no me terminaba de convencer como se desarrollaban las escenas. Pero admito que esos secretos y giros de trama me gustaron.
Casi todo el k-drama estuve entretenida pero sin sentir emoción, tampoco senti esa necesidad de tener que ver otro capítulo, y esas ansias por querer ver más. (Llegando al final, me preguntaba cuando faltaba para que terminara)

Actuación/elenco
Me encanta la actriz es adorable, pero en el principio aunque ame su papel después no me gusto tanto. Lo del engaño del teléfono y que seguía dispuesta a enfrentar su castigo. (¿Soy solo yo que no lo vi tan grave?) Y después al final parecía la damisela en apuros. Lo que hace el amor (?
Me gustaron los demás actores, nada especial que decir.

Musica
Me gusto mucho el OST.

Valor de repetición
Empezó bien. No obstante, la tensión y todo eso, se esfumó al dejar pasar un romance rosa. Vi reacciones exageradas y no me despertó emociones con el romance principal. Al final demasiado drama, con giros y secretos bastante interesantes pero que se extendió demasiado.

Todo lo que comento es subjetivo pero no la miraría otra vez. Y si pudiera no la hubiera visto para empezar, me deje llevar por las calificaciones altas (que están bajando por la controversia del capítulo final) aunque lastimosamente parece que las reseñas solo se guían por eso y no hacen una valoración correcta en el sentido de haber visto todo el k-drama, eso es decepcionante.
En fin, creía que iba a amar este k-drama, pero me equivoque.

Citeste mai mult

Most horrible thing I have seen

I started watching this drama because I saw many people talking about how amazing it is and decided to check it out. To say I was let down would be an understatement. From the very beginning, the ML is a complete a**hole and we are supposed to root for the ML and FL's relationship?! I would understand if he was indifferent or cold, but instead, he was straight-up mean. As the drama continued, his character improved, but the same could not be said about the plot. The breaking point is the 12th episode, where the writers just throw the entire plot out the window. The finale is a complete sh*tshow. The ML going to Argan makes no sense, not to mention that Argan is clearly a country in either Africa or the Middle East, while the rebels and children there are blonde, blue-eyed white people?! Also, almost at the end of the episode, they mention Paltima and Izmael (aka we know what) and portray Paltima as the villain, saying that it is the one attacking Izmael, like... If the writers are so incredibly uneducated, they should save themselves the embarrassment, and don't make a show mentioning other countries.

Citeste mai mult

When the Phone Rings: A Promising Start Derailed by Confusing Plot Twists and a Chaotic Finale

When the Phone Rings is a K-drama that begins with a promising premise but quickly loses its way, leaving viewers confused and unsatisfied. I’d rate it a 5.5 out of 10 because while it had potential, it failed to deliver on multiple levels. The first few episodes were genuinely engaging, with an intriguing mystery surrounding the strange calls and their connection to the characters’ pasts. The cinematography was solid, and the pacing was tight in the beginning, keeping the audience hooked. However, as the episodes progressed, the narrative became increasingly convoluted. Instead of providing answers, it piled on more subplots and cryptic hints that ultimately led nowhere.

The last episode deserves a special mention—mostly for how bewildering it was. The supposed “resolution” felt more like a rushed, incoherent mess than a proper conclusion. The introduction of Zinoism, a fictional philosophy that claimed to bridge destiny and free will, felt like a last-minute addition meant to seem profound. However, it was poorly explained and failed to connect to the broader story. Paik Sa Eon’s decision to go to war was one of the most baffling plot points. Why would a character who had been portrayed as someone trying to escape violence suddenly decide to become a martyr in a conflict that was barely explained? The show’s attempt to make this a symbolic act of “freedom from fate” felt forced and unearned, leaving viewers scratching their heads.

Overall, When the Phone Rings is an example of a series that started strong but suffered from poor writing, a lack of coherent storytelling, and overly ambitious themes that it couldn’t execute well.

Citeste mai mult

Almost great

This drama started out SO strong. The fake marriage trope is common but this was such a thrilling twist on it with Hee-joo's voice being a secret and the kidnapper — I was on the edge of my seat for most of episodes.

I still enjoyed this overall, but in hindsight it leaves some more things to be desired. A lot of the side characters are underutilized, particularly Heejoo's sister I-na and the second ship, Yu-ri and Sang-woo. Yu-ri being a reporter ends up not really accounting to anything, and I-na's return also doesn't do much. Instead, the main leads are put through the ringer, with the female lead being put in danger over and over again. The tension is there but it does get repetitive.

I also really have to talk the last episode. It was just...bad. (And yes, I know it's in the novel, but I'm reviewing this based on drama only.) The last minute ghosting/separation is a trope that I've long-hated in kdramas, and this drama took it to another level by making this last arc just utterly random, in an active warzone in another country. It not only feels completely out of place, but there's just not enough time for all of this to happen, when I would've preferred that they just leave time for the characters to just talk to each other, and for more character relationships to be wrapped up. Hee-joo's relationship development with her mother is interesting but so rushed. Overall, the ending just doesn't quite hit; I find it hard to believe that the ML and his assistant would be able to get new government jobs after everything they've done and been in the public eye for. It wraps things up nicely but feels lazy.

Ultimately, this was still a pretty good watch, but the last episode hiccup is quite a big one.

Citeste mai mult