The Number You Have Dialed (2024)

It’s not bad but for me one of the most overrated drama in 2024

This drama wasn’t a totally failure for me. The plot twist on EP1 was good, the main couple had a good chemistry together, Yeon Seok (once again) was totally hot and the plot about the kidnapper/villain was entertaining enough. But I just can’t ignore all the cringey scenes, the bad script on some episodes, out of nowhere events and how everything feel apart completely after EP10. When I think about the drama in general, I feel it was kind overrated. But let me talk more about it.

For me this drama had a lot of cringe scenes since the beginning and this can make a lot of people give up of watching but I could ignore this thankfully to the main leads great chemistry. But I can’t lie, it was a little too cringe for me at times and I blame the script and the director for this. Speaking of another thing that I blame the script and direction for was the actors' performances.

For me, Yeon Seok delivered a good performance as always, but I found myself totally disappointed with Soobin. I like her as an actress but I think this was one of her worst works. And talking about their characters itself I found both male and female lead annoying and dumb in the beginning. Sa Eon should’ve been more smart actually but he wasn’t. And I expected more for Hee Joo but unfortunately she wasn’t what I thought she would be. Also I found kind funny how Sa Eon said he was in love with Hee Joo since the beginning but treated her like she was a nobody in their own home for 3 years lol and then he changed completely how he acted and started to care for her.

The secondary characters were kind ok. No one totally captivated me but I liked Sang U and Yu ri’s scenes together. Talking about the villain plot, I gotta say that it was kind well done and interesting enough for me, everything was making sense. Sure, the story itself was nothing different from what we usually see in kdramas but it was convincing enough. But gosh what happened with this drama after EP10?

What the hell was the revelation about Sa Eon’s real father? It was so out of nowhere for me and they didn’t explain nothing about it….like, why his real father abandoned him? And his father abandoned him to literally bring him back to be his grandfather later? Like…what? lol This plot twist was forced to me and it seems they did this just so Sa Eon could feel guilty for Hee Joo’s brother accident but why would he feel THAT guilty for something that a father he didn't even know he had did? Ater everything they went through, being away from her for months because of that was completely unnecessary.

In fact, unnecessary and inconsistent were two words that summed up this drama in general for me, especially at episodes 10 to 12. What the hell happened on episode 11 and 12 too? The whole kidnapping scene with Hee Joo on EP11 was inconsistent and this Argan arc on EP12 made no sense at all..the only good thing was the making out scene later lol

So yeah. Since the beginning I saw how popular this drama was and although I wasn’t feeling the same hype as others I thought it still was kind entertaining enough but then after EP10 everything feel apart and when I think about this drama in general I feel like the whole hype is not there for me. It’s not the worse drama of all but the cringy scenes, the inconsistency of scenes and characters, and out of nowhere events made hard for me to give more than a 7.5.

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"DARE I SAY THIS IS THE BEST KDRAMA OF 2024....''

WOW! JUST WOW!! I've got no words for this kdrama, honestly. I am just flabbergausted such a drama had to wait till the end of the year to be released, like why?? But, let's start first with the cast, GOD DAMN! The casts is so unexpectedly amazing, i didn't expect the chemistry between Yoon Yeon Seok & Chae Soo Bin to blow up this big, like the chemistry is TOP-TIER, the tension between them is ONE WORD- INSANE, despite the 10 year gap, they proved all haters wrong with this acting. Just them too looking at each other already bring so much passion and butterflies in the stomach as a viewer. Who knew their chemistry will really explode like this? I'm so really happy for them....
Also, the plot, damn, the plot...is INSANE...

PLOT DEVELOPMENT
The story begins with Baek Sa-eon and Hong Hee-joo, who have been married for three years but live in silence, largely due to their mutual disdain for each other. Their relationship is strained further when Hee-joo is kidnapped by a masked man who uses malware to hijack her car. This kidnapper demands Sa-eon’s attention and threatens Hee-joo’s life.

As tensions rise during the hostage situation, Sa-eon faces immense pressure as he navigates his responsibilities as a government spokesperson while dealing with his wife’s kidnapping. In a critical moment during a phone call with the kidnapper, Sa-eon coldly tells him to kill Hee-joo if he wishes—words that deeply hurt Hee-joo when she hears them.

After managing to escape temporarily from her captor, Hee-joo’s anger towards Sa-eon intensifies. The couple must confront their feelings and decide whether they can overcome their past grievances and work together to resolve the crisis. The narrative delves into their emotional struggles as they grapple with issues of trust, love, and redemption amidst external pressures from politics and personal trauma.

Ultimately, “When the Phone Rings” is not just about the kidnapping but also about how this traumatic event forces both characters to reevaluate their lives and relationship. It raises questions about what it takes for them to acknowledge each other publicly and privately while dealing with the demands of their respective roles in society.
Thanks for taking ur wonderful time in reading my review. Hope you have a nice day and stay safe.

*Also the ending of ep 6 is so ICONIC*(WATCH IT TO KNOW)

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THE DRAMA"S OVERRATED

Don't get me wrong it hooked me from its first episodes because of its unique concept. But it also gives me a typical Wattpad-like storyline (but it was fine since I was expecting something different from this drama). However, the drama got a little too boring for me because a lot was going on, and it was hard to keep up with the characters and the drama, especially with the last episode, it just went downhill. It was a little disappointing because they got a great start and if the production just kept it up, then it would have justified the hype of this drama. Although, the cast did a great job portraying their characters well.

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Turned Sour in the Second Half

This drama had me HOOKED in the first half but then nosedived into overdramatic chaos in the second part. Gosh, it was so bad, I skipped through episodes 11-12 and didn't feel like I missed anything. The amount of unnecessary drama in a 12-ep. series is a waste of time. What the heck was episode 12? At that point, just shorten it to 11 episodes. The plot was a jumbled mess. The directing and editing complicated things further.

The actors acted the hell out of that terrible script though. That's the only reason I rated this so high. The chemistry between leads was so good during the phone calls in the first half, but they couldn't hide terrible writing/directing/editing.

Lower your expectations before going into like ep. 7.

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What is up with Netflix?

I'm genuinely in shock. What was that ending? They spend 90% of the show in agony and having misunderstandings and then you'd think the last episode would be just them finally getting to enjoy each other???? But HE'S SUDDENLY AT WAR ?????!?!?!?!?! AND WE DIDNT EVEN GET ANY REAL,SANGWOO YOURI SCREENTIME. i genuinely loved this show until the last episode. i cant believe that was greenlit???? I begin to wonder if Netflix just fires the writers before the ending... I hope I'm not the only one that was in shock at that? How do we only get like 10 minutes of them being happy??? They could've given them a kid at least... or 2 like why make it sad again? She's almost died like 6 times and they defeated their enemy why tf is he in Argan????#?"?$(%(#

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So Annoying

This series is not so bad that I want to stop watching, yet I'm really annoyed by a couple of things about it. First off, just how stupid is the ML that he can't put 2 and 2 together? How many episodes is it going to take before he can finally see what's right in front of his face? IMO it should have happened in episode 2 or 3 at most. And I refuse to believe that the FL can so easily control herself in difficult circumstances so as not to reveal her big secret. I find it easier to believe in zombies and I hate zombie series. Naturally, the 2 episodes a week format isn't as enjoyable as the binge-them-all-in-one-shot opportunities. Netflix arbitrarily skipping a week didn't help. As it is I have to watch everything at 1.5 speed due to the prolonged pauses inherent to a lot of Kdramas. Overall I just want this series to move faster. Hopefully it will ripen into a good romance, but it's just a bit too green for me right now.
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Just watched the finale and it was tot the ending I was hoping for:

The dramatic ending of episode 11 left us hanging (well, for a day) as to what Bad Guy (BG) said to his Uncle ML. I tried to think what new twist could have been so devious that ML would look so sad and made him disappear from FL? When I realized that BG was regularly calling FL "Sis" it occurred to me that maybe BG and FL WERE actual half-siblings! (Her mother would have some explaining to do.) I chuckled for at least a minute. That would have been so wrong! ML would be FL's uncle also and that would make their marriage a very bad idea.

Imagine my disappointment when finding out that ML went away because he felt bad. Yawn. And then there was the whole foreign war-torn adventure in the finale...all to set up some cozy time with a view of the sunset. Far too many footprints in that sand outside their window BTW. The rest of the victory lap episode was ok, not particularly earth-shattering.

Overall I felt that ML and FL didn't spend enough time smiling, or rather I should ask did they cast FL because she cries so well? And at the very end of the finale when 406 becomes a thing again, FL missed an opportunity to be more emphatic and demanding. "Get your a$$ back here right now or you'll be eating my cooking for the next two months!!!" Ah well.

Note: The preceding comments represent my opinions and are published as a personal record (and maybe for the entertainment of others.) Please write your own review about this show rather than critiquing mine.

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Extraordinary execution of familiar tropes

A great drama carried by excellent execution, incredible performances and chemistry. There is nothing new when it comes to the story - when you watch it, you will definitely come across familiar tropes and cliches, BUT the execution is extraordinary. From the cinematography, to music, to editing, to acting - it's a masterclass of TV-making (is that a word?).

Yoo Yeon-seok and Chae Soo-bin give THE performances of their careers here and boast chemistry rarely seen in dramas these days. The tension between the two is palpable and you root for them like there's no tomorrow.

Of course, you have to leave your brain behind when it comes to certain scenes. The show sometimes devolves into ridiculous makjang, but other aspects of the drama and its emotional coherence make you turn a blind eye and accept the absurdity at face value.

For me, the true MVP of this drama is the instrumental background music. It sets a great tone in all the scenes where it's used and it's not your typical generic K-drama cat-music. The music director included electronic sounds in the score which you can typically only hear in science-fiction movies & TV shows.

I greatly recommend this drama, you will have a fun ride with it!

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