Short bit - Really enjoyed, happy with the ending but didn't really click with me how they got there. REALLY slow burn romance beautifully executed, prepare for lots of tears pretty much throughout. Great acting and great OST!

Waffley Bit...

This is a really slow burn romance, and they manage to do something that most really don't do very well at all - they manage to find a way to get the two leads actually in an ice cold place (at least from one side) to where he actually can't stand the sight of her and then slowly turn the heat up throughout - it's a good 7 or so episodes in before there's thawing even, let alone when they get to kiss (which is much further in). I liked that nothing was just magically resolved, they went through things and just because they are decent human beings ended up in situations helping each other and that's what starts to grow their affections.

The story is principally based around a Hospice that provides palliative care for the terminally ill and helping ease their way in their final time. You can immediately tell from that that there's going to be a lot of characters passing away and that's the source of a great many sad moments throughout, lots of different stories and backgrounds for the characters, and how they resolve them. I was particularly engaged by the story about Michael, his adopted American mother and his birth Korean mother and how that story develops. It is quite emotionally tiring though as there's quite a lot of it throughout so keep that in mind.

The other major theme in the story is cooking and food. With Ha Ji Won's character being a renowned Chef there are many opportunities for cooking to be shown and they don't shy away from it at all. Imagine the kind of detail you get in medical dramas and now put that in cooking - there's a lot you can learn about Korean food and how it's prepared, what the ingredients are and so forth in this show. I recognised Jajamyeong being prepared in one of the recipes straight away and I don't think any steps were left out at all - which I found really interesting and unusual. I realise that's a pretty straight forward recipe but hey, I'm no expert :)

Some of the story takes place on an island in the south of Korea called Wondo, I always appreciate stories that venture out to the islands a bit more because it feels more like "real" Korea than the westernised way that Seoul is usually presented (not that I have anything against Seoul), some lovely scenery and great shots out there.

The story with the Director at the Hospice and his first wife was another particularly touching one, it's another one that runs throughout most of the story and you discover new things about their history, how they got to be where they are and so forth at various times during the story. I always enjoy watching Kim Won Hae anyway and this was one of his more emotional roles I think.

There is one patient story which kinda sneaks in about a YouTuber that forms the basis for one of the most profound messages in the drama which Cha-Young's brother says to the screen as if recording a YouTube video - but really, I suspect it's intended as a message from the production and writing teams to the viewer, breaking the fourth wall.

The title is an interesting choice, because on the one hand chocolate doesn't figure much in the story at all... but if you think about it more after you've watched it you'll realise it was the foundation of the entire story from just about the moment it starts.

Soundtrack is superb, I need to listen to it properly on its own but you can tell a good soundtrack when you are humming along to the songs as they come up during the drama.

Annoyances...

The only real annoying for me was the male lead's family, a typical shouty moany whiney fighty schemey Chaebol type family - I get that they are probably meant to provide the counterpoint to the deep messages being put out by the time in the Hospice but it just got a bit much at times. I didn't fast forward anything while watching - but the scenes with that family would be the ones i'd fast forward through on a re-watch, without a doubt.

I didn't really appreciate the ending. I like that it ended on a positive, but I just thought the way it was done made absolutely no sense to me what so ever. I was honestly expecting them to end up running Bada Restaurant in Wondo, both being chefs and making people happy, taking forward their life lessons from the Hospice. I expect i'm missing something deep and and meaningful but... I still missed it.

Overall I really enjoyed it, I was hyped that Ha Ji Won was in another drama, one of my favourite actresses. Really glad I watched it but a re-watch is less likely as I didn't really appreciate the ending as much as I hoped I would.