A bit different romance

I found this a bit refreshing, as in a bit different romantic drama.

Very brief synopsis:
The FL protagonist escaped a violent upbringing with her little brother, and raised him on her own. She is now building a career, and has been in a relationship with her junior colleague for over a year. It turns out he is the younger son of the chaebol family owning the company they work for.
The ML's mother approaches her with money to break up. As FL doesn't believe in fairy tale endings, she takes the money and promises to break up with him.
To brake up turns out to be harder than she thought, especially because he loves her dearly. Will he manage to keep her in his life?

What I found a bit different with this story, was that it took a well-known trope about being paid to break up, and gave it what for some might seem like a more realistic spin. It is easy to say "love should be more important", but is it really? I found the scriptwriters gave a plausible reasoning for her to accept the money, and at the same time showing that love is a strong emotion.

The sidestory with ML's brother felt a bit unnecessary. I kind of got the feeling that it was done for the writers to justify arranged marriage to balance the narrative.

The acting was OK. I think maybe Yoon Park as the brother gives the most memorable performance.

Watch it if you want a rather light, easy romantic drama that stands out a little bit.

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Sweet show, mostly feelgood

This is a really sweet show around growing up, friendship, family, and love.

A bit slowpaced, without big conflicts or "villains", mostly feelgood.
There are some very heartwarming scenes, like between Guang Feng (?) and his grandma, and the small gestures from Rangrang showing us how he cares about her.

The ML's role is kind of similar to that in "You are desire" and the same of his friend (Gu Ran). I like both of their acting - suitable roles.
FL is very sweet, although I do find the female characters in Cdramas often to be a bit overly childish.

I can see myself recommending this as something to watch for a mum (/parents) and teenage (daughter) together.

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Gripping story and strong acting. Recommended (with a warning).

This is one of the dramas that have left a very strong impression on me, together with shows like My Dearest and Mr Sunshine.
Oh, how I cried ...!
Weeks after finishing this show I still got emotional thinking about it. This series will sit with me for a long, long time.
Brilliant performances - the emotions portrayed, whether frustration, anger, love, sadness or joy, was just exeptional.

Costumes, for someone like me with no specific knowledge about this, seemed fine.
Locations and filmography were good too.

Note: After I originally wrote this review I learned the series is based on historical persons.

It also felt more "realistic" than most of the other historical dramas I've seen. Not "over-the-top" with clichés and such (as I remember).

The only thing I guess is holding me back from giving a full score, is that I felt the story skipped a bit much in the end.

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Could have been 4 episodes shorter

As my headline says: I kind of thought this was coming to an end in episode 16, but then it kept going for another 4 episodes.

Brief synopsis:
The male protagonist, Moon Soo Ho, was as adopted into Jung Hae Ra's family when he was in his adolescence after his father died in a mysterious fire. He later disappeared abroad, where he became very successful. Jung Hae Ra on the other hand met misfortune, her family loosing their fortune, and both her parents dying.
She now works as a travel agent, working hard to advance her life. By chance she gets a job trip abroad, where she happens to meet Moon Soo Ho, without recognizing him from her youth. He on the other hand finds out who she is, as he has been searching for her for many years. He pursues her. Back in South Korea their paths cross with his wife from a past life, who was cursed to live forever after her evil deeds back then. She is still obsessively in love with MSH, so how will this love story unfold?

I have a bit mixed feelings for this. I kind of liked it, but then it did go a bit heavy on the scheming and the plots. I thought it was a little confusing in the beginning with the jump between times.

The cast was good. The main couple played by Kim Rae Won and Shin Sae Kyeong had some sweet scenes - they showed intimacy in an affectionate, sweet way.
Seo Ji Hye as Sharon really plays her villainous role well, as do Kim Byung Ok in the supporting role as director Park.

The music was a bit different, but I wish they could have used it a bit more subtle, maybe; I felt it got a bit too much in length.

All in all, when the story threads fall into place it works for a while, until it gets a bit too heavy on the plots. I think it could have been simplified a bit, and I didn't quite see the point of the aunt; her character felt a bit redundant, to be honest.

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Healthy relationships

A good balance between workplace drama, slice-of-life, family and romance.
The relationships portrayed, both family, friends and coworkers, are realistic and develops well, supporting the storyarchs and pace of the drama.

Acting was strong from pretty much everyone. Dylan Wang mastered the portrayal of a young person with sincere feelings well, and I must say the actress playing FL’s mum impressed me.

The “opposite age difference” is shown in a very realistic way, and I particularly liked how they addressed the concerns and obstacles through the views of different people around them.

The supporting characters’ stories did develop on their own archs, without being too dominating. They could have dropped some of it and made the drama shorter, as they were not really essential to the story, but those scenes didn’t feel like a total waste of time either.

All in all, this is a good drama to watch if you like more mature, healthy relationships.

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Healing drama and healthy relationships

This surpassed my expectations. It was funny, sweet, and emotional, with great acting by the two main leads, and her parents.
From the synopsis here and on Netflix, I started this thinking it was something I would be able to watch over time, not binge. That quickly turned out to not be the case!

Fangirling took a backseat in the story as it progressed, and the story turned out to be more of a healing drama, with mature, healthy relationships - both romantic and family-wise.
It was so refreshing to see a couple in a drama that actually were communicating well with each other, as well as being considerate for the other person. I would also say they had rather good chemistry.

What I did not quite like was the character of the first director (Cindy's mum). She was just overly exaggerated - made me cringe. That character could still have done it's part in the story without being so extreme.

I saw some comments about not seeing the point of the second ML (mr Nam Eun Gi), but I thought he played a part in the story, without it taking too much space. I would say that his story, together with Ryan's, showed two different "versions" of a similar issue (difficult to explain without giving away possible spoilers).
If anything, her friend's employee/artist was the character that felt a bit unnecessary to me, even if he didn't take up too much of the story.

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Could've been shorter

Main reason I watched this despite its age, is because I like Hyun Bin as an actor and was curious about one of his roles from a bit further back.
I saw some mixed reviews, and although my opinion differ from those giving very poor reviews, I can't give it top score either.

I like the acting: I think Hyun Bin plays out his double role well. I am a bit more mixed about Han Ja-Min; I felt she "overacted" the sadness/weariness a bit at times.

As for the storyline, it got a bit too plot-heavy. I felt it could have been rounded off nicely at 12 episodes; I kind of expected it to be near an end in episode 10.

But: I must admit I got emotional (last 2 episodes).

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Sweet, easy watch

I would say this is a rather “innocent” story: it is sweet and uncomplicated, without any big ups and downs and dramatic plots.
It contains a lot of the familiar tropes, but they are kept at a “calmer level”.

The cast is ok; the two main leads portray their characters’ personalities rather well, although their chemistry could have been stronger.

The screenplay also stays focused on the main characters. Yes, the supporting characters also have a story, but it is not elaborated too much.

Don’t expect any big surprises, but if you want an easy, feel good sweet romance with some funny elements, this is worth watching.

I liked how they approached the part that led to his “night time online study” 😉

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Familiar tropes, but entertaining

Don't expect original plots – this script contains a lot of the familiar ones, but it is still rather entertaining. It also covers some more serious topics, like harassment in the workplace, but it isn't a serious, heavy drama. You have to watch it on the right premise; I kind of remember it as a hybrid of a romcom and a drama.

The kid is an absolute charmer, and he almost makes this worth the watch on his own, lightening up the show with funny scenes and "adorableness".

I like that the FL is strong and independent with a career in what some might think of as a more male dominated area.

The cast is quite good, and the two main leads interactions are often spot on.

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Charming and feelgood, although not very original

This was a lot better than I expected after reading the synopsis.
Although the storyline itself contains a lot of the familiar tropes from Cdramas, the charm, the small lighthearted humorous moments, and the acting resulted in a feelgood viewing experience for me.
Some of the common plots are also kept at the "less dramatic" level, keeping it more realistic.

The soundtrack is not intruding, but well chosen, adding to the mood and vibe in the different scenes.

Grandad was excellent – the actor portraying this character did a fabolous job. I kind of wished we saw more of him!

I liked Xu Ruo Han (FL) in “Forbidden flower” and thought this role suited her quite well.
Even if kind of typecasted, Wei Zhe Ming (ML) is also an actor I like, and he nailed this role quite well. I can't really remember if I have seen him in many humoristic scenes before, and even if these were just small lighthearted moments I found his timing and execution to be spot on.

This is a C-drama I can see myself rewatching when in the mood for something not too heavy, not too melodrama.

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Beautiful story about overcoming life challenges and personal growth

Great cast and class acting, good script, filmography and music. Emotional (you might cry) and a bit inspirational.
I guess one could say the script depicts feminism (probably not the best choice of words, but I can't describe it better in English).

The script actually raised quite a lot of what I guess are stigmas and societal/cultural challenges, like divorce, remarriage, gender equality, traumas and more (without spoiling too much), and it did so rather elegantly. And with that I mean it didn’t really feel too “preachy”/ moralistic, as some other shows I have seen have been.

If anything bugged me I guess it is that especially Rose didn’t really age visually. I don’t mind her looking youthful at the end, but then again - maybe it was to show she kind of found herself again?
I spotted one very obvious blooper (brand new car model spotted in Paris-scene).

One of the things stopping me from giving full score:
Some lengthy scenes and flashbacks could have been shortened, and it was VERY obvious what car brand put their marketing budget to use here (so much so that I found it a bit annoying 😆).

A show I definitely will recommend if you like quite realistic dramas without big intrigues and plots.

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Don't watch in public (but do watch it!)

I often watch Kdramas on my commute. This drama is one I recommend you watch in a comfortable place, with easy access to tissues, as it gets quite emotional and will most likely tug hard at your heart strings.

Don't be fooled with the "chaebol cold guy, sympathetic poor girl" synopsis, as this story is so much more than that. Or, should I say - it adds a whole new layer to this kind of plot. You still have the typical characters of controling parent, love rival and so, and although kind of cliché, it adds to the main story revolving around the FL and ML.

Main reason to watch is the performances of the two main leads.
Especially the FL does an exceptional job I think, in portraying and displaying all kinds of emotions; despair, wishfullnes, disbelief, resolutness, love ...
ML is also delivering a strong performance. I like this character's development, and also how he handles it; we can see the changes he goes through in his expressions and body language.

To be honest I don't really remember the soundtrack. It kind of makes sense the music took a backseat in this, but at the same time I have watched other series where the soundtrack still can evoke emotions, so they might have missed an opportunity here as well.

When I had watched around half of the episodes I ended up binging the rest, as I wanted to finish it before my vacation was over.

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