michelleoc
You'll love Chief Kim!
Now THAT’S what I’m talking about! I had seen scenes of this show and I’ve read a few of the reviews. I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to like this show because 1) it’s not a romance; 2) I don’t care for over-the-top or slapstick comedy; 3) I don’t like when shows have a ton of villains. Since I’ve not recently had terrific luck with finding a fabulous romance, I thought I’d give it a try. This show was a pure joy from beginning to end. It had me laughing out loud one moment and in tears the next.
WRITING/STORY: Extremely well-written. For me, there were no draggy parts (hard to find in K-dramas, unfortunately) and there was no “throw away” dialogue. Every word spoken had a purpose, which might be confusing at the moment, but it would be explained in later scenes. I loved how they used flashbacks – something would happen that didn’t make sense, and they would go back and show what had happened behind the scenes to lead up to that point. It’s hard to find a show, especially one with a cast this large, that has fully fleshed out characters, from the main leads, all the way through the supporting characters. I have to like the characters to really be invested in them and I was worried about the character of Chief Kim, because he was a con man and his facial expressions often seemed cartoon-ish. His character development was fun to watch. Watching him grow as a person, but also seeing how much he helped everyone that he worked with, how his co-workers gained strength from what they learned from him…it was so special. The writers did a great job of letting us delve deeply into each character, get to know them better, and then you can’t help but root for them. They were very three dimensional and completely developed. The humor was often very exaggerated, but it fit in very well with the story. There was A LOT going on in this show – multiple villains, and lots of accounting stuff – I have arithmophobia so that was kind of painful, but the journey was just so much fun.
ACTING: Everyone in this show was absolutely amazing, but I have to call out a few that were complete stand-outs for me. Most of the other actors I’ve seen in other shows, and they were so good in this. It was fun to see Kim Seon Ho and his dimples, as a bespectacled nerd, which was a change!
Namkoong Min as Chief Kim – I was so impressed with him. He completely owned the part of Chief Kim. He was funny, playful, eccentric, and yes, a little bit crazy. He would pull these faces that would have me laughing out loud. He had to display such a wide array of emotions, and when he wasn’t being goofy, his intenseness was spot-on. You could feel his confusion as he started to leave his old life behind and actually let others into his life. There’s a line early in the show about him “fake crying” because what he feels isn’t real. Later on, when he cried, it just about broke my heart.
Lee Jun Ho as Yool – now, here is a villain you love to hate! I’ll start by saying that he’s just so beautiful, I got a little lost in him every time he was on screen. I was hoping that he would redeem himself, and the way the writers handled his storyline was excellent. I loved watching how he reacted to the female lead – a hint of a romance that is never actually addressed. (If you haven’t seen him in Just Between Lovers, he’s excellent in that as well!)
Kim Won Hae as General Manager Choo. This is an actor that is normally used for comic relief. He was extremely funny in this, but we got to see so much vulnerability and caring from his character. I especially loved his scenes with Chief Kim.
MUSIC: At the beginning, the romantic songs just didn’t fit with what was going on, but later on they made more sense. I absolutely LOVED hearing the Descendants of the Sun music when one couple met for the first time, so funny!
REWATCH VALUE: There aren’t a lot of shows that I would re-watch, but I think I’ll watch this again in a couple of weeks. It might be fun to watch it, already knowing the end.
So, I can wholeheartedly recommend this show. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll love the characters, and you’ll be glad you watched.
WRITING/STORY: Extremely well-written. For me, there were no draggy parts (hard to find in K-dramas, unfortunately) and there was no “throw away” dialogue. Every word spoken had a purpose, which might be confusing at the moment, but it would be explained in later scenes. I loved how they used flashbacks – something would happen that didn’t make sense, and they would go back and show what had happened behind the scenes to lead up to that point. It’s hard to find a show, especially one with a cast this large, that has fully fleshed out characters, from the main leads, all the way through the supporting characters. I have to like the characters to really be invested in them and I was worried about the character of Chief Kim, because he was a con man and his facial expressions often seemed cartoon-ish. His character development was fun to watch. Watching him grow as a person, but also seeing how much he helped everyone that he worked with, how his co-workers gained strength from what they learned from him…it was so special. The writers did a great job of letting us delve deeply into each character, get to know them better, and then you can’t help but root for them. They were very three dimensional and completely developed. The humor was often very exaggerated, but it fit in very well with the story. There was A LOT going on in this show – multiple villains, and lots of accounting stuff – I have arithmophobia so that was kind of painful, but the journey was just so much fun.
ACTING: Everyone in this show was absolutely amazing, but I have to call out a few that were complete stand-outs for me. Most of the other actors I’ve seen in other shows, and they were so good in this. It was fun to see Kim Seon Ho and his dimples, as a bespectacled nerd, which was a change!
Namkoong Min as Chief Kim – I was so impressed with him. He completely owned the part of Chief Kim. He was funny, playful, eccentric, and yes, a little bit crazy. He would pull these faces that would have me laughing out loud. He had to display such a wide array of emotions, and when he wasn’t being goofy, his intenseness was spot-on. You could feel his confusion as he started to leave his old life behind and actually let others into his life. There’s a line early in the show about him “fake crying” because what he feels isn’t real. Later on, when he cried, it just about broke my heart.
Lee Jun Ho as Yool – now, here is a villain you love to hate! I’ll start by saying that he’s just so beautiful, I got a little lost in him every time he was on screen. I was hoping that he would redeem himself, and the way the writers handled his storyline was excellent. I loved watching how he reacted to the female lead – a hint of a romance that is never actually addressed. (If you haven’t seen him in Just Between Lovers, he’s excellent in that as well!)
Kim Won Hae as General Manager Choo. This is an actor that is normally used for comic relief. He was extremely funny in this, but we got to see so much vulnerability and caring from his character. I especially loved his scenes with Chief Kim.
MUSIC: At the beginning, the romantic songs just didn’t fit with what was going on, but later on they made more sense. I absolutely LOVED hearing the Descendants of the Sun music when one couple met for the first time, so funny!
REWATCH VALUE: There aren’t a lot of shows that I would re-watch, but I think I’ll watch this again in a couple of weeks. It might be fun to watch it, already knowing the end.
So, I can wholeheartedly recommend this show. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll love the characters, and you’ll be glad you watched.
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