Reviews

I REALLY wanted to like this drama

The action was great, the actors even better, special effects were good, production values were top notch, and I'm throwing a serious shout out to the stunt performers. Everything worked except the script.

I loathe plots that rely on the stupidity of the protagonist because the scriptwriter couldn't be bothered to find another way to move the plot. When that stupidity is mired in mach 10 sexism I'm even less forgiving. I watch enough kdrama that I'm resigned to the sexism that pervades its stories, but even with that built in allowance, this script leaned too heavily on bimbo stereotypes to drive the action.

I won't spill anything that will spoil your experience if sexism and stupidity aren't deal breakers for you, and sadly they aren't for many people - that's why there's so much of it, but I will point out a few of the details that had me trotting back to my watch list for something more worthy of my time: A trained covert agent of the a Korean National Intelligence Service hides her multiple fake passports and IDs in her underwear box, because who would ever rifle through a woman's lingerie to find evidence? She keeps her gun unloaded, presumably because she's never heard of a gun safe, so it's never ready when she needs it. No matter how many times this recurs, her behavior doesn't change. It seems even superstar Bae Suzy did not have the clout to plead for a production that didn't make her character an idiot.

And, yes, I'm calling it sexism because, unless it's slapstick comedy, a script for a male agent would not have his go-bag tossed in with his underwear, his gun unloaded when he needed it, or his hands shaking too badly to load that gun; nor would he be the only character in the series that didn't qualify for at least a semi-automatic weapon. The script wouldn't have a male agent hand off his weapon to an untrained civilian to do the bang-bang stuff, even if that civilian IS a manly Mary Sue who could do everything but don a cape and fly - although he did some impressive parkour that was close to flying. Finally, I'm pretty sure the scriptwriter would not have a male agent advocate to flee the county where ALL the known suspects are because "our lives are at stake," like that's not in the job description.

The sexist stereotypes and dependence on stupidity are not, by far, the only saboteurs of a script that stretches credulity on so many levels, but if you're still undeterred, those things probably won't bother you either.

The actors, all of whom delivered on their performances, deserved better than they got. So did the viewers. Life is short and there are too many wonderful kdramas to waste time on a contrived story line with a Swiss cheese plot. I dropped the series after three episodes.

I won't hesitate to find other dramas these actors are in, because every one of them was excellent in their roles, but I'll avoid the scriptwriters like they're patient zero for the plague.

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Was it love or was it a waste of time

Let’s be honest. I did not finish this drama and dropped it a while ago midway through episode 2 or 3. I don’t remember the story very well but I do remember vividly the annoyance that the FL brought me while watching. I could say it is one of the worst K-drama out there in my taste. Most shows I dropped half way but I don’t recall any that irks me this much as this one. If I could give a score of 0, it would be 0 for everything from story to cast.

Story: The premise is very promising. A hardworking single mom is determined to build a better life for her daughter but also to live her dream. I’m probably biased and over-hopeful for an empowering story because it is very similar to my real life situation. But the FL turned out to be just crazy. The plot is severely flawed from the very beginning. She gets pregnant and decides to have a kid alone without telling the father or any attempt for communication and to hate him without any reasons. I don’t care what misunderstanding that may have been between them, it is psychologically NOT normal for a modern woman to behave in such contemptuous martyrdom. It is not only selfish to the family, the father and the child but also insulting to the efforts of generations of women to advocate for women’s rights and gender equality. Every one of her actions throughout the short few episodes I watched is whiny, self-absorbed, pity-seeking and unrepentant.
The MLs aren’t any better, unfortunately. It’s another major plot hole I cannot comprehend that is what qualities the MLs see in the FL other than they know her in the past. The writer seems to forget that there has been a 14-year gap. It is extremely unrealistic and unbelievable that they are all still single and hung up over a woman after such a long time. I’m glad that I did not finish the show because apparently from other reviews I have read, the reason for the breakup is because of interference from one of the ML based on the logic that he likes her first. More maddening is that the real father upon making up to the FL decides to run away for another two years instead of making up lost time for his daughter. Seriously, WTF! Had I watched it to the end I would probably have smashed my phone unsubscribed Netflix, lol. The story appears to go from bad to worst in 16 episodes.

Cast/Acting: I generally don’t tolerate loud and excessive FL very well, and I’m very disappointed with Song Ji Hyo (SJH) in this one particularly. I have watched her in Emergency Couple, the premise of which is also similar to this one where the FLs overcome adversities to realize their dreams. I kinda tolerate her in the other one and managed to finish the drama albeit skipping a lot but this one she really made me just switch off my phone completely. The two characters have slightly different personalities and stories, however, SJH’s portrayals of the two turn out to be identical, just pure annoyance. She fails to demonstrate the characters as strong and capable women and only shows them as illogically unreasonable and stubborn people. I guess her strength is more suitable for variety shows than dramas.
As for the MLs, I can’t be sure if all the suitors had been introduced by the time I dropped to really comment. One thing I do remember is Son Ho Jun. I expected something more from him after Reply 1994 and Backtrack couple. Although he is not the best actor, his performance in this drama is simply just flat and bland. The chemistry between him and the FL is also off. He cannot convey any emotions at critical moments such as at the revelation that he is the father (I skipped all to this portentous scene instead of torturing myself through all the lengthy and wearisome middle episodes).
The best performance in the first 2 episodes probably should go to the FL’s daughter. The kiddo is witty and show maturity beyond age but it does not come across as forced or fake.

Music: I doubt that any K-drama would feature bad music but I dropped the show very early on and did not have any recollection of the music, so unimpressive is probably the best description.

Recommendation/Rewatch value: Avoid at all cost. A total waste of time. If you are looking for romance, there’s no chemistry between the casts and not even romantic swoon-worthy scene. If you are looking for an inspiring story about a determined and independent woman, this show is the opposite of it. I don’t even know what it is.

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Missed the Mark

Always on the lookout for plots that involve undercover characters who go out and help people. One of my favorite childhood series was when the Emperor himself strolled the streets in plain clothes so he can understand his country. So I definitely wanted to like this series but I've been emotionless for all three episodes.

The acting wasn't terrible but was subpar and the main characters had no chemistry with one another (or with any other characters for that matter). But the biggest cause of the series missing the mark wasn't the actors but the actual plot flow. You can see the potential but the execution of each scene was done with poor timing and execution.

As an example, when the FL is helping with the birth of a baby to a dying woman. The male doctor and her are both looking at the baby's entrance point. In historical times, it's unlikely a male doctor would be at ease even being close to that area. The FL admitted she had no experience and despite the dying woman having an arrow stuck in her chest while pushing the baby out, the birth was super effortless. It's difficult to describe in words but you can tell that not much thought was put in with no attention to detail throughout the series. And it resulted in a very unnatural plot flow.

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Best 2023 k drama

😁😁😁if you’re dealing with stress right now 😁😁go watch this k drama 🥰🥰😍😍😍🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰😍😍😄😄😄😁 you won’t regret it.. I love it so far. Waiting for more.. love a good drama.😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️ 😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️

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Too predictable...

By the 6th episode I already predicted this show so I had to drop it. I understand that it’s a romantic COMEDY so I already watched the show expecting something funny to happen often. But I think the writer got ‘misunderstandings’ and ‘comedy’ mixed up. They are not in the same category at all. It’s actually quite annoying and tiring.

There are other ways to make a comedy show without misunderstandings. Not saying there shouldn’t be any misunderstandings in a show but if it becomes the main drive for the show then it becomes a problem. There’s a list of misunderstandings I could go through and it’s just the SIXTH episode.

Now I’m a more serious drama watcher but I do love a good laugh once and a while so I’m not being biased about this show, it honestly would’ve been a great show if the misunderstandings didn’t snowball into more. It has great representation with diverse characters especially LGBTQ. I’ve never seen a non-stereotypical gay person in k-drama so it was relieving to see a realistic one.

I really tried to enjoy this show considering I love the two main characters along with the female lead’s younger brother because I love the group HALO, but it’s a little too corny for me to finish. I would definitely recommend this show as a STARTER k-drama show, it has all the basics of a typical k-drama lol.

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Just a typical series whose Male Characters are fighting for a girl

I watched this lakorn mainly because of Sarin Ronnakiat. He is a very good actor-- soft characters suit him well. I don't really know that much about the rest of the characters because the majority of them are new to me. I can say that Pon's character fits him perfectly because his face resembles an Indian character. His acting is also effective too because he annoys me every time he does something bad to Khiree haha. I haven't watched the whole show yet because I don't find it interesting to the point that I would love to know what's the next event on the following episodes.

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I watched the first 6 episodes and kept debating with myself whether to drop the drama or not. It just didn't appeal to me for some reason. Doubting my feelings I searched for its reviews at so many places and a majority of them were negative, then I read few comments on another site and most of them were about the cast so I made up my mind not to continue it.
I wanted to binge watch it and I think the special episode kind of ruined it for me from the beginning. So if anyone wants to watch it, begin from the first episode. I am not too sure about the acting because I am dropping it before my judgement is established but from what I have seen Kim Kang Woo looked the most convincing and menacing.

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Desapontada

Adoro dramas judiciais por isso e também por várias criticas positivas vim assistir esse drama porém já no segundo episódio já me vi adiantando e desmotivada e aqui vai o principal motivo do meu desgosto e pela minha desistência desse show nada mais é que a Protagonista feminina sim ela foi a razão de estragar todo a história para mim, eu entendo que a pessoa pode ser boa e querer fazer o bem mais o personagem dela era irritante,forçada , constantemente intrometida sem ser objetiva parecia uma criança afinal diversas ações dela era infantil ela só pensava em como ela se sentia , como tudo tinha que ser feito como ela queria se não fosse assim fazia birra e chorava definitivamente ela não tinha perfil nenhum para o cargo que ocupava.
O protagonista masculino fez o seu melhor porém não me convenceu achei sem atitude meio sem vida ele era um personagem apagado.
Esse drama foi muito cansativo não conseguiu me prender, em fim não é para mim.

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Can't stand narcisstic boss and doormat secretary

There were so many rave reviews about What's Wrong with Secretary Kim. I had never watched Park Seo Joon's dramas so this was my first. I also watched it for Chansung because I liked him in My Holo Love.

I gave up What's Wrong with Secretary Kim after episode 3. If you are looking for boss-secretary romance drama, go watch 'The Secret Life of My Secretary'.

What I liked:
1) Supporting cast - Many wonderful actors and actresses in this drama e.g. Pyo Ye Jin, Kang Ki Young, Chansung, Hwang Bo Ra (she was captivating)

What I dislike:
1) Male lead characterisation - I couldn't stand his narcistic personality and arrogant attitude. So self-absorbed.
2) Female lead characterisation - She was a doormat. I don't understand why was she still in touch with her ex-boss after resignation. If she was required to train new secretary, then she should just handle training and not give in to boss's work demands.
3) Childhood connectrion trope - Why was this trope used when the trio had not even maintained friendship as they grew older?
4) Romance - I feel like Park Minyoung was wrongfully cast for this series. I couldn't see any "romantic sparks" between her and Park Seo Joon.

Favourite scene
The only memorable scene from the 3 episodes that I watched was the sports day.

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oh god i can feel the cringe down my spine
i was putting it on hold for quite a while after ep1
continue to watch again (ep 2&3) just so i have good reason to drop it from on-hold to dropped

feel like the characters is way too exaggerated and flat. the character, personality, action, and word are like a scarecrow in nurse outfit holding a machine gun.

and did i mention it cringe me to the ground. also no matter how you look at her, her face is that of a 30 yo woman. they should do a better job building it, at least make it a little more make sense and realistic. instead all the justification come out just through other characters word.

and what make me cringe even more is that naive male teachers. i know he is supposed to be the 'good guy' but to me he came out as unreasonably and unnecessary kind, also tactless and clingy.

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dilly-dally

I'm not G4 fan but I used to watch their MSP series and quite enjoyed it. When the official trailer of MLMU was released, I felt a bit odd as it seems like the acting is not as good as I expected. This feeling maintain the same when I watched 1st ep. 

Fourth acting is ok but in some scences it seems like he gets exhauted and turns out to be stiff. 

About Gemini, his acting is a bit no for me :( Tbh, he doesn't do well in those soliloquy scences. I was extremmly impressed by the actor played Ida role in Japanese ver. He did really well in those soliloquy scences so when it comes to Gemini, I was really disappointed. His acting in those scences is so boring and stiff. It makes me feel a bit annoying and really dont want to keep watching this series. 

Both fourth and gemini acting make me so confused. I wonder have they ever pay attention to train their skill, like taking some acting skill class to improve or so. 

It's kinda disappointed somehow as I like the original Japanese manga. I used to watch the japanese live action ver then dropped after few episodes as I couldn't stand the "overreact" Japanese acting method. That's why I was very excited knowing about the thai ver. But when it's released, it's just so... plain. I'm kinda dragging my feet whether i should keep watching or just drop. Hmmmmm. I wonder will it gonna be better for the next episodes or just keep plain like this.

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