Don't Lie, Rahee (2022)

Is ‘ Don’t Lie, Rahee’ Actually Worth Watching?

Produced as an original miniseries by Naver TV Cast, ‘ Don’t Lie, Rahee’ ( ‘돈 라이 라희’) is a fairly lighthearted yet niche setup with an abundance predictable cliches along the way.

The series focuses upon the titular female lead and influencer Noh Ra Hee ( Kim Na Hyun). Despite having other 100,000 subscribers and a popular image, Ra Hee struggles to maintain her perfectionism . Instead Ra Hee has turned to fabricating a web of lies in order to boost her influencer persona. However when a particular lie leads her to running into childhood friend and her first love Seol Ho-won ( Kim Ji Woong), Ra Hee finds it even harder to keep her hidden secrets …

‘ Don’t Lie, Rahee’ is notably a simplistic and lighthearted concept. Whilst the series was surprisingly compacted into its short duration time of four episodes, this did admittedly present a double-edged sword. A shorter and easygoing setup allowed the miniseries’ narrative to be expedited and wrapped up quickly, but it also highlighted a major dilemma also; there was no real sense of impending doom or growth ( even in a short space of time) for the characters.

It is important to reiterate that ‘ Don’t Lie, Rahee’’s storyline and execution was limited from the outset with only four episodes . On the other hand whilst extended time can be a contributing factor towards writing a detailed and well-executed plot, certain short stories and mini dramas have proven time and time again that writing and the usage of plot is key also.

One of the most notable things about ‘ Don’t Lie, Rahee’ is that even in a very short space of time, the series often struggled with trying to buildup the dilemma surrounding Rahee. Of course this isn’t to say it wasn’t apparent from the outset or nonexistent but aside from some cutesy exchanges between Ho-Won and Rahee onscreen, a multitude of selfies taken by Rahee, or a heart to heart chat with Rahee’s close friend Go Min-yeong ( Choi Yeon Soo), it was hard to really pinpoint precise moments ( aside from the final episode) when the storyline really permitted a climatic build or sense of unease for the audience.

The acting of the miniseries is admittedly decent enough. There were admittedlt a few abrupt moments of awkwardly delivered dialogue and interactions but the main cast, specifically Kim Na Hyun and Kim Ji Woong, were certainly charming enough.

Former SONAMOO member and actress Kim Na Hyun ( ‘ The Miracle’, ‘ Café Kilimanjaro’) played main female lead Noh Ha Ree.

As a character, Ra Hee is fairly hard for audiences to warm up to. Initially whilst she is supposed to be haughty, fractious and evidently flawed through her multiple shared falsehoods, it was difficult to really feel pity for Ra Hee during seemingly sympathetic moments in the final part.
Perhaps one of the key reasons for viewers feeling somewhat disengaged from this seemingly “ quintessential” character came through the fact that there were few redeeming moments or even opportunities to see past Ra Hee’s false pretences early on.

Of course throughout the narrative, we are supposed to see Ra Hee “ grow” by her rekindled feelings for Ho-won as well as her confession in the final course of the narrative. On the other hand whilst this did resonate a certain sympathetic tone with audiences, it was hard to really grasp how Ra Hee truly matured or developed as a character, or at least painted in a more sympathetic light early on by foreshadowing or trying to build up her storyline subtly more even in a short space of time.

Costarring alongside Kim Na Hyun was idol-actor Kim Ji Woong ( ‘ The Sweet Blood’, ‘ Kissable Lips’) as leading man Seol Ho-Won.

Reserved, slightly brooding, good-looking and altruistic, Ho-Woon embodied all of the stereotypical tropes surrounding a main lead and a potential love interest with differing results. Whilst is arguable that Ho-Woon was a a necessary component for the events of storyline and for Ra Hee’s character , Ho-Woon was a shoehorned archetype. He was kindhearted and sweet but aside from his ambivalent feelings for Ra Hee and helping her in different ways, Ho Woon rarely had prominent flaws or at least notable drives as a character. Instead Ho Woon came across as a carte blanche main male lead; necessary for keeping the plot afloat, but rarely sticking out as a sentient or driven character.

On the other hand it is undeniable that the chemistry between lead actors Kim Na Hyun and Kim Ji Woong was prominent throughout the short series. Despite some limited dialogue and situations, Na Hyun and Ji Woong were able to power through with surprisingly natural and coherent chemistry from beginning to end.

The quality of production and filming is admittedly to be expected for a miniseries. ( Although notably slightly glossier than some productions due to the corporate funding by Naver.) It’s slightly limited by settings and quality of camera angles and gradients in parts, but certainly not bad either.

Overall ‘ Don’t Lie, Rahee’ truly epitomizes a “ binge-watch” miniseries; shortly compacted into less than twenty minute episodes and easy enough to watch in one sitting. The acting is solid enough and whilst there were a few questionable moments, the chemistry between our main leads was surprisingly dynamic. The storyline is limited by certain elements of writing, execution and buildup, but did offer enough opportunities in for those willing to disengage and embark into a lighthearted and fluffy viewing session.

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