Wonderful World (2024)

This drama is not wonderful at all.. it horrible though

What is so wonderful? The title leads one to think this will be epic, heart racing, or perhaps thought intuitive. Beyond the visuals of Cha Eun Woo, I really can’t say much for this drama honestly. Episodes in I should’ve realized sooner what this lacks and been honest with myself about how average this is.

Firstly, the main premise is hard to wrap around and understand. I’ll just say it and I’ll use this word a lot, this drama is just so ambiguous- you wonder what is even going on? I’m not dumb and I know what’s going on, but why? What were some scenes there for? Why do characters talk on the phone in riddles and catch phrases. It’s really not that deep, the writing is pretty dumb with the dialogue. It’s too drowned out to be cool and again, ambiguous, as if it’s smart- when really this drama isn’t saying anything. In fact, episode by episode it seems to loose touch of what it said one episode before and to the next. Combined with hypocritical characters and unrealistic situations I can safely say it’s just awkward at times. So what’s the issue here.. well.. I’ll continue.

Firstly, the foundation for the story isn’t good.
There is nothing intriguing to keep someone watching. It’s honestly just depressing and sad, which I can see working if it was telling a story of someone overcoming that, yet our female lead reminds the audience a lot that she failed in life and wants to start new but is she? Soo Hyun is a mother who lost her child, which is tragic and very sad. That’s just her character, she’s all over the place honestly. This story has given me nothing for her in terms of motivation, I’m just watching and waiting to see why I’m watching this story of hers that is already pretty much over. She went to jail, she ends up with pretty much no family, so what is the overarching story. This could be done if I was given a goal to seek, but for everyone here there is none, and if there is the conclusions just.. aren’t there?

The first two episodes are slow burn, so I wasn’t expecting thrill really. I guess I just sat back and took it for what it is. That’s too bad though because there are dramas that are exceptional with slow burns because the storytelling is good. Here I honestly have to explain and explain what the story is, and not in a fun and creative way. This drama is so generic with adultery plot lines, long wet eyed stares, rich bad people who are bad because they want power.. it’s not fresh or new or exciting. I am watching a K-drama for Pete’s sake, like what is happening. Where is the drama?


I’ll break down what frustrates me and doesn’t make sense.
1. Soo Hyun our main lead i and is unlikeable and hypocritical
.. you are telling me that an accomplished professor loses their child. Which is understandable she can grieve, but killing someone with no regret? That isn’t someone I can fully get behind and watch 14 episodes of rooting for. Maybe if she owned up to it and went into a revenge or something, but to just watch her meander around for 14 episodes. It’s boring and confusing. I get she loves her kid but she’s hypocritical. The drama even says this, but still, that doesn’t justify it. Just because the drama says with Eun Woo’s character pointing it out how she murdered someone only reminds me that she did it and she, in the end is not a good person either. I can watch dramas on bad people if it’s interesting and giving me either horror, action, or an actual plot- but here there is none.

2 . Seon Yul is messy.
Cha Eun Woo is very good at acting without overacting. It’s a blessing and a curse for him, but I can’t ever dislike him and I can see what he’s trying to do. Unfortunately some of the times he looks awkward because what is written for him to act is just dumb. You get actually nothing to know about him. Other than him having a heart problem that he acts himself, but the writers seem to forget here and there this character has a heart issue. That’s interesting. So many potential interesting plot points, yet the writers forgot and instead like to remind you of what you knew already instead of developing a plot or having it go somewhere. I also don’t really like how his character acts like he has the upper hand or a big revenge, but just has a photo of Soo Hyun’s husbands affair. Don’t even get me started on his secret room.. it reminds me of the glory but a whole lot worse. There I understood why she was so motivated and went so deep, she owned that and wouldn’t stop. Eun Woo’s character is an amateur compared to that, and I know nothing about his sad life or anything to justify a revenge. It’s sad his father was killed, but come on now.. think about the logistics because I couldn’t help but wonder on a first watch. This guy, how long does he have to stalk someone to get a photo like that? It’s just not believable, everything about this guy is either over the top or getting nowhere, I wish they’d choose one.

So I guess Soo Hyun doesn’t want Seon Yul to live the life she did? She got her revenge but it turned out horribly? But she said she didn’t regret it.. so what is she doing. She clearly regrets it if she is still in Seon Yul from going through with his. She’s admitting her damaged life but said she has no regret because her son didn’t deserve to die? It takes Soo Hyun 11 episodes in to come to terms with the fact other people have families too? Eun Woo’sand her character are a lot alike, with his taking a while to realize that his dad was just a bad person and that other people can be good and have problems too. It’s a great concept to have them both share a pain of being lonely and lost and spiteful, but the interactions are limited to none.

So I’ll get to the elephantin the room. This drama has no spice anywhere with romantic content. Which is fine, and I’m not saying it has to be risqué or that it should. It’s just there is nothing to hook outside Eun Woo’s visuals, at least for me. There is nothing new this drama is trying to say, no risks being taken at all. I can see a good story beneath all the layers. For this drama as what it is here’s a whole lot happening that literally adds nothing.


3. The doctor brother in law? Seon Yuk’s girlfriend that isn’t his girlfriend but a childhood friend that shares an illness? The ambiguity of his illness? The ambiguity of the relationships?

4. The plot twists are very average and cheap to be there

5. The drama isn’t epic like the music wants it to be. A good thing though is the music, yet I will not be fooled to think anything cool is happening even though the score is good

Somewhere I wish they deepened characters relationships. Beyond the ones falling apart that existed before the story started. I’m seeing no development. With Seon Yul and Soo Hyun their relationship should’ve been full revenge to a climax where Seon Yul breaks and accepts help from someone. Honestly this drama should have had a romance to make it more intriguing.

If it was done you could have the contradictions of hating someone’s family to acknowledging the good parts of them. Understanding and humanizing these characters. The necklace scene where Soo Hyun got Eun Woo’s mother’s necklace was very good for a potential of this. I’m only saying it should’ve been done with a more digestible age gap for the audience, with a much younger marriage. You’d have the husband and his affair make more sense, to this already flawed main character having another flaw of her own infidelity. She is already a hypocrite, so being in a romantic relationship with this other person is fine. She can fully be a person with flaws, and questionable morals. She already is, push that further. Seon Yul could accept help and grow a relationship outside of his misfortune life. He could open up about how hard it was for him as he always had felt alone, had health issues.. etc etc. they could share the same loneliness but grow an actual bond. He could see it as new and find someone to protect other than himself. Soo Hyun sort of does that.. but sees that she can take place as a mother role for Seon Yul.. which honestly is weird to me?

Instead they both are lonely and that could’ve been done, if they talked about their feelings instead of these stupid ambiguous phone calls and meetings. Like they meet up to say a sentence, and then leave. Be direct with eachother, have a space to let out your emotions. You know eachother worst parts and accept them, become vulnerable.. instead the drama has some cry scenes I guess

I could go on and on of how to do a romance and how it should’ve been with younger leads or something. Just do something intriguing. Make Seon Yul completely delusional maybe.. something.

I also think that the plot of the fire shouldn’t have been done if in the end Eun Woo’d character wasn’t the guy? Like the guy they did have (love him go watch the eight sense) had no conclusion. The Husband is just there like a leech now? The list becomes endless with the plot holes, like how does Soo Hyun have money? I get she’s a professor but what about the house? How isn’t she worried to start her life again? I don’t get it!

So I’m passionate because I care and that’s a good thing. This drama isn’t, it’s not good. I do watch it blindly to laugh and think to myself how funny this is because it’s just not good. For recent watch the glory, for Eun Woo watch too toks of him and his romantic comedies, watch the eighth dense also. Watch this if you want.

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