Fantastic character development in a meaningful workplace romcom
Cunning Single Lady has its issues, and watching it now does make some of the storylines feel dated. BUT overall it’s a really great show with some of the best character writing in kdramas.The lead actors do a fantastic job portraying the rocky relationship between the ML and the FL, and the ending really feels satisfying given all the struggles they go through to get there. Plus, both actors have impeccable comedic timing, leading to many laugh-out-loud moments.
I would recommend this drama to anyone looking for a romcom with some more mature leads and deeper storylines relatable to older viewers.
Tropes:
Workplace romance
CEO ML to working-class FL
Enemies to lovers
Pre-established relationship; leads start out divorced
ML falls first
Double love triangle with scheming second leads
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''Cunning Single Lady'' had so much potential and I was going to give it at least 8.5/10. I'm really angry right now because if episodes 14-15 did not happen, I would have been more satisfied. Overall, the drama has very enjoyable plot and it's very addicting. I binged it because I was always way too excited to watch the next episode which doesn't happen often, since I'm quite a picky watcher. I did fell for CSL's unique charm and I don't regret it at all, even though I felt disappointed at the end.
I loved the main characters' development here. It's insane how much they grew on me and how close I felt to them. Na Ae Ra is one of the best female leads I've seen in a while. She was strong, independant and very kind-hearted. I understood her perfectly and even though the decisions she took were not always the best, she realized her mistakes and apologised. Cha Jung Woo was such a jerk at the beginning, but, trust me, you'll start loving him as soon as he shows his true identity. He was extremely cute and just like Ae Ra, he was also a very strong character. It just took me a little bit more time to understand his point of view.
The side characters were also nice, I especially loved Jung Woo's secretary and Kang Min Young. Na Ae Ra's and Jung Woo's families were irritating, but I tried my best not to pay them much attention.
Which leads me to the second leads and their family. The drama would have been so much better without them. Seung Hyeon was useless. I never liked him and he acted childishly most of the time as if his feelings were the most important. (Na Ae Ra was also at fault because she kept him by her side the whole time.. guuuurl, why?) I loved Yeo Jin at first and I foolishly thought that she won't cause any problems... Yeah, anyways. Neither Seung Hyeon nor Yeo Jin were bad characters at first, but the writer ruined them. They were basically there to cause problems which was very stupid. They just didn't fit. And their family was horrible.
So overall, I do recommend Cunning Single Lady (who is not that cunning tbh) if you are patient viewer and you don't mind cliches. It was quite a nice ride and I had great time watching it. It could have been more, but it was still pretty decent.
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i was having great hope for this one according to my friends opinion and many old reviews but i got frustrated
the story was too normal, slow motion with many flaws
the first 2 eps. were shallow with all these stupid imaginations
then the rest till ep. 06 were provoking
then totally boring :(
i know the drama is not good for me or i start to get bored,
when i begin to watch it double speed early
and that happened starting from ep.05 .. with sorrow
i thought the story is going to be between two people who's going to admit their faults to each other and begin in a correct way
not two discovered by coincidence how they made mistakes in their marriage
the events were repeated many times during many eps.
especially for kim gyu ri,
and no character development at all for her not even getting Psychiatric treatment for her case
i hated her character and her father's character so much
many events were fluid for me
and the return of the mom was stupid with no need just like many other things just to fill the drama
i was hoping somehow each one of the 2 main leads 'll get new life with new partner as a kind of moving on
because i loved the 2nd ML so much really
any way.. definitely not my cup of tea
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Watch this as a buffer drama after something dark, long and emotionally exhausting ;)
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The main ploy of SSA is not at all groundbreaking and is really quite ridiculous. It is filled with often unrealistic scenarios in an office situation and the CEO and Director of DonTalk seem to be way more hands-on and interactive with the staff (the marketing staff in particular) than they should be. It's really quite forgettable; however, the story line between her two main leads isn't forgettable at all.
Romance centered dramas usually fall flat in developing the characters in a love-line and their relationship thus making their love seem unconvincing. SSA doesn't do that. Without giving too much away, the characters grow to not only understand each other, but to understand themselves and their wants and needs. The romantic plot is what carries the drama (surprisingly) and it reminds of Jane Austen's Persuasion, which works brilliantly in SSA. Furthermore, I have never witnessed such chemistry between the leading couple in a K-Drama before. I think Lee Min Jung is better suited to Joo Sang Wook, in real life, than she is with her gross husband. But that's beside the point. lol
I'd also like to add that our main female isn't driven by her love/hate for a man and her relationship with Joo Sang Wook's character is not what drives her. Her desire to find herself, and some sort of stability in her life, is what drives her. Which is refreshing - especially for a K-Drama - although I do wish her desires were fleshed out a tad bit more, but this is a rom com we're talking about.
The acting in the drama was pretty solid and there wasn't really a weak link. I haven't seen any of her previous works, as I'm still a bit of a newbie to dramas, but I really fell for Lee Min Jung. She was wonderful as our feisty, blunt yet emotionally guarded female lead. Also, Joo Sang Wook is pretty damn hilarious too.
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Love it
Love this drama, it not only shows about one person struggle but shows how much you have to work hard to get where you want to be. Not everyone is born rich, everyone have to suffer at one point, besides getting where you want to be it’s also an impact on your relationships. Because for one person success you can’t be greedy for your own and forget about your spouse/ mate. It takes two to be happy and successful, because at one point you will gain one thing and lose another. This drama shows about how much ML want to succeed in life and support his family but then again didn’t realize what his wife wants. And marriage life got in between, not realizing how much their marriage was failing.Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
The story is a bit predictable but still manages to squeeze the right emotions out of me. What I love the most in this drama is that the main couple is so adorable. I loved Joo Sang-wook so much in this drama because he is quirky and funny. I think he was making mostly melodramas before this but he totally nailed being in a romantic comedy. He and Lee Min-jung totally carried the show with their acting.
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It has its good ways and bad ways is all I can say...
**Just to note for those who want to watch it on Netflix, it won’t be available after the 10th of February 2021**Anyways so I finished this kromcom in a matter of full two days. I found out about this drama from Stewie on the Drama Obsess website which was based on the “ Office Romance Korean Dramas You Can’t Resist”list. I’ll tell you how I felt in bullet points for the good and the bad while watching this kromcom:-
The good
*Our main couple:- I liked the fact that the drama focused on the romance development between the two leads Na Ae Ra and Cha Jung Woo. It’s interesting how both were completely opposites like Na Ae Ra is open, hot tempered and doesn’t take any bs from anyone. Whereas Cha Jung Woo is an intelligent caring guy who wants to move on from their failed marriage but still loves Na Ae Ra. It was even heartbreaking to hear about the miscarriage, it was a pretty emotional experience. Also yes they are both very attractive and that kiss man was a delight to see😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍
* Na Ae Ra’s father:- I really thought that guy who played the father did a good job at being pretty likeable in the series. You definitely would like a dad like him...seriously he is a shipper like myself with wanting our main leads back together!
*Mr Gam- I honestly would’ve liked to know who played this loveable eccentric dude like seriously he may be a typical “over the top” colleague but he was just so cute how he always thought of his family and he does care about his colleagues so much! I wish he was part of the main cast tbh 😔
The bad
Love triangle cliche- I was always frustrated with the Kook siblings going after the main leads. At first I seriously liked Kook Seung Hyeon and Kook Yeo Jin cause I thought they were interesting characters. Yeo Jin was a car crash victim who lost her husband and has a bionic leg. Kook Seung Hyeon is an attractive bubbly guy who dreams of being an artist and yet doesn’t give a monkeys ass about working in the company. He just wants Na Ae Ra. I just wish the Kook siblings weren’t the usual cliche “third wheelers” like the pair of them turned out to be pricks at the end of it. They are better off to be a couple themselves rather than siblings seriously. It would be great to see another couple tbh....
The snobby co workers- god I even hated the co workers as well as the siblings. They just ultimately keep downgrading the female lead like it was legit sexism from a viewpoint just because she was a woman and admired Seung Hyeon cause he’s a fella. It was just so uncomfortable to see like it was just urgh they should’ve written them off the story!!!!
The karaoke scene - I honestly would have rather to hear the characters voices like sticking in a random song from someone else and the characters not in sync with the song, it was just messy man! Like cmon, they could have at least let us hear the singing voices of Lee Min Jung, Joo Sang Wook and Kim Gyu Ri!!!!!
So overall folks it was alright nice enough show to waste time on but I wish it was developed properly by giving us something at least different instead of the old fashioned cliches. That’s why I’m giving it a 6/10 rating and that was mainly thanks to the main leads tbh....
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Has a lot of rom & com! <3
So this is one of my most fav dramas ever! That is saying something because I have watched 100s and 100s of dramas in so many languages!This show gave me some of the heartiest laughs! It's a very funny show which has two of my fav romcom themes, a great second chance romance and hidden identity(no one in their company knows they were ex couple) theme . It is a very nice feel good romcom which can be easily binge watched, like I have done multiple times! Yes the re-watch value is seriously high too, especially the first half episodes which are really hilarious and is a good cheer me up when you are feeling down!
Now coming to the title, lemme tell you that the title is so misleading! Yes, the FL may seem a bit rude in the early flashbacks of ML but there is a proper reason for it, which will be revealed later. Some of which will be revealed in the first episode itself if you carefully listen to everyone's conversations especially between the FL and her friends and family.
Right from the first episode you will know that she is in no way a gold digger as the summary makes you believe. She's just angry that her ex became rich while she still working multiple jobs to pay off his debts. Also she doesn't want his money, she just wants his apology but instead he insults her and gives her money and she decides to take revenge by joining his company! The FL is a true fighter in every sense of the word! And most of the times her revenge ideas are crazily hilarious! :D When you watch it you will know what I'm talking about! ;D
The lead pair have great chemistry and their tit for tat hilarious revenge antics are actually made believable because of their awesome acting! I love their rooftop conversations! After watching this show's rooftop scenes, I have come to expect highly of all the rooftop scenes in different dramas. The rooftop really has a good scene building potential along with offering great panoramic views of the cities.
Anyway an Overall a 9/10 from me, which is the highest I have ever given till now! :D
Highly recommended!
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As for the side characters, I wish they could have been better developed, but there is your typical array of characters that add enjoyment to the drama.
If you're looking for something unique, this drama isn't what you're looking for. However if you're one to love a good romantic comedy, cliches included, I would recommend this, as it was enjoyable throughout. Because of the strong main characters, and the excellent chemistry between them, this drama was a lot more fun than expected, despite the predictable plot elements.
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Light and corny....
For lack of something to watch while waiting for the latest episode of Extraordinary Atty Woo, I found myself browsing the Kdrama options on my list. Decided to try this since the ML is currently playing Jang Goo in Alchemy of Souls, and the FL was Lee Byung Hun's wife.The premise of the drama sounded promising. An ex wife who worked as an intern for her now rich husband. While I enjoyed their interaction as a couple, the support characters were just bothersome to me. I wanted to slap both the second female and male leads because they insisted on pushing their feelings on the leads. Their father is no different.
The office workers are extra noise in the background which frankly, the story could do without.
This is an older drama but it is weird that almost all Kdramas have scenes where someone is visibly tailing the lead or watching the lead and yet, remains unseen by the lead. Go figure.....
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