I am relatively new to kdramas, so after watching about a dozen of the new ones I wanted to see some older iconic dramas with a well known cast. I found this drama quite engaging and binge watched it to completion in just a couple of days. Yes it has a lot of melodrama, unexpected oscillations between the main leads who were entirely in love one moment and then turn their backs without any heads-up in the next - it felt absolutely weird and unreal. The FL came across as strong and adventurous in the initial episodes and then slowly became a moping crying loser who runs away
and hides things from ML, even abandons him multiple times towards the latter episodes, despite him being kind and honest towards her always. Despite these irritations and nonsensical storyline somehow the drama kept me hooked till the end.
The supporting characters were wonderfully written. The show gave some glimpses into the lives of Chaebol parents with their own unique issues and the pressures and difficulties faced by high school kids who are the next heirs in line. It succeeds in giving the message that being well to do doesn't mean having a happy life by itself, it only brings a different set of problems and troubles for such young adults. There was an interesting dynamic between the mothers of the leads and it led to some of the most funny and heartwarming moments in the show. The FLs mom despite being poor and speech impaired was by no means a doormat and held her own and supported her daughter through all times. The ML and his ex-best friend dynamics were also endearing, I only wished they had an even better ending. Choi Young Do character arc evolves beautifully from absolute bully to endearing friend by the end. Thankfully the FL's male best friend remains just that till the end of the show and this guy's girlfriend character was consistently cute and funny till the end as well. The Rachel character played by Ji Won was tough to digest after seeing her brillant acting in Fight for my Way. Park Shin Hye acted well but she seemed to have trouble in every kissing scene, she could literally be seen cringing away and LMH deserved better lol! Park Hyung Sik was absolutely wasted on this show nevertheless his character was cute and brought some light moments.
Overall the show did have a lot of tropes and Melo but managed to somehow make me invest in every character and watch it through till the end. I plan to rewatch it without all the Melo scenes next time and it it would be a feel good drama. I didn't get the big deal about Lee Min Ho fandom but I started to understand the craze better with this one ?