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So much good stuff!
This was an amazing show and I'll tell you what I liked and leave anything negative (which I felt there was) for the end.
STORY LINE: though not necessarily totally original, was very well-done. The old story of being bullied because of not being "pretty enough" was pretty hard-core in this one and, for me, those scenes were very difficult to watch. This is one of those shows that speaks to a serious topic, but you are enjoying the ride for the lessons learned along the way. There was always a lot going on. I'm not patient for shows that have a lot of "dead time" in their stories, where you could skim a lot and still not miss anything. This was not one of those shows. It actually took me longer than normal to get through, because I kept going back and re-watching episodes. There were many, many laugh out loud moments (Moon Ga Young is excellent at physical comedy), and yes, some very touching scenes. I absolutely loved the way they had the main lead know her secret early on and the things he did to protect her. This show made me question, as so many other have - do Korean women really fawn all over handsome men and talk about how handsome they are right in front of them? That always seems so strange to me. The story delves into the lengths we are willing to go to be accepted by others, the criteria for friendships, an interesting family dynamics. There are multiple families shown here, and a couple of them I thought I would have to disown myself from that family! I felt, at times, that the female lead was too weak and was upset that she never stood up for herself, but I'm speaking as an adult. I know that as a teen you look at things differently. She wanted to be accepted.
MUSIC: It seemed to me that there were just a couple of stand-out songs, but they fit perfectly in the show. As the second male lead was a singer, this got to be highlighted.
ACTING: Moon Ga Young as Lim Joo Gyung was excellent! As the "ugly duckling" (I hate to even say that, because she wasn't ugly even without makeup. But those ridiculous eyebrows!!), you really felt her loneliness and need to belong someplace. The bullying was extreme and hard to watch. She's a good crier and did a lot of it. She was good at the physical comedy aspects, especially the scene where she went home and just laid, dejected in the doorway. I loved how, through everything that she went through, she was so positive and sweet.
Cha Eun Woo as Lee Su Ho - he started out extremely cold (which I never could totally figure out the reasoning for it) and as he got to know Joo Gyung and other people at school, he warmed up. He portrayed an almost perfect man/boyfriend. He was sweet and caring and always watching out for the girl he liked. And can I just say he has the deepest voice I think I've ever heard?
Hwang In Yeop as Han Seo Jun - he started out with a chip on his shoulder, he was hard and kind of gangster-ish. But when he started liking Joo Gyung, things really changed. I have to say that I suffered from second lead syndrome. It was under control pretty much until the last two episodes (addressed later in this review) when I was re-thinking who she should end up with. In the last episode when he is on stage and the camera goes up close on his face, oh my!
Park Yoo Na as Kang Soo Jin. Joo Gyung's first friend at her new high school. Yoo Na played this part excellently. She had a big shift in her behavior and I have to say there were some scene where she actually gave me the creeps.
Jang Hye Jin as Joo Gyung's mother. I love this actress. I first saw her in CLOY and loved her in that. Here, she's kind of an overbearing and bossy wife/mom (though some of it is understandable), but when she finally discovers what has been happening to Joo Gyung, her protective instincts kick in and she becomes a total mama bear. The scene when she apologizes to Joo Gyung had me sobbing.
RELATIONSHIPS/CHEMISTRY - Joo Gyung and Seo Jun were totally cute together. He opened up and she could be herself. As their feelings developed and when they held hands, etc. it was lovely to watch. Their kisses were kind of hit and miss, and it's really unfortunate when the last kiss you see of theirs is totally without chemistry and obviously fake.
Joo Gyung and Seo Jun - this was another darling relationship and I would have to say that their chemistry was amazing, since they were only friends. I loved seeing the exact moment that he realized he liked her. I loved that she was so clueless to his feelings. I loved that they usually bickered like brother and sister. I loved that he was always looking out for her, going to her when he thought she was in trouble, and defending her when it was needed. I also loved that he usually didn't know why he was behaving the way he was. Upon writing this, apparently this was the relationship I liked the best.
Su Ho and Soo Jin - they used to be friends, became enemies and, once secrets were revealed, developed a bromance that was fun to watch.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE/THAT IRRITATED THE HECK OUT OF ME: At episode 13/14, everything was wrapped up nicely. The writers felt that they needed to add a couple of episodes. My problem with this is that all throughout the show, the male lead had been there for the female lead, caring for her and supporting her. Episodes 15/16 brought about a STUPID two-year time jump which had the male lead behaving in a preposterous way. He just left the country and broke up with her?!?! Though episodes 15/16 worked to bring him back to Korea, etc., my problem is, he's been gone for two years without contact at all and comes back and expects to pick up where they left off. Add to that, she's had two years with the yummy second lead, who is obviously interested in her (she was clueless, however). They do have a conversation about how they should have stayed together and had a long-distance relationship, but if he realized that while in the US, why didn't he call her?!?! I felt that he was totally in love with her up until he left and it derailed at that point for me and I was angry. The last two episodes show what happened with everyone else, which was nice, but I just lost respect for the male lead.
That being said, I'm SO glad I watched this, and perhaps when I watch it again, I'll just watch it without the last two episodes.
STORY LINE: though not necessarily totally original, was very well-done. The old story of being bullied because of not being "pretty enough" was pretty hard-core in this one and, for me, those scenes were very difficult to watch. This is one of those shows that speaks to a serious topic, but you are enjoying the ride for the lessons learned along the way. There was always a lot going on. I'm not patient for shows that have a lot of "dead time" in their stories, where you could skim a lot and still not miss anything. This was not one of those shows. It actually took me longer than normal to get through, because I kept going back and re-watching episodes. There were many, many laugh out loud moments (Moon Ga Young is excellent at physical comedy), and yes, some very touching scenes. I absolutely loved the way they had the main lead know her secret early on and the things he did to protect her. This show made me question, as so many other have - do Korean women really fawn all over handsome men and talk about how handsome they are right in front of them? That always seems so strange to me. The story delves into the lengths we are willing to go to be accepted by others, the criteria for friendships, an interesting family dynamics. There are multiple families shown here, and a couple of them I thought I would have to disown myself from that family! I felt, at times, that the female lead was too weak and was upset that she never stood up for herself, but I'm speaking as an adult. I know that as a teen you look at things differently. She wanted to be accepted.
MUSIC: It seemed to me that there were just a couple of stand-out songs, but they fit perfectly in the show. As the second male lead was a singer, this got to be highlighted.
ACTING: Moon Ga Young as Lim Joo Gyung was excellent! As the "ugly duckling" (I hate to even say that, because she wasn't ugly even without makeup. But those ridiculous eyebrows!!), you really felt her loneliness and need to belong someplace. The bullying was extreme and hard to watch. She's a good crier and did a lot of it. She was good at the physical comedy aspects, especially the scene where she went home and just laid, dejected in the doorway. I loved how, through everything that she went through, she was so positive and sweet.
Cha Eun Woo as Lee Su Ho - he started out extremely cold (which I never could totally figure out the reasoning for it) and as he got to know Joo Gyung and other people at school, he warmed up. He portrayed an almost perfect man/boyfriend. He was sweet and caring and always watching out for the girl he liked. And can I just say he has the deepest voice I think I've ever heard?
Hwang In Yeop as Han Seo Jun - he started out with a chip on his shoulder, he was hard and kind of gangster-ish. But when he started liking Joo Gyung, things really changed. I have to say that I suffered from second lead syndrome. It was under control pretty much until the last two episodes (addressed later in this review) when I was re-thinking who she should end up with. In the last episode when he is on stage and the camera goes up close on his face, oh my!
Park Yoo Na as Kang Soo Jin. Joo Gyung's first friend at her new high school. Yoo Na played this part excellently. She had a big shift in her behavior and I have to say there were some scene where she actually gave me the creeps.
Jang Hye Jin as Joo Gyung's mother. I love this actress. I first saw her in CLOY and loved her in that. Here, she's kind of an overbearing and bossy wife/mom (though some of it is understandable), but when she finally discovers what has been happening to Joo Gyung, her protective instincts kick in and she becomes a total mama bear. The scene when she apologizes to Joo Gyung had me sobbing.
RELATIONSHIPS/CHEMISTRY - Joo Gyung and Seo Jun were totally cute together. He opened up and she could be herself. As their feelings developed and when they held hands, etc. it was lovely to watch. Their kisses were kind of hit and miss, and it's really unfortunate when the last kiss you see of theirs is totally without chemistry and obviously fake.
Joo Gyung and Seo Jun - this was another darling relationship and I would have to say that their chemistry was amazing, since they were only friends. I loved seeing the exact moment that he realized he liked her. I loved that she was so clueless to his feelings. I loved that they usually bickered like brother and sister. I loved that he was always looking out for her, going to her when he thought she was in trouble, and defending her when it was needed. I also loved that he usually didn't know why he was behaving the way he was. Upon writing this, apparently this was the relationship I liked the best.
Su Ho and Soo Jin - they used to be friends, became enemies and, once secrets were revealed, developed a bromance that was fun to watch.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE/THAT IRRITATED THE HECK OUT OF ME: At episode 13/14, everything was wrapped up nicely. The writers felt that they needed to add a couple of episodes. My problem with this is that all throughout the show, the male lead had been there for the female lead, caring for her and supporting her. Episodes 15/16 brought about a STUPID two-year time jump which had the male lead behaving in a preposterous way. He just left the country and broke up with her?!?! Though episodes 15/16 worked to bring him back to Korea, etc., my problem is, he's been gone for two years without contact at all and comes back and expects to pick up where they left off. Add to that, she's had two years with the yummy second lead, who is obviously interested in her (she was clueless, however). They do have a conversation about how they should have stayed together and had a long-distance relationship, but if he realized that while in the US, why didn't he call her?!?! I felt that he was totally in love with her up until he left and it derailed at that point for me and I was angry. The last two episodes show what happened with everyone else, which was nice, but I just lost respect for the male lead.
That being said, I'm SO glad I watched this, and perhaps when I watch it again, I'll just watch it without the last two episodes.
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