A strong EIGHT stars if this is meant to be a satire, lampooning life in Korea.
It works, because it is obviously poking fun at ridiculous behaviors and how easily common situations could end up vastly different (usually better, much much better) if the characters behaved in a rational manner. You'll laugh out loud at the ridiculousness of it all.
HOWEVER...
If this was NOT meant to be a satire, but a serious and believable romantic dramedy, it FAILS MISERABLY. The continued self-loathing and insecurities FAR beyond what even a mentally ill person would experience, if not meant to be satirical, is just grating to the nerves. Other reviewers give great reviews because of the "Heavy Message". But that's the problem. It is not realistic. It is artificially heavy in a cartoon-like sort of way, that again, ONLY works if this is meant to be a satire and not a believable underdog story.
Then, in typical KDrama fashion, the last two episodes come off like they were directed by someone entirely different. They are a collage of small short-attention-span set pieces that transition jarringly and never really mesh into a coherent flow. The last 30 minutes of episode 16 are the worst. This is typical of Korean shows and their infatuation with epilogues once the main threat has been resolved. But it is far more conspicuous here and so overly emotional in one direction or the other, that you don't have time to digest any of it.
Last gripe: The continued KDrama reliance on a stalker/creep (usually male) to deflect some of the blame from a wholly unlikeable female character, and to excuse some of her past behaviors. It doesn't matter that she ruins relationships and causes chaos in her wake, she has to be seen in a pitying light because of her backstory and the fact that she drew unwanted attention to herself. Well, I'd like to tell the writers: Everyone has a sob story in their past. It doesn't make present day behaviors anymore excusable. So, as usually, no accountability for damages caused.
8 stars as a Satire. 4 stars if not. So, an average of 6 stars.
- A scathing satire of alcohol consumption - A scathing satire of beauty infatuation - A scathing satire of predatory dating - A scathing satire of politics before family - A scathing satire of weight concerns - A scathing satire of...well...just about everything.
It works, because it is obviously poking fun at ridiculous behaviors and how easily common situations could end up vastly different (usually better, much much better) if the characters behaved in a rational manner. You'll laugh out loud at the ridiculousness of it all.
HOWEVER...
If this was NOT meant to be a satire, but a serious and believable romantic dramedy, it FAILS MISERABLY. The continued self-loathing and insecurities FAR beyond what even a mentally ill person would experience, if not meant to be satirical, is just grating to the nerves. Other reviewers give great reviews because of the "Heavy Message". But that's the problem. It is not realistic. It is artificially heavy in a cartoon-like sort of way, that again, ONLY works if this is meant to be a satire and not a believable underdog story.
Then, in typical KDrama fashion, the last two episodes come off like they were directed by someone entirely different. They are a collage of small short-attention-span set pieces that transition jarringly and never really mesh into a coherent flow. The last 30 minutes of episode 16 are the worst. This is typical of Korean shows and their infatuation with epilogues once the main threat has been resolved. But it is far more conspicuous here and so overly emotional in one direction or the other, that you don't have time to digest any of it.
Last gripe: The continued KDrama reliance on a stalker/creep (usually male) to deflect some of the blame from a wholly unlikeable female character, and to excuse some of her past behaviors. It doesn't matter that she ruins relationships and causes chaos in her wake, she has to be seen in a pitying light because of her backstory and the fact that she drew unwanted attention to herself. Well, I'd like to tell the writers: Everyone has a sob story in their past. It doesn't make present day behaviors anymore excusable. So, as usually, no accountability for damages caused.
8 stars as a Satire. 4 stars if not. So, an average of 6 stars.