This won’t be my longest review on the series, this is going to be my thoughts on the series as a whole, what I thought of it in more sweeping terms. That said, due to this, I wrote this off the top of my head, it’s more genuine that way, even if it isn’t the highest quality article I’ve released, I think it is one of the most pure.
First off, I do want to say that I loved watching this, it is my first ever Korean drama, and it was an absolute blast, I came because I’m a fan of Bona, but liking one actress in a side role in a large cast isn’t necessarily reason to stay in general, I was taken in by all of it, and looked forward to every week for the last half-year. I know there are some definite issues here and there, but that at no point stopped me from having a blast with the characters and story, and being excited at every turn, every episode was fun for me.
The Acting
Let’s start with the biggest strength for me, most of these actors filled their role really well, and showed a general ability to be dynamic with their character’s high and low points in a way that felt reasonable, despite the absurd situations they were put into. The best acted characters were Jung-hoo, who definitely had the grandest and most engaging story arc, Pil-hong, Ra-hoon, who I connected with the most as a man that almost failed out of college, and Ba-reun, who never was given much room to shine, but was always charming. Of course, Bona too was among my favorites, especially in the last few episodes where Hae-deun was given room to shine, she nailed it, I hope she’s given more dynamic roles in the future, I think she does this role well, but could also expand out more, she’s really funny, but does well in emotional moments too, despite still being a little more raw, she has a lot of potential to keep growing.
The Stories
There are a lot of plot threads, and the main ones ended episodes before the show actually did, which left us getting more time with the side characters, who are honestly better than the leads anyways in terms of plots, despite the leads playing their roles well. I did like most of the redemption arcs that all the antagonists went through, although the evil grandma deserves no sympathy, and Seo-a, despite showing this really strong and respectable loyalty to Na-ro, who also exhibited a lot of growth, deserves little as well, she did incredibly awful things and everybody is ready to forgive just a little too easily. I do like that no romance felt like it was copy-pasted completely from another one, or if the seed of conflict was similar, that the approach to getting through it would vary significantly enough to feel fresh. The lost parent plot for Chae-woon was fairly unsatisfying with Jung-won, as she gets increasingly unlikable throughout the show, and never really brings it back, but Pil-hong fills that plot point much more satisfyingly. Actually, in general, the least likable characters all come from Jung-won’s family, and while they were important to keep driving the plot, the only one that came out clean was Joon-ah. I also like Soon-jung more than a lot of other viewers, she was wishy-washy in a lot of cases, but proved to have an internal strength that was fairly consistent as it got built up, with the downside of a few moments of weakness, which all real people have anyway.
The Epilogue
So Chae-woon and Jae-hee are having a baby, that’s exciting I guess, I’m not super interested in having kids right now myself, and it’s really going to take a lot of the focus in their new marriage, I personal think they should have spent more time enjoying being a duo first, but to each their own. Every other family has basically fixed itself, Hae-deun and Joon-ah are married, and Ra-hoon seems to be doing well at the army and is still with Ba-reun despite being forced apart for this time period, that’s good and it shows a healthy loyalty, their whole relationship minus the whole stalker thing at the start is actually probably my favorite. Most importantly Hwak-se is now a massively famous singer signed to the biggest trot company in the country, which I thought was a plot they had forgotten about after his failure to appear in the singing contest. I’d actually like to know more about how he got to this point, seems like it could have been a fun story. And of course, Samgwang Villa is now co-owned by Jung-hoo and Soon-jung, it shows both of their growth and their trust in and support of each-other as long time close friends, which is really nice. The show ends on everybody blowing petals for a group photo which is great, and the last pan to show Na-ro around the corner with a petal landing in his hand is a good sign that he has finally got out of his difficulties and can return to being part of the group again, which is also a yay, because his character had some of the better plot in the last ten episodes.
Final Thoughts
Not all plot lines were created equal, some are definitely better than others, and some characters got better storylines than others as well. This imbalance is expected in a show with this many active characters and plots though, so while it is unfortunate, it is not a downside to me, because a perfectly balanced show is unrealistic to expect. The writing and acting is generally fun and upbeat, with the more dramatic moments serving to drive the main plot forward, which really let the side characters be more fun. They also did some fun circle completion in the end with a number of plot threads, my favorite is probably the fact that Hae-deun basically starts and ends the show thinking to herself “I know I’m pretty” it’s such a bizarre loop to fill, and thus, unexpected and silly, and a great thought to end on. So remember to remind yourself that you’re pretty every once in a while, it’s a great thing to let yourself know.
Final Score: 10/10 Great introduction to the genre