To preface this review, I have never seen a k-drama before, despite listening to kpop for over 8 years, it’s just not a media that I am particularly compelled to engage in. To be frank, the sole reason that I picked up Homemade Love Story is because I am a huge fan of Bona, but that said I’ll try to be objective. I will also note I have seen the Chinese drama Love O2O with my wife, and loved it, so I’m not entirely unfamiliar to Asian dramas, just not Korean specifically. Also this will have some amount of spoiling, that’s really not avoidable even if I try to be vague and careful, which I will in case you’re reading this before trying the show. Also, this is the first show review on this site, so it’s an experiment and unrefined, so we’re looking to improve it with later entries, as we have with other series, feedback is always appreciated.
The Plot
The first two episodes are mostly spent establishing the story beats, episode one is largely just character introductions, and episode two is largely just plot thread introductions. That said, these two episodes tackled a ton of different threads back to back to back until it got through them all, which made everything feel too intertwined and convoluted. After the second episode I had considered dropping the show because there were just so many plots and they were all linked so conveniently it just felt absurd and overly complicated. Obviously I stuck with it, or this article title wouldn’t say “Episodes 1-4,” and it has gotten a lot better in episodes three and four.There are functionally two main plotlines, and a few side ones. The true main plot revolves around the main character Bit Chae-Woon, who is trying to work her way out of her house by working as a designer and trying to win a design contest and also discover the truth of her birth, as she and her siblings are all adopted. The other plot that seems to be of the most importance is of Bit Chae-Woon’s adopted mother Soon-Jung, the first episode actually opens on her running away from somebody in the dark while holding a baby, and thus kicks off a plot revolving around the fact that she may have stolen Bit Chae-Woon. Both these plots seem to be what the show will ultimately live or die on, and are actually handled decently well, and every episode I look forward to learning more about where both are going.
Side Plots (This paragraph is a lot of info really fast, feel free to skip if it’s too confusing)
The side plots mostly revolve around Bit Chae-Woon’s siblings, failed idol trainee Hae-Deun, ironically played by Bona, and Ra-Hoon, who is lying about attending a prestigious school. These characters offer a lighter tone next to the main plot which gets fairly heavy. Chase-Woon is also tied to architect Jae-Hee because she’s doing design projects for him, and the daughter of the company whose contest she enters, Seo-A, who said Chae-Woon hurt her and got Chae-Woon kicked out of school. To make this more complex, because it must be, Seo-A loves Jae-Hee, who Chae-Woon also likes, and Seo-A’s mother, the company head, may also be Chae-Woon’s mom, although that’s just hinted at currently. There’s also some shadow organization that is interested in Chae-Woon, but that’s not been a heavily featured plot point and their motivations are very unclear. There are a few other characters that are relevant, but if I tried to summarize everybody and their plot points this paragraph would get even more confusing.
The Acting
The characters are fun and quirky, sometimes intentionally overreacted to keep it fun, sometimes extremely serious when the drama really needs to ramp up. Jin Ki-Joo (Bit Chae-Woon), Lee Jang-Woo (Jae-Hee) and Jeon In-Hwa (Lee Soon-Jung) do a fantastic job of being the emotional and dramatic core of the show, all three work hard to keep you interested in their emotional stories while still playing the fun and lighthearted scenes well. The side actors all also do a good job of filling their roles, being either lighthearted side-story protagonists or the villains in all the protagonists plot lines. I especially want to praise Bona (Hae-Deun), Ryeo Un (Ra-Hoon) and the two other actors for the characters in Bit Chae-Woon’s home, Kim Sun-Young (Man-Jung) and In Gyo-Jin (Hwak-Se) as all four of those characters felt a little lost in the writing and acting, but have improved significantly as it’s moved on, and are great supporters to the main three, as well as having fun side plots.
I also want to really praise Jung Bo-Suk who plays Jae-Hee’s father, Jung-Hoo, and serves as the villain in Jae-Hee’s story. He plays this despicable father and husband in such a way that every time he opens his mouth I feel angry and root for him to lose, which means he’s acting the character perfectly, a truly great job. Remember, a villain that makes you angry means the actor deserves praise for the performance, not hate for the character, such as received by Joffrey’s actor in his incredible Game of Thrones performance.
The Future
Heading into this weekend’s episodes five and six, I’m actually excited, whereas I barely tuned in last week. I feel like the actors have found their footings, and the performances they are turning in are getting substantially better than in episode one and two. I also think the writing and direction need credit in this regard as well though. The first two episodes felt jumpy and convoluted, which makes acting hard in the first place, but now there is a much better feeling of well paced and coherent writing and directing. The side plots have also gotten more fun and engaging as well, and I’m really enjoying the more light-hearted, even if dramatic, side stories, and the break they bring from the sometimes lighthearted, but typically much heavier plotlines of the leads. I do feel like I can more or less predict what is to come in the series, and how it will end, but that doesn’t make me any less excited to see how the details all come together. I went from being dubious of continuing the show to genuinely excited for the next episodes, and I’m writing this as I’m waiting for the subs to be finished on episode five, so if the improvement continues I’ll rate this show quite highly, but for now I think the first two episodes do provide a bit of a hit in my rating.
Current Rating: 8/10
Even though the first two episodes were rougher for me, the improvement is worth more points because it gives the future hope. That said, it’s still early, and things could change, so tune in for my next review, which I’ll do either on Monday/Tuesday for this weekend’s episodes, or in two weeks time to maintain the 4 episodes a review pace. And expect more specific plot points and spoilers in future reviews, I kept this one vague for people who might be interested in watching but haven’t yet taken the dive. That said, stay tuned on the ManelyKpop Instagram for all new posts, Homemade Love Story, K-Drama, K-Pop, or otherwise.