I actually watched this, for a change :) And I fully agree with you that the seaside scenery is probably the best thing about this show. :)
The script is very weak so far. I was disappointed that though both leads are adorable and seem to have a pretty decent rapport, the screenwriter has to put a ton of sugar powder on their interactions to make them look romantic or cute. Also, though Kim Seon-ho is giving this all he has, I still don't know what kind of person Du-sik is supposed to be. Same about Hye-jin. The supporting characters are more rounded, at least, their dreams and aspirations are all there to see.
But we'll see. That's by no means a show that warrants a weekly review, though...
Unless this show improves by leaps and bounds, I doubt I'll be reviewing it weekly. It's a nice weekend diversion but it's trying too hard to be mysterious about Du-shik.
I'm happy that we seem to agree on this because the raves and praises it's getting on MDL has been surprising to me. It has such a prosaic script and there's no way this is better than Camellia.
Thanks for the first impression review! It's very pretty to look at, from the clips I saw, but I will hold first and binge only after it finishes airing, if it is worth watching. I dont wanna invest my time watching something disappointing.
That's probably for the best. I really want to watch this for Kim Seon-ho and Shin Min-ah. Kim Seon-ho especially because I really couldn't get past the first episode of Start Up.
Arghhhh, Start Up... You dodged the bullet. At least the first episode was pretty. And then... I couldn't believe people were so invested in ships when the script was BEYOND bad. It translated all the wrong ideas about entreneurship. It was a tropefest. It left so many dangling ends you could make a fishnet out of it. I so hope that Kim Seonho is getting a better chance to shine in this...
Yeah, I've been told that. It was pretty to look at. But none of the letter-writing stuff made any sense. What also didn't make sense was the younger sister arrogantly pretending she was doing better than she did just so that she could perpetuate some kind of one upmanship with the older sister who at least seemed more intelligent and self-aware. (Kang Ha-na is a great actress of course) All of that it seemed to me was the making of a makjang rather than anything about entrepreneurs. Nothing from the first episode suggested to me that this was going to be a serious examination of tech entrepreneurialism.
For me the entire premise of the show was built on at least two lies. And from what I gather there was never any real fallout from that. I thought I was being a fuddy duddy at first but from what I've heard, I didn't miss much.
Wow.. finally someone said it and thank you for this!
The first impression is almost ALWAYS the visuals for us humans. That is probably the reason why Kim SeonHo, being the cutie that he is flashing his dimples, melts our hearts but I of all people certainly can't go on for 16 episodes just for the looks. The cinematography, beaches, costumes are all eye-catching. But there's something very obvious which doesn't meet the eye at first.
I low key blame Hospital Playlist for setting such high standards when it comes to script. I'd rather stick to scripts where the writer leaves the understanding part to the audience rather than making is obvious and repetitive with too many flashbacks (sorry Hwarang fans).
You hit the nail on the head when you said had the charming KSH not played Du-sik, he would seem like a pervert. Interestingly he doesn't judge anyone else but HyeJin and I wonder whether that was a deliberate plot that would follow with a mandatory apology that would eventually melt the FL's heart. And surprise surprise!
It's like you ask JJS to play a murderer with his dreamy eyes and us visual-hungry audience low key expect him to turn into a devil judge by the end of the season.
I keep wondering to myself if I'm missing something when I see so much praise for this. I like to think that I'm not someone who misses much and honestly this is a fairly prosaic rom com. It's very tropey and relies heavily on coincidences. There's nothing especially deep about it so I can't imagine there being that much embedded within the narrative that requires a lot of mulling over. As you say, the writing is nowhere near the calibre of Hospital Playlist.
I find the messaging very contradictory to the point of disturbing. The show habitually has someone preaching one thing and then shows another especially in relationship to Du-sik. Is it saying that he's a hypocrite? That he can see the speck in someone else's eye but can't see the log in his own? So is he a first-class jerk who is only nice to the people he knows and is rude to people he doesn't? I'm not saying that Hye-jin is perfect but she's not the villain that the show or he is trying to make her out to be.
Take for example the road trip to Seoul. It was supposed to be funny and on some level it was. I laughed out loud. But I am also left wondering what it is I'm supposed to understand from that. That Hye-jin is selfish and she has to be badgered into submission? That Du-sik has terrible manners and little consideration for other people's privacy and space? That it's acceptable to put pressure on someone to bend to your will regardless of what their rationale might be. Is this supposed to be a criticism of Du-sik or Hye-jin? Are they saying that his behaviour is justified because he's trying to help the old ladies and force Hye-jin to try and fit in more with the townsfolk?
Oh my, I'm certainly nowhere close to your level of analysis but I agree to it all. All I can say is there is a deliberate attempt being made by the creators to hate a character in the eyes of the audience for the first 4 episodes, almost predictably for love to develop in the next 4. I mean common, the poor lady is from the city. The least they could do is cut her some slack.
Just want to say I really agree with your bit about the flashbacks! I feel like the flashbacks in the first few episodes of HomeCha were really quite unnecessary and cheapened a few of the lines that referenced them after.
I totally agree with your analysis and everyone's comments! So far it's felt like a drama with cheap (and strangely thrown in) romantic thrills with many screenshot-worthy moments that have little weight behind them. I'm also tempted to see Hong Du-sik as someone who tends to bully the girl he likes... it feels as if he can't decide if he wants her to change or likes her as she is which is somewhat frustrating.
I will probably continue watching it though, since it makes for a good brainless watch on the weekends. If nothing else, it's very pretty as had been said and I at least enjoy the friendship between Hye-jin and Mi-seon.
I think it's a bit of both: He's trying to change her and he likes her. I imagine that's what the flashbacks are about -- that he's liked her since they were kids or something along those lines. Again very Kdramaish. Bullying the girl he likes is a little more understandable when the male lead is a teenage boy but he's an adult male in his early thirties and it feels weird. To me at least.
Ahhhh, thank you for the review! <3
I actually watched this, for a change :) And I fully agree with you that the seaside scenery is probably the best thing about this show. :)
The script is very weak so far. I was disappointed that though both leads are adorable and seem to have a pretty decent rapport, the screenwriter has to put a ton of sugar powder on their interactions to make them look romantic or cute. Also, though Kim Seon-ho is giving this all he has, I still don't know what kind of person Du-sik is supposed to be. Same about Hye-jin. The supporting characters are more rounded, at least, their dreams and aspirations are all there to see.
But we'll see. That's by no means a show that warrants a weekly review, though...
Unless this show improves by leaps and bounds, I doubt I'll be reviewing it weekly. It's a nice weekend diversion but it's trying too hard to be mysterious about Du-shik.
I'm happy that we seem to agree on this because the raves and praises it's getting on MDL has been surprising to me. It has such a prosaic script and there's no way this is better than Camellia.
I've been surprised by the incessant praise... but to each their own, I guess. I'm just not very much into melo or romcom.
Thanks for the first impression review! It's very pretty to look at, from the clips I saw, but I will hold first and binge only after it finishes airing, if it is worth watching. I dont wanna invest my time watching something disappointing.
That's probably for the best. I really want to watch this for Kim Seon-ho and Shin Min-ah. Kim Seon-ho especially because I really couldn't get past the first episode of Start Up.
I have to say, the cinematography and both Kim Seonho and Shin Minah are just beyond pretty. Hope it'll all end well.
Arghhhh, Start Up... You dodged the bullet. At least the first episode was pretty. And then... I couldn't believe people were so invested in ships when the script was BEYOND bad. It translated all the wrong ideas about entreneurship. It was a tropefest. It left so many dangling ends you could make a fishnet out of it. I so hope that Kim Seonho is getting a better chance to shine in this...
Yeah, I've been told that. It was pretty to look at. But none of the letter-writing stuff made any sense. What also didn't make sense was the younger sister arrogantly pretending she was doing better than she did just so that she could perpetuate some kind of one upmanship with the older sister who at least seemed more intelligent and self-aware. (Kang Ha-na is a great actress of course) All of that it seemed to me was the making of a makjang rather than anything about entrepreneurs. Nothing from the first episode suggested to me that this was going to be a serious examination of tech entrepreneurialism.
For me the entire premise of the show was built on at least two lies. And from what I gather there was never any real fallout from that. I thought I was being a fuddy duddy at first but from what I've heard, I didn't miss much.
Wow.. finally someone said it and thank you for this!
The first impression is almost ALWAYS the visuals for us humans. That is probably the reason why Kim SeonHo, being the cutie that he is flashing his dimples, melts our hearts but I of all people certainly can't go on for 16 episodes just for the looks. The cinematography, beaches, costumes are all eye-catching. But there's something very obvious which doesn't meet the eye at first.
I low key blame Hospital Playlist for setting such high standards when it comes to script. I'd rather stick to scripts where the writer leaves the understanding part to the audience rather than making is obvious and repetitive with too many flashbacks (sorry Hwarang fans).
You hit the nail on the head when you said had the charming KSH not played Du-sik, he would seem like a pervert. Interestingly he doesn't judge anyone else but HyeJin and I wonder whether that was a deliberate plot that would follow with a mandatory apology that would eventually melt the FL's heart. And surprise surprise!
It's like you ask JJS to play a murderer with his dreamy eyes and us visual-hungry audience low key expect him to turn into a devil judge by the end of the season.
I keep wondering to myself if I'm missing something when I see so much praise for this. I like to think that I'm not someone who misses much and honestly this is a fairly prosaic rom com. It's very tropey and relies heavily on coincidences. There's nothing especially deep about it so I can't imagine there being that much embedded within the narrative that requires a lot of mulling over. As you say, the writing is nowhere near the calibre of Hospital Playlist.
I find the messaging very contradictory to the point of disturbing. The show habitually has someone preaching one thing and then shows another especially in relationship to Du-sik. Is it saying that he's a hypocrite? That he can see the speck in someone else's eye but can't see the log in his own? So is he a first-class jerk who is only nice to the people he knows and is rude to people he doesn't? I'm not saying that Hye-jin is perfect but she's not the villain that the show or he is trying to make her out to be.
Take for example the road trip to Seoul. It was supposed to be funny and on some level it was. I laughed out loud. But I am also left wondering what it is I'm supposed to understand from that. That Hye-jin is selfish and she has to be badgered into submission? That Du-sik has terrible manners and little consideration for other people's privacy and space? That it's acceptable to put pressure on someone to bend to your will regardless of what their rationale might be. Is this supposed to be a criticism of Du-sik or Hye-jin? Are they saying that his behaviour is justified because he's trying to help the old ladies and force Hye-jin to try and fit in more with the townsfolk?
Oh my, I'm certainly nowhere close to your level of analysis but I agree to it all. All I can say is there is a deliberate attempt being made by the creators to hate a character in the eyes of the audience for the first 4 episodes, almost predictably for love to develop in the next 4. I mean common, the poor lady is from the city. The least they could do is cut her some slack.
Just want to say I really agree with your bit about the flashbacks! I feel like the flashbacks in the first few episodes of HomeCha were really quite unnecessary and cheapened a few of the lines that referenced them after.
I totally agree with your analysis and everyone's comments! So far it's felt like a drama with cheap (and strangely thrown in) romantic thrills with many screenshot-worthy moments that have little weight behind them. I'm also tempted to see Hong Du-sik as someone who tends to bully the girl he likes... it feels as if he can't decide if he wants her to change or likes her as she is which is somewhat frustrating.
I will probably continue watching it though, since it makes for a good brainless watch on the weekends. If nothing else, it's very pretty as had been said and I at least enjoy the friendship between Hye-jin and Mi-seon.
I think it's a bit of both: He's trying to change her and he likes her. I imagine that's what the flashbacks are about -- that he's liked her since they were kids or something along those lines. Again very Kdramaish. Bullying the girl he likes is a little more understandable when the male lead is a teenage boy but he's an adult male in his early thirties and it feels weird. To me at least.