An entertaining look at the media world, although the plot and acting (thankfully) weren’t melodramatic! There was some drama over relationships but overall, ‘good friends’ is the prevailing vibe and at the end, you almost want to shout 友谊万岁 (friendship forever).
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| all their living room chats and meals; Eun-jung's brother's home garb and robes! |
There is also Eun-jung’s other friend, who is a gem, so for me, this show is mainly about friendship.
It is wonderful how everyone moves in because they are concerned for Eun-jung (Jeon Yeo-been). Her grief and healing are movingly portrayed, and Yeo-been’s acting and Eun-jung’s storyline eclipsed that of the main character.
Eun-jung is beautiful, smart and tragic.
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| heartbreak |
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| she gets along so well with her cameraman |
Han-joo (Han Ji-eun – Ae-wol!) is cute, smart and tragic. They both work responsibly and seriously, treat others with respect and deserve the success and opportunities that come their way. I really like these two!
I didn’t like main character Jin-joo (Chun Woo-hee). She is smug, condescending and overly self-assured in her relationships. She is so mean when she sings the shampoo song by Beom-soo’s (Ahn Jae-hong) ex-girlfriend, knowing that he avoids it, and also when she just leaves the dinner planned by her ex-boyfriend Yoo-jin (luthier Kim Hwan-dong). Couldn’t she just have a last meal together? Eat at least a few mouthfuls and chat a bit? As for her work, I don’t see what is so great about writing a script based on the lives of her friends and herself (somewhat like Pak Bok-hee’s success in scripting her life!). Where are the creativity and scriptwriter’s hand?
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| very mean |
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| and what happens to Yoo-jin in the end? |
She has the funniest support groups, though. Her parents and colleagues are hilarious. So is Han-joo’s former husband (Lee Hak-joo) in the scenes where he reveals he has a ‘disease’ and where he gives her the apartment. Loved her incredulous what-do-you-mean-it’s-rhinitis look! You just want to give him a mighty slap, remembering poor Han-joo holding baby In-guk while this selfish man says he needs to get on with his life.
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| listening to the guy who's full of nonsense and of himself |
I didn’t like In-guk (Seol Woo-hyung). He’s supposedly growing up with issues since his father has abandoned them (doesn’t he have the same fantastic support that Eun-jung has?) but he is abrasive, with very little that’s endearing about him. I also could not stand how there are kids’ ‘relationship issues’ here too. Leave the relationships to adults, please.
Relationships that were a waste of time and space – So-min (Lee Joo-bin) and Min-jun (Kim Myung-joon), and Jin-joo’s sister and her boyfriend. At least the producer-scriptwriter and nutritionist-director relationships were a little quirky. Such weird mean and nice bosses they have.
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| So-min and Min-jun -- boring as fillers (and how does a documentary on a mediocre actress become a hit movie?) |
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| I liked Han-joo's boss |
The biggest surprise and by far the most interesting relationship is Eun-jung and director Kim’s (Son Suk-ku!!). They are both odd but creative and very kind, restless hearts constrained by their current lives and livelihoods, hence very funnily made for each other. Deathly pale by comparison, Jin-joo and Beom-soo’s relationship is utterly predictable, so thoroughly boring.
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| possibly my favourite K drama couple!! |
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| couldn't care less if these two got together in the end |
Han-joo’s new relationship with the young guy from the pub is surprising. Good for her to find happiness but I wonder if it would be better for her to be with someone else instead of having to take care of two kids now.
Jae-hoon’s (Gong Myung) relationships do not feel right from the start. He empathises with Han-joo and while he is a concerned subordinate, I think he cares for her in a deeper way. He and Ha-yoon (Mi-ram) are not compatible at all. She drifts in and out of the house and like Jin-joo, wants the relationship to run on her terms. Han-joo rightly points out that they have a problem because Jae-hoon expects Ha-yoon to fit into his idea of what they should be as a couple. However, I think his expectations are reasonable, such as that she should be faithful and stop drinking so much. Her emotional swings are truly difficult to stomach as well. It was disappointing that there was a hint towards the end that they might get back together.
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| he sure seemed to care more than he should |
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| you two kids, just move on, ok? |
I liked how there is lots of hearty eating but there is too much hearty drinking. I wished they would stop at just a sip or two instead of downing bottles. That would help them avoid the unnecessary drama arising from drinking too much! Then we can focus on the enjoyable parts of the show.
Be Melodramatic!
JTBC, 16 episodes
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