It’s not easy to like a show where the acting and script are not always in top form, but I liked it!
Beom-woo is a rather predictable character but Kang Ha-neul does a wonderful job being funny, silly, emotional, fed up and so on. Never expected he'd fit comfortably in a comic role!
On the other hand, Yeon-joo, played by Go Min-si, unfortunately is the weak link, mostly flat and boring in character development and delivery. A saving grace is that she is pretty, and the two are a photogenic couple.
The secondary characters and cast easily outplayed her. Kim Shin-rok is especially impressive as Myung-sook, who, like Beom-woo, comes across with her full range of emotions and expressions. Choon-seung (played by Yoo Soo-bin) and Yoo-jin (played by Bae Yoo-ram, who was forgettable in Run On but gets a much more interesting role here) are suitably funny and silly.
Mean mother Han (played by Oh Min-ae) is as mean as she was intended to be, and brother Sun-woo (played by Bae Na-ra) goes through at least a couple of phases in character development. Was chef Young-hae (Hong Hwa-yeon) so extremely talented that she could replicate Yeon-joo’s dishes well without using all those fresh, home-grown ingredients, when Myung-sook, even with Yeon-joo’s supervision, sometimes makes mistakes? It felt like the show couldn’t decide whether she should be a funny or annoying person. I think Hwa-yeon could have played either or both, so it is a pity the character wasn’t better developed.
Strange plot points
The whole Hokkaido sub-plot had little impact on the overall plot and felt like a complete waste of time.
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| a rather useless detour |
The temple sub-plot was much more useful, though it showed up Yeon-joo’s underdevelopment and weak delivery even more. The nuns and the monks with non-speaking roles were more animated and personable!
Beom-woo’s “betrayal” was not a betrayal. He did not steal the Jungjae recipes, did not tell or encourage Young-hae and Yoo-jin to do so and is not responsible for them breaking in.
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| the much coveted recipe book |
Furthermore, he tried to stop them from using the recipes. Therefore, I don’t see why Yeon-joo should be heartbroken when it wasn’t his faultl. His problem was that he hadn’t come clean early enough about his initial intention to steal the recipes, but it was obvious that he no longer wanted to and had nothing to do with the theft. Easily verifiable.
Young-hae suddenly ups and leaves Motto, having realised she much prefers cooking her own recipes instead of stolen ones. Yeon-joo tells her nun-mum that over time, she had learnt to focus on the people she is cooking for. Errm… are these not what those who train in culinary skills know from the start?? Myung-sook is especially impressive in this area, as a treasured staff member of Choon-seung’s family restaurant and in customising the recipe to the ages of the judges of the lousy cook-off. Does that make her the true chef of the show, then?!
The biggest let-down is how half of the main couple does little to make this rom-com a rom-com! Yeon-joo is hardly funny and contributes almost nothing to the romance. We can’t tell that she likes Beom-woo but she suddenly does and kisses him for nothing.
The mother being so obsessed with her work and achievements that she neglects her sons is not and unheard of kind of mum in Kdrama, but why make the sons compete against each other?! Lovely that the brothers eventually find their way to more balanced and sane ways of doing things. Also, nice to see that they jointly help to set up the restaurant chain for the man whose recipes Hansang stole and whose original restaurant it closed down. No credit to their mother!
There are too many missing links in this show. Strange, but I enjoyed it despite its serious flaws, thanks mainly to the Jungjae support team of Beom-woo, Myung-sook and Choon-seung, who are the life and stars of the show.
Genie TV
10 episodes
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