Somewhat unusual, with the comedy and the side plot more interesting than the romance, which was, sadly, bland and predictable.
Hilarious
Seok Ji-won (Joo Ji-hoon)
Lee Ki-ha (Kim Hyun-mok)
Ji-hoon and Hyun-mok are funnier than Rowoon and Hyun-mok in The Matchmakers; without this pair, I probably would have dropped the show.
Moderately funny
Grandpa Yoon (Kim Kap-soo), with his smirking and some amusing lines
Mildly funny
Dad Seok Gyeon-tae (Lee Byung-joon)
Teacher Byun (Yoon Seo-hyun)
VP Kang (Baek Hyun-joo)
Disappointing
The love stories
Seok Ji-won and Yoon Ji-won
I don’t know why Seok JW likes her. Student Yoon JW isn’t a nice person – smug, vain and self-centred. She’s mostly just putting down Seok JW or swinging her hair around and looking pretty. Teacher Yoon JW is boring, and again, I don’t know why Seok JW likes her again/still. It felt like he was carrying over his teenage affections into adult life. When she asks why he liked her, he says it’s because she was cute. Cute??! Not a reason to be trapped for 18 years! After they are back together, Yoon JW has nothing much to do apart from smiling. Strange that we see them taking wedding photos but not getting married.
Teacher Maeng (Jeon Hye-jin) and nurse Hong (Kim Jae-chul)
Totally predictable.
Students Ki-seok (Jo Byeom-Hyu) and Hae-soo (Choi Yoon-ji)
Boringly fashioned like shadows of students Seok JW and Yoon JW, hence boring as well. I thought Ki-seok would have been better paired with Yoo-mi (Jin Ga-eun), with whom he is much livelier. Or maybe even with new girl Jeong Yul (Song Ga-eun), who has Ji-A vibes. More could have been made of her too – she is introduced as a bit of a mystery but doesn’t get much of a backstory nor a current story.
Weak female lead versus stronger actors/characters
Yoon Ji-won wasn’t given Seok JW’s kind of depth and development, so I couldn’t tell that Jung Yoo-mi is an award-winning actress. It’s strange that when recalling her work days issues, they talk about her ‘activist’ tendencies, which apparently she already had while in school, but we don’t see any of this in her as a student or teacher. From flaunting her long hair and looking down on people, she became someone who tried to stand up for the right thing, then trickled down into a very ordinary teacher just trying to do her job. Compared to Seok JW, who goes through various ups and downs, and develops strongly as a character, doing all kinds of work and investigations, Yoon JW is very washed out.
Oh Ye-joo was decent as teenage Yoon JW, but apart from a few emotional scenes, she had a straightforward role. Being vain and showing off her tresses can’t be that difficult. Only realised much later that she was the sister-in-law in The Matchmakers.
Hong Min-gi played student Seok JW well, and Seok JW was of course much more likable even as a teenager.
He should have left the red scarf at her door and she should have checked her phone messages. All those years of suffering due to not using common sense!
Lee Ji-hyeon playing teenage Ji-hye was strong as well, suitably sad and conflicted.
Gong Moon-soo isn’t that relevant, although because of him, we get Crown Prince Joo-Ji-hoon singing Perhaps Love and a look at 10cm! Lee Si-woo did what was required for his character and may he get more meaningful roles in the future.
Kim Ye-won severely underused
Ye-won is a capable actress but Ji-hye is a very limited character. Too easy for her playing the unlikeable and traitorous jealous friend for about half the show. She could be given a character with more shades and substance. She was one of the reasons I wanted to watch this and unfortunately, she had such a minor role.
Seok JW’s mum ((Kim Jung-young) was another underused character/actress. She is funny and engaging.
For a while, the drama of grandpa, Gyung-hoon (Lee Seung-joon), Yoon JW ‘s dad and the money took over because it was far more interesting than the romance, yet it wasn’t the main point of the story. Yoon JW felt very much like an outsider in this secondary plot. Very strangely put together, therefore, and I’m still surprised I stayed with it, the first Disney+ show I’ve finished!
tvN, 12 episodes
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