The more I thought about the last couple of episodes of this drama, the more I thought of them as the ultimate fan service (and I’m not complaining!)
More, and potential spoilers after the jump.
Those who complained that there was not a lot of action after the kidnapping truth revelations were right. We did not get anything in the way of major conflict – no scandalized shareholders, hot news items, bitter brother or snobby parents – and you know what? I loved it!
Too often we get stories that are all “meet, fall in love, drama, drama, drama, drama, drama, resolution, kiss and make up, maybe a wedding or “3 years later” HEA” and get very little time spent on enjoying the couple enjoying each other and getting to know each other. This time it was “meet, meet again, learn about each other, drama, discover mutual love, enjoy exploring love, demonstrate love, have a lovely wedding.”
For once we just got to spend time, lots of time, with an attractive young couple who looked and acted like a man and woman in love and watch them go about the pleasurable business of defining their relationship and enjoying each others’ company. Giggling with co-workers over who confessed first, embarrassing drunken sweet conversations, being sensitive to things like how excessive presents might shame a family with little and taking it very much the right way… All of those things just made me laugh alongside this couple and love them all the more.
I would be remiss if I didn’t have a little Seo-joon-swoon over how much I love the way he is able to convey his many emotions, from the way his eyes get a little dark underneath when he’s sad or hurt, to the playful sideways look when he warns her that they won’t be leaving the hotel much on their honeymoon (complete with the little sound effect ‘schwing!‘) Every single bride ever born wants to see her groom look at her like that as he says his vows. And her delight in his little gestures, like changing the name in her phone for him from vice-chairman to husband❤️ was so cute. I can see why fans desperately wanted them to be dating IRL because they have terrific, adult-level chemistry. No cardboard kisses for these two: I can just imagine going to any wedding in Korea and seeing the couple exchange kisses like that and have everyone really plotz like crazy at how amazingly shockingly sexy that was!
They spent a lot of time giving most everyone a HEA (except for Seong-yeon who only gets to go traveling to get his head on straight) though they faked me out a little bit with Ji-ah and her work-freak would be beau played by Chansung. When he turned her down initially I was a little surprised because it seemed to go against the flow, but it actually gave them a chance to give her a really nice speech about not forgetting to live a little bit in the moment. I was happy to see that the “accident” prone (aka error prone) secretary was not set up as the next girlfriend of President Park, but the inadvertent catalyst for his desired reunion with his ex. The other romance was just there for comic effect, but really, with as many cute moments with our lead couple, did we really need them? They didn’t subtract from the show, so I won’t complain – and in a way, it was all part of the general sub-theme of accepting office romances (generally not done in Korea, or if they happen, the woman usually leaves the company).
One other thing I have meant to mention was how PPL heavy this drama was! No wonder they could splash out on the wedding set and finery! From the super high-end Maseratis (btw, I saw one yesterday while out driving and I shouted, “that’s a Maserati!” to myself, though it was a disappointingly dull brown colored one) to the little coffee packs and Domino’s pizza (which is as un-pizza-tastic as it looks in Korea, but is at least not Subway), there was soooo much PPL! They should have spent a little of the money on the incidental songs because those were entirely forgettable. In particular, that ballad for the couple was so cheesy… “It’s youuuuu…” Bleah! And as much as I like PSJ, he is not a singer. Maybe it was a nice touch that he would do something like that to charm his love, but I hope they’re not going to try and sell him as a singer. On the other hand, I wish they would promote the jewelry line that Park Min-young was wearing because I love most of the earrings, especially that she wore!
But those are relatively minor quibbles, as were the others mentioned earlier. I’m not going to complain about anything else, I’m just going to enjoy the many pleasurable moments spent with two young actors whose work I really enjoy and call it a win.
We Talk Dramas All Day 