This show probably have the most ummm surprising poster I've seen in kdramas (not this poster, the bath tub one) but well after watching the show, I totally understand what the poster is trying to portray and I find it pretty well done. This show gave me really high expectations when it announced it's cast (I absolutely adore Gong Hyo Jin, I love Lee Kwang Soo, Jo In Sung is likeable too), I was happy with it's director-scriptwriter pairing having to done the visually stunning That Winter The Wind Blows, I love the teasers and the vibe it gave so the show pull my expectations really high so although the show came out good but I can't help but to feel slightly unsatisfied....
THE CHARACTERS
Gong Hyo Jin as Ji Hae Soo
Ji Hae Soo definitely won't come out as the most likeable character of the year, having to have plenty of unlikeable traits that will annoy you (I love gong hyo jin but I have to admit Hae Soo did annoy me at times) but if you go on to think about it, it's those traits of hers that manage to wrap Jae Yul (Jo In Sung's character) around her little finger, Jae Yul used to be a player (in other word a playboy) and he has many um unique traits you don't see in our typical drama male lead so honestly if it isn't Hae Soo, I don't think anyone else can manage to control Jae Yul and make him love her. "Women can never be pleased"//"It's hard to understand women", i'm sure you have heard either of these phrases before and Hae Soo is a great example of those women haha but honestly most women have those annoying traits of her (i'm a women and I admit, i'm hard to understand), those candy leads in dramaland are actually more rare in real life than characters like Hae Soo. Hae Soo is a psychiatrist who's sincerely love her job, she's sassy, smart, a little rude sometimes, in other words the opposite of her previous characters (aka master sun's Tae Gong Shil, greatest love's Ae Jung). She has a fear of sex........ ya that's weird but lol ok.
Gong Hyo Jin did again a marvelous job, Hae Soo is not an easy character to portray and she manage to make her much more likeable than what she actually is. It's pretty refreshing to see Gong Hyo Jin play a non candy role or a role with a backbone but honestly i'll watch anything with her in it. *I love her sense of style in this drama, she dress mostly in a casually chic way that I adore, obviously she doesn't dress like Chun Song Yi(not everyone's a famous actress) but her clothing in the drama are those that are much more practical for us normal people to wear*
Jo In Sung as Jang Jae Yul
Hands down one of the most weirdly in a good way written character I've seen. Jae Yul is a popular DJ and writer who's pretty much a player and again definitely not a character that will win character of the year. He isn't someone easy to handle so if it isn't someone like Hae Soo I doubt anyone else can handle him but at the same time, Hae Soo isn't someone easy to handle, so if it isn't Jae Yul, I don't think anyone else can handle her too (I like how this kinda intersects with the theme of healing each other and covering each other's flaws). Jae Yul's confident makes him really charming which is something I really like about him hehe.
Jo In Sung handle this character so so so well I can see awards streaming in for him. He did a phenomenon job in portraying Jae Yul, he made us understand and love Jae Yul despite his many flaws and he shows Jae Yul's positive traits really well. Honestly, not everyone can manage to make Jae Yul a character with that much on screen charisma the way he did, I highly doubt a rookie actor can portray Jae Yul even half as good as the way he did so his many acting experience does assist him with this role.
Sung Dong ll as Jo Dong Min
When I first heard that Sung Dong II will be playing Gong Hyo Jin's ex I was like huh *insert wide eye, mouth drop confuse emoji*. But well, I won't exactly see Jo Dong Min as her ex haha, if the show's motive is to make the most unique and never be seen characters in a drama together, the show is definitely a success having to have every single character to be so unique and different but somehow works so well together. Jo Dong Min lives with Soo Kwang(Kwang Soo's character), Hae Soo and Jae Yul whom came in later, he is also a psychiatrist in the same hospital as Hae Soo so he is Hae Soo's senior. He is married but still keeps in contact with his ex wife....? they are pretty much friends but he still likes his ex wife, ok his relationship status and feelings confuses the shit outta me so i'm sorry if I got any facts wrong because I can't figure him out too lol. I wanted to say he is one of the most memorable character in the drama but that's wrong because there isn't a single character in the drama that is not memorable..... but if you put his super complicated relationship status and feelings aside, he is actually the most normal character in the whole story haha.
I was quite happy seeing Sung Dong II getting casted in a bigger role finally because he deserves it, he did a great job as expected but with so many young actors shining in their role in the drama, it feels like he isn't getting the attention he deserves from the drama. *ps this is unrelated but his son is the cutest thing ever, I can't help but to fan girl over him when I watch Dad where are you going*
Lee Kwang Soo as Park Soo Kwang
Soo Kwang, Kwang Soo??? is this role created for Kwang Soo? haha maybe it is because he fits this role completely and he practically lived as Soo Kwang throughout the drama. Park Soo Kwang lives with Dong Min, Hae Soo and later Jae Yul, he suffers from the Tourett syndrome (it's suppose to be a syndrome where you make weird movements and sounds). He is weird in a super cute way and he has some similar traits to the real life Kwang Soo we see in Running Man haha *inserts crying while laughing emoji*
This is the first time i'm seeing Kwang Soo act in a big role (if you exclude KARA's secret love), he showed that he is ready for a leading role and I doubt anyone can find a single problem here with his acting because it was flawless. He practically lived as Soo Kwang and manage to shine brightly in the drama despite the large cast that all did super well too. *out of point again but i'm actually hopping to see Kwang Soo as a proud CEO character or something completely opposite of his real life personality because that will be hilariously cute haha*
The other cast also did a fantastic job and the characters are also really well written, each unique in their own way and the cast have fantastic chemistry (whoever did the casting deserves a award). I'm too lazy to list out all cause it will take forever but Lee Sung Kyung stood out with her acting as Soo Kwang's girlfriend (her character is really well written too) and EXO's DO did impress me too but not as much as the others but considering the fact that his character is pretty challenging and this is his first acting role, he did way better than what is expected of him and deserves all the awards and recognition he is getting from his first acting gig.
STORY AND DIRECTING
Synopsis
Jang Jae Yul (Jo In Sung) is a mystery writer and radio DJ. He suffers from a obsession. He then meets a psychiatrist named Ji Hae Soo. Ji Hae Soo (Gong Hyo Jin) is going through her first year fellowship in psychiatry at a University Hospital. She chose psychiatry because she doesn't want to perform surgeries. After she meets Jang Jae Yul, her life goes through big changes. They end up becoming home-mates and things turn romantic.FROM DRAMAWIKI
What really made this drama stand out from the others is the tone of the drama and it's amazing ability to make a serious theme seems so light hearted and easy to watch. I have mix feelings towards the writer, on one hand, she did a fabulous job in making the tone so special and light hearted and how she deal with the topic of mental illness/healing each other. The theme can be easily portrayed as a deep melodrama that may be a little hard to watch but the writer's ability to portray it this way is super impressive. (Noh Hee Kyung is already a well recognize writer so this may not surprise some people but having to watch only TWTWB from her last year, I was widely impressed having to not find TWTWB that well written although it's based on a movie so the script writer can't actually be blamed) But on the other hand, I don't like how she portray and deal with Hae Soo's fear of sex, I find it to be over emphasized throughout the drama and I don't like how she made Hae Soo deal with it either, and although the topic and tone is the good thing about the drama, at the same time I find it to be a bad thing too, the drama is really different from the usual kdramas and feels more like a American drama instead due to it's theme and tone, some may feel this is a good thing but I wish it kept some of the Korean feel to it (it's sooo different and unique that it made me feel foreign to it so kinda hard for me to get attached to it). So I have really mix feelings.... I love the theme and tone but at the same time I kinda wish it isn't that special..... i'm indecisive sigh. (i think other people won't have a problem with this though, maybe I'm just weird, sorry) But overall, the writing of the characters and the tone is definitely what makes the drama so successful in terms of popularity and to critics (I think those new to kdramas may find this a little hard to watch/understand? but regular kdrama viewers will have absolutely no problem)
Directing is gorgeous as expected, I LOVE the teasers (it pulled my expectations way too high though), I was confused by the bath tub poster but after watching the drama, I understood it and find it really creative (it actually shows the fears of the two leads, Hae Soo's fear of sex and Jae Yul's fear of sleeping on the bed..... ya he sleeps in the bath tub)
*this is so perfect, ohya I didn't mention before but the chemistry between the two leads are !!!!!!!!!! GHJ is a actress that seems to have great chemistry with all of her male leads?? (or at least those I've watched her in)*
IN CONCLUSION
Story that differs from the usual kdrama, tackles many different and hard themes but done well, cheeky and cute throughout.
Personal Ratings: 9/10
How much it deserves: 9.5/10
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