You guys might remember that I ended up dropping Greasy Melo (despite my love for Jang Hyuk), back when it first aired (Dropped post is here). Show’s brand of whimsy just wasn’t working for me, and I found myself feeling more bemused than anything, the more I watched.
HOWEVER. I’ve learned that friend of the blog Dame Holly (also known around the interwebs as Lee Tennant) is much more attuned to – and gifted at understanding – the use of metaphors, symbolism and visual storytelling than I am, and she definitely has more appreciation for Greasy Melo than I could ever muster.
So I asked her to share her insights on Greasy Melo with us, in the hope that we I could absorb some of her conceptual prowess. I hope you guys enjoy!
You can also find her at her blog Invisible Pink Dragon, or at her Dramabeans fanwall.
PS: I loved her write-up on A Piece Of Your Mind, which you can check out here.
~kfangurl
Of Nietzsche and Noodles: a review of a very greasy melodrama
By Lee Tennant (aka Dame Holly)
But there is something in me that I call courage; that has so far slain my every discouragement. This courage finally bade me stand still and speak: “Dwarf! It is I or you!”
For courage is the best slayer, courage which attacks; for in every attack there is playing and brass.
Man, however, is the most courageous animal: hence he overcame every animal. With playing and brass he has so far overcome every pain; but human pain is the deepest pain.
Courage also slays dizziness at the edge of abysses: and where does man not stand at the edge of abysses? Is not seeing always — seeing abysses?
Courage is the best slayer: courage slays even pity. But pity is the deepest abyss: as deeply as man sees into life, he also sees into suffering.
Courage, however, is the best slayer — courage which attacks: which slays even death itself, for it says, “Was that life? Well then! Once more!”
[Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra, On the Vision and the Riddle]
I saw a movie once where a character said “You like somebody because of things but you love them despite things” and I think that applies to Greasy Melo.
Netflix has recently added Wok of Love (Greasy Melo). And it reminded me that I had promised kfangurl a piece on this messy, surreal show all the way back in mid-2018 but just… couldn’t write it.
Time and perspective are wonderful things since it has given me the space both to finish the promised piece but also to explain why this messy messy little show was just so hard to write about in the first place.
I loved Greasy Melo when it aired and yes, looking back over it, there is a point at which it loses sight of itself somehow. Originally overwhelming in its magical realism, it became less than the sum of its parts by the end. It’s not that it became underwhelming, I still loved it overall.
But – despite not being in Europe – I became mostly whelmed.
Greasy Melo was a promise almost, but not quite, fulfilled. More than that, unlike it’s similarly-flawed big sister Jealousy Incarnate, the show has had no cultural staying power. It came and went like a flash in the dramatic pan.
Both shows were chaotic, heightened, sometimes-confused and semi-philosophical, and both were also victims of networks changing their minds about episode numbers and writers who compromised their vision.
Kfarngurl asked me to write this piece around the time she dropped it all the way back in May 2018. She found the metaphorical imagery and general surreal chaos a bit too much to keep watching.
At the time, I loved it and my exuberant defence of it was why she asked me to write something on it.
But as the show went on, it got less and less – something. Maybe just less. And by the time the show had ended, the white-hot spark of love had faded into something more resigned, more comfortable and, it turns out, less easy to write about.
At its best, Greasy Melo was a kind of anti-melodrama that gleefully mixed up melo and Makjang elements to make a dish that was as delicious as it was completely new.
At its worst, it was a giant mess. And at the end, it was a shadow of itself. And if you make it through to the section on the show’s Nietzsche references you’ll understand me when I say that that pun was not intended.
In many ways, Greasy Melo is a classic tale of two shows. The first is messy, surreal and in many ways iconoclastic. The second is a kdrama. And while I obviously like kdramas, it is refreshing when a show tries to blaze a new path.
And equally disappointing when it veers back to the old, well-trodden road.
But, overall, I loved this show and wish I could be writing a glowing, unreserved review on its greatness. But here we are, nearly two years later, and it’s possible this review is as chaotic and as unfocused as the show itself.
For that, in both cases, I guess you can blame hiatuses. They always mess up the pacing.
Fusion Food
Greasy Melo is a messy, gleeful and heartwarming tale about a chef, a gangster and an heiress who lose everything but then come together to reclaim it.
Chinese masterchef Poong (Junho), reformed gangster Chil-sung (Jang Hyuk) and lonely socialite Sae-woo (Jung Ryeo Won) have nothing in common but their shared calamities: all three hit rock bottom in the first few episodes.
They all meet up at the Hungry Wok, a small decrepit Chinese restaurant owned and run by gangsters and living in the shadow of the Michelin-starred Giant Hotel.
These three characters with different backgrounds and temperaments are the disparate ingredients this show promises to turn into jjajangmyeon – the signature Korean/Chinese fusion dish that Poong is an expert at and that Chil-sung and Sae-woo are perpetually hungry for.
As a fusion dish, jjajangmyeon is a marriage of contrasts. Yellow noodles, black sauce.
Chinese dish, Korean twist. Apply heat to the bitter chunjang and it transforms into the sweetened jjajang. Jjajangmyeon is the centrepiece of most of this show’s metaphors, served as it so often is with sweet-and-sour pork – Poong’s other signature dish.
For the first half of its run at least, this was a show that was about jjajangmyeon but was also jjajangmyeon itself: televisual fusion cuisine.
Jjangmyeon is a bowl of contrasts mixed together to create a fusion of countries, flavours and ingredients and is therefore a metaphor for life: start with your raw ingredients, apply heat and a bit of elbow grease and watch it fuse into something greater than the sum of its parts.
That’s why the show was originally so messy and it’s why I loved that the show was so messy.
Because it seemed to be saying that people, relationships and life are a huge mashup of disparate things and it’s not about one being ‘good’ and the other ‘bad’ but about the proportions of each ingredient.
Throughout the first half, all our characters were floundering because their life recipes weren’t right yet. With a few new ingredients, a dash of kitchen heat, and a bit of experimentation, they would finally find the right mix.
Even if it meant mixing things that you wouldn’t think would work together.
While the first few episodes are almost unhinged in the seeming-randomness of their elements, the show makes it clear that Poong is the cook that’s going to bring them together in one perfect dish.
Except he kind of doesn’t… but more on that later.
The Characters
Junho as Poong
As a character Poong is the kind of man who divides audiences. Extremely kind and genuine but also an uncompromising perfectionist who can be a bit… shouty….
Poong is either the kind of man who makes you swoon for his sincerity and passion or whom you hate for perpetually yelling at people in his kitchen.
He’s also extremely demanding of our female lead in a way that a lot of viewers didn’t associate with traditional courtly male lead behaviour, but that I personally preferred as a love interest.
Poong wanted nothing less than a partner in his kitchen and in his life; he had no interest in someone who wasn’t as hard working and committed as he was.
Poong may be outwardly loud but his generosity is quiet; a quality that really worked for me. For all his irascible blustering and his perfectionism he makes not one, not two but three hiring decisions based on nothing but kindness through the first half of the drama.
Junho is better with characters who are loud, eccentric and slightly unhinged and he brought these qualities to a Poong who was as difficult as he was romantic and sincere.
Poong was raised in a humble Chinese restaurant and built his life and career up through hard work and ambition, only to see it all taken away by a combination of selfishness, greed and jealousy.
He doesn’t want revenge so much as to reclaim his reputation, prove his worth and bring his love of food to everyone whether they have money and power or are ordinary people on the street.
Unlike his Michelin-star enemy, The Giant Hotel, Poong’s greatest aspiration is to serve through food, not rule. He’s a culinary democrat. And if that statement sounds a bit philosophical for your average Korean drama review, you’d be right.
Because this show drew often on Nietzsche for its imagery and its ideas, in ways that were sometimes interesting but often a little blunt and crude. Is Poong a Nietzschian Superman?
Well… no… although in my honest opinion that can only be a good thing.
Poong only succeeds by being surrounded and supported by people who care about him. He’s no lone wolf set on revenge but an orphan in deep longing for a family. It’s no surprise he only succeeds when he finds people who have his back unconditionally.
And that is the opposite of a Nietzschian Superman.
In short, Poong’s a sweetheart and Junho brought out the best in the character.
Jung Ryeo-won as Sae-woo
An eccentric horse lover, this wealthy Chaebol doesn’t realise how bored and dissatisfied she is with her life until her family loses everything and she’s forced into the real world.
Sae-woo’s dissatisfaction is expressed in her perpetual hunger; a hunger that isn’t assuaged until she meets Poong. It’s the kind of metaphorical symbolism the show is famous for but a lot of people found confusing.
Like all the show’s characters, Sae-woo is a mess of contradictions: both extremely honest and a habitual liar; ditzy and clueless but extremely smart; passionate but often disengaged; and very lonely despite being outwardly social.
Sae-woo has created an entire fantasy world based around the idea that her horse – who is her only real friend – can talk. It was this kind of extreme loneliness and offbeat quirkiness that made the character appealing but sometimes inaccessible.
Wealth has made Sae-woo oblivious but over the course of the show she finds a purpose in cooking and flourishes at being around somebody who demands things of her rather than handing them to her (even if he does shout sometimes).
Sexual imagery and double entendres is the bread and butter of these writers and when it comes to Sae-woo and Poong, the show threw them in in spades. Sae-woo is hungry for Poong’s noodles. Thankfully she’s satiated by them quite early in the drama.
She then learns to be the ladle to Poong’s wok and, in a delightful dramatic inversion, becomes the wok herself.
The scenes of the two cooking together are unabashedly sensual, up to the references to the overwhelming heat and the need for them to, ahem, get their rhythm right.
But aside from the double entendres, what Poong demands of Sae-woo ultimately is adulthood, responsibility and synergy: a true partnership that helps her grow as a person and aspire to something for the first time. It’s no surprise she thrives when previously she’d just survived.
Jung Ryeo-won brings a kind of ethereal detachment to her roles, as if her characters are not entirely in the same world as the rest of us.
It’s a quality that’s perfect for Sae-woo: the kind of woman who would roam the streets in her fencing kit with a horse or wander into a restaurant and demand an inordinately-high pay because “that’s how much she needs”.
Jang Hyuk as Chil-sung
Do you think Nietzsche will be on our side?
Rounding out our core threesome is the Nietzsche-quoting reformed gangster, Chil-sung who entices Poong to train his former gang in exchange for letting him take over his failing Chinese restaurant.
As with our other characters, Chil-sung is a man of contrasts: the classic trope of the Loan Shark with a Heart of Gold. He is a fan of Nietzsche and embodies and symbolises the show’s Nietzchian use of light and shadow in its imagery.
In fact, he literally runs Light and Shadow Loans, the company both Poong and Sae-woo turn to when they need money.
Following a bad accident where his men nearly die from a run-in with rival gangsters, Chil-sung is determined to run legitimate businesses.
He stared down death but at the moment of it he chose life. He is thus a driving force against nihilism, of which he believes Nietzsche would approve.
Chil-sung is both violent criminal and loving older brother; someone who is motivated by a desire to make life better for those he cares about simply because he believes that life should be lived and lived courageously.
When this gets extended to both Poong and Sae-woo, it is as heartwarming as you expect.
To go straight, Chil-sung buys a Chinese restaurant to retrain his dongsaengs. For this he rather literally needs Poong’s skills at cooking jjajangmyeon. But when I say that both he and Sae-woo need Poong’s noodles it is not just a double entendre nor a literal statement of fact.
Chil-sung needs Poong in his life to help bridge his passage into society following his criminal career. Chil-sung was abandoned by his mother when he was a child and he both longs for but is incapable of understanding his own maternal side.
Poong allows him to be the loving, caring and empathetic man he can be when he’s not a criminal.
At one point Chil-sung and Sae-woo adopt a kitten together that they name Dim Sum.
Sae-woo, they decide, is Dim Sum’s father and Chil-sung therefore embraces being its mother.. Chil-sung finally gives himself permission to be caring in a way that sits outside the hyung/dongsaeng dynamic of the gang.
His love is selfless in the way that motherhood is supposed to be but so often isn’t. Chil-sung spends most of the show in adoring unrequited romantic love with Sae-woo.
But his brotherly love for Poong is seen as the equal of this love and so he is, in the end, simply happy that they are happy. Chil-sung is finally able to be the nurturing, positive force he was born to be. Whether he gets the girl then becomes irrelevant, even trite.
Love is broader and bigger than romance.
The only thing he demands of Poong is that he also live and love as courageously as he possibly can.
“Are you man or Superman?” he asks him as he drives him to face head-on the behemoth that is the Giant Hotel, in whose shadow he is both literally and figuratively living.
Jang Hyuk brings to the role of Chil-sung a maturity, a presence and, of course, his trademark swagger. He’s brash and in control but can switch into a vibe that’s almost parental. His love for Sae-woo is almost paternal and frequently verges on paternalistic.
So while it’s laudably selfless, we know why she would choose a man like Poong over him. She already has a father, she does not need another one.
The antagonists and minor characters
A show about light and shadow is, unsurprisingly, full of light and shadow. Duality, contrasts, dichotomies and doppelgängers abound in Greasy Melo.
The light is not just a representation of ‘good’ and the shadow not just ‘bad’. The light could be seen as those who have achieved while others live always in their shadow.
Greasy Melo created a useless pampered entitled Beauty Queen in Sae-woo’s mother (played by the wonderful Lee Mi-sook) and then contrasted her with Gum Granny, a homeless impoverished woman also played by Lee Mi-sook.
“She’s no prettier than me,” a young Gum Granny says as she eats jjajangmyeon while watching the winners of the local Miss Onion contest. It is a statement that in this case is quite literally true.
Chil-sung’s restaurant, the Hungry Wok is Gum Granny to the local Giant Hotel and lives in its shadow as much as Gum Granny lives in the shadow of the Onion Queen.
But as Greasy Melo unfolded, its writers seemed uncertain what to do with all these characters.
Instead of Gum Granny and the Onion Queen giving impetus to each other’s arcs, Sae-woo’s mother became little more than a screeching romance roadblock, like this was some kind of old-school Makjang from 2005.
The same is true for the rest of Chil-sung’s gangsters, the staff of the Giant Hotel and even the disloyal staff of the Hungry Wok. The minor characters often detracted rather than added to the show in the end.
Any show about duality will obviously have antagonists and these started off suitably hateful and conniving:
Master Wang, the chef of the Giant Hotel who was jealous of Poong’s talent; his ex-wife who wanted to leave her past behind her even if it meant cruelty to a man she loved; and her lover, the owner of the Giant Hotel who simply enjoyed winning.
Watching Poong bring his disparate ragtag group into a cohesive block to defeat the Giant Hotel was a story I was interested in seeing. But all of these villains either disappeared or became one-dimensional and of little import.
The Giant Hotel may have loomed over the Hungry Wok like a corporate Goliath but David didn’t defeat it so much as replace it and the little restaurant seemed more beset by disloyalty and ingratitude from its employees than by external threats.
Promised fusion, the show did not deliver and even seemed to forget what it was supposed to be about. In some ways, this may be because it was conceptually flawed.
Nietzsche was an elitist who believed that a Superman was someone who achieved alone and above the herd. It’s a philosophy that ignores the multiple ways in which all success is ultimately communal.
The representation of Poong as courageous, hard-working, artistic and embracing of life and how this drove him (and the Hungry Wok) to step out of the Shadow of Master Wang (and the Giant Hotel) and into The Light was somewhat at odds with Nietzche’s writings on the herd mentality, especially when Poong cannot do it alone.
I doubt that Nietzsche would have believed that a Man is only propelled forward with support from a supportive team and it’s possible it contradicts the theme of fusion in a fundamental way. This may be why fusion as a metaphor got lost in the show somewhere.
By the end, the show seemed more determined for Poong to conquer the Giant Hotel – whether Poong was that person or not. I liked the idea that everybody in the Hungry Wok was going to achieve greatness through cooperation and hard work and was somewhat bemused when they didn’t.
My verdict: love, resigned to reality
It’s probably not surprising that the writers of Jealousy Incarnate came up with a show this clever.
Deeply metaphorical with a barrage of imagery from the very first scene, it was almost surreal in its use of symbolism. Its brilliant use of metaphors and imagery is a device I personally love but others were alienated by.
And as much as I love this kind of visual storytelling, even I thought it was a bit overdone in the beginning.
There were episodes where I was so busy tracking its use of hot and cold and black and white that I missed plot.
Nietzsche was thrown in there, first to intrigue us and then to confuse us. Poong was either a Nietzscheism superman or its antithesis; the writers never seemed to be sure. I know a lot of viewers simply couldn’t cope with the chaos and dropped out.
I stayed in, loving every minute and waiting for the writers to bring it all together in one glorious dish of fusion cuisine.
Except it kind of doesn’t. Which is its main issue.
Originally slated for 20 episodes (40) and then cut to 19 (38), maybe the show suffered from losing an episode, maybe it was three episodes too long. The show went on hiatus for two weeks and when it came back it was seemingly a shell of its former self.
Characters disappeared, plots were dropped, major plot points were resolved quickly and anti-climactically, and others were dragged down with standard, almost pedestrian, kdrama plotlines.
It was almost as though the writer had been instructed to play it more safe and the quirky, surreal magical realism was replaced with the plotline of a standard romcom.
Poong and Sae-woo remained adorable and sexy and wonderful and Chil-sung held a kitten every episode so the show is worth watching till the end.
No matter how many plots got dropped or how many characters disappeared, the relationship between the three leads was the show’s saving grace.
The romance between Poong and Sae-woo is passionate and sweet – just the like sweet-and-sour pork that is his other signature dish. The bromance between the two men is loving and supportive.
And while there is technically a love triangle here, it’s handled with maturity and without unnecessary angst. These three people love each other and watching them come together is the show’s best element.
In fact, show ends well. It’s just not the affordable gourmet meal we were promised but more like a rushed lunchtime bowl of noodles while we’re trying to get back to work.
In the end, I love Greasy Melo despite its flaws and I guess that means my Love Is True.
I can dream of a more perfect version of this show where the writers were able to use all the ingredients they prepared to make the perfect meal instead of leaving half of them on the chopping board.
But if lasting love is based on acceptance, then I accept. This is the show it is.
I loved wok of love and I agree with everything you’ve said. For those who may find it a little too surreal at the start, Just persevere through the first three episodes and you will discover a gem. I had decided to stick with it just to get my Jang Hyuk fix but I was so wonderfully surprised and delighted. For a foodie like me, this was a merger of my two loves, Kdrama and cooking shows.
Show is so well written and the characters are intelligently carved out and acted. Jang hyuk’s character and characterization makes this show so memorable and rewatchable for me. The relationships in the story are threshed out so well and in a way that makes sense and makes you understand what each relationship is all about.
I always feel satisfied when watching a show that makes me feel that the writers respect my intelligence as a viewer and coaxes me to root for the characters and understand and applaud where they are coming from. This show is that for me.
What a great review. Thank you Dame Holly. For us it was called Wok Of Love, I loved every minute of it. It was funny and charming, unusual, a bit surreal. I really appreciate your understanding of the three main characters, randomly thrown together by fate. Somehow these three ridiculously mismatched individuals manage to stumble their way forward, weather the storms, and seriously help each other find love, in all its myriad forms. For inexplicable reasons I adored the character Sae-Woo, apart from being so incredibly pretty, she was just adorable, fun and a serious nutter. I really liked all the minor characters as well, all the camaraderie in the kitchen was fantastic if chaotic and crazy. I enjoyed Li Mi-sook for a change whereas I had developed a real distaste after watching her in Money Flower and Temperature of Love, where she was on toxic overdrive. There’s so much to say about this show, but you said it all. I think the writers are amazingly clever, it’s so surreal and meandering, hilarious and it sure helps it you’re a foodie, which I am. I was besotted watching the cooking, beautifully filmed. Thank you KFG for including this, I love your blog.. Your reviews are fantastic and insightful, and you have an especially gracious way of responding to all the diverse opinions. If the opinions were not as diverse it wouldn’t be half as interesting.
I loved wok of love and I agree with everything you’ve said. To KFG, I suggest you pick it up again. Just persevere through the first three episodes and you will discover a gem. I had decided to stick with it just to get my Jang Hyuk fix but I was so wonderfully surprised and delighted. For a foodie like me, this was a merger of my two loves, Kdrama and cooking shows.
Show is so well written and the characters are intelligently carved out and acted. Jang hyuk’s character and characterization makes this show so memorable and rewatchable for me. The relationships in the story are threshed out so well and in a way that makes sense and makes you understand what each relationship is all about.
I always feel satisfied when watching a show that makes me feel that the writers respect my intelligence as a viewer and coaxes me to root for the characters and understand and applaud where they are coming from. This show is that for me. I really hope you watch it KFG. I can’t wait to see your review.
Hi Dame Holly – I enjoyed the kookiness of the drama. What go me through all the episodes is probably because I had no expectations other than to see Jang Hyuk. The crazy characters were enjoyable and I laughed a lot watching this.
I enjoyed your review – great job!
Thanks so much! Looking over the comments I posted when this show aired they’re mostly about how much it made me smile even when I wasn’t happy with the back half. It was so gleeful. Probably the only other thing that was (at least in the first half) as gleeful was Tale of Nokdu and that’s why I loved its first half so much. If you haven’t seen that, you might enjoy it too.
Hi Dame Holly – I did see Tale of Nokdu and I really enjoyed it – especially the three ahjummas.
While I appreciate a chance to get a different point of view on this drama, I only agree with Dame Holly’s assessment of Jang Hyuk in this mess. It’s probably too deep for me.🙄
Re-reading KFG’s original post I suspect she would agree with you 😂
I’m glad you dropped by to read it anyway, even if the show wasn’t your cup of tea.
You and me both, Beez! 😂😂 I think this show is too deep for me too! But it was still great to see what Dame Holly saw, that I would’ve never seen on my own! 😄
I loved this show, I saw it twice. The acting is perfect, the three main characters are lovable and they stay with you after. It is clever, messy different but Love, Friendship and great Acting makes this drama unforgettable. Give it a try You will enjoy it.
@Marilyn. I already watched it. I was probably predisposed to not like this show because my bias Jang Hyuk is not part of the OTP. I then had little patience for all the detailed cooking. I find I have no interest in watching dumpling dough rise. (I know some people do, it’s just cooking shows are not my thing.)
I don’t care for either actors that made up the OTP but I do love Jang Hyuk and Lee Mi sook so there’s no way I wasn’t going to watch.
They lost me with the whimsical cartoon horse. And then made it worse when they didn’t continue with it to give it a chance to win me over. This resulted in me feeling like “Well, is it whimsical or not? Did somebody eat some ‘shrooms when they made that scene and upon sobering up decided they’d better not do that again?”
I did enjoy seeing Jang Hyuk get to live out his dream of channeling Al Pacino portraying Michael Corleone since he’s often called “the Korean Al Pacino” and he is on record as saying he admires Al Pacino.
I also loved his fight scenes. The rest of Greasy Melo, in my opinion, is really, really, very bad.
I so agree with you!
Wow! Jang Hyuk quoting Nietsche while holding a kitten? I bet he listens to Mahler too!
@Dame Holly, I have not seen this drama, but your review is so intriguing! Maybe I will give it a try after I am finished with It’s Okay Not to Be Okay.
Give it a try! I wasn’t expecting to get anything out of it except for a Jang Hyuk fix but oh boy, was I in for a surprise. It’s a lovely series. So well written and heartfelt and tightly packaged. You end with a smile on your face and a sense of, gee,that was good! Just persevere through the surreal first three episodes and you’ll find a gem. It’s not “deep” per se but deeply heartfelt
I remember feeling so betrayed by the shift in this wacky drama onto the worn path of kdramaness. To be honest I barely remember anything from the back half, instead what comes to mind is the wonderful chaos and imagery of the beginning. It was a visual feast, and three main characters were so vividly written and performed that I still feel a bit sad that the writer’s original vision was likely yanked from them in order to pander to viewers and advertisers with less adventurous spirits.
Still mad that the talking horse vanished and was forgotten. He could have been a great friend for Chil-sung’s kitten.
Very nice review LT, and it’s not a bad thing to be reminded of Greasy Melo two years later.
Ah, yes, I remember the back half Buster watch.
#wheresbuster
#savebuster
I believe local audiences did not like the talking horse or Poong’s ex and so they wrote them out.
If I remember correctly we wrote an alternative plotline where gangster kitten Dim Sum ordered his dongsaeng Buster the Horse to get rid of Poong’s ex and that’s why they both disappeared. He didn’t harm her of course, they instead went on many adventures together.
A wonderful review, well worth the wait!
Although there some things I would have liked to change, I can’t deny it was a satisfying drama!
I loved the characters and family from Hungry Wok so much!
Gosh, it’s here!
*Drumroll* An epic two years in the making…
I must admit I’m so excited to be published on this blog, KFG. I’m a huge fan, as you know, Your work is always of such a high standard that I consider it an amazing honour that you thought this piece was worth posting.
Still, two years is a long time to keep you hanging (sorry)…
You know this thing was so long that I eventually just had to put a pin in it so there was one thing I didn’t get to mention – the food porn! The food scenes are gorgeous and will definitely make you hungry. Anyone watching this show needs to come prepared with snacks. I recommend dumplings, prawn noodles and, of course, jjajangmyeon.
Tee hee! They do say good things are worth waiting for! 😀 Thanks so much for doing this, Dame Holly, and not only that, but for putting so much heart and thought into this, when your feelings for this show had gone through a bit of waxing and waning.
It’s my pleasure to have you published here, Dame Holly! <3 I love your insights, and gained new perspective on Greasy Melo that I wouldn't have achieved on my own. Like I said, you have a particular talent with picking up on and unpacking metaphors, which I admire and envy. I wish I could just flip a switch and be able to see what you see, whenever I wanted! 😀 But the next best thing, is having you detail that insight for us, like you did with Greasy Melo – thank you for giving us that glimpse through your eyes! 🤩🤩 I feel smarter already! 🤣🤣