In the spirit of closure (partly because we are getting to the end of the year, eep!), I thought I’d officially call it quits on Monthly Magazine Home.
I’d actually really looked forward to this one, but, to be brutally honest, episode 1 just didn’t appeal to me very much at all. I’d then shelved it, with vague good intentions of giving it another chance, but.. that’s not gonna happen, after all.
Here’s the quick rundown of why this one didn’t work for me, even from episode 1. 😅
WHY I WANTED TO LIKE THIS ONE
I’d been keen to check out this show because I am fond of both leads. I think Kim Ji Suk should get to play romantic leading man more often, and Dramaland is giving me exactly that, in this show. Plus, I am very fond of Jung So Min, and I think she and Kim Ji Suk would make a really cute couple.
WHAT DIDN’T I LIKE ABOUT EPISODE 1?
One episode into this show, I already wasn’t sure whether I’d have the patience to hang on until things turned around and got better.
1. It feels extremely formulaic, to the extent that I find it rather boring.
2. It feels rather mechanical and uninspired to my eyes, like Show is just going through the necessary paces in order to get our characters where they’re supposed to be.
Jung So Min’s character Young Won is really having a hard time and she gets continually backed into a corner, and her path keeps crossing in unfortunate ways with Kim Ji Suk’s character Ja Sung, who’s a jerkwad of a CEO, and it’s all played with a pretty relentless sense of exaggeratedness. This is the sort of thing that either just works or just doesn’t, and in this case, I’m feeling like it.. just doesn’t.
3. The funny doesn’t work for me. I think Ja Sung’s recurring use of the dramatic “STAHP” is meant to be funny, but so far, it doesn’t strike me as being all that amusing. I think it’s because I want Kim Ji Suk to get a break from playing annoying characters, and perhaps this CEO’s jerk tendencies are just too strong for my taste right now.
4. The crew at the magazine office also feels a bit try-hard, like Show’s working to make everyone appear quirky and interesting, but it doesn’t feel natural and so it feels awkward instead.
THE SILVER LININGS
1. On the upside, Jung So Min’s smile is as charming and disarming as ever, and I almost feel like I could watch this whole show, for her smile alone. However, I do need her to stop being so long-suffering, because it’s not healthy, and it’s not fun to watch either.
2. Ja Sung isn’t actually heartless, in that he actually helps Young Won with a place to stay, after she has that terrifying run-in with her landlord sneaking around her apartment in the dark. That’s.. not bad.
3. I get the idea that Show’s trying to serve up, that a house isn’t a home until you make it one, and even the most humble shack can be a home, while the most expensive house can be just a shell. So far, though, the treatment of this idea does feel rather heavy-handed, and I don’t prefer that. I think that a home where you can feel free to be yourself is important, but it also isn’t everything. Hopefully Show manages to achieve some kind of balance, going forward.
SAYING GOODBYE
I’d heard that Show gets better after the first 4 to 5 episodes, and even though, judging from my reaction to episode 1, I honestly wasn’t sure if there was enough in Show to convince me to hang on until then, I had good intentions of at least trying.
The thing is, I got so busy with other shows, that by the time (almost) everyone was raging about Show’s finale, I still hadn’t gotten past episode 1. And, judging from what feels like universal indignation in the face of Show’s chosen ending, it looks like I don’t need to make time to go back to this one, after all. I guess sometimes it pays to be late to the party..? 😅
I still think Kim Ji Suk and Jung So Min would make a lovely couple, but until Dramaland gives them a better drama outing together, I’ll have to be content with their little 2013 drama special Came To Me And Became A Star. If you haven’t checked that one out, you totally should! At least, I liked it a lot better than what I saw of this show. 😁😉
