THE SHORT VERDICT:

Ironic, tongue-in-cheek and cheekily self-aware, Show is a fun twist on the traditional Cinderella fairytale.

In that way, Show feels refreshing, because it doesn’t vibe like other kdramas.

I personally found the ride on the uneven side of things, but that may not be the case for you, as there are many who love this show unreservedly.

Worth a look, if only to see if this one will work for you.

THE LONG VERDICT:

So here’s the thing, my friends.

Viewers of this show appear to be deeply divided into two main camps; those who love this one to pieces, and those who feel utterly meh about this show.

I find myself firmly in the middle, with this one – but that’s really not how it all started, for me. 😅

MY TRAJECTORY WITH THIS ONE

I actually got quite a kick out of Show’s initial episodes, and found it all quite delightful and fun.

Show was exceedingly my expectations, right out of the gate, and I couldn’t be more pleased.

Unfortunately for me, I found the subsequent episodes rather uneven.

Sometimes I found the week’s episodes more effortful to get into, and then at other times, I found them quite effortlessly fun, kinda like how I’d found the first two episodes effortlessly fun.

That unevenness added up to a “pretty ok” watch for me, but just because Show didn’t blow my socks off (at least, not consistently), doesn’t mean that you won’t love it.

OST: HOW CAN I NOT LOVE YOU

Overall, I found the OST pleasant and quite fun. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the OST album, so here’s How Can I Not Love You, which I do find a little earwormy, for your listening pleasure.

If you’d like to listen to it on repeat while you read the review, just right-click on the video and select “Loop.”

HOW I’M APPROACHING THIS REVIEW

First I’ll talk about how to manage your expectations going into this one, and what viewing lens would be most helpful.

After that, I talk about what I liked and liked less, covering the more macro aspects of Show, and then I give the selective spotlight to characters and relationships, in a separate section.

Finally, I also spend some time talking about my thoughts on the penultimate episodes, as well as our finale episodes.

If you’re interested in my blow-by-blow reactions, &/or all the various Patreon members’ comments during the course of our watch, you might like to check out my episode notes on Patreon here.

MANAGING EXPECTATIONS / THE VIEWING LENS

Here are some things that I think would be helpful to keep in mind, to maximize your enjoyment of your watch:

1. Don’t take it too seriously

Show’s more a tongue-in-cheek satire than a Serious Story, so it’s best to not take it too seriously.

Keeping your logic lens to a blurry setting, or putting it aside altogether, would be helpful.

2. Mood is quite critical, with this one

In my own experience, with the right mood, this show lands as fun and entertaining, in a silly yet ironic and self-aware way, but with the wrong mood, it just all feels blah and try-hard. 😅

So my advice is, don’t try to force it; just follow your mood.

And whenever your enjoyment dips a little, try making your logic lens a little blurrier.

3. Tropes abound

There are quite a few tropes at play in this story world. Some are played straight, while others are turned on their heads.

Knowing to expect that this is basically a trope-fest, helps.

STUFF I LIKED

How Show is short, sharp and irreverent

I like that our episodes are just 40 minutes each, and therefore, things trot along pretty quickly, and it feels like we get narrative movement on a regular basis, since our story doesn’t stay in one place for very long.

Show is a busy little thing with places to be and people to see, and no time to dilly-dally over anything.

I’m rather amused by Show’s offbeat, irreverent tone, where it pitches itself as a different sort of fairytale that’s absolutely not for kids, and even has a cheeky narrator to regale us with our story’s happenings.

I personally rather enjoyed the narrator, and thought of her as cheeky-sardonic, rather than patronizing or condescending (as some other viewers did).

Show is kinda wacky, and there are physical gags, but it often comes together in a way that works for me, somehow.

The Cinderella-inspired bits

Any time Show acknowledged its Cinderella source story by aligning itself to the classic fairytale, I got a kick out of it.

And then any time it made a twist to the original story, I got a kick out of it too.

As you can see, I just got a thrill from the fact that Show was unabashed about being a Cinderella-inspired story – and then toying mischievously with the narrative pieces. 😁

[SPOILER ALERT]

E1-2. I’m tickled by the fact that our female lead Jae Rim (Pyo Ye Jin) really is vaguely in some kind of Cinderella-esque situation, complete with a stepmother and two stepsisters.

I’m even more tickled by the fun little twists that our story makes to the classic fairytale.

Like the way Stepmom (Baek Joo Hee) is sincerely in love with Jae Rim’s father (Ryu Seung Soo), and even tells Jae Rim, with tears in her eyes, that she will be good to her forever. Aw.

As for the stepsisters, even though they’re presented as not really liking Jae Rim very much, there’s actually a sibling-esque comradeship there, or at least, hints of it, that I find quite endearing.

Like when Jae Rim bickers with Hwa Jin (Song Young Joo) over eating in the room, or when Jae Rim gives in to her hunger pangs and Hwa Jin joins her in making the most gigantic bibimbap ever, so that they can stuff their faces.

I thought I would end up disliking the stepsisters, especially Hwa Jin, who literally throws a giant toddler tantrum when their house gets repossessed, but so far, I actually find her kind of harmless.

ALSO. I find it so fun that our male lead (Lee Jun Young) is named Cha Min, coz that makes him Prince Cha Min, which is so in the spirit of our Cinderella story. 😁

And then I couldn’t help giggling, when our narrator helpfully makes the connection for us, by referring to him as “Prince Cha Min.” SO PERFECT. 🤭

[END SPOILER]

Pyo Ye Jin as Jae Rim

I found Pyo Ye Jin quite pitch perfect for this role.

She’s got a likable vibe to her, and she also can play goofy very well, and that suits our female lead Jae Rim to a T.

[FOUNDATIONAL HIGH-LEVEL SPOILERS]

Even though Show literally makes her the Cinderella of our story, and even though (as you’d know from Show’s synopsis) Jae Rim’s determined to find herself a man, so that he can be her way out of poverty, she doesn’t land as a Candy, or as a gold-digger.

Instead, she comes across as a pretty normal person who’s reluctantly come around to the idea of a problem-solving marriage, and is now therefore doing her best to play this game – even though she’s really unfamiliar with the game itself.

[END SPOILERS]

Lee Jun Young as Cha Min

This was my first time watching Lee Jun Young in the role of a romantic leading man (for reference, I’ve only seen him in The Impossible Heir, thus far), and I thought he fit the role of Cha Min nicely.

I thought he brought a nice amount of emotional resonance when the opportunity presented itself, and I also thought he did nicely with the more comedic beats.

I found it refreshing that Cha Min’s a decently likable guy, for being a chaebol prince, and I thought his petty tendencies more amusing than annoying.

[SPOILER ALERT]

E1-2. I’d assumed that Cha Min would be quite the jerk and be quite unlikable, based on his description in this show’s synopsis on MDL, but he’s not unlikable.

It’s pretty hyperbolic that he’s not just a 3rd generation chaebol prince, but an 8th generation one, but that does explain why he’s so carefree when it comes to profit and loss for his social club.

He’s not in this for the money; he’s in this for the fun of it – thus the social club’s tagline: “Follow your joy.”

Heh. I do rather like the spirit of that tagline, not gonna lie.

I was quite amused, too, that Show’s interpretation of the idea that he sees women as mere rocks, is to actually switch out the women for large rocks sitting on chairs, at that wedding. 😁

Mostly, I like that even with his quirks and airs, he basically comes across as soft-edged and not jerk-like.

And, what a bonus, that he’s got fight skillz up his fancy sleeves, that we get to see in action, just 14 minutes into episode 1. 🤭

E3-4. Part of the fun of these episodes, is watching Cha Min get all flustered and awkward when it comes to Jae Rim; Lee Jun Young’s hapless reaction faces are pretty on-point I thought!

Like when fiancée Dan Ah shows up while Cha Min and Jae Rim are talking outside the washrooms, and Jae Rim scurries off; Cha Min’s chagrined hapless expression is pretty great.

[END SPOILER]

Our OTP

While I do like Pyo Ye Jin and Lee Jun Young together, I have to confess that my feelings for this OTP relationship are not as.. enthusiastic, as I would like them to be.

I basically like this OTP relationship, but I would like to have loved it, if you know what I mean.

Overall, I think I liked the concept more than the execution.

Specifically, I would have liked to have had more emotional resonance with the OTP relationship, especially since their loveline is a big part of our story.

I think that, with Show being more quirky and offbeat, and taking time for the silly and humorous, it somehow lost its grip, somewhat, on the emotional resonance of this relationship.

And because emotional resonance is a big thing for me personally when I watch dramas, this did work to dampen my enthusiasm for this OTP, a little bit.

I still found it pretty fun and entertaining, though, for the record – and here are some highlights from my watch.

[SPOILER ALERT]

E1-2. One rather pleasant surprise, for me, is that even though our would-be OTP doesn’t get off to a great start, with Jae Rim’s borrowed high heel hitting Cha Min in the head, and him threatening to sue, the negative sparks between them are quite.. mild and gentle.

I’ve seen would-be OTPs in other shows get really aggressively bickery with each other, and that’s not quite my thing.

I also love that despite her rather desperate financial circumstances, Jae Rim isn’t ever cowed by Cha Min – whether she knows that he’s her potential new boss or not.

And yet, when she stands up to him – like on the staircase, when he threatens to sue her – she doesn’t come off as being nasty either.

That’s quite a feat, because she actually pushes him a bit, on that staircase, before saving him.

I’d thought that her pushing him, even a little bit, would leave a bad taste in my mouth, but.. it oddly doesn’t, and I think that it’s because Pyo Ye Jin delivers it with firmness, but without spite.

This same gently bickery dynamic continues, even when Jae Rim goes for her interview with her potential new boss, and realizes that that potential new boss is none other than Cha Min.

She doesn’t backpedal furiously like I’d expected her to, and he doesn’t lean into a power trip like I’d expected him to.

I am thoroughly surprised that instead of backpedaling, Jae Rim instead offers to pray for Cha Min – that he’ll lead a short but eventful life, and never be able to buy happiness despite all his money. And that he’ll be struck by lightning. Ha!

(On that note, the physical gag of an imagined Cha Min being struck by lightning is played in a surprisingly adorable way, with Cha Min wriggling his body and then grabbing his butt, hahaha! Cute! 🤭)

And then, what a surprisingly vulnerable dork Cha Min turns out to be, getting all scared by himself through the night, with those repeated hallucinations of a gloating Jae Rim.

Even more surprising to me, is that he proceeds to offer Jae Rim the job – without spite.

I mean. How nice, yes? And this, even though she gives him sass for calling her first thing in the morning, and tells him that she never wants to cross paths with him again.

He legitimately looks pleased to be offering the job, in spite of her sassing him, and I’m quite charmed, not gonna lie.

By this point, it’s clear to see that he’s quite charmed by her, especially with the way he dorkily fusses over his outfit for her first day of work.

And then later, when Jae Rim lets slip that her dream is to be a Cinderella, I like that their ensuing conversation has her standing up for herself, in a firm and dignified manner.

I like that she refuses to be ashamed of her dream, and is matter-of-fact about her difficulties.

The beer-drinking competition that they end up having by the Han River is pretty out there and off-the-wall, but it’s all in good fun, and of course, he’s touched in a whole new way, when Jae Rim remarks sincerely that it must have hurt a lot, when he’d split his fingernail. 🥲

Also, you guys know how much I dislike toilet humor, yes?

I groaned a little when we did get some toilet humor towards the end of episode 2, but honestly, I’m impressed that Show plays it pretty gently, despite it being a rather prolonged gag.

It’s all very slo-mo dramatic when Jae Rim needs to use the bathroom to pee after chugging all that beer, and Cha Min heroically princess-carries her and runnnns to the nearest bathroom (which Show helpfully informs us is very far away).

I even chuckled a bit, when Jae Rim looks at Cha Min through rose-colored glasses and sighs at how cool and gallant he is. 😁

I consider that a Big Win, because I actively dislike toilet humor as a general rule, and here, Show even has me chuckling along, at points. Impressive.

It’s all very sweet-cute-awkward afterwards, as Jae Rim comes out of the bathroom, feeling shy that she’s embarrassed herself in front of Cha Min, while registering that he is, indeed, very cool and charming.

E3-4. I’m quite amused that we see both Jae Rim and Cha Min thinking back to the princess-carry toilet run.

Jae Rim, dreamily pondering over how strong and manly Cha Min is, with such firm muscles that they wouldn’t give way even if you poked them, heh, and legit squeeing about it all, into her towel, doesn’t seem too averse to the idea of Cha Min, really.

And Cha Min, doing frantic push-ups, as he thinks back to how Jae Rim had asked Oppa to go faster, and then faster still, and getting all hot and bothered, definitely seems quite preoccupied with Jae Rim, heh.

E3-4. The entire laundry scene leading up to the falling kiss, was quite amusing.

First, because laundry scenes are such mainstays in romantic kdramas; like, there’s just something about spotting your fated love through the fluttering laundry that seems to really resonate with kdrama writers?

And then, the cuteness of Cha Min admiring Jae Rim through the laundry, and even borrowing one of her earbuds to see what she’s listening to, gets undercut by her playlist switching to the snippet of her friend’s recording of that racy audiobook.

That’s mortifying in and of itself, so I can totally understand Jae Rim’s instinct to reach over to get the earbud out of Cha Min’s ear, which causes her to trip and land in that iconic-yet-tropey falling kiss manner – just short of actually kissing him, ha.

I do like that Jae Rim’s got enough chutzpa in her, to not only explain that it’s only because her friend is a voice actress, but even ask Cha Min if he can’t also like the video, to help her friend out.

I guess that not only shows that she’s got a good amount of confidence, but also, that she’s comfortable enough with Cha Min, to tell him about this.

..and then, how funny, that he actually does go seek out that audio clip, and press “like,” before getting all hot and bothered when he gets to the, er, spicier portion of the clip. 🤭

E3-4. I didn’t like it so much when Cha Min tells Jae Rim that she stinks, because that’s just not very nice.

But, again, this reminds me of little boy playground behavior, and that helps frame it a little better.

E3-4. Just as Jae Rim’s getting humiliated by that group of snooty guests (which now includes Do Hong!) Prince Cha Min comes striding up, and proclaims that he likes that mint chocolate flavor – which was exactly what the snooties were snooting down on.

E5-6. We’ve already known that Cha Min’s a goner for Jae Rim for a while now, so when he gets all upset at how she lets all the snooties walk all over her, I can see that it’s coming from a place of concern and protectiveness.

And, I can’t help but notice that he makes it a point to tell Jae Rim that his engagement to Dan Ah is purely a business arrangement, and that he has no obligation to take care of her feelings.

Plus, he tells Jae Rim that he doesn’t much about his business; he’s more worried about whether or not she’s ok.

Oh wow, that’s quite a telling statement, isn’t it?

Also, while telling Jae Rim to remove the stain from her outfit, he even tells her that the outfit suits her well??

I must say Cha Min’s being pretty sweet and caring, and quite unlike his usual blustery cranky self.

That said, the kiss in front of everyone did take my by surprise.

Honestly, I have mixed feelings about this kiss.

On the downside, I don’t like that the kiss is positioned as something to increase Jae Rim’s value; that was the trigger for it in the first place.

Because people were snooting that nothing could ever increase Jae Rim’s value, Cha Min steps in to kiss her, which then increases Jae Rim’s value in the eyes of the snooties.

That.. is quite derogatory in itself, isn’t it? Like, being branded by Cha Min, is the only way for Jae Rim to be looked at differently, by these people.

I didn’t like that.

On the upside, it’s clear for us to see, that Cha Min’s kiss is powered by real feelings, and while yes, there are lashings of defiance in his kiss, it settles into something that’s more sincerely gentle and ardent, and that’s pretty great.

Also, gotta love that Lee Jun Young’s kissing like he means it, which makes me feel like Cha Min’s in a world of his own, as he finally gives expression to his feelings for Jae Rim, never mind that the world is watching.

It’s just unfortunate, that afterwards, Cha Min frames the kiss as his way of helping Jae Rim to achieve her dream, so that she can be loved.

It’s also unfortunate that Jae Rim believes him – even though we see that Cha Min is very much wrestling with his feelings.

In fact, I’m quite surprised that he tells his hapkido coach(? sparring partner?) that there’s someone that he likes, but that he won’t like her.

My main takeaway from this, is, he’s cognizant of his feelings for Jae Rim! Ooh!

The other takeaway, of course, is his reason for deciding not to like her; because he doesn’t want to be devastated like his father had been, when his mother had left.

Of course. This being the trope-fest that we knew it would be, our male lead had to have some kind of emotional trauma that’s preventing him from wanting to commit to someone and get married.

The next day, I’m actually a little taken aback by the apparent spicy undercurrent to the conversation between Cha Min and Jae Rim, coz when he asks her to forget about the kiss, she says she’ll just take it that she ate an innkeeper worm.

I mean. Show later helpfully labels Cha Min’s lips as “innkeeper worm,” but I can’t help thinking that it would make more sense that Jae Rim’s talking about all the tongue that went on, during the kiss. 🤭

Either way, she says that innkeeper worms are meaty and delicious, and she wishes that they were easier to get, which is quite funny, when you take into account the double entendre! 🤭

It’s a bit of a bummer that Jae Rim’s “kiss test” fails, because Cha Min manages to get a hold of his senses, but I suppose it’s a little early in the game for Cha Min’s cover to be busted.

Still, it’s becoming clear that Jae Rim does have feelings for Cha Min, since she doesn’t want to dress up to impress Do Hong, and that’s why she feels that the whole makeover shopping trip was unnecessary.

E5-6. It’s too bad that Jae Rim takes to heart what Dan Ah says about Cha Min toying with her, and thus tells Cha Min, in a huff, to never mind her personal business again.

Aw. He does look sincerely contrite when he apologizes, though Jae Rim dismisses it.

The whole kidnapping arc is pretty silly and out there, thanks to Dan Ah’s uncles and their various zany disguises and threats, but HEY. Cha Min finding his way to Dan Ah, and busting out more fight moves, is something I don’t mind at all. 😁

Soon, both uncles duly felled, we have Cha Min rushing over to Jae Rim for a relieved hug, as he tells her that he’d been worried sick about her.

Ahhh!! Looks like we are getting to the mutually acknowledged feelings part now, which should be fun? With more ardent, gentle kisses to go with, maybe? 😁

Go break that social order, Cha Min – I’m cheering for ya! 😁

E7-8. I like how gentle Cha Min is, when he asks Jae Rim if she isn’t hurt from the kidnapping ordeal.

And afterwards, I like that Cha Min thinks to apologize, for meddling in her business when he’d promised not to, and because this had all happened because of him.

More than that, I like his serious, gentle tone when he apologizes; I find that I like it when he’s being serious.

And he sounds sweetly serious, when he asks Jae Rim again, if she’s really alright, and if she isn’t too shocked. Aw.

I also like that we get some meaningful conversation in the mix, like when Jae Rim jokingly asks if Cha Min had been kidnapped before, and he answers yes, and tells her what had happened.

I feel that he’s opening up to Jae Rim, and this feels important, since Cha Min’s been so purposely closed off, for fear of being hurt.

I also very much appreciate the nuance, where we see a sheen of tears in Cha Min’s eyes, as he sees Jae Rim off, and tells her to be careful going back home.

Emotions. I like seeing them on Cha Min. 🥲

And, I’m really pleasantly surprised by how cognizant Cha Min is, when it comes to his feelings for Jae Rim.

Like, in this moment, he is able to feel and articulate that his feelings for her are growing stronger, and that he wants to trust her and confess his feelings for her.

I really like that Cha Min’s so in touch with his feelings. 🥲

I thought it was very in character for Cha Min to organize self-defense classes for everyone at Chungdam Heaven, in order to teach Jae Rim a few moves with which to protect herself.

Aw, I guess he’s still trying to hide his feelings for her, even he’s very much aware of how he feels.

The moments of blushy hyper-awareness, followed quickly by lethal knock-you-down moves, was quite amusing to me, but I was mostly taken by the hyper-awareness – especially when Cha Min invites Jae Rim to feel his latissimus dorsi muscle, ahem. 🔥

I also like that Jae Rim is also showing cognizance for her own feelings for Cha Min.

Even when Ho Dong confesses his feelings for her, and quite publicly at that, Jae Rim remains unmoved, and only really wonders about Cha Min’s feelings for her.

Her frustration at talking in circles with Cha Min, eventually giving way to her daring him to sleep at her home for a night, kinda doesn’t make sense to me, but I’ll take it, because this gives us more OTP time together.

Them having a spontaneous ramyun date like they’re camping, is pretty cute, but more importantly, it puts them both in the space for open conversation.

I really like how Cha Min’s able to home in on the fact that Jae Rim’s viewing the world through a lens of hatred – and proceeds to take it off for her, so that she can also see that she’s a lovely child, too.

Aw. That’s sweet and thoughtful, and importantly, it really speaks to Jae Rim in a way she hadn’t realized she’d needed. 🥰

I really like that it’s not only healing for her, but helps her have more empathy for him too, because she’s suddenly able to consider the possibility that his keeping his feelings for her vague, might have more to do with him, than with her.

I was very much for them moving away from Jae Rim’s old home to Cha Min’s apartment, coz it just made more sense to not freeze themselves silly in such poor conditions.

Plus, we get the almost falling kiss, in the bathroom scene, where we even get Cha Min’s imagined, much hotter version of events 🔥, heh.

And how about the way he grabs her bathrobe and asks her to stay, when he thinks that the reason she says she needs to leave, is because of Ho Dong?

It made no sense to me that he’d grab the tie of her bathrobe, but it makes for a cute visual.

Speaking of cute visuals, I did love the little scene of drunk Cha Min hugging the lamppost, thinking it was Jae Rim. And I couldn’t help but register that the kiss that he plants on the lamppost is gentle too. Aw. 🥲

The whole mom arc felt a little sudden, but I appreciate that Show is being quite brisk about it, and not dragging out the question of Mom’s identity, like a longer drama would likely do.

I appreciate that when Jae Rim takes Cha Min to meet Mom, she positions it as her taking out the thorn in Cha Min’s eyes, much like the way he’d taken the lens of hatred out of her eyes.

It’s not too surprising that Cha Min’s too hurt to accept Mom’s explanation or her apologies, but I’m glad that Jae Rim’s right there to comfort him and assure him that love is real, and love is true.

And, I get the feeling that Cha Min’s wounds are starting to heal right there, as Jae Rim holds him and pats his back, the way he’s always needed.

[END SPOILER]

Jae Rim and her stepfamily [SPOILERS]

Jae Rim’s stepfamily was an unexpected highlight for me, mainly because I hadn’t imagined that Show would turn the evil stepfamily trope on its head, and actually make Jae Rim’s stepmother and stepsisters actually care about her.

I liked that a lot, and found myself perking up whenever we got to see Jae Rim interacting with them.

[SPOILER ALERT]

E3-4. As bickery as they are, I like that there’s honesty as well as a sibling flair to Jae Rim’s conversations with her stepsister Hwa Jin.

When Hwa Jin asks Jae Rim what she needs the money for, I’m actually quite impressed that Jae Rim is upfront and tells it like it is; that it’s for to get help achieving her wish of marrying a rich and good husband.

E7-8. It’s unfortunate that Jae Rim’s family misunderstands her deal with Dr. Koo (Lee Sang Woon) as selling out Su Jin (Kim Chae Eun), and it’s not ideal that they have this huge falling out, which results in Jae Rim taking her things and moving out immediately, because she feels that they never treated her as family for real, anyway.

I’m glad that the misunderstanding doesn’t last too long, and that amends are quickly made, when Hwa Jin texts Jae Rim to tell her to come home for a special beef supper.

The way they welcome her home really was very heartwarming, I felt, with Stepmom even getting Su Jin and Hwa Jin tipsy – coz Hwa Jin is sweet when she’s drunk, heh.

In the end, it feels like a worthwhile misunderstanding, because the family ties feel even stronger now, after they’ve made up. 🥰

[END SPOILER]

STUFF THAT WAS OK

Song Ji Woo as Dan Ah

Dan Ah is not a pleasant character by any means, but I’ve got her in this section because I found her entertaining.

I found myself quite fascinated by Dan Ah; she’s like some kind of sweetly lethal human doll, with her saccharine voice, doll-like makeup and outfits, and her very volatile, threatening sort of temper.

Because of the nature of our story world, which, to me, leans more light satire than Serious Story, I found Dan Ah more entertaining in a caricature-y sort of way, than scary and unlikable in a sociopathic sort of way.

Show’s sense of humor

Generally, I did appreciate Show’s droll sense of humor, but I have to confess that I didn’t always find Show’s Intended Funny all that funny, which is why I’ve got it in this more neutral section.

It’s all very subjective, certainly, and stuff that I didn’t find that funny, might have had you in stitches, and vice versa.

For the record, here are a few highlights of the stuff that I found myself amused at, and entertained by, to varying degrees.

[SPOILER ALERT]

When it worked for me

E3-4. I’m quite amused that Cupid’s made out to be an unpredictable toddler, with an inclusive heart, but possibly poor eyesight, and absolutely poor aim. 😂

E3-4. When Jae Rim actually goes to see the shaman at Wish Pavilion, I was tickled to see that it’s none other than Jang Do Yeon, whom I’ve been seeing everywhere, thanks to all the Salon Drip episodes and trailers, like the one for Lovely Runner.

I really liked Jang Do Yeon’s deadpan, low-key sort of delivery, the restraint just made it all funnier, to me.

My favorite bit was how she mused that Cupid might have poor eyesight or something, coz his aim is bad – and then we cut to the shot of the Cupid statuette, and his pee is, uh, not very targeted.

I only really got the reference on second watch, but it finally dawned on me that when little boys learn how to pee standing up, they’re also taught to aim – thus this shot of poor-aiming Cupid, to round off the joke. 🤭😅

E3-4. That scene where Jae Rim talks to herself about the smell of poverty, and Show slaps on that black strip over her eyes like in Parasite, was quite amusing too. At least, I was grateful that I was able to get the Parasite reference, given that I was probably among the 1% of viewers who didn’t love the movie (shocking, I know!).

E7-8. I’m tickled at how Jae Rim exacts petty revenge on Dan Ah’s uncles by shaving off their eyebrows – because the law is too lenient. Pfft. That’s a pretty fun callback to Pyo Ye Jin’s role in Taxi Driver, I thought. 😁

So she’s still for rogue justice – except she’s now also busy being a Cinderella in an ironic fairytale. 🤭

[END SPOILER]

STUFF I DIDN’T LIKE SO MUCH

Kim Hyun Jin as Do Hong [SPOILERS]

Overall, I just didn’t like what Show did with Do Hong as a character, and I’ll just summarize by saying that writer-nim made him do some stuff that really got my goat, and then when Show tried to redeem him afterwards, it was just too late, for me. 😅

[SPOILER ALERT]

On the plus side

E3-4. I thought the arrival of Baek Do Hong as a young, handsome film director, was so tongue-in-cheek self aware.

Like, yes, this is the perfect second male lead that our story requires; he’s not just super nice, he even carries a sewing kit in his bag, and whips it out for emergencies, HA. 😂

I enjoyed that little detail a lot.

On the not-plus side

E3-4. I felt bad for Jae Rim, but wasn’t at all surprised, when Do Hong turns out to be very different from the nice persona he’d first projected, while joining Chungdam Heaven.

His behavior indicates that he seems to basically see Jae Rim as part of the help, and so far, he was just being nice. But once push comes to shove, that niceness is turned elsewhere: to people who are considered in his own league.

E5-6. I have to say, I’m disappointed and kind of low-key aggravated, that Show is trying to bring Do Hong back, as a dreamy second male lead.

After how he joined the snooties to ignore Jae Rim when she’d been humiliated in front of everyone, NOW, we have Jae Rim still wondering if her dream is coming true, when Do Hong invites her to his studio, and sweet-talks her, and even almost kisses her??

Blech – is my general response to this.

It makes me feel like Show and he are both trying to gaslight Jae Rim into thinking that Do Hong’s a dreamy catch, despite the way he’d clearly looked down on her, at the party.

I’m not a fan of this. In fact, I’m not a fan of him, period.

Which means that I don’t feel sorry for him, for his hidden pain, of having lost his love because of his poor social standing at the time.

And, I don’t care that he feels ashamed of his secret identity as a best-selling BL author.

But fine, I get that Do Hong is touched that Jae Rim is kind and supportive, when his brother outs his secret BL author life.

[END SPOILER]

THOUGHTS ON THE ENDING [SPOILERS]

I honestly think that your mileage on the finale will vary, depending on how effortlessly you’ve enjoyed this show up to this point.

And because I’ve found this watch a little more effortful than effortless overall, when it comes to appreciating Show’s tone and quirks, it’s not super surprising that I came out of this finale feeling a little underwhelmed.

Basically, I mostly liked the concept, but thought it all felt a little.. flat, in execution?

I think part of the perceived flatness, for me, is the angst (and noble idiocy) that is introduced and then solved, in episode 9; it feels perfunctory, almost.

Like, oh, we’re almost at the end, quick, let’s get this angst in, and then get rid of it, as quickly as possible, we’ve got boxes to check and places to go, chop chop. 😅

Ultimately, it’s not the swiftness of the angst’s arrival and departure that’s the problem; it’s the shallow emotional effect that this creates.

I find that I barely have time to invest my feelings in any of it, before it’s gone, and because it doesn’t create the emotional impact that a stretch of penultimate angst typically does, it feels kind of.. pointless? 😅

I do like the idea that Show presents, though, that Jae Rim is her own best Prince Charming – and therefore doesn’t need anyone else to be her Prince Charming.

And, I have to admit, Cha Min’s gesture, of getting her childhood drawing restored, is a very thoughtful and sweet one.

Plus, the note that he writes to go with it, that she’s stronger and cooler than she thinks? Precious – and an excellent message for all of us to take away, as well. 🥲

I rather like that after Jae Rim digests this message, she adopts it as her new approach to life – and then takes it upon herself to confess her feelings to Cha Min, tell him that it doesn’t matter that he’s lost everything, and basically be his Prince Charming, a little bit, by taking him home like he’s a homeless bum she found on the street. 😁

And then we have a happy ending where Jae Rim’s become a successful animation artist (illustrator?), and Cha Min’s main job is to just be there to rub her tired legs and love her.

..While still running Chungdam Heaven, of course, coz Dad fell in love with Mom all over again, and gave everything to Cha Min, for him to run, so that Dad and Mom could make up for all their lost time.

Overall, it’s a sweet, happy ending that leans unconventional, which is what I’d hoped for, and fully expected, from this little show.

It’s a pity that I personally found the ending rather lacking in terms of emotional resonance and feels, but at least it’s pretty fun in concept? 😅

THE FINAL VERDICT:

Offbeat, quirky and fun in concept, though uneven in execution.

FINAL GRADE: B

TRAILER:

MV:

PATREON UPDATE!

The next drama I’m covering on Patreon, in place of  Dreaming of a Freaking Fairytale, is The Princess Royal [China].

You can check out my episode 1-4 notes on The Princess Royal on Patreon here.

Here’s an overview of what I’m covering on Patreon right now (Tier benefits are cumulative)!

Foundation Tier (US$1): Entertainment Drop (Sundays) + the first set notes of all shows covered on Patreon (that’s 2 episodes for kdramas and 4 episodes for cdramas)

Early Access (US$5): +My Sweet Mobster [Korea]

Early Access Plus (US$10): +The Tale of Rose [China]

VIP (US$15): +Miss Night and Day [Korea]