Our drama world might appear really tough, rough and gruff a lot of the time, but underneath all that loud bluster, there’s a lot of sincerity and wholesomeness.
That sincerity and wholesomeness comes through many of our characters and relationships, but none more than Jang Dong Yoon’s character, Baek Du, whom I consider to be the heart of this story.
A drama journey that I consider to be warm and worthwhile, despite the side of murder mystery.
For me personally, Cinderella at 2 AM is a show with a fun concept, that successfully plays with some tropes, to deliver a sense of freshness in the watch experience.
Unfortunately, to my eyes, this show is better in concept than execution, in just about every area. 😅 Generally speaking, I found the writing, acting and overall delivery to be on the ungainly side of things.
In terms of silver linings, I count the secondary OTP as a big, fun plus 🤩, and I also found the music pleasant enough to smooth over a number of rough edges.
In addition, I’d also say that this show does manage to serve up a decent amount of heart, despite its shortcomings.
Not a must-see by any means, but might be worth a whirl, given the right mood.
When Show is at its best, it’s warm, funny and cozy-slurpy in the best way. Mature leads with fantastic acting chops and great chemistry? A shiny-pretty rom-com world? Easy-breezy music to score it all? Check, check and check.
On the downside, Show attempts to fit in a side of murder, AND a keen spotlight on the potential hazards of a highly competitive academic system, and after a while, Show’s focus gets muddied with these extras.
The downsides aren’t enough to be a deal-breaker for me personally, but I do think that your mileage may vary.
Overall, I found this warm, fuzzy and worthwhile, despite Show’s narrative detours into less warm, less fuzzy things.