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IT’S A DUD!!! GOOD ACTING BUT STUPID SCRIPT, STUPID CHARACTERS
IT’S A DUD!!! GOOD ACTING BUT STUPID SCRIPT, STUPID CHARACTERSMystery thriller in the first episodes, but turned romance in the middle eps. Thrill reappeared after this slump — when the caller entered the scene again.
EARLY EPISODES
I don’t get ML’s seeming animosity towards FL. Why does he seem to HATE FL when we would learn later that he’d been protecting her and finding her as his source of comfort. And that all along he knew that she’s being treated unfairly by her mother.
So, to me, this seeming disrespect toward FL is uncalled for. Especially when he told her to take the wedding gown off. He could have said it in a more friendly and respectful manner —because FL did nothing wrong, and he knows that.
And the THREE YEARS they spent under one roof — without eating or sleeping together!! I don’t get that, really. And the reasons (given in the middle eps) were lame at best.
It seems the writer did that just to fit in the “enemies-to-lovers” trope, which is now is overused, really.
*****
Also UNINTENTIONALLY FUNNY is when FL did sign language interpretation in an event where there were no deaf or mute folks in the audience. The scene is forced — just so the two will have their first public appearance together.
🙄
JUST WHEN I THOUGHT that the story is predictable, Ep 9’s cliffhanger gave us a very unexpected revelation. I guess nobody saw that coming.
And then, ANOTHER twist soon followed (Ep 10). Wow.
*****
THE REVELATION (EP 10). When ML revealed to the whole world that he is not who they think he is, he proceeded with the drama about loving his wife. Super corny scene/script. Ok, fine.
BUT… no explanation was given as to who he really is and why he pretended to be the son of a presidential candidate??? And the media people didn’t ask why?? ALL became stupid and unthinking?? Wow. Is that realistic?? 🙄
In Ep 11 the father (presidential candidate) explained to the press “what really happened.” Okay. And this is a day or two after ML’s big revelation. I mean, hello??? What happened RIGHT AFTER ML’s revelation? No one really bothered to ask??? Not even his staff? That just seems incredible!
*****
Also in Ep 11 (penultimate ep), there’s another revelation — from the kidnapper; but he just whispered it to ML. ML was dumbfounded and teared up. What is it? And why did he look at FL?? I guess we’ll have to wait till the finale to know what it is.
But ML being the REAL son of the old rich man is not new anymore. This was revealed earlier by the professor (the mother who was arrested).
SPEAKING OF THE MOTHER, the scene where she killed the old man — that was also forced. The old man is dying!! Couldn’t she wait?? Did she really have to do that?? Stupid move from stupid character.
*****
FINALE
What?? ML disappeared (hid) from everyone — including FL?? For SIX MONTHS?!! Without giving any reason?? Another major roll-eye moment. This is as — if not more — cruel than his initial treatment of FL. Sheeez….
For whatever reason he has, SIX MONTHS is waaaay too long. Does he think his wife has no feelings??? Grrr.
Now I’m watching in 1.5x speed. Too bad, Netflix had no 2x speed.
*****
NOW, WE’VE ENTERED A REBEL TERRITORY
and we have only 30 minutes more to go.
Who watches sunsets in rebel territories??? 🙄
*****
STUPID FL RISKS HER LIFE
and stupid ML scolds her after saving her —
after not seeing her for SIX MONTHS!!!
Then, stupid ML asks, “Why are you here?”
Stupid!!! 🤣
Haha!!! Can this get any funnier???
*****
And it DID get funnier…
ML: “Can’t you see I’m holding back?”
Oh gosh. What is this, writer??? 🙄
*****
SO… we learn what the kidnapper told ML.
So what???
It was ML’s father who did that, NOT ML!!
So, why the reaction (hide from it all)???
Why didn’t he talk to FL about it?
Stupid reaction to a stupid plot twist.
Geeeez!!!
*****
OVERALL
Sorry to disappoint the fans of this series, but it’s just another makjang for me. Google makjang. So many stupid scenes. Series started okay, but it went steadily downhill and crashed at the end.
Acting from the entire cast is okay to great, but the STUPID story couldn’t save this sorry mess of a series.
Definitely not rewatching this one — ever!
🙄
ALSO: Posters for this series are duh, lazy, uncreative, unimaginative. Who did those?? High school kids??
MY RATING: 5 / 10
👎🏼
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It’s not bad but for me one of the most overrated drama in 2024
This drama wasn’t a totally failure for me. The plot twist on EP1 was good, the main couple had a good chemistry together, Yeon Seok (once again) was totally hot and the plot about the kidnapper/villain was entertaining enough. But I just can’t ignore all the cringey scenes, the bad script on some episodes, out of nowhere events and how everything feel apart completely after EP10. When I think about the drama in general, I feel it was kind overrated. But let me talk more about it.For me this drama had a lot of cringe scenes since the beginning and this can make a lot of people give up of watching but I could ignore this thankfully to the main leads great chemistry. But I can’t lie, it was a little too cringe for me at times and I blame the script and the director for this. Speaking of another thing that I blame the script and direction for was the actors' performances.
For me, Yeon Seok delivered a good performance as always, but I found myself totally disappointed with Soobin. I like her as an actress but I think this was one of her worst works. And talking about their characters itself I found both male and female lead annoying and dumb in the beginning. Sa Eon should’ve been more smart actually but he wasn’t. And I expected more for Hee Joo but unfortunately she wasn’t what I thought she would be. Also I found kind funny how Sa Eon said he was in love with Hee Joo since the beginning but treated her like she was a nobody in their own home for 3 years lol and then he changed completely how he acted and started to care for her.
The secondary characters were kind ok. No one totally captivated me but I liked Sang U and Yu ri’s scenes together. Talking about the villain plot, I gotta say that it was kind well done and interesting enough for me, everything was making sense. Sure, the story itself was nothing different from what we usually see in kdramas but it was convincing enough. But gosh what happened with this drama after EP10?
What the hell was the revelation about Sa Eon’s real father? It was so out of nowhere for me and they didn’t explain nothing about it….like, why his real father abandoned him? And his father abandoned him to literally bring him back to be his grandfather later? Like…what? lol This plot twist was forced to me and it seems they did this just so Sa Eon could feel guilty for Hee Joo’s brother accident but why would he feel THAT guilty for something that a father he didn't even know he had did? Ater everything they went through, being away from her for months because of that was completely unnecessary.
In fact, unnecessary and inconsistent were two words that summed up this drama in general for me, especially at episodes 10 to 12. What the hell happened on episode 11 and 12 too? The whole kidnapping scene with Hee Joo on EP11 was inconsistent and this Argan arc on EP12 made no sense at all..the only good thing was the making out scene later lol
So yeah. Since the beginning I saw how popular this drama was and although I wasn’t feeling the same hype as others I thought it still was kind entertaining enough but then after EP10 everything feel apart and when I think about this drama in general I feel like the whole hype is not there for me. It’s not the worse drama of all but the cringy scenes, the inconsistency of scenes and characters, and out of nowhere events made hard for me to give more than a 7.5.
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"DARE I SAY THIS IS THE BEST KDRAMA OF 2024....''
WOW! JUST WOW!! I've got no words for this kdrama, honestly. I am just flabbergausted such a drama had to wait till the end of the year to be released, like why?? But, let's start first with the cast, GOD DAMN! The casts is so unexpectedly amazing, i didn't expect the chemistry between Yoon Yeon Seok & Chae Soo Bin to blow up this big, like the chemistry is TOP-TIER, the tension between them is ONE WORD- INSANE, despite the 10 year gap, they proved all haters wrong with this acting. Just them too looking at each other already bring so much passion and butterflies in the stomach as a viewer. Who knew their chemistry will really explode like this? I'm so really happy for them....Also, the plot, damn, the plot...is INSANE...
PLOT DEVELOPMENT
The story begins with Baek Sa-eon and Hong Hee-joo, who have been married for three years but live in silence, largely due to their mutual disdain for each other. Their relationship is strained further when Hee-joo is kidnapped by a masked man who uses malware to hijack her car. This kidnapper demands Sa-eon’s attention and threatens Hee-joo’s life.
As tensions rise during the hostage situation, Sa-eon faces immense pressure as he navigates his responsibilities as a government spokesperson while dealing with his wife’s kidnapping. In a critical moment during a phone call with the kidnapper, Sa-eon coldly tells him to kill Hee-joo if he wishes—words that deeply hurt Hee-joo when she hears them.
After managing to escape temporarily from her captor, Hee-joo’s anger towards Sa-eon intensifies. The couple must confront their feelings and decide whether they can overcome their past grievances and work together to resolve the crisis. The narrative delves into their emotional struggles as they grapple with issues of trust, love, and redemption amidst external pressures from politics and personal trauma.
Ultimately, “When the Phone Rings” is not just about the kidnapping but also about how this traumatic event forces both characters to reevaluate their lives and relationship. It raises questions about what it takes for them to acknowledge each other publicly and privately while dealing with the demands of their respective roles in society.
Thanks for taking ur wonderful time in reading my review. Hope you have a nice day and stay safe.
*Also the ending of ep 6 is so ICONIC*(WATCH IT TO KNOW)
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What a thrilling + love edition!
I don’t know why I want to watch this drama at first. But once ai started, ai cannot stop! I fell in love with the couple. Their chemistry is good. The storyline is power. All the actors are amazing. Very stressful to wait every week.Now i have crush with Yoo Yeon Seok and I had my eyes on Chae Soo Bin. At first I thought it was just only a simple romantic drama. Anyway, everything is good. 😍
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THE DRAMA"S OVERRATED
Don't get me wrong it hooked me from its first episodes because of its unique concept. But it also gives me a typical Wattpad-like storyline (but it was fine since I was expecting something different from this drama). However, the drama got a little too boring for me because a lot was going on, and it was hard to keep up with the characters and the drama, especially with the last episode, it just went downhill. It was a little disappointing because they got a great start and if the production just kept it up, then it would have justified the hype of this drama. Although, the cast did a great job portraying their characters well.Esta resenha foi útil para você?
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Turned Sour in the Second Half
This drama had me HOOKED in the first half but then nosedived into overdramatic chaos in the second part. Gosh, it was so bad, I skipped through episodes 11-12 and didn't feel like I missed anything. The amount of unnecessary drama in a 12-ep. series is a waste of time. What the heck was episode 12? At that point, just shorten it to 11 episodes. The plot was a jumbled mess. The directing and editing complicated things further.The actors acted the hell out of that terrible script though. That's the only reason I rated this so high. The chemistry between leads was so good during the phone calls in the first half, but they couldn't hide terrible writing/directing/editing.
Lower your expectations before going into like ep. 7.
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What is up with Netflix?
I'm genuinely in shock. What was that ending? They spend 90% of the show in agony and having misunderstandings and then you'd think the last episode would be just them finally getting to enjoy each other???? But HE'S SUDDENLY AT WAR ?????!?!?!?!?! AND WE DIDNT EVEN GET ANY REAL,SANGWOO YOURI SCREENTIME. i genuinely loved this show until the last episode. i cant believe that was greenlit???? I begin to wonder if Netflix just fires the writers before the ending... I hope I'm not the only one that was in shock at that? How do we only get like 10 minutes of them being happy??? They could've given them a kid at least... or 2 like why make it sad again? She's almost died like 6 times and they defeated their enemy why tf is he in Argan????#?"?$(%(#Esta resenha foi útil para você?
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So Annoying
This series is not so bad that I want to stop watching, yet I'm really annoyed by a couple of things about it. First off, just how stupid is the ML that he can't put 2 and 2 together? How many episodes is it going to take before he can finally see what's right in front of his face? IMO it should have happened in episode 2 or 3 at most. And I refuse to believe that the FL can so easily control herself in difficult circumstances so as not to reveal her big secret. I find it easier to believe in zombies and I hate zombie series. Naturally, the 2 episodes a week format isn't as enjoyable as the binge-them-all-in-one-shot opportunities. Netflix arbitrarily skipping a week didn't help. As it is I have to watch everything at 1.5 speed due to the prolonged pauses inherent to a lot of Kdramas. Overall I just want this series to move faster. Hopefully it will ripen into a good romance, but it's just a bit too green for me right now.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just watched the finale and it was tot the ending I was hoping for:
The dramatic ending of episode 11 left us hanging (well, for a day) as to what Bad Guy (BG) said to his Uncle ML. I tried to think what new twist could have been so devious that ML would look so sad and made him disappear from FL? When I realized that BG was regularly calling FL "Sis" it occurred to me that maybe BG and FL WERE actual half-siblings! (Her mother would have some explaining to do.) I chuckled for at least a minute. That would have been so wrong! ML would be FL's uncle also and that would make their marriage a very bad idea.
Imagine my disappointment when finding out that ML went away because he felt bad. Yawn. And then there was the whole foreign war-torn adventure in the finale...all to set up some cozy time with a view of the sunset. Far too many footprints in that sand outside their window BTW. The rest of the victory lap episode was ok, not particularly earth-shattering.
Overall I felt that ML and FL didn't spend enough time smiling, or rather I should ask did they cast FL because she cries so well? And at the very end of the finale when 406 becomes a thing again, FL missed an opportunity to be more emphatic and demanding. "Get your a$$ back here right now or you'll be eating my cooking for the next two months!!!" Ah well.
Note: The preceding comments represent my opinions and are published as a personal record (and maybe for the entertainment of others.) Please write your own review about this show rather than critiquing mine.
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Extraordinary execution of familiar tropes
A great drama carried by excellent execution, incredible performances and chemistry. There is nothing new when it comes to the story - when you watch it, you will definitely come across familiar tropes and cliches, BUT the execution is extraordinary. From the cinematography, to music, to editing, to acting - it's a masterclass of TV-making (is that a word?).Yoo Yeon-seok and Chae Soo-bin give THE performances of their careers here and boast chemistry rarely seen in dramas these days. The tension between the two is palpable and you root for them like there's no tomorrow.
Of course, you have to leave your brain behind when it comes to certain scenes. The show sometimes devolves into ridiculous makjang, but other aspects of the drama and its emotional coherence make you turn a blind eye and accept the absurdity at face value.
For me, the true MVP of this drama is the instrumental background music. It sets a great tone in all the scenes where it's used and it's not your typical generic K-drama cat-music. The music director included electronic sounds in the score which you can typically only hear in science-fiction movies & TV shows.
I greatly recommend this drama, you will have a fun ride with it!
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Could have been one of the best I've seen, if not for the last episode.
Wonderful show, great actors, nice music... But worst end I've ever seen. Do yourself a favor and skip most of the last episode apart from the actual end.FEW SPOILERS AHEAD
I don't get why it suddenly had to turn into a fantasy war drama about a made up country that hadn't been mentioned even ONCE in the rest of the show. It's like they fired the screenwriters, threw some D20s and let an AI write the end of the show. Completely out of place. So so sad and disappointed.
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the end...
they truly ruined it. I was eating it up all throughout and then the end was so disgusting. like wdym paltima/izmeal. Using an ongoing Genocide as a plot point is insane on its own but to portray paltima (pal*stine) as the oppressors against izmeal (is*eal) is a whole other thing. Meticulously strategic to incorporate z*onist propaganda towards the end so that the viewers have already watched the whole show and now they cannot drop it. The fact that this plot point was not even in the book, is just nasty work. Do not waste your time on this.Esta resenha foi útil para você?
wattpadification of kdrama
When I first heard that this drama was like one of those wattpad stories, I did not want to watch it.In the end curiosity got the best of me and i ended up watching it.
I won't lie when I say I did enjoy it during some parts but the further it went on, it got worse.
You don't have to agree with me, maybe you enjoyed it a lot which I won't judge, but what I will judge is that last episode...
My rating dropped after episode 12 and I hope people will stop praising this drama...
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