Cheese In The Trap is based on the webtoon of the same name. The drama centralises upon hardworking university student Hong Seol ( Kim Go Eun), who takes a year out of education for a study break partly due to tensions arising between herself and fellow manipulative classmate Jeong ( Park Hae- Jin). After nearly a year, she returns back to school only to find more tension between Jeong and herself. With the support of her friends Jang Bo-ra ( Park Min- Ji) and Kwon Eun-taek ( Nam Joo Hyuk), Seol hopes to guide a sense of normality within her hectic life, however, the arrival of troublemakers Baek In-ho ( Seo Kang- Joon) and In- Ha ( Lee Sung- Kyung), the deceitful natures of her classmates , school life and a strange proposal from Jeong could threaten everything Jeong’s hope for normality and an easy school year.

Before I begin my review, I must emphasise that my criticism does not come from like most drama reviewers, from the ending of the series. In fact, it was somewhat refreshing to break out of the escapist cliche of romance dramas in which the female lead and Male lead live happily ever after and never have to worry about anything ever again. Cheese In The Trap instead offered a reflection of reality in the series; a chance for Seol to escape her controlling and toxic relationship with Jeong and to learn a weary lesson of being cautious around those who ask too much , and for the other two main protagonists ( Jeong and In Ho), to continue onwards with their lives.

It may not have been the ending that we entirely wanted as viewers, but even after reading the original webtoon ending; it still rose to my attention that the drama series offered possibly the best outcome for Seol as an individual, rather than a plot device.

On the other hand, I’m not going to say that Cheese In The Trap was a either . Where my criticism really lies is with the events that lead up to the ending and more importantly, the cliche choices by the scriptwriters with dealing with the characters. First of all, I must comment that Kim Go Eun truly matched up to the expectations of Seol. Whilst Go Eun is memorable within her youthful looks in Goblin, Go Eun was perfectly cast not as you’d expect as a glamorous goddess , but your everyday student, something which was refreshingly portrayed by Go Eun’s stylist within her everyday clothing, her slightly roughed hair and Go Eun’s quiet mannerisms as well. Anyone who has experienced being like Seol as a hardworking , introverted or a fairly studious student in higher education at high school, college or university , can probably easily relate to the same experiences as Seol around fellow classmates and teachers .

Park Hae- Jin could seem a lacklustre at times within the show, something , which even before we got into the plot, dragged me into the gnawing suspicion that Hae- Jin had been typcasted again to play the brooding quiet type. Hae- Jin, however, did exceed my expectations at times within the show by his portrayal as Jeong; the cliche “ rich heir” ( thankfully was not induced too much in the plot, until later, however , it’s entire purpose did make me question why it hadn’t been picked up previously apart from dodgy scriptwriting), who is exceedingly disturbing and manipulative. Hae- Jin could truly make the hairs on the back of your neck stick up at time’s within his portrayal as Jeong, during his nearly sociopathic traits and manipulative nature. Undeniably, Jeong was a horrific character on all grounds especially over his control of Seol during their relationship, however, this did not take away the fact that he was additionally intriguing as a result of this.

Park Seo Joon was undeniably top-notch as In- Ho ; fairly parallel to Go Eun as Seol. He was able to portray In Ho with a surprising level of comical brilliance during his moments with Seol and his flirtatious teasing of her “ natural curls”, and levels of sincerity around his complex relationship with his sister and their abusive childhood at the hands of their aunt, Jeong’s actions and giving up the piano as a result. It was fair to say that In- Ho played upon the countless cliches of the “ nice second Male lead” ; yet he was also portrayed as an individual as well, something which was somewhat refreshing as a Korean drama. This is additionally where I point out one defence for the drama not allowing In - Ho and Seol to be together as many fans complained about within the ending of the series. Just as Jeong was manipulative, In- Ho carried a lot of emotional baggage especially in regards to what his sister In- Ha did to Seol at the ending of the series. Whilst I agree it would have been more touching for the either the drama writers to have induced more establishment of In- Ho’s feelings for Seol ( and vice versa) or simply written their relationship as a platonic friendship rather than beating around the bush, In- Ho’s relationship with Seol would have demeaning for both characters as individuals and their ability to move on with their lives, rather than stay weighted to their pasts.

This moves us onto our next female lead; Lee Sung- Kyung as In-Ha, the materialistic sister of In Ho and head over heels with a crush on Jeong. I’ve always admired Sung- Kyung as an actress after her ability to break out of the “ pretty girl role” in Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo as the titular protagonist ( not forgetting the irony here that Joo- Hyuk is also in this drama) , however, I’m not going to hide that Sung- Kyung’s acting was unbearable at times within the show from overreacting and yelling moments . Of course, this is also on part of her character as well, who became questionably despicable over the course of the series. Whilst there’s no doubt that In- Ha has some moments of genuine emotional vulnerability such as her abuse at the hands of her aunt, her actions upon leeching on her brother, manipulating Seol and of course being able to walk on a light sentence despite her crimes in the series, seemed untrustworthy cruel by both the scriptwriters and the lacking lessons given to In- Ha’s characterisation. Although the show delivers a great casting selection and plot themes of relationships, education and youth problems ( including a refreshing portrayal of a gay couple), the show is often too lost certainly near the middle-point of the series upon the characters as plot devices rather than individuals and the drama between Seol and her classmates at times, grows to the point of stupidness especially in regards to some students such as Kim Sang-cheol ( Moon Ji- Yoon), who would have undeniably been a raise of concern by the teachers over some of his actions . Whilst this is naturally to add drama more than anything else, it did devalue a lot of the show as we soon became lost within tropes of trauma and romance which took away a lot of the possibility of how the drama could’ve built up this good ending without falling onto the cliches.