Non l'avrebbe mai saputo (2021)

A little slow but worth a watch

My observations:

1) ML is an absolute cutie pie and pretty much perfect…although some might consider him a bit too obsessive in his pursuit of FL. However, in my opinion, FL doesn’t deserve this guy. It’s not that I don’t like her; it’s just that I don’t like how she treats him, especially at the end when she dumps him for her career. Honestly, I can’t believe this nearly perfect man is dumped twice: once by his ex-girlfriend for another guy and once by FL for her career. I agree with her mom – no career is worth leaving a man like this. He’s a once in a lifetime find. It’s really unfair of the scriptwriter to have him dumped twice. And, honestly, how realistic is it for a guy to be dumped twice, especially one as wonderful as this guy, but I suppose one can ask the question – how realistic is it for a guy like this to even exist in real life.

2) One reviewer I read said that ML’s motives for showing FL the truth about Jae-Shin were purely selfish in nature. Perhaps but honestly, she needed to know. If I were her, I’d want to know before I made a bigger fool of myself. Plus, ML took this course of action, knowing that she might hate him afterwards so was his motives purely selfish? He could have waited and let her discover the truth in 3 months, but of course, maybe Jae-Shin would have kept seeing her after his marriage, making the betrayal even worse. I think ML did the right thing despite the benefit he received in their break-up.

3) I didn’t like how FL wasn’t straightforward with Jae-Shin. She avoided telling him the truth as to why she was breaking up with him over and over again. Just tell him that you know about the fiancée instead of making him guess! This guessing game just didn’t seem to fit her normally straightforward character. Yeah, to her and ML, he was a jerk, but the viewer knows that Jae-Shin isn’t as bad as he seems. He’s a man being suffocated by his father, a woman who’s mentally unstable and her rich family. Instead of Jae-Won begging JS to accept his sister, he should have been making arrangements for her to be placed in a psych ward. No doubt JS’s relationship with FL was the one place he could go and BREATHE, which is why he didn’t want to accept the end of it.

4) I think Jae-Shin is an interesting character, probably the most interesting of the drama. On the surface, he appears like a typical cheating boyfriend, but I felt real sympathy for him and the life he was living. He clearly didn’t want to marry the Hyo-Joo (I despise people who threaten suicide to blackmail the object of their obsession) but felt he couldn’t resist because of his dad’s debt and the deal he made with Jae-Won as a teen. The best thing that happened to him was his dad’s death since it made it possible for him to break free from the toxic Hyo-Joo & Lee family. One of my favorite moments of the drama is when Hyo-Joo asks him later on (after she’s recovered from her obsession) if he ever regrets ending it with her, and he says, ‘Not once.’ Good for you, Jae-Shin! I’m so glad he was able to live free in the end, although, by that time, there was no hope of recovering the woman he loved. Just a side note: Hyo-Joo's outfits were ugly - too big on her and loud.

5) I liked FL's calm voice and manner. She behaved maturely except for the guessing game she put Jae-Shin through. However, I found it hard to like her when she leaves for Europe and eventually dumps ML. Clearly, ML loved her more than she loved him since he was willing to suck it up and wait it out until she returns, but she throws him away like something you once cherished but no longer have time for. Oh, sure, she cried – boo hoo - but the fact remains, that she chose herself over the man she claims to love. I guess, in the modern world, sacrifice is a dirty word, and now, it’s all about ME and MY dreams because you know, I don’t want any regrets. All of us regret at some point, no matter what choice we make. At least, when she comes back, she does acknowledge to her friend how shameless she’d be to expect ML to take her back. If I didn't prefer happy endings, I would have rooted for ML never to take her back. At the very least, he should have made her suffer longer than he did, but we only had an episode to get them back together, I guess. Just one question – why do all these FLs’ dreams involve studying aboard, working aboard? Can no one further their career in their own country, in their own city? And why do most of these dreams seem to be about acquiring power/prestige through career? Is furthering one’s career the only dream these days? I guess I must be showing my age because I still believe that relationships are important and shouldn’t be thrown away so casually. But I guess in the end, since she returned after only 3 years, she found out that her dream wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. That’s the dirty little secret dramaland doesn’t tell the young women watching these dramas – dreams aren’t always what you imagined them to be.

6) Jae-Won and Ji-Seong added a bit of humor, which this Rom-Com was seriously lacking. Uh, writer/director, this is billed as a Rom-COM, which means there should be some comedy involved. This relationship (thanks mostly Jae-Won), the little girl, Ha-Eun, and the coworkers were the only comic relief. For the most part, it was pure romance. I would have liked to see more of Jae-Won and Ji-Seong – it took forever for their romance to get off the ground, mostly because so much time was spent on FL rejecting ML, and ML looking like a lovesick puppy. I know FL was coming out of a broken relationship, but geesh, for the sake of viewer interest, could we move her romance with ML along a bit faster? Heck, why not send her off to Europe early on so she could get Jae-Shin out of her system and be ready for a new love? It would have been kinder to breaks ML’s heart before she actually started a relationship with him, but alas, this great guy is destined to be kicked around by the women in his life.

Overall, it was an ok drama, but I'm not likely to go back and watch again. If I did watch again, it would purely be in order to gaze at that Cutie Pie, Chae Hyun-Seong.

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A slice of "Work"

From episode one, I knew this show won't offer me anything special which would touch me and make me reminisce about it months later. A very usual work romance story which goes down the predictable path.

Just that this one is less of romance and more of work. The amount of work culture depicted makes me wonder- is it worthy to just watch people working. Yes, there are other super shows which portray leads facing challenges in work and overcoming them, but here, both leads are super hardworking, super competent, overachieving and the challenges are oddly super realistic. So I wasn't super invested to know whether they would succeed. (lol, no points for guessing if they did!)

If not for the sub story of two sisters of ML, I would have definitely dropped it in 4 or 5 episodes. One sister's cute romance story made me squeal more than for the main couple. Another sister's marital issues touched me emotionally more than the leads' problems.

No matter what, I couldn't get interested about the main couple probably because of its web novel origins. They felt very ideal characters. Oh and don't even get me started about the mandatory pre-finale break up. I'm like oh, we are here in 2021 and they are still doing 2010s' things. And this is not a spoiler, don't tell me you didn't see it coming. ('Cause what else could even fill up the show with?! I would have earnestly rated it a little higher if not for it.)

The production was so good, everything looked so pristine. I don't know how they convinced their producer to invest. Was this a PR for Makeup industry work life?! I don't remember any tunes and I won't remember this show in few weeks except from Lee Hyo Joo's super awesome closure.

I would never know why She Would Never Know turned out to be so bland.

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Okay being completely honest here, I started this kdrama because of Rowoon but man...this kdrama was so boring. Most of the time the plot just kept circling around and doing the same thing over and over again. I was just praying it would get a little bit more interesting as episodes kept playing. And if Im being honest the main characters who ended up together in the end didnt even seem all that much in love with each other lol...it just seemed like they tired each other out before their relationship could even start. But I digress.. If the kdrama wants us to believe that they got married happily ever after then so be it! Not many likeable characters in here though...really had a tough time liking anyone.

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A breath of fresh air

I wasn’t expecting anything serious from this drama. I was just grateful for the good looking characters and simple story line.
The story was a bit cliche but it wasn’t cheesy.
I loved the fact that there was no ‘bad guy’ no conniving work colleague, just simple and straight story with amazing characters.
They talked about cheating, unrequited love and breakup too. My favourite part of the entire series was towards the end. When it portrayed that, in a relationship, if the effort is coming from just one person, it’s bound to fail.
All in all, it was a pretty good drama. That’s if you’re looking for simple and sweet.

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Good lord another typical Kdrama romcom with stupid relationship actions. This had one of my most hated tropes...The forced relationship b/c the other person will harm themselves. Jeez. They never even explain why the female character in that relationships even likes the guy she's willing to kill herself for.

Anyway, the best part of this series is Wang Bit Na as Ji Seung and Lee Kyu Han as Jae Eun. Their relationship was so refreshing. I enjoyed them getting to know each other and falling in love. I also loved young actress Park So Yi. So expressive and had the brightest, biggest eyes. The other thing the series did well was the portrayal of the relationship between ML, his sisters and his niece.

7/13/23

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Lazy

Soulless and dry. Not a good office romance. All men were creepy and cringe while women were selfish and entitled. Not to mention the dead chemistry with all of the three couples. The story was practically dead on arrival. Painful progression and dreadful execution.

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Zero star for the depressing female lead

I watched 5 episodes in bits and pieces for 2 years - and then completed the rest quickly.
How?
By forwarding every scene with the depressing female lead who has about two sorry expressions throughout and just drags the drama and every other character down with her.

So why not just dump the drama?
Because of all the stellar supporting cast and their interesting melodramas.

The poor ML.- of course his looks are off the charts, but he is so mismatched with the FL that even his noona's have more chemistry with him.

The storyline had some intriguing scenes - all well played by all the other actors.
But sadly too much emphasis on an ill-fitting female lead made this drama disappointing.

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Emotionally mature and swoony romance within the workplace

I loved this show when I watched it but what kept me from forgetting it, like I do with many dramas is the emotional maturity, the leads weren't paying games with each other or had stupid misunderstandings, all the conflicts came from people at work.

The pairing of a very straight-laced and respectful man with a woman who knows exactly what she wants and doesn't expect to attract many people for that (but those she does are the right one) is ingenius. The story isn't new, but the excecution was more layered that expected.

The realism and the not shying away from difficult topics like being a working woman and how superiors treat employees in big companies, made their soft moments feel earned, like the won them from not letting the toxic environment break them.

And I can't forget the sweetness of the bench kiss!

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I went into this thinking this would be a noona romance as it was labelled as such, but for me, a one-year age gap does not constitute a noona romance. For me, the difference would have to be greater than 5 years to be even called that. Despite this, it was enjoyable show because not only it centered on the romance, but also focused on different familial relationships. Rowoon is adorable as the patient trainee who was overeager to please his mentor. We see him struggle with his feelings and also with the knowledge that his crush has a two-timing boyfriend. Won Jin Ah isn't so shabby as the no-nonsense manager who was very private about her relationships, that she had wool over her eyes, if it weren't for Hyung Seung.

As for the other characters, the sisters of Hyun Seung stood out for me, and their relationship with their brother was endearing. While I find Lee Hyo Joo a cloying biatch who gaslights a spineless Jae Shin into a forced marriage, her odd-ball brother Jae Woon became more of a decent character as the show progresses. One setback for me was the numerous characters this drama introduced with the many side arcs, and some of which were predictable like I can spot the backstory of Yun Seung's husband from a mile away. Otherwise, a decent drama.

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Romance de oficina. Personaje masculino 10/10

Amo a los personajes. Pero sobre todo al protagonista masculino.
En este drama vemos una relación muy sana, que lucha por su amor y que tiene altibajos por situaciones que se les van presentando.
Valoro positivamente las actuaciones porque hicieron que me conectara en cada capítulo, desde la historia de los protagonistas, hasta la de los personajes secundarios.
Me permitió pensar en el amor propio, y hasta donde debemos llegar por amor, porque sí, hay límites. A veces se deben tomar decisiones que parecen difíciles en un principio, pero en últimas, es lo que más nos conviene.
Por personajes como Chae Hyun-seung es que sigo soltera jajaja

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An enjoyable drama

First: Other than Goblin (Guardian: The Lonely and Great God) I have rarely come across an OST that catches my attention. But during this drama, I was surprised to find myself thinking, "That's a great song to put there" or similar thoughts. I mention this first, because it's so rare that the music impresses me.

Second: Rowoon. He's a good actor, and I am fascinated by how good looking he is. I hate the scenes where they put too much makeup on him....maybe the makeup didn't change but the lighting did. Idk. But he didn't need as much as they put on him most of the time.

Third: I enjoy Asian dramas, whether they be Korean, Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Taiwanese, Vietnamese, etc. I like the good ones and the bad ones. I can confidently say that this was a good drama, because I've seen so many. It had a high production value, good acting, and decent chemistry among the cast. It had enough drama in it to be dramatic, but not so much that it was cringey. It was, over all, a feel-good drama, which is nice because dramas are an escape, and it's nice to fantasize that there are happy endings. I teared up a time or two, but I never had to break down sobbing for the characters, so that was nice. There's enough reason to sob irl.

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