Useless Lies (2023)

A Disappointing Dive from a Thrilling Start

"My Lovely Liar" initially captured my attention with its unusual and promising beginning. The first few episodes, filled with hints of suspense and action, led me to believe that I was about to embark on a captivating journey. However, my excitement was short-lived. As the series progressed, it became clear that the narrative was losing its grip. What could have been a multifaceted drama with twists and turns settled into a predictable and uninspiring romance.

The depth and intricacy I had hoped for were overshadowed by clichéd romantic tropes that failed to engage or surprise. Furthermore, the character development seemed superficial, leaving me yearning for more substance. The storyline lacked the intensity and richness that the opening episodes promised, making the viewing experience somewhat unsatisfactory.

I can't help but think that the show's widespread appeal might be largely due to the charisma and appearance of the lead actors. Their performances, while commendable, were not enough to salvage the plot's shortcomings. In essence, "My Lovely Liar" felt like a missed opportunity, a series that could have delivered so much more but chose to tread the familiar and overused path of romance without much depth.

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Sweet

This was a very sweet show.
The story revolves around a woman who can hear lies and a man who's running from a painful secret in his past.
She's cute and quirky.
He's the greenest of green flags; a real sweetheart.

I loved watching her slowly open up to the people around her and making friends.
I adored seeing him fall for her, instinctively protecting her and taking care of her.

Their relationship is so wonderful. Sweet and cuddly.

The mystery hurt me bad though. I feel so bad for our male lead. Thank goodness he has the female lead there for him.
He came through it all stronger than ever.
The ending is lovely and perfect. They both deserve their happily ever after, and we get to see it!!

The actors did a fine job. The music was okay. The shooting was great.

Although this show is not short, it is the type of show I'd watch in one sitting with a blanket and hot drink, smiling all the way. The overall impression is sweet and cozy.

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Hmmm ?

Don’t get my wrong I’m a huge fan of both the female lead and male lead. Watched the male lead Hwang Min Hyun in alchemy of the soul loved him, he totally nailed it there. But in this drama I was expecting a bit more from him, it could be the script was not good enough or it’s just the portrayal of the character he was given but I didn’t feel him at all. Their chemistry was a zero for me . I mean it’s Kim So Hyun we all know her she’s been on our screen ever since she was little her chemistry with the male lead in the Tale of Nokdu was top notch I was expecting a way better chemistry but it wasn’t there I couldn’t feel it. I had to continue watching this drama because there was nothing better to watch on Monday Tuesdays time slot most times I had forward. I think it couldn’t have been better.

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Nenhuma mentira foi dita nesta resenha hihihi

Achei a proposta do roteiro super legal e original. Os primeiros episódios foram o que me pegaram de jeito e me fizeram dizer "é, esse aqui eu preciso assistir". Depois de algum tempo, comecei a achar tedioso a história porque tudo girava em torno no assassinato da ex namorada e o casal principal ficou muito sem graça, porém, resolvi terminar porque estava perto do final e que bom que fiz isso!!
Quando que eu imaginaria que o plot twist seria não o fato que o assassino era o empresário dele, mas sim, que o motivo pelo qual ele fez aquilo era por estar apaixonado pelo DoHa 🤯🤯🤯🤯 Minha cara ficou no chão com isso! Gostei como trataram tudo e não demonizaram um personagem gay por ele ser gay, mas porque ele cometeu um crime. A história me prendeu legal a a partir disso, gostei como cada personagem secundário teve seu momento de destaque - que foi pequeno, o que é bom.

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A good show to watch, but irritating at times

I was looking forward to seeing the leads together. I've loved her in everything I've seen her in, and he was my favorite part of Alchemy of Souls. They were extremely cute together. They had some serious scenes, and they also had a lot of scenes that just made me smile. For instance, once they were dating and they were deciding what to call one another. Their shyness with each other was very endearing. I didn't necessarily feel "chemistry" from them. Watching them as a couple, the word that comes to mind is "comfortable". I don't know if this is because they both just so extremely young, or what.
LIKED:
1)The storyline was interesting, but sometimes they used the gong sound for truth, as well as for lies, so that was confusing.
2)Kim So Hyun as Sol Hee was good for this part. Aside from being beautiful, there is something about her that men and women are both drawn to, men want to date her, and women want to be her friend. Those are my favorite type of character. Hwang Min Hyun was okay in this. He was very understated, and I did like his ability to portray distrust, fear, and loneliness. There wasn't a lot of range from him, but I think that was more because of the way the part was written.
3)I think my favorite part of this show was Seo Ji Han as Lee Gang Min. He has very expressive eyes and was able to portray a lot of emotions with just his eyes. This character was a classic example of perfect boyfriend material. He loved her so much, he wanted to be with her and protect her, but the most important thing to him was her happiness. At the end, when he was on stakeout and was watching her walk by, his face just showed every emotion.
4) I loved the gang leader. There was a sort of a gray moral code about him. Him sticking up for Sol Hee and helping her was heartwarming.
5) I liked the OST, but I especially loved the background piano playing throughout, moving from Chopsticks to classical pieces. It was very subtle and playful.

NOT SO MUCH:
1) Wow! There were so many unlikeable and irritating characters! The stalking singer, both moms, the "friend" that keeps extorting money from Do Ha, plagiarism company guy, as well as Do Ha's ex-girlfriend in flashbacks. I was especially irritated by the singer that was following him around, paying people to find him, etc. I really don't care for the trend in Asian dramas about the scheming woman willing to do whatever to get the man. They did, ultimately redeem her.
2) Again, the gong sounding at different times.
3) I also felt like they had so many characters to keep the mystery moving forward, to keep us guessing. But after the mystery was revealed, there wasn't much going on. This could have been a couple of episodes shorter.
4) I guessed early on who the perpetrator was, but the reasoning was a surprise.

So, I can definitely recommend this one, frustrations and all.

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Could be Called My Fated Truth

Where truth meets intuition. Where humility bypasses pride. There was such an ebb and flow of good verses bad. The series looked more into people's environment and influences than necessarily a love connection. Glad that the writers didn't make the 'gift' cliche' or cheesy. You could see the trial and error of assumptions gifted or not and where it can lead. However, the growth in the ML's character was well done. The FL held her own in displaying maturity in the face of adversity, possible criticism and personal beliefs. The ML and FL chemistry and connection was endearing. This series had a nice flow and build up to the overall 'Why' element. Worth the watch.

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This honestly could've gone way better than it did

From the first episode, it didn't make me want to pay my full attention to it. I have to multitask with something to finish watching it. I keep putting off watching the episodes and even only finished now. It's good, but it didn't interest me enough to make me want to focus on it. Which is a bit disappointing considering one of my favorite actors is casted and I've been looking forward to it for months. And unless I want to see clips of him, I have no excuse to want to rewatch this.

[SPOILER: Storyline, Character Personality and Development talk]

And talking about the storyline, very specifically about yun jion's character, jo deukchan. Ever since the "deukchan plot twist" happened, it made me rewind back a little in my mind about how his character was written. It really made me think that halfway through, they suddenly changed the storyline that's linked to him. I've always thought he would have something to do with the mystery/crime story of the show, I did think he might have gotten his hands dirty there, but his personality suddenly made a turn. I saw him as a slightly humorist big brother figure for doha, seems to have a bad relationship with his brother, mature and professional whenever it comes to work, and a loving dad and husband. It only showed for the first part of the show. When the main conflict part happened, it seemed like they just threw all of that out of the window (and I personally don't think they did this part well. or maybe it was because I had a "preferred" storyline mapped out already? who knows)

Another problem I have, again, about Jo Deukchan, well, the actor, Yun Jion (well, not HIM. But like, this problem has something to do around him). I accepted that I might have wished for a little bit too much. While I wanted them to explore more about Jo brothers relationship to understand them more, I get it. He's not the first male lead. He's in fact, the second male lead, at least that's how it should be, considering the fact that he was always put third in social media updates, and in the hashtags. But I've been feeling weird when they had 4 main characters under their own character categories in the character profile section on their website. It was all of them except for Jo Deukchan whose character profile is under J Entertainment category. You can argue with me that it's because he's part of J Ent, which is true. But all main characters despite being part of a group, have their own main character profile sections, while he did not. And then, on naver (and even on this site) it was written that his character was a supporting role, which feels wrong and weird, considering he plays a big part in the story along with the other main leads, and again, his name is written the third among the main leads lineup, after the main couple, and before the other set of fl and ml. And yet he's a supporting role? I don't know. It just feels very off.

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I liked this drama.
I was hooked to the drama because it was actress Kim so hyun's comeback drama after 2 years.
I think it was a good drama the story got a little boring towards a end. but I enjoyed it.
I was a little disappointed when guy story line came. I really have no problem with it but it really did not suit the storyline in my opinion, it maybe because I was expecting a bit of more crazy reason for the death of doha's ex. I felt a bit emptiness towards the end.
I really liked the behind the scene videos of the cast. The casting of the drama was fabulous just the story line that was a bit disappointing.
they really should have put a little more focus on thriller and mystery part of the drama.

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Do not miss out on this drama!

This drama made me smile so much. It's a story of healing and love and heartache. It's hilarious and sad and beautiful. I loved it very much. This is one of those dramas I know I will rewatch again, chasing that feeling of watching it for the first time that I will sadly not feel again in quite the same way. But in the words of Winnie the Pooh: "How lucky am I to have had something that makes saying goodbye so hard."

Run, don't walk to watch this drama. I don't think it's for everyone, but if this drama is for you then I know you will love it as much as I did.

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Promising Premise & Cast - Plot/Writers Failed to Deliver

I had picked this drama for the fresh storyline, promising cast and hint at the mystery element. It never started off on a ground-breaking level but was decent till the first half. Post that is when it went downhill - in terms of romance and mystery which even the good actors could not salvage. Sharing my take - short and detailed review, on whether you should binge or skip it ....

❤️ Nutshell Review:

My Lovely Liar is a drama about a woman who can hear lies and runs a successful business to help people detect lies and save themselves from fraud. Despite her unique abilities, she struggles with trusting people – unable to make friends and form relationships easily. She meets a famous music producer with a mysterious past who she is attracted to. She is wary of starting a relationship with him but to her surprise, the guy is genuinely very truthful making her comfortable and they embark on a relationship while growing individually. But their relationship is tested when in a turn of events the guy shares about his past – which rings a bell (quite literally) in the girl’s ears, which can only mean one thing - he is lying!

The drama goes on to explore how the woman understands this guy (her Lovely Liar), investigating the mysterious past with him while discovering the nuances of her unique ability. Together they also navigate romance, past relationships, family, friends, new acquaintances and how it all shapes up their lives for better or worse…

❤️ What is Worth Watching:

♥ Good-Looking Leads: Kim So Hyun and Hwang Min Hyun
♥ Depiction of how social interactions and power of belief helped the main leads overcome their inhibitions

(works only for the first half though - the above formula cannot save the whole drama)

❤️ What Does NOT Work:

✘ Second Half of the Drama
✘ Wasted opportunity to utilize a good cast
✘ Wasted effort on romance and mystery – directionless since second half.
✘ Missed using drama to drive a social message on – habitual lying, frauds, dirty games in politics, police, music/media industry, journalism etc.

❤️ My Call - Binge or Skip:

SKIP IT! - Unless you have started it already and want a closure – then finish it (on 2x speed, maybe?)
OR you are a fan of any of these actors and just want to watch it for their sake.


---------------------------------------------------- ✧❅✦ DETAILED REVIEW ✧❅✦------------------------------------------------

✧❅✦ WHAT WORKS ✧❅✦

♥ Good-Looking Leads: Kim So Hyun and Hwang Min Hyun
♥ Depiction of how social interactions and power of belief helped the main leads overcome their inhibitions

(works only for the first half though - the above formula cannot save the whole drama)

They are a good-looking pair and delivered well from their end (can’t help if the writing is poor). Kim So Hyun is renowned for her acting skills, but this was my first time watching the ML. To me like many idol-turned-actors, he is not just a pretty face but was decent. Not groundbreaking but not a carboard cutout either. Sure, he has room to grow, I will not watch any new work of his solely for him, but he is someone who can do well given a good plot and directions.

Through each other and the support from friends and acquaintances, the main leads see that while there is still a lot of bad in the world, they can still open to each other and many more and not everyone will betray them. They grow as individuals as they support each other, get support from some people around them and in turn manage to support others who can use their respective talents.

✧❅✦ WHAT does NOT WORK ✧❅✦

✘ Second Half of the Drama
✘ Wasted opportunity to utilize a good cast
✘ Wasted effort on romance and mystery – directionless since second half.
✘ Missed using drama to drive a social message on – habitual lying, frauds, dirty games in politics, police, music/media industry, journalism etc.

The first half was decent & I expected it to get better, but rather it gradually becomes worse with the last 2 episodes just being super-meh, Especially feel bad for: Kim So Hyun (FL) | Seo Jung Yeon (ML Mother) | Ahn Nae Sang (FL Father) | Park Kyung Hye (FL Friend & Tarot Reader) | Jin Kyung (ML Mother) – because they are popular and some senior talents of the industry.
Also, Ha Jong Woo, Lee Si Woo – they were new for me but under-utilized else had so much to offer.

Worst misuse of Yun Ji On's talent: Have seen him in Tomorrow and he was remarkable. He was going to be here as well but the writers did him dirty with the latter half and ending.

✧❅✦ My Take on Themes ✧❅✦

Like countless recent dramas, the story progresses quite well in the first half (till Ep 8) and goes downhill after that in terms of writing. Therefore, even good/decent performances of the cast are not able to leave an impact both in terms of romance and mystery, which I felt were the two focus themes of this drama. Given the fresh storyline and some renowned names in the cast lineup, the expectations and excitement were high, but the bad writing could not sustain it and hence the ending was weak.

• Romance - 6/10

Could be an unpopular opinion but I liked the romance build-up in the first half. Not everyone can have the heart-and-flowers, bring you the moon kind of love story. I liked that the protagonists were wary of romance given their past experiences, but eventually believed in each other. They were awkward at first but that added to the charm. Neither were they boring as we witness some hot kisses (well, thankfully they were not the usual fish face/cardboard kisses of drama land).
But perhaps the writers & audience wanted more in terms of toe-curling, fluff romance and that is what degraded the romance angle for me as it lost the point how they were as individuals, and it looked very out-of-character to me. Even the romance of the supporting characters seemed strained and forced. Rather the writers gave us romance where it was unnecessary (parents of FL, other store owners) and forgot where required (ML/FL, Syaon/Chi-Hoon).

• Mystery - 4/10

The title "My Lovely Liar or Useless Lies" initially intrigues with questions like: who is the liar? what is he lying about? is her power foolproof? What is the past incident? But the initial anticipation dwindles after Ep 8, with random cliffhangers, changing suspects, plot twists deviating from the who-dunnit theme and making it boring. Even when the curtain is lifted to reveal the culprit & motive; it does not have a shocking impact, rather is quite expected at this point and therefore dull.

Hence Final Verdict:
SKIP IT! :(

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There were good and not so great elements of the show.

This was a drama where I was very excited for the cast, Kim So Hyun has some hit or miss dramas, but she always acts well beyond her years and I still can’t believe she’s only 24. Hwang Min Hyun was pretty good in Alchemy of Souls and let’s face it, he has a very nice face to look at.

The premise of the story is interesting, the FL, can hear lies and she happens to meet someone who basically doesn’t lie (even though the title is called My Lovely Liar, but when you watch the drama, I guess that is kind of explained).

I like the cast and the secondary cast was pretty good. Very entertaining and everyone has their quirks. I like that I mostly didn’t recognize anyone else and so it was nice to see fresh faces (to me that is).

The drama basically has low angst which could be considered good or bad. I found some parts a little slow and boring, but I rather have that then silly angst.

The villains of the show were really annoying. You know that villain who is just “crazy” and never seems to listen to anyone even when everyone is saying he or she is wrong, but they will not simply listen. Yeah, that was fairly frustrating to watch. To have the bad guy pursue the ML for so long and for one solid reason was very annoying to watch.

The FL’s mom was very annoying too. I loved her in Dr. Romantic but I will not want to watch her in a “bad” role anymore. I couldn’t take the mom character at all. I truly wanted to fast forward her scenes because they made her so over the top and kind of ridiculous

As much as I love the leads, there is ZERO chemistry between the two. I truly felt like I was watching two pretty actors recite lines to each other and maybe that has to do something with post production. There are a lot of moments of dialogue without background music and I found that really odd.

The drama is fairly predictable and I figured out everything by the 4th episode, that doesn’t really hinder my experience because to me that wasn’t really the main part of the show for me. I was just interested in the leads getting to know each other, so suffice it to say, I enjoy the first half better.

The show could have easily been cut down to 12 episodes, but I didn’t fast forward anything so it’s an easy show to watch, or to have something on the background. I started to read webcomics as I was watching the show towards the second half and I was completely fine in following the storyline (I don’t know Korean, just FYI).

Overall, watch it for the leads, but the storyline / over plot is fairly lackluster.

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My lovely lier é mais um drama de romance com mistério lançado nos últimos tempos. Uma combinação que tem feito sucesso entre os roteiristas coreanos ultimamente. Acho que os protagonistas tiveram uma boa química, já o mistério, foi bem mais ou menos. Na metade eu já tinha conseguido adivinhar tudo, inclusive as motivações do culpado. Não foi nada surpresa o desfecho.

Gostaria de ter visto mais da Mok Sol Hee usando suas habilidades para descobrir as mentiras, atendendo os clientes dela etc. Depois que ela se envolve com o Kim Do Ha esse plot dos poderes é meio deixado de lado e passa a ser algo usado só em prol do Kim Do Ha, o que achei uma pena. Poderiam ter explorado isso um pouco mais. Uma ideia legal desperdiçada.

Mas no geral é um drama divertido de acompanhar.

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