Trot Lovers (2014)

I really wanted to enjoy Trot Lovers more, but what made this drama so special and different at first - the actors, the focus on the music industry, and the quirky characters - was overshadowed by endless drama cliches and mediocre writing. it had the potential to be so much more than your standard kdrama, and this is where the majority of my disappointment lies.

In the beginning, I liked that they provided a fresh musical spin on the Candy/Jerk pairing trope, and gave their second leads their own distinct personalities. But all of that seemed to break down somewhere around episode 10 or so, when the drama started focusing on one frustrating trope after another, rather than playing to its strengths: the acting, the music, and the lighthearted comedic tone of the show in general. I would have preferred better character development of the second leads, emphasizing more comedy rather than drama, and of course, more music.

I would only recommend watching if you are a fan of any of the main or second leads or interested just in the music, because the actors did an excellent job with the material they were given. Eun Ji was perfect as Chun Hee (and to be honest, should be required to sing in all of her future dramas, because her voice is just amazing), and Ji Hyun Woo did a great job fleshing out his character in a way that felt more three-dimensional, in spite of his actions early in the drama.

I don't have any plans to rewatch this, as it was frustrating enough the first time. Watch at your own risk, but fast forward through the angsty scenes.

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This show makes me angry. Great, speedy start, but lousy writing means the story ran out of steam very quickly, despite the show being only 16 episodes long.

Thankfully there’s enough cute to get me through the whole show, not just the OTP, all the other side characters too.

I’m pretty impressed by Ji Hyun Woo, it being only his second time as a leading man in a show. I was won over by the growth of his character throughout the series. He definitely have charisma and potential. Eunji, as always, is feisty yet moving at certain points. They have great chemistry too. Love the OTP.

The side characters were a mixed bag. Shin Sung Rok is magnetic as a quirky but caring boss. Lee Se Young, on the other hand, was so bland. Bleh. She just sucked all the energy on the screen whenever she appeared. It’s the fatal mix of one-dimensional lazy writing and wooden acting. I love Answer Me 1994 so I definitely liked Sohn Ho Joon. Shin Bora also played quite a funny side character.

Any re-watching of this show would just make me rage. So NO re-watching for me.

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