Before I start this review I have to say that like a lot of ‘ It’s Okay, Not To Be Okay’ fans, I was attracted to the main star Seo Ye Ji being here. I was lucky enough to have seen her in Moorim and ‘ Save Me’ before one of her bigger roles, so I had an idea what to expect of her acting talents. I have to say that as per usual, Seo Ye Ji didn’t disappoint with her acting but even as a fan I can’t say it was the best either. ( Admittedly this was less down to SYJ and a lot down to the way her character was written with monotonous expressions and dialogue in writing and the script.)

Nevertheless despite my adoration for SYJ I have to be honest with my genuine thoughts on the show ‘ Eve’. It wasn’t a bad show. By no stretch of the invagination would I say that it was dire. However would I say that it felt a bit disappointing at times? Then yes, certainly.

Without going over all the plot summaries again, the setup is pretty interesting. Initially it did borderline melodrama-thriller territory and helped to buildup a lot of suspense. ( Especially with regards to SYJ’s character.) The female lead’s initial scheming for revenge left a lot of the plot on an incredible high note during the first half but by the second part ( including the costume design) did sort of come crashing down. When I say crashing
, I have to say that one of the biggest problems because through trying to “ top” up the suspense. Rather than a lot of the events feeling as thrilling or on the edge of the seat, it became a bit tiresome and predictable with a lot of what was going to happen. Instead the drama felt as though it was playing out a bit too much like a makjang; a format that I’ve done to despise. ( Although I guess I did walk into that one.)

Additionally a lot of the characters felt a bit left in the dark too. I definitely thought there were a lot of interesting characters including our heroine and antagonist ( her former husband) but it seemed as though when we got into this second part, the drama wasn’t too sure what to actually do with them. They were sort of strung along in the plot or “ pivotal” moments to keep it interesting but aside from that even as a viewer, I have to say they did sometimes feel a bit pointless being onscreen.

Although we were supposed to be engaged in this potential love match and burning relationship with SYJ’s character and the haughty CEO, I have to say that I was pretty turned off in these scenes. Park Byung Eun and SYJ are both good actors but in addition to sub par onscreen chemistry, there wasn’t a lot to keep me engaged or make me feel incredibly impassioned about their onscreen dynamic. Saying that, Lee Sang Yeob was pretty good here and while his onscreen interactions and dynamic with SYJ was hardly flawless, I did find myself more engaged than with PBE.

Sadly the ending was also a bit of a letdown. I guess in my mind I could hear the sirens going off when I noticed how the plot was dipping in the second-half towards what the outcome would be like, but still I must admit that I was a bit disappointed that my suspicions were true.

Overall thoughts; I think that it’s been said enough times but ‘ Eve’ felt as though it should’ve been a lot more. It had an interesting setup, some good actors and an initially engaging tone but it felt as though it started heading south when it came to the writing being executed. The dialogue felt unnatural and stiff which didn’t help with some of the acting, while characters and onscreen chemistry felt a bit flatlined. Instead of being a brilliant thriller-revenge melodrama, ‘Eve’ felt to me like a glorified makjang with a great shadow cast over it by what it could’ve been. Not saying it was bad and trust me when I say that there were still some incredibly fun parts to the show as well as characters, but not entirely what I expected either. A strong 7.0/10.