I finally got round to watching this chestnut. I could simply complain about its endless recycling of irritating or in some cases unacceptable KDrama tropes, such as the Korean catering industry's stranglehold on scriptwriters and directors, the overflowing number of stock characters, the epidemic of men grabbing women by the wrist, and the countless instances of eavesdropping as a substitute for adequate plotting. A few plot holes weren't properly filled. There were a lot of complaints about the ending but it didn't bother me. (To be honest, I thought the heroine was well rid of the rather mono-faced and emotionally empty hero and the final ambiguity felt quite appropriate.)
But let's give those annoyances a rest and instead focus on the acting. I recently watched a YouTube video by a vlogger called BBali about actors whose acting, according to "netizens", got worse over time. Actually, all the episode showed was that netizens are mostly ignorant about acting, petty, and prejudiced, and (as well we know from a number of tragic episodes in the Korean entertainment industry) in quite a few cases cowardly anonymous bullies. But the video at least got me to think about acting in Korean shows. And this one really showcased some of the best and some not so great.
At the absolute top of this show is not the heroine, Kim Go Eun, or the hero, Park Hae-jin - more about them below - but rather the wonderful Lee Sung-kyung. She chose, or was directed, to play her character as an over-the-top, selfish, lazy young woman who mooches off everyone and behaves viciously, and ultimately half murderously, toward the heroine. She never for one moment shows any remorse for anything, nor a hint of self-awareness. In this performance, she never holds back and she is compulsively watchable. It's a bravura turn that completely outshines everyone around her. Lee has shown considerable range in her career and in this series her capabilities are on full display. (She's also a wonderful fashion plate and quite stunning to look at, even when she gets roughed up.)
Now to our leads. Kim Go-eun has a high reputation and she delivers a solid performance. She is portrayed as something of a mouse for much of the show, but it's much less annoying than one might think. Perhaps one can identify with the top of the class student from a modest background who has to endure the semi-bullying and jealousy of most of her classmates, who copes by ignoring it where she can and occasionally standing up for herself just enough to pay back the worst of the offenders. (Those offenders are completely shameless and blame her relentlessly when they get their rightful comeuppance.) Kim has the ability to express a range of emotions suitable to the scenes she plays and her admirable restraint, even in the face of serial offenders such as Lee's character, provide many acting highlights.
Much less interesting is Park Hae-jin. He's a good-looking young man but the problem is that he is given a character to play whose principal characteristics are suppressed emotions and a pathological inability to express his feelings, even when given numerous opportunities to do so by an obviously sympathetic and non-judgmental girlfriend. The result is an expressionless face that becomes tiresome long, long before the end of the series. My wife once said to me, "You don't have to be boring to portray boredom." And that's the issue. Park plays a complete lack of emotion with a complete lack of emotion.
The second lead, played by Seo Kang-joon, is a much more interesting character than Park, and so offers a fairer target for critical evaluation. His performance is solid, much better than his absolutely dreadful performance in When the Weather Is Fine, in which he and Park Min-young nearly made my screen go blank in an effort to mirror their characters' expressions. He is by turns witty, irritating, kind, troubled, loyal to his unendurable older sister (Lee). His actions make you want to turn away, but he is very watchable nonetheless.
The supporting cast is good enough. Perhaps one standout performance: No, not the slimy stalker played by Ji Yoon-ho, the only character who gets thoroughly punished for his endless efforts to bully and inflict misery on Kim for reasons not worth explaining. He could have taken lessons from Lee on how to play it full throttle. Rather, kudos to the late Moon Ji-yoon, who sadly passed away in early 2020 (COVID, perhaps?) at age 36. He plays a lazy overweight moocher who has an endless supply of excuses for his alcohol-fueled far niente way of living. Moon plays this role perfectly. The same year, he had a fun supporting role in the Lee Sung-kyung starrer Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo - how different the two of them were just a few months after Cheese in the Trap.
So, a snapshot of some well-known Korean actors and their supporting cast shows that they can take essentially average material and do well with it and, in Lee's case, can create a character that will be hard to forget.
I never review shows that I haven't watched all the way through. The desire to review this one kept me going but it shouldn't be at the top of anyone's list.
But let's give those annoyances a rest and instead focus on the acting. I recently watched a YouTube video by a vlogger called BBali about actors whose acting, according to "netizens", got worse over time. Actually, all the episode showed was that netizens are mostly ignorant about acting, petty, and prejudiced, and (as well we know from a number of tragic episodes in the Korean entertainment industry) in quite a few cases cowardly anonymous bullies. But the video at least got me to think about acting in Korean shows. And this one really showcased some of the best and some not so great.
At the absolute top of this show is not the heroine, Kim Go Eun, or the hero, Park Hae-jin - more about them below - but rather the wonderful Lee Sung-kyung. She chose, or was directed, to play her character as an over-the-top, selfish, lazy young woman who mooches off everyone and behaves viciously, and ultimately half murderously, toward the heroine. She never for one moment shows any remorse for anything, nor a hint of self-awareness. In this performance, she never holds back and she is compulsively watchable. It's a bravura turn that completely outshines everyone around her. Lee has shown considerable range in her career and in this series her capabilities are on full display. (She's also a wonderful fashion plate and quite stunning to look at, even when she gets roughed up.)
Now to our leads. Kim Go-eun has a high reputation and she delivers a solid performance. She is portrayed as something of a mouse for much of the show, but it's much less annoying than one might think. Perhaps one can identify with the top of the class student from a modest background who has to endure the semi-bullying and jealousy of most of her classmates, who copes by ignoring it where she can and occasionally standing up for herself just enough to pay back the worst of the offenders. (Those offenders are completely shameless and blame her relentlessly when they get their rightful comeuppance.) Kim has the ability to express a range of emotions suitable to the scenes she plays and her admirable restraint, even in the face of serial offenders such as Lee's character, provide many acting highlights.
Much less interesting is Park Hae-jin. He's a good-looking young man but the problem is that he is given a character to play whose principal characteristics are suppressed emotions and a pathological inability to express his feelings, even when given numerous opportunities to do so by an obviously sympathetic and non-judgmental girlfriend. The result is an expressionless face that becomes tiresome long, long before the end of the series. My wife once said to me, "You don't have to be boring to portray boredom." And that's the issue. Park plays a complete lack of emotion with a complete lack of emotion.
The second lead, played by Seo Kang-joon, is a much more interesting character than Park, and so offers a fairer target for critical evaluation. His performance is solid, much better than his absolutely dreadful performance in When the Weather Is Fine, in which he and Park Min-young nearly made my screen go blank in an effort to mirror their characters' expressions. He is by turns witty, irritating, kind, troubled, loyal to his unendurable older sister (Lee). His actions make you want to turn away, but he is very watchable nonetheless.
The supporting cast is good enough. Perhaps one standout performance: No, not the slimy stalker played by Ji Yoon-ho, the only character who gets thoroughly punished for his endless efforts to bully and inflict misery on Kim for reasons not worth explaining. He could have taken lessons from Lee on how to play it full throttle. Rather, kudos to the late Moon Ji-yoon, who sadly passed away in early 2020 (COVID, perhaps?) at age 36. He plays a lazy overweight moocher who has an endless supply of excuses for his alcohol-fueled far niente way of living. Moon plays this role perfectly. The same year, he had a fun supporting role in the Lee Sung-kyung starrer Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo - how different the two of them were just a few months after Cheese in the Trap.
So, a snapshot of some well-known Korean actors and their supporting cast shows that they can take essentially average material and do well with it and, in Lee's case, can create a character that will be hard to forget.
I never review shows that I haven't watched all the way through. The desire to review this one kept me going but it shouldn't be at the top of anyone's list.