Sending Me to You (2023)

Adorable and satisfying

This is an adorable show. The lead characters are so cute. ML lack of emotional maturity in the beginning is hilarious. His growth is really good. FL is super cute but I will say that she wasn't always as convincing with feelings as Rowoon.

The supporting cast is great! The side stories of the matches with the "old" maidens was well done, especially the youngest one. The wondering how it will turn out, was well done also. It didn't get boring.

There were a few frustrating minutes here and there but they were resolved. If you like a good story that answers all the questions, this is a great one to watch.

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One of the better Josean era dramas, even pokes fun at some of the over used tropes

9.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2023 South Korean Romantic comedy drama with 16, 60 minute episodes

First I provide a unique synopsis then review

Synopsis

Shim Jung-woo (Rowoon) is still salty about being “sold” into marriage into the royal family. To make things worse his new wife, the Princess, died from poison on the eve of their wedding. Which locks him into celibate bachelorhood and makes it so he has way too much time on his hands. He is known as the grouchy Prince (resentful man) as he uses his exceptional intellect to ensure no one else is having fun either (in the guise of upholding strict Josean law). Jung Soon-deok (Cho Yi-hyun) loved her husband but is a young widow locked in the role of little madam as the second daughter-in-law of the Left State Councilor. She prefers to use her skills as a matchmaker to playing lady of the house. Fate lands these two unlikely accomplices in league to get three old maidens married in order to manipulate the politics to allow the young crown prince to marry. Neither should be interested in anyone romantically as social tradition ties them to their deceased spouses. Will the two succeed in their unlikely task of getting all three old maids wed? Will their hearts abide by the dictates of society?

Review

One of the better Josean dramas I have seen. It even pokes fun at some of the tropes such as the “I love You So I am Going To Leave You” trope. Rowoon is always a joy to watch, he can play such a diversity of characters well. Multiple romances in this, as would be expected given the topic, and they all end well. It is entertaining throughout and ends happy. I recommend to fans of either of the main leads, Josean drama fans, those that like a little action, and a little mystery and not an overwhelming amount of politics. If it was on, I would watch it again and I recommend it as an excellent drama.

Spoilers

I liked the “resentful” man angle and was a little disappointed to find he was not coerced into the marriage. It was less appealing to me that he actually loved the Princess. I thought him being forced made his intractable nature more understandable.

The character growth in this was amazing. The King, for example, I did not think I would like him but he turned out to be one of the best characters. The way he saved both Jung-woo and Sein-dook in the end was heart warming. It was clear he grew to love and appreciate Jung-woo as not only a close trusted advisor but like another son. The queen was also an awesome character in the way she lived her son and how kind she was to others. The young Crown Prince was bright, wise and kind. The royal family in this series is one of few royal families, in Josean dramas, I have liked.

Soon-deok’s mother-in-law (MIL) was purely evil and I know it was supposed to be her punishment was being alone but I would have liked to have seen her seriously punished. Or for her to come around, accept her daughter’s choice, and allow her daughter-in-law to have a life. I was disappointed Soon-deok did not see her MIL’s tweet true character sooner. She admired her through most of the series even when many of the things she was doing were underhanded and evil. I got she was being filial but there were points when I wish she had stood up to her or turned away from her more.

It ending with Jung-woo and Soon-deok just having a magical romance, a courtship, prior to marriage was a little unsatisfying. After all they had gone through to be able to be together, ending in their marriage would have felt more “happily ever after” than we are just going to essentially date and marry later.

#KimSeokWoo

#Rowoon

#TheMatchmakers

#ChoYiHyun

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Le dernier épisode ruine le drama

C'est une série mignonne, avec de bons acteurs. Dommage que le dernier épisode tue la série : en baissant le QI des deux acteurs principaux qui font juste n'importe quoi...
Les 15 premiers épisodes valent un bon 9.5, c'est bien filmé, avec des scènes très sympas, des acteurs bons comme mauvais plutôt brillants.
Le16e, Cela finit par un happy ending, mais bon on passe 45 minutes à se demander si les scénaristes ont fumé la moquette !
En gros si le roi n'était pas là, on perdait l'acteur principal pour rien ! Cette dernière intrigue n'a ni queue ni tête, et en plus la belle-mère s'en sort tranquillement !

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Comic relationship adventure with odd editing, conflicting themes

Shim Jung Woo was the highest & youngest scorer civil service exam, highly reluctant prince consort, and naive straight shooter. "Those who marry matchmakers are destined to live short lives" is a saying taken to extremes as SJW's princess bride to be drops dead during the wedding ceremony, foretelling his own unrealized true destiny. Rowoon is very good at comic roles & hilariously portrays SJW as haplessly innocent in spite of his high intelligence & strong sense of justice.

Cho Yi Hyun plays Jung Soon Deok, a widowed noblewoman who moonlights as matchmaker under the pseudonym of Yeo Joo Daek, unafraid of any challenge, & is as free spirited as Jung Woo is rigid. Her talents are so natural it leads SJW to believe she is the incarnation of a matchmaking god.

No period drama is complete without palace intrigue as the Joseon king fights resistance from his own court to appointing the sickly 14 yr old crown prince's marriage and thus, by inference, his ascension. To lift a rumoured curse on the prince's future marriage (and political) prospects, the king orders SJW to marry off 3 "old maidens" whose unmarried status threatens the prosperity of the kingdom. SJW teams up with JSD in a funny and raucous ride to find the perfect bachelors for the maiden sisters. However, the journey gets rather dizzying with sudden flashbacks for mutliple characters, new characters introduced at different times, and complicated backstories with hidden identities. And there's one significant character, the king's second grandson & chief political threat to the crown prince, who's mentioned frequently but never shown during the entire show which is very odd.

Therefore it took me almost a 1/3 of the show to get into the story because of the mish-mash of flashbacks & jumping storyline, but eventually as the matchmaking for the maidens gets going I could just enjoy the comic moments & follow the development of the relationship between the leads. Then their matchmaking efforts fall apart as the politics heat up and past crimes come to light, turning the leads into detectives. There is also the prospect of a child marriage with a 10 yr age gap, presented as a fated true love match, which cannot be portrayed positively or realistically even if it was acceptable centuries ago. It's uncomfortable, actually, to see this in the storyline as no big deal & it conflicted with my enjoyment of the show. Finally comes the age old question of do you follow your heart or your fate? In the end, the good people are happy & the bad people get their due. The romance is light & funny, the politics heavy & perhaps unnecessarily tragic, but an entertaining watch overall.

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Good Enough

Korean Drama '' The Matchmakers '' is a historical romantic comedy.

The drama has a delightful to watch female lead, who was adorable, sassy, feisty, and nailed her emotional moments. She actually carried the drama when things started getting cheesy and boring.

Also, the couple was enjoyable to watch, as they had interesting banter and their dynamics were spot on. However, the love story was just okay, taking off only toward the ending of the series, and being more or less unoriginal. Still, the drama handled them having a significant other that they missed masterfully.

The performances, finally, were pretty great by everyone in the cast, even the side characters. The final episodes, however, were rushed and boring.

So, overall, five out of ten.

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Filled with fillers!

Main reason I dropped the show isn't because of the story per se, but I just don't feel that attracted by ML, FL or both of them. Nothing specifically charismatic here, despite the ML being actually cute as a person, but the character here just doesn't quite cut it.

As for the show, It's unnecessarily draggy and gets boring over time. It started out funny and somewhat exciting for first few episodes, and it just gets boring. It's actually quite nice and funny, but it's not something that needs 16 episodes. well, it's a typical long-winded Kdrama style lol... Honestly, its not that bad, its just too much fillers for me, so i ended up skipping parts.

But, if you like something easy to watch, and just relax, give it a try.

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A love letter to love in all its forms

This is the first drama I completed in 2024 and what a beautiful way to start the new year. Above all else, this is a story about love, romantic love, yes, but also the love between friends, the love you have for your country, the love you have for your family (the one you're born into, the one you marry into, and the one you make for yourself), and above all else, the love and respect you have for yourself. Cho Yi Hyun and Rowoon absolutely shine as the titular matchmakers who have each known love and loss, who are each seeking their place in the world, and who end up finding solace in each other. Park Ji Young is mesmerizing as one of the best-written antagonists I've ever seen, balancing her character's calm dignity as the firm but fair mother-in-law with her quietly terrifying ferocity as the cunning puppet master pulling all the strings behind the scenes. The secondary characters are just as compelling and memorable, from the sweet but stubborn sister-in-law Ye Jin to the young and noble Crown Prince to the steadfast bookseller to the actually competent King to the real Yeojudaek to the old bachelors, and of course, the unforgettable Maeng sisters, who each got a love story that allowed them to stay true to themselves. It's evident that every aspect of this drama was produced with love and care, from the beautiful cinematography to the excellent writing and character development and I especially enjoyed modern style choices like the giant location headers and the mockumentary format at the beginning of each episode that made the show feel fresh and fun. The last episode became a bit too melodramatic for me but all in all, this was a gem of a drama that I can't wait to rewatch.

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i love this drama

A great drama, funny, witty, but at the same time it has a degree of seriousness (it's about a marriage of convenience, revenge, murder, and control). The historical/modern production reminds a bit of a reality show (a break between the scenes and the actors looking directly at the camera, something more like a drama, "Lovestruck in the City"). A plot that has female empowerment, love, friendship, strict rules that were accepted at that time and you can say unconditional love. The characters develop gradually. Especially the character of Shim Jung Woo who plays rowoom in a wonderful way, rowoon succeeds with his wonderful acting and his facial expressions (mimicry) to transfer the character in a wonderful way, (from a person who reluctantly submits to strict rules to a sensitive, loving and uncompromising person) as well as Cho Yi Hyun who plays Jung Sun Deok and the rest of the actors who did a wonderful job...a drama that I personally recommend.

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A Historical With A Funny Tone

Rowoon (“Destined with You”) is back onscreen with his next romcom, which happens to be a historical. Starring alongside Cho Yi Hyun, “The Matchmakers” is about two widowers, Shim Jung Woo & Jung Soon Deok, who are pressured by the royal family into marrying three maidens representing the spinster problem in the Joseon dynasty. Both of them have varied personalities, with Jung Soon Deok leading a double life that is closely guarded. The drama relies a lot on the customs and traditions that tied down widows in ancient Joseon. Now, widowers weren’t specifically affected, but Shim Jung Woo suffers because he has a special identity. You can’t question the absurdity of their situations because we are talking about times that were orthodox and fanatical. The first two episodes do a good job of introducing the main characters, as we get a glimpse into their lives. Soon Deok leads an exciting, satisfying one while Jung Wook’s is dull and unfulfilling.

Read the complete article here-

https://kcdramamusings.wordpress.com/2023/11/01/the-matchmakers-first-impressions/

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Boring

Since starting episode ,it is bored . Entry of leads had no impact . Even their acting was very loose . Male lead is one of my favourite but this time his acting was dull and female lead's acting was little bit over . When I read the synopsis I found it l interesting but when I watched first episode it was not started the way it was introduced in the synopsis . I thought may be the story would go in flash back so I continued to watch but till 4th episode there were no glimpse of such thing and I didn't find it interesting and I stop continue to watch it.
For me it was a bored one.

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