As of Episode 34, the viewer is at precisely 2/3 of the way through a 50 episode drama and for some inexplicable reason, the writers chose to make a major detour in the story-line and the question now is: was the detour planned all along OR, have they chosen to re-write (ignore) the history and canon presented thus far. I don’t know the answer – so this review is for Episodes 1-32 of the drama – and will be updated from time to time. Mild spoilers.

Synopsis: The series depicts the story of an unmarried pregnant woman (Oh Yeon Do/YD) and an unmarried man (Gong Tae Kyung/TK) who enter into a false contract which “leads them to romance, pregnancy, childbirth, and childrearing”. But this move proves to be tricky because TK’s first love (Jang Se Jin/SJ) and YD’s now ex-boyfriend and father of her child, (Kim Joon Ha/JH), want to have a say in all this. “Will Cupid be able to sort out this tangled mess of romance?”

Episodes 1-10 were well-written and filmed well in advance to allow for large crowd scenes, outdoor locations and good introduction of all main characters and their family dynamics. There are three main families: Kang/Oh, Gong and Jang, all with the requisite parents, siblings, uncles, matriarch grandmother, etc. and features several couples in various stages of courtship or marriage. Kim Joon Has is the one main character with no family and viewers were told early on (in promotional video) that his family history would be a secret until the end of the drama.

Episodes 11-20 involved the growing connection between the Main Couple (TK/YD) as they negotiate their way through the early months of the contract marriage. They lied and deceived their families about their relationship, claiming that TK was the biological father of Baby “Real” and also lied about registering their marriage. Most episodes were standard k-drama fare: (1) TK/YD trying to maintain their two big secrets and (2) multiple arguments and fights both within and among the main families. There were also several ongoing stories of the other couples and their struggles with unwanted pregnancy and infertility. Episode 20 ended with TK’s declaration that he “liked” (cared for) YD.

Thus began what I call Chapter 3 (Episodes 21-30) - the developing “romance” between the Main Couple as they grew closer emotionally even though still planning to separate a few months before YD’s due date. Also in the mix was the attempted interference of the Second Main Couple (not romantic) as they attempt to split the Main Couple apart by revealing that TK was not the biological father. The other family arguments continued to a lesser extent as the families grudgingly accepted the presumed “married” couple and their presumed “biological” grandchild.

Which brings us to the “4th” chapter - I once predicted that during Episodes 31-40, the Main Couple would “slay all dragons” – that is, commit as a real couple, resolve all issues with their families and fight the 2nd Main Couple. This might still occur by Episode 40ish, but the plot took a 180 degree detour in Episodes 31/32 and as fast as you can say AB-RA-CA-DA-BRA, certain characters completely changed personalities. Previously kind/caring characters became monsters and monsters became caring.

My review thus far: characters that were interesting with interesting stories have been placed on the back-burner. Almost every scene/dialogue now revolves around TK, YD and Baby Real (birth name: Oh Haneul) who was born after YD lied to TK and disappeared for a year. This was the major detour mentioned above and many viewers think the show has gone off the rails at this point. So, that’s the status of the show – major whiplash with characters and story arcs. It’s a circular roller coaster with repetitive angst and trauma and it has lost its charm for me. I will continue watching when I have the time, but I no longer try to find the time to watch. Meanwhile – Episode 36 had its highest ratings in Korea so maybe the writers know what they are doing. Because, in the end, this drama is written by Koreans for a Korean audience and they get the final say on whether it is a success or not.

Review will be updated whenever I feel like it. At this point, I wonder if we will ever find out Kim Joon Ha’s family history before he is hit with a White Truck of Doom.

UPDATE 9/10/23 - after Episode 50:

At the end of what I call “Book # 4” (Episodes 41/42), we wonder to what alternate universe did the characters travel. Nothing happened in these episodes except Main Couple were apart and Main Couple reunited. No other story progressed, and no other characters evolved or changed.

By the end of the drama, the viewer realizes that there was one purpose for these episodes – stalling for time so that the writer(s) could completely re-write the end of the drama. When the drama began filming, the head writer said that 50% of the scripts were finalized. And it showed – the first 25-30 episodes were well done, the various families were intermixed in a variety of scenes and events, including accidental encounters that had meaning in later episodes. After that, it was clear that actors and directors were scrambling because of the rewrites. No more complex, meaningful scenes with a variety of characters. Entire stories were summarily dropped, never to be mentioned again. Location shoots were minimal – frequently taking place with a couple of characters in a coffee shop or driving in a car, walking into a building so that – the interior could be filmed at the studio. Episode 50 filming was completed 3-4 days before it aired.

In the end, almost all of the cast members appeared to be “phoning it in” because there was nothing new or unique in the dialogue or the stories. The exception? Kang Boo Ja (Grandmother) and Jung Eui Jae (Kim Joon Ha) each had scenes which required dialogue and emotion which were seen for the first time. For everyone else, there was nothing new.