What have I been doing this week? I’m glad you asked! Here’s what’s been on my watchlist this week:

*Note: My reviews usually contain spoilers. You have been warned. Proceed at your own risk.*

TV

Marriage, Not Dating (2014)

In what was a rather slow week for TV watching, I decided to give Marriage, Not Dating a shot. This show is touted as on of the classics, and on starting it I immediately understood why. As soon as the show opened, I was reminded of some of the dramas of the early 2000s. Han Groo’s Joo Jang-mi is supposed to be a mix of strong-willed, happy-go-lucky and just the slightest hint of unhinged. All the elements don’t always mix together very well, which was probably why Jang-mi sometimes come off as two-dimensional, but Groo delivers a charming performance and I found myself simultaneously rooting for her and being annoyed by her. Gong Gi-Tae (Yeon Woo-jin) is similarly archetypal, in that he’s gruff, entitled and just the slightest bit too confrontational for my liking, a tsundere to the tee. The cast is rounded out with Han Yeo-reum (Jinwoon), the aspiring chef who falls for Jang-mi; Lee Hoon-dong (Heo Jeong-min), Gi-tae’s closest friend and Jang-mi’s source of constant headaches; and Kang Se-ah (Han Sun-hwa) who competes for Gi-tae’s affections.

However, while the show does feel quite typical, I found that I enjoyed watching it, even when I was annoyed by it. Whether it was Gi-tae’s family’s meddling, fake-dating shenanigans, or the mutual pining that could be resolved with a single conversation, I looked forward to seeing just how many tropes the writers would be able to fit into a single episode. It also didn’t hurt that the cast was extremely easy on the eyes. Jinwoon’s charming smile and Groo’s easy-going nature in particular stood out, to the point where I was rooting for their characters to end up together.

While there was plenty of conflict to go around, this is of course a k-drama, and a happy ending was practically guaranteed. While I’m not going to complain about neat endings, I was happy that the show also showed that there were some unconventional forms of happiness too. The ladies in Gi-tae’s family ultimately found a stronger bond once they tried to understand one another and seeing his mother kick his father to the curb was rather satisfying. Yeo-reum achieves his dream of becoming a chef, and Se-ah gets to have the child that she wanted, even if it might not have been the way she planned.

While the show did have its ups and downs, it was entertaining. They tried to have unconventional takes on the conventional tropes, and while it might not have always broken the mold, it at least felt familiar. It’s reminiscent of older dramas and pays homage to the likes of My Name is Kim Sam-soon and 1% of Anything and a time long gone.