Drama Digest
Samkwang Villa is the residence of three families. Soon Jung’s family is economically disrupted, but their happiness lies in living simply. Jung Ho’s family though rich, often gets into conflicts. Jung Won’s family looks encapsulated with joy, but inside it gets rough sometimes. The main plot of the story centres around Woo Jae Hee and Lee Bit Chae Woon’s encounter. Jae Hee is the son of Woo Jung Hoo, an inheritor of a big prosperous company. But they seldom remain in touch. The father-son dispute has spanned due to Jung Hoo’s unacceptance of Jae Hee’s dream of becoming an architect. Eventually, Jae Hee flourishes in his dream through hard work and determination. He meets Chae Woon at a redesigning house site. Chae Woon dreams of being an interior designer. She helps customers make choices for modeling their house. She also takes most of the family’s responsibility and often feels burdened with that. Their story gains momentum when they discover themselves as neighbors. Meanwhile, other families join the villa with their narratives and gradually develop strong bonding with each other.
The Feel-Good Part
The chemistry between the families, friends, couples, and siblings makes it heart-warming. The characters are also well developed as the drama progresses, giving it a pleasing outlook.
The Disappointing Factor
The revenge part of the drama is too magnified. It is filled with antagonists getting away with evil actions by tormenting the victims more. At the same time, this could have been avoided by not dragging it out too much. Even though the drama spans around 100 episodes, it almost keeps the story alive. But at some points, fillers are brimmed inside, maybe to not shorten the length. One ponders that such a good cast is put together to gain more attention.
In-Depth Analysis
Mainstream family K-dramas often focus on the revenge part and makes it more entangled to gain the viewer’s sympathy for the victim. That trope is used here too, but not to a heightening level of overdoing it explicitly. Therefore, the characters’ stories balance it and their moments with each other. Overall, providing an insight into the bond between family and loved ones irrespective of anything. The first episode starts with most of the characters and a mysterious scene, evoking the urge for questions. But slowly, it unfolds the answers and the connections between them gracefully. The individual character stories highlight their development arc several times. It coagulates with the already established relationship and slowly nurtures that journey of bonding. Thus, shaping comedy, tragedy and mystery all in one frame.
Star Power
Jin Ki Joo and Lee Jang Woo were as fabulous as their usual self. Ki Joo’s role in ‘The secret life of my secretary’ (2019) goes almost in tandem with her lively character, Lee Bit Chae Woon. Along with main leads Jeon In Hwa, Jeong Bo Seok, Hwang Shin Hye and others, the substantial supporting cast beautifully formed the whole story.
Overall Opinion
Long backstories and unravelling mysteries of the past make this drama captivating. And obviously, the characters revolving around the overly kind-hearted female protagonist and the vicious turned sympathetic male lead are no exception to this drama. This drama won’t dishearten a fan of mysteries, family and long cringy sweet gestures.
