Drama Rating: 7/10 Neck Score: A+
When I first realized that the drama was cut short, I was fine with it, because I was done with the near misses and withholding of information from the tortured piano player. There was too much passive aggression, guilt, and skirting around that issue for me, and I was ready for that to be done so everyone could move on. But then there was a whole new set of drama associated with it that seemed to be weird and rushed, so ultimately I suppose it did suffer a bit with the shortening, but I was also really impressed with the writing and the flow. The characters it mostly shortchanged by the cut was sadly our ladies, I thought. Soon Ho was suddenly behaving very strangely, picking the piano player over her uncle and it made no sense because she didn't have quite enough time to get to that point. And Seo Woo's emotional struggled at being a potential rebound or whatever seemed sudden in both coming and going. But I just wanted more couple and less other crap though, so it wasn't that big of a deal, I guess.
I loved how naturally the romance developed. It was paced well and very healing. It was based off of support and comfort, and a general happiness. It was the definition of domestic bliss, since they made each other so happy with the little things. Being happy just to be around each other, even if they were doing their own work. Their smiles when they saw each other, as the built a house and safe place together, as they rested from their emotional baggage in each other's presence. It was the sweet sort of romance where you felt satisfied with the cutest of hugs and didn't really need the kissing or passion. They picked some of the cutest and sweetest looking people for it too. I could have watched Jung Hae In and Chae Soo Bin hug and smile til the cows came home.
One thing it definitely is is pretty. Very, very cinematographically gorgeous in a still, peaceful, domestic way. The simple pleasures are glamorized by the beauty of how they are shown. Simple things such as eating together, sitting near someone in silence, watching the snow, or organizing a house with little things that make it a home. It also simply shows how a found family can support each other in simple ways, or how carelessness can hurt people. Most of all, it shows the power of communication. Because all the goodness was created through good communication (verbal and non-verbal) while all the sadness was also caused by communication, whether hurtful communication, lies, or the lack of communication. The very thing that I loved also frustrated me. I loved how communicative most of the characters, but the lack of communication about the most hurtful moments was frustrating, which is why I was both in favor and sad about the drama being cut short. However, ultimately, I feel like the writing handled it well, despite of the sudden change in length.
To sum up, it was cute, sweet, shorter, frustrating, melancholy, unbelievable, sad, and happy all at the same time, which ultimately is a good range of emotions, but since the whole flavor of the drama is melancholy, that mood must be taken most into consideration.
