Drama Reviews - Oh Hae Young Again (2016)

Been ages since I marathoned a drama! Oh Hae Young Again wasn't initially on my drama watching radar, but I started because there were good reviews and Nayoung from IOI mentioned that she was watching it. I'm glad I did because I loved it, more during the beginning and middle than the ending, but still loved it.

Oh Hae Young Again is about Park Do Kyung (Eric), whose fiancee Oh Hae Young (Jeon Hye Bin) ran off the day before their wedding. He proceeds to ruin her wedding with another man, only that the Oh Hae Young's wedding he ruined is another woman with the same name, referred to as 'Just' Oh Hae Young (Seo Hyun Jin) in the drama. One day, Do Kyung starts having visions of our leading lady, 'Just' Hae Young, and they eventually fall in love but what happens when she realises he was the one who ruined her wedding? Not a super unique premise, but the writing, acting and directing came together to make a good quality and enjoyable show.

The writing was solid - the funny scenes were laugh out loud hilarious, while the more poignant scenes really did touch me. In particular, I loved that there was clearly a lot of thought put into the script. Just off the top of my head, one scene I remember was that Hae Young was on the phone with Do Kyung telling him not to do anything showy like colluding with the restaurant staff or getting down on one knee, and almost the very next scene was Tae Jin getting a huge bouquet of flowers with a ring and probably intending to surprise her, which clearly shows how little Tae Jin knows her and maybe it was a good thing their wedding didn't go through. This was one example of the nuanced, smart writing I managed to catch and I'm sure I missed many.

Even during the episodes where there were lots of heartbreak and angst, I still enjoyed the show thoroughly, mainly because I never felt the main conflict was unnecessary like mothers opposing spouses or stuff like that. The conflict was the very premise of the show, and it was necessary to work through it for both characters. This angsty stretch also brought us some great performances and scenes. The scene of Do Kyung's friend, brother and minions following him was cute and showed that despite their grievances, they still love him.
The confrontation scene between Hae Young and Do Kyung where Hae Young was dolled up in excessive makeup gave me chills. Probably my favourite scene in the whole show. Seo Hyun Jin was so real and raw there. Give her all the awards!!

And in the fall out, the characters did many unpretty things, but I always understood why they did it. Terrible, but understandable. That is the mark of good writing.

However, the writing wasn't perfect, largely due to that damned extension. The pace noticeably slowed a lot around episodes 12-14. How many times did we need to see Do Kyung lying in the car accident scene lol. The PPL was also ridiculously obvious. I died laughing at Pretty Hae Young and her salad to advertise that garbage cleaner thingy, and the random scenes of them eating chicken.
I also felt that the conflict from Hae Young's mum's disapproval of them being together was a bit forced and went on toooooo long. There were other more important conflicts like Do Kyung's impending death! 

Moving on to the characters, I really really loved Just Oh Hae Young. This is my first time seeing Seo Hyun Jin in anything and I'll be checking out what she acts in next because she simply was Hae Young. This character can border on annoying and unlikable but I always rooted for our girl, a feat that can only be done by good writing AND acting. When she says downright awful stuff like 'I hope everyone who hates me die', it's not nice but it's also perfectly understandable. At times when you feel so wronged, that is exactly how some would react. She is just so relatable.

Eric's Do Kyung was stoic and had so few lines, but every time he said something, it felt like it mattered. I've liked Eric since Que Sera Sera and while I don't think he's a super great actor, he has a presence on screen that draws my attention. I loved the first time he said 'I love you' to her under that umbrella. Nowadays, many people overuse those 3 words but I liked how he placed importance on it.

I enjoyed the OTP's chemistry more before they got together, when they were in the 'some' stage where both obviously liked each other but didn't want to admit it. Somehow, after they got together, I think the lovey dovey scenes got too much lol. I still liked them and rooted for them to stay together forever, but I loved loved lovedddddd the chemistry they shared during the excitement and ambiguity of that 'some' stage haha.

When Hae Young told Do Kyung that she voted for herself during the class president elections. The moment that Do Kyung fell in love with her!

Pretty Oh Hae Young was a pretty controversial character at first but I never really hated her although I was a bit wary of her due to her overly chirpy and bright demeanour. But her backstory, especially how she got abused by Do Kyung's mom really made me warm up to her. She never does anything particularly mean, even if her words are selfish. And despite her limited scenes, there was noticeable character growth as she made conscious decisions to be a better person as the show progressed. I really appreciate that this second lead was a person that I could imagine really living in this world instead of those second lead bitches oft seen in dramas. I will be keeping my eye out for more Jeon Hye Bin dramas in the future.

The friendship between the 2 Hae Youngs was also super cute and heartwarming! Once they realised that both of them had stuff that the other was jealous of, they reached an understanding. I love female friendships in dramas!

And of course, how could I leave out Soo Kyung aka Isadora! I swear most of the comedy from this 'romcom' came from her. While this is one character where I felt the writing was a bit over the top (I don't think anyone like that exists irl....), Ye Ji Won played her so awesomely I ended up loving her and rooting for her anyway. I went into this show without having read any previews or seen any teasers (since all the teasing occurred while I was prepping for exams), so I had no idea that the bitchy boss we saw in the first scene with Hae Young would become such an important character! I'm glad she got to serve as more than comic relief, with that baby arc with Jin Sang. Ye Ji Won managed to capture the eccentricity and vulnerability of Soo Kyung wonderfully. And omg she's SO COOL, performing all those stunts and high kicks herself without breaking a sweat.

Casually doing a cartwheel while helping Jin Sang fight off his many girlfriends LOL.

Acting by the other side characters were also all around solid. Special shoutout to Kim Mi Kyung as Hae Young's mum. I didn't LIKE her mum character because she seemed so controlling of her daughter (Hae Young is 32!!), but the way Kim Mi Kyung delivers her lines is just exactly like how a mum will be like.

After writing and acting, the last point to hit will be directing and this show had BEAUTIFUL directing. Every scene was shot gorgeously, and you could tell there was thought put into how the scenes were framed. I really liked the many shots of viewers looking at the characters through windows. It somehow felt like I was peeking into their lives.

That large block in the middle somehow alludes to their relationship having a huge block in the middle.

The OST was great too. Though I feel a few songs were a bit overplayed, they suited the scenes perfectly. On their own, they are still damn good songs. I particularly liked Jung Seung Hwan's If It Were You and The Black Skirts' Wait More. (I clearly like sad songs haha.) It was also really nice to know that Seo Hyun Jin sang one of the OSTs. I'm such a fan of her now.

A thoroughly enjoyable show that hit almost all the sweet spots for me, but really worth watching for Seo Hyun Jin and Ye Ji Won's wonderful performances.