My Shy Boss

Overall, this series about a boss with severe social anxiety is watchable and interesting. They certainly get social anxiety right. Someone with this issue is not all cute/quirky, smiling hesitantly and stumbling in a charming manner over their words. Such individuals are often mistakenly thought of as cold, aloof and uncaring (which is the mistake made about the series' protagonist). In addition, they also portrayed accurately the "overthinking" that the socially anxious engage in and how it becomes almost paralyzing. The timeline of a series was nice as we didn't see an overnight change but a more gradual reengagement of the boss with his team and the world around him.

That said, narratively, the series is, at times, incoherent. Supporting characters seem to change their basic natures to meet the demands of the plot (particularly the best friend character). The hardcore mocking that the protagonist receives from society at large as he attempts to improve himself does not seem realistic. I'm not familiar with Korean culture but I have a hard time believing such widespread lack of compassion to be realistic. It seemed over the top. (And speaking of over the top, the protagonist has a pair of the most despicable parents I've ever seen in any program. Though, sadly, that's probably not completely unrealistic).

If you focus on the evolving nature of the main character and his romance with his outspoken employee (and ignore all the plot twists and unnecessary narrative detours), you'll enjoy the series.

This is a rare KDrama for me in that I actually really liked all of the characters (the main characters at least), and that every character's motivations felt genuine and made sense. I don't want to spoil anything, but I will say that for once, the main conflict of this romance made total sense and was very realistic. The story was deeply human, showing a range of emotions and different mental health issues in a way that was both raw and real. I did take off two stars because some spots were a bit cheesy/cringy, and the ending was very drawn out (this could have easily been a 12-14 episode show). But the actors all did a wonderful job and the story was interesting and full of drama that was proportionate to the characters. Definitely worth a watch!

It was great to see a show featuring a character who struggles with anxiety, as you don't see that very often. The story was really tragic and so aspects of it were hard to take. I felt so bad for the main guy being so misunderstood by everyone, but it was great to see him gradually come to have a little circle of people he trusted, who trusted him too.

I think this show highlights how people with anxiety and similar conditions can so easily be misunderstood. I didn't think of the other characters as jerks, the way some reviewers apparently did - because I could see things from both sides. They had no reason to know that their boss wasn't a jerk, especially as his family worked so hard to hide the fact. There were of course plenty of moments where I wanted to shake people till they came to their senses. But every character was dealing with their own "stuff".

As someone who is introverted and is socially anxious it was really great to see this represented and I think this is what this drama did well in the way it is written and in the actors portrayal. The main male lead is very relateable to me and the development of his character is enjoyable to watch. However there are some problems with this show that really ruin that plot and the premise of the series. For one, there are some very problematic behaviours from many of the other characters in the show that really don't get challenged or addressed properly which did make some parts very difficult to watch. Also, towards the end of the series it feels like more and more drama and 'twists' are being added for drama sake or to drag it out for a few more episodes. It makes some of the events leading up to this just feel like a waste of time and also leaves a few confusing gaps in the plot that could have been resolved without needless extra drama. There are themes around mental health- suicide and self harm but I feel that these were not handled well at all in this drama- not well represented and kind of skimmed over. At parts the drama switches very quickly from dark and serious plot points and themes to overly lighthearted romance/ comedy which can make it difficult to be invested in the story when this happens. This series could have been much better of the focus had stuck with the main character and his development instead of drawing away from this with a storyline and characters that are muddled, problematic and not well enough explored. I know it's a drama but I would have liked to have seen a little less drama.

For every 5 seconds of fun there is 5 minutes of bad writing and editing. The main couple is great when they're together and happy (with great chemistry during their kiss scenes), but every choice every character makes is very questionable. Although you always have to suspend your belief with kdramas, this drama has you questioning who in real life would behave the way these characters behave. Again, if you're looking for a show to binge or put in the background, this does the trick. The latter episodes are much more enjoyable than the beginning. This drama is not so bad that you have to stop watching, but I wouldn't recommend it first to anyone either.