Thank you, Jo Bo Ah !
And no, I don't mean for being talented and gorgeous. Even though you are.
It's because she was my conduit to this show. Having been very impressed with her in "My Strange Hero", I naturally did some digging concerning other things she's done and here we are.
I'm pleased to say that DOL was an enjoyable experience with many things to like. There were, however, some irritations which prevent me from launching into the sort of stratospheric superlatives reserved for the likes of my twin gold standard : "While You Were Sleeping" and "30 But 17".
Like the underrated "Twentieth Century Boy And Girl", DOL has no big idea to hook the viewer. No star weightlifter, super-strong woman or space alien falling for an Earthling. Which of course is no big deal if the writing is good enough. We know the basics are always there : the lead couple will be happily together at the end and the second male lead is never truly viable. So the journey to that pleasant destination is what we watch, hoping there will be some humour, some memorable incidents/situations, a bit of creativity and an interesting supporting cast amidst the mandatory tragedy or two.
What we have is an aspiring TV writer ( Seo Hyun Jin ), who gets romantically involved with a talented chef ( Yang Se Jong ). The second male lead is a self-made, chaebol-style zillionaire ( Kim jae Wook ) and rounding out the main quartet is another aspiring writer : a spoilt rich girl ( Jo Bo Ah ) who is a friend of SHJ.
Watching the writers interact with directors and each other is enjoyably self-referential, and that aspect evolves even further in the second half with SHJ's pet project. The primary love affair is quite interesting up to the half way mark, when the CEO launches a major and provocative event which did surprise me. Things aren't as inventive after that. The leads have their ups/downs ( with the "downs" testing my patience ! ) and the ending was generally satisfying despite some lapses in other areas.
Sigh. It's VERY frustrating to see so much good writing spoiled by a lack of care in certain areas. Foremost is the CEO character. He's a largely peripheral presence in the second half, brooding and lurking like a sad, celibate ( ! ) corporate piranha, yet so much could be done with him ! Give him a sport or hobby he can obsess about ( not just a bit of baseball bat practice ). Or give his PA some personality ( more like the legendary Secretary Kim ) and she could organise a few blind dates for him. He's handsome and suave, so fun might be had with that. More issues ? Sometimes people say odd things, with someone opining that true love means always being lonely ! I also wanted YSJ's father to apologise for what he did, and I wanted a nasty blogger near the end to have a REACTION to her meeting ! The kitchen staff are much too dull : have one trying different hair styles, or have them arguing the merits of various K Pop groups. There's also a team-building run at a local park for the kitchen guys, but it would've worked better by inviting the lovely female maitre'd/sommelier and have the boys vie for her attention. Maybe even have them do a human pyramid ( "hey, who farted ?" ) with her on top and see it collapse to comic effect. And of the two sub-plot romances, one is done well while the other less so.
Luckily, the two leads are charismatic, have great chemistry and the kiss-in-the-kitchen scene was powerful stuff. YSJ was great in "30 But 17" and gets a showy scene here to demonstrate his emotional range. Even though we know we're watching fiction, you can usually tell if two people are liking each other and it's real when they do ( that's why they sometimes get together/marry after the shoot is finished ). They're a sweet couple, yet JBA steals the series in my view : yes, she can be occasionally nasty and selfish, but the way she speaks without any filter and says whatever pops into her head can be very entertaining. And she's quite fierce when defending herself. Her clashes with male directors are often hilarious and it seems disappointingly plausible that an older guy would try to bully a younger woman writer. Her work in the satisfying "My Strange Hero" was more conventional yet no less accomplished, and I look forward to the show she's shooting now. And for KJW the hot rich guy, he does a solid job but I've already covered his character. Such a waste when he could've been fun; eg when he hosts a meeting between prickly JBA and a pushy director, have them sit silently while he sets up a first-aid kit, then puts on a flak jacket and full-face bike helmet. She might say : "Um CEO, are you expecting violence today ?" to which he replies with a nod of the head.
Visually, well, I've been watching "My Love From the Star" ( another frustrating show ) and it's quite superior to DOL in that department. I did like the periodic monochrome inserts, yet the park run cries out for slo-mo ! Aargh !
And the title ? Apparently "Degree Of Love" was the alternative ( per VIKI ) and is just as weak, as well as misleading. To me, the ideal title in synch with the plot would be "Let Me In", or maybe "Let Me In To Your Heart" or "Open Your Heart". Even something generic like "Confessions" would be an improvement, or "The Writer, The Chef and The Rich Guy" ?... hm, maybe not.
So there it is : a good show which could and should've been great. Sigh.
