The Potato Lab

I don't really understand dramas guys, but there's something strange about this series.

What's wrong with the female character?

Her emotions are too high, and her make-up is too much, isn't it? Seriously, when she just woke up, her eyeshadow was very obvious.

And the romance is very slow.

The male character is also the same, why is he so unstable? Sometimes he seems to like her but sometimes he distances himself. So this series is very boring. Im sorry to say.

If I watch other series, I don't feel like it's the last episode, but this time, why is it still in this episode?

Maybe next time, the female character can be made a little more innocent.

I have struggled to get to episode 11 and will eventually finish this.... but oh my goodness....ugh A series like this rises and falls on two things - writing and actors..... the poor writing for the female leads' character and a horrid (although beautiful) actress playing that unfortunate part...

If the female lead did not have such a dysfunctional personality if might be possible to overlook her best friend who has an even worse dysfunctional personality than hers.

All the other actors were wonderful, especially the male lead. Amazing that someone wrote this, directed, produced and financed this for so many people like me to give up multiple hours of their lives to endure it.... I assume, or truly hope, the last episode will have the FL see herself and do a turn around and hopefully her totally bizarre friend will butt out.

HELLO....? I have seen more than a couple new series be ruined because the writers have no concept of basic human psychology and interaction.

INITIAL REVIEW: I have really been looking forward to this show. I enjoy the work of the male lead and had not seen him recently so it was a pleasant surprise.

It seems quite a few new drama (I can think of three right now off the top of my head), have female leads who are just annoyingly weird.

I love the idea of this drama and the characters were coming together but oh my goodness.... what is with this weird woman?

She is over the top angry, reactive and spiteful. It stopped being funny already and I am only midway through episode 2.

In real life people do over react and certainly can be angry.... but geez already who ever wrote this surely just left real life and went off the rails.

I am hopeful the female lead grows up a bit or looks at her obtuse behavior and snaps out of it. She DOES NOT have to be friendly but surely she could behave like a sane human being.

I will come back and re-evaluate if I continue watching. I gave it an 8 star because I am hopeful.

I just finished watching The Potato Lab. Overall it was a good show, just not great. The back story of potatoes and the lab stayed with the show until the end, which was good. The second couple were very good and provided much needed laughs. They showed affection for each other and provided the only intimacy scenes (PG of course) in the show.

The main couple were lacking. The chemistry just wasn't there. There were a couple of scenes were the passion started to build but BOOM, it was gone. Not much romance with them, just a few hugs and light kisses.

The ending was terrible. There was a long time jump and other then being together no information on their relationship status.

Am up to episode 7. The series started slow and seemed a bit tacky; I wasn't sure I wanted to invest my time after episode 1 but I stuck it out and boy does it pay off! A love quadrangle, some absolutely hilarious physical comedy and randomly joyful moments (if you like offbeat humour) that appear out of nowhere mid-scene making me laugh out loud, and blazing chemistry between the two leads. While the female lead (Lee Sun Bin) starts out as unlikeable in the first episode, she makes a meal out of her role as the series continues - she is incredibly versatile, tender, ferocious, funny, vulnerable and absolutely brilliant with her comedic timing. The male lead (Kang Tae Oh) doesn't have much to do but look good and smoulder - and boy does he smoulder. I must say, though, that he's pretty game to be ridiculous every once in a while in this role. This series is carried on the shoulders of Lee, and she delivers. The rest of the cast is good; not all necessary characters (e.g. The ex-wife of a protagonist) but maybe there's a payoff that I will see as the series progresses. The writing is uneven - the female characters are well written but the male characters are all really one-dimensional and it's a bit irksome. There are some lovely moments of sensitivity and intelligence in the writing, but again, an equal measure of really flat plot lines. Still, I'm hooked for episode 8 and I can't wait to see the villains get their comeuppance (as I am hoping as with all good k-dramas, the couple come together and soundly trounce their common enemy - after a few misunderstandings of course). God I love the predictability of Korean romcoms!

UPDATE 8 April 2025: Just finished the series. I take back what I said about predictable plot lines! This series ends so sweetly - and totally unlike your typical kdrama after all. This really is an intelligently written series with some really sweet moments. Kang Tae Oh turns in a superb performance in the last few episodes, matching Lee Sun Bin'd energy and passion. The second female and female lead are delightful as well with great comedic timing. As for the other cast - now I want to see a spin off about them!

I'm pretty sure you've all seen Kang Tae Oh play Lee Jun-ho in the well-known Netflix series "Extraordinary Attorney Woo Young-woo." Well, he's the one who drew me into this charming 12-episode love story featuring a feisty potato researcher as the female lead. She's healing from a past relationship while living in the countryside, and our male lead, So Baek-ho, is intense, daring, and bold.

The story may seem cliche, but it doesn't get boring. You might find the female lead a bit over the top and annoying at first, but trust me, it gets better. Her character is not the typical cookie-cutter female lead, which makes her more interesting. The cast has done a splendid job in their roles, and I found the second lead couples quite cute-I ended up rooting for them more than I expected.

As for the main leads, they embody the classic enemies-to-lovers trope. The male lead is super handsome, while the female lead is pretty! I loved their chemistry; it had me kicking my feet under my blankets! It's definitely worth watching at least once-you might even end up binge-watching it in one sitting!

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope you have a wonderful day!