May It Please the Court

I have to agree with someone else here who wanted to give it a five but gave it a one to balance out inflated ratings. Started out somewhat promising, the actors definitely got my attention initially. Park Min Young is as usual quite perky and perfectly made up for the camera. Her partner Go Kyung Pyo is pretty good but so quiet that it gets tiring (I know this is the story but..) the only other characters that I found engaging were his work pals. The story starts to drag on after a few episodes, we experience the typical cliché love triangle. There are many unnecessary extraneous characters. It started out well but in my opinion does not deliver a fully engaging, interesting and coherent story. It also does feel predictable though not coherent not necessarily in a good way.

I really liked the concept of this show; a woman who does contract marriages as her job and falls in love with a client. It's a little cliché, but in a good way. The beginning was really good, the characters had their purposes and the storyline moved very smoothly. But after about 10 episodes the story just started to fall apart. The whole concept kind of changed as the show went on. The characters were really charming and delivered some really funny lines in the beginning, but this was almost completely lost half way though. I feel like the story just suddenly changed and lost most of it's really good qualities. I liked this show, I just wish they had planned the ending better.

I wanted this woman to end up with anybody BUT that guy. I would've been content with her riding off into the sunset with Gwang-nam. I loved these two together so, so much, that would've been just perfect.

Squeal-worthy in the first half, way too dramatic and inconsistent in the second half.

I took to this immediately, it's so funny that I binged the first episodes right away. It's your regular setup, a beautiful and otherwise perfect woman caught between two men, only I became very frustrated with the choice for her. Like with many other k-dramas, the second lead made so much more sense and could match her EQ. And indeed knew her much better than the other guy. I mean Go Kyung-pyo does an excellent job, but his character is used for comedic effect more than anything else, and in that sense their whole dance works, at least in the beginning. His blank stares are hilarious, but I grew tired of his bug eyes. Meaning a particular expression he keeps making. Another point that the drama fails to address completely is that this guy is clearly on the spectrum, but apparently he can be taught to become more reactive and aware of others, which, come on... As such, I failed to see the attraction she feels towards him, it makes absolutely no sense. Add to that the fact that she starts to act like a complete idiot after she supposedly falls in love, which again bugs me to no end. But that's k-drama for you, they won't let go of that one. It's meant to be cute, but it's really not. Not for a strong woman who has supposedly been through helluva lot.

Anyway, I liked Hae-jin a lot more for her, but it wasn't meant to be. Is it ever with these things? I know of only one k-drama that flipped this scenario and deceived expectations at the very end.

It gets way to dramatic with the corporate backstabbing and scheming and Kang Hae-jin makes a completely unnecessary sacrifice, only for things to magically return to normal in the last episode. That was a pointless episode and rendered a lot of the things happening before that completely meaningless.

Yu Madam has plenty of issues and mood changes that are never addressed. She is suicidal in one of the earlier episodes for god's sakes, but that is entirely forgotten afterwards. Essentially, some things are used for comedy, only for the characters to start behaving completely different when the drama hits. Anyway... One thing for which I can also commend this drama is the treatment of the gay best friend, but only to a point. He is written as a very lovable, empathetic, caring character, an all-around perfect best friend, and his sexuality is never exploited or put down or made fun of. However, that is all he is afforded, he is the female lead's sidekick and there to serve and complement her, nothing more. He has a few scenes of his own with his family, colleagues, where his story is further explored, but there's no development for him personally. He wraps his life around his female friend and changes his goals for her or to match hers. He is at the same time idealized and given no agency. But in any case, big step forward for South Korea just the same. Like I said, I would've been glad for her to leave all these men and go to Canada and be free with her bestie. It was not meant to be though.

Another story about contracted marriage / relationships, which will of course end in the protagonists finding true love. Nothing new, but if done well it's always enjoyable. Not so much in this case.

I was hoping this was a fun romcom but even though the plot and plot "twists" had potentially, the acting of the female lead protagonist was not as charismatic as I had expected. Not sure if it was lack of chemistry between the male protagonists, her carrying a lot of the weight of the story or maybe just not the right balance of comedy for me. Plot holes here and there, bland follow up on mysteries, and a couple of inconsistencies. Not a waste of time , just maybe not the serie for me.

It's just...meh. We've seen the fake marriage trope a million times, and this one doesn't do anything groundbreaking. The "contract wife" idea had so much potential, but the show kind of just meanders around without ever really making it anything fresh or exciting.

I don't know what it is, but there's something about the main female lead that just doesn't click with me. Maybe it's her delivery, or the way she plays the role...?

The chemistry between her and the male lead is decent at best, but it's far from the sizzling, can't-look-away kind of romance the drama wants you to believe it is. You know what I'm talking about-the kind of romance that makes you root for them to get together. Yeah, this isn't that.

The pacing? Oh boy. It's like watching paint dry in slow motion. The show drags on and on with repetitive scenarios that you've seen a hundred times before, but with none of the charm.

It's like they're checking off a list of rom-com tropes but forgot to add the fun. It's cute, sure, but it's not worth the hype. If you're in the mood for something that's light and easy, go ahead and watch. But don't expect to be blown away.