Jealousy Incarnate 2016

The more Jealousy means the more she loves me . A messy , entertaining love triangle(s) that doesn't drag romance.

My first impression on Jealousy Incarnate (Netflix: Don't Dare to Dream) is not that strong. It took me around 6 episodes before I was fully reeled in. It was then that I realized that I was in for a very long haul cause it's a 24-episode drama. I was thinking of dropping this already but it's a good thing that I kept on hanging.. this turned out to be one of my most loved dramas this year. To me, Jealousy Incarnate is a messy drama. But it is messy in the most perfect sense possible. The kind of drama that reminds you about the joys of love, friendship, life and sorrow.

PLOT

This drama banks on the many kinds of love triangle it has.

I like the love triangle among Chef Rak, Ja-yong, and Sung-sook. It's really adorable when these middle-aged people discover love, jealousy, and friendship in their age. I actually fell for their dynamics first before I liked the main triangle.

Now, to the main love triangle.. Jo Jung Suk and Gong Hyo Jin are perfectly matched in this! I salute Na-ri for her personality. I tend to love the unconventional heroines we have in our dramas. The love triangle with her, Hwa-shin and Jung-won is totally crazy. I've never seen a drama take on its main point of conflict in the way this drama did. It was painful yet hilarious. I am even confused on how I should react on their take about the confusing love triangle.

I don't want to give any of the story away, but it's certainly not your average love story set up. It also could have easily gone a much cheesier melodramatic route, which this story thankfully avoided. The plot stays true to the seriousness of the subject matter without losing any of the humor. The relationship also felt real, with their personality flaws on full display, which made them super relatable.

This drama might even make it as a family drama cause it got everytging in it. From a father-daughter relationship, mother-son/daughter, the sisterhood, the bromance.. It's complete and I love it.

CAST

Hyo-jin as Na Ri is quirky and likable, and frustrating, and definitely a memorable character. Parts of her personality would have easily made me hate her if she were played by a lesser actress, but she is so good that it works. Her performance in Master's Sun and It's Just Love feels very similar but the craziness is even a bit more in this show as obsession/crush for Hwa Shin is cute .

Jo Jung Suk as Lee Hwa Shin however, is the key to what makes this couple so good. He's played lovably arrogant before, and extremely well, but he made Na Ri fall for him so much in this role, even though he is an absolute jerk.

Of course, I can't leave out Go Gyeong Pyo as Jeong Won. Not only is his bromance with Hwa Shin perfection, and an essential part of the story, but he completes my favorite kdrama love triangle, possibly of all time. Gyeong Pyo is also the kind of character that the term "Second Lead Syndrome" was made for. His actions did start to annoy me after a while; I did skip his scenes; but they never lost their charm as a trio, which was the best part of the show for me.

The rest of the cast is filled with memorable, and hilarious characters. It truly is a great ensemble, with entertaining stories of their own. I could spend all day writing about why I loved each supporting character, down to super cute Seol Woo Hyung, but I will just say it's a cast worthy of a perfect score. Again, I need to compliment the story for staying interesting, and not falling into the same old expected clichés. Although this is pretty much a romantic comedy, I not only laughed, but I cried, I also laughed while I cried, and got deeply invested in each story. It also made behind the scenes in the newsroom seem fun, interesting, and even intense at times. Usually, the "at the job" parts of the story just feel like filler to me in romcoms, but the cast and crew of SBC were entertaining on their own. I also feel the same way about the Chef, and the apartments at Rak Pasta, though it took me a little longer to get into that part of the story because it was initially kinda confusing (especially how related they all were without knowing it).

MUSIC & Re-WATCH

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Would I watch this drama again? Absolutely. In fact, this is one of those dramas I was ready to watch again immediately after it was finished. I have the soundtrack, of course! The "step step" song will be stuck in my head for a long time! There are a lot of good songs and some that fit the mood of the story really well, like "Monday To Sunday"... which always played at the perfect time. Hilariously, "No No No" is maybe one of my low-key favorite OST songs of all time.

VERDICT

What I liked the most about this drama is its realistic side, the fact that it talks about a not very much spoken subject which is male breast cancer, some scenes are really overwhelming. Plus her struggle at work, all the ups and downs to achieve her dream to be an announcer. The characters development throughout the drama and the bonds that are created between each of them is also what makes this drama GREAT ! ^^

Around the 20th episode when I thought the drama will drag; most dramas do; it took another surprising path that will keep you hooked till the end.

Although there are few drawback that cannot be disclosed without spoiler that doesn't make this the prefect rom-com

The main character don't evolve; Hwa-Shin is still arrogant, cruel, grumpy, screamer, and the first to make hard judgments about his girlfriend without thinking of her feelings under the pretext that "this is how I love." What is the limit between love and selfishness? All the drama in the show is due to Hwa-Shin's macho,cowardly and selfish decisions !!
Na-Ri seems to have undergone some character development and maturity but here relationship with step-mother (almost her age) and her father is non-existent and so is the interaction with her brother and studies
The love triangle with the neice and the nephews was missing for most part of the show and rushed at the end to a conclusion as we guessed.
I don't think the Kim Rak's character was to be a asexual situation, because since the beginning it was very clear that that was a "temporary" situation, which happened as a kind of punishment for he were having dated several women in the past. So I did not see any possibility that subject would be discussed as sexual choices issue.
Although it was somewhat courageous the discussion about a love triangle, living together; maybe a soft kind of polyamory.

Aside from the heart fluttering romance, this drama is funny and cute and had me giggling out loud many times. It also deals with some serious issues that bring more emotional depth to the relationships, but it never gets depressing or too heavy. If you have been putting off watching this you should do it.