The Secret Life Of My Secretary
So I had previously written a first impressions on this drama way back when it had just aired and now I’m here to wrap it up with a proper review because I have things to say and my words must be heard. If you need a refresher on what the story is about:
A romance story between Do Min Ik (Kim Young Kwang) and Jung Gal Hee (Jin Ki Joo).
Do Min Ik is an intelligent man and the executive of a leading telecommunications company who always relies on his secretary, the loyal Jung Gal Hee. When Jung Gal Hee gets fired from her job she winds up assuming a double life as a famous movie industry figure, Veronica Park, after Do Min Ik gets into an accident that leaves him with face blindness (prosopagnosia).
If I had to describe my journey with this drama, it would be like overindulging on dessert at a wedding. Now you may think that with me saying overindulging that this drama was bad but it wasn’t, it was cute. Sickly cute, even with the terribly problematic moments. This drama was about as cliche as romantic comedy dramas in kdramaland could get. Literally grab a kdrama bingo card and play along while watching this.. I bet you can score bingo within the first four (eight) episodes. That being said as cliched as this drama is I still enjoyed it to the end of the world because the chemistry between Gal Hee and Min Ik was absolutely sickening.
Plot: As mentioned beforehand what a bunch of cliches and also absolute madness. Literally. Things did not make sense.. I tried to rationalize it being that since he’s lost his sight it takes him a while to get used to his other sense but holy sh*t the stupidity was wild in this one. I am a fan of messy plots and find them entertaining if done correctly, unfortunately the gaps were quite glaring in this one. I did appreciate that it portrayed face blindness in a way you don’t typically see in these kdramas and that he wasn’t magically cured at the end. +1 point
Romance: Minus the obvious theme of lying and betrayal the romance was so decadent!! Legit both between our main couple and the second leads and it was the reason I kept watching because I can and will excuse anything for fluffy romance and good chemistry. (Actually not true total depends on my mood)
Characters: I was equally charmed by Do Min Ik as I was irritated by his some of his earlier actions. I have a soft spot for Young Kwang so I felt his pain in the moments when he had to adapt to not being able to recognize faces. I also thought his character was a tad inconsistent but nontheless very cute. There was some growth in there somewhere and it may have taken fourteen or so episodes to truly see it but it was there.. Shhh.. Just focus on the cute moments guys! Gal Hee was adorable and I really fell for Jin Koo in this drama. Her expressions were so cute and she was adorable even while blatantly lying to his face. I was supposed to feel sorry for her when she got exposed but instead I was like “damn this is dumb”. Dae Ju… Yeah nothing against the actor cause he did what he had to do but it was just very blah, his best scenes were naturally with VERONICA PARK. Speaking of… The highlight of the show was for sure Ms. ORIGINAL Veronica Park, right off the bat we are expected to see this vain, b*tch, maneater and while she is certainly all of that and more, you can see that above all else she is a child who is afraid of her mother and immature in love. She was endearing and funny and smart and certainly a scene stealer. +5 points
Final Thoughts: I would recommend if you want something sweet to cleanse your palette after something despicably harsh or disappointing, but literally hold no expectations while going in. If you focus on the fluff and don’t think too much (clearly something the writer/directors didn’t do) then it will be easy and breezy to get through… Be warned though, the sweetness may get you full and then you’ll have an upset stomach at the end of the night.
Acting: 8/10 Production Value: 8/10 Music: 8.5/10 Story: 6/10 Overall Rating: 8/10
Unbothered Unnies 