<– the three office workers are frustrating and annoying underdog characters I don’t care for or root for. The less of them, the better. I blame the writing b/c Misaeng did it so well, hence the high ratings.

Oh yes! I'm sooo tired of the three office workers, I also don't care or root for them, particularly not Jang Mi-ri (which is sad, they could have made her a really interesting character with the sexual harassment story they had earlier) and the guy who think he has dibs on Jang Mi-ri over Bong-gi.

Sadly, I find a lot of the scenarios in the drama pretty contrived (the boss of Lovely... surely, he'd ruin every company? I just can't take the guy seriously....). It's not that what they are experiencing can't happen but the way it plays out in the drama just isn't compelling. Misaeng wrote it right, this drama is going for comic extremes and it backfires.

3rd ex husband is a total drag. I mean, all the scheming he's doing... is there no work these people have to do rather than just play around with people and companies to get back at the ex-wife???

The bits I love: Ms. Temper, Woo-jo and Bong-gi. More of them please, together.

I don't like Bong-gi though. I understand that he's there for the comedy and he's a useful character who does all the odd jobs/Ms. Temper missions. However, I can't agree with his "philosophy" especially after I watched episode 12. He says he's just choosing to live differently. I wouldn't say anything if he was (financially) independent, but he is living this life at the expense of his brother so how can he say anything about the way his brother lives. I think he's annoyingly immature.

@alua: I don't care about the employees either. I think this is a failure on the scriptwriter's part but despite that he/she is doing a great job as a rookie writer. I think it would be reasonable to have some of them being tempted by the bribes, but I think the writer is trying too hard to create circumstances such that they have "no choice" but to accept the money. And the worst thing is that those reasons failed to resonate with the viewers. It'll be much better if not all of them succumbed to temptation, and that the culprits actually got punished. Jang Miri is an exceptionally irritating character, but that has something to do with the actress as well (she's pretty crap even by my standards).

The writer is probably trying to find a balance between drama and slice-of-life. It's not working too well, but I'm not too concerned about those elements which just seem a bit too deliberate. I've seen much much worse in kdramas. And to be honest, the drama branded itself as a rom-com. I don't think we're supposed to expect it to be Misaeng-like. It just so happens that they are kind of similar, and people are now hoping to see the same things from the drama, which just isn't going to happen. I personally like it mainly for its feministic undertone, which I doubt is something you'll get from Misaeng.

"Sadly, I find a lot of the scenarios in the drama pretty contrived (the boss of Lovely… surely, he'd ruin every company? I just can't take the guy seriously….). It's not that what they are experiencing can't happen but the way it plays out in the drama just isn't compelling."

Thankfully there's the FF button.

"3rd ex husband is a total drag. I mean, all the scheming he's doing… is there no work these people have to do rather than just play around with people and companies to get back at the ex-wife???"

I don't care for that either, but I explained what I like about his character below.

@paroles

I don't totally disagree with you about Bong-gi, I have to say I didn't like him at all at the beginning. But he's also one of the few characters that has actually shown growth. He's still immature and he's still living off his brother, but he has started to work and he has also opened his eyes to the hard work his brother does. I think the next step is due to come – even if I don't think he necessarily needs to become a 9-5 office worker like everyone else. And he's also not wrong with some of the things he's said to his brother (just like his brother isn't totally wrong about what he says about him) – who is, indeed, an almost totally absent father to Woo-jo.

<I think it would be reasonable to have some of them being tempted by the bribes, but I think the writer is trying too hard to create circumstances such that they have “no choice” but to accept the money.

I just don't buy that ALL of them would be tempted AND accept the bribes. People are different. Even people who are desperate for money are different – some will steal, others will starve themselves to death.

< I personally like it mainly for its feministic undertone, which I doubt is something you’ll get from Misaeng.

Well, Misaeng had a different focus and it was told from the viewpoint of a young, male employee. We do get several episodes that focus on women and the discrimination they face, so I think similar issues as to here are acknowledged, they just don't cover the whole drama like here. I too appreciate the feministic undertone here, I am, after all, purely watching for Ms. Temper (though I felt she took a backseat the last two episodes).

+1

The guy absolutely doesn't need more screen time. And his whole scheming is just *eyerolls*. Hasn't he got better things to do? Does he have no life?

<so that our main characters show their growth by siding with Da-jung

See I wish I could say that... but I feel there's been little growth. They now take pride in their work, but beyond that everyone in the office just seems incredibly dumb (they are still all ready to sell each other out). I don't know if it's 16 or 20 episodes we've got, but if it's 16 than I'm not sure we can expect much more change if they have barely changed so far.

Yeah. He's only been worth it for one scene: Where Jung Ki indirectly answers Da Jung and the 3rd ex's challenge that he is living proof that someone can sacrifice money for principles. At least 3 episodes with so much screen time and only worth it for one scene which he wasn't part of.

Aside from that, he's corporate Mr. Wilson ruining Dennis's fun.

I'm not talking about his individual scenes w/ the other boring, incompetent characters. Yes, they dragged the scheming plot over way too many episodes. It should've all happened in one episode with him becoming the CEO of Lovely by the end of the episode.

What I do like is when he and ODJ share the same scene (which took forever) b/c I want to know more about what happened in their past for them (esp. ODJ) to become who they are in the present, facing-off from opposing points of view. I like ODJ as a character, but to not see her growth, which we've only seen hints of, is a disappointment.

This should really be in the hangouts thread.