Could “Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha” Be Headed Towards Story Stagnation? – Episode 1 To 8 Review

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“Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha” is already half-way through its run and it has been arguably the most talked-about kdrama on the internet these days.

The drama is led by a terrific cast and a cute healing plot, but how does it stand against other healing dramas? And is it heading for rocky road or not?

I am here to discuss my thoughts on “Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha.” Let us begin.

Note: this will be a spoiler review of the said episodes in the title. This is a subjective review.

The plot- fun at first, concerning now….

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I have previously posted a review of the premiere of “Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha” and received many complaints from people telling me not to judge too soon. Now, it is time to revisit the debated article. I still agree with almost everything I said.

The only thing that changed now is how much I enjoy the drama which is in part due to the cast, not the plot.

I don’t mind healing dramas, I am currently watching “Lost” which is considerably slower but having lots of fun. My complaints with this drama remain with its plot and its over-reliance on cliches.

It is 2021 and we still see stereotypes and cliches popularized in the early 2000s make their comeback…. Exactly the same.

Things were fine at first, watching the 4th and 5th episodes, I began to like the drama. I saw the charm it could carry, I still had reservations but I became more invested in the drama.

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In episodes 5 and 6, I started to see some cracks but was high on how cute the interactions between our leads were. In episodes 7 and 8, it became apparent we were headed towards a wall and potential story stagnation.

“Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha” is almost about…. Nothing… its blissful beautiful nothingness… which is… not bad… but does it warrant 16 episodes?

This is subjective, this review is subjective, so everyone will naturally have a different answer.

“Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha” started out about a dentist moving to the countryside but now that she is almost settled, there is nowhere to take the MAIN plot point of the drama, it is almost resolved.

This meant “Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha” has now become about human interactions and people having fun in the countryside. Just mundane events, which is more than enough to some viewers, but to me? It depends.

The screenwriter is leaving crumbs here and there about more plot points that need to be resolved, I suspect she will some more in the near future too. Who won the jackpot? who is the stalker? And what is the bloody hand Du Sik saw in his dreams?

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But those points don’t need 8 more episodes and the love triangle is already nipped in the bud, we all know how it will turn out. I can tell Du Sik has trauma probably related to an incident he’s had in Seoul, probably an incident that happened because he was not paying close attention to a person he cares for… this would explain his current attitude, noisiness, and outlook on life. I want to know about it, but do I feel that this drama needed to be 16 episodes long to tell me about it?

“Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha” is based on a movie made in the early 2000s, who thought it was a good idea to remake a simple movie into a 16-episode drama? Seriously, 10 would have sufficed, but was 16 necessary?

I hope they don’t end up regretting this because I know the screenwriter will resort to even more cliches as time goes by, there is almost nothing left to explore.

The screenwriter is already introducing stale cliches to carry the plot, the love triangle is done as cliché as you’d expect. The thing is, we all know they’re head over heels for each other, and considering how traditional Hye Jin is with her approach, I highly doubt she would be easily swayed by the PD. If she wasn’t so into Du Sik, I would see a point of this love triangle.

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Introducing a stalker is also done in the most basic surface level you could imagine. This is an actual issue Korean women struggle with but often than not, such a severe problem is introduced merely to bring two potential lovers together rather than provide insight or open a dialogue on how dangerous this problem has become. It feels so empty, it feels like a hallow plot device. I’ve seen this used in almost all of the romance kdramas I’ve seen this year…..

This week, the drama ratings took a hit, to be expected. This week wasn’t as half as interesting as last week.

I might sound cynical right now, the thing is, I have been watching kdramas for a while, and the better kdramas I watch, the pickier I become. I love the cast and love their chemistry but I don’t tolerate cliches as much as I used to 8 years ago.

I understand why some of you will dislike me for this, but I like a challenge, I don’t mind screenwriters using cliches, but the least you could do is introduce a form or ‘twist’ to those clichés, make them your own.

For example, it would be great to see Hye Jin date but then break up with Seong Hyeon. It would be nice to see the drama move at a faster pace in terms of time in order to show growth and introduce juicier content.

Next week episode preview tells us Du Sik will; for whatever reason; say he’s dating Hye Jin when her parents show up. When I saw that, I wanted to scream. I have seen this at least 30 times. Why? Just why? Is there a cliché list you have to tick by the end of this drama? writer-nim, please don’t!

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What makes this more annoying is how these people are in their 30s behaving like kids… a little maturity in dealing with cliches would go a long way.

Again, I love the actors involved in this project. Kim Seon Ho is so fun to watch, I will still try to watch and see how it goes. My expectations for the latter half have considerably gone down, I would love to be surprised and proven wrong but episode 6 to 8 are not giving me good signs.

So these are my thoughts on the drama so far, so what about you guys? did you like the episodes? let me know what you thought in the comment section below.

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13 Comments

  1. Mine is similar to yours, i feel quite underwhelming about the drama especially the plot.

    It’s now went on to the “slice of life” route but sadly still not that special for me, when slice of life has been my favorite genre for kdramas.

    My prediction for the drama now is the drama gonna be be similar to Start Up, cuz of the “overhype” and disappointed plot development + beautiful shots.

    But, we can’t really take a conclusion about the drama now, maybe there’s gonna be something different that the drama give us on the further episodes.
    well.. i hope so

  2. I agree that this week’s episode not interesting as the laat week episode but i still hope that this drama will give us surprise in the laters episode because honestly i love this drama so much

  3. I love the chemistry between the two…I love Shin min ah from a long time and I absolutely adore Kim seon ho and his acting…the photography looks great and so does the story…I agree with the plot thing that it isn’t something wow but I like these kind of bantering, mischievous and playful leads… It’s a light hearted drama and should be taken as such…the only thing I realized is I am smiling while watching it and that’s just what I need

  4. I m enjoying the series, how I agree it needs more of a rollercoaster ride. Something with high loops and then release down and up again. Put some serious drama in it. LOST GO! Your running out of time till the end.

  5. Our sentiments are mutual! There is stagnation in the flow of the narrative. The love triangle, even in its early stage, does not heighten the excitement of viewers like me as to where dr yoon and chief hongs love story will lead to. Actually, to me, there is no love triangle at all because even if director ji shows his interest on dr yoon, the latter has already overtly fallen for chief hong, even reaffirming her feelings in so many ways. I found also the who is smarter games and repartees uninteresting, too childish as a matter of fact, not befitting the intellectual status especially of chief hong. The scenes where director ji was incessantly shopping for just about every stuff i also find uninteresting and irrelevant. Further, with due respect to the actor playing director ji (watched him in once again and suits), in the looks department, he already is no match for the definitely more handsome chief hong. Other dramas would choose a competitor/rival who is almost equal to the lead actor or even superior in other ways. There is something lacking about his character that would create an exciting love triangle atmosphere. I think this is the greatest challenge for the writer. Plus, there are so many subplots that to me are not interesting at all. I really love shin min ah and kim seon ho in this drama that i hope the flow of the story in the next episodes will sustain the interest of viewers and not see a dip in its ratings.y

  6. I would rather like a slow and stagnant story plot than just digest it at one go,yes the story is going slow but iam enjoying it, there’s fun in watching those romantic scenes even if it is cliché,and it’s fun to wait for the two to start developing a perfect love bond,its worth the wait,and like i said there’s fun in eating the favourite snacks slowly

  7. Personally, I am enjoying this drama. I bet the actors were happy to shoot it in a seaside location, not being stuck in some studio for months )) I like the acting and the story…As for the pace and the stagnating plot…I think I’d rather have a simple story written and executed well than a bad script. Their emotions are real, you feel their mutual attraction and I believe if it touches you, than the script cannot be bad..As for the stagnation..Sure, 16 episodes are too many, but I hope as long as they give both main leads interesting lines to shine on screen, it will keep my attention until the end…The final verdict at the end of episode 16…

  8. I hear what you are saying. I. LOVE. KIM SEON HO. But I did feel the story was moving so so so slow. However, I still loved it as my favourite actor is there and he does make the story more tolerable. I do admit though, it is a bit slow and the cliches are just RIDICULOUS at times. Like right in the beginning she already falls and he catches her… I’ve literally seen that in EVERY SINGLE k drama.. I was like when is he going to piggy back her? and he actuallyl DOES IT! So I’ve accepted that this is just a slower type of drama, but it still makes me feel good despite that there isn’t a story and its much too slow. I’m still enjoying it though cos of KSH and it makes me happy to see him^^

  9. I think you are more of a plot driven rather than character driven viewer. And this show happens to be the latter.
    Does it have crazy twists and blazing romance plot every episode? No. But then it never pretended to be one either. It is supposed to be warm and fuzzy, especially needed in a pandemic year. It is about the characters and their relationships, all of them trying to heal. And above all- it is a SLOW BURN to the core.
    Secondly, yes this show has all the tropes. But I’d argue it does try to turn them on their heads once in a while. However, the romance is never only in those slow motion scenes between the leads. The show truly shines in converations that they have, their glances, their bickering. Like i said. Slow burn.
    To truly appreciate it, you really need to see this from a character development pov and not “what happens next?” mindset. How the two don’t automatically become okay once they discover love. How they both fall in love despite each other’s “flaws”. How they both grow and become better version of themselves.That is very real to irl relationships as no one is perfect anyway.
    The writer of the show is same as the one in “Crowned Clown” (so i trust in them fully). There are SO MANY LAYERS to the dialogues and foreshadowing involved that it is already starting to pay off. You just need to be patient.
    Lastly, wrt the rating- it bounced back- to double digits that too. That dip was due to the Chuseok festival most likely.

  10. Bad plot… very poor… waste of time…please dont use good actors for ugly plot show like this…im kind a frustrated because good actors were wasted because of bad storyline.. equate your actors with their skills..worst! Very disappointed

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