“Oh My Ladylord” Review: Stellar Cast Performances With A Surprisingly Disappointing Plot

Published Categorized as Kdrama Reviews
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It is starting to become rarer for us to see pure classical rom-com Korean dramas and there are many reasons for that, and it seems to me that “Oh My Ladylord” checks all the boxes as to why many Korean broadcasting networks have opted for things with more substance and kick.

MBC’s “Oh My Ladylord” might’ve started out with intriguing questions but it has taken an odd turn and its been honestly disappointing to see.

Note: this is only a review of the first half of the drama.

Note: this is a subjective review. I will share my personal opinion while keeping in mind how others might perceive it. This is a spoiler review

The plot

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Of course, this is a review of the first half and even though I didn’t walk in with high expectations, I was still disappointed and it kinda has to be bad for me to find it disappointing even though I didn’t walk in with high expectations

“Oh My Ladylord” feels like its been written by a screenwriter who was active in the early to late 2000s, it has that very old feel to it that you’ll be able to sense if you’ve watched kdramas from the 2000s.

Jo Jin Kuk is responsible for this script. He’s been active since 2005 which makes sense considering the writing style and direction. This type of writing would never work in today’s kdrama landscape. He also writes so far and in-between.

I dont want to sound harsh but while watching the drama I kept asking myself, ‘who okayed this?’ I am serious, making any drama is a very difficult task and requires tones of funding and hard work to even kick start the idea, how was this drama made with the initial draft? I am genuinely curious, this questions popped in my head at least 5 times while I watched this week’s episodes and its the motivation behind this review.

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“Oh My Ladylord” uses a lot of classical kdrama tropes but some are done in reverse. Instead of a man trapping a woman with a contract as they decide to live in the same space, its the woman doing it this time. “Oh My Ladylord” is a plethora of the classical tropes that probably shouldn’t be used as much anymore or used cautiously.

There is this looming shadow of someone saving Bi Soo’s life, but its kinda abandoned and almost never brought up. The drama strikes me as odd and not for the reasons the writer wants. I am puzzled by the choices of plot points that get ‘kinda’ explored for a moment but then abandoned the next scene.

How the characters behave

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The characters are said to be a certain way but behave very differently and oddly.

Bi Soo is characterized as this career driven man who focuses a lot on his projects, so it strikes me as very odd how he’s completely and utterly shook to his core when he falls for Oh Joo In. If the writer had hinted at how he might be a hopeless romantic then okay, but it appears very odd how he’s almost now solely working towards winning her heart and doing whatever it takes to reach that goal setting aside his job. It stopped being about working on the script because its a project he wants to do and became instead this tool to use to win Oh Joo In’s heart. This strikes me as very unprofessional and I wonder if he’s ever been in a relationship, is this how he usually behaves? Its uncharacteristic of him.

Oh Joo In is also a very weird unrealistic character. She started out fine and the writer did a good job at showing her charms, Nana did well and made her special, however, in the recent episodes she behaves like an almost entitled weird woman and it doesn’t match her character description.

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First things first, and I think many have already pointed this out, her reaction to finding out both men like her and saying she likes both back is very odd.

The way she behaves is almost like an entirely different woman. If she was characterized as an entitled manipulative woman, then okay. But she’s not. What I mean is, its very odd for her to say she likes both straight to their face and sort of pit them against each other for her to make a decision.

This almost never happens in kdramas and for a very good reason, its basic decency to sort out your feelings before telling two different people you like them, because even if you’re confused, its a bit scummy to flat out say it like that. Usually, in kdramas, the female lead would sort out her feelings and figure out whom she cares more for before even bringing it up, it is the ‘proper’ way to do it if the character is said to be a nice person.

Now if Oh Joo In wasn’t as ‘nice’ as shown, then fine. I would’ve actually found her approach rather interesting and her decision to say this would’ve been an interesting study on complicated women who seek attention and love from everybody. But I know its not that. The screenwriter would never make her an intentionally terrible character.

The insertion of the love triangle- how it became disappointing

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The two dates plot-line is just very odd. How it went from two adults falling in love into a high school themed love triangle is mind-boggling to me. Suddenly, the drama stopped being a mature rom-com but rather a childish competition. I chuckled here and there, but some scenes became very cringy.

A lot of people also pointed out how the insertion of the love triangle felt misplaced and out of the blue and I agree. For Nana’s character to be kissing Lee Min Ki’s character on the cheeks but two episodes later she says she likes both is so out of the blue. She was developing feelings for one person and then they just shoved a love triangle.

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I like walking into kdramas with minimal expectations, because then, not much can shatter my perceptions. Of course, this is easier said than done because on paper some kdramas appear so epic but the execution turns out bad.

When I began watching “Oh My Ladylord,” I didn’t have any expectations, I didn’t even walk in expecting much because I knew it was going to be a classical rom-com. Not that there is anything wrong or bad about it, but its a genre that’s been exhausted, everything that can be said and done has been said and done at least 1000 times. Its not easy to impress with rom-coms, the best you could do is write a relatable story with unique characters.

If done right, “Oh My Ladylord” can stand out among other currently airing kdramas because its so fluffy and easy to digest. These days, we have many heavy kdramas dealing with heavy topics, a change of theme is nice at times.

As I was watching, I started to like it, especially the first four episodes, I saw potential and while I was worried about the episodes count, I was still enjoying the performances and where the plot was headed. But it almost feels like the screenwriter woke up one day and was like ‘to hell with it,’ and changed his direction.

I didn’t think it was going to happen but I became disappointed as I watched episode 5 to 8, I didn’t think it was possible considering what I said previously about not having any. Its very sad when such a thing happens, because if you build expectations and then shatter them, it becomes difficult to rebuild even if you want or can bounce back.

The actors choices

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Lets talk about Nana.

She is one of my fav idol-turned-actresses. I think she is a good actor with charisma but her recent projects weren’t up to her acting capabilities.

Choosing the right project is also very important because no matter how skilled you are, if you pair with a screenwriter that doesn’t have the best track record at writing interesting engaging scripts, in the end, it won’t be memorable and that’s bad.

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If I were to give advice to Nana, it would be this: its better to participate in bigger projects with better screenwriters even if it meant she had to take on secondary leading roles, or a supporting role, because at this rate, she’s harming her career with her choices. Setting my personal opinion aside, the ratings for most of her recent projects speak for themselves. I think its a waste of talent because she can do so much better. I know she can.

Now onto someone who I am puzzled to see have joined the cast. Lee Min Ki is a very interesting actor. He’s versatile and very talented. He’s one of my favorite underrated actors. He usually picks interesting projects so you can imagine my shock watching this drama. I wondered over and over again, why did he choose this project?

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Don’t get me wrong, everyone in this drama is doing their best and I can tell, it is just that I am shocked such a cast signed on for this drama.

In retrospect, “Oh My Ladylord” is arguably one of his least memorable roles to date.

Of course, this is only a review of the first half, if my opinion happens to change, I will be posting a review of the second half.

So these are my thoughts on “Oh My Ladylord”, 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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By Jass K.

Hi, I am Jass k. I discuss some of the hottest currently airing kdramas on this site in form of reviews an/or recaps, join me in the discussion~

5 comments

  1. You never know, until you finished this drama. Viewers like me is expecting more from the characters on how theyinteract with each other.the chemistry of nana and lee min ki is best so far. From the character oh joo in to han bi soo she accepted the role because she have a trust to han bi soo. Even though han bi soo have a bad impression at first in the drama but every episode han bi soo change because of oh joo in. Thank you

  2. I pretty much agree with everything you wrote and had similar feelings watching this drama. It feels so bizarre for all the reasons you pointed out. And I went into this with more expectations than you did simply because Lee Min Ki is in it. (Don’t get my wrong I absolutely adore Nana and am delighted she has turned out to be such a charming actress but as you stated I wish she would choose more impactful roles with better scripts) but yes, Min Ki’s involvement in this just makes no sense to me because he usually chooses top tier roles. His acting is always completely memorable to me and like you said he’s still doing a good job here but this script is archaic in a really bad way! And its sad because all the actors in this are likable and are doing a great job. But the script is not doing it for me. I’ve watched up to episode 7 today and went searching for reviews because I too was dumbfounded by what’s happened to Nana’s character up to this point. The moment she admitted to Bi Soo she liked her old friend too and wanted to see where it was going and his response “must be nice to have so many people liking you” I got such a bad taste in my mouth for her character! And ya it seems like Min Ki’s character has done a total 180 with no real motivation as to why. Like I get it, people change when they’re in love but what exactly brought him there? We didn’t get much motivation except for the fact that they’ve been around each other a lot. Is that all it takes? Lol. Once again pointing out how old fashioned this feels. They could’ve done so much with this.

  3. Why dont we finished this drama and rate the story line. We must trust the crews and the director how they end the drama. Since last 2 episodes remaining. So far lee min ki and nana doing their best. They improve more thier acting skills. The way nana cried because of the break up with lee min ki character i saw and feel the pain the way she portray the character. For me thier drama is best so far. I saw what the drama pointing out about love. Cross finger that they have a happy ending together.

  4. The good thing about this drama is the comfort level of the actors with each other and it shows, the short peck kisses multiple times is really a bf gf vibes and doesn’t have to be heavy kissing unless necessary. The bad thing about this drama is the out of this world storyline and I watched the whole 16 ep. My first kdrama with Nana and I love her laugh and she seems like enjoying the scenes.

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