To continue the theme of the week with putting out reviews of the recent BL Kdramas I finished, this blogpost will be all about the recent BL Kdrama Unintentional Love Story. I was excited for this BL Kdrama ever since the cast was announced. I am a HUGE fan of Cha Seo Won so the minute I saw that he joined the cast, I knew I was going to watch this BL drama. We will have to see what I thought about the drama below in my review.
A QUICK SYNOPSIS OF UNINTENTIONAL LOVE STORY: Jin Won Young gets fired. To get over this, he travels to a seaside town. In the town, he runs into his company chairman's favorite artist. He tries to get close to this artist in order to get his job back and gain favor with his company. That backfires when he and the artist start to develop feelings for each other and become involved with each other. This causes Jin Won Young to reexamine himself, what he wants out of life and what makes him happy.
Unintentional Love Story is now one of my FAVORITE Korean BL dramas of all time! I may be a little bias because I love Cha Seo Won a lot. I will say though I liked a lot of things about this drama. It was comfortable and familiar but was also refreshing and seemed new to me. This BL drama was on the longer side so, we got to explore the back stories more with the characters which I appreciated. It wasn't a perfect drama but it was a beautiful story nonetheless.
WHAT I LOVED ABOUT THIS DRAMA
THE CAST: As I said, I started this drama because I was a fan of Cha Seo Won. I thought the entire cast did a great job with this drama though. The acting was very good. Each actor played their respective character very well. I think a lot of emotions were expressed well. I am a sucker for an actor who can evoke emotions through little gestures and emotions and the actors did this very well. I think the actors embodied their characters. You can tell the cast had a lot of fun filming this drama and got along well with each other. I will say the kissing could have been better but it wasn't the worst I have ever seen either. I am someone who can overlook okay kiss scenes while other people can't, I just wanted to point that out. I just really enjoyed these actors in this drama. They were a comfort to watch every week.
TWO COUPLES: I liked that both of these couples were different from each other. Each couple had their own stories to tell. I thought both couples had AMAZING chemistry between each other. Because the stories of the two couples were so different, I liked watching each relationship develop. I liked that each couple had their own stories and trauma to get past. On the surface, the main couple's story seems dark with Tae Joon's backstory but in reality, the second couple has a darker and sadder backstory. I thought this dynamic was told so well and worked so well within the drama.
IN-DEPTH STORIES: The episodes of this drama were 30 min+ in length. One of the longest dramas we have gotten so far. I appreciated this because it allowed the writers to really put depth into the story. It allowed the audience to get more immersed in the couples and the stories within the drama. It allowed the writers to had more rounded backstories and context to their characters. I hope this length becomes the standard for BL Kdramas eventually. Unintentional Love Story had an in-depth story but also had good pacing. Nothing really lagged and you as an audience member were excited for more and the next episode. I don't think the dark backstories could have been expressed as well or given a lot of life without the length of the episodes and the writers. I think it allowed the audience to appreciate the drama and its message more. This drama has some very beautiful messages to express with its stories.
CINEMATOGRAPHY: THIS DRAMA WAS BEAUTIFUL TO WATCH! I loved the lighting. I loved multiple shots we got in the drama. I thought the cinematography added another detail and level to the beauty of this drama and story. I love it when cinematography adds more to a drama, it supports an already beautiful told story. This was the case with Unintentional Love Story. The cinematography stood out and was beautiful but also added another beautiful element to an already beautiful drama.
OSTS: Both leads sand an OST for this drama. Both of the lead actors have beautiful voices so, I was excited that we got OSTS sung by them. I always love when the cast sings OSTs for their dramas. These OSTS also lent another level of character to this drama. I think it helped support the emotions expressed in this drama. It added another sweet element to this drama.
WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER
THE SECOND COUPLE: There was not enough of the second couple in this drama. I think this is a common thing with Korean BL dramas. I wanted more from this second couple. Once the drama dived deeper into their story, their story was actually really sad and you wanted more of them on screen. The second couple were also just very cute together and added some great comedy to the drama. So, it was a pity that they did not get a lot of screen time in this drama.
SECOND COUPLE ENDING: The second couple had a sad story overall but their ending was left open ended. It was up to the audience to imagine what happened next in their relationship. Since the second couple didn't have a lot of screen time, I don't think the writers gave enough time for them to build their story up to a satisfying ending either. I wouldn't want a rushed ending just to get a happy ending. This means I do want a sequel not only to revisit the main couple but also to see where the second couple ended up. Maybe even a sequel with the second couple being the main leads.
Rating: 9/10 (Streaming on IQIYI now)
So, have you seen Unintentional Love Story?
What did you think of the drama?
Is it on your list to watch?
Will you watch this drama now after reading my review?
WE NOW ALSO HAVE A DISCORD SO TALK TO US ON THERE AS WELL!?