When I first heard about the drama, before it started airing, I was intrigued by the premise and hopeful that it would be something new and exciting. But after reading these entries on here, I've lost interest in it. I will definitely not be watching it, because honestly, I want a show where I can actually like the characters, and the ML and FL do not strike me as competent adults who are capable of actually adulting. In fact, they're just short of being terrible people. The only character who seems decent is Tae Wan, but alas, his decency is not enough to sell me on the story. I don't know how our leads want to redeem themselves, but I'll be back to see how it all pans out. Truly disappointed because I expected so much more from the show.

I don't like JS, not anymore. He says that he's gay and then he kiss his (girl)friend? That was mean. She was feeling sad and confused without any of his help. And then telling TW to hide who he is, just like him -because he's not gay-, was soooooo awful. He needs to stop making people suffer.

Thanks for the wee-cap. There are so many comments about what a mess of a show this is, but I've continued to watch it and have found it a very sensitive portrayal of how hard it is to live as a gay man in SK.
Granted, the story of Jin-sung lying to make money for his dad - and even the idea of a 'gay chef' preference for the show is not the best.

But we are seeing the effect of all this on Tae-wan and it is so heartbreaking to see the pain on his face when he's talking to his dad, but even more so when he confesses his love.
So for me I'm seeing this show in the light of how hard it must be to not be able to be yourself and love who you want.

Yes the story is messy, but I'm still in to see how it gets resolved.

I think they missed what they could do with this story. We have a brave ML who fight for LGBT's rights but all his message is lost because he's lying about being gay.

Honestly, it's hard to feel empathy for Jin Sung because he put himself in this situation and lied when he had a lot of occasions to say the truth.

I just watch it for Tae Wan!

Great review and recap, thanks! This show is so underrated, but people want fluff and happy, not hard, sad truths about the pain society inflicts on some. Admittedly, at one point I dropped the show because it wasn't going where I wanted it to go couple wise. But so glad I picked it back up - it's so much more, so much deeper than that. It's all about truth, lies, and how society inflicts pain on someone who doesn't fit in. I feel so much empathy for the gay designer and can totally feel what he goes thru on a daily basis. This drama is deep enough I wouldn't be surprised if it's a very sad ending for him.

Jin-sung is the worsssstttt!!!! OMG
1. Lies about being gay (for pay)
2. Tries to hold his brother (an actual gay male) from auditioning for a program bc he wants to keep his secret (and prevent anyone from finding out about his gay brother)
3. Kisses Ah-jin, then makes it worse by saying it was a mistake
4. Misses ALL the signs Tae Wan constantly gives him
5. Has the nerve to tell TW to hide his true self.

I know they will try to redeem him in some way before the drama is over. But honestly, I don't see how. He's inflicted some pretty major trauma on TW

Beware of Spoilers

Part 1 of 2

Thank you for the wee-cap, @abirdword.

Don’t get me started on obnoxious Boss Cha, who refuses to hire a hard-working contractor, yet keeps a waste of oxygen like PD Nam on the payroll. PD Lee is another loser who continues to coast on his laurels after 20 years. How many times can you plagiarize yourself while being the official staff mentor busybody?

I’ve concluded that SWEET MUNCHIES is a black comedy about the behind-the-scenes insanity that prevails at TV stations. If I look at it as a scathing indictment of the systems that endlessly churn out recycled dreck masquerading as entertainment, it’s actually pretty clever. Boss Cha’s bean-counter mentality highlights the fact that no matter how nifty a concept for a show might be, if it won’t make money, it won’t get produced. TV is a business, not a charity. All the more reason to appreciate a show that ventures into the lion’s den to “pull the mask off the old Lone Ranger.” ;-)

I sympathize most with closeted designer Kang Tae-wan, followed closely by Park Chef. Tae-wan has always come across as dignified, serious, creative – and dreadfully lonesome. Jin-sung has his own sorrows, but Tae-wan’s life is suffocating in a way that makes Park Chef’s problems seem like small potatoes in comparison. Not that existential misery is a contest.

When I look closely at what has brought Jin-sung to this truly messed-up crossroads, I see a perfect storm of factors. Aside from Jin-sung’s inability or unwillingness to clear up several misunderstandings and outright lies, I place the majority of the blame on PD Kim. If other events and conditions had not already been in play, I doubt that Jin-sung would have gotten involved in the first place. In chronological order:

1) Financially-incompetent Dad incurs massive hospital debt by being uninsured when he has a traffic accident and is out of work for who knows how long – one of my most hated tropes. Grrrr!

2) Jin-sung's business partner pulls the plug on Bistro to start his own eatery with no warning or explanation. I have never quite understood exactly what happened. Jin-sung's livelihood is shot out from under him – as is the physical environment that he has lovingly created as an expression of his own personality and aesthetic sense.

3) Jin-sung learns that the landlady is looking to rent Bistro’s space. He buckles calculates how much money he needs to pay Dad’s hospital bills and to single-handedly pay the rent on Bistro while providing a home for Jin-woo. He never considers throwing in the towel and cutting his losses.

4) Jin-sung cannot get a loan from a legitimate moneylender. He has to borrow from loansharks who charge illegally exorbitant interest for a short-term loan until he can resume making money with Bistro. I was afraid that he would have to sell a kidney.

- Continued -