This drama way better than the other premier...please do not kill Bae In Hyuk in early episode again 🙏🙏🙏. The first 2 eps were definitely good enough for me to hook a special interest of another kdrama again (after a long slump)

This almost feels like a reverse gender version of Queen In Hyuns man.

I was suprised at how much i enjoyed the first 2 episodes, Lee Se-young is an always reliable leading lady, even when the drama is not good,she is never bad in it.

Also can we please stop typecasting Jin Kyung as the cold-rich-evil-middle-aged woman who hates her own children lol

I unfortunately haven't finished watching this week's episodes because I want to sit, watch and enjoy properley, but utterly charming is the exact term I'd use as well. I really like the FL and her spirited nature lots and whilst fusion sageuks tend to be hit or miss for me (the Joseon era storyline could be classified as fusion right??) this one hit all the right notes! And if this recap is anything to go by, it sounds like the shift into the modern setting will be just as entertaining.

12 episodes = super tight writing I presume, and I'm quite optimistic now seeing how this first episode is faring.

I did not like the first episode because the FL's character was made as a caricuture to show her as rebellious and independent woman. I neither found the short skirt scene to be funny nor stylish. I also think some of dislike towards the premiere is because of the certain context similarities with "The Matchmakers" drama, which the later has established with better writing and execution. So, it was such a relief when I found the second episode to be far far better because Lee Se Young is one of my favourites and I did not want to drop this like "Law Cafe".

The leads have fantastic chemistry which is evident from Ep 2 and I laughed at the silly riddles that Harabeoji kept asking, but I am tired of the villainous mom even before she can show her claws. I think in the present she is a step-mom or aunt. As much as the FL is smart in adapting to new environment, everything has been done before, so I am not much amused.

I am going to try something new with the drama, skip all scenes and watch only the romance scenes between the leads.

Thank you for the recap, DaebakGrits! ✨

I'M IN.

1. LSY is KILLING IT. She's awesome in this role! I feel like the character is 100% cool, but LSY's acting is making her 200% better. I just LOVE Yeon Woo. She's wonderful.

2. I totally fell for the ML in his past life! He was lovely. I'm gonna miss him till the end.

Tbh, I just wanted the show to continue there in Joseon. I wanted to see them fall in love after marriage, I wanted to see him support his wife with her dream. I know he would've done something to help her make clothes again. Maybe they would've scape together? Idk, I just wanted them to be happy. T.T

But I liked the second episode, and the new ML seems as nice as chaebols can be in kdramaland, he's secretly a softy. So I'm going to support this new ship and hope we get back some of the sweetness we saw in episode 1 (before episode 16, please).

2. The girls!!
I really liked the women in the first episode.

I love how confident and bold Sa Wol is. When she threw water to the guard, when she flexed her cooking skills, when she said the best was money and men, and then she asked FL why she didn't give the money to her instead of that traitor. LOL I just loved every scene with her.

And the mom, aww, she was just a mom taking care of her daughter. I feel kinda bad things ended this way because I wonder if there's people looking for the FL in Joseon or if they think she's dead or what. The mom just wanted to protect her, but things ended up like this... Aigoo.

The flashback we see in the present, when the FL remembers the song her mom used to sing to her broke my heart. 💔

One thing that made me feel bad about the time travel plot was watching Yeon Woo all alone. She used to have such a loving family, a home. But in 2023 she lost everything. But like DaebakGrits said, "In Joseon, Yeon-woo wanted freedom and independence that was denied to her by her status as a woman. Now, she’s in a time and place where she can — for the most part — achieve what she desires.". I think this is what the show is trying to achieve and I'm happy about it.

I'm also glad Sa Wol will be there for her. I hope they meet soon. Our awesome duo!

And I can't shut up about the short hanbok, that scene was everything. The princess all happy with her exotic clothes and then the court lady talking about the lingerie she bought for her, and the two of them being all happy and excited. 😊 What that scene said about the relationship between those two and their personalities, made me want them to be recurring characters. They seemed like another chaotic duo I would love!

3. Back to 2023. The cute haraboji and the secretary were my favorite new characters.

Men obsessed with cake is the new trend? 😆 It was adorable to watch the haraboji act so curious about what was inside the cake. That scene was so cute. And I liked how smooth he was trying to take money from his secretary LOL. The poor man was minding his own...

Hum...

I'm not fond in the FL yet. I think the too modern sageuk part didn't help to make me understand the FL. If I understand that heroines want more freedom in this patriarchy world, in sageuk, it still needs to make sense. In her situation, she's a noble (a big house, food, clothes), she has nice parents, she has a good servant and friend. There is nothing to complain about in her life. I wished they showed more about her skills in brodery and how she developped them than and overall a beautiful clothes and not this awful pink skirt that the Princess was wearing...

She adapted pretty fast and well in the modern world. Playing the ligghts reminded me the French movie, Les Visiteurs, when the servant played with the switch of the light "Night, day, night, day" :p

For Tae-Ha we didn't know a lot of Tae-Ha in the past, except, they have a childhood connection that they ignored. I'm not sure why he coughed up blood if he had heart issue.

For Tae-Ha in the present, he reminded me Dan-Oh with his heart issue and his watch that goes off with the FL's presence :p Of course, there are family issues with step-mother, step-brother and a nice grandpa who wants him to marry (and who has secrets too).

Like for My Demon, I'm more interested in the future tropes that will be brought by their fake marriage.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first 2 episodes. While the plot was fast-paced, it was sufficiently believable as it did take time to flesh out the hijinks Yeon-woo faced in 2023 while trying to figure out all the modern mechanisms like how to open lever doors, how to get into a car and trying to climb into the TV as a sageuk was airing, thinking it was her door back to Joseon. Least to say, super funny!

And I love the reference to Reborn Rich by having Grandpa go meet Soonyang Group's chairman HAHA.

The last part of Episode 2 with the mysterious Joseon lady with blue / green eyes and Grandpa opening up a cupboard to a painting of a Joseon lady (is that FL?) seems to hint that repeated time-travelling(?), or a repetitive cycle of reincarnations(?) or fateful destinies between our 2 leads which always resulted in tragedy(?) Colour me intrigued.

I did fill up my bingo card between laughts. :)
I know that I'm partial, but Lee Se Young is very funny.
They found details that are credible to illustrate the time travel displacement: the non-sliding door, how to enter the modern carriage and the hope to enter the joseon drama on TV.

Our cold CEO seems already smitten to me: his heartbeart increased just by rememoring their encounters. His pulse tracking watch is giving me Melting ptsd. I'll pardon them if they give us something at the shower-kiss level.

There are too many family members already. I hope that the succession war will be kept minimal, and that the drama will have plenty goofiness as in there first two eps.

"I have a rare heart condition"; mmmm, tuberculosis??? 😂😂😂 It's always secretly tuberculosis.

The rating for both episodes
..are amazing, though it is still a new drama. I can clearly see why from the two episodes...when the writer put in some Joseon history, women empowerment theme, the chaebol factor and a nice time travelling theme (all found in this drama). Though it might not be 100% historically accurate (it does not have to be as one had My Dearest and Goryeo-Khitan War), it kept me entertained!

A solid start.
I really enjoyed Yeon-woo with her handmade Sa wol, who looks like she might steal a few scenes and I was glad to see she has also time travelled to 2023.
I'm here for some light hearted high jinks and look forward to the romance as the leads certainly have chemistry.

Independent women, time travel, contract marriage...... this show has everything to grab my attention, but I was bored. YeonWoo was more spoilt brat than spirited girl. Joseon TaeHa was sweet and modern day TaeHa wasn't bad either, but I get second lead vibes from Bae InHyuk. He isn't my idea of a swoony chaebol ML.

There are suddenly a lot of dramas to watch, and if I'm not able to keep up with all of them next week then this is the one I'm most likely to drop.

I didn't like the first part of the first episode because I wasn't connecting with that kind of humor, but then the second half was beautiful and I loved the main leads when they were sharing scenes.

The second episode had lots of commonplaces and tropes already known for many older dramas but I didn't get bored
(watching Park Yeon-woo trying to enter the car through the window was hilarious, and grandpa is funny) , so I'm in. In fact, I'm looking forward to watching the next episodes.

(I prefer Tae-ha in Joseon, he was so sweet 😍).

My favorite drama at the moment. It is as enjoyable as eating a delicious dessert. I love everything about it, every second. Currently I'm only watching this drama and "Castaway Diva". The latter is, in my opinion, more calculated, I don't care much about the fate of the characters and I don't like ML. That's why I treat "The Story..." even more as a gift from the drama gods.

What can I say - these episodes were lovely! I knew from the get go this wouldn’t be mind-blowingly innovative considering the plot, but as a creature of comfort I don’t mind that at all. The execution was good, the pair definitely has a nice chemistry, the humor humors me (the revelation that is💡”chok-ho” pie, complete with wind machine introduction 😂), the scenes in Joseon were beautiful. Was laughing at the cooking scene and her sneaking into ML’s house. Made for the most swoony meet cute!

I like that the FL is a capable woman, who is able to make her own living as a designer. This will surely help her in the current timeline. And how handy her contract husband is the boss of a large department store? Sounds like synergy effects ripe for the plucking.

Was also wondering a bit about the slightly abrupt demise of Joseon husband, but you know, coughing up blood might not have been medically explicable, but definitely made for a most dramatic exit scene. I blame it on directing rather than poison. But who knows? Evil moms being evil... *slight eye roll*

Those dimples tho. 👀

I loved the first two episodes! The humor worked for me and made me laugh out loud (Lee Se-young is hilarious), and Joseon-era Bae In-hyuk was soooo sweet. I'm relieved that modern Tae-ha isn't as rude and terrible as I worried he'd be, and there's plenty of time for him to warm up. Worried about his heart, though... I also loved grandpa, and how he's besties with his secretary, loves cake, watches variety shows and dramas, and has a stockpile of dad jokes 😂 What I didn't like is Tae-ha's younger brother, who I think may supposed to be "cute" or "funny," but who I found to be both terribly grating. Hopefully he mellows out. Looking forward to next week!

...so why exactly is FL not wanting to get married such a sign of independence? The FLs nearly always have maids and the expensive clothes and the only thing their family demands in exchange is for them to get married. I find that not-like-other-girls trope downright exhausting, especially considering that it somehow paints the women who were being realistic and responsible in those times as shallow or basic.

@DaebakGrits, thanks for the recap !
I stayed with it and will check out next week. Another 12 episode drama , that prompts the Show to hurry right along.
Fusion Joseon isn’t my favorite genre although Matchmakers is one big squee fest 🥰
I did like her handmaiden So Wol Joo Hyun Young
The Time slip Chaebol arc is where I assume the rest of the show will play out.
Hope it isn’t too Chaebol-ish and they get the right blend.
It feels like Matchmaker with a dash of Durian’s Affair and it is the Durian’s Affair chaebol aspect that concerns me. 🤔
Has anyone read the webtoon ? If so, how was it ?

I fully enjoyed this. It is also a tight 12er, so I am looking forward to no filler.

My much anticipated drama did not disappoint! Lee Se Young and Bae In Hyuk are perfect for their roles. Although, I didn't expect Joseon Tae Ha to die so soon. Yeon Woo wanted to experience her wedding night! I also wanted YW to fall for him. I guess she can do that in the present time too.
I can assume that the present is repeating what happened in the past some way. So Tae Ha was murdered by stepmom (another evil stepmom in dramaland) so she and her son can gain importance in the family. Plus the wealth of course.
Chaebol Tae Ha is still cold and distrust our FL which is expected if he has a stepmom trying to wrest control of the conglomorate from the rightful heir.
I didn't expect Sa Wol to join YW to the future. It means she was also thrown into the well by the same masked villain. But its all for the better, YW and SW can get into various hijinks in the future together.
Overall, it was fun and interesting first two episodes. If this continue, I will definitely watch all 12 episodes.

I'm still not sure about this and I think it's because I got really attached to Joseon Taeha in his 30 minutes of screentime and 2023 Taeha sucks. Can we speed up his character development? For me?

I went into this mildly interested about the story and neutral about the leads so I was surprised at how much I enjoyed these episodes! Lee Se Young totally nailed the sassy, silly, and funny vibes! The fish out of water moments were great, but I also liked how quickly she assesed her situation and how astute she was when she knew Tae Ha needed her help.

The repeat of the underworld lines was nice along with other callbacks to the past.

Bae In Hyuk killed me with his secret smiles. I was hooked from the first fall & embrace. Lots of slo-mo, pretty moments. I love it when the guy is in love first. Too bad that part was so short. I wanted to see them more in Joseon before we moved to the present.

I didn't mind his cold, stoic image. Typical of chaebol characters so it didn't phase me. He's probably keeping his emotions in check to prevent his heart rate from rising so he has a hidden medical issue.

I hope the romance blooms well in the present because Yeon Woo hadn't fallen in love with Tae Ha back in Joseon yet.

I have never seen Chun Ho Jin play such a kind, quirky grandpa type role before!! It's a nice change. Loved his riddle scene with Yeon Woo. I wish my very limited Korean was better to appreciate the puns more, but I did get the war general one! Hehe

I'm excited to see more of Yeon Woo and Sa Wol in Seoul! They make a great pair. They looked close and Sa Wol really had Yeon Woo's back.

The only thing I groaned about was seeing Jin Kyung playing another villainous character, ugh!

Did not get enough of Yoo Seon Ho to tell if he will be friend or foe.

Better and less cheesy than I expected. Fast-paced and good casting. I love Sa Wol - and even more after I realized she was Dong Geurami in Extraordinary Attorney Woo. I eagerly await her reunion with her lady.

I went in for Lee Se-young and came out of it a Bae In-hyuk admirer.

And Joseon Kang Tae-ha really knows how to look at Yeon-woo like he's been in love with her for his entire life. I didn't expect Yeon-woo to be that in love with Tae-ha even I knew she liked him a lot.

The amount of blood-spitting - would make cdrama producers proud.

Modern Tae-ha needs to watch some contract marriage dramas. He was dumb for expecting that his grandfather wouldn't want to see the granddaughter in law after the wedding. Just terrible planning. And no last name for "Vanessa" during the wedding ceremony? And the grandfather didn't find it suspicious? How are these people in high positions?

I loved how Yeon-woo knew that this dude who shares the same name and face as her husband was really not her husband after he's been a jerk a few times. I'm a little irked that she's going to fall in love with the inferior Tae-ha.

I have a renewed admiration for Lee Se-young's talent for comedy acting.

The first two episodes was decent. The tropes kept on coming 😀. There were some good moments and leads are wonderful. I miss the sweet smitten Tae Ha. Their interactions were adorable in the Joseon era. I hope our chaebol falls for her soon.
I wonder at what point he will truly believe her story.

I am glad Sa Wol made it to the present day too! I can’t wait for them to get together and be equals, like friends and be free in this new world.

Anyone else getting a whiplash at the amount of popular older actors in the recent new dramas??
Jo Bok Rae, Ahn Kil-kang, Jin Kyung & Cheon Ho-jin in here,
Kim Hae-sook & Seo Jung-Yeon in My Demon!
Not forgetting Oh Eui-sik cameo & the ever versatile Lee Seung-Joon in Castaway Diva too!! I was pleasantly surprised to see them all again!

Anyways onto the main review, I was silently praying hard that they would send best girl Sa-wol over as well and SCREAMED when they did! I cant WAIT for their joint shenanigans.

Aside from that, this debut eps was quite entertaining! I lost my mind when she headbutted him out of nowhere. Although I'm not really feeling their chemistry yet but I'm giving myself the next few episodes to let these two really settle in for me before jumping the gun on anything.

I thoroughly enjoyed these two episodes, so many lol moments! Squirting ketch-up, door handles, but best of all the was our time travellers delight at eating the chocolate snack. Superb acting from Lee Se-young!

OKAY I finished both eps finally! LOVE IT!

* Although I’ve seen him in a fair few dramas now, I keep getting surprised by just how charismatic Bae In-hyuk is. I don’t know what it is or what he’s doing but he really makes a memorable impression no matter how short a scene it is. In the same vein, it’s so lovely to see Lee Se-young’s comedy chops in action! I didn’t gel with Law Cafe so my most distinct recent memory of her is from Red Sleeve, but I knew she had a great sense of humour thanks to the BTS clips from that show. It’s nice to get the best of both worlds now with her as a Joseon era character who’s really funny and endearing.

* I see what people who vibed more with the second ep are saying now - episode two is much stronger and seamless, but I still like episode one a lot because it did well to establish characters that episode two is riffing off of.

* Also smart to have nice Tae-ha be our first impression, because I keep superimposing that Tae-ha on this current cold chaebol version - I’d find him intolerable if I wasn’t able to do that.

* The ‘afterlife misunderstanding’ at the start was hilarious 😂

* I love how she took charge of the situation with Grandpa and cornered Tae-ha into letting her stay at the house for a few more days; a born businesswoman she is!

Harabeoji Cheon Ho-jin will make me watch this show for laughs.

I had to see Bae in Hyuk again in a hanbok after he’s was killed off early in Under the queens umbrella and then what happens??? He’s killed off in that gorgeous costume again within the firs episode! The world must not deserve that boy in period costume. He’s too dangerously handsome apparently. And I love him already as the calculating, but affable, chaebol who is going to fall so hard for the time-slipped FL. I’m in this one to the end, and my bleeding heart for for Lee Se Young (loved her “zombie” reference from Korean Odyssey) and Bae In-Hyuk will make me gobble this show up whole.