I wasn’t expecting very much from this drama but I just tried it because it was there , and I really like it? I am an absolutely sucker for an over the top fictional (former) gangster-with-heart-of-gold.

Question: Is that the way Uhm Taegu normally speaks or is he trying to channel The Godfather?

In any case I really enjoyed the first two episodes and really just have one single prayer for this: That this show does not turn serious on us. Please stay silly. There is a real need for shows like that.

I'm a fan!!

I love how simple and cute this show is. And I'm extremely grateful it doesn't take itself seriously. Even the "bad guy" (Cat boss) is a joy to watch.

This show understands its job perfectly. ROMance and COMedy. They're giving us just those two things—sometimes at the same time—, and I'm very grateful for that.

1. I love uri Thirsty boys!!! They're so funny.
They're not lobsters anymore, they're very hardworking deers!
☺️ I wish the best for them.

And I understand why people may distrust them, but at the same time I don't. LOL

Why would someone that went to prison for something like gambling put weird stuff in food for kids?? And who would be stupid enough to do such an atrocious thing so openly? They're literally trying to start a business??
Idk, at least google their website before opening your mouth. LOL

Yeah, I'm super protective of the boys. Especially our Thirsty Boss!!

2. WHY IS HE SO CUTE?
He's like a giant kid.

I love how hard he tries to be better and help the ones around him be better too.
I love how much he cares for his boys.
I really like how he tries to keep the boys grounded and humble and always talks about how the bad things they did won't disappear, but that at the same time he's doesn't hide or puts himself and the boys down in front of other people.
He keeps his head high when he talks about what they do.

He only acts shy when he's around our FL. 🤭
I completely love how he became our FL's number one fan! Awww.

3. Our Mini unni!! Maybe she should be the "mop" boss? Ah, no, wait. She's the girl scout from the Kitty gang. 😂

Our girl scout is adorable. And she's perfect for her job. She's so radiant and gentle with the kids.

I loved her little conversation with the girl. I'm very incompetent around kids (well, I'm not better with adults). I never know what to say to them, so I was envious of how perfectly she explained things to the girl.

But more than that, she cares about the kids. It was thoughtful of her to point out all the different situations of the kids watching her show. She knows that promoting such an expensive toy isn't the appropriate thing to do in her channel.

It's really sad what they did to her by taking control over her account. And even more sad what happened to the kids that drank that milk. But her heart is in the right place, and she has a future boyfriend making products for kids, so Idk, maybe they can work things out. Together. 😉

Anyway, I love this show.

I agree that initially, the drama seemed a bit *too* silly, but as it moved along, I found myself amused and then even genuinely touched. The story is simple and sweet; the ML is adorable and sexy. And there's just enough cleverness, husky voice sang-froid, and chemistry to keep things moving along. I wasn't bored and in fact, I was often very charmed. I'm not sure how this drama can fill 16 episodes, but for now, I'm totally in.

One thing, though. Why is this meat production and packing company called "Thirsty Deer?" Is there word play and double meaning happening there that I'm not getting?

I genuinely enjoyed this drama so much, it was so light and fun ^-^ my only complaint is that it'll be hard waiting every week for new episodes XD

My favourite joke may have been when Eun-ha says "he didn't look that fragile" and you just know her mind had been dwelling on that glimpse of manly torso with the intriguing scars.

This isn’t my usual jam at all. But midweek is barren and how am I supposed to resist our deep-throated, sharp-jawed sweet gangsta in a sharp suit selling sausages? (All puns intended.) I am so sorry @daebakgrits. Zero, absolutely zero chance of SLS. 🤭

But I do agree with you we need a bit more character development for our female lead. She’s doing a great job with the comedy but lives a little too much in candy land for my taste.

I don’t know how long I’ll last here but it’s great fun so far.

I enjoyed the first two episodes more than I expected. I like how they were initially at odds with each other due to misunderstandings. But they were able to work through it with sincerity and good intentions. I like the ex cons at Thirsty Deer since they want to turn things around for themselves. No good feelings towards the Macron̈ Soft boss and PD though. They are opportunists.
Ji Hwan is a marshmallow deep down and I like his voice a lot. Eun Ha redeemed herself by releasing that original video. I think her story with Hyun Woo has more to it.
Both actors are new to me and I am loving both of them so far. There is not much Kwon Yul as of yet but they are already setting him up for possible conflict with our ML.

Thanks for the recap @daebakgrits

I am surprised how many similar themes or styles of shows keep popping up in K dramaland at the same time. The silly antics and CGI is very similar to Dreaming of a freaking fairytale and I am not sure if I can watch both at the same time. This one seems to have more depth built in to it. We are seeing Jihwan has a heart of gold protecting the grandmother shopkeeper it seems his gang previously protected for a fee. We also see his leadership style through his message to his minions that they need to genuinely care for each other and understand the struggles they each face trying to remain reformed. It’s interesting they had so many references to faith in the various ex gangs new lives from the church elders making the congregation triple their tithe contributions, to our male lead attending a Buddhist temple.

I felt for the poor gangster stuck wearing the cat carrier but the other gang seemed less interesting as their leader seems lacking in substance, his only focus being revenge.

I wonder if the lost sheep from Thirsty deer is in a desperate place trying to manage on his own because he has forgotten that he has friends who can share the burden.

I liked the start of this one and hope it keeps the substance alongside the fun to the end.

Thank you for the sweet recap for the Lobster show.

Barbenheimer is where uri OTP and 2ML reside. Two different universes but I do think Seo Ji-hwan can give more than a run for money in the cheek bone stakes to the Oppenheimer star.

I am 💯 the target audience for all the silly hijinks and the kitchen sink of tropes they can pack in the show. Hiding under the hospital bed sheets et all. 👏 👏👏

Also what is this brand new trope of soap bubbles - first the Sauna Samchon from The Atypical Family taking the OTP out for a picnic and blowing soap bubbles to cheer up the ML, then the despondent Prince Cha-min from the Cinderella fairytale show blowing soap bubbles as he's bored and now the sweet FL blowing soap bubble to cheer up children and the imagination FL tormenting the mobster ML. I'm game for this soapy trend too - bring on the soap bubbles. 🧼 🫧 🫧 🫧 🫧

Also that gravelly voice of the ML ... umm seems like velvety, melting chocolate. I'm a fan of how well he handles his business meetings.

Uri 2ML is as adorable as I feared hoped. I'll root for a separate love line for Kwon Yul.

I'm sure the "real" Hyun-woo is not Kim Soo-hyun actually uri baby mobster Ji-hwan wearing the wrong name-tag because ... "plot"!! Just hope our forever prosecutor doesn't get to exploit the misunderstanding to his advantage for too long.

True himbo X bimbo match-up...They're so dumb, I love them LOL

I felt the same that it would be too silly. But it does actually make me laugh. It works. MLs voice is like a whisper omg. Anyway looking forward to the next episodes.

Although the first episode left me quite cold and thinking about dropping it, the second one was better, the characters were more human and "relatable" (?), less cartoonish, so I'll watch the next episodes. I hope to get hooked and join the party 🤞

A powerful reason to keep watching it is Kwon Yool, honestly. Will he have a good arc and ending? 🤔

Btw, the ML's voice (which I don't like as much as everybody else), reminds me of the ML in a famous Spanish series I didn't watch. The character was a narco called El Duque (the actor was Miguel Ángel Silvestre. Maybe you know him for Sense 8) and he was famous for his hoarse voice.

Really I was expecting this to be too silly for my taste just like @Daebakgrits mentioned (thanks for the hilarious recap!), but in fact, it’s working like a charm! 😆 Even though I had the powerful urge to pause the first episode straight away, and venture outside to buy a floor length trench coat to join into the fun of swishing it around wherever I go. 😂

My only concern is the FL‘s job really, not a big fan of that. I’m intrigued where they’ll take this, because the ending of the last episode seemed kinda ominous… Other than that, I like the main characters & silly caricature of a „mortal enemy“ in the shape of a cat-loving villain with devoted sidekicks 😂 The comedy is really working for me in this one („Thirsty Deer“! 😂) and I am hoping this will stay light and fun in the next episodes - unlike other dramas I had the same hope for recently… (looking at you, Frankly Speaking. 👀🫣)

Those cheekbones though!

I love what I saw but I also worry about 16 episodes

I really love the theme of ex convicts trying to get back to society and make a living.
ML is such a softie. I love all the boys. I am really rooting for them. For the first time in kdrama a scandal really affected me. People can be so nasty and judgmental. I felt their pain. It felt so unfair. Like how the ML said, all it it takes is one mistake and their past will be brought up and everything is undone.

And yes I like the FL too. She is genuine and her love for kids is real. She never puts her interest over the kids. Simple things like not inserting an expensive child toy PPL.
I can’t wait for them to work together. I do FF the we tube stuff. Soo much cutesy animations not my type.

The show needs to add proper side character arc otherwise 16 episodes is a lot for romcom. Kwon Yul needs to step up. Even his assistant is outdoing him right now. lol (all the synonyms for bad words 😂)
And more Kitty gang and ‘Scout Girl’ jokes please.

I'm liking the show so far. I do wonder if there will be enough story for sixteen episodes.

Side note:

Are there any Beanies here who watched the drama, Tamna, the Island (2009), starring Lim Ju-hwan and Seo-woo? That was actually the first time I saw Uhm Tae-goo; he had a very small part. He played the younger version of the evil merchant's bodyguard. I don't remember how many flashbacks the 16 episode version of the show had, but I the Director's cut has more fleshed out flashbacks.

I am not that involved in content creation or its practices, but I am confused, why is she part of a wider firm, especially when it seems like she is doing little for the company, they do not value her and she seems not happy? I thought part of the appeal of being an internet content creator was that you could be independent, your own boss and not be under the whims of greedy corporations. I get that a lot of channels and the like are under corporations and sponsors nowadays, but for someone like her, who is not a content creator for fame and money but because she likes it, why is she there? Why not just give out her content on YouTube or a Korean equivalent, and work as a kindergartener in her spare time?

I hope we get answers to this, because it feels weird to have someone who is not in it for the money or fame not only uncritically promote a product, but that she does it under a corporation which ideas and views of children do not align with hers.

I am a bit sceptical about the show if only because I am getting tired of the oblivious, non-critical hivemind that is Kdramaland citizens, but the characters seem cute, so maybe next week...

I'm loving this so far! It reminds me a lot of Way of the House Husband, which I adore.

I think I am most interested in the theme of reformed criminals. K-drama land seems very committed in general to once a criminal, always a criminal. I'm not sure I'm sold on the rest of the drama.

I am so salty that this isn't showing on any of the streaming services I subscribe to :(

I wasn't going to watch this. But, the high ratings and great engagement on DB brought me in. Just finished episode 1. The humor is very slapstick. But, the acting is shockingly good. The cooking time with Ms. MiMi scene was shot incredibly beautifully from the costumes to the visual effects.

I will also admit that I started this show with some trepidation, as the opening scenes didn't really grab my attention. But I should know better than to be quick with judgement until at least for second or third episodes. But my worries were gone after seeing some familiar faces in the cast, like the halmoni from King the Land, etc...

But the one that sealed it for me was seeing Im Chul-soo as the leader of the Kitty Gang. There hasn't been a show that he has been in where I didnt LoL. BTW, until it was spelled out here, I completely missed the connection between his character's name and the name of his gang. GO YANG-HEE.. hahahah (literally means kitten)

This one was a surprise. I didn't expect much as the episode started too, it was doing well. But then it went to funny and cute story. It's full of cliche moments but I'm liking it. It won't the best romcom for sure but it's not that bad either. It's really easy going fun watch. And I like the ml, haven't seen him before.

I was pleasantly surprised by this drama!

I started it on a whim & actually enjoyed it! Although I do admit that the animated parts were tough to sit through but it felt slightly better if you remember that Eun-ha is a children's content creator so it does make sense in a way.

Aside from the editing, I'm a sucker for the "unseriousness" aspect of the show.
I'm sorry but a "Kitty" Gang that carries around an actual real life cat? AND Im Chul Soo as the leader??? Yeah I'm sold. All these nicknames are hilarious.

The main story itself is adorable and interesting for now. I enjoyed the dynamic between the leads, it was funny to see the chaos between them and between the supporting characters as well (Ji-Hwan's crew is kinda endearing)
Can't wait to see Ji-hwan break out of his icy exterior!

Hopefully this show maintains its course though! It would suck if it took a downwards spiral seeing that it has potential to be a simple romcom :')

Just wanna drop a note and send my LURVE to My Sweet Mobster. Nestled somewhere along the gamut of Dare to Love Me, and a Freaking Fairytale - My Sweet Mobster seems to have hit that magical sweet spot for me: surreal absurdist humor in bubblegum pink, satire with sly light humor, poignantly comic social commentary, and a very good mobster ensemble cast that's absolutely killing it! (best I have seen since the iconic Vincenzo's Bye Bye Balloon gang)
My favourite romcom in the current stable line-up of live watches  

Ugh, I wish I wouldn't keep going for the shiny and new series and finish the ones I already started.

I clicked on this one out of curiosity and now I'm hooked. It's really fun and charming. I loved that scene where he starts watching all her videos, with hearts in his eyes. At some point, he complains that the producer did not properly capture her beauty. Oh boy, he is smitten.

It's neither here nor there and was done for the plot, but I appreciated seeing a scene where someone falls down the stairs, knocks himself out and it's taken seriously. No piggyback ride with him waking up in his own bed. The panicky antics of his employees were hilarious as well. Also, kudos to whatever stunt double performed that fall down the stairs. I watched it several times. Scary and impressive. How do they not end up in the hospital for real?

What a great first recap! I started watching this drama based on the positive comments of beanies, but now that it is over, I'm curving withdrawals with your recaps. So, yay!