Do you folks remember the poster for Mr. Plankton? The one whose tagline was: "The end. Love romantic comedy?" Seriously, it said, "끝. 사랑 로맨틱 코메디."

The disconnect between those words and what this drama offers has gone so far above and beyond false advertising that one must wonder if the person who made/approved that poster was ever even going to bother to watch the show.

It's early days, so I'm not going to say more and offer actual spoilers. But suffice it to say: This is no rom-com. Not in the least.

Huh. Watched 1&2. Difficult to describe and not in a way that compels me to see more. 🫤

EPISODES 1&2

As I was expecting, this show is a depressing comedy. I think taking it slow (why is this a one drop?) is the answer.

The IOTNBO vibes are strong, so I hope that means the healing journey is going to be equally satisfactory.
I guess the ending will be sad this time, but I hope the characters find the closure they need. I'm rooting for them.

Up to episode 5, and falling for it more and more. First episode was quirky, but I found myself struggling to root for anyone as they were all treating each other so badly (except for Eo Heung, who is too hopeless to treat anyone poorly). But then we started to get more into what drives these people and it's growing on me. WDH, LYM and OJS are, as you would expect, tremendous (although stop making WDH smoke in every other scene, please!) A key thing I really like is the way both Hae-jo and Jae-mi just know each other backwards from their previous relationship, and just can't help themselves reacting to become each other's support. The quiet comfort each one gives the other is like an unnoticed bedrock and it's quite beautiful.

Just finished the series and I think the sentence that sums it up for me was this line I saw on twitter,

"tragically beautiful"

Our leads did a fantastic job at their roles and I had a lot of fun watching them bicker and fight. I was laughing, crying, laughing AND crying gosh! They really had me experiencing the entire emotion spectrum huh?
I was pretty surprised that it was a one drop thing, I really thought it was a weekly thing.

I think it's just me but I found it to be quite long? I felt that some side plots could've been reduced or resolved at an earlier stage, allowing more light to be shed on both our lead's issues, especially Jae-mi's. And the ending was slightly dragged out for me.
I won't spoil it but if you feel the same way do let me know!

This drama is not a rom-com but I didn't think it was a melo neither.

I have fun to watch the scenes because they were funny but I didn't really care about the illness or their trauma because it looked more like an excuse to make the leads to be together in a road trip than a real theme. He just forgave his father who waited for him but did nothing to actually get back his son. The illness was not really addressed as what happened after?

But watching these characters bonding in a very weird way was really fun. John was the best!

I love this show. I've just binged most of it, with 2 episodes left. Did I say I love this show? In the First Impressions recap, Lovepark captured the beginning nicely, "Despite the doom and gloom that followed our couple throughout the first episode, there was a sense of whimsy as well — an exhilaration that stemmed from Hae Jo’s recklessness and a glimmer of liberation that radiated from Jae-mi’s smile." Thank you for that.
The pacing is terrific - just a seamless propulsion through the various escapades and chapters of this crazy story. The show is sometimes deeply tender, madcap, heartbreaking, surprising, yet always comes back to the basic goodness of our main characters. It is a stellar cast and just stunningly well-acted. Each performance is complete, powerful and seamless. I know that a drama can fall apart at the end, but I can't wait to see these last 2 episodes. This one is high on my list.

I loved this one. I went in with the trailer hoping a marry go but nope. But I couldn't stop watching. It was not a typical terminal illness plot either. It's a mix of everything. I do have some complaints I cried so much that I don't have the energy. 😭😭😭😭

Y’all, in ep3, what is the logic of a Starbucks opening next to a traditional Korean soup restaurant making the restaurant more successful? Someone goes to get a latter and then gets a craving for sundaeguk? A new office building I could see as bringing a slew of lunch customers, but a Starbucks how?

I know, sorry, this show should raise more important questions in my head or inspire deep thoughts, but this part is just baffling to me.

Agree with many who said this one gives you all the feels. Of course, I couldn't help but compare it to "Uncontrollably Fond", but I will say this one is better in plot and character development. I did wish though that they had spent more time on his "dad's" redemption arc....that guy never had to answer to the horrible way he ended up treating both his children. It would have been nice to see him ask for Heo-Jo's forgiveness and him realizing that letting go of the bitterness is a beautiful thing in the end. Or, they could have made it even more ironic if they showed that dad's illness came back and in a weird way, the son and dad both had terminal medical conditions, as if they were truly genetically linked! BWT - I also loved the soundtrack for this....but can see how Netflix is trying to bring in a more diverse audience with a lot of western music ("California" is now stuck in my brain!) But definitely worth a watch.....just make sure you are ready for episode 10!

At Chapter 5 now
I did imagine something like the end, since the beginning with the "No, don't you dare do this now" or something like that.
But man, it's hard with so much violence and even more heartbreak.
Will, like, *everybody* end up heartbroken and dead?
I was having fun guessing that American John was the father, since he is an errand man, too, and never says anything.
But now it's not even really fun guessing.
It's gripping, but it's so sad!

Finished it, and loved it. An absolute rollercoaster, taking you from laugh-out-loud to desperately-sad within seconds. Much like it's theme, it kept drifting (although at a rapid pace!) so I could never totally predict what would come next, but I was just so interested in it all. I loved the weird - Mr John for the win here - and also the fact that punches hurt and floored people, people hit rocks and didn't get up, couples argued and said harsh things, people ugly-cried and car radiators broke down. Although there were things that were unrealistic, it was grounded on realistic people and I found that so watchable. Found the ending truly beautiful whilst deeply sad. WDH continues to have my heart, but OJS and LYM were stellar. Really glad I watched it.

Many elements in this drama were unbelievable and over the top, but the people felt real and grounded. The relationships were complex, and the emotions were raw. The characters did some illogical and even questionable things, but they were as baffling as real people acting on real feelings. The actors were spectacular. Would I watch it again? I don't think so... it was too painful to watch, but I did enjoy every bit of the ride and I think this one will stay with me for a while.

Random thoughts on Mr Plankton.

This drama had a pull that made me want to see it through to the end even though I didn’t really like most of the characters. Be warned it is very similar to Uncontrollably fond with melodramatic themes and a male lead’s condition that has him still driving and NO ONE has any concerns about being in the car with him😮

It’s very dark and the main lead’s character is terrible both in his behaviour and philosophy on life. He hurts the people he is close to yet they cling to him and I am not sure why. The actors did a great job bringing all the characters to life by showing their complexity.

The gangsters scenes are a really weird mix of comedy and gruesome violence. I felt they had too many scenes and they ran longer than necessary.

I preferred Mr Plankton to Uncontrollably fond as that was a true melodrama and this one mixed in more genres so it wasn’t over the top depressing or frustrating the way that Uncontrollably fond was. I think it was too long and they were padding with the same events in a different location with both the fiancés storyline and the push pull in the main leads’ relationship. This could have ended well at 6-8 episodes. I felt the drama played like a film at times so may have worked in that format too. Calling it a romance as if that was the main theme did the show a disservice, it was codependency on speed!

The key themes for me were endings and transformations. I think the writer was interested in the connection between parents and their adult children and the long term impact when a child’s basic needs for love and affection have not been met. I wonder if the background to the poor parenting is the generations of adults who were impacted by the Korean wars and the losses they experienced in family relationships. Those traumatised people have been unable to parent their children emotionally and this is having an impact on the current generation of Korean families.

I wanted to know if anyone worked out the fiancé’s mum’s relationship with John Na. He felt like a random character literally written in for plot purposes. I wondered initially if his lines were cut because speaking Korean was a second language for the actor but as he is half Korean and he has a strong acting career, unlike the other native English speakers in K-dramas I think he is probably bilingual. So my theory changed to the lack of words was probably used to make him appear to be the strong silent mysterious type. I would have preferred his character getting more screen time by reducing the gangster scenes.

Smoking showed up way too often for me as it felt unnecessary to the story. I also wondered about the excess of half naked scenes for the male lead, was it me or were they going for over kill with his wardrobe changes? PPL for clothes must have been the main income for the drama because of the frequency they showed off his body! Because those shots were throughout the drama, I felt for him having to...

Oh man, what a ride. 
You could feel this was made with so much love from behind the scenes. 
Visually the cinematography was stunning, like a work of art at times, it was simply a pleasure to watch. 
The acting was fabulous and this added layers to their complex characters. 
WDH made me care about his character even though his actions were at times questionable and toxic.
The leads were so comfortable around one another and their relationship with all their baggage was believable and natural (especially including the kissing/intimate scenes).
The script up until and including episode 8 was brilliant but I felt there were too many plot holes/suspending disbelief for 9 and 10 that left me slightly disappointed. 
Overall though, Mr Plankton was a truly memorable show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYGaiKa50Xk

The actors favourite scenes.

I just finished this drama. I waited a couple of days between episodes 9 and 10. I am very satisfied with this ending. Every character showed dynamism and experienced a satisfying (if not completely happy) resolution of their problems.

I don't see how this is a romantic comedy though. There's a love triangle and some romantic feelings, and some very funny things happen. But...a romantic comedy has to have people getting married at the end. At the end of this one, no one achieved happiness. They had a lot of fun, but on some level this was fun in the face of a lot of losses.
Like, everything possible has gone wrong and nothing is going to be repaired, but it's beautiful and we all love each other for as long as we can.
But I liked the last episode. Even though each character arc resolved, I didn't feel like I was watching filler. It was one of the best last episodes of a k-drama--though I guess that's not saying much. I suppose by not trying to fix all of the characters' problems, they kept my interest better than those long boring happy endings.
IMHO: Oh Jung-se needs to wear a beard more. He looked good!
Possibly my favorite scene was the drama within a drama starring half the actors from the main drama.
Woo Do-hwan can cry and look ill! But because it was a K-drama he also had to have a lot of fight scenes and show off his muscles.

After so many disappointments with highly anticipated k-dramas this year, Mr. Plankton turned out to be a surprising, deep, and tragically, heartbreakingly gorgeous story. I loved the complex, flawed characters and their journeys to finding an anchor in their seemingly loveless lives. The way their stories all wove together was exceptionally well done. The acting, direction, cinematography... all stellar. This one is worth a second watch.