If the priest looked like Kim Namgil then in a heartbeat lol.

This is what I was hoping for after the uneven first week. This one just might be a keeper.

Like many here, I enjoyed these episodes more than the first 2. Here is what I like so far: the main couple are both really considerate people. In kdrama fashion, both have suffer from emotional injuries experienced early in life, but so far the show hasn’t overplayed that. I liked that when driving to sign the contract, even though the ML had to pull over because he was haunted by memories of men ridiculing his toughness, he reassured himself recalling praise, and drove on. I also like the slight gender reversal— male sensitivity, tough female extroversion, although that wasn’t a big theme, since she is as sensitive as he is.

For the second couple, I like that even though the 2FL was devious in trying to subvert the FL, its clear that she is not going to be the villain. The 2ML came on too cutesy for me in the first 2 episodes, but he too is showing himself to be a nice guy. His “toast” looks like a pretty good sandwich. Of course beer is like drinking a sandwich, so its appropriate.

The possible love triangle introduced in the last episode doesn’t seem like it will be a big deal, and right now there doesn’t seem as if there will be any murder or violent incidents in village, so that’s a plus.

On the other hand, just like Once Upon a Small Town, the villagers are kind of annoying. (Apparently, living in a provincial village in Korea means that you are intellectually slow but also emotionally hyperactive.) Also, just like Once Upon a Small Town, the pace of this one tends to lag at times. As I said above, I’m kind of happy its not action packed —so far its nice, slow-motion, escapist fare, but at times I thought the camera didn’t need to linger quite so long on the ML or the main couple.

Based on the last episode, the theme of a grasping large corporation exploiting a small town and its authentic product is going to come to the forefront, but I have no doubt that our main couple, and good tasting beer, will triumph!

I think I'm out.

1. I just don't care about beer, and this show isn't helping with that. At least this has less annoying drunk scenes than most kdramas, so there's that, I guess.

2. Everything about this show feels unnatural to me, like... plastic? Synthetic?

Remember when the ML told the FL that it was obvious she was trying too hard and that was painful to watch? That's how I feel about this show.
Without noticing I skipped half of episode 4 because I couldn't handle the cringe of every single interaction and the unnatural flow of the plot.

Everything that happens is so convenient. Everyone talks like AI wrote their dialogues or maybe it's because they have serious conversations in the most random moments (and those random moments are like 90% of the leads interactions). And the editing makes everything 100% more awkward for me.

It's a shame because I kinda liked most of episode 3. But then it all became too much near the end, and episode 4 then took it to another level.

3. Talking about editing, the way they act as if empathy was a superpower makes many of the interactions between the leads very hard to watch. Especially, because after the supermagic effects, then the ML says something weird like "you're not okay" "you feel this and that" "you should live like this".

Btw, who said empathy, kindness, and being a pushover are all the same thing? (But that doesn't really matter, the leads are cute when they're not trying to have deep convos, so I like them together.)

Anyway, I think I'm not compatible with this style and that's fine. At least I got to try something different. ENA is trying new things in the mon-tues slot, so maybe the next one works for me.

PS. 4. you would think that people would read/hear someone's proposal before throwing salt at them. Tbh, I never understood why the ML didn't bother to read her proposal when that would've been the most logical and decent route to reject her completely. But I guess I'll never know.

Even if it wasn't because I heard her voice clearly, I still would be 100% sure it was her.

This show strikes me as, as much as anything else, an attempt to rehabilitate Korean drinking culture as shown in dramas. That started in the first episode - I was impressed when the team starts chanting for the second round and Yong-joo shuts that right down and says she's going home. Since then, though, we've seen her pounding a dozen or more pints of beer for some obscure plot purpose - but the point is to show that as the reimagined "good drinker" she doesn't end up classically kdrama drunk and talkative. She falls asleep, gets a scooter ride, and is good as new a half hour later. 😏

Beer is presented as an art and a craft, worthy of serious intellectual attention. People who can drink a lot without showing it are strong and admirable. No one has to be carried out of a bar. The only drinking competition is a demonstration of refined taste, and all the ABV levels mentioned are relatively low. There are feats of strength that do not involve pounding shots until someone falls over. There are no drunken confessions, only a gentle relaxation of inhibitions to deepen relationships. Hangovers almost don’t exist.

I'd love to visit that Korea.

Oh, I bet you're right! Although the car-crash/spilled beer scene was so random and wedged so awkwardly into the narrative that I suspect it has more to do with Lee Deok-hwa’s contract terms than with the plot.

It was after the festival when she kindly drags him away from the potentially overwhelming party. He goes to get her another beer and when he comes back she puts her hand over the corner of the table by his knee! Aahh! It was so cute!

While I agree this is likely, I would honestly be disappointed if they went this way.

It would also "explain" the odd accident on the road that she had to stop and help with on the way to the festival. She's always stopping to help people in car accidents??