KDrama Review: Lie to Me

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*Available on US Netflix Streaming*

The Gist: Government worker Kong Ah-Jung (Yoon Eun-Hye) suddenly has something to prove when she runs into a former friend So-Ran (Hong Soo-Hyun), who stole her first love. Embarrassed by her single status, Ah-Jung confesses that she is married to the most eligible bachelor in the city Hyun Ki-Joon (Kang Ji-Hwan) – president of a resort empire. Of course, Ah-Jung only knows Ki-Joon from a night she passed out drunk at the bar and he took her to the hospital. Not exactly romantic. As the lie grows deeper – So-Ran will not let it drop – Ah-Jung gets help from a new friend to keep up appearances. That new friend happens to be Ki-Joon’s younger brother, Sang-Hee (Sung Joon). That would work out perfectly, except they are estranged. Ki Joon gave up his fiancée because Sang-Hee loved her too, so for his sake he kept himself from happiness. She’s making things hard on them, though, when she suddenly reappears in Korea. All these elements swirl together as Ah-Jung tries to get Ki-Joon to play along and when both brothers start to fall for her, will history repeat itself?

Love:

1.Kong Ah-Jung

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I instantly recognized Yoon Eun-Hye from Goong/Princess Hours, another drama I liked immensely, but I think I like her character in LTM even better! Even though she’s a helpless liar, she is likeable as an energetic and frazzled young business woman. You really feel her pain at losing her love and friend in one fell swoop and have to admire the fervor, if not the desperation, that she approaches the obstacles with. So often I really remember the hero and not the heroine, but Ah-Jung really struck a chord as both interesting and charming. It’s fabulous writing and acting at its best.

2.The Romance

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I was a little skeptical about uptight Ki-Joon at first, but I fell for him as quickly as Ah-Jung did. The chemistry these two have is almost tangible when his distaste for her dragging him into her lies turns to understanding. There’s this point in the middle of the series where Su-Ah insists Ah-Jung have them over for a house warming party. Instead of simply lending her his house, Ki-Joon himself stays for the party, at first to spite her. When they are forced into a karaoke duet, he really starts to see Ah-Jung as someone he could have real feelings for. The scene is silly and sweet, but literally had me squealing at how adorable it was. Another scene I really liked was when she was trying to figure out Ki-Joon’s shirt size because that’s something wives are supposed to know! Little pieces like that take this from a good drama to a great one.

3.The Music

Every time the episode would end and there’d be this upbeat music, I’d go, “WHAT SONG IS THIS?” Turns out it is Heo Ga Yoon’s Shameless Lie, now currently on my iPod. Love love love the music.

4.The Places

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Ki Joon has a beautiful house, a beautiful hotel, and they go to beautiful seaside resorts. The whole thing made me want to hop a plane to South Korea.

5. So-Ran and Jae-Beom

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Lie to Me treats its antagonists well. The audience gets a clear picture of how much a show So-Ran is putting on, trying to make her marriage seem perfect. She lies just as much as Ah-Jung does and while she gets frustrated at Jae-Beom, they are trying to make their marriage work. The fairy tale is a fantasy, but I love the relationship between Ah-Jung and So-Ran, bitter but still hints of friendship buried deep. So-Ran is kind of a terrible person, but I like how she tries to come to terms with it.

Meh:

1.Sang-Hee

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I must admit I almost put him in the love category too, but I think I’m being swayed by him in Shut Up Flower Boy Band, which I just watched. BUT, at the time I watched Lie to Me I hadn’t seen SUFBB, so I’ll try to recall my feelings then. As is the theme, he lies a bit too, not telling Ah-Jung that he’s Ki-Joon’s brother for like an eternity. Also, how selfish do you have to be to tell your brother not to marry the woman he loves because he likes her too? She doesn’t want you, get over it. He does grow into a more selfless person and for that, we don’t have to hate him! YAY!

2.Ah-Jung’s Dad’s Romance

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I have no idea why it’s a trend to do parallel romances with kid and parent, but I really could have done without all the older people romance. It wasn’t that interesting and detracted from our main story. That said, it was sweet to see Ah-Jung get more accepting of her father dating.

Hate:

I hate nothing about this drama.

So:

So… I loved this drama. It’s not heavy, but light and sweet. The plot is good and somewhat original. The cast suit their characters perfectly and the characters themselves are very endearing. The romance hits every step just right. Love it!

Final Grade: A