I don’t know what went wrong with tvN drama Melt Me Softly but it comes across as a sticky melting ice pop that a viewer can’t find enjoyment with. I loved the premise, two people get cryogentically frozen for 20 years and return to regain their lives and also conveniently fall in love. But I don’t connect with Ji Chang Wook‘s male lead and I don’t like Won Jin Ah‘s female lead, and all the comedic supporting characters in family and work friends are way too much of a caricature to take anything seriously. Six episodes in the rating is in the mid 2% range and turning out to be tvN’s lowest rated 9 pm Sat-Sun drama since Stranger (Secret Forest) launched that time slot. It’s so disappointing, perhaps a different female lead could make her less of a harridan and stronger OTP chemistry could sell this purely on the romance element while everything else falls aside as the garbled filler that it is.
I watched episode 1 with high hopes as I love both leads but hate the premise of the plot. Still I wanted to give it a fair shot in case I was wrong. I couldn’t get past mid-way through the first episode. It was awful. It was like the drama hadn’t decided what tone or genre it wanted to be, so it tried everything in the first 30 mins and ended up ‘flat’. In a world where kdramas are a dime a dozen, I decided not to hold my breath and just read the-recaps and reviews going forward. I’m sure there are others like me, hence the low ratings. Can anyone tell me if the drama gets better in the successive episodes? I won’t watch it, but it would be comforting to know that Ji Chang Wook’s comeback drama isn’t a complete failure. He has an eye for good projects, sometimes. Wishing him and Won Jin Ah the best.??
Don’t care for this just release the teasers for Emergency Love Landing!
ELL plot is just as weak as VB. Wonder why you comment in this article about another drama so not related if you don’t care for this drama?
I guess because ELL will follow this drama time slot (but I think tvN won’t start teasers for ELL until at least midway through MMS run).
But totally agree about ELL weak plot. Park Jieun is such a cliche and outdated writer. Hopefully the star power of cast can save it.
Ahhh… same timeslot, now this makes some sense… I think HB-SYJ star power will gain more ratings at the beginning, but then it may fall back on the plot itself. Funny how MMS has lost almost all viewers from HDL in same timeslot. lol.
@candycane I guess bright side is that at least some of the spotlight from Arthdal’s failure was taken away by MMS being the lowest rated of that time slot’s history lol.
With such a high budget, AF is an embarrassment ?
*AC
@candycane Yes hahaha I still cringe when I think about all the mediaplay they did for almost a year about how AC will be next Goblin/Mr. Sunshine, but then the drama they used as a filler for it’s seasons did better lol. Embarrassing.
It’s the same writer than Strong Bong Dong Soo and it was already not a good drama. The humor is not funny. But at least the couple had chemistry. Won Jin Ah doesn’t have comedic timing, she seems to force her comedic side. And swoony Ji Chang Wook can’t save this drama.
Actually when I heard about the plot I felt it would be funnier if it was only JCW’s character who got frozen in time. Even better if it was set back in the 80’s so the character would be so utterly clueless with his new surroundings. Would have been funnier that way. Anyway doing comedy is really hard because the timing of delivery is everything. I dropped Strong woman DBS but I couldn’t agree more that the chemistry of the leads was the reason it got high ratings. Sad that JCW chose this as his comeback project. If he wanted to do comedy it would have been better if it’s something like Prison Playbook.
I wouldn’t blame this only on WJA she’s new so it’s fine if she’s not great yet. JCW has been acting for much longer and it’s not his first comedy. He should have been able to draw out more from her and the script.
I blame him as well. She is still very new so I won’t pass judgement on her but he as the senior actor should have done better.
Ilove jcw but as a main lead and partner of the main lead also he should at least create a chemistry to her lead star. Show some friendly lovey dovey on set b4 filming start so that his leading lady can act alongside him naturally and to loosen bits of awkwardness. ?
wja in the bts was not at ease with JCW. she looked intimidated by him. probably, thats they had no chemistry in MMS. Btwn she looks cute though.
I didn’t watch this yet, but from the reviews that I’ve been reading, they said that the reason why the rating is not doing that great could largely be due to no chemistry between the leads. Sometimes, I would just watch the drama just for the leads. Hence, maybe this drama would not be my cup of tea.
wja in the bts was not at ease with JCW. she looked intimidated by him. probably, thats they had no chemistry in MMS. Btwn she looks cute though.
Kim Tae Hee and Kim Soo Hyun making comebacks would be a better article.
Same writer with Strong Woman Do Bong Soon and Women of Dignity, they would have expected another hit coming from this writer. Do Bong Soon was greatly saved by the OTP’s chemistry and not to mention that both PBY and PHS were great in comedies. They were just natural. Unfortunately, WJA and JCW were both stiff and their characters feel very caricature. I drop this already by third episode.
I ended up dropping Strong Woman because I couldn’t stand the story, but I stuck with it to the halfway point and went back and watched the last episode because of the lead couple. They saved that drama at least ratings wise. I stayed away from this show the minute I heard about the writer, and I like both actors so it’s too bad.
The female lead really does not fit comedy genre, she overacts and is unbearable to watch. I still remember her acting with Junho, what a big difference. JCW is just so so. Quite disappointed at this comeback drama. Wrong OTP. The weak plot is the worse. I wonder if this will set his career back with the low rating.
The female lead is still very new and green so I’ll give her a pass. She still needs to find her footing. I’m disappointed in JCW. He’s not good in this drama.
Idk if this is unpopular opinion or not, but I don’t find JCW good in comedy. I know he doesn’t want to be pigeon holed, but I wish he would go back to action dramas (where he shines) or even sageuk. I don’t know why some people here are being so harsh on Won Jin Ah. She’s a rookie actress and was amazing in Between the Lovers. Comedy is new for her (maybe she will improve in the future or maybe it’s not her forte, time will tell).
@KD – agree with you. I am surprised JCW picked such a low budget comedy as his comeback drama. What was he thinking? No offers? I’d rather him be the Joker (pardon my humor), I mean he should sign up for a deeper character with a dark history with some actions and also chances to emote. This drama plot sucks badly as I have predicted. Not surprised with the low rating. Very poor choice on his part.
@candycane Exactly! JCW is always hit or miss, but wow is MMS a extreme miss lol.
I’m also wondering about Kim Soo Hyun’s new rumored project. The premise seems basic and not a fan of the PD. Tbh he should have been offered Eternal Monarch instead of Lee Min Ho. Even though KES is not great, at least it’s a guaranteed major hit for him after the failure of movie “Real.”
@KD – I agree with you. KSH always brings a little extra ‘oomph’ to all his characters. He should to a KES drama it would be a guaranteed ratings hit.
@Adal Yes, agree. He’s my favorite among the hallyu actors of his age group. He’s charismatic on-screen and I appreciate that he takes on different characters/doesn’t put too much emphasis on gaining more popularity. KES missed out on casting him after his service because the anticipation for his next drama project after 4 years is bigger than the anticipation for LMH imo.
I think kes favors lmh too much , maybe she saw lmh asian popularity , but still lmh is a mediocre actor , and soohyun in saeguk is a perfect match . Lmh had act i saeguk with kim min hee years ago , but he was really so so . He only suited for chaebol role as in the heirs or bff or flamboyant role as lotbs . He does’t have a charisma to be on saeguk , let alone become a king
We cant blame fully to their story. Some actors they take a difficult than an easy where they are used to. As an actors/actress if ur willing to become best they should choose different types ofgenre to polish ur skills BUT when you take a main lead u r responsible for to initiate a good rapport a good chemistry to ur partner lead. Like b4 u it will start the filming i guess they should go out and know a little bit of ur co partner just to avoid too much obvious awkwardess. Just an opinion.
For me it isn’t the actors who are lacking, it is the script. Last weekend the show got the last chance and finally picked up some kind of meat. The premise was great but it was total dissapointment. I don’t mind the humor but it was way over the top and finally in EP5 we saw something seriousness what people must feel when they loose 20 years of their life. Will keep watching but I think the low ratings aren’t unjustified.
Why the screenwriter got praised for DBS is beneath me since it was very common and boring. But for someone who did WOD I expect something better that that wacky skindeep whatever.
My sentiment exactly! The script is such a disaster so far the actors stand no chance. The comedy parts are scarcely funny. Most of the time just forced overacting and sometimes totally wrong for the situation at hand.
A more serious script with some funny elements as comic relief in between would have been better suited for this synopsis.
sory but i really enjoy this drama,,fell diff from other scenario.never watch wo ji nah bfore but i think she cute and talented.will keep watching dis drama and also another drama extraordinary you
the writer is better in writing for female centric drama. as for won jin ah, her acting is still lacking even after 2 drama leads..
I think she did great in Just Between Lovers (melodrama). As a rookie then, she was quite impressive. She totally lacks in comedic timing in this one. WJA needs to find her footing and comedy is just not for her. Maybe she will improve as the story proceeds in a more serious tone as someone has mentioned, but I have already dropped after watching a few episodes of caricatures of a frozen face (second female) and overactings (practically everyone). There are way worse female leads in kdramaland. But as WJA is not pretty and not popular, I can see why she is getting most of the criticism…
Everybody is criticizing the female lead. Why?
I think she does a good job here if one takes the poorly written script in account!
She plays the down-to-earth-I-take-everything-in-stride-character very well. With charm! And feeling in the heartbreaking moments of the story!
And when the script gives them an opportunity (a rarity until now, episode 6) she and JCW have chemistry together.
The main problem is the writer (and director). What a mess. Acting is just so-so from the leads, but he real problem is the supporting cast. Their overacting is so cringe. I expected this to get low ratings because of the story, but I am a little surprised at the premiere ratings. First episode or two indicates the star power of the leads, and i thought maybe JCW had a bit more popularity in SK (internationally is a different story as he is indeed a hallyu star).
This time slot has been quite weak in ratings the whole year aside from Hotel Del Luna, but then again ratings overall have been weak across the board with only a few exceptions. I’m curious how Hyun Bin-Son Ye Jin pairing will do (chemistry is guaranteed though).
Maybe it’s just me I’m enjoying it. Will keep up with it until it ends.
I know the acting leads can do so much better, maybe they are just as confused about the script as we are? It’s the kind of over the top slapstick comedy farce that I absolutely hate and horrifying enough it takes up the bulk of the story. Loved the premise and was ready for some out of the water comedy stuff but I thought that part was gonna be done tastefully and that the emotional connection would strong. There are some glimpses of the latter but barely and I gave up after 4 whole episodes, it was just too painful to watch
It’s boring, mostly because of the script. The comedy is not funny, and the characters have no depth. The plot is going nowhere, except for the doctor that is supposed to cure them after he regains his memories. At this point, I couldn’t care less about what’s going to happen to them. I’m going to drop this one.
A couple of things:
1. JCW was smart in not taking an action role. Look what he’s up against, Vagabond for one. Plus, several of acting peers are coming out of the military as well. Any action or big budget drama he did would just get lost. This drama is just a soft reintroduction back into the industry. Also, it’s improbable this drama will ruin his career given his body of work.
2. I do think it feels like the leads are in two separate dramas. Neither actor is really all that bad, it’s just the disconnect is palpable.
3. Despite its flaws, I found Strong Woman to be enjoyable. The tone didn’t seem so disjointed as Melting Me Softly. This drama comes off as chaotic because it quite found its sweet spot yet. Is
Yep, this drama made me lose interest. Storyline after the freeze was boring and yes, no chemistry between the leads…maybe if they tried back to the future type of humor or even yes if they were from the 80s or late 70s…too bad..was hoping to like it due to JCW.
But jichangwook drama never a rating hit. He always need a strong female lead to support him.
He got in EmpressKi.
That drama is female centric with Hajiwon… A strong female lead.
Won Jin Ah and the chemistry between the leads is the least problem of this mess. Heck, their screen time is not even that huge to judge it’s because of their lack of chemistry. But more importantly, The directing is a mess. All of this overacting is director responsibility. Heck even senior actor act carricature and has no geniune chemistry. How can you create chemistry with that?
All of the two writers previous drama directed by a competent director.
The plot is bad, the directing is awful, ji Chang wook is mediocre but people want to blame won jin ah? A newbie actress with barely any dramas or acting experience? She is the least problematic thing in this drama. She’s doing the best she can based on her limited experience and trying to make the most out of a bad script.
It’s the female lead. She is annoying in the drama. She doesnt have chemistry with the male lead no spark at all! Wonder why they get her. She can act ofcourse atleast but really not fit for the role.
Don’t just blame the female lead. JCW is also very bad in this weak drama. Wonder why he picks this drama as comeback. Both don’t fit for their poor roles.
im not a fan of the female lead but i kinda pity her for all the blame that she gets in MMS.
JCW should choose his next projects wisely. MMS was a waste of his talent.
Script is bad but directing is awful. I can’t believe all of KES dramas were directed by him until DOTS. The City Hall and Gentleman’s of Dignity are best KES dramas for me and both of them were directed by the same name.
JCW is super overrated.
Too boring
Plot is too slow
She can’t act comedic
He is subpar
I like JCW in Suspicious Partner with NJH so will watch the first two episodes of this drama to see what the haps is. Knowing my luck I’ll end up watching the entire series and liking it that much I won’t know what all the fuss was about.
same here. because i love JCW. I ended watching all the 16 episodes. but i hope after this MMS mess. Ji chang wook would be wiser in choosing projects.
I totally agree. The story plot is weak. The writing is weak and the drama is boring. I don’t care about the characters. The lead actress is dull and is unattractive. How can she have 3 men after her. It’s not believable. I really wish JCW turned down this role. He needs a strong, attractive female actress and a better script.
So disappointing. Weak plot, mushy messy what’s going on? JCW can have chemistry as with NJH but none here and he looked as if didn’t know if he was in a comedy a sci fi or a romance. Tried to watch it all but gave up.
they should have not chosen this FL to work with the Fl. the two did not have chemistry. the Female Lead was annoying in the drama. Won Ji A’s acting was so off , she pouted the whole time. MMS became more messy because of her.