I really a bipolar reaction to recently concluded successful in ratings KBS drama When the Camellia Blooms. Maybe a rewatch in one go will help me fully love it like many viewers seemed to with the drama finally bringing back higher ratings to the prime time slot. Leading lady Gong Hyo Jin was one-half the recipe, male lead Kang Ha Neul more than held his own and to me actually delivered a better performance for his character. I love Gong Hyo Jin’s acting, always natural and feels so light and airy, but for Camellia I didn’t connect with her performance. The character was mostly such a doormat even if that was the intention to watch her bloom but it wasn’t very engaging. I’ve like passive female leads and Gong Hyo Jin has played quite a few in her career, this time she was just her natural self and I just felt like an outsider looking in through a winder rather than being in the room with her.