Fj Nelle

I had to watch it more than 10x to be able to move on from this drama. This will always be on my Top 3 Kdramas of all time. You cannot NOT fall in love with the whole cast because of the on-point acting and the myriad of emotions that they'll make you feel while watching. I loved that they used a good balance of filmmaking elements from the unique story (however unrealistic), superb directing and screenplay, commendable actors with amazing chemistry (Son Ye-jin and Hyun Bin both deserved awards for their acting), memorable soundtrack that invoked different emotions, and beautiful cinematography. The second lead and supporting characters are also lovable and many of the scenes are unforgettable. "Everything blended perfectly" is how I would describe it and that's where the magic comes from. Because of CLOY, I started watching Kdramas again after 20 years and during the Covid pandemic, I've already watched 50+ Kdramas.

It started out strong and interesting but got weaker towards the later parts. During the last two episodes I found myself skipping scenes because the stories of the other characters did not seem that interesting and relevant. The chemistry between the two leads was okay but for the rest, they didn't really gel well together. I was not able to feel family-like closeness among the Santa Maria Team members and between the team and Kim Min-gyu or even Ji-a. It felt like forced. Also, there were scenes where the acting did not meet my expectations especially by the supporting cast. Furthermore, the dialogues could have been written better. Overall, I'd give it a 6.5 out of 10. It was cute but not convincing enough for me.

Good story, well written, and well acted. There was good chemistry among the actors. It was enjoyable to watch with just enough humor, romance, mystery, and drama. The protagonists Jong Suk, Suzy, Hae-in and the villain Lee Sang-yeob all did a great job.