Final Call: "Birth of a Beauty"

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“Birth of a Beauty” started with a bang this fall advertising to be a promising comedy show. Personally, I had a hard time watching it especially during the second half of the drama. The truth is I cannot fully express my disappointment. Don’t get me wrong! I was relieved the drama finished airing with a happy ending. Unfortunately, I need to say “Birth Of a Beauty” suffers from a sloppy script with one-dimensional characters.

After reading comments, I guess I’m the one who is less forgiving and my opinion belongs to the minority, which is completely fine. I’m pleased that there are some people loving the series. Let’s keep our spirits up, shall we?

Review

Before I volunteered for recapping this show,  I was thrilled by the idea of having a revenge plot with lots of humor, which was the case at the beginning. The fun really helped the actors get along together and the result – we had Han Ye Seul and Joo Sang Wook having sizzling chemistry and I really felt it. The synopsis held so much potential, so where was the problem?

Honestly, I felt deceived because I thought this would be a really fun show based on the highlights and the trailers. I initially had doubts about the storyline being swapped due to changes on the relationship chart. Han Tae Hee’s surrogate brother and friend, Ji Hoon, was supposed to compete against him for Sa Geum Ran’s heart. I guess the first script had to be scrapped for a makjang plot. I lost count of how many times in Dramaland the protagonists win through a company meeting and the bad guys getting jailed for dreadful crimes.

Why did Sa Ra need four entire episodes following the breakup with Tae Hee just to find her true self and to realize Han Min Hyuk was playing her? There are some character inconsistencies and plot holes as well. I admit Sa Geum Ran isn’t a bright woman. Why does she have to believe her husband’s words about Tae Hee’s nemesis after an affair, numerous threats, stealing a property and a murder attempt? With this nonsense, it takes Geum Ran’s foolishness to a whole new level.

For the rest of the characters, Jung Gyu Woon and Wang Ji Hye really delivered their part for being outright evil. Their motives were justified and there were brilliant schemes forcing our heroes to go through a challenging journey for retribution. Unfortunately, I felt the villains lacked depth and they never seemed to grow into the story. Strangely, I found Lee Kang Joon’s father being the most pitiful person in the entire show. In spite of his only sin in letting his family adopt a lifestyle of violence and cruelty due to his anger issues, he’s really a decent man with a conscience. It is a bit weird to feel more sorry for someone that isn’t one of our main characters.

Another point I want to make is about how the plastic surgery was a flawed concept in “Birth of a Beauty”. There is absolutely no way that the extent of change is believable in terms of the short time frame and the flawless transformation itself. Let’s give this a pass and go for “200 Pound Beauty” which was a nice movie to watch, by the way. With that being said, the show doesn’t deliver a great message to young people, despite the moral of the story making an appearance in the final arc. I could debate on this but I sincerely don’t think this would show women in a positive light at all especially when the audience is misguided into believing plastic surgery would be a great tool for self-confidence. With a storyline plagued with messy writing, it is difficult to adjust ourselves to reality that changing our physical appearance under the knife carries life consequences. I could understand what the writer intended to do but it would be easier if this were a really good comedy.

Verdict

bluephoenix1919: While it was a good show overall, there were still things that simply didn’t stand up to what they could have. Especially the ending. Even though it’s difficult to create a completely satisfying ending, it felt almost anticlimactic. I honestly would have been satisfied with an epilogue of some sort, rather than just the wedding. But it honestly could have been worse. As a whole, the thing I was most disappointed with was the tone of the show. Part of the biggest reason I got on board with writing about this show was because it said it was going to be a comedy. From beginning to end, the show lost so much of its comedic relief to drama. While I understand what the writer and director were trying to do with the topic of plastic surgery, my interest would have been kept much easier if the same comedy had remained. All in all, I’d give the show a score of 7/10.

Hanyeoun: I really tried to enjoy the show. Regrettably, the writing was such a huge turn-off. It is really hard to recommend “Birth of a Beauty,” but it is worth mentioning for excellently acted scenes and outstanding chemistry regardless of the weak material. Hence, the drama could have easily ended with 16 episodes. I was also expecting a kiss (really) during the wedding. I would be more satisfied if viewers were able to witness a beautiful ceremony instead of seeing our couple entering the wedding hall with the doors closing behind wrapping up the finale. Admittedly, I almost lost interest in the show when we got introduced into a makjang getaway serving as a plot device. Gladly, “Birth of a Beauty” redeemed itself and was saved from being a huge flop. As for the review, I’d give the drama a score of 6/10.

Let us know how you felt about “Birth of a Beauty” in the comments below!

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