Heart to Heart #review

하트 투 하트

Genre -  Romance, Comedy, Psychology
Writer -  Lee Jung-A
Network -  tvN
Episodes -  16
Released -  2015, Jan - Feb

CAST

SYNOPSIS

Cha Hong do suffers from social phobia and has a problem with severe blushing. She does have has a strong sense of curiosity and learns from books and the internet. One day, her grandmother, her only contact in the outside world, dies. Cha Hong do then begins doing housework as a maid, but disguises herself as an elderly woman. Through an incident, she meets a psychiatrist, Ko Yi seok.  ~AsianWiki (w/edits)

REVIEW

Yes, it deserves the 5-star rating.

No, it didn't start out that way.

Yes, this is as Cinderella as it gets, but the last few episodes made up for it.

In spades.

The trouble was in taking so very, VERY long to reach the whole point of the story, which was to discover why Hong do had to suffer, had a social phobia, and blushed in excess under stress.

She's lost her only social contact and lives like a hermit in a run-down apartment filled with books that she reads to learn since she dropped out of school early due to her anti-social behavior.

She needs income to survive, though, so decides on becoming a maid by disguising herself as an elderly woman.

It isn't a maid the wealthy old man needs, though. He already has one who cooks and cleans his mansion.

He's a bike shop founder (though I still find it incredibly hard to believe someone in that line of work can become wealthy, much less successful) who is anxious to tell his life story and needs someone who not only understands his antiquated lingo but can 'feel' the era in which he has to go back to in order to tell the story of his humble beginnings.

There are two hot guys in pursuit of the ugly mouse.

I know what you're thinking: another lame Cinderella story and it got a 5-star review?

Like I said, it started out as a 3, moved up to a 3.5, and then the last few episodes made it shoot up to a 5, no room for doubt.

It was Cinderella to the core, but this time the writer chose to do some in depth character development sorely lacking in most Korean dramas.

We're allowed to watch these people evolve, grow, regress, experience their light bulb moment, and learn from the past.

Each has their own issues, their own short-comings, and their own mountain to climb, and the viewer is permitted to get to know them as they proceed up said mountains.

Hong do has had a long-time crush on her Cop neighbor, sexy Jang Doo soo, who had helped her after someone had broken into her apartment.

Lee Jae yoon

For years, she secretly leaves home-cooked meals at his doorstep and then hides in the bushes to watch him read the notes she leaves with the food.

Now that she's been forced to go out into the world via this job, she starts to bump into Doo soo but has also bumped into another man, Psychiatrist Ko Yi seok.

Chun Jung myung

He's the exact opposite of sweet, lovable Doo soo, with his crass nature, short temper, and seemingly ill-mannered tendencies.

He's also very impatient and suffers from another form of social anxiety in that he's become 'allergic' to his patients.

Hong do visits Yi seok's office to finally get help for her condition when she witnesses him hovering over a patient who has stabbed himself with the doctor's pen.

It looks bad from Hong do's perspective, but Yi seok quickly realizes that when he is near Hong do, his anxiety fades and he's able to sit through patient sessions without losing control.

He hires Hong do for that purpose and pays her back with psychiatric help.

Doo soo begins to notice Hong do at this point, creating the ubiquitous love triangle between the two hot guys and the undeserving wench.

And this is where the 5-star rating comes in.

For once, the ugly chick actually deserves her moment in the sun, and I had little doubt as to why both men found her so attractive.

It takes a long time to get to the point of the story, as I already mentioned, but the wait happens to be worth the effort.

Everyone is somehow connected, the two male leads slowly change before coming into their own, and Hong do eventually understands why it is she behaves the way she does.

But, we must give partial credit to the impatient psychiatrist whose methods are questionable at best because despite their being harsh, they work to help Hong do break out of her shell.

I highly recommend you stick this one out because the beginning is a little rough, and trust me when I say Lee Jae yoon's being in this one isn't enough to keep coming back for more.

It is the plot that does that for you if you give it a chance to unfold.

A memorable story with memorable characters and a plausible romance that will give you a chance to think.