Pretendente Surpresa (2022)

BEST KDRAMA I HAVE SEEN SINCE A LONG TIME

HONESTLY, when watching this series, I was constantly smiling, and I had a massive grin on my face with every episode to come. That grin could not leave my face because of how good this show was.

EVERY OST TO THIS SHOW WAS SO GOOD !!!

I WOULD DEFIANTLY RECOMMEND THIS DRAMA TO WATCH! THIS SERIES MADE MY MONDAYS AND TUESDAYS A LOT BETTER, AND I AM SAD THAT THE SHOW WON'T BE AIRING ANYMORE.

It is a rom-com show, and it was super funny and such a light-hearted series to watch; I can literally watch this show so many times, and I would never get tired of it. The acting was phenomenal, and all the actors portrayed the characters exactly to the manhwa. The manhwa and the show are very similar; however, it is different in their own ways.

What I loved about the series:
- Bromance
- Grandfather
- Bestfriends
- Shin Ha Ri family
- Tae moo is an excellent partner and boss. Also, his sassiness was on point
- Tae moo was so adorable
- the character development
- an overload of cuteness
- Shin Ha Ri protects Tae moo from his trauma.
- Shin Ha Ri's coworkers protecting her
- The OSTs in this drama are fantastic. I've added each one to my music collection.


Although this series portrays a lot of cliches, they really did a fanatic job of the acting not being cringy at all. Every scene was charming to watch, and I enjoyed each scene. I liked all the characters. They were very likable, except some were considered red flags. I did not enjoy Minwoo and his girlfriend. Minwoo thought of himself only and was being selfish and said that Shin Ha Ri wasn't on his level to Tae Moo; I'm glad that Tae moo defended his woman and said to him don't ever say that about my girl.

Can we talk about the two main male leads? Both of those characters are gentlemen. I loved Tae mu lines whenever it came to Shin Ha Ri. The two male leads had such a fantastic bromance. Especially the best friends as well, their girl romance was unforgettable.

Tae mu's grandfather was so adorable, and I love the parent figure he became for Tae mu. You can see how much both of them care for each other. Shin Ha Ri's father is so wonderful. When her father explained to Tae mu of his worries about his daughter, he mentioned how he felt sorry for his daughter because he couldn't support her dreams of becoming a singer. That scene got me with teary eyes. He felt so appreciated that Tae-mu was there for her when Tae mu said I would protect your daughter with every cost of my life. Shin ha ri father knew that his daughter had found the right man for her and that he could be at ease, knowing his daughter won't get hurt.

Shin Ha min, who is Shin Ha Ri's brother, I loved him so much. When he found out that his sister was dating her boss, he asked, " Why are you dating my sister? Did she blackmail you? He is so funny, and I'm glad that Choi Byung Chan portrayed his role; he acted so well as Shin Ha min.

Cha Sung Hoon and Young Seo this couple were AMAZING; they did sometimes carry the show. Their development and communication with each other were phenomenal. They communicated so well, and also, I love how they gave us both of the character's perspectives when it came to meeting each other and falling in love for the first time. We never get to see that usually; it's sometimes always one person's perspective.

Tae moo and Shin Ha Ri CHEMISTRY WAS OUT OF THIS WORLD. I loved when her slipper hit Tae moo's face; that was funny. They did lack in communication; however, it did get better. I was satisfied with all of their scenes. I appreciated the hug scenes very much. These two were so lovable to watch. Tae moo was such a gentleman to Shin ha ri, and he gave her the space she needed when she was still thinking about her feelings. I love how they both protected each other; Tae moo protected her at work and his family. Shin ha ri protected him at work, with family, and from his trauma. Everything about this couple was excellent.

THIS SHOW ALSO PORTRAY SOME PSYCHOLOGY IN IT; for example, when Tae moo had his panic attack, the drama showed us how he handled it.

Cons for me:
- More on-screen time for Tae moo and Shin ha ri
- more eps

This show is unique, and it does not irritate or cringe with its cliche plot; instead, it makes you more invested and interested in the series. THIS SHOW IS YOUR THERAPY, AND IT WAS DEFINITELY MY THERAPY. This drama is special to me because of how light-hearted it is; it plays with your emotions and makes you want a lot more.

I hope you enjoy this drama as much as I did. If you don't, we're not going to be friends.

Let's be friends?

I 100% RECOMMEND THIS FANTASTIC SERIES.

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This is now my favourite romcom drama ever.

It's RARE that I watch a drama while it's still airing, but A Business Proposal had me hooked since the first episode. I read the webtoon and was anticipating the release of this drama, and it certainly did not disappoint. This has now cemented itself as my favourite romcom drama ever, and with good reason! My husband loves it too, and he doesn't usually watch dramas with me!

1. Story
Fake dating turned secret office romance. It's tropey, sure, but the drama executed it so well! I'm not usually a fan of "fake" anything, but this was resolved very quickly and truths are revealed quite soon. In fact, a lot of the conflicts introduced within the episode are resolved by the end of the episode. Also, can we talk about how many tropes this drama subverts?? So many different tropes are introduced, but how the characters deal with them are unlike anything I've seen before. It results in so many hijinks and fun moments. This drama is so hilariously self-aware that it is refreshing to watch. EVERYTHING about this drama was refreshing to watch. I love how we get to see a very strong sismance and bromance. Ha-ri and Young-seo's friendship is so real. They're two strong, independent women who truly love and support each other. Then we have the bromance of Tae-moo and Sung-hoon. We see them act as boss/secretary, but also as two brothers who love to tease each other while still being each other's voice of reason (moreso in the case of Sung-hoon to Tae-moo, haha). And of course, the two love stories of our couples Ha-ri/Tae-moo and Young-seo/Sung-hoon are not to be discounted either! There were SO many swoon-worthy scenes that left me giggling and blushing. This drama has the TWO hottest scenes I've ever scene in a kdrama from recent memory.

2. Acting/Cast
Amazing. There was so much chemistry between all of the cast members that it almost felt voyeuristic watching the characters they play since it all felt SO REAL. It was like I was just looking on at someone's real life.

3. Music
Love the OST.

4. Rewatch Value
I mean... I kept rewatching previous episodes while waiting for the new ones to come out so I'd say rewatch value is a solid 10 out of 10! I can see myself rewatching this many more times in the future. This is the perfect drama to feel happy.

Overall, this was a wonderful drama and my new favourite. I am genuinely sad it is over. I can only hope we see the actors in more projects together. Their chemistry is unreal!!

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The ideal rom-com

I just finished the 12th episode that out 2-3 hours ago and came here to write a review of “WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH THIS ROM-COM” lol but no seriously?!

Keywords:
UPLIFTING MOOD. THE IDEAL OF ROM-COM. WHOLESOME. CUTE. FUNNY. FRIENDSHIP

If you need something cute, uplifting mood drama to watch, you should def watch this.

I don’t think there is a single moment of me bored by watching the show because the show is just really entertaining, IT’S A LIGHT, HAPPY GO LUCKY ROMANCE COMEDY K-DRAMA.

Literally the ideal of romance comedy, IMO it doesn’t have any draggy scenes nor story filler. It’s compact.

The 1st half of the drama is so D*MN FUNNY, and then the 2nd half is SO CUTE AND WHOLESOME.

I love the main couple and the second lead couple. Each one of the couple have their own story and moments. Though yes, the second main couple is cute as heck.

But what I love about this drama too is the “FRIENDSHIP” between Ha-ri and Yeong-So, I wish I had that kind of friend, they’re friendship is solid, they’re always there for each other. I’m so jealous of anyone who have this kind of friendship:’)

The other side characters are entertaining to watch too, such as Tae-Mo’s grandpa and Ha-ri’s family and her teammates, and Yeong-So cousin that girl is so funny.

I find myself giggling over the their cute interactions and laughing while watching the teammates scenes.



I’m satisfied with the 12 episodes and i think it’s really ideal for any “rom-com” to go with 12 eps only.

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An office-romance parody gone wrong

This story was, in my opinion, purposefully turned into a parody of office romances.
For example, the actors are totally overacting certain facial expressions for comedy, and the classic employee-and-her domineering-traumatized-child-boss  backstory is also extremely cliche.

And it could have been a brilliant parody considering the cast but parodies are a very hit-or- miss kind of project.
The main actors have shown their ability to portray nuances in multiple other dramas and yet, in this drama, the comedy was very blunt and cringe. This would have been totally fine if it was well directed but the mix between forceful comedy and traditional romance was just not well balanced.

The story is also ridiculous, but here again, it's a choice : The unbelievable trope of the "normal" employee and the domineering almost caricatural boss falling for through unrealistic plot twists , he obviously had a tough childhood and obviously is forced to get married by his grandfather. Very very cliche.

And it could have been an incredible parody if it had that one special element  differentiating the story from other classic office romance dramas.
Brilliantly aligning cliches is not enough to create a satiric story, an off-beat original element was needed.

So all I got was out of this was a LOT of cringe-worthy moments and a little bit of disappointment with how the actor's talent was misused.

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The Unpopular Opinion Amongst Popular Opinions

Storyline:
The storyline utilizes one of the most cliche and overused tropes in history - contract marriage, poor girl falls in love with rich guy etc.
Since the drama is a rom-com, there were many scenes that were hilarious (at first) and overall the drama was rather lighthearted. However, the drama often dramatizes and adds many scenes supposedly for the comedy but ends up being very cringey and redundant. Since this drama has only 12 episodes, the story moves very quickly, too quickly in fact, that they did not slow down to properly flesh out the main characters and show proper development in their various relationships - mainly the FL & ML as well as SFL and SML. The couples fall in love so quickly that it’s hard to believe they ARE in love but rather, the relationship is very superficial and on the surface. They barely have proper conversations to get to know each other and we are already dumped with several kiss scenes. The storyline is too simple and has no depth whatsoever. Overall, it was extremely cringey.

Acting:
Sejeong's acting was pretty decent, though it felt like she was holding up the entire show by herself. Ahn Hyo Seop’s character seemed more like a supporting role rather than a main lead. There was no chemistry between the leads at all. I’ve watched Ahn Hyo Seop’s various projects and it seems that his choice of script is very poor, such as Lovers of the Red Sky, Abyss etc. There was no room to fully showcase his acting potential here. SML has a very disappointing character coming from the fact that I actually liked his role in Snowdrop because of his rather nuanced acting there.

In conclusion, don’t waste your time if you want to watch a good quality drama with proper development. However, if you are up for a pretty lighthearted, mindless and cliche rom-com, go ahead and give this drama a try.

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Run of the mill with a little something special

Business Proposal is your typical K Drama romance comedy with the rich taciturn chaebol, his good friend, obsessive guardian/ parent, tragic story, poor girl but conscientious with funny hardworking parents plus bestie. You get it, your typical archetypes. And that's the brilliance and warmth about it really. It does not reinvent the wheel but drives a bus we are so fondly familiar with.

That being said, that's where the greatness of this drama ends. It becomes slightly superfluous and not so tight in its story telling but you know what? That is okay too because its not proclaiming to be Ahn Pan Seok profundity and it still nailed its brief.

Give it a watch for its sizzling chemistry, commentary on spy cams and warm romance.

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I didn’t think I would be writing such a positive review for this drama since I wasn’t the biggest fan of it initially. Obviously, the exceptionally high ratings gave me a lot of high hopes, so I was instantly more critical than usual when starting it. While the beginning was okay since I was still trying to get into the groove of the drama, by the second half I was really enjoying the storylines and the episodes absolutely flew. Loved how they were introducing cliches and instantly overturning them. Thought it was a nice touch. Hari was absolutely adorable, I love her personality. I thought the ML falling in love with her was done a taaad too quickly, but it was cute seeing him chasing her so I didn’t mind too too much. The second couple wasn’t my favorite but they were definitely not as bad as some others had said. Their bickering wasn’t too annoying, so I was rooting for them too. Some other complaints I had was just the Hannah Montana wig logic where Shin Hari transformed into a whole different person just by wearing a wig which was more than annoying, and also the fact that they seemed to throw in a really abrupt conflict in the last 20 minutes and didn’t really let the drama settle afterwards. Overall, none of my complaints are too major and I genuinely enjoyed the ride that business proposal took me for. Once again, Ahn Hyo Seop, doesn’t disappoint ;)

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The chemistry brings the cliches to life

Without the two main actors and the two secondary actors to bring this drama to life, this would just be another second-rate romance full of cliches and pacing issues. When I watch a romance, I want a good amount of fluff and angst, and this drama really did not deliver on the fluff. Most of the fluff was interrupted by silly "comedic" moments that made me so frustrated I wanted to tear my hair out. I also wasn't made to believe that the girl fell for the guy, seemed a bit sudden.

HOWEVER, the chemistry between the main actors and ESPECIALLY the chemistry between the secondary actors made me swoon. Even with the tiny bits of fluff we get, I still think about them and fangirl to my friends.

Overall, I would still recommend this as a good drama if you like sweet romance without too much melodrama.

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Resenha

Eu gostei bastante desse novo k-drama, admito que fiquei com um pouco de receio achando que o sucesso todo que este drama ganhou é um pouco exagerado, mas está longe disto e Pretendente Surpresa é realmente isso tudo. Desde o primeiro episodio já ta praticamente claro que se trata de uma comédio romantica, voce vai tirar bastante risadas na maior parte dos episodios. É diveetidissimo, bastante leve nos conflitos e no enredo em geral; e sinceramente eu to preferindo doramas assim.
A protagonista Ha ri é uma pesquisadora em uma industria de alimentos, independente e decidida forte. Junto com sua amiga Young Seo, caimos de amores e empatia pelas duas personagens, dificilmente eu conseguiria escolher qual das duas gosto mais; elas tem uma amizade tão linda e de muito parceria. Nosso prota Tae Moo um CEO bastante bonito e com uma personalidade bastante peculiar. Ele tem um secretario chamado Sung Hoon, que na verdade é mais que apenas um funcionário mas um irmão. Eles cresceram junto praticamente, ambos também tem uma amizade de muito carinho, parceria e que vai além de funcionario e patrão.

Só dos 4 protagonistas terem tanto carinho entre eles faz com que os pares romanticos que vai formando entre os quatros, seja uma relação de muito dialogo e amizade. A dinamica desse grupo é divertida, cada um com sua personalidade e modo de agir, então voce acaba tendo alguém ali pra se identificar; que seja nas atitudes ou na forma de se apaixonar. O enredo não é aquela coisa mirabolante, nem cheio de cliches desnecessarios para fazer a historia andar, as resoluções de conflitos são bastante diretas e a maioria das vezes resolvida com dialogo.

O casal principal é muito lindo, nossa, que casal bonito. Entretanto o casal secundário também não fica atrás, eu particurlamente gosto mais deles, por eles serem mais diretos, fofos e sensuais. É um romance de escritório, um clichezinho que passamos pano, então ele é ambientado a maiorias das vezes no ambiente de trabalho, mas felizmente eles não ficam muito nisso e também trazem uma leveza pro ambiente de trabalho com momentos bastante divertidos.

Pretendente Surpresa é de longe um dos melhores dramas de 2022, levinhi, lindo, direto, simples e entre outros elogios. Recomento muito, e é um ótima série para quem quer começar no mundo dos doramas.

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Proposal approved

As someone who loves the webtoon, I was anticipating the live action adaption. Though, psychically the cast wasn't who I pictured (except secretary Cha & the grandfather), the acting was good. For the most part, I didn't mind the changes from the webtoon as I was mostly treating this as a separate work.

I will gladly take all the clichés & this drama spared no effort in using them to their advantage. But, while I enjoyed the clichés throughout the drama, they did feel a bit forced & disappointing in the last two episodes. ( I'm referring to how they made the grandfather act the way that he did when the entire show they were setting up his character to act in the opposite way.) It brought down the drama for me & left me wanting more, especially the ending. Nonetheless, this was a fun drama & I needed this lighthearted romcom.

I don't think the ost was bad, like I remember liking the songs that were used but not to the point where I specifically remember them. While I don't really rewatch, this is a drama that I would recommend to others, especially if they are in the need of a laugh.

They're not a big deal but here are some things that I didn't like:
*The way her friend sold her out to Taemu. I mean it worked out in the end but it always rubbed me the wrong way even when I read it in the webtoon.
*How pushy her coworkers were (thinking to how they invited themselves to her movie date).
*Youngseo not knowing much about secretary Cha but getting upset with him, more than once, without really thinking.
*I just didn't like Hari's mom, maybe it was the actress playing her.
*The problems created by the chef's girlfriend as the drama was ending.
*How they handled the grandfather's character once news got out about Hari & Taemu dating.
*Making the grandfather sick & having to go abroad wasn't necessary.
*The time skip & how they were reunited.

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