Subjective Rating: 7.75

I read the comments and the reviews, and I am prepared for the battle of annoying ex-es. But even with such expectations, I am still amazed at how much “Dinner Mate” focuses on these two second leads. But for the sexy Song Seung Hun (who I was obsessed with in “Obsessed”), I am willing to continue watching this drama. He’s the main reason why I am even giving this drama a shot.

The tone of the drama in the first ⅓ is quite light and fun. When the deeper issues are finally revealed, the drama becomes a lot more melodramatic. The lightness did not return until the last two episodes.

I quite like the general plot of having a dinner mate. Someone you don’t know personally, sharing and enjoying a meal together without any worry or embarrassment. I think the chemistry between the leads is best during their friendly dinner mate relationship. I wanted to see more of their dinners, their conversations and support for each other. I also enjoy the part when their identities are finally revealed and they are in this awkward but attracted-to-each-other phase. But once they are in a relationship, their relationship isn’t as fun. I think mainly because I feel that Kim Hae Kyung (ML) puts in a lot more effort in the relationship than Woo Do Hee (FL). In the beginning, I really liked Do Hee and found her to be a fun female lead. But she seems to have changed to be a different person in the second half. A quieter, gloomier person that’s not giving me the same energy as Hae Kyung. For Hae Kyung, he was the opposite. He was a man of few words, then he became more outgoing and outspoken. The dynamic between them seems to have switched. I also wanted more PDA and skinship from them. Hae Kyung tried but Do Hee wasn’t giving much, and I was a little surprised. She’s been in two long-term relationships before and she doesn’t seem like a shy woman, but why isn’t she kissing as enthusiastically as Hae Kyung? Also, I appreciate them both being true to themselves and never wavered when their exes came back, but they really need to set some boundaries, esp. physical boundaries.

Let’s talk about the exes. The drama really is not giving viewers a chance to even like Jung Jae Hyuk (2ML) and Jin Noh Eul (2FL). They have the audacity to dump someone out of the blue and then come back to DEMAND to get back with their exes? That’s not a good introduction of these characters. Both of them wouldn’t take NO for an answer and continue to be annoying up until the last couple episodes. If you don’t like love triangle/square with this type of irritating exes, it’s best not to watch this drama. In the second half, it seems like Jae Hyuk has more scenes than the main characters. He dominated ¼ of the drama when we find out his backstory, history, and challenges and road to recovery. Props to actor Lee Ji Hoon for making me feel sad, angry, irritated, pitiful and then rooting for him in the end to be healed.

I initially found the little love story of the older couple quite cute. Then, it dragged on for so long and got too cringey for me. I actually would have liked to see them break up sooner, and then give them a little extra more time in the last episode or two.

Oh, we also have a “Crash Landing On You” sighting!. It’s lovely to see Seo Ji Hye had a brief reunion with Goo Seung Jun. Did you see the other CLOY reference during the meditation scene?

I actually quite like the food + psychiatry theme and enjoy those therapy scenes more than the B-class podcasts. I enjoy the few songs in this drama but also feel that they are too overplayed. For a drama named “Dinner Mate”, I don’t think there are enough delicious food scenes!

Overall, I would recommend this drama if you are a fan of the actors/actresses, or enjoy watching ex-boyfriends and ex-girlfriends come back and cause havoc.


Completed: 5/4/2023 - Review #304