[Drama Review] 'Ddanddara' - Episode 10

I'm going to be honest here, the only thing that gets me through this drama now is the fact that it will be concluding in eight episodes. I tried to like it. I really did. For Ji Sung. But even Ji Sung's performance can't save this drama for me. I got nothing against the actors or actresses, but of course, as someone who is reviewing the drama, it is my duty to point out its shortcomings.

The plot is tired, the acting is awkward (save for Ji Sung and a couple others), and even the writing is bad. For example, the comedic back and forths usually fall flat and end up not being funny at all, and they seem more like fillers more than anything else. I know they are supposed to serve as a facetious sort of relief when things get a bit too intense or emotional, but they don't really serve their purpose. They just end up being really cheesy, the kind of scenes that make you noncommittally laugh, "Ha..ha...ha�?" and wonder if they were actually meant to be funny. A good example would be the scenes in which Geu Rin acts all cute and gets cheeky in front of Seok Ho, scenes that make me question if guys in real life would actually fall for these lines. Hyeri is not the one at fault here; she was just reciting the lines that were in the script, so it'd be unfair to pin the awkwardness of these scenes directly on her.

With this simple doodle, the drama hints that Seok Ho and Geu Rin may end up together.

I probably sound like I'm really nitpicking at the drama's humor for no good reason, but I bring it up as they don't really progress the plot in any way, and the recent episodes seem to be even more full of them. They are heartwarming in the sense that they show the strengthening of camaraderie among the bandmates; otherwise, the drama could do with fewer of these unnecessary comedy breaks.

Geu Rin diligently doing her manager duties

Further, from what I understand, the drama is supposed to be a lighthearted take and act as a very shallow representation of the actual entertainment industry. You know that once an artist or group is blacklisted in the industry, it's incredibly difficult if not impossible for them to appear on any major broadcasting network, radio show, music program, etc. So I can't help but be a bit skeptical at how smoothly everything is going for Ddanddara. For a band that is up against the biggest, most powerful talent management agency, things are progressing a little too easily. I know it's just a drama but I didn't find this sudden explosion of Ddanddara's popularity all that believable. They may have debuted live through a music show, but considering that they are a technically a nugu group from a nugu label, their popularity shouldn't have waxed so quickly.

Stop making googly eyes with your manager! Romance is strictly prohibited in the workplace!

And I still don't really feel the chemistry between Geu Rin and Seok Ho. I can see how they came to grow closer to each other after going through so much together, but I'm still unsure how exactly their relationship went down the romantic route. The romance between them seems just so...random. It almost feels as if the writers chucked it in there because they thought the romance would spice up the story and make it more relatable to the viewers. But for me, it's having just the opposite effect--I still don't find it convincing. I would rather the drama focus more on the growth of Ddanddra as a band instead of this awkward romance.