Tempted

 Tempted (Available on Viki)

Content Warning: Violence, Language, Innuendo

Rating: A-

Character Glossary:

Kwon Shi-hyun: Main Guy

Eun Tae-Hee: Main Girl

Choi Soo-ji: Celloist and friends with Shi-hyun and Se-joo

Lee Se-joo: Friend of Shi-hyun and Soo-ji

Tempted is about a Kwon Shi-hyun who helps out his jilted friend Soo-ji by promising to seduce Eun Tae- Hee who is the love interest of the guy who rejected Soo-ji. But as he is continuing to spend time with Tae-hee he discovers that he is actually falling in love with her. But with problems coming in on all sides will they be able to stay together? 

I really enjoyed this show and I was pleasantly surprised by it. I expected a much different show and I couldn't be more thrilled with how this turned out. The romance between Shi-hyun and Tae-hee is hands down one of my favorites so far. I heard that some people actually didn't like them but I thought they were better than the secondary couple. I also thought that the results of their relationship that people didn't like (I'm trying to stay spoiler free here) needed to happen. This show has a good romance, lots of character growth, and an engaging plot. I highly recommend pushing this up on your to watch list. 

SPOILERS AHEAD READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

OVERALL STORY: The plot itself is really quite interesting. But it is more drama based so if you don't want that I'd recommend steering clear of this drama. That being said there were a lot of threads going on in this show. Obviously there was the romantic aspect but there was also a lot of focus on the families the main characters came from. Soo-ji's mom and Shi-hyun's dad announced their marriage during the show and that created a lot of strife. But honestly I don't know if I really liked how that ended up because it didn't have a secure ending. They didn't end up together but I didn't hear about them calling off their marriage so...I could just have not been paying enough attention or they glanced over it like I thought. There was also the whole thing with Tae-hee's mom who had like a thing with Shi-hyuns dad back in the day which caused issues because Shi-hyun's dad just couldn't help but create issues for everyone--but luckily tae-hee's mom has self respect so that didn't last too long. Lastly, there was also some other plots with a girl named Hye-jin I think and I liked her story because it balanced out the drama of the other ones. She and her boyfriend are too pure for this world I swear. The end of this drama while happy left me...unsatisfied. I just wish there could have been more but I was just glad we see that they might have a future. 

MAIN ROMANCE: Oh my gosh these two were so precious that I recommend watching this show for them alone. Like I mentioned above people actually didn't like their relationship because of two main reasons. One: They ship Shi-hyun and Soo-ji together. And, for me, I think that having Shi-hyun and Soo-ji together is a toxic relationship and I'm glad that they didn't end up together. I also wasn't a fan of their dynamic in the first place, even as just friends they bugged me. Two: Tae-hee and Shi-hyun's relationship caused the famous three (shi hyun, soo ji, and se joo) to break up. By the end of the show they were no longer friends. And I couldn't be more thrilled about it. They were really bad for each other and they needed separation--especially in Shi-Hyun's case. Now that those have been addressed there is little else I can say to really explain how amazing this couple is. It is two imperfect people who find happiness in each other. And I was impressed by the level of maturity they had with each other by just being able to talk. I also liked that Tae-hee wouldn't take any crap from him-- I felt like that kept their relationship balanced. Overall they were fantastic and I will definitely be watching this again to see them in the future.  

SECONDARY ROMANCE: I'm not going to go to into these guys because, honestly, I really disliked their relationship. This was between Soo-ji and Se-joo. I felt like this relationship was really one sided and just toxic for the both of them. Se-joo let her get away with way too much and always took her side even when she was wrong. That is not a sign of a good relationship to me. And she needed someone who wouldn't let her get away with being a spoiled brat. And Se-joo just would not step up. Apparently people liked them more than the main couple but for me they are barely worth noting. (Unpopular opinion: I would have liked to see Se-joo get together with Kyung-joo, Tae-hee's best friend. I would have liked to see that.) 

KWON SHI-HYUN: Oh my precious child. He is hands down one of the sweetest people alive. I know what you're thinking--doesn't he try to seduce someone just to help his friend get revenge on this other guy? Yes. But CHARACTER GROWTH my peeps. The actual "seduction" plot line doesn't last very long because he quickly starts to like Tae-hee and really take a look at his life and choices. Once he does that his maturity shoots straight up and I began to love him a ton. He was a good friend and just genuinely such a good person. Like I just said though I really liked his character growth and watching him change into a good person not just for Tae-hee but for himself. 

EUN TAE HEE: The actress who plays her is Joy from Red Velvet I believe and this is the (technically) second drama I've seen her in. I saw her in The Liar and His Lover which I have yet to finish because of that hateful second lead but someday I'll finish it. Anyway she was fantastic in that and I was excited to see her in something else. AND I ADORED HER IN THIS. She actually had a backbone and wouldn't take crap from people. And I also loved the depth of her character and how her insecurities played into her interactions with others. She had a lot of facets to her character that made her imperfect, flawed, and completely lovable. 

CHOI SOO JI: Like I've talked about before I think for the majority--if not all--of the show she is a spoiled brat who takes out her anger on other people. She also has the nasty habit of blaming everyone else when something goes wrong in her life. And to tie everything up in a bow she takes revenge on people as a way to get back at them when things don't go her way. (Although I will note: her taking revenge on the jerk guy in the beginning is totally warranted but not in using Tae-Hee.) I saw a little bit of character growth for her but if Se-joo could have just told her when she was wrong instead of going along with it, I think we could have seen the same level of maturing that Shi-hyun had. Honestly I feel deprived. I will note though that this is not to say her life isn't hard. She does have to deal with a lot of crap I just feel like she deals with it in the worst way possible.

LEE SE JOO: I really liked him in the beginning and then he really started to bug me in the middle-endish. A big part of it was the fact that he refused to take anyone's side but Soo-ji's even when it was clear she was wrong--he even took her side against Shi-hyun. WHICH SPEAKING OF LETS TALK ABOUT THAT FOR A SECOND. I'm gonna try to explain this but there is a lot going on so bear with me. Se-joo likes Soo-ji but when he sees she's unhappy because she likes Shi-hyun but Shi-hyun likes Tae-hee he goes to Shi-hyun and begs him to just be with Soo-ji until she gets bored of him so that Se-joo can have his chance and Soo-ji can have her "chance at happiness" or whatever. When Shi-hyun refuses do you know what he does? Se-joo tracks Tae-hee down and tells her all about the whole "Shi-hyun was trying to seduce you" and all that. I JUST DONT UNDERSTAND. Although I didn't want anything horrible to happen to him that action in and of itself confused and angered me. 

QUOTE:

"Tae-hee, it ended up like this because I liked you too much. I knew I shouldn't have been like that, but it ended up like this because I kept asking for one--just one more day. At some point, I ended up liking so much that I forgot about my guilt. Even when I was scared as time went on...Just one more day, I wanted to like you for just one more day."

SHIP VIDEO: (MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS) 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YR9Xgk3mRxM