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Crazy Love – Full Review
Welcome to Crazy Love – Full Review. When a mean-tempered math instructor is involved in an accident and loses his memory, his secretary tells everyone they are engaged to be married, but first they will need to find out who really tried to kill him. If you haven’t watched this drama yet, I recommend checking out my unspoiled review here.
Crazy Love
♥ Aired: March 7 – April 26, 2022
♥# of Episodes: 16
♥Where to Watch: Hulu
♥Genre: Romantic Comedy
♥Starring: Kim Jae Wook and Krystal Jung
The Story
The secretary of a cranky, genius math instructor goes to his house to get revenge. So later when her boss suffers a serious accident and loses his memory, she becomes the top suspect. In desperation, she lies and says they are secretly engaged. But as she stays at his side, nursing him back to health, she finds he is not the monster she once believed he was. And as she begins helping him try to find out who the real culprit is, she finds herself wishing their relationship wasn’t fake after all.
The Leads
Kim Jae Wook as Noh Go Jin
Noh Go Jin is a mathematical genius who worked his way up to become a famous math instructor. But personally, his prickly personality and unwavering expectations make him a difficult person to be around. Just ask the string of ex-secretaries he has left behind. So when someone tries to kill him outside his home, the list of suspects is long. To buy himself some time to find his unseen enemy, he pretends to have amnesia. But he is shocked when his current secretary tells everyone that they are engaged. At first, he goes along with it mostly so he can keep his eye on her, but as he spends more time with her, he begins to depend on her selfless support of him.
Noh Go Jin had his heart broken as a young man, and from that time, he became rude and cranky with everyone. But behind his brash exterior, he is a caring man who doesn’t know how to approach or trust others. As he begins to trust Shin A, she urges him to let down his walls and show people his true heart. I heard that Kim Jae Wook came out of a 3 year hiatus to do this drama because he wanted to make people laugh. I think he was perfect in this role and his comedic timing did make me laugh, for sure.
Krystal Jung as Lee Shin A
Lee Shin A has always dreamed of being a teacher. But when she fails her teaching demonstration, they move her into the position as Go Jin’s secretary. Although he is demanding and rude, Shin A suffers through it all to achieve her dream. But as she celebrates her year anniversary in that position, she finds out that she is dying of cancer. Blaming her harsh work environment, she vows revenge on Go Jin. That night, when she goes to his house to confront him, he runs after her and is hit by a car. According to police, she is the number one suspect. So when she hears Go Jin has no memory, she pretends they are engaged. But as she takes care of him and works closely with him, she begins to see that he is not the person she had always thought. And as she falls in love with him, she is determined to find out who tried to hurt him.
Lee Shin A is hard working and generous. She is known by friends and family as someone who doesn’t know how to say no. But she has been pushed around by Go Jin and her other co-workers to the point that she is truly sick of it. And her cancer diagnosis is the last straw! Krystal Jung has made the transition from idol to actress pretty well, and I thought she did a nice job in this role. She played the part with an honest and straightforward attitude that fit the character well.
Supporting Characters
Ha Joon as Oh Se Gi
Oh Se Gi is Go Jin’s best friend. The two of them started their education business together and have slowly built it into a successful company. But behind his sweet smile and kind gestures, Se Gi has a secret from his past that threatens to rock the very foundation of his and Go Jin’s work together.
Yoo In Younas Baek Soo Young
Baek Soo Young is Go Jin’s first love and the one who broke his heart when he was young. Now she is back and in charge of one of GOTOP’s biggest competitors. But she is more interested in winning back Go Jin’s heart than stealing his company. Unfortunately for her, even without his memory, Go Jin seems completely uninterested in her, no matter how hard she pushes.
Park Han Sol as Chu Ok Hee
Chu Ok Hee is Shin A’s best friend and roommate. They come from the same home town and their fathers are friends. Ok Hee, like Shin A’s younger brother Soo Ho, is an aspiring actor. But when she starts spending time helping Soo Ho with his acting, the two end up secretly dating.
Things I Liked
♥ Shin A’s Father
The relationship between Shin A and her family was a fun element of this drama. I especially liked it when Go Jin started interacting with them. Soo Ho’s quick acceptance of him as an older brother was sweet and fun to watch. But it was Shin A’s father who really stole the show in this department. His good natured urging that Shin A should be having her fiance stay over was fun and unexpected. And the way he immediately felt a genuine affection for Go Jin was very heartwarming, especially when we have seen how much Go Jin has missed having a family of his own.
♥ Se Gi
While I would have liked to see more screen time for Se Gi’s character, I liked the development that he did get. We see him go from the “angel” of the company, to the evil villain mastermind, to just a normal flawed person who has been led to believe something about his friend that is not at all true. And yet, through his many shifts and facets, he remains largely steadfast and constant. If he had succeeded in destroying Go Jin, he would certainly have seemed less likable, but luckily he discovers the truth before he can cause any real damage.
♥ Web of “Villains”
I have complained before about the ladder of villains, that just when it seems like the mystery is solved, we find out there is another more evil villain still to come. But in this drama, there is a complex web of villains who each have a part to play in what happened to Go Jin. It was interesting the way they weaved each of the strings in to complete the full picture. While the ex-secretary breaking the security camera isn’t a big deal in itself, it played a pivotal part in allowing the true villains to stay hidden. Each character has some impact, no matter how small, in the big picture of Go Jin’s accident and injury.
Things I Didn’t Like
Soo Young
I usually don’t like the “ex is back” trope, and this one really irritated me. Soo Young’s character seemed unrealistic and egotistical. The idea that she could just blame her actions on her dad and waltz back in as if nothing happened doesn’t seem logical to me. Also, in one breath, she says that maybe if Go Jin can’t remember the past, he will fall in love with her again. And in the next breath, she is angry that she is the only one who remembers their time together. You can’t have it both ways!
Abrupt Plot Ends
This drama attempted quite a lot. With so many characters and sub-plots, its hard to give them all the development and closure they need. The whole cancer story ended very suddenly and quite flat. For the fact that Jong Ho was the top villain, we learned very little about his character. Even the revelation of Ok Hee and Soo Ho dating seemed kind of anti-climatic. And really, the fact that everyone except Jung Ho seem to walk away without any repercussions for their actions, seems a bit unfair.
Park Yang Tae
I’m not sure I understand the point of Park Yang Tae’s character. If Soo Young’s company was going to be the one to come in and challenge GOTOP, then why did we even need Yang Tae. He gives some insight into Go Jin’s past, but Soo Young could have easily done that on her own. There are a couple funny scenes between Yang Tae and Go Jin early on and we do see Ms. Ma working with him, but in the end the character and his company have little bearing on the overall plot. With so many sub-plots going on, his screen time could have been better used with some of the other, more pivotal characters.
The Ending
“Crazy Love” ends on a happy note for pretty much everyone. We find out the Jong Ho is the real villain mastermind. He was dating Se Gi’s sister, and her suicide had more to do with guilt over stealing Go Jin’s teaching material than Go Jin’s cruel words. Refusing to accept his own part in her death, Jong Ho chose to blame Go Jin. And he tampered with a voice recording to convince Se Gi that it was Go Jin who was responsible. With all of this out in the open, Go Jin realizes how much he has inflicted pain on those around him. And with Shin A’s encouragement, he begins to apologize to everyone he has hurt along the way. And with his apologies, all the bad feelings magically melt away. Go Jin hires back most everyone who was fired or had quit. Shin A decides to take her future into her own hands by becoming the masked instructor online. And this leads to her being hired by Soo Young. On her first day of lecture, Go Jin meets Shin A after work and finally proposes for real. The final montage shows the happy couple, married and living a crazy life together.
Should I Watch
“Crazy Love” is a dark romantic comedy with a mystery twist. This one is quirky and chaotic, but I kind of loved it for that. The leads have a nice chemistry and the romance story is fairly straight-forward, without a lot of unnecessary relationship drama. The mystery of who tried to kill Go Jin is full of lots of interesting surprise plot twists that continue to build throughout the drama. All the crazy humor aside, this series is not all fun and games. It has some serious messages about the impact of our words and actions on those around us. I give “Crazy Love” an 8 out of 10 ramen.
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