Today we bring you the review of a sweet little mini-drama Serendipity’s Embrace starring the lovely Chae Jonghyeop and Kim Sohyun.
Mom and I were looking for something short and cute to watch before she left and it was the perfect timing because Serendipity’s Embrace has just finished so we could binge these 8 episodes they have provided us with. I really liked the teasers for this drama, especially because I love Chae Jonghyeop’s acting and it’s nice that he seems to be oriented towards rom-coms because he suits this genre and atmosphere so much. Kim Sohyun, of course, is the main star of the show and I was interested to see what kind of character she would portray. I also thought the whole trope of her bringing letters in her friend’s name to the ML was fun and was excited to watch. Serendipity’s Embrace was definitely fun and sweet, but I think that anything over 8 episodes would’ve dragged the plot out – especially cause they managed to wiggle in some unnecessary characters and tropes in these short 8 episodes anyway. Let’s review!
From MyDramaList: In her final year of high school, Lee Hong Ju fell head over heels in love. But this first brush with love ended in heartbreak. Ever since, she has been deeply skeptical when it comes to everything love-related. A decade later, she became an animation producer when fate reunited her with Kang Hu Yeong, who had a crush on her, in a café. He has returned to South Korea from the United States and is now a 29-year-old financial planner. They are both hit by a wave of emotions. Could a fresh chance at romance be in the cards? Or has too much water passed under the bridge?
Minor spoilers ahead:
I liked both Hong Ju and Hu Yeong as individual characters – during these 8 episodes you get to know them better and to find out what the reasonings behind their actions are. They’re both likable and have a story of their own to tell which I appreciate. I also think that the storytelling direction the drama has is very fun as you pretty much get to piece up your own puzzle about what their relationship in the past was like and what kind of possible feelings were involved there. Their high school selves were adorable to me and I loved watching their shenanigans. Their present selves were charming as well and I think both Kim Sohyun and Chae Jonghyeop did a great job in their respective roles. One thing that I have to admit I wasn’t too sure about is their chemistry with each other. Sometimes I would feel it, sometimes it would completely dim and I wasn’t feeling it at all and I am not sure why. This is obviously my subjective opinion although I think the way they portrayed these characters led them to have more chemistry when they were giving us flashback scenes from high school than the present ones. I just… didn’t feel it that much.
The supporting characters were interesting as well and I really loved the friendship between Hong Ju, Hye Ji and Sang Pil. They were so cute and I simply love that we got to see this trio – wish we got even more of them actually. Bora was so good in her role of Hye Ji and she was portraying such a lovely, positive female character that I ended up maybe even liking her the best out of everyone. She was so supportive and such a good friend until the end of the drama. I even kind of enjoyed her own romance plotline although I’m not quite sure what her love interest’s problem was (I wanted to like him more cause he was funny and really nice but I didn’t quite get his reasoning behind playing cold so hard). She was just the scene stealer for me! The up-and-rising actor Lee Won Jung also did a great job as Sang Pil! I wish we got to see more of him because he was just so charming the entire time. I’ll be looking forward to his future roles (because I’m not sure I will be giving Hierarchy a chance any time soon).
Now, what was probably my biggest deal-breaker when it comes to this drama has to be the plot. When you have only 8 episodes, why not make the drama extra fluffy and sweet? Why not use nostalgia to the maximum and just give us good vibes, feelings, and self-realization where it really matters? Serendipity’s Embrace did have all of this, especially with the combination of current and past plotlines, but also introduced some, honestly, completely pointless elements. I understand that the whole story of Hong Ju’s ex-boyfriend is deeply tied to the high school story of her and Hu Yeong, but it took so much time of the current storyline that it started to genuinely get on my nerves. I was looking forward to Yun Jion’s new roles after his excellent performance in Tomorrow and My Lovely Liar but I could not stand his character here. The whole storyline with him in the present was so boring to me and I only tolerated it because I was certain it was going to lead to character development of Hong Ju (which it, of course, did).
Then, the evil mother also entered the story? What even was that and how did that element contribute to the drama at all? These screenwriters love to have angst where it’s not needed by any means. I honestly skipped some of these scenes because they were just boring and brought nothing to the table except some more character development for both the FL and ML. Could’ve done without it either way cause it wasn’t even properly explained or nicely portrayed for us to get some flashed-out angst. This all, of course, isn’t to say that I didn’t like the drama. If we remove these two points, Serendipity’s Embrace was truly a sweet little treat, something to make you feel nostalgic, a bit wistful, and maybe just a tiny bit optimistic about destiny. The main squad of the drama was charming and truly likable, and I definitely think they carried this whole script on their backs. If you’re looking for something short to watch, maybe Serendipity’s Embrace could be a good choice for these colder, rainy, autumn days! From me, Serendipity’s Embrace gets a 7.25/10, but I’d totally rewatch some of the scenes from it.