Warm and Cozy Episode 1 and 2 – First Impression

Hong sisters love making the typical untypical. First episode put a kibosh on the twin disaster. Second episode capped the cancer ordeal. Instead of these clichés keeping our leads apart, they actually bring them together. Making the typical untypical. Using the first week to cover these dreadful clichés that everyone hates, does this mean I can assume, the unforeseen central problem(s) will not revolve around these clichés? Tell me so.

A quick recap:

First episode: Prince Charming riding on a horse but it’s a black horse.

And the horror of Prince Charming being your twin.

And honestly the CG for her riding a horse is so much cooler.

Second episode: Cinderella loses her shoe for Prince Charming to pick up but it's a sneaker.

And instead of Cinderella attending the ball, she attracts him with cancer.

♦ ♦ ♦ 

As much I love the Hong sisters, I haven’t loved everything of theirs (aside from their big infamous failure, I haven’t completed Best Love either). I applaud them for their creativity in tackling the much love-hated tropes right from the start, but at the end of the day I just want them to dive into the characters I would love instead of letting me know they are/will be different from those rampant clichés in all of existence. A wee part of me wants the Hong sisters to graduate from messing with fairytales. 

Feeling alone again, I'm probably among the few, if any, that like Kang Sora more than Yoo Yeon Seok but either way I was looking forward to their collaboration yet their chemistry was flat. Is it because of the lacking premise? Was I looking forward to this drama too much? I did like the attitude she had when she forced that promise onto him after their first meeting. That was fresh. 

Lee Jung Joo (Kang Sora) was too pitiful that it became hard for me to relate. There’s too much to be sad about yet it doesn’t come across in her character or the plot. (I almost completely forgot her boyfriend dumped her in the most epic way possible: get married.) By all means I am not a fan of tear-laden premises but I'd like to be invested and so far there hasn't been that trigger yet. I know the drama is going for the light and natural mood (which I tend to like) but maybe the pace is just a tad too cozy for me? Although I do appreciate our two leads encountering each other again rather quick; I believe that's the Hong sister's forté. 

Not hating on Yoo Yeon Seok but it makes me wonder how suited Kim Woo Bin would have been for this role: brute honesty mixed with being an eloquent speaker. Yoo Yeon Seok's Baek Geon Woo comes off sweet and innocent and I hope he works that to his advantage. I still need to feel his pull here. And is it just me or do we not have a formidable second leading man? The odd mayor (who will forever remain as that awesomely hilarious secretary in Secret Garden) seems more like comic relief, not that this drama needs any of that at the moment.

Now what is with this Great Gatsby reference? Will Lee Jung Joo's Jejudo American Dream crumble to ashes too? Will the person she love destroy her too? Are we going to glamorize the rich and glory to bring it down to filth and grime? Or am I just thinking too much when the show only wants to reference to the American Dream?

My first impression on Warm and Cozy may tip unfavourably but I may just be a harsh writer when I actually have to sit down and think about what I’m watching. There should be more to look forward to especially with them living less than a meter away from each other. Clichés may be annoying but clichés can work; I find the most successful one for me is having them live under one roof. Them living side by side is close enough. 

Show, I dare you to prove me wrong and be awesome.