Oh, My Venus -- A Biased Review

Oh, My Venus

The Wonderfully Mediocre Drama

*******Warning Spoilers********

Title: Oh, My Venus 오 마이 비너스
Network: KBS 2
Episodes: 16
Starring: Shin Min Ah, So Ji Sub
Aired: November 16, 2015 – January 5, 2016



Can I first reiterate just how much I love both Shin Min Ah and So Ji Sub? I am going to be the first to admit that this love is completely and totally shallow and based on nothing more than physical appearance because honestly when I saw Master's Sun I wasn't too blown away by So Ji Sub, but man oh man, darker hair, a better haircut, and an almost naked bath scene does so much to change a woman's mind. And Shin Min Ah, is just beautiful as always. OK, enough gushing. Well, just a little bit more.

I found this drama to be completely entertaining from the first few opening scenes to the last few scenes. I loved the main characters and their chemistry. When the two leads where on screen together, it was truly magical. This drama had some of the best casting ever. Not only where Shin Min Ah and So Ji Sub wonderfully cast in this drama, but how freaking adorable is Henry Lau?

Watching the first episode, I loved the premise of the drama. A thin, beautiful woman succeeds in life and on the journey there she gets fat. Shin Min Ah plays Kang Joo Eun, who fifteen years after she was know as the Venus of Daegu, finds herself woefully unhealthy and overweight. The years have not been kind to Joo Eun who although she succeeded in becoming a lawyer she has let her health, her relationship with her high school sweetheart, and her waist go. After some life disappointments, she decides to take back control by giving her health and weight loss care over to three of the hottest men in Korea, fuck yeah, where do I sign?
The first few episodes left me smiling and looking forward to the next, and that kiss in episode 6. Swoon.

I even overlooked all the boring business part of it, why? Because Joo Eun and Young Ho were just so perfect. But shortly after the kiss, my interest began to wane. Don't get me wrong I still religiously kept refreshing DramaFever every 15 minutes on Mondays and Tuesdays hoping the new episodes were up, but the refreshing wasn't as zealous or enthusiastic as it had been the previous weeks. Maybe, I'm not meant to watch currently airing dramas. That week between episodes is enough time to make my mind wonder and become interested in other things. That's one of the main reason I don't watch all that many English shows. I forget that I liked them and was watching them. My brain really doesn't do well when given a little time to wander off on it's own. The biggest issue with the drama, for me, at least, was that I really didn't give a flying fuck about any other character. Im Woo Sik with the now ultra thin Oh Soo Jin never really grabbed my attention. And the whole, who shall take over the business, evil step uncle ahhhh, that shit never grabbed me. The best thing about that whole ordeal was Chief Min. I am not even going to get started with the whole clusterfuck that was the grandmother and her former son in law's wife.

The biggest reason I kept watching the drama was because the chemistry between the two leads was so hot. I did find the whole dimple, kiss thing rather annoying and childish, but when they were acting like the adults that they were, slay me. Of course, like any good Kdrama worth it's air time, this one had a last minute catastrophe, that needed to be solved in the last two episodes, why oh why do they do this. Here it was a car accident involving Young Ho, his uncle, what's his face, and his father's wife, or you know stepmother. The acting around the accident was superb and heart breaking. I don't know who I felt for more Jang Joon Sung, who was the first to see Young Ho hurt and broken or Joo Eun.

Of course, like any good drama this issue was resolved in a timely manner since the drama is only sixteen episodes long. The whole will he or won't he walk took Young Ho away from Joo Eun for a year as he recovered by himself because it wouldn't be manly if he, you know, look for emotional and mental support from the person her professes to love. Fucking asshole. The fact that he proposed with a ring that was hidden in a ball of yarn, hanging from a scarf he knit himself made me a little bit jealous. As a knitter, I would melt in a puddle at anyone's feet that would do that for me, and if that person was So Ji Sub the puddle would be of my own making.

The ending irked me a little. After not seeing her for a few months, finding out she's pregnant with twins, one of the first things out of his mouth was exercise??? Dude, she's about to pop out two tiny little human beings, fuck off and let her enjoy herself for forty weeks.
When I think about it, I think my biggest issue with Oh, My Venus, was the waiting between episodes. It was gripping or exciting nor did it have enough conflict to sustain my enthusiasm for more than the two days it was on. I think if I had waited and marathoned it, my preferred way to watch dramas, I would have liked it much more. I think I'll give it a re-watch later this year to see if that hypothesis is true.