Cheese in the Trap (2015) Review

Cheese in the Trap

Just finished watching Cheese in the Trap. It was based on a popular webtoon of the same name and was a hit with the audience while it lasted. And I must say,, though the webtoon is still going on, the drama ending was really satisfying, if not without a little disappointment to the romantic in me who believes everything should end well with the protagonists.

Our hero, Yoo Jung is, how to say, a manipulative and scary character. He doesn’t get angry, he gets even, often in a very cruel way. He is sweet and dependable to everyone but our heroine, Hong Sul, who understands him right from the first time she lays her eyes on him. Yoo Jung doesn’t like that there is someone who can see past his mask, and is irritated in the beginning, but soon he thinks that there are a lot of similarities between them. Though, once he convinces her to start dating him, he realizes exactly how very different they are from each other, it also makes him ask her earnestly, “Do I seem that strange to you?” Sul understands him, but she rightly tells him, “I understand why you did those things (hurt people by going behind their backs often because they won’t leave him alone) but if you continue doing it, someday all those hurts will come back to you.” And it does. Sul gets into an accident, and mostly because of his fault.

He is rudely awakened when he sees how people around him get hurt because of him. He understands why people think he is strange and are scared of him. He decides to find what sort of human he is and come to terms with it. He breaks up with Sul and tells her he would come back once he can love her properly.

Three years passes, Sul’s life has moved on but she still hopes for him to come back. She emails him but all of those are unread, when suddenly, one email is “Read”, right before the end.

The fact that I liked the most about the ending is that they have kept it open as to the fate of our protagonists. Do they get back together? Does he come to terms with how he is and change? Or he continues being as he was. The audience is left to make their own conclusion about these questions. The romantic in me wants to believe that whatever course is decided by Yoo Jung, it includes Hong Sul as his companion.

I would totally recommend this series, not only because of the complex characterization of the mail lead, but also because of the really hot second male lead who has excellent piano skills to increase his likeability. The only bone I have to pick with the director is I wish Yoo Jung was given more screen time and has more sweet moments with Hong Sul, especially since they are not shown to have an exactly ‘happily ever after ending’.