Review: The Third Charm - The K-Drama that Shows Sometimes It's Not Meant to Be

Recently, I watched a show whose story felt really problematic to me.

One of the reasons why is that the synopsis of the show and its title lead us to believe it is a romantic TV show with a happy ending, and - spoiler alert! - that's not really the case.

If you haven't watched The Third Charm yet, but still want to check it out for yourself, stop reading now! The review below is full of spoilers, so beware!

The Third Charm is a 2018 K-Drama that tells the tumultuous love story between On Joon Yeong (Seo Kang Joon), a shy, methodical university student, and Lee Yeong Jae (Esom), an optimistic, extroverted hairdresser assistant.

Their relationship stretches through 12 years and is marked by reunions and breakups that challenge (and how they challenge!) what we understand about love.

I must admit that, initially, I was drawn to this show because I have been a fan of Seo Kang Joon's work since I saw him in Are You Human Too?, another K-Drama on Netflix.

One of the most charming story elements in K-Dramas, to me, is when the main couple actually communicates with one another. Usually, the shows that I end up following through are the ones that don't fall into the same boring traps - like creating drama over a sentence that wasn't said by either of the main characters, or over a simple misunderstanding. Terrible communication, personally, is a lazy, easy out for a scriptwriter when they want to create tension. In most cases, a simple, clear conversation would resolve these conflicts.

In this case, however, this happens straight away in the very first act of the show, and it results in the main couple breaking up for the first time. Lee Yeong Jae throws cruel words at On Joon Yeong to end their relationship (which lasted a day, if that) just because she has a problem in her life that has nothing to do with him. It's not his fault, at all, on the contrary! On Joon Yeong could have simply supported her emotionally at this point, and things could have ended up differently.

This situation is already a bit of a lazy excuse to create trouble in their relationship. They might be young and certainly still have to grow up a lot, but, still, as a comic book writer and novelist for over 20 years, I consider it to be a weak plot point.

Not to mention, the female protagonist is shown as easily annoyed and irritable, so us, the viewers, are more likely to hate her than like her. Meanwhile, the shy and emotionally dependent On Joon Yeong is constantly running after her and trying to understand what happened, and why he was rejected so suddenly.

It's hard not to feel a bitter taste in your mouth when you see this sort of impartial story. Straight away, we have every reason to hate our main female protagonist.

When they meet again, years later, we notice that On Joon Yeong became something he said he would never become: a policeman. His appearance also changed considerably, and he is a bit traumatized by women. He has avoided relationships throughout all this time precisely because of how his first and only relationship ended.

From the very beginning of this act, you can see how immaturity (and lack of therapy) has impacted his life.

But then Lee Yong Jae comes along again and turns his life upside down. After a series of unfortunate events, she calls him on the phone and asks for a favor, as if nothing had happened years before. As if she hadn't ripped his heart out with her cold hands and left him traumatized for years. And she doesn't apologize or explain anything.

At this point, the story is practically begging you to hate her. There's no way I, as a woman and a writer, can see this character as acceptable. I just can't.

So, in a not so brilliant move by the writer, On Joon Yeong finds out why Lee Yeong Jae broke up with him years before through her brother and starts running after her again. He forgives her (even though she never apologized) and accepts that, yes, she had reason to treat him like a dog and traumatize him for years. And they get back together.

Hello? Isn't that a blatant red flag?

They didn't even have one conversation about why she didn't tell him about her issues. Why she felt inferior. Why she thought she could throw her frustrations onto him. Why he is a wimp that accepts all of this and doesn't understand that, as a human being, he shouldn't be an emotional punching bag for someone else. Nope, none of that is discussed because the third time is the charm, right? So we know this time, the second time they get together, won't last long.

After the honeymoon phase is over, the difference between their personalities becomes clear and Lee Yeong Jae becomes increasingly more insecure about it. Meanwhile, On Joon Yeong does everything he can to fit into her standards because he is so scared of losing her. Still, he can't deal with his jealousy. He is traumatized, remember? Why bother with therapy...

And so, the writers throw a third element into this story to turn this relationship into a love triangle: a handsome, gentle, loyal surgeon that has everything in common with our female protagonist. And there goes Lee Yeong Jae questioning if she should stay with the immature and unexperienced On Joon Yeong, who throws himself at her feet whenever she asks, or the perfect doctor, Choi Ho-Cheol. The script gifts us with discussions, misunderstandings, fights, taunting, and all that classic, unique drama that only Korean TV shows have.

And, in the end, guess what? Lee Yeong Jae breaks up with On Joon Yeong again. Well, this time, we hope he understands that this can't be the one for him, and that he finally moves on with his life and finds someone compatible, right?

The second time Lee Yeong Jae breaks up with On Joon Yeong was so traumatic that he decides to take a few sabbatical years. He abandons his career as a policeman and travels the world. Eventually, he ends up in Portugal, and that's where he rediscovers his love for cooking. He takes lessons to become a chef and stays there for a few years.

During this time, he starts dating the policewoman Min Se-eun, whose personality is very similar to his. Their relationship is balanced and calm. They stay together throughout all of this time until On Joon Yeong returns to South Korea and decides to ask Min Se-eun to marry him.

On Joon Yeong opens his own restaurant, puts his life back on track, and is living the calmest days of his life when, once again, Lee Yeong Jae shows up, married (I repeat!) married to the perfect doctor. They made a dinner reservation at On Joon Yeong's restaurant.

How did the writers think we would eat this up?

There's no way she didn't know he was the chef! It's a one-table restaurant that only takes reservations. There's no way this couple read the name of the restaurant and didn't research it, or simply recognized On Joon Yeong's name! And On Joon Yeong doesn't know who he'll be cooking for? He doesn't, at least, do some research and asks the client what they can or can't eat? How does this exclusive restaurant even works? This is, at the very list, completely insensitive and disrespectful to us, the viewers, who are supposed to believe all of these people are this clueless. As a scriptwriter, I was appalled.

This forced reunion makes you, the viewer, hate this couple because it is so forced it's like the writers were taunting us. It simply can't be a coincidence.

Anyway, they get there, On Joon Yeong is flabbergasted, Lee Yeong Jae wants to dig up a hole and get in it, and the perfect doctor is perfect because that's what the script wants him to be. With time, we realize that Lee Yeong Jae is going through some stuff. And who does she confide in and get close to? Yeah. And who's the good Samaritan that accepts the role he is thrown into? People, go to therapy. Otherwise, you'll miss all the red flags, just like On Joon Yeong.

He ends up so involved as the shoulder his ex uses to cry on that he neglects his fiancée and, finally, ends the relationship. After all, if he actually loved his fiancée, he wouldn't have put his ex first, right? In the end, both Lee Yeong Jae and On Joon Yeong finally realize the love they feel now is not the same, and don't end up together again. He once again decides to travel the world and she goes wherever she goes when she's not haunting On Joon Yeong.

The end.

As I mentioned before, the ways the story has this couple break up are a bit annoying to the most critical viewers. The lack of clear dialogue, Lee Yeong Jae's doubts, and the ever passive On Joon Yeong make this entire story quite disappointing. Lee Yeong Jae is always the bad guy and he is always the floor she steps on.

The story simply happens to him, and he accepts it all, without complaining. Even when he was supposed to end his engagement (On Joon Yeong was nearly asking Min Se-eun to marry him), the script needed to put Lee Yeong Jae back into the scene. Only then On Joon Yeong can feel conflicted about his feelings - before she showed up, he was always confident and calm. It's always up to Lee Yeong Jae to move the story along, though it's always in the wrong direction. On Joon Yeong always ends up suffering, losing something, and giving up whatever he has left.

Hating Lee Yeong Jae is not a decision, it's what the script tells us to do. If, at least, at some point, On Joon Yeong himself decided to move the story forward and put himself first, as his number-1 priority, then the ending could have been acceptable. And no, I don't believe they should end up together.

This relationship is toxic, and that's clear throughout the show: they only hurt each other when they're together, and, if On Joon Yeong decided to stay with her, he'd have to spend his life neglecting his own feelings and desires, just so he could fit what Lee Yeong Jae wants him to be.

I feel On Joon Yeong didn't progress at all: he hasn't grown, and everything he went through only moved his life along because of her, not because of him. It was always something she did, and that's frustrating to me as a scriptwriter and viewer.

And, in the end, watching an entire show and hating the female protagonist because the script tells us to is simply not fun.

So, no, the third time is not the charm, and this title is very misleading.

What about you? Have you watched this show? Did you enjoy the ending? Tell us all your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!