MaryMeKpop

Our beloved Kang Tae-oh is back but this time, he plays the director of a company who oversees the potato lab research center that female lead, Lee Sun-bin, works at. Their two characters, Mi-kyung and Baek-ho, clash with each other at first but the more time they spend together, the more they get to know each other better and eventually fall in love.

Given that this was Kang Tae-ho’s comeback drama after his military enlistment, I knew I had to give it a try. Admittedly, I wasn’t the biggest fan of the first episode and the majority of the second episode didn’t impress me all that much either. I felt like it was too slow for my liking (and still is) and it consisted of tropes or themes that we’ve seen plenty of times before in K-dramaland. But then there was a scene towards the end of episode 2 that grabbed my attention and sold me on continuing to watch the show. It was after Baek-ho and Mi-kyung had had a little too much to drink so they were on their way back to their lodging and sat together in the back of a truck. And Baek-ho, who was unconscious, slumped over to his side and laid his head on Mi-kyung’s shoulder. This scene caused my heart to flutter and it was just so adorable and sweet. Combine this with the cute OST track playing in the background and the scene was perfect. It was so pretty and romantic and I loved every single second of it.

I’m not the biggest fan of the slow pace (some scenes drag out a little longer than I would like). Some of Mi-kyung’s antics and behavior also made me scratch my head (there were some moments where she was a little too aggressive and violent at times such as when she beat up her ex-boyfriend Park Ki-se). But what I did like about the drama was watching Baek-ho’s interactions with the potato lab research team. Episode 3 was probably my favorite episode so far with the way that Baek-ho joined the cooking competition after accepting their request. The competition itself was pretty humorous and funny because of how over-the-top and dramatic it was (Kang Tae-ho’s comedic timing is great! Plus, him in that wig was sooo funny too). Then the conversation Baek-ho had with Mi-kyung after the competition was also a nice little touch to their relationship. The drama has its moments where it’s cliche such as the drunken kiss in episode 2 then her pretending like she didn’t remember anything. But it also has its highlights such as in episode 4 when Mi-kyung learned that she was getting fired from her job and she was at a loss as to what to do. She was passionate about her job at the research center so she struggled on what to do next as well as what to say to her team members, friends, and younger brother. It was insightful to see another side of Mi-kyung that we hadn’t seen before. Plus, it was touching to see how concerned Baek-ho was for her. Though he was the director overseeing the potato lab research center, this wasn’t a decision that he made on his own. There was pressure from above to quickly make some moves. This was why I was a little irritated at Mi-kyung’s actions in telling her co-workers that Baek-ho had fired her. She heard from Ki-se that he was involved in Baek-ho’s decision to fire her, but she still blamed it on Baek-ho which caused her co-workers to take it out on him. I’m unsure as to how to feel about Mi-kyung as a character because every time I think we move one step forward with her, she does something that moves her two steps back. I need to see a few more episodes to see how I feel entirely about Mi-kyung.

“The Potato Lab” wasn’t exactly the type of drama that I thought it was going to be or would like it to be but it still made for a pretty fun and entertaining watch. It’s one where I can just turn my brain off and watch effortlessly. It’s not my favorite drama that I’m watching at the moment but I’m still willing to dish out two hours out of my weekend to tune in. It’ll be interesting to see how else Baek-ho is able to earn the trust of the villagers and the potato lab research team and it’ll be just as fun to watch him and Mi-kyung eventually fall in love.