The Potato Lab's exaggerated, wacky kind of humour may not be everyone's thing but the real problem is something else entirely: the romanticisation of "mixed messages".
Being on edge from Trump's facism arising here in US I have been staying away from series with a lot of suspense. I just finished Blossom. I may have to give When Life Gives You Tangerines. Since I'm currently someone who needs happy endings I am thinking it over.
I get it! When Life Gives You Tangerines has become one of my favourite shows of all time, really. It portrays someone's entire life, let's say, with its struggles and defeats but also with its joys and victories. There's no suspense or violence -- it's a life drama through and through. So you smile and cry but it's wonderfully heartwarming (at least it was for me!).
I appreciate your professional breakdown of Potato Lab. I had my own thoughts about it but no longer try to sound like I know even a little bit about dramas. I had conceptual problems even in giving impressions about PL. I found it confusing when I tried to think of various ways to describe or summarize it. Perhaps it is bc of the weird, absurd or distasteful interjections from time to time. I sent you a text on my unorganized thoughts about PL. So many patriarchal views of women were included in this Romcom. I have been largely streaming Asian shows with subtitles for past 2 years. Every time I see a K, J, C or even Thai series or movie that rejects patriarchal/misogynistic views of women I get my hopes up for more. Unfortunately in 2025 I have seen series from various nations whose writers view women as subservient or inferior to men as is the case in PL. You nailed it Karen. Thank you for your review.
It was very difficult for me to write this review, actually! So I understand where you're coming from. I didn't know where to start and, once I started listing all the problematic ideas and messages that the show portrayed, I realised that this would become a 5000-word essay and decided to summarise it to the best of my abilities. It's really a shame -- the premise was promising and they had a good cast at their disposal. Awful, awful.
Thank you so much for all your support and kind words!
An accurate assessment of this kdrama. My impression of this series is that the characters are petty, nonsensical, childish adults who mess around most of the time. There’s no depth to any characters. As you have mentioned, there’s hardly anything about the research on growing potatoes, of which I had expectations looking forward to this kind of agriculture stated in its title. It’s a very disappointing kdrama.
Absolutely! At first, I thought it would be fantastic to have a "classic" rom-com in a completely different setting but, then, they didn't use it at all! You could've placed this story and these characters anywhere else and it wouldn't have made a difference -- and that's not how it should work, right? Such wasted potential, really ):
Being on edge from Trump's facism arising here in US I have been staying away from series with a lot of suspense. I just finished Blossom. I may have to give When Life Gives You Tangerines. Since I'm currently someone who needs happy endings I am thinking it over.
I get it! When Life Gives You Tangerines has become one of my favourite shows of all time, really. It portrays someone's entire life, let's say, with its struggles and defeats but also with its joys and victories. There's no suspense or violence -- it's a life drama through and through. So you smile and cry but it's wonderfully heartwarming (at least it was for me!).
I appreciate your professional breakdown of Potato Lab. I had my own thoughts about it but no longer try to sound like I know even a little bit about dramas. I had conceptual problems even in giving impressions about PL. I found it confusing when I tried to think of various ways to describe or summarize it. Perhaps it is bc of the weird, absurd or distasteful interjections from time to time. I sent you a text on my unorganized thoughts about PL. So many patriarchal views of women were included in this Romcom. I have been largely streaming Asian shows with subtitles for past 2 years. Every time I see a K, J, C or even Thai series or movie that rejects patriarchal/misogynistic views of women I get my hopes up for more. Unfortunately in 2025 I have seen series from various nations whose writers view women as subservient or inferior to men as is the case in PL. You nailed it Karen. Thank you for your review.
It was very difficult for me to write this review, actually! So I understand where you're coming from. I didn't know where to start and, once I started listing all the problematic ideas and messages that the show portrayed, I realised that this would become a 5000-word essay and decided to summarise it to the best of my abilities. It's really a shame -- the premise was promising and they had a good cast at their disposal. Awful, awful.
Thank you so much for all your support and kind words!
An accurate assessment of this kdrama. My impression of this series is that the characters are petty, nonsensical, childish adults who mess around most of the time. There’s no depth to any characters. As you have mentioned, there’s hardly anything about the research on growing potatoes, of which I had expectations looking forward to this kind of agriculture stated in its title. It’s a very disappointing kdrama.
Absolutely! At first, I thought it would be fantastic to have a "classic" rom-com in a completely different setting but, then, they didn't use it at all! You could've placed this story and these characters anywhere else and it wouldn't have made a difference -- and that's not how it should work, right? Such wasted potential, really ):