Meow: The Secret Boy | Series Review

Cuteness embodied as a K-drama.

Who would have thought that K-dramaland will have a cat male lead? I’ve doubted Meow: The Secret Boy’s premise during its premiere but it actually went well… sort of.

I usually start my series reviews with things I like then pointed out things I don’t. For this series, I have to let out my biggest frustration first – the main plot. It was a fantasy drama that could have been either really believable or an escapist kind of series. But it became neither. I believed it was because of the difference in the medium used. The story could have been amazing to read as a webtoon but the story didn’t work well in a TV series format. I could have easily blamed the execution but the directing was good for the most part. It was just a mismatch in the storytelling medium. The main plot may have failed to reel me in but at least the characters and their subplots captured me and held me in until the end.

Shin Ye-eun and Kim Myung-soo both did quite well as the leads in this series. They were both endearing as Kim Sol-ah and Hong-Jo. I love L but Shin Ye-eun won me over here. Even if my cynic self didn’t believe she could have fallen for a cat, I still found myself empathizing with her character. They didn’t make it too obvious but I liked how Kim Sol-ah transformed into a more confident person in the end.

Speaking of endings, I could have accepted an ending where the second lead (aka the most beautiful café owner in K-drama and) won the girl over. Seo Ji-hoon as Lee Jae-sun shook my Inspirit heart, and tempted me to betray my ultimate bias. He and Kim Myung-soo were competing on who could be the most charming in every episode. I would have loved a normal love triangle with these two actors. Actually, this series could have been a cute light-hearted rom-com without its fantasy plot.

The main plot was also the reason why I gravitated towards the second couple for this series. I looked forward to seeing Ko Doo-sik (Kang Hoon) and Eun Ji-eun’s (Yoon Ye-joo) story progressed more than the main couple. They gave me the fuzzy and fluffy heart-dropping feels with their cute scenes and sweet moments. Their chemistry was at par with the main love triangle. Actually, all five actors’ on-screen chemistry was strong enough that it was my main reason for staying until the end.

Maknae’s Verdict

The main plot struggled until the end but at least the actors made it better. This series left a lot of could-have-beens for me but in the end, it was still entertaining to watch. One should really leave their cynicism at the door before entering the world of ‘Ossowa.’ That’s a hard task to do since I’m past the age where I believed true love can make everything happen. I felt that this series was for those people; as well as those just looking for a light-hearted series with fewer real-life-inspired complications. It was an eye-candy because of its beautiful cinematography and well, beautiful people acting in it.