Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
What is ‘Peach Trap’ supposed to mean? No idea! But this Korean romance follows the cute, clueless, airhead Yoo Do Ha (Jung Su Bin), with the personality of a cuddly, dumb bunny, and that’s enough for three hot guys to line up for his ‘boyfriend’ certificate.
Directed by Kim Ah Young (‘Breeze of Love’), ‘Peach Trap’ thus follows Yoo Do Ha trying to navigate the romantic attention of childhood best-friend Taek Gyeon (Cha Se Jin), former boss Yeon Song (Lee Do Han), and dashing barista Ha Ram (Cha Yu Hyun).
It’s not even a serious three-way competition, because Ha Ram never feels like a contender for Do Ha’s affection. He is just a random dude who slips his number to Do Ha at a cafe, and then expects to win him over. Ha Ram does have the face of a K-pop idol, and smooth moves, but gets plain creepy and stalker-ish.
What’s even the twist? Well, after a night of excessive drinking (K-drama level excessive), Do Ha kisses somebody, but cannot remember who stole his first kiss, and it could be any of the three men crushing on him. Jung Su Bin’s portrayal of Do Ha reminded me of Woo Ji Han’s performance in ‘Breeze of Love’, especially the way both characters react to things they don’t understand.
‘Peach Trap’ is supposed to be a fluffy romantic-comedy, and while the laughs are thin, what is hilarious (and also weird) about the show is how the three guys crushing on Do Ha behave like they’re already official. Childhood best-friend Taek Gyeon is possessive, over-protective, and it’s not cute. The men behave like Do Ha is a kindergarten kid, and in their defense, Do Ha does behave like a baby-boy that needs baby-sitting. Maybe that’s what they are all into.
By episode three, it becomes pretty obvious who’s going to be Do Ha’s endgame, and you can’t help but wish the writers had shaken things up with a less predictable payoff. ‘Peach Trap’ easily could’ve wrapped things up in six episodes, but instead drags on with weak, non-sensical twists, like Ha Ram whisking Do Ha off to the beach and hiding his phone. Sure, Ha Ram comes off as a desperate guy trying to spend time with his crush, but the other two aren’t much better – Taek Gyeon and ex-colleague Yeon Song instantly panic over Do Ha being unreachable and go on a rescue mission. Can’t a grown guy have a day to himself?
Anyway… ‘Peach Trap’ is a low-stakes, very pretty series that mostly coasts on its peach-toned aesthetic and shiny, gorgeous cast. If you’re looking for easy viewing with attractive leads and drama that never gets too heavy, this might be your kind of trap.
Rating: 2.5 on 5 stars. Watch ‘Peach Trap’ on iQIYI.
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