Oh My Ghostess had a wonderful start last week. I really liked the way it gave us some surprise in terms of its tone — I expected it to be wacky, funny in a vibrant, slapstick way and zippy. But what I got was a moody, poignant, unhurried touch, along with funny moments that made me smile as well as laugh. Another thing i found surprising and interesting was the fact that the main story is more about the ghost than the main heroine’s character but more on that later.

Let me write a brief introduction of the characters first. Bong Sun (Park Bo Young) is a timid and shy assistant to famous and successful chef Sun Woo (Jo Jung Suk), who is also the owner of a restaurant. Soon Ae (Kim Seul Gi) is a virgin ghost who doesn’t remember her past and can get peace only when she resolves her grudge, which she obviously has forgotten. She loves men and in order to seduce them, keeps on possessing bodies of women but has not succeeded in her quest. A fortune-teller who can see ghosts has this duty of catching spirits who do mischiefs. As a result, she is after Soon Ae. When she runs away from her, she enters into Bong Sun’s body. But as their frequency matches perfectly, she is unable to come out of her body and thus gets trapped inside her. Now she has to work in place of Bong Sun and she surprises everyone with her confident and bold attitude. We also meet our chef’s staff of assistants and his sister Eun Hee, who is on wheelchair and her husband Sung Jae (Im Joo Hwan), who is a cop.

I really like Sun Woo because despite being arrogant, he has a soft side to him. He is generally not very rude and is only a bit bossy. I like that he is not the jerk by the numbers. His anger towards Bong Sun comes from the fact that he himself was like her and thus knows the value of being self-confident. And he himself knows that praising ourselves is a limitation. I like that he admires Bong Sun’s blog and doesn’t even know it’s written by the reserved employee of his restaurant. I really like Bong Sun because I can understand where she is coming from. Not everyone can be bold and badass and so I empathized with her. It was never shown clearly that she can see ghosts but it was hinted. All this brings me to one issue I have with the show: as Soon Ae has been trapped permanently (for now) inside Bong Sun, we won’t be seeing any Bong Sun and thus there will be no insight on her character and no development. More than anything, I fear that Sun Woo would fall for Soon Ae rather than Bong Sun, and that I don’t want to happen. This is my biggest concern with the drama and I hope that Bong Sun soon returns and there is more back and forth body possessing rather than full-time. I remembered Big while watching the second episode as in that show, once Shin Won Ho‘s character went into coma, we never saw him back. *sigh* Please Show, don’t disappoint me on this front.

Now that I’ve addressed this elephant in the room, let me list down all good things about Oh My Ghostess. As I mentioned, I’m really liking the three main characters. I also love the relationship between our hero and his mom, which is so unusual but so delightful. I love all the hilarious hijinks we see with the four boys working in the restaurant, especially by Min Soo (played by Kang Ki Young who was marvellous as Seo In Guk’s besty in High School King Of Savvy). I also want to add a shallow point — Kwak Shi Yang is so cute! Plus, I didn’t know how much I missed watching Jo Jung Suk till I watched him here — so, so good.

I like that we see emotional beats for everyone — Sun Woo, Bong Sun or Soo Ae. I like that instead of stretching her memory loss for long, the show has already regained her memory and it was a heart-touching moment when she suddenly realises who she was. Park Bo Young is sterling in her performance. I heard lots of great things about her but now I can see that — be it the shy Bong Sun or pervy, forward and outspoken Soon Ae — she skillfully plays both traits. Kim Seul Gi was awesome as always in the first episode. See, this is another loss if she is gonna be shut inside Bong Sun — we’ll be seeing less of Kim Seul Gi!

Lastly, I find it interesting too that Soon Ae has a special liking for the cop, Sung Jae. I think they might have a connection from the past, judging by the way he frequents her restaurant. And maybe, something to do with her death. I also find it too coincidental that all three main characters are expert in cooking. LOL.

In a nutshell, I’m enjoying the slow and deep execution of Oh My Ghostess, marked with comedy. Just bring my Bong Sun back, okay Show!