After experiencing a slight rise in ratings for its second episode last week, Frankly Speaking, Episode 3 ratings fell to the K-drama’s lowest ever last night.
Those ratings, according to Nielsen Korea, were just 1.36 percent nationwide — which is a fall from last Thursday’s 2.02 percent of the audience share.
Meanwhile, the Frankly Speaking, Episode 3 ratings in Seoul were slightly better, with the Korean drama grabbing 1.93 percent of the audience, which is the same all-time high the drama earned last Thursday.
Frankly Speaking international viewers pessimistic about where the plot is going
International viewers of Frankly Speaking also seem to be disgruntled with the Korean rom-com, with several on My Drama List commenting after Episode 3 aired last night that the show seemed to be taking a turn in its plot.
A turn, several said, they found unfunny.
Comments from various people spoke about the show suddenly losing its humor, with others complaining the plot is “all over the place”, as the writer doesn’t seem to know where they want it to go:
Just as I feared. The first two episodes were bait. The funny part is over now. It’s switching to a more serious tone with drama incoming I guess.
and
I want to like this drama but the editing & pacing are way off. It feels very flat which is the opposite of what you want with this premise. It’s not the fault of the actors, they are doing well, but it has weird cuts, dead space, and a boring OST. I’m not dropping yet but I hope it picks up. It’s a shame to waste a good cast and concept like that.
with one person responding:
Agreed. It’s taken me all day to watch ep3 and I’m still not finished.
Others are also commenting that, while they are dissatisfied with Frankly Speaking after Episode 3, they are still hanging on hoping that it picks up as the K-drama progresses:
I expected it to be funnier especially because Go Kyung Pyo was hilarious in Love in Contract. But the pacing is way off. It feels like there’s a lot of dead air and parts where nothing much is happening and it’s just not interesting. Things get better when the 2nd male lead interacts with the leads so I hope the show picks up eventually.
It should be pointed out, none are complaining about the performances of the main leads, just the writing.
Personally, I cannot comment whether Frankly Speaking looks like it may improve as episodes release as, despite being a huge fan of Go Kyung Py (loved him in Love in Contract), I dropped the show after Episode 2.
Not because I thought it was particularly bad, but that specific type of more slapstick/toilet humor just isn’t my thing. It may, however, be yours.
Frankly Speaking stars Go Kyung Pyo and Kang Han Na, and airs on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8:50 p.m. KST on JTBC, with Netflix streaming it internationally.
Last week on Netflix, by the way, the K-drama was #8 on the Top 10 Non-English TV Shows chart with just two episodes out.