Sadly Sweet

Chocolate is a k-drama series that made me cry with almost every episode, but along with the sadness there is a lovely romance and a lot of understanding for people who must deal with family members who traumatize them. Much of the series also takes place at a hospice facility for the terminally ill, but I found the characters and storylines involved in that more reassuring than depressing. It also provides an important contrast to the conflicts created by a wealthy, privileged family squabbling and maneuvering in hopes of controlling their grandmother's medical conglomerate.

Childhood first love and a terrible tragedy link the lives of neurosurgeon Lee Kang (Yoon Kye-sang) and chef Moon Cha-yeong (Ha Ji-won), but they don't discover the connection until they begin working together at the hospice facility. Both of the main characters have had difficult lives because of their families, yet they also start off as adversaries due to the death of Kang's best friend, who was in love with Cha-yeong. Because the chef left his best friend Kang hates her, but after his dying friend asks for a dish only Cha-yeong can make he must go and ask for her help. That leads to more connections, entanglements and consequences for the protagonists.

There is a lot of drama in this k-drama, including plenty of very convenient Fate to go around for everyone, but I don't mind that. I liked that some of the more serious challenges the characters face were not neatly disposed of by the end of the series; that made it feel more realistic. All of the actors did very well with their roles, but Yoon Kye-sang and Ha Ji-won were one level up from the rest of the cast. I also thought the ending was perfect, something I usually don't with k-dramas. Available to watch on Netflix in the US.