Reviews

Goong C-

It was a really hard sell when a core part of the plot was the male lead treating the female lead like a piece of shit, combined with the "oh no he doesn't know how to express his feelings", these tropes are better left in fanfiction. The case was even worse due to the absolute lack of any chemistry between any of the four leads, this was the definition of negative rizz. It got even worse, all of the three leading cast Ju Ji Hoon & Song Ji Hyo & Kim Jeong Hoon brought an utterly abysmal joke of a performance, admittedly, this was their first main role and was totally incomparable with their current performance, all of them went to do much better and bigger things, it's better to forget they worked on this drama. On the other hand, Yoon Eun Hye was pulling the entire thing together, solo carrying whatever left to be salvaged. Her dynamic with her friends and family was quite good, but not with any of the leads. The puppets at the end of each episode were a nice touch, it would have been nicer if they incorporated that in the drama itself. The earlier parts of the drama were generally better, the events in the palace were a bit boring. To build up for the climax, the last 4 episodes created the last point of tension however it was seriously atrocious writing, one of the worst conflicts I've seen a writer come up with. It was just pure bad writing from that point until the last frame of the drama. If they slapped in some random terminal illness nuances it would've been a better serviceable finale. If anything, I'm only remembering this drama for its awful last few episodes. At least it was much better than Boys Over Flowers (2009).

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Goong F

How could they ever think this remake was a good idea? It didn't take more than half an episode to know everything you need going forward. Setting the expectations really low from the beginning. They immediately jumped into the premise with little to no build up. Yer a prince, Harry! Deal with it. The setup was bad, the writing was shameful and the characters were garbage. The main cast members were barely functional and their chemistry was a constant struggle that never washed away. The original Goong had a plethora of problems but, in contrast, this remake made me appreciate season 1 for whatever it had .

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Emotionally distant

Don't get me wrong, I love lighthearted shows where we sort of know what we are getting into in terms of story and episode length. However, this just didn't work out for me.
Usually I get into shows like these easily and enjoy them for what there are, however nothing drew me into the story or couples. If I were to describe what I felt about everything I'd use the word "shallow".
The second couple had me curious and I was really hoping to see and understand more about these two, but the episode length and lack of screen time caused a lot of drawbacks. The main couple was pretty cute and there were some well done scenes, however nothing really draws you into their story.
A good show to me is one that can draw me in and make me feel empathy for the characters, but I mostly felt nothing in terms of these ones. All in all, it's unfortunate to say that this show was overall quite boring and distant, I think it actually had a lot of potential. Either way, the actors did well with what they were given which is always commendable and appreciated.
*As a warning if you start watching for the second couple, I feel like you'll be really disappointed with the screen time and emotional connection if that's something you prioritize and enjoy.*

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Fanfic Junk!

Oh dear! How could a full production team, crew and cast members be this damn oblivious to what they're making! The drama was the apotheosis of human failure, an insidious plague upon the landscape of television, a wretched abomination birthed from the depths of creative bankruptcy and soulless commercialism, a festering wound that infects the very essence of storytelling with its repulsive presence. Its premise was a nauseating blend of techno-narcissism and romantic idiocy, an affront to the intelligence of any sentient being unfortunate enough to bear witness to its abomination, a grotesque mutation of what once passed for entertainment. Characters were grotesque caricatures of humanity, mere vessels for the perpetuation of vapid romantic fantasies and insipid melodrama and their interactions were a cacophony of soulless platitudes and contrived emotional manipulation, each scene got progressively worse than the last. The writing was an insult to the very concept of coherent narrative structure, a labyrinth of a garbled mess and mind numbingly banal dialogue that defies comprehension. In fact, this drama wasn't just bad television, it was an abomination of the highest order, a blight upon the collective consciousness of humanity and the very fabric of reality itself that must be expunged from existence with extreme prejudice. Anyone who dares to defend this abhorrent monstrosity deserves nothing less than eternal damnation, condemned to spend eternity in the deepest, darkest depths of cinematic purgatory, tormented by the ceaseless repetition of its insipid drivel until the end of time itself. Anyway, it could've been worse, I guess.

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Sweet and light, with a wonderfully playful couple at the center

It's very fast paced, sometimes to the point of the various incarnation arcs feeling a bit rushed. I think it probably needed a few more episodes but as is it means you don't linger too long in angst or heartbreak which keeps the tone up.

Another part of the reason the tone is so light is because of the comedy aspect. Personally I found it a little hard to get past as its very much slapstick comedy and felt like it was undercutting the sincerity of the drama which hurt my investment.
However, that slapstick element is mostly confined to the first third to half of each arc. As you move into the climax and later half of each one the slapstick fades off for sincerity.

The actors also have cute chemistry.
I've heard some people say that the female lead wasn't as good as the male lead, but I think part of that comes from the slapstick element mentioned previously. As the aloof and dutiful god of war his character doesn't usually dip into cartoony even in the comedy sections, and the drama treats him a bit more seriously.
Xiangyun, like many female leads being given a comedic bent, can come across as bratty, self-centered, and childish when the drama is aiming for laughs. Sometimes to the point of second hand embarrassment. However outside of those comedy scenes she's playful, vivacious, and has a surprising streak of responsibility.
The two characters match each other very well.

Finally I thought their villain was very solid. Well written, with consistent motivations, a steady escalation pattern that convinces you he's a serious threat to more than just the leads, and a touch of humanity that made you sympathize with the characters who cared about him without ever making you feel bad for the villain himself.

Overall I didn't expect to like it as much as I did, but I really want to rewatch it again.

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Fanfic Junk!

Oh dear! How could a full production team, crew and cast members be this damn oblivious to what they're making! The drama was the apotheosis of human failure, an insidious plague upon the landscape of television, a wretched abomination birthed from the depths of creative bankruptcy and soulless commercialism, a festering wound that infects the very essence of storytelling with its repulsive presence. Its premise was a nauseating blend of techno-narcissism and romantic idiocy, an affront to the intelligence of any sentient being unfortunate enough to bear witness to its abomination, a grotesque mutation of what once passed for entertainment. Characters were grotesque caricatures of humanity, mere vessels for the perpetuation of vapid romantic fantasies and insipid melodrama and their interactions were a cacophony of soulless platitudes and contrived emotional manipulation, each scene got progressively worse than the last. The writing was an insult to the very concept of coherent narrative structure, a labyrinth of a garbled mess and mind numbingly banal dialogue that defies comprehension. In fact, this drama wasn't just bad television, it was an abomination of the highest order, a blight upon the collective consciousness of humanity and the very fabric of reality itself that must be expunged from existence with extreme prejudice. Anyone who dares to defend this abhorrent monstrosity deserves nothing less than eternal damnation, condemned to spend eternity in the deepest, darkest depths of cinematic purgatory, tormented by the ceaseless repetition of its insipid drivel until the end of time itself. Anyway, it could've been worse, I guess.

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Quite a bit different from HYYH, but entertaining for the most part

These opinions are all my own and, as always, super glad others seemed to really love this take on HYYH. I personally didn’t, but not everything is going to be my cup of tea. Namjoon's story was my favorite in HYYH.

To start, Dogeon is an entirely different character from HYYH’s Namjoon. Dogeon's vibe was a lot more clean cut and he was was more of a rule follower than HYYH Namjoon. The iconic scenes from the Notes/MVs where he and Tae run away from the cops after getting caught spray painting seems like something Dogeon would never do. Most of the big events from his story don’t happen in this drama and he’s not given a ton of story on his own.

In order of who got the most story:
Haru, Jeha, Cein, Jooan, Hwan, Hosu, Dogeon comes in last.

Most of Dogeon and Hosu’s stories involve supporting other characters, but Hosu at least got the story with his narcolepsy and his mother abandoning him.

Namjoon’s closest relationship (and the most interesting one to me) was his relationship with Tae in the OG story. There’s more of a supportive relationship set up here with Jooan and Haru instead. Dogeon and Jooan’s story was colored negatively by the only scene in which Dogeon lets out his emotions and talks about hating that no one comforts him… is followed by him apologizing for “unloading” and Jooan abandoning him. End result: he still has no support system. That was perhaps the most heartbreaking aspect of his entire story. Dogeon is a character that exists to serve literally everyone else.

Every time it seemed we were finally giving him focus, it cut away to another character’s story without giving depth to his. His time in the hospital, the start of episode 12 before it cut to Jooan, and we don’t even get his personal thoughts in the aftermath of nearly being killed?? What was the nosebleed storyline? It was just dropped completely. Did the delivery boy story from the Notes happen here? Who knows?

The writers didn’t seem to be interested in Dogeon which made this drama less enjoyable overall for me, but I’m glad fans of other characters enjoyed it.

My general thoughts on everything else: it's entertaining for the most part. The episodes are long and you can feel it. I did enjoy the group scenes where they're all together, Cein's birthday party was my favorite group scene. Some of the acting in a few scenes was a bit cringy and choppy, but I don’t think that was the actors’ faults. I think the director should’ve made some different choices.

The best performances in my opinion were Hwan and Jooan’s. I thought those actors did a great job in their portrayals. Surprisingly, the relationships I found the most interesting (for however much we got to see of them) were Hwan & Dogeon and Hosu & Dogeon. I don’t remember any real interactions between Hosu and Dogeon (Hobi and Namjoon) in the OG story, so that was a pleasant surprise. Hwan and Dogeon were great together and I wished we got a lot more of that.

For Dogeon’s sake, I hope there’s another season because I really think he got the short end of the stick story wise. It seems like they were clearly setting up for another season and I read they supposedly filmed 24 episodes. It’d be nice if they could give Dogeon more, but I’ll always have the OG story that I enjoyed.

I’m glad others enjoyed this a lot more than I did.

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CUTEST CUTIES TO EVER CUTIE!!!

Boys be brave.. You did it. MY CUTIES!!! I can't lie when I say they are SOOO cute and I can't believe its already ending. Everything was great from the acting to the music in some scenes. I wish it was longer, but it was great while it lasted!!

STORY:

Jung Ki Sub is Kim Jin Woos friend, if you can even call him that. His acquaintance at best. When Jung Ki Sub asks to stay at his place, and having no choice but to accept, how will Jin Woo be able to keep it all in when Ki Sub is his secret crush?

THOUGHTS:

Lets cut to it. As much as I'd LOOOOVEE to give this a 10/10, I just can't. Somethings.. Missing. First off, the second couple. I felt like the 2nd couples screen time was rushed. They gave JUST ENOUGH for me to understand what was going on. As much as I enjoy both of their visuals, if you're going to not give at least close to an equal amount of screen time, why include them? It felt like they had less screen time than a cameo in a drama. Secondly, the female character. I'm not saying that I hate her. Personally, she is such a cutie and I would have loved to seen more of her and I can understand her doing what she did, but its just the way she felt the need to be so upset with Ki Sub and even trying to ruin him and Jin Woos relationship. It might be reasonable, it might not be, but to me its kind of.. Crazy? I mean yeah, I may do something crazy to protect my friends, but if its in the past then it's in the past.

ANYWAYS. Now that we've gotten the bad out of the way, lets cut to the good!


Almost every scene between the two brought a smile to my face, the twos chemistry is BREWING!!! Everything from the staring into the eyes to even just giving him a keychain made me giggle. The communication? Lacking? NO! Although Jin Woo usually kept to himself, there was still such a bond between the two that made it a great dynamic. Speaking of the dynamic.. Jin Woo being like a black cat and Ki Sub a golden retriever?? AHHH!!! I might just pass out from cuteness!! Their pairing altogether is just GOLD. The warmth they could feel within each other?? The way Ki Subs heart monitor would increase because of Jin Woo?? MY CUTIES!!!

In all, I love this SOOO MUCH. And other than the things I've mentioned, this drama was so cutie and I'd put my life on the line for Jin Woo and his cute expressions?

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I don't understand the fuss about this show .. it was boring

After reading a lot of comments and reviews I started watching the show ... But I don't think it is worth the hype ... Richard was the only good thing about this show ..story sucked . . FL character sucked ..her acting sucked ... Momentum of the plot sucked ... It was surely not my cup of tea ... The worst thing was the dimwit FL even if I ignore the cringe dialogue still overall character was pathetic .. she is sort of an undercover agent yet she has no sense of entering a place stealthily... She just walks like a stupid person right in the middle of hall ... Worst undercover agent in history ... Please stop writing such retard female lead characters ...women can play better undercover agents why tf do these writers turn them so cliche and cringe ... Pfft!!!

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