Miraculous Brothers (2023)

My rating of this drama is me being generous.

It took me a little over two months to actually finish this!! It was so drawn out that I forgot that I was still watching one episode. There were times when I thought I had finished 3 or 4 episodes but I was still on the same episode I had stopped watching.

For me, by the 5th episode if is doesn't grab me I will drop it but I've hit another Korean drama slump. I was hoping to be able to have about 4 or 5 dramas under my belt but alas, this was the only one and I don't have any other Korean dramas to watch.

There were no character development in any of the actors. The mood stayed the same. The female cop was my least favorite. She was annoying from beginning to the end. The things she was doing should've gotten her fired but they didn't.

To me, there was no reason why the second male lead should've had powers. You won't learn how he came into his powers until the 15th episode and it's a really really weak excuse.

You then have the main male lead experience a weird pheonmenon but it wasn't capitalized. It was 'oh my hands are vibrating...oh well,..' and that was it. To add to that, when the second male lead exhibited his skills around the best friend and the female cop they were non-chalant about it.

The revenge factor was sloppy. I thought the situation of coming from the past and staying in the future instead of going back to the past was going to get covered...It didn't.

There were a lot of loose ends that had no closure. This is the type of drama that I hate and I have run into a few dramas like this which is why I'm still in that friggin' Korean drama slump.

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More of a Character Study Than Anything Else

I should mention that this is one of my favorite genres. For lack of a name I'll just call it Suspense With A Supernatural Twist. I watch every one of these that I can get my hands on and they almost always delight me. Which is to say I am a little biased.

The suspense and mystery elements of this drama are not anything too unique, which is absolutely not an issue. It was done well enough that it felt fresh.
The supernatural twist, the monkey wrench in the villains' plans and the heroes lives, was also not terribly unique. But the way the characters moved through the story and interacted with the unbelievable was what really made this drama shine.

However, the really golden arc of this story started, in my opinion, a little late. When the main characters, whose interactions and fully-dimensioned identities were already so wonderful on their own, finally started to gel as a cohesive cast we were already well over the halfway point. What followed was some of the most exceptional character-driven storytelling I've seen in a while, I just wish the writers had chosen to get us there sooner. This drama would have worked better with another four episodes. As it is the last episode, while very satisfying, did feel rushed and also felt like several large explanatory pieces has been cut out for economy.
So much time was spent with our cast getting their bearings in a really confused and disjointed situation that we actually didn't get that long to really break down the characters besides the two main "brothers." I would have really liked to get as deep into the mind of Oh Man Suk's character, for example. He was fascinating and delicately written but ended as still almost a stranger.

Among the points I'd like to gush about: Jung Woo as Yook Dong Joo. What a performance. This character was one of those types of people who could have easily been very unlikable even if the writers had attempted to write him as likable. Yet both Jung Woo's interpretation and the meticulously written character development made him not just likable but admirable. He was pleasant to watch and behaved constantly in a way that stunned me. One of those really rare people with genuinely unpretentious integrity. I have a deep appreciation for characters who take responsibility for their actions. This is something you see done often and very deliberately in Korean and Chinese television and I love it. But the nuanced care that was taken in the way Yook Dong Joo owned his actions and their consequences was really impressive to watch. It is not easy to make a character who made the choices Dong Joo made genuinely likeable, but they did it. Moreover, his development in this regard was woven into the development of the plot. That was done really well and for that reason I understand why they let it take so long. And why I think this drama was too short. A few more episodes would have made it one of my favorites.

Examining the painful realities of their situation was one the things this story did really well. And again, they spent a lot of time on it. So much so that I felt they were hurried in the end to get the actual plot wrapped up. A lot of details were explored that are often overlooked in plots like this. I appreciated and enjoyed every minute of it. Every actor really did a great job.

As it is, I highly recommend this drama. You might find some parts of the first half a little frustrating, but the second half will more than make up for it.

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Unusual murder mystery

I really liked this. Bit weird but trust the characters and elevate your imagination. I liked all the actors especially Bae Hyeon Seong who I think for his age is amazing. Jung Woo is just as good even though not as dishy. Nearly everyone in the police force was unlovable but I realised that that was intentional and perhaps why there were so few women there. There is some violence which I gritted my teeth through but it probably comes with the genre. So I binge watched over a few days and managed to keep up with the names whizzing through on the subtitles. I thought 16 episodes was just right and the pace suited me fine. 100% recommend.

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Great story, poor script and acting

Love the storyline, really intriguing, have a lot of not so trivial plot twists. So far didn't like only the characters or play of actors
Jung Woo and Park Yoo Rim. They really seems unpleasant or their characters should look like that. Not always catch the meaning of various look\ways\etc of their act. Not quite figure out that yet but frustrated enough to write first review in MDL.
I'm more familiar with an actor Oh Man Suk and he is very ..logical so far. Ahn Nae Sang is always stealing the scene)
Looking forward to find out how the powers are works and how it all started in future episodes)
So good story but so bad scripts + actor acting.. very often seems not logical, poor. In one word: cheap
Nevertheless, I watch it in one breath and very like it!

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