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Charming92

Greece

Charming92

Greece
Completed
Love (ft. Marriage and Divorce)
2 people found this review helpful
Apr 14, 2021
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 2
Overall 8.5
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 7.0

Love (Ft. Marriage and Divorce)

I think it can be safely said that S. Korea is a conservative country of timid nature, or at least that is what they like to present. Taking this as a fact, I can easily call this drama revolutionary, not in terms of story-telling, concept or development , but rather in the form of radical society re-formation - if I'm allowed that term.

Love (Ft. Marriage and Divorce)'s writer has earned by deepest respect, because of how she tackled the concept of adultery in a very conservatives society, and managed to create a hit out of it without putting any classic kdrama troops in it - revenge, melodrama, sad backstories, excuses, makjang shit, nor Americanizing the genre by selling sex. Love (Ft. Marriage and Divorce) is a true kdrama but does not feel at all like one. No magic romance, no flashbacks, no sad back stories, no melo, no funny comic relief, no antagonist ect. Sounds boring? Yeah, i cannot argue with that. So if this sounds boring to you, you can really ignore this drama and move on with your life. However, if you think you are ready to watch something different and/or have gone through something similar in your life please do watch this, it's not profound but it's so well crafted that will, and i strongly believe it, win you over.

First things first. The drama doesn't glorify cheating husbands. It doesn't want to glorify adultery. What it wants to do is normalize the idea that infidelity is part of life -and it is, if we want to face it or not- and, at its very core, normalize divorce - which is also all around us (but maybe still a taboo is korea?). The drama basically conveys the message that making a mistake in choosing a partner, can happen, and that is ok. The question is what we do about that. And this is where the drama (could) become unbearable to watch. It's just too real. Too real for the average viewer, who wants to shut their mind off and watch a fairytale, to deal with. However it's so intense in the most soothing way. I was shocked at the amount of messages it relays in the form of everyday life situations. Could be considered a boring drama by most, but it targets mature audiences. At the very end I do believe, you need to have felt that (infidelity), to understand it, but it's a great way to learn about human relationships too.

Now, a little bit about the drama itself. It revolves around couples, married couples. At the center we get 3 couples (in their 30s, 40s and 50s) and as supporting characters we get 2 couples in their 60s+ and a single man. Basically this is a story about relationships, love and the marriage or divorce that could come out of it. One couple phases irreconcilable differences, one is the seemingly perfect couple with a perfect life, and the last one basically features male middle life crisis. As for the supporting cast, they show the other side of the spectrum in which marriage has seemingly succeeded but.... not that much - and then if married life sucks so much is the sworn single man actually happy?

Yes, brace yourselves, EVERYBODY is cheating or has been cheated on in reality or platonically. Does it really matter? No. The drama takes its story seriously, doesn't excuse what is happening, doesn't make it funny, or dramatic. It is solely character driven so do not expect any huge revelation mid way or any major back story to drop and wow you. What should wow you though is the characterization and character building.

The drama can be broken down in 2 parts. First 8 episodes, final 8 episodes. I could roughly say the first 8 episodes show what happens after the wife learns about their husband's questionable extramarital activities and the 2nd part how the husband gets there. However, the midway mark honestly made me sincerely reckon what happened in the writer's mind. Wouldn't be a stretch to say that it soft-reboots midway. At the same time it does feel like it was on purpose just to see the same thing from other perspectives. The drama isn't biased towards anybody, which was a magnificent way of story-development. It shows different sides of the same characters- layering them, and then it lets you understand and pick sides. I felt like the jury in a court room. I felt like a psychology major in couple's therapy 101. Magnificent development.

We get to see many different sides and stories of adultery. Reasons, thoughts behind it. Different examples, different perspectives. I loved how characters i liked or felt close to in the first half, i grew to detest in the 2nd and vice versa.

The drama made me evaluate several times what is wrong and what is actually worse than wrong. Made me think and rethink what I accept as "decent behavior" and obviously relays the message that things are way more complicated than "you cheated you a bad person, you can burn in hell" at the same time without excusing or glorifying a single thing. Simultaneously, I loved he constant play with the grey area of what is right and wrong. Cheating or getting in the middle of a couple is a bad thing, but does that automatically make you a bad person? Choosing a person to become your partner for life and then realizing you made a mistake. Is marriage a one time thing? Is it like jail? Are you forced to stay with that person forever because you married them, or you had children. And, is forcing yourself to stay with that person just because of all the aforementioned reasons, the recipe for a happy life? Deep shit right there.

I honestly applauded the drama in some subtle - or not- mainly female-targeted points like: take care of your self, strive for personal success, love yourself. It strays away from the classic expectations the korean (and not only) society has of women who basically revolve around family and housekeeping. Yas gurl, me approves.

I sincerely enjoyed some archetype cliches that were swapped here (dad is angry at a son cheating while mom is understand - we expect men to be more understanding of men cheating and women to not be. Women being the "man" of the relationship, caring and providing ect). There are no archetypes in real life and we shouldn't expect real people to act like that. There should be no exception based on gender

In its core i think the drama wants to change norm when it comes to marriage and relationships in general. I think this is something that the Korean general public needs to move from the "taboo" side to normal way of life. Yes cheating sucks, but could happen. What happens after that is what matters. The goal is for us to be happy and relationships don't always work the way we want them to. The drama deals with that in the best way possible. Totally worth the investment - just know what you are getting yourself into.

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Completed
The Call
6 people found this review helpful
Dec 2, 2020
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 9.5

What happens when you... unleash the devil....

Butterfly effect.... not a new concept in kdramaland, and actually a quite revisited one. The call was an overall amazing experience and, long story short, you have 2 hours of free time and you look to watch a thrilling story that will keep you at the edge of your seat? Yes, click that play button and thank godflix that movies like this are still being produced.

But what was exactly the thing that made The call so memorable? The storytelling.

No, It's not the story itself. Yes, we know, somehow 2 people in different timelines communicate and they change things in their timeline that has a ping-pong reaction in both times. It's cool just to think of it, but it's not original. What call had was original storytelling.

The story starts a little cliche, two characters, two different timelines, both are likeable, both seem to be troubled, both could be the hero in their situation, you can't help but empathize. It all goes down midway, when the movie hits hard and it shows its biggest message. "Everything happens for a reason". You cannot play god even when you have that option you will regret it!

The movie as a movie was smart, it was fast-paced, it had cool effects, a killer story and mainly... development! Thrilling starting 20 minutes in, till the very end, and honestly what bumped this up to 9,5 from 9 was the ending... cause even when the movie was quite convenient, and a little bit too.... hollywood for my taste, it knows what it wants to be, and more importantly, it knows what the butterfly effect is and can do. Endless possibilities, multiple points of view. And yes in the very end The call had exactly that. Did not reduce itself in just another butterfly effect suspense little forgettable movie, it thought out of the box and for that i can easily deem it memorable.

Was it perfect? No. It did have its issues if we delve deeply into the whole thing and start analyzing every shit that happens, but who does that in a thriller/suspense movie (especially when we take talking with someone from 20 years ago for granted). The movie had it all, good story, great development, shocking twists, amazing cgi, and in the very end.... flawless acting!

Imma say it, never expected to, Park shin Hye is a good actress. There, i said it. If you ever accuse me of saying it i will deny it though. Jeon Jong Seo was so good, she might have been a little too much inside the role. Astonishing! And generally the whole cast which is known gave an A+ performance.

All in all, highly recommended!

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Completed
Vagabond
4 people found this review helpful
May 2, 2020
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.5
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 6.0
I was dreading this moment, mostly because i was conflicted throughout this drama regarding on how to rate it. 16 episodes later and i can safely say that the plot is a worthy 4/10 but the enjoyment was a solid 9/10 so there you go... solve this puzzle for me!

Short version: If you enjoy thriller/mysteries with suspence and action packed scenes with various plot twists that will keep you at the edge of your seat, this is highly recommended. A good watch.

Long Version: Well... not so much.....

So... what we have here? We have a super ambitious drama on our hands. If i had one word to describe vagabond that word would be ambitious.

I'll take the time to carefully present both positive and negative points of this drama, so we can decide on the final score together.

THE GOOD
First thing that comes to mind when i think of Vagabond is scheming and plot twists. The drama starts as a revenge story about an uncle who wants to avenge the death of his nephew. Been there done that. It evolves in SO much more than this, leaving, what this seems to be at the end, a very small detail to be a mere plot device to start the plot. The drama evolves rapidly, including the police force, the NIS, the korean government, several multinational companies and even terrorist organizations...

I was disgusted and yet amazed at the filthyness of the government and pretty much the system of every sector depicted here. I loved to hate these people, the thing that made this drama a hit for me and will be kept memorable for! I can see, however, how this might be too much for some people to swallow and stand by to watch.

More specifically, Including and exploiting a country's own government and police force and pretty much everything legal, showing their worst possible face was especially hard to sit by and watch, but i can easily say this was the drama's highlight. I can applaud the writer for actually going as far as incrimination and even -if i may say- humiliating government executives, striving to show how everything is and -mainly- everyone is rotten to the core. Manipulation of people all in the name of power. *applauds*

Moreover, the drama is packed with fight scenes, which were... well executed, i admit, but... we've definitely seen better.

Furthermore, it has 16 episodes and around 32 plot twists. If it gets one thing right it is that you are kept at the edge of your seat like ALL THE FREAKING time, which makes the drama very binge-worthy! The twists were well delivered, both time-wise and plot wise. Some of them were kind of expected, but all of them were welcome, even if they touched upon the "tiring" territory more or less.

*thinks hard*
Ah! Well written.... villains! This might be more of a personal preference but i figured the villains were greatly written and quite well sustained throughout the episodes. They kept their -pretty questionable- values till the end and it was very fulfilling to watch.

All in all, a thriller/mystery like Vagabonds in its very core seems to be suspenseful and intriguing. If the drama achieved something this is it. There wasn't a dull moment and that is very much appreciated!

THE BAD
First of all, the drama suffered, like pretty much every drama of this genre, of terribly convenient writing, inconsistencies, superhuman main characters, and a very very experimental/unfulfilling ending.

In more detail, starting from the first episode, i just couldnt ignore the ridiculous superhuman main male lead role. Excessively unnecessary to the point it actually ruined half of the fight scenes for me. There is no reason for the male lead to be superman, if i wanted to watch superman i'd go watch.... superman. Ridiculous and way too overdone.

Moreover, the number of good vs bad people. Bish... come on. I get the plot twists and i expect half of "the good" guys change territories halfway through the show, but it was again way too overdone here. This in combination with the fact that the good guys were extremely naive and gullible, while the bad guys were cunning and smart and.... dunno... normal people, made this a whole lot more unrealistic. I get the overdramatization but you can't present me such wholesome bad guys and such stupid heroes and expect me to root for the heroes just for trying to do the right thing. Nope, that ain't me.

I wasn't the biggest fun of the fight scenes camera work. Shaking the camera during the action because.... they believe i'd feel like being there? Meh, no i ain't 12. Sorry

Dramas like this are known for not having any romance involved. That is a good thing in my book. While Vagabond didn't -thank god- have any proper romance development, there were quite a few *moments* between the main characters. I have to admit they were cute and they kind of served a purpose, but other than the comic relief and the cuteness they didn't bring anything to the table other than that.

All in all, many were the times i rolled my eyes so hard my eyes were almost stucked at the back of my head because of the stupidity and the directional choices for the characters. I dare to say that the drama, by its end, has developed in so many levels that it can arguably be expanded in its own francise with multiple seasons/movies. All this raw potential never get explored but instead we get some half assed final episode that tries to do too much and while it does succeed to a certain degree, it pains me to say that i can personally write a 22 episode season based on this ending that we will never see.

In the very end, i think Vagabond's own ambition destroyed it, or -let's not be so harsh- kind of killed it from within.

ACTING
Unpopular opinion: All the sub characters were better than the 2 leads.

Suzy has come a long way, and was a pleasure to watch, but she has a long way to go still.
Lee Seung Gi.... was good... But that is pretty much it, which leaves a lot to be desired next to supporting characters like Moon Jeong Hee who was... to die for in her particular role.

Finishing the hat, let's keep this simple. You like suspenseful dramas, with numerous plot twists that will not leave you keep calm for a split second? You don't mind switching off your mind and overlooking exaggerated siliness? You enjoy bad guys doing their thing the worst way possible? Then this drama is for you. I can easily recommend it, but know what you are getting into. For everyone else, this would most probably be a no. I don't regret watching it, mainly because of the world building, but over than that, this was cheap and unfulfilling.

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Completed
Hotel del Luna
10 people found this review helpful
Sep 1, 2019
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.5
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 9.5
Rewatch Value 6.0
Hotel del Luna is a fun light hearted fantasy rom com that can keep you easy company in case you watch to watch something fun and light to relax and switch off your mind.

As far as the plot is concerned, commendable world building by the writers here. The story is based on a hotel that exists in between of our and the afterworld, in which spirits, with unfinished business, go before moving on. Deities, malevolent spirits, reapers, interesting backstories ect are a given.

With such an interesting premise I gotta mention the main characters who were pretty fun. The drama generally focuses a lot on comedy, which, most of the time, hits the spot. The romance is there and plays a predominal role. I can't say it was particularly memorable, but it sufficed.

Moreover, it should be mentioned that the driving essence of the drama are the back stories of the main two protagonists, particularly IU's character, something that becomes apparent from the very first scene of the drama. The show beautifully connects ancient eras with modern times linking present and past lives in a worthy backstory that is interesting and well-written without ever becoming too serious or heavy. Every prominent character gets their development and their sub story. Everything is fun and well written.

A strong part of the drama is IU's character, her fashion, her facial expressions, her reactions, her sassyness. It could be argued that this is an one woman show written entirely on and for IU, which, in my book, is totally a pro. If you're an IU fan, you'll enjoy it.

My favorite part of the drama was the homage to horror pop culture (references to classic scary movies, ex. The ring), or mentions of other recent horror kdramas (ex. The guest), which made the whole scary context that much more fun and contributed in making this drama feeling like a part of a whole along with the fun recurrent feeling of parodying horror pop culture.

The acting was overall great, but not really memorable. The plot was too light hearted for any of the actors to showcase any actual talent. That being said, everything was executed magnificently.

Overall, this is not a bad watch if you are interested in rom coms with fantasy elements. There are several ghost substories that aren't that important and not scary at all, but pretty interesting and fun to watch, so there is also that. The OST in this one is particularly polished. I'd recommend this to everyone searching for something light and fun to pass time. That being said, there is nothing notable about this drama other than its base premise.

Have a nice day everyone and enjoy!

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Completed
Love Affairs in the Afternoon
1 people found this review helpful
Aug 26, 2019
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 4.5
Love affairs in the afternoon is the Korean version of the Japanese 2014 drama Hirugao. Lemme give you a short version of this review right here. If you like romance then this drama is recommended. If you haven't watched the original, even better. However, if you have and you loved it just like I did, I think you are bound to make comparisons and chances are you might feel a bit disappointed.

Ok, don't get me wrong, love affairs was a good drama in every way and I enjoyed it. It's just that my expectations partly ruined the drama for me. I expected to watch hirugao again with Korean actors and what I got instead was a Korean version of it. Admittedly, when I started seeing the drama as a separate thing, my pleasure increased so note to everyone who watched the original and liked it. In retrospect, the positives, ultimately, outweigh the negatives which makes this a worthy drama.

Before I delve deeper into the aforesaid pro and cons, i should give a general idea of the drama for those who have completely no idea what this is about. Love affairs is a romance (melo)drama with the trope of infidelity mixed to keep things interesting. There are two companion stories going on, based on the female leads. Both women having their own affairs, depicted from completely different mindsets of completely different people. First story is almost completely based on romance, while the second story is a bit more harsh and stays closer to reality in my opinion.

THE GOOD
First of all, my favourite part of the drama, the poetic monologues and continuous symbolisms. Not something easy to miss. The main female lead, who is an aspiring writer, gives constant poetic, inspiring, beautifully written and moving monologues in the background, based on love, its positive and negative effects along with the pain of loving someone unavailable and forbidden. In the same lines goes the symbolism, also quite easy to catch, with virtues like love and faith being likened to places, beings ect symbolizing the sad reality of the characters. Obvious but very sweet and idyllic setting a scenic atmosphere.

I generally appreciated how the drama kept the original's base story and general idea. I acknowledged how they tried to recreate scenes, sceneries, even designs and decorations from the original, adding plot devices that, truth be told, made the drama only better. They extended an 11 episodes drama in a 16 full hour drama quite successfully. It wasn't really boring, and even when it was dragging, the episodes were easy to watch.

The drama in its core wants to deal with the concept of happiness. It wants to set that as our personal goal and work towards that. Taking a leaf from hirugao’s original book, it sets its tone in two failed marriages, trying to showcase how people settle down for the wrong reasons ending up unhappy and then how they try to battle with that everlasting soul-eating dissatisfaction. The message, sadly, doesn't make its way across all the time, but I appreciate how they tried to keep the core message of the original story.

I especially liked how they introduced more perspectives than the people only directly affected by the affair, showing a more widened idea of infidelity's repercussions. There were character additions to intensify the drama and bring comic relief, while others were given more prominent roles that its original Japanese counterpart. They all made sense and were successfully executed. No complaints here.

The romance takes the main wheel in the drama. For those who like romance, this will be a pro. Everything happens by the book, there are a lot of cliches though, which might turn some people off.

Finally, as far as music is concerned, they tried to pull some “secret love affair” classic music atmosphere here, which was, on the whole, also quite successful.

Generally, the drama tries to (sometimes successfully sometimes not) give a more artistic feel to the plot with monologues, symbolisms and sophisticated music. Effort taken under consideration!

At this point let me give a shoutout to the 2nd couple’s storyline. Ye Ji Won's character and general plot was saved from the Over-koreanization and stayed quite true to its roots of finding yourself, growing up, understand past mistakes, and working towards happiness through a path of difficult choices that will ultimately help you grow and mature. I especially appreciated certain scenes that were magnified by her luscious acting, showing that the choice of our significant other should be based on a person that will help us and inspire us to work harder towards our dreams and not be an emotional and energy vampire that just sucks the life out of us. This is the core foundation of walking towards happiness and this storyline beautifully showed that. Being this drama's saving grace, this story line had the realness the drama demanded, the amount of drama that was appropriate, the load of pain that made sense and the much needed and deserved character development that just made you love and root for her till the end!

Thankfully, the drama offers the aforementioned rightful development for all its characters by the end (despite being quite frustrating till that point). Ending in a very positive note that we should live and be happy for us, follow our dreams, not let anyone dictate our lives. Happiness comes firstly from within. The ending was healing.

THE BAD
Even though this was a pleasant watch, I cannot overlook the fact that almost instantly I got disappointed by the direction this took and ended up quite infuriated in half of the characters for reactions and choices that felt completely foreign (even laughable) to me, for the sake of (unnecessary) drama.

Now comparisons are bound to happen. The original featured some perfectly shaped, well rounded, deeply setted in reality characters, showing each side even when it didn't really want you to take their sides (their= the cheated individuals – aka hirugao was more precise and neutral).

For the sake of romance, the Korean version failed to do that. I never really saw the cheated characters as people. To me they were degraded to mere plot devices so as to keep the main couple apart. I wholeheartedly disliked this. Hirugao respected everyone and did not reduce any character to a caricature version of a human being for the sake of romance. This should not be the intention of infidelity dramas.

Speaking about romance, I disliked it for the most part. All the cliches in the book won't make me root for a couple who pretty much has no chemistry just because they run in the rain together, sorry. I need and demand more.

Moreover, misuse of the concept of adultery. Adultery is here used as a mere plot device to keep the main couple apart and nothing more. There is much more to all of this that being a reason for the main characters to hurt for not being with their loved one. The drama does show a more widened spectrum of its consequences like the society's backlash but it still focuses too much on the romantic part. I needed more.

What's more, too much back and forth. Especially during the middle episodes the story of the main couple kept going in circles till the end, ending up to it dragging and I just never got the characters Choices. I get that this is the Korean culture and shit is different but this just felt over exaggerated again for the sake of romance drama. I've seen a big number of adultery dramas to know that things aren't (or aren't supposed to be) like that anymore. Too much effort to dramatize the wrong, in my opinion, situations (aka the romance).

It is obvious I think that my main problem here was over focus on the romance and this is why I said in the beginning, if you like romance, this is for you. Mishandled in my opinion, over-koreanized to the point it lost part of it’s original charm, without finding new life as a Korean drama. A lot of missed opportunities.

ACTING
Well… the acting overall was ok, there was sadly limited chemistry between the Main leads and I have to admit that park ha sun's crying scenes weren't very satisfying or even believable. That being said, Ye Ji Won completely saved it being her usual flawless self.

RECOMMEND
Long story short, you into some romance melo and you enjoy adultery without it being too harsh or serious? Give this a try. In my honest opinion there are many better infidelity dramas out there if you’re into that. Between this and the Japanese version, the Japanese is seas ahead, but it depends on the viewer as well. It's not a bad watch if you are a fan of the genre or just have nothing else to watch.


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Completed
My Mister
8 people found this review helpful
Aug 25, 2019
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 3
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
I started watching my mister while it was airing in April 2018. The past couple of years were extremely hard for me, personal problems, battling with myself, and on top of that health issues manifesting. The saddest part about me while being in this tough place was that I started losing interest in things that used to make me happy, watching dramas included. My mind would be screaming way too loud for me to pay attention to the show. In spite of that, my mister was compelling enough for me to follow it. However, I put my mister on hold in its 12th episode, despite me loving it while airing due to the aforementioned issues. My mental stasis wasn't strong enough to watch such a serious drama.

A year and a half has passed since then and I find myself now mentally healthy enough, in defiance of every day problems, not only to watch and finish it but also to rewatch the whole thing from the beginning. In retrospect, what exactly put me through hell weren't really the hardships that may, or may not, had come my way, but the feeling of being lonely, scared that nobody will understand, afraid that nobody will like the true sad face behind this ever-glowing smile. Little did I know, and little had i understοοd back then, this was exactly what my mister was about in the end.

My Mister isn't just a drama, isn't, probably, just the best drama that i have ever watched, it is life itself. Trying to delve deep into My Mister and then convey its meaning in written form ends up being a challenging job as I have taken so many notes in order to write this review, and yet nothing really makes as much sense as the feeling while watching and as I have finished this peace of true art. Therefore I'll start backwards and prompt everyone to watch this masterpiece. It doesn't really matter what genre you like, what mood you are into, what type of person you are, if you have feelings, are romantic or dead inside, my mister will open and warm a beautiful place in your heart with its rawness, its beauty, its soul, its reality.

The drama talks about the hardships of adult life and how they shape us, directing the way we live and the type of people we end up being - good or bad. Problems, sucky lives, faking it till we make it, facing horrible, selfish people, emotional draining jobs and a rotten society that makes good people feel worthless for being fair.

The goal of the drama is to show us how to battle the inescapable sadness that attacks the earnest people and eats them alive while showing several personal life issues, always putting in the center that everybody has it hard and that should not make them evil, but rather more caring instead. Survival, strife for money, unfulfilled dreams, giving up hope, career problems, society demanding and accepting only perfection from us, failed marriages, wrong choices, family issues, fear of failure, fear of being misunderstood are only glimpses of what my mister has to offer as reasons for sadness in people's lives.

How to survive? Two ways are offered by my mister's profound writer, or are they offered by life itself?

The goal is to not let all that destroy us, destroy the hope, the confidence, the faith, the optimism in our lives and how we get to do that? How we get to stay afloat and survive, just a little bit? Just enough to get through the day? Friendship and family. Family, those people who will always be there no matter what, no matter if you want them or no, the people who will be summoned at once when you kneel. And of course friends, the family we choose from ourselves, the people who will put a smile on our faces even when the whole world around us is crumbling, who will listen to all our stupid shit no matter how tedious they might be, just because they care. People who, around them, it's ok not to be ok, it's ok not to be perfect. Not being alone is the goal. People's support is the key to happiness and survival. A beautiful soul once said "every person in our life has a purpose and what we should do to repay them is to live a happy life". Let's all live a happy life, let's all be grateful for the people we have in our lives that love us and thank them! Happiness is small things.

And then in midst of all that, that may or may not turn us in complete passive doormats trying to survive in the sidelines or crazy dogs trying to fight our way through, a special magical person will appear who will, without trying, maybe even without even wanting, tap deeper inside our soul, see us for who we really are, understand us respect and love us for us. A person who will be there, a person who will see you being vulnerable and will stay, a person who will see you cry and won't bat an eye, your person. The drama is about finding our person, that one special person, around whom, we can fully be our perfect broken down selves and that will be ok. Our person!

The drama teaches us the importance of forgiveness, empathy, understandings, meritocracy, of acceptance of others, of ourselves and our mistakes and so so on. Hell, it even showed a great, magnificent example of what transformational leadership is like! I have a MBA and this drama did it better than managerial books (lol). It seriously compells you to watch, it touches your heart, it shocks you and simply moves you with its beautiful message and pacing.

Plot-wise you are thrown in a company with some serious scheming going on and you get to witness how the two main leads seamlessly grow closer together without any cliche happening, without any classic romantic scene by the book. The plot, however, was mysterious and pretty dark without it being makjang though. It might be argued that it was slow, but the build up and the development was so well thought out, I cannot really point out any flaw or any plot hole or any actual dragging or plot slower device or sub story of filler episode. Even the comic relief was so, so meaningful. This is one smooth drama.

Moving on to acting, "life work" has been called the actors' effort in this drama and It is totally, absolutely justifiable. IU shut a lot of mouths with her work here and I'm so glad for that. She can pretty much act solely is silly rom coms from now as she has done this! Her performance was shivering in every way. This is truly a life's work for IU who ended up being my favourite actress after this.

Lee Sun Kyun didn't really need to prove anything, however I firmly believe this is one of his best works so far and he will be remembered for this. His character and his portrayal was luscious and I'm Thankful for him acting in this role.

The whole support cast was marvelous, an overall standing ovation. No character was there simply as a plot device, even the antagonists ended up showing deeper complexity by the end. Having such multiple layered characters is just so unique, especially when the cast is so big.

At this point I want to thank and mention the writer, Park Hae Young outdid herself. This was beautiful, the most accurate and simple word I can use. I wish i had a more sophisticated one. This was truly beautiful. Thank you.

Finally the music was excellent and purposeful as well as absolutely appropriate.

The drama gracefully doesn't reduce the concept of "my mister aka my person " to just romance, your person can be a friend, a relative, a family member, a lover even a co worker. Your person can be anyone who can see you for you without trying, that special person. Here's to all of us finding that special person. I found him, and God, I'm happy, for the first time in my life I've been alive, so yes, my mister did that for me, and I wish that to all of you. Let's hang in there! Fighting!

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Completed
The Guest
3 people found this review helpful
Aug 20, 2019
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 9.5
Story 10
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 9.0
Seldom do we see such gripping and captivating dramas in dramaland. Dramas that start strong and stay like that throughout their run. The guest is a near-masterpiece of the genre, that wasn't afraid to actually go for it, wasn't there for cheap scares, didn't base its plot on jump scares and did not settle for thriller character cliches.

Two aspects were aced here, being so well executed, that actually made me overlook any possible minor plot hole or mediocre acting that passed through the episodes.

Plot-wise, taking a leaf out of pretty much every psychological/religious drama scenario, we get a pretty classic story of a superior evil spirit who possesses someone, kill some people and years later relatives of those gather by chance to avenge their loved ones deaths. What a great way to make the story personal and lure you in. It just always works, doesn't it?

But what exactly made this drama truly great? The cinematography. When it comes to thriller, you need two things, a good enough plot (innovation doesn't always equals quality) and excellent editing. The story is there and believe it gets carried on wonderfully, with its twists, its cliffhangers, teasing and confusing the viewer to keep things fresh and it does always work. However, what exceeded my expectations here was the montage and effects.

The drama focuses on exorcism. Being a religious thriller enthusiast, I've devoured more than half of Hollywood's exorcism-themed movies (the original 1977 version of the exorcist still being the best), I can safely say, they freaking delivered! The music, the editing, the montage, the colors, the atmosphere, the sound effects, the cuts, the directing, everything was top notch. Creating and cultivating a creepy, gloomy, ominous, sinister and ultimately terrifying aura that not only draws you in, but also sends shivers down your spine, makes your eyes water and pretty much makes you wanna sleep with the lights on. Thriller goal met!

The drama can be separated in two parts. The first 8 episodes focused more on separate sub stories that all tied up and were obviously connected in the end, simultaneously helping the main characters from some kind of bond which will be instrumental for the drama to work later on. While the latter 8 episodes focused on the actual goal of the story, find and vanquish the evil spirit!

The drama a started extremely fast paced, the first couple of episodes were exhilarating, it does get slowed down later on, but finds its pace quickly. While this did bother me, the flawless creepy atmosphere of the whole thing made up for it. The drama does not get dragged, although you do get your average classic unnecessary lengthy kdrama conversations while setting the story and I could stay and mention some possible plot holes I stumbled upon, but who really cares. Insignificant details In the great scheme of things. I will, still, praise the development of the story and the number of twists they pulled on us. Special mention though, should be the game they played with our minds, keeping us guessing who the bad guy is without getting annoyed, for like 7 episodes or so. My attention span is way lower than this usually.

The second aspect that worked wonders here were the characters. I especially enjoyed how flawed they were, not your average hero-y people you'd find in similar dramas. I can understand why they could be seen as irritating, they indeed were, but that made them that much more human to me and I loved that. Moreover, I adored their relationship. It felt too real. They never stopped fighting and the drama lacked random cute moments between them, but you could see how they grew to care and depend on each other. Nice writing there. The actors also had commendable chemistry and it showed.

I should mention that the drama features some (neccessary to be honest) comic relief which was quite constant too. I enjoyed that too.

As far as the acting is concerned, imma give a shoutout to almost every supporting actor here, cause their role in making this work was instrumental. The main cast was good, but not exceptional or particularly memorable. Nevertheless, I especially enjoyed Kim Hye Eun, who was luscious in every scene!

Off to the hard part, this is a totally worth watching drama, a must watch if you want. Nonetheless, it is scary, and if you got issues with possession, exorcism, religious things, blood, noises of bones cracking, creepy smiles and generally cannot watch a horror film alone, you... might want go rethink this. Still, I would definitely recommend you try or force a friend or loved one to sit through it together. I can easily guarantee they will have fun if they are fans of the genre. This is s good one, not to be missed!

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Completed
Misty
4 people found this review helpful
Aug 16, 2019
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 7.0
You know what's interesting? I have enough reasons to give this drama a 9 and enough reasons to give this drama a 4, lol. Jokes aside misty was a great, worthy drama that had its issues but offered 16 hours of thrill, fun, supsence but also irritation and honestly anger. A drama that can do that much deserve a 9 in my book

STORY
Misty is all about feminism and we appreciate a feminist icon like Go Hye Ran. Dramas usually showcase women who need to be saved or supported in some way, most of the time showing no real interest in a career or general self development and that's called being cute and is celebrated somehow (main reason I dislike most rom coms). That being said, misty won my first vote by saying no to that and creating a powerful character putting her in the center and making this basically a one woman show!

Go Hye Ran, is a memorable character that you will either love or love to hate. Either way she will leave a mark. It felt really rejuvenating watching a female lead who, yes is a bitch and will stop at nothing to get what she wants, but is not evil. Hating her should have been easy but there was something so real about her that draws you in. All in all the female lead and her well rounded and strong personality was the first pro that pretty much makes this drama a must watch.

Moving on, the plot, ah yes, can I say it doesn't get dragged? Sadly no, it does during the middle, but were the dragging parts boring and unnecessary? Not really. Everything was well thought out, nicely written and even when the drama makes you say, this is dumb, there is a reason it is dumb.

Generally, The show is a crime mystery thriller to be honest with splashes of romance melo, office and legal drama. On the whole, It could have worked with less and smaller episodes. On the negative side of the drama, Some situations were exaggerated and stretched and what annoyed me is that they quickly got undone usually in the next episode. Sometimes unnecessary developments were done, sometimes not, mostly used for wow factors, while the dumping down of certain characters who were just stupid for the whole show to work was just ridiculous and honestly, infuriating.

Having said that, read some comments complaining about a bad ending. Yeah, cause if the ending is not "pretty, wrapped in a perfect bow" as a viewer perfectly wrote in the comments, it is instantly bubbed as awful by drama watchers. Whatever. The drama's roots are set in a harsh reality, there is no good and bad guy, no hero and villain. All the characters felt real living in a grey area of what is right and wrong. A breath of fresh air for me, exactly like the ending. No it's not pretty, but life isn't pretty anyway. The ending made the drama that much more memorable and somehow it felt fair.

I especially appreciated certain characters' development and I loved the rather healthy representation of office drama along with the existence of friendship in the characters' lives. While, I can easily name as the highlight of the drama, the fucked up romance. The drama can be misinterpreted as "how to randomly obsess over a person who never did anything for you" and call that ridiculous and move on, and ok I respect the makjang of this whole thing but it was much more than just that.

Having said that and as far as the mystery goes, it isn't anything groundbreaking but it is carefully written. What actually excited me however, is that you can easily see what is happening, read between the lines, but you are so invested in the characters you refuse to accept it. The drama builds up and then slaps you in the face, hard. The final episodes offer a plethora of twists, almost none of them were uncalled for, on the contrary everything made so much sense in retrospect, but I just didn't want to see it. Good writing. I rejoice.

ACTING
Acting was strong as expected. Kim Nam Joo made the drama hers and snatched a role to remember for sure. However, nothing would have worked without the immaculate Ji Jin hee (who's been getting hotter with age). I applaud him on always choosing such special roles.

Especially memorable was Jin ki Joo though and I look forward to seeing more of her.

RECOMMEND
All in all, I do see how this might not be a drama for everyone, but that doesn't mean this is a bad drama. I was at the edge of my seat pretty much the whole ride. Worthy drama a for a try, especially if you're into crime mysteries. Steer clear if you need for fluffy romance fixed, this a show for grown ups.

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Completed
Kingdom
17 people found this review helpful
Feb 2, 2019
6 of 6 episodes seen
Completed 2
Overall 9.0
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 9.0
Imma give you straight away two reasons that should sell this drama to you:
1. Netflix production = Quality television
2. Kim Eun-hee (Signal writer) = Quality writing

I’ve been out of the kdrama scene for… personal reasons, for a year and a half now and this drama was announced all the way back when my life was heavily drama-driven. Imagine my excitement when my beloved Netflix actually released this.

Long story short, Kingdom = Zombies in Joseon era. And… lemme stop you there. Zombies is in no way a new concept. In fact we’ve been living in the decade of zombie and post-apocalyptic future TV craze with most shows ending up being a shadow of themselves in later seasons. What’s more zombies have been done by Koreans too, in infamous movies and… mediocre – at best – dramas. However, Kingdom was all but done before. As a fan of post-apocalyptic TV shows and zombies themselves, this drama felt like a complete breath of fresh air. Not only was it a post-apocalyptic historical drama but also it felt exceptionally original.

So what made this – in just 6 episodes – so good?
- Incorporation of classic kdrama troops in an original form.
You got your average, classic historical drama backstory: political conspiracies, throne successors, political struggles to stay in power, corrupted nobles, evil queens ect, implicated with an overall story of a peculiar disease that “make the dead rise and seek for human blood and flesh”.

Which brings me forward to the second original factor:
- Actual explanation of how this shit came to exist
Zombie apocalypse is classic in 2019, we love it, we do. Name a show that actually took the time to explain how this shit happened. Nope! No writer actually went out of his way to try and explain how this happened. It always gets overlooked. But all hail writing Queen Kim Eun-Hee because this bitch gave us a reason. It is nothing groundbreaking and there is no need for it to be, but it is there and it makes as much sense as it needs to please the viewer. This is what i call brave writing, and i commend her on this.

- Plotwists and creativeness
Imma not spoil anything, I’ll just say: episode 6! This was an 8.5 until the last 10 minutes of the season finale. Kim Eun-Hee took an already existing idea and made it hers. Super mini spoiler-alert – zombies run now and that’s not the only new thing about this. At first the zombie classic lore changes felt foreign but there is nothing wrong with experimenting when it actually works!

- *tear* NO ROMANCE
Lemme hear you say YAAAAAAAS and a HALLELUJAH! I’ve been out of the kdrama world for a while now, but from my experience there is no non-OCN drama that won’t shove a romance down our beautiful throats and sorry but I like other things shoved down there (I mean food you freaking pervert!)

- Pacing and Cinematography
Kim Eun-Hee and Netflix makes a good combo cause, bitch that went by FAST and it was the most beautiful thing I’ve seen! Ok that was a stretch but appreciate my enthusiasm. I could easily call the cinematography the best thing about this. Hell each episode cost 1.78 million $ so yes. Netflix went all in, and considering this was renewed in a week, it paid back. The pacing is fast and it makes sense and it introduces new stuff and it has your something new and your something old and honestly, it’s great!

The only reason this doesn’t get anything more from me is because I’d have liked to see more of the characters backstories. Don’t get me wrong, they are well fleshed and super SUPER likeable. But there is somuch content you can add in just 6 episodes and I just missed that. Thankfully the show got renewed, and we got a tiny glimpse of their stories, which felt more like teasing to be honest, so here’s to looking forward to something in the next season.

Last but not least, I enjoyed the splashed comic relief In the episodes. It was there, it felt good, it was small but impactful and did not ridicule any of what was happening. Good writing again Kim Eun-Hee. All hail ect ect….

As far as acting is concerned, lemme be my usual sour self and say: I read that Song Joong Ki was cornered for the lead role but he declined. You know what guys? Some dramas are destined for greatness and… ALL HAIL THE DRAMA GODS FOR LETTING THIS DRAMA BE GREAT!

Phew, it felt good saying that – no offence to his fangirls but I’d like to take my dramas with as little boy-fanservice as possible.

That being said, I think I’ve never seen Ju Ji-hoon before. He was a noble hero, maybe a bit too cliché but it was necessary for the show to continue. I liked him a lot as the lead. And would love to see more of him

Bae Doona. Netflix likes Bae Doona and why wouldn’t they. She rocks, she’s the best *incert fanboying comment here*. I would have liked her to be a little bit more badass, but there was enough badassery here brought by other characters so it’s alright. Let’s make Doona a global star now Netflix ok?

Kim Sung Kyu. Do I know him? I certainly don’t remember him, but boy was he badass? Every character fulfill a purpose and made a flawless zombie-killing squad. The-walking-dead who?

Which brings me to the my fan favourite Kim Sang Ho. We have seen him in tons of dramas. Usually he’s the comic relief right? Correct me if I’m wrong, but he was amazing here, part of the main cast for me. He was the glue that made it work.

Overall, don’t be whiny bitches. This is 6 episodes long, of course it is worth it. Dive in already you won’t stop watching. Can’t wait for the 2nd season.

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Completed
My Secret Romance
29 people found this review helpful
May 30, 2017
14 of 13 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 8.5
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 7.5
Rewatch Value 6.5
My secret romance is like those old mansions you see deep within cities in Europe that date back to the medieval times etc. Sure there are people who love these things, but I belong to those who are all for demolishing these old villas in favour of new exotic buildings. That being said, sometimes you enter these mansions and you are so shocked and surprised by the unique wonderfulness of the interior design that you end up questioning your personal beliefs (personal experience!).



I am happy to admit that my secret romance is exactly like that. Starting it I had no expectations and I had braced myself for the impending, inevitable hard-drop! Even though, I can easily name this the cliché-est kdrama I’ve ever watched; the cheesiest, corniest, fluffiest shit I’ve ever put myself through, yet against all odds, I deeply loved it and honestly I stand here in awe of it. As a rom-com hater, how is that even possible? Well, looking back, I can name a few things.



Secret Romance, despite its heavy cliché-ridden self, had this exclusive, borderline inexplicable dosage of fresh air in it. Kinda contradicting isn’t it? Well, that is the main reason it was so good!



Starting off, the drama is characterized by its archetype characters. Cute female lead in need, shy, naive, with sad mommy issues in her backstory striving to survive and make a living y’know, usual stuff; paired with the uber classic chaebol hawt arrogant womanizer. Been there, done that. What secret romance did differently, ultimately breaking the mould of rom-coms in the best way possible is the realistic and natural expression of young adult sexuality. HELL TO THE YES PEOPLE! No more over-romantic, fake and unrealistic holding hands as the expression of ultimate love. It was ‘bout time drama gods!



More specifically, sexual jokes, innuendos and gestures, taboo job occupations, actual kissing, underwear clothing products and finally the acquittal of sex as a despicable act in kdramaland! There is nothing wrong with expressing sexuality people and it was about time we saw that in kdramas.



In all honesty, I have never witnessed a better romance development in a kdrama. The flirting felt real, the chemistry was exquisite and I enjoyed every moment they had building up their relationship. Nothing about it was really new, but it was the way that it happened that not only felt right but left extremely close to me as a person. The archetype characters strayed only a little bit away from their lanes just to make the drama that much more addicting.



Moreover, nothing about the romance was idealized here (finally); but rather, it was so fucked up that it ended up being relatable – expressing how we can hurt but also heal through an unexpected relationship, how easy it is to misunderstand and how easy it is to misinterpret. So relatable it felt too real! All in all, the best part of the drama for me, besides the lovely chemistry, was the natural expression of sexuality in its complete spectrum, while always keeping it real, cute and never filthy or awkward. I salute the writers for taking a chance here and actually making it work.



Having said all that, I cannot argue that secret romance was perfect. Critically assessing the drama, I have to admit that there were no substantial side characters or stories, most of them misused and underdeveloped. Simultaneously, while there was some basic effort to make the characters feel real giving them stories of their own to grow on, these backstories were barely ever elaborated on and were resolved abruptly at the end out of the blue.



I can safely say, the drama is not perfect and the more you think about it the more problems could be found. This is a drama to just smile and spend 13 fun hours doing nothing but letting your heart flutter. However, the fact that the drama did romance so well and touched upon -otherwise normal- stuff that are for some reason unheard of in kdramaland easily make me give this a well-deserved 8.5 just for that.



As far as the acting is concerned, no awards will be given here, but I don’t think anything was problematic.



I should mention at this point that Song Jieun is my 2nd ultimate bias in kpop (and my list is big, so I do love her) so I might be lenient and biased when I say that I absolutely loved her as Yoomi, she felt thoroughly real and behaved very accordingly to her role. She definitely had this role down and was a perfect match. Since her last project that I couldn’t help but drop, she was overwhelmingly improved and I can’t wait for her next drama.



I will not stay and talk about trite things like how unrealistically handsome Sung Hoon is, like everybody with a pair of eyes can see that. I will talk about how good he is, considering he’s a former athlete though. I am not entirely sure how flexible he is as an actor, and for a moment there I did believe that he won’t be able to act in any role other than the arrogant womanizer chaebol, but let’s not be quick to judge. I’d love to see him again, preferably in a different role next time.



Concluding, my secret romance is like a good pasta dish in a lovely restaurant. You know what it is, you’ve had it a thousand times but each time it is as good; and to top all that off, this plate of pasta has a very unique ingredient inside it to spice things up and leave a unique experience. Therefore, I would wholeheartedly recommend this drama to every rom com lover and honestly pretty much everyone who is looking for an easy watch.

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Completed
Saimdang, Light’s Diary
34 people found this review helpful
May 4, 2017
28 of 28 episodes seen
Completed 2
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 6.0
Despite being one of the most anticipated and hyped-up dramas of the year and in spite of the fact that it marked the comeback of acting-giants, Saimdang ended up being rather disappointing and underwhelming failing to live up to expectations according to the majority of viewers. While I can’t completely argue against any of it and having said all that, I can’t deny that Saimdang turned out to be quite special for me against all odds.

Story
Having had studied Art History in Uni and with it being my favourite module, you can understand my initial excitement when I realized this is a drama about art history but in Korea! Only 2 of my biggest interests intertwine like that. I wouldn’t miss the chance to savour this rare opportunity!

Saimdang is a wonderful drama but not without flaws. It takes place simultaneously in the past and the present, depicting the past and present lives of the characters. Starting in the present it centers on a woman who tries to prove that a painting is or is not authentic facing serious enemies in this endeavor of hers.

Simultaneously and very flexibly the story travels to the past as we get to see the whole story behind the painting in question and how this is connected to our main flawless female character Saimdang and her life.

I can totally understand why viewers found this boring and disappointing. Most of the drama depicts Saimdang’s life but focuses a lot on events rather than romance, politics or other juicy things saeguks are known for. First half of the drama focuses on how Saimdang grew to become a memorable and powerful figure of her time creating and sustaining her own business. There are classic villains who try to destroy her but everything is more connected the job development rather than her personal life. The second half was a bit rushed because of the trimming of 2 episodes and the re-editing was very obvious to the point it reduced the drama’s quality. Still, it stays in the same lane of events.

I read comments from Korean netizens expressing their disappointment in the drama’s direction. More specifically, they disliked the fact that there wasn’t much of Saimdang’s drawing and painting showed. I cannot argue with that. Simultaneously, I can safely say the story line that took place in the present was rather disappointing and ill-developed. I can totally understand their idea behind it but they spent too much time perfecting the past story –which ended up being, understandably, a tad boring for some people- that the present one just rounded up being a constant back and forth.

All that being said, I cannot quite put my finger on it but this drama just charmed me to the point I was completely unfazed by all the -otherwise- stern drawbacks.

I thoroughly enjoyed the backstory. Some of it a bit clichéd – classic evil 2nd female lead who is just too self-centered for her own good- but all of it really interesting and really well-written as far as I’m concerned. Against all odds, I loved the business part of the story, it was inspirational seeing a woman overcome so many pitfalls and achieve greatness!

One of the main parts that I especially appreciated was the female empowerment of the drama. Saimdang on her own is such an incredible character, empowering and just inspirational. Even if we barely got to see her drawing, the passion for it was well-depicted and the characterization was just brilliantly presented!

Moreover, I enjoyed several parts of the past story illustrated like the education for non-wealthy citizens, or how women were looked down upon but were undeterred by it. Plotlines that involve weak and easily manipulated kings are nothing new and play significant roles here as well.

Continuing to my favourite part, the romance. I'm not the biggest romance fan, I tend to rather cringe but here… here it was special! I can understand why some people would find the romance here disappointing. There is no skinship at all; barely any intimacy while everything is kept on a platonic level. Rather frustrating. However, there is no need for obvious affection when you have Song Seung Heon’s eyes just depicting everything better than a gesture ever could. My heart ached in every scene he looked at Saimdang and I was completely blown away by their tragic and heartbreaking love story. Strongest part of the drama for me, but you have to be into doomed couples to like this.

The drama did have some boring parts, but I enjoyed it throughout. I can’t say I felt fulfilled by it, rather depressed especially during the last 5 episodes, but it just felt special in ways I can’t put into words.

Acting
Overall exquisite.

Lee Young Ae. Acting giant and I feel a bit intimidated to actually judge her acting. She was amazing, overflowing with charm and experience; she was a blast to watch on screen. I thoroughly hope it won’t take her another decade to comeback.

Song Seung Heon was luscious in ways I can’t describe. I usually complain about kdramas lacking actual manly characters since all those flower boys have taken the industry by storm. He brought exactly what I wanted to see. Manliness, masculinity all spiced up with actual emotions and sentiments. His character just elicited unlimited emotions out of me, his acting was out-of-thing-world good and he had amazing chemistry with Lee Young Ae.

Other than them, the full casting was amazing and most of it quite memorable, namely Oh Yoon Ah as the evil 2nd female lead, Choi Jong Hwan, Yang Se Jong and the rest really made the drama shine.

Recommend
Considering most of the reaction I saw was rather negative or indifferent I wouldn’t openly recommend this to everyone. Saeguk fans would probably like it and people interested in tragic and unfulfilled love.

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Completed
Ms. Perfect
26 people found this review helpful
May 2, 2017
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 6.0
This review may contain spoilers
“What the actual fuck?!”

I apologise for my language but this is the best and most brief way to describe this completely cray cray drama. Ms. Perfect was definitely bizarre, a bit weird and thoroughly eccentric but left a memorable aftertaste exactly because of all these traits.

Story
Ms. Perfect is one of those hidden gem dramas that should be protected exactly because they can be perceived differently depending on the viewer. On a surface level, Ms Perfect can be described as “the story of a sasaeng fan”. Is that a lie? No it is not, it is actually unexpectedly accurate. However taking a critical look at this and analyzing it from different perspectives, it is arguable that Ms. Perfect is not only deep but actually surprisingly original and profound.

So, what exactly did this drama do so well to make me this passionate about it?

Firstly, It put together several weird, borderline nonsensical characters, gave them obvious roles (the villain, the hero, the victim ect) and forced them to act accordingly but not quite. I think I speak on behalf of every viewer when I say that we were all frustrated by every character’s frustrating decision and way of acting. Having said that, if you take a closer look at the character, it is dead obvious how non-archetype they actually are. There are several layers to all of them, and what I actually loved? It depends on the viewers’ perspective to choose who you want to root for, who is your hero and who is your villain.

Secondly, this is officially the only drama where the 2nd female lead not only was freaking amazing, but WAS the actual drama itself. 2nd female leads… we hate them, don’t we? At this point after so many dramas, we feel intrinsically inclined to dislike them on sight. Yet, here not only do we have a memorable 2nd female lead but one that is so compelling you can’t help but love. The whole drama was built around her and I have never been happier about it! 2nd female leads rule and this drama proved it! My salute to the actress for making this drama work. This drama was a huge celebration to 2nd leads (male and female) and i loved it for it!

Finally, it is arguable to say that the drama is more adjacent to makjang rather than other genres. Don’t expect any heavy crazy shit happening but the drama did manage for at least 15 episodes to make me say “what the hell” at least twice every episode. Continuous plot twists and questions that hover around. The type that hook you on and you cannot stop no matter how ridiculous this shit is. Ms. Perfect was certifiably addicting either you enjoyed it or not.

If I could put the drama under a genre, I would say it is a mystery/comedy (bizarre combination I know). Comedy is reduced to side story character after a while while mystery is strong almost till the end. Despite the quite heavy concept of the situations presented I can’t say the drama ever became melodramatic or depressing or overly serious. Romance is present in the drama but doesn’t happen until the 2nd half and it does not occupy a huge part of the drama. Having said that and since I am not a romance lover, I thoroughly enjoyed the romance here. It was not forced, it was not cheesy, it came naturally and was fulfilling.

All in all the drama for me was unpredictable, with great character writing and well thought-out. It never dragged or had a boring moment.

Acting
I read some negative comments about the acting. Well… I can understand that, but we’ve seen worse haven’t we?

Go So Young was just right and I can tell she really enjoyed her questionable character and drama overall. I wouldn’t say her performance was memorable but I did not face any problems with her
.
I am not Sung Joon’s biggest fan but he’s a good actor. He made a complete 180 here on me.
Yoon Sang Hyun was also satisfying but not memorable.

And after all these peasants let’s talk about the queen of the drama. Jo Yeo Jung. KWEEN! I have deep respect for her. She is not the best actress, definitely, but she knows how to pick a project. I appreciate her because she always goes for questionable dramas and bizarre challenging characters! I don’t think the drama would have worked without her portraying this character! I know if she is in a drama, it’s gonna be a good one! Cheers, you are amazing gurl!

Recommend
All that being said, this drama is not one for everyone. The oddity, the makjang, the frustrating and quite unlikeable characters all have their downside. I would recommend this drama to viewers who enjoy peculiar dramas, want to watch something different and are open-minded. I thoroughly enjoyed it but I can very well see why one wouldn’t.

Characters
The official review is over and spoilers may be included from now on. The drama, even though wasn’t really character-driven (or like one character directed the whole thing) it showed some really layered and multi-faced characters and I want to take some time to reflect on them.

Shin Jae Bok. The seeming victim. I disliked her but I didn’t. I rooted for her to have a happy ending but I can’t argue she really deserved it. Yes some crazy shit happened to her out of the blue and honestly she did nothing to elicit any of it but still… She was the type of woman to bring others down (namely her husband) just for the shake of it. A character that kept looking at herself as a victim (main reason why she’s not one) and was extremely relentless in getting into other people’s business. She could have taken a shortcut and spare herself from all the drama but she just couldn’t do it. A borderline control freak. Having said all that, I can’t deny how strong Jae Bok was, straightforward and direct. Traits I appreciated made her human and relatable but did not make her likeable at least to me.

Koo Sung Hee. The hero (?). Arguably the best written character, why? Because he was rotten to the core, but if you ask him what do you think about yourself? You’ll get such a self-assured answer like he is a war-hero. I was amazed at how selfish he was without realizing it, saying that he “does things” for others either his kids or his wife or his “love”. He said he loved 3 different people in 20 episodes and weirdly, I believe he did all 3 of them, but why is that? Because deep inside it was himself he loved the most. A very incompetent person who tries to always find the easy way out but always with a convenient excuse to look as a hero to himself! Incredible writing for one of the most despicable characters I’ve seen on screen.

Lee Eun Hee. The villain. I am biased, I admit. Bonkers crazy, and she knew it. Batshit crazy, and quite proud. I couldn’t dislike her, not one inch, not at all. Yes she was crazy and her situation could not get any better. If you stand still for a moment and reflect on what she actually did… it is overwhelming, sounds like something no one would do, but simultaneously, quite plausible if you are REALLY determined. To me she was nothing more than a little girl who was never loved. Abused and ignored trying to survive sustain herself and her mental health the best she could, she found settler in one person who gave her the slightest bit of comfort and then she tried to hold on to him. Why? Because he was the first person ever who made her happy. Like clutching at straws, a fleeting moment, her savior. Hence, her constant, relentless efforts to recreate that moment all her life. The one person who made her happy all those years ago, he can do it again. Rather depressing when you actual think of it.

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Completed
Behind Your Smile
20 people found this review helpful
Mar 21, 2017
19 of 19 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 8.0
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 9.5
Rewatch Value 4.5
Behind your smile is my first Taiwanese drama and I am thankful to the friend who prompted me to watch it. Even without being particularly original or unique, Behind Your Smile was very entertaining and fun to watch having something for everyone without being too cheesy or heavy.

Story
The story is a combination of a romantic comedy with a grain of melodrama accompanied by a revenge subplot to spice things up. Tsundere male, seeking revenge for his destroyed family, meets the naïve and gullible female lead who tries to find her impeached mother. The two are intrinsically linked and form an ill-fated relationship that develops into a deep romance – havoc, tears, cheesiness and twists ensued.

The drama, despite its 75-minute-long episodes, was extremely easy to watch, enjoyable, not too basic plot-wise and not too complicated just enough to keep things interesting. Even if it was extended I can’t say it was dragged. The plotline was well-thought out making forward steps either on story or character-development.

My favourite part of the drama was the fact that it had a something for everyone. Mainly a romance-comedy, it was heavy on romance and even if I didn’t see any particular chemistry between the leads they shared some steamy, fan-servicy kisses, they looked great together and had good synergy.
Moreover, the comedy was kinda cheesy but cute and entertaining. While lastly, my favourite part, the backstory was not new but well-written and strong, implicating families, revenge, had twists and some melodrama, good for every taste and thorougly entertaining. I sincerely enjoyed the whole thing.

Continuing, the music was sensuous even if it was regularly repeated. Worth downloading, what I mainly enjoyed was the re-arrangement of the title song to fit many different situations, dramatic scenes, comedy scenes ect.

Character development and the concept of forgiveness and selflessness drives the story and gives significant lessons to viewers.

Acting
The acting wasn’t the drama’s strongest suit but I can’t say it prevented me from enjoying it.

Liu Eugene is probably the weakest link of the chain, maybe it was her character maybe not. It was kind of annoying to watch her being that defenseless at first, also her childlike attitude didn’t help, but it was part of the character, similar characters are usual in dramaland. In some scenes I was enjoying her performances some other times she couldn't convey her feelings properly tending to fall short or overact. Not bad overall, but a bit weak.

Hong Angel excelled in being a bad bitch with anger issues, I loved her, her role was a bit limiting, and she also couldn’t cry express any other emotion other than fury to save her life. She was good though as a raging mean girl and that was why she was there.

Yang Esther is probably my favourite out of the female characters, cute, funny and badass with a misunderstood emotional side. Beautiful as well.

I left my personal favourite for last; Chang Marcus wasn’t only the best actor in this but also he is easily the most handsome Asian actor that has graced my laptop screen. Extremely charismatic and charming he had the arrogant, mean bastard with a soft and kind interior act down. I’ll be stalking his next projects.

The full supporting cast did alright but the drama was mainly Eugene and Marcus, even the rest of the main cast didn’t really have a prominent role in this. –also thank god no unnecessary love triangles!

Recommend/Rewatch
As it was already mentioned, behind your smile has something for everyone. Rom-com fans will definitely enjoy this; the backstory makes this good enough for people who like more serious dramas too. It is a light-hearted drama, easy watch but still interesting with a strong plot. Even if there is nothing innovative about this drama, it is cliché done right. I will never rewatch this but I can see how it can hold some rewatching quality for some viewers.

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Completed
Defendant
67 people found this review helpful
Mar 21, 2017
18 of 18 episodes seen
Completed 6
Overall 9.5
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 7.5
Putting this drama into words is not easy. Spending the last few days, I was trying to come up with one word that can describe Defendant, and after some thought I think I got it. The drama is simply captivating and mesmerizing!

Story
Without being particularly original or unique, defendant feels completely one of a kind. Part a legal-crime thriller part melodrama, Defendant is solely a two-man show. On the one hand, it centers on a prosecutor –the hero- who finds himself in prison, is accused of murdering his wife and child and dealing with memory lose on top of everything else. On the other hand, it focuses on a wicked man –the villain- who tries desperately to get away with his crimes. The drama develops partly as a mystery and later as an endless manhunt between the two as the one tries to destroy the other.

First half of the drama takes places in prison. I sincerely appreciated the fact that the drama did not spend time with court and other boring legal procedures but rather looked everything from a different personal-dramatic view of the hero delving deep into his troubled thoughts regarding his indictment. The memory loss plot is just a device to drive the story nothing more, so don’t worry about things dragging out a lot. The amnesia plot was handled in a very refreshing way in my opinion.

Second half of the drama is way more engaging, more dramatic, more lively filled with tension, angst and twists. The acting is luscious and you will never get bored of seeing the turning tables and schemes between the 2 lead characters. The drama is melodramatic without being mawkish, but there are also comic scenes and characters to relieve the tension and they succeeded without ridiculing it. There are quite a few characters implicated in all this making the drama that much more thrilling and mysterious.

While the drama really left a very strong impression that could translate into a perfect 10, specific reasons restrict me from it. Firstly the conveniently written base story. Frankly, there is no drama that is not at least partly convenient, that is how they work, and then the drama is just so good you’ll barely mind the convenience here and there.

Moreover, the main drawback I could address is the slow development of the plot especially in the first half of the drama. I remember me thinking that the drama offered its first real plot development, since the first 2 episodes, in episodes 7 and 8. After that the story really picks up pace. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed every episode. Even in episodes in which nothing much happened, the drama managed to be fascinating, bewitching and easy to watch.

Finally, although more of a nagging stretch from my part, i felt that the drama somehow mistreated its flawless ensemble cast by focusing too much on the 2 leads. It's not that the characters felt unreal, it is exactly that they were so well written that they deserved some kind of story of their own, namely Kwon Yuri's character. All that being said this focus on the main leads just gave Ji Sung more time to be flawless on my screen i shouldn't nag! I hereby reassure you none of these minor shortcomings were enough to reduce, even by little, the awesomeness of this drama!

Acting
Despite the great and thrilling plot, best part of the drama for me was the acting. The cast is actually quite large, with almost every character having a significant role to play. I cannot argue that the acting was an overall 10, but as I mentioned already this is a two-man show and these 2 men simply outdid themselves!

I can safely say we all agree that Kill Me Heal Me was Ji Sung’s best work; he demonstrated perfectly his unrealistically good acting skills. Ladies and Gents, I present you, the drama in which Ji Sung managed to outdo himself(!). His acting as a tainted inmate fighting with himself over his charges trying to solve the puzzle was magnificent and astounding. I doubt there is another male actor who can break down crying, act like a lunatic like that and come off as firm but also desperate and emotional as Ji Sung did. He sent chills down my spine, goosebumps. Either acting as a disoriented inmate or a strong and driven prosecutor or an aching father and husband he was immaculate. He knows exactly how much soul and emotion to pour into his performance in every scene. Excquisite! I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again best actor in dramaland.

The duo is formed with Uhm Ki Joon. I’ve seen him before but never like this. He portrays the antagonist but somehow he had such great syngery with Ji Sung, something I’ve never seen before. His portrayal of twin siblings was firstly impeccable; secondly his performance of a despicable criminal was spotless and shivering. A corrupted unstable person who still felt human and somehow mistreated and misunderstood. Undoubtedly, i never saw me having these feelings about such a villain. Heavenly acting by Uhm Ki Joon! A character you’ll love to hate. The two men managed to really make the drama shine 10x brighter than it would have on its own and they complemented each other completely.

The ensemble cast had a few really good actors. Yuri generally gets a lot of shit for her acting, she is considered the female lead, but considering the significance of her character she barely appeared. She served a purpose, and imo she held her own next to acting beasts despite being rather forgettable. I especially liked Uhm Hyeon Kyeong, not a big role, but also a significant and poetic one.

Oh Chang Seok and Kang Sung Min played similar characters that developed in the exactly opposite way, amazing writing here, they were great. All the cellmates were immaculate and adorable too, the drama generally featured some of the best and more likeable side characters I’ve ever seen.

Lastly, my personal favourites, Kim Min Suk who was sentimental and touching, loved him and my endless love and appreciation for Shin Rin Ah, the ridiculously talented young girl who never cease to amaze.

Even if the acting wasn’t perfect overall, it deserves a 10 for the perfect casting and synergy.

Recommend/Rewatch.
Despite your preferred drama genre, defendant is a drama that cannot be easily put to words, it should be watched. Therefore, I recommend it to everyone. It is emotional, exciting, thrilling, mysterious and intriguing. It does not have romance but believe me you won’t even care! I can see myself rewatching it in the future.

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Completed
Vivid Romance
20 people found this review helpful
Mar 18, 2017
21 of 21 episodes seen
Completed 4
Overall 8.5
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 7.5
Rewatch Value 4.0
I think I speak on behalf of everybody when I express my disappointment in web-dramas generally. It’s not that they are bad necessarily, but rather, being only a few hours long, they never have adequate time to develop and show something substantial and meaningful. However, Vivid Romance not only met but even exceeded my expectations of a webdrama coming off as completely adorable with strong messages and good comedy.

The base story is delightfully silly. It centers on a clumsy young man who has been constantly failing to achieve his big dream of becoming a police officer. After some endless disappointment in every department of his life he decides to take part in an experiment that enhances his senses and abilities. I could say the drama is inspired by the movie Limitless but it is wonderfully embedded in the Korean rom-com recipe resulting in a cute mini-drama.

The main genre of the drama is romance, it revolves completely around the main couple and the idea of destined love. I could argue that the drama had a lot of untapped potential considering its fantasy sub-plot but it’s ok it wanted to focus on other things. Simultaneously I thoroughly enjoyed the dorky comedy and how straightforward and fast the whole drama was. I can definitely say that the drama used the limited time it had in the best way possible to demonstrate a simple but adorable, light-hearted and interesting story.

That being said, my favourite part of the drama was the strong life messages the drama offered. Notions like, “believe in yourself and work hard, your dreams will come true”, “never forget and always appreciate the people who are next to you through thick and thin and never disregard them, they love you for who you real are” as well as “never try to squeeze yourself in somebody else’s life, people who love you will find time for you” come easily to mind after watching this drama. At the same time i appreciated how there was some minor effort to breathe some life into the main characters making them relatable. It was meaningful yet very enjoyable and light.

The acting wasn’t anything spectacular but just right.

I’ve watched Yoo Shi Yoon before but, apparently, he barely left an impression since I didn’t remember him. Obviously, he suits such cute, borderline awkward characters a lot. He really shined in this role, he owned it and made the drama work. Loved watching him.

My first time watching Jo Soo Hyang, she wasn’t memorable really, but she was good enough. Kang Ki Young is just loveable and he deserves some main roles, his comedy skills are the best among young Korean actors, always a delight to watch him act.

Overall the drama, considering its short length, I’d say is recommendable for binge-watching. Simple, funny, cute, short with a story, it is bound to make you smile! Recommended to everyone especially rom-com fans. Nothing extraordinary here, but one doesn’t need anything extraordinary to have fun.

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