I'm going to be completely honest here; if anyone is trying to convince you that "Love Me If You Dare" is a compelling, mysterious, cat and mouse suspenseful detective drama, that will keep you guessing- they are lying. It's as simple as that.

As someone who has seen her fair share of crime/mystery/detective shows, I can testify that there was not a single unpredictable twist in LMIYD. Simon, even though he is supposed to be this genius mastermind is, frankly speaking, extremely over-hyped in the show. The clues that he finds and the mysteries that he solves could easily be the work of a rookie detective and more often than not, his discoveries would be so obvious that I'd solve the whole thing before Simon even began to work his mojo.

For being Sherlock, his intellect was not very impressive, and when the show climaxed, the real culprit was unmasked and it was supposed to be this "wow, wow super wow" moment, all I could do was yawn, because I had already made the seemingly mind blowing revelation about four episodes ago.

Let's not forget that the main heroine is literally there as a pretty face and nothing else. She's so irrelevant to the plot, that it's actually funny. She has no role in anything and is there just to showcase and shine a different light on Simon's personality. Her character has been used merely as a superficial prop to revolve around Simon and I find it a little bit offensive as a woman, that for someone who is supposedly smart and who showed a lot of promise in the beginning, she remained nothing but a cliched damsel in distress till the end. Like for goodness sake, as much as I love Asian dramas, I am really not a fan of the wholly patriarchal society they mostly seem to portray.

So all in all now, I'm going to tell you the real reason why LMIYD, is in all its entirety so freaking famous. Why people are giving it great ratings left and right. Why they would claim that it is probably the best drama ever written. The answer lies in One Name. Two Words. One Person: Wallace Huo.

First of all, nobody can deny the fact that Wallace Huo is the epitome of beauty. He's gorgeous; plain and simple. I can watch a thousand of brainless plot-less episodes, if it meant I could stare at his face for hours. And stare at his face I did. I ogled him so much that I was afraid my eyes would pop out and I would drown in my own drool. Because, not only does he have a very pretty face, he's also an excellent actor. His dialogue delivery is entrancing, his expressions are spot-on, his walk is elegance incarnated and everything he does, he does with utter grace. If Wallace was to spout complete gibberish, the onlookers would still be starstruck because he'd relay that gibberish in such a way that it would seem nothing short of Shakespearean. This is a one man show. He's the king here and he commands it with his charisma, allure and masterful acting skills.

In short, LMIYD would have been nothing but a superficial drama with outwardly beautiful people if Wallace didn't give it soul. And to be honest, there's this one scene towards the end, that makes watching all the "meh" typa episodes that led to it worth it.
*Spoiler*
It's that scene where Simon has to pretend to kill the woman he loves in order to best his enemy. I'm not going to lie, I watched that scene about 15 times and my nose bled every single time, so much so, that I thought there was an imminent danger of death by blood loss. You can't help but fangirl like a lunatic when you see Simon display so many different emotions. That scene is purely iconic and is the reason why I gave this show a solid 7.

So, if anyone tries to tell you otherwise and claims that they aren't shallow and are all like "oh but, it had so many other great things than the male lead", know that they are frontin' for Wallace is the only thing great about this show.

Read More

Sometimes Justice Comes At The End Of A Fearless Woman’s 6 inch, Red Bottomed High Heel

Queenmaker is a story of two ferocious women on a quest for justice wielding power politics and pantsuits in their own unique ways.

It is a tale of a powerful friendship formed between a ruthless corporate strategist on a path to redemption and an idealistic lawyer who believes in doing good at all costs- together they are phenomenal and a force to be reckoned with.

I am going to be honest, Queenmaker started off slow and tacky for me. Essentially, its premise is one we have seen many times before.

You know, the whole evil Chaebol family VS righteous underdog story that has been done 110 times in every other k drama. In the beginning, it felt dry and over the top like these dramas usually are and even a bit unrealistic.

However, soon enough it built up momentum and succeeded in hooking me in enough that I was easily able to ignore all of these flaws. I have to admit a lot of it had to do with Kim Hee Ae and her glorious power walks, short boss lady hair and the excellent OST that hyped up most of her scenes.

The drama is filled with veteran actors and the acting is spectacular across the board with the two women in the forefront stealing the spotlight.

Kim Hee Ae, 3 time Daesang winner comes through with her badass character out for revenge and justice. Nobody portrays a mix of ferocity and vulnerability quite like her. Her chemistry with Moon So Ri, who holds her own is great on screen and gives birth to one of T.V’s best sismances.

As far as the plot goes, I do think that the viciousness of politics is done quite well. While a bit dry and redundant at first, it gets more riveting as the stakes are raised and the battle of wits between our good guys and the wicked skyrockets.

It’s also nice to see how balanced the two sides are. Our protagonists face real problems and setbacks which makes the victory all the more well-earned and sweet.

The antagonists are also entertaining to watch on screen and despite their overall horridness, the writer tried to give each of them some well needed layers and substance so they weren’t just evil for the sake of being evil.

The fashion, style and music in the show are top notch with some crisp cinematography. The character development is fantastic. So much so, that at the end of the show both our leading ladies have seen significant growth in character.
Overall, the drama feels much longer than 11 episodes and while it does make use of the usual plot devices like “the deadliest of exposers aka tape recorder”, the writing is, on the whole, pretty sound.

This show is undeniably a show about women, with women and for women. However, what I really like about it is that it gives some pretty strong messages about what it’s really like for a woman to rise in power in a man’s world without being preachy or in your face about it.

The drama is definitely a big bowl of feminist soul fuel that touches on the possibility of what could happen if strong women start to back up other strong women.

Definitely worth a watch and 100% Jeana Approved.

Read More

This Is Me Worshipping You.

Raw, real, emotionally charged live wire of a drama that feels like home; My Liberation Notes is powerful in its simplicity.

Have you ever felt down and depressed? Like nothing makes sense anymore? Have you ever felt listless or too lazy to make the effort. Have you ever felt giddy with joy? Nervous about a crush? So incredibly weak and out of control? Anxious about the future? Disappointed from life? Happy about the smallest things? Self conscious without reason? Devastated after a breakup? Struggled with your weaknesses?

Basically, have you ever just lived life and experienced all its beautiful, tumultuous, heartbreaking ups and downs? If yes, you’re living this drama because this is about you and me. It’s about us all. It’s about family, love, heartbreak, growth, sorrow, joy and just trying your fucking best to survive.

It’s about people who each carry their own baggage, they lose, they win, they cry, they celebrate, they are broken but so fully human and every single day they wake up and find a reason to live life in all its complexity.

Here are a few reasons why you absolutely need to watch this:

☑️ Wildly atmospheric
This drama is gorgeous. It makes you feel the emotions through beautiful sceneries and stunning shots. Coupled with the excellent cinematography, you get one of the best sound tracks ever. You feel the summer heat, the lonely winter and the dangerous rain. Every scene in this drama is punctuated with feeling and is brimming with emotion.

☑️ Romance Of The Year
While the story showcases multiple lovelines (each bringing their own flavour to the table) our ultimate ship is our prickly Mr. Gu with eccentric Mi Jeong. What starts as a relationship that’s merely a distraction grows into a sizzling, passionate bond between two people who are flawed but are utterly compatible. The chemistry between them is combustible and they have real and intense moments where they are wholly attuned to each other baring their truest form. God, their love is believable and it makes you root for them fully as you watch them grow and evolve both as individuals and together.

☑️ Dialogues, story and writing
The dialogues in this drama are excellent. To the point, that you want to just grab a notebook and jot everything down. The pacing of the show, while slow at the start is oddly captivating as you go on. It has an aura of mystery that hooks you in and doesn’t let you go. Aside from the slightly rushed last few episodes, plot progression and the writing is almost perfect with little to no loopholes. Instead of a single climax scene, the episodes contain numerous small but powerful and highly nuanced moments that somehow make everything that happens important. Like a detail you can’t miss because nothing is filler.

☑️ Acting & Characters
There’s not a single character in this drama that you aren’t fully invested in. The three siblings are each badass in their own wholly human way and are extremely lovable. Every single person in this show comes to their own phenomenally by the end of the drama. The fact that the acting in this is brilliant across the board just brings it full circle.

☑️ Mr. Gu is the sexiest man alive
Oh my God, that man can walk into my life and I’ll gladly lay down my lashes for him to step on. Not only is he handsome as all hell. His personality makes him the tall, dark, just the right amount of toxic and dangerous mystery man that screams trouble for all women.

He is played excellently by SSK who uses his expressions like a masterful puppeteer and strings us along dancing to his tune. You feel Gu’s rage, volatility, his pain and desperation in a way that gives you chills.

☑️ Full of heart and FEELS
Just after a couple of episodes, it’s clear you can’t passive watch this show because you’re already in too deep. You care about everyone in this drama too much. These are your people and you worry for them, hurt for them, laugh with them, cry besides them and cheer them on.

There are hard hitting moments complimented by some top notch comedy, coupled with a sprinkle of action, served with a side of tears and heartbreak, peppered with a lot of love, nostalgia and feeling of home. There is something for everyone.

☑️ Binge Watch or a Weekly Watch?
I binged these episodes when it was halfway out and wanted more. When I ran out of airing episodes, I waited for it with bated breath, every weekend. And every weekend it felt like a comfort blanket that wrapped itself around me until I was right there in Sanpo with these characters that I had come to adore.

However, because the first few episodes do have a lot of vacant stares, depressing quotes and slow buildup, if you can’t binge, it’s okay to take breaks between the episodes. It’s the kind of show that you can always come back to and pick up where you left off.

✅ Final Thoughts:
As someone who usually doesn’t like slow paced, slice of life shows, believe me when I say this drama has the power to change your mind.

A fantastic journey, that brings forth a delicious, immersive blend of both darkness and light- My liberation notes is possibly the most stylishly executed and deeply captivating drama of 2022.

An absolute must watch.

Go ahead and get liberated, I dare you.

Read More

Fun, dramatic and mindnumbingly stupid Season 2 of the Makjangiest Makjang on the block

Even though I enjoyed this A LOT, I have mixed feelings about this show so I'mma break it down into pros and cons. Read till the end before getting triggered.

Cons:

▪︎The first half:

"Can this show get any more ridiculous?" asked my tired brain after it finished yet another episode full of repetitive, pointless misery that was only half as entertaining than what it used to be.

Don't get me wrong. The shock value is still high albeit it gets more and more predictable with every episode. The black comedy is still top notch, I was morbidly laughing my ass off 90% of the time. It's still a fairly easy to watch show. Kinda like junk food, you know it can't possibly be healthy for you but you're still watching. Almost begging for it to get better.

This is a Makjang. So, I trust that if you like those and you've watched season 1 you already expect this to be over the top and exaggerated.

However, despite how OTT it was, season one had a solid direction and the characters were actually built nicely.

Behind all the noise, if you looked, you could find some nuance and thought behind the way characters functioned. So, by all counts it was a well made show and it wasn't a surprise that it became a household name in Korea. That's great but then obviously the drama creators got greedy and they wanted to prolong the victory for two more unnecessary seasons.

By ending the last season the way they did, they found a sure shot way for us to continue. Surely, we were all angered by the triumph of the bad guys and wanted to see justice prevail. Going to watch season 2 was the easiest decision for all of us. Unfortunately, in just a few episodes, the drama writers made me effectively stop giving a shit about everyone in the show.

The writing was just terrible, nonsensical and laughably bad in this one. It's like they ate a bunch of plotlines and then vomited it out on screen. There's no point of this show because things happen just for the sake of happening. During most of the drama, there isn't a single character you can root for and the evil characters that were interesting and charismatic asf in season 1 start to seem hollow and one dimensional in this.

It's the same old thing over and over and over again. Bullying, murder (but not really), revenge (but not really) and Repeat. And we are getting no where. It gets tiresome to watch a repeat of season one with none of the wow factor.

The worst thing is that for most of the show, the protagonist is Yeon Hee who is the single most brainless character to ever appear on tv. She was horrible in season 1 and unfortunately, worse in season 2. She functions on half a braincell and only knows how to whine and scream my ears off. That's it. Not a single ounce of sense in that woman.

There are a few hilariously unfunny plot twists that the writers pulled out of their ass and they stank of bullshit.

Yes, the antagonists did deliver their best. Cheon Seo Jin killed her performance as always. The acting didn't suffer and remained at the top but what's the point when you've stopped giving a fuck about the story and the characters?

It's just a cycle of seeing miserable and mindlessly evil adults and teenagers be pointlessly cruel, greedy and annoying for 13 hours straight.

The direction is still crisp, the drama exudes luxury of the Hera Palace and I love the brilliant music pieces but we already saw all that in season 1.

For a show to function, the good guys need to be on equal footing as the bad ones but here the antagonists >>> protagonists. Even when the bad guys suffer it's mostly because of their own stupidity and infighting. Hardly any badass good guy moments in 70% of the show and at one point, you're just wishing for them all to just kill each other and save you the frustration.

▪︎Pros:

So, I wrote all that and you're like um, is there anything left to say? Yes, there is. The show finally picks up in the second half. Don't get me wrong, the writing is still completely bogus and the plot is very silly and unrealistic BUT you finally get a character you want to root for.

This is the 30% of the show that absolutely makes you want to power through sitting right at the edge of your seat.

I don't want to give spoilers but I'll just say a badass bitch is back in the house and once she comes, watching the show becomes much easier.

Episode 12 is literally one of the most satisfying episodes as slowly but surely our good guys get ready to whoop some major asses.

Throughout the show there are some very touching moments in the way the parent and child relationship is portrayed. Some scenes were really nicely executed and I got some major feels even when overall the drama lacks emotion because of the inconsistency in pace and writing.

The ending is also very satisfying but annoying in equal measures.

Overall, is this drama WACK? Yes.
Is it trying to be anything else? No.
Will I be watching season 3? Fuck yes.

This is the crack I run on. You don't have to use your brain while watching it and it's strangely addicting.

So, keep your expectations low, turn off your brain and enjoy it to the maximum!

Read More

When it's so bad, that it's good...

Over the top, filled with cringe comedy and ridiculousness; this drama somehow made me go from shaking my head at its antics to thoroughly enjoying it in an endeared manner

First of all let's talk about the elephant in the room. I am not going to deny that this show is problematic. Even if we skip the fact that this 'family drama' is derived from a very ethically questionable adult webtoon and is bound to direct attention towards the source material, there are still many other things to frown upon.

In the very first episode, the FL (a highschooler) kisses the ML (an adult and a stranger) without his permission, then goes on to be very handsy with him throughout the show despite knowing that he has a girlfriend, beats up people left and right and well, basically does a lot of what your typical drama 'bad boys' usually do. (It's inappropriate behavior regardless of the gender.)

Then, in a very ignorant fashion, for comedic purposes the drama introduces a supporting character (ML's best friend) that has angered the international community for culture appropriation and rightfully so. Korean dramas have never been known to handle sensitive topics 'sensitively' and should know to stay away from them which Backstreet Rookie clearly does not do. It helps that he has reduced screen-time as episodes progress and that the fast forward button comes in particularly handy for his scenes.

So if these things make you shy away from the drama then it's completely understandable and you should do you.

But now for those who were able to walk past the controversy: The thing is while being ignorant, the drama clearly is not malicious. It's pretty obvious that they are just trying way too hard to be funny and sometimes it strikes true and you're left in fits of laughter and other times it doesn't and the result is just embarrassing.

Soon we realize that the FL; a young girl who doesn't have it easy, who lost her father too early, who has been raising her sister alone is quite a lost child inside. She is aggressive at first in her persuit for the ML (who is the only one who seemed to give a shit about her) but soon she becomes more mature and thoughtful. She is strong, stands up for herself and those she cares for and loves fiercely. After you get through the first episodes, she becomes an increasingly likable heroine and you can't help but root for her.

This role doesn't do anything for Ji Chang Wook as an actor. His character is not the typical male lead and not very attractive. He is a pushover, a 30 year old man who lives with his parents, doesn't have a lot of self respect, let's people run over him and despite his good looks, he doesn't do much in the beginning. However, soon you see his strong sense of justice, his love for his own family and the fact that he is literally an actual good human being and so you warm up to him.

The acting is great across the board. The main couple looks so good together (the romance follows with both of them being legal adults) with great chemistry. The OST is stunning and the cringe comedic camera effects during action scenes also grow on you after a while.

The best thing about it, is that even though it's very obviously in your face slapstick, the drama comes with these surprisingly heart warming and emotional moments that sneak up on you and hit you in the feels.

Also, since it is by the same creators as The Fiery Priest, it has A LOT of drama references that are absolutely gold and leave you roaring with laughter.

Overall, it's a light hearted romantic comedy, that doesn't take itself seriously.

So I'd say if you tried the show and couldn't get past the objectionable material, that's perfectly fine but if you are one those who want to watch this show and are hesitating just because of the negativity surrounding it, I suggest you give it a try and let the drama make its case first.

Enjoy!

Read More

City Hunter is the bastard child of Healer and The K2; less developed than the former and more developed than the latter but unfortunately far less entertaining than both of them. It's one of those shows that start out with a bang and you expect them to incinerate everything in their vicinity with utmost badassery but regrettably, they choose to fizzle out into helpless ash instead.

I've never really understood the allure of Lee Min Ho before and admittedly, I sought great enlightenment in that regard with City Hunter, however, 20 episodes in and I'm still lost. It's safe to say that he is the namesake of Korean Entertainment Industry, internationally famous and even No#1 on the most popular list on our beloved MDL but for all that hype, there isn't much basis. To put it bluntly, he really isn't a very good actor. Sure, he's plenty cute but sadly his gorgeous looks can't save his acting from being plagued by redundancy and lack of versatility.

Lee Min Ho is like a bar of undiluted highly sweetened chocolate; eat one and you'll thoroughly enjoy the delectable sugar high but eat too many and it will turn from delicious to downright nauseous real quick. In other words, he's not the type of actor whose shows one can binge-watch because doing so will be akin to subjecting yourself to the monotony of a recycling machine.

For being an almost perfect hero with no flaws, his character "Lee Yoon Sung" is surprisingly not the sharpest knife in the cutlery and even though the writers created him to be very likeable, he is straight up annoying at times. The biggest example of that is probably when somebody close to him gets shot or severely injured in front of him. Instead of calling the ambulance like a normal person would, he absolutely has to act out the whole 15-minute-long over-emotional dramatic scene filled to the brim with hysterics where he clutches the dying person to his chest, looks deep into their eyes, cries tears of heartache and assures them that they will indeed not die, all the while sufficiently increasing their chances of said death.

I mean, how Kim Na Na survives after being shot is still an enigma to me because our dear Yoon Sung did try his level best to cause murder due to excessive blood loss because wallowing in misery and repeatedly asking your girlfriend why she'd take a bullet for him is oh so important than taking her to the nearest hospital. (Of course, he donates blood to her later and saves the day because we can't let our watchers forget who the true hero is, now can we?)

Park Min Young is a cute actress and Kim Na Na is essentially someone that I would really root for. Which is why, obviously, the creators had to abuse her character to the maximum. I mean if you're going to sell me the fact that a woman who can fight off eight thugs when her man is in trouble, walk right into the heart of danger without an ounce of fear, is an excellent shooter, a level four in Judo and just a badass in general can just as easily be kidnapped, drugged, taken hostage without so much as a mewl in defense by a single man, I'm sorry, but I'm just not going to buy that bullshit. The only thing that I despise more than spineless damsels in distress (without just cause) is a spineless damsel in distress disguised as a strong and highly intelligent heroine.
Na Na did not deserve to be used as a tool to highlight Yoon Sung's character just so he could appear to be the perfect knight in shining black mask, rather, she should've been an independent and resilient woman in her own right who could effectively save herself, but alas chivalry trumps all.

If that isn't enough, City Hunter gives a new meaning to the term "bad romance". It introduces two people who don't deserve to be together in any possible realm and force them to fall in love. As it happens with forceful collision, the result is destruction of both entities. Their affection for each other is completely unbelievable. No matter the martyr syndrome, noble causes and tortured hero bullshit- simply nobody should have to deal with Yoon Sung's horribly immature and selfish attitude. He's constantly pushing and pulling at her, switching gears and being cruel for no reason and Na Na's highly self-sacrificing, outrageously understanding, Mother Theresa level righteousness is frankly, pitiful. Add zero chemistry into the mix and you get a perfectly stiff romance that is difficult to swallow no matter how many justifications you provide to wash it down with.

To top it all off, both the actors have a very short emotional range and their crying scenes made me feel like the awkward back-patter who has to fake sympathy in order to not look like a douche-bag. Furthermore, you got to love how every single dirty politician is exposed with video recordings because it's absolutely 100% inevitable that sooner or later all corrupt criminals will announce the entirety of their sins word by word in thin air. You just have to conveniently be at the right place at the right time with a recording device at hand and you got yourself a wonderfully detailed confession. How exotic.

However, get depressed not, because the show does admittedly has its moments. The best thing about it is the fact that the few things it chooses to well develop are indeed, excellently executed. The injuries are very realistic and if our protagonists get hurt they actually suffer for a lengthy period of time instead of possessing magical healing powers. (Ahem, K2, ahem)

Kim Sang Joong is simply the star of the show. I mean, talk about charismatic villains. Not only is he extremely handsome for an ahjussi, he's also a brilliant actor and I think his cold-hearted glares ultimately made this show worth watching. Lee Jin Piyo is a ruthless mastermind, too cruel and extremely focused on his single-minded revenge. Anything that comes in his way is collateral and messing with him is synonymous for signing a death warrant. I'm not going to lie, I seriously shipped his and Yoon Sung's father-son relationship (as lacking and unhealthy as it may be) and one of the best moments of the show was their showdown in the last episode.

Prosecutor Kim with his holier than thou attitude, fierce determination and power walk (despite the fact that he in reality accomplishes nothing as a prosecutor and loses every time to the City Hunter) really grew on me over-time which was why it was really heartbreaking what the show did to him. I mean, if they were going for emotional impact they got it because honestly, I got very teary-eyed in that particular instance.

There's no denying that the story of City Hunter is very well thought out, the suspense element is nicely done and the interaction between the main characters and some of the supporting one's (Yoon Sung's mom, Bae Man Deok, Sung Chang Hoon and Jung Joon) were really touching to see. The music is good and even though City Hunter's strategies aren't exactly Sherlock-esque, I thoroughly enjoyed all of his exposés. There is a tiny idealist that resides in my heart that secretly loves the whole sentiment behind a masked hero saving the people in times of need and despite all of his flaws I was still sincerely rooting for Yoon Sung.

So, in conclusion I'm going to say that City Hunter is over-all a pleasurable drama, it makes you stick to it till the end and anticipate the incoming episodes with a fervor but when you sit back and ponder upon questions like; "What scene would I like to rewatch and put on replay?" "Which event was unforgettable?" "Which part got my heart racing?", nothing comes to mind. It is surely a good time-pass but not something that'll get you invested.

P.S: I hope all the Lee Min Hoes and City Hunter fanatics out there don't have a Cerci-mode walk of shame leading to execution-style murder in mind for me. Y'all are gorgeous human beings so please go easy on pelting the "This review ain't helpful" button.

Teehee ^~^

Read More

They say: revenge is a dish best served cold, what they don't tell you is that it is even better when it is served by three badass women who have a bone to pick.

Everybody knows I love my drama boys but sometimes you just need good ol' girl power to get you going.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned and Avengers social club brings you three furious women who've been scorned enough.
Jung Hye, an heiress who has had to put up with ten years of empty marriage, being constantly overlooked as a decoration piece that has no say whatsoever in important matters; Hong Do Hee, a fish-selling single mother who has had to deal with her children being bullied and facing constant contempt because of her poverty and Lee Mi Sook a perfect wife who has had to suffer domestic violence and humiliation on the hands of her husband.

But when you get tired of all the agony, what do you do? You take revenge.
And this brings us a show about how three women band together to stand up for themselves against society conventions, domineering men, stuck-up bitches and anyone who thinks that a middle-aged ahjumma is easy to run down.

However, two is better than three and three is better than four. And the fourth member in this perfectly mismatched group is Jung Hye's smart and compassionate step-son. Just a highschooler who has been constantly abused and used by his parents, he's taking it no more.

And so these four beautiful individuals form the infamous Bokja Club, ready to turn the tables on every bastard that did them wrong.

Avengers Social Club is an excellent drama. Together with genuinely heart-touching moments and high class comedy, it comes out as a quality show that has you totally invested.

The best thing about the drama is the character development. All these people grow together as friends, forming a permanent bond and excellent chemistry, while simultaneously growing strong as individuals. By the end of the show there's not a single person in the drama that doesn't change or grow.
The three women come into their own, embrace the power wihin and their journey is simply heart-warming to watch.

The cheeky instrumental soundtrack makes the hilarious antics of the Bokja Club all the more enjoyable. The drama is beautifully written, shining a light on society's serious issues all the while mainting a constant sense of humor.

All the revenge schemes are realistic and you find yourself whole-heartedly cheering the members on. Even the antagonists, not the brightest bulbs in the kitchen, bring a lot of mirth to the table.
This is a show that gives you pure joy and fills your heart with warmth.

Empowering women, the power of friendship and the message that it is never too late to take a stand; the drama comes with its fair share of unadulterated goodness.

With Avenger Social Club, revenge has never before tasted so sweet.

A must-watch.

Read More

Ah, let me catch my breath for a minute. I need a moment to get myself out of the spell this show has cast on me.

Rookie Agent Rogue is the definition of awesomeness overload. Not only is it as addictive and tempting as a large grilled cheese burger (with extra fries), it also contains the quality and substance of 100 percent organic leafy greens. In short, this is the kind of show that fulfills your appetite and your taste buds.

It's no secret that Zhao Zanilia is my favorite Chinese actress, however, I'm not at all blind to her faults. I know that she's definitely not the best actress in the world; her crying scenes are pretty bad, she can't pull off intense emotions to save her life and sometimes her acting is downright wooden. So the fact that she is surrounded by an excellent supporting cast in this show should be a huge problem for her.
But no, like always Zanilia makes use of the thing she does have an excess of; charisma and grace. And like always, with these two things she wins the masses.  

She consistently brings forth characters that are genuinely likable and so it isn't at all a surprise that I love my girl Yanzhi. A lot.

Simply put, Yanzhi's a badass babe; smart to the bone and exactly what you imagine when you think of high-class agents. She carries out brilliant strategies and shootouts, all the while calmly chewing her gum and rocking her dark shades. She's too cool to be true to be honest.

Our leading man has just as much swag. He has his roguish charm, precision in murder and the stoic detatchment which makes him deadly. At the same time, he's an upright and passionate soldier with an extremely conpassionate side. In the beginning of the show, it's very unclear who the main love interest is and I remember literally praying and crossing my fingers that Zhou Hehao was the main guy and later, when I got to know that he was the male lead all along I felt pure happiness. (It's the little things...)

And then ofcourse, last but not the least, comes our second female lead: Feng Manna. Tao Xin Ran often steals the show with her brilliant acting. Feng Mana is a very complicated character; vicious by circumstance, filled with hate and not a woman you can mess with. But deep down she's vulnerable, insecure and just a lost little girl. Even though I hate a lot of things she does, Xin Ran's masterful acting skills stopped me from truly despising the character.

While a lot of shows can be enjoyed solely because of the main leads, you know a show is truly good when you feel an actual connection with the supporting cast too. Every single character in the drama left an impression on me.
From one episode cameos, to the central roles, the eccentric villains and the faithful soldiers- every act was executed almost perfectly.

This is one of the few Asian thrillers that actually thrills. Apart from a few things here and there the show holds a significant amount of unpredictibility throughout. I couldn't for the life of me guess what was going to happen next. Is the mission going to be successful? Will my beloved hero come out alive? Will the leading lady get out of danger unscathed? I had no idea and I often found myself sitting on the edge of the seat with my heart running a marathon and my nails chipped to bits.

This drama is filled with murder, mayhem, violence, political strategies, masterful schemes and espionage. It's a story of war, love, sacrifice and loyalty. Even though there are a lot of character deaths, it's the small things that actually touch and wreck your heart.

The soundtrack of Rookie Agent Rogue is simply epic. The skillful harmony of music and screenplay is beautiful and sets the perfect mood.

Another thing that's absolutely epic is the love-story. Ahh. The romance is so good but so less. I desperately wish there was more but considering this isn't a romance drama, I have to content myself with what I got.

Both Lan Yanzhi and Zhou Hehou are ingenious individuals in their own right and so together they assert their badassery over everyone. And they do it in style.

A fast-paced drama with a consistently intelligent plot-line and an extremely satisfying ending, RAR is definitely not a show to be missed.

Enjoy!

Read More

My love for Ji Chang Wook is no secret. Whenever he comes on-screen I have an almost physical reaction to him.

Really, you should watch me watch him.

I have a huge school-girl crush-y grin on my face, my heart starts palpitating and all the Aaahs and Ooohs on the spectrum emit from my mouth.

However, my personal bias aside, there is no denying that he is an excellent actor. No matter what role he's given, he puts in his 11O% and owns it. Unsurprisingly, he does the same in Suspicious Partner. I spent all my time swooning at his adorable actions, fawning at his beautiful face and admiring the way he is able to smoothly deliver so many expressions all at once.

My obsession with him is exactly the reason why I hate giving any drama JCW stars in, a rating less than 8. It makes me feel all sorts of 'disloyal', but unfortunately sometimes you just gotta tell it how it is.

And the 'it' here is the fact that aside from Ji Chang Wook, this show has little to nothing going on for it.

Suspicious Partner starts as a strong, romantic suspense drama but somewhere in between it loses its identity. So much so, that when we're done with it, it fails to properly execute either of the genres.

I want to give credit to the female lead, for she does try and do her best to be quirky but unfortunately, I don't feel much for her. She feels like a support role, at best. There's also the fact that I had to put a lot of effort in getting over her role as the annoying kid Queen Seon Duk, which was a feat in it self 'cause ten years later, her mannerisms are exactly the same as before.

While there is a good dynamic between Ji Wook's Law Team and some hilarious moments between them, nothing really stands out. The sisterhood and bromance has so much potential to be a golden point of the show but unfortunately, it is left untapped.

There is some majorly good acting put out by the antagonist but the show does not develop his character as much as it deserves to be.

The whole crime mystery is dead and very predictable. The second lead romance falls flat and more often than not, the drama stumbles into the realm of utter boredom.

There are some good OST songs here and there but again, there's nothing I would lose sleep over. A lot of questions are given unsatisfactory answers, plot-holes are abundant and so are convenient plot-devices.

The story-line is mediocre, if we're being kind. They use so many ideas from Ji Chang Wook's other shows. Some scenes are copy pasted from The K2, a whole plot-line regarding the heroine's father is taken from Healer and it is all just more of the same ol' same ol' bs.

If it wasn't for JCW, I'm sure I'd rate it even less. And even though I am an eternal fangirl; I love him to the moon and back and I think he is as perfect as always in this show, I will still say that I didn't see him go the extra mile here. This role couldn't have been a challenge for him and because I know that he's an incredibly versatile actor; I'm so ready for him to bring us something phenomenal and better than this.

So over-all I guess it's a good time-pass.
Not too bad, not too good but extremely forgettable.

Read More

Internalised misogyny 101 and a masterclass in reducing strong women to pure drivel

Alchemy of souls season 1’s downhill trajectory in the second half and that clusterfuck of an ending should have been enough of a hint for us to not continue with season 2.

Oh but most of us did. We so did. And do you know what? S2 actually had a promising start. For what it’s worth, I thought Go Young Jung did a good job with bringing forward a new Naksu who had retained her innocence and wasn’t tainted by all the misery. Jung so Min was a tough act to follow and GYJ did it seamlessly, quickly making us like this cute, sweet, resilient and silently strong woman in love, atleast for a short while.

The usual amnesia, cold man/warm woman angst worked well enough as a guilty pleasure watch in the first, say, three episodes but then… it got real old real fast and you quickly realise:

YOU DON’T WANT A CUTE, SWEET, RESILIENT AND SILENTLY STRONG WOMAN IN LOVE ANY MORE.

No. You want Naksu back. It’s absolutely ridiculous how Hong sisters created this idea of a damaged female assassin with baggage who can be selfish, tough, vulnerable, ruthless and is actually a multi layered character and then spent a season and a half forcing her into the role of a ditzy damsel in distress, constantly in need of saving by oh so strong men.

While her male leads are getting these magnificent and badass grand entrances where they fight a hundred enemies in one go, what does the supposedly powerful female assassin get? A good amount of screen time where she faints, gets hot flashes or enjoys her favourite past time: crying helplessly.

The plot in season 2 is nothing to sing home about. It’s just Jang Uk running circles around the elephant in the room: the identity of Naksu who is traipsing right under his nose.

They just drag and drag and drag that one plot line that by the last episode you really just don’t care at all. The grand reveal is also extremely lacklustre and anti-climatic. It’s like the Hong sisters are making shit up as they go and wing-ing it like their lives depend on it.

The cheap attempts at contrived emotion with the fake deaths, sentimental music and dumb cliffhangers is the height of poor writing.

While the Crown Prince does bring in the comedy and there are a few adorable bromance moments; they are nearly not enough to carry the show on for ten episodes.

I am honestly so offended with the way they dangled the possibility of Naksu owning her skills and showing every one who’s boss in front of me like a carrot and forced me to watch till the end but all I really got was unnecessary pining, a grade school romance, a heroine whose entire purpose is solely to build the hero up and then make herself scarce and Hong sisters displaying how deeply they are entrenched in their own internalised misogyny.

There’s no other way to say it because God forbid, the female lead actually saves the day in even one episode. Blasphemy!

Don’t even get me started on the other potentially powerful female character in the drama “Jin Bu Yeon” who was reduced to little more than an after thought only getting five minutes of mentionable screen time.

So really, going in this show, please don’t expect an actual plot, story line or any sort of meaningful character development because you’ll end up having your intelligence insulted.

Instead, check it out only if you want a mindless watch that serves as a guilty pleasure and is more or less fan fiction in TV form.

Oh and there are some steamy kisses.
Hong sisters really thought they’ll throw in some skin ship as a band aid over the bleeding, torched, infected and full of pus wound that was season 2’s plot.

Make of that what you will.

Enjoy.

Read More

God, why? Just why is this a thing?

I know that you're not supposed to write reviews for shows if you haven't completed them but honestly, I just couldn't contain my bewilderment with this one. I really truly don't understand why anyone in their right mind would watch this. (Especially a non-EXO fan) If you know the answer to that, please enlighten me.

I mean, this is just plain bad. Period. You've got to get high and lose a few brain cells in order to find this shit hilarious. Don't get me wrong, I've got no problem seeing Sehun, Chanyeol, D.O and Bacon do their thing but when you add one hell of a TSTL (too stupid to live) heroine in their midst, it just turns everything sour.

I couldn't handle Ji Yeon Hee's immaturity for a single second and her brother's cute awkwardness wasn't nearly enough to balance it out. She's cringey on a whole other level and it's not adorable in the least. Also, the way she talks with her mum is just awful. I swear the brat needs to sit the fuck down and check her priorities. Funny how, she's always being a snarky ass bish to her family but she can't utter a lone syllable in front of boys. And she's 22. Enough said.

Furthermore, let's not forget how they got Chan to play the brooding, cold, bad boy type. Like, I just can't at this moment. Chan out of all them? Chan, really?
He's like an adorable little puppy at his worst, m8. Why, oh, why must you do this to me?

Obviously, I watched it for plain ol' fanservice and wasn't expecting a plot, good acting or a consistent storyline and fairly enough, it did indeed lack on all those fronts. But what I also didn't expect was the human embodiment of complete and total aggravation that was our female lead.

It is amazing how I even managed to stand 4 episodes of this nightmare. It truly is a fete when a show is so horrible it makes a 15 minute episode feel like an hour. I repeatedly checked how much of it was left and when I realized that I had endured so much suffering and only 5 minutes had passed, I think I decomposed a little inside.

The only good thing that came out of this was that the guys were able to make money off of it. As far as I'm concerned, I'm sorry but I'm just not strong enough to bear this kind of agony.

I am in dire need of an efficient eyewasher and a mental detox after this. I'd try to come back after I heal and watch four more episodes to support the group but surely, recovery from this requires total mental rest for atleast more than 365 days.

For all those people who watched and enjoyed this, I envy you. Really, kudos to you. I don't know how you did it. Fighting!

(At this point this isn't even a review, more like an existential crisis.)

Read More

Lies, deceit, murder and two broken women on a mission.

I may spend 360 days out of an year complaining about draggy dramas that are slow paced and bore me to death but when the weather hits just right and the sun goes down and I am in a certain type of mood, I spend the remaining five days seeking slow burn, dark, art house kind of movies and shows that feed my soul.

The thing with dramas like this is though that they bank heavily on two things: atmosphere and characters. It’s less about what is happening and more on why it is and the psyche behind it. If done well, they can give you a delicious little mental workout while thoroughly creeping you out.

“Lies hidden in my garden” absolutely nails the atmosphere. It delivers on the eeriness, the creep under your skin kind of horror and creates a perfectly unsettling and disturbing mood.

I absolutely love the camera work in this show. Some of the shots are truly stunning cause of how beautifully they overstate or understate events in the drama.

My particular favourite is when a character has this great revelation and the camera takes a 180 degree tilt and it’s almost like you can feel the character’s world turning on its axis.

So absolutely gorgeous cinematography coupled with a decent music score that highlights the underlying tension of the show.

Now, come the characters. I don’t know what it says about me that my choice for the best and most dynamic character in The Glory was Lim Ji yeon’s bully. 💀 I thought she slayed the role and so, it’s no secret that I picked this show up for her.

Her character here, is again not a very likeable one. She is an extremely broken woman, a victim of domestic violence, pregnant, broke with a sick mother and a burdensome brother to deal with, who is as greedy as she is volatile and as helpless as she is tragic.

LJY steals the spotlight as she flits over her various emotions and I think she delivered the complexities of her character fairly well.

The other most promising character is of the husband- the chilling, absolutely terrifying motherfucker who gaslights and lies as a passion. The actor killed the role and proved to be a very promising villain.

Now, here comes the elephant in the room- Kim Tae Hee and her character with an awful lotta screen time. KTH is a talentless and weak actress who has built a career on face value and it shows. My words are harsh but they are true. She is very uninteresting to watch on screen and gives life to a character that’s inconsistent and hard to empathise with because of how dumb she is.

Just because of her existence, the show loses its edge and brings down its standard.

Other than that, the writing of the show is nothing to sing home about. While the suspense element is done pretty well, the twists are hardly things you can’t see coming. Moreover, some plot lines/characters are introduced only to never be properly explored, making scenes with them just pointless and leading nowhere.

It’s like you understand what the writer wanted to achieve but they didn’t do a very good job doing it.

So, overall It’s an okay-ish show that you can enjoy only when you are in a certain mood. Good thing that it caught me at the right time so I did enjoy it but in good conscience cannot praise it for the quality.

Honestly, I think shows like Anna and movies like Burning and Voice of silence are better alternatives for this show. They’ll give you the same mood and take up less time.

So that’s that.

Enjoy!

Read More

Action, pizzazz, bromance and a whole lotta stupidity.

As far as entertainment value is concerned, Bloodhounds does have a lot of it. The drama is full of hot oppas kicking ass and a wholesome bromance between Woo Do Hwan and Lee Sang Yi- who give you both Men in black and dumb and dumber energy at the same time.

WDH shines with his Alpha bunny presence and owns the role. The action scenes are snazzy, the comedy is great, it has a lot of interesting characters, the villain is charismatic, the friendship theme is at an all time high and it’s a very addictive and watchable bite sized show.

That said, the writing is painfully stupid. Like it’s just really fucking bad. The characters do such mindlessly idiotic shit just for the sake of conflict that you can’t take this seriously at all. It’s just 8 episodes of plot holes, meaningless deaths and 0.0001% common sense.

It’s junk food without substance and nothing too deep. However, it did bring me outta a super long slump and I did have fun watching it which is why I am not giving it a 4- which is where I think the writing’s at.

Cause what they are trying to sell you is essentially that a killer who is more or less the underground mafia who has killed samurais, hardened criminals, professional killers, gangsters and has the country’s richest and powerful in the palm of his hand can only be defeated by two goofy millennials who are still wet behind the ears and know how to throw a punch…

It’s hard to buy the BS, you feel me?

Anyway, overall a nice time pass and good for some swoons and giggles.

Read More

Overpowered Oppa with 768 IQ and ninja skills saves the day once again! I am surprised.

Listen to me. I really wanted to like this drama. I wanted to like this drama so bad that I watched it to the very end just so it could prove me wrong. I was crossing my fingers to the last minute, almost praying for it to get better. I ADORE Lee Je Hoon and Esom and I love the crime/thriller genre so there really was no reason for me to not like this except that... this is just bad. There, I said it. Now, let's get to the list of reasons why:

▪︎Writing▪︎
See, the fact that this drama is based on true cases was something that was like catnip for my True Crime loving heart. It started out strong as well with a few really jarring cases but soon it gave way to sheer monotony. The cases are so dramatized and they all follow the same black and white format: extremely evil villains get caught by a bunch of street smart folks out for vigilante justice.

That's ok, I mean. That's what you expect from an episodic drama what's not okay is the sheer amount of stupidity in literally every episode. The way these cases are solved is just mindnumbingly dumb. They hinge on convenient plot devices, pure luck on the good guys's side and Lee Je Hoon's ultra acting skills. Yes, you can let the ridiculousness slide once but not again and again.

▪︎ Just an example: ▪︎
Our ML wants to teach this criminal lady (who voice phishes people out of money) a lesson. He wants to play the biggest uno reverse card in k drama history and instead rob her out of all her wealth. So, what does he do? He romances her ofcourse. That's okay. Then, he goes along with her to the bank and leaves his duffel bag that is CONVENIENTLY fitted with a microscopic camera and asks her to take care of it. And what do you know, this lady who literally runs a whole voice phishing ring and bosses around quite a few dimwits CONVENIENTLY places that duffel bag on the freaking table where her atm pin machine is and she also CONVENIENTLY angles the bag towards the pin machine so the camera can CONVENIENTLY record her pin and the good guys can then CONVENIENTLY use that to rob her out of her money as revenge.

I mean, come on. Who even puts a gigantic ass duffel bag on the table and not the floor in the first place? And even if they do, how can the good guys know for sure that they will. It's just them counting their blessings instead of using actual smarts.

See, this is just one example because every single episode is filled with ridiculous stuff like this that requires a lot of suspension of belief.

Moreover, the way the Taxi Gang operates is akin to flashing a bright neon sign that says 'Look at us! We exist' so the entire secretive, batman hiding in broad daylight saving the world plotline falls flat hilariously.

There are also a lot of flashbacks, scene repetitions and just lazy writing with the way conflicts are written for the main leads.

▪︎Characters▪︎
This is your typical squad of self righteous goody two shoes united by their shared tragic pasts. The male lead is so over powered. He can fight, is smart, is hot, is basically a wonder boy all around. You know your typical oppa in every run of the mill k drama.

These guys never lose. Everything is just a small hiccup for them. Never mind the people they are trying to catch are seasoned murderers/criminals and have been successfully evading the authorities. No, because this gang of average joes can take them down EASILY.

I mean yes it helps that one is a hacker, one is an engineer, one is a CEO- but really these job descriptions are all just for the sake of moving the plot. These are one dimensional characters you've seen in so many dramas before and while there is definitely camaraderie and warmth between them, there's not enough focus on thorough character development both individually and in terms of the group dynamic for us to truly form a connection.

The serious problems they do face in the last couple of episodes are so tropey, badly written and resultant of their own stupidity complimented with pointless death baiting and trucks of doom that it's hard to sympathize.

The antagonists are screechy and definitely not the smartest bunch themselves so the entire drama is just a bunch of goldfishes fighting against each other.

▪︎Female Lead▪︎
Now this just made me mad. Prosecutor Kang Ha Na has to be one of the worst female leads I have ever seen on screen. Now, I know a lot of people didn't like the fact that she was out to get the group but I didn't have a problem with that. My entire issue was how useless she was. Her contribution to the plot was zero and she was just terrible at her job. I wanted her to have like 10 minutes of relevance and I would have been pacified but no throughout the show she wears these badass business casual suits and power walks to... literally nowhere.

She's the last to arrive at the scene, she solves nothing, saves nobody and basically is just a walking talking product placement there to create this fake and hollow opposition for the Taxi Gang and to justify or question their system of justice.
Cause after a while, even you start thinking that if the Prosecutor with so many resources at her disposal can't even decipher the most basic of clues, it's better to just let this rag tag group do their thing.

The only action the poor girl gets is this random gun firing in the air for like five seconds where she badly tries to assert her barely there authority. It's sad, really.

▪︎Plot Development▪︎
The ending episodes just makes the drama look like it's floundering for direction. For like 12 episodes, it has different cases, then suddenly it just focuses on this one villain and then phew that gets solved and what do we know, they pull out an entire plot line from thin air and just throw it in your face. There's no structure at all to the show and it feels like the writer brainstormed all these ideas and just splattered them all on screen without any elegance whatsoever.

▪︎Acting▪︎
Now, here's why watching this drama really hurt me. The cast is phenomenal. Lee Je Hoon is a chameleon. He is great at completely embodying every role he does. Esom is so charismatic on screen. The rest of the cast is great as well but the plot execution and script is so bad that despite the talented cast, it's just 16 episodes of wasted potential.

▪︎What I Did Like▪︎
The only saving grace for me was the comedic moments in the show cause they made me smile and Lee Je Hoon in his various roles was a delight to watch. There was also a lot of potential love/hate bickering chemistry between Kang Ha Na and Kim Do Ki that was left untapped.
The action sequences while enjoyable are nearly not as sophisticated as some other productions. Some fights look obviously fake and visibly "acted". You see the punch, hear the punch but it's like it never really landed lmao. Still, action with hype music playing in the back is always good.

I also loved Esom's Prosecutor boss but he has a total screentime of like 30 minutes in the entire show so that's awkward.

▪︎Ending thoughts▪︎

In my opinion, this drama is a time waste and massively undeserving of the hype. Better examples of episodics with a gang of underdogs fighting crime with crime can probably be found in Bad Guys and Mad Dog.

So, even though I know that you guys are readying yourself for hate comments and downvotes right now, this drama still gets a solid NO for me. Sorry.

Read More

The stupidest drama award of 2023 goes to … you guessed it right: Arsedal Dumbronicles

Character Consistency? Who. Logical Storytelling? Who. Emotion, heart and substance? Who.
I feel so disappointed, that we have to get into it.

❌ Acting:
I have said it before and I’ll say it again- Lee Joon Gi and I vibe. I think he is a better actor than SJK, does killer action scenes, has a lot of range and knows how to play complex and dynamic characters. That said, he sucked absolute ass playing a dual role in this drama.

Oh, don’t get me wrong, the man acted more than some actors will in their entire careers. He made all the right faces, all the right moves and you could see how hard he was working. Yet, it was like he accidentally brought Moon Lovers’ script with him and played the Fourth Prince for 12 episodes straight and nobody said anything,

Because whatever LJG played was definitely NOT Eun Seom or Saya. He played his own characters that lacked the essence of the ones we saw in the previous three seasons. I mean sure he didn’t have much to work with because the writing of the season was absolute trash but still- his Eun Seom and Saya were the exact same people. There was no difference at all and it was just annoying to watch. They knew it too which was why they just yeeted Saya out of the script and called it a day.

Other than that, we had Shin Se Kyung, I don’t wanna talk much about her cause the thought of her acting makes me wanna stab myself with a chopstick. She’s one of the worst actresses alive and this writer duo keeps giving her strong female characters to play which she effectively dumbs down with a portrayal that mostly consists of her wide eyed and sputtering like a fish outta water. The rest of the actors were good but really, when the two main leads who are constantly stuffed in our faces are so meh, what’s the point?

❌ Writing:
This has to be some of the worst writing done by these usually awesome writers. It’s abnormally bad. The characterization completely goes to shit in this season. Saya, who was arguably the most loved character of the first three seasons, becomes as useless as a doormat and has major side character energy. They completely dumbed him down and made him act like a cowardly weasel who keeps running from his enemies. I was so so so frustrated because it was like they wanted to effectively break all of his fan following so they could champion Eun Seom and make him a convincing hero considering he was Beta as hell in the first three seasons.

Speaking of Eun Seom, they decided to shove him down our throats as this overpowered God who was one-note as fuck, could never lose, was suddenly Machiavelli in a wig, hardened and ruthless as Inaishingi- which as we all know is a complete 360 from what his character was supposed to be. I really came to dislike Eun Seom because I didn’t connect with him at all. They killed his emotions and stuffed him with one dimensional heroism which was boring to watch after a while. All the rest of the characters were on some spectrum of dumb to dumber and lacked basic sense.

The best character was undeniably still Taealha- the vicious, tigress of a queen and mother. She’s the only person interesting to watch. It’s funny to me how the villains had more heart and emotion than the good guys who were just robotically going from one battle to another with surface level feelings.

❌ Lore:
What lore, really? They just made up whatever they wanted to. The prophecy that was driving the whole shitshow came into being with the most underwhelming climax of all. They totally ditched it last minute and added new stuff that frankly, insulted the audience’s intelligence.

❌ Direction:
Let’s be honest, the direction wasn't great as well. The previous director jumped ship and without him they never landed on their feet again. I hated the editing and abrupt cutting in this one and the camera work for a production this big was just average. That’s not to say the cinematography and special effects weren’t good, cause they were - especially with the fight scenes, it is to say that as far as scenic shots are concerned, none of them were good enough to be memorable. They focused too much on the fight and gore to really give a shit about anything else. Also I can’t believe that they decided to put an English song and used it as OST for literally a historical show based on the early civilizations of Korea. Make that make sense.
Every time it dramatically started playing as one ancient warrior slashed another ancient warrior, I stopped taking this shit seriously.

✅ The Good Stuff?
Honestly, there wasn’t much. The hype action scenes were exciting, yes. The strategies and politics were slightly interesting but they dragged way too much. Taealha kicked ass as always and the instrumental was good. It was fun to watch the gorgeous and talented LJG do his thing even if he was completely out of character for the roles he was playing and I sincerely believe his talents got wasted on this script.

❌ Other than that, this was a waste of time. I get that there were a lot of hiccups, I get that the time was short with only 12 episodes and I get that there were new actors but honestly, if you know all of these things, then you should be focusing on a few important themes than just overstuffing the drama with plot lines and hype scenes with no real substance.

I think this is one of those very few shows that had such a big budget and a lead actor that I absolutely love with so many strong female characters and still ended up being a complete basket case.

100% Jeana Disapproved
#JusticeForSaya

Read More