Second Chances

Park Min Young once again brings her A-game along with a very strong cast. This drama is technically a Revenge drama but it's so much more nuanced than that.

The female lead is killed by her husband and then wakes up in 2013 and realises she has the opportunity to live the time again and do things differently. The drama has a really interesting take on "fate" - where other dramas might note that you can't shake your fate, in this drama the female lead realises that while you can't shake it - you can try and shift it to other people and in that escape it. From there, a very clever game of manipulation starts to take place moving all the pawns around to try and shift her fate and make a better life.

I really enjoyed the plot, i've kinda binge watched it over a couple of days because I was hooked, I wouldn't say it's a complex plot - there's plenty there but you're not going to get a headache trying to keep up. It's technically time travel, but again, this is very understandable and watchable without a physics degree :)

Park Min Young is always excellent, paired with Na In Woo, who frankly towers over her. His character starts out dull and lifeless but just as Park Min Young's character undergoes a transformation so does Na In Woo - though he does struggle to set aside the plastic personality a bit, it definitely improves.

Standouts for me in the cast other than the leads were Song Ha Yoon who plays the utterly unhinged best friend, once you've watched this - go and contrast her performance towards the start of the drama with who she is towards the end, really talented actor.

Lee Yi Kyung is always a favourite to watch but where normally he's doing comedic stuff this is really quite nasty and a very different side. Done well. I was still expecting him to yell "CAJA!!!" and run off though... (hopefully you'll get the reference).

Last one - Choi Gyu Ri - incredibly bubbly character and just brought a lot of light and fun to scenes she was in.

Music was excellent throughout, frequently found myself banging the arms on my chair with the rhythm of some of the upbeat songs it has, but there's a nice range in the OST.

Overall, well worth the watch!

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A Giant Game of Go

I very much enjoyed this - I had just finished My Dearest a couple of weeks ago and this overlaps in time with Captivating the King starting with the end of the Qing invasion and the prince being sent to Shenyen, followed by the gradual collapse into some insanity of the reigning king (they each take a slightly different lean on this aspect though). Translator Jung is also present in character as well (different actor of course and with different motivations compared to My Dearest). If you've watched one, watch the other, it's interesting seeing the common bits as well as the different takes on things.

The standout for me is the male lead - this is the first time i've seen Jo Jung Sook in an entirely 100% serious role, all of his others have allowed him to bring his brilliant light heartedness and comedic sense but there is nothing comedic about this role as he starts as the prince and progresses to being the King it's all serious all the way.

I enjoyed the interplay between the characters, the scheming going back and forth, and the strategies that the two leads were employing even independently of each other. It's like watching a pair of grand masters at work. The writing here was exceptional I felt.

I was absolutely hooked on this from start to finish - binged the entire thing in fairly short order.

Shin Se Kyung is someone I always enjoy watching and I thought she delivered well in this, does seem like she's a marmite attraction to many viewers but for me, I thought she was great.

As the bad guys start to get taken down there are definitely a number of "punch the sky" "yess!" moments to be had, especially with the big-bad :)

Well worth the watch in my view!

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Complex, but brilliant

There's a lot going on in this drama, and the mix of mental illness can, at times, perhaps make it a little harder to follow but try to hang on and there's a great story here.

I'm not a fan of revenge type stories, and i'd argue this maybe is and isn't, there's revenge flying around in all directions though and that adds to the intrigue of unravelling layer after layer of what happened, when, to whom, and understanding that helps understand their motives to that point etc.

Jang Na Ra is, as always, absolutely outstanding. I can't think of a more perfect casting for this. I must admit, initially I thought the story wasn't going to do justice to her range because it seemed like she was just crying or depressed all the time but she can say more with one expression on her face than many actors can with a bunch of lines. As the story progresses you realise there's so much more depth and she's right there to meet the challenge.

The rest of the cast were great also, especially Ah Rin (the young daughter) who played her role beautifully.

Music is excellent, still humming it as I write this review!

As I say, this one isn't a straight forward easy-watch, I watched this over a small period of a few days and it helped keep all the strands understood and in mind, the little things back and forth. They do reflect back a bit but a lot less than many dramas (which I think is a good thing tbh, sometimes some drama episodes feel a bit like clip-shows, not so here), but you'll still need to keep up with it. There's one moment in the story - I won't go into detail - but you will go from end of one episode shocking conclusion to start of the next and genuinely think "wait, I must have missed an episode or three" - you haven't bear with it, it's actually a really interesting approach to telling that part of the story.

The dramas shows some of the prejudices that mental health sufferers can face, the challenges they have against them, but also leaves you with a strong feeling of positivity and hope as well I think.

Well worth the watch when you're in a headspace for something a bit more complex, this is no lightweight :)

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You've seen bits of it before... but it's still lots of fun

You are definitely going to be getting de ja vu while watching this, I agree with some of the other reviewers - I definitely found myself drawing comparisons with Goblin, Black Knight, and some Doom at your Service.

But you know what? It's still an enjoyable watch, I love the sound track and the chemistry between Kim Yoo Jung and Song Kang was excellent.

There's some threat and mystery as people keep dying around the main characters as we figure out who that is and follow that trail, meanwhile the demon is making deals and ultimately all the stories come crashing together and we realise there's nothing random about this at all.

There's one thing they didn't face off squarely though in my opinion and I suspect it was to keep the positive tone particularly in the ending, but it just rang off key for me. Black Knight faced it head on, he was immortal, she was mortal, there are implications for that and as tough as it made Black Knight to watch it finished the story. I kinda get why they didn't go down that route, but it just felt like a bit left unsaid.

Cast are all brilliant. Kim Yoo Jung is always a top star and I enjoy watching her performances, Kim Hae Sook is brilliant to watch as well, and Cha Chung Hwa's character is brilliantly done too, I especially like her cap - which has "GOOD" written on it, but one of the O's is barely visible. I mean, just in case you needed it spelled out...

The show does have one of my favourite lines though, which i'll paraphrase ;)

"People like to think I control everything, but really i'm just a companion on their journey".

I like that, it played off well in the moment too.

It does have a magic button fix-all moment, but I think it worked and was led up to numerous times prior to it happening so it didn't feel like the writer had an "i have no idea how to get out of this, i'll just magic up a solution" moment.

The little bickering bit at the end however just felt really odd. I guess the writer was trying to get a final message in but honestly it didn't hit home for me at all, and just scribbled a bit over the general positive theme.

I'd certainly recommend the watch, I've not regretted watching it in the slightest, though I don't rate it as one of the best they don't all have to be the best!

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Finding yourself

Originally picked this one up because of the cast - Ji Chang Wook, Shin Hae Sun, Kim Mi Kyung, and more, what an amazing cast! Special shout out though to the younger of the three sisters and her daughter, I loved some of their interactions, really well written and performed. I'm a massive fan of Shin Hae Sun's work so I'd have watched this regardless to be honest!

I recall there were fears online about it being a bit like Hometown Cha Cha Cha but honestly it's nothing like that at all, this is very much its own story.

Predominantly set in Jeju-do we see our three sisters return there after Sam-dal's career goes up in flames and they each go on a journey of reflection and growth to find their real path in the world. Sam-dal had been under a pseudonym while in Seoul and wasn't really being her true self, her elder sisters marriage had ended and she'd not really found her place or any direction following that and the younger sister who has a daughter, her husband had died.

Being set in Jeju-do means that you've just got non-stop beautiful scenery in this drama. It's also good to see the Haenyeo's (female divers) feature prominently in a drama too, it doesn't happen too often, but in this one they're fundamental to the whole story. Lots of fun banter and interactions, they're fun, fierce and loyal and will go to the ends of the earth to defend their own.

I never thought the story wandered, it always seemed to be continuing in a direction, and I didn't get bored watching it. For me, from the start this was a must-watch each episode that came up.

It's a pretty light easy going story on the whole, there's no violence (well, beyond what could only be described as comedic violence) or abuse, there's no murders, just people figuring out their path.

There are numerous moments that will dampen the eyes as things progress.

I think of all the journeys undertaken, the father of Yong pil is probably the most meaningful, dealing with bereavement for 20 years and never getting past it, creating a huge rift between two families that were closer than blood and how that all intertwines fundamentally in the whole premise of the story, as well as its conclusion. It's not an easy answer, there's no magic button moment, you're on this journey with him and his performance is superb throughout (even if you do kinda want to throw things at the TV sometimes...)

The daughter of the youngest sister is brilliant, she's going to be an amazing talent to watch develop as she gets older I think, the future is bright for the cast of dramas to come!

Definitely worth a watch if you're in the mood for something a bit lighter, some occasional tears (assuming you're wired that way, not all are!), some good laughs and a feel-good trajectory throughout.

The drama also does a fairly good job at supporting Jeju-do tourism - I really want to go do the Jeju Olle Trail now...

Is it entirely perfect without flaw? Well, the final bits of the ending where they cut to the various people in "The Power Rangers" (the name of their group) is a little silly, things that didn't work before suddenly work magnificently at the end, but, I'll allow it, it really doesn't matter to the story and fits with the up beat tie-a-bow-on-it ending.

Interestingly, I thought this was a much better "weather" drama than the "Forecasting Love and Weather" which just fell flat for me - this one has some actual weather-moments and you feel like you're a little more involved in the KMA's work. I really need to dig a little and see if anyone's actually managed to pull off a good drama based entirely around the KMA.

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The Songs! Her Voice!

Park Eun Bin never, and I mean, never, fails to deliver and this is no exception - adding a whole new facet to her talents by having her knocking it out of the park with that stunning voice she has too, alongside her already award winning acting talent.

The rest of the cast are great too, of course, and I particularly loved the interplay between Park Eun Bin and Kim Hyo Jin (who played Ran Joo), and Lee Re who played Seo Mok Ha when she was younger was an absolutely inspired choice - the two of them were a brilliant younger/older pairing and so often when watching the older Mok Ha I could see the little twitches or tells that were the same as Lee Re portrayed on the younger Mok Ha - this truly felt like a younger and older version of the same person.

This is a story of people who have lost their way, whether it's in their careers and dreams or literally on an island, and how those people find each other and guide each other to their futures.

The music throughout is spectacular, absolutely my taste and i'll be adding most of it to my playlist on Spotify, wait for the credits at the end of the last episode for a different video to one of the songs too featuring Mok Ha on the island, nice little treat.

Of course aside from Mok Ha on the island, you've got a number of other things at play, from Ran Joo losing her way as an artist, to the other things happening to Ki Ho, Mok ha's friend from home who tried to run away with her at the start that threaten to not just derail their futures but potentially worse.

Numerous times throughout watching this you'll get those big warm fuzzies, or ball your eyes out, depending on how you react - not spoiling anything but... Ran Joo and the balloons, that's all i'm saying. Sorry, i've got something in my eye...

Trigger warnings - abusive parents at the start, pretty tough to watch, but it all contributes to the story I thought and none of it was gratuitous.

I'd happily re-watch this one. The songs, the sights of seeing her grow and sing, the journey the other characters take, I don't think knowing what comes actually diminishes the value of re-watching it much if at all.

Right, i'm off to get a fair-use warning on Spotify for listening to the OST for this too much...

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A Mess

I really had to push myself to finish this one and with them delaying the *final* single episode by a couple of weeks just added more pain to the injury. Finished it today, nothing that would change my mind happened.

I went into this one not really knowing quite what to expect other than the premise sounded interesting - someone called Gaetal organises a vote for whether to execute a criminal that the justice system has failed to handle, and they'll happen regularly. Sounds super interesting.

First couple of episodes go by and i'm starting to build up a picture of where I think it's going - and i'm *really* getting hyped for it to go there. This is a bad thing to do, and leads to disappointment. Don't do that. In my view, they were setting the foundations for a really good discussion about vigilantism, why the system exists, that they'd move on to say that "Gaetal" was a concept rather than an individual and there isn't just one "bad guy" here and so forth. It really looked like it was kinda heading that way. Debate about "if you click yes, are you an accessory to murder" etc. What happens if they get it wrong etc. Lost of really interesting things to discuss here.

Then reality dawns and their goals are far less aspiring and much more plain. I mean it's not bad, it's watchable, but I just feel so let down by it and the potential it had. This had "squid game" level capability written all over it, I could see those dog masks becoming as iconic in modern culture as the masks of the guards on SG.

The ending... it's finished, it's a conclusion, but it leaves you with implications for what would happen next and... i'm sorry, it didn't earn enough credits with me to justify that. Had it been more bold it would have been absolutely ripe for it, and even a potential sequel or even series of series! :)

I guess i'm mostly grumpy that it just feels like so much potential lost, a real opportunity to have a challenging discussion.

Is it watchable and entertaining? Yes. If you like your crime dramas then you will probably get into this. But don't get swept up in the incredible hype set out in the first two or three episodes and you will probably enjoy it more :)

Cast are fantastic - some really great crew here no complaints there at all. Music I don't recall at all (so, not good not bad :) ).

Bah humbug. Etc. :)

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Across the board, outstanding!

Time travel that works?
Amazing music?
Brilliant cast?
Amazing story?
Great Humour?
Life lessons?

Not all in one drama at the same time, right? Yep!

Bottom line, ya just need to watch it, brilliant.

OK, Mr/Miss/Mrs Sceptic who is still here, why...

First up - time travel stories are hard to do well and this one nails it. It doesn't go overboard, and its respectful of the timeline. Is it perfect? No, because it's never going to be - time travel doesn't exist right? - but it feels right and not over done.

There's some great humour here, a towards the start (and a little again at the end) there's these fun little riffs on the Back to the Future sound track and some familiar facial expressions and reactions from Eun Gyeol that you might recognise from it too. But - true to everything else, they don't overdo it. Get it out of the way, have a quiet chuckle with the audience, and move on. This isn't back to the future, it has its own story to tell (probably a more meaningful one, if we're honest here - and I'm a BTTF fan).

The cast are utterly brilliant in every respect, different characters portrayed really well. I loved the deaf angle on this one, it makes it stand out - who'd have thought to make a heavily musical story, about musicians, and then make key characters deaf? Takes a bold team, and Jin Soo Wan (writer) and Son Jung Hyun (director) pulled it off.

The music, throughout, is fantastic. I'll be getting some of these on my spotify play list as soon as possible. Fun, upbeat, something to sway to.

Broadly, the main character is the only hearing-able person in his household and this weighs on him constantly, his passion is music but he's afraid to share it because it's something the others can't do themselves so it feels selfish. After his dad discovers him performing in a band and careless heated words are spoken in both directions, the main character finds himself wandering into a music store to sell is beloved guitar and give up on his dreams. The owner of the store takes the guitar and after they talk for a while, the main character leaves - and finds himself back in 1995, where he soon meets up with his younger father - who can hear just fine.

OK back to the waffle / gushing...

I really enjoyed the storyline elements involving Cheong-ah (main characters mother) and the journey that, in particular, her father took. There's a moment where the main character says to him something like "I really want you to see your daughter smile, she has the most beautiful smile" and later when he does see it, it pays off big time, Kim Tae Woo who plays her father nails the scene perfectly.

Our two main characters learn and grow through this journey in different ways, they each get different things out of this but they get what they need to put themselves back on the right track.

Enjoy it, the title is wacky, the drama is a bit wacky, the characters are completely wacky, the music is fabulous and the end result is one of the most fun dramas of the year in my view.

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Good for your Mental Health

I think beyond Romance, my favourite topic for a KDrama has to be Mental Health. Some of my favourite dramas fall into this category, and i'm gonna spoil the review (but not the show) by saying Daily Dose of Sunshine shoots to the top of that list.

For a start you've got a great cast, led by Park Bo Young who never falls short. Lee Jung Eun is another favourite and is superb in this drama as well.

One of the writers, Lee Nam Gyu, was also one of the writers on "The Light in your eyes", another beautifully told mental health drama.

The basic plot of the story starts out looking like a "case of the day" type show but evolves rapidly.

My takeaways from this, were that the story was there to highlight that everyone, no exceptions, and without any warning, can start to feel under the weather. Whether it's the patients that come in - or the nurses and doctors themselves.

It pays particular attention to Depression and Panic attacks but there's a range of other ailments including self harm that are included as well.

On the warnings front, I would advise that there is actual suicide and attempted suicide as well as graphical depiction of self harm. Let that show you however that these are topics taken extremely seriously, and viewed from all perspectives.

The other aspect I liked was the "other side" of mental health, stigmas associated with those who have had treatment and are now classed as in recovery, but how they are so poorly treated by society - even by those who are themselves either getting treatment or are caring for those who are.

Each episode tugs the heart strings, beautifully acted and I loved how it was told. I've binged this over 2 days because honestly I just couldn't stop pressing "next".

I class this one as quite re-watchable too, there's probably more to see from a second viewing and while there are things that happen which obviously won't have the same impact the second time around, you'll see them from another perspective and perhaps see things building up earlier.

Highly recommended, there are lessons for us all here.

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"I have never been more free than the 20 days I was kidnapped"

Just finished watching this one and have enjoyed every moment of it.

Twelve episodes, neatly packed up and a story that wraps up perfectly, nothing unnecessary, and no long dwelling.

The cast were amazing, you were annoyed by the bad characters and cheered on the good characters, but most of all you just want to relish and enjoy the amazing chemistry between the Kidnapper and the girl. What an incredible story supported by some incredible acting.

I'm not going to say much more, to be honest you just need to go and watch it. The music is good but you'll be right with the characters most of the way. Binge this one, it's good for your heart.

Even though I rate this drama very highly - it's not the most important thing in the room to talk about here, Yuna. Wow she is probably one of the most talented actors i've seen in a kdrama in a long time and I don't just mean among the younger ages, she's absolutely brilliant. Different approaches to different aspects of her performance throughout from the start when she's trying to come to terms with this "father" she has no memory of to when she realises who she is and is easily, easily the smartest person in any room, to little playful moments with the back scratching stick where a giggle sneaks out and to that absolutely heart breaking moment at the end when she reads what's on the scratching stick and goes from smiley face to inconsolably in tears with a transition that is completely believable. How has someone so young got the ability to recreate these things so well? I have no idea, but without doubt Yuna is someone to watch for, she's going to light up our screens (if we're very very lucky) for years to come.

Special shout out to Yoon Kye Sang who played the kidnapper and was the perfect counterbalance to Yuna's stunning talent, superb chemistry and interplay between them.

100% recommend.

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Possibly my top drama watched this year?

I absolutely love Time Travel stories, they more often than not get some aspect of the time travel cause and effect loop wrong, or don't fully respect it and use it only when it benefits them, but when a Time Travel drama gets it right it scores a platinum - and this one such drama.

Based on a Taiwanese drama (Some day or One day) which i have not watched (nor was aware of) this is the Korean retelling of that story. I can't judge it for how similar or different it is, so I won't, i'm just looking at this from a "I watched this, this is what I think" perspective.

The writing on this is absolutely some of the best i've seen. At 12 episodes, it is allowed to keep a good pace throughout without ever feeling drawn out. It twists and turns, but it all makes sense and you'll find every episode opening your eyes and making you click "next episode" just that little bit faster. The back and forth on this one, the way that time travel is knitted throughout the story is just beautiful in execution.

The romance is fantastic too and the two leads are great - but specifically I want to call out the female lead, Jeon Yeo Been, who so beautifully portrays two different characters - the outgoing Jun Hee from 2023, and the shy quiet Min Ju from 1998, you can easily tell them apart even from the way that they walk.

I will say, if you're someone who needs to understand the "how" of something like this, you're going to find this a 1/10 drama, because really - there is no explanation for something that can't be understood at this point in time by us such as Time Travel, so I kinda appreciate it when writers don't try to dazzle us with science or fantasy and just ask us to "sit down, relax, and enjoy the story". Many of the best sci-fi elements tweak something and explore the outcome of it without needing to explain how that tweak was possible. Remember, Magic is Science that you don't yet understand, just enjoy the magic.

I related a lot to the portrayal of the loneliness of Min Ju as well, simply not understanding how to integrate with everyone else, being the outcast and loner, I relate to that far more than I even realised and particularly in the closing episodes it home really hard. and it helped me understand her character and motivations even more.

There aren't many dramas that have had this much of an effect on me emotionally to be honest, the last time I can think of a drama having me a-buzz like this was "The Light in Your Eyes" (2019) with Han Ji Min which was also alluding to be a Time Travel theme as well.

Music is good, lots of time spent in 1998 so some nice old scenes and music to listen to.

I won't go into any more detail, you just need to go on this journey for yourself and enjoy it.

As to the ending - in my opinion, it's perfect. Just exactly what's needed and not a drop more, and i'll leave it there :)

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Swing and a miss.

Ok so i'll come out right at the front and say i'm not a fan of Revenge dramas - with a few exceptions, but I can still recognise when one has (in my opinion, of course) been put well together or not. This one ends up being probably by lowest ever review score.

I found this drama hard to watch, I literally had to keep pushing myself back to get it off my plate. I have never dropped a drama in my life as I always believe it's worth giving it to the end to get the full picture (sometimes what doesnt make sense for 15 episodes can be wrapped up in a beautiful bow in the 16th and be wonderful!) - i've pushed myself to continue on some others in the past and it's usually been worth it. This one, I kinda wish i'd broken the habit and dropped it.

Difficult to talk about specific issues without spoiling, so forgive me for being vague in some cases.

Acting - Just fell flat for me. If you wanted Seo Yea Ji in "Its Ok to not be ok" (and if not, what are you wasting time reading reviews for Eve for! watch it right this second!) you'll be expecting brilliance. I didn't see that here, it was flat. Quiet. it's like there was a per-word cost and they were trying to keep the expenses down. On the flip side though, Yoo Sun was the absolute MVP on this one - her characters transformation was just brilliant, her scenes were definitely the best. The two lead male goons are more caricatures than anything else, the "good" male lead was run of the mill.

Story - A bit all over the place. You end up with no remorse for anyone, just kinda glad they've all had their endings one way or another. There's nothing to hang on to in the end and say "that was worth it" because I disliked the Seo Yea Ji's character profusely by the end, she wasn't any better than the bad characters.

The music was great, I am still humming away to some of the songs and they're in my spotify playlist.

I'm glad it's done. I want to see Seo Yea Ji (and all these other, otherwise fantastic actors) in something that allows them to shine. This wasn't it, in my opinion, and I don't recommend watching it unless you're an absolute top fan for revenge dramas and dont mind some wonkiness.

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Different Crime Thriller

Short: Based in the 112 Emergency Call Center this one has a bit of a different premise which starts to look like a really interesting incident-per-episode but after a couple, it becomes a fairly standard police crime thriller where the team leader of the call center is going out in the field to chase bad guys... It's fun, the bad guy is ruthless, but there's a ton of inconsistencies. Recommended but don't expect a flawless story. Cast are on point.

Detail:
I had expectations of this one being different and for the first two or three episodes it really starts to deliver, they create this high energy moment when she presses the button and announces "Code Zero!" and everyone shifts gear, with the call center suddenly becoming the HQ coordination point for a remote team of police officers out aiming to resolve whatever the issue is within the "Golden Time" (the time that means highest success for saving lives). However, there's a back story of the male leads wife being murdered, and the female leads father being murdered - and this fairly rapidly takes over the story, leaving the Emergency Center concept for dust (mostly).

Overall, I want to say that I have really quite enjoyed it so I'll say that now just to put everything that follows in to some perspective. Definitely worth a watch if you're interested in the crime thriller genre, and particularly if you like really well depicted psycho bad guys (which this one really is). The story takes a few twists and misdirects you into who the bad guy is and a couple of other things, so it keeps you guessing. It's not the most complex of stories, but I felt it was highly entertaining.

Ok, so the flaws.

What the heck is the team leader for the 112 Emergency Center doing going out in the field ALL THE TIME ? She abandons her post frequently! It's as ludicrous as on Star Trek when the captain keeps going off on away missions, it just wouldn't happen, you're the boss, you're quite important, sit down and trust your team :)

She wants to hire two specific people when she forms the Golden Time team. One of them a former white hat hacker, he accepts and his value and contribution is totally clear throughout. He's the guy who can instantly access anything anywhere even if in reality such things just aren't online, but, let's not worry about that, it's "magic" and he's awesome :) It keeps the plot moving at a good pace. However, the other one initially says no and goes back to the Airport Police she was based at - during one of the 112 incidents however something happens and it makes her realise that joining the Golden Time team is where she really wants to be, brilliant moment, love it... but... I don't think she actually brought anything new to the team at all when she joined. She's supposed to be this great officer with multi lingual skills but she contributes nothing unique to the team in the slightest so I was left wondering why the female lead was so bothered about getting her on the team.

Last one - she has this unique ability with fantastic hearing, she can hear things nobody else can to the point that she has padded her room out with sound proofing (well, in reality it's actually echo proofing not sound proofing but... we'll let that slide) and sometimes she can tell the most amazing unrealistic things like listening through a mobile phone speaker she can tell if the ML needs to go left or right to navigate! Other times, it seems like her hearing is less good when that good hearing would be inconvenient to the story.

I'm of mixed opinion as to how I think it should have gone. On the one hand, I now *really* want a weekly procedural drama based around the call center (someone tell me if it exists :) ) but on the other I do quite like the overall plotline of this one and how it developed. As silly as it is for the call center team leader to keep going out in the field it did move things along nicely.

As I say, overall I enjoyed it. It's not without its flaws but it was entertaining and I am definitely looking forward to starting Season 2. This story *does* fully conclude, don't be concerned about the presence of subsequent seasons, Season 1 is properly finished. I have no idea if that holds true for future seasons but for this one, we're all good. :)

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Don't take it too seriously :)

Short: It's so over the top in places you can't mistake it for anything trying to take itself seriously. I loved the various characters and the general story,. I liked the little nods to other things like a scene from Parasite and it had lots of energy. It's not going to be top of your list, but it's fun and easy watching. I certainly enjoyed it. I don't think it was bad at all, it was silly and OTT but also lots of fun :)

Detail:
Ok first I have to call out the little cameo moments that I thought were amusing as heck. In one, the father goes to be a driver for the ex-girlfriends family and takes a test drive - and it's ripped straight line for line out of Parasite, and also refers to how she had to fire the last guy because he stank from living in a basement (which the guy did in Parasite). In another, Ahn Chang Hwan turns up in the store, and immediately Dal Shik - played by Eum Moon Suk, who was also in Fiery Priest along with Ahn Chang Hwan - start doing a riff where Moon suk starts asking Chang Hwan to say "peter piper picked a peck of pickled peppers" just as his character did in Fiery Priest. Later, he re-assumes that role when he goes to help Saet Byul who visits someone that's trying to blackmail the store - he dresses up exactly as his character in Fiery Priest, including the voice etc. I love these little cross overs, they don't matter if you don't recognise them but they're a fun "aha!" moment when you do... though they perhaps tell me that I watch too much KDrama, I shall meditate on that point as I watch another KDrama...

Fiery Priest had the same Director, Lee Myung Woo - so you can kinda expect the same slightly OTT pace and style to everything.

I also noted the similarity between Ji Chang Wook's name (the ML) and Kang Ji Wook (the character name of the actor friend of Saet Byul's) :)

The main leads have some great chemistry, and I really liked the independence and strength they gave Saet Byul. I also liked that Ji Chang Wook's character knew when to back off and leave her to her own thoughts and come to her own decisions no matter how hard it was for him, he supported and encouraged when it was right and backed off when it was needed.

I think the take away message from this is about really understanding what's important, understanding what defines success for you - is it money? what is happiness? Once you understand that (and there's no point fooling yourself, only you lose out), you can make decisions you might not otherwise have made and find that happiness.

Second leads Seo Ye Hwa and Eum Moon Suk make for a very amusing pair as they go through turbulent times (probably more over the top than the main leads) but are also heartwarming in how things develop between them.

The drama has the usual tropes lined up almost numbered so you can call them out one at a time. Multiple Love triangles, the wicked girlfriends mum (well, ex-girlfriend but interfering none the less), misunderstanding after misunderstanding, you name it, it's probably there. But, as I said, it's kinda all hammed up a bit so rather than frustrating it becomes quite amusing more than anything.

Oh, and those endings where something key is about to happen and the screen freezes for it to conclude next episode, yeah, few of those, swore a couple of times at the TV for that :)

Probably not everyone's cup of tea but heck I enjoyed it :)

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Fun, Unique and Brilliantly written.

Short: Medical drama following five long-time friends at the same hospital but in different disciplines. Each dealing with life and death, and then gathering together to play music in a band that never performs publicly. Great music throughout. Happy moments and sad moments cleverly woven together to the conclusion of Season 1. Doesn't feel like a cliffhanger ending or cut-short story. As always, when the kids are on screen, they steal the show. :)

Detail:
This one was so different, it's a medical drama and in that respect it's a fairly predictable set of cases for each of the cast to deal with some of which are going to have happy endings and some sad endings. Where this one stands out however is the unique production and direction, and the way the writer has woven these episodes together. The inclusion of the band element where they get together and play music as a group but never publicly is really interesting and forms a great release for them to spend time together as a group and forget the worries of their working lives.

Each of the doctors is in their own field, whether it's kids, babies, brains, hearts or general surgery. This leads to a nice variety of different challenges for them to deal with.

For those who are squeamish, it's not bad, a few blurry shots of insides of bodies but honestly not that often.

There's lots of things going on in each of their personal lives, whether it's within the group, with other doctors, or even outside of the hospital altogether. I felt this gave some nice variety.

I held off watching this one because it seemed like it was going to be a half-story waiting for season 2 to finish it much like Love Alarm was - but - that doesn't seem to be the case, while there are certainly some loose threads at the end they are minor and actually some of them are fresh new threads caused by the resolution of previous happenings. There is one that's left open, and had there not been a season two that would have been disappointing but I would have still felt that this show actually did its job well. Great news is that Season 2 is now here, so now that i've just finished bingeing my way through Season 1 I can click "next" and see what happens!

The cast are absolutely brilliant, my favourite by a long shot was Jo Jung Suk - all the scenes with his son are an absolute joy to watch, he's a comic genius matched up really well with the young actor playing his son.

Definitely well worth a watch. I'm hopeful Season 2 will be great, but this stands up and (mostly) ends very nicely on its own.

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