Agent Orange
Bucharest, Romania
Consistent sageuk
First of all, the number of episodes might be a turn down for some people, even if we talk of an 1 hour episode.The way the drama begins is very intriguing and draws you in, you want to see what is going to happen next! Of course, we get our usual rivalries as expected and it's sad how misunderstandings make people suffer. More about the story: I have to say I really enjoyed most of it, 90% in fact but I believe the last few episodes were dragged, maybe too dragged for my taste. Everything was revealed way too late and the ending was way too rushed. I needed much more! Also, I wanted one particular character to have a different ending, it just wasn't right.
Acting: really good. Lee Jae Ryong was my favourite by far, he portrayed his role so good, that's why he had a nomination! Honorable mentions: Seo Hyun Jin, Jeon Tae Soo (loved the character development for those two) and of course, Seo Woo, she annoyed me in a good way. All the other characters did a great job as well, but my very favourite character has to be Koo Cheon. Also, what was with the eyes' closeups?
OST: well, it was just one song played almost in every episode, I liked it, but you might get tired at one point. I honestly wanted more variation in the OST.
Rewatch value, not that big for me mainly because of the reasons above. It dragged a bit to get to the final point.
Overall, a really good sageuk, it has something of that older sageuks that nowadays dramas don't have and that's why I enjoyed it a lot in the end.
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Story: it is childish and most of the time it makes no sense. How can a girl disguise herself as an eunuch and nobody doesn't notice it? 18 episodes are way too much, I think 12 episodes would've been enough and we would've got rid of many filler scenes. The ending made absolutely no sense! The drama was so dragged and you rush the ending like that?
The acting: Park Bo Gum was so good, have to say one of the reasons for watching this was him winning an award and wanting to see why, he was great, he carried this drama. Kim Yoo Jung is an actress I've followed since forever, watching her in so many child roles and now having lead roles is an amazing thing. She's incredibly talented but here unfortunately she didn't shine and I didn't see at all the chemistry with Park Bo Gum, they looked like brother and sister most of the times, it's not because of the age difference, 6 years is nothing, it's just that I didn't feel it. I'm a BANA so seeing Jinyoung made me so happy; I've tried to forget the fact that he's an idol and I've seen him as an actor, he was really good! Wanted more fight scenes with him, he was so badass. I'm looking forward to see him in other dramas.
OST was alright.
3 is my rewatch value because there were some cute moments even if I didn't feel the chemistry and Jinyoung had short but great fight scenes.
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One of the best Korean dramas I've seen in a long time!
The best thing about part 2 is that the pace is much faster than in part 1 which makes total sense in a way because there had to be a character buildup. In this second part there is no time to breathe, you have so many things happening that I cannot actually write about since I would spoil the drama so I'm going to leave it at that. But I will say one more thing, the cinematography is absolutely gorgeous!The acting is excellent and of course, Nam Goong Min nailed it. Proof that he won the Daesang award. The acting overall was so good, great job to all the cast!
Beautiful OST, especially the song sang by Kai.
It's totally worth to watch this, the ending was one of the most beautiful endings ever!
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Different from anything I've watched before
I think I may have said this before in another review but my all-time favourite Korean drama genre is historical. I'm a huge fan of Korean dramas of any kind but there's something about historical dramas. This one was different in the best way possible!First of all, the story. It is basically about the war between Joseon and the Qing dynasty. There are many bloody and ruthless scenes which give authenticity to the plot. There are some sad moments too. The war is presented so realistically! Of course, you have the love story: even though you might not see the chemistry between the leads, as episodes pass, everything is natural. Unfortunately, the ending was really sad to me but I'm getting high hopes since there's season 2.
Acting was very good, to be honest, Nam Goong Min is so good in everything I've seen him play. The other actors did a great job too!
Pretty OST. Hoping for a happy ending although I quite doubt it.
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One of the best historical Korean dramas
Another review I'm writing from a second viewing perspective. It must be about 6 years since I first watched it and seeing it was airing on my national channel, I had to watch it again. It's in my top 3 all-time Korean dramas, that's how good it is to me.Even at second watch, it was amazing! Firstly, the episode length shouldn't be a hurdle to anyone: there are so many things happening! The fast pacing is one of the strengths of this show, yes, one of it! 99% of the drama is about the road to becoming an empress. There are so many obstacles until she gets there that you are about to throw a party once that happens.
Let's talk about the acting: Ha Ji Won was absolutely magnificent, she never disappoints! I like so much the fact that she was at first presented as a very strong woman with fighting skills and then you could see her vulnerability. But still, what a strong character interpreted by one of the finest actresses of South Korea! Ji Chang Wook was so good, his character was alone and used like a puppet by almost everyone! Joo Jin Mo was great too, felt so bad for his character. My favourite character from the entire drama has to be Tal Tal, one of the smartest characters ever, always taking the right decisions, so calculated in everything he did.
Beautiful OST!
For sure, one of the best historical Korean dramas and one of the best Korean dramas ever!
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Not as good as expected
Oh well, where I should I start? I started watching this drama because Lee Yo Won was in it, I like her acting so much since The Great Queen Seondeok and because the drama had only 12 episodes.Guess what, in this case, even 12 episodes were too much. Why? Because the story was dragged. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed so much watching these three women helped by a high schooler, all coming from different backgrounds, joining their forces to get their revenge and coming out of their shell. Revenge is, I think, too strong a word, they just showed those men their place and they paid for it! There were funny and touching moments, the actors did a really good job but for me it wasn't just enough. I guess I had too big expectations because of the rating, this time I was fooled.
The OST was quite forgettable but the opening BGM was nice!
I'm sorry but I don't feel rewatching this.
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One of the best king portrayals in a Korean drama
I'm writing this review from a second viewing perspective. This show will always have place in my heart as it is my second Korean drama watched 14 years ago. Now, the national channel in my country reaired it and I watched it again. Even though I didn't remember that many things from it since I watched it a long time ago, I thought I might be bored but guess what, I enjoyed it so much maybe even more than the first time.The story is so good, the number of episodes is maybe a downer for some people but every episode is worth it! There might be some moments where the drama is a bit lacking but that happens only a little.
Lee Seo Jin was amazing, I really liked his growth as a king, absolutely terrific! Lee Soon Jae is always great, he had a spectacular performance. Han Sang Jin was great too. The friendship between the King, Song Yeon and Dae Soo was a friendship everyone would like to have. There were some very touching moments.
The OST was so beautiful, I remembered it even after 14 years.
I still have a high rewatch value, 9, even though I've just finished it. My grade will go up by 0.5 because of that.
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What a fun ride
I'm so impressed of this show, to be quite honest, I didn't have big expectations seeing the rating. As soon as I started watching it, I was totally immersed, not to mention time travel is a theme that I thoroughly enjoy in each and every drama.The story was absolutely unique and by that I mean the way the time travel was made. I enjoyed a lot the way the doctors were portrayed and the struggles they go through. The number of episodes was ideal. Again, the ending was rushed.
The character developments were so well built and I'm so glad it didn't happen just for the main characters! Kim Nam Gil as always went through a range of emotions, I never saw Kim Ah Joong in a drama before but she did an amazing job! She and Kim Nam Gil had an amazing chemistry on the screen, at times you might think they were dating in real life, that's how believable their chemistry was.
The OST was good.
My rewatch value is 9, it was such a fun show!
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Cozy
I have enjoyed a lot watching this drama even though some of the length episodes is really long. The last episode had 100 minutes!First of all: the story. It is the same as in the other Reply dramas: students from various parts of South Korea join in a boarding house and the viewer also tries to figure who the female lead's husband is gonna be. Even though I think the drama was a bit dragged, the acting and the embarrassing situations made everything so entertaining! The chemistry between Sung Dong Il and Lee Il Hwa is unmatched! I was so surprised by Baro's acting. The ending made total sense.
The OST was so good! Sung Si Kyung's cover of the Seo Tai Ji's song was my favourite. I think it's the first time I see so many actors taking part in the OST!
My rewatch value isn't that big because some of the episodes were quite long but very funny! I still recommend it.
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Heartfelt drama
This is a show I've wanted to watch for a while but not necessary because it is such a popular one. The fantasy genre is one I really enjoy so I had to give it a chance.I really liked the idea of parallel worlds; I thought it was a bit tiring in the beginning since they were showing scenes from the past back and forth and you were forgetting what was actually happening in the present but it made so much sense later! I'm one of those who think the drama could have had 16 episodes, there were so many scenes who could've been shortened. There was a certain warmth in some scenes that made me forget about some imperfections. The last 5-6 episodes were so good, a lot of suspense but the last episode seemed a bit rushed. One of the best parts was Nam Doo's storyline from the last part of the drama.
The acting was very good: as always Jun Ji Hyun is great in comedies! She had great chemistry with Lee Min Ho, he did a really good job too. Liked a lot the supporting characters (Joon Jae's friends mostly).
The OST was quite generic.
To be quite honest, I wouldn't rewatch it that much; it started a bit slow but then it really caught up! There were a lot of funny moments though; those need rewatching!
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Fun sitcom
The first reason for watching this was because Ken was in it (I'm a Starlight). Knowing how funny of a guy he is, I wanted to see how he does in dramas. The second reason was the length and the number of episodes, a very reasonable one.Well, the story is good enough and simple. I thought it was dragging a bit in the end. The last episode was way too rushed. Some moments were really funny, others were plain silly.
The acting was okay, just what you would expect from this kind of drama. I have to say I was really surprised of Dong Jun's acting. Hightop had some really funny expressions! Am I the only one who didn't feel at all the chemistry between Ken and Min Do Hee? Dong Jun had better chemistry with her.
The OST was quite forgettable, I don't remember any of the songs.
To be quite honest, I wouldn't rewatch it that much. There were some hilarious moments especially in the beginning but that was pretty much it.
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Hands down one of the best Korean dramas
From the first episode this got me hooked on. I really enjoyed that kind of plot twist of Do Hyun Soo's personality. I agree, it might be a bit bloody for some people in some scenes but you're on the edge of your seat every time. It's definitely the kind of show you don't come around every day, not even once a year. The 15th episode was a rollercoaster of emotions.Acting: Lee Jun Ki never ceases to amaze me, he challenged himself a lot taking his role and did it flawlessly! Moon Chae Won was spectacular, the conflicts she had finding out the secrets of her husband were so good acted! Jung Seo Yeon (Eun Ha) played so good, she got me through a multitude of emotions. Kudos to all the actors, everyone did a fantastic job!
The OST was amazing: proof you didn't need tens of songs, you need few to make it memorable!
This is a drama to rewatch not only once, but twice, thrice.
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Really good but something felt missing
Probably my favourite Korean drama genre is sageuk, mostly because 95% of what I watched is of a very high quality. This one is very good and is innovative. The first episode was a bit confusing but once you get familiar with the characters and the story, the show is getting on the right track. I also thought the last episodes were a bit dragged, the most interesting part for me was the queen's selection and the king's prophetic dreams. Maybe if there were less episodes, it would've been more intriguing. The ending was so satisfying.The acting was very good, props to Lee Jae Yong, he always plays this kind of characters and he does it so well!
The OST was pretty; it reminded a lot of the The Princess's Man OST!
I wouldn't rewatch it that much; not enough cliffhangers to make it more exciting. But still, very worth watching.
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One of my favourites and the funniest drama I ever watched
I don't know why I didn't watch this drama until now because it was a perfect drama.First of all, it isn't only a comedy drama: it's also a crime and mystery one. Even though at times I was really annoyed with the corruption and injustice, the plot is so good, you don't notice how fast time is passing. But this drama has the funniest moments; I don't remember another drama that funny, maybe Modern Farmer but there were some over-the-top scenes, this one hasn't any. It's the first time I ever laughed with tears in a drama (I'm talking about episode 17, or 33-34). The mood of the drama changed a bit in the 19th episode; Hae Il gave me John Wick vibes, awesome!
The acting was great: Kim Nam Gil as always stole the show but the other characters were great as well, except the villains of course. Great job to all the actors! The action scenes were so well executed!
Great OST!
I'm so glad the drama is uploaded on YouTube, I can rewatch it anytime! That being said, I can't wait for the second season!
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Cozy and heartfelt drama
I'm so glad I finally watched this. It was such a fun drama to watch with many funny moments. It presents the struggles of four people trying to chase their dreams in a world where unjust things happen. The length was just right, I thought the backstory of Ae Ra's mother was a bit rushed. But you don't notice time passing when watching this.The acting was really good and sincere. All the actors delivered; Park Seo Joon is so good in comedy dramas, Kim Ji Won played great.
The OST was so cute and beautiful!
This is definitely a drama to rewatch!
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