You get a pretty dessert and YOU get a pretty dessert and you...

This was my first (and probably last) Japanese drama to watch (because they're not available in my country and I already had such a hard time finding this one) but if this will be my only experience with jdramas, I think I'll say it went perfectly well.

This is a short, condensed, romantic but also with interesting side-plots show. It's not unnecessarily dragged out at all which I really appreciate. I never really got tired watching this show.

You should check this show out if:
1. You like shows about food
2.You like mostly drama-free romances
3.If that fusion of old and new is your aesthetic
4. You like Revenge stories
5. Enemies-to-allies-to-lovers
6.Pretty food
7.You don't mind soap opera level acting

Story: Basically when the main character was a kid, her mother gets accused of murder by her childhood friend. Now she's 20 years old and a dessert artisan and she wants to find out what really happened. Incidentally, her archnemesis comes to her with a proposition that helps her cause. Once she starts investigating though, things are revealed to not be as they seemed...

The story is very intriguing. It does have some moments that I didn't quite get how a character's brain arrived at their course of action but if you are willing to frown through a couple of confusing interactions, after a few episodes everything starts to make sense. I don't know anything about Japanese culture and I'm still processing the concept of red bean paste as a sweet-desert but this show was such a fun way to get a glimpse into it. One thing that was so interesting about this show was that it's set in modern times but then a lot of characters live in this rural style that seems like it's from the past if you glimpse at it a certain way. Like I'm pretty sure the house the main characters live in doesn't have electricity. Also, everyone wears kimonos and that just makes the aesthetics so good. I even liked the non-traditional outfits. The main character Nao's clothes are so pretty. The romance I think might not be something everyone will have patience with, the dude acts so odd at first and he slams his fist against the wall and glares down at the protagonist a lot. I frowned a bit the first two times he did it but then I started snorting when he did it because it was just so melodramatic and ineffective. Thankfully he stops once he gets his *~*~*~* Tragic backstory*~*~*~* so it was all in good fun! I liked the romance once they got their groove on. They were really easily into each other so that was really good. The development process was kind of a surprise too, definitely a different pace from the cdrama and kdramas I am used to. I really enjoyed it. I liked the murder mystery/whodunnit part too. Not gonna talk about the very end but to a certain extent, it all made sense. I figured some of the reveals before they happened and some not.
I would say it was slightly soap opera-ish? Like they definitely had that melodramatic music+weirdly widened eyes shock face close up and messy villain shenanigans but it was entertaining enough.
The acting...hmm. It was fine? Didn't love the mother's overacting. She reminded me of Snape from A Very Potter Musical sometimes!
The music was good when it was just soft classical music. It went well with the vibe of the story.

Overall, I liked it. It wasn't awe-inspiring but it was a very fun and quick watch. Definitely recommend.

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Why did I watch this?!

I did not enjoy this movie. I was very intrigued by the description which makes the movie sound like something it just wasn't. I wouldn't recommend watching this unless you are a fan of the actors and you're willing to support them through tedious plots and bad narratives.
This movie fails in my opinion, not by being fundamentally a bad concept but somewhere in post-production something went wrong. The editing of this movie is tragic but I can't even blame the editor because the plot is complicated and the movie is trying to be so many different things at once that it fails to truly master any of its concepts perfectly. The cuts are jumpy, it goes from one scene to another without any logical connection or flow. It's just like separate paragraphs cut and pasted together. This makes the movie disjointed and messy. Mainly the issue is that the movie was trying to be an arthouse aesthetic movie, palace intrigue movie, erotic obsession movie, a commentary on power and corruption, and a revenge plot all at once and each of these would have made a good movie if they had just focused on one thing and centered the plot around that but no, they had to do it all at once and it made no sense. There were also some very questionable cinematography choices, and I wouldn't bring something like this up if they weren't so bizarre that it actually affected my enjoyment of the story. Some scenes have gorgeous framing and very symmetrical setting but then sometimes the camera is on the wrong person during conversations and it just really ruined the emotional impact of the scene. (Like when the king accuses his mother of attempting to kill the king and when he does this, we don't see her reaction and there's just this awkward silence before she starts talking and it's so wrong because I'm pretty sure the actress was acting her heart out for the reaction they didn't show!)
Obviously, the script had major issues. As I said, it had too many complicated plotlines that all get the bare minimum effort put into them and so they're all so cliche and disjointed. This also means that the characters don't get enough space to be developed. Especially the two mains; THE concubine and her former lover. Both are such cardboard characters with so little time put in actually developing any personality or clear motivation for them that they are as unknown and one-dimensional at the start as they are at the end. Also, the lover was barely in the movie, he was so pointless and he honestly didn't deserve any of the things that were done to him. I think the writer should pay for emotional damage to their own character!!!!! The king gets a better development though it could've been better? Like I said: the bare minimum.
What was good in the movie was the set design, the aesthetic they were going for, and the choreography. The movie looks pretty? They do try to make it look smarter than it is (and what it was, was just softcore p*rn barely masquerading as a historical drama) but it was such a wasted effort. I don't remember the music so I'm thinking it was either so good it became invisible or so inconsequential that I didn't remember any of it.
The acting...could've been better? Some parts were overacted in my opinion. Others seemed confused about what they had to go for, so they just went with blank stoicism, which might be to some viewers' preference but I only like stoic performances if the eyes can communicate the deep emotions and there was none of that here. I don't blame the actors though, they were hardly given anything to work with.
Lastly, what I just hated about this movie were the excessive, gratuitous, pointless sex scenes that were very explicit and numerous, and maybe if they had made those a little more tasteful and MUCH shorter, there would've been more time to develop an actual plot for the movie. I don't know, just a suggestion.... (I know why they put them there but in the absence of a cohesive plot, this was just in bad taste)
Overall, I wasted precious time watching this movie and I regret the sequence of decisions I made that led me to watch it. I think this story should have been a tv series, (a miniseries maybe,) instead of a movie but given the number of gratuitous sex scenes in it, I can see why they chose to make a movie instead.
Please go watch something else if you want to watch a good movie. If you're here for the nudity or the actors, then go ahead and watch it!

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Revenge is best served in 12 episodes!

I didn't initially have any interest in watching this drama but then a recommendation from a friend led me to give it a chance and I'm glad I watched it. It's such a deliciously satisfying story of revenge and payback.

Summary: Woman gets betrayed. Woman dies. She transmigrates to ten years earlier. Woman gets revenge!

This is a very fun show to watch. It's super satisfying too. Though episodes 12 to 16 just nosedived into hell and I can't even pretend to like that bit. The ending was extremely cringe too. This show should've been 12 episodes and finished with an elegant ending but then they dragged it on with silly subplots for way too long. It was embarrassing. However, the run from episode 1 to 10 was probably one of the most satisfying arcs I've seen in any show. Is it a bit cliche? Yes. Are the actors the best ever? Probably not. Was it a total rip-off of Perfect Marriage Revenge? Sort of? But that's actually a good thing! So if you enjoyed that one, you will definitely love this one too.

The acting was also pretty good. I mean, the main actress was a bit melodramatic and her acting is a bit wishy-washy but the secondary actors were worthy. Like the best friend? She was one of the creepiest characters I've ever watched! BOA is a terrible actress though. Whatever she does...she should just avoid acting. That was so embarrassing. I don't get what the director was thinking with that casting.

Also honestly? I actually watched this twice! So it's one of those rare shows that I consider worth a rewatch.

Music, I only noticed one use of music in this and it was the extremely satisfying use of No More Dream at the end of episode 6. I jumped 50 centimeters up in the air. I'm not even exaggerating. My leg hit the table and I had a nasty bruise afterward. Production-wise, it looks like they worked a lot but honestly? The fashion and general vibe of 2013 is all wrong. Just watch one 2013 show and you'll get what I mean! The fashion follows all the current trends and it's almost like halfway through, they forgot that this was set in the past. The only thing they kept diligently correct was the phone.

Overall, I'd say if you want a wish fulfillment, revenge story with over-the-top fashion and an interesting plot, then go for it but be ready to get really annoyed after episode 11.

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So this is a show that clearly should not have been cut in half because the first half on its own really doesn't deliver any cohesive narrative at all and is just a prolonged rising action. Then again, it's sort of good that it was separated because if it wasn't, I would've had to consider the mediocrity of the first half with the quality of the second and give it six stars which is really not the rating it deserves. So ultimately it works but it comes at a cost. Because I don't see why anyone would naturally pick up season 2 after finishing that first season even though it would be a good choice to watch the second half.

Plot: Season 2 doesn't have the majority of the pacing and goals issues that season one had. In fact, it's so good at setting small stakes that not only do the first two episodes have a separate revenge-style agenda set for the main character but the final episodes also have a clear sense of risk and drive. While the main character is still an unpleasant dumbass, the show is finally more at pace with it and it comes across as an inside joke between the viewers and Death than just a badly written MC. Plus, the emotional connections that season 1 lacked are here galore and it can really get to you by the end of the show. I actually liked this part a lot. I guess the issue was always a pacing problem but I give the writers some credit, it feels like a difficult plot to balance. There was still plenty of melodramatic violence and I want to say some was gratuitous but at least this time it worked with what the plot was trying to achieve.

Acting: I feel like maybe this half also had a stronger cast? They brought the characters alive and sure, we had more time to connect with these characters (thank goodness!) so it was easier to have emotional investment in them but the good acting helped too.

Music and production: Same as season 1

Rewatch value: Hmmm still none.

Negatives: The MC really is an absolute idiot! So it didn't ruin the show this time but he does frustrate a lot. And the jump from episode 4 to 5, there is such a dramatic shift from fighting death to revenge plot that I was a little skeptical at first but it was well-executed so it wasn't so bad. But they sure took their time to make a very simple point!

Overall: This half was actually good. I know it wouldn't be a meaningful show without the first half though. So this is a conflicted review. I can't tell you to watch the first half because I really disliked it and 50% is a lot of a show to tolerate for the longest build-up. But if you're willing to sit through that, this half of the show was very enjoyable so definitely keep watching. I mean, it's not a top ten show of the year or most loved or anything for me but it was watchable.

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Shorter doesn't mean good

I'm so irritated by this show because it started with such an intriguing and interesting premise and it kept the suspense going for a while before everything became too complicated but ultimately, it had such a cop-out ending that it just made the whole thing underwhelming. I feel like with a better production, not more expensive but better as in better direction and story development, and a better conclusion, this show could've been basically a perfect suspense mystery.

Watch if you like:
1. 10-minute long dramas
2. Gaslighting used in the correct context of its meaning
3. Infidelity plots
4. Sad endings
5.Unreliable narrator stories
6.Mystery/Suspense

Summary: A woman has an accident and afterwards has some trouble with her memory. She then suspects that her husband and best friend are cheating on her. Things get worse when she begins to suspect a deeper scheme at work: that her husband may just be trying to drive her crazy in order to get rid of her!

Plot: Honestly, the plot started so interesting. It was actually mysterious and intriguing and I just feel like the production quality was low and they struggled to perfect the delivery in certain scenes but otherwise, it was good. And to be fair to the creators, the last 4 episodes wrap the story up...it's just that they do it in the dumbest, most convoluted and ridiculous way possible! There is one very simple issue with the completed arc of this story and it's the fact that the linchpin that holds the whole show together is something so unrealistic and illegal that this show can't even exist in the realm of fiction. It's just so dumb that I want to scream at someone about it. But I also don't want to spoil you so -_- Anyway, I would say, it manages to stay afloat but the ending ruined it. It was the equivalent of "it was all a dream" and we all know that's lazy writing.

Acting: It wasn't great. They manage...sort of...but not really!

Music: It was adequate.

Production: Again. I think this show could've thrived in the hands of an auteur director. A lot of the scenes look like they were filmed for a TV ad or some other super low quality purpose but if they had been filmed with intention by someone who knows proper cinematography, symbolism, etc. they would have had high emotional impact. I would actually love to see a better remake of this.

Rewatch: No.

Conclusion: I don't really recommend watching this but I also think most people will enjoy this if they give it a chance and the concepts of the story are among those that usually interest them.

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Grey is the new black!

While watching this show I realized…there are an awful lot of shows about prisons, aren’t there?! Anyway, Prison Playbook is one of the many prison shows out there but don’t get tricked by the ominous concept and poster, this show is not a violent, grimdark view of the place where the deviants go to rot. This is decidedly a comedy-drama about community, empathy, and self-betterment. The story is centered around friendship and hope and it’s full of quirky characters that will steal your heart.
Yes, yes, I’ll admit it…I did start watching this show for Jung Hae In, guilty as charged (!), but he didn’t show up until episode five (really, six) and by then I was already invested in the show so that just goes to show how entertaining it is.

This show is way too famous for me to recommend it so I’ll just get to it. You should watch this show if you like :
1. Orange is the new black
2. Prison life stories
3. Ensemble shows
4. Comedy
5. Bromance
6. Slice of life
7. Barely-there romance plots

Plot: The plot is naturally very good. The story is interesting from the start…sort of. I didn’t love the first episode but it slowly gets better. While the main plot revolves around Je-Hyuk, the show is rather decentralized with side characters getting fleshed out subplots of their own. But all those plots would be nothing without the great character work in the show. The strength of this show lies in its ensemble cast and the idiosyncratic antiques of each character, their past, and their uncertain futures. The plots grip you because they rely on the viewer’s investment in the betterment of the characters and what happens to them. Thus, they only engage and entertain because viewers care to know about the characters. A lot of the subplots were meaty enough to be their own shows. For example Captain Yoo’s subplot, while a nightmare-fuel in its own right, could easily be a miniseries of its own. The other subplots may not be able to carry a whole show as easily as Captain Yoo’s plotline can but they too had the potential to be standalone. Yet as subplots, they do not feel overshadowed or underdeveloped. This is mainly due to the amazing character work that has been done. While each character is in focus for a short while, they are all so well developed that they managed to deliver the maximum impact while they can and when they are not in focus, fade perfectly into the supportive position while maintaining the personality and history that was developed for them in their central plot.
The show also has a bizarre flashback format that is a bit disorienting but you’ll get used to it. Romance is not central in the show but what little of it appears, is endearing enough to capture the heart. I would even say the show has one of the cutest romantic exchanges I have ever seen but I won’t spoil it for you!

Acting: Everyone did an amazing job. As I mentioned, the supportive cast is very well-written and engaging and thankfully each actor amazingly brought them all to life furthering their impact.

Music and production: Music was there. Nothing exceptional but not bad either. The production is also good. The show stays in small prison sets for the most part so there's not a lot of variety. I don't really know what prisons in South Korea look so I can't attest to its realism or anything but it looks real enough? The technicalities were all good to my unprofessional eyes too.

Rewatch: I don’t have time to rewatch shows but it’s a good show to go back to.

Negatives: There are a couple of things that bothered me in the show. One thing was how the sexual assault that triggers the plot was treated. I understand that the sister is not the main character and therefore her plot is not central but she had enough screen time that it would’ve made sense for them to at least deal with it a bit. However, the show never even verbally acknowledges the character’s trauma from the event. The thing is only mentioned in regards to how the main character, her brother, felt about it all. Even she is shown to be feeling guilty for causing him to go to jail but showing no sign of PTSD as a result of the event. Speaking from experience one would know that the trauma of sexual assault never just fades away without actively dealing with it. It festers and affects anything from relationships and intimacy to simple daily functions. A little reference to her struggles would’ve been nice. Secondly, this show is the first kdrama I have seen that has a gay character not as a joke but as a fleshed-out human while also not being a BL show. Yes, the character is funny and has some special antiques but he’s never made fun of for being gay so you can imagine my disappointment when he is the only character whose arc ends negatively. Moreover, the only other queer-coded character in the show just happens to be the only “villain” who stays evil throughout the show and is never redeemed. So yes, basically what I’m saying is that the show treats its not-straight characters very badly and I’m a bit bothered by that. That said, the show is still good and right up to the end, that character’s plot was very well-written and he is one of my favorite characters of the show. Thirdly, the romance of Je-Hyuk and Ji-Ho had me squint my eyes a bit...like being into someone you knew when they were a kid and you were grown up?! Sounds fake but okay...

Overall: A really good and heartwarming show. I really needed something that celebrates the better part of humanity while ironically dealing with the worst humanity has to offer. It’s a hopeful show that tugs at your heartstrings in a good way.

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You've heard of daddy-issues as tragic backstories now get ready for...MOMMY ISSUES!

*The characters are a metaphor for bad parenting!*
This show didn't leave a huge impression on me but it gets a 9/10 for being the first Chinese modern drama that I watched all the way through and that deserves recognition if anything does. It's also not a bad show.
You should check this show out if you like:
1. Found family trope
2.Second-hand embarrassment
3.Slice of life
4.Food
5.Watching other people eat food while you're not
6.Food as a love language
7.Extensive and blatant verbal abuse of children throughout childhood and well into adulthood
8.Barely-there romance
9.Friendship and girls-supporting-girls
10.Easily resolved misunderstandings that don't stress the viewer out at all
11.Half-assed, there-only-for-laughs love triangles
12.Stories that handle concepts of trauma
13.Barely hidden implications about non-traditional family units (aka families with same-gender parents) being healthier than forced traditional family units.
14. Mothers having weird things for their kids...it's...complicated!

Summary: The story follows a widowed man named Li Hai Chao who runs a small noodle shop and takes care of his daughter on his own. He ends up becoming the primary caretaker for two neglected boys in the neighborhood and together with the upstairs neighbor dude, they make up a sweet, unconventional family unit. Then years later, the abusive parents show up and take the boys away just to prove that it's never too late to deeply traumatize and scar your children if you are determined enough!

So this show...is so comforting and cozy while also giving the viewers terrible anxiety. It's truly awe-inspiring how much drama they fit into a show that essentially has no central plot. Like I mentioned, the show is a "slice of life" type of show so for the most part it's about these people dealing with the banal difficulties of real-life but the circumstances of the characters are so dramatized and heightened that their daily issues involve weirdly high stakes.

Story: I really appreciate the time the show takes to really drive home the level of abuse and trauma parents can unpack on their children, intentionally or not. The whole concept of this show as I see it is challenging parenting norms of China, revealing the dark side of filial piety and asking real questions about what a true family consists of, and if blood really is thicker than water, or more importantly...should it be?!
Every one of the younger members of the cast (That is the main three kids, Jian Jian, Ling Xiao, and He ZiQiu as well as Ming Yue and Tang Can) are each different manifestations of traumatized children who grow up with some form of parental deficiency.
Jian Jian: Motherless, great dad. she is the least f*cked up one of the bunch. Her thing is that she was pampered because her dad didn't have the heart to be hard on her and she ends up rather demanding and unruly. She's very normal. She has almost no drama going on a personal level (just romantic bs). Although I did find her lack of sexual identity a bit odd given that she is the main "romantic" lead of the show. But I'm just gonna assume that's a cultural thing since "cute" girls seem to outweigh "mature" girls in terms of likability.
Next comes, Ling Xiao: Abusive mother, absent-ish father. He's just SO traumatized. He is the result of the most uncomplicated form of abuse. Depressed, with anxiety disorder. (He has little sense of preservation because he thinks he is unworthy of love and deserves the abuse he gets.)
He ZiQiu: He is the result of abandonment. He is emotionally suppressed and a perfectionist. (because he thinks he has to prove he deserves love)
Ming Yue: Is the result of a controlling mother and an absent father. She is childish and helpless as an adult. She is incapable of making any decisions. Utterly paralyzed between pleasing her mother and resenting her.
Tang Can: Commodified child star, burnt out. She is the example of a child who was used by her parents and praised when she brought in a profit and then later beaten down and ridiculed when she lost her benefits.
The story takes such good care of showing how damaged each of these characters are as adults because of everything that happened to them as children. The big event of the plot comes around episode 10 when Ling Xiao and He ZiQiu who had gotten away with moderate trauma, end up getting dragged back into really terrible family situations, suffer a form of arrested development, get traumatized even worse than before. The show is so good at showing their frozen mental and emotional state once they return to the story.
Then there's a lot of random plots at every turn with each revealing a new level of awful things that have happened to these kids. There are unnecessary love triangles but they seem to mostly be there for humor and they are all resolved quite fast and easily.
My main issue with the plot is that it ends up debunking its own hypothesis. By the end of the show, every single bad mother (and OH they were all bad!) gets redeemed one way or another and the children just resume their filial piety. Sure, there are important conversations that come up but it feels a little pointless. Plots are either undone or swiped under a rug to make a happy ending possible. There's no real statement made about bad parenting patterns.
There is also the fact that the healthiest family unit in the story consists of two men raising three kids together which says a lot about the argument that families must look a certain way for children to grow up mentally stable and healthy but then three fourth of the way into the show, it has to make up a romance for one of the men, in a very meh performance of "no homo".

Acting: The older actors were amazing. The younger ones were good too. Particularly Steven Zhang whose fans will not let anyone forget just how great he was in the show! lol. Seven Tan is praised a lot for this show but except for a couple of scenes here and there, I didn't love the choices made for the character so I didn't love her performance even though I think she did great with what she was given. Song Weilong is the one member of the main cast I am hesitant to pass judgment on. He plays a deeply depressed character and his character comes across as extremely depressed and introverted, so I think he did do an amazing job portraying that but that also means his character is significantly less flashy than Steven Zhang's so he can seem like he didn't do a good job and was just awkward. Didn't love the supporting casts' acting much. But again. similar to Seven Tan, their childish and exaggerated performances do add up with their characters' personalities so maybe they didn't have bad performances so much as their characters were just exaggerated and irritating!

The music was fine. Except for when that one song keeps repeating a million times over every time something emotional happens. A lot of cdrama/kdramas do this. Much to my displeasure...

The production was good. Especially compared to all the modern cdramas I have dropped. The audio was good, set design, cinematography and etc. were good in the way that good things go unnoticed because they are natural.

Negatives: There is a romance between two of the main kids. I think it's best to know this and go into the show because some people tried to make a "this is incest" argument which, no it's not. Stop trying to make a mockery of a serious issue. It's like, people love the childhood friends to lovers trope until they actually get to see that transition and suddenly it's gross and "how can you fall for someone you played with when you were kids?!" well that's what friends to lovers looks like in practice, Karen. It's literally in the name! Don't like it, don't watch! Knowing what to expect, you can notice all the tiny easter eggs the creators put in the childhood era about a possible future romance. It's also decidedly melodramatic. Some would say the childhood era was better than the adult era. I think everyone needs to accept that people can't stay kids forever and it's weird to love watching grown-ass people acting like 15-year-olds.

I would not personally rewatch it. It's not really something that I was super wowed by. It was good but just for one watch.

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Hell is other people.

Happiness is a tv show about the inherent horror of having to quarantine in close proximity to other people! Initially, I refrained from putting this show in my To-Watch list because I thought watching a show about quarantine while I’m stuck in quarantine for the nth wave of the covid pandemic, might be a bit too much on my psyche but I am glad I ended up watching it. It was worth it. Weirdly validifying too. Like, yeah, I have to deal with jerks in my quarantine too. Thanks for acknowledging my struggles!!!
Let me give you some rundown: this is not a zombie apocalypse show, nor is it a survivalist show. This is a show dedicated to the complex and unexpected developments of human behavior and psyche when people are forced to stay put in one place due to a crisis. A study of humanity in high-stress situations which is also sprinkled with jump scares, actions scenes, zombie attacks, and so on, yes, but those are the conditions that provide for the real goal of the story: The plague is humanity!
I really enjoyed this show, even though I hate gore and thriller stories and never touch zombie stories. They really scare me because to me nothing is worse than twisting into a monster that no longer has the ability of human thought and control. It’s just terrifying to watch a human distort their body in all the wrong directions, snarling and groaning and making grabby-hand gestures, okay?! But this show was so graceful about it. Because it showed all the ways that humans can lose their ability to think and control their worst urges and instincts while looking perfectly normal. You really don’t need to be a zombie to suck the life out of the people around you! The real zombies are the bad company! (I love all these ah-ha! takes I can have about this show! lol) I just love how this show displays just that.

You should check this out if you can handle:
1. Zombies
2. Humans acting like monsters
3. Seriously. There’s some heavy psychological deterioration displayed in this show
4. Effortless chemistry and romantic dynamic that is super subtle and not overly-emphasized
5. FOUND.FAMILY. (YAAAAAAASSSSSS!)
6. Quarantine shows
7. Thrillers, horror, jump scares, gore and blood
8. People being stupid
9. Regressive narratives (no one is really having a personal growth here in that cathartic way that hallmark-level romcoms will provide with convenient monologues and stuff)

Summary: The story follows three characters: Yoon Sae Bom, a special task force member who after a difficult childhood is desperate to have a home of her own™, Jung Yi Hun, her best friend, and an ex-baseball player who is now a detective and is desperately and secretly in love with her, and Han Tae Seok, a Machiavellian out-hire in the military in charge of containing and managing a new and bizarre disease spreading through Korea. Long story short, people are becoming zombies. Sae Bom and Yi Hun have just moved into their new, fancy little apartment and want nothing but to live a happy life but all that is put on the back burner when their entire apartment complex gets quarantined for being the epicenter for the disease. What comes after is just…human horror!

Plot: If you’ve had the displeasure to come into contact with a little story called “The Lord of flies” then you’ll have a general idea of just what this show is trying to achieve. A definite nod and modernization of that same premise, this show is the most current concept out there, dedicated to all the terrible ways that quarantining and having to stay in closed spaces with other people can just suck the life out of you! The show puts a bunch of characters with personal motives and unique kinds of hidden skeletons in one apartment building where as time goes by, everyone just transforms into a more exaggerated version of their initial vices or rise to the occasion to reveal hidden depths. It’s all about the study of human behavior. Because from the get-go the story presents the zombie situation as a disease, then the show is not about blowing zombie heads off for brownie points but instead, it constantly goes to lengths to highlight the humanity hidden behind their situation. This distinctly differentiates it from a zombie apocalypse story. Because it’s not an apocalypse. I think the whole thing is an allegory. Although the show mentions covid by name, really the zombie disease is also covid. From people who refuse to follow health protocols to those who want to get out of the quarantine even though they have nowhere to go, to the essential workers who have to go out against their better judgment, to those who are just looking to make profits from a dire situation, it's all so familiar and real. The show goes to some dark places about humanity and if you can handle those stuff, it can be so interesting.
And to top it all off, even though this is not a romance show, there is such a dynamic chemistry between the leads, and their harmony with each other and their deep love and care for the other is what carries the show. It’s just a sweet treat in the heart of an upsetting story. At the same time as this, I'm also watching a show, explicitly marketed as a romance and that's just giving me nothing while this show's barely-there romance plot is so profoundly lovely.
I also want to add that the side characters are all so interesting and the more you watch them, they all reveal more of themselves and become more defined in a way that encourages you to care about some and just hope the others die in the most violent way possible... (Plot twist: the viewer becomes a zombie in the process of watching jerks do jerk-stuff!)
Lastly, the show does a great job of highlighting class divisions and social caste systems. I’ve come to notice that Kdramas are particularly good at telling stories about class and this show is another good example of it. There are so many detailed nods to it here and there and it was morbidly delicious to watch it all unfold.

Acting: Everyone did an amazing job in their roles. The show had clear main characters and those guys were awesome with Han Hyo Joon and Park Hyung Sik having some of the best chemistry I’ve seen all year but the show is also an ensemble affair so it matters that the supporting cast members are good in their roles as well. I think they achieved that for sure. This might seem like a super random shoutout but Hong Soon Chang was a delight in his role as the elderly neighbor. His character was not even particularly likable but his manner of speech and body language were just so natural and interesting that he felt like an actual person you can meet in real life. I really enjoyed his screen time.

Music and production: The music was very good. It helped elevate the emotions of that every moment without being too predictable The zombie attack theme was so heart-throbbing but also it wasn't just the same horror movie beat. The music also stopped in all the right places so as to add to the gravitas of certain moments. The production was also very good. It just looked very nice and cool and I don’t know, I liked it.

Rewatch: I don’t really rewatch so probably I won’t but at least I can acknowledge that the 12-episode run makes it accessible. I usually lose interest in kdramas around episode 12 of 16(Unless they have 20 episodes, then I’m fine!!!). That’s where I pause a lot of them, check out my on-hold list, lol. So, it was a great delight that this show ends right before I could get bored/irritated.

Negatives: Um, I saw some people nag that the show’s premise is not realistic and ask for a scientific explanation of the disease…sweetie, it’s a drama...about zombies!!! It’s not a scientific article! It’s all fake. Zombies are fake, sorry if that’s a shock so…don’t expect realistic science from it?! Idk, I can’t believe this has to be said. The characters do stupid things, they are mean and evil occasionally and bad stuff happens a lot and there’s probably a good amount of plot holes but none of it will really affect your enjoyment of it if you are inclined to like this. There’s also the matter of the ending. I already said this in a comment but this is a petri dish story. A bottle episode, if you will. The plot doesn’t care about the cure, it cares about the humans in that very specific, simulated situation and ends right after the situation is no longer held together. It might feel a bit like the ending is left open without a closure. So just prepare for that.

Overall: This is more like a long movie rather than a short show. It has the same beat and flow as a movie and it’s also just a very interesting story. I wanted to give it a lower rating, a 9 or a 9.5 but ultimately, I really did enjoy watching it. It does infuriate at certain points but that’s kind of the point. I think this show captured our very bizarre and traumatic times by creating an even more bizarre and traumatic allegory and I appreciated that. I also liked that, ultimately it had a heartwarming message. At one point in the story, one of the characters says that they won’t catch the disease because they haven’t done anything wrong, and that is very ironic in many, many different ways but it also brings up an interesting concept; that bad things should and will happen to bad people. Not necessarily. Not really. But it sure does feel good when you watch good people overcome bad things just because they are good.

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