Once Upon a Cliche

Love Joy and Choo Yeong-woo but not really this show. It's not unwatchable, but I found myself tuning out most of the time and didn't really feel the characters. The cast did okay in their roles, although it was difficult to really feel the relationship between the leads since it was very cliche. I feel like almost every scene in this show is a cliche.

I can see the similarities between this show and Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha, although I don't think either of them are a copy of the other, just happen to have similar plots and characters. This show is definitely not as good as Hometown though. The story is average and progresses how you'd expect a cheesy countryside rom-com to play out. I'm usually okay with seeing some cringey, cliche scenes in dramas but there were a few scenes in this show where I physically cringed and rolled my eyes (like the scene where the peaches fall on top of Ahn Jae-young and Han Ji-yul shields her).

The side characters and townsfolk were kind of annoying, especially the loud and aggressive women who were constantly fighting and screaming at each other. I'm not a fan of love triangles, and this show has one of the most annoying love triangles I've seen in a while. I can't really see how anyone could have 2nd male lead syndrome for this show, as Lee Sang-hyeon frustrated me to no end and I constantly found myself tuning out whenever he was on screen. No hate towards the actor, but his character was incredibly annoying. Typical 2nd ML who does nothing but chase after the FL, but he does so by being blatantly passive-aggressive and rude towards the ML for no reason at all other than that the FL might be interested in him. The whole jealous 2nd ML and ML thing was overly played out, and there were points in the show where the FL and ML wouldn't be able to interact with each other for almost the entire episode, only to have the 2nd ML swoop in every chance he could get. There were also so many instances when the FL and ML would finally get a chance to talk with each other and progress their relationship, and then some cliche interruption happens that disrupts everything just to drag it on further (like a phone ringing, someone calling one of them over, etc.)

Some people may find this show enjoyable, especially if you're not picky with good plots or well-established characters. If you're looking for something simple to put on in the background or to waste time then maybe this show is for you. I was literally watching as the credits started playing on the last episode and was like "wait... is this the last episode?" The conclusion wasn't completely satisfying and caught me off guard.

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The Mediocre

Was very excited for this show after seeing the trailer since Chae Soobin is one of my favorite actresses. Of course Minho caught my interest as well! In the end, the show is mediocre and the plot is not that interesting, and with only 8 episodes and quite a large cast, it just fails to deliver any real emotion or characters with depth.

Like the characters had the potential to be interesting, but I feel like trying to fit this many character storylines and conflicts into one 8 ep series didn’t work. Found myself wishing they spent a bit more time on the ML and FL relationship instead of some of the other storylines in order to at least make their relationship more impactful.

That being said, the main relationship didn’t work for me. Soobin and Minho had potential for great chemistry, but the writing and plot progression ruined it for them. The FL starting off the show by cheating on her then boyfriend was kinda weird to be honest, and her trying to play it off so non-chalantly was even weirder (not really setup for a likeable FL). I feel like they were trying to go for a more ‘mature’ feel to the show by doing this. The ML spends the entirety of the show chasing after the FL even after being brutally rejected. This didn’t really make sense to me, and it really hurt the emotional aspect of their relationship and the eventual payoff at the end when the FL is supposed to realize her feelings for the ML because there was no push and pull. It was just the ML simping for the FL the whole time, even when he’s rejected he just shrugs it off by claiming it’s more fun to be rejected at first or something? They could’ve at least spent more time after the rejection to show how bad it made him feel, and maybe make him avoid the FL for a bit just to give the opportunity for the FL to realize her feelings? I just feel like the whole ML being so persistent the entire show didn’t make for a compelling buildup to the relationship. The stakes felt very one sided. Meanwhile the FL spends a good portion of the show being depressed because there are two (at one point three) guys chasing after her.

FL’s character was rather shallow and kinda annoying at times. Cheating on her then boyfriend with her ex, lying about it, constantly rejecting the ML while getting back together with her other ex while at the same time having feelings for the ML. She then dumps her boyfriend and like five minutes later ends up getting together with the ML? Just didn’t seem right to me, the timing is all off. Also the ML has very little character to begin with. He literally spends the entire show chasing after the FL and doing everything she asks, but when it comes down to it, he had nothing else to his character except for his feelings for her. He’s supposed to be a photographer, but that’s barely shown or addressed throughout the show, and even the side characters had more individual character development than the ML. Feel like they could’ve done a lot more with the ML’s character and backstory, and maybe given him something more other than the FL to drive his character.

Side characters were okay and fun. Joseph was entertaining and a fun character, as well as the model friend. Some of the scenes, especially the conclusions near the end were very cliche and wrapped up a little too nicely to be realistic, but oh well it is just a show. Minkyu’s character was a little annoying at first because he seemed kinda forced into the plot and his eccentric personality didn’t seem very realistic, but he gets a little better throughout the show, although I do think his character wasn’t really necessary.

You could probably skip this show and not miss out on much. But some people may find it enjoyable enough, especially if you don’t care as much about deep character development or relationships. It’s a rather short series so if you’re debating on watching it you might as well give it a try!

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D.P. stands for Dumb People

Pretty good show, a little on the slower side at times, but with intriguing characters and situations. The two leads in the show do an excellent job playing their roles, and their chemistry together was one of the best parts of the show in my opinion.

Acting is great, story is good. This show will definitely make you angry, keep that in mind. There are so many characters who deserve severe punishment for how they treat others during service, but unfortunately not too many of them get what they deserve. Plenty of gruesome, humiliating, and downright infuriating bullying scenes with little payoff at the end in terms of change in behaviors or punishment for their actions. One of the things I hate the most in this world is when people think too highly of themselves and treat others poorly, and this show has a lot of that. This show is mostly just scenes of individuals who think they're better than others and abuse their power, only for the victim of the abuse to turn around and abuse the next person down the ladder. Almost like a domino effect.

Overall, a good show with a decent story and great acting. Just prepare to be very angry.

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Had to watch at x2 speed because of the script

This show was very hard to get through, even at x2 speed. The acting isn't bad and the cast did good in their roles, it's just the script that is so lacking. When it comes down to it, the show is basically just three guys simping after the girls the entire show, while the girls just keep them wrapped around their fingers with the help from the clearly biased writers. 95% of the show consists of some form of misunderstanding or unnecessary drama that causes the female characters to become upset with the male characters, only to have the male characters try and chase after them and win them over for the next 3 episodes, and then it just repeats. You get maybe a few minutes of brief happiness and cute moments in their relationships, only to have another misunderstanding and lack of communication happen that causes the girls to become upset again. If you can get past the 95% of conflict in every relationship in this show (especially the two leads), then I guess the remaining 5% is somewhat enjoyable. Unfortunately, the conflict and drama lasts up until the very last few episodes, so at that point you basically have to suffer through the FL being mad at the ML for the entire show.

I think part of it is that the show is definitely catered more towards a specific audience that just enjoys seeing handsome guys chase after the girls in a show, and care less about a good script or balanced characters. Most of the male characters in this show are written so poorly, while others are just evil, corrupt, sexist, or harassers. The ML, Xin Qi, was especially done dirty by the writers. His character had barely any character outside of his heart condition and simping for the FL. Even his heart condition was put on the backburner in order to focus more on the "jealous" boyfriend moments and making him act like a child for the majority of the show in order to win over the FL. I swear I barely ever saw him actually working, he was just pursuing the FL the entire time, whether it was to get with her or to see his child. I can't even count how many times the writers pulled the "jealous" boyfriend card and had Xin Qi following the FL as she met up with countless guys that were only written in to create these jealous BF moments. And yet there is no 2FL or love rival to Min Hui (unless you count the childhood friend who died, but she's only in the show through flashbacks). I wish they had given Xin Qi more to his role besides pursuing Min Hui.

The side characters aren't much better either. Some of the conflicts were written so poorly that I cringed. Cao Mu wanting to break up with Jia Jun just because he was planning on proposing to her made very little sense. If she truly cared for him, why wouldn't she try talking it out first and working things out? Why immediately try breaking things off? At one point, Min Hui got so upset with Xin Qi because he "didn't trust her", even though he told her that he just wanted to find out the truth about what happened to his childhood friend. This happened literally in the same scene where he finally confessed to her and it looked like they were going to finally get together, all because of the cliche "plot-twist" connecting all the leads together (I'm trying not to spoil too much, so forgive the generalizations). Min Hui then proceeds to stay mad at Xin Qi for multiple episodes, all while Xin Qi spends the entire time trying to apologize and make it up to her, even though he's not entirely in the wrong either. If anything, Min Hui also didn't trust Xin Qi enough to tell him about his child or the events that happened in the past, and she also lied to him about pretending to be his dead childhood friend. She also treats him like dirt for the majority of the show, and the writers also seem to use Xin Qi as sort of a "punching bag" when it came to embarrassing himself, acting like a child, being constantly rejected but still pursuing, and always being in the wrong even when he wasn't.

To sum it all up, Xin Qi was too childish and there was no push and pull to the lead relationship because he was just simping the entire time, Min Hui was too angry the majority of the show and didn't let anyone explain themselves (only leading to further misunderstandings). There were so many moments when she would eavesdrop on others talking about her and would only hear the negative things said, and then walk away right when they start talking about the positive things about her, leading to yet another misunderstanding that isn't even resolved well. Cao Mu and Chen Jia Jun were admittingly cute together despite the age gap, and it was refreshing to see them together when there was so much conflict between the ML & FL, however Cao Mu did not treat Jia Jun very nicely at times, and Jia Jun was just another Xin Qi in that his whole world revolved around his love and nothing else mattered. The love triangle with Zhou Ru Ji was unnecessary and just made misunderstandings even more painful to watch, and his relationship with Zi Zhu was not very interesting or cute. Of course, the "evil" characters are obviously evil, so I don't need to talk about disliking them because they were meant to be disliked (just obvious sexists and harassers). I did really like the kid who played the son (Quan Quan). He was a good actor for his age and did well in his role, although he was that stereotypical kid role that you see in many of these dramas, where he's just way too smart for his age. I will say that the character Cindy was one of the only characters that I didn't really have a problem with. She was just fun and had a good personality.

Started off watching at normal speed, then bumped it up to 1.5x, and then found myself watching at x2 speed nearing the end because it was so repetitive. Maybe if you don't care for well thought out scripts or balanced characters, then you'll enjoy the show. Maybe if you just want to watch handsome guys simp after the girls for 28 episodes then you'll like it. I guess it just wasn't my cup of tea. Thanks for reading to the end if you made it this far!

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Huge fan of Song Kang. Nevertheless,

First off, this show made me feel the same way Cheese In the Trap and Love Alarm made me feel after watching it. Sure, the cinematography, soundtrack, acting, and cast are great, but the characters and plot progression ruined it for me. I was thoroughly enjoying this show the first few episodes because I was really rooting for the two leads to end up together and work out their problems, but as the show progressed it just dug itself deeper and deeper into this hole and now, with one episode left, I really have no hope for it.

Song Kang's acting is great, but his character is terrible. I started this show because of the cast, and Song Kang is one of my favorite actors right now (as a straight male, even I think he's good looking), but this show does him literally no justice. Essentially, he's one of the "main characters" but is portrayed as a villain. Do-hyeok (another great actor) shows up through drama-line convenience in order to start a love triangle, which I did not care for at all. He's literally the total opposite of Jae-eon and is sort of forced down your throat as a loveable, innocent, and seemingly perfect childhood friend love interest whose existence seems to center around Nabi. Very little character to showcase and his personality just seems way too convenient for drama purposes as a second male lead. I shouldn't really even say second male lead, as he's basically the primary male lead at this point. Basically what happens is Jae-eon and Nabi are happy together for a second, and then some misunderstanding or doubt arises causing them to drift apart, and then Do-hyeok comes out of nowhere to kiss Nabi's wounds and Jae-eon is left on the curb looking like the bad guy of the show. I can't root for Jae-eon anymore because the show keeps making him look more and more like a jerk, and I can't root for Do-hyeok because his character is so uninteresting and has very little depth.

Again, props to the acting, but boo to the characters. The show had so many opportunities to resolve some misunderstandings between Nabi and Jae-eon if they'd just give them a single scene where they sit down and actually communicate instead of making vague comments to each other. I was basically just waiting the entire show for at least SOME of the misunderstandings to clear up, but instead they just kept adding more and literally 80% of the scenes with Jae-eon alone with Nabi was just him trying to make-out with her. There are so many side characters with their own relationships going on, and literally all of them have progressed waaay further than the two leads. All of the side character relationships have been progressing at a good pace, whereas the two lead's relationship has been going backwards since like 3 episodes in.

Even with all of this, my biggest frustration with this show is how they execute Song Kang's character. They initially made his character seem like he was going to try and change in order to be with Nabi, but instead they kept digging him deeper and deeper into this hole. Are we not going to clear up the misunderstanding that he had a girlfriend while he was seeing Nabi? There's one scene in particular where Nabi finally asks Jae-eon about him having a girlfriend, and instead of replying like any normal person would (by saying no, I don't have a girlfriend), he instead says "does that matter?" What. Why? The misunderstanding could have been cleared up right then and there.

I think I've ranted for long enough. Overall, started off good and then fell off. Lots of misunderstandings, very little communication, so many side relationships, and super convenient and depthless love triangle.

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I wanted to like it

I might be in the minority here, but I really struggled to finish this drama. The overwhelmingly positive reviews made me go into this show with high expectations, but also made me even more disappointed in the end. Not everything is bad, but there are way too many parts that frustrated me to watch or was just plain boring.

The casting was good. All the actors and actresses played their roles well (no hate towards any of them). The visuals were great and the show itself was filmed in a visually stunning way (although dark and bland sometimes). As with most shows that I'm not a fan of, the problems mostly lie in the writing and execution. This drama is long, taking into account parts 1 and 2, with some episodes being over an hour long. This wouldn't be a problem if the show actually kept my interest the entire time, but there were so many scenes that were just dragged out for way too long, and so many repetitive situations. The two leads going back and forth arguing with each other became extremely repetitive and annoying very quickly. Gil Chae's character was not very likeable for the majority of the show (especially at the beginning), and the way she treated Jang Hyun in the first half was frustrating to watch to say the least. She would constantly blame him for things, badmouth him, and was just plain rude. So many times Jang Hyun would help her or save her life, and all of this would go unnoticed. He would fight and hurt himself in the process, only for very little acknowledgement and little payoff in the end (in fact, Gil Chae would often get upset with him instead). Gil Chae being "in love" with Yeon Jun in the first half was so frustrating to watch. So many times I thought she would finally come to her senses and move on from this unhealthy relationship with Yeon Jun, only for her to fall right back in to blindly chasing after his affection even though he's already in a relationship with her best friend. It didn't help that Yeon Jun was incredibly annoying for most of the show, especially when he admitted to having some feelings for Gil Chae while also seeing Eun Ae.

Side characters were okay, although boring at times and helped to drag out the story for way too long. Ryang Eum's dynamic with Jang Hyun was interesting and not something that you see often in these types of shows. Gag Hwa was also a pretty interesting character, and sometimes I felt more chemistry between her and Jang Hyun than with Gil Chae. I didn't really care at all for Yeon Jun and Eun Ae's relationship (even though Eun Ae was a very good character in my opinion), as Yeon Jun was not very likeable.

The vibe of the show started off as a historical rom-com, but quickly turned very dark, violent, and moody. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I do prefer rom-coms over dark shows. The first two-ish episodes were great in my opinion, but I soon found myself wishing there was a fast-forward option to get through some of the boring scenes and repetitive dialogue. Namkoong Min, who I acknowledge is a very talented and well-respected actor, did this thing throughout the entire show where he would talk in a very slow manner. This was obviously done for dramatic effect and to increase tension in his scenes, but I found this also dragged out his scenes for much longer than they normally would have been. He would take a pause between every few words or sentences that dragged out his dialogue scenes waaay too long. I don't know if this was just me who noticed this?

The story itself became boring very quickly. I haven't seen Gone with the Wind, so I can't really make comparisons with it. The story just felt dragged out, and some parts like Jang Hyun losing his memory twice didn't really make much sense to me. The ending was okay I guess, I think I was just glad that it was finally over. The relationship between Jang Hyun and Gil Chae was cute at times, but I couldn't really feel the chemistry. Often times I wondered why they were so obsessed with each other (especially with Jang Hyun towards Gil Chae), as I felt like their relationship lacked a strong connection that made me want to see them together. The constant bickering and push&pull in the first half didn't really lead to a good build up to their relationship, and then the introduction of Gag Hwa into the story and her dynamic with Jang Hyun made it even harder to feel the connection between the main leads. I felt like most of the show Jang Hyun and Gil Chae weren't even together.

Overall, rather disappointed to say the least. You may enjoy this show if you like historical/costume & period dramas. I prefer modern-day rom-coms so maybe this show just wasn't for me.

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Not perfect but still enjoyable

Fun and cute show with a good cast and somewhat interesting premise. Jo Yuri did amazing (seems like her roleplaying in IZONE payed off), and Nana was one of the highlights of the show. Story is okay, nothing groundbreaking and there are some plot points that aren’t really addressed by the end. Ending does feel a bit rushed and the resolution in terms of character relationships could have been more impactful. Acting was good overall, especially for a web drama, though there were a few scenes where the acting was a little over done and exaggerated. Han Yoo Sung was a good male lead and a very likeable character.

The main issue I had was with Ji Soo Bin. I didn’t really care for his character much during the show and he often just annoyed me in most of his scenes (and he has a lot of scenes). He was mainly just a walking self-pity party and seemed to only care about his own problems even though many of the other characters had it just as bad. Found it very hard to like his character until the very end, which made it difficult to like the relationship between him and Oh Ro Si. Kim Yoon Woo is a good actor, just his character was annoying.

Otherwise a good show! The main cast did great in their roles, and I have to give credit to Nana for doing an amazing job and being one of the highlights of the show. Jo Yuri and Yoo Young Jae as well!

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Painfully Cliche And Poorly Written But I Still Continued Watching

There's so much I found frustrating with this show that I don't even know where to begin. Going into it I had my expectations set really low since the rating wasn't the highest, but I thought I'd give it a chance since I liked the cast. Unfortunately, the show probably deserves a lower rating than what reviews indicate. Since I can't organize my dislikes in a coherent storied way, I'll just provide a list of things I liked and didn't like instead.

What I liked:
- The cast (for the most part). Lin Xin Yi and Luo Zheng played their parts well, although the cliche scenes and poorly written story didn't make it easy for them.
- The chemistry between Xin Yi and Zheng was good (when they weren't fighting or misunderstanding), as much as the script allowed.

What I disliked:
- The story is very poorly written. Full of cliches that I physically cringed when sitting through. Characters don't really make logical decisions or communicate with one another. Kind of felt like a fanfiction story written by someone who wanted to make themselves the main character and live vicariously through Yan Xi.
- The way conflicts were handled and resolved. It seemed like every time something happened that added conflict to the story, Xi Cheng was the one who had to step up and try to fix things, whereas Yan Xi was portrayed as the victim in every situation (even when it was her fault or partially her fault). It seemed like Xi Cheng had to take responsibility for so many of the conflicts that occurred, even when he wasn't really at fault, yet the show tries to brush past it like it's normal. For example, when Yan Xi gets annoyed at Xi Cheng because she sees him interacting with his "ex" (even though they work together so it can't be avoided), so she goes out to an arcade with Fu Bo Ya and even takes him out to dinner. Then she happens to run into Xi Cheng and the "ex" eating at the same restaurant (yet another cliche), and gets so mad to the point that she storms out and Xi Cheng has to chase after her. She then proceeds to kick him in the shin and yell at him for eating with another girl, even though she's literally doing the exact same thing eating with Fu Bo Ya. At least Xi Cheng tried to draw the line between him and his "ex" early on (and acted mean/indifferent to her most of the time), whereas Yan Xi was openly friendly and hung out with Fu Bo Ya so many times, even though Xi Cheng expressed his discomfort with it. Such a large portion of the show was spent on the two leads getting jealous of each other for no good reason, and Yan Xi acting hypocritical made it so much harder to watch.
- Speaking of love triangles, this show has some of the most painfully hard-to-sit-through love triangles I have ever seen. Fu Bo Ya and Nangong Lui Li were so incredibly annoying that I actually skipped through some of their scenes (which is something I rarely do). Fu Bo Ya was conveniently everywhere all at once, and was always there to swoop in whenever one of the female characters was going through a hard time and it was so annoying. He just felt like a forced constant distraction that just slowed everything down and added unnecessary drama. Lui Li was just as annoying, but at least she was kind of supposed to be annoying for most of her screentime, whereas Bo Ya wasn't "intentionally" a nuisance until later on in the show. Bo Ya's sudden "departure" from the show near the end was so cliche and out-of-the-blue that I actually laughed a little when it happened because of how absurd it was. And why was Lui Li depicted as such a psychopath for the majority of the show? Her character went full psychotic Joker villain mode and it didn't really make sense to me.

...I'm going to try and keep the rest of these points short since I've typed too much already.

- Xi Cheng gets blamed for everything. Even when it's not entirely his fault, everyone blames him (including his grandma).
- The whole "secret" thing goes on for way too long. Yan Xi not explaining herself was so painful.
- Very cliche and unrealistic views on relationships. The scene when Situ Shuo has to box a professional boxer in order to get Lu An An's number was weird. I don't know why it was supposed to be romantic, and I don't know why she didn't stop him from getting hurt sooner.
- Xi Cheng's OCD thing didn't really play as big of a role as I thought it would. That one time Yan Xi tried to use his OCD against him because she was jealous of him eating with Liu Li was kind of messed up and just brushed off.
- Some of the acting was off at times, even with the leads (I think Lin Xin Yi did a very good job though).

I'm probably missing so much that I wanted to mention, but this review is so long already. Thanks for sitting through my complaints if you read this far!

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Maybe a waste of time? Maybe not...

Starts off strong, keeps you watching just to see what happens next but not necessarily in a "this is a really good drama" way. More like "wait... who is she going to end up with?" Keep in mind I did not watch the first season since the reviews weren't too great and I have not read the webtoon/comic it's based off of, but I decided to give this season a chance since I wanted to see Jinyoung and Kim Go-eun together. I was still able to understand and pick things up pretty quickly despite not having seen the first season.

Positives:
- The cells were interesting and mostly fun to watch, although they can be a bit "in the way" when you just want to see what happens next to Yumi and Babi. Fun to see how they visually represent emotions and feelings mostly everyone has gone through. It does make typically short scenes drag on though.
- Acting is great, whole cast played their roles well.
- Nice to see Jinyoung and Shin Ye-eun together again, even if it wasn't the best of circumstances.
- Cute moments, heart fluttering moments, funny moments, dramatic moments
- Keeps you engaged for the most part
- The soundtrack for this show is great and fits well

Negatives:
- Some scenes drag on for a while since they have to show how the cells react to the situations
- Can obviously tell it's based on a webtoon given the way things play out. Ending is a set-up for another season?
- The show makes you go through two whole seasons with two different guys, only to have both of them discarded at the end in order to set up another love interest for the next season.
- By the end of the show, Babi and Woong are still not over Yumi, yet she's already off trying to find another guy. I wish they could've at least had Babi and/or Woong move on or find another love interest. Just seems weird to go through entire seasons with these characters and their relationships only to have them tossed to the side anyway (other than being swayed for a moment, Babi was such a great guy, and Woong seemed okay too despite being kind of stalkerish and overly-obsessed with Yumi, yet neither of them get a real happy ending).
- Some unrealistic moments that scream "webtoon plot progression" and unnecessary side plots. Woong suddenly becoming successful and rich, Ruby and Control Z's sudden relationship that I didn't really care for, editor Ahn Dae-young's plotline that was admittedly funny but not really necessary.

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Predictable but still a lot of fun

I was very surprised at how good this show was. I had it on my list of shows to watch for a while, but I kept putting it off because I didn't think it would be that good. Definitely one of the better dramas I've seen in a while. The story is interesting enough to keep you hooked even though it is rather predictable (I actually enjoyed the predictability of the show, made it more of an easy watch and just pure entertainment).

The characters are fantastic, and all of the actors and actresses did a great job playing their roles. The relationships between the characters seemed very genuine and the chemistry between the lead cast was great. One of those shows with character relationships that just makes you smile. Also teared up a few times watching, there are some very emotional moments.

Overall, somewhat underrated drama with great characters and an easy-to-follow plot. If you're looking for a good drama to just watch and have fun, definitely check this one out. Excited for a season two!

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Interesting concept, though nothing groundbreaking

Was interested in the concept of the game when I decided to watch even though I'm more of a rom-com guy. Definitely an entertaining watch. The cast did a fantastic job portraying their roles. Lee Jung-jae did a great job playing his character, although it took a little getting used to his character given his personality at the beginning of the show. Heo Sung-tae did a great job as the thug guy as I wanted him to die a very gruesome death very early on. Jung Ho-yeon as Kang Sae-byeok was definitely my favorite out of all of them. Her character was intriguing and I found myself rooting for her the most.

The show focuses on the greed of individuals and the power money can have over a person. The motivations behind the creation of the game and the leaders who control it didn't really stick with me, and there really isn't any clear punishment for those running the game by the end of the show (probably setting up for a season two). A lot of gruesome deaths, annoying people making stupid choices, and some heartfelt moments where I actually teared up a few times. The game itself is rather straightforward and isn't anything particularly interesting or thrilling to watch, although it is enough to make you continue watching to see what happens next. The main "game" is really the relationships between the characters and their greed versus morality.

Overall, an fun and exciting show that's worth a watch. You may need to look past the absurdity of the game itself, as it could never happen in real life, but the show still provides entertaining situations and characters who you'll be rooting for.

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Entertaining but lacking

Overall, a pretty entertaining show with some good visuals and action. Love the premise of the show, just wish it was executed differently. I haven't read the webtoon, so I'm reviewing solely the show itself.

First off, I agree with many other people who think that adding the Imagine Dragons song to dramatic scenes was a little unfitting to say the least. Ruined some of the dramatic moments, but still, not that big of a deal for me. My problem was with the way they develop Song Kang's character, Hyun-su.

I was under the impression that Hyun-su was going to be the main character and have a lot of scenes. Unfortunately, with such a large ensemble cast, he was often pushed to the side in order to focus on the other 10 main characters (not to mention the side character's screentime). They gave Hyun-su a very sad and dramatic backstory that looked like it was going to develop as the show progressed, allowing him to overcome his demons and possibly utilize it to help others. Although he does help others intermittently throughout the show, he rarely gets any satisfying scenes where he saves the others and is often the one who is needing saving in the first place. Most of the main cast were given strong characters who are capable and have their moments to showcase their strengths, whereas Hyun-su didn't really get any satisfying moments (except at the very end).

Even at the end of the show (spoiler warning), I was expecting Hyun-su to do something dramatic and possibly sacrifice himself to save the others, showing them that he was a good person even if he was labeled a "monster". This doesn't really happen, and his climactic ending moments are overshadowed with the "sacrifice" of the other main character, Eun-hyeok. Speaking of, I don't understand the need for Eun-hyeok to even sacrifice himself in the first place. He could of gone with the others to safety, but instead he decided to sit in a room and die for no reason? I don't know, maybe I'm missing something (I was often confused by the plot). This just overshadowed Hyun-su's part that could have been so much more impactful.

In general, that is my biggest complaint about this show. I understand the need to showcase all of the characters in this large cast, but I feel like they could have done so much more with Song Kang's character. There was so much potential to develop him into something great, like having him transform at the end and sacrifice himself to save the others as a clear indication of him accepting himself and having grown as a person, but instead he just leaves. Not really a sacrifice, no recognition or satisfying ending, and doesn't even get to prove to the others who judged him that he was truly a good person and could control his inner demons. Even the whole relationship between Hyun-su and Eun-yu could have been more impactful at the very end if they didn't unnecessarily throw in Eun-hyeok's death.

Overall, decent story with some hard to follow plot progression and plotholes, great acting, questionable music choices, good effects and animations, good action, but with the unrecognized potential of the character of Hyun-su.

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