felicismoon
This review may contain spoilers
Did I watch the same show as everyone else?
After watching this, I've found myself so disappointed that I really have to ask myself: did I watch the same show as everyone else?
This was a show I eagerly anticipated watching. I was over the moon (haha) when I heard this drama was airing soon. I was expecting something amazing. A stellar cast, with a celestial horror/mystery? Count me in!!
Looking at the other reviews and comments about this show, it looks like, generally, most people have been really liking this show. So it puzzles me that I had such major issues with this show that it seems that other people did not have. I'm honestly wondering if there's just something I'm missing here.
One of my biggest problems with this show was the characters. I had no problems with the characters during the first episode. They seemed interesting and unique, and I was curious to see where they'd go with Bae Doo Na's character. And I had no doubt that the excellent cast, which was one of the main reasons I was excited for the show, would be able to deliver quality performances.
Where the drama went sharply downhill for me was about the second episode or so. My problem was that I could not understand why the characters were acting the way they were acting. Here's what I mean. As soon as the scientists make it to the space station, it is exceedingly obvious that there's something not right here at all. The drowning victims, the lack of radiation. More importantly, there's the people dying terrifying, unnatural deaths. But during all of this, I could not understand why the scientists seemed to unbothered?? Obviously, they shouldn't start panicking or running around like headless chickens but I feel like they don't seemed fazed enough? There's not enough of a sense of urgency in their actions despite the profoundly distressing situation. It's so bizarre to me I felt like a crazy person watching the show. I just could not understand these characters. Now, I think this does improve later in the show, where the characters act more logically. But by this point I'd already lost much of my interest in the characters and their success.
However, my biggest problem with the show was probably the plot. I hate crying plagiarism for no reason and I'm NOT saying that this drama plagiarized. But the set up was so similar to this Doctor Who episode I watched in the past. I think it's called "The Waters of Mars" or something? Anyways, both of them have the set up of these astronauts in space at the mercy of a sickness spread by water. I think they both even have the infected person expelling huge quantities of water, though that might just be in this show. And, to be fair, I can't remember enough of the details regarding the backstory and the characters to say that the two are similar in this regard. I digress. But what the problem for me was that the novel premise of the threatening water in the space station fell flat for me because I'd already seen it before. I was able to predict so much what happened, which killed a lot of the mystery and suspense for me. And I'm usually someone that's terrible at predicting what's going to happen next when I'm watching dramas!
To be fair to the show, the backstory behind the water, Luna, and the newer parts of the plot were in the last two or so episodes, which I skipped through a lot. I probably should've given the show more of a chance with these elements of it, but by this point I was so disappointed and annoyed I couldn't care enough. And the elements with the drought on Earth were interesting, but they weren't explored enough for me to give the show much more credit there.
Basically, to sum up my feelings, I really did not like this show. The suggested overall rating that MDL is giving me for this review is a 5/10, and that probably would be more fair. But I'm just so bitter about this show I can't give it more than a 3/10. I really wanted to like it, and I was so sure I would. However, this show just really didn't work for me. I would still recommend it if you're interested, though, since a lot of people seem to like it a lot.
This was a show I eagerly anticipated watching. I was over the moon (haha) when I heard this drama was airing soon. I was expecting something amazing. A stellar cast, with a celestial horror/mystery? Count me in!!
Looking at the other reviews and comments about this show, it looks like, generally, most people have been really liking this show. So it puzzles me that I had such major issues with this show that it seems that other people did not have. I'm honestly wondering if there's just something I'm missing here.
One of my biggest problems with this show was the characters. I had no problems with the characters during the first episode. They seemed interesting and unique, and I was curious to see where they'd go with Bae Doo Na's character. And I had no doubt that the excellent cast, which was one of the main reasons I was excited for the show, would be able to deliver quality performances.
Where the drama went sharply downhill for me was about the second episode or so. My problem was that I could not understand why the characters were acting the way they were acting. Here's what I mean. As soon as the scientists make it to the space station, it is exceedingly obvious that there's something not right here at all. The drowning victims, the lack of radiation. More importantly, there's the people dying terrifying, unnatural deaths. But during all of this, I could not understand why the scientists seemed to unbothered?? Obviously, they shouldn't start panicking or running around like headless chickens but I feel like they don't seemed fazed enough? There's not enough of a sense of urgency in their actions despite the profoundly distressing situation. It's so bizarre to me I felt like a crazy person watching the show. I just could not understand these characters. Now, I think this does improve later in the show, where the characters act more logically. But by this point I'd already lost much of my interest in the characters and their success.
However, my biggest problem with the show was probably the plot. I hate crying plagiarism for no reason and I'm NOT saying that this drama plagiarized. But the set up was so similar to this Doctor Who episode I watched in the past. I think it's called "The Waters of Mars" or something? Anyways, both of them have the set up of these astronauts in space at the mercy of a sickness spread by water. I think they both even have the infected person expelling huge quantities of water, though that might just be in this show. And, to be fair, I can't remember enough of the details regarding the backstory and the characters to say that the two are similar in this regard. I digress. But what the problem for me was that the novel premise of the threatening water in the space station fell flat for me because I'd already seen it before. I was able to predict so much what happened, which killed a lot of the mystery and suspense for me. And I'm usually someone that's terrible at predicting what's going to happen next when I'm watching dramas!
To be fair to the show, the backstory behind the water, Luna, and the newer parts of the plot were in the last two or so episodes, which I skipped through a lot. I probably should've given the show more of a chance with these elements of it, but by this point I was so disappointed and annoyed I couldn't care enough. And the elements with the drought on Earth were interesting, but they weren't explored enough for me to give the show much more credit there.
Basically, to sum up my feelings, I really did not like this show. The suggested overall rating that MDL is giving me for this review is a 5/10, and that probably would be more fair. But I'm just so bitter about this show I can't give it more than a 3/10. I really wanted to like it, and I was so sure I would. However, this show just really didn't work for me. I would still recommend it if you're interested, though, since a lot of people seem to like it a lot.
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