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Backstreet Rookie korean drama review
Completed
Backstreet Rookie
5 people found this review helpful
by ponnu
Aug 8, 2020
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 8.5
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 10.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 8.0
This review may contain spoilers

ITS A SIMPLE LIGHT HEARTED DRAMA

I rarely finish watching an ongoing dramas and due to this i rarely watch ongoing dramas.. i usually wait for it to finish and then binge-watch it. BR is one of the few i watched while it was ongoing and didnt drop it midway.

The first thing i want to say to those who decide to watch this drama is its not as problematic or as controversial as some people projects it to be but its not the best drama out there either.. this drama definitely dont deserve all the controversy surrounding it.. people over exaggerated every action in the drama as if this created everything thats wrong in the word.

One thing that made me like BR is that i officially became a fan of both JCW and KYJ.. i never got the hype behind KYJ until i saw this drama(i have only seen her in moonlight drawn by the cloud and i dropped that drama half way through). she is like a breath of fresh air onscreen.. she brings a certain kind of energy whenever she is onscreen.. i have seen that kind of energy only in jun ji hyun and park bo young.. KYJ is kind of like a younger version of JJH to me.. i always found jcw to be one of the best looking guys out there but this drama made me appreciate him as an actor.. he can pull off a character like daehyun who dont have any special skills or charm pretty well.. if you want to see JCW as the charismatic and charming kdrama lead then you will be disappointed with daehyun but if you want to see JCW as an actor then DH is one of his best roles..

the story is very simple and the characters seem real.. one of the very few dramas that show both the good and bad of almost all the characters.. none of the characters are pure evil or perfect.. everyone has their pros and cons.. the different thing i found about this one is, it starts off by showing the negative side of every character and then slowly shows the depth in them.. characters like DH's father and SB's sister might come off as extremely selfish and self-centred at the beginning but its just that the way they do things are not the ideal way..

PROS
1. the relationship development of SB and DH is really good. there is understanding, mutual respect and trust b/w them as well as they give each other personal space. KYJ and JCW have good chemistry without a lot of intimate scenes. they both are good actors so all their emotional scenes came out well.. like the characters, their relationship also started on a questionable note but ended up being so beautiful.. it started as an obsessive infatuation of SB towards a good-looking older guy who was nice to her but ended with uplifting each other and correcting each other's flaws.. even though there is an age gap there is a sense of equality in their relationship.. DH takes the front seat when one of them needs to be wise and SB takes the front seat when one of them needs to be bold or strong.. they complement each other quite well..
2. SB and DH's mother's relationship. they both are hardworking and sincere but are taken granted by their family.. so they both understand each other very well.. all their scenes are high on emotions.. again the actress playing DH's mother is amazing.. she is good as the loud but good-natured mother.. she clearly can make you love her in one scene and irritate you in the next.
3. DH's personality. i personally loved his character. he is at times too good for his own good but is a very respectable guy. he might not be a macho alpha male but has the patients to deal with things the right way.. he is sincere and gives his 100% to any relationship he has.. he stayed loyal to his gf because he is a loyal person and his gf deserves his loyalty and not because he was blindly in love.. he clearly liked SB's company but also knew to draw the line..
4. since the drama didnt had any high tension moments or cliffhangers, it was like a stressbuster.
5. the emotional scenes of the drama were really good.. one of the best i have seen. you can connect with every character and understand why they get emotional..
6. SB and her friendship with her 2 bff esp GB.. GB might be from a rich household but clearly understands the struggle SB faces and is always there for her.. those two girls are friendship goals..
7. SB's character growth.. the makers kind of put a bump to it on ep15 but quickly clears it on ep16.
8. BR had one of the most satisfying endings for me.. there was no proper kiss but still every scene of DH and SB was worth it..
9. parasite and the fiery priest reference. i just finished watching fiery priest when i started BR and FP reference and guest appearance from some of the FP cast were hilarious to me. the parasite reference fits perfectly into the story.

CONS
1. the stretching of DH-YJ relationship. it becomes a bit repetitive after a point.. we get it why they are together and also get it why they shouldn't be together.. the makers have made that pretty clear by ep 7-8 but still the breakup happens only on ep 9.. also the actress playing YJ was the weakest link in the cast.. she has very limited facial expressions. like every other character, she is also not too good or too bad but since she is the roadblock to the union of SB-DH as viewers we tend to hate her the most. DH becomes an unlikable person when he is with YJ and he might come off as a weak guy when he was in the relationship. the showed how this relationship is eating up his real self.
2. there were some scenes and characters that should have been cut short and more screen time should have been given to the leads in the end of first half of the drama.. ep 7-9 was a bit dragging..
3. not enough fluffy romance b/w the leads.. this one was supposed to be a rom-com but ended up being a comedy slice of life drama with a pitch of romance here and there.. there is a lot of meaningful and emotional scenes b/w SB and DH but dont have much typical romantic moments..
4. the time gap.. the makers didnt made the time gap b/w the breakup and DH starts developing feelings for SB more evident.. if you give importance to minute details then there is a lot of time difference b/w DH's breakup and his feelings for SB but if you dont notice it then it might feel like DH started falling for SB within a week of the breakup.. EB's sister debuted after months of training but it might look like she debuted within weeks of joining the agency. same with SB's exam.. it looks like she wrote the exam after 2 days of studying but the time gap is only evident when she remembers the flashbacks with DH helping her with her studies..

there were some episodes i didnt enjoy as much as the rest but when i look back i liked the overall drama.. this drama definitely deserves a try..

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