Reviews

A Refreshing Delight: Twinkling Watermelon Review

Twinkling Watermelon, the latest drama to hit screens in 2023, is a true gem that offers a refreshing and delightful viewing experience. The combination of a well-crafted dialogue, a compelling plot, and an exceptional portrayal of deaf characters sets this drama apart from the rest.

One of the standout features of Twinkling Watermelon is the commendable representation of deaf characters. The depth and authenticity brought to these characters showcase not only the dedication of the actors but also the nuanced understanding of the writer and director. It's truly incredible to witness a drama that goes beyond the surface, capturing the essence of deaf culture with respect and accuracy.

The characters in Twinkling Watermelon are undeniably the heart of the drama. The chemistry among the cast members is palpable, creating a genuine and engaging atmosphere. Shin Eunsoo and Ryeoun's performances deserve special mention, as their acting prowess shines through, leaving a lasting impression on the audience. The cast as a whole delivers a fantastic performance, contributing to the overall success of the drama.

The music in Twinkling Watermelon deserves its own applause. The soundtrack complements the narrative beautifully, with each song leaving a lasting impact. The carefully chosen tracks not only enhance the emotional depth of the scenes but also succeed in creating a memorable musical backdrop for the entire drama. The incorporation of music adds an extra layer of enjoyment to the viewing experience.

However, no drama is without its flaws, and in the case of Twinkling Watermelon, the only drawback seems to be the ending, which some might find a bit rushed. While the overall pacing of the drama is well-maintained, a more gradual conclusion could have allowed for a more satisfying resolution. Nevertheless, this minor hiccup does little to diminish the overall quality of the drama.

In conclusion, Twinkling Watermelon is a standout drama of 2023 that effortlessly weaves together a compelling plot, well-developed characters, and a stellar musical score. The respectful portrayal of deaf characters sets a commendable standard for representation in the entertainment industry. Despite a slightly hurried ending, the drama remains a must-watch for its engaging storyline and exceptional performances. Twinkling Watermelon is, without a doubt, a delightful addition to the world of Korean dramas.

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Really Didn’t Like the Main Character

**Brief Synopsis**
B (Student): Thi
T (Student): Noey

- Beginning: T is a gangster and B is an introvert student who catches the attention of the gangster. T wants to get close to B but he doesn’t know how to approach so comes off as aggressive, scaring B away. He wants to stay away but that plan fell through when his new tutoring student just happen to be T.

- Middle: Because of this tutoring, they start spending more time together and B starts to change, no longer seemingly afraid of T. T eventually confesses and B agrees to be with him.

- End: With B’s tutoring, T gets in to university and the show ends with them looking happy together.

**My Opinion**

WHAT I LIKED ABOUT IT:
- I liked the way B looked at the end of the show, with his hair cut and looking much more confident.
- The concept is pretty nice but just badly executed.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE ABOUT IT:
- I didn’t exactly like B’s personality and the way he acts. When he acts normal, he is actually pretty good looking, but when he acts in an exaggerated way, he looks really weird. I really can’t blame for talking to him like that at the beginning because seeing someone act like that I would want to yell at them as well. He constantly looks as if he was terrified for his life. This made the first few episodes unwatchable. It got better in the later episodes but not completely gone.
- Acting can be a little weird and unnatural, especially reacting to things. Some scenes are exaggerated for comedic effect but I found them rather cringey.

**Conclusion**
I really couldn’t watch all the episodes because I really didn’t like the main characters.

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Great ? for trying to heal depression and saving life

This tv series has romance but that’s not all what important! It’s a controversial issue about someone who’s been dismissed from graduating medical as a profession because of jealousy of her supposedly best friend she trusted and her connection because she comes from a rich and educated family- an evil purpose! It’s a story of trying to heal not just disease , depression and most important is trying to find how to help people who are suffering from Huntington disease ! I like 👍🏾 this because, it made me understand Huntington disease and we hopefully 🙏🏾 one day help them to heal .

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Bad ? and disrespectful to the Middle East belief which is « Islam »

bad serie , by the way it doesn’t respect the Middle East belief which is « Islam » 
Bad serie that isn’t worth watching at all , very awful
You need to know that Islam is everything in this life
If you are against it then we are against you forever
I wish the website director deletes those disrespectful photos and the whole serie
-those actors writers directors producers have to learn how to respect Islam
The serie is unbearable and hated it so much
Actually it is the opportunity to leave these dramas and get out this world of dramas which is like a drug

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Light and Shadow

“An artist should recognize a metaphor” a character tells the show’s protagonist towards the end. And like Jin Soo Wan’s earlier shows, this one uses metaphor (in this case the trope of time travel) to explore how pain can become the garden in which art and joy grow, how parents can fail and save their children, and how it is not luck or fame or fortune but love that keeps us rooted in this broken world.

Most shows hesitate to mix comedy with serious themes, as if by merging the two, they’ll either destroy the lightness of the former or dilute the gravitas of the latter. Twinkling Watermelon explores child abuse, neglect, suicidal ideation, and discrimination against the deaf community, but it does so amidst a candy-colored swirl of music and unbridled teen exuberance. Its characters face real trauma, but they also laugh and flirt and rock out with their friends and wear their hearts on their sleeves for all to see. There are few dramas as unapologetic in their delight as this one, and even when plot points get messy or a random gang of thugs appears, the show’s warmth never falters. And in the end, it suggests that’s what truly matters both in art and life.

So to judge it by this criteria, does this show spark joy? Yes. So, so much. And its happy moments shine all the brighter for being set against the darkness.

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Good Start Disappointing Ending

**Brief Synopsis**
B (Employee): Uea
T (Employee): King

- Beginning: B and T are both employees at the same company but B doesn’t like T because T is a player. They would have continued like this, with T teasing and B ignoring him if not for the fact that B got cheated on by his boyfriend and is obviously upset about it. So when the whole company goes on a trip to the restaurant, B gets drunk and T brings him back to the hotel. Just as he was about to leave, B asks him to stay and sleep with him, at least for one night. When he wakes up the next morning, B is obviously shaken by it, but by that point, their relationship has already changed with B not sure how to treat T. T, on the other hand, is not happy to let B pretend nothing happened and actively confronts B. T apologizes for that night and upon seeing his insincerity, B found himself unable to ignore him as before. He even agree to lets T bring him out to dinner to apologize. After that, T suggests they start a friends with benefit relationship, which B eventually agrees to.

- Middle: As friends with benefits, they start spending more time each other and learning about each other. Despite being friend with benefits, they act more like lovers. They support each other in times of need. T’s understanding and patience, not forcing B and being there for him emotionally slowly softens him. T tries to veer the relationship towards another direction and B starts to let him, even agreeing to go on a trip with him.

- End: But before they could have their happy ending, T’s mother appears and forces him on arranged dates with marriage in mind. Not wanting to face his mother just of yet, T agrees, standing B up. B finds out and afraid that T was going to end up hurting him because T wasn’t strong enough to stand up to his mother and will have to get married, breaks off with him and tells T that they are only friends with benefits. It’s only made worst when B has to deal with a new manager who wants to take advantage of him sexually. T having never experienced this before thought simply avoiding him was enough and doesn’t understand why B was being so weak about it. This hurts B deeply and with no one at the office understanding him, he finally resigns. T realizes just how much this was bothering him and finally decides to stand up for B for once by exposing the manager. He also tells his mother clearly that he isn’t going to get married, knowing that without doing so he’ll never have a chance with B again. With those loose end tied up, he goes to find B and pleads for a second chance. B agrees. The series end with T finally deciding to propose to B and told his parents that B is the one will spend the rest of his life with. They then have a big ceremony with all their friends.

**My Opinion**

WHAT I LIKED ABOUT IT:
- I really liked how the actors looked. They are really good looking and fits well together. T is cool looking and B is really cute.
- I like the concept of enemies to lovers. I like how B’s attitude changes over the course of the series. I really like how patient T is with B. B is always cold and dismissive and T still make an effort of getting closer to him, even if at the beginning it was probably because of attraction. But there is definitely some like in there as well. T probably wanted to start a normal relationship but in order to not scare B away he says friends with benefits.
- These two look really hot together. Their intimate scenes while tame are really hot. The lighting and the music are very well matched.
- I really like how despite being friends with benefits, they still show their growing affection towards each other. They still do couple’s stuff and spends more time learning about each other. Their interactions are really sweet and I like how B starts with only seeing it as sex before starting to consider T as his emotional solace. I also like how T would stop B from going further when he realizes that what he needs is not sex but companionship.
- The actors playing T and B did a great job in portraying their respective characters. The ensemble cast also did a good job. The acting was sometimes exaggerated but it made me want to laugh instead of finding it cringey.
- B’s actor is really good at being sexy. Things like simply taking off a jacket is really hot coupled with the look he shoots T before taking it off.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE ABOUT IT:
- I really didn’t like T being so weak. That part where he wants to start something more with B while still letting his mother think he will marry that girl was pathetic. And the fact that he didn’t even do anything to help B when he was being harassed is just unacceptable. Although he sort of helped later on by exposing the manager and putting an end to the marriage, but that was after he had hurt B. I really didn’t like how B accepted his apology that quickly. T doesn’t look like a reliable person and at that moment, I kind of don’t want them to end up together.
- Introducing angst in the way they did is just so cliche. The whole plot is predictable and cliche with no memorable moments.
- The acting in some key moments felt weak. For example, the apology scene, I didn’t really feel T’s sincerity which is why when B simply forgive him so easily, it kind of put a sour taste in my mouth. The last few episodes I really can’t enjoy myself as much I did the first few episodes. Also when he is confessing his feelings, the acting just feels off for some reason.
- After he told his parents about B, his parents didn’t overreact or hit him, just asked him if he was sure, making me wonder why he bothered with going on that date in the first place instead of confessing to his parents. It really made him look more of a coward and a bastard, making me think he hadn’t been that serious about B when he confessed he liked him. It just feels that this was put in for unnecessary drama, which I really didn’t like.
- I didn’t like B’s lack of agency. He doesn’t seem to know how to stand up for himself and kind of waits around for everything to resolve themselves.
- Intimate scenes are too short which can be a disappointment. They are also very tame.

**Conclusion**
This show had a very promising start but a disappointing ending. I really didn’t like the last few episodes as it significantly cheapens the affection B and T feel for each other. I will not be revisiting this show in the future.

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Mystery solved!

I know the reason why I was born with two arms-

It's so I can hold Dohyun in a choke hold in one arm and Dongwook in the other.

How to describe this show... think "the floor is lava", but instead of avoiding the floor it's avoid communicating with each other! These two would rather do ANYTHING other than talk about their feelings. Actually, even the side characters won't talk about their feelings.

I think the miscommunication trope remains the most frustrating because it is the most realistic, but I digress. Aside from that issue not much really happens in this show. There's no plot development or significant events happening.

Another issue I had was the flashbacks. This show could've really benefited from being told in chronological order, but if flashbacks are necessary THOSE could at least happen in order. We are constantly thrown back and forth and the flashbacks sometimes are earlier than the last one or later. Sometimes it would be the same flashback, but with a little more information. It's hard to tell what exactly happened and when. Some things in the flashbacks never even get addressed!

Things I liked:
-Real kisses
-Intriguing premise
-The first episode & the last episode (that's not me being cheeky, I genuinely found them cute and interesting, it's not their fault the filler eps were well... filler.)
-Good acting
-Beautiful and sweet couple (when they got there smh)

All in all, it's worth a watch. There's nothing to hate, it's just frustrating at times, to me, and overall average. But of you're looking for a bite-sized BL I'd check this one out.

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Mouse; two different shows combined together

So.... it's been a couple of weeks since I finished watching it. Still don't know what I think about it.
That show is... it should have been a couple of seasons. I think, honestly, that is the reason a lot of people who watched this show feel like it's a mess. It's because the first half of the show felt like a completely different show from the other half. Honestly, the first half was ok. Not bad, but not good enough for 8.8 rating.
Then the second half came and everything changed. I don't remember a lot of shows that the second half was actually far better than the first. Usually it's the other way around. It almost felt like the writer got bored with his own story and decided to change it completely.
The second half was great. I needed this. The problem was that everything was rushed; they did not explore enough things. It was like they finally understood how to make this show great, but didn't have enough episodes to do it because they wasted it in the first half.
I cried at the end of it, and I'm not a person that usually does it. This is why I find it so hard to love this show - it brought so many emotions in me but only from a certain point. All in all - I think you should watch this show.

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Good but something was missing

I know ... I know... It's loved by many and has a 9.2 rating on MDL. I'll give it a 6.5, which is not bad at all. It's good in my rating system. I can totally see why so many loved this show and why it has a high rating. But my expectations were really high and left me disappointed. This is because I was looking for something different. Here are a few point I want to say:

- The first two episodes could not grab my attention. I was not invested and because I was desperately looking forward for the romance between Yi Chan and Cheong Ah... but it took too long to get there
- Yi Chan and Cheong Ah: I was super invested in their romance but it fell a bit short. I wanted to see Yi Chans feelings develop but they did not have that many scenes. That being said, the scenes they had are the ones I loved.
- Honestly, I was just not interested in the main couple and I did not feel the chemistry
- The ending felt a bit short
- I loved that it covered the topic of being hearing impaired

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Just my opinion...

I know I'm going to get heat, but I REALLY disliked this drama. Kim Min Jae - I've loved him in everything I've seen him in, but what the heck? What was it for me, lack of chemistry? Bad writing? I don't know, but the secondary storyline certainly was more interesting than the ML and FL.

Add to that, in historical garb all the men look alike, and all the women look alike. I spent an inordinate amount of time trying to figure out what was going on. I will be the first to admit that historical dramas are not my "go to" but I have watched a couple that I've really liked.

This drama had entirely too many episodes, apparently to fit in all the unnecessary ancillary storylines that they felt the need to inject into it.

In closing, even though I didn't like it, I'd say give it a try. Maybe I was in a bad mood while watching it, maybe all that satin was giving me some kind of trauma, maybe the beads on the hats made me think of abacus, which made me think of math, which sent me off the deep end. Remember, it's just my personal opinion.

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In one word: disspaointed.

If you are wondering if to watch this show - the answer is that if you really don't have anything else to see right now and you like crime shows with investigation, sure. Would I highly recommend it? No.

Most of the cast did an amazing job, and the story begins so promisingly, with great chemistry and tension between our hero and the villain.
I won't get into what happened as I want to keep this review spoiler free for anyone thinking of watching this show, but they focused on so many characters and minor story that really didn't add up to anything, a plot that in my opinion didn't have enought or any 'big revels' and really sloppy writing. They focus less on the actual invatigation and more on the characters (most of them annoying and have flat personality) that again, seemed to lead to nothing. The first couple of episodes were great and then everything seemed to go downhill. A shame really because the start of this show was so good and I was ready to love that show.

Maybe I'm too harsh. Maybe I came with high expections, compering this show on first glance to Mouse or Hannibal, two shows that I really like. But, as someone who sees a lot of k-drama and other crime shows from worldwide media, this was not a good enough show, in my opinion. I will rank it somewhere beneath middle. I gave it 6 because to be fair it's watchable and if don't you have anything better to watch than it will be fine to see it but honestly, if I wasn't watching it one episode a week I probaly would have dropped the show by now.

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Good but not great

This is a good drama and I liked it more than I thought I would. I was not interested in a hospital drama since Hospital Playlist. This is not the place to compare those two dramas. Daily Dose of Sunshine does something we see not often enough in Kdramas: It's topic is mental health and mental disorders set in a psychiatry. I think this topic is really important. At the same time there is a need to not only scratch the surface. Here are my thoughts on this show:

What I liked:
- It's sweet
- It's been a while since I saw Park Bo Young, her character was relatable and likable
- I was really invested in the second couple (Sadly more than the main one)
- Covers mental health
- They should bring out a Fantasy drama :) (Those who watched the show will know why)
- From nurse to client, shows everyone can develop a mental disorder
- The pleading for more awareness

What I disliked:
- The story felt very linear and predictable, even boring at times. That's because many of the "cases" in this drama were resolved in the same way. Sometimes not deep enough and too quickly solved for my taste.
- The Work with the clients felt completly flat. At some points the message seemed like "Take your medicine and you will be happy again". I did not like this simplicity. I would have liked to see the doctors work more with the clients and the process of the long way to recovery (see with the case of panic disorder, was resolved quite quickly)
- At first I was interested in the main romance plotline, I even liked both male leads. But after a while I lost interest and the plotline seemed unnecessary. The second couple was more interesting.


Good but not great and a lots of room for improvement.

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Heartwarming, tear-jerking and hilarious

One of the best kdramas I've watched in a long time. Everything from the acting, the chemistry between all the actors and the humor was so good. I basically never cry but this managed to get some tears out of me. Of course, I didn't give it full scores as there were some questions left unanswered, such as CA moving abroad and how YC managed to marry her or how everyone reacted after EG left, and other small things ... but its mainly just nitpicking, fate always has a way and not everything needs to be shown. I genuinely fell in love with all the characters and I'm sad that the series had to end, and what a beautiful ending it was. You won't regret watching this, I promise.

Long live Life - Viva La Vida

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Nothing special about the plot, and Zhai Zi Lu did an exceptional job with his character.

"We Go Fast on Trust" is another Rom-Com about a smart female engineer and a professional grand pix driver.

I am watching this drama because it is short, and I like the ML, Zhai Zi Lu. He is a good actor who can act well. I like him a lot, especially in My Calorie Boy. He has acting talents and has great potential. I know little about the FL, Ke Jia Yang, except in Copycat Killer and this drama.

I have mixed feelings about her character, Shen Xi. I like that she is smart and an engineer with no emotion regarding her love for Chen Mo Bai. One could argue that she has done a good job portraying the character, but I am unique, and I was hoping that she shows some emotion when he expresses his love for her.

There is definitely not much romance between them compared to other RomCom dramas. Kudos to Zhai Zi Lu for acting so great during emotional scenes, especially when he found out that he was the cause of his mother's dad. It was a tear-jerker scene.

Some of the supporting cast do not act well, like James Lee, who played Lin Shao Qian, Ma Yin Yin, who played Chen Mo Fei, and Jojo Chen, who played Zhao Ying Ning.

I enjoyed the drama, and Zhai Zi Lu did well leading the ensemble, and kudos for his acting ability. I gave it a 7.5 rating because I didn't like the ending.

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