Reviews

If you like a plot that expands and progresses and escalates, S02 is for you...

...but if you're watching this because you just wanted to see the main actor on screen 98% of the time being a boss, or just because you want to fangirl/boy over the attractive actors you liked in S01, you should tap out.
As someone who has no particular affinity to anyone in this show (except for Lee Si young because the actress is amazing and so is her character), as I usually do, I wanna' cover the good, bad and ugly of this season's offering;

THE GOOD:
- High action and developing horror and drama right out the gate, and it stayed that way for at least 80% of the season, no holds barred, humanity at their best and worse, chaos and entropy and monsters abound. S01 covered the basics, which, great, it let us get attached to the respective characters as one must in order to continue watching something, but would I want to watch a whole other season of the same characters doing the same shit? No thank you. S02 brought the broader scale of shit hitting the fan and escalating, we saw the reality of a dystopian world crawling with monsters really impact everyone. The fact that so many people are complaining about S02 baffles me. To viewers griping about deaths of MC's; come on! People would DIE, whether they are popular, good, bad, kids, attractive or ugly. So many shows from other countries based in violent, supernatural horror worlds, cling to their full set of MC's (*coughs* The Walking Dead) to the point where it's eye rolling. I don't want ALL the main characters to survive and be besties, that's BS, because it wouldn't happen that way. Sweet Home was merciless on this front, I loved it (PS: I would have been super mad if Yi Kyung died tbh but I would've gotten over it and still watched S03)
- The story unfolded on a bigger scale, which gripped my interest immediately. They did a good job of showing the peak of escalation and loss the beginning and then the time skip was just long enough to show the bare minimum of what was salvageable, and how unstable it all was.
- They introduced many new characters living in the stadium, most of which I assume will come in handy in S03 for deaths and monsterization. Useful trick to stop killing off your entire main cast in your final seasons. They also set up old characters and some new characters to really shake things up in S03 with gruesome comebacks and they highlighted them well too.
- The acting is ON POINT for everyone. Seriously, everyone brought their A game.
- Lots of foreshadowing, probably the groundwork for S03 plot twists.
- The clever broadness of monster capabilities being based on their desires and hates also really leaves a lot to be explored.
- Hyun Su going dark under his monster because of pain is the PERFECT precursor to when he breaks out of that lapse. I am keen to see him take back control and throw down.

THE BAD:
- The thirstiness of the female characters in Asian shows. I don't think this is a Sweet Home problem, I'm not sure if it's a culture thing, but characters like the chief's daughter and that loopy chick with the old man, that borderline stalker sexual harassment vibe they give off is ick, I could really do without that. What's wrong with them just being flirtatious instead of obsessed with the singlemindedness of a small brained creature in need of love and marriage? Hard no.
- I think the writers are trying to make Eun Yoo likeable, which, PFFFFFT ????? no. just no. They already made her the most dislikeable wench possible in S01, uh, what do they think changed? Nothing, she could have died in S01 and I would have forgotten her, like I forgot her brother.
- The monster CGI is...passable-ish. But I wasn't expecting it to blow my mind so it's whatever.
- The survivors looked pretty healthy despite living underground and eating minimal rations and barely going out (if at all for some of them). So that was a ball dropped, but it was small ball.

The UGLY:
- If S03 involves any romance, it's gonna be a gross joke. There is no reason for it and zero sexual chemistry with literally anyone in the show so far. Even Uen Yoo and the nice soldier guy don't bring those vibes enough for it to come to fruition. So, that would be ugly. I hope they skip right over that shit idea. I want nothing less than to see any of these characters kiss or touch each other, ever. Not only because it's unnecessary story wise, but also because everything is unhygienic and filthy and it would be high key disgusting to see any physical sexual contact of even the barest kind when I could barely stop thinking of how badly everyone must stink in every way.

THE HIGHLIGHTS
None in particular, the show had too many moving parts for any big, standalone moments, but I'd say the acting was for sure a really great thing for this season.

Overall, I enjoyed it just as much as S01, I have no complaints and I am keen for S03.

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Great acting but mostly depressing

This is another KDrama that is hard to rate. It is so well done, but whether you would like it is very dependent on what you are looking for. For example, are you looking to be subjected to hours of sadness? Then watch it. :-)

I usually point out the good before the not so good, but I’ll reverse it this time since the not so good is the determining factor for me.

Sub-Optimal
- Sadness. Hours and hours of sadness. Too much for me, honestly.
- The writers were like, “We gave ‘em a few minutes of happiness, time to kill off someone!” Gads.
- Inexplicable choices by the leads in the last couple of episodes. Even for a KDrama, and their normal tropes, the leads’ choices seemed to not fit the characters as we knew them. So unnecessary and did not add to, but only detracted from, the story.
- What we were all waiting for pretty much came in the last couple of minutes. Too late.

The Good
- Great acting! By absolutely everyone.
- Great cinematography!
- Ha Ji-Won is the reason to watch. So beautiful and so talented. Her small and subtle, cute and comedic scenes made the series. There was just not enough of them.

So, all in all a 7. With less depression and less buffoonery at the end, would have been a 10.

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An embarrasing piece

It started off on a decent note but hit a major roadblock somewhere shortly after, a big nosedive out of nowhere! Disrespectful atrocious writing, to say the least. You may witness one of the worst written plot devices and tension management here. I was willing to give it a chance in the beginning despite the setback, but my interest plummeted faster than a rock when the male lead got entangled with that deplorable love interest plot. In fact, this applied to all of the four female leads. The momentum sputtered and stalled like a car running on fumes and the leads were stuck in first gear the whole time. The potential for a captivating narrative was there, hanging in the air, but the execution was practically non-existent. I'm fairly certain this is the worst drama Jang Hyuk picked up in his career, hopefully the last.

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An awful half drama ½

To say I'm frustrated with this drama is an understatement. From reading the synopsis and from watching the first batch of episodes, it became quite clear that the prominent characters are Prince Kwang Hae and his sister, but alas, this was barely the case. Cha Seung Won left the drama half way through making the plot irrelevant later on for everything that was established earlier. His departure didn't leave an impact either for what's to come. Subsequently, Princess Jeong Myeong became a side piece to roam around the plot with little to no meaningful contribution. The second half in general was a significant downgrade in all regards. It was almost incomparable to the first half. It became as dull as you can imagine without much "character" left in these characters. It reminded of The Great Seer (2012) how there was a massive shift in every regard with the second half.

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ITS NOT THAT BAD

the first thing we gonna look before watch was the reviews, right? so im reviews this drama and why do I think its not that bad like the other reviews.

first, the most important thing for me is the story, and this drama story was so good like u gonna think maybe if it's another artist it can be more popular. imo why some people feel bored bcs the cast cannot hit the spot.

the cast all were so pretty but i got a little frustrated bcs their emotions cannt be well given to me, I cried only on the last episode even tho im claiming myself as cry baby.

but we could just enjoy cus it's not that bad or shows that many flaws tho, u could still enjoy the comedy, sad or happy moment in this drama! just give it a chance!

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A good half drama ½

I found the earlier parts to be quite good with a reasonable pace. However, 25 episodes later things started to change in a weird direction and the initial spark faded away. Yet, the reality was a letdown. Jeong Do Jeon, the pivotal figure, felt like a distant acquaintance rather than someone I could understand. His struggles and triumphs failed to resonate the longer the drama kept going, leaving me disconnected from the heart of the story by the end of the drama. The ending was very typical with these kind of shows, everyone lose their marbles abruptly so they can jump to the historical ending, if there's any. Jo Jae Hyun and Yoo Dong Geun did a great job as leads, they simply carried the drama with their performance. Even their character was methodical and well written. One thing I wanted to see is having Do Jun's wife playing a bigger role in supporting her husband. I really appreciate their casting choices. Going for a mature looking cast was the correct choice. New to semi-new generation cast with soft looks in their mid 30s would have been disastrous.

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Mask On

A snoozefest by definition. It felt like an endless, meandering road leading absolutely nowhere, like a book with no chapters, just pages and pages of the same old, same old. This what an AI is capable of generating when giving it the prompts "power, struggle, palace" in no particular order. It would have been less tiresome if it were only half its length. They were so desperate to prolong the drama that they added a war in the middle despite being outside the theme and scoop of this drama. The writing was abysmal and shameful, they made the characters like clowns. Although we were introduced to face reading at the start but that played little to no importance later on and was rarely used outside some fillers.

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If we have a chance to relive our lives, can we change our lives? Or is it all fated?

Wow... completely mesmerised.

Jiang Xue Ning was an unscrupulous woman who schemed and plotted her way to the position of empress. But her reign was short-lived as Xie Wei, someone she had once saved, rebelled and seized the capital together with Yan Lin, her childhood sweetheart. As Xie Wei stormed her palace, she pleaded with him to spare the life of Zhang Zhe, a righteous man who had loved, pitied and helped her, but was sentenced to death as a result. She regretted her evil ways and offered her life for his.

She fell to her death, but to her surprise , she woke up as her 18 year old self. Armed with the knowledge of the 'future', she set to right the wrongs she had done. But along the way, things started to happen again as what she had experienced in her 'previous' life. She wondered whether it was all fated. Were things going to turn out differently for her? Would all the tragedies happen all over again?

What I like about this drama?

1. The story was very interesting. Although there had been a lot of back to the past type of dramas and movies, what made this interesting was someone had the opportunity to redress her wrongs. So you would be wondering how things is going to turn out for her this time. The previous and the current lives were very well intertwined.

2. The chemistry between Bai Lu and Zhang Ling He, the two main leads, was amazing. More accurately, the chemistry between Bai Lu and all the three male leads were amazing. What made it more interesting was that it was difficult to tell in the earlier two thirds of the story who she would choose among her 3 suitors, or would she somehow end up with Prince Linzi again, this time against her will? Even though she said to Yan Lin she only treated him as a good friend, but would his sincerity changed that? Would the stern and scary Xie Wei win her heart? And when she and Prince Lanzi ran into each other again, would Prince Lanzi mistook her for his love and rekindled feelings for her? Would she and Zhang Zhe whom she felt so indebted be together in this life?

3. Zhang Ling He was an amazing actor. He portrayed such a diverse set of emotions so well - the evil traitor, the psychotic, the stern dignified teacher, the jealous lover and the emotional nephew when he saw his uncle. He is one of the few actors who looks handsome when stern. And of course Bai Lu was very good too: the nasty resentful teenage girl, an empress full of regrets and the determined girl fighting for the people she cared for.

4. The overall cast did very well with very little shortcomings among them.

5. The costumes were beautiful and the backdrop was good.

6. The drama started with the scriptwriter not wanting to end the story as a tragedy was interesting: a departure from a scriptwriter drawn into the story as one of the characters. Also, this hit a note with me as I dislike tragedies which left me unhappy.

7. Although an intense drama, there were light-hearted and seriously humorous moments, for example when the carriage driver flipped the carriage curtains only to revealed Xie Wei kissing XueNing, to her stunned father, in old conservative China. And the way the fake Dingfei made fun of his 'father' was rather amusing. When his annoyed 'father' told him he was a disgrace to the family, he gleefully offered to change his surname to Yan (the rival family), and I burst into laughter.

8. There were touching memorable moments, for example the series of events leading to Yan Lin going into exile - Xie Wei recited a poem at Yan Lin's coming-of-age ceremony - the poems were all hinting at what was to come - and his playing the qin at the city gate when he was exiled.

8. This was one of the few occasions when I actually liked the ending. There were the last moment twists.

What I dislike about this drama?

1. There were some comments on Mydramalist about flashing bright light in the background but I was so engrossed in the story that I did not notice.

2. Music was generally good and two of the theme songs were melodious, but not outstanding. I must say music standards seemed to have deteriorated in dramas released since the pandemic. I did not come across many outstanding pieces that left a lasting impression except for those in Till the End of the Moon.

3. A couple of scenes were rather contrived, for example the two scenes that Xie Wei ended up in bed with XueNing.

What I liked about this drama largely outweighed what I do not like. You can therefore understand why I gave this drama a rating of 10.

This time I made an effort to check on the director and screenwriter as well. The director is Chu Yui Bun whose accolades include Starry Love, The Blue Whisper, The Long Ballad, Skate into Love, Eternal Love of Dream, Ashes of Love. Success of a drama production depends a lot on the teamwork: excellent cast, director and script are the obvious, then there is the editing, makeup artist and more.

To add an advice: don't watch any trailer on how the drama would end. Let it hold you in suspense until the end. Then the twist and turns would be less predictable and more striking.

Finally, it would be great if there could be a prequel to this drama. I was wondering how XueNing became the empress given a domineering Dowager who had someone else in mind for the position, and a scheming rival who more than matched her wit. But the main cast for the prequel must match this drama. Of course, this would be a tall order as I had not seen many sequel successfully completed or had seen sequels which were disappointing flops.

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Watching men

The drama attempted to explore the supernatural realm through the eyes of night watchmen which were a small tiny portion of a drama titled after them. The drama actually had a reasonable start but a few episodes later it got lost and scattered with no clear direction. It got increasingly messy the longer it went as it was struggling to fill its 24 episodes. There were some strange out of place pieces of dialogues that can be labeled as incoherent nonsense. In addition, a lot of inconsistencies with the characters, poor motives and sudden changes contrary to their established and developed character. The OST was awful, it was like listening to a bad cover band in a dive bar. There were moments that caught my attention but they fizzled out quicker than a damp firecracker.

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Exciting start, boring middle, proper ending

This might have been better as a shorter series. The first two episodes were so interesting that I initially chased this drama. The Silla-Gaya background and the 1500 year grudge really drew me in. However, as the drama progressed and the main villain was introduced, it just felt like a series of repetitive cat and mouse game, which ultimately made the middle so boring that I decided to just wait until all episodes are out before binge watching and fast forwarding. This had so much potential but ruined by lazy script writing. The main villain's reason for being was too weak for me. The powers of the ghosts and JunOh's fame were treated as plot devices and were inconsistent, it's there when needed but negligible when it's not. To be fair, I really liked the ending and how they incorporated the drama title into a scene. It was, for me, the proper ending for the main characters, with Doha's grudge finally being resolved. Overall, though it's not something I'll rave about, this is a good enough drama to pass the time.

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Sweet romance. Constant butterflies.

The lead actor and actress have great chemistry. I overall really like the pacing of the drama. It was such a sweet romance, constantly giving me butterflies, and a very satisfying watch.

Nothing too heart-wrenching happens, but the conflicts make sense for elite level sports. The lead characters communicate well with each other for the most part so it doesn't feel like the conflicts are being dragged on for no reason. The male lead is very charming; he approaches the little things in life with an easy-going, silly attitude. However, it's apparent that he is serious and dependable at the same time. The female lead I think could have done better at balancing being the mature, older partner with being vulnerable or carefree with the ML. Sometimes I felt her dynamic towards him erred too much towards being a parental/guardian figure. Also, I felt the ending was kind of rushed. The drama could have benefitted from a couple more episodes, but that's common in Asia-dramaland. TLDR love, love, love this drama

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A hot mess.

This drama started strong, with an interesting premise, and solid performances from the lead actors. In another life, a young couple is torn apart by tragedy and after 1500 years, many lives later, they reunite in the present time to find answers in order to have closure. The initial mystery reminded a lot of Goblin's Sunny and Grim Reaper, so I was excited to see this type of story unfold.

Sadly, I don't know what happened behind the scenes of this production because the script it's a hot mess. Each week it was like a new type of narrative being told, too many voices not being able to properly tell the main story. The drama doesn't seem to take advantage of its strong points nor develops properly the main conflict, and it stretches the mystery of the past live way too long. I even dare say they wasted the good chemistry between the lead actors. The dialogue it's unnatural, full of badly built riddles.

The music selected feels generic, it doesn't complement the characters well nor the situations and overall story.

Truly a wasted opportunity to make a really good story.

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Death's Game is a refresh button to k drama

Part 1 of Death's Game is pretty good. I have watched all four episodes and I can say it is a refresh button for k dramas. The story of Death's Game seems pretty unique like how the protagonist has 12 lives and he has to live through it and survive. The ending of Death's Game Part 1 was a shocker to me which is good for me but I can't say for everyone. The main protagonist can die at any time and at an unexpected time, which gives this series a feeling of thrill and suspense. I can say this series is pretty good and I can't wait for part 2 which is on 5th Jan I guess.

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