Reviews

-5 for Lee min Ki

6/10 are for Suho
if you watched this drama
In ep 15 detective Moon seem relief that Suho died when he saw his face,
Which made him villian of the story as a cop he was only trying to save a woman he look down on insult her and then he even blame her first love for all crimes so he can frame him.
And told her what to do in her love life
And i do not like FL still liking that murderer detective at the end because he become nice after he killed his love rivel
Detective Moon was Idiot and irresponsible but we are supposed to root for him ?
Its 2023 Woman don't like getting insulted or look down upon now days.
FL wasn't less worse then ML so they are terrible people pretending to be nice detectives
No one in police station care for innocent Suho death but killer Detective Moon suspenses matter more
What bunch of criminal calling themselves cops
Our Killer detective hit a detective
Everyone is on lee min ki side because his pinis is so slim like him that it slide in everyones ass without even noticing it ..
In episode 16 she become his dog(female) you know the word for it
But why she is dating him because there is no other man or she is desperate for a slim penis
Until episode 14 she like someone but hanging out with Jerk detective by excuse of work, while she enjoy getting insulted.
detective Moon intentionally let sun woo die so he can steal his woman and in the end he succeeded without a ounce of guilt,
Dr.bong is dating the man who is responsible for death of ger first love sun woo, Its called ultimate disrespect for the dead Sun woo
Detective Moon shows no development until he kill his love rivel then he start acting he cared for her but as a cop he should have cared for innocent sun woo too but since he was his love rivel he was happy to see him dead.
THAT face expression in episode 15 made me dislike not only Detective Moon but also Lee Min Ki
How can he play this much of a Inhuman role.
What did she liked about Detective Moon,
How incompetent he was
How he risked and killed many innocent people as he can
How everyone should be understanding of Detective Moon no matter how many innocent he kill he is GOOD GUY because director Told them.
I found both ML and FL disgusting for them killing SML so they can date each other,

Read More

Jack of all trades, master of none

If you watched the show because of the official Netflix trailer, then you’d be in shock when you watched the first episode. It has some lighter moments but the bulk of that episode is dark, very dark. It is not until the FL leaves the island when the mood starts to lift but even then, there is a dark undertone that rears its ugly head from time to time and really hits some serious lows towards the end of the run. I’m not talking about drunkenness or bullying but multiple suicides, domestic violence and attempted murders. It is no joke.

Here lies the main problem of this show. The premise of a teenage girl surviving by herself on a deserted island for 15 years is fantastic and if they play it purely as an escapist fair it could work. You will have to suspend your disbelief but with the right cast and a good script, it has a lot of potential. However, like so many k-dramas of late, the writer-nim have to inject darkness into what could have been a light and breezy show.

On top of that, this show put the FL front and centre at the start of the show but then shift the focus onto to the older FL and that changes the tone and pacing of the show. I appreciate the importance of the old FL’s role in shaping the FL but her story as a faded star is much less engaging than the FL's. It is functional but it dips very close to a melodrama when it should have been uplifting and fun. It can hardly be called inspirational.

I understand some dramas are makjang by design while others are psycho thrillers but why do shows need to incorporate elements from several genres. Simplicity and a clear focus might deliver a better outcome. There is a throughline here but sometimes it fades or branches until you are not sure what is the A-plot anymore.

So if we pared back the plot to just the main theme regarding the rescue of the FL and her eventual rise to stardom, it is actually good and wholesome fun. Park Eun-bin played the role with heart. She can be naive one moment and glamorous the next but you can relate to her. Even the simple love story of Mok Ha and Bo Geol is sweet and heartfelt. That makes the padding out of the story feels all the more unnecessary. There is more than enough fuel for a decent 12 episodes run. Rather than watching the growth of the FL into a diva, we ended up with multiple threads pulling in different directions and by the time the spotlight is back on the FL, it is a done deal. We see very little of her “struggles”.

Is it an enjoyable watch? Yes, mostly but it could have been better. As a social commentary, it is stilted and heavy handed. As a fantasy, it feels hemmed in. The constant juxtaposition between the horror of domestic violence and light, uplifting moments can be jarring. Neither theme is helped by the other. It is like watch an unicorn frolicking in the meadows except it also breaths fire and has glowing red eyes!

OBTW, there are moments when I see glimpses of Attorney Woo when the FL looks a certain way. Uncanny. OST is FAB. I believe PEB sang some of the songs. That’s impressive.

Read More

Over hyped and wasted opportunity

I was so eager to watch this drama mainly for the actors, even though its a typical CEO cliche storyline with cold, arrogant ceo and cheerful, clumsy yet kind Female lead. But alas!!! It was utterly disappointing.
Just as one of the reviewers pointed out there is innumerable investments talks and other finance related topics which totally wastes a lot of screen time.
Although i am a fan of Bai Lu and she has a lot of cute, innocent yet witty jabs and expressions, the character portrayed is totally dumb. Despite being a pro at her work, forget love life, she's even clueless about basic affection . She keeps following advice from her friend who has a messy life herself. She can go to any lengths for her work including relentless, awkward flirting but when its time to be honest and apologize, she shuts herself out.
In contrast, the stone faced male lead played by Dylan Wang has an arrogant yet good , forgiving character. I would still prefer watching him in historical series.
The only saving grace are these two actors and their chemistry especially in the later part of the series. I conveniently skipped a lotttt of scenes just to only watch their interaction.
All in all, its simply ok for one time watch with lots of fast forwards....

Read More

You either love it or hate it, I'm both.

I was wondering while reading all of the comments how they could make something people either love to death or hate to death, no inbetween, but now I understand.

It's a weird season.
Half I liked, half bored me to death.

There were so many storylines jampacked into 8 episodes, and half were boring.

The good points :

- Lee Jin Wook is having the fun of his life with his new character, whose storyline I like.
- Song Kang not-bad acting
- Yi Kyung, Ji Soo, and Eun Yoo were as good as in the first season, and I liked their storyline.
- Hyun Soo's story was good, too. I liked they didn't make him go all dark and broody, though he is understandably tired.
- The new soldier (JinYoung), the mad scientist, and the old man are good additions to the cast, nothing bad to say about them, they were fun to watch each for their own reasons.
- The bigger scale of the story.
- The ending (Hyun Soo's monster being all calm, just curious & the brother revival because I love the actor)

The bad points :

- The time spent on characters we had no time nor reasons to care about (the soldiers, and the survivors from the second part of the story). Why do we see them sooooooooooooo much? Yes, you took famous actors to play them, but I had no reason to get attached to them or care, they are all terrible people who take way too much screen time)
- That jump at the middle of the season, what happened? HyunSoo is out of his prison, a makeup town is suddenly here, and the soldiers are all a mess... Wtf?
- JiSu's death, is so random. It's obvious she's going to come back for season 3 as a monster or something but that was so fast and random. She was one of my favs, and I didn't even have time to process her death and didn't feel sad.
- WAY TOO MUCH STORYLINES. WAY TOO MUCH SCREENTIME SPENT ON SECONDARY CHARACTERS.
- The season was a mess visually, as well as in pacing and script writing.
- The way they made the brother come back. I didn't want him to be a monster. I wanted him to keep his humanity but still be able to be better than everybody human and monster. Still keeps his fragility, but always ends up being on top. Now he's just going to be a (smart) killing machine and it's boring.

What I would love to see in season 3:

- More groups being made. I was annoyed everybody wanted to flock together. I understand at the beginning, but when you keep getting betrayed again and again, just take the people you trust and get the hell out. That's what HyunSoo did, by creating his little family of three, I liked it. Now, more of this.
- More screentime for the main characters, there's already a lot, no need to add others.
- Hyun Soo's monster not being all monstrous and sadistic. We already saw that some monsters still have their original self personalities, I would love to see people understand that even the monsters keep their original personalities and that as HyunSoo was a cinnamon roll, his monster isn't very interested in murdering everybody. HyunSoo IS interested in EunYoo, so it's understandable that the first thing the monster does is be curious about her.
- I really don't want to see a Hyun Soo VS Eun Hyuk. I hope they keep their dynamic of hound & owner, that was really fun in season one, ethically and psychologically speaking. i don't want to see them going all alpha males on each other, we already have SangWook VS Hyun Woo for that.

Read More

This series have another color to the story

At first, i want to review each episode after i watch it immediately. However, after watching the 3rd episode i couldn't gather my will power to stop watching and review it. Instead, i keep going from the 4th episode until finish.

This week i watch a few different series back to back. So when i watched the 1st episode I thought it will be another generic love story where the main characters are the opposite of each other. One is popular and chatty and the other are gloomy and quiet. But the storey give a twist at the 2nd episode which makes me wonder for the rest of the story.

I like this series because it gives another eye opener story to me.

This is a story where you know it'll be a bit of sad ending but also makes you want to watch the rest of the story. (note: i'm not a fan of sad ending)

Both the main character reminds me that they're can change. Koichi is very bright and always put others before him also he tends to bring himself to cheer others even when he's not. but at the end of the story he changed. he realized that he can have a variety of emotions. and Oumi also changed. he relized he can be a warmth to someone and he can stop building walls around him.

my selfish opinion for this series : if this series has a happy ending i'd give it 9 stars for sure

Read More

the luckiest unlucky person

The story revolves around two characters, Fukuhara and Shinomiya. Initially, Fukuhara is portrayed as a manipulative and "unlucky" person who seems to benefit from being around Shinomiya. However, it becomes clear that some of Fukuhara's misfortunes are due to his own clumsiness and lack of communication skills. Shinomiya, on the other hand, is seen as a lucky and caring individual who is drawn to Fukuhara's lively personality.

Fukuhara's abrupt love confession to Shinomiya is initially seen as self-serving, but it becomes evident that Shinomiya has genuine feelings for Fukuhara. Despite this, Fukuhara continues to take advantage of Shinomiya's feelings and luck without showing appreciation. However, as the story progresses, Fukuhara begins to realize the sincerity of Shinomiya's feelings and gradually falls for him, showing remorse for his past actions.

In episode 5, Fukuhara starts acknowledging his feelings for Shinomiya and becomes more protective of him, standing up to those who try to take advantage of Shinomiya's luck. Ultimately, the two characters have an honest conversation, leading to a new beginning in their relationship based on honesty and courage.

Read More

An important phase of life portrayed beautifully

So, I kept away seeing this series thinking it might be overhyped and because reviews kind of told this drama is traumatic. But I am glad, I decided to watch the trailer and give it a chance. And all it took was the trailer to convince me watch 2125.
And if you are reading this review with a dilemma to watch this series or not, trust me, and watch the series right away. (And come back later to this review so that you feel connected.)

I felt a lot of emotions while watching this series, be it inspiration, the will to work hard, motivation, happiness, pain and love.
There's nothing I can point out as a flaw in this drama. The story, the way it is told through this series, the actors and the acting, the ost, the emotions it conveyed, I couldn't ask anything better than this.
So what I liked about this series :
~ Both the main characters, Na Hee Do and Back Yi Jin
Tbh, Hee Do inspired me to live life and work hard no matter what, the sparkle in her eyes conveyed hw she dared to hope (the way she tells in the last episode .
I could relate to both the characters personally and feel every emotion the went through.
Yi Jin, I couldn't take my eyes off his eyes, his eyes conveyed a million emotions. The way he gracefully accepted his hardship and navigated through adulthood, the way he tried to manage both his personal and professional life, the way he could see the happier things of life (through Hee Do), as a teenager I hope I will be a little of him in this aspect.
~ the friendship and fencing
The other main characters, Ko Yu Rim, Moon Ji Woong, Ji Sweung Wan, the way rivalry turned into friendship and and how a girl and a boy can be just friends and how strong and supporting love can be (in case of Yu Rim and Ji Woong )
~The realistic portrayal of a mother-daughter relationship
~ the mature take on love ( You Jin and Hee Do)

I learnt so much watching this series and got to see a different dimension of youth and 2125 taught me to see my life in a brighter shade. I looked forward to see each episode, 2125 made me reflect on my own self. And about the ending, I personally believe that all love stories don't get a happy ending. So I believe the ending was realised ad just perfect.
My favourite dialogues were :
" I don't regret meeting you or loving you. Wanting to falter and letting myself falter is my mistake. A mistake that is clearly not minor."
"Life is long and fireworks are short."
" I don't think not living your dream means you have failed at life. And I don't think living your dream means you have succeeded either."
"It isn't a rainbow, it's love."
"My result was amazing and the process was beautiful."
My favourite ost is Very slowly and Go! (I am hooked on them).
I will definitely re-watch 2125 because I went through a lot of emotions while watching and I will definitely love to go through these emotions again.

Read More

I mean, I was sobbing

First of all, Seo Ji Hoon is absolutely mesmerizing in this drama. How and why is he not starring in every upcoming drama? He's SO AMAZING. What an incredible talent. I've watched 77 Kdramas so far and his performance was probably the best I've ever seen. I saw him in My Lovely Liar and he was stand out in that drama (he had a fairly minor role, but I remembered him). But in this one, totally blew me away.

I do feel like 99% of my enjoyment of this drama was Seo Ji Hoon. The rest of the cast did perfectly fine. The story had some unevenness but was mostly fine. Keeping it real: without Seo Ji Hoon in his role, this probably would've been a 6 instead of an 8 overall.

But because of the believability and excellence of Seo Ji Hoon's performance, this drama had me sobbing at the very end. I cried and cried and couldn't stop wishing he'd somehow come back. Ugh. So, so, so sad. I'm going to have to watch another drama with this actor ASAP.

Read More

A surprise of 2023

I truly enjoyed this drama, and now that I finished it, I have withdrawal symptoms. Honestly, this show has everything that I enjoy:

(1) An intelligent female lead that doesnt take crap from people (no Mary Sues here) ;
(2) A male lead that is willing to do what needs to be done to reach his goals (Anti-heroes represent!);
(3) A strong chemistry between the leads (NO duck kisses to be seen);
(4) A couple that teams up and solves their issues quickly (those that scheme together stay together);
(5) A story that has not fillers (missing the mandatory annoying second couple, yay!); and
(6) A very happy ending (in many ways *wink wink*).

Point number 6 was very important to me and thankfully SOKP delivered, I had been burnt many times by C-dramas and there is nothing more frustrating than investing 40 plus episodes on a period piece and getting rewarded with tragic or lazy open ending. So kudos to the cast and crew, this drama was very entertaining, two thumbs up from me.

Read More

Prep for the finale

If I were to compare, I enjoyed season 1 a lot more story wise, season 2 seemed more like a filler and preparation for the season finale. The CGI did get a lot better in some scenes, with season 1 already having amazing cgi as is.

Majority of the original cast was killed off (to no surprise) but the main gang lives on which I enjoyed. Season 2 is mostly introduction of characters that I assume will play a role in season 3, tho personality and story wise, they weren’t super interesting to me.

The mixture of military, emotional battles, and theorizing was nice.

There is definitely a lot of loose ends in which I hope season 3 answers.

Read More

Must Watch - Sweet and Solid!!

The Matchmakers is such a great drama with detailed writing. The cinematography and coloring is dream like in many episodes, the fox rain scene and the tutoring scene are two of my favorites.It's light and fun and gives off an old historic comic book vibe making it sweet and interesting. I guess it has a great rewatch value and to be honest after Mr. Queen I have never rewatched full episodes of any other drama like I did with TMM. The casting is perfect. Rowoon and Yi Hyun are killing it as the widowed matchmakers and the supporting casts do have a great character arc which is one of the best qualities of TMM.. Iam a bit partial in my love towards the officer-Hwarok nim couple and Oh Bong too 😃.TMM is staying true to it's story and not trying to overdo anything. I love the restraint portrayed by the actors, and the dialogues especially that from epi 11.The story is fun yet solid and not cringey.It's full of Situational comedies and there are no fillers.

Read More

SATISFYING ALL THE WAY THROUGH

I'm usually quite harsh on these types of shows where there is revenge but this show really captures a person's breaking point so well. HYJ had been thrown away by everyone she thought cared about her and when she wakes up a year in the past, she doesn't waste a second and immediately chooses to turn her back on everyone that betrayed her. Her attitude from that point on is just perfect! She doesn't back down and although she still struggles with the anxiety of being around her abusive family, she ultimately chooses herself at every turn.

I actually really liked Seo Jung Wooks character portayal. Of course he was a horrible person but his aura and even just the way he speaks reminds me of a classic Disney villain (specifically Shan Yu from Mulan). I think what sets him apart as a character is he's not a psychopath like Lee Jung Hye, he just never learned how to love anything or anyone including himself.

I kind of wish that the sister, Han Yoo Ra, ended up in a ditch somewhere tbh. God she was insufferable. Also no one found out that she's not actually biologically related to her dad. I do like that she ended up having to go back to that simp of a man, Se Hyeok. He deserves her simply for loving her so much he didn't care about hurting Yi Joo in the process.

All in all, I think this drama did a fantastic job of presenting a satisfying revenge plot. 10/10

Read More

Good themes, okay ending

Suda Masaki's performance as Hiiragi Ibuki is by far the best part of this drama, and the mentor-mentee dynamic he had with every single one of his students was really great. I loved seeing how all the students went through a range of emotions as the drama progressed, from laughing at him at the start, to feeling betrayed, to finally starting to listen, trust, and look up to him.

The female lead is one of the students who definitely plays a larger role than her classmate counterparts, but still doesn't play a very active role throughout the show; with different episodes focusing on different students, sometimes she feels fully sidelined. Not a dealbreaker by any means, but it definitely feels like there's just one main character.

I think the individual themes in the show are really strong, especially when there is a main focus on a student for each lesson, but I'm personally not a huge fan of the final message, of the "killers" being internet bullies. While I understand the message of thinking before you type and not hiding behind a screen, I also feel like Mr. Hiiragi speaking to "the general public" not only doesn't have the same emotional impact, but also feels so broad that his perfect plan starts to feel a little leaky, especially when I think the same lesson of "think before you act" was already given earlier specifically to the class of students, and it worked better then.

Read More

I thought it would be a boring romcom drama but turned out the plot and storyline is beyond my expectation! This is so good, refreshing, and fun to watch! Lee Seyoung's acting ability is beyond doubt. She mastered every aspect from intonation while talking to her facial expressions, all of that point is GOOD! Although Bae Inhyuk is still a rookie, he is able to keep up with Lee Seyoung. Their energy and chemistry are unmatched. The chemistry between Seyoung and other characters, including Yoo Seonho and Joo Hyunyoung, is also very interesting to watch. Looking forward for episode 5 this friday!

Read More