Fantasy, romance, allegory, silly comedy and the surreal quality of folklore and mythology
This is one of those cases where I feel rather perplexed by popular opinion and question general sanity; the hated flaws in this show do not really diminish the worth of the show. But I'm getting ahead of myself: let me analyse this show component by component and write what made me love the show and rewatch it 4 times already, so that if there's anyone else who looks for similar things in a show as me, they will feel piqued enough to watch.Update: I had initially given the show a full 10 while riding the aftermath of bingeing the series the first time. I have since edited it, not because I loved it less on repeat watches (in fact, it even grew on me), but because I wanted to be more objective (as much as one can be in what is ultimately subjective anyway). Many parts of the show deserve a perfect score, but a few are quite subpar by contrast and have to be scored less.
Let's get the objectively bad stuff out of the way: inconsistent CG. In some places, the CGI was fairly decent and blended well without harming the suspension of disbelief, but often it was evidently substandard. For me, this rarely took away from the story: I tend to abstract out (what I think were) production/budget issues and look at whether I can believe what the CG is trying to convey in the context of the world created. And needless to say, in a world with deities, demons, zombies and priestesses, a badly animated animal would not harm my suspension of disbelief, if the reactions of the characters and story are realistic. And this show certainly does that, and does it well.
Let's move on to the excellent stuff:
Overall, this show gave me the feel that I want and expect from myths and folklore. Mythology and folklore are different from modern fantasy, in that they are much more surreal and allegorical than modern fantasy is. There is an element of magical realism and a dreamlike quality to mythology and folklore that is difficult to pull off with modern fantasy. This show manages to walk that line of allegory and fantasy well, with just a hint of a tantalising deeper subtext at places that makes you ruminate beyond the superficial. At the same time, the show does not take itself too seriously. The comedy is hilarious all the more because it is evident that the cast and crew were rather enjoying themselves while filming it.
Lack of noble idiocy, cringe-induction and cliches:
What I hate from the bottom of my heart in shows is when characters act in ways real people would not, either by noble idiocy or a lack of communication, just because the writer wants the plot to progress in certain ways. This show does not resort to such nonsense to create tension. If a conflict exists, it is not induced by the stupidity of characters, but by events genuinely outside of their control. At times I sensed the impending doom of the arrival of tropes, but the show subverted them tastefully. Even when there were tropes, I was interested to see how characters would react to them, because I trusted in their common sense and personalities.
Which brings me to perhaps the best part of this show: Characters.
This show (and the lore upon which it is based) has wonderful, memorable, hilarious characters with their own goals, motivations, personalities, quirks, and character development. I usually get impatient with side plots and tend to fast forward through them, but I was compelled to watch the stories of every single character in this show.
I will not dwell too long on Son Oh Gong (and Lee Seung Gi's stellar performance of that role): other reviews have already done so ad nauseum. If all the other aspects of this show were terrible, this show would still be worth watching for that character and actor alone.
Sam Jang:
I understand why the character and actress were not well received: the character is, unlike other female leads, poised, somewhat introverted and quiet, stable, resistant to impulses of noble idiocy, compassionate and respectful towards the male lead and other characters, and is not very flawed in general, while still managing to avoid being a 2D plastic figure. She is independent (however much you can be independent against supernatural evils if you don't have powers of your own) and mentally stable, and I think that kind of independence and stability in women often triggers what I think are subtle misogynistic tendencies in viewers. And so, it is for these very reasons that I really loved her character and I think they did justice to how they adapted the original Sam Jang from the lore.
Ma Wang:
Oh, it was such a pleasure whenever he came on screen! He had an excellent storyline, I was always interested to see his reactions to plot elements, his dynamic with Son Oh Gong was electric and hilarious, and there was sometimes a surprising poignancy to his thoughts, actions and dialogues that reflected his long age and complexity. If I have to watch another ten episodes with just him on the screen, I still wouldn't get tired of it.
I can go on and on about the other, equally wonderful, colourful characters (how can a zombie be scary, cute, hilarious and creepy all at once, how can I say the sentence "a pig, a dog and an octopus were at a bar" with a straight face etc), but let's pause here and go to the next component.
Story:
The show did what it wanted to do from the start: a modern spin on a well known tale. Not any story can blend horror, romance, mystery and allegory into one seamless story. And comedy, let's not forget the comedy!
I really liked the romance, contrary to popular opinion. I thought it was neither rushed, nor lacked chemistry. It was a realistic progression founded upon a supernatural beginning, and felt like a warm comforting hug.
Visuals:
The costumes and set were really stunning. Son Oh Gong, especially. They very much contributed to the wonderful fantasy feel of the show.
Music:
Good music, not the most amazing but fairly appropriate. One of the main lead OSTs got stuck in my head for a long time, but my favourite melody was the one played during Ma Wang's love story scenes.
Finale:
The finale seems to be hated almost universally. Again, I am inclined to disagree. The finale fit the arc of the story, and anything else would tend towards a Deus ex machina. It is important to remember the source material for the show: fantastical, whimsical things happen in the lore to Son Oh Gong, and fantastical whimsical things happened (and could happen) in the show and post-finale. I won't give any spoilers, but I think the ending was consistent with the plot. Even if you don't like the ending, I think that hardly takes away from the otherwise wonderful rest of the show.
Overall, this is one of my favourite shows, and I have and will rewatch it again and again.
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I'm not trying to hate on Hwayugi or the Hong sisters; I enjoyed Hwayugi but it was lacking originality. This is my main critique about the drama and the reason why I rated it so poorly compared to Goblin. My other critiques of the show are the ending, the main female lead, and some of the mythical plot elements. First the ending...I hate open endings. They are unsatisfying and leave too much to debate and the imagination. If I invest 20+ hours into a show I want to get an ending, any ending, but an ending nonetheless. Hwayugi did not give me one. Next our female lead...Seon Mi
was frankly boring. She was a stereotypical kdrama heroine in every way (the tragic past, no friends or family, hard working to a fault, and she smiles through it all). I haven't seen Oh Yeon Seo in other dramas but she fell flat here. She simply couldn't keep up with Lee Seung Gi and they had no chemistry. And finally the mythical elements...for the most part I actually quite liked these elements. I loved the characters backgrounds based on the Chinese parable, the powers, and the heavenly realm. What I disliked was the dragon. What was with the stupid dragon plotline??? It made no sense, was unnecessary, and distracted from the better elements of the drama. I don't have anything else to say about it. It was just bad. As for the things I liked I'll quickly summarize those as well. I loved Lee Seung Gi, the bromance between Oh Gong and Ma Wang, the powers and the fight with heaven, One's character, and Pal Gye and Bu Ja's flirting. If the show focused more on these elements the drama may have fared better in my opinion.
Hwayugi had the potential to be a unique and interesting drama with an intricate backstory and historical context but I feel that the Hong sisters wanted to capitalize on Goblin's success and their own drama suffered for it.
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Evil Villain Lover
so I've rewatched this a couple times already awhile ago and only got a chance to write my review now. this drama has:bromance, romance, action, magic (some great CGI), great cinematography, decent acting, a well written plot, friendship, tears
then I guess you can watch this (jk its rlly good & rewatch worthy)
what I liked about this drama was:
- ml is evil but the type of evil where I can destroy this world bc someone hurt you
- bromance & friendship
- grey characters
- stuck w/ the beginning of the plot even with side plot
- great acting from the ml's side
- the little bits of side stories as they captured evil spirits were rlly good & cool
dislikes:
- fl was quite annoying at times for her character bc she pitied herself quite a bit (im more into strong female characters so I cant stand it, but you might be able to)
- most of the time was waiting to be saved (but then again she was fighting w/ supernaturals so like...)
- the other ml's voice was irritating to me sometimes for his high pitch but other times it was funny too
- miscommunication (it got annoying bc the fl just kept GUESSING THINGSJGJDLGJ but I guess it adds to the plot)
characters were rlly diverse & this whole drama was just refreshing bc it was rlly different.
if you want a fantasy drama with an evil male lead that also has bromance than be my guest.
I rewatch this from time to time for that one scene.
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First Episode. I know that first impressions last. At first I find the effects not that impressive but I just continue watching with an open mind and an understanding. I prioritize the plot rather than the effects.
I am just beginning to notice our male lead, although I have delayed watching King 2 hearts. This is the first show/series of Lee Seung Gi that I have watched, so I didn’t know what to expect.
First two to three episodes, kind of slow for me and I am not impressed with the female lead as well. It seems to me, she seemed to be stoic. But I kept an opened mind because I love the plot and the irony of things here especially when it comes to the love story.
This is why I mentioned on my header that this series can grow on you. I didn’t give up and continue to watch. Eventually, I can see that the plot thickens and with the unfolding of the predicament of their love story, I can see that our female lead blossom into something. And I have appreciated her then.
The devil king and the other characters. I love that they have their own back stories to tell. And I love the relationship between the Devil King and the Great Sage.
Ending. And yet again, with an open ending although it is bound to happen, I am kind hoping for a happy and close ending. Nevertheless, I recommend this show, worthy to binge.
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A little boring
It started off well. The first 9 or 10 episodes were good but it became really boring after that character called Ah Sa Nyeo came.It was also a little stretched. They could've finished it off in around 16 episodes or even less. It seemed like they wanted to make it with 20 episodes of 1 hour 20 minutes each. It became a little interesting towards the end though.
I liked Cha Seung Won's acting. He's a great actor. Son Oh Gong and Devil King Woo's bromance is what made me watch this till the end.
It's worth watching if you have a lot of patience. I won't recommend it to anybody.
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I think it's fair to say that this drama was good overall: the story is intriguing, well written for the first 10 episodes and it made me curious.
If I can say something bad about it, I'd have gone for a shorter version. 20 episodes are too many, since part of the story (expecially from episode 14) was just fillers.
I'd rather watch 10 very good episodes than 20 just for the sake of carrying it on.
The ending it's not that bad, but it's way too predictable: if you're not into open endings, just forget about this drama.
Onto the good stuff:
- Lee Seung Gi is just gold in this series, I cannot think of anybody else for the role of Son Oh Gong. Same goes for Cha Seung Won (Ma Wang) and Sung Hyuk (General Frost).
- Soundtrack is Bomb: "Let me out" is a hit, was stucked in my head for weeks, as well as "If You Were Me" and "When I Saw You".
- I loved the fact that supernatural elements, history and human nature are intertwined in the love story: it makes it really special.
- I don't particularly like Oh Yeon Seo, but i loved the first 5 episodes because of the tension between the two leads.
- Lee El (Secretary Ma) is one of the most underrated character, imho, but I loved her a lot.
I don't think I'd rewatch this, cause it's too painful now (i didn't enjoy the ending) and also because of the dragged out part (13-17), but It was definitely worth my time.
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This review may contain spoilers
Romanticized story of a kingdom divided cannot stand.
The romance side is the part I fell in love with… the other side of demons/monsters I could do without. That being said I loved the story development of the “monsters” relationship. In reality I know it would never happen but it was fun to humanize them a bit and allow them to grown fond of each other and even love in friendship together.It was rather dragged out around episode 14 onwards - I'd rather watch 10 very good episodes than 20 just for the sake of carrying it on.
The ending it's not that bad, but it's way too predictable: if you're not into open endings, just forget about this drama.
Onto the good stuff:
- Lee Seung Gi is just gold in this series, I cannot think of anybody else for the role of Son Oh Gong. Same goes for Cha Seung Won (Ma Wang) and Sung Hyuk (General Frost).
- Soundtrack is Bomb: "Let me out" is a hit as well as "If You Were Me" and "When I Saw You".
I don't think I'd rewatch this, cause it's too painful now (i didn't enjoy the ending) and also because of the dragged out part (13-17)
The ending was a bit on the sad side - leaving you wanting to know if he gets her back and how he does it. That being said, as he has to go to the underworld - I think it will definitely be too dark for me liking. Will have to see if they bring our a season 2.
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A new concept of fantasy-horror (with romance) drama!
After the wave of Goblin, Scarlet... I was craving for more series which is somehow likely the same series. Never knew this drama would be that great!Alot of people rated this negative which I can’t understand and wouldn’t be able to understand. But for sure, this is a highly rated drama just like Goblin. & Scarlet (not as same drama, but the quality of story +actors+songs itself)
You might find this confusing because there are alot of twist. So you really have to focus on the story because it wasn’t that straightforward like other series.
It’s a new concept of fantasy-horror (for me, a mystery rather than a horror) with romance. I just love how this drama was well written even it’s a romance between a human (who could see ghosts) & non-human (an evil).
Other than the story, you’d most definitely find yourself hooked with all the OSTs. All songs are amazing and perfectly made for this drama!!!
Tip, you have to finish it once you’ve started. So you won’t lose the momentum and get confuse once you get back to it.
For the ending, you’d definitely ASK FOR SEASON 2. Just like the Scarlet, it’s a CLIFF HANGING ENDING.
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This review may contain spoilers
WHY IS IT DIFFERENT?
This was my first kdrama. It will always be my number one suggestion to anyone. It's just too good. Any genre, you name it and this drama has it.The best part was, in every other supernatural drama mostly the one with the super-powers faces the end and the human is left behind (although every time they come back from out of nowhere at all) to struggle alone and there is tons of crying. But this drama was special, because it was something different. The human died which made it far more interesting and senseful than the endings in other dramas.
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