Doubtful Victory (2017)

Silly plotting and sophomoric directing are somewhat compensated for by some great performances. It has some plot twists that are so badly done they're almost funny (in one or two I literally laughed out loud), but the leads never fail to give themselves to their parts 110%. It's almost worth watching just to see Yoon Gyun Sang give a lovely, understated performance with a great deal of gravitas.

The plot becomes increasingly ridiculous to the point of makjang.. The directing, in particular the blocking, was noticeably bad on more than one occasion.

For those looking for romance, this is not your drama. Having said that, there was something compelling about the Adventures of Scrappy and the Giant that I tuned in for each week. No matter how silly it got, the actors really sold it and that carried me through to the end. I won't be rewatching it though

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This drama was so disastrous that all its ridiculous elements became somewhat entertaining again. Somewhere along the way it seemed like it didn't take itself serious anymore.

First of all the drama went way too long. Even for people who'd marathon this, they would still forget the first half or feel like it's been ages since they watched the first couple of eps.

The biggest weakness is this really, REALLY flexible storyline. Depending on what was needed, it happened. Regardless of its realistic possibility or moral value, or topping one stupidity after another.

The more ridiculous it became, the more fun I had with the side characters. Their weird behavior was entertaining at times and drew in the focus while the leads lost a lot of importance.

The "best" part was how this drama turned into a makjang. And that actually made me stick with it, even though it was still way over the top. But in exchange some of the hidden side stories were really interesting. I was even willing to give this a 5.5, but then the finale happened and destroyed more of what I thought wasn't possible anymore. People who should be clever, quick-witted or whatever, became the opposite, got stupid and blindly followed a messed up script. Not to mention the result of Kim Jong Sam's falsely judged imprisonment.

I wouldn't recommend this, not in a million years.

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