Blacklist (2019)

As a fan of mystery/thriller, this work is a big lit! It gave me the feels like the ones I had while watching the gifted or even more. The sudden turns of events is really unexpected. The plot twists are one real boom! In my case, I love crimes and solving the case behind them. However this is in another level. They didn't focused on the crime. Instead rhey included much more events that made the scene more dramatic. I was overflowing with feels while watching this. Mixed emotions I say. The turn of events really shocked me, their strategies made me amazed like hell, and it awakens the curiosity living inside me. I'm at my point where in I won't last one second without knowing what will happen next. If I stop watching now, questions will be floating in my mind like who was that, why did it happen and all sort of stuff. In this whole series, there's only one rule. EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED! As for the acting, I'm soooo in heaven to see all my boys together in one series. In addition, the cameo appearance of more of my favorite actors like Fluke and Toptap also JJ. It makes me smile to see them all in one series. This is really highly recommended! Good job to the director you deserve an award for this superb work! The plot is a game for genius and the creator (director) himself is a damn genius!

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A one of a kind thriller

Many people may have compared this series to "The Gifted" which I feel may have led some to feel disappointed in this series but this series is amazing on its own accord.

There is a lot of mysteries as well as plot twists that keep the series very captivating till the point that I watched the last few episodes until the wee hours of the morning just to finish it as it was just so interesting. I agree that the show could have touched more on the sexual assault aspects in the show but as the main focus of this series was to solve the bigger mystery in the school, I hope that would address this in perhaps a season 2 (if it ever happens).

The actors did an amazing job in portraying the characters and the storyline allowed them to showcase their talents. I do feel that they probably did not have to bring in so many couple-pairings but it did bring about a new layer to the story. Overall a very interesting story with a good plotline and plot twists, loved it! (Probably would not rewatch it though as once the mystery is solved, there is not much to rewatch)

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U G H

My feelings for this show are all over the place, but ultimately I am SO disappointed. The story started off really intriguing, became very repetitive and meandering, and then ended with a fizzle. Ultimately, it felt like a waste of my time.

The story could have been good, especially with the reveals that there were more than just the God's Hands to deal with— but we spent so much time on the gang, that the other antagonists got so little time on screen and their plot lines felt rushed and really forced. It was really disappointing, too, because the other antagonists were much more interesting than the God's Hands, and I would have rathered see more of them. I was also very disappointed in the use of the predatory lesbian trope— it was gross and very much not needed in order to make [redacted] appear to be a villain. That definitely brought my rating down with just the last two episodes.

The really sad part is the fact that the cast was so amazing! Chimon, Nanon, First, Ohm, Drake... They were all so fantastic and wonderful to watch, and it was almost painful at times to see them in the midst of this crappy plot. Acting-wise, I really don't have any solid complaints, but even the best actors couldn't make this better. Especially because there were just too many main characters, so often characters like Bantad felt very shafted and undeveloped, even though they're billed to be as much of a lead as Traffic or Highlight. If they had limited Blacklist to four members, it might have felt stronger.

In regards to recommending this to someone— if you really like the cast and are desperate to see some of the actors, go for it. But otherwise, there are many far better dramas to try before you watch this one.

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Maybe I’m thinking about this too technically

This is my first review on MyDramaList so I’m sorry if this seems messy and has any errors. I also tried to split this into sections so it could be easier to read.

I was interested to watch this show because of Drake and Ohm. I am also a huge fan of thriller and mystery concepts so I thought “What could go wrong?”.Well, a lot apparently could go wrong.

Plot:
I think the plot of the characters trying to find who the ‘The God’s Hands’ are and how does this relates to Traffic’s sister is the most interesting thing about this show. The ending though was a monstrosity, to say the least. There were many plot holes and just as many unanswered questions. This show also relied on many plot twists that you could see coming as everyone was suspicious. Some of the plot twists were very weak at times that I even saw them coming before the characters realized. I even said out loud when Title ‘became’ a The God’s Hands member, “If anybody in the Blacklist was working on the inside it would be Andrew” and I was right.

The decisions the main characters made were laughable at times and were quite not logical which made it feel like it was dragging at times. Around episode nine is when the episodes started to really drag. I just wanted it to be over with it at that point and I wanted to move on.

Characters:
I have very mixed emotions about the six main characters (Traffic, Highlight, Andrew, Title, Jim Bae, and Bantad). While looking back at them in general, I didn’t mind them, but I don’t like them when I look at them closer. The characters had basic personalities and weren’t given much characterization beyond that. They also had very weak motivations (besides Traffic) of why they wanted to join ‘Blacklist’.

They tried to characterize the characters more through their romances with the veggie gang/other female characters. Which felt like a cheap cop-out and didn’t work as some of the romances were unbelievable. The romances between the characters also seemed very forced and rushed. There were times where I was cringing out of disgust at some of the lines they would say when it was supposed to be romantic. The love triangle of Highlight, Orange, and Title was quite interesting though but was also underdeveloped. The love triangle could’ve been developed more and would’ve been great at developing tension between some of the members of Blacklist.

I don’t mind the veggie gang or some of the other female characters but they could’ve been used more wisely in the plot of this show. They seemed like they were only there to give off hints to move the plot forward and also to give the main characters a love interest. I wished they had joined the ‘blacklist’ after a while and help the main six find who is a part of ‘The God’s Hands’.I also wished they were given personalities besides kinda being randomly snarky but still playing up to the damsel in distress. The only female characters that had some personalities were Orange and Laila. That is only because we saw more of them compared to the other female characters.

Comparing to ‘The Gifted’:
I was thinking about not even comparing it to ‘The Gifted’ as their differences to me have more weight than their similarities. I made a Venn diagram to figure out my thoughts on their similarities and through that, I’ve found that they have three similarities. They are both a group of high school students, they are both trying to expose the school they attend, and they have a similar cast.

I don’t have a review of ‘The Gifted’ but I am going to be comparing based only on season one of ‘The Gifted’ as I haven’t seen the second season. One thing I liked but also disliked about ‘The Gifted’ was the episodes that centered around one member of ‘The Gifted’.I liked it because the characters were very characterized but I disliked it because when it leads me to the central plot I didn’t care as it had spent so long on the characters. ‘Blacklist’ is the complete opposite as it focused on the plot which leads the characters to be less than desirable. ‘The Gifted’ is character-based and ‘Blacklist’ is more plot-based which is just based on this it’s hard to compare.

I would have to get more technical about cinematography, lighting, loose strings in the show, etc. Which including the technical aspects of the show then ‘The Gifted’ is better than ‘Blacklist’.

Would I recommend and would I re-watch it?
I wouldn’t really recommend it unless you want to watch it and a word of advice is don’t watch this right after ‘The Gifted’. Maybe wait a month or two to watch so it can be properly processed. I also wouldn’t personally go out of my way to watch this again even if was with someone. I would just be like, “You’re on your own for this one”.

General ending thoughts:
Honestly, this is not the worst thing I have watched in general and I don’t even think it’s the worst thing from GMMTV. This definitely one of those dramas that’s a hit and miss between its viewers.

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Its better than what I first expected

I don't know why but this series just turns out to be better than I expected. I planned to watch this series a long time ago but have not much interest till I just started watching it and it turns out to be that I like it. This series is quite similar to The Gifted but in The Gifted, the characters have potential to do things but in this series they have ability to do things. And I like that Nanon is the leader again and following is Chimon where both of them dislike each other at first but turns to be close friend at the end. It's a series where you have to watch every single episode to know every progress and it was really fun to watch every changes each ep. Couples are not that bad they look good together. Don't know why many people don't like it but this is another mystery series that I like.

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Start was great! End was meh?

Blacklist. I personally love the show itself, a mystery action show which revolves around a small group of students, fighting for the betterment of student rights and exposing the hidden discrepancies and errors in a supposed-to-be perfect school.

The plot itself is kind of interesting, especially when you watch the trailer first. The plot is somehow similar to the other show entitled "the Gifted" which revolves around gifted students being a rebel in a supposed-to-be perfect school. In Blacklist, they might have any powers and gifts like what "the gifted" has, but the writers of the series made sure that they still have hidden abilities that is useful for their mission and for the whole plot of the series. The first few episodes are exciting, in every episode they feature one of the members of the blacklist, having their own problems and having their own way to solve it. Which I think helped me understanding the difference between these main characters, their ability, the way they think and the way they solve their problems. For instance, you can really see the difference how Title (Drake) acts and solve his problems, in contrast, on how Jim Bae (First) solve his. You get the jist? I mean, every episode, make you understand what kind of person the main characters are.

For the second half of the story. I didn't really get to be invested that much. It became more chaotic and predictable. I mean, the twist in the end? I already predicted it would happen the first time I saw her. Characters are also betraying each other, and not trusting each other. There's even instances of gaslighting in the show, which I don't like much. However, I liked that they feature some villains which uses their own skills and expertise. There is an instance, where they have a chemist (science genius) villain. I appreciated that. The ending is meh for me. We don't even get to see a lot of the couples in the series. I mean yeah we can see them sweet sometimes, but not really enough for you to be invested in the pairs. Especially, Bantad (Frank) and Laila (Piploy). I can honestly say, that I watched this series because Frank, Drake, Nanon, Ohm, and Chimon was here. Back to the pairings, Bantad and Laila has a lot of chemistry for me, but the show didn't really gave it much appreciation. I mean we only see them for like what 4 times? in like 6 minutes?

In addition, I thought the second half will try to solve all of the cases that was unsolved in the series. But it didn't. There are a lot of unsolved cases in the series but the show didn't get to solve all of it.

The characters was great, the main characters, Nanon, Ohm, Chimon, First, Drake, and Frank was great. i loved them before I watched this series, that why I watched it because of them. They were great! They executed their roles properly. Nerdy Frank is a nice sight to see; Drake is just being Drake, vey chaotic; Ohm being a hero is great, First being a badass always. However, like "The Gifted" we again see the "Nanon's signature mad look" and "Chimon's signature I need to the leader look". I mean this is the whole The Gifted dynamics. Nanon being appointed as the leader, and Chimon disagreeing because he think he deserves to be one. Again, Blacklist being "The Gifted" rip-off.

I don't want to make this review longer. I'm just typing all of the things I wanted to see. Please don't mind the grammar since I am so lazy to reread and grammar check the whole review. Overall, the first half of the show is great for me, but the second half is kind of abysmal. I hope we see a lot of thriller, mystery, teen drama shows like this with different and more advanced plot points. Thank you and God Bless.

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DO NOT trust the other reviews for real!

To be honest, I was afraid to watch the series after reading some reviews in here, it took me alot of time and courage to finally watch it and honestly? I DON'T REGRET AT ALL !!!
The drama is really beautiful and up to expectations! The story is catching and like with every two episodes there is something new and something more exciting than the beginning! The acting was good as well the boys really did great job each one of them delivered his character as it should be!
The seniors are great actors/actresses as well!
(Especially Teacher Jin ??❤️)
So, talking about the series, I would like to say that every plot twist is stronger than the one preceding it ! Especially towards the end !! Like I really didn't think about the last plot
twist, never in a million universes !!!!
I as an action/ thriller hardcore fan and with the mind of money could only figure out two out at least 10 plot twists in this series for real ??
Lastly, I would like to advise anyone who is going to watch this series TO NOT READ THE OTHER REVIEWS BECAUSE I SWEAR TO GOD THEY BE JUST PLAYING WITH YOUR MIND! The series is beautiful, the actions aren't boring! The plot twists are exciting and the acting will catch you! It has been ages since I watch a highschool drama and that gave me nostalgia to my highschool era ? except the fact that I didn't have a love story back then xdddd
Okay the love stories.... I honestly find them useless but that's my personal point of view because I am anti-romantic so that explains ??‍♀️
Blacklist is worth watching ✨

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This could be a movie, but as a series the plot was all over the place

I came here after watching The Gifted Season 2 and going through Nanon's filmography. What a mistake.

I was so excited when I watched the first 4 mins of ep 1 and saw that Chimon and Ohm were also in this series. AND Fluke Natouch also had a small part.

In the end, even Nanon/Chimon/Ohm's presence didn't make me enjoy the series. After Fluke made his appearance (I loved his cocky persona in his cameo), I had no interest to continue watching it further.

I used the word "crazy" a lot with The Gifted Season 2, but in a good way. The craziness there generated plenty of plot twists and adrenaline filled moments. The craziness here messed up the plot and left me with plenty of questions.

By episode 5 (or so), after Title's sub-plot, it became clear that each episode was dealing with a different crime, but in a way which doesn't contribute to the over-arching plot in an organic way. Those crimes just sprouted out conveniently along the way.

I couldn't see proper character development in our Blacklist group either. After just one prep talk, Andrew was willing to call Traffic leader (just after he said he will never see him as leader, in the same episode). Also, the motives of each Blacklist member to take the risk being part of this group were unconvincing. It was also hard to root for them when one's reason to follow Traffic's decision was just because "the teacher said so", and when the said leader didn't challenge the teacher's decision to let a mere student take risk by sneaking into the lair alone. As the series progressed, it became clear that the students were dealing with something dangerous - disappearing students, underground casino, physical attacks, drugs! For a teacher who claimed he felt very guilty for causing a friend's brain injury and didn't want to see it happen to his students, does it make sense to let his students continue investigating further? The teacher contradicted himself and the motivations of the student were also too weak to make me care about their success.

The numerous love interests were also bordering on ridiculous. What are the chances of a group of guy friends also dating another group of girlfriends? I don't even know why they fell in love with each other apart from "the script said so". Take the romance out of it and the story can still remain intact.

I also have to complain about Nanon's perpetually furrowed eyebrows. What happened to the range of expression he showed in The Gift (even in Season 1)? We know he is capable of more.

What a disappointment.

I stopped at episode 7, so perhaps the show picked up after that (total of 12 episodes), but it couldn't retain my interest in it long enough to keep going.

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Good idea, poor execution (Some spoilers)

I wanted to watch this show because i was on a OhmFirst binge watch period wherein I was watching all the shows they were in, this included. The concept itself is great, however there were A LOT of flaws, but i'll talk about the good things about the show first

The story itself is nice, missing sister, fcked up administration, shady students & school, all that jazz. Then we have six extraordinary students from the last section who steps up and tries to save their school. Now, that storyline would've been great, but imma say why it wasn't spectacular in a moment.

Their acting was great, i think they really captured what their character was supposed to be and I commend them for that.

Ok onto the kinda bad parts of the show

Each main character was given a female partner (The veggie gang + cupcake & lila). Now, I don't mind all the love shiz but what sucked was we did not really get much out of it. It's almost as if they added the parter scenes just to say that the series is not all action. Would the series still be okay without the female partners? Possibly. They could've been a part of blacklist, so the team could be more powerful and could have more dynamic. If they did that the "love" could develop much more naturally and we could actually see it develop, rather than adding scenes here and there wherein they look at each other, smile, and feel giddy. IF they plan on making a season 2, i really hope they find a way to incorporate the women more because i do believe that each parter's storyline could be interesting if they just spent more time developing each character's plot line. (Unpopular Opinioin: BantadxLila is the superior ship, the rest are a close second, however i did feel like Jim Bae and Carrot was a bit forced, they should've been given more screen time to develop their relationship)

Overall:
This show is okay, would i recommend it? Absolutely. Would i want a season 2? Hell yeah, they ended the show in a way wherein they could add another season, so i think they should take the opportunity to redeem themselves and fix what they lack. Also, wtf how come the teacher did not get arrested (Gmm if u r seeing this y'all could make that the plot line for season 2). And y'all are planning to go with the each main character has a gf storyline in season 2 (if there is) I hope that we can watch each couple develop their relationship without ruining the main story which is action and stuff.

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It's a game of mind

BLACKLIST.

When I started watching it I thought it was just a normal story of high schoolers joining a group of students just for fun and just to make friends but as the story unfold each episodes tackle a certain issue and how each character will adopt to the situation using their special capability and how their groupmates will help them to resolve the problem that arise.

This series is a eyeopener for everyone that everyday we are going to face different dilema and we have to deal with it no matter what. This series also touch the problem of our society about drugs, gambling, greed and some personal issues like self worth, self confidence and self love that may help us especially with the youth so that they will be able to face it and not to be succumb by depression.

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