[Discussion] Cruel City

Mickey wrote: This is probably the first Asian drama that got my husband's intention fully; he never sat down with me when I am watching Asian dramas and he even makes fun of me sometimes but when I started this, he seemed to be interested in it so I decided to test him and changed the drama; he said "The other one is better", I knew for sure that he got interested in this and now, he asks me not to watch any episode unless he's home: one more reason to completely love this drama.

That's a great progress; I hope he won't lose interest very soon like mine.

I wonder how will this drama end? I can't seem to prdict it.

de va ju cliff hanger omg kill me now

Aphrodity wrote: Makes wonder how will those writers will end things.

same but for some reason i feel like Ji Hyeong Min will come to the rescue

Hello everyone, I just marathoned the 18 episodes that had aired before this week and I've read that a LOT of people really seem to like this drama, calling it a "masterpiece" and such, but for some reason, I'm not really seeing it, so I wanted to ask around and find out what it is that makes people huge fans of this drama - maybe there's something I'm overlooking that everyone else sees.

While I love the acting of all the characters, I agree that it's realistic in the sense of that's how their world works, it's not enough to buy me over into classifying this drama as a "masterpiece" or a "really amazing drama." I admit that I was definitely expecting more romance, but I also acknowledge that more romance would've meant less realism. Part of the problem I think was that the trailer and synopsis made it seem like it was going to be more about the main leads. I loved the impression I got from watching the drama trailer, but that's not the impression I've gotten from the 18 episodes I've watched so far.
Overall, I feel like I've just been WAITING for things to happen the entire time. Trailer aside, judging from the synopsis, I could figure out that she's going to become an undercover cop, she's going to fall in love with him and that implies that at some point, they're going to find out about each other, and then all that's left after that is finding out what happens at the end. So I feel like I've just been waiting for "the ending" this entire time. Someone else asked if I would have preferred things moved along quicker, and I really do think so. The trailer showed them at gun-point, so I was expecting some sort of intense game of cat-and-mouse or something to see who would be able to outsmart the other. (I'm also at fault for making assumptions and having expectations of any sort, but...) I was disappointed to find that *it took 18 episodes for them to finally be AT gun-point.* So I just feel like I've been waiting for this to happen for forever now. So far I've only gotten "little surprises," such as *Safari and Doctor's Son being undercover also*, but they weren't mind-blowingly-great surprises to me...
Other than that, I feel like the only thing that's kept me with this drama is my love for the characters and wanting to see the ending. Although realistic in the sense of it being "their world", I definitely feel like I've had my share of *the two sides going at each other with their metal rods and foot-long knives and Soo getting sent to the hospital time and time again*...I almost feel like that's all I've seen this entire series so far.

So may I ask, what about this drama makes it so great?

goldenseal50 wrote: Well, first off, everybody has different taste, but I will tell you why I am giving it a 10. I have watched in week by week and I can't get it out of my head. The cliffhangers kill me...you probably didn't notice because you took it all in one big gulp. But there is something to be said for tension. The action is decent and there is a lot of it...I like action. The characters are well written but even better acted. And I didn't even read the synopsis..so I had no expectations when I started.

I feel a little sorry for you if you were really waiting for some cliched story in your head to appear instead of enjoying the dark and bumpy ride that is Cruel City.

Thanks for responding! I know I'm at a disadvantage because I couldn't experience the show "as it should have been," but I know for a fact that I've marathoned/watched-weekly through shows that have hooked me in WAY more than this. (Gaksital/Bridal Mask for one, City Hunter for another - but the only thing I'm comparing here is whether or not I was squirming in my seat waiting for the next episode. I marathoned my way through the first 17 episodes of Gaksital/Bridal Mask [watching non-stop aside from eating/sleeping/daily activities over a period of 3 days] before following it on a weekly basis, and every week after that was still like torture for me. As for City Hunter, the first 5 episodes were amazing, but afterwards it was the previews that kept me coming back.) I'm not too fond of the previews for Cruel City because *they basically tell you everything that's going to happen in the next episode, minus the last 5-20 seconds at most* so everything else just feels like filler to me - the same feeling I'm getting from having read the synopsis. I noticed this around I think episode 10, and then they stopped doing previews for a few episodes, and started them back up again (or, the people who uploaded the video cut it off - I wouldn't know). However, I feel like I was a little more engaged during the episodes that hadn't already been summarized for me than the ones that had been.
The action in itself was okay, but to be honest I started getting really tired of the *metal rods and foot-long knives-that-didn't-kill-anyone*. I guess it's realistic that he can't *fight off ALL the henchmen of the higher-ups with his hand-sized blade like he did in episode 1*, but I feel like I've just been running around in circles of fights (which is also realistic, because that's probably how their world works). The action is decent in itself, but I feel like without the action scenes, the whole thing would be boring *because nothing else ever really happens*, but then that would make Cruel City unrealistic.

I love the characters and their acting, and the realistic factor is good too, but those are "materialistic" to me. I personally can't say this is an amazing drama JUST because of the actors/actresses, the acting, or the realism. Somewhere along the way (5 episodes in, and even more when I was halfway at 10 episodes), I figured out that things probably weren't going to go as I'd hoped because things were just moving way too slow for it to all "work out" in the end.
I usually like shows that are popular and have a decent-enough plot to catch my interest, but my mind is in backwards-reverse mode for this one. Cruel City to me (at least the 18 episodes so far) has just been a cliche story. I've never seen anything like it, and the cliched story in my head didn't happen, but having nothing different from the possible predictions that I could come up with on my own just makes the whole thing feel cliche. So far the ride's been kind of dark I guess, but there's light shining in from all over the place (there's so much we seem to know about the good guys, the bad guys, and the maybe in-between-who-knows-what-they-truly-are-guys) so it doesn't seem so dark, but bumpy? Having the light made those bumps not so unexpected, and I'm not sensing any major drops ahead in the ride...but I haven't forgotten that there are still two more episodes to watch. You never know what lies at the end of the tunnel, but even if there is a drop, it's already the last stretch of the ride. (And if there's no drop, well, then I guess it's been more-or-less a smooth ride.) Maybe two episodes will be enough to turn things around, but I don't know.

Cruel City HAS been on my mind the past two days waiting for the last two episodes, but at this point, I might just be waiting for the final stretch to finally see things come to an end because I've been waiting for this since I started episode 1.

I wish I could have enjoyed it as much as most people have too, but I guess that's just how I watch dramas... I watch, I predict, and especially for dramas like this, I hope to be mind-blown by greater and better things, and I guess it just didn't/hasn't happened this time around (at least for me).

i think its really depends on your taste. The way the drama was filmed didnt appeal to me. Its abit too dark for me but the cliff hangers really left me craving for more. The actor was great to which helped. I think it just depends what is more important to you. Just watched ep 19 and i just got to say wow gg .....

Did not like.