Second chance winners

When this came out on Viki, I saw the poster and thought it was just another Chinese fantasy series like the rest - it looked similar, and I was a little intrigued, but gave it a pass. I came back to it a few months later, as it kept being popular, I'd heard a few things about it, and the overview sounded like it had potential. And the rest is history.... an amazing show that I really loved, along with so many others.

Starting with the most recent...

A hit I thought I disliked, but upon giving another chance, discovered I love it. Lots of watching is ensuing! Turns out I love this show - or should I say, I love Uhm Tae Goo's Seo Ji Hwan, and the rest of it is also good?

I was planning to try it out, but didn't have a lot of expectations, given the poster (again; they make them either too silly or too romance-y for Korean dramas, not according to the story itself, so they become misleading) and other marketing. I liked the premise, which is why I wanted to watch, along with the main actress, but it looked like it would be maybe a bit silly or the typical moulded Korean drama.

Oh, was I wrong! This has become my favourite Korean drama of all time. Amazing show. Hilarious, heartbreaking, sweet, profound, silly, and definitely unique.

When this came out, I was watching other shows with a fantasy theme involving gods and other supernatural characters, and this seemed like more of the same. I also heard disparaging things about it. But I tried it out last year, and loved it.

I also planned to give this a go, but was semi-put-off by the synopsis, which I didn't like the sound of, and because I wasn't sure Pyo Ye Jin, whom I'd only seen as the maid in Our Blooming Youth, could do a leading role requiring such depth. However, it turned out to have a deep and poignant love backstory, which was beautifully written and portrayed. The modern counterpart was less affecting, but still pretty good, especially the further it went on. I'm a real fan of Kim Yong Dae's acting, and this was no exception. Pyo Ye Jin turned out to give a strong leading performance, too.

Put off by the posters, the marketing, and the storyline. Persuaded to give it a go by comments and reviews, and ended up really liking it. Not what I thought, and the subject matter was much more interesting and relevant than I'd assumed.