Wasted Potentials
These are Dramas that boast a very interesting and strong premise/concept, but which floundered, crashed, and some even burned under a bad execution.
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1. Lovely Horribly
Korean Drama - 2018, 32 episodes
The concept of the protagonists sharing "half a fate" had so much potential it hurts to see it wasted. In a nutshell: the leads are bound to "steal fortune" from each other in order to survive. So whenever one of them gets lucky, the other is met with misfortune.
Despite the original concept, I can't in good conscience recommend this drama since it didn't deliver a good story (and that concept was barely touched upon). Even though it started strong, it lacked consistency. The romance felt cringy and out of place; the horror felt childish and cartoony, and the melodrama felt like a bad soap opera at best and like a ten-year old's first fanfiction at worst...
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2. A Korean Odyssey
Korean Drama - 2017, 20 episodes
Interesting concept, but the story was a hot mess. It's still entertaining, but that's mostly due to the male lead and second male lead.
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3. Let Me Introduce Her
Korean Drama - 2018, 40 episodes
This series really build it's moments and relied heavily on intrigue. However, there was an issue regarding domestic violence that was both interesting and badly resolved. In the end, I'm unsure what the writers were trying to tell us since one of the biggest perpetrators ended up getting a simple slap on the hand...
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4. Are You Human Too?
Korean Drama - 2018, 36 episodes
It's a fun drama, but I wished it had focused more on AI and how people would react to it. Even the moral question of "Are you Human Too?" isn't as heavily explored as I would've liked.
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5. Missing You
Korean Drama - 2012, 21 episodes
Really interesting concept and premise, but the story was executed badly during the second half and failed to live up to its powerful start.
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6. Trap
Korean Drama - 2019, 7 episodes
Started out amazing, but as we crossed the second half, the writers decided to tackle too many random issues, diluting the strong concept into a hot mess.
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7. Born Again
Korean Drama - 2020, 32 episodes
The premise of this show was exciting, but the execution was so bad, it was a struggle to watch. The story focused so much on the problematic love triangle, that it didn't really explain why the whole "reincarnation" was even needed.
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8. Alice
Korean Drama - 2020, 16 episodes
Started out great, but the whole "alternate timelines" and "time travel" aspect got lost in the wake of a questionable love relationship which borderline on the gross. Because no matter how much production tried to explain that the FL was not the same person as the ML's mom; the truth remains that genetically she would be the ML's mom. Yes, it's fiction... but my mind won't allow me to suspend that much disbelief.