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unefemmegigi

Baltimore

unefemmegigi

Baltimore
Sh**ting Stars korean drama review
Completed
Sh**ting Stars
0 people found this review helpful
by unefemmegigi
Sep 29, 2023
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 7.5
Rewatch Value 9.5

If You Like Tsundere Male Leads, This Is For You

Honestly, I loved every minute of this drama and it has become one of my favorites. I'm currently in the middle of rewatching it (and I almost never rewatch dramas). What I actually find so appealing is Kim Young-Dae's performance as Gong Tae-Sung. He was the perfect embodiment of a tsundere as well as the idea of "pulling pigtails." While his character was super childish, he made it seem endearing and cute, especially with how obviously infatuated he was with Oh Han-Byeol. His childish infatuation with her is definitely one of my favorite aspects of this show. I also enjoyed the slight uptick in sensuality that the couple had as well.

I found the cast of supporting characters to be very compelling, and I was relatively invested in everyone's stories, with one or two exceptions. It was cute to see Shin Hyun-Seung and Lee Si-Woo from Be My Boyfriend co-star together again; they were probably my second favorite. I also enjoyed the meta nature of this drama being about an entertainment company making a drama about actors. I found the more serious elements of the plot that come up to be gripping as well.

My one major complaint about this drama was the Africa plot element. Going to Africa (no specific country, just Africa lol) to build wells for village children is poverty porn at its finest. It was super cringey and out of touch. I really resent how they are picking up this post-colonial Western narrative of Africa being a land for missionaries to go and save people from poverty. Africa is a continent with countries of varying wealth levels, some of which are fairly wealthy, and to reduce the continent to this land in need of handouts is pretty bigoted. I understand that South Korea has likely inherited this view from the West, but in 2022 it's still embarassing and unnecessary.

Despite this major flaw, I adored the rest of this drama. I'm always a little surprised to see any negative reviews about it (other than what I mentioned as being problematic, that I understand). It has a special place in my heart!
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