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Sageuk Lover
Philippines
This review may contain spoilers
Great drama plus Fantastic Acting
(Forgive me, this is a long review, watched this back in October but decided to put this review only now).
INTRODUCTION:
As a fan of Moon Chae Won since her Painter of the Wind days (watched that drama in 2009 I think), I had been very sad that the last few dramas of hers were not favorably received by most people, especially as more people discovered kdramas since 2016. I kind of understand if people have mediocre expectations of her if they’ve only seen her dramas from 2012 and after (although she was great in Innocent Man and Good Doctor, I think those dramas highlighted the male leads a lot more than her), but if more people have seen her amazing performance in The Princess’s Man (2011 kdrama), there should be no doubt that she would do great here.
As for Lee Joon Gi, I was familiar with his name and respected him as an actor, but for some reason have never paid attention to him or his dramas. I’ve seen Iljimae video clips of him before though and thought he was great in those (saw those clips since a lot of actors I’m familiar with was in that drama). Thanks to this drama, I was able to realize how great of an actor he is.
MY RATINGS:
1. Story
I give the story a 9.0. I’m normally not a fan of crime and thriller dramas, but I gave this drama a go since I’m a fan of MCW, this drama has good reviews, and she’s paired with an actor who I think is talented. But as the story progresses, I love how the mystery is unfolded in this drama. I love how the audience gets to know more of the mysterious Do Hyun Soo as the episodes go by. Initially, I was calling his character “plastic” as his actions with his family is so contrary with his actions with others, but I learn to sympathize with him as I learn to understand him more. I also love Cha Ji Won, how as a character, we are able to be in her shoes, the one who has to uncover the truth. I didn’t give the story a perfect 10 though, because I feel like the main villain should have suffered more (I’m so cruel, I want him to be tortured the way some good characters in historical dramas are tortured) than just dying on the spot. Also, I wish Jung Mi Sook and her husband could have been shown reuniting in the end (her husband, for all the wrong things he did like killing people, only did those things for her and thus deserve to see him). Also, I feel like the real villain bumping his car to Do Hyun Soo of all people seem to coincidental for me. Other than that though, I feel the story is great as it is. I love the way the plot is presented, the cute moments in some of the episodes about the main couple’s pre-married life helped lighten the mood in some episodes.
2. Acting
A perfect 10. Love all the actors. As I mentioned, I am a fan of MCW, and I expected good things from her. She really did great in this drama, I really feel all her emotions and her love for the male lead (it doesn’t help that she has a nice voice that is really good for females expressing their sincere feelings of love and devotion). I love the way she cries as well.
Lee Joon Gi deserves all the daesang, I want him to win Baeksang awards for 2021. He was so good at changing his facial expressions so fast, one moment he looks so loving and cute another moment he looks so scary. I now understand the hype around him and all his historical dramas are on my watchlist now. Observing his filmography and watching some clips of him, I think he has to be one of the most versatile actors in Korea, he’s actually threatening Song Joong Ki as my most favorite Korean actor born in the 1980s. He’s definitely my fave among the original hallyu stars (those that got famous before 2008) from now on.
Together, Joon Gi and Chae Won’s chemistry is out of this world. Me saying this means a lot since MCW is normally an actress with fantastic chemistry with all her costars (especially with Moon Geun Young in Painter of the Wind and the lead guy in Princess’s Man), but her and Joon Gi’s chemistry just outdid all her chemistry with all her other costars for me. From emotional scenes, to family scenes, to sweet loving moments, they just work so well together. Especially their sofa scene together, they really seem like a real couple up to the tiniest details (like the way she touches his ears and the way they look at each other). I wish they could get best couple award somewhere because they really deserve it together.
The acting of the villains are so believable. Applaud to Son Jong Hak who played doctor Baek for making me hate his character so much from the moment he spoke. Kim Ji Hoon is so scary as Baek Hee Sung. He is fantastic in making him really scary as an earlier episode where his mom made him food actually made him a bit endearing for me at first. Nam Gi Ae is so believable as Baek Hee Sung’s torned mom.
The rest of the cast did their job well. I really love Seo Hyun Woo’s facial expressions (I wish more people mention the actor’s name, not just the character Moo Jin). Choi Young Joon is really good as Detective Jae Sub who is kinda pessimistic and doubts a lot (at least that’s what I feel about his character). Jang Hee Jin, although she didn’t stand out for me, also did her part well as the torned and complicated sister Haesoo. The actors who played the other detectives are also good. And of course, Jung Seo Yeon as Eun Ha, I love her so much, she is so cute. She has a future as a great actress, I hope she is the next Kim Yoo Jung or Kim So Hyun.
3. Music
I gave the music a 9.5, because the way they use the music is just right for this drama. I did not give it a 10, since the instrumentals and OST are not as epic as the ones used in other dramas. But I give a 9.5 because I feel that they use the music well. What I mean is the music is not overpowering the performances of the actors (especially the emotional scenes). My most favorite song is Feel You. I love the lyrics, it really describes Hyun Soo’s feelings for Ji Won.
4. Rewatch Value
I never give rewatch value a perfect 10 score, since i believe it’s always gonna be different if you’re seeing something for this first time. This one gets a 9.5 though, since the acting and the chemistry of the actors together deserves a second watch. In fact I want to see LJG and MCW together in another project, but of course they have to move on and act with others next. I also think a rewatch would make the viewers appreciate the story more, plus the camerawork and some editing details
5. Overall
Overall, I think this drama is one of the best. Of course no drama is perfect, but this drama is already great as it is for me. It will not be part of my top 10 kdramas ever (sorry, those spots will only go to historical kdramas since those are what made me and appreciate Korea more), but this is definitely one of my favorite modern dramas.
INTRODUCTION:
As a fan of Moon Chae Won since her Painter of the Wind days (watched that drama in 2009 I think), I had been very sad that the last few dramas of hers were not favorably received by most people, especially as more people discovered kdramas since 2016. I kind of understand if people have mediocre expectations of her if they’ve only seen her dramas from 2012 and after (although she was great in Innocent Man and Good Doctor, I think those dramas highlighted the male leads a lot more than her), but if more people have seen her amazing performance in The Princess’s Man (2011 kdrama), there should be no doubt that she would do great here.
As for Lee Joon Gi, I was familiar with his name and respected him as an actor, but for some reason have never paid attention to him or his dramas. I’ve seen Iljimae video clips of him before though and thought he was great in those (saw those clips since a lot of actors I’m familiar with was in that drama). Thanks to this drama, I was able to realize how great of an actor he is.
MY RATINGS:
1. Story
I give the story a 9.0. I’m normally not a fan of crime and thriller dramas, but I gave this drama a go since I’m a fan of MCW, this drama has good reviews, and she’s paired with an actor who I think is talented. But as the story progresses, I love how the mystery is unfolded in this drama. I love how the audience gets to know more of the mysterious Do Hyun Soo as the episodes go by. Initially, I was calling his character “plastic” as his actions with his family is so contrary with his actions with others, but I learn to sympathize with him as I learn to understand him more. I also love Cha Ji Won, how as a character, we are able to be in her shoes, the one who has to uncover the truth. I didn’t give the story a perfect 10 though, because I feel like the main villain should have suffered more (I’m so cruel, I want him to be tortured the way some good characters in historical dramas are tortured) than just dying on the spot. Also, I wish Jung Mi Sook and her husband could have been shown reuniting in the end (her husband, for all the wrong things he did like killing people, only did those things for her and thus deserve to see him). Also, I feel like the real villain bumping his car to Do Hyun Soo of all people seem to coincidental for me. Other than that though, I feel the story is great as it is. I love the way the plot is presented, the cute moments in some of the episodes about the main couple’s pre-married life helped lighten the mood in some episodes.
2. Acting
A perfect 10. Love all the actors. As I mentioned, I am a fan of MCW, and I expected good things from her. She really did great in this drama, I really feel all her emotions and her love for the male lead (it doesn’t help that she has a nice voice that is really good for females expressing their sincere feelings of love and devotion). I love the way she cries as well.
Lee Joon Gi deserves all the daesang, I want him to win Baeksang awards for 2021. He was so good at changing his facial expressions so fast, one moment he looks so loving and cute another moment he looks so scary. I now understand the hype around him and all his historical dramas are on my watchlist now. Observing his filmography and watching some clips of him, I think he has to be one of the most versatile actors in Korea, he’s actually threatening Song Joong Ki as my most favorite Korean actor born in the 1980s. He’s definitely my fave among the original hallyu stars (those that got famous before 2008) from now on.
Together, Joon Gi and Chae Won’s chemistry is out of this world. Me saying this means a lot since MCW is normally an actress with fantastic chemistry with all her costars (especially with Moon Geun Young in Painter of the Wind and the lead guy in Princess’s Man), but her and Joon Gi’s chemistry just outdid all her chemistry with all her other costars for me. From emotional scenes, to family scenes, to sweet loving moments, they just work so well together. Especially their sofa scene together, they really seem like a real couple up to the tiniest details (like the way she touches his ears and the way they look at each other). I wish they could get best couple award somewhere because they really deserve it together.
The acting of the villains are so believable. Applaud to Son Jong Hak who played doctor Baek for making me hate his character so much from the moment he spoke. Kim Ji Hoon is so scary as Baek Hee Sung. He is fantastic in making him really scary as an earlier episode where his mom made him food actually made him a bit endearing for me at first. Nam Gi Ae is so believable as Baek Hee Sung’s torned mom.
The rest of the cast did their job well. I really love Seo Hyun Woo’s facial expressions (I wish more people mention the actor’s name, not just the character Moo Jin). Choi Young Joon is really good as Detective Jae Sub who is kinda pessimistic and doubts a lot (at least that’s what I feel about his character). Jang Hee Jin, although she didn’t stand out for me, also did her part well as the torned and complicated sister Haesoo. The actors who played the other detectives are also good. And of course, Jung Seo Yeon as Eun Ha, I love her so much, she is so cute. She has a future as a great actress, I hope she is the next Kim Yoo Jung or Kim So Hyun.
3. Music
I gave the music a 9.5, because the way they use the music is just right for this drama. I did not give it a 10, since the instrumentals and OST are not as epic as the ones used in other dramas. But I give a 9.5 because I feel that they use the music well. What I mean is the music is not overpowering the performances of the actors (especially the emotional scenes). My most favorite song is Feel You. I love the lyrics, it really describes Hyun Soo’s feelings for Ji Won.
4. Rewatch Value
I never give rewatch value a perfect 10 score, since i believe it’s always gonna be different if you’re seeing something for this first time. This one gets a 9.5 though, since the acting and the chemistry of the actors together deserves a second watch. In fact I want to see LJG and MCW together in another project, but of course they have to move on and act with others next. I also think a rewatch would make the viewers appreciate the story more, plus the camerawork and some editing details
5. Overall
Overall, I think this drama is one of the best. Of course no drama is perfect, but this drama is already great as it is for me. It will not be part of my top 10 kdramas ever (sorry, those spots will only go to historical kdramas since those are what made me and appreciate Korea more), but this is definitely one of my favorite modern dramas.
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