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Tsundere /Mr. Darcy archetype male lead & heavy Second Lead Syndrome
simply:1) male lead is written too cold
2) female lead actress is annoying as is her character
3) 2nd male lead- the only reason you are watching this & he is the one you want to "win"
4)2nd female lead character is a selfish shrew & not romance material
5) they throw in a time skip at the end that actually fixes nothing but proves that the male lead is superior to the female lead in how he acts.
6) yes, happy endings all around, but the only character you care about gets stuck with the worst partner, & with the time skip (& everything that has to do with it- it felt like a very damp unmomentous ending
The long explanation:
The female lead is one of my least favorite actresses. Her character here is unappealing- she's super needy in a cringingly whiney way . Then at the end she's suddenly cold & independent which doesn't match what we're supposed to believe about her. Honestly, neither lead sells the romance & you find yourself crushing hard on the second male lead (who is being chased by a harpy of a woman that you wouldn't wish on any man). SO, there is no satisfying romance in this drama, though there are happy endings for all 4 major characters as well as some side characters, but really, the romances were lacking all around. The ghosts in the first half are scarier than the ones in the second half. The male lead & the second male lead really are endearing. Sadly the female characters are not.
i liked how the male leads had character evolvement .
I think I probably rated this higher than it deserves (in light of how many things I didn't like about it!) though there were some very cute tropes and some lovely touching moments. As I finished it I felt like I would watch it again, but I probably won't when I could just rewatch something I like better
Music: on song plays way too often
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Delightful
This is not a drama to rush through.It's a nice little drama that is best appreciated by not binging. Though I found it delightful, I also found it unmemorable, but not in a bad way ! It's something I will re watch & so am glad it's that way, because having something that's a reliable lovely thing to revisit is actually a great thing!I normally skip episode intros, but this one has a different one for each episode - showing you how a different piece of chocolate /confection is made every time. I liked that they portrayed people in love yet it didn't mean that thier "issues" disappear & they become instantly healed.
Pleasant without too much melodrama.
I especially like the cross over element as the female lead is Korean & that factors into the story
There is a fun cameo at the end by Song Joong-ki & Kentaro Sakaguchi for no particular reason
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not my kind of genre : juvenile humor- watch the awkward insecure girl & laugh
It makes me sad to not like this & i want to support Korean content on Netflix, but this made me want to quit only 10 minutes in. My problem is that this is not my kind of drama. High school is a hard pass for me. The angst, the awkwardness, the whole mentality, the fact that you can't really have a satisfying romance with a satisfying conclusion because; it's high school ! I tried to like this, but it got me cringing at the humor & when the female lead starts to pursue her crush, you know she's going to make a fool of herself & we are supposed to laugh. Again, this kind of humor is a hard pass for me. I've got other dramas I will enjoy betterWas this review helpful to you?
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Male lead smolders ,but only 4 out of 16 Episodes were good
I really wanted to like this The [premise was good, the actors were attractive, had good chemistry & did a good job]. BUT; episodes 1-10 left me more irritated than interested.I put it on hold for 5 months before I went back to finish it Here's why:
1)The screaming mother who hit everyone.
2)Sindy the stalker fan
3) The BFF who was cold & uncaring about her long suffering husband but swooned over her idol singer.
4) Secondary characters that mooned over the lead characters & wouldn't take "no" for an answer.
5) Bickering. fan obsession.
The plot got ridiculous & I just didn't like any of the characters.
Then comes episode 10 and the tone completely changed to one of an abundance of
cutesy romance & romantic drama -with way too much sentimentality & much too much kissing (so that it felt like viewer Voyeurism!)
By the time the end of episode 14 came along I felt like it was the perfect ending as it gave a sense of completion tidying up most things (& had somehow pretty much erased my irritation from the first 10 episodes!) But, no, Episode 15 is just sad. It's about resolution of some plot points but it was totally unnecessary. It was like it was on a mission to make sure that EVERY plot point was completely tied up perfectly. And while the drama does avoid most drama tropes, the fact that everyone got thier happy ending seemed really forced.
The one plot point that they completely ignored was Ryan's adoptive parents- it would have been great to have known something about them (are they dead ?) I was so sure I'd love this but even though the male lead is smoldering & does a great job acting in this, I just won't re watch it because out of
16 Episodes, only 4 were good & that's not enough for me.
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Mismatched leads=Relationship drama, depressing just pass
The first episode was hard to get through because of the depressing medical/surgery/ inter-hospital interactions.I know that was the point in order to set up what followed but it was tedious & it didn't encourage me to want to watch more (because it made me depressed !).
There was so much I wanted to just rant about, but I will try to keep my objections clinical
1) Leads flirt too much too often, too soon + became a couple too quickly .
2) Thier high school rivalry was not a great building block for romance.
3) without asking why or recommending counseling, a Doctor says: "ah, you are depressed- here some meds" !
4) The leads do SO much drinking WHILE on depression meds !
5) Women hitting men. [Mother, sisters, girlfriends, wives, grandmothers, aunts]
6) The female lead became a black hole of neediness and nothing the male lead could not please her
8) What the female lead thinks is an ideal date proves they are incompatible
9) Female lead doesn't want to "own up" & be honest and so puts the blame of being humiliated (really? did he ? nah) on the [rightfully] clueless male lead.
The male lead did well & up until Ep 8 the female lead seemed to be doing a fine balancing act between annoying & warm hearted.
But As I came to the end of Ep.8 I regretted continuing this drama. I felt like it could have ended nicely on ep 7.
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A disappointment all around with a happy ending as bland as cold dry toast.
I had high hopes for this, but it was a colossal let down. It had1)Disappointing romance
2) disappointing end
3) gruesome violence
4) poor choice of characters to be the Villain,
5) barest hint of romance
6) 8 month time skip
Some dramas are slow to get into so I pushed through the beginning where there is SO much swearing -by everyone
I did not find the butt touching (an ongoing joke) funny-especially with it needing extended contact or more "vigorous" touching.
Too much time was spent on interpreting what dogs feel.
Humor didn't work for me; Male lead physically tossing the female over his shoulder onto the ground twice was not funny to me & certainly did not make him boyfriend material . I've seen the male lead in other things, but here he is not on his game or directed poorly because here he is totally 1 dimensional.
A mind numbing amount of neighborhood old people scenes .
The writers set themselves up to present us with a perfect "gotcha" by having the male lead "win" & get what he wanted while giving the female lead what SHE wanted -[neither of which was each other !] But, no, they dropped the ball . The leads did have chemistry, but it was not romantic and it made no sense that the female would fall at all for the male lead. (he also seemed equally confused that he was supposed to be attracted to her !!) Male lead never got likeable and was laser focused on his job. The tiny bit of character & emotional growth he achieved was not enough to make him romance material. They did a clunky job of forcing the leads into being a couple at the end. The premise for getting the second male lead out of the way was so dumb???The over used lack of communication trope !!!
The viewer is dragged through the mystery of which of the many suspects was the real villain while female lead skipped around as if there was no killer on the lose. Honestly, it was poor writing to choose the villain they did. He had absolutely no real reason, so they Should have made the villain be the Female lead's ex brother in law-who ACTUALLY could easily have had plausible reasons to kill all of the people that died. They drag out the capturing of the villain, and then the toss in an 8 month time skip, in which time the female lead has apparently gotten over her dead crush and is ready to move forward with the one person who is most responsible for his death. No kisses between the female lead and anyone at all in the series and the happy ending served up is bland as cold dry toast.
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Great performances, but :too much family drama & spiciness void of romance
Jung So-min & Lee Min Ki are VERY good as the main couple. Just watching them together is a treat, but what goes on around them frustratingly detracts from any good feelings I developed over the storyline.There are SO many negatives.
It's A romance , BUT with an incredibly jaded view of marriage: an outdated, unnecessary thing -a conclusion derived from the fact that [ridiculously] ALL the character's parents are in bad marriages ). Which makes the ending completely juxtaposing & baffling.
Too much family drama ,patriarchal fathers, submissive mothers pressuring thier children to get married is the "engine" that supposedly drives their children's dismissal of marriage .
A cavalier attitude towards sex is presented as an enlightened, modern sensibility-(said literally Every generation!) Side female characters pursue sex like a game of cat and mouse while they dismiss romance. Too many- open discussions about sex. Too many scenes of people jumping into bed with each other.
The character's touted generational superior worldview did not actually seem to lead to happiness and thier lives seemed devoid of anything meaningful, making them unlikeable sad people.
I Do like a story with strong women, but don't find it comedic relief for women treating decent men as inferior in a way that's toxic.
The bits that ruin the drama: [Spoilers]
1) girl walks in on her younger brother having sex. (AGH ! NO !!!)
2) BFF#1 whines like a baby & continually coldly bosses around her boyfriend of 7 years
3) BFF #2 carries around a condom in her purse,(just in case) wears no bra & bosses around the guy who likes her.
4) Male lead lived with a girl & got her pregnant 12 years before this story takes place. This IS integral to the plot & it's resolution And explains why he is the way he is - making the choices he makes.... but for me : it's a Nope !
Positives:
ALL the young people & couples grow alot but it's only shown at the very end.
All the younger generational characters decide that marriage is stupid, BUT all the couples get married!!!
I liked the OST but they did repeat one song way to much.
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Plot revolves are suicide & reincarnation> Good Main character chemistry
Family & historical/period dramas are not something I ever watch, so I passed on this series for a few months, but eventually the good reviews & the promise of a happy ending got me curious enough to give this series a try. The first episode almost made me quit because it dealt with suicide & reincarnation which put me off. The whole plot hinges on these 2 things so in order to watch this I had to treat them simply as fantasy elements. The stories of the individuals that were being "helped" in every episode were unpleasantly heart wrenching & unbearably tragic. The over arching story was also extremely sad. What sold it for me & kept me going was not only the acting, but the the chemistry between the 3 main characters. Yook Sung-jae's character was particularly compelling, (like a stray lost puppy). I was satisfied to get an old fashioned happy ending for all 3 main characters. So, although loathed many elements of this series, I really found the family element & the premise of odd people finding their match, & redemption enough to give this a high rating. I typically purchase a series if I rate it highly, but this series is not one that I will watch again, just too much tragedy & heavy dramaWas this review helpful to you?
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Badly written flaky female lead
24 episodes is too long for this series & the male lead is not extremely appealing (is rather bland in indistinct). I am a fan of female lead & she is always fun to watch, however, her character is unstable & frequently changes her mind. So, one minute she is declaring her steadfast love and the next she is ready to throw in the towel. They try to keep this mostly light hearted with frequent banter and teasing, but though the silly is fun, the female lead is just too inconsistent in her character and it's honestly hard to get invested. Happy ending is a bit odd if you consider that main couple are married in the "dream" past, so if they were to be together in the present, (where they hardly even k now each other)that would mean... ?Was this review helpful to you?
SO much drama, so much crying & the end is ridiculous
OST: so annoying they repeated the main song so often. Some one please fire the wardrobe person that dressed a main romantic lead guy in a shirt that said "sexual fantasies" (in English). One of the girls went about in a daze most the time with her mouth open like a fish & bangs that were a joke, (that none of her friends ever cared enough about her to tell her it made her look like an idiot).I found this series tedious. Soooo many back stories, SO much drama, SO much crying, like it's an automatic bonding thing ? By the end there wasn't one single character that I actually liked. The guys were idiots & were sidelined. All of them seemed un necessary to the girls, like an accessory, (like a purse or shoes.) All the characters were seriously messed up. The end was ridiculous. This was such a waste of time. I don't enjoy shows where it's all about the female friendships & the guys that like them are senselessly devoted. This really isn't deserving of the time it's taking me to write a review.Was this review helpful to you?
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Whose vengeance is righteous ? "Heroes" are just as bad as villains.Romance doesn't work.
why the low rating:Song Joong Ki is not the reason ! it's the cast of characters closest around him that foul up the drama. For the first half of the series it was unexpectedly fun -yet the gritty, cold violence increasingly escalates & is very disturbing. The females in this series are all crass, crude, irritating & unpleasant. The good guys are playing the same games as the bad guys, so "good" is a matter of perspective ( who has tortured & killed less ?). Hero's by my definition are not cruel, so this eye for eye vengeful plotline pushed my level of tolerance to it's limit. OK it's fun to have a cool guy going around righting wrongs, but where's the line you don't cross ? Even Vincenzo admits that there is a time when he becomes a monster in order to fulfill his agenda. And the sad thing is that he inspires ( infects is a better word) those around him, putting them all in danger by following his example as well as turning them into deviants.By Episode 14 I just wanted to enjoy watching Song Joong Ki do his snarky cool thing, but the irritating female lead is like fingernails on a chalkboard & you wish someone would "off" her. I have zero desire to see the lead's in a romantic relationship at this point (& that never changed) .I gave myself a week off from watching before finishing the drama- I didn't find the building occupants interesting or amusing & the violence had started to be too much. The rest of the drama was set on driving home the theme that the justice system doesn't work as it should & so vigilantism is the only solution.[wait, by being a torturer & a killer driven by your own moral compass, how are you better than the evil you are trying to eradicate-as you go about unchecked on your self declared righteous "crusade" ?] The last episodes are grim & a blood bath of Vincenzo getting his revenge. They throw a bit of romance in that doesn't go anywhere because he can't stay in Korea & then there is a year time skip with the teaser that there might be a season 2. The ending is unsatisfying & if you step back from the fact that the actor playing the lead is so great to watch do his James Bond sort of thing, then you realize that you don't like the dark character he's playing, who will always be a killer.Was this review helpful to you?
Oh Jung-Se & Lee Jae-In shine in this campy old school action comedy
This has a campy old school flavor & a cast of familiar faces. The Older American pop music they use in the OST was alot of fun & works well with what's going on! I wasn't much interested in the plot, but I was curious to see Oh Jung-se do something different than the villain stuff he's been doing lately.I gave it a rather low score because it's just not the genre that I really enjoy. That said, I did watch it once by myself & then a second time soon after to share it with a friend. There is nothing "sloggy" (draggy) about this as it moves along at a good pace, that sacrifices a bit of continuity if you aren't paying attention. The father daughter duo are the most interesting to watch & really Lee Jae-in as the daughter really stands out as she channels her inner effervescent middle schooler .
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Satisfyingly mild thriller/mystery ,but cold female lead. Happy Ending but romance is meh
This isn't a drama you're going to want to watch twice because once the mysteries are revealed there's no unknowing ! I may have missed some key points, but the math kinda got away from me as there were 3 "boyfriends"/ fiancé in a VERY short time frame (1 year? ). This was a big plot problem for me until the end where they reveal just what her relationship was with each man. Still, it's alot of men to be involved with in such a short time span, especially when you consider the addition of the detective-making the number of men she is involved with 4 (+her childhood friend#5!)That aside; the suspense was well done. The female lead is incredibly skeletal. Her arms, legs & hip bones are so obviously underfed & at times her hip bones actually protrude against her clothing. Besides that, Her character could have been done better, but over all they made it work. The romance felt forced. It really left me : "meh"
I didn't feel chemistry between the leads & the kisses were lackluster -blame it on the cameraman/angle ?
The female lead's character is odd. She let's things happen to her. [Like the kisses- she's ok if he kisses her & ok if he doesn't-no desire, no heat].They show you alot about her, that explains ALOT & yet she's not written for us to like her. [trying hard not to spoil too much of the plot !] .So when they fully explain the death of boyfriend #1, I felt my already lukewarm attitude toward her get even more tepid. When we get the full explanation behind boy friend # 2, it didn't really actually give an explanation that worked for me (relationship wise). Boy Friend/Fiancé #3 's relationship with the female lead also had me taking yet another step back from the female lead. In the end I viewed her as just another attractive female who resented her looks & looked down on the men who were attracted to her. As for being a "siren", the men were shallow in what they wanted from her, but the story is less clear in answering just how much "luring" the female lead did. I struggled throughout the drama with my ambivalence over the female lead's relationship with boyfriend #1 & #3 . So when she reacted (again) pretty much exactly as she had with boyfriend # 1 ,with the final romantic relationship (in the drama), I felt justified in thinking that she's no heroine & she certainly never showed true character growth. I did NOT like the point they drove home at the end about the usage of the word "siren". They throw some feminist message in that's just an excuse for her selfishness. Let's be honest; what she did & what she cared about, was not any different from the other people in her life whom she considered "bad" & "wrong".
The end was "happy" ? she gets what she wants. but you have to conceed: she attracts a certain type of guy, which begs the question: whose actually the siren !?
The OST; had too many songs sung in English that were repeated too often (some were just bad to listen to musically).
Dumb stuff: sign in parking garage : "Praking"
WHY are there no airbags in the very new looking cars ?
Policemen carrying guns (I didn't think that was normal)
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Good really doesn't prevail in this depressing & violent action drama
when I say I completed this, I mean I saw the beginning to the end (but skimmed everything in between.)Why ?
I watched the first episode & it was depressing. I suspected that this was going to be less action/humor so I Skimmed until the last episode, I watched that & was sad to see that my instincts were right- it was an exhausting drama. I had SO hoped for something more light hearted than Typhoon family, but this is also really really depressing in tone.
Here's what i didn't like:
1) The lead character's romantic relationship...was not romantic, them being together was just lazy on both thier parts.
Character Kang Sang Ung's girlfriend : Kim Min Suk. I particularly loathe this kind of female character. She impatiently takes the lead in her relationships, arrogantly bossing around those she says she " loves" ,(though does she EVER actually say she loves anyone ? )She makes unilateral decisions for her boyfriend as if she's his parent & he is a child. He in turn lets her for the sake of not creating an argument. That sums up their relationship. Feel any romance in that ?
2) The drama highlights & dwells on the normality of the hopelessness of achieving financial stability while living in a city ( in Korea)
3)Lots of violence & whenever good prevails, evil revives itself & the fight starts all over again
There is a "happy" ending of sorts for some characters, (yes, the main ones) BUT let's not forget that the main character will have to hand his curse down to his own child someday, so becoming a parent is not actually all that "happy" now is it ?
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Ending :not satisfying enough
SO firstly : if you like, want, need a traditional happy ending that's straight forward & doesn't confuse you & make you have to use your imagination to get to that happy place, then PASS on this drama!Sadly, I did not take the the disgruntled & tepid reactions of some other reviewers to the ending seriously !!!!
The end is confusing :
Even by super imposing my own speculations on what actually happens- it didn't work, and it most definitely wasn't enough payoff for the viewer as the end of the romantic, emotional roller coaster this drama puts us on.
*Will put spoiler at very end in case you need convincing.
If you decide to proceed to watch this drama-Keep these 2 sentences in your head :
Do keep in mind that the female lead does most emphatically say that she wants someone nice (so be honest, IS the prince "nice" ?)
Also: the prince is quite taken with the intelligence & wit of his princess's younger sister (so be honest, IS the lead female intelligent & witty ?)
On to the review:
This drama struck me as Very similar to the drama :"Queen & I " which also came out in 2012 !! (BTW : For the most warm fuzzys in that drama :stop watching at the end of ep.14)
Rooftop Prince is much sillier in tone and has a MUCH less satisfying ending than Queen & I.
Speaking of silly :
They went really cheap on the Wigs .The long hair wigs on the guys are SO glossy & also So obviously wigs that you want to cringe when you see that other dramas done around the same time had more realistic ones.
All the sudden the Josen guys can drive cars(where did they even get an ID ??
Things not done well :
Tourism pitch for sight seeing was pretty obvious.
Classic trope : multiple break up/ get back together again (must take into consideration that this WAS released at the peak time of this trope's introduction)
Do the leads have Chemistry ?
Well: they fight like siblings. The female lead is at turns effervescent & vibrant. The male lead is a scene stealer & sells the whole "I am a prince" bit with his voice & mannerisms. (plus he emotes impressively).
But DO they have romantic Chemistry ? They try. The writers, director, cameramen, however have not done a great job for them to make it completely work though.
Take for instance, the kisses:
They are a fail. SO underwhelming & awkward. Can we blame it on a bad director/bad cameraman? I would. They have Him kissing her chin, pursing his lips in a stage kiss & then just a lip press. Nothing of any heat ,(not even later where they are actually able to finally get the lip location right, & are trying to "go at it". -there's just no warm fuzzys.
I
The lead's relationship: Considering what ending we are given-they take thier relationship too far.
The drama should have been 16 episodes & they should have kept the couple at yearning to be a couple but never becoming one.
Side complaint : When they started out in Joseon, it was somewhat believable (set wise) .When the drama returns to Joseon, it is obvious that it is just local places in modern Korea- the lighting, the colors, the location, it was like a re-enactment & looks fake.
***********Spoilers**********
The prince does not actually seem all that upset once he's back in Joseon !
Thankfully they do not consummate thier relationship, but I still say that they took it too far because in the end you have the male lead seemingly stuck in the past with his beloved dead & his wife in exile. There is no indication that he will die & be whisked into the future or that there is any other resolution /portal open to him.
The female lead is presented with what Looks like a substitute for her prince husband in the form of the newly revived CEO that was in a coma but even though he is not wearing his signature glasses, he's left a portrait drawing on a postcard, asking her to meet him. (but come on ! Why did he confidently smile at her even though she ignores him if he does not know her any better than he did when he saw her in the U.S. ?!)
when they do meet up, he suddenly changes appearances: from modernly dressed CEO to robed Joseon prince.
WHAT is that supposed to mean ? we are left to self interpret the short cryptic dialogue as they meet.
SO : in the last shot he looks like the prince
But : since we have never known the prince to draw-who drew the picture on the postcard ?
Can you have 2 souls in one body !? Sorry, that just doesn't work for me.
{the test would be for him eat crabs } !
_______________________________________________________
What other reviewers said that should have been the cue for me to pass on this drama
"bittersweet" / "sort of" happy ending, rather than a traditional happy one. While the main couple does end up together, it's with the understanding that the Crown Prince character is gone, replaced by his reincarnated modern-day self, Tae Yong.
doesn't that make her cheating on her new husband & also short changing Tae Yong as she is just using him as a substitute (though of course you assume he will eventually win her over, being the reincarnation & all)
Me : rolling eyes
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