As I was reading the comments here, I realized that none of the points raised bothered me in a kdrama, especially those related to the Korean culture I am used to. In fact, this is the kind of thing I like to see in a kdrama that you don't find elsewhere. Even forced romance, because the concept of chemistry is very subjective. But on reflection, I found a few negative points. It's not about the content itself, but rather the way it's used: making the story drag unnecessarily, serving as a filler. Here are a few examples...
*** Running one after the other. *** The characters' love relationship is going through a difficult situation, a separation. While one character moves away, the other remains pensive and unhappy without moving. Then finally, the character makes the decision to run after the other to catch up with, except it's too late. It's another script trick that works if you don't overuse it. But when a melodrama abuses it, it becomes a comedy drama! --- Example: Starway to Heaven. Episodes 11 to 16 (approx.) are almost entirely made up of this kind of scene! Reunion and separation all the time. Each time one of the characters reconciles with the other, the other runs away, and vice versa. The hero spends his time running after cars, buses, trains. He can stand motionless in front of a house in which the heroine is dying, instead of going inside. (I had a laughing fit at this moment). Then, when she has been gone for an hour, decide to finally chase her. While I can recommend this drama because it is very moving, it contains some really awful episodes regarding this cliché of the chase.
*** Being in the same place without seeing each other. *** A little scene that we often see to add a little tension to the story. The heroine is in a public place, and the hero goes to the same place. Without knowing it, they miss this chance meeting, when they wanted to meet for example since 5 years. In this style, there's the famous elevator scene. Just as the hero gets out of one elevator, the heroine enters the second elevator. Within two seconds, they missed each other. The elevator doors close, the heroine looks at her feet, then she raises her head, but a fraction of a second too late, and only sees the hero's back as the doors finish closing (in slow motion). --- Example: Spring Waltz. It seems absurd that whole episodes are entirely filled with this kind of scene, but that's what happens in this drama! The hero absolutely wants to find the heroine. He's going to go to all the places he thinks she might be. Sometimes he will even go there two or three times! And always, every time, the heroine is in that place. Except he doesn't see her and she doesn't see him. By accident, they systematically miss each other. The rest of the time, the hero spends his time getting depressed playing the piano. This drama can drive you crazy! Watch it if you want to enjoy the fun! Without that, it's a quite nice drama, very classic.
*** Not revealing a secret. *** It's a trick often used to get on the viewer's nerves. It's very annoying, but in itself it's often a good idea, precisely to add stress to the story. However, abusing this technique can create the opposite effect. --- Example: The Promise. The president's widow has a key secret that is the central node of the drama. She's about to reveal the secret to the heroine. But at that moment, the villain of the drama enters the room, and of course, the secret is not revealed. So far, so good. The problem is that this kind of scene is going to be duplicated so many times afterwards that it becomes absurdly funny. To make the situation even funnier, the widow starts to lose her mind, she goes insane and gradually forgets her memories. Sometimes she is stable and is about to tell the truth to the heroine, but at the key moment she has a fit of madness and is unable to reveal the secret. The opposite also happens! She has a fit of madness and starts to deliver the secret involuntarily, then she becomes lucid again, and stops revealing the secret! The rest of the time, the characters play nasty tricks on her, she disappears to be locked up in a mental hospital, is kidnapped by the rival who leaves her lost somewhere, and even the heroine accidentally loses the widow while she is walking in a park with her! To tell the truth, I don't even remember if it's the widow who reveals the secret in the end! Otherwise, this drama is very good.
*** Separation for no reason. *** Sentimental kdramas offer far better stories than Western romantic comedies, which all rely on the same pattern of an annoying separation often resembling a heroine's whim, followed by a final reunion (often in an airport that must be chased before the heroine's plane leaves). Often in a kdrama, a separation is justified, or other events are used to prevent the sentimental story. Sometimes even some unjustified separations are understandable and reflect the fears and irrationality of human behaviour. Unfortunately, sometimes unjustified separations are misused, or used repeatedly by both characters in turn. --- Example: The world we live in. While the two characters' love story is a success, after overcoming a few obstacles, suddenly ... The male lead leaves the female lead! For no reason at all! It's the most incredible breakup I've ever seen in a drama. I feel a bit silly even, is there something I didn't understand in the story? A little later, I try to put the pieces back together, attributing the character's attitude to certain problems and bad memories he has, or a fear of something. But without succeeding. I couldn't say if I liked it or not, because it's an extraordinary break due to its lack of meaning. Apart from that, this drama is nice about the world of drama production (both leads are drama directors).
also: ML/FL gets something on the face (preferably near the lips) and is too stupid to wipe it away, so the other…
"Get lost" ? Sorry, I'm not english nattive and I don't know what it mean. There is also sentence like "I will never forgive you". It look like a serious threat you don't understand. But it's related to korean culture, there it's very serious to say that. Here, you don't mind like it's really, so it's a strange replica.
Yah! That's interesting.One thing I've observed is that some actresses try to lose weight as they get older. It's…
That's part of the scenario, her husband is to blame. He should have left that woman available for someone who really likes her. It happens in life too, it's unfair, but it deserves to be told the way it is ;-) I didn't see the drama, I don't want to see dramas on this subject in a specific way, but the script looks funny.
also: ML/FL gets something on the face (preferably near the lips) and is too stupid to wipe it away, so the other…
You get many variations to this like "never meet again", it's the idea of a abrupt farewell. So, one character love the other, and the other just say, go away from me forever. Damn!!!
The truck of doom isn't a thing anymore nowadays? It's been ages since I've watched a Korean drama... What repeal…
Yah! That's interesting. One thing I've observed is that some actresses try to lose weight as they get older. It's fatal to their beauty. What made them beautiful was their round faces. That's why the actress Go Hyun Jung always stayed beautiful, and others (who I won't mention) became ugly. Not all writers deal with this subject so abruptly. For example, if you saw the drama "Incarnation of money", you would be very surprised at the script and the end of the drama! In my own drama-script, there is a fat girl, because I took a character from season 1 and I built an interesting story with her, which shakes up the clichés.
also: ML/FL gets something on the face (preferably near the lips) and is too stupid to wipe it away, so the other…
Yeah. Some tropes come regularly, but others ones are in all drama (or almost all). Think about this sentence, many females lead say that : - Let's never see each other again. :-D It's so harsh!
A kdrama without wrist grab is not a kdrama. ^^ It's a basic and essential rule in addition to this one: A kdrama without a cover scene is not a kdrama. Cover scene: someone is sleeping, and another person is using a sheet, blanket or coat to cover that person so that they don't catch cold, even if it's in the middle of summer!
This will be an unpopular opinion but am I the only one who think its a bit slow sometimes? I really like it but…
I agree. I don't say more, I've already made long and precise comments about the why and how of this situation. And now, I can't comment after ep 5, since I will watch the whole drama after broadcast.
Honestly as I commented below,at this point I am kind of bored and I don't know exactly why because I liked the…
For my personal tastes, the drama is way too slow paced. From Episode 2 on, I buried any idea that it would work out on that point. So, I watch it in a more relaxed way, for the other qualities of drama. I watch the drama at the right time, when I feel tired and don't want to be monopolized by stressful things. You would have to think of the script differently to make it a hectic series. I'm sure that so far these 4 episodes could have been condensed into 2 episodes.
Developing more fantastic elements, scenes with trains, or other CGI is not easy because it's an OCN drama. I guess the budget is reduced, and adapted to the expected audience. Maybe a little better than 1.4%, but it has to be sustainable. Here, the writer and director are unknown, or beginners. The actors are little known, and even the lead actor, very solid and famous, is cheaper to hire than stars like Kim Soo Hyun or Lee Min Ho. Production costs are reduced thank to all this.
I have a bad feeling about this. Look like a SF story, but finaly just another cop show : A guy travel in time at beggining of the drama, then, all drama is just police investigation. End of the drama, the guy come back in his time. It's that ?
Look like a boring drama like this : - First episode : ML travel in time. - All others episode : ML help a police investigation in another time. - Last Episode : ML come back to his time. Is it that ? Or there is some interactions ? Like : ML lead go back and forth in time during the drama, many times, with cause and effect change in the past, then future ?
I'm not really emotionally attached to any of the characters yet. But I do tend to find it harder to connect to…
I won't speak about 365, read my review for that. ;-) About Train, my concern is precisely the opposite : too slow paced, too much character development, not enough plot driving, not enough plot-twists. Honestly, I don't care so much, I think now I can stand the pace as it is because there is a good work on ambiance, a good concept, and I like Trains and Railways. So, it's the first drama about Trains and Railways, and better, with a fantastic/SF plot. I just watch without expecting too much. But finaly, I prefer watch that than others airing drama, even if I don't know how I could rate the drama. Rating are very low, 1.3%, with such good acting and good directing, it's a bit a pity, but well, it's like that...
Who's the killer?I'm putting a spoiler here because this is a serious lead.
The most obvious finding is that there is a murderer in world B and not in world A. To find the assassin, we just have to sweep aside all possibilities.
1 - The murderer in world A died before committing crimes. It could be the pastor, for example. Dead in world A, but living in world B. His followers distribute leaflets at the station (as if by chance...). It could be the father of the male lead as well.
2 - There is also a murderer alive in world A. But he don't kill same people, not in the same place, and police know nothing about that. Unlikely hypothesis.
3 - The murderer from world A has changed his mind, making him not want to commit crimes. Unlikely hypothesis.
4 - The assassin became an assassin in world B, but couldn't become an assassin in world A, because an event changed his fate. Here I have found the ideal culprit: the madman! In the drama, we observe that the male lead has some kind of psychic crises, as if he had fleeting visions of the other world or his alter-ego. However, the madman from world A has the same kind of crisis. There's a kind of psychic connection between him and his alter-ego from world B. This explains why in his madness he is obsessed with trains, burying corpses, writing strange things on the wall. He wasn't drawn to the crime scene by accident. It had to happen. In the B-world, the madman is not a handicapped madman, but a dangerous madman, a crazy serial killer! The irony of the scenario is that the madman from world B throws corpses on the railroad track, and it is his alter-ego, the madman from world A, who is in charge of burying them. This dangerous madman could be part of the parish of world B as well. One of the faithful perhaps. With a mystical reason for killing, such as wanting to help God balance the deaths and punishments in two worlds instead of one.
It's unidirectional because: - The station on world A is closed, and not the one on world B. - Corpses from world B are found in world A, but no corpses from world B are found in world A.
Therefore: - The train comes from world B, arrives in world A, then returns to world B. - A murderer kills people in world B, but no murderer kills people in world A.
But on reflection, I found a few negative points. It's not about the content itself, but rather the way it's used: making the story drag unnecessarily, serving as a filler.
Here are a few examples...
*** Running one after the other. ***
The characters' love relationship is going through a difficult situation, a separation. While one character moves away, the other remains pensive and unhappy without moving. Then finally, the character makes the decision to run after the other to catch up with, except it's too late. It's another script trick that works if you don't overuse it. But when a melodrama abuses it, it becomes a comedy drama!
--- Example: Starway to Heaven.
Episodes 11 to 16 (approx.) are almost entirely made up of this kind of scene! Reunion and separation all the time. Each time one of the characters reconciles with the other, the other runs away, and vice versa. The hero spends his time running after cars, buses, trains. He can stand motionless in front of a house in which the heroine is dying, instead of going inside. (I had a laughing fit at this moment). Then, when she has been gone for an hour, decide to finally chase her. While I can recommend this drama because it is very moving, it contains some really awful episodes regarding this cliché of the chase.
*** Being in the same place without seeing each other. ***
A little scene that we often see to add a little tension to the story. The heroine is in a public place, and the hero goes to the same place. Without knowing it, they miss this chance meeting, when they wanted to meet for example since 5 years. In this style, there's the famous elevator scene. Just as the hero gets out of one elevator, the heroine enters the second elevator. Within two seconds, they missed each other. The elevator doors close, the heroine looks at her feet, then she raises her head, but a fraction of a second too late, and only sees the hero's back as the doors finish closing (in slow motion).
--- Example: Spring Waltz.
It seems absurd that whole episodes are entirely filled with this kind of scene, but that's what happens in this drama! The hero absolutely wants to find the heroine. He's going to go to all the places he thinks she might be. Sometimes he will even go there two or three times! And always, every time, the heroine is in that place. Except he doesn't see her and she doesn't see him. By accident, they systematically miss each other. The rest of the time, the hero spends his time getting depressed playing the piano. This drama can drive you crazy! Watch it if you want to enjoy the fun! Without that, it's a quite nice drama, very classic.
*** Not revealing a secret. ***
It's a trick often used to get on the viewer's nerves. It's very annoying, but in itself it's often a good idea, precisely to add stress to the story. However, abusing this technique can create the opposite effect.
--- Example: The Promise.
The president's widow has a key secret that is the central node of the drama. She's about to reveal the secret to the heroine. But at that moment, the villain of the drama enters the room, and of course, the secret is not revealed. So far, so good. The problem is that this kind of scene is going to be duplicated so many times afterwards that it becomes absurdly funny. To make the situation even funnier, the widow starts to lose her mind, she goes insane and gradually forgets her memories. Sometimes she is stable and is about to tell the truth to the heroine, but at the key moment she has a fit of madness and is unable to reveal the secret. The opposite also happens! She has a fit of madness and starts to deliver the secret involuntarily, then she becomes lucid again, and stops revealing the secret! The rest of the time, the characters play nasty tricks on her, she disappears to be locked up in a mental hospital, is kidnapped by the rival who leaves her lost somewhere, and even the heroine accidentally loses the widow while she is walking in a park with her! To tell the truth, I don't even remember if it's the widow who reveals the secret in the end! Otherwise, this drama is very good.
*** Separation for no reason. ***
Sentimental kdramas offer far better stories than Western romantic comedies, which all rely on the same pattern of an annoying separation often resembling a heroine's whim, followed by a final reunion (often in an airport that must be chased before the heroine's plane leaves). Often in a kdrama, a separation is justified, or other events are used to prevent the sentimental story. Sometimes even some unjustified separations are understandable and reflect the fears and irrationality of human behaviour. Unfortunately, sometimes unjustified separations are misused, or used repeatedly by both characters in turn.
--- Example: The world we live in.
While the two characters' love story is a success, after overcoming a few obstacles, suddenly ... The male lead leaves the female lead! For no reason at all! It's the most incredible breakup I've ever seen in a drama. I feel a bit silly even, is there something I didn't understand in the story? A little later, I try to put the pieces back together, attributing the character's attitude to certain problems and bad memories he has, or a fear of something. But without succeeding. I couldn't say if I liked it or not, because it's an extraordinary break due to its lack of meaning. Apart from that, this drama is nice about the world of drama production (both leads are drama directors).
A drama becoming boring don't deserve to be watched anymore.
Just enjoy what was good at beginning, and that's it.
There is also sentence like "I will never forgive you". It look like a serious threat you don't understand. But it's related to korean culture, there it's very serious to say that. Here, you don't mind like it's really, so it's a strange replica.
I didn't see the drama, I don't want to see dramas on this subject in a specific way, but the script looks funny.
One thing I've observed is that some actresses try to lose weight as they get older. It's fatal to their beauty. What made them beautiful was their round faces. That's why the actress Go Hyun Jung always stayed beautiful, and others (who I won't mention) became ugly.
Not all writers deal with this subject so abruptly. For example, if you saw the drama "Incarnation of money", you would be very surprised at the script and the end of the drama!
In my own drama-script, there is a fat girl, because I took a character from season 1 and I built an interesting story with her, which shakes up the clichés.
- Let's never see each other again.
:-D
It's so harsh!
It's a basic and essential rule in addition to this one:
A kdrama without a cover scene is not a kdrama.
Cover scene: someone is sleeping, and another person is using a sheet, blanket or coat to cover that person so that they don't catch cold, even if it's in the middle of summer!
From Episode 2 on, I buried any idea that it would work out on that point. So, I watch it in a more relaxed way, for the other qualities of drama. I watch the drama at the right time, when I feel tired and don't want to be monopolized by stressful things.
You would have to think of the script differently to make it a hectic series. I'm sure that so far these 4 episodes could have been condensed into 2 episodes.
Developing more fantastic elements, scenes with trains, or other CGI is not easy because it's an OCN drama. I guess the budget is reduced, and adapted to the expected audience. Maybe a little better than 1.4%, but it has to be sustainable.
Here, the writer and director are unknown, or beginners. The actors are little known, and even the lead actor, very solid and famous, is cheaper to hire than stars like Kim Soo Hyun or Lee Min Ho. Production costs are reduced thank to all this.
Look like a SF story, but finaly just another cop show :
A guy travel in time at beggining of the drama,
then, all drama is just police investigation.
End of the drama, the guy come back in his time.
It's that ?
- First episode : ML travel in time.
- All others episode : ML help a police investigation in another time.
- Last Episode : ML come back to his time.
Is it that ? Or there is some interactions ?
Like : ML lead go back and forth in time during the drama, many times, with cause and effect change in the past, then future ?
About Train, my concern is precisely the opposite : too slow paced, too much character development, not enough plot driving, not enough plot-twists.
Honestly, I don't care so much, I think now I can stand the pace as it is because there is a good work on ambiance, a good concept, and I like Trains and Railways. So, it's the first drama about Trains and Railways, and better, with a fantastic/SF plot. I just watch without expecting too much. But finaly, I prefer watch that than others airing drama, even if I don't know how I could rate the drama. Rating are very low, 1.3%, with such good acting and good directing, it's a bit a pity, but well, it's like that...
There is also the good flashy/split editing showing same place in both worlds.
To find the assassin, we just have to sweep aside all possibilities.
1 - The murderer in world A died before committing crimes.
It could be the pastor, for example. Dead in world A, but living in world B.
His followers distribute leaflets at the station (as if by chance...).
It could be the father of the male lead as well.
2 - There is also a murderer alive in world A. But he don't kill same people, not in the same place, and police know nothing about that. Unlikely hypothesis.
3 - The murderer from world A has changed his mind, making him not want to commit crimes. Unlikely hypothesis.
4 - The assassin became an assassin in world B, but couldn't become an assassin in world A, because an event changed his fate.
Here I have found the ideal culprit: the madman!
In the drama, we observe that the male lead has some kind of psychic crises, as if he had fleeting visions of the other world or his alter-ego.
However, the madman from world A has the same kind of crisis.
There's a kind of psychic connection between him and his alter-ego from world B.
This explains why in his madness he is obsessed with trains, burying corpses, writing strange things on the wall. He wasn't drawn to the crime scene by accident. It had to happen.
In the B-world, the madman is not a handicapped madman, but a dangerous madman, a crazy serial killer!
The irony of the scenario is that the madman from world B throws corpses on the railroad track, and it is his alter-ego, the madman from world A, who is in charge of burying them.
This dangerous madman could be part of the parish of world B as well. One of the faithful perhaps. With a mystical reason for killing, such as wanting to help God balance the deaths and punishments in two worlds instead of one.
I'm putting a spoiler here because this is a serious lead.
- The station on world A is closed, and not the one on world B.
- Corpses from world B are found in world A, but no corpses from world B are found in world A.
Therefore:
- The train comes from world B, arrives in world A, then returns to world B.
- A murderer kills people in world B, but no murderer kills people in world A.