one of the worst endings I’ve ever seen ...

Let me start off by saying, I knew who Jojo was going end up with but, I didn’t think it would be portrayed this badly, so let’s get to it:

In the first season, we the audience are trying to figure out who Jojo likes, it’s very clear in s1 she has feelings for Sun oh, but in s2, those feelings are nowhere to be found, except when both of them are standing together and apparently some sparks fly (but to hell with that because she or the writers don’t see them ...) in s1 she left Sun oh in the dark, literally, she just f— left him with no explanation why, and then in s2 we’re expected to be happy for her when she finally gets together with Hye young, let me also make it clear I have nothing against him as a character, but in all honestly, she had better chemistry with Sun oh and the fact the writers threw his character under the bus, being in the backseat for pretty much the whole damn drama, made me so upset ... but not as upset as both these attractive guys actually seeing something in Jojo, because apparently toward the end of the show, she didn’t just create a shield around Sun oh, oh nooooo, GET THIS EVERYBODY ...

SHE CREATED A SPEAR AROUND HYE YOUNG ...

So throughout s1 & 2 she wasn’t just screwing over Sun oh’s feelings, but the feelings of Hye young, the second guy who actually gave a damn about her, she didn’t give two sh— about ... With all this in mind, you want to know my first thought by the end of the show? Why the hell did these two fight over a someone manipulative like her? Y’all, I would’ve left her ass and said “you don’t know what the hell you want.” Throughout both seasons she was leading BOTH the ML’s on and we’re supposed to be happy for her in the end? Wanna know a satisfactory ending for me? They both dumped her and got together with other people ... I still can’t believe I (we) had to two years for this result because the second season was just ... terrible ... As much as I love Kim So Hyun, this is probably the first FL role I absolutely hated her in ... Another unsatisfactory part about this show: the happy ending was one sided, and that stuff gets to me like no other, if one ML is happy, the other definitely can’t be happy ... Crappy writing at its finest right here.

For more brief technical film parts of this review: cinematography / lighting was great, pacing was fine, screenplay / storyline sucked, directing was fine, OST was bearable, but for the most part, s2 doesn’t have much to offer.

If people ask me why I hate love triangles, and why I won’t watch another drama with love triangle in it? I’ll mention this drama and True Beauty ... nuff said.

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Interesting drama!

There’s another reviewer who said this drama stood out to them.

HELL YEAH IT DID.

I loved it! Until the end ... Lol we’ll get to that —
This webdrama literally felt like a dystopian story and that’s one of the main reasons I loved it, it had futuristic elements that honestly I could see happening, it wasn’t so far off the unrelatable train either, the main couple were interesting, there were some twists and turns (including an almost assault scene that imo .. didn’t really need to happen, idk why the writers threw it in there *eyeroll*), pretty much this mini-drama kept me interested till the very end ...
Till the very end ... The ML literally just ... disappears and no joke, that’s the last time we see him lol, it was kind of awkward actually, I don’t know if the actor irl had scheduling conflicts or what happened, but it was just sudden he left and the story could’ve been way better if he stayed :/ the writers missed the ball on this one, and the end felt flat because of it, anticlimactic, but overall, this was an enjoyable drama and the child actors in the first couple episodes really shined! I’d definitely recommend this drama to someone who’s looking for “short and sweet” :’)

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Oh, the power of teamwork :’)

Man, this drama was by far one of the best things to happen in 2020-2021, started off great, had a plot that for the most part stayed consistent throughout all 16 episodes, it had protagonists you were rooting for the entire way, and even some antagonists ... Due to some background reveal, I cannot stress enough how much I loved this series because it had one core message:

“You can’t do it alone.”

Which is entirely true, you had a protagonist like So Moon, who you cared for throughout the entire series due to him trying to find his parents (which thank god, HE DOES, woot woot!), not to mention he was bullied along with the rest of his friends, and by the end of the story even though his leg was healed, he stayed humble, cared for his grandparents and had probably one of the best developments of the whole series, he went from a small to TALL lol, in the best possible way, but he couldn’t have done any of that without being a counter, and trusting and relying on the other counters, who each had their own backgrounds and I loved that ... Especially Mae Ok and her son, sweet lord, I cried internally many times ... Throughout the whole show they helped each other and that’s what made this a great watch, they were all like family from beginning to end. Not to mention the end is probably one of the best kdrama finales of 2020, it wasn’t anticlimactic like most I’d seen that year, it had just the amount of firepower to call the end satisfying, not to mention most characters got their closure, including the counters, Moons friends & Moon’s parents, and most importantly the villains got their justice. YES.

There were only a few things about the series that could’ve been better imo:

1. Hyuk Woo (aka Mayors son) joined Moon’s friend group, he had one of the best developments alongside Moon, by end of the series. The guy was an asshole from the start, but NOT to finish, as a matter of fact he was a victim through the whole series, but of course nobody finds that out until halfway through, which I also loved. His dad was abusive and didn’t care about him, but in the end he learns to live with the things his father has done, sends off some apologies to Moon’s friends and anyone else he’s hurt and goes his own way, what sucks about this, is now he’s going to be known as the son of a murderer, yes the mayor ... So his life probably won’t get any better, not to mention he doesn’t have any friends, I hope by s2 we see him join the group, because he grew on me as character and he wasn’t disrespectful to Moon’s grandparents when you know ... He got possessed and tried to kill the counters, and woke up at Moon’s place lol, I think he just wants a normal life with friends and people who care about him, and that’s why in s2 if possible I hope he gets that :’)

2. The fight scenes were great but could’ve been better tbh, there were a lot of punches and throws but I also felt for a good chunk of the series the counters were overpowered, which to some extent is fine, but not all the time ... I don’t want to see some ass whooping in characters other than the villains lol, especially ever other episode

3. Episodes had a “meh” dip at the last 6 episodes, bedsides the finale where, some things happened, but some of it was filler, or felt like it to me.

Those are the only things I wish could’ve been done better in this drama, but hell guys, if that’s all I’m picking out here, and tbh those are small things, this drama was written RIGHT, the plot, cinematography, OST, and acting chops were all glorious in this, and I’d recommend it to anyone who’s looking for a story with “family,” as the primary plot focus, it was incredibly well done, and I give a shout out to all the cast & crew who worked on this drama.

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one of the most underrated kdramas of the year

damn, I watched this show start to finish and ep. 1-11 were honestly the best thing ever, the plot was different, the characters had background, grudges, and DEVELOPMENT, the actors and actresses were awesome, every character had some part to play, I’m surprised how heavily underrated this series is tbh, AND THE TWISTS, UUUUUU BOI, like you will see them coming, but you’ll second guess yourself and say “no way, can’t be him, wait what, but it makes sense though if it is him ... arghhh ASKHAHNAHSNNS” just the twists this show had were so good and top notch and they didn’t screw over the plot, so I loved them. All in all, it was very refreshing to get 12 episodes that had promise and for most of the part executed the main plot well, that is ...

UNTIL THE END.

not gonna lie, ep. 12 felt like a bunch of scenes cut together to try to fit the 60 min. time limit, someone I saw in the discussion feed put “it felt like someone else wrote the last episode,” which I agree with, it didn’t even feel nearly close to the flow ep. 1-11 had, but there was some development and it was a happy ending, I won’t say the end was anti-climatic because we got some fight scenes, we got info, some burning questions we had were answered (aka those “twists”), but the end could’ve been better imo, especially with the huge plot hole at the end, overall though this series deserves an 8+ rating for the storylines in each episode alone, very heartfelt and a couple tearjerkers, I definitely do not regret watching this one, and even though the end kind of nodded off, it’s worth the watch for 12 ep.
:)

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Controversial = Historical Inaccuracy ...

I love historicals especially ones dealing with horror or the paranormal, and in just two episodes I could see what could’ve been a great drama experience, but like many other dramas, controversy ruined a possible solid 32-episode storyline and overall viewing experience, all because props were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
(also because low key ... IMO, the prop department didn’t realize China is a sensitive topic in SK rn, so whoever thought putting Chinese props in a South Korean show was a good idea, especially RIGHT NOW, here’s what happens ...)

A lot of people were comparing this show to “Kingdom” which I didn’t see too many similarities tbh, people were comparing the “zombie demons” I guess, but that was about it, the story had a more demonic approach to it, and at one point I saw a pentagram which lead me to believe some demonic elements would’ve been explored, or some wiccan elements, but like I said above, we likely will never find out :/

The acting performances were pretty solid, but my god, did the action feel fabricated lmao, characters waited around to do sh—, the choreography was not there because well, it wasn’t there ... lol.

Cinematography was FIREEEEE, oof, it was great, and overall production was solid, it’s a shame we’ll never get to see what this show had to offer because of knetz (I mean they sent a damn petition to the Blue House so ...) but I can’t help but feel sad to all those who worked on the show just the production in general. In the future I hope companies realize canceling shows is not the answer, and that hard work should not go to waste. I hope in the future of kdramas, there won’t be problematic scenes which can stir inaccuracy or controversy either, and that shows can be broadcasted on other streaming sites, in case of a financial loss.

To the cast and crew: you did damn good for the two episodes we got :’)

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Wasn’t bad, could’ve been better

Short and sweet review :’)

Honestly, I didn’t expect much, and in general I wasn’t impressed by the love triangle, but I really want to say Cha Eun-woo’s acting has improved soooo much since My ID and I’m really proud of him, people who say he can’t act, just watch his his crying scenes then argue to me he’s a “stiff board” lmao, also want to give credit to Hwang In-yeop, hadn’t seen his acting until this show and the man has got some serious acting potential for future dramas, I look forward to seeing future roles he chooses. I know the drama was based off the webtoon of the same name and obviously in 16 episodes they couldn’t fit everything but for the most part I’m impressed how well the writers paced this drama, like I was expecting some half-ass cutscene or just filler episodes that had no purpose for the plot at least halfway into the series, but it didn’t happen, so I’m happy about that, however the one thing that went remotely terrible for the plot was the classic (and every kdrama fan totally loves this ... sarcasm 101)

“1 year later” trope ...
- ughhhhhh x 1,000

And the worst thing the writers did wasn’t even the time jump, it was making Suho forget he literally ignored Jugyeong for a year, didn’t text her at all, magically comes back, follows her around, and he expects her to fall in love with him again? B— in reality I would’ve moved on by then, possibly gotten together with a fish, or Seojun since Jugyeong and the writers didn’t give two sh— about his feelings ... The writers did give both him and Suho great development of their friendship, which by the end of the series I was hoping they’d rekindle, and I’m glad they eventually did, but for this drama imo there wasn’t anything that wowed me or anything special about the show besides the acting performances, got to throw Moon Ga-young some credit, she did what she had to doooo. The plot was cliché. The OST was fine but not spectacular, pacing was great, the writing could’ve been better, I friggin love though ... LOVE how in the end Soo jin redeemed herself, love the writers did that because she was fullmetal to Jugyeong up until the last 3 episodes lol, honestly thought they were gong to forget about her, but nope, also love how we could see her character growth, from excepting she’s finally away from her abusive father and is living her life the way she wants, thank you writers for this.

In the future I hope Cha Eun-woo takes roles away from rom-coms or romance, honestly I think he’d be great in some crime thrillers or horror kdramas, just anything away from the “serious, tsundere” character he’s played in almost every drama he’s been in lol, sad but true. I look forward to Moon Ga-young & Hwang In-yeop’s future projects. If you like the “cliché love triangle” trope in kdramas, this is your drama, if not you might consider sitting this one out lol, especially if your team Seojun X’((( overall wasn’t a bad drama, just needed better writing for the last two episodes imo and a better story. Watch the drama and see for yourself! Peace!

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Oh boy ...

*sighhhhhhhh* grab some snacks, this review will be lengthy ...

-______- ....

— Heads up before we get started, most of “One Fine Week s2” is blocked in the U.S. so you can’t watch it on YouTube, god knows why they did that *eyeroll lol,* you can watch it on VIKI though!

I don’t sugarcoat my reviews but I’m also not going to berate the series altogether because there were some good things, but not much folks, so when I say this season has to be one of the most disappointing continuations of a web-drama I’ve seen to date, clearly I’ve got to add context to what I say, which is what this review is for, so to start off, I’ll say this season had a lot of potential but was flushed down and wasted by an unnecessary love triangle, and poor writing.

Here’s why.

The first season, which I rated very differently, had character depth. Even though the main FL’s were switched, the reason they switched in s1 was due to their own internal struggles, in s2, the reason for their switch is incredibly poor ...
In s1 the reason for Byul/ Da Eun switching is because Byul was “sick” (though I personally think she wanted a break from her idol life), Da Eun excepted this switch because a) it was only for 7 days, b) she’ll just be stand-in and c) she’s never experienced the life of an idol star, and once again ... Byul is sick, so she cautiously accepts the offer even though she’s pressured into it really ... In this season? They switch because Da Eun wants to see Jungwoo because he’s gone awol (we’ll get to that) and because Byul’s image is being distorted and she doesn’t want to go on the variety show Jungwoo will be in ... Compared to the first season, there’s no depth in this switch, it’s just thrown into the plot and I think that’s what bothers me the most.

One thing I will say s2 did right was show the extent of idols dating normal people and how their lives can change instantly because of the companies reputation and overly zealous fans, that part was done well, but the relationship between Da Eun and Jungwoo is written so friggin poorly in this season I want to cry, in the first season we got the struggles of being an idol from Jungwoo point of view (and a bit of Byul’s too), he’s worried about being stalked everyday, he can’t live a normal life anymore, and he’s constantly taunted by anxiety of one of his former saesang “fans” stalking him in the past, he’s scared to go to sleep at night, the list goes on, his character had DEPTH ...

Which is what I loved about s1, it brought idol world issues, such as:
— saesangs
— dating life (toxic fans, not all SOME don’t come at me lol)
— company constraints, like scheduling
— mental health issues
— corruption in hierarchy (female idols being used to please “hierarchs” to keep their jobs, happens in real life btw and it’s sad as hell)
Where did this kind of realist sh—wander off too???

Besides these things, I think the biggest issue I had with s2 was how poorly Jungwoo’s character was written ... Compared to s1, he had no character depth whatsoever, none, in this season he was just a guy who follows what his company says, doesn’t fight for Da Eun, doesn’t fight for their love, gets jealous of Da Eun being around another guy, I mean like lmao, what kind of writing is this??? Seo Dohyun was a better written character, and he’s not even the ML y’all ... Honestly if him and Da Eun got together I would’ve clapped, sorry Jungwoo :’( you’re potential was wasted. As for Byul, she gets to see Ji Han again, but, lmao that’s about it ... And the second season doesn’t even reference her trauma to flash photography, which also irritated me because that should’ve been explored more, and Ji Han could help her overcome but ... NOPE said the writers. Just like they said nope to diving into Jungwoo’s trauma in s1 ... Both Byul & Jungwoo have had traumatic experiences as idols, but that is not explored even once in s2.

Also, the overall writing of s2 doesn’t even follow the first season either, someone new came in and wrote an entirely different story and it’s like the main characters from season 1 aren’t even themselves, their names are just used and that’s it *facepalm,* the love triangle was poorly executed and obviously thrown in for a plot filler too, but it literally had no purpose, the writers could’ve written Jungwoo and Da Eun’s relationship to be healthy, but they didn’t ... I liked there were repercussions to dating an idol, which we see in ep. 1 were Jungwoo has filming or is doing other things on a strict schedule and sometimes doesn’t have time for Da Eun, which she gets mad about, that his life can mess with Eun is psychological and physical ways, I hated the writers didn’t choose to make peace with these things though, for the characters to create alternate ways of being happy TOGETHER, and making dating an idol mostly negative without lightening the positives, which is why Da Eun goes and takes Byul’s place again to talk to Jungwoo on wtf is happening with their relationship ...

Another thing I liked in the s2 besides relationship struggles was having Byul’s former group member be a villain: Luni
In s1 we get a glimpse they’re not so “happy fun times” with each other and they casted the same actress to play her in s2 which I liked, but what’s her agenda for hating Byul? Her leadership? Jealousy? That’s the only reason she gets with Eden (a character I easily forgot btw) to get back at Byul and expose Da Eun? THAT’S IT? Once again, where’s the depth, where’s the development? Nowhere to be seen ... Her character is just a b— ... The only character that gets development in this series is Da Eun, and it’s not even full development, its barely there. So besides the shitty love triangle, we get a villain we don’t give two sh— about due to terrible writing ... The true villain of this season should’ve been Jungwoo’s company tbh, that would’ve made an overall better story, SMH.

To end this lengthy review, I advise you watch s2 and see for yourself what your final thoughts are, but don’t expect a lot compared to the the first season, pains me to say it .. :’(((

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I don’t usually watch zombie films and shows because I feel like every plot is the same and widely overdone, but I gave this show look because I’ve seen many of the actors and actresses from previous kdramas. Man did I make the right choice. The production, cinematography, and storyline of this series is absolutely fantastic. Every episode will keep you at the edge of your seat. You won’t know who’s going to die, or who lives, everything is completely unexpected and that’s what I love. The story is original too.

In the first season we got a massive cliffhanger and found out the temperature is what’s keeping these zombie killing machines going. Having to wait another full year for s2, oh boy, we’re thrown for a loop and given once again ANOTHER cliffhanger at the end, discovering someone was actually selling a supply of the same flowers we find out where behind the zombie pandemic. This person, who was teased in being the “possible” seller happens to be one of my favorite Korean actresses and uuu boi was I screaming.

Overall, the pace of this show is amazing, nothing is hard to follow, every character has a part to play in the plot, and the actors and actresses who played them were amazing. Even if your not into zombie related shows or films I’d recommend giving this show watch solemnly on the plot and acting alone. It definitely won’t be waste of your time. Give it a watch.

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One of the most anticipated kdramas of 2020, that ended up being the biggest disappointment ...

Listennnnn, I’m not gonna sugar-coat anything in this review, and I am going to give my honest to god opinion from someone who’s finished this kdrama completely, from someone who’s watched 100+ kdramas, AND from someone who is a huge Lee Min Ho fan, this was by far the most hyped drama of 2020, but it ended up being the worst I‘ve seen in the three years I’ve started watching kdramas:

Here’s why.

- Product placements: every five seconds there’s a promotion, not for the show, but for literal brands characters will use, and trust me, it got old real quick, I’ve seen this in every review so far for this show and it’s no joke. It happens a lot already in kdramas, but this one takes the cake for having the most brand promotions which had no purpose in the story or the characters.

- Messy plot: I’ve said it in the comments feed, but I’ll say it again, “if you have to go to discussion feeds to figure out wtf is happening in a drama because the 20 episodes you watched didn’t give it to you, the writers didn’t do their job properly” I’m seeing a lot of people try and justify this, it’s plain and simple, if you don’t understand what’s going on with the dialogue and the plot you’ve been given, there’s something wrong. This isn’t a kpop mv where you can search up theories because the mv was 4-5 min’s, of course that wouldn’t be enough time for you to figure everything out, but in 1hr to 1hr and 30 min episodes OF A SHOW??? Where you’ve been given characters, names of those characters, occupations of those characters, a villain, a time travel plot, a magical flute (that had no purpose in the end)???
Not to mention all the questions left unanswered?
Who had the flute first? What was the origin story?
Why did the villain hate his brother so much? For fun? For power? What did he do to him that was so terrible, we never did find out?
If an alternate version of you dies, do you feel it? Even though it’s an alternate version of you, can you feel it in your soul?
What was the purpose of Luna if she was going to die like that?
There are so many questions I’ve asked in this show, and I never got answers to them,
I have spoken ...

- Filler episodes: nothing .. and I mean NOTHING, pissses me tf off more, than watching a show where each episode had more than enough time to give you depth in characters, plot, and dialogue, and instead we get 3-5 episodes where characters literally just sit and talk ... It’s so frustrating. You have 20 episodes to tell you viewers wth is going on in your drama, and your viewers may I add are already confused ... but instead you waste it on scenes with nice faces and filter, with no action toward the plot or getting the villain smh.

- Pacing: this might be the screenwriter within me but this is important when I’m watching a show, off-cuts or unnecessary zooms are not a favorite of mine, and in all honesty, if a show has a cut every few seconds, that can ruin the experience for some viewers, because you’re not expanding your plot or characters by unnecessary cutting, your halting the progression of them, and that’s a hugeeee issue.

- Lack of chemistry: glad I’m not the only one who thought this, oof, the chemistry was not there for me, as a matter of fact it was more awkward than anything, it didn’t feel natural, it felt more Iike a marketing ploy for people to watch the drama because two big name stars were in it, that’s never a good thing. I kid you not, watched this show from beginning to end and even at the end, I never felt anything between Lee Min Ho and Kim Go Eun, I actually started with thinking if there was another actress instead who could’ve done this role, would the chemistry have been better? Same vice versa. NO hate towards Kim Go Eun either, I’m not denying her talent, I think what many agreed in the end was this pair, just wasn’t it, as in they didn’t fit well together, off-screen they had some good moments though :’).

- Lack of character depth: you’ll find most of the lead characters will be exactly the same as they were at the beginning of the show, when you reach the end, and that’s absolutely terrible lol. Where’s the change? Where’s the growth? Where’s the DEVELOPMENT? Kdramas do an amazing job of not giving a crap about character progression, this much I know, and this drama was no different.

- Writing / Dialogue ^: This could go with character depth, but holy cow ... Why was Yi Gon exactly the same guy after witnessing his girlfriend almost die and everyone around him dropping like flies? Even after witnessing time travel for the first time and being calm? Who tf is calm after witnessing time travel? Why did Tae Eul become a crying mess when she was being assaulted by a bunch of guys? WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MARTIAL ARTIST WE SAW IN EP. 1-2? LIKE EXCUSE ME? All of this can go with plot progression and well, but with writing and dialogue, the writer had more than enough chances to give these things a change, but she didn’t ... And it was honestly a low blow. Especially since we got a villain who had potential, but in the end was just another shadow in the crowd.

Sadly the only good things in this drama for me were the OST, beautiful cinematography, and Woo Do Hwan’s duel performance, you can take this review with a grain of salt, but hey, I’m sure a few others will tell you the same thing. If you wish to watch the show, watch it till the end (if you don’t get irritated by stupid plot choices or characters), then make your judgment, that’s all I got *peace sign*

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the best thriller of 2020

Short and sweet review — but first. Wow ... I’m in awe for how amazing this kdrama is, came to write a review as soon as I finished it and oof I have a lot of good things to say.

This drama dealt with time-travel similar to “Signal” but cleverly did it, in a way for viewers to still follow along with the characters and the plot (something TKEM didn’t do *cough cough*), you’re rooting for the protagonists like crazy through this drama because SHOCKINGLY, the villains are actually worth your time, and the amount of twists per episode were done so well, you can’t forget what happens in the previous episodes.

I really have to commend the flow and pacing of this drama as well, thrillers are supposed to have good pacing, that’s how thrills are enhanced and we as viewers find out more intricate things about the characters and the overall plot, I can tell you right now, you won’t have a problem with awkward cuts or “off character” motives, everyone has a part to play. Even characters you might hate at the beginning, you’ll end up feeling sympathy for in the end.

I lastly have to commend the cast for their amazing acting performances, in particular Shin Sung Rok and Lee Se Young as the ML & FL respectively. They did a fantastic job of portraying their characters, and honestly now that I look back, I can’t see anyone else playing them, they were just so good. However don’t look for romance between the two, with the amount of crap they had to go through, they did NOT have time for that lollll

If you’re a thriller guy/gal this drama will definitely be up your street, what holds it’s high rating I assure you are the acting performances, a well written ending, and a story that will tug at your heart strings till the very end :)

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Nothing special :/

short & sweet —

Just to let everyone know, this story is a spin-off of the popular web-drama “Best Mistake,” and there are some minor cameos at the start, but that’s it.

Ultimately, this show had nothing more to offer than an unnecessary love triangle and cliché writing, some characters were selfish, others were caught in the crossfire of other characters decisions but it wasn’t anything to push you at the edge of your seat and stay entertained, idk what more to say honestly lol, acting wasn’t bad — could’ve been better, cinematography wasn’t the best, mostly filtered as most kdramas are, OST wasn’t terrible but wasn’t good either imo, pacing wasn’t bad but character development wasn’t tethered for the most part, I will say for the show overall, I’ve seen worse lol, but if you’re someone who likes some cliché love triangle fluff in the span of 15 episodes, I think this drama is perfect for you, that’s all I’ve got!

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A wild gory ride

I binged this kdrama in a day and ohhhh boy was it worth it, a lot of people were excited the webtoon was being adapted into a drama, and I have to say, it’s the best action-horror I’ve seen this year.

The monsters were done surprisingly well. I would’ve preferred practical effects, but the CGI wasn’t terrible, they were convincing enough to give out those creepy / gory vibes, so that was a plus.

The acting performances were spot on, giving a shout out to Song Kang (he’s actually the reason I started watching lol) because his acting was fire in this show.

The plot is anything but cliché, the characters and actions of those characters made it interesting, AND we got some great background stories, you can find more about character backgrounds in the webtoon. What made this show great was the ending didn’t feel the slightest bit anti-climatic, like many other kdrama endings I’ve seen this year. The end gives you enough info or enough closure for you to be sufficiently satisfied, with a good chunk of the characters, best part? All of the webtoon wasn’t adapted in this one season we got, SO, that leaves room for our unanswered questions, to be answered in s2 (if any).

The pacing of this show I’ll commend as well, I find kdrama pacing can lack sometimes, as in: odd-cuts or no purpose filler episodes, but none of that happened in this drama. Not once. Every scene had a purpose in plot and character, and that’s another reason why this one is a winner.

Now for the things that bugged me ...

The atmosphere, really felt more like an action-zombie series instead of a horror-thriller,if that makes sense, even though it’s labeled horror-thriller lol that’s a lie, it had a “zombie apocalypse” feel more than anything, which isn’t ... bad, someone mentioned in the comments feed Studio Dragon should’ve hired the people who did The Guest, I strongly agree with this, I think atmospherically they would’ve done a better job in setting a darker-mature tone to this drama, which the webtoon most definitely had.

The soundtrack wasn’t spectacular, as a horror fan I find most horror shows don’t have solid soundtracks to begin with, but hearing Warriors by Imagine Dragons every time a character decided to grow a pair, got old real quick lol, also I didn’t think the song fit the vibe of the show, nor did the music overall, but that’s imo, so take it with a grain of salt :)

As for character deaths, I think some of them were unnecessary, like Han Du Sik’s, he was actually one of my favorite characters, and his death could’ve been better imo, as for Jae Heon even though he went out like a badass, I felt he deserved to live, the man was a fighter till the end.

The cliffhanger, *sigh* ... kdrama writers do this thing where they set the plot in motion, give us a cliffhanger, but we have no idea if there’s going to be a second season, so technically this show could end right at 10 episodes, and we’d be stuck with an unnecessary incomplete ending, I know the show is adapted from a webtoon, doesn’t mean it doesn’t bug the sh*t outta me ... especially when kdramas don’t normally have second seasons to begin with, normally there’s one season with 16, 20, or 32 ep’s and that’s all we get. This happened with Vagabond where the end was foreshadowed at the beginning of the show, but it was still left incomplete for us to assume what happened to all the characters. I’m prayinggggg this show gets renewed for another season by Netflix. PRAYING. The final episode was kick ass, and initially we found out Sang Wook (aka gangster dude) has been hidinggggg some important stuff lol, as in what tf does he want with Hyun Soo, the biggest WTF moment for sure, Yi Kyung is off on her own now and the rest of the group is faced with an unforeseen future, good characters died, and the stakes are higher than ever. What will happen to Hyun Soo? Will he be experimented on like the rest of his kind? Will he find a way to overcome his inner monster? What was in the suitcase? How many others are there like Hyun Soo? Will there’s of the group survive? Only the webtoon can tell us, as for this drama continuing, I truly hope it gets a s2, I look forward to it in hopefully 2021 or 2022 ??! That’s all I got :)

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Short and sweet web-drama, with some mature themes

I won’t lie to anyone, this might be one the best Korean web-dramas I’ve seen on YouTube (it’s now on VIKI :) mainly because there’s a lot of unexpected turn of events or elements that aren’t really talked about in other Korean dramas or web-dramas, specifically: saesang culture. The ML in this drama is literally terrified of leaving his home because of how afraid he is of his stalkers, this is something rarely seen or discussed in kdramas dealing with idols, so rare, I was surprised it was mentioned at all or “us” as viewers got to see that perspective, because in reality what he’s feeling in those moments he’s being stalked, isn’t so much of a lie. It’s a chilling reality many idols go through, and quite honestly, I wish it was discussed more, especially in kdramas. If you want a short web-drama that can give you a subtle hint into what many idols feel from obsessed / overzealous fans, I heavily recommend this one.

Going into more themes this drama addresses, there’s also a highlight of corruption, something kdramas are REALLY good at expressing, but in this case it’s how the hierarchy system in South Korea can be used as a cruel disadvantage, specifically how woman can be blackmailed into keeping their jobs by “pleasing” male hierarch’s, this was during a particular scene in ep. 3 with the FL (Seo Ji Soo) I got chills, because like saesang culture, this is real, it happens ... EVERYDAY. Not even in South Korea, anywhere, I’d say in relation to this drama specifically for female idols in the industry, hell it could even be for female workers. I love how this drama incorporates themes like this, because most don’t wish to show viewers this side of the story. I hope in the future more kdramas highlight themes like these.

Moving into the plot for the story, overall it’s interesting because the characters actions make it interesting, or what you find out as a viewer about the characters makes you want to keep watching. I thought the acting performances were great, everyone had a part to play and the whole “princess switch” element although cliché was done well! You could definitely tell the difference between the characters, and who played who you know? Kim Byul vs. Da Eun? I also like how the writers thought about their characters, and gave them depth. Specifically with both the ML & FL’s. The ML likely suffering from insomnia due to saesangs, or anxiety (I don’t believe it’s ever revealed if he takes medication or not), and the second FL (Kim Byul) suffering from PTSD??? (I can’t read Korean, but I’m pretty sure on the medication she had it said what she’s taking meds for) or camera flashes so she takes medication, some serious stuff, like I said this drama isn’t afraid to show these elements and I find it refreshing as hell. The plot if you’re interested overall is about two women switches places for a day or two lol, if you’re into that trope, I also recommend this drama :)

The music, was mediocre, could’ve been better imo, but rewatch value is definitely up there at 8.0 or higher, it’s a great story well told in such as short amount of episodes, with strong themes, recommend! (for the 1,000 time lol)

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NOT A BAD WATCH :)

So I’m a huge thriller fan, especially Korean and Japanese thrillers, because normally they’re darker in plot and I’ve seen some amazing cinematography in my time, “First Love” is definitely up there for me in a story that’s decently well told, but can hold the darker aspect of a plot well. I personally enjoyed this film a lot, with the directors rep I knew I wasn’t going to be disappointed and in return I wasn’t lol, the action scenes were brutal, but not as brutal as Oldboy, I Saw the Devil, or The Man From Nowhere (I’d you haven’t seen either of these Korean thrillers, take the time out of your life to do so), it was just the right amount of brutally to call this film a thriller, or action-thriller. The plot didn’t drag, it had a purpose and the film followed through with it, so that’s my first positive point because today that’s rare lol.

One thing about his film that did disappoint me however, and you can take this with a grain of salt when you watch it, was the lack of depth of the main characters, who really weren’t the main characters at all since they were only on screen for 30 min, of the 1 hr and 49 min this film had, they ended up being more side characters, as the main characters were really the villains and how they were all connected to one another and the lead female character, which is NOT a bad thing, if done right. In this case I thought the villains overshadowed the overall leads to where there’s not enough development where I can’t feel sentiment towards the both of them, because there scenes are so short, where I don’t know ENOUGH about them as characters, there’s sparks here and there where we get info, like the male lead who’s a boxer, but has [SPOILER] a “tumor,” or the female lead having a drug addiction, THAT’S SOMETHING, and it’s information to keep ahold of, but not enough info for me to FEEL them as characters, which is why I wish they had more screen time, because they were an interesting pair.

Overall more of what I did like about this film were, the villains weren’t written for sh—- and giggles, they got their crap done, and if they had to kill somebody they did it, there was some dark comedy in this film that I also loved, so that’s another bonus, the film in total was a good watch, and I’d definitely recommend it to anyone who likes action-thrillers to give it a watch!

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