Probably the most boring character Gong Yoo ever played

This series caught my attention because of the "sci-fi" setting and Gong Yoo. This man had done a lot of genres so I had quite high expectation for his performance in this. However, the characterization was disappointing, not just him but the entire characters in the show. Not like it was the actors fault. I just feel like it's a waste to have these amazing casts in the same show and not giving their characters an interesting personality & depth to make the audience feel attach.
Plot wise, I genuinely love the idea of making "our everyday needs" as dangerous substance that can't even be touched. It was interesting. The mysteries surrounding the accident in the station, how human bodies react to the substance. But then, it started to get boring when LUNA 073 appeared and they suddenly focused more on being a parent figure for her. Instead of LUNA origin and her "antibody" card. I want an explanation regarding the lunar water and what would happen if they did bring it to earth. Would it react the same under different circumstance?
Overall, I enjoy this but I feel like things would have been better if they give more details.

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Perfect characterization!!

Considering the amount of casts they have in the show, it's amazing how every single one of them contribute to the plot with their own personality. Sung Soo Ji as the protagonist is just flawless (imo). The way she fought back against the entire system, we can't help but rooted for her. She was thinking about saving herself only at first, but I wouldn't call her selfish for that. Not after seeing how the other classmates gave her a cold attitude. But, Soo Ji changed and so were we (the viewers). We wanted them to succeed and destroy the pyramid. Their genuine feelings to be free from power abuse reached us.

Now, let's talk about the antagonist, Baek Harin! SHE IS FVCKING CRAZY [praise]. Idk why but I was reminded of Coach Kim from Sky Castle when I saw her character. She is calm and collected (most of the time) which is usually a BIG warning to not piss off people like them. She is violent but not doing it through brutal physical assault. She is manipulative and twisted. She showed no sign of guilt even until the end. Her presence in the show was what made this drama memorable and thrilling!

Gonna give my big applause to Jang Da Ah for bringing Baek Harin character to live. This is legendary for her acting debut.

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would have been perfect if they fix some misleading info

Starting the first episode feeling a little bit "off" with the way they are discussing about "psychopath = serial killer" thus making the controversial bill of aborting fetus with psychopathic gene in order to create a "utopia". This is very misleading and such stereotype should be banished from media. Logically speaking, even normal people could commit murder so I find the idea ridiculous but I will let that pass.

The first half was intense, mysterious, and cruel. They made us questioned a lot of things with its ambiguous flashback of the child whom we are not sure who he actually is. I absolutely enjoyed the 5th episode the most.

The second half is slow as they reveal the truth one by one and the relation between the protagonist & each characters. I enjoyed his journey of memorizing what he had committed and the how it made him living in agony & regrets.

"Did God do that to save him or punish him?"

I had the exact same thought while seeing the main protagonist in his final state. Very conflicted.

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I WANT WHAT THEY HAVE ;;~;;

I don't remember the last time I felt so much butterflies while watching a romance drama. It's fluff with a lot of comfort. It's like my teenager self—who is so full of love—finally awake upon seeing the chemistry between Adachi & Kurosawa. No lust, no unnecessary fights, just fluff fluff fluff I LOVE THEM SO MUCHHH!!

Kurosawa is so gentle, he always respects Adachi's space. But, also sexy like the way he teased Adachi is so *SMASH KEYBOARD*!!

As for Adachi, despite his lack of confidence, he always gave his best to cheer for the people around him when it is needed. A literal angel and he is SO CUTE like if I were Kurosawa I would be head over heels for him too. They really suit each other ♡

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A sad truth behind modern life of internet society

This drama has been in my watchlist since 2020 but I haven't actually check it until this month. With modern life of internet society as the main plot, they made such a neat and valuable story. Each of the students has their own tear-jerking moments and it comforted our heart when we see them changed into a better person and tried to connect to each other instead of being individuals. Suda Masaki acting as always a top notch, the emotion and desperation in his tone, facial expression, it's all perfect. My favorite moment is of course the last episode where Bookie sensei confronted the netizens, how he spoke to the screen while pointing fingers (at us), it was definitely intentional, we are part of it, he was talking to us. Though, the ending made me feel a bit empty, it was a reaaaaaaally good drama.

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Everyone has their own evil inside

Watching this drama after BLACKPINK Jennie mentioned it, and got even more curious after this drama won in three categories at Baeksang Award. Using the usual crime thriller plot where the characters had to find a serial killer, Beyond Evil is like any other dramas. But, there is one thing that made this drama very memorable to me. Shin Ha Kyun's smile in the first episode and how it influenced my view on his character. My first impression was "Lee Dong Shik is a creep", because we have yet to know the depth of his character so I was suspicious of him too, and then through every episode it was shown that Lee Dong Shik is just 'crazy' not cruel, making me understand his character. This drama made me judge the characters by their gesture, appearance, and a glimpse of their questionable words, it felt like I was analyzing people. Episode 6 is definitely the reason why this drama was named 귀물 (Monster) and Beyond Evil in english, Kang Jin Mook as the serial killer is such an interesting point of the drama. He appeared as the weak-looking guy who stutter when speaking, manipulated the viewers to believe that he was not the type to do such thing until the story unfolds from his perspective. I agree with one of the reviews where it said that every dialogue of this drama carries weight. The last episode showing Lee Dong Shik smiling to Han Joo Won just like in the first episode, but it gave you the impression of warming, completely different from our impression to the first episode, that is also my most favorite part about this drama. If there is one thing that I find regrettable, it's the fact that Han Joo Won didn't respond Lee Dong Shik's banmal by calling him "hyung" haha love them bromance

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I love this but...

The first part of the drama was an absolute masterpiece! It went from mystery -> thriller -> romance in such a short span yet they managed to give an emotional fulfillment with each episode. The second part was all about intense action & bloody revenge against the villain and then bam! a whole episode of life lesson and guilt tripping suicidal people. Don't misunderstand me! I love this drama, that's why I give it a high rating. But, something about that last episode doesn't sit right with me. I get that they are trying to give moral message by saying that we should be grateful for living. But, well.. not everyone has the same 'blessing' as Choi Yee Jae by having a caring mom & girlfriend as his support system.

The acting was no doubt, perfect! All these actors was living up to my expectation.

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Perfect Adaptation!

starting this series by watching the first season, reading the manga (while waiting for s2 to drop) because i was curious about all the questions regarding borderland, and i would say that everything in s2 is up to my expectation (or better).
i noticed some differences compare to the original story such as;
- jack of hearts; chishiya wasn't on the list of players in the manga but they included him in the live adaptation which is GREAT!! because he is my favorite character and i appreciated the director for giving him more screen time. my man always slayed every game he is in ♡
- queen of hearts; in the manga, mira put some kind of drug in the tea to give a hallucination effect on arisu so that he won't be able to finish the last set of croquet game whereas in the live adaptation, arisu just started hallucinating due to mira's words & psychological attack, which is also GREAT!! because she has the 'queen' role, it would be lame if she was depending on some medicine to beat the challenger.

each game has its own uniqueness, but i personally think these three were the best; jack of hearts, king of diamond, king of spades. especially king of spades, this arc is so intense you could feel how each character desperately trying to survive + nice choreography for these girls fighting scene ??

overall, this is what i called 'perfect adaptation' so i enjoyed every bit of it.

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A comforting drama

Didn't bat an eye about this drama when it was airing, but then a month ago, I saw a short clip of Yeong Ok & Yeong Hui episode on facebook page and that gave me an instant interest.

But, the episode that got me hook up and completely attached was during Yeong Ju-Hyeon & In Gwon-Hosik's story. Everything about this arc is perfect. The raw emotions of the fathers, the feared of disappointing a hard-working parents, how people learn to accept what has been done.

I also love how this drama emphasized two things; 1) that, no matter how close you are with someone, there is still a line that you shouldn't cross and to always think about other people's feeling because everyone has different ways to interpret things. What we consider as normal or harmless might unintentionally hurt our beloved ones. 2) proper communication is the most important thing in building & maintaining a good relationship. Sometimes you gotta be the big-hearted one and just let it go even though it hurt you. In other occasion, you have to make it clear that you dislike this & that, so there won't be any ill feelings that might ruin everything in the future.

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Even love can be used as an excuse for selfishness

Reading everyone's review and mostly said how the second season was lacking in terms of plotting, but i personally enjoyed this season more. The conflict felt close to our society current condition and i prefer the message value in this season. Yuri's existence and the frienemies vibe between the two made it even more interesting because we were able to see a much more human side from Nanno. Nanno, whom we thought was some kind of justice-bringing-evil having a heart kinder than human. Meanwhile, Yuri, the originally-human slowly turned into an evil-like-being and caused chaos. The cinematography & directing was very satisfying to look at. This season completed the series as a whole piece.

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All over the place

Somehow I am kind of ready for the most "ridiculous" ending they are going to pull on this drama, since the end of S2 I know this will not end as "neat & clear" which is why I set my expectation low. But, I am still disappointed lol. For the antagonist death, especially Cheon Seojin, it's quite acceptable for me, that left such a gloomy feeling knowing how she didn't meet her daughter till her last day and how her ex-husband had said something she hates the most in their last meeting. As for Joo Dan Tae, it's like they just choose to end his life as quick as possible and it was so rush. He was so persistent to stay alive to the point of killing anyone who get in his way but suddenly he is like "I am going to die in my palace" okay??

The same goes for Logan & Suryeon, losing their will to live after all these struggles and the sacrifice their friends made because they felt 'guilty' feels so so to me. They should at least live for the sake of these people and the kids. Also, I was never a fan of logryeon thingy so it looked so cringey when they go to the afterlife with that red thread of fate. (I was into this drama not for the romance so ?‍♀️)

But, regardless of these I still enjoyed it because of the actors and acting. The writer should thank every actors involved in this.

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A criticism towards corrupted people

Vincenzo as a character is so interesting, and I see this as a criticism towards corrupted people who manipulated the law. I started watching this purely for the actions and thrill so I am very satisfied with the whole story and ending, the romance is there and it didn't ruin the plot, it feels just right. Jang Han Seok as villain also did great, but I personally think that Choi Myung Hee is the most annoying one. Why? Well, Jang Han Seok is a born psychopath so him doing all these crimes didn't get into my nerve as much as Choi Myung Hee because it just his nature and was built like that, while Choi Myung Hee is another ordinary human being but choose to be a bad person. I also love how Vincenzo stick with his principles by not sending them to jail whatsoever and punished them himself. Gonna miss seeing the Geumga plaza residents too❣

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Interesting survival game

Arisu (the pronunciation of Alice in Japanese), the oldest son from a rich family, a NEET who spends his daily life playing games and hanging out with his two friends. The first episode got me hooked as we were shown the very crowded Shibuya suddenly turns into a dead city with no one but three people left. The thought of being left in such circumstances with no transportation and electricity kinda made me anxious, also the unsettling feeling of the silence from an empty town is so creepy for me. Finished the whole episodes in a day because it was very interesting and I would like to see what's going to happen and why are they in that game, but of course 8 episodes are not enough to answer all of that. The problem from a manga adaptation series is always the lack of character development, they couldn't fit every detail in such a short duration so there is no deep attachment to the characters. AIB did great in telling us about each character's backstory through these flashback but that's it, it doesn't make us feel connected with them so when they die later we are just "oh". Looking forward to season 2 since the actual villain finally appears, and curious to see what kind of games and the difficulty level they are going to play to get the face card.

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