Good premise marred by cliche storytelling

Firstly, this show blows the bechdel test out of the waters. There really is nothing more attractive than powerful women, ambitious women, women being straight out "badasses". This was something Samuel L Jackson said often about The Long Kiss Goodnight, that the industry needed to produce more of these "women being badasses" shows because they just rock. Despite this, I could not give this series a high rating.

To begin with, I found Do Hee's redemption arc implausible, to say the least. The plot pivots around her "awakening" from having seen an employee "commit suicide" after Do Hee had been hard with her. Really? She's never caused someone's death before in all the years she's worked under psychopathic chaebol matriarch Young Shim? Really?!? Mine eyebrow is duly raised. Secondly, how did Kyung Sook manage to camp herself on conglomerate property for her protest for so many days? That's clearly trespassing. How did she manage to evade security?

Also, the whole series relies on Do Hee's capability in the performance of her duties however, when the employee says that those messages were not txted by her, that should've alerted Do Hee to the need to verify. Something as simple as ringing the phone number on the txt msg, which she does later on, should've been the first point of order, but no. She just brushes the employee's comments aside. She believes the guy's word for it completely without doing any investigation into the veracity of his claims which doesn't come across as competence but extremely incompetent. One doesn't investigate because one distrusts a party's claim but to know the full scope of what to expect, what needs to be protected, and what reprisals would be forthcoming from the victimised party. Queenmaker? Hmmm...

The rest of it are stereotypical "gotcha" games where a male powerbroker's weakness is always connected to his groin (mistress, indiscretion etc) and so he is easily blackmailed that way. As someone who's familiar with legal procedures the rest of the series really devolves into WTFs. While finding out the truth of corruption on the enemy side, it's all easily subverted by them with tearful pretentious displays and mercurial social media moods. However, when the enemy side makes up a "truth" about Kyung Sook and her campaign, we are led to believe that her past allies will just forget about their past friendships and loyalty and public won't ask for an investigation into whether the evidence stacks up or not. For the enemy, there needs to be solid evidence which is easily subverted; for Kyung Sook's team, the enemy side just needs to fart a BS and the whole house of cards crumble to the ground. It is just too implausible. Are the Korean public idiots? The part where her son was charged with a criminal offense was just... what am I seeing here...?!?! I don't know how the Sth Korean justice system works but it's not a given that the minor will go to jail just because the antagonists say so. There are systems in place to ensure a fair trial. I'd like to believe that the prosecution isn't so incompetent as just to be easily bought out. Plus, there are evidentiary requirements too. And I'm making this conclusion from legal kdramas I've seen which shows that Sth Korea's criminal justice system doesn't deviate so much from where I'm at.

Plus the male counterpart strategist was just another WTF buildup to a nothing. Dragging an old senile man and leaving him in an unfamiliar place where he eventually got run over was not strategy. It was criminal. For all the talk about Carl being THE kingmaker, the character was nothing but an amateur and a thug who brought a chainsaw to a surgery that required a delicate scalpel.

There were several, several, nails on the coffin—when Do Hee doesn't even clean up her loose ends well enough to ensure that her father is out of danger, when she doesn't even ensure her own safety, but the crowning one: when there were moles in Kyung Sook's team. It's always the same sh#t—they need money so they're willing to betray their principles. Seriously? Why even bother doing anything if money is the common denominator. It's too cheap and too easy of a plot device to use and, as a psychological motivational tool, too illogical. Kyung Sook has spent time with the protestors. She's put in effort and heart into their fight. She represents their suffering and the overcoming of it. To have us believe that a single parent would go against her own survival, and that of her children's, by doing something so short-term as getting monetary gratification now... these people were screwed over by the very conglomerates offering them bribes now, are we to honestly believe they'd side with them again to stab Kyung Sook in the back? The writers need to research into the various electoral results in the democratic countries that Sth Korea shares governmental constitution with, as well as union members' community spirits. Corruption has not been met well regardless of how much a politician has tried to show a "caring parent" side to them nor do union members forget whom their allies were in their times of fight.

Despite all this, I do look forward to season 2 as it looks like they're pushing for one. It would be interesting to see if the writing would get less cliche and much more in line with the premise of this project.

Would I recommend this? Honestly... I would. If only because I know series like this are rare as a hen's tooth so the first few attempts would be shite to begin with but, as per economies of scale principles, it should improve as more of these types of shows are made. Plus... there is one memorable part in the series where I ended up applauding at the screen. There was a scene where young Dong Joo slams himself against a moving vehicle to stop them. I had never seen such a ridiculous move before—using a flesh and blood body against a hard, metal and iron object. It was memorable for the extremely creative application of physics.

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Don't watch if you're expecting logic

This show is full of sh#t. There's no logic in it at all from why characters behave the way they do and how everything ties in with each other. If you want something just as nonsense watch The School Nurse Files instead. At least that's only 6 episodes. The soundtrack was peppy, the animations were cool, the gay lovers were a sweet little story arc and, even though he didn't make sense at all, I loved Santa. Beyond that, it's not worth it.

This show is essentially 12 episodes of complete, utter nothing. It's nonsense. The eponymous detective/inspector has a breakdown due to an unsolved case involving her husband who killed himself. Don't expect this case to be resolved at the end as it never does. The villain is a college girl who, despite having no formal education, job or inheritance, is able to garner hundreds and thousands of financial resources to carry out her murders. She is an explosives, tech and chemical weapons expert able to create quite complex bombs, poisons and surveillance systems in normally inaccessible, highly secure and/or private locations that are mostly tightly guarded. Depending on the storyline she also has superhuman strength to be able to carry adult bodies quite easily or fend off male attackers. In one attempted murder scene she is able to lock two adults in their car without them seeing her lock the car doors outside (and somehow avoiding CCTV surveillance too apparently), move their unconscious bodies into a huge wooden crate that is then dumped into a shipping freight container that she somehow manages to position in the middle of a riverbank without anyone, or CCTV, picking it up. That pretty much sums up the logic of the show. Oh, and she's a parkour practitioner which, in a BS twist, is also something a gamer char in the show is good at... because gamers are known for active lifestyles, apparently (read with sarcasm)... There is no rhyme or reason for the villain's actions and the morals displayed by all characters, on both sides, are extremely fluid as they're willing to change sides and work with previous "rivals" depending on the needs of the situation.

The only thing worth watching is Santa but be warned he is a highly unrealistic character too. This is pretty much acknowledged when the writing team doesn't even bother giving him a real identity. His existence started from when his function began for the team and his props (possessions and photo albums) start from when he meets the inspector. It was still enjoyable to watch him not make sense throughout the whole show coz he's such a sweet helper character, the type you can't help but like.

Inspector Koo feels like a screenwriter going through different drafts of characterisation just to end up with a whole lot of nonsense. It's like a work in progress that should never have been produced in its current final form. The other little touch I liked was the food blogging alter ego of the matriarchal villain's help. It was an interesting quirk that gave an otherwise cliche character a little texture. However, even this texture could not save this show from being an AVOID. Unless u like Santa, the character :)

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Well written with issues insightfully explored

I watched this show ages ago and have been wanting to write a review on it for a while but procrastinated because I didn't know quite how to do it justice. In the end, I think I can only give it my best shot and hope that it helps others make up their mind about this series.

The show really doesn't pull punches. I was in admiration of how direct and honest it was about the issue of beauty. When My ID is Gangnam Beauty begins we get intro'd to a surgery so wow, visceral and in medias res. Before we even get to know the protag, we are invited into her transformation already and we never get to find out who she was in the past which I'll talk about later.

The next part of it, that made the watch uncomfortable, was how the protag went around scoring other girls. I wouldn't be far off the mark to expect that these scenes would elicit hostile responses and judgements from many viewers, esp of the female variety. Although it was an uncomfortable watch I was in admiration of the writer because of how honest this was. Truthfully, women can be the harshest critics of other women and, for me, I was annoyed at this plot device if it only remained a plot device to push the whole "mean girls" troupe. However, this aspect of the female experience was handled with sensitivity and maturity in the series as well and was called out by the male protag in a spectacular fashion—"you need surgery on your unhealthy mindset, not your face". This really is the core arterial plot of the series that exposes the venous subplots in the exploration of beauty.

As I mentioned before, in the beginning, Mi Rae undergoes plastic surgery. This changes her physical beauty and is the catalyst the propels her into a new experience with life except not in the way she expected. It becomes painfully obvious from the word go that though her physical exterior has changed, the real work lies beneath, and the physical change brings about new dangers along with new positive experiences. She goes to extraordinary lengths to hide her past self and finds that she's ill equipped to survive with her new face. Now considered desirable, Mi Rae is targeted by sexual predators, is readily objectified and is the subject of jealous attentions by a fellow beauty. All the time, it was clear that Mi Rae had only expected positive changes and never accounted for these negatives that her changes might produce.

While she is having to navigate through these new treacherous, social waters, the series also explores the negative effect of beauty on men. Being the handsome guy, Kyung Suk is pursued by Mi Rae's unbeknownst nemesis Soo Ah solely for the purpose of having him as a trophy accessory bf. Unlike ingenue Mi Rae, Kyung Suk is wise to Soo Ah's machinations and asserts his values well. However, what he didn't count on is how Soo Ah's machinations indirectly affects him via Mi Rae's insecurities. In an ironic twist, what Mi Rae has wanted is within grasp. She has met someone with whom she shares a connection with and whom returns her feelings however, despite having gone through cosmetic surgery, it is clear that the procedure was only skin deep. Her face might have changed but nothing else inside did and it's those things that the scalpel can never reach that are causing the issues. One wonders if she underwent any changes at all.

An additional exploration that I appreciated was Soo Ah's character. We've seen how beauty affects Mi Rae, we've seen how it affects a male, now we see its effect on Soo Ah. An insight into her backstory reveals that it's not all a bed of roses for our antagonist. She has become an adept, manipulative Venus because she's had to rely on her beauty to survive for many years. Despite the upskirting incidents, despite the sexual harassment and objectification that she is subjected to, she puts up with the latter because it is just part and parcel of surviving until it climaxes into a dangerous stalking incident. We get the sense that when she lashes out at Mi Rae, metaphorically slapping back her hand of help with contemptuous condescendence, it's not really her but this automaton shell of Soo Ah that's remained after all the years of having to hide to survive. And the final cry from Mi Rae that snaps her out of her illusion... two women, from both sides of the beauty divide, one of "artificial beauty", the other "natural beauty" and the question that neither have ever had time to ask themselves—"are you happy?", "all the diets when we don't have any weight to lose... how we judge our faces, why do we have to do this to each other?"... the scene was, to me, immensely powerful and empowering and really cemented my admiration for this series because it just exemplifies how exhausting this quest for acceptance through shallow beauty is.

The other things I liked about this series were Hyun Jung, Mi Rae's buddy. She was a straightforward, no nonsense chick. I loved how courageous she was in confessing her attraction to Woo Young and how she moved on when it was clear he was not interested (until too late); and also the realistic growing up that Kyung Suk had to do to assert his financial independence as this aspect is often woefully glossed over in k-dramas, as well as the way everyone became friends organically in the process of Kyung Suk finding his feet in the world of adulting. The scene in the pub where Kyung Suk and Hyun Jung talk about the former walking through the rain without an umbrella in high school was poignant. Seeing Kyung Suk just bonding and making friends and being socially awkward humanised this "handsome, trophy boy" and we got to see this male beauty as a human and no longer a trophy object. He was just a guy trying to navigate through this world, like anyone, like you or me. Beauty is just a manmade construct. Underneath, we were all the same.

I really can't rave enough about this series. It really did a great 360 on all angles, or as many as possible, to consider with the construct of beauty and how it's perceived and used in society. The series didn't make it into a cliche ending by making it seem like it really matters and the thing to strive for but, instead, portrays it as the illusory tool that it is. I think there'd be mixed feelings about the fact that we are never shown Mi Rae's past but, to me, since Mi Rae was not comfortable with her past and she wants to leave it behind, I was happy to respect that. Again, it would be cliche to believe that to accept the past is the real growth. If that were the case cosmetic surgery would not be necessary however, sometimes it is the needed survival boost. Despite all the problems that can arise from it, despite the work that still remains beneath the surface, cosmetic surgery can be a useful aid, just as beauty is. Once beauty is no longer the yardstick which Mi Rae uses to measure her own happiness with then whatever she looked like in the past no longer matters because the comparison of a Mi Rae before and Mi Rae now no longer exists. The only Mi Rae that matters is the Mi Rae now.

The only criticism I have for this series, and it is a major one, is that it would be impossible for someone to have such low self esteem as Mi Rae has when she had such a staunch friend as Hyun Jung back in high school. That was the one thing that threw me off when she met this wonderfully supportive friend in uni whom she'd known for years. And I get the sense that the writers knew this was off too because their explanation of why Hyun Jung was never around with Mi Rae in her darkest times in high school was lame, at best (she got tired of fighting and getting angry for Mi Rae all the time so she avoided Mi Rae during the times the latter was at school or something similar). Despite this, I was happy to extend the suspension of disbelief that much further because the series really did expertly delved into the issue of beauty, imho, and beyond my expectations. Thus, I only took off 0.5 star for this characterisation oops.

Would I recommend this series? If you like watching shows that makes you think, if you like shows that's not scared to break new grounds, if you like shows that are honest with you even when it makes you uncomfortable then—hell yeah. This series really rocks.

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The Elephant in the Room

How do you bring up an LGBTQ+ subject matter without bringing it up but use it as an enticing premise of a unique story? You do a show called "Mr Queen", of course!

Firstly, the acting and comedy in this romcom kdrama is top notch. Top. Notch. I have never laughed so much and so hard in my life with any kdrama as I had with Mr Queen. The interplay of misinterpretations from the modern and Joseon period mannerisms was brilliantly done. Jang BH goes about trying to survive through this milieu of Joseon politics with the most innocent of intents. Watching how his actions were utterly misconstrued by the Kim and Jo families was hilarious. The writing there was witty and on point. The actress for Kim SY was electric to watch. At some point, she does exaggerate too much on some body language to try to prove that she's a male in a female body but it's not too off putting enough to detract from the show. The supporting leads were excellent too. Everyone added texture to this gateau of a story that it's a fulfilling feast. On many series, it's usually the leads and one or two supporting cast that carries the show. In "Mr Queen" everyone held it up. Loved Court Lady Choi, who had the best drunk acting I've seen thus far in any Asian show (movies or TV series), the Head Chef was a delight (loved his comedic timing in "You're Beautiful" as well), Hong Yeon was adorbs! I really wished they'd given her crush on Hong Byul Gam a resolution. Kim Hwan was a great char with a pure heart of gold. The casting in this series was well thought out and everyone balanced each other up. That's pretty much the good of it. Hence the 3.5 stars. The rest though...

Not quite sure how to review this as it left a bittersweet taste in the mouth after. Really enjoyed the refreshing acting and cultural nuances that BH had to navigate through however, the flaws were too many to take this show anymore seriously than just a failed period kdrama.

At the beginning of every episode, viewers get a disclaimer that everything depicted in the series is fiction. I didn't expect though that the laws of physics would be warped too to move the story forward. Stuff like having people recover from heavy bleeding very easily and quickly. Having a spy access the king's private study whenever the plot requires it. Having a person know how to be a sniper with a rifle in a short period of time, as well as having BH know how to be an adept archer overnight. There were plenty of other examples of nonsense as well but these were just the ones that stuck out quite glaringly. None of these compare to the biggest BS of all though...

Having taught CJ all these knowledge from modern day, everyone seems to be content with accepting those while glossing over the fact that BH is a guy. "So you're from the future," CJ murmurs to BH, and we kinda go, "yes, and he's a guy too" however, this is lost somewhere in translation. The episode where BH, as SY, sleeps with whom he tot was HY, that was the point where the show is telling us where it stood. Will it be courageous enough to run with the very thing that set it apart from other boyish-girl-kdrama-romcom series or will it stay on the conservative, safe route? When it was revealed that HY was actually CJ in a drunkenly warped mistake, viewers should expect that all logic will go down the toilet. Thereafter every joke that pertained to BH navigating his sexual identity in the Joseon period became lame, sad and pathetic. If the writers had no faith in following their vision, why should we? The whole guy-in-gal's-body thing became a sham of a clickbait and stood as this elephant in the room that would not be spoken of. The only redeeming moment was when Kim Byung In (SY's cousin) took it seriously and treated the Robin-Hood-clad SY as the imposter that he was, but that was only a plot device used to save BH's life. He was quickly dispatched after as though the director didn't want viewers to dwell too much on that LGBTQ+ish issue. It is a pity. Although I don't seek out LGBTQ+ shows and would not be interested in a romance featuring this, I would've tolerated it in Mr Queen simply because it was honouring the spirit of the show and the most logical way to proceed with the issues presented. It would've made Mr Queen quite a pioneering show too. But, alas, no. Viewers didn't get treated to any of that.

As previously mentioned, there were a lot more logic flow errors in the show (why is there a director Han when his ancestor became a eunuch?) that grated but the biggest one is the ending. BH should've also explained the concept of modern day divorce to the king. Because I can't see their marriage legitimately lasting the sham that it'll be now that BH's no longer around. It's obvious that King CJ fell in love with BH. It was inconvenient to the writers and directors that he was a man. At the end of the day, the ending really did not do the characters any justice for all the trials they went through and the growth they showed. The crew should've given the LGBTQ+ theme an honest shot just to tidy up the relationship aspect of the protagonist and deuteragonist. What would've been so bad? BH was starting to accept that he'd have to be a woman and was starting to be open to falling for CJ. How does CJ feel about it? If he's not cool with it then that's that's. They go their separate ways. If he's cool with it, then they'll work it out. The world wouldn't have ended.

If I were to rewatch the series it would probably be because of Shin Hye Sun's amazing acting and only just the first few eps. Beyond that, I can't elucidate enough the disappointment I felt over the ending; it is likely I wouldn't watch it again because of that.

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Came for Ok Taec Yeon, stayed for Master Hemp Lee!

Had not seen this prior to watching "Secret Royal Inspector & Joy". In fact, I'd avoided this like the plague because it looked like an attempt at Eurocentrism. I'm not wrong.

So, firstly, for any viewer who wants to watch something that makes sense—don't watch this. You've been warned. This series tries to make a plot but has no intention on sticking to it whatsoever. If nothing else, one phrase should tell how ridiculous it is—deus ex machina by pigeon. Yup. One conflict of the series was solved by inexplicable divine intervention of the pigeon variety.

That aside, if you're looking for some comedic relief... maybe I'd recommend this. I didn't expect Master Lee, from Alchemy of Souls, to be here and seriously, he saved it for me. His character was really the one who saves the day, and even Vincenzo, on several occasions and he is funny AF.

I'm not even going to waste time on analysing the plot and characters except to say that, for the backstories of the characters, it is impossible for all of them to need someone to fight for them. And the plot, like I said, is non-existent. All the characters do not behave as per their profile. The situations are BS, at best. And the constant grandstanding, when the protags aren't even in a winning position, is just a cheap and desperate attempt to detract from the fact that there's no plot or development in there at all. At all.

Would I recommend this? ... If you like Master Hemp Lee, sure thing, go for it. It was a pity he wasn't shown in more frames but he did make the show worth it for me. Do not enter if you're looking for anything logical though, nevermind substantial.

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Disappointing ending but still worth a watch

I tried to hold back from watching this series until it was fully uploaded on Netflix but it was hard! I ended up finishing the 10th episode with a few days to spare for the last 2 episodes. When I finally watched it I was flummoxed. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement.

Firstly, the story is beautiful. The cast and acting were above par. Shin Hye Sun is a confident actress and really takes to this role like a well-worn shoe. She portrays Ban Ji Eum so comfortably it sets the tone for the rest of the cast to follow her standard and Ahn Bo Hyun really takes to the challenge well. His portrayal of adult Moon Seo Ha is convincingly done. Bo Hyun gets the right mix of innocence and naivety in Seo Ha’s deer-in-headlights reactions to Ji Eum’s assertive advances that hits all the right notes. Veteran actress Cha Chung Hwa, as Ji Eum’s grown-up niece from her 17th life, is a fantastic energy to bounce off Hye Sun. It was great to see these two cast together again after their time in ‘Mr Queen’. I was gratified to see Kim Joon Ho here and even though he only occupied small screen time, he still did the uncle character justice. Hope to see more of this actor as he was memorable from ‘Secret Royal Inspector & Joy’. The actress who was his niece character, Go Do Yeon, was a great pairing against his avuncular intensity, lighting up the screen when the duo had their singing and Accordion playing scene. Go Do Yeon was spectacular and had a great voice. Hope to see more of her talent in future kdramas.

Possibly the only one who fizzed in the whole set was Lee Chae Min, the shaman char. From the moment he comes onto the scene he was a wooden character and in the end episodes his lack of range is especially obvious when cast against Hye Sun’s 1st life char’s rageful scenes. This wasn’t really the reason why I was disappointed by the series though.

I’m not sure why this series only had 12 episodes allocated to it when dramas typically run for 16 eps on average. There were definitely areas that could’ve been fleshed out more. The ending left questions such as how did Ji Eum’s 1st life rage vow/curse affect Han Na, Seo Ha’s mother to make her one of the ones who remember their past lives, like Ji Eum? Why is Kang Min Ki allowed to retain his memories when the others had to relinquish theirs—because it’s his atonement for his ‘sins’? Other stuff like pinning the accident and murder on the uncle was implausible to the extreme as, up to the end, the father was portrayed as the villain, and a believable one. I found it a headspin to see that we’re meant to forgive the father and sympathise with him when his character gets a 180 makeover from a clear villain to a repressed, grieving husband. This characterisation of him is not believable at all. Let’s not forget that he had an affair on his wife with a woman who might’ve poisoned the wife while she was nursing her and subsequently handed over his wife’s precious hotel to the woman to destroy in slow measures by her negligent mismanagement. His interactions with Seo Ha is also mostly filled with angry outbursts that suggests violence is never far behind. All in all, Seo Ha never felt safe with him or in his presence and, as a viewer, were I in Seo Ha’s shoes I wouldn’t either. I was expecting to see that it was his dad who had organised the accident, his mistress who agreed, and his brother who, being the lackey character, obediently carried out his wishes because the violent brother is the alpha male not to be challenged. Based on the setup of the characters and the way the story was going, there was nothing at all to make me believe the uncle could ever have taken this initiative upon himself to do something so harmful even if he had only meant for it to have been an accident. His uncle was very much portrayed as not the brain of the operation but the hand. So a big letdown for the way this was done as it’s obvious the writers just decided to BS this story arc just as they BS'd the fact that Cho Won really likes Do Yoon instead of Seo Ha, even tho all signs pointed to her liking Seo Ha, because it was more convenient than trying to figure out how to solve this rivalry between the sisters.

Finally, the way the “curse” was explained felt like such a cheat. Ji Eum herself set this in motion? Really? That’s the best they could come up with? All she did was clutch onto the bells while she said she was pissed and wanted to be eternally pissed at the shaman dude… that’s it. No ceremony. No ritual. In fact, the fact that the shaman had to cut off one of the ribbons from the bells made it seem like that should’ve arrested the curse in the first place because something was broken and he was the shaman. As a viewer, while the whole explanation was very holistic and philosophical the implementation could’ve been more, I don’t know, “oomphy”. Why did her curse work? Did she have gifts in this shamanic field too? Is she a bloodline to something special? Is she part of a group that is susceptible to these types of reincarnations, like Han Na? Basically, in lieu of rituals and incantations, why did her words work? Perhaps she needs to be special and chosen before being the designated dyer and preparer of the shamanic bells’ sacred ribbons. The fact that, for the time and era, she could think of something so adverse to the cultural conditioning and question the validity of their shamanic theocracy shows there’s something exceedingly unique about her. All these perhaps that could’ve been fleshed out way more and maybe even spill into a sequel or season 2 that could’ve rivalled Alchemy & Souls! GAH! Wasted chance!

It's a mixed feelings review but the 5 stars is for the fact that it’s nice to see a reincarnations themed storyline that doesn’t just focus on eros love between lovers. The storge, familial love between Ae Kyung and her uncle was just as relevant and heartwarming, and was the one that really saves Ji Eum in her 19th incarnation! If not for 17th life story, this series would’ve gotten a 1 star for the underwhelming way it was all written.

I would still rewatch this show because the acting was superb but the way the storyline ended was underwhelming and disappointing to the max. It is likely I’d stop watching at ep 10, tbh. However, for those who haven’t seen this show b4… well, oops for the spoilers but hey, u’ve been warned!... I do wholeheartedly recommend giving this show a looksee simply because it is quite a beautiful story. The music is on point throughout and Ahn Bo Hyun’s deer-in-the-headlights acting is cute AF. The adorbs Go Do Yeon is DEFINITELY worth a watch. I’d watch it again just to see her sing and dance alongside her uncle char.

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Predictable but interesting

Second foray into Jap shows so it was an education into their cultural coding. The villain was obvious from the get-go and the male char's machismo was annoying, but female character was fantastic. I hope to see more of these portrayals of a cool and calm woman. And I loved how Kiriko was not sexualised in any way. I appreciated the subtle undercurrent of romance in the series as it becomes obvious early on that Taka highly respects her and starts to care about her welfare more and more. I don't think changing the show to a romance would've worked as it's firmly in the espionage/action type of genre and I'm glad the writers refrained from that.

What I found distracting was the soundtrack. I don't know if the music director was aware of it or not but having the ending credit track to Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (with Gene Wilder) as Invisible's movie track was weird because of the different time and genre involved. Plus, the track didn't even fit with the overall vibe of Invisible so one wonders why it was that they used it at all. Also, the constant repeat of Taka's traumatic flashback felt like a time filler for the writers in lieu of a real storyline.

Great for one watch but I don't plan to rewatch again.

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Ridiculous

Plot: Upon finding out that she has 100 days to live, Dong Kyung makes a wish for the end of the world to Doom who wants her to redeem it by the time she dies. If she refuses to, he will kill off the person she loves most. **Either way she dies**

Remember the last line. Because the writers didn’t.

The person Dong Kyung most wants to protect is her younger brother. If she were to adhere to her wish her brother would die too after she’s gone. In a drunken stupor, upset and bitter about the injustice of her life gone to cancerous hell, she makes this destructive wish without having thought about the consequences of her words. Doom doesn’t care about any of that. She made a wish. He’ll fulfill it for her. She just need to reaffirm the wish again. So in another “brainflash” she decides she’ll fall in love with Doom and not wish the world to hell and both she and Doom will be the only ones who’ll die in the end. At this point, the whole story becomes very, VERY predictable.

It's obvious that she’ll regret it and try to save him from dying because she loves him. It’s obvious that they’ll fall in love (although how a non-living entity and embodiment of destruction can even feel any emotion is anyone’s guess). It’s obvious that nobody dies. What’s not obvious is how badly this is carried out.

There is absolutely no chemistry at all between the male and female protags. They just keep saying they love each other and that’s meant to be it. No work done. No bonding effort made. Nothing. The whole quasi explanation from the “mother of all life” character just added in a WTF element to it and partway through, when the writers instill a time loop arc, as in the characters lose their memory and repeat the whole meeting and falling in love again, you KNOW the writers have literally lost the plot and don’t know what to do anymore but to fill in time with more time wasters. Seo In Guk, as Doom, looks so bored the whole time I can’t make out what he’s feeling exactly when he says this or that, which adds to the whole Doom persona but viewers can’t help but wonder if the actor is actually bored… (he probably is. Go watch him in Café Minamdang where he’s able to show off more of his acting range. Poor dude’s talents got underused in this series.)

The second story that’s meant to help move things alongside the primary arc is a raised eyebrow plot. Girl falls in love with a stranger who kisses her while passing an umbrella to her. Erm, no. Maybe look up ‘consent’, South Korean studio execs. Strange men who kiss women are usually considered in criminal legislations or cases rather than the beginnings of a romance. Plus, it’s obvious Lee Hyun Gyu was only interested in Na Ji Na insofar as to compete with his older brother. Whenever his older brother is in the picture with Na Ji Na, Hyun Gyu ups his game with Ji Na and suddenly finds the courage to be meet her and tells her how he feels. How convenient. Methinks he should have a relationship with his brother instead, esp since his older brother says he’s his favourite person anyway.

Watched this coz it was the series that jumpstarted the careers of some actors I liked but will not watch again. Disappointing story. Rubbish and non-existent romance. Nonsense ending. Not recommended. Only watched till the end coz I usually like to watch shows that showcases professions and the look into a publishing company was interesting but it was too brief.

Funniest things were watching Doom wait at the traffic light for it to turn green when episodes before he was able to stop time and just walk across the road. Also, when watching the "mother of life" char become better and have a good time in her school and school uniform, with friends waiting for her, I thought, "she thinks it's great because she's not getting bullied" then remembered she was in The Glory... so I guess life's not that great after all! Just like this show!

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Not as satisfying as promised

The Glory promised to be a woman exacting revenge after bullies traumatised and assaulted her when she was in high school. Though there was definitely plenty of that the whole revenge aspect fell flat for the lack of planning and reliance on deus ex machinas, or luck, that came through.

The plot of school violence is similar, though more extreme, than what happened to the protagonist in The Sound of Magic and in both series I’m left wondering why and how the impoverished protagonists were able to afford being in an elite private school in the first place. It’s clear social class played a motivating role for the bullies in both shows so it seems the easiest way to avoid it is just to have the working class be segregated from the seemingly more violence prone elite class. One would think private schools would do that, since they charge an arm and a leg for admission, but Korean schooling systems must be different because both protagonists, who are dirt poor, are able to attend private schools. At least in The Sound of Magic, there is the constant foraging for money to maintain admission. In The Glory, Dong Eun seems to have selective “affordism” where she’s financially able to handle the private school but not food. But anyway, I’ll focus on The Glory for this review, of course.

My expectation going into the series was that the revenge would be meticulously planned to the point where the bullies had no choice but to move into disadvantageous positions for Dong Eun to capitalise on, almost like a Go game. The calibre of planning expected were similar to those in stories and shows like The Count of Monte Cristo, The Shawshank Redemption and The Sleepers. However, aside from the mention of the Go game itself, the protagonist’s moves did not seem to have much planning involved other than waiting for the well-placed apartment to be available. A lot of the events that happened to help advance her revenge seemed fortuitous and attained by luck and nothing else. The luck in finding her greatest ally, the similarly wounded and revenge-hungry Yeo Jung; the luck in discovering the true paternity of the antagonist’s greatest weakness, Ye Sol; the luck in finding a helper in Hyun Nam; the luck in finding another helper, Gyeong Ran, a fellow victim traumatised by the same bullies; and so on and so forth all within a few years and months of the revenge culminating. It took away from the sense of Dong Eun taking her power back since most of how the bullies suffered by serendipitous means rather than by her hand.

What was frustrating was watching how little the writers actually understood about human psychology when seeing how the mother character was used as a hindrance for Dong Eun. I'm not even sure what her issue is until the char was dispatched off at a mental institution for, of all things, alcoholic substance abuse. Alcoholics don't actually linger around for years just waiting for rich benefactors to gift them with money so they can act up again and get in the way of their daughter's life. Dong Eun's mother seemed ok and sober all the years prior to the antagonist tracking her down and when the contract is made, her modus operandi isn't even consistent with alcohol abuse. Addiction isn't a switch that can be turned on and off conveniently to fulfill a plot but that seems to be how this nuisance character was written. The sense of "convenience" to the whole setup doesn't help with the whole "Dong Eun just got lucky" feel that viewers get when watching The Glory. I was left wondering why, if DE planned so meticulously, did she not tidy off this very raw and obvious loose end in her life so she can't be blackmailed with it as she had been in the past. The answer was that there's no reason but for the screenwriters wanting to just leave it till later when it's "convenient". This takes away from the organic, real life progression of the story and stretched the suspension of disbelief too much to invest in DE's "triumph", if it can be said as that.

Didn't enjoy it as much as I'd hoped and felt they should've invested more time in Yeo Jung's revenge, if only to prove that it's not all luck and deux ex machinas since she can replicate it again.

Was glad to see the actor who portrayed Yeo Jung as I thought he had too brief of an appearance in Hotel del Luna but this series is not something I'd watch again.

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Not your typical XianXia. Incredible romance and storytelling. A masterpiece.

There are seriously very few shows that I can't wait for Netflix to finish obtaining before watching the rest of it. This show, though, was one of them. After seeing the first few episodes, I ended up having to subscribe to another live stream service because it was going to take weeks for Netflix to finish uploading it! Yes, it was that good. Just a fair warning that this is going to be a thesis of a review as I want to gush the hell outta this series because, [insert a Sean Bean meme] one does not simply watch Love Between Devil and Fairy and think they can walk out with just a few "oh, jolly good show, chaps" as a sentiment. For those who haven't seen it and don't want spoilers, all I'm going to say is do yourself a favour and GO FORKING WATCH IT! WATCH IT NOW! WATCH THE HELL OUT OF IT!! WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE?!?!

Beyond this point, there be spoilers...

~~~

First up, there are some stereotypes and common XianXia tropes that are used. Yes, you get the ingenue female protag. Yes, you get a crush on a seemingly too-out-of-her-league male char. Yes, you get some extended love triangles where the competitor for the higher-than-thou male char is the female protag's antagonist and creates angst for her. Yes, you get an overly powerful male protag and yes, you get a sacrifice, from the female protag, who needs to choose between love or duty. But it's not what you think!

The female protag, Xiao Lan Hua (Orchid), is not your stereotypical female ingenue protag. The very first thing I noticed about her was that she was strong. She was strong in knowing what she wanted and unbending in going for it. She knows her power limitations but, to her, it's something that can be remedied with some hard work on her part and she is willing to put in the yards towards it. Although she is bullied she never lets it affect her but instead works around the bullies and just avoids them as much as she can. She doesn't even state, in the narration, that she is bullied at all but thinks the other fairies are her nice friends not because she's too naive to know what they are but because she harbours no ill will towards them. I really respected her for that as it shows maturity and strength. Whenever they call her by other flower names, she is not afraid to correct them. It doesn't change their recall of her name but, to her, what was important was that she stood up for herself and her name. That, again, is true wisdom and strength. Then, and here's what cements her "strong female char" status in my eyes, when the contest to serve in Lord Chang Heng's palace is announced she declares to the other competitors that they should remember her name because they'll be hearing it alot when she wins. The first episode when she did all that really hooked me from the get-go because even though she sported the stereotypically annoying chipmunk voice of XianXia chicks, she wasn't going to be another willowy XianXia chick swooning at someone she can't get only to be continuously rescued by someone she was scripted to fall in love with later. There was some chutzpah to her that was rare in XianXia Cdramas.

I'm not sure why the directors think Xiao Lan Hua is a meek and cowardly girl. To me, her announcement that she will be the winner was convincing evidence that she was anything but a meek and cowardly girl. Because to make that announcement, she had to believe that she was worthy; whether she was able to doesn't matter. What mattered was she believed she was worthy of a chance, a chance at being in close vicinity with the man she loves, a chance even of being considered by him. That is something you don't find in other ingenue Xianxia female protags, and that is something you don't associate with someone who is cowardly. They say courage is when you are afraid but do it anyway. Sure, Xiao Lan Hua is scared of many things, but that doesn't stop her from pursuing what she wants, and believing that one is worthy, to be able to stand in one's own glory despite so much societal rejection by her peers... that does not smack of cowardly one bit. Moreover, her actions after this declaration, as well as her valiant deeds in the examination, have only solidified her strong and courageous image. She has strong principles and values life and is not afraid to do what she deems necessary.

Other things I disagreed with was how Shang Que was received. He is perceived as a dumbass. Fans have commented that where Dongfang Qing Cang was missing a heart, Shang Que was missing a brain. However, if they actually watched the show in the beginning DFQC relied wholly on SQ's intel and knowledge of everything from history, medical healing procedures, politics, everything. SQ's knowledge on topics are wide and he has the pulse on everything that would affect his liege. He would be considered the ultimate spymaster. The FBI and CIA would kill for someone as knowledgeable as him in a similar reality. Certainly DFQC was not ignorant of SQ's intellectual worth and SQ was pretty much his vizier throughout his reign. It's quite short-sighted to think he is without intellect just because he is also very physically strong. It's worthwhile to note that he is not human. He is a dragon and just because he chooses to think the best of people, the opposite of Jie Li's mindset, doesn't mean he's a pushover or a dumbarse for having convictions. I bring this up because I think the directors also commented on how he's not considered a smart char, which the fans might've gone along with. This particular fan disagrees and think they did a fantastic job, more than they realised.

There were other things that defied the XianXia romance troupe that made me love this series. How Dan Yin shows reason and can say that although she's grateful for XLH saving her life, she still dislikes her because XLH is competition for HC's attention. I found this a real insight into sisterhood in that yes, harem-like malicious viciousness has been commonly portrayed by female chars in Cdramas despite the protag saving the antagonist or making some sacrifices for the latter, but LBDF defies this trope by reaching a realistic middle ground. It is annoying to see portrayals of male love rivals giving up their competition for friendship while females don't get this kind of closure. It is also very unrealistic. Surely, in real life, rival women do let things go and just decide that friendship can exist between the "sisters". If honour can exist among men, are we really to believe that it can't exist among women, the main maker of sacrifices in life? Very sadly unrealistic belief, tbh. Anyway, back to Dan Yin. Her char is great. Like with a capital G. She is someone who had ambitions and goals before she fell in love with HC and after going through a trial with him remembers her past dreams and decides to pursue that. She grows out of loving him and decides being friends is the best. Honestly, she is an underrated char and I very much hesitate to say she is an antagonist. In fact, this XianXia is great because there are no real antagonists aside from the evil god, Tai Sui, who can be interpreted as more of the darkness within anyone's soul. I hope to see more of her type of char in Cdramas and XianXias. It is refreshing to have women portrayed not as losers for never having won the love of the man they like because, really, having or losing the love of a man is really like any other life event.

Hua Cheng (update: I mean Chang Heng. Jeezus, kept getting Zhang Ling He's char's name mixed up before finding out he IS going to be casted as Hua Cheng in Eternal Faith!!!)... now... this char too is unique. Zhang Ling He's acting was very good as I was able to pick up early on that he reciprocated XLH's affections and it was a pleasant surprise to have such reciprocation when we are so normalised to the female protag never receiving the love back in these sorts of stories. He was very unique in that it's nice to see the male paramour char acknowledge the female protag's good qualities. It shows a good judge of character (no pun intended) that is rarely portrayed by characters like him. I do feel sorry for HC as his sacrifices were very underplayed and overlooked. He suffered a lot for XLH and I don't think he was really given a fair chance to win her affections. And the misunderstanding about him striking her off his palace duties were never remedied so I felt he was given the short end of the straw in the romance arc. However, I guess ultimately his character arc was about finding his own independence to defy the expectations foisted upon him by an insecure and bully of older brother, not about having his love realised.

Another thing that endeared this series to me was the fact that the love btwn XLH and DFCQ was never insta, as is often portrayed by XX. There was a lot of bonding work that was done that found both chars inadvertently gravitating towards each other that made it very organic and a natural progression. It was a healthy protrayal of love that is rarely encountered in shows and took its time to grow with the characters. The love btwn Jie Li and SQ also felt natural because of the polarity of their mindset despite stemming from similar beginnings. They balance each other and also make up for each other's weaknesses.

Sibling love was also explored between DFQC and his brother, Xun Feng. It's quite often that you see sibling rivalry portrayed in a way that expects viewers to accept that "they compete because they just do, because one is jealous of the other, because one gets more attention than the other, blah blah blah". It's just too lazy and easy to fall back on the lack of paternal attention (more so than maternal attention) as the catalyst to sibling rivalry. It locks the antagonistic sibling into this endless, mindless drone of pettiness and jealousy that can't ever be resolved until the other is disposed of. Here, however, this wasn't the catalyst. It's not shown what XF thinks of their father's affections towards the firstborn, DFQC. There's never a sense that XF was jealous of the time the former Supreme Moon Lord had spent with the older brother. What XF was pissed off about, however, was that his brother cut short his own time with their father and in a very final way. This, I found, was a more mature form of rationale for sibling rivalry because it's not self-absorbed. XF is young and his incompetence as a ruler is alluded to a lot but it was refreshingly nice to not have him be immature. Like Dan Yin, he was mature enough to be reasoned with. He was mature enough to set his old feelings aside and be taught, even by an enemy (ie XLH), because he was ultimately very much motivated to love his brother, as, in truth, he really does love DFQC, and he really does love his people as well.

Another love that was explored was storge love and boy, did it ever. DFQC's patricide pretty much framed the series and defined his character and life in the beginning. However, we find out that it's not as simple as it seems. The writing around why the former Supreme Moon Lord behaved the way he did was nothing short of spectacular. Really, at the end, one can't decide which way is up or which way down. When DFQC is faced with imminent invasion from the celestial fairy clan the enormity and reality of his father's past decisions really bear down on the viewer and leaves us at a lost to decide what should've, could've, or would've been the right decision. As DFQC himself discovers, "Father, [when the enemy was gaining] and you had to remove my emotions, did you feel the same [despair] too?" As a viewer, I couldn't really fault the past Moon Lord's decision and neither could I judge DFQC's actions towards XLH at that point too. It felt like a game of Go where you were locked into the only logical decision to make that would incur incredible, and irrecoverable, costs. The whole patricide angle melts away and reveals this layer to DFQC, the former Supreme Moon Lord and XF's character and r/ships with each other. It is just nuanced work that ate through a whole bunch of tissues.

Last, but not least, is the whole catalyst to the showdown between the fairy and moon clan—the love Rong Hao bears for his master, Lady Chi Di, the former goddess of war. Such a love between teacher and student is strictly forbidden and frowned upon in the WuXia and XianXia cultures, which reflects Asian cultures. In LBFD, this taboo love is portrayed as something that becomes a destructive and evil obsession by Rong Hao that consumes him and the world around him. The most telling line from RH was "why is it that not even destroying heaven and earth can fulfill such a small and simple wish?" And what was that small and simple wish? Knowing that he can't realise his love for his master, all he wants is for her to live, for him to be able to stay in her life and for them to be teacher and student, master and disciple, for eternity. The shortcomings of forbidding such a love are laid bare when it is discovered that she too had unseemly feelings for him, but whereas his love was construed as selfish and self-centred, resulting in centuries of trauma and suffering on Lady Chi Di without her having consented to any of it, her love was considered pure. But was it? In a spectacular twist, we find that she had also inflicted her own selfish desires on Rong Hao, bringing him back from the dead without his consent as well. The question to us then is whether Rong Hao was the real instigator behind everything or whether he was merely the byproduct of Lady Chi Di's unseemly act. Honestly, I don't think Rong Hao cares. In her revelation to him, he finds a soulmate who was just as willing to move heaven and earth, and bring order to its knees, as he was. In this way, Rong Hao's "twisted" love was answered and reciprocated. There had always been a sense in him and to himself that he was irredeemable and so very unworthy of the gift of deityhood she had given him, but in discovering her actions, he realises she was the same as him—just as human and earthly, just as messed up and broken inside, just as irredeemably unworthy of a godhood he was willing to bargain away so that he could have her by her side as she had kept him by hers. It was a tangled, messy love arc but so sensitively written that, by the end, I really couldn't hate on Rong Hao. I mean... aside from the genocide of XLH's clan...

Finally, the ending... I'm not going to mince words—it was rushed. By the end of it, I remembered thinking, "please, just give me a happy ending. Even if it's something stupid and implausibly insulting like what happened in My Only Love Song." I also remembered thinking, "be careful what you wish for", because, lo and behold, something implausible was exactly what happened at the end. At first, I felt cheated of their wedding and their marriage however, when I wound the show back I realised that they had, in fact, been "married". When goddess Xi Yun and Hua Cheng discussed their marriage, she explains that her powers need to be activated and it was believed that it could only be activated by their marriage. However, when she gives DFQC another redemptive kiss (to mirror the first he received in the celestial prison at the beginning) her powers were activated, which symbolises, to me anyway, that she was married and to him. At first, it felt a tad deus ex machina but really, it makes sense. The whole rationale for the ancient marriage contract between Hua Cheng's and Xi Yun's tribes was to protect the three realms. In being soul-married to DFQC instead, this was the best way to ensure the protection of the three realms hence why their match resulted in the needed goddess power activation. What I did find rushed was the very very very ending... when DFQC returns... no, not even that, beyond that... when he just says, "honey, I'm home!" and then the metaphoric curtain falls to The End. WTF. I mean, ok, they were "married" but it felt a bit stingy to cheat the viewers out of the visual affirmation but even so, if we were to accept that, it was definitely stingy to cheat the viewers out of the happily ever after that these two worked so damn hard for. I suspect the production crew knew fans would feel this way and created the final special episodes, but it was cuts of former episodes and filled with so many images from DFQC's dream illusion phase that it felt... weird.

HOWEVER

No stars whatsoever were deducted for this. The whole show was replete with so many amazing subversions of the XianXia tropes that it was well worth investing in all the 36 episodes. I've missed out on some other stuff, like the great sisterly love development Jie Li and Dan Yin and how the Moon tribe finally comes together with the fairy tribe for the common good, led by Xun Feng, and the wonderful Si Ming character. Ok, no, I'll write a few stuff about her because she is truly awesome. Si Ming is fantastic. The wild child of the celestial fairy folks who is ironically in charge of order, who follows her heart even when she believes everything is fated and free will doesn't really exist and, who is an avid drinker! She lights up each frame she's in, which is woefully few. I would've loved a further exposition into her backstory and the production crew could've expanded the series for a few more episodes at least on her, imho. Anyhoo...

Honest, by the end, no one is left behind. Everyone has a growth. There were no cliche NPCs at all which, for me, shows great writing because there was no waste, à la Chekov's gun principle.

Really disappointed it was only 36 episodes but have enjoyed each and every one of them. Recommendation is definitely to watch it if you like character driven shows and layered stories. LBFD was a feast.

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Sweet, little watch

I wasn't too sure about this show when I first started but two things made me stay: one, when the protag, a Joseon era male, rejects the notion of having children, and two, when the series states that no animals were harmed in production. Both of these were different enough to make me watch on.

Other things that I found refreshingly different and new were seeing "honour among thieves" in how the antagonists were given backstories of their own and also an insight into what it was that made them bond. It was quite a pleasant surprise as well to see Choi Tae Hwan's acting range from having met this actor on Hello, Me! He did a good job on an enabled, psychopathic legitimate heir and the family dynamic of the father and son were well played out, imho.

The leader of the angatonists, Tae Seo, was a well written character that was played to perfection by Lee Jae Kyoon; LJK manages such intensity and vulnerability that it was difficult to hate on this antagonist. Even his friend, Cha Mal Jong, was a grey character. Though CMJ is the usual stereotypical cruel villain I found myself admiring his loyalty to his friend and his "band of thieves". He died protecting them and their secrets and such loyalty was rare to come by, even amongst "good guys", and rarely associated with villains that I admired the writer's approach to the characterisation.

Other noteworthy acting was Chae Won Bin who has to portray two characters and honestly, when I saw her on her second character I didn't even realise she was the same actress. Even when there was a part, at the end, where she portrays both characters one after the other, I was amazed at how she managed to exude such different presence and aura as to make those characters so different and separate, though they were portrayed by the one, same person.

What I loved about this series is the sense of equilibrium that it gives the viewers. Seeing three women supporting each other as sisters and being entrepreneurs with their natural talents and "businessing" themselves to success, in such a harsh era for women, was a pleasure to watch. And seeing the men that their efforts also inspire, and whom supports the women back, gives a feelgood vibe. There's just a certain sweetness to this series that is satisfying to the heart and soul to watch.

The only criticism I have for the show are the flashbacks. Imho, they're not handled as well as other shows. The too similar lighting and place and similar hairstyles and such doesn't delineate the past and present enough and makes it confusing between the present and past switches.

Aside from that, I would recommend this show to anyone wanting a nice change to the stereotypical cliches found in this genre and also the subversion of male-female r/ships, expectations and responsibilities, overall.

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Started out subversive then descends into a millenial emo cliche.

I was so immensely disappointed in the the way this show got derailed towards the end. When it began, the issues and concepts that My 1st Life touched on were very well tackled. It subverted the whole institution of marriage and examined the cultural and political angles of it. However, because the female protag was a Lit grad somehow this signaled to the screenwriter that it was ok for the show to descend into some emo cliche interspersed with Lit references to somehow make it really meaningful and deep... when it ain't.

The whole arrangement that the two protags had were perfectly rational and works. Then the female protag decides to overstep her boundaries and gets upset with the male for standing his ground and drawing the boundary lines clearly. I think from there it was clear to me that this show won't live up to its original premise of being a groundbreaker in the construct of marriage and, sure enough, Ji-Ho continues on this vein of irrational decision-making throughout the rest of the series. Because they need to stretch it to 16 eps, the pace suddenly slows around I-can't-remember-anymore-tbh. I found myself checking on the speed on my TV to make sure it isn't a technical issue on my end but no, it's totally the show. The chars are reduced to stretching out conversations in lifeless tones, all snail speed (maybe aligning with Ji-Ho's love for snails) with interspersed broken pieces of internal monologue and emo music. This is meant to be a TV series. It just ended up being an attempt at a film noire/art festival/avant garde kind of filmmaking that's pretentiously desperate. Viewers aren't dumb.

Honestly, I stayed till the end because of the cat! As other reviews have indicated, Ji-Ho's behaviour is toxic AF. Her reasonings—delivered in broken pieces with emo drama music—are so nonsense that even her mother says, "you're talking crap". It was just really painful to watch if not for Soo Ji's arc AND THE CAT! Whatever "intellectual" proposition the series wanted to make on the topic of marriage was thrown out the window episodes ago and in the end, we're left with characters with conflicting behaviours (first the groom's dad was anti-marriage, then he wasn't), BS profiling (Ji-Ho's mum stayed with the dad coz she remembers how he was so sweet to her when they were dating... yeah, she's full of sh#t too. If she'd won the lottery, she'd have been outta there so fast she'd have left skit marks) and shallow motivations (Ho Rang pressures the hell out of Won Seok to get married and have babies ASAP so desperately to fit in with and be approved by girls whom don't matter at all—WTF). In the end, all the stuff that the show was trying to subvert were reinforced, along with a mystery baby in Won Seok's arms (we are left with the assumption that it belongs to him and Ho Rang) to complete the whole marriage-and-baby-is sacrosanct construct.

All in all, it was a dishonest series that utilised a subversive concept that had so much potential for illuminating the different angles of love for a gimmick purpose.

F#ck this series. "Extremely disappointed" doesn't even begin to describe it. I feel sorry that the cat had to sit through her emo co-stars.

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Can't believe someone invested money in this production

This story started out with an interesting and promising premise but just went to shithouse soon after. Firstly, the female lead was a stereotypical airhead. Despite being a cardiothoracic surgeon resident many of her reactions, in medical or non-medical emergency situations, were just WTF. She figures out that getting the male protagonist to have the feels allows her to move back to her world and her immediate strategy is to kiss, slap and flash him to elicit a response. Wow, what a great use of med school intellect there. There's a scene where the male protagonist falls backwards off the building in an apparent suicide. The suicide ends up being a non-fatal ploy to reset things with a dream but she didn't know that. What would be a normal person's reaction when you see someone go backwards off a building? Not just standing there with this bewildered look on their faces, for one. For someone with her medical background, the reaction was ridiculous. This type of unnatural reaction was not just confined to her char. A lot of the other chars behave in ways that's not normal and believable either that it ruins the show because of how ridiculous it is.

Secondly, I didn't find this show female friendly at all. The sexist description of the female webtoon char's big breasts really framed the way that char was perceived for the whole series, which is a pity because I found the actress' acting a great deal more competent than the female protag's. It was also weird seeing so many ultra short mini skirts on some women background chars on the show. It was a weird dresscode against the men who were fully dressed in corporate or workwear gear that it seemed an artificial add by the directors, rather than a naturally occurring situation. Plus I would've thought there were women in the police or security forces in Sth Korea but all those roles were filled by men in the movie. The amount of gender role cliches shown in W made me feel like I was watching a pre-1960s show rather than a modern 21st century one. Badly done.

Thirdly, the plot was a mess. It was extremely lazy writing that didn't even try to hide that fact. The writers just relied on deus ex machinas to explain every single thing.

I agreed with the MadDog surgeon char who said that the female char add was a weak and useless char add and the romance was childish and third grade. Whenever they stuck to the action genre side of things W picked up better pace but still could not save the nonsense non-existant plots. The romance was nonsense as well as there was no logical reason why Kang Chul would fall in love with her. In Yeon-Joo's case it's been shown that she's highly fantasy-prone anyway so it's believable that she'd fall in love with KC but it was a shallow and immature love because of her tendency to fantasise. And her char was just annoying as F. I was glad she died and the parts when she wasn't around was better to watch. I mean kdrama rom-coms are replete with ingenue women who seem to quiver with breathless anticipation at the slightest touch by a man but the way YJ behaves is just embarrassing to watch. It was too cringey not to mention. She's a 30 yr old surgical resident. It might be an idea for the writers to do some research and meet some in real life. You can't tell me all female surgical residents in their 30s are immature virgins in the way they interact with good looking men. How would they ever manage to handle any surgery with a male patient? It was ridiculous as F to watch how badly they wrote her char and how much she needed rescuing all the time by a man.

Would I recommend it? Maybe the first 3 or 4 eps but thereafter, if you want to continue just be sure to leave your brain somewhere else because not only will you not need it to finish this show, but continuing with it might kill some grey cells. By the end of it I felt embarrassed for the actors. I wonder how they felt having to read such rubbish scripts. The only character growth was Soo-Hee but the rest were robbed, imho. I can't believe someone invested money in this production.

Oh, the drawing was amazing and there's a small cute dog at the end.

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Underdeveloped Concept

This show could've used some thought put into fleshing out the characters and plot. As it was, it seemed the only focus was the CGI, which was ok.

Eun Young is a modern day shaman dealing with jelly creature embodiment of energies and spirits rather than the ghoulish, ghostly spirits we are used to with the otherworld. Her weaponries are a mixture of the old talismans and herbs and the new lightsabers and pellet guns. She meets a helper char, In Pyo, who is pivotal to the situation she's found herself in and is able to recharge her energies in her otherworldly line of work. The series mentions other kinds of non-human beings who help or hamper her work and alludes to an old power struggle between two organisations for a potent power source the school is built on. The setup is tight and neat and only needs fleshing out to develop into its own however, the fleshing out falls short of considered effort. The rules Eun Young's world lives by isn't explained as much to the viewer as it is just told. There are no avenues to "power up" or "knowledge up" besides her rudimentary knowledge so that when she meets MacKenzie, a threat, you get the sense that she is fighting way above her weight class and she is way out of her league. This is unsettling because she's the protagonist we rely on to navigate through and understand this world. We're left with too many questions that distract from being able to be immersed in this world so it creates a barrier for emotional investment.

The characters too do not help as Eun Young is too odd and rude to empathise with. She is abrupt to In Pyo even though she needs him and treats him at arm's length but claims they're in a relationship. Her behaviours are too unreliable with a guy who's just trying to help out and is genuinely interested in her world and her life. I especially disliked it when she orders him not to touch anyone else but her when she hears about Ga Young in his life. If the gender were reversed and she's the guy ordering him, a girl, this behaviour would be considered controlling. Because she was an unlikeable character and takes up so much of screentime it made it hard to invest in this show, especially given the lack of worldbuilding explanation, as mentioned above. I pretty much just watched for In Pyo's brief appearances here and there but didn't invest in wanting a positive outcome either way, mostly because it's hard to tell what would be considered a positive outcome.

The music and incoherent ways in which ppl behave and interact with each other kinda positioned this show as a western arthouse film wannabe. Those kinds of shows are annoyingly pretentious to watch and this show was that too. If they'd focus on developing either the storyline or characters, or both, School Nurse Files would've been memorable. As it is, it's worth a look when you have some time to kill for weirdness, since it's just a short 6 episodes, but not something that'll leave a mark on your psyche as some other thoughtful mystical-like productions might.

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