Nelly
Canada
I don't often give a rating above 8.5/10 but...
OVERALL
A drama about psychological healing that successfully combines comedy, drama, mystery and romance. Watch it, no ifs...but I guess keep it for later if you really, REALLY don't like characters with flaws.
THE STORY
I LOVE dramas that normalize mental health issues, so I was really hoping this one would be good. It did not disappoint. It's not really about psychiatric illnesses or psychiatric treatments per say. The drama is about accepting your psychological issues and thriving in live despite them. The Strengths: 1) the grabber in episode 1 is EPIC, probably the best start of a Korean drama I've ever seen, 2) the dip in gothic genre is extremely innovative for Kdramaland, and although the show doesn't completely go gothic, it's still cool, 3) there is literally NO loophole in this drama, it's so well-written everything that happens has a reason to be, 4) the clever use of fairy tales for symbolism and allegory is just AMAZING, 5) the characters have real and coherent character development, without going from 0 to 100 (they are imperfect from beginning to end, but still have improved), 6) the depiction of mental health issues was carefully researched and is appropriate (though not perfect), 7) the romance feels organic and natural (not forced by the plot at all). I feel like many Kdramas could learn from this one.
The Weaknesses: Really, the only thing that bothers me is that for around 2-3 episodes in the second half of the drama, things just feel a bit off. Maybe there's a slight decline in the overall coherence, maybe it's the acting (see below). It's very short-lived though! Another thing that may bother some (but not me): the romance isn't particularly fast-paced and there isn't a whole lot of skinship (aka kisses and more). It's still totally great!
THE ACTING
Great performance by the two leads, SYJ and KSH. I recently got to know Yeji through Save Me, and since then also watched Lawless Lawyer, and I got to say, she delivers every time. In this drama in particular, she blew my mind. She kind of overshadowed KSH's performance, and even the actor playing autistic Sang Tae (who was amazing too!). I think I have a girl crush haha The child actors were amazing (most of them are, don't know what they feed them), and some extras also grabbed my attention. The one downer in terms of acting comes in the second half of the drama. I won't say much more so I won't give anything away, but I feel like one person overacts WAY too much at the end of the drama, which almost ruined these 2-3 episodes for me.
THE MUSIC
Pretty cool, though nothing I felt compelled to add to my playlist by the end of the drama. I want to highlight the creepy tune that came in everytime our female lead did something psychopath-y. I loved it!
REWATCH VALUE
High, but I'm not sure it's very high? I shed too many tears in this drama to feel like watching it any time. It'll probably be for when I'm not too happy but not too sad - the perfect mood for it.
A drama about psychological healing that successfully combines comedy, drama, mystery and romance. Watch it, no ifs...but I guess keep it for later if you really, REALLY don't like characters with flaws.
THE STORY
I LOVE dramas that normalize mental health issues, so I was really hoping this one would be good. It did not disappoint. It's not really about psychiatric illnesses or psychiatric treatments per say. The drama is about accepting your psychological issues and thriving in live despite them. The Strengths: 1) the grabber in episode 1 is EPIC, probably the best start of a Korean drama I've ever seen, 2) the dip in gothic genre is extremely innovative for Kdramaland, and although the show doesn't completely go gothic, it's still cool, 3) there is literally NO loophole in this drama, it's so well-written everything that happens has a reason to be, 4) the clever use of fairy tales for symbolism and allegory is just AMAZING, 5) the characters have real and coherent character development, without going from 0 to 100 (they are imperfect from beginning to end, but still have improved), 6) the depiction of mental health issues was carefully researched and is appropriate (though not perfect), 7) the romance feels organic and natural (not forced by the plot at all). I feel like many Kdramas could learn from this one.
The Weaknesses: Really, the only thing that bothers me is that for around 2-3 episodes in the second half of the drama, things just feel a bit off. Maybe there's a slight decline in the overall coherence, maybe it's the acting (see below). It's very short-lived though! Another thing that may bother some (but not me): the romance isn't particularly fast-paced and there isn't a whole lot of skinship (aka kisses and more). It's still totally great!
THE ACTING
Great performance by the two leads, SYJ and KSH. I recently got to know Yeji through Save Me, and since then also watched Lawless Lawyer, and I got to say, she delivers every time. In this drama in particular, she blew my mind. She kind of overshadowed KSH's performance, and even the actor playing autistic Sang Tae (who was amazing too!). I think I have a girl crush haha The child actors were amazing (most of them are, don't know what they feed them), and some extras also grabbed my attention. The one downer in terms of acting comes in the second half of the drama. I won't say much more so I won't give anything away, but I feel like one person overacts WAY too much at the end of the drama, which almost ruined these 2-3 episodes for me.
THE MUSIC
Pretty cool, though nothing I felt compelled to add to my playlist by the end of the drama. I want to highlight the creepy tune that came in everytime our female lead did something psychopath-y. I loved it!
REWATCH VALUE
High, but I'm not sure it's very high? I shed too many tears in this drama to feel like watching it any time. It'll probably be for when I'm not too happy but not too sad - the perfect mood for it.
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