kdramakitty
The most obvious is the gender-swapped roles. Tale of Nokdu has a man dressing as a woman, which I have not seen before. It’s not played for a joke really either; sure, they joke about him having small boobs, and he has some funny moments when he acts like a woman, but there’s no “lol look at this guy dressed up as a girl.” It’s played about as seriously as it would be if a girl dressed up as a guy. Nokdu is also investigating a secret group of assassins who are women, which is another gender-swapped element. Many of the characters in the beginning of the show are women. The relationship between the male and female lead is also gender swapped; he’s the bright eyed, cheerful one, and she’s the cold and grumpy one. They do bicker, but it’s all lighthearted stuff. It’s great that he’s open and honest about liking her early on.
The sageuk plot elements do pop up; oh noooo the king is baddddd and we need to put someone else on the throne. But these elements are brought in gradually, and you have a better sense of who all the players are because you’ve spent more time getting to know them. And because you know them and like them, you’re a lot more invested in what happens. So I think the transition from more lighthearted, gender bent sageuk fun times to “oh no the king is bad” sageuk seriousness was really good. It was great that several of the sageuk plot points play out differently than they usually do, because that made it more interesting. It also still kept a lot of lighthearted elements due to the characters, who are a kooky group of people. Nokdu himself is the best character, a sweet boy who is kind and caring but nevertheless willing to fight for those he loves. He is a great and compelling character and the show would not be nearly as good without him. This show never lost sight of what made it good (the characters), but also executed the plot really well.
Tl;dr This was a self-aware sageuk that headed in its own direction rather than going down the well-worn path of most sageuks. The characters are unique and fun, with Nokdu truly being the best of them. Would definitely recommend to those both new and old to the sageuk genre.
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The show starts out very strongly by introducing our female lead, Yeo Reum. I find the description here on MDL and viki inaccurate; Yeo Reum's life is not going well from the very start of the show. The first episode is a bit tough to watch, although not terribly so. I think a lot of people can relate to Yeo Reum's life, the feelings of repetitive nothingness going to work every day, being talked down to and disrespected, and not having the confidence to speak up for oneself. Seeing Yeo Reum's very relatable life and problems really made me sympathize with her and root for her, so it was a great relief when she decided to completely change her life and move to Angok. I think there's a relief the viewer experiences in seeing someone break free of the expectations that society puts on us and deciding to go "on strike" from life. I really loved how the whole theme of the show was essentially that societal expectations don't dictate what will truly make us happy or fulfilled.
I loved Yeo Reum's relationships that developed over the course of the show, both romantic and platonic. Her friendship with Bom was super heartwarming, and I loved the two of them acting like sisters and becoming their own little family. Yeo Reum was able to provide support, comfort, and joy into Bom's life, and in turn I think she was able to finally have a family that loved her the same way she loved them. Yeo Reum and Dae Beom's relationship was absolutely delightful to see unfold. It's a love story between two quiet, shy people, and they are so sweet together. I don't think I've ever squealed over seeing two characters texting each other for the first time, but I sure did when watching this show. I liked that Dae Beom also had his own issues to work out, and that he was able to do so over the course of the story. Both Yeo Reum and Dae Beom played important roles in each other's growth and healing.
While there are many heartwarming elements, it's not a universally happy show. There are some heavy issues that are dealt with, including Bom's alcoholic father, Dae Beom's traumatic past, among others. I can't say I love how characters acted in regards to some of these plot points, nor in how the writers resolved them. I wasn't a huge fan of the "graffiti" subplot (dunno what else to call it, especially without spoiling anything), but it served its own purpose in the story. Some people really didn't like episodes 10/11, but I surprisingly did, because it felt like the culmination of plot points that had been building throughout the show. I wouldn't call this show "realistic," but I liked how parts of it didn't give you the happy ending that you might have wanted. I also liked that characters' relationships were allowed to be messy, such as Jae Hoon and Bom's. They're young and immature, so of course it's not going to be flawless. You don't like all the characters in this show, but they had their good moments, and many of them were somewhat better by the end of the show. For example, Ji Young got on my nerves, but she had a character arc of sorts, and so I liked that.
I don't know if this show just happened to touch my heart in ways that are personal, and thus this show may not be objectively that amazing. But I loved it so very much.
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This first season feels like a lot of set-up. That's necessary, of course, but the show still felt somewhat incomplete. There is a real lack of emphasis on the characters, so you're not really invested in them other than the fact that they're living beings on the screen. There's very little conversation or banter that gives you any kind of hint as to their personalities. None of the relationships are really developed either. It was also odd that it felt like a good portion of the action happened off-screen. For example, when the beginning of the outbreak starts, two characters are in a shed arguing. You see blood spill into the shed, but the only thing you really see about what happened that night is the aftermath, with blood everywhere and stakes and sharp bamboo sticks constructed as barriers. This sort of thing happened with a couple of zombie encounters, where the entire situation mostly happened off-screen. I don't mean to say that all zombie attacks have to occur on screen, but it was odd that seemingly big ones weren't really shown.
I was a little confused about how rushed certain plot points were (the politics in the beginning are a bit fast and might be hard to catch onto), while it seemed to also be taking its sweet time in other parts (plenty of long shots of people riding places, walking in the palace, etc.). I will say that the action sequences and zombie parts of the show are really good. There is so much tension surrounding the zombie threat, as our heroes attempt to get people to take it seriously and yet are not listened to. When night falls, they know (and we know too) that they're doomed. The zombies themselves are terrifying. Their clouded eyes, the strange strangled growls they make, the way they move their bodies as they rise from the ground are all so disturbing. Kudos to those actors for giving it 100%. Basically, everything about the zombies is great, both the sequences that involve them as well as people's reactions and plans to handle them, and fortunately that's a good portion of the show, so the show is definitely good, despite the fact that I'm mostly complaining about it in this review.
The aspect of the show that is most developed is the political situation, which to me is the most boring part of many sageuks. It's more interesting here because of the very unique situation that they are reacting to. I hope that with the political situation set up they can not focus as much on it in season 2. As I said, there's so much action and plot-related things happening that the characters are very paper-thin, but I think they show promise and I hope in season 2 they get more time to get fleshed out. I think the twists that happen at the end are good and intriguing, but honestly if I had watched this show when it first came out I don't know how invested I would've been in a second season. I'm glad there's a second season, as now I can see whether they follow up on the good stuff they set up.
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It’s something I haven’t thought much about, freedom. I suppose I’m fortunate enough that freedom isn’t something I have to worry about. But this show made me think about and deeply appreciate freedom. It does this by juxtaposing two very different time periods, modern day and in the past during the Japanese occupation of Korea, in which our same set of characters live. In the past, these people are fighting for freedom from their unjust situation, under the constant threat of discovery and death, and are sacrificing their livelihood and even possibly their lives. And for what? A freedom that they themselves are unlikely to ever experience. Then, we switch back to modern day, where these characters are together, laughing, able to love each other, able to not be living under fear of discovery. It’s beautiful. It’s amazing. It honestly makes me emotional even writing about it.
The show also has other themes that it touches on, such as the pen is mightier than the sword, a theme embodied by the Chicago Typewriter itself. Gosh, this show is just so good. Just watch it.
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Tbh how are you supposed to review a show that has clearly been split in half??
While I certainly had thoughts about Part 1 of The Glory, I felt like I could not adequately review it since I couldn’t be sure how well different plot points would play out. Having now watched the second, I honestly think the first half is mildly better. For one thing, it features Ha Do Young a lot more, a character I enjoyed and found interesting. While I found Joo Yeo Jung a little tedious in this half, the plot twist in Part 1 regarding his character made me feel as if he had potential to grow darker. Moon Dong Eun had some great dialogue in this half (and rest assured, she stays great, but there some of my favorite scenes of hers are in this half). The cliffhangers are good, including the one at the end of this “season.” On principle I find this whole splitting shows into half for arbitrary reasons annoying (*cough cough* Kingdom) but this isn’t the worst iteration of that strategy, so that’s good. Overall, I do recommend this show, but I definitely don’t like it or think it’s as amazing as much as other people do. If you want to know my full thoughts on the show you’ll have to read my Part 2 review.Was this review helpful to you?
It’s good I guess ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯
I have a tangled mix of thoughts and feelings about this show. Overall I think it’s good, and it’s extremely watchable (I binged Part 2 in three days). I’ll attempt to do a pros/cons list.Pros:
- the writing is overall pretty solid. Dong Eun has quite a few iconic lines of dialogue, and a lot of the character interactions are interesting. The plot is generally well paced and moved quite quickly, which helps keep you engaged. Part 2 delivers on quite a few things that Part 1 sets up, so that’s good. As a fast paced thriller you do need to suspend your disbelief, but that usually just comes with the the territory.
- Dong Eun = A+ protagonist. I love that there is no hand wringing about whether she should get revenge, she is allowed to be dark and go all out on these awful people. Song Hye Kyo does an amazing job portraying the character’s quiet strength but also vulnerability.
- The acting all around is very good. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for Im Ji Yeon, she was truly a memorable and extremely hateable villain. Yeom Hye Ran also gave a great performance. The younger actors were also fantastic.
- Cinematography was excellent.
Cons:
- The romance. It’s so confusing how it just did not work for me. I don’t know at what point in the creative process the male love interest came in, but it felt tacked on. Which is odd, because it doesn’t seem like late addition: the character has an important role in the story and has his own backstory. A big problem might be the fact that the actors have no chemistry, which once again is odd since both of them are good actors. I’m having trouble explaining this, so I’ll use an example: the first time these characters say “I love you” to each other (I hope it’s not a spoiler to say that these two characters say this to each other at some point) they say it in the most bland way, in a scene where it doesn’t feel totally appropriate and there’s no real inciting event to cause them to say it. I don’t know, it seems on paper like this romance should be good but in reality it just didn’t work for me.
- The male love interest has some good lines of dialogue and his backstory is somewhat intriguing but it just never landed for me. Maybe they built too much of a puppy dog image of him initially that I just really had trouble taking him seriously. There’s also just way too much focus on him. In one sense this is a good thing, so he’s not just a one note character and serves no purpose in the story, but the last episode of the show is largely dedicated to him when this is Dong Eun’s story! I just thought that was silly.
- The violence and nudity seemed really gratuitous. I’ll once again use an example to help illustrate my point: there is a good portion of one episode where Hyun Nam is abused by her husband. We already know by this point her husband abuses her, and the scenes were so long that I was questioning why on earth we were still on this plot point when there seems like plenty of plot we needed to get to. The repeated instances of nudity and violence seemed unwarranted and like they were there for shock value, and I found it off-putting.
- Oh also the fact that this was clearly a normal 16 episode show split into two parts just annoys me on principle.
That’s mostly it. Like I said, I think objectively the writing is pretty solid, and I appreciate the unique angle on a revenge story. But the “romance,” main male love interest, and the gratuitous violence/nudity really lowered my opinion of it.
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A perfectly adequate revenge story
Good stuff:(1) Park Hee Soon as Choi Moo Jin. For real this guy is so charismatic and compelling. He is just so commanding whenever he is on screen. He has this occasional softness to him but is so intense and dark at times. I was so interested in what he was thinking and feeling. His relationship with Han So Hee’s character is so interesting too.
(2) Han So Hee. She has this quiet intensity to her, such that I truly believed she had this inner rage and drive for revenge all while she basically acted normally. I don’t know, oftentimes it’s the fight scenes that tell you a character is badass, but she is just so intense all the time that like, I just believe she is. It’s a somewhat subtle performance as she’s a fairly reserved person, but Han So Hee totally sells it. She’s also amazing in the fight scenes.
(3) The fight scenes are genuinely very good. They’re often long takes, there are multiple people fighting oftentimes, they take place in well-lit areas (what a concept), and are just really well choreographed.
(4) oh, and Jang Yool is a complete delight whenever he is on screen.
Problems with this show:
(1) Plot is basic. If you’ve seen a few revenge stories or thrillers, you can probably predict fairly easily what will happen. Even if you haven’t, so much of what happens is pretty generic. Like the first few episodes were fairly unremarkable, gotta set up her tragic backstory with a parent dying, etc etc etc. So it’s just not very engaging.
(2) Characters are basically paper thin. Alongside the generic plot they just become even more bland. It’s really only Han So Hee, Park Hee Soon, and Jang Yool who keep things interesting. Even then they get toned down because they don’t have the writing chops to back up their excellent performances.
(3) Weird writing choices. For example, a new antagonist pops in about halfway through and while I love him, I don’t understand his role in the story. I felt like they couldn’t come up with anything else for the revenge story and needed to fill up the run time. Like I said, I love him, but I don’t get what the point of his character was because it was so distant from the real plot. They could’ve spent more time on the central relationships instead.
(4) Ending was rushed and kinda lame. Last few episodes not only speed through the plot but also the emotions of the characters, or rather they don’t get to be as well fleshed-out as they deserve. I also think the ending was a weird choice; it felt like they were going somewhere with “killing/revenge makes you a monster” but then the story just kinda ends and you’re like… alright.
I’m not sure I’d recommend watching this show (go watch Healer or City Hunter instead) but it’s perfectly fine.
(Also this is the most attractive group of gangsters I’ve ever seen. They should give up their life of crime and just open up a modeling agency or something)
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Dan Oh, the female lead, is my fave kdrama character of 2019 (Do Hwa might be a close second, but he didn’t get as much screen time). She is hilarious but not over the top, is frustrated constantly with the author, and is really determined to change her fate! She rolls her eyes and cringes at the author’s writing, gets frustrated as the sparkly beam of sunshine only shines on Ju Da, yells at the author for using her as a “love bridge” between the two main characters, and hates every interaction she has with Baek Kyung onstage (“what am I lacking that I have to like this jerk?!?!). It’s hilarious seeing all her reactions and inner thoughts to what the author is doing. Her love for Haru is funny and cute as well (“Dan Oh, how could you just be thinking of Haru all day?”). I love the friend squad of her, Haru, and Do Hwa. I wish they all got more screen time together!
Slight spoilers here, skip if you want: I’ve seen some complaints in these reviews that she just starts getting obsessed with Haru and that becomes her life. I didn’t really perceive it that way, but I see how it could come off that way. Off the stage, the characters finally have control over their own actions, and Haru is one of the few other self aware characters and she has a big crush on him, so of course she is gonna run and find him. Also, sadly, as the show goes on and the stakes get higher, she doesn’t have a lot of time left, so she wants to spend it with the person she loves. It sucks, but in the world they live in it isn’t like they have any goals to work towards besides changing the story; the future is determined by the author, and the story could be ending soon, so the present becomes all the more valuable.
I loved all of the characters! Do Hwa is amazing, Haru is sweet, Dried Squid Fairy is sketchy, Baek Kyung is a jerk and I hate him, and Ju Da is interesting. There are some great character arcs for multiple characters, and in this regard and others the show does a great job of taking kdrama tropes and turning them on their head. The show is very self aware of the tropes it is using and either makes fun of them or does something different with them. It’s a high school drama, but with a completely different twist on it. It is very cool seeing how the story twists and turns. They do a great job of pacing it and revealing information gradually so you continue to be intrigued. The rules of the universe are interesting and the way that you expect things to play out is rarely what happens. The show brings up some existential questions: is it better or worse to be self aware in a world where you ultimately have no control over your fate? Would these characters be happier if they weren’t self aware? What do you do when you have no control over your fate? The characters deal with these tough questions and sometimes handle them different ways. The acting is great in this, the young cast did a great job with their characters and I’m intrigued as to what they all do next, especially Hye Yoon.
The main criticism I have of the show is that about 75% of the way through it starts to recycle some of the same arguments and plot threads, so even in this tightly plotted show it felt like several episodes were superfluous. We did get some darn cute scenes of Haru and Dan Oh though in those episodes so it’s worth it.
I highly recommend this show. Whether you’re a first time kdrama watcher or a veteran, this show is very fun and very interesting and has great actors and beautiful cinematography.
I made one of those silly PowerPoints about it on tumblr if you want an lol version of my review: https://kdramakitty.tumblr.com/post/190601494269
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The main positive thing I can say about this show is that it sure was good at ending episodes on a cliffhanger. I would be watching the show, asking myself why on earth I’m watching it, resolving to stop once I finished the episode, and then it would end on a cliffhanger. Then I, hating myself for wasting my time on a show I didn’t even like, would have to click to watch the next episode.
Can I mention my favorite cliffhanger while I’m at it? Our female protagonist is standing in the middle of the street, with her two male love interests on either side of the street, telling her to come to them. That’s the end of the episode. The next episode starts and she walks away from both of them! I laughed out loud. Despite how garbage the majority of the show was, it did have some occasionally golden moments.
Since I’m talking about the positive parts of the show, I might as well mention that quite a few characters are good. This was the first role that brought Kim Woo Bin to my attention, and rightfully so. He is a thousand times more interesting and compelling than Lee Min Ho’s character. Krystal was also great in this show, she really stood out as a very jealous spoiled brat but she morphed into our female protagonist’s friend through... spite? I think she basically became friends with her to keep her away from her boyfriend lol. I think overall the acting is fine in this, but the script is just. So. Bad. The dialogue is flat and boring. Seriously, so much of this is a snore. That’s why Kim Woo Bin’s character was the most interesting, because he at least had more dynamic motivations and managed to convey more emotion than our two main leads combined. He’s a pretty terrible person, but at least he’s interesting!
It honestly cracked me up when I came back to this show years after I had watched it, because I hadn’t realized how jam-packed of stars it was! And I couldn’t remember any of them! Like, Kang Ha Neul was in this, and I was genuinely surprised, I didn’t remember him at all. Many, many actors that I like and respect are in this, but the script is so bland and boring that none of them are interesting. Seriously, even very talented actors couldn’t bring any life to this lifeless show.
This show suffers from what I would call cliche over content. The show filled itself with all the kdrama tropes and “shocking” moments (our female lead getting pushed into a pool, that dramatic crosswalk scene, etc) so it does manage to get its hooks into you, but there is hardly anything else besides those tropes and dramatic moments so it almost feels empty. Characters hardly exist outside of their tropes and thus they aren’t very interesting. They don’t really have the opportunity to portray emotions. The dialogue is mostly in service of whatever plot stuff is happening (and in the most utilitarian way) or is just filler, so no characters really demonstrate much of a personality. There’s plenty of dialogue that I wanted to or did skip because it was either the same conversation they had had before or nothing of consequence was really happening and it was boring. The show does a lot of telling, not showing. This is particularly evident in the main romance, of which I am fairly unconvinced actually exists. The two main leads... like each other? Dunno why, but the music and cinematography tells me so so I guess it’s true. It certainly seems to underlie their motivations but when they actually interact it’s very dull and they don’t convey a lot of emotion. It’s a little hard to tell whether (a) the acting is just kinda not great (which I find a little weird, since I don’t think Park Shin Hye or Lee Min Ho are untalented), (b) the script is so bad there’s nothing even good actors can do to save it, or (c) the editing focuses more on the ~drama~ that it fails to capture any emotions that the actors portrayed. Also that closet kiss was low key assault and while some kdramas do have some sketchy kisses that one was pretty bad.
This show is an excellent case study for observing kdrama tropes, so I’d almost recommend it if you want to see all of them in one place. However, aside from that, this show is addicting but it leaves you feeling really crappy and bad about yourself afterwards, so go watch a better show instead. There’s plenty of addicting kdrama tropes in other shows.
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I think Hospital Playlist portrays the world as it is and also as we wish it could be. Pretty much the entire cast are “good” people, though they can be good in different ways. Even the people we might expect to be antagonists (parents, the hospital director, etc.) genuinely care about other people and generally have good intentions. Is that entirely realistic? Probably not. But I also felt this show was rejecting cynicism; rather than leaning into our pessimistic expectations of who people are and how they act, the show consistently showed us that most people are kind hearted. So I really appreciate the world that the show portrayed. Instead of trying to be as “realistic” as possible, it decided to show humanity at its best.
The show’s relative simplicity is one of its biggest strengths. The setup is simple: 5 friends who met in medical school are now all doctors at the same hospital. The plot revolves around ordinary days in their lives. Simple, right? Yes and no. The “complexity” lies in the various relationships between the characters both as a group and individually. There is a sprawling cast of all the other hospital staff and family members, so there are a lot of characters to learn about initially. But I wouldn’t describe any of the relationships as complicated; it’s more that there are a variety of them. The relationships between the main 5 are the most fun and interesting, and they really are the heart and soul of the show. The times when they played together as a band (which happens every episode) were consistently one of the times when the warm fuzzies would sneak up on me and I’d feel so happy just watching them play music together. The show does a great job of making the relationships feel real. It shows you how much the characters care about each other, often in very small and subtle ways. It happens in moments when they’re just eating together or hanging out in each other’s offices. I love how the show portrays platonic relationships between so many male and female characters, it’s genuinely great to see a guy and girl care about each other and it not being framed as romantic. The entire cast is awesome and contribute their own little heartwarming and heartbreaking moments. No one really served as (the only) comic relief in this show; everyone had times where they made me laugh out loud. I love all of them so much, and there’s the magic of this show: it manages to make you care about every single one of them, while seemingly not trying.
I don’t know how else to describe how great this show is because it just is. Please do yourself a favor and watch this show as soon as possible.
I made a little silly powerpoint review on Tumblr if you'd like to read it: https://kdramakitty.tumblr.com/post/621054541113294849
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Don’t expect everyone to survive, do expect to be emotionally devastated when they die, and good luck surviving the end of episode 8.
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MDL wants me to make this at least 500 characters though, so I have to write this little paragraph in an attempt to reach that count. My deepest apologies for this frivolous little paragraph down here that is wasting your precious time.
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I want to like it more than I do :/
It took me about two episodes to get into this show. It was initially a little too cookie-cutter for me; I've seen bullying and rich people ostracizing less-rich people in a dozen kdramas, and at this point I don't find it too compelling. But the murder mystery kept me on the hook, and I'm glad I watched the rest. The twists and turns of the mystery were really well executed, both in terms of them being interesting as well as their pacing. There was so much drama that was compelling to watch, particularly within the Endo family. The struggles and fights that they had actually echoed some that I've experienced, so while it may have felt overly dramatic to some people it felt realistic to me. I felt so tensed and stressed at various points throughout this show. The writing is clearly excellent, from the dialogues between characters to the unfolding of the murder mystery. It didn't stick the landing for me though. The final big reveal in the last episode really negated a lot of the story for me; it made me question why various things had happened because they didn't make sense with the final reveal. Previous explanations for events turned out to not be true, but those explanations almost made more sense than the real one. The final twist does make sense, in that the motivations and what unfolded seem realistic given the known facts, but in light of the truth the actions of certain characters didn't make sense. It's hard to explain without spoilers. I do think the character and relationship development that happened were well-done, so that part of the finale worked well for me. It's frustrating, because everything right up until the last episode was really good, but... darn, I wish they hadn't done that final twist.Was this review helpful to you?
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