Moonbeam

It’s true, I feel like they “lose the plot” a couple of times and it comes off weird (not really with the main leads though -maybe just once or twice-, more so all the supporting characters and the related stories). I still quite liked it (all the magical stuff was fun).

I feel like the female lead should be described as a sociopath (since she is supposed to have Antisocial Personality Disorder) rather than a psychopath (“a psycho”).
Those are not the same and her behavior fits the traits of sociopathy more, I guess, not psychopathy (she isn’t very cold, calculating or highly manipulative, she is more impulsive, prone to “throwing a tantrum” when upset/not getting what she wants and her behavior tends to be more sudden and aggressive).
“A psychopath” seems to be the most popular phrase to describe abnormal behavior though, and is used inaccurately in some situations, which might be misleading.

(Not that media/kdramas is that great at portraying mental illness, conditions and disorders etc but anyway)

Yeah… sorry about the “is it a mockery?” part of my comment - I deleted it already - my mdl is glitching really badly sometimes so usually I just write my comments etc in the notes app and then copy-paste them, I must have accidentally copied a fragment of another text and it got posted like this (idk how this happened though haha), sorry if it felt a bit incomprehensible because of that.

Thanks, was it explained (how you explained it) in the drama?? (I’ve only seen the first couple of episodes, I don’t mind minor spoilers though- I know a lot of the plot already anyway lol)

Yeah, he played similarly kinda autistic/ocd-coded character in “because this is my first life”.

Yeah? Maybe it was…
Seems a lot of people expected/wanted it to be something like “he sacrifices himself or his magic for her” or “he becomes human and they’re together” (like in Goblin, Tale of the Nine Tailed or My Demon), but honestly I preferred the ending we got over this expected one - otherwise it would just repeat the story of these other dramas ( I’d be okay if she died in the end and their curse of love was broken - sad ending but genie lives etc; or if they both/all just died (well the immortal/magical guys or the genie wouldn’t have fully died but anyway)- the end, sad ending; but I’m sick of the giving up powers to be human with their lover troupe, it’s kinda funny how they lowkey turned it around in this drama and I’m glad they did it).

He is really talented! He was a completely different man in Pachinko (where I last saw him), the contrast between his characters here and there is (be it, they exist in two completely different stories, so I’m talking just about their general vibe) huge, so amazing.

Is it really all mocking though? (is quoting mocking/making fun?why?) isn’t that just using the motives?

I’m asking genuinely, there are many texts, series, video games etc that use religious concepts and stories to build their word .
Any religion could be interpreted as a fantastical story or a historical text, it seems it is inevitable nowadays. You just get used to it, I guess, and separate the actual religion from the media making use of it’s mythology, and just don’t take the latter seriously (the fact that some people lack media literacy or comprehension to understand that most often a given show or book isn’t an accurate portrayal of given beliefs/myths and takes creative liberties with it, and then they perceive such religion through the lens of that show or book, is a different matter and it’s their problem - unfortunately it can negatively impact others).

There are many books/series that for example use Christianity, The Bible and it’s themes ( shows like Lucifer, Good Omens etc.), that are very popular, and some of its’ parts are rather offensive/contradictory to the religion when you look at it’s core values or texts, and personally it maybe does feel uncomfortable sometimes but overall, it’s just not as big of a deal (if it’s like entertainment media etc. and not someone actually trying to preach the actual religion), people seem to have stopped to care so much, the books/shows can always be ignored by the uninterested audience or by people who feel uncomfortable with it, doesn’t mean that this books/shows/whatever are unilaterally bad (badly made or bad in their nature).

(What I’m saying is, that it’s been done many times already, and It’ll be done again regardless. Some pieces of such media turn out actually really good story-wise (as a fictional story), it’s not that big of a deal at this point).

I know that this drama used religious themes and stories and interpreted them it it’s own way and changed it to fit the narrative, and while it might be unfortunate, uncomfortable for someone who deeply believes in the religion used to inspire the story, the rest of the Arabic “aesthetic”(sorry, it’s probably not the best word to use, but I don’t know how else to describe what I mean - english is not my native language)/culture that was showed didn’t seem offensive (to me as a viewer, it felt rather kinda appreciative even, especially compared to how some other kdramas portrayed stereotypes or Arabic countries/culture), if anything I just thought “wow, those really are beautiful and culturally rich regions, maybe I could read some more about the actual stories/religious beliefs that the characters in this drama and it’s plot were based on” and that the drama (while not being the best, or exceptionally good - it was okay, good-average, I guess) was still fun.

Sorry for such a long comment, it is not that I am typing a lot angrily, but that I tried to explain my point as best as I could - I calmly took time to write it (just saying to avoid a misunderstanding, text messages can be easily misinterpreted, in any circumstances).

Interesting, I’d say that Seo Ye Jin’s character from IOtNBO is weak compared to Suzy’s character here. I also couldn’t like the FL in IOtNBO and she was rude af, while I was able to like the FL in Genie, Make a Wish.
Can’t say that either of them are a completely realistic or an accurate representation of the personality/mental disorders both of them portrayed.

There are many other shows that do this, and with other religions too (very common with Christianity I guess), like Good Omens, the Lucifer tv show etc. and people generally like them (if people were mad on a big scale then they were overshadowed by fans of these shows), so at this point it’s not that serious/ i don’t think there’s a point in being offended, at this point.

I said it before but I have to say it again, Kim Woo Bin looked so good in the longer hairstyles or with the hairpin bun! I was surprised lol

I feel like if you don’t take this series very seriously but as a fun fantasy series (where people die hehe) it is very enjoyable (and it’s length is comfortable too).

I’ve got to say, finally they didn’t incorporate the “you- the magical partner -must sacrifice yourself/ your powers/magical nature and turn human in order to be with your mortal loved one etc” type of plot, and then have them do it (like in Your Demon or Take of The Nine Tailed), I honestly dislike it very much.
I am very happy that the male lead actually enjoyed being a Genie, and that he got to use his powers a lot in the drama (and that the immortals, while able to be barred from the land of the living or damned somewhere, actually are immoral).
I liked that both of the leads were kinda wicked too, and that non of the magical beings (well, maybe besides that crazy boy lol) were truly super good or antagonistic, they kinda just went along with the vibe of the situation and what they wanted/felt they were meant to do.

Yirem and Sade were very cool and cute together ❤️

The storyline with the Grandma got kinda weird/incomplete in like the middle and towards the end of the series, but I’m glad that she did die instead of some magical saving that’d have been anticlimactic/unfitting.

The thing that was like weird, and I don’t think it necessarily needed to be included in the storyline was that whole crush that Minji had on Miju (young grandma), I mean it started okay but then it turned weird… anyway, Minji’s whole character was rather random sometimes/she felt “put in” some situations rather than naturally existing in them, if you know what I mean.

The cameos were a nice surprise, and the story with the stray dog and the chauffeur was funny.

The way so many people just die, especially how quickly the female lead said bye bye, by the end caught me lowkey off guard though 😅.

It was fun and entertaining, I liked it. I feel like they kind of lost the plot a couple of times there though 😂 and some scenes/plot points were so random/didn’t fit…
It wasn’t great, and there were moments when I felt disappointed but still I don’t feel like I wasted my time either.
If you don’t treat this drama very seriously, and rather just as a fun fantasy series then it’s really enjoyable. The premise of the story is interesting.

The ending sucked a bit, bit i if I had to choose if I liked it or disliked it… at the end, I liked it enough, it didn’t disturb the overall vibe of the drama, and was quite similar to what I’d wished/hoped would have happened (the story stays kinda goofy, despite some serious subjects, till the end).

Contrary to what others might believe, I don’t think it’s a waste of talent. While it’s not the best drama of both leads, they still did a good job here.

I’m also glad that for the more bigger foreigner roles they did not seem to just “pick up random foreigners from the street” (like they tend to do in some kdramas, and we end up with very wooden, stiff etc acting performances) but they got people who actually showed decent and good performances.

Anyway, I’ve seen some discourse about the plot (and specifically the name of the Genie) appropriating middle-eastern (I’m not sure which specifically) religion, but nowadays there are so many stories etc inspired by different religions and mythologies, there are series inspired by or using motives from or parts of The Bible, Christianity etc. (Like Good Omens for example) and people haven’t been complaining about them, or those who have been complaining have given up, so honestly I don’t care at this point

I liked the aesthetic, the scenes they filmed abroad and all the magic/fantasy elements. The CGI ranges from okay to good, so I was satisfied.
I do not speak Arabic, but it seemed like they got a decent dubbing/or learned the lines (if someone does speak Arabic here, please, correct me if I’m wrong. At least it didn’t sound very awkward to a someone who doesn’t speak the language).

Finally, Kim Woo Bin looked surprisingly good with that long-ass hair (the hair toss in the first episode! ah ah), and he looks really good with the shoulder-length haircut and earrings. He never was particularly handsome to me, but I found him really good looking in this series.

I cannot stop admiring Steve Noh, his performance is always good (his character was annoying me so much at times in this drama, as he should…). He is a diverse actor, and he is very good looking (an eye-candy in this drama as well).

And Suzy looked beautiful as always (I really enjoyed that they made her look truly roughed up when needed - the backstory - and not just pretty and clean with just a bit of dust on her cheek lol.

Overall, nice.

Ah… I agree with what you say (he doesn’t deserve it, and it’ll be unnecessarily hard for him to get back etc.), I only got a bit excited since I haven’t seen Hong Jong Hyun to have many projects with bigger roles lately, but in general I don’t like this situation at all (with the DUI and how they dealt with it, and Yu Ji On does not deserve how he got treated - it also seems to be a wider problem of dealing with such situations involving public figures in SK - and what it means for him in the future), so maybe I was rather insensitive even though I didn’t intend to.

Honestly so far, I feel like it might be just enough. Because the story doesn’t seem to be that much, it’s just shown like it is because it’s like that for the main characters (it is a big part of their life, life-changing or life-threatening situations even) but from outsider’s perspective it’s not that much, it’s not that complicated (when it doesn’t concern you) it’s just skillfully shown in this drama, that viewers - outsiders can feel that a lot is happening and get intrigued.

Also based on the 3 episodes, I don’t think that this story is supposed to end with some grand finale like them destroyed all corruption, or overthrow all authorities… it’s a story i.a. about change, so it’s probably going to end with main characters changing somehow, becoming different people or their situations changing (or some of them are going to die during their effort to change).
Like, their story, is just a part of the mechanism in a bigger machine, not all things that exist within this story are going to get resolved by the end of it because they belong to the bigger picture, to which the main characters as individuals do not belong to (they become a number, a part of a group of people, one of many, less significant individually).

Or, there’s going to be a second season haha.

Sorry for the long comment, and sorry if it doesn’t make that much sense, I tried 😅

Is the ML autistic or does he have OCD or something like that? He kinda seems like it…

3 episodes in, I agree.
(“perfecting the art of humiliation”; it’s not overdone, it’s not comical, it’s realistic and that’s why it hits the viewer. I get secondhand-embarrassed extremely easily, so I had to pause a couple of times during each episode, but it’s so good, you just have to keep watching.)

“But he’s 4th on the cast list 🤷🏼‍♀️” realest feeling you experience as a drama watcher lol

I am not against bending or ignoring the rules a bit in order to make it easier for myself, but when you go somewhere and you want to do a good and honest job because you know that it’s important, landing in a situation like Jung Cheon is really the worst. You feel so angry yet, you by yourself are powerless.
Such corruption is terrible, like a rotting ulcer of society.