1
Charming92
Greece
STORY
Thankfully the description of the show gives you the basics of what you need to know. Kid dies, mom goes back 14 days before its death to try and prevent it from happening. I'll keep it simple. Best thing this drama had: multiple plot twists. And that pretty much covers the positive parts of this drama. Do i sound like a hater? Partly, i am. The reason i gave this drama a 9 is because i was super intruiged to see what will happen next, i loved the plot twists and (shocker here) i was never bored. I cannot give a bad rating to a drama that had me on the edge for 16 hours while i have given the same rating to dramas that almost put me to sleep. The twists kept coming and coming and they never failed to amaze. The suspense was always kept in a high level and never failed to impress!
Sadly, God's Gift had a lot of flaws, a few too many actually. The base idea is flawless and interesting and brilliant and *insert a positive adjective here*, but while it was completely enjoyable i couldn't stop my mind from screaming, 'this is stupid'.
1. The drama had no meaning. At first it talked about the death penalty and whether it is moral to sentence a convict to death for his crimes. This notion just gets forgotten after a while and nothings comes to surface. The drama has no meaning it is just there for the *wow* of the story.
2. Convinient script writting. Crime dramas love being convenient and they can't manage to survive without that. However there were so many mistakes done here, and most of them stupid, from placing a bandage on the wrong side of the face to stupid writting just to make the story progress. It is debatable if these 'black spots' are plot holes. I am not even sure because this was so overly complicated i might have missed some parts.
3. Overly, extremely, immensly and exceedingly complicated. I love complicated stories. Hell, most kdramas are so plain and simplistic they get my goat, but this just was too much! I lost the thread of the story many times, i had to read recaps online to keep up, and during the later episodes the show just gave me a huge headache. Maybe it was me, maybe it was the bad writting, maybe both, maybe none.
4. I don't know how they managed to create such unrealistically clever characters (with amazing memory) and make them unimaginably stupid at the same time. They were very quick to pick up what is happening, remembering situations from days ago and yet they fell on every false lead that got on their way and made such stupid decisions!
5. All the problems that are mentioned above just result in this drama being overall highly unrealistic and fake to the point of being ridiculous. It has the fantasy tag on the main page, but fantasy is one thing and this overall plot is another.
6. The ending. It wasn't bad, we pretty much got the mystery resolved, but many questions were left unanswered, some important, some not. I don't have a problem with open endings, but some important things were left on the air while they shouldn't have!
Overall, i have to say i enjoyed it, and we watch dramas to enjoy ourselves so mission accomplished. Despite its flaws it was a very memorable drama and that says something. The first episodes are flawless and you will be completely sucked in. The first half of the drama is an endless manhunt that was engaging and fancinating but at the end was kind of insignificant to the bigger story. The second half might not feel as exciting, but at least we get to unfold the backstory and understand what has happened. It was interesting, but generally had all of the script faults that i mentioned above and a lot of times felt like cheap and lousy writting.
ACTING
So here's what i thought about Lee Bo Young before this: She is a pretty better-than-average actress that just doesn't want to challenge herself. She is ok with being the eye candy and looking cute. It works for her, and she is good at it, no argue there. Interestingly, my opinion about her changed here. She was luscious, she exceeded my expectations and i am thankful she decided to challenge herself in this. She got out of her comfort -'i am pretty'- zone, and while she never looked prettier before than here, she gave an exquisite performance being emotional, being smart, being strong and cocky. She was everything i wanted to see. She apparently left her best performance for last before her maternity hiatus. I am looking forward to seeing her in the future in more similar roles! A spectacular actress.
The only other memorable acting was from Jo Seung Woo. I didn't know him, but he was unquestionably impeccable. A flawless actor that i am happy i got acquainted to!
The entire cast did a great job, and i should also praise the child actor Kim Yoo Bin for her superb portrayal of a somewhat questionable character....
RECOMMEND/REWATCH
Now this is rather difficult. All you people who live off romance and comedy, don't touch this, this isn't for you, go rewatch DOTS! People who want realistic things, you'll love/hate this like me, with emphasis on the hate side. To be honest, this is a show for plot twist lovers. You want a show with plenty of twists and unpredictable events, give this a go. I am not regretting watching this, i just wished the writter kept at least one of their foot on the ground while writting this xD
All in all, i doubt i will ever rewatch this, but it is definately worth a try.
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STORY
The base concept of the plot is revenge. I have watched a few dramas about revenge this was definately the best one yet! The main idea behind the show is: 'Be happy with what you are given!'. Ambition is acceptable, but up to a certain point, nothing good can come from stepping on to other people to make something of yourself! The main idea of the drama was quite innovative to me, i don't know why but i found it unique. Usually melodramas are about love and revolve around that idea, here we get a very wonderful life lesson, which i savour and agree with.
As far as the description goes, i am not sure what is happening there, even the names are wrong...
We get a main female character who is unhappy with the way her life is, and she tries with... unethical ways to climb that ladder, and her significant other, feels betrayed and seeks revenge. Pretty obvious isn't it? Yes the story is obvious, and only a few story developments actually shocked me. But, the story's intention was never to shock, but rather to tell a story and give some life lessons. The drama is packed with a lot of frustration (i seriously pity the people who watched it week-to-week), a lot of suspense, to the point of the story becoming a psychological thriller.
The only problem i had with the show was the fact that it could have worked as a 20 episode drama. Not that it gets dragged, but there were some episodes serving as plot-slowers, and the drama could have worked without them. Also, the first 3-4 episode might feel a little slow, i understand that, don't let that stop you, they are essential to the rest of the story, the drama picks up fast after episode 4. The drama basically starts showing you the ending in the first scene, and then we travel to the past, and the whole drama is the backstory of that scene, don't let this stop you from watching, this is the reason i said there are no huge revealings and game changers here, just a story being unfolded a little by little!
ACTING
So sad what happened to the acting, to be honest. Let me explain:
KWON SANG WOO. This is the 3rd drama i have watched with him, and god, this was his best performance out of the 3, i am thankful and glad i got to know him! The drama wouldn't have worked without his flawless, effortless and emotional acting. He was sensuous and luscious, exquisite in every way! To be honest he made the drama what it was, and it wouldn't have worked without him! The drama basically is worth watching just to cherish is award-deserving performance!
SOO AE. Ok, for me, she was't good, and she almost ruined the drama, which is sad and unfair to everything and everyone! She had literally the same face throughout the drama, while crying, while laughing, while speaking, while sleeping lol. Her facial expressions, body expressions and emotions were kept to a minor level. At first i thought it was because of the character but no, i believe she was either afraid or she just couldn't do better. Her face was always the same to me, and for me, facial expressions are the most important part of the acting. She didn't completely ruin it, but she was the main reason this is not a 10 but a 9.5! I can only imagine what it could have been if another actress had taken this part. I was picturing Choi Ji Woo many times (i have connected her to KSW, don't mind me), and i believe she would have worked amazingly. Apparently, they needed someone younger for this part.
YUNHO. Sucks for Soo Ae that an idol did better job than her lol. He was great, especially during the middle of the show where he stopped being a shallow chaebol boy, but he had to express feelings he did a great job, obviously overshadowed by KSW.
KIM SUNG RYUNG. She needs to be considered as the 2nd female lead, and i want to thank her for doing what Soo Ae couldn't. She was amazing, expressing a diverse amount of feelings. She had a proper resting bitch face and a hidden warm side consealed behind that, and expressed that wonderfully. I loved her and she served as tranquilizer after SA's mediocre performance.
I want, at this point, to congratulate the complete supporting cast because everyone was amazing, especially Lee Il Hwa (who i am growing to love), Cha Hwa Yun (amazing!), Lee Jae Yoon and others, and at the same time apologise for such a low grade (8/10).
RECOMMEND/REWATCH
If you are a melo fan definately watch this, if you are a revenge melo fan, certainly watch this. If you are a rom/com fan, this will get a 1 from you and you will lose 24 hours of your life. No reason to hate and be frustrated, ignore this one. This is heavy melo (not a tear jerker though), it should be watched by a certain melo-loving crowd!
I doubt i will ever rewatch this, once is enough. But it most definately deserves to be watched once!
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What happens when you... unleash the devil....
Butterfly effect.... not a new concept in kdramaland, and actually a quite revisited one. The call was an overall amazing experience and, long story short, you have 2 hours of free time and you look to watch a thrilling story that will keep you at the edge of your seat? Yes, click that play button and thank godflix that movies like this are still being produced.But what was exactly the thing that made The call so memorable? The storytelling.
No, It's not the story itself. Yes, we know, somehow 2 people in different timelines communicate and they change things in their timeline that has a ping-pong reaction in both times. It's cool just to think of it, but it's not original. What call had was original storytelling.
The story starts a little cliche, two characters, two different timelines, both are likeable, both seem to be troubled, both could be the hero in their situation, you can't help but empathize. It all goes down midway, when the movie hits hard and it shows its biggest message. "Everything happens for a reason". You cannot play god even when you have that option you will regret it!
The movie as a movie was smart, it was fast-paced, it had cool effects, a killer story and mainly... development! Thrilling starting 20 minutes in, till the very end, and honestly what bumped this up to 9,5 from 9 was the ending... cause even when the movie was quite convenient, and a little bit too.... hollywood for my taste, it knows what it wants to be, and more importantly, it knows what the butterfly effect is and can do. Endless possibilities, multiple points of view. And yes in the very end The call had exactly that. Did not reduce itself in just another butterfly effect suspense little forgettable movie, it thought out of the box and for that i can easily deem it memorable.
Was it perfect? No. It did have its issues if we delve deeply into the whole thing and start analyzing every shit that happens, but who does that in a thriller/suspense movie (especially when we take talking with someone from 20 years ago for granted). The movie had it all, good story, great development, shocking twists, amazing cgi, and in the very end.... flawless acting!
Imma say it, never expected to, Park shin Hye is a good actress. There, i said it. If you ever accuse me of saying it i will deny it though. Jeon Jong Seo was so good, she might have been a little too much inside the role. Astonishing! And generally the whole cast which is known gave an A+ performance.
All in all, highly recommended!
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A year and a half has passed since then and I find myself now mentally healthy enough, in defiance of every day problems, not only to watch and finish it but also to rewatch the whole thing from the beginning. In retrospect, what exactly put me through hell weren't really the hardships that may, or may not, had come my way, but the feeling of being lonely, scared that nobody will understand, afraid that nobody will like the true sad face behind this ever-glowing smile. Little did I know, and little had i understοοd back then, this was exactly what my mister was about in the end.
My Mister isn't just a drama, isn't, probably, just the best drama that i have ever watched, it is life itself. Trying to delve deep into My Mister and then convey its meaning in written form ends up being a challenging job as I have taken so many notes in order to write this review, and yet nothing really makes as much sense as the feeling while watching and as I have finished this peace of true art. Therefore I'll start backwards and prompt everyone to watch this masterpiece. It doesn't really matter what genre you like, what mood you are into, what type of person you are, if you have feelings, are romantic or dead inside, my mister will open and warm a beautiful place in your heart with its rawness, its beauty, its soul, its reality.
The drama talks about the hardships of adult life and how they shape us, directing the way we live and the type of people we end up being - good or bad. Problems, sucky lives, faking it till we make it, facing horrible, selfish people, emotional draining jobs and a rotten society that makes good people feel worthless for being fair.
The goal of the drama is to show us how to battle the inescapable sadness that attacks the earnest people and eats them alive while showing several personal life issues, always putting in the center that everybody has it hard and that should not make them evil, but rather more caring instead. Survival, strife for money, unfulfilled dreams, giving up hope, career problems, society demanding and accepting only perfection from us, failed marriages, wrong choices, family issues, fear of failure, fear of being misunderstood are only glimpses of what my mister has to offer as reasons for sadness in people's lives.
How to survive? Two ways are offered by my mister's profound writer, or are they offered by life itself?
The goal is to not let all that destroy us, destroy the hope, the confidence, the faith, the optimism in our lives and how we get to do that? How we get to stay afloat and survive, just a little bit? Just enough to get through the day? Friendship and family. Family, those people who will always be there no matter what, no matter if you want them or no, the people who will be summoned at once when you kneel. And of course friends, the family we choose from ourselves, the people who will put a smile on our faces even when the whole world around us is crumbling, who will listen to all our stupid shit no matter how tedious they might be, just because they care. People who, around them, it's ok not to be ok, it's ok not to be perfect. Not being alone is the goal. People's support is the key to happiness and survival. A beautiful soul once said "every person in our life has a purpose and what we should do to repay them is to live a happy life". Let's all live a happy life, let's all be grateful for the people we have in our lives that love us and thank them! Happiness is small things.
And then in midst of all that, that may or may not turn us in complete passive doormats trying to survive in the sidelines or crazy dogs trying to fight our way through, a special magical person will appear who will, without trying, maybe even without even wanting, tap deeper inside our soul, see us for who we really are, understand us respect and love us for us. A person who will be there, a person who will see you being vulnerable and will stay, a person who will see you cry and won't bat an eye, your person. The drama is about finding our person, that one special person, around whom, we can fully be our perfect broken down selves and that will be ok. Our person!
The drama teaches us the importance of forgiveness, empathy, understandings, meritocracy, of acceptance of others, of ourselves and our mistakes and so so on. Hell, it even showed a great, magnificent example of what transformational leadership is like! I have a MBA and this drama did it better than managerial books (lol). It seriously compells you to watch, it touches your heart, it shocks you and simply moves you with its beautiful message and pacing.
Plot-wise you are thrown in a company with some serious scheming going on and you get to witness how the two main leads seamlessly grow closer together without any cliche happening, without any classic romantic scene by the book. The plot, however, was mysterious and pretty dark without it being makjang though. It might be argued that it was slow, but the build up and the development was so well thought out, I cannot really point out any flaw or any plot hole or any actual dragging or plot slower device or sub story of filler episode. Even the comic relief was so, so meaningful. This is one smooth drama.
Moving on to acting, "life work" has been called the actors' effort in this drama and It is totally, absolutely justifiable. IU shut a lot of mouths with her work here and I'm so glad for that. She can pretty much act solely is silly rom coms from now as she has done this! Her performance was shivering in every way. This is truly a life's work for IU who ended up being my favourite actress after this.
Lee Sun Kyun didn't really need to prove anything, however I firmly believe this is one of his best works so far and he will be remembered for this. His character and his portrayal was luscious and I'm Thankful for him acting in this role.
The whole support cast was marvelous, an overall standing ovation. No character was there simply as a plot device, even the antagonists ended up showing deeper complexity by the end. Having such multiple layered characters is just so unique, especially when the cast is so big.
At this point I want to thank and mention the writer, Park Hae Young outdid herself. This was beautiful, the most accurate and simple word I can use. I wish i had a more sophisticated one. This was truly beautiful. Thank you.
Finally the music was excellent and purposeful as well as absolutely appropriate.
The drama gracefully doesn't reduce the concept of "my mister aka my person " to just romance, your person can be a friend, a relative, a family member, a lover even a co worker. Your person can be anyone who can see you for you without trying, that special person. Here's to all of us finding that special person. I found him, and God, I'm happy, for the first time in my life I've been alive, so yes, my mister did that for me, and I wish that to all of you. Let's hang in there! Fighting!
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STORY
Misty is all about feminism and we appreciate a feminist icon like Go Hye Ran. Dramas usually showcase women who need to be saved or supported in some way, most of the time showing no real interest in a career or general self development and that's called being cute and is celebrated somehow (main reason I dislike most rom coms). That being said, misty won my first vote by saying no to that and creating a powerful character putting her in the center and making this basically a one woman show!
Go Hye Ran, is a memorable character that you will either love or love to hate. Either way she will leave a mark. It felt really rejuvenating watching a female lead who, yes is a bitch and will stop at nothing to get what she wants, but is not evil. Hating her should have been easy but there was something so real about her that draws you in. All in all the female lead and her well rounded and strong personality was the first pro that pretty much makes this drama a must watch.
Moving on, the plot, ah yes, can I say it doesn't get dragged? Sadly no, it does during the middle, but were the dragging parts boring and unnecessary? Not really. Everything was well thought out, nicely written and even when the drama makes you say, this is dumb, there is a reason it is dumb.
Generally, The show is a crime mystery thriller to be honest with splashes of romance melo, office and legal drama. On the whole, It could have worked with less and smaller episodes. On the negative side of the drama, Some situations were exaggerated and stretched and what annoyed me is that they quickly got undone usually in the next episode. Sometimes unnecessary developments were done, sometimes not, mostly used for wow factors, while the dumping down of certain characters who were just stupid for the whole show to work was just ridiculous and honestly, infuriating.
Having said that, read some comments complaining about a bad ending. Yeah, cause if the ending is not "pretty, wrapped in a perfect bow" as a viewer perfectly wrote in the comments, it is instantly bubbed as awful by drama watchers. Whatever. The drama's roots are set in a harsh reality, there is no good and bad guy, no hero and villain. All the characters felt real living in a grey area of what is right and wrong. A breath of fresh air for me, exactly like the ending. No it's not pretty, but life isn't pretty anyway. The ending made the drama that much more memorable and somehow it felt fair.
I especially appreciated certain characters' development and I loved the rather healthy representation of office drama along with the existence of friendship in the characters' lives. While, I can easily name as the highlight of the drama, the fucked up romance. The drama can be misinterpreted as "how to randomly obsess over a person who never did anything for you" and call that ridiculous and move on, and ok I respect the makjang of this whole thing but it was much more than just that.
Having said that and as far as the mystery goes, it isn't anything groundbreaking but it is carefully written. What actually excited me however, is that you can easily see what is happening, read between the lines, but you are so invested in the characters you refuse to accept it. The drama builds up and then slaps you in the face, hard. The final episodes offer a plethora of twists, almost none of them were uncalled for, on the contrary everything made so much sense in retrospect, but I just didn't want to see it. Good writing. I rejoice.
ACTING
Acting was strong as expected. Kim Nam Joo made the drama hers and snatched a role to remember for sure. However, nothing would have worked without the immaculate Ji Jin hee (who's been getting hotter with age). I applaud him on always choosing such special roles.
Especially memorable was Jin ki Joo though and I look forward to seeing more of her.
RECOMMEND
All in all, I do see how this might not be a drama for everyone, but that doesn't mean this is a bad drama. I was at the edge of my seat pretty much the whole ride. Worthy drama a for a try, especially if you're into crime mysteries. Steer clear if you need for fluffy romance fixed, this a show for grown ups.
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This review may contain spoilers
This wasn't a bad drama, but to be honest, it didn't touch me as much as other people from the reviews i read. It wasn't bad but i found it generally slow, not boring but slow. More Specifically:STORY
The description of the story is somewhat misleading. The show doesn't explore the cellular memory subject that much. Don't expect here any medical exploration of the term or anything like that. This is totally a true love drama, the cellural memory is just the base of the love story. Basically we have a girl who got a heart transplant and she meets, a few years after her surgery, the husband of her heart donor. And we watch their love story unfold. The show focuses a lot on the difficulties an inter-generational couple faces nowadays (the age difference between the 2 leads is 18 years in the show and 20 in reality).
I have to say the story is set up very beautifully, nicely, and complicated enough to keep things interesting, but not confusing. (mini spoiler ahead) Her new love interest (who is the husband of her heart donor) is related to her current boyfriend.
My main problem with the story was that, it took them forever to understand their feelings and embrace them. And when they did, the reasons they had for not being together weren't important enough for me. Sure the affinity subject made things more complicated, but in my opinion that gets resolved fast. The show was a constant back and forth. What i mean is that, while the show has a brilliant base story here, the plot wasn't just underdeveloped but barely developed at all to be honest.
In my opinion, here we have a very obvious case of the writers being afraid of making rapid and interesting story developments so the show doesn't get controversial. They have so many nice characters that are connected in unique ways, explore these connections, make the love triangle more complicated, so there can be serious reasons for the main couple to not be together. There was so much potential wasted. What i want to say is that i wasn't "wowed" enough. Everything was mild. I've seen other kdramas based on true love ect, that had some seriously wowing scenes, here everything was just... mild.
Overall, the story wasn't bad, i've just seen better kdramas about true love, with faster plot developments. What i got here was some mild dramatic feels, and some mild comedy feels. I've seen dramas that were better in both aspects. The show was very enjoyable but because it was slow, it failed to make me cry that much (and i cry easily) and failed to make me laugh that much too.
ACTING
The awkward moment when you like Sooyoung's acting better than her singing, lol. I know Sooyoung very well, because i'm a fan of Girls' Generation (she is a member of the group), and of course her being an idol made me think twice about watching this drama. If you have the same problem, don't make this stop you from watching. Sooyoung was great. She wasn't mind blowing, but noone was. She held her own in front of veteran actors. If i didn't know she was an idol, i wouldn't have guested she wasn't an actress originally.
The male lead was wonderful too. I loved the way he portrayed a 40something man with kids. His acting was very good indeed. Everyone did a wonderful job at their part, i have nothing bad to say about the acting. Best part of the show in my opinion.
RECOMMENDATION/REWATCH
Would i recommend this? Hmm, well, i've seen better dramas, as i've said already, both in the comedy and in the dramatic department. This was good, but nothing mindblowing. If you are a fan of true love dramas you'll like it, but would i rewatch it? no, not really.
OVERALL
This was a solid drama, i can't say i didn't like it, the good acting helped a lot too. I loved the way they portrayed the intergenerational relationship. The base story is wonderful too, the show could have been a lot better if the plot took some more complicated turns along the way to keep things interesting. I like my dramas with some ups and downs, and this felt like a straight line. The ending was sad, people want to see it in a positive way, but i can't. Its not that i didn't like it, but it was just sad, while it didn't need to be...
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It wasn't bad, but it wasn't anything extraordinary to begin with.
STORY
The main premise is the love lives of 3 girl friends.
Firstly, the protagonist. She is cute, nice, the most relateable i think. The show mostly focuses on her. Her story is the most interesting. Her story is about long term relationships, their problems after many years of dating and how (and if) you can get away from them. Specifically, she is in a 10 year old relationship. The main questions her story targets are: Is love alive after 10 years of dating? Is this relationship going anywhere? (why isn't he proposing?) Is he cheating? Should i break up? Can i break up? Can i move on? Things like that.
I found her story and the way she thinks about these things very real. Of course there is a love triangle developing here, still her decisions seemed rational and logical until the end.... What i didn't like about this show mostly was the fact that you can forsee what will happen in the end, from the first 3 episodes... In the end i found her decisions kinda stupid and not rational. They were obviously made just for the show to finish the way it was supposed to...
Story #2. Virgin aged 33. I found her the most interesting in the beginning, but i was dissapointed in the end... So much potential wasted. Her story was cute nonetheless, again you can forsee what will happen from episode 2. Nothing exciting ever happens...
Story #3. If you've seen sex and the city, she is the Samantha of the trio. Well, i consider myself an open-minded person. But there are some really questionable life choices here, that i couldn't help but judge... Samantha was a slut indeed, but she had a nice soul. Here this girl is heartless... She is a selfish slut, there is no other way to put it. Thinking just yourself and not caring for anyone's feelings saying "its their feelings they have to care for their feelings, i will care for mine" isn't logical, isn't right... Relationships are between 2 people, feelings should be considered from both sides... I tried not to hate her because she was a good friend but come on... As for her story, she gets her own love triangle... But she is so self-centered i just stopped bothering with her after a while....
The main problem i had with the show was that in relationship dramas, the show has to make you care for the flawed characters... Here it failed to do that, or it failed to do that to me... When there are some questionable plot choices, the show needs to explain why they were made... Here it just tells us, ";i felt like it, so i acted that way", maybe they wanted to make it feel more "real" but that made me judge them and not care for them to excuse them... The main character is the only one with rational choices... even though in the end she does stupid things and i was like... "Bitch, you deserve getting hurt"
ACTING
Well, i've seen better... It wasn't bad... It was fine, i just... have seen better in other kdramas... It was believable and good nonetheless... The main protagonists tried to act too cute and it bothered me at some points but overall it was a solid performance from everyone.
MUSIC
Generally i don't really care about the music, its just there... But here the music was amazing. There were certain tracks used thorough the show. That might have made the show feel a bit repeatable, but those tracks set you in a certain mood for everything that happens in the scenes, and i loved that. Each song expresses a feeling. Plus they were good songs!
RECOMMENDATION
Well, ehm.... I feel the show generally targets females in their 20s and 30s... I generally LOVE these shows about women, but not this so much. Everything had been done before and in a better way... Plus, you need to be quite open minded to watch, i really rolled my eyes so hard sometimes they were stuck in the back of my head with some character decisions... So, if you are a woman i think you'll appreciate the show a lot, even if nothing wowing really happens. If you are a man, then no... you will hate it and with good reason.
Would i rewatch it? No never, if i'd ever catch an episode on tv and nothing else was on, i'd watch it. But i'd never put it again on purpose... no.
OVERALL
It wasn't a bad show... I had a lot of fun watching it, it was an easy watch. The main problem that made me less excited about the show the more i was watching was the stereotypical presentation of men. "Men just want sex, men don't care about feelings" ect. But at the same time, the slut of the trio gets involved with 2 wonderful guys who she hurts... and the main protagonist gets involved with a cheater who wants to be forgiven after 2 times of cheating... The show should be more neutral about presenting men and women... Maybe i am a guy and i see things a little differently, thats why i said the show obviously targets women...
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Story
Your very, very basic police procedural. Cop + partner team up to solve murder cases. They tossed the ghost concept in there to make it original, or more interesting but they failed. Don't expect to be scared or thrilled because the drama is just a typical police procedural. I feel that the drama aspired to be CSI meets Supernatural but it couldn't pull it off.
First 2 episodes are great in setting the tone, the base story and backstory. Episodes 3-8 have an episodic format, episode and different case. I expected those episodes to reduce themselves in soulless cases but usually procedural dramas come with kickass, amazing episodic plots that keep you on the edge for the whole episode. I don't know if this was just me not being a fan of police dramas, but the cases here were extremely tedious. All of them tried to be unpredictable and i could see the punch line when they wanted me to go *wow* but i felt nothing. There was no build-up for that climax to make an impact so it always left me uninterested. Last 2 episodes explore the backstory that was introduced in the first 2 episodes. Not bad, but the ship had already sailed by that moment... too little too late.
I blame everything mostly on the boring dialogs. It wasn't that the cast were acting like reading lines, it was that the lines themselves were unisprired... 75 minutes per episode need some inspirational dialogs to keep me going because my pillow is too fluffy and i tend to doze off fast!
The drama introduced several superntural concepts like human blood injuring ghosts, and other special/magic weapons ect that were never explained. Poor plot development overall
Another major problem i faced was the ridiculous and infuriating camera work. Apparently the cameraman was either drunk or seriously high. I can totally see how it was fun for him to zoom in and out x50 a thousand times during a scene, i would have laughed too had i been there, but me watching it, i felt dizzy and irritated and i couldn't even focus on the conversations.
The budget was overall, obviously very tight and the whole cinematography was pretty basic too. 10 episodes 8 different cases and i remember none right now while i can easily recall cases from other police dramas i watched in the past. The drama was good for cheap entertainment but there are far better dramas of the same genre out there.
Acting
Had its problems but not that bad either. The main cast was pretty solid but not memorable. Oh Ji Ho was good enough, but pretty forgettable and felt like he didn't put any effort in his work -his fighting scenes were mediocre at best. Same goes for Oh Ji Eun, i barely remember her face. Jeon Hyosung was the only memorable actor in this, not because her acting was impeccable but because her character was the most likeable one.
The supporting cast was mediocre to bad with no enjoyable performance whatsoever.
Recommend/Rewatch
I will never rewatch this of course, i regret finishing it to be honest. I could only recommend this to police procedural fans who know what to expect. This is not your average kdramas, no romance ect. It wasn't bad but there are better similar dramas out there.
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STORY
I am not completely sure what exactly CIIT wanted to present. All in all, i think it wanted to depict young adult relationships of all kind: Friendship, siblings, family, frenemies, first loves, even stalking. Also i believe it sends a very important message about the people around us. We should always accept those who we call friends with their flaws, because those are what they make them unique and important to us, but we should not put up with those that surpass our proximity levels. Every person has its limits, its principals, its ideals and credentials, noone should overpass them, and if they do they don't deserve to be part of our lives, and they certainly don't deserve a free pass because it may happen that we love them. I am not sure if this is CIIT or me trying too hard to make sense of this show.
As far as the plot goes, i believe the writers had something amazing in mind in the beginning, but they lost it midway. Basically you will enter 'Seol's world' Seol is the main protagonist, and the viewers she her life in first person. We listen to her thoughts, we see her life before everyone else, we are Seol herself! The background of the drama is college life. Believe me when i say that everyone will relate to Seol when it comes to college activities, like courses, subjects, co-students who you hate but you have to put up with, team projects that you want to solo,but you are forced to cooperate, all nighters, everything felt familiar. The best thing this drama had (and the worst probably),is the male lead. His personality and his actions moved the show forward. I am sure every viewer spend quite a lot of time trying to figure out what he was doing and why. The drama is basically worth watching to watch his amazing disturbed personality unfold. At the same time we have the cutest love story happening, and probably the biggest second male lead syndrome that anyone has ever experienced lol.
Moving forward from the good stuff, the drama sadly had lots of faults, that forced me to drag it down to 7.5.
1. Weak backstory. We get glimpses of the backstory throughout the episodes, and they make it seem huge and over-dramatic. The backstory is fundemental to the plot since everything that happens basically happens because of this. Sadly, I got dissapointed, it felt childish and overall stupid i may say.
2. The show after a while felt like a constant back and forth. The drama did go around in circles, there is no denying that, we got 0 character development through the episodes, and what was super interesting in episode 3 isn't interesting anymore in episode 13...
Which leads me to 3: Rushed ending. Everything fall into place in episode 16 without having the background to do that.... Everyone decided to just grow up just like that. Face their selves and act adult-y and mature like it was super easy, but for 15 episodes... it wasn't... Another dissapointment!
Overall, this isn't a bad show, and you rom-com fans will love and devour every second of it, BUT, the drama gives you the idea that it will be something extraordinary in the beginning and it just never lives up to those expectations. It was good, for a rom-com but nowhere near what it could have been....
ACTING
Best part of the drama.
Kim Go Eun. A worthy leading actress. Her role felt very plain and simplistic to me, so she didn't have the space to show what she can do imo. But, she had to pull off a few dramatic moments in some episodes and she completely nailed them, thus showing that she is a worthy actress! Hope to see her more in the future!
Park Hae Jin. A difficult role, that he pulled off wonderfully. He was scary and disturbing, but simultaneously, he was cute and lovey-dovey when he needed to. A very well-rounded actor. Amazing and memorable performance overall. A true star
Seo Kang Joon. He held up to PHJ and that means something. His character was also rather simple, a good person with anger issues, but his performance was memorable and wonderful.
Lee Sung Kyung. She should be considered the 2nd female lead! To me, she was the TRUE STAR or the show, character and acting-wise! She gave a luscious and exquisite performance! Her character was actually a difficult one to pull off. She was over the top crazy, she was funny, she was super easy to hate, but at the same time she was emotional and heartbreaking towards the end. She rose above everyone else as the shining star of this show!
RECOMMEND/REWATCH
This is recommended to all the rom-com fans, you'll love it. I feel like i am a parent giving chocolate to his kids lol. As for melo fans, watch it, why not, but don't expect much. It seems extraordinary at the beginning, but don't set your expectations to high, you'll fall hard!
I can totally see how someone could rewatch it, i won't though.
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STORY
So we basically have a light hearted drama about the producers of the korean TV channel KBS. The protagonists have to do with the variety and music shows, while IU plays a kpop idol. As a drama, meaning the love story/triangle, character developments, backstory revealings ect, nothing extraordinary happens. Everything is pretty straightforward, we get a love triangle between the main characters and the writers played a lot around with the ships.
I said it is a wonderful drama but not for the obvious reasons exactly because the main goal of the drama isn't to showcase a specific story, it wants to give an insight of what happens behind the cameras of a TV channel, and also what happens behind the fake smiles of the kpop industry. Each episode has a main idea to explain about how the TV world works, ex: what happens when a show gets cancelled, what happens when a show has failling ratings, what happens when the producers want to cast new show members ect. And along with these questions that are explored in each episode we get closer to the 4 main characters and their (love) lives that get tangled up pretty quickly.
What i loved the most was the insight we got about the kpop industry. This was probably the main reason why i liked the drama as a whole. As a huge kpop fan, a lot of questions, ideas, or thoughts i had about the industry get explored here (ex: how bad a company treats their idols, or are the images each idol presents their true self or just a fake image their company forced them to present, also how do the idols feel, are they really happy and confident as they seem or they are as depressed as every one of us ect).
About the episode lenght, because people said the drama was too short ect, well, i started the drama because it was just 12 episodes, but it took me longer than any other drama i've ever watched to finish it. Each episode has 70-90 minutes long, the last episode is almost 2 hours. Yes, the episodes are 12 in total, but they felt more than 20 to be honest. In 80 minutes there were a bunch of unnecessary stuff being presented which annoyed me, filler sub-stories ect.
Overall, as far as the plot goes, it wasn't the best plot ever, everything that was shown has been done before, it wasn't anything super complicated, it was mostly based in the main cast ships. The show payed a lot of attention in giving an insight on the music and tv industry in korea.
ACTING
Brilliant, and top notch just like in almost every kdrama...
I think it is public knowlegde what a flawless actress Gong Hyo Jin is, nothing else needs to be said. She was as amazing as always here. Cha Tae Hyun was also good in his role, same goes for Kim Soo Hyun (he is such a sweetheart).
I want to give a special paragraph to IU, because she blew me away. I can't say i'm a huge fan of her as an idol, but i really loved her acting, she was a perfect match for this role. I am not sure if she is THAT good, but sometimes it didn't really feel like she was acting, i felt like she was herself, ex: when she was bitchy, or when she was feeling lonely, like noone was there, in need of friends ect. It seriously felt like Cindy was up to a certain point IU herself. I really liked her, and she grew on me even as a singer.
RECOMMEND/REWATCH
Hm, well this is tricky. I can understand people saying that the drama was boring, i felt bored sometimes during the episodes, (90 minutes were really too much), so about the recommendation, i'd say, watch it if you are a kpop fan like me, so you'll appreciate and expect more than just the 'usual' drama from it.
Would i rewatch it? Probably not, putting all the kpop info i got aside, the plot was 'been there, done that';.
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STORY
The main meaning of the drama wants you to believe in yourself, as it talks about 'main characters' and 'supporting characters' in real life. It doesn't matter how you look, or what your dreams are, believe in yourself, believe you can be happy, believe you deserve it, believe you can get your dream job, believe you can get your dream guy/girl, just believe and fight, and you will be rewarded. Don't let yourself in the backround, being a 'supporting character' in other people's lives because, maybe, on the outside you don't shine as much as others, you are as important as they are!
The drama has a very cute feel and it is a great feel-good drama, but when it comes to the actual story it lacks severely. The base concept is interesting, it takes a totally different approach to identity change (two best friends change names because the main lead is ashamed to show herself to a friend she hasn't seen in years) and it was fresh but it gets dragged and repetitive fast tbh.
The drama is completely a rom-com, and basically has 2 things to offer.
1. Comedy. The comedy was on point, delivered solely from Hwang Jung Eum and Choi Siwon.
2. Ships. The writters played a lot around with the ships, made us root for everybody and ship everyone with everyone (even though the end game was apparent from the beginning).
However, the drama doesn't have anything else to give story-wise. There is no real backstory here, no big revealings, nothing to drive the characters or give them depth, just the ships. The backround of the show is developed in a workplace of a huge fictional fashion magazine, so you fashion lovers have one more thing to look forward to watching!
The drama started very promising, but it quickly gets dragged with cute, funny but stupid (a lot of the times) situations to bring the characters together (or tear them apart), a lot of uninteresting for me office drama, and a lot of the times i felt many many things were used conviniently just to fill 16 episodes (especially during the last 4 episodes). I do believe the story could have worked better as a movie or as a 10/12 episode drama.
ACTING
The acting was, overall, great, but due to the light-hearted nature of the show the actors didn't get the chance to shine or express what they can really do.
Hwang Jung Eum. The woman can act, she has established that. She wasn't bad here, she didn't overact too much, but she did overdo it at times. It is obvious that she likes comedy more than other genres but i would definately encourage her to go back to melodramas since they suit her more.
Go Joon Hee was my favourite, if only her character would have been given more proper attention... She did great nonetheless.
Choi Siwon was amazing and arguably the best character of the show. The actor did a great job and he has charm. He executed all his comedy scenes flawlessly, and he made us all fall for him!
RECOMMEND/REWATCH
Since the majority of kdrama fans are rom-com fans i can totally understand the hype of this drama, even if i wouldn't really agree. So, i would most definately recommend this to anyone who likes rom/coms with emphasis on the comedy part. However, if you like your dramas a bit more... deep, or dramatic, or real, you won't really enjoy this as much as everyone else, i talk from experience.
I can also totally understand why someone would rewatch this, it was funny, but i wouldn't.
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STORY
The description is pretty much on point. We have an everyday kinda weird girl who can see ghosts, a rich, shut-down, arrogant and self-centered man who for some reason, whenever she touches him, ghosts vanish... Exactly for this reason she tries to be near him, so she can touch him whenever the ghosts become too scary for her. I guess, you can all get where it goes from this point forward.
The show is pretty straightforward. Each episode has an individual ghost story. The 2 main characters get to solve them all, and grow closer to each other through them. The male protagonist has a ghost story of his own which gets explored later in the show. I, usually, get bored with individual stories, i prefer the drama to focus on the main characters instead of introducing new stories and characters in every other episode. Thankfully, all the individual stories were very interesting, most of them extremely touching, they made me burst into tears, so if you have a problem with individual stories, they won't bother you at all, they are great.
The main problem i had with the story was that, the show focused more on the individual ghost stories in every episode rather than the drama of the characters, and the development of their love story until episode 12. After that we focus on the backstory drama of the male lead character and everything gets extremely interesting, extremely fast. Thankfully, the individual stories were good, so each episode was fun to watch, i just felt the main character stories should have been developed more in the early episodes.
Another problem i had was the love triangle failure, and the fail of the writers to create better story lines for the 2nd male and female lead. The 2nd male lead was introduced to create a love triangle to the main couple. The main couple has such jizzling, amazing, and unrealistic chemistry that the 2nd male lead had no chance, so he gets ignored fast. The 2nd female lead brought nothing new to the show apart from some funny moments, if she wasn't there at all, the show would still have been the same.
ACTING
It was very good, apart from some cringy crying scenes from the female lead, everything was on point. I've seen better, but it didn't feel forced or anything. It was a solid performance from everyone.
REWATCH/RECOMMENDATION
This is a drama that everyone should watch at least once. It is funny, it is interesting, never boring, it has the right amount of drama for drama lovers, but not enough to drive off those who don't really like to cry or anything.
I would definately rewatch it since it is so easy to watch.
RANDOM THOUGHTS ABOUT THE SHOW
I can't say i was as impressed as everyone, but it was a very nice drama. I think if the plot was unfolded in a different way, it could have been even better. The back story of the male lead, is huge and extremely interesting and well written, the show should have not payed so much attention and spent so many episodes on individual stories and it could have given all this screen time to explain the back story better, earlier, maybe make it a mystery or something. We get very small pieces of the backstory in the early episodes, and then fast revealations during the episodes that focus on it. Still, this is not enough to say the plot was bad, it was very good the way it was, and it gets explained very nicely even in the 3 episodes it is given to get unfolded.
Also, another minor problem i had towards the end of the show, was the silly reasons they gave the main couple for not being together. They are just there, crazily in love, dying for each other, having no problems whatsoever, and they created them with no reason... I wanted to punch the screen and throw my laptop out of the window. However, the finale was everything i wanted so i am happy!
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Two aspects were aced here, being so well executed, that actually made me overlook any possible minor plot hole or mediocre acting that passed through the episodes.
Plot-wise, taking a leaf out of pretty much every psychological/religious drama scenario, we get a pretty classic story of a superior evil spirit who possesses someone, kill some people and years later relatives of those gather by chance to avenge their loved ones deaths. What a great way to make the story personal and lure you in. It just always works, doesn't it?
But what exactly made this drama truly great? The cinematography. When it comes to thriller, you need two things, a good enough plot (innovation doesn't always equals quality) and excellent editing. The story is there and believe it gets carried on wonderfully, with its twists, its cliffhangers, teasing and confusing the viewer to keep things fresh and it does always work. However, what exceeded my expectations here was the montage and effects.
The drama focuses on exorcism. Being a religious thriller enthusiast, I've devoured more than half of Hollywood's exorcism-themed movies (the original 1977 version of the exorcist still being the best), I can safely say, they freaking delivered! The music, the editing, the montage, the colors, the atmosphere, the sound effects, the cuts, the directing, everything was top notch. Creating and cultivating a creepy, gloomy, ominous, sinister and ultimately terrifying aura that not only draws you in, but also sends shivers down your spine, makes your eyes water and pretty much makes you wanna sleep with the lights on. Thriller goal met!
The drama can be separated in two parts. The first 8 episodes focused more on separate sub stories that all tied up and were obviously connected in the end, simultaneously helping the main characters from some kind of bond which will be instrumental for the drama to work later on. While the latter 8 episodes focused on the actual goal of the story, find and vanquish the evil spirit!
The drama a started extremely fast paced, the first couple of episodes were exhilarating, it does get slowed down later on, but finds its pace quickly. While this did bother me, the flawless creepy atmosphere of the whole thing made up for it. The drama does not get dragged, although you do get your average classic unnecessary lengthy kdrama conversations while setting the story and I could stay and mention some possible plot holes I stumbled upon, but who really cares. Insignificant details In the great scheme of things. I will, still, praise the development of the story and the number of twists they pulled on us. Special mention though, should be the game they played with our minds, keeping us guessing who the bad guy is without getting annoyed, for like 7 episodes or so. My attention span is way lower than this usually.
The second aspect that worked wonders here were the characters. I especially enjoyed how flawed they were, not your average hero-y people you'd find in similar dramas. I can understand why they could be seen as irritating, they indeed were, but that made them that much more human to me and I loved that. Moreover, I adored their relationship. It felt too real. They never stopped fighting and the drama lacked random cute moments between them, but you could see how they grew to care and depend on each other. Nice writing there. The actors also had commendable chemistry and it showed.
I should mention that the drama features some (neccessary to be honest) comic relief which was quite constant too. I enjoyed that too.
As far as the acting is concerned, imma give a shoutout to almost every supporting actor here, cause their role in making this work was instrumental. The main cast was good, but not exceptional or particularly memorable. Nevertheless, I especially enjoyed Kim Hye Eun, who was luscious in every scene!
Off to the hard part, this is a totally worth watching drama, a must watch if you want. Nonetheless, it is scary, and if you got issues with possession, exorcism, religious things, blood, noises of bones cracking, creepy smiles and generally cannot watch a horror film alone, you... might want go rethink this. Still, I would definitely recommend you try or force a friend or loved one to sit through it together. I can easily guarantee they will have fun if they are fans of the genre. This is s good one, not to be missed!
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King of high school was a solid drama, i enjoyed it thoroughly, although it had its flaws.
STORY
The main idea of the story was very nice, but the storytelling was poorly executed. There is a HUGE backstory to everything (which was very nice), the show lets you understand that there is something more to the story apart from the obvious scenario, but it doesn't get explored until later episodes, and when it does get explored it gets halfassed. Obviously the writters didn't care about it that much and they used it just to complete the story and make it more complicated.
The main idea of the show is the love triangle between the 3 main characters. It is pretty nice and the ships change all the time, i was pretty much shipping everyone with everyone at some point. I'd prefer if the storytelling was focusing on the backstory to develop it into a mystery and then use the love triangle to just make everything more complicated. Overall it wasn't bad the way it was made though, it just had great potential that was wasted in my opinion.
ACTING
EXQUISITE. I loved it completely. Seo In Guk does a great job, he is funny when he should be, he is cute all the time, he is powerfull, he is great in every way.
But, Lee Soo Hyuk, was the real surprise for me. Of course his character is the best written one, but he did a great job in it. Its not in many shows i go from completely hating a character to completely loving him. This happenned here. Soo Hyuk made my heart acke with almost every scene he was in after episode 8. He was wonderful, heartbreaking and emotional, loved him.
The only reason i didn't give it a clear 10/10 is because of Lee Hana. I think the actress is trying a bit too hard here. She was great, and i guess she was told to be like that, but sometimes her reactions seemed kinda forced. Apart from that i didn't mind her personality it was refreshing seeing a character like hers.
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
This is my biggest problem apart from the whole backstory thing i wrote before. The show has a lot of great characters, and almost all of them get on the side for some unnecessary development on the main couple. Sure their love is #goals, and amazing and pure... ok, but i'd like to have seen the development of other characters as well.
Also they tried to develop a 2nd love triangle but it failed misserably ending up one of the main characters getting extremely neglected when she had so much potential.
OVERALL
Overall, i can't say it was the best drama i've ever seen, but i am happy i did watch it. It was funny for the most part and it was emotional in a way i wasn't expecting. I found myself crying and crying like crazy. I'd recommend it to anyone who'd want a great laugh with a wonderful couple in the middle, great acting and some amazing shocks that will make your jaw drop by the end.
EPISODE VALUE:
Episodes 1-6: Setting the story, mostly comedy. I found the first 6 episodes unnecessary, it was watchable, but i'd shrink them in 3-4 episodes.
Episodes 7-13: Love triangle development. GREAT just great episodes. A lot of feels, the 3 main characters develop nicely and everything comes into place. Sometimes the ways the characters find out about their feelings might feel rushed, but sometimes all you need to understand how you feel is one tiny little thing. I appreciated that thought, although i am not sure if it was done on purpose by the writters or it was just... rushed....
Episodes 14-15: Back story revealing. In my opinion this should have been the main premise of the show. The reveals were SHOCKING, i found myself screaming and crying because life and family problems end up being more emotional than love. The backstory should have been developed more, the way they ended it felt rushed as well. Maybe they didn't believe in it, or couldn't think of a better way to end it. Still it was ok.
Episode 16-17: Sweet episodes, kinda continues the love story, the show could have ended in episode 15, there are some unnecessary plot developments here, but still the show concentrates on 2-3 characters and everyone is neglected.
The end was sweet, apart from the already said problem of the neglected characters, i finished the show feeling complete and happy.
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Short version: If you enjoy thriller/mysteries with suspence and action packed scenes with various plot twists that will keep you at the edge of your seat, this is highly recommended. A good watch.
Long Version: Well... not so much.....
So... what we have here? We have a super ambitious drama on our hands. If i had one word to describe vagabond that word would be ambitious.
I'll take the time to carefully present both positive and negative points of this drama, so we can decide on the final score together.
THE GOOD
First thing that comes to mind when i think of Vagabond is scheming and plot twists. The drama starts as a revenge story about an uncle who wants to avenge the death of his nephew. Been there done that. It evolves in SO much more than this, leaving, what this seems to be at the end, a very small detail to be a mere plot device to start the plot. The drama evolves rapidly, including the police force, the NIS, the korean government, several multinational companies and even terrorist organizations...
I was disgusted and yet amazed at the filthyness of the government and pretty much the system of every sector depicted here. I loved to hate these people, the thing that made this drama a hit for me and will be kept memorable for! I can see, however, how this might be too much for some people to swallow and stand by to watch.
More specifically, Including and exploiting a country's own government and police force and pretty much everything legal, showing their worst possible face was especially hard to sit by and watch, but i can easily say this was the drama's highlight. I can applaud the writer for actually going as far as incrimination and even -if i may say- humiliating government executives, striving to show how everything is and -mainly- everyone is rotten to the core. Manipulation of people all in the name of power. *applauds*
Moreover, the drama is packed with fight scenes, which were... well executed, i admit, but... we've definitely seen better.
Furthermore, it has 16 episodes and around 32 plot twists. If it gets one thing right it is that you are kept at the edge of your seat like ALL THE FREAKING time, which makes the drama very binge-worthy! The twists were well delivered, both time-wise and plot wise. Some of them were kind of expected, but all of them were welcome, even if they touched upon the "tiring" territory more or less.
*thinks hard*
Ah! Well written.... villains! This might be more of a personal preference but i figured the villains were greatly written and quite well sustained throughout the episodes. They kept their -pretty questionable- values till the end and it was very fulfilling to watch.
All in all, a thriller/mystery like Vagabonds in its very core seems to be suspenseful and intriguing. If the drama achieved something this is it. There wasn't a dull moment and that is very much appreciated!
THE BAD
First of all, the drama suffered, like pretty much every drama of this genre, of terribly convenient writing, inconsistencies, superhuman main characters, and a very very experimental/unfulfilling ending.
In more detail, starting from the first episode, i just couldnt ignore the ridiculous superhuman main male lead role. Excessively unnecessary to the point it actually ruined half of the fight scenes for me. There is no reason for the male lead to be superman, if i wanted to watch superman i'd go watch.... superman. Ridiculous and way too overdone.
Moreover, the number of good vs bad people. Bish... come on. I get the plot twists and i expect half of "the good" guys change territories halfway through the show, but it was again way too overdone here. This in combination with the fact that the good guys were extremely naive and gullible, while the bad guys were cunning and smart and.... dunno... normal people, made this a whole lot more unrealistic. I get the overdramatization but you can't present me such wholesome bad guys and such stupid heroes and expect me to root for the heroes just for trying to do the right thing. Nope, that ain't me.
I wasn't the biggest fun of the fight scenes camera work. Shaking the camera during the action because.... they believe i'd feel like being there? Meh, no i ain't 12. Sorry
Dramas like this are known for not having any romance involved. That is a good thing in my book. While Vagabond didn't -thank god- have any proper romance development, there were quite a few *moments* between the main characters. I have to admit they were cute and they kind of served a purpose, but other than the comic relief and the cuteness they didn't bring anything to the table other than that.
All in all, many were the times i rolled my eyes so hard my eyes were almost stucked at the back of my head because of the stupidity and the directional choices for the characters. I dare to say that the drama, by its end, has developed in so many levels that it can arguably be expanded in its own francise with multiple seasons/movies. All this raw potential never get explored but instead we get some half assed final episode that tries to do too much and while it does succeed to a certain degree, it pains me to say that i can personally write a 22 episode season based on this ending that we will never see.
In the very end, i think Vagabond's own ambition destroyed it, or -let's not be so harsh- kind of killed it from within.
ACTING
Unpopular opinion: All the sub characters were better than the 2 leads.
Suzy has come a long way, and was a pleasure to watch, but she has a long way to go still.
Lee Seung Gi.... was good... But that is pretty much it, which leaves a lot to be desired next to supporting characters like Moon Jeong Hee who was... to die for in her particular role.
Finishing the hat, let's keep this simple. You like suspenseful dramas, with numerous plot twists that will not leave you keep calm for a split second? You don't mind switching off your mind and overlooking exaggerated siliness? You enjoy bad guys doing their thing the worst way possible? Then this drama is for you. I can easily recommend it, but know what you are getting into. For everyone else, this would most probably be a no. I don't regret watching it, mainly because of the world building, but over than that, this was cheap and unfulfilling.
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