ColourMePurple

Don't Fall For The Poster!

This is a cute drama but nothing like I imagined it would be. There isn't even enough romance for me to consider it a romance drama.

It's more of a story about a 27 year old woman who works herself to the core in a job without so much as an appreciation for all her hard work. Eventually, she gets an interview offer from another company that has a better work environment and she finds inspiration to grow and be a better version of herself.

I feel really let down by this drama on the romance front. Though both male lead and second male lead are really nice, genuine characters, there is hardly any moment outside of casual interactions with them so the poster was a complete false advertisement and I doubt anyone picked this drama because they wanted to see an office work environment story.

I liked all the characters and the OST is cute.

Read More

It will suck you in instantaneously

I mostly binged this part and it was probably the best decision since it's an easy watch. By that I mean, it is very easy to sink into the story. It captivates you. There is a lot happening constantly so you certainly won't be bored. It also has some very emotional moments. At least they were for me. I was on the verge of tears at least a couple of times so expect angst as it delivers it well.

The war scenes were brutal without being too gorey. They left it to the audience's understanding of what might have happened/is happening and I am thankful to not have to seen some of those scenes. Else it would have required me to take a lot of breaks. It's nothing close to Game Of Thrones if you need an idea. There are some action scenes but not that much and nothing that blew me away. It's less skill and more about war tactics.

I enjoyed the character development of the female lead. How she changed from being self-obsessed and somewhat immature to having great strength, wonderful leadership qualities, being a quick learner and strong-willed. The male lead on the other hand gives off red flag vibes initially but falls hard for the female lead so there were several points where he won my heart. There's a lot of push and pull happening.

If you prefer quick resolutions, don't bother. It's a bit of a rollercoaster. The final episode may leave you feeling a tad annoyed. But nothing we didn't expect I suppose.

All actors were brilliant. The OST is beautiful. Hopefully part 2 will be satisfying.

Read More

Strong start, Powerful finish

I binged season 1 in preparation of season 2 but if you don't want to, story-wise you won't miss much as this was a completely new plot. But you will not feel the full effect of the backstory. Why is Lee Yeon depressed in season 2? Why does Lee Rang hate his brother. To get the full gist of it, you need season 1. But they have made it possible to watch Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938 as a stand-alone show by highlighting some moments from season 1.

Even though the plot involves time travel, most of the story is set in 1938 (as suggested by the title) so it covers a little bit of Joseon history. There is a lot happening in the series with loads of new characters and threats. Most of the stories are interesting although shortly past the halfway mark, the story dragged a bit. But the ending fully redeemed itself. Every hero was at their best and, though, I don't know about re-watching the entire show but the finale is worth watching multiple times!

Every actor did an outstanding job! I especially loved the continuation of the relationship between Lee Yeon and Lee Rang. Plus Lee Yeon's friendships with Ryu Hong Joo and Cheon Moo Young was explored well. The secondary characters also add their own lovely flavour to this season.

As for lovers of the first season, there is a bit of that romance too. :)

The finale was epic and it's what gives season 2 an edge over season 1. We are also teased with a possibility of season 3.

Read More

There are shorter dramas with more romance

I was thoroughly enjoying the series initially especially the comedy and the romance was sweet too. I really liked the ML, Yuan Song, as he was a kind and caring boyfriend. Saving your girlfriend's fingerprint on your phone so that she knows you have nothing to hide is a huge gesture. In fact, he kept making huge gestures towards her and she kept wanting to hide the relationship. I never understood that. You only hide a relationship when you think you are doing something wrong. Instead she should have opened a dialogue with him as well as her family.

The other thing that annoyed me is that the main couple spent more time broken up than they were together. That is not why I chose to watch this drama. If you are like me, it might be a good idea to skip the episodes after they are broken up until you get to the end. By the 28th episode, I started to get tired of the other plots. And by the 37th episode they were still not back together.

I wonder if the reason for keeping them apart this long is because of the real life age gap. Why not create dramas with actors that are older but have similar age gaps if you can't provide a genuine take on an older female younger male couple? Maybe one where the male is also established. I am yet to find a show that depicts how such couples deal with their relationship long term rather than running away from it.

I couldn't care for He CanYang and Cai MinMin's relationship either. In most cultures, men marrying girls 10 - 15 years younger is normal. No one really bats an eye. Meanwhile even marrying a woman few years older is looked down upon. Even in this series, CanYang is more worried because MinMin is his student. Luming is against it because CanYang is his girlfriend's brother. They are not dealing with an age issue at all. In fact, I liked the brother until he repeats the toxic misogynistic line that his relationship is normal because he is a man but his sister's would be shameful because she is a woman. What a fall from grace of a character that seemed open-minded.

I could only appreciate 2 side stories - the other designer male's office romance and the cheating husband. It would have been far better if this series was shorter instead of adding so many couple stories when the main couple is simply not progressing. I would have definitely liked to see more of Yuan Song but there are 2 episodes without him and in some he is just barely there. In fact, the second male lead has far more scenes. I really loved the ML's stepmom's character. It was nice to see their relationship.

The main couple's romance is honestly disappointing. If it weren't for the comedic moments, I would not even give this show a 7. In comparison, The Rational Life is a superior series.

Read More

Poorly made

The biggest problem with this show is how confusing it is. Dr. Mo Ian is a psychiatrist who has lost his license to practice because a patient's case was made public. That is because his office is set up in an under construction building to unofficially see patients there where anyone can eavesdrop or steal a glimpse at his patient's files. That itself is bizarre.

Secondly, the is no explanation why he follows the female lead or acts like he knows her or stalks her. It just doesn't make sense. I couldn't understand if he had seen her previously or not. At times I wondered if something got lost in translation.

There are a few interesting moments which involve him treating patients but they are rare. Even from a romantic genre point of view, I don't think it's worth watching. The acting is not really special. The dialogues aren't memorable which could have otherwise made up for the limited time. There was no opportunity to build up the characters which is the biggest flaw.

Furthermore the story is forgettable. I completed it only because of the length even though I considered dropping it after the 4th episode.

Read More

Disappointment

I'll leave the spoilers for the end so let me begin with my overall impressions as I watched the show.

When I first heard about Eve, I was excited. The plot summary also made it sound extremely intriguing as I do love my revenge plots but what unfolded gradually was nothing short of a disappointment. The only reason I put up with it is because I was waiting for the revenge part and what a long wait it was!

There were a couple of episodes that I fell asleep while watching and just continued with the next and it didn't make an ounce of difference. I could follow the story because nothing much was happening in the show. There was at least one completely filler episode.

I want to say I was impressed by the actors but I really can't for most of them. The male lead, CEO Kang Yoon, has no facial expressions besides serious. I did not see those muscles move throughout the show. Similarly for the second male lead, Seo Eun Pyung. I was rooting for him. But expression wise, he was in a perpetual state of concern. Nonetheless, he is a handsome guy so this role is almost tragic for him. And then coming to the female lead, Lee Ra El. She had the widest range of emotions on display so she certainly brought the most to the table considering the role is all about her. I also have to give it up for the wife's character, Han So Ra, who you almost pity at times. Then she reminds you exactly why she deserves to be disliked. A well portrayed character. Ra El's adoptive mother's role and portrayal is also interesting with interesting dynamics between the two.

My rating is entirely for the actors and not really for the plot.

Finally ***spoilers*** and this is going to ruin the show for you so beware:
The first two episodes were the highlight of the show. Lee Ra El seducing Kang Yoon Gyeom through her tango and then by letting him watch her with her husband. I wish they had maintained the shock value with every episode throughout the show but somewhere in between complacency set in and Ra El was just trying to fit in. When the big bad guys who just kill anyone that gets in the way, learn about Ra El, they do nothing. I wonder what Ra El's plan was without SEP's help because she could have very easily been eliminated very early on. Another point of irritation was that all of the evidence that Ra El was collecting was illegal and inadmissible in a court of law so I have no idea what the course of action was for her adoptive mother. There was no way they were winning the civil and criminal cases. If viewers are waiting for the actual revenge then you'll have to head straight for episode 15 and 16. Episodes 14 and 15 were still alright. But 16 was just utter nonsense. The wife So Ra who is depicted to be deathly afraid of her father, decides to confront him. Yoon Gyeom who loves his children and knows what it's like to be without a loving parent decides the only thing that matters is what Lee Ra El wants of him. And what of the 1.6 billion dollar divorce? The director seemed to acknowledge it as an after thought.

There are a whole lot of plot holes and actions of people that don't make sense eg. So Ra's bodyguard. I do want to list them all but that would essentially be ruining it for someone who still wants to give this show a shot.

It's possible that if I was watching this show after completion, I would have either sped through it or skipped to the end or just dropped it. I can't rate a show very high if I didn't enjoy it nor would I recommend it to others. But that's just me. :)

Read More

Fun and mysterious but not enough magic

For a drama about a magician, there isn't much magic shown in this drama so if that's what is attracting you to it, then you might be disappointed. However, that is not to say that From Now On, Showtime isn't worth the watch. On the contrary, it's a lovely, fun and lighthearted drama. That is partly why I'm having a hard time picking an apt rating. 8 - 8.5 would be accurate.

The reason for the less amount of magic is because Cha Cha Woong is not a real magician. His tricks are performed by 3 ghosts, Ma Dong Cheol, Nam Sang Gun and Kang Ah Reum, who are his employees. He still manages to perform some tricks as does his rival which I wish there was more of. He meets an officer Go Seul Hae one day and when his secret is revealed to her, she requests him to help her fight crime as her partner. Little do they know that their meeting is more than a coincidence.

From Now On, Showtime is such a mixed bag of genre that there is a chance you'll find something to enjoy. The characters are sweet. The 3 ghost employees are an oddity but they work well together. The humour of this show is light. The actors have done a pretty decent job and there are several emotional moments that catch you off-guard.

There are other characters as well that are sweet and add to the comedy in a positive way.

Let's get to the negatives. The story at one point slows down in order to explain some connections. And the ending was a little cheesy to say the least. I would say a character referred to as 'The General' was my least favourite. But all in all, the show is still a good watch.

Read More

Binge-worthy and suspenseful

Reset is a time loop story of a college going girl, Li Shi Qing, who wakes up in a bus only for it to get into an accident and explode instantly killing her and all passengers. The only time she manages to get off the bus is when she drags a boy, Xiao He Yung, who is a game designer into her plan and both manage to get off together. But getting off the bus is not enough. They both find themselves stuck in the loop and realise that saving the passengers is their only escape.

Positives:
1. The episodes are under 45 mins long and it's easy to binge watch because your curiosity wants to see the leads tackle the situation they've found themselves in.
2. The series also explores the stories of the passengers and some of the police officers involved in the investigation.
3. One of the drawbacks of time loop dramas can be the repetitive nature annoying audiences and Reset manages to avoid much of it with new directions being undertaken by the leads. Adding the mystery/suspence element to the story helped.
4. Multi-layered characters.

Negatives:
1. I have seen several types of time loop stories but I wouldn't rate this as high simply because the story telling process is quite slow. Around episode 3, I was feeling a bit annoyed by their actions and the actions of others.
2. Some of the questions were not answered as to why these two were the ones chosen to enter the time loop and not others.
3. Why the police were more cooperative in some loops and more suspicious in others.
4. What was happening to Xiao He Yung?

I have other grievances related to some of the important characters and their reactions that were not as natural as one would expect in certain situations especially towards the climax.

I would still recommend the series and found it fairly well thought out.

Read More

Amazing but not for the faint-hearted

This was genuinely a tough watch because the subject matter revolves around school bullying and assault. There is also a lot of gore and violence depicted so it might be hard to watch the first 4 episodes of the series. It gets better after that as the bulk of the worst forms of violence is over.

This is a revenge drama that follows a series of murders committed by a victim of school bullying, Hwang Kyung Min, as an adult shortly after he was suspected of killing his wife. Kyung Min, leaves messages for his school friend, now a police officer, Jung Jong Suk at his crime scenes inviting him to join him. Thus the detective becomes part of the investigation and provides insight into who the potential victims can be. With every episode we are taken to flash backs to experience the intense violence and humiliation that was faced by Hwang Kyung Min for being of lower social status than the rest of the class. At the time, he was befriended by Jung Jong Suk who eventually started to stand up to his friend's bullies and faced their wrath.

The story is intense and gripping. As a viewer, you will find yourself rooting for the main lead as he seeks his revenge. There is another mysterious character introduced and with each episode you understand their relevance to the story. The ending was incredible and unexpected! I hope people are not put off with the gore and make it through to the end. It'll be worth it.

Read More

Good but drags a bit

This series is great for those who enjoy a bit of mystery, action and crime drama. But I would not call it the best in this genre mainly because some themes are repetitive (planting evidence) and the show gets a bit slow and drags at times.

The story revolves around a shady cop, Ryo Soo Yeol, who is known to take bribes and does not care to find actual evidence and criminals. However, his motivation is mostly because he wants to earn money and not because he is morally dead. This is proven when a crazy man, K, appears in his life and forces him to look at evidence in a case and help a rookie cop, Oh Kyung Tae, who has been made the fall guy in the disappearance of a little girl's mom because he saw too much and would not give up trying to find her. From there, K continues to push Soo Yeol into situations that force him to seek the truth and punish criminals even at the risk of his own life.

Eventually the show dives into Soo Yeol's own past and another series of murders that are linked to it.

SPOILER: Although I enjoyed the new take of this show on the inclusion of a character with Dissociative Identity Disorder, the characteristics are more fiction and stretching the basis of how DID develops (aka trauma) and it's presentation. For example, someone with DID can be aware or unaware of a second or other persona(s) but they do not physically see them as external hallucinations. Also, usually one identity is in control at a time rather than simultaneously. There are moments when Soo Yeol is escaping a room full of goons while K is inside still fighting them. Then they were depicted as both fighting different sets of goons which is impossible. There are too many moments which feel supernatural for it to be an actual case of DID so the entire scenario must be taken with a grain of salt.

Overall: The drama is fun. Has elements of comedy. The episodes could have been shorter and the police could have been more efficient. It is enjoyable but ultimately I have to rate it a 7 because of the presentation and content.

Read More

Chu Zhao and Four and a Half Men

Before you start, know that this is an INTENSE historical political drama. Though there is romance, that is not the main plot.

This is a story of a woman in love who was brutally betrayed so fate gave her another chance. Unlike other time travel, second chance stories, the female lead has minimum advantages of knowing how the story unfolds. She starts to act quickly and things almost immediately begin to change leading her to resort to drastic and bold actions. She has to form unexpected alliances as well as think 10 steps ahead.

Since this was a historical drama, the show was frought with underhanded dealings, assassination and rebellion/power grab attempts. This is not a drama one can watch idly while playing a game on the side. It requires attention. Not just because they are a lot of characters but also because something is always happening. Every episode is a problem that has to be dealt with.

There are many wins and some losses. I actually got emotional several times mid-season.

I had mainly seen the FL type casted as a villain in every drama I saw of her in the past so she really shines in Ashes To Crown. All the male characters have done an incredible job acting. They keep you guessing if they are good or bad. Fu Jiu though is a dream man who gives his everything to support Chu Zhao. They chemistry was wonderful! The young child who became emperor overnight also is such a wonderful actor.

There are a lot of twists and turns till the very end. It is an intense ride.

I do have an unanswered question related to another child character which the drama forgot in the latter half. The ending was sweet yet keeps you longing for more.

The OST is quite beautiful especially the opening theme song which is hauntingly good and still playing in my head.

This drama is wonderful but perhaps not for everyone. I don't expect my review to convince anyone to watch it. But if you like strong female characters, great acting, beautiful cinematography, serious revenge plots, wonderful chemistry, then consider giving this a shot.

Read More

Could not match the Original

Strong Girl Namsoon started off on a great note and it was a breath of fresh air. However, it slowly started to lose sight of plot by focusing on an absurd number of characters that are not even secondary to the plot. They just don't contribute in any way.

Although I'm not writing this series off completely (at least not until the final 2 episodes have aired), I feel bad at how it went from being a wonderfully original and stand alone show to an inferior second season.

The highlight of the show was the Gang family's women and their super strength, their connection and how they handle their power. But the limelight should have stayed on Gang Namsoon since the show is named after her. The two MLs - HeeSik and Ryo Si Oh (which sounds a lot like Russia) were actually great for the plot and Namsoon's interactions with them was the only thing that made this show entertaining. Seeing some of the more lighter sides to Ryo Si Oh was enjoyable as was seeing Hee Sik falling in love and getting jealous. You could actually find yourself rooting for both guys are certain points.

Problem is all the distraction of the main plot with useless things like Namsoon's uncle being unrealistically weak despite having no real illness, Namsoon's grandmother's love story and annoyance with her husband, the Bread Song character and his assistant being almost unwatchable among few other moments that I only got through by speeding through the episodes.

There are some nice comic moments involving the 3 women showcasing their strengths along with cute moments involving Namsoon and the two men because of which I can still rate this series an 8. But it is a far cry from the original Strong Woman Do Bong Soon which is definitely one of my favourites. That's because they knew how to focus on the star of the show. It would have been okay to have all these extra characters if they had ensured that the focus doesn't shift too much to all these extra characters. Like the homeless couple who were interesting at the beginning but later became a chore to watch. These are the things that truly weakened the story and destroyed it's core value.

I hope there will be some redeeming qualities in the final two episodes. I'll be updating and possibly revising the review then.

The OST is nice. Sounds even better sped up. heh.

Read More

Cute But Toxic

The show starts off with questionable (noncon) behaviour by Han Tao towards his childhood friend Junxi.

The first half of the show was somewhat interesting but with lack of honesty and communication between the two. They also had a sweet friend Lin Xiao Yang who was supportive of them. Fortunately they did not create an evil woman trope which many BLs do. There are also some cute moments. This ends the positive aspect of the drama.

The couple are not really that well suited since Han Tao is extremely insecure and that impacts Junxi too. He lies to Junxi and uses very wrong methods to approach him instead of being direct about his feelings which is extremely problematic. They spend several episodes running from each other instead of communicating openly and honestly. When Junxi needs space romantically to figure out where his feelings are, Han Tao starts to completely ignore him which I found quite manipulative. It was also revealed that in the past, he actively blocked any women that tried to approach Junxi instead of confessing his own feelings. In real life, this couple will probably not last since they are insecure and jealous. To be honest Han Tao is not only a bad partner but also a terrible friend.

The writers also added so many misleading cliffhangers in the episodes which made it seem like they were purposely trying to create drama without there being any need for it. That led to even more annoyance while watching. This continued till the very end of the show where they introduce a big problem in the second last episode and it turns out to be a nothing burger in the end. Honestly it felt like cheap tricks to make viewers go through an emotional rolloercoaster if you are watching the drama on-going week to week.

It would have been better if they had put some focus on the two girls - Lin Xiao Yang and He You Mei or trying to get the main leads to work towards a healthier relationship. Instead they just added new issues each episode.

The drama is all right. Not really something to talk about other than the nonconsensual and toxic behaviour that wasn't really addressed. For me, it made me lose my intial interest and some episodes also felt boring. I also grew to dislike Han Tao.

The main OST called Sunshine, however, is pretty awesome. I love listening to it.

Since the episodes are around 20 - 25 mins long, it's okay to watch once. But if you skip, you're not missing much.

Read More

Not-so-subtle American Propaganda

American and Korean soldiers invading the Middle East to kill children but let's make it pallatable by putting a gun in a child's hand so now killing brown kids is heroic and a matter of duty. A Korean child who was sold to America grew up and started distributing guns illegally in SK. Let's make sure everyone knows he's evil by making him wear a keffiyah similar to Palestinians to depict he's scary and evil. Well done Netflix! After kpop, it's kdramas trying to normalise genocide.

Now besides throwing in forced nudity (and yes Trigger is no exception), we also have to be forced to see American war propaganda in Korean dramas thanks to Netflix?

After successfully killing 99 people in the Middle East, our ex-soldier cop grows a conscience vowing to never kill again. Except he'll kill again or else why are we watching a show called Trigger?

Let's get to the main plot. One day, someone starts distributing guns to people who seem frustrated by their circumstances. Instead of a vigilante siltuation where he personally decides to help people, he lets them take matters into their own hands by giving them a gun. On one hand he is giving a bullied school kid and a bullied nurse a gun, on the other hand he sends one to a violent man who comitted a sexual crime. He sends one to someone who lost their son to bad company safety regulations and also gives guns to gang members. There is no logic. You don't need to create a sad backstory for a person who just wants to create chaos due to his childhood circumstances.

But remember he's a bad guy. He illegally taps everyone's guns through hacking of their phones. Only American and other governments are allowed to do to spy on their citizens using Israeli Pegasus software. No one should have access to people's personal information except private companies like Spotify demanding your legal ID. Also remember 3 letter agencies are the good guys. They rescue internationally trafficked kids and definitely don't ship off civilians to a prison in Cuba or Alcatraz.

This show has a lot of senseless violence and killing including school violence. Ironically the bullies and scammers survive amidst all of that. Yay!

If the point was that guns are dangerous and civilians should not hope for legalization of guns, then the solution should be to root out the reason why a civilian would need a gun by creating strong laws. Protect children from being bullied, prevent human trafficking with harsh punishments to traffickers as well as scammers, give longer sentences to rapists, etc. Improve the law and you'll have order. This show really lost itself and the point that it was trying to make by creating an extremely unlikely and absurd scenario where people get a gun and don't question why it was even sent to them. They don't question anything and just start shooting.

Someone else mentioned this that when our smart cop knew a gunman was headed to the police station, why didn't they lock it down? Also, why didn't they alert everyone there? Just shows their inadequacies rather than heroism.

I also found it strange that at the first shooting site, our hero cop sees an opportunity to shoot the killer and he just goes back out. It reminded me of a real incident in a US school shooting where the cops wouldn't go into the school and prevented parents from going in to save their kids as well.

The reason I keep bringing up real life issues especially political ones is because this is a politically charged drama and ignores the reality that those that are trained to kill aren't exactly our saviours.

I'm sure there are better dramas where you can see heroic cops save the day without this much American propaganda push. I normally love everything Kim Nam Gil does but him chosing this project was disappointing.

If you want to mindlessly watch some action then go for it.

Read More

An easy watch

I haven't watched many dramas as the airport setting so I really enjoyed that the plot actually revolves around many issues and day to day lives of the various staff employed at an airport - from pilots (main focus), cabin crew, mechanics to ground handling staff. It's done fairly well. Would have loved to see more of that in fact. A lot of the story revolves around the office politics and struggles of our female lead much of which is the result of misogyny.

The main plot is about a young enthusiastic female pilot, Cheng Xiao, who is transferred to flying commercial planes whereas she worked in the transport department thus has to go through a period of training. Unlike other male pilots, she faces harsher scrutiny at every stage and she pushes herself harder to prove her worth. Gu Nanting, is an experienced pilot who is one of the best at Luzhao Airlines. He is also in charge of training Cheng Xiao. He has also had a tragic experience which makes him a stickler for rules and safety.

The pace of the series is decent but can feel a bit slow at times. If you're main focus is romance, then you are in for a long haul flight. This will be the slowest of slow burn romances ever. But the writers depict a good build up of chemistry between the leads despite their contrasting personalities. We also have a very strong contender for the second lead syndrome - Ni Zhang, who works as the chief engineer. He is also a long time friend of Gu Nanting and probably understands him best. The show depicts a very mature version of bromance. It's subtle but you can feel it.

Among a lot of the other characters, I also enjoyed the character of the pilot, Song, who is a colleague and friend of Cheng Xiao.

Probably the most frustrating characters on the show is the FL's mother. I simply could not stand her. She actually made some of the episodes unbearable for me.

Overall, I genuinely enjoyed the show. I'm glad I picked it up.

Read More