I mean, there's nothing I will say that hasn't already been said by the millions of reviews that came before me. It was a solid romance with just the right balance of fluff, angst and heart. Its my first time watching Lee Do Hyun and I absolutely ADORED him and his character- you bet I'll be checking out everything else he acts in! I see a very promising future for him. The cast is nothing to laugh at, yet he absolutely stole the show- if this character wasn't written exclusively for him, I'd be damned to find anyone else who would have been able to do as well or as much justice to the character as him.

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I mean, it wasn't bad. Just BOOOOORING, like, GOD just get to the point. See, I dont really rely on conflict to progress the plot- I like dramas without conflict! With, without, whatever, as long as its good, I'm game. But this was way too dry, easy and LAME for me. And 33 episodes of the FL jumping everytime she sees the ML and the ML smiling at her cuteness? Hell to the naw, 15 episodes was more than enough.

Many comments below say that there is conflict in the later episodes, probably around 20-odd or so, but good lord if I watch an episode of this show I will lose my hair by pulling them out so much in frustration.

Sayonara, Boss & Me.

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The Best Show of 2023 By Far

Yeah, I said it. Not that I've done a very good job keeping up with K-dramas in 2023, but regardless, I really do think Death's Game captures everything beautiful, intricate and powerful about K-dramas. Right from how tightly written every episode is, to the complexity of each character (no matter how long or how brief their appearance), to even the subtle threads that weave the fate of each reincarnation in the show together- for better or for worse.

There's nothing much more to say about it, really. The message about suicide was a touch preachy, I'll bite, but in the context of South Korea's suicide epidemic and tightly knit society/family structure, the PSA that life is worth living if only so you can try your hardest for the people who love you makes technical sense, even if it's not an opinion I personally wholly subscribe to.

Acting-wise, you really can't get better than this. Aside from our (brilliant) main characters, every cast member played their role with such conviction, heart and enthusiasm that there wasn't a second I was unconvinced by the naturalness of their character and the situation they were in.

And what would you know, it also made me call my parents up after a long time and catch up. Powerful stuff, indeed.

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Imagine the most predictably unpredictable main character. Yeah.

I love dramas where the main character is in peril (character development! high emotion! fun!), and I definitely started this show absolutely knowing that this main character is going to be put through the wringer every second of her screentime. I was ready. I was so ready.

But...she, supposedly, saw it all coming. What? All the lying, the scheming, the action, the nail-baiting tension...she was always, ALWAYS, one step ahead of everybody else. And that's just unbelievable.

Therefore, this character had zero growth and zero flaws. Her only "flaw" was loving her sons too much? Give me a break! All the other characters, including the Queen Dowager and the concubines, are given well-fleshed out, thoughtful arcs where they grow as characters, but our main character is born so perfect that from start to finish, every decision she makes, every word she speaks, every punishment she mettles out, is thought through with the world's most elaborate game of 3D chess playing in her head.

Acting wise, while everyone was okay, the Queen Dowager and First Consort really stole EVERY scene they were part of! And with characters as rich, deep and well-rounded as them, it's a real treat to see how these talented actors make them come alive so incredibly. Which brings me back to the conversation about the Queen's character because this is, after all, an entire 16 episode TV show about the Queen protecting her children from certain death. The slight overacting aside, I really don't think the Queen's character really made me feel anything for her except, "Damn, she thought of this too?" Some of the "logical deductions" she made were absolutely insane given how shoddy, incomplete and limited the evidence for it was, and yet, with an eyebrow twitch and run-walking, she managed to outsmart some really, really smart people/plans.

Which is just boring, in my opinion.

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I thought the cast in this drama had great chemistry in the first movie. Well, not anymore.

From their acting, which was a lot more expressive (even the actress playing Kotoko) in the first movie, you could CLEARLY see they were as bored of the movie as we were. The writing was meh as well, and they skipped over such memorable and cute parts of the dramas and manga (such as Kotoko's journey as a nurse, the second lead nurse I actually liked etc.) and left in the stupid parts that nobody gives a shit about (like the dumbass Kotorin game, which was funny for like, 3 seconds.)

Of course, there was the iconic umbrella where Naoki proposes to Kotoko, but by that point, the audience was probably asking themselves, "Do we even give a shit anymore?"

No, no we don't

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