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W korean drama review
Dropped 14/16
W
1 people found this review helpful
by Anna Vu
Jun 21, 2018
14 of 16 episodes seen
Dropped
Overall 6.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 6.0
Music 9.5
Rewatch Value 5.0
Let's start with what I liked about the drama.

I really enjoyed the idea of the storyline and how unique it was. It's not everyday one comes across a story where a girl can travel into a Webtoon and meet the main character of it. Not only that, the main character is the man of almost everyone's dreams. I also loved the music that went with the drama and played during certain scenes. It definitely made the scenes more dramatic and made me more empathetic to the characters' feelings and thoughts.

Once again, Lee Jong Suk has struck me with his acting skills. I just came out of Pinocchio and While You Were Sleeping, which I absolutely loved. I also loved his role in this drama. However, I don't blame him and how he delivered his character for my dislike of W. I also don't blame Han Hyo Joo either.

What I do blame, however, is the storyline and how everything played out. The idea of the drama was, without a doubt, great. I loved it. It was unique and would catch anybody's attention, mostly because it was an idea that hasn't been yet introduced. However, how the drama was planned and how certain characters were portrayed left me dissatisfied.

Let's start with Oh Yeon Joo. Maybe because it was the scriptwriter, screenwriter, director or whoever it was, but I did not enjoy Oh Yeon Joo's part in the story. Nevertheless, I did enjoy how she was portrayed in the beginning. A normal woman that was still in her residence years was suddenly pulled into an unknown world, and a cartoon at that. She meets Kang Chul and saves him. Obviously, she falls for him too. And that was when I noticed things going a little bit downhill. Since Oh Yeon Joo is the lead female character, I assumed she would play more important factors in the story. Besides revealing to Kang Chul something he wasn't supposed to know, starting the story itself and kind of pushing the plot line along, that was all I got from her.

She may have fell in love with Kang Chul and gotten together with him, but I didn't see much of a romance build. I saw what sparked their romance, but I didn't really see or feel the initiation of it. It was as if part of the romance story was meant to be another Webtoon, a spin-off almost. The failure of such romance build, I look to the script writer to answer my questions.

Eventually, from what I saw, Oh Yeon Joo slowly regressed into becoming more of a side character. Other than multiple events happening to her and driving Kang Chul into a determined state, she soon became a damsel in distress that only helped out in certain parts. Instead of acting, she reacted instead. To simplify it, she didn't have much character build and held Kang Chul back at certain points. She certainly did become the source of Kang Chul's ambition but, then again, it was as if her character was only made to support him. A supporting character. To some degree, as a lead character, I expected her to build herself and not only support Kang Chul but also herself. I wanted her to face off the villain and think, "Don't hurt the people I love," or at least something to that similarity.

However, often times, I saw her cower in the darkness when the villain came after her and waited for Kang Chul to rush to her rescue. In the end, she resulted into being a passive character instead of a more active one. Kang Chul did most of the fighting, quite literally, while she did a lot of crying while watching on the side lines. Don't get me wrong. There were many times where Oh Yeon Joo took the initiative and I am very proud of her for doing so, however, the actions should've been more driven into her character.

Not only that, focusing more into the plot line, it was a roller coaster ride. However, the roller coaster was on fire and the ride was more than just "rough". Often times, the events were a repeat of what had already happened, just in a different form. Problems sprouted and it was left for Kang Chul to solve them, however it was mostly just him. It was him running around and getting things together, while the other characters just cried and reacted to whatever was thrown at them. They were flowing with the river while Kang Chul fought against the river's current. From what I saw, it was a lone battle for Kang Chul, with characters on the side that had no idea what was going on or what to do.

To be honest, I have no problems with the acting or cast. I just have problems with how the story and characters were delivered for the audience. What I was most dissatisfied with the most was how such a great story idea was slopingly broadcasted to the viewers. Like the diamond was cleaned but not polished throughly. That's why you can see scratches that aren't meant to be there.

So, in summary, that's why I dropped the drama at episode 14 and gave it 6 stars.
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