One of the most forgettable dystopian series.

Hold on to your popcorn, folks, because this series is about as exciting as watching paint dry in a dystopian wasteland. The plot is so cliche and predictable that you'll be able to predict every twist and turn from a mile away. Seems like a disingenuous, lackluster cash grab banking on the views from the casts' fans. It's like the writers used a Mad Libs book to come up with the storyline.

And let's talk about the characters. Apparently, in the Kdrama industry, the definition of "strong and intense" is to act like you just sucked on a lemon for an hour straight. The only thing intentionally made to stand out in this world is the ML, who's apparently invincible, making the rest of the cast look like they're auditioning for the role of his groupies, everyone in this world setting is in awe of the ML.

The action scenes are about as thrilling as watching a sloth race, with the main character walking through a hail of bullets without even breaking a sweat. And don't even get me started on the absurd number of cuts in the fight scenes. Maybe the action choreographer was on vacation, or the actors were practicing their interpretive dance moves. But, really, is the action choreographer lacking or the actors/stunt actors are incompetent?

The music is forgettable, intense music could have been used similar to the music from Sicario or the new Blade Runner.

The only reason you'll remember watching this series is that you wasted your precious time on it. I mean, I get it. I watched it too, hoping for a glimpse of something worthwhile & the beautiful Esom. But all I got was a snooze-fest.

Overall, this series deserves a solid 3 out of 10, which is only for the dystopian setting and the one redeeming actor, Esom. But if you're looking for a series to keep you on the edge of your seat, you're better off rewatching paint dry.

Read More

Messy writing meets worst direction

So draggy. 4 episodes stretched out to 12. Ratings on MDL are highly inflated. Most of the scenes are panned for too long as if the camera is mounted on an ant & they had to give each of that shot 30 seconds at least.

Worst direction among all of the kdramas I have seen so far. Very weak script. Plot is just a pretty good premise expanded to poorly written 12 episodes.

ML seems to be only capable of looking mopey & pathetically sad - all the time. Guess that's the extent of his character and the range of his acting skills.

FL (younger one) did not get enough script time, but still managed to give quite a nice performance. FL (elder) was similarly good, but, after 4 or so episodes, her character was all about probably asking the viewers to feel pity for her every second of this show (understandably for first few episodes, but for the whole show? Way to make this one as a 1D character like the rest).

This show has an amazing combination of poor writing and worst direction for such an uncommon, but interesting plot line.

Only redeeming part in this sorry excuse for a show, were the actors playing FL (s), FL's friends, FL's mother and FL's brother bringing life to very limited poorly written characters.

This one is like a bait show, asking you to empathize and possibly cry for the sad lives of all the characters involved in a very dull worldview. What a waste of a good plot that could have been a mature outlook on the struggles of a unambitious girl & a helpless old lady, and support of those around her, also (ep 11 & 12) FL;s regretful despair; could have been a good slice of life and a melodrama.

Watch it only for FL (younger)'s friends, mom and trolling brother.

Also, bad execution of the twist in ep 11. Full of loop holes. Totally unnecessary.

This show is messy writing meets worst direction; giving a messed up and confusingly draggy experience. Inflated ratings on MDL. I watched it and this show helped me in a way of letting me know that the bar for worst shows can always be lowered.

3/10.

Read More

Definitely not a must-watch

An OK love story or maybe a rom-com, but definitely lacking laugh-out-loud moments that most Korean rom-coms have. Its neither an emotional one as well, it could have been one if this were to be 8 or so episodes instead of 16.

Seems like main leads are big names in Kdramas, so maybe the high rating must be from all their fans, otherwise it doesn't make sense to me; because the story is too predictable, cliché and forgettable for the most part.

For me the noticeably good romantic scenes came from second ML in episodes 14/15. There was nothing from main leads. No good comic reliefs. Best emotional scene I felt empathetic towards was when the village ladies coming out to help the village lady chief in her time of crisis. That is it.

Basically whole show was ML as stern/serious with no expressions coupled with his low pitch voice. FL left with playing all the emotions, more than 90% of which were mainly crying over separation anxiety. Too many episodes were wasted hashing out the same concept again and again.

I watched this one only because it was mentioned as the recommended show under "Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha" & "When the Camellia Blooms", both of which were awesome shows.

Overall, forgettable & not even one time watch worthy. Definitely not a must-watch. It would not be a loss if you miss out on watching this one, I wish I had not wasted time on this one.

Read More

Must-watch. Too many plot-holes. Beautiful Soo Jin.

The story kept me interested enough to binge-watch it in 3 days.

But, too much plot armor; characters (especially FL) making illogical decisions too many times just for the convenience of the story to make MC being a hero saving the day all the time.

Also, the realization hitting the FL (from 2nd world) about ML was too plain and underwhelming (compare this point to "welcome to life" where it was done pretty good if not excellently).

The lack of chemistry between the 2 leads was quite apparent. Also, it could be just me, but, I found ML's acting to be over-the-top, I mean all he's doing the majority of the time is making an ugly-crying face while clenching his jaw, that's it, that is his whole intense acting, but still not too bad or out of place, but it was too much doing the same expression all the time.

Still, a must-watch. Although it is lacking the emotional connection you feel to the story/characters, such as rooting for ML or whenever any bad thing happens to ML or FL, then you feel sad - yeah, I was watching such moments in passing - like let the story flow however it is, doesn't matter or affect me (maybe it is too cringey, but still, I like those shows the best where if anything happens to ML or FL, I cheer/feel-sad with/for the character).

A spin-off with multiple (~4-5) worlds would be awesome.

Also, Soo Jin was beautiful as always.

PS Read this interesting comment by user Maika, making almost all the interesting points/plot holes I wanted to make. - https://mydramalist.com/52351-train#comment-6717695

Read More

Strong overall script, rushed ending & the worst possible ML acting ever.

- Brilliant story and equally awesome storytelling (until last couple of episodes, where I think the creators were confused on how much to carry onto season 2, where the son that old antagonist would probably the main antagonist for s02). They also kept the main plot reveal mysterious enough to not get boring well throughout the first half of the season.


- Rushed ending almost ruined the whole series, almost seemed to be as if last 2 episodes were written and directed by someone else. Almost everything (in last 2 episodes) was predictable and cliche'd. Maybe they wanted 18 or 20 episodes to hash out everything.


- The worst and I mean the worst acting I have seen so far in kdramas by the main lead (Lee jong suk). I mean is he so popular in korea that he received such an awesome role despite his expressionless, stone-faced, always-looking-like-a-lost-one-in-the-room so-called acting skills? His dialogue delivery was so tame and lame that it looked like a little kid throwing mumbling tantrums in an intense scene (actually in all scenes). He definitely has a talent to bring down the intense or heavy scene the director must be trying to present. It must be so embarrassing and at the same time infuriating for the other cast members to be giving their all and yet the main lead is doing his worst possible in return. I have not seen many korean shows, but, of all the ones i have watched their are so many male leads who can easily pull off the necessary vibe needed in this role. It's like a rich kid showing up and reading lines after reading just a single time and everyone one probably cheering him as the best actor. I almost dropped this show after the pilot episode because of this main lead. if he's getting such brilliant roles, out qualifying other actors, then in my opinion he must have tons of connections/cash, or maybe casting team must be taking a break after casting pretty good rest of the cast and hence got high on god knows what and cast this guy as the main lead, or maybe the magic do exists in this world and this guy has it and casts it on the production team to get the role. Because, I honestly do not understand how else can someone who acts like this can land such a role.

This Lee jong suk broke me from korean shows with his worst acting skills (is it right to even call it a skill if you are so bad at it?), i am definitely going to take a break from kdramas.

Overall, this show is a must watch. Good thriller. I would have rated this one an overall 9, but, Lee jong suk's acting is a given negative 2 (if not 4). I feel for Kim Joo Heon & Yang Kyung Won, for they gave such good performances.

Read More

Heartburn daily-soap trash masked as slowburn. Robotic female lead. Too many flashbacks.

Heartburn daily-soap trash masked as slowburn. Robotic female lead. Too many flashbacks. Unnecessarily long loooong loooooong scenes.

First of all, 4 episodes would have been more than enough to cover whatever the excruciatingly long rat dwelling sewerage vomit-inducing stench-filled 14-episode long ordeal that this series was.

Now, my detailed rant disguised as the review for this series:

The story revolves around the son of a criminal seeking misguided revenge against the initial victim. The director and scriptwriter attempt to garner sympathy for the criminal's son, as if losing someone, however evil that person was, somehow justifies his actions.

The main lead actress delivers her lines with a monotonous tone and stone-faced expressions, resembling a robot. It feels as if a director was experimenting with an emotionless robot in the lead role. There seems to be a rule book for Korean actors, where they pause mid-sentence for supposed dramatic effect. To appear melodramatic, they split dialogues into multiple parts with prolonged pauses, maintaining an indifferent demeanor, and hence, becomes insufferable to watch.

The series is riddled with too many coincidences and conveniences favoring the male lead, quite similar to poorly written daily soap operas. It is predictable, and the female lead perpetually shoulders all the problems, likely catering to a female demographic accustomed to being doormats, and here I thought that we should respect people regardless of their gender identities, well, atleast I thought so, clearly unlike the director and script writer duo, and maybe this series loving audience as well, who likens the women like female leads to be a welcoming doormat for all beings present. I don't understand why, but I feel a sense of irrational frustration when these types of roles are repeatedly portrayed as the entire personality of the female leads. Please, move on from these. We can have strong female leads who have experienced loss and while grieving, responded by committing a criminal act, but they should not be portrayed solely as gluttons for punishment.

I stopped watching after the 8th episode, as it surpassed my mental endurance. I initially watched with my family, but there is a limit and apparently mine was episode 8.

The director excessively prolongs every scene, and I do mean every single scene, with 70% of the runtime dedicated to characters reminiscing about trivial memories. It feels like the director's basic premise for the series was to delve deep into every mundane detail, extending every action to unnecessary lengths.

It appears to me that the director's approach for this series was something like this - picture a scenario where your character simply wants to grab a coffee. In this series, that simple act would trigger a cascade of reminiscences, starting from your earliest steps, then recalling your first coffee long ago, followed by another flashback about how you selected that specific cafe, perhaps a flashback on acquiring the credit card used for payment, and even a flashback about the source of your income that covers the credit card bill for the coffee. There might also be an additional flashback involving any person, or even everyone, you've ever shared a cup of coffee with throughout your life. This is how the director stretches the runtime, when 4 episodes would have sufficed to cover what turned out to be a 14-episode series filled with unpleasant and overly drawn-out storytelling.

For those looking for recommendation, do not get duped by whoever is telling you that this is a slow-burn, there is a certain charm in slow-burns, this one is far removed from having any sort of charm, instead this in the name of slow-burn just prolongs every single scene like stretching a single sentence to essay writing. This is not a slow-burn, rather this is a heart burn. And, just too many flashbacks. The moment you feel that story is going somewhere, BAM! flashback and, if you think you are done with that flashback, then, another flashback follows probably accompanied by lots of crying. I hate how they used a beautiful song for this man-made trash. This is not a wonderful world, instead it is dull mandatory-flashbacks-every-5-minutes trashy world, where in the female lead cannot act for the life of it.

You will get combo deal of acidity and IBS if you watch this one, consider yourself warned.

Accordingly, I rate this series 2 out of 10. Heartburn daily-soap trash masked as slowburn. Robotic female lead. Too many flashbacks. Unnecessarily long loooong loooooong scenes. Obligatory but off-topic, F U Chi Chan.

This review is a personal critique and not intended to provoke fan wars. If you are a fan of this series or a certain popular idol, please disregard this review if it offends you. I have no interest in engaging in defensive arguments about it. Kindly ignore it and let this review be with zero comments. Thank you for understanding.

Read More

Embarrassment of time-waste sh!tshow.

3/10.

1 star for Na Rae, Hong Chul & DinDin trying to make something out of this sh!tshow and, also Lee Si Young to trying to fulfill whatever the creators of the show wanted from the cast. Rest of the cast was just forgettable at best. I know there are many Dex's fans on here but, for me Dex & Jonathan were too awkward and cringe, esp Dex's immersion was downright embarrassing.

1 star for Episode 6 & its main character - the reporter guy. Only episode 6 is funny and worth watching (however still skipping almost half of it), and possibly if I were to know about the episodes content, I would have skipped it all and just watched the episode 6.

1 star for the supporting cast/zombies/rest-of-the-non main cast-survivors for their convincing performance, wish the rest of the main cast could learn something from them.

Basically, this is a sh!tshow. Skip it. Still want to watch this one, then watch just episode 6, there would not be anything of loss in continuity worth-while.

----

Because this is such a time-wasting sh!tshow, just for the fun of it, I'm going to attempt to rewrite this review that treats this show like a diamond in the rough, except it's more like a pebble in a sandbox. Trust me, this show has its own version of 'not worth it' written all over it, with a font size bigger than the screen.

----

With an overall rating of 3 out of 10, this reality TV show scarcely manages to tread the line between engagement and bewilderment. The minimal commendations within this narrative fall upon the valiant attempts of Na Rae, Hong Chul, and DinDin to navigate the stormy waters of a production rife with inconsistency. Notably, Lee Si Young diligently endeavors to fulfill the enigmatic expectations the creators have bestowed upon the cast, demonstrating a degree of commitment.

The ensemble, however, leaves much to be desired. A majority of the cast dissolves into obscurity, a chorus of forgettable performances that fail to resonate. Admittedly, fervent admirers of Dex may beg to differ, yet the chemistry between Dex and Jonathan often feels palpably awkward, even to the point of inducing cringes. Dex's forays into immersion, a supposed highlight, often cascade into moments of painful embarrassment.

Remarkably, a glimmer of redemption graces the realm of the show in the form of Episode 6, bearing a protagonist of intriguing qualities - the reporter. Amidst the somber landscape, this episode emerges as an island of amusement, albeit one that necessitates judicious skipping of certain portions. It is here that the show briefly flares with the promise of what could have been.

An additional star finds its place within the constellation of appraisal for the supporting cast, particularly the zombies and the initial survivors. Their portrayal resonates with a semblance of conviction, underscoring the potential yet untapped by the larger ensemble.

In summation, the show falters in its execution, leaving an unsatisfying aftertaste. The discerning viewer would be prudent in electing to bypass this particular offering altogether. However, should curiosity persist, the recommendation rests in limiting the investment to Episode 6, where a semblance of comedic respite resides, and the toll on narrative continuity remains negligible.

Read More

Brilliant medieval epic. 9/10.

Get ready to don your armor and go on a wild ride with this epic medieval masterpiece! This show gets a 9/10 in my books, and for good reason.

Unlike some other medieval-themed shows (*ahem* Kingdom 1 & 2. both are at best 7/10), there's no annoying plot armor here. You won't have to roll your eyes every time the hero miraculously escapes certain death. Nope, this show keeps things real.

But it's not just the lack of plot armor that makes this show great. The background score sets the perfect tone for the intense and gripping storyline. You'll be on the edge of your seat the whole time, not just because of the zombies (although they do add an extra element of excitement).

All in all, this is a truly well-crafted piece of television that deserves your attention. So don't hesitate to dive in and experience the thrill for yourself!

Read More

Only perfect kshow. 10/10.

I got introduced to Korean tv by Runningman, and then, this was my first Korean non-variety show (because of KwangSoo). This is the review after watching this show more than a couple of times over the years. This show's humor still stands strong.

Move over comedy tv tropes, this show has a refreshing burst of humor, even by American & British comedy standards! It's light-hearted, funny and did I mention funny! The characters are so well-developed that they have their own comedy arcs going on, and none of them fails to make me laugh. The humor is on point - it's never too much or too little, but always just right.

From the very first episode, it's clear that the show is determined to keep things fun and entertaining. The writers have done a great job of crafting creative jokes that are just plain fun to watch. The show moves at a brisk pace, and you'll find yourself laughing out loud at the sheer ridiculousness of some of the scenes. My favourite scene was when the family disposes off the father's bluetooth speakers, what followed was just silly but genius jokes that I still watch on repeat every now and then. The other favourite Korean comedy scene would be Waikiki's Gwenchana scene (season 1).

The comedic timing of the cast is impeccable, and you'll be chuckling long after the episode is over. Each actor in the cast was perfectly suited for their role. Perfect casting.

Overall, this show is a breath of fresh air in the K-drama scene. It's a fun and light-hearted watch that's perfect for when you need a good laugh.

Only show I rated 10/10, not that it matters.

Read More

Definitely a fun watch, not a must watch

So many twists and engaging story throughout all 18 episodes. I would have rated it high (8 or 9) if there weren't so many, and I really mean so many plot armour scenes, plot inconsistencies, probably the worst action choreography, one dimension-ally written FL & so many more similar frustratingly irritating reasons.

The ending is acceptable, since I have already seen Mouse by the same screenwriter, and was expecting an impractical but self-sacrificing & morally superior ending.

By far, my fav grim reaper related kdrama.

7/10.

PS. Some of the brilliant trolling comedy in episodes 2 & 3.

Read More