In that sense, this drama pose an interesting question. Could someone who exhibit traits of a psychopath could be allowed to treat people as a doctor. Could someone like Lee Yeongo learn to emphatize with his patients; despite his conditions, in order to become a good doctor? As the drama unfolds from start to finish, we'll get to see how Jeongo start to learn to sympathize with the help of Gye Jinsung and overcome his disabilities to become a better doctor.
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This review may contain spoilers
Wrote this review ages ago so might as well repost here. Well, just half. The rest would be in my blog since it'd be too long to put all here.So the plot was about a deadly new flu virus hitting South Korea and the CDC team having to try racing against time to find a cure/vaccine to prevent more death from occurring to those infected. There are intricate conspiracies involved as later on the team; led by Squad Leader Lee Myeong Hyeon (Uhm Ki Joon), found out that the mutated virus was intentionally used/released in order for certain parties to gain profits from. Profits? Well, from the vaccine needed to counter the pandemic, of course. In a way, the drama shows how some would go too far in order to profit themselves at the expense of innocent lives. It does make one question the moral codes/ethical values involved.
Having said that, it's kinda sad that the series was only 10 episodes long. Because I would have wanted more, even if it's just the lesser scenes of the smaller fishes being punished. Still, the drama wrapped well... and the open ending kinda promised the possibility of a sequel. Hopefully. Because as long as the big boss was free out there... means that there are still more things for our heroes to fight for.
Personally, I find the ending (and overall plot) well written. And that last few scenes kinda give you an impression that it might be possible for the various flu pandemic to be staged intentionally by people who have the ability to create a more dangerous virus. As the times progress, there was that possibility after all. That in order to gain profit in the field of medicine, one creates a situation that may appear dire. After all, what uses a vaccine can be if there wasn't any virus? And considering they were aiming for a super-vaccine... a super virus must exist first before the use of it could be worth. So yea, a good series.
Frankly, it was an interesting thing... to see Uhm Ki Joon play a good guy. And I can see that this role was quite challenging to him as it required a lot of physical work. Very well done indeed~
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This review may contain spoilers
I swear the moment I saw that Choi Jinhyuk's the lead I'm anticipating the series airing lol. Even more when the teasers had been amusingly That aside, so far the series starting out really good. Love the SFX, fight choreography and ost.
I'm still in the process of finishing the series so this review may still end up being revised again later on. But suffice to say, that I love what the drama was trying to bring out. I skimmed the remaining few episodes earlier on, and it turned out that the drama did still took on a lot of the main plot from the webtoon. Including the parts that I wished turned out differently compared to in the webtoon because it was very poorly executed and written almost to a point that it seems as if it was there purely for shock value. It was partially the reason I kinda slow down on following the plot as it was released. Because the webtoon frustrates me so much.
But turn out, the drama did well to create their own story while staying quite close to the webtoon. In fact, the drama did a lot of things that were much better than the webtoon in terms of pacing, plot development as well as character development. I love the fact that the drama took time in fleshing out the characters' personality aside from Gibeom and how the drama also paid enough care to have the Argos main/side villains have their own distinctive traits as well. It was something that I find lacking in the webtoon, which mostly focuses on action scenes while neglecting to put much depth to the characters besides Kang Gibeom and Hwang Deukgu. Also, I like how the drama gave Mina, Gwangcheol and Taewoong a lot more back story on how they ended up being in Rugal compared to the webtoon, which had a lot more side characters included in the team, resulting on their back story not being developed enough.
Also, one thing I'm grateful for the drama, as much as it did end up following the original webtoon plot regarding the real truth behind the attack on Gibeom's family, the drama didn't pull a cheap trick on how the wife (and daughter, which was non-existent in drama) ended up dying. Because the way the webtoon did it was just plain distasteful. As if the main setting in the webtoon hasn't already enough internal corruption. The drama also did better on the portrayal of Chief Choi, in which I prefer how drama laid his end compared to in webtoon. I much preferred how the plot went on once Gibeom went rogue in the drama compared to in webtoon, which ended up having an even messier plot.
Overall, while the drama itself had its own weaknesses and cliches it is much more enjoyable (to me) compared to the webtoon. With great songs, soundtracks, action sequences and sfx, the series didn't fare too badly in giving an enjoyable experience. Also, the ending was pretty much sweet and satisfying, which is MUCH better than the webtoon plot has been the last time I caught up with it so I have no complaints.
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The drama took the theme of Korean mythology and gave it a fresh spin in form of Gucheon, who gains the ability to travel between the world of the living and the world of Gwi when his shaman mother committed suicide, taking him with her. Miraculously, he survived the ordeal despite his mother's death. And we also have Saeng-gang, an abandoned princess who was banished from the palace because she had the ability to listen to the voices of the dead. When the crown princes of the kingdom kept dying of mysterious causes, the king summoned Gucheon and Saeng-gang to investigate and eliminate the root of the problem but in doing so, the two end up uncovering the king's darkest secrets.
You can tell if a drama has a good story if it manage to capture your attention from the first episode. East Palace was able the deliver a good balance of mystery and horror that kept you wanting to find out what comes next. And the two mains had a very good dynamic that grew from reluctant cooperation into trusted companionship. And to complete it, the ost served a healthy serving of heavy metal as Gucheon and Saeng-gang work together to defeat evil spirits that threatens their lives.
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Anyway, I always love a fantasy-themed drama, and Goblin also combined two narratives from the Goryeo period and the modern period and turned it into a beautiful love story. That was enough to make the story interesting and I really love how the writing flows beautifully to flawlessly integrate the three elements into a great story. That aside, I love how well the characters were written to be so endearing and well-loved. I especially love the secondary love story between the Grim Reaper and Sunny as well as the complicated relationship between Grim Reaper and the Goblin. Which made one can't help but keep tuning in to see how the three characters, whose relationships extended past several lifetimes could reconcile with each other once they realize each other's identities.
That aside, it was really endearing to see a shy and timid goblin being paired with an awkward and adorable drama-loving grim reaper as they try to figure out their places in the world and find out the purpose of their existence while paving their own 'happy endings'.
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This review may contain spoilers
Having already watched at least two, wait... FOUR of Park Jaebum's earlier works, I have to say that I'm really looking forward to watching this recent project. Not to mention that this drama had Song Joongki and had a hint of a mafia theme, it sounded like the drama would be a lot of fun to watch.While I wouldn't want to criticise other's choice in their preferences in watching the kind of drama that they want to see, I have to say that if there was any opinion to be made about this drama... you might as well need to keep watching till the end before making any strong opinion about it. Having completed Fiery Priest and quite a bit of Chief Kim, I've grown to be fond of Park Jaebum's style of comedy as well as writing.
Since this drama is still ongoing, it'll be pretty rash to make any conclusion on whether it was good or bad just because certain episodes may move a bit too slowly or too boring to some. In fact, personally, I felt that that the current pacing is just fine. A good story plot doesn't have to always have to be bombastic all the time in order to be good. It needs to have its ups and downs and even more important it needs to have a good plot and character development in order to give a good story. Or else, the story wouldn't be very memorable in the long run. And this series is a black comedy, yes but it is not makjang.
That said, I was pretty intrigued to find quite a few interesting similarities and parallels between the two main characters of Vincenzo to the two main characters of Fiery Priest. And I have to say, as long as Park Jaebum keep up the good writing and pace as he did for his earlier works that are of the same genre one can look forward to a great story.
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The dynamics between Gwonjoo and Derek Jo really felt reminiscent of her dynamic with Moo Jinhyuk, and I'm looking to see them working together. Not to mention that I'm looking forward to Daeshik's return to the team as he tried to overcome his trauma from his last encounter with Mo Taegu.
And while it's too soon to assume that the villain this time would also share similarities to Taegu aside from the interest in Gwonjoo's abilities (not to mention that the Circus man also had the same ability), I'm looking forward to to see more of what the series could show in the coming episodes!
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A Western flavour for an Eastern Tale
It's been a very long time since I last watched a proper Western show—Western, as in the usual Cowboy flick. The last one I watched, made with a Asian flavour and enjoyed, was unironically the Once Upon a Time in China & America. And to be honest, since then and until now, I never imagined there would be a day that I would ever watch a Western 'Cowboy' genre being shown with an Eastern setting.Song of the Bandit was set during one of the turbulent periods of the Japanese occupation and was based on the Gando massacre. To be honest, I have to say that depicting the series in the style of a western gunslinging genre was really an interesting choice to make, as well as original. It gave the drama a certain noir style that's has never ween seen before in a Korean production. It's certainly a refreshing take on the old western gunslinging cowboy flick, that is NOT set in old American setting.
Lee Yoon's bandits are unlike the usual gun-totting bandits one used to see. In fact, Lee Yoon's character leaned closer to being Sheriff-like, rather than a mere bandit. But I guess in a world where the righteous were trampled and the corrupt and evil reigned free, our good Sheriff had no choice but to take on the role of a 'bandit' in order to protect his people. The drama had a pretty solid start, to be honest, and I do wish we'll get to see a continuation of this tale. Like if a second season was to be made, I would've loved to see (aside from the series version of how the Gando massacre would happen and the aftermath) of how Yoon actually managed to find the rest of his bandit crew and how he was able to gain their respect. Because it was pretty obvious that, as much as Yoon's group was pretty ragtag, they did hold Yoon with some level of respect.
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Who was the one behind the murder of Junseo? Who was it that orchestrated in getting Jaegyeong to become addicted to drugs? What kind of conspiracy was afoot that ties all these people who were connected to each other from the time of their youths? Because of these many questions one couldn't help wanting to dive into the mystery while rooting on Jaegyeong and his friends to solve the mystery while also fighting to not let the drugs get the better of them.
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Namgoong Min was really great at portraying the main character Na Ije, and Ilike the fact that there are scenes where he had to use sign language as Na's mother was deaf. And this was a very interesting twist in dramas involving doctors where the doctor was the one taking revenge.
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Story-wise, the series was quite decent. While there are parts in the series plot were left hanging/unanswered and never addressed again, there are still some parts that were really written well. That aside, I really love Koh. While he's not like the usual traditional Red leaders where they actively assumed the leadership role, he still shared a lot of the traits most often associated with a lot of Red leaders of the past sentai. And he was really the heart of the team that binds everyone together. It's surely a good change after the last Dino Red leader aka Kiryu Daigo from Kyoryuger, who came off a bit too strong for me with his one-man show most of the time.
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Lee Dongwook as Lee Yeon gave us quite an interesting character that occassionally reminds us to Goblin's Grimreaper, which can be quite endearing to watch. Kim Bum as Lee Rang at first glance so far gave an impression that he'd be an interesting villain.
The drama so far do still give homage to many of Korean mythological creatures besides gumiho while also giving us a hint of mystery. It'll be interesting to see what the plot of Tale of the Nine-tailed will show us next.
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This review may contain spoilers
Yo... Second season is here!!!
Gotta say that the moment the announcement for season two came out I'm overjoyed. Because It's always nice when you'll still be able to enjoy the kind of drama and genres that you like. Have to say tho, when sadly it was announced that Esom wouldn't be returning due to schedules clashing, I was a bit worried. As in, would they retcon the ending on season 1... or could they somehow do a workaround for it? So far, it looked as if they found a solution for it, as in... to have a bit of time skip as well as arrange a reason to explain the reason for Prosecutor Kang's absence. For now, the series was still hovering over the time period in between... which I don't really mind, since it should also be around the time when Hana would still be busy resolving all of the aftermath of the cases in season one. So as long as the team hadn't broken any major big law that require her intervention, things should be fine with me.We get the return of the original screenwriter, though to be fair, as much as people used to fuss about the change of writers mid-season last time, there wasn't really that obvious shift of tone in the series in terms of plot or quality of production. Aside from the first season getting even darker near the end, of course... though it should be within the original plan. Like I think I remembered hearing that even some of the cast didn't realize the change of writers until near the end. Anyway, so far... season two was starting great. I'll be looking forward to when the plot gets dark again as we get another villain that might be on par with Baek Sungmi, not that we're really sure that she's completely defeated still.
I'm happy to hear the return of the retro soundtrack to the second season because it wouldn't have felt the same if we don't hear the deluxe taxi theme playing while Kim Dogi was taking the taxi out. While I wouldn't say that any particular theme in the series was the standard 'hero' theme (aside from Dogi's own theme track) it's still nice to be treated with such a great soundtrack. I'm actually quite amused that despite season two do have its own new theme songs at play, we still get to hear the songs from the last season popping up in between like 'All Day'.
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Being targeted by a serial killer who chooses his victims at random and kill without any reason was a scary scenario normally. Even more when you have a disability that may hinder you to seek help or even to protect yourself. Which is why the situation in the movie was scary.
I have to say that I really applaud Jin Kijoo in acting as a deaf person in this movie. Her acting, as well as the actress who played as her mother were really good at bringing out the tense situation on being targeted by a killer while having a great disadvantage of not being able to hear your suroundings as well as not being able to speak clearly.
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This review may contain spoilers
I guess this was one of those heavy dramas that one should thoroughly prepare oneself before committing to watching the whole thing.Frankly, the initial premise of the show being that it may be possible to identify psychopath genes from the very beginning to identify future serial killers was an interesting idea. Yet, it also presents a moral dilemma of whether or not it's okay to try to decide whether or not it's okay to kill fetuses who may end up getting those genes. Or whether or not everyone has said genes will inevitably grow up to be killers.
While starting this drama, I suddenly recall Lee Seunggi mentioning that he wanted to play a psychopath character, which was a break away from the usual good guy roles he used to get. I guess, with Mouse, he's really getting that wish. With that in mind, one most likely needs to be wary while watching this drama since you may end up encountering some unexpected twists.
As much as the plot initially intrigued me, because it's been a while I doubt that I'd actually find the time to watch this. Dropping this drama because I'm no longer in the state of watching this without ending up becoming depressed about it.
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