Healing, beauty and acceptance wrapped in spooky fairytales

Gosh, I spent 70% of this show with a lump in my throat, 10% with happy warmth in my chest and 20% bawling my eyes out.

It's a fast, intense, twisty emotional roller coaster that keeps you engaged throughout.

The best thing about this drama is the smart and impactful portrayal of mental illness. It's not preachy, it's not overly idealistic, it doesn't try to pretend to be extra woke, it's not trying to pass itself as an educational program- it's really just a touching story about three damaged, emotionally stunted people who are trying to get by.

I am not a medical professional and I am not gonna waste time trying to analyze all the symptoms and guess the disorders and argue about that because that's grossly missing the point.

The main focus of this drama was showing the pain, frustration and sorrow that comes with suffering from trauma, dealing with conditions out of your hands and the hurt that comes with mental illness for both who have it and their family members.
But most of all it highlights the strength of these people, about how they help each other and get help from each other to make things a bit better.

It beautifully expresses themes of understanding, resilience, love and friendship between people who've had a very tough life.

Ofcourse, in typical K drama fashion, it's not without its cheesy tropes, cliches and some flair for dramatics but despite all of that it gets the message across in a powerful manner.

The beauty of it is that despite being filled with heartbreaking and emotional moments that make you shed tears and snot, it never lets the dark side become overpowering by adding much needed comic relief and heart warming moments that make you giggle and feel good inside.

There is extra charm in people who are beautiful AND excellent actors. All the cast delivers phenomenally with the two main leads having electric chemistry with each other and sharing glorious, steamy kisses that will go down in k drama history. ;)

The show is easy to watch with a bit of suspense, thrill, murder mystery, psychotic parents and drama mixed with emotion, heart and healing. It's fast paced peppered with wholesome slow moments and amazing character growth.

Seo Ye Ji's impulsive, passionate, gorgeously dressed, blunt, morally questionable female lead with childlike tendencies is undoubtedly a crowd favorite.

On the other hand, Kim Soo Hyun's handsome, selfless, persevering male lead with bambi eyes and a mutinous heart brings his own to the table.

Finally, bringing them both together, the veteren Oh Jung Sae brought forth an endearing character suffering from autism who is extremely pure hearted and just trying his best.

The moments between these three are powerful and literally make you pray for these people and their happiness. The side characters are all relevant and enhance the flavor of the show

The OST is stunning, the direction is beautiful and the pretty story telling incorporating scary fairytales and creepy animations brings everything full circle.

It's definitely binge worthy and a full of feeling ride that you don't want to miss.

Enjoy!

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When it's so bad, that it's good...

Over the top, filled with cringe comedy and ridiculousness; this drama somehow made me go from shaking my head at its antics to thoroughly enjoying it in an endeared manner

First of all let's talk about the elephant in the room. I am not going to deny that this show is problematic. Even if we skip the fact that this 'family drama' is derived from a very ethically questionable adult webtoon and is bound to direct attention towards the source material, there are still many other things to frown upon.

In the very first episode, the FL (a highschooler) kisses the ML (an adult and a stranger) without his permission, then goes on to be very handsy with him throughout the show despite knowing that he has a girlfriend, beats up people left and right and well, basically does a lot of what your typical drama 'bad boys' usually do. (It's inappropriate behavior regardless of the gender.)

Then, in a very ignorant fashion, for comedic purposes the drama introduces a supporting character (ML's best friend) that has angered the international community for culture appropriation and rightfully so. Korean dramas have never been known to handle sensitive topics 'sensitively' and should know to stay away from them which Backstreet Rookie clearly does not do. It helps that he has reduced screen-time as episodes progress and that the fast forward button comes in particularly handy for his scenes.

So if these things make you shy away from the drama then it's completely understandable and you should do you.

But now for those who were able to walk past the controversy: The thing is while being ignorant, the drama clearly is not malicious. It's pretty obvious that they are just trying way too hard to be funny and sometimes it strikes true and you're left in fits of laughter and other times it doesn't and the result is just embarrassing.

Soon we realize that the FL; a young girl who doesn't have it easy, who lost her father too early, who has been raising her sister alone is quite a lost child inside. She is aggressive at first in her persuit for the ML (who is the only one who seemed to give a shit about her) but soon she becomes more mature and thoughtful. She is strong, stands up for herself and those she cares for and loves fiercely. After you get through the first episodes, she becomes an increasingly likable heroine and you can't help but root for her.

This role doesn't do anything for Ji Chang Wook as an actor. His character is not the typical male lead and not very attractive. He is a pushover, a 30 year old man who lives with his parents, doesn't have a lot of self respect, let's people run over him and despite his good looks, he doesn't do much in the beginning. However, soon you see his strong sense of justice, his love for his own family and the fact that he is literally an actual good human being and so you warm up to him.

The acting is great across the board. The main couple looks so good together (the romance follows with both of them being legal adults) with great chemistry. The OST is stunning and the cringe comedic camera effects during action scenes also grow on you after a while.

The best thing about it, is that even though it's very obviously in your face slapstick, the drama comes with these surprisingly heart warming and emotional moments that sneak up on you and hit you in the feels.

Also, since it is by the same creators as The Fiery Priest, it has A LOT of drama references that are absolutely gold and leave you roaring with laughter.

Overall, it's a light hearted romantic comedy, that doesn't take itself seriously.

So I'd say if you tried the show and couldn't get past the objectionable material, that's perfectly fine but if you are one those who want to watch this show and are hesitating just because of the negativity surrounding it, I suggest you give it a try and let the drama make its case first.

Enjoy!

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A complete basketcase, this drama tried to use formulaic writing and tried and tested cliches to manipulate the viewers into liking it but failed spectacularly.

To be honest, in the beginning I didn't understand all the criticism. Sure, it was a superficial romance drama with more beauty than brains but so were many others and everybody liked them just fine.
The cast was doing a good job, there was funny banter, a potential mystery, bromance and I for one, even managed to feel chemistry between the leads. I liked it and wanted to know more.

That feeling lasted for all of about 5 episodes and then the show went to shit in the most extraordinary fashion.

First of all, you know how greedy the drama makers are for money to the point that the product placement in this show is blatant, ridiculously irrelevant and just shoved in your face time and time again. After a point, it feels like you're not watching ads in a drama, you're just watching one big ad with bits and pieces of the drama in between.

Then comes the lacklustre romance. Albeit slow and full of filler at first, you still hoped it would build to something beautiful but suddenly they rushed it to the point that before ever even letting you feel that they have feelings for each other, the couple already exchanges love confessions, plants a kiss or two on each other and acts like they have been in love for a century. And you're just awkwardly standing at the sidelines being like um guys, y'all just met a week ago...

I almost felt like I missed some episodes where they fell in love but apparently it wasn't me it was the writer who did that.

The character development is so bad and the roles are extremely poorly written that I am pretty sure the cast couldn't have saved them even if they tried their best.

Kim Go Eun is a charismatic actress and I like her a lot. And her character here is a badass, loud mouthed cop who needs no saving which is why it made me root for her at first. However, you can't help but see the way she changes from being extremely rude to the ML in one episode and then says I love you in the next. And ofcourse, conveniently it happens right after she sees all of his riches. I am not thinking gold digger, you are.

She also conveniently turns into a weepy damsel in distress whenever they need to hype the hero at her expense. Strong but weak enough for the hero to save her again and again.

Her doppelganger, which is a great opportunity for any actor to show versatility, is literally the same as her original character with bad hair and a bad attitude. No acting change there and they just popped a ridiculous wig on her head to convince us to believe she is a different person.

Now comes Lee Min Ho. As beautiful he is, this man with sparkling gorgeous mischevious eyes has been conning us into believing he is a good actor since many years. It's not that hard to figure out that he recycles his expressions in every drama but lets not go there. He plays his role convincingly enough to give you flutters in the stomach.

He is the perfect dashing super hero who can do no wrong here with excellent fighting skills, Jedi level intelligence and is basically Einstein with a pretty face and a horse.

That's fine we like our romance heroes to be all that but it's not fine when you also try to convince me that this flower boy can suddenly transform into this brilliant and ruthless king/ mafia boss nobody can mess with. I can't buy that because he simply lacks the intensity to be one and honestly we are shown nothing in his background or story to prove otherwise.

So everytime he tried to be a serious king, to me he just felt like a toddler wearing his daddy's oversized shoes and shaking his fist trying to assert authority. Did I find him cute? For sure. Did I take him seriously? Hell no.

Some people said that it's a very hard to understand show and that those who don't like it, actually just don't understand it. Let me pop that bubble right here. It's a very simplistic plot with confused and lazy writing trying to mask itself as complicated. This is a tactic used by the writer because naturally if you make people feel like they don't get what's going on, they're gonna think the show is smarter than them and end up being impressed.

Let me tell you, I understood everything that was going on and it ain't that deep. It's a very commercial show with one goal alone: making money. That's why without putting any thought or effort into plot and execution, they casted hype worthy actors, ripped off another OST, and produced a dumbed down version of Goblin. Unfortunately for them, no amount of Lee Min Ho's boyish smiles can fry our braincells enough for us to lose the ability to tell a good script from bad.

Yes, the cinematography and direction is beautiful but there's only so many pretty color pallets, shots and sceneries you can enjoy till you start to question the bad writing.

Despite all the flaws if you still want to check out this show and just want one reason to push you towards it, then that reason is Woo Do Hwan. Who tried to save the show with his excellent acting and scene stealer self by bringing forward two characters who despite looking the same are entirely different people.

He brought forth the bromance and laugh out loud moments that act as the show's only saving grace. Yeong/Eun Seup are the best characters in the drama and you can't help but fall in love.

But the writer, ever so stubborn on digging her own grave steals that little happiness from us by reducing his screentime as much as possible. Take that as you will.

The skinship in this show is actually pretty decent with some excellent kisses. However, the romance is so poorly paced (trying to be intense just by the FL's cringeworthy crying scenes that pop out of nowhere without any reason) that you never get the feels you otherwise would. Again, I blame the writing because the two main leads have excellent chemistry in real life behind the scenes that just doesn't translate on-screen.

The villain, like every other character is poorly developed, one dimensional and his scenes (the very few there are) are horribly yawn inducing. The second FL (Prime Minister) and the second ML (Shin Jae) were both flat characters left with unexplored potential and by the second half, for the life of me I couldn't begin to make myself care about their stories.

Yes, there are a few scenes that are designed to make people react and make your adrenalin rush but even those scenes are extremely cheesy and come in to being with the help of the most unrealistic and ridiculous plot devices, that you can't help but laugh at.

Ending words: Quite definitely, a lost cause, you should watch it only if you want to take it as a bad parody and laugh at it, instead of with it.

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I know what some of you are thinking. You want to watch this drama, maybe because of the all star cast or the high ratings but you are hesitating because it's medical.

Well, in that case, take it from someone who thinks that med stuff is boring, the jargon makes you yawn and hospitals are depressing that this drama is amazing and will make you love it to bits and pieces.

Yes, there will be times you might zone out when they get technical with all the fancy doctor-ish words but even when you don't know the terms used, you'll feel the urgency of an operation, the sadness of a life lost and the joy of a successful surgery and that's all that matters.

What really makes this show an excellent watch though is the group of five doctor adolescent best friends who form a band together. Oof. The friendship, bromance and warmth in this show is no joke. Their music sessions are a healing experience and you feel affection for every single character.

The character development is phenomenal with each of the five bringing their own charm to the table.

Jung Won, the handsome as hell pediatrician with a butter heart that gets overly attached to patients; Lee Ik Jun, the goofy, emotional general surgeon and single dad who's your resident nice guy; Suk Hyung, the cute, anti-social introverted gynecologist; Song Hwa, our bomb female lead: the witty, quirky, graceful genius of a neurosurgeon and last but not the least my personal favorite Jun Wan, badass cardiothorasic surgeon who's a prickly hedgehog on the outside but a complete softie on the inside. He is also 100% boyfriend material and you just want to squeeze his cheeks and flick his nose.

The dynamics and chemistry between the 5 is off the charts and not only do you feel the real friendship between them, you want to be a part of their group.

The acting is outstanding and these people make you fall in love with them so completely that without any drama, flashy plot twists or shock value, the show still manages to reel you in and makes you content with watching hours of it just so you can get more of these amazing humans. Even the supporting cast is stellar and brings forth numerous characters that leave a mark on you.

With brilliant laugh out loud moments, emotional turns, beautiful music and a constant feeling of happiness- this show will make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Give it a go. You won't regret it. And ladies, if you want some superficial encouragement, then keep in mind that the men in this show are HOT. As if Yeon Suk's beauty and Jo Jung Suk's charm wasn't enough, you have Jung Kyung Ho, who is unarguably the human embodiment of God's greatest gift to mankind.

Are you still here? No?
Good, that's what I thought.

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A train wreck in the best way possible, The World of the Married is a drama with full blown craziness in all its glory.

No matter how beautiful a woman is. No matter how successful she is in her work life. No matter, how good she handles her house and children. No matter how smart, considerate, kind she is. Cheating men will cheat.

And then most of the time that woman has to deal with friends and family who will tell her to forgive the man, innocently selfish children who will ask her to compromise, outsiders who will gossip and an unapologetic man who will think it is his right to cheat. She'll be left with a destroyed family, broken pride and a stamp of a woman who couldn't handle her marriage.

This drama tells the story of what happens when you mess with the wrong woman.

Sun Woo is ruthless and takes no prisoners when it comes to revenge. Giving a new meaning to "Hell hath no fury, like a woman scorned", she is obsessive, borderline psychotic, scarily intelligent, calculating and even selfish but at the same time she is incredibly strong, bearing and someone who's been hurt in the most profound manner.

Kim Hee Ae's acting is beyond phenomenal, not unexpected from a four time Daesang winner. She hits every emotion on the spectrum to the point you are fully attuned with her character. She will make you love her fiercely, frustrate you to no end, question her motives, pity her and even hate her.

The shock value in this drama is no joke. Things that you haven't imagined in your wildest dreams happen in the most iconic fashion and you're just left with your mouth hanging.

There's no passive watching this drama, for it wrenches feelings out of you. You'd be screaming at the screen, tearing at your hair and will probably think of throwing your phone at the wall once or twice.

Every aspect is exceptionally executed. Where there is emotion, you'll be crying your heart out. Where there is thrill, you'll be biting your nails to stubs. Where there is suspense, you would be sitting at the edge of your seat. Where there are makeout scenes, the entire room will feel hot.

None of the characters in this show are truly likable. The moment you start warming up to someone, they'll do something to screw you over. These people are extremely complex, selfish, vindictive, weak- human nature at its worst and that's the beauty of the show.

The music is amazing and added in just at the right moments. The writing plus dialogues are crisp (pretty loyal to the original series) but the direction and delivery by the actors takes the cake.

It's impossible to stop, once you start watching it and it maintains the tension from beginning to end with never a draggy moment.

A true masterpiece, that explores the dark waters of marriage, relationships and being human, it is not reccomended for people who can only root for righteous and wholly good characters. For this drama, leave your moral compass behind or it will explode.

Lastly, the drama beautifully succeeds in delivering its point:

Cheating is NOT ok and you don't have to forgive it. No matter how weak you get, no matter how hard it is (and it will be) no matter what the world says, no matter how much history you have, you don't have to compromise. No excuse should be enough.

The world of married is a place where there are no winners, you just have to do what's right by you. Because, before being a wife, a mother, a daughter, a friend, a working woman: you are your own person.

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This drama was such a contradiction.

The first half was so poignantly and beautifully written while the second half was just plain bad writing. The music was phenomenal with stunning instrumental and heartwarming lyrics, yet the drama used those songs so repetitively that I got sick of them a little bit by the end. The acting was unbelievably amazing and yet, there was a lot of over done theatrics.
I cried, laughed, cared so much, and yet there were times where I was bored out of my mind.

It appeared quite sunny and cheerful on the surface but it had a lot of deep, dark psychological elements to it. The main character Ha Rip (Jung Kyung Ho) is goofy, sexy, mean like a feral kitten and oh so adorable and yet his actions were greedy, desperate, selfish and downright awful. It's painfully slow at times and yet it moves so fast in others. It's horribly predictable in one episode and then there's mind fuckery waiting for you the next.

It's both so good and so bad. Depending on which you choose to focus on, the drama will become that for you.

Despite all the bad, I personally enjoyed my time with it. I forged a connection with all the characters and felt so sentimental in almost every episode. I wish it was better written and all the unnecessary draggy parts to stretch the episodes weren't added but I felt like the cast did their best with it and it showed.

P.S Jung Kyung Ho. Enough said.

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I usually have a strict policy of not writing reviews on shows I haven't finished. But I had such a hard time with Memorist, that it compelled me to write one. I dropped this on episode 4- longest 4 hours of my life, during which I slept at least 5 times while watching.

In the sea of K-crime dramas, Memorist tries to be a blue whale but ends up being a fluke- the most abundant fish in the waters. It's generic, follows a pattern already used by many others, unoriginal and unfortunately boring by the end of the day.

In order to be apart from the norm, a mystery/crime show has to bring its own color to shine through. Stranger did that with the unique characters, Voice did that with its powerful antagonist, Defendent did that with the brilliant acting but Memorist, unfortunately has nothing that stands out.

Trouble with over powered protagonists (like the ML here, can read memories, is a kickass fighter, super smart, handsome , has a fan base) is that you're less forgiving of their stupidity. The ML's reckless actions and punch first, think later idealogy was less charming and more idiotic to me. It kept him from doing what matters and unfortunately, that meant I'd be stuck with more episodes of the same running around in circles with the plot I have no interest in.

Yoo Seung Ho is good here. He knows how to act but does not have the wow factor to make you connect with him (unless you're already a fan), the FL's character is well written but the actress's portrayal of her is just bland enough to make it meh.

Sure, there's mystery and the whodunnit factor and the frustration of not being able to catch the murderer but to me personally, it felt like I was seeing more of the same thing. And the idea of watching the same thing for the umpteenth of time, digesting all of the info dump with a mediocre setting and characters for 16 hours straight does not sound appealing to me at all. Some people say it got better, others say the plot just became messier as the episodes progressed, I for one don't have the patience to find out.

Maybe more suited for watchers that are new to the genre and fans of the cast but for a seasoned watcher? A hard pass.

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Thank God, it's over. I feel like I just got done with homework. One of the worst written dramas I have ever watched. The character development is shit. Gaps in logic are MASSIVE and damn the plot holes are impossible to ignore. The drama is unrealistic with over acting from a lot of actors. Some things are so unbelievably dumb, I was just like am I a joke to you?? I am pretty sure the writer was insulting my intelligence at times. Jeez

Seung Ho has beautifully expressive eyes and he has a lot of talent but he really over did it in this one. His crying scenes were cringe. Park Min Young excelled at being the classic support role heroine who was just an acessory to the plot. The romance was non existent but what was there was pretty stiff.

I mean, everybody promised me that the show will make me cry and that it was just oh so sad but tbh the writing was so awful and overdramatic that I felt nothing. The ending wasn't even tragic bro. Or maybe, I failed to see it?

So why did I finish it till the end? Because of Nam Goong Min. What phenomenal acting. He has to be one of the best k-drama villains I have ever seen. So fleshed out. He was a horrible disgusting monster of a person and unfortunately, the only person that made me stick with the show. Because I wanted to see him pay and also because he was so entertaining and brilliant in every scene. Makes me want to check out all of his dramas now. It's even funny how out of all the characters, it was the villain who got nominated for the Daesang (grand prize) at award shows. Lol

Other than him, Park Dong Ho, played by one of my most favorite ahjussi actors was the only good guy in the show that was somewhat well rounded. Other than these two, the rest of the characters were cookie cutter and pretty one dimensional.

I don't reccomend this unless you want to watch for Nam Goong Min and his acting.

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Itaewon class started as a full of heart, emotional and intelligent drama not unlike its beautiful characters and it stayed that way for most of the part. To the point, that based on the first 60% alone, I'd give it a solid 9.

However, towards the end it lost a lot of its identity and took a turn most run-of-the-mill k-dramas do. The writing took a lot of hits as it floundered confused about what direction to take.

Out of the blue kidnappings, dramatic fight scenes, near death experiences and other ridiculousness that was so unlike what the show stood for. It started as a very bearing drama with a constant melancholic but hopeful vibe as it documented the journey of various characters with different paths in life who came together to build a dream with tenacity and determination. Never knew it would turn into fucking "The K2" towards the end. Lol

Speaking of characters, Park Sae Joon did a brilliant job bringing forward a hero unlike many others. He was the definition of silent strength, a brilliant mind and perseverence. A man who got up again and again even with the odds stacked against him. Someone who managed to retain his composure, compassion and child like purity despite all the shit life handed to him.

Kim Da Mi, surely the breakout artist of the year was a delight to watch. Yi Soo was a tiny ball of vicious energy. She was driven and determined to the core, with a sharp young mind and someone who never gave up no matter what you did to her.

At the same time however, she was also incredibly rude, selfish and did downright horrible things. I'm all up for that as it added to her complexity and made her sweet moments all the more impactful but I hated that her backstory was not explored at all. What made her that way? I would really like to know but nopes.

Some people didn't buy the romance but I did. I think the drama pulled this aspect fairly well. Both of them played a significant part in the other's life. For Yi Soo, her quest for love gave her genius but idle mind a purpose, it grounded her and made her a better person and for Saeroyi, Yi Soo was his backbone. The true kingmaker and the force behind his success. When everyone told him his dreams were impossible she not only stood by them, she made them happen.

They were good for each other which is why the romance rang true for me. Sure, Yi Soo was a bit obsessive and took it to another level but that was her character from the start. Love or success, she'd take everything to the extreme. (Again, I'm annoyed at the fact why that was so. We are just supposed to accept her personality as it is though without any insight.)

All the characters had their amazing moments in the show however some did not develop as nicely as they could have cause of bad writing 101. The second FL came through at times but mostly her victim-is-me mentality annoyed me to no end. The villains were okay-ish, none too exceptional but they did the job.

Over-all, the drama delivered a lot of important messages and did a good effort at being woke. That said, it also had a lot of corny, overly sappy and unrealistic moments where I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

In the end, I'll say that while this drama was definitely not exceptionally good in terms of writing and later on even the execution, it was a fun ride for sure. I binged it in 2 days straight and never found an episode that made me yawn.

So while I do reccomend it, I would advise not to have sky high expectations going in, because of the hype surrounding it.

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CAUTION: WATCH AT YOUR OWN RISK!

Don't watch this show while you're eating, because you'll be laughing so much that chances of choking and dying are a lot.

Don't watch this show if you don't want to fall in love with a team of characters that are badass, adorable, witty and will forge a bond with you to the point you'll never want to let go.

Don't watch this show if you like strong badass female characters that kick ass, dominate the screen when they come and have amazing hair to match their amazing intelligence.

Don't watch this if you want to die due to the shortness of breath the titular character Kim Hae Il will cause you by being one of the most iconic characters in K-drama history.

Don't watch it if you can't stand the brilliance that is Kim Nam Gil's acting that gave birth to the baddie of the baddies: a fiery priest who is more like a grim reaper/ death angel 'cause when he comes to you, honey it's judgement day.

Don't watch it if you're someone who gets jealous of the extreme chemistry between all the the characters, don't like bromances, sismances and hilarious antagonists 'cause this show has an abundance of that.

Don't watch it, if you don't want to be addicted to the perfect OST of this show even when it's finished.

Don't watch it if you want to be proved wrong when you said that K-Dramas are just not well- written anymore.

Only watch it, if you are strong enough to take the wholesome awesomeness this megabrilliant masterpiece of a show offers and still remain standing by the end.

You have been warned.

Take care.

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I have to say Graceful Family has to be one of the best written K-dramas out there. Sure, it has its flaws but it succeeds in packing a punch everywhere that matters.

With a tightly woven plot and an excellent cast that drives the story home, GF is the definition of entertainment. It will make you laugh, cry, jump with excitement and leave you dying to know what will happen next. With a suspenseful murder mystery, shocking family secrets and brilliant character development, GF had no room for any boring moment.

What I loved about the show was that no character seemed irrelevant. Every single person on screen had a part to play. Im So Hyang gracefully delivered as the badass, chaebol heiress on a mission. Mi Seok Hi was the perfect mix of vulnerability, strength and style. A true baddie after my own heart.

They could have done better with the male lead as he was by far the most unimpressive aspect of the show but he did the job as the upright, honest lawyer looking for justice.

The entire team of good guys: the reporter duo, the police officer, the ML's dad- all brought substance to the show. I loved the fact that our heroes weren't out of the world geniuses, they were just simple albeit smart individuals desperate to find out the truth.

The primary antagonist, Miss Han, was a formidable adversary. She commanded respect in the way she did her job, no matter how dirty and ruthless it was. Bae Jong Ok gave her all to bring forward one of the most charismatic villains in kdrama history. She and her TOP team members were horrible people but they were horrible people with exceptional smarts that came with their own set of charms.

And ofcourse, the MC family. All of the family members were psychotic in their own way and each left a mark. Whether they made you feel fury, sympathy, pity or hatred, they never did anything halfass.

Lastly, I think it would be criminal not to mention Wan Soo, the eldest son of the MC family. Lee Kyu Han killed it by bringing forward a character so complex and yet, the one with the simplest motivations. He was a true spotlight stealer.

The back and forth between the villains and the good guys kept you on the edge of the seat. The schemes and mind games made every episode intense. The best part was that all the cunning, witty ways the characters outsmarted each other were wholly believable. It wasn't a ball of hocus pocus plotholes, a confused writer pulled out of their ass, instead effort was made for things to feel mostly realistic.

A lot of people didn't like the ending but it was pretty satisfying for me. Sure, a few minor things could have been more developed but they were easy to ignore.

The OST was perfect and it fit our leading lady and her badass take downs so well. While there wasn't a need for romance, there was enough to satisfy all of you who are looking for it. With veteren actors in the ensemble, it's no surprise that the acting was phenomenal across the board.

Honestly, I don't know what else to say. It was one of the few shows that took on a lot of things at once and managed to do justice to all of them. I loved it and I strongly reccomend.

It's Jeana approved for sure. ;)
Go watch it.

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In the beginning, chocolate did have a lot going for it. There was Ha Ji Won, who is undeniably my favorite actress and who succeeded in portraying a compassionate, graceful woman to the T.

There was food and whole lotta good shots of it which is basically catnip for every foodie out there and me being one, I did a happy dance inside every time I saw someone eating or cooking- which was A LOT.

There was some bromance, sismance, amazing chemistry between the leads and family bonding sprinkled all over it and last but not the least; the message it went out to portray was brilliant.
Despite the inevitablity of death, people can still find moments of happiness. It was beautiful and heart-warming to watch.
In the beginning, that is.

Despite being a slow burn in every sense of the word, the show did go pretty fast for me up to about 7 episodes. I was really really into it but then the monotony started setting in. It's the same K-drama tropes over and over again and soon enough you realize that there isn't much of a unique spin on it.

Call me heartless but when you show me the same sentimental shit and corny deep dialogues in literally every episode, I'll go from being touched to annoyed real fast. That's because over-doing emotion takes the sincerity out of it. Every case was more or less the same and that irked me a lot.

A lot of things were added as useless plot devices and left unexplored. It was almost criminal how little screentime the main couple got. You barely get to see them together till around 12th episodes and even then it's scarce and underwhelming.

I feel like the show dabbled in a lot of things but didn't truly go into depth for even one. And it's a shame truly, given the immense potential.

Towards the end, I just had to fast forward stuff- an urge I was physically restraining for about 14 episodes.

A reviewer said that it's a great drama for new watchers and I agree but if you have already seen these tropes a billion times and in their most basic form, this drama will end up being quite mediocre for you.

I'd rather watch 'Just Between Lovers' that took one of the issues also mentioned in this drama, went in depth with it and actually managed to portray sadness, heartbreak and loss in a way that was never over the top and yet, extremely impactful.

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I have never felt this way before.

This show was awful, horrible and miserable down to every scene. I wanted to punch the fuck out of every single character at one point. It was so dark, disturbing and frustrating and yet, it was excellent too. To the point that it captured me so deeply that it was a downward spiral that I couln't help but be swept into.

This is precisely the reason, I understand its poor rating on MDL but also why it was a super duper mega hit in Korea when it aired.

The acting and character development definitely took the cake in this one.

Jo In Sung. Jo In fucking Sung left excellence behind with his role. I have no words to describe his acting. It was simply wonderful. His character, Jung Jae Min, violent, crazy, childish, often pathetic, vindictive, violent and simply irredeemable didn't leave much to be desired and yet, he definitely made the list to become one of my most favorite characters of all time.

Ha Ji Won, ofcourse the queen of queens. Her character has to be one of the most despicable characters in K-drama history. Lee So Jung was a slap in the face of every self respecting woman. Greedy, desperate, classless, disloyal, annoying to the point of making you feel violence and yet, there was nobody but Ha Ji Won who could have played her. Because, despite the fact that she was everything I couldn't stand, I still found myself rooting for her. Like I said, only Ha Ji Won.

This was So Jisub's breakout role and I can definitely see why. He is the king of emoting from the eyes and he did it spectacularly here. Out of the three of them, his character was the least dislike-able and yet, despite my love for him, I found myself rooting for him the least.

Many international drama watchers think the show is famous for So Jisub but that's not true. This show is Ha Ji Won and Jo In Sung's through and through.

People said it was the greed of the characters that made them destroy each other but I think it was the desperation, madness and pain that each of them harbored. They were all victims of life in their own way and that made them make all the worst decisions possible. This was humanity at its worst with selfishness at its peak and yet, you couldn't help but feel sympathetic for these unlucky souls.

The show is a hard watch. I can't even count how many times I had to pause in between because I was so sick and emotionally exhausted by the complexity of these characters and their actions. But I was unable to drop it and now that I have finished it, I don't regret watching it at all.

The ending was exactly how it should have been. The OST was spot on. And while the show is dated, it still does not fail to pack a solid punch even after all these years.

So all in all, it's a show that you will hate with characters you will hate but if you aren't afraid to tread into dark waters and get out of your comfort zone, once you'll start you'll be unable to stop. And when you end it, you'll have no regrets.

Definitely one of my favorites.

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Oh God, this show is just so good.

It has the perfect blend of everything.

Extreme Women Empowerment. Spicy kisses and chemical romances. Badass Women. Charming Men. Excellent acting. Crisp story-telling. Adrenalin rushing fastpaced moments, complimented with slow and emotion-filled scenes. Brilliant OST. Epic Sismance. Bomb fashion sense. Stunning direction. An ending that tied all loose ends...

I mean really, at this point I'm wondering if there's anything this show didn't have?

It maintained quality from start to finish and had me hooked till the very end. There were some mildly annoying things about the main couple and the poorly timed product placement but they could be considered fairly negligible.

I already wrote a detailed article on this drama, so I'll keep this review short and sweet. Bottom line is that this show is excellent and you need to watch it right now!

BYE

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With poor writing, bad props, horrible editing, no semblance of a plot whatsoever and cringey CGIs, The Legends was a pretty bad start. However, the promise of a badass female lead and Zhaoyao's snarky personality was the only reason I stuck with it.

Which is why it's almost criminal how they reduced her kickass self to little more than the Male Lead's side kick in the latter half. So much so, that in some scenes the legendary Demoness is nothing more than a glorified damsel in distress whose sole purpose is to stand by the ML's side.

Speaking of the male lead, even with his cute face and pure love he was still pretty much boring, bland and quite one-dimensional. No match for the somewhat antagonist/second Male lead: Jiang Wu. Who was one of the most interesting characters in the show. Being a nasty sonovabitch demon with hilarious moments, he was easier to root for than the ML himself.

My biggest complaint is that the show gave so much screen-time to completely irrelevant characters. Screentime that should have been used to further develop the main leads and their journey. I could count about 4 to 5 story-lines which I didn't give a shit about and that were constantly forced on me.

So over-all, yes there are some pretty adrenaline rushing moments here and there and yes, there is good acting by all those involved but it is nearly not enough to counter the drag.

If you are planning to binge watch this, like I did. My advice is: Make the Fast Forward button your best friend.

Enjoy!

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